3 Keys to Creating Meals that Nourish Your Body and Feed Your Soul

Have you ever looked inside your fridge and thought, hmmm, “what am I going to make with these ingredients?” While having a recipe to follow can be helpful to use as a general guideline, we can sometimes end up in a rut and even stifle our own creativity when we limit ourselves in this way. The next time you are getting ready to prepare a meal, consider these three tips to help you take your creativity to the next level.

#1 – Set Your Intention – Take a few deep breaths and get clear on your objective. It could be that you’d like to use up a variety of odd ingredients while they still have some life remaining, or perhaps your goal is to create a quick and easy meal with minimal preparation and clean-up or maybe you just want to step out of your usual routine and try something different. Whatever that looks like for you, gaining clarity and setting your intention frees you up to explore and invites your creativity to flow in ways that simply following a recipe cannot. 

#2 – Presence –  Now that you’re feeling more comfortable winging it a bit, consider trusting that your inner chef is more than willing to assist you. Begin with basic ingredients, adding seasoning slowly and tasting as you go.  Ideally, food tastes better when it contains a combination of the five basic tastes –  sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent (or spicy). So if I were making a raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing for example, I might begin by placing some fresh or frozen raspberries (can be sour or tart) into my blender jar along with some some water which adds volume and pourability. Then I might add a few tablespoons of olive oil, a small amount of apple cider vinegar (sour), a clove or two of garlic (spicy), some dates (sweet)  and a bit of pink Himalayan or Celtic salt (salty). The fat in the olive oil will act as an emulsifier and add depth to your creation. Romaine lettuce, arugula and even basil are considered bitter, so pouring the above mixture over any of those greens would round out the flavor. Although bitter is a wonderful alkalizer for the body, too much can taste unpleasant. For example, I’ve noticed that when I make green smoothies and add arugula or dandelion greens I have to temper it with other milder greens to balance out the flavors.

Once again, the key is to remain present, sampling and adjusting the flavors as you go. If you get stuck, here are some suggestions to help you achieve just the right balance: If your dish tastes bland, add some salt, sour or sweetness. If it’s too sweet, try adding a bit of salt, sour or bitter. To tone down the spice level, add some sour, sweet, or even some fat. Are you getting the idea?

#3 – Quality Ingredients – Last, although certainly not least, there is absolutely no substitute for the freshest, highest quality organic ingredients available to you. As an example, fresh picked organic berries vary greatly in flavor and nutrition from those that were harvested and shipped halfway across the country. In fact the minute you take something out of the ground the life force and the nutrition begins to degrade and the flavor starts to diminish. You can ensure the finest ingredients by purchasing organic produce that has been locally and sustainably grown. Get to know your farmers!

So, go ahead and experiment and let me know how it goes!