Playing with food has always been an interest I have had. Beginning around age four, I would beg my mom to let me create dishes for her to sample. We played a game where she would eat any dish I would prepare. Unfortunately, after I realized her excessive praise to any and every dish I created, I decided to mischievously serve her an assemblage of ridiculously mix-matched ingredients. I don’t remember her ever suggesting the game after that final creation.
As I grew, so did my love for the kitchen. This passion combined with a very limited amount of understanding on the subject left me with a lovely kitchen fire one day. I was no longer permitted near the oven for the remainder of my childhood.
I wanted to “play” with food, but I didn’t want to learn the skills necessary for long-term or even short-term success. It wasn’t until my college years that I began to delve into learning the basics of cookery, nutrition, and health. It has grown to be a great passion of mine. And, my mother gives me free reign in her kitchen these days.
If true art, according to Socrates, attends to the nature of the recipient, have principles of action and reason, and makes provision for the soul’s highest interest, cookery aimed towards these ends couldn’t be a more pure form of art. One must realize, though that not all cooking is an art.
If one creates dishes abounding in flavors, colors, textures, aromas, but disregards the nature of the recipient, or in other words, does not consider how this food with affect others physically; this dish has inadvertently escaped the realm of true art.
“Who cares?” one may ask.
Here is my story. It is one that has screamed for cookery to become an art in the fullest sense of the idea and not merely for pleasure. For nearly thirty years, I enjoyed the comforting foods my family culture provided me. While those family dishes did not lack in creative arrangement, there was a significant need in the realm of nutritional density and value. I was becoming increasingly sick by the foods I consumed. It took a radical change in my thinking about food, my understanding of food preparation and nutrition–and, ultimately the very nature of food and human biology to begin to shift my paradigm.
After many prayers, adjustments to my diet, and shifts in my thinking my system began to heal. My response to this healing released what I believed to be “true art”. I began to write, lecture, and create on the preface of health, food, and nutrition, but for the purpose of attending to the nature of the recipient (will this food help or harm?), having principles of action and reason (education for myself and others), and making provisions for the soul’s highest interest (am I enriching the very life of others by what I am sharing?).
The conviction and responsibilities of this were weighty, but the positive changes I had experienced in my own life became fuel for expressing my new found freedom.
It has been nearly half a decade of inviting others into greater health through something as simple as food. Through much education, study, and practice (not to mention a great deal of patience from my family), I have created systems to aid in lifestyle diet change, as well as, recipes that not only satisfy our need for nutrition and health, but also give enjoyment to the senses (which makes it easy to keep family members on board). It’s no secret that the food and health of our nation are in a critical state. However, there are many “hindrances” that seem to keep so many from making healthy, responsible, and “artful” food choices.
While there is a need for some education to prepare foods successfully, it can remain as simple as knowing the grammar of basic cooking. I honestly believe Chef Gusteau’s unashamed proclamation, from Disney’s animation Ratatouille, “ANYONE can cook!” Even more so, “Anyone can cook delicious, healthy, affordable, and creative meals!”
Taking into consideration life on a budget, having children that really like to eat…a lot, understanding everyday stresses that can arise with a busy lifestyle, and having a great conviction to eat the healthiest food possible, I have made a list of ways one can graciously incorporate highly nutritious food into their lifestyle. Of course this is a process and we are all at different points. There will always exist many tensions with this topic between the real and the ideal. We can move towards the ideal while still living in the real. So pick one thing and try it out. When that becomes the norm in your family, pick another one. Take your time. “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly” and attending to greater levels of health and wholeness is certainty something worth doing.
:: Add seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables
Remove processed foods even if they are organic & processed. Gradually substitute these processed foods with the fresh fruits and veggies. Add in two at a time and includes those choices in your meals and snacks. Eating seasonal, and local produce will provide you with much higher nutritional density than foods grown farther away and picked prior to natural ripening. Find a list of local farmers providing produce in your area here: http://www.localharvest.org
:: Get colorful with your produce
:: Replace GMO foods with organic foods
To make this step a bit smoother and more budget friendly here is a link to the dirty dozen and the clean 15. The dirty dozen would be the fruits and veggies you would want to switch to organic as soon as possible. The clean 15 are those you could continue to buy in a non-organic form and it not cause too much harm. To learn more about GMO’s and their negative effects on our health and environments go to http://www.theabundantdesign.com/#!resources/cdkv and http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
:: Trade high-caffeine drinks for non-chlorinated, non-fluoridated water!
While coffee in and of its self is not a bad thing the amount and the way we drink it can be a tipping point into coffee no longer serving our highest good. I know this is a sensitive subject for people so I will say this. Try to drink at least 8-10 (8 oz.) glasses of water a day. Learn the signs of dehydration and what kinds of water are actually out there. Here is a great article about it. In addition, here is an article about caffeine you might find interesting.
:: Dump the processed sugar addiction
What does sugar do to your system? Find out here: http://wellnessmama.com/15/harmful-effects-of-sugars/ Try using pure maple syrup in place of processed sugars and see the difference it makes. Here is a great recipe using maple syrup as a sweetener.
:: Choose the right animal products
I believe safe meat and dairy products come from farms that don’t use growth hormones, GMO feed, routine antibiotics, and do allow their animals to graze in open pastures, not caged in small cages or pens the majority, if not all of the time. Hint: buying meat from local farms can often times save you a substantial amount of money and provide you with confidence in the quality meat you are getting. An added bonus is supporting local farms and getting to know cool people in your community.
:: Eat home-prepared meals, as much as possible
While avoiding restaurants completely may not be an option, realizing that the most nutritious, tasty, and satisfying foods are probably the ones found right in your own home –assuming you are making wise food purchases. Unfortunately, it’s very tricky to source the ingredients found in foods while eating out. We tend to eat more on average and spend a higher price for the convenience and experience restaurants provide. However, hearing stories of what life was like only a few generations ago—the memories made in the kitchen preparing foods together –much of which came from the home garden –and enjoying long mealtimes mixed with rich fellowship around the family dinner table–has made me appreciate and value the meals enjoyed in the home. When the luxury of home-eating is not possible, using this website to track down restaurants devoted to healthy foods really helps. http://www.eatwellguide.org
:: Garden
Whether you have endless acres or an apartment balcony, there is always room to grow your own foods. Raised beds and pallet planters allow you choose where you want to grow your garden. Some creative ways to build your own planters can be found here: http://www.pinterest.com/explore/wood-pallet-planters/. For information on how to begin a garden check out these informative sites: http://www.smilinggardener.com/organic-vegetable-gardening/grow-organic-food and www.theabundantdesign.com
While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, it is a few things that have been a great deal of help in our family. Food decorates our everyday lives and times of celebration. I believe it ought to be treated appropriately and with care…while enjoyed thoroughly. Within the beautiful parameters described by Socrates, food is an art that we are gifted to partake in throughout our day; every day. Let’s roll up our sleeves, throw on an apron, and create masterpieces that nourish the lives of those around us.
-Lisa
BIO: Lisa Lubanovic lives in North Carolina with her husband and children. In addition to homeschooling, Lisa is the owner of Taste and See Foods. There you can find recipes, articles about food and health related topics, and her cookbook ‘Taste & See: 100% Paleo, Primal, Zone, Gluten-free, and Dairy-free Recipes.’ Her husband is the founder of Abundant Designs, an organization seeking to empower individuals and communities to create sustainable living environments all over the world. |
| This part is a member of our 31 Days of Playing with the Arts Series |
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