This is Day 2 of the 14-Day Gratitude Challenge held in Aug 2013, where we practice gratitude for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hey everyone! Today is Day 2 of our gratitude challenge. Are you ready for today’s task?? :D
Day 2: Food
Food. We eat it every day, but do we ever give thanks to it?
Giving thanks for food is a practice observed in many cultures and religions.
In Japanese culture, the Japanese have a practice of beginning their meals with the phrase “itadakimasu” (いただきます). While it literally means “I humbly receive”, the phrase actually takes its roots in gratitude–to express gratitude for all who played a role in preparing, cultivating, ranching or hunting the food. (Read more: Eating and Drinking Etiquette in Japan.)
In French culture, the French say “bon appétit” which means “have a good meal” or enjoy your meal”. Some see it as a way of giving thanks before a meal.
Islam has a specific criteria on the foods that Muslims are allowed to have as well as how the food should be prepared. These foods are also termed as “halal” foods (halal is an Arabic word meaning “lawful” or “permissible”).
Under the Islamic Shariʻah, Muslims can only consume animals (non-pork) which have been slaughtered in the name of “Allah” (the Muslim God) and slaughtered in a way that minimizes their pain before death. The reason is because the Quran teaches that all animals, as creatures, should be treated with respect and care. It teaches Muslims to show mercy to animals due to the mercy of Allaah upon them. (Muslims, please correct me if I’m wrong!).
Then before beginning a meal, Muslims recite the Basmala (an Islamic phrase); after the meal, they say ” ‘Al humdu lil Allahil lazi at’amanaa wasaqaana waja’alana minal muslimeen” (which means “Praise to Allah for feeding us, giving us to drink and making us Muslims”). (Read: Islamic grace)
Then in Christianity, there is an established practice of saying your grace before your meals. Some of my religious Christian friends would say their grace before every meal, so I’ll always take my moment of silence every time they say their grace.
Some typical Christian prayers (courtesy of Wikipedia):
- Ecumenical. God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.
- Catholic. (before eating) Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
- Anglican. Bless, O Father, Thy gifts to our use and us to Thy service; for Christ’s sake. Amen.
- Australian (any denomination). Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest, let this food of ours be blessed. Amen.
- British / Australian religious schools. For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.
Yesterday I gave thanks while having my dinner with Ken at a Glasgow restaurant. I ordered their soup of the day, which is chilli, sweet potato, and coconut soup, as well as breaded bocconcini.
Us in the restaurant
Breaded bocconcini — that’s fried bread with cheese inside for you. Along with some mixed salad. As a rule I don’t like fried stuff as it’s not the healthiest food around, but I’ve never had bocconcini before so wanted to see what it’s like!
The soup of the day — chilli, sweet potato, and coconut soup, along with bread. That’s garlic butter (I think?) at the bottom of the plate!
After the waitress served the food, and before I ate, I said outloud (while Ken watched in bewilderment before I told him later what this was all about)):
I want to give thanks for the food I’m about to have today.
I thank the farmer(s) for growing the chilli, sweet potato, coconut, and other ingredients that went into the creation of this food.
I thank the trucks for delivering the food to where it needed to be.
I thank the chefs of this restaurant who made this food I’m about to have.
I thank the waitress for serving the food to me.
I thank Mother Nature for creating chilli, sweet potato, coconut, among other great and healthy food in the world today.
I thank GG’s company for sending him to Scotland for work or we would not have the opportunity to be here right now. (GG is my nickname for Ken.)
I thank GG for bringing me to Scotland with him and taking me to this restaurant or I would never have the opportunity to have this meal now.
I thank everyone and everything that went into the creation of this food.
I thank the universe for the opportunity to eat and not starve while millions of people out there are starving on the streets and in their homes, be it in Africa, India, or third-world countries.
Itadakimasu! (いただきます)
(Yes, I really said those lines out loud while sitting in a public restaurant in front of Ken who had no idea what I was trying to do at that point in time.)
The food tasted especially good during that meal. :D Giving thanks for my food made me more aware and appreciative of the efforts that go behind what I eat, and reminded me to continue to be thankful for all the food I’ll consume from here on out.
For today’s task, I would like you to give thanks for your food. You don’t have to be religious to give thanks (I mean, I did it and I’m not religious!); it’s simply about being grateful for the food you get to have which keeps you well and alive.
