Mindful Eating Lesson Plan

(Grades 6 and up)

Overview
Students will explore the concept of mindfulness and will
have the opportunity to participate in a mindful eating
activity.

Mindful eating is noticing how, what, where, when and

why we eat. Practicing this skill helps us to understand
how we feel, and how that can affect the food
choices we make. Mindful eating connects physical,
emotional and mental well-being, and increases
awareness of the social and environmental
factors influencing eating habits.

A mindful eating approach can also be used

during any eating opportunity, including lunchtime, snacks and any classroom
lesson plan that involves food tasting.
For lesson plans that use food, refer to our list of lesson plans here.

Estimated time: 40-50 minutes

Food costs: less than $5

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will
• Practice mindful eating by using senses to explore food.
• Discuss barriers to eating mindfully at school.
• Brainstorm solutions that support mindful eating at school.
• Implement ideas that help create a positive mealtime environment.

Materials
• (Grades 6-8) Mystery food can: instructions to make are found here
• Mystery food item: bring enough food to place inside the can (see Learning
Activity 1) and for the entire class to try at least 2 pieces (see Learning Activity
3). Examples include dried fruit, apple chips and roasted chickpeas. Check
for allergies when selecting the food item.
• Napkins (for Learning Activity 3)
• Mindful Eating Student Worksheet
• Teacher Backgrounder: “Mindful Eating”

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 1
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

Procedure
Learning Activity 1: Mystery Food Can (Grades 6-8)
a. Place the mystery food in the can. Divide students into groups of 3-5. Guide
the exploration by having one student at a time put a hand into the mystery
food can and touch the food without looking inside. After each student within
a group has touched the mystery food item, ask the group of students one
question to help identify the food. Continue this procedure with the rest of the
groups until all students have touched the mystery food item and each group
has been asked one question to help identify the food.

Questions could be about the size, shape, texture, sound, temperature, etc.
of the mystery food. Students could also be asked to guess the colour (inside
and outside), flavour, or other properties of the food (e.g. Where does it grow:
on a tree, a bush, or underground?).

b. After every group has had a turn, ask the class to identify the food. Remove it
from the can for everyone to see. Ask the class:
• How did you identify the mystery food? (using your senses, past experience
with the food)
• What are the first things you usually notice about a food item? (appearance,
color, smell, like/dislike)
Learning Activity 2: Principles of Mindfulness and Mindful Eating
a. Begin by asking the class: Has anyone ever heard of mindfulness? If so, what
is it?
• Mindfulness is focusing on being in the present moment­­—noticing our
thoughts, our feelings and our actions without any judgement. With this
awareness, over time, your thoughts, feelings and actions can change.
Today we are going to explore mindful eating. Mindful eating can help us enjoy
food more, understand our bodies better, and improve positive feelings about
ourselves.

One way to eat mindfully is to pay attention to the experience of eating using our
senses. Even one mindful bite can change our experience of a food or a meal.

b. On the board, list or draw the 5 Senses for Mindful Eating with the help of the
students (see below). Engage the class in a brief interactive discussion of how
each sense could play a role in the process of mindful eating, connecting the
students’ experiences with the mystery food. For high school students, this
will be a very brief discussion, but do not skip it.

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 2
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

5 Senses for Mindful Eating:

1. Look­—colour, size, texture and shape. Does it look appetizing?
2. Smell—provides the first clues to taste
3. Taste—flavour(s): salty, sweet, sour, bitter, savory, etc. Do they change
over time?
4. Touch—texture, moisture, temperature
5. Listen x2 —to the sounds made by the food and also listen to your body
(Are you hungry? Thirsty? Full?)
c. Optional class debrief – Ask the class: Do you use all your senses when you
are eating at lunch? Start to think about why or why not.

