Breakfast & Beyond - Episode 11:
Mindful eating & a year of Breakfast & Beyond

Also available on Tune-in, Stitcher, Deezer and Public Radio

For Episode 11 I’m delighted to welcome my good friend Joey Hulin - author, meditation teacher and retreat host - to the breakfast table as we discuss the launch of her latest book Mind & Bowl: A Guide to Mindful Eating and Cooking. As well as discussing what ‘mindful eating’ means and the background to the book - which offers a beautiful and accessible discourse on the art of mindful living along with delicious, simple, bowl-based recipes - we explore the link between sustainability and mindfulness, as a practice that requires us to pause, reflect and make considered choices with people and planet in mind:

“Mindful eating .. is about being concerned with and interested in where food has come from, understanding the journey of food to our plate, who’s involved with the production, what’s involved with the production, and making conscious choices to eat with love”

I was lucky enough to be cooked for by Joey - two scrumptious, seasonal breakfast dishes from her book - and as we begin our second course, we flip things over and Joey interviews me about the evolution of the Breakfast & Beyond podcast - today’s episode representing a year since the first season launched.

So .. if you’re curious about mindfulness; intrigued by the concept of mindful eating and the connection with sustainable living; and if you’d like to hear more about the background to Breakfast & Beyond along with plans for season 2 then do take a listen, we’d love it if you can join us!

Tune in to Episode 11 of Breakfast & Beyond … via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher & Tune-In

Breakfast: recipes, producers & growers …

I was lucky enough to be cooked a most delicious breakfast by Joey with both recipes coming from her book Mind & Bowl: a Banana, Cacao & Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl and a Brunch Burrito Bowl. The Smoothie Bowl was adapted to incorporate seasonal toppings that we had in the larder. You can buy Mind & Bowl through most all normal retail channels, and I particularly recommend asking your local bookshop if they can supply you with a copy. We’ve listed below details of where local produce from our breakfast came from:

Mind & Bowl giveaway …

Mindful eating as sustainable living. Words to action: what can we do?

Within her book Mind & Bowl, Joey offers the following ideas for cooking and eating more sustainably:

• Adopting a mindful eating practice can inspire us to value the food we cook and locate ourselves within a symbiotic relationship with our environment. Joey writes “Mindful eating is about contemplation - making considered, conscious choices and being with the food that is in front of us. It is about connection - between the consumer and the earth, and being mindful of the food’s journey from origin to bowl” (Mind & Bowl).

• Buy local, seasonal food where possible - this supports local growers and producers, and reduces food miles which contribute to climate change.

• Aim to buy organic where possible, in doing so you are supporting regenerative growing practices in which fertilisers and pesticides are not used.

• Look out for certification labels on foods bought from abroad such as the Fairtrade Foundation or Rainforest Alliance, which support positive production practices for the people involved and for the local environment.

• Adopt a ‘use up’ approach to the food you cook, being creative with ingredients that you already have so that they are not wasted, and to reduce the cost of your cooking.

• Try to reduce the amount of plastic connected to the food you buy.

• Growing your own food can be a joyful mindful practice as well as a great way of eating fresh, nutritious ingredients. Simple herbs in pots can be a great starting point, especially for those lacking outdoor space.

• Eating healthily - nutritious, whole foods - is good for our own health and sustenance, and contributes to the collective health of society. “A mindful eating practice reminds us to be present; and from that sate of presence it is often easier to choose food that will balance our gut microbiome, give us energy and contribute to a thriving, well-functioning mind and body”.

• Get involved with campaigns that support access to healthy, nutritious food for all (Joey specifically mentions The Trussell Trust), and organisations that promote regenerative farming practices that support both land and growers (for example, check out Farms to Feed Us). You can also contact your MP setting out your concerns, and actions you would like to see happen.

• Remember: small individual steps do, collectively, make a difference. Do what you can, and talk about the issue of sustainable eating with those around you. We are all influencers within our own social networks!

Sustainable Development Goals

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 targets representing a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. ‘Everyone is needed to reach these ambitious targets. The creativity, knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society is necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context’ (UNDP). Translating these global objectives to tease out their relevance at the individual and small-organisational scale can inspire us to connect with these important global themes and consider what we are doing - and what more we can do - to make a contribution that supports our own work and wellbeing along with benefiting other people and the planet.

In Episode 11 our discussion referenced the following Sustainable Development Goals:

2 - Zero Hunger - Joey discusses the issue of food poverty in the UK within her book, Mind & Bowl. She discusses the origins of bowl food as representing simple meals that can be eaten by hand, using up leftovers. Joey has created recipes for the book which are simple, adaptable and she hopes will inspire cooking on any budget. She recommends getting involved with organisations such as The Trussell Trust who aim to eliminate hunger within the UK.

3 - Good Health & Wellbeing - the practice of mindful eating can support wellbeing of both mind and body, by encouraging us to eat in a way that nourishes us as well as supporting our environment and the people involved in producing our food.

8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth - Joey discusses how mindful eating involves making responsible food choices, such as bringing awareness to the people involved in each step of the food chain, so that all those working to produce our food have decent work in terms of pay and economic conditions.

12 - Responsible Consumption & Production - a mindful eating practice encourages us to seek out information about how the food we eat is produced, and make considered choices that support responsible consumption and production.

14 - Life Below Water - making responsible choices about the food we eat involves considering the relationship between food and life below water, and choosing to buy and eat foods that haven’t had a negative impact on sea life - whether that’s sea plants or animals, or the impact for example of pesticides, fertilisers or plastics leaching into the oceans.

15 - Life on Land - making responsible choices about the food we eat involves considering the relationship between food and life on land, choosing to buy and eat foods that make a positive contribution to life on land in terms of factors such as biodiversity, land use, waste, pollution and farming practices.

Resources & links from our conversation …

• More information about Joey’s work as an author, meditation teacher, retreat host can be found via her Horizon Inspired website.

• Joey’s debut book Your Spiritual Almanac: A Year of Living Mindfully was published in September 2021 by Laurence King

• During our conversation we reference the article that appeared in the Guardian in 2019 ‘The Mindfulness Conspiracy’ - what do you think of this perspective? Listen to the podcast conversation for Joey’s view on how a mindful practice can invoke compassionate action, rather than necessarily leading to passivity.

Podcast recording: behind the scenes …

Thank you for listening!

Thank you for listening to Breakfast & Beyond: Conversations from Cornwall on Sustainable Living. If you enjoyed listening I’d love it if you could subscribe to the podcast, rate it, and share episodes with friends and family who would enjoy them. You can listen and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Tune-In or wherever you find your podcasts.

I’d love to know your thoughts - please join the conversation and get in touch by email tia@botelet.com or instagram. Thank you and I look forward to sharing next month’s episode with you.

The Breakfast & Beyond podcast is hosted at our home Botelet Farm in South East Cornwall, where my husband’s family have lived and farmed for over 150 years, and three generations still share the farmhouse today. Set in a peaceful valley upstream of Fowey, we welcome visitors to stay in historic cottages, and there’s a yurt for those who love to immerse themselves in nature.