More and more people are turning to hot mug meals. They’re easy to make and warming to the soul. Sometimes they can appear like a cop-out; one of those meals that lazy people make. It’s time to get that thought out of your head. There are so many benefits to enjoying a hot mug meal.
This doesn’t mean you have to make one every day. But on those long and hard days at work, there’s nothing wrong with turning to the mug and kettle or microwave. Here are 13 ways you’ll benefit from enjoying a hot mug meal.
It Warms You Deep Within
One of the biggest benefits is the way the hot meal will warm you. There are lots of people who will tell you that hot drinks don’t help to warm you up. While there is an initial increase in body temperature, you sweat more, and you can cool your body down further. However, there’s a placebo effect.
You get that initial warming feeling as you eat or drink your meal. Plus, you get to hold onto the mug, making you feel warmer on the outside. As you feel warm, even just the placebo effect, your body will remain warm and calm. Your mind is more positive, so the cold won’t affect you as much. Plus holding the mug can help to stop the shivering, which naturally makes you feel warmer deep within.
When you’re at the end of a long winter day, pulling out the hot mug meals can be rewarding. You’ll instantly feel better.
Feel Physically Better with the Mug
There’s something about having your own mug. Plates and bowls don’t quite have this same effect. We tend to tell people a lot about ourselves with the mugs we choose. We may have a photo of our family, a quote that motivates us, or even our favorite character. The mugs connect to our personality.
Having a meal in one of these mugs is beneficially for the mental health. The meal connects more to us deep down. We’re more likely to enjoy the meal because it’s in a mug that we love.
Mugs also tend to have a weight to them that plates and bowls don’t. It can feel like you’re holding something, which helps to make you feel like you’re eating something.
Easy to Make
Mug meals are just easy to make. This instantly offers a range of benefits. When something is easy to make, you’re more than likely to make the effort to do it. The task doesn’t feel as hard or as annoying. All you must do is quickly mix the ingredients together and pop in the microwave or you just need access to a kettle.
Sometimes you just don’t want to try. You don’t want to think about slaving over a stove. You’re more likely to enjoy a meal that you’ve cooked yourself, especially when it’s worked for the mood that you’re in. When you enjoy a meal, you feel more satisfied with the food that you’ve eaten. Being satisfied means you’re less likely to snack later in the evening, which leads us to the next benefit.
It’s Better for the Waistline
Many of us want to lose weight and a mug meal can be the key to that. When you opt for a mug meal, you’re keeping your portions to a minimum. Filling up the mug will still give you less food than you would get in a bowl or a plate. You’ll consume fewer calories at the end of the day without necessarily trying.
Fewer calories mean that it’s much easier to stick to your diet. Even if you opt for a mug cake, you can keep your calories down. The amount of cake you eat is small, but you think you’re enjoying a normal sized portion. It’s all linked to the psychology of seeing that the mug is full.
You’ll still feel satisfied too because of the heat of the meal. Hot food tends to be more filling because you feel more positive within your body and soul. You don’t want to snack as much after the meal, which helps to keep the calorie intake down.
Help Shed More Fat
Not only do you help to reduce the calorie intake, but you can also speed up the shedding of the fat within your body. When you drink hot mug, meals made with hot water, you’re improving the body’s metabolism.
The heat will help to break down the fat within the body, making it easier for the metabolism to lose it. If you drink a lot of cold mug meals or drinks, you end up solidifying the fat. This makes it harder to get rid of the fat.
This is something that needs more research. Preliminary research has proven positive, but researchers are still on the fence. However, the other benefits more than make up for this possibly not quite being as effective as we’d hope!
Help to Balance Out the Metabolism
Another benefit for hot liquid mug meals is the balance to your metabolism. Dehydration is one of the biggest reasons for our metabolisms to slow down. The body tries to make up for the lack of liquid, not knowing when you’re going to be fully hydrated again. You end up burning fewer calories daily, which can make losing weight extremely difficult.
When you get more liquid, your metabolism gets a bit of a boost. So, drinking a hot mug meal will help not just to keep calories and portion sizes down, but you give your body the fluid you need. After all, hydration doesn’t mean that you need to drink water. You can get the fluid in various ways, including through hot soups in your favorite mug.
You’ll also help to get the stress reduction benefits. The heat will help to balance your mind, which regulates the hormones controlling the metabolism.