Learning Activity 3: Mindful Eating Opportunity

a. Allow the students to put into practice what they have just learned. Have
everyone wash their hands, including the food handler. Pass out the mystery
food item (2 pieces per student) on a napkin, and ask that no one eat the
items before you begin the activity as a class.
Some students may not want to taste the food used for this activity. They
can still practice using their senses to explore the food in a mindful way. Let
students know it is their choice to eat—or not eat—the food item, and they can
still participate in most of the activity.

b. First, have each student who would like to participate eat one piece of the
food just as they normally would. For the second piece of food, take students
through a mindful eating exercise using the following script:

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 3
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

• This activity is an example of really being “in the moment” while eating.
• I’d like everyone to sit up in your chairs, with your back straight but not too
stiff. Keep your feet planted firmly on the ground. Notice your breathing.
Let’s take a deep breath together...in...and out....
• Hold the food in your hand. Without talking out loud, answer the following
questions in your mind.
◦ What do you notice? What shape is it? What colour is it?
◦ Squeeze the food between your fingers. What sound does it make?
◦ How does it feel in your hand? What is the texture like?
• Now, if you feel comfortable, please close your eyes.
• Hold the food up to your nose and smell it. What do you notice?
• If you’d like to, you can put the food in your mouth.
• Don’t chew on it yet. Let it sit on your tongue and notice how it feels. (Only
do this step if it is appropropriate with your mystery food.)
• Slowly start to chew on the food. What is the flavour? Is there more than
one flavour? How does it change as you chew it longer? What is the
texture like now?
• Chew the food as many times as you can. Notice how the flavour and
texture continue to change.
• If you’d like to, go ahead and swallow the food. Notice how it feels in your
throat when you swallow it.
• Now you can open your eyes.

c. Ask the students:

• What details did you notice during this activity (that you normally wouldn’t
have)? Review the senses and compare how the first piece was experienced
compared to the second (mindful) one.
• How did you feel when taking time to slow down and notice the food?
Note: Students might be impatient during the mindful eating exercise and express
that they “don’t like” mindful eating. Acknowledge to the class that this exercise
is very slow, so there is enough time to try practicing each step. When eating
mindfully at a meal or snack, it does not need to take this long. The goal of
mindful eating is to simply notice our senses, thoughts, and overall experience of
eating. Even taking one mindful bite can change the experience of a meal.

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 4
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

Learning Activity 4: Barriers and Solutions to Support Mindful Eating During the School Day
a. First, as a class, brainstorm influences that affect what we eat and how we
eat during the school day. Discuss both internal influences (such as hunger/
fullness, mood, food preferences, philosophy/religion) and external influences
(such as food available, cost, time available, peer influence, perception of
foods as healthy/trendy, food skills, eating environment).

b. Explain: Since the eating environment has an influence on how and what
we eat, another way to eat mindfully is to create a calm and positive eating
environment. Eating is an important and essential event that happens every
day, and together we will discuss how to improve our school environment to
support mindful eating.

c. Divide the class into 6 groups. Give each group a Mindful Eating Student
Worksheet; assign two groups to discuss each of the three questions (as
seen below). Students will reflect on their own experiences of meals and
snacks at school and will have about 5–7 minutes to share with their group
and write them down. Remind students to use their senses and the
5 W’s (who, what, when, where and why) when describing their experiences.
1. Here at school, can you describe the eating environment at lunchtime?
Ask your students probing questions, such as: Where do you eat? Who
do you eat with? Is it busy or calm? Do you take time to enjoy your food?
2. What are at least three reasons we don’t eat mindfully at lunch or when
having a snack? (no time, habits of eating quickly, people judging each
other’s food, busy environment, distractions at meals, technology)
3. What are at least three ways we can make eating lunch an important
event and remind ourselves to eat mindfully at school?
I. Some ideas to help get the class started: take a deep breath before
starting a meal, make a sign on our desk (see extension activity 3),
have a mindful eating buddy, eat our first bite mindfully, don’t make
judgemental comments about food, share information about mindful
eating with whomever helps pack our lunch, turn off technology, give
thanks to the farmers and cooks before meals, make a class poster
about eating mindfully, etc.

II. Record the students’ ideas on the board for part e.

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 5
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

d. Have each group share their answers with the rest of the class. Invite
students from the other groups to share answers for each question as well.

e. Grades 6-7: As a class, choose one idea from question 3 to put into practice.
Make a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound)
goal and write it on the board or somewhere visible. Discuss what barriers
there are to making this change and find ways to address those barriers. Set
a timeline and check in when you reach that date. For Grade 8 and up,
students can create individual goals.

