CHAPTER ONE:
The Yogic Kitchen
QUIET THE MIND, AND THE SOUL WILL SPEAK.
Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati
Bringing mindful principles into your kitchen is a natural way to live a more engaged and healthful life. Food is nourishment, and the whole act of eating – of feeding our bodies and minds, and of observing and valuing every item we consume – is a naturally mindful activity. It is no accident that ancient cultures have built entire traditions around food. Even in Western cultures, Thanksgiving and harvest festivals are centred around appreciation for the annual crop. At their roots, these celebrations are about respect and gratitude for nutritious food – and ultimately, respect for life.
How we eat is equally as important as what we eat. Giving our time and attention to the acts of selecting, preparing, presenting and eating food helps to create a deeper connection with the food that nourishes us, leading to a more profound awareness of food as essential to our well-being, rather than simply seeing it as fuel. This chapter will help you start to bring the principles of mindfulness and gratitude into your kitchen.
GETTING STARTED
Here are a few basic ways you can start to think about food more mindfully:
VEGAN?
Some readers will be vegan; others won’t be. The recipes that follow are plant-based options to introduce into your diet if you wish to increase the ratio of vegetable-based meals and snacks you eat, while boosting your connection with and respect for plant foods.
BON APPÉTIT!
Take a leaf out of the French book of living: the French pride themselves on the length of their meals; eating is a valuable, social and shared act of love, respect and togetherness. Next time you have a meal, be prepared to spend a little longer really appreciating your food rather than rushing through it.
BENEFITS OF MINDFUL EATING
The merits of mindful eating extend far beyond the nutritional value of eating healthy food. A myriad of sensory wonders is waiting to be discovered!
NOURISHED BODY, NOURISHED SOUL
Fitness gurus will talk about calories in and calories out. And while it is important to balance the energy we consume with the energy we expend for weight control, this reduces the whole ceremony of eating to an equation.
Instead, yoga gurus propound the virtues of seeing food as sustenance for both body and soul. Eating food that nourishes and energizes your body also nourishes and energizes the mind. Showing respect to our food is also respecting ourselves. Eating mostly plant-based foods, with a spirit of gratitude, demonstrates compassion for the earth and responsibility for our own lives. This ties in with the yoga principles of karuna (compassion), maitri (kindness), aparigraha (simplicity), brahmacharia (wisdom), tapas (self-discipline), santosha (contentment) and ahimsa (non-violence), which collectively contribute to dharma (purpose or virtue).
Aparigraha is a core concept that we can apply to our relationship with food, for it embraces the notion of moderation in what and how much we consume, while cleansing our bodies from the inside. With brahmacharia, the focus is on inner peace and enlightenment, living a spiritual rather than materialistic life. Ahimsa embodies the idea of being gentle and not killing other beings; santosha involves being satisfied with what we have, rather than striving for more; and tapas requires a clear life plan and way of practising, leading to a disciplined life.
PORTION SIZES
With the world population increasing, it’s more important than ever that we demonstrate our consideration and consume only what we need. This approach is not only kinder to our fellow humans, but it also engenders more respect for the earth itself. Eating slower and more mindfully, chewing each mouthful more times to aid digestion, goes hand in hand with a subtle reduction in portion sizes and quantity consumed. Eating fast means we eat beyond our appetites, as the brain signal that alerts us that we’re no longer hungry takes up to 20 minutes – and in that time we have probably already eaten too much. Smaller portions of nourishing food can help avoid overindulgence and be gentler on our bodies and the world around us.
ARE YOU REALLY HUNGRY?
It can be easy to mistake feelings of anxiety, stress or boredom for hunger. Many of us graze out of habit, or binge when feeling stressed or self-critical. With mindful eating, we can learn to differentiate between genuine hunger and unhelpful cravings.
Overeating is a big issue in our world, and eating with awareness helps us to reset our internal indicator that tells us we’re hungry or we’ve had enough. Similarly, we can avoid or address undereating by eating mindfully since this way of life increases respect for and understanding of our relationship with food.
One piece of wisdom we would all do well to heed is the Japanese ethos of hara hachi bu, of eating until we are 80 per cent full. Hara hachi bu originated in Okinawa, whose citizens have relatively long life expectancies and low rates of heart disease, cancer and stroke.