Keep the Costs to a Minimum
A hot mug meal is an easy way to make lunch in the office. You get heat without having to go to a fast food joint or restaurant. There’s also no risk of stinking out the staff room with your weird concoctions. You can just quickly put together a soup that you reheat in the microwave!
The costs for your work lunches are kept to a minimum. By taking a hot meal, you’re going to be more satisfied at the end of your lunch hour and happier. You’ll have a healthier meal that doesn’t cost you as much as it would from a fast food joint. There’s no need to budget for all your work lunches.
Get Your Blood Circulating Properly
Did you know hot meals can help to get the blood flowing? This is especially the case when it comes to hot water. The heat helps to boost the temperature in your body, which means your blood circulates faster. You need to get more oxygen into the body, as your body tries to regulate your temperature from the inside.
More blood flowing will improve your health. You’ll get more oxygen and blood to your organs. This will help to keep the body working effectively.
Liquid meals are even better for this benefit since you also keep the metabolism working effectively. This helps to keep the blood flowing around the body.
Help to Relax the Body
There’s no denying that a hot meal is relaxing for the body. The mug meals have the benefit of holding the heat in your hands.
You may hear that tea is great for relaxing the muscles. Part of this is because you can hold the mug and curl yourself around it. The heat works through your hands and gives you that placebo benefit of being warmer. It’s not just tea that will give you this benefit. Any type of hot mug will help. You can hold just hot water to stop the muscles contracting and tensing.
When you physically feel more relaxed, you will mentally feel more relaxed. This is an excellent way to reduce the number of stress hormones in your body. Reducing the stress hormones will help to boost happy hormones and keep the metabolism and body working properly.
Stronger and Better Tastes
Hot mug meals also tend to taste better. Not only are you giving yourself the relaxing benefits, but your taste receptors will pick up on more tastes and hints. This is especially the case when you drink some type of hot meal, such as a soup.
The taste buds will react to the heat in the water. They open and take in more of the hints of bitterness or sweetness in the food. This is one of the reasons soups and stews are so warming and relaxing. They taste better, and your body feels like you’re getting something delicious and hearty.
Easier to Eat
Mug meals are going to be easier to eat than most others. This is especially the case if you’re on the go or need to take your meal to work. You can usually either just drink straight from the mug or will just need a spoon to enjoy your dish.
Plates and bowls aren’t as easy to eat from. You’ll need two pieces of equipment in some cases, which can make it hard to eat while on the go. If you’re one of those that like to eat and read, you can find yourself struggling to keep your book open. Mugs don’t give you that issue.
Dull the Sense of Pain
You’ll get the benefit of fewer pain signals working their way around the body. This is another benefit of keeping the muscles relaxed, reducing the stress hormones, and improving the mental health.
When you hold onto the mug, you feel more relaxed. The heat can help to reduce inflammation in the body, which can help to get rid of the reason for the pain. You don’t have the pressure being placed on your nerves, so there are no signals going to the brain about the pain.
It’s also possible to reduce the need to cough. Your nerves in the chest don’t get the same stimulation as they would without the hot mug meal. The reduction in the inflammation helps the overall body and you can reduce contractions in the chest.
Improve Your Digestive System
Finally, a hot mug meal offers a range of benefits to your digestive system. Of course, some of this will depend on the type of ingredients you use. There are plenty of hot mug meals that don’t involve gluten or other ingredients that can cause digestive problems.
One of the benefits is that you keep your portion sizes down. Your body doesn’t have to do as much work after the meal to break down the food. You won’t feel as bloated and gassy.
Meanwhile, you can make sure you stock up on plenty of fiber. This will help to support the health of the digestive system. And then there’s the liquid in a lot of mug meals. Even those without the liquid will have other nutrients that help to support the digestive health. The heat will also help to offer the relaxing benefits in the body, which offers major benefits for the digestive system as that remains relaxed.
It’s Time to Try Out the Mug Meal
There are major benefits to using hot mug meals on a regular basis. Many of these are to the physical health, but there is also a lot of support for the mental health. You get a meal that is easy and affordable to make. You can keep your portion sizes down, which will help to boost your weight loss efforts. Then there is a help to balance out the hormones and reduce the painful sensations in your body. Even if you just try one mug meal a week, you will gain in more ways than one.