Lesson Wrap-up
Ask students:

1. What are two ways we explored mindful eating today?

a. Through sensory exploration of food and when discussing how to create a

positive mealtime environment.

2. Why is mindful eating important?

a. It can help us slow down and focus on the food we are eating, which can
create a more enjoyable eating experience.

b. It can help us understand our bodies better and improve positive feelings
about ourselves.

3. How are we going to make eating at lunch an important (and mindful) event
every day?

a. Review Activity 4e.

Extension
1. Repeat the Mindful Eating Exercise (Learning Activity 3) with other foods.
Consider using two foods that differ from one another in flavour and tex-
ture (e.g. banana and roasted chickpeas). How are they different from one
another? How are they similar? Be sure to check for any food allergies
before beginning this activity as a class.
2. Complete a guided meditation as a class. There are several free apps
offering high quality pre-recorded meditations. (See Links and Resources
for more information.)
3. Grades 6-7: Create mindful eating placemats: Allow each student to
design their own personal placemat for meals as a cue to eat mindfully;
visuals could include representations of the senses, or aspects of a
positive eating environment.
©BC Dairy, 2021
For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 6
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

4. Assign students a mindful eating exercise to try at home. Have them

complete a short journal reflection on the experience. Some prompts to
consider are:
• Describe how this meal or snack was different from your usual routine.

• How did you feel before the meal or snack?

• How did you feel after eating the meal or snack mindfully?

Teacher Backgrounder
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness, in a general sense, is the act of being aware of and focused on the
present moment, and approaching this awareness with curiosity, non-judgement,
and self-compassion. It can be used as a tool to observe wandering thoughts and
gently refocus the mind. While it does have traditional roots in spirituality, present
day mindfulness as a modern psychological concept is not directly associated
with any specific spiritual or religious practice1.

How does mindfulness apply to eating behaviours?

Mindful eating is a term that applies the principles of mindfulness to food and the
process of eating, by guiding the participant to:
• Use all of the senses to consciously select and enjoy foods that are both
health-supporting and satisfy our hunger.
• Acknowledge the physical and emotional response to specific foods (whether
positive, negative or neutral) and the general experience of eating without
judgement.
• Develop awareness of the internal and external (i.e., portion size, lunch bell)
influences on our food choices and eating habits, and to identify physical
hunger and fullness cues as they arise.
Mindful eating is not:
• A weight loss strategy
• A quick way to start eating less
• A method to criticize food choices
• An unhealthy preoccupation with food

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 7
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

Why focus on mindful eating in the classroom?

Infants are born with the natural ability to know when they are hungry and when
they are full. However, as they grow up, factors such as expectations of appetite
from adults or distractions while eating can interfere with their innate ability
to regulate hunger and satiety. Practicing mindful eating connects physical,
emotional, and mental well-being, as well as increases awareness of the social
and environmental factors influencing eating habits. Despite widespread
support for the principles that good nutrition is important for healthy growth and
development, and well-nourished children are better learners2, eating times at
school are too short and often chaotic. Lunch is a missed learning opportunity:
a chance to enjoy food, nourish ourselves and build social skills in a pleasant
atmosphere.

Research has shown a positive relationship between mindful eating and overall
mental well-being3—an increasingly important priority for children and adults
alike. In fact, the 2019 Canada’s food guide promotes mindful eating as a core
healthy eating habit for all Canadians. The results from a recent study that took
place in BC classrooms (grades 4-6) found that students who took part in a
mindfulness-based program, which included a mindful eating component, had
better social adjustment, academic performance, and stress management4.
Among adolescents, a recent study found that a mindfulness-based intervention
showed promise in reducing risk of eating disorders5.

Here are some strategies that will help create a positive eating experience in the
classroom:

1. The more often you expose students to a food, the more inclined they are
to like it. Offer easily accessible foods rather than speciality foods (i.e.,
apples, rather than dragon fruit).