Your Task: Give Thanks for Your Food
- Take a picture of your meals (one of your meals or all of them, whichever you please!). The objective is to share with the other participants in the challenge and to keep a personal log of what you ate for today in your gratitude journal!
- Before you tuck in, give thanks for your food–be it verbally out loud or mentally in your head. Do it in whichever way you desire, based on your religion (if you have one) and your culture.
- Last but not least, enjoy your food! Take small bites, chew it slowly, and savor every bite of it (conscious eating is the way), while remaining aware and appreciative of all the hard work and time that went into the creation of your food.
Daily Journaling: Write 3 Things You Are Grateful for Today
On top of today’s task, identify 3 things you are grateful for today. These 3 things can be events that occurred today, mishaps which could have happened but didn’t happen, or simply things which have always been in your life but which you suddenly came to feel grateful for today.
3 things I’m grateful for today:
- I get the opportunity to touch your lives every day, even if in a little way. Because of you, I live.
- Your amazing participation in this gratitude challenge! Seeing your responses (text comments and pictures alike) for Day 0 and Day 1 so far are creating such a fuzzy feeling in my heart!
- For the opportunity to touch the life of my latest coaching client, T*, and to support her in her goals for the next month ahead.
Share Your Results!
What did you have for your meals today? (Share your pictures, please! Simply click the little icon on the bottom left corner of the comment box.) How did you give thanks for your food?
What are 3 things you are grateful for today?
Share them in the comments section! :)
Once you’re done, proceed to Gratitude Challenge Day 3: Write a Gratitude Note to Someone.
(Images: Gratitude, Healthy food
)
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Day 2 http://superwonderwomanruss.blogspot.com/2013/09/give-thanks-for-your-food.html#.Uj7ZFT_ucYJ
This is a very beneficial value.
Most people are not even aware of how their food comes to their tables, as if the food store magically stores them away and brings them out of nowhere.
I’ve been doing this for as long as I’ve been doing Yoga, as that is my own spiritual practise which has made me more aware of being grateful.
Most of the times, I do say a little word of gratitude for the meal, who produced them and for all the nutritious value it contains to restore any lost vitamins and minerals, especially from anxiety and depression.
Looking at how you say your grace has actually encouraged me to be more aware of all of the processes that food goes through to end up on our plates :)
thanks Celes! This is helping me on so many levels.
Namaste to you :) I wish you all the best, especially with your marriage!
I have attached a screen capture for my Day 2 post. Thank you for issuing this Gratitude Challenge!
It appears to have attached it twice and I don’t know how to remove the extra one. I’m sorry.
Hi Suzanne, don’t worry about the double attachment! It appears twice because you have clicked attach and uploaded the file twice. It is a little annoying, I know, since Disqus doesn’t inform you whether the file has been uploaded and there is no option to see/remove until the comment is posted–happened to me before.
Anyway, if you’re unsure, you can always copy your comment, refresh the page, then paste your comment and attach the file *once*. This will work. Thanks so much Suzanne! :)
Thank you. Have a blessed weekend!
I have attached the screen capture of my post for Day 2. Thank you for this challenge.
I am only a few days behind! My tribute to food is on my site. I may have gone a little “emo” on you all, since my thanks goes to all those that died that I live: the plants, the animals, the stars. What’s that? The stars? Yes! So I thank the stars and the sun for everything in my food. See http://dianadiehlpresents.com/2013/08/gratitude-journal-day-2-assignment-give-thanks-for-food/ to find out what supernovas have to do with food.
Bit tricky right now that I’m at the point in my veganism where I’m slightly struggling. Many of the dishes I used to make have gotten boring. Doesn’t help that I eat alone and hence have to eat the same thing three dinners in a row! Suppose I can still be grateful to VegiDeli slices and vegan ice cream and raw fruit&veg, which seem to be things that never get old. Planning to make vegan lasagna soon. When my vegetarian godmother made it, it was amazing! Hoping to replicate that :)
3 things:
1. Our society’s allotment. Gives me something meaningful to do and is such a lovely place ^_^
2. League of Legends. Funfunfun
3. A Song of Ice and Fire. Great books!
Hey Jade!! So awesome that you are currently pursuing veganism! When did you start and how is it coming along? (I don’t recall you mentioning that you are vegan before!)
Started in December. It was quite fun at first, learning new recipes and discovering alternatives. But there isn’t much variety here (only one kind of sandwich slices, no vegan pizza etc). At least that lasagna turned out great so that’s one of my old favourites I can still have :)
December is long–it’s been 9 months already! :) It’s great that you have committed to the diet and have even picked up vegan recipes. I’m only good at simple meal preparation, so what I often do is just heating up pre-made soups and making simple (but tasty) salads.
I felt a bit surprised when I read day 2’s task because I read it right after throwing away a lot of food that expired in the fridge because me and my sister didn’t eat it. I was sad to see so much food go to waste because of our un-gratefulness for the food so I read the labels and decided to eat the food that expired this month first. In an ironic way I learned to appreciate the food because if only 2 people with a baby live in a home, and neither eats so much, then we shouldn’t buy so many food just so it goes to waste or we should eat every meal to make sure it doesn’t expire
Very well said, Fufu! I actually like that the throwing away of the food made you feel sad; it suggests that you are someone embraces conservation at heart. How has the past week been for you in terms of minimizing food wastage? Have you been able to integrate new actions which help in this area?
This is the gratitude note that I wrote yesterday to my dad
Hi Dad,
I am currently doing a gratitude journal and today assignment was to write a letter to someone you are grateful for and i picked you.
I remember the first time we met in the hospital. You and mom were so nice to me and were genuinely concerned about me even though you had your concerns about Liz getting hurt. You trusted myself and Liz to get through the tough patches and make it out better people and a better couple. Thank you so much for your love and support.
I never had a father who was loving and caring – or one that really cared about what I did or didn’t do. I was amazed when you and Marilyn came to my graduation. You will never know how much that meant to me.
Every time something bad happens and we have to reach out to you for support I am always scared of the “big” explosion because that is always what happened in my family. Instead you are loving and supportive even when you have every reason to say No. Hopefully in the future we will not need to reach out to you.
Thank you for being you dad. You are best and greatest gift I have ever gotten. I love the support you and Marilyn so freely give to me. I know you probably don’t know completely what has been going on the past couple of years but I know you have an idea and are supportive. I have never, ever been so open to parents before and I love the fact that I have you guys and that I feel always that I can trust and depend on you.
So dad I have a ton of gratitude for you. You are my rock that I lean on and I would be lost without you. Thank you for all you have given me.
Hi Karin!! Think you posted it to the wrong thread (this is Day 2’s thread). Can you post your lovely response to Day 3’s thread on writing a gratitude note so that other participants can see the great job you have done? Thank you!
Yesterday I had a Japanese dinner with my dad, mum, and brother. Usually I give thanks by saying Bismillah, and say this short prayer in Arabic which means, Ya Allah please bless me and bless what You have given me and I ask Your protection. When my mum cooks for me I usually tell her how I really like it and i say thanks to her. If she asked me if the food is good, I answered if she cooks it it’s either good or very good. That is my way of saying gratitude to my mum. I dont really consciously do it usually, its like a routine actually. But the story of you saying it outloud give me ideas on how I can put out a stronger intention to give thanks for the food I have. Thanks Celes!
I am thanking God for my food….
Oops! correction plz:
Line 4: “God has directed me to….
Line 5: “I am…
Good day.
HI, Oops – I’m a bit late posting this for day 2 of the challenge!
I really enjoyed savouring my food and being thankful for it today. I made sure I thought about what I was eating and appreciated the effort that has gone into producing it. I am definitely going to try and do this from now on – my food tasted much better when i was not distracted by TV / internet etc! Here’s a picture of my delicious breakfast :)
Three things I am grateful for today are:
Relaxing music to listen to throughout the day – thanks Magic FM !
The parking space that appeared right where I needed it.
The internet for making it so easy to do my work all day.
Its been very inspirational reading all your posts – and some of them definitely made me think about my relationships and how I behave / react – so thank you for making me think – now I can try to be a better person :)
Hi Everyone,
While I grew up Catholic, we never said grace at the table and I rarely even thought about my food before scarfing it down. After I went to Weight Watchers though, I learned to pay more attention to my food. Now, at least on Fri., Sat. and Sun., if I’m eating alone, I still set the table with a placemat, a pretty plate and use a wine glass for my water. It makes me focus on my food and be grateful for it instead of just sitting in front of the TV and not even realizing I just ate a whole meal. It’s also a way of being respectful to myself with a pretty place setting, saying I’m worth the effort to make a nice meal.
I was very grateful today for my favorite cheddar cheese bagel with cream cheese. I took my dog for a long walk at the forest preserve so I treated myself to something more fattening.
Three things I am grateful for today:
1) Only having a 1/2 day of work and my boss being on vacation;
2) Meeting with a man who is wants to sell my artwork in his new store;
3) Sitting on the patio on a beautiful evening.
Hi all!
When we were little, we used to say thanks to the Lord, which later changed into a kind-of-official Mum Prayer : “We thank you, Mum, for making us this delicious dish…” :)
But somehow we lost this lovely tradition on the way. I’m happy to re-introduce it to the table tonight, when we’re all together for dinner.
This morning, I gave thanks for my breakfast. For :
– the cows in the fields, giving us milk to make yoghurt.
– the peach I had, and berries, for coloring my morning, for being so sweet and sour and to boost my body with their vitamins.
– the green tea leaves, to let themselves be roasted and be put in hot water, so I can drink a lovely cup of tea while working.
– the farmers who take care of their animals and their plants.
– the transportation system carrying these foods to the supermarket and tea shop.
– the owner of the tea shop, for giving me advice every time on what new tea to try out.
Three things I am grateful for (counting for yesterday) :
– my boyfriend, to be patient with me when I’m lingering in a fancy, girly shop with too many little fluffy things for his taste ^.^
– the sun, for being with us during the lovely park picknick we had at noon.
– my hairdresser, who gave me a completely new look!
Hi everyone,
Here is a pic of my foods today and a link to my blog to read my gratitude. I also attached the recipes to the foods in the pic within the post if you’re into Paleo cooking =) http://inspirehappy.com/2013/08/17/gratitude-journal-challenge-day-2/
As I said before, I do not own a camera so I can’t post photos, but I had a traditional beans-dish for dinner and before eating I took the time to express my gratitude and to thank for the food in front of me and to all those who made it possible for me to have it.
Now the three things I’m grateful for:
-it was a productive day at the NGO, we worked on some more origami models
-I talked to a college mate whom I haven’t contacted in a while
-I noticed a big improvement in my fitness level, I can run for longer and my abs are starting to show
I have a bit of a funny history with giving thanks for food. My family was never one who said grace before meals (we were never all that religious), and every time I have the goal of being conscious about what I eat and giving thanks for it, it slips my mind so easily. Sometimes I don’t remember until after I’ve finished eating that I meant to give thanks first!
As for my actual experience, I gave thanks silently, but I find that I’m so accustomed to just eating while I do things, my mind can barely focus on giving thanks to how lucky I am to have the food, or even take the time to savor the flavor! If I’m eating in my room, I think I’ll make it a habit to push my laptop aside while I eat, to give myself a few moments to truly experience and give thanks for what I’m eating. When I’m with my family, I think it’s a bit harder — on one hand, I need to pay attention to the conversation more than my food, but on the other, my family’s conversations often get super negative, so it’s nice to have something positive to focus on!
I managed to take some pictures of what I ate/drank today, but I
couldn’t take one at dinner because I was with my mom and sister and
taking out my phone during a meal is pretty rude (I had a Spicy Chicken sandwich from Wendy’s and Strawberry lemonade, so good!). Also, I forgot during
breakfast until AFTER I’d eaten my Cheerios, so there’s only a picture
of my chocolate milk! xD I included a picture of my snack (Cookies & Cream Poptarts), and my water Bobble, since I love having fresh water ’cause of the built in filter!
(On a separate note, I should REALLY make a conscious effort to eat healthier. x.x Here’s to hoping it’s easier once I’m back at school and deciding what I eat!)
And here are my 3 (well, six) things I’m thankful for today! I hope this post turns out okay; I’m copying it from Evernote and what I’m seeing right now is formatted like it is in there, so hopefully it turns normal when I post. xD
1. I am so thankful for my mom taking us out to the store, and then to Wendy’s for a delicious meal in the beautiful weather.
2. I am thankful to be literate, so that I can read and write. I can not only learn and discover stories in this manner, but also create my own and share with the world.
3. I am grateful for the money I have, and to be provided for as I am. I have the means to buy things not immediately necessary for survival, and I am humbled by that privilege.
4. I am thankful for the nice days and cool nights we’ve been having, especially since they make for perfect sleeping conditions!
5. I am thankful for my senses: while they do not all function absolutely perfectly, I am able to experience the world to its fullest and I am absolutely grateful to be so fortunate.
6. I am thankful for my friend trusting me enough to come to me when something made him angry, and later apologize in case he scared me with his anger. I am thankful that he doesn’t unnecessarily bottle up his emotions, which could cause stress and more problems later.
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