#35: Creating Happy Memories with Meik Wiking

This week on the podcast I’m chatting to Meik Wiking - who  founded the world’s first Happiness Research Institute in 2011, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He consults cities, governments and organisations around the world on happiness. He has advised the Minister of State for Happiness in the UAE, the state of Jalisco in Mexico and the city of Goyang in South Korea, among others. He holds a degree in business and political science and has previously worked for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Happy memories are representative of connections and undoubtedly related to human health. You might think what has this got to do with food, diet or nutrition but these are multi-sensory experiences that cannot be separated from the enjoyment of living. This is why my motto has always been flavour as well as function - its who’s around the table as much as what’s on the table.

A summary of some of the tips that we spoke about on the episode

• To be aware of all your senses when you are happy - think about the tastes, the smells the environment, and who you are with
• Use and create happy memory triggers - such as an item or anecdote from the experience
• Create a memory 'dish' and theming an evening- when meeting up with friends or eating out

And don’t forget to check out Meik’s new book - The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Hold Onto Happy Moments 

There is A LOT of evidence based, safe dietary and lifestyle change that we as practitioners can be confidently discussing with our patients.  Listen to the end for a summary of our discussion and how to improve your overall wellbeing.

You’ll find the recipe video that I cooked with Meik and our super interesting conversation - on my youtube channel go check it out!

And don’t forget to check out The Doctor’s Kitchen newsletter every week for some great, easy to make, recipes using seasonal ingredients!

And you can find all of this information and more at www.thedoctorskitchen.com and don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for weekly science based recipes and listen to the end of the pod for a summary of our discussion.