“There is a meditation exercise in which you place a raisin in your mouth. You do not eat the raisin. You meditate and allow it to sit in your mouth unmolested. The raisin plumps up and becomes a juicy fruitness in your mouth, tempting you to bite it. This is a powerful example of how eating is different when you are truly aware of each morsel.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

When my family and I visited Tokyo earlier this year, it was a bit sad to see the rise of fast food in Japan.

It’s a beautiful country with a rich history of a traditional lifestyle, incredible food, and good health. They’ve perfected the art of food preparation, using the freshest ingredients to create small portions of beautiful dishes.

And while there still aren’t many fat Japanese people, especially compared to the U.S., I’d bet that will change with the insidious growth of fast food restaurants on many a street corner. McDonald’s is prevalent, of course, but so are many other Western food chains and an increasing number of Japanese fast food outlets.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about the Slow Food movement, but I really believe it’s the answer to many of our problems: health and obesity, the hectic and stressful pace of modern life, and the lack of happiness in a complex and often burdensome world.

This is the Anti-Fast Food Diet — a way to not only lose weight and get healthier, but to change your life to one of simplicity, moderation, and joy.

Abandon fast food, and all the values it brings: mass consumption, mass production, the exploitation of workers, the destruction of the environment, the destruction of small local businesses, the corporatization of our culture.

Instead, embrace Slow Food. Here’s how. » Continue your journey »