time for
mindful eatups
Our vision is a world where all food choices are good for people and the planet.
Where sustainable eating is easy, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone.
We are an inclusive community that helps businesses and foodies make more mindful eating choices.
And what is mindful eating?
Mindful eating, for us, means simply being aware of what is behind the food we consume – and discard. Being mindful, without stressing out, about the impact our food choices have on the environment, our health, society, and even on our wallets.
We believe that small but constant efforts by many, are a viable way to make a big change improving our whole food system.
And we all have different needs, preferences, and priorities, so we would like to hear
what mindful eating means to you.
We love eating out and exploring delicious ethical, environmental friendly, and healthy cafes and restaurants. And we love to cook too, being in full control of what goes into our plates and knowing where things are coming from... sometimes from our own gardens, even when living in a small apartment!
When we find a good recipe to save food or feel better in any way, we share the story on our blog. You're welcome to share your mindful eating thoughts and recipes on our blog too! Just reach out through email or social.
Mindful eatups' categories
Being mindful encompasses all different levels of sustainability, because our wellbeing depends on our relationship with our own bodies, our society, and our planet. So we take the broad definition of sustainability by the United Nations for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals:
“
Peace and prosperity for people and the planet,
now and into the future.
You'd be surprised of how important are our local cafes and restaurants to help us achieve our sustainable development goals! They play a big role on our health through the way they feed us, they employ an important percentage of people in our communities, they give us a place to connect with family, friends, colleagues, and everyone we share those food moments with... And they are change-drivers when promoting trends and habits, like reusing with BYO campaigns, eating more earth friendly, or supporting people in need.
All sustainable efforts accounted in the SDGs and in mindful eatups fit in three main categories: Environment, health, and social good.
Environment
A food business qualifies as environmental, if it genuinely cares about the planet and proves this with actions and efforts to fight climate change and protect our resources and biodiversity.
There are a wide range of sustainable practices that businesses can take to be more environmental and reduce emissions. For example, sourcing sustainably (organic, regenerative, local or urban farming); prioritising low-impact produce like plants, mushrooms, seaweed and some shell-fish over animal products, especially ruminants; minimising single-use and promoting reusables, also inside the kitchen; minimising food waste; offsetting footprint of green-house-gasses; being energy and water efficient; opting for renewable energy…
Every single action counts and continuous improvements rewarded.
Health
Do they feed you as they'd feed their own kids?
General health recommendations are prioritising whole ingredients over highly processed foods, plants and fungi over animal products, and low or good oils over saturated fats. A limited use of refined sugars and sodium, as well as mindful sizes that will not push you to overeat are also good ways to stay healthy.
It's important to do our own research and visit a doctor or certified nutritionist before making big changes on our diet. And trust scientific agreement as opposed to following trendy diets or strong marketing messages like “superfoods” or “free of…”. Instead, we encourage more transparency and clear information about ingredients, sources of food, and methods of farming and cooking.
Social good
A socially responsible food business is, first of all, one that respects and cares for their own staff. It may also give back to the community through food or money donations. It can employ and train people from disadvantaged communities. It will source products that are fair-trade. It also promotes diversity, inclusivity, and social welfare with activities like hosting campaigns and events and being a fair employer that embraces and celebrates diversity in all possible ways.
And you can trust choosing authentic efforts
We are working on the first verification system for authenticity of sustainable cafes and restaurants.
As a foodie, you will be able to find places that you can trust match your values.
Sign up to mindful eatups updates to know when the information is available and get invited as an early bird to join our trials.
As a business, you can help foodies see your efforts and help them pick you for their next delicious and sustainable meal. Find out more about becoming verified.
Mindful eatups near you
Explore and contribute to the mindful eating guide that shows you food recommendations of restaurants and cafes near you, based on three major sustainable goals: environmental, healthy options, and social good.
Add your own recommendations to help other mindful foodies find the most sustainable places. Share your #mindfuleatups through Insta or Face by tagging @mindfuleatups and we'll check the categories, do some research, and add them to the guide.
Start exploring mindful eatups in your local area and around the world!
Mindful eatup deals are also coming soon...
Be the first to get mindful deals! by signing up to eatups news & updates.
The future of food is in our mouths.
Join the mindful eating movement!
Our social enterprise model
Mindful eatups is based on a social enterprise model. We are only investing at the moment, but once we have income, any profits will be used and reinvested to achieve our goal of making the food system more ethical, environment-friendly, and healthier.
Eatups also supports research and innovation towards the future of food, where good nutrition is accessible to all and it doesn't cost the Earth. We actively donate to not-for-profits that fights the same fight and we hope to be able to do more of this through a sustainable business.
We are aiming at making our model and open source our data as much as possible, creating full transparency and making it possible for others to improve what we do and work together for a better future of food.
Our revenue model
Our initial revenue channel will be a subscription model for businesses, where they can create sustainable deals in a quick and easy way. The platform will include pre-designed offers, like reduced prices on last meals of the day to prevent food going to landfill; discounts for people bringing their own (BYO) cups or containers for takeaway; especial meals using only ethical, local, sustainable produce; and other great things that are good for consumers but also for the planet.
The second revenue channel will be based on research, consulting, and verification. Businesses will be able to apply for a special mindful eatups verification, which will give them a higher profile not only for our platform users but for all their customers, and will create transparency on sustainable efforts. Businesses will then receive a badge and score for each sustainable category that is successfully verified. Besides verification, businesses can also receive consulting help to take sustainable initiatives that will translate into savings, gaining reputation, and other benefits from programs supporting and rewarding sustainable improvements.