2. Don’t pressure or reward children for trying new foods. Research shows
that children who are pressured or rewarded when trying a new food are
less likely to go back to it than children who are simply exposed to the food
and allowed to decide on their own whether or not to eat it.

3. When eating with students, teachers decide what recipes to prepare, where
and when eating will happen. Students decide whether they want to try
the food and how much they eat. At lunch and snack, parents decide (with
their children) what foods are available.

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 8
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

Links and Resources

Elementary:

Megrette Fletcher, Discover Mindful Eating for Kids: 75 Activities for Managing
Picky Eaters, Overeaters, Speed Eaters and Every Kid In-Between (Skelly Skills,
2015).

Laurie Grossman, Master of Mindfulness: How to Be Your Own Superhero in

Times of Stress (Instant Help, 2016).

Sara Marlowe, No Ordinary Apple: A Story about Eating Mindfully (Wisdom

Publications, 2013)

All Ages:

Calm App

A meditation app that offers a free subscription for K-12 teachers worldwide
calm.com/schools

Headspace ® App

A meditation app offering sessions for a variety of themes, including sessions

created specifically for mindful eating, and for children
headspace.com

The Center for Mindful Eating

A non-profit organization providing information and resources on mindful eating

thecenterformindfuleating.org

Mindfulness in Schools

A non-profit organization providing mindfulness curricula and materials for

schools
mindfulnessinschools.org

Mindfulness for Teens

A BC-based website providing mindfulness information, tools, and resources for

teens
mindfulnessforteens.com

MindUP Program

A classroom-based mindfulness program for students ages 3 to 14

mindup.org/mindup/mindup-for-teachers

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 9
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Grades 6 and up)

More information for Teachers

Curriculum Links
Grade 6 – Grade 10: This lesson supports the Big Ideas and Learning Standards
in the Physical and Health Education BC Curriculum and can also link to other
subject areas.
• Mindful eating connects physical, emotional, and mental well-being, as well
as increasing awareness of the social and environmental factors influencing
health.
Want to do more nutrition education with your class?

Explore our other lesson plans or book a free 1-hour workshop.

Related Lesson Plans
Apple Tasting (Gr.2-12):
bcdairy.ca/uploads/bcdairy/Lessons/Apple_Tasting.pdf

Meals Then and Now (Gr.4-7):

bcdairy.ca/uploads/bcdairy/Lessons/meals_then_and_now.pdf

Do you think you are healthy? Exploring factors affecting food choices (Gr. 6-9)
bcdairy.ca/uploads/bcdairy/Lessons/Do-you-think-youre-healthy.pdf

References
1. Warren, J., Smith, N. and Ashwell, M. (2017). A structured literature review on the role of
mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating in changing eating behaviours: effectiveness
and associated potential mechanisms. Nutrition Research Reviews, 30(02), pp.272-283.

2. Provincial Government of British Columbia. (2010). School Meal and School Nutrition Program
Handbook. Page 1.

3. Khan, Z. and Zadeh, Z. (2014). Mindful Eating and its Relationship with Mental Well-being.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 159, pp.69-73.

4. Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., &
Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple-
to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children: a randomized
controlled trial. Developmental psychology, 51(1), 52-66.

5. Atkinson, M.J. and Wade, T.D. (2015). Mindfulness-Based Prevention for Eating Disorders: A
School-Based Cluster Randomized Controlled Study. Int J Eat Disord. (48), 1024–1037

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 10
Mindful Eating Lesson Plan
(Student Worksheet)

Barriers to Mindful Eating

Instructions: In small groups, discuss the following questions. Remember to use the
five senses and the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, why) in your answers. Share
your group’s answers during the class discussion.

1. Here at school, can you describe the eating environment at lunchtime?

a. Where do you eat?

b. Is it busy or calm?

c. Do you take time to enjoy your food?

2. What are at least three reasons we don’t eat mindfully at lunch or when
having a snack?

3. What are at least three ways we can make eating lunch an important event
and remind ourselves to eat mindfully at school?

©BC Dairy, 2021

For nutrition education lesson plans, workshops and resources visit nutritioneducationbc.ca 11