My little chef!
Cooking is primal.
Cooking is primal. I believe food is the great equalizer. Everyone needs to eat and everyone gets an emotional reaction from eating.
We remember scenes from our childhood revolving around food. The astonishment of how Dad’s steak is always grilled to perfection or when you were first married and your husband lovingly ate your burnt casserole. (Sorry Honey!)
Food brings back memories of laughter, holidays, and maybe even unhappy events like not having enough or squabbles over spilled milk.
We are also social creatures, craving connection in an ever evolving technical world and food is the one staple that is not going to change.
It is the connection to past traditions and a beautiful platform for new ones waiting to be created. The perfect excuse to invite your favorite people over and show them love through the wafts of decadent aromas, nourishment in their full bellies and hopefully a little bit of warmth in their hearts.
Cooking with the family
This is probably why I love real food.
Food like Grandma used to cook.
With vegetables and herbs straight from the garden and meals made from scratch. How she could ‘throw together’ ingredients and practically feed an army? It is still a mystery to me! And we all would sit around the table, say a blessing, and eat together. Chatting wildly as we devoured her delicious meal. Grandpa imposing on the boys, ‘Well Fella, you better go get some more!’ (the girls with full plates were still talking of course!).
Nourish.
I love this word because as a mother it is so all-encompassing. We are gifted with this innate desire to want to see our children nourished, mind, body, and soul. That their bodies will be healthy and strong so it can be a beautiful vessel, taking them through life. We want their mind to be sharp and able to process the moments of life with ease and capability. And finally the hope is that because both of these aspects are nourished, then our children will have the mindfulness to pursue their individual path with open-hearts.
All three facets balanced harmoniously so that our children can thrive joyously.
Graham stealing cookie dough!
Everything is an exchange of energy. Even cooking.
We get the energy we need from the food we ingest. The quality of the food determines the energy we will get from it.
Terrible food equals terrible energy. Nourishing food equals high healthy energy.
I am not a doctor but I feel it in my own body, my own life and I can see it in my kids too. I believe in life you always get what you pay for, pay now or pay later. And I don’t know about you but when it comes to my kids, later is not good enough. I want them to have the best today, right now.
But this all starts with me, and how I choose to nourish them today, hopefully teaching them how to live a life of wellness later.
While I feel passionately about what goes into my families body I feel equally determined to find recipes that they will actually eat (easier said than done!). So here is my collection of favorite family meals, prepping bundles, and snacks to keep your family healthy, well fed, and Mama sane! (I don’t know about you but the simpler the better works best for me!)