I came across an entry this week in Meal by Meal: 365 Daily Meditations for Finding Balance through Mindful Eating by Donald Altman that I thought I would share.

February 21 - Preparations

A Buddhist master once said, “The most important thing in spiritual practice is food:  when you eat, how you eat, why you eat.” Lama Surya Das

Why is food such a wonderful spiritual practice?  One reason is that food nourishes your body, spirit, and mind.  But another important answer is that it brings you face to face with your physical desires.  It is symbolic of the relationship you have with yourself, as well as a microcosm of the relationship you have with all things.

The struggle with food serves a positive purpose.  It helps you find balance between your physical being on the one hand and your spiritual nature on the other.  This is why the wisdom traditions recognize that food can be used as a tool to unite your dual nature as a physical and a spiritual being.  This makes sense because food becomes part of you, part of your sacred spirit the moment you ingest it.  For that reason, each moment of preparation is also sacred.

Clean each surface in your kitchen as you would any precious, sacred item in your life.