Love Thy Food: An Intimate Traverse into Mindful Eating

By Hannah Sforcina and Adam Morris

Harbouring a hankering for lemon tart, an intoxicated tomato or a wormy salad? Or perhaps a decadent chocolate cheesecake, uncooked and dairy-free, is more to your liking? Whatever titillates your tastebuds, you are more than likely to find a thing or three to inspire salivation within the pages of this scrumptiously quirky book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9780987450104

Book preview

I. Before we begin

Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.

Muriel Rukeyser

These are measures, ingredients and sourcing/cooking/sensory philosophies used or referred to throughout this book, followed by a few comments on where to find some of your base ingredients.

Philosophies and style notes

Be sustainable when you cook. Whether using plant or animal products, try to use everything. For example, you can make lemon zest powder from the dehydrated skins of juiced lemons or a hearty stock from the bones of a roasted chicken. Aim for zero waste. Compost any scraps or feed them to your chooks.

Source your ingredients ethically. As specific examples, palm oil may be the product of cleared forests, which impacts on animal habitats (eg. the orangutan in Indonesia)i; cacao (or cocoa) may be farmed and harvested with the use of child, forced or trafficked labourii. Buying fair trade goes some way to addressing ethical sourcing from overseas, and don't be scared to approach your suppliers and manufacturers directly about sources for their ingredients.

Be