My family and I had the luxury of spending the holidays on the Mexican Riviera in a hotel that offered an all-inclusive package. I was more than happy to eat at the buffet salad bar, which offered fresh locally grown produce and fruit.  I enjoyed the best tasting cucumbers I’ve ever eaten along with zucchini, jicama, several varieties of lettuces and leafy and more.

Hotel buffets bring out some interesting aspects in people. I started to take notice of my own behavior as well as some of the other diners.  I noticed many of us were trucking back to the buffet two, three and quite honestly more times than I care to count.  An all you can eat buffet was bringing out our less attractive glutinous sides. Here I was in this amazingly healthful atmosphere but the energy in the dining rooms was frantic and down right greedy.  By day three, I made a decision to limit myself to one trip and one plate. I chewed slowly and I started saying ‘grace’ to the beautiful food in front of me.  I could feel the love and care that went into it.  I started spending at least 15 minutes at the table after I ate to take the time to digest and to allow myself a bit of calm before I hit the beach.

During my trip, I recalled a book that had a big impact on me when I read it over two decades ago.  I actually found it on my bookshelf when I got home. The title says it all, ONE BOWL. This little gem of a book came out in the 70’s and encourages a Zen-like mindful manner to the way we approach our eating habits.  In the most simplistic terms, the book suggests that the benefits from eating out of one bowl will not only transform the way you eat but might possibly have a dramatic effect on changing the direction of your life.

I’m back home now and starting a new year and I am making a conscious effort to eat out of a favorite ONE BOWL.  I am continuing to eating slowly, digesting my food, spending time at the table after my meal before I start another activity.  I am finding the ONE BOWL concept supports me to not only eat less but to also connect to what and how I am eating. In my ONE BOWL, I can feel the gratitude for the farmers who grew the food and to the people who prepared it.  Even if I did the cooking, it feels good to honor my ability and energy in preparing what I eat.  I usually don’t spend a lot of time on New Year’s resolutions.  This year, this feels like a good one to aspire to… because it easily came out of awareness, and it feels good to feel gratitude for the abundance and accessibility of fresh simple foods served in ONE BOWL.

I shot a quick photo of the original cover, here it is.  I also checked on Amazon and you can buy it there but with a newly designed cover.  I like the original one better and the copy I had sold for $1.74!  It’s a classic!