If you find yourself reaching for a snack, or going back for seconds, take a few moments to consider first whether you really are hungry. It can be a good idea to drink a glass of water, or take a short stroll in the fresh air first. You may find that “hunger” miraculously disappears.
ICED TEA
As soon as spring arrives, I look forward to a daily ritual of iced tea. The tang of lemon and the freshness of mint combined with the coolness of the tea is revitalizing. Makes: 2 litres
DID YOU KNOW?
Matcha, green and black teas are all packed full of polyphenol antioxidants – micronutrients that can help aid digestion, help with weight management and ward off diseases.
Ingredients
Method
In a heatproof jug, make your favourite black tea by infusing the tea in the freshly boiled water until it’s brewed to your preferred strength. Add honey or agave nectar and stir in to the tea until it’s dissolved, if you like it sweetened. Once cooled, chill overnight.
Remove chilled tea from fridge. Add freshly grated zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice and stir. Serve with lemon slices, fresh mint and ice cubes.
ICED MINT, MATCHA AND LIME INFUSION
As above, but with two generous handfuls or 60 g fresh peppermint leaves instead of black tea, and 1 tsp matcha, served with fresh mint and lime wedges, or mint leaf ice cubes (see page 14) that unfurl with a flourish in your glass as the ice melts. Refreshing and super healthy!
ICED GREEN/JASMINE TEA WITH LEMON BALM
As above, served with lemon balm – a sweet-scented member of the mint family, traditionally used to enhance your mood and increase cognitive function – to cleanse and give clarity throughout the day.
ICED HERBAL TEA
If you don’t have fresh ingredients to hand you can always brew your favourite herbal tea from shop-bought bags or loose-leaf blends and chill for an iced version. You could be creative by experimenting with different garnishes.
HERBAL ICE CUBES
DID YOU KNOW?
Mint is high in vitamin A, while berries, citrus fruits and edible flowers all contain vitamin C. Freezing them fresh preserves the nutrients.
What could be more mindful than watching beautiful ice cubes melt and swirl to release the flavour and aroma of fresh herbs?
Makes: 1 ice-cube tray of cubes
Ingredients
Method
Arrange leaves in ice-cube tray. Fill with water and freeze. These herbs work well in both sweet and savoury drinks. You can experiment to discover your personal preferences.
BERRY ICE CUBES
Try berries or fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or redcurrants, or mini slices or zest of lemon, orange, lime or kiwi. Or combinations, such as lemon and mint. These can lift a simple glass of water or juice into something fragrant and beautiful, or add them to your iced tea for added complexity of flavour.
FLORAL ICE CUBES
Edible petals, such as nasturtium or rose work well, or you could try heads of camomile, cornflower, elderflower, dandelion, rosebay willowherb or clover. Prettiness in a glass! Or pop a floral ice cube on top of freshly served soup for a surprise contrast of hot and cold and marvel as it melts.
Wild garlic flowers are perfect for this.
TIP
When grating zest, rotate the fruit with each downward stroke to avoid grating the bitter white pith.
A STRESS-FREE KITCHEN
Uncluttered space is a stress-free, happier space, and nowhere is this truer than in the kitchen. As the place where we prepare food, congregate and spend much of our time, the kitchen – or the spot in your home where you eat, if it’s not at a kitchen table – is the central core of our home and is therefore a special place. Making it a calming place where you can feel relaxed and joyful will create the ideal conditions for mindful eating. Clear out anything that doesn’t need to be in the kitchen and take time to consider how you could make it feel like a lovely, positive space where you can enjoy all aspects of your food. If you enjoy cooking but are hindered by your equipment, perhaps you could save up for some decent basic equipment, such as a sharp knife, good-quality chopping boards and utensils. Or perhaps your kitchen just needs to be tidied up and better arranged to make sure cooking is always a pleasure and you know where to find everything. Arrange your food cupboards in the simplest, most intuitive way, with things that you use most frequently the easiest to access. Or maybe you just want to brighten up your kitchen by bringing in some houseplants or a vase of fresh flowers for the dining table.
SHOPPING
If we want to embrace a mindful larder, we need to look at the ingredients we stock our cupboards with. Buying fresh, organic fruit and vegetables from farm shops, greengrocers and delicatessens, and grains, nuts, pulses, beans, herbs and spices from health food stores can be a joyful experience in itself. It is also nice to know we are supporting businesses we respect. On the other hand, for many people, the convenience of a supermarket is hard to beat. Find a balance that works for you and your schedule.
Making your own food, rather than depending on processed foods, can help us live a more natural, mindful life, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Eating vegetables and fruits in season helps us develop a deeper understanding of the earth’s capacity to feed us throughout the year, and can make us very mindful about our menu choices. It also means the food has probably travelled a much shorter distance to get to our plates.
Cleanse your house of chemical cleaning products. You don’t need them in your life. Biodegradable alternatives such as vinegar, baking soda, soda crystals and castile soap, plus essential oils for natural scent, do just as good a cleaning job without damaging the environment and human health.
BLUE SPIRULINA CHIA DETOX
Is it a drink? Is it a breakfast? Is it a dessert? You can decide for yourself. This super-healthy blue treat is packed with nutrients and looks almost too good to consume. Take your time to really appreciate its wonders. Between them, blue spirulina and chia seeds are bursting with healthy vitamins and minerals. Makes: 1 glass/pudding
Ingredients
Method
Use a single serving glass or jar for this recipe. Take one of the figs and cut four cross sections, then place the slices of fig vertically against the sides of the glass for decoration. Place the seeds and ½ tsp blue spirulina in a bowl and mix together with a spoon before spooning into the serving vessel, taking care not to dislodge the fig slices. Set aside to stand.
Blend the almond or oat milk, the remaining fig and ¼ tsp blue spirulina until smooth. Pour half the milk blend over the blue spirulina-coated chia seeds and stir until mixed. Chill for 1 hour until set.
Gently pour over the remaining milk blend to the top of the glass. Top with fresh fruit, such as raspberries and redcurrants, and enjoy observing the flavours and textures. You can drink the top half and eat the lower section with a long spoon. Chill if not eating immediately.
VARIATIONS
Use coconut milk (and a little cold water if too thick) instead of the almond or oat milk, and decorate with coconut shavings. You could try other fruits instead of figs if you wish.
DID YOU KNOW?
Despite their tiny size, chia seeds are a powerhouse of nutrients, containing omega-3, omega-6, calcium, iron, zinc, fibre, antioxidants and protein. They are considered excellent for lowering cholesterol, reducing your risk of heart disease and building muscle.
Blue spirulina is rich in minerals, carotenoids and antioxidants. It is also high in B vitamins which can boost energy levels. An excellent source of protein, particularly for a vegan or someone on a plant-based diet, blue spirulina also contains chlorophyll, which helps to regulate the digestive system and promote healthy gut bacteria.
ISKIATE, OR CHIA FRESCA
Iskiate is a traditional Mexican drink consumed by distance runners to boost energy.
Makes: 1 glass
Ingredients
Method
Place the water in a glass. Stir the seeds into the water, add in the lime juice and agave nectar and stir until dissolved. Take time to appreciate how much energy these simple ingredients can give you.
BANANA SUPER-SEED BOOST
A banana-based smoothie that will boost your energy any time of day.
Makes: 2 glasses/jars of smoothie
Ingredients
Method
Blend ingredients together until smooth. The banana gives it an almost fluffy consistency. Pour into glasses or jars and serve.
VARIATIONS
If you like coconut, you could add 2 tbsp coconut milk or coconut yoghurt. Alternatively, 2 tbsp almond yoghurt gives a slight marzipan flavour. A handful of blueberries or strawberries would also be a good addition.
OPEN YOUR MIND TO NEW FLAVOURS
We all have preferences when it comes to food, but a world of taste adventure awaits if you are willing to explore beyond your comfort zone from time to time.
With a spirit of exploration, you can choose to adopt an open-minded approach to tasting new foods. You may surprise yourself. For example, you may consider tofu a savoury ingredient. But why not be open to trying it in sweet dishes, such as chocolate mousse? An attitude of mindful curiosity will help you to become more adventurous in your food choices. However, if you repeatedly try something and still don’t like it, accept that this particular food isn’t to your personal preference, and substitute for something you like instead.
DID YOU KNOW?
The world’s second most abundant fruit after tomatoes, bananas are high in fibre, potassium, manganese, and vitamins C and B6. They are also high in fructose.
Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil provide a particularly good source of omega-3 fatty acids, beneficial to mental and eye health.
Beautiful sun-kissed apricots contain calcium, which strengthens your bones and preserves nerve function. They also include magnesium, boron, copper, potassium, betacarotene, iron and vitamin C and are a good source of fibre.
A WASTEFUL WORLD
Did you know that in the Western world, we typically throw away nearly a third of our food? Anyone who lived through rationing emerged with a respect for food and a resourcefulness to use every scrap of food and throw out nothing. Fast-forward to our modern world, with increased material wealth and cheaper food in Western nations, and we have considerable food waste sitting uncomfortably alongside considerable poverty. If we wish to adopt a more mindful approach to eating, it’s time to re-learn ways to greatly reduce our food waste.
WASTE-REDUCING CHALLENGE
Get a notepad and draw three columns, headed “week one”, “week two” and “week three”. Note down every piece of food that you throw out over the next three weeks. See if you can cut right down on your waste by week three.
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Week One __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ |
Week Two __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ |
Week Three __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ |
KITCHEN AND WASTE-SAVING TIPS
Make a note of your food waste. Are there any items that you consistently throw out? If so, adjust your buying habits and buy less next time. (Shopping at refilleries/zero-waste shops or greengrocers often means you can buy in smaller quantities, rather than being forced to buy prepackaged amounts of an item.)
Consider your shopping habits. Do you do daily mini shops with specific meals in mind, or a fortnightly supermarket shop? Is your way of shopping working for you?
Don’t be drawn into two-for-one offers on food that will just go off and end up being thrown out, unless you will definitely use the items.
Store apples, pears, carrots, celery and beetroot in the fridge to keep them fresh for longer.
Plan a weekly menu and buy the required items accordingly. Notice if this results in less waste.
Use tired fruit in crumbles, pies, smoothies, juices, chutneys and jams. Berries that aren’t going to be eaten can be frozen.
If you buy a loaf of bread, freeze half of it straight away (pre-sliced, if you prefer) and take it out a couple of days later.
For fresh herbs and chillies, consider growing your own in jars on your windowsill (see page 173). It will deepen your appreciation for them and provide super-fresh ingredients for your meals.
For fruit and vegetables, buying them in smaller amounts, fresh, at least once a week will result in tastier, more nutrient-rich food.
We all have our staples that we always like to have on hand. Keep a “master” list of these so you always remember to stock up on them.
Store potatoes, onions and garlic in a cool, dark cupboard. If any of them sprout, you can plant them in a container of compost and grow some more (see Chapter 7).
Line the bottom of your fridge’s vegetable drawer with a couple of pieces of kitchen towel or scrap paper. This will soak up any moisture, keeping your veg and salad at their best.
Use reusable food containers to make your own salads to bring to work instead of buying them in tubs – you are cutting down on plastic waste and using up items that might otherwise be thrown out.
If you don’t have a particular ingredient for a recipe, substitute something similar rather than shopping for more food when your kitchen is fully stocked. You will quickly learn which substitutions work and which don’t.
When putting away your groceries, don’t just place all the new fruit and veg on top of the old in your fridge’s vegetable drawer – remove older items and plan to use them the same day. Place your new veg behind your older veg so you can see both and use the older bits first.
Be creative with your leftovers. Use them in soups, stews and stir fries or search online for “leftover [whatever ingredients you have to hand] recipes”.
Don’t throw out stale bread (but do throw out mouldy bread – mouldy bread should never be eaten). Instead, blitz it in the blender and freeze – it makes a lovely breadcrumb topping for oven bakes. Alternatively, cut into cubes and fry with olive oil, salt and herbs for tasty croutons.
Leave old apples, chopped in two, out on a bird table or dish for garden birds. Apple cores and watermelon skins, flesh side up, will also be gratefully pecked.
GOLDEN CHAI
For a quick cheat version, simply heat your favourite milk with 1 tsp ground turmeric and a small pinch of cinnamon, stir and enjoy. I like to drink it in an Irish coffee glass.
Earthy turmeric, cinnamon and ginger lend this warming drink a wonderful flavour and colour. Simply bliss!
Makes: 1 mug or glass, with extra to top up
Ingredients
Method
Place all the ingredients except the tea in a saucepan and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Remove from hob and add the tea. Allow to steep for 3–5 minutes.
Pour through a tea strainer or small sieve and serve. If you used a cinnamon stick, pop it into your mug or glass.
A common ingredient in many Asian cuisines, the finger-sized tuber turmeric gives a vivid golden colour to food and is being studied for its possible use in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, due to its anti-inflammatory component, curcumin. Protect your work surfaces when preparing turmeric as it can stain.
YOGA BREAK
Yoga goes hand in hand with mindfulness, and can help promote physical energy, mental clarity and emotional contentment. Here is a posture to help you focus your awareness on your digestion.
CAT, MARJARYASANA – COW, BITILASANA
Cat pose (Marjaryasana) is often paired with Cow pose (Bitilasana) for a gentle sequence. This is ideal for focusing your awareness on your tummy. When flowing from one into the other, the poses help to gently stretch and release any tension in the abdomen and back. With our work and lifestyles, many of us have a tendency to hunch forward for much of the day. Cat – Cow helps to counteract that, gently stretching the abdomen, in turn allowing our digestive organs to operate optimally. Trainer and author Joe Yoon believes Cat – Cow is superior to all other asanas for overall mobility and unwinding, working the vertebrae, chest, shoulders and pelvis. You can perform this before you eat, or any time you have a few minutes to spare.
THE ORGANIC QUESTION
“Organic” has become a term tainted with misunderstanding. Organic food is seen by many as an elitist luxury. However, our ancestors ate an organic diet from the dawn of human existence, until modern pesticides swept into food production. Even the poorest crofters ate a wholly organic diet.
Organic food is food that has been grown naturally, without the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides and, in the case of livestock, without the routine use of antibiotics. Non-organic farming uses pesticides which pollute soil and water and make their way into our food chain, damaging the environment, biodiversity, human and animal health. According to the Soil Association, food tests have found multiple pesticide residues on many non-organically grown foods. Fruits, crop-sprayed with chemical compounds, are some of the worst affected. The best way to minimize our exposure to pesticides is to buy organic where possible. Eating organic food is a natural extension of the principles of yoga and Ayurveda, respecting purity, simplicity, freshness and non-violence. It’s not always available or affordable to each of us, but it’s worth taking a good look at what we are putting into our bodies where we can.
£ $ € ¥
It’s true: organic food is more expensive. But compare a fresh, juicy organic tomato with a watery tasteless one and there’s no comparison in either taste or nutrients. We in fact spend less today on food than at any other time in human history, as expenditure relative to income. Food is cheaper than ever before, because intensive non-organic agriculture has enabled farmers to produce greater yields. We think food is expensive, but that’s because we put it lower down our list of priorities than, say, holidays, clothes or gadgets.
Think about how much of a priority you’d like to place on your food and your health, compared with other things in your life. If you conclude that your health is essential, then prioritize by introducing some quality, natural, organic food items instead of processed, intensively farmed foods. You will have to balance this with affordability.
You could begin by converting to just a few organic items, if increasing your weekly food bill is too daunting or simply not affordable. Some of the best items to pick are carrots, apples, potatoes, grapes, berries and soft fruits, since buying organic means you won’t have to peel them and are therefore benefiting from their full nutritional value, while simultaneously reducing waste. Organic carrots and potatoes in particular are relatively affordable. A second step might be organic oats, rice and your favourite milk substitute.
MINDFUL TIP
Think about what foods make you feel good and what foods don’t. We’re often tempted by unhealthy snacks, but end up feeling worse after we’ve eaten them. Make a conscious decision to buy more of the foods that give you energy and vitality, and cut those that make you feel worse out of your weekly shop. If it’s not in the cupboard, you’re not going to reach for it! You’ll find something nurturing instead. With repetition, this becomes habit – you will begin to automatically opt for healthy snacks as you realize how much better they make you feel.
Start a food journal, with two columns as shown. Note down foods that make you feel good in the first column, and any that make you feel depleted in the second. Stock up on the first list, and eliminate the second.
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HELLO! (FOODS TO KEEP) __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ |
GOODBYE! (FOODS TO CUT) __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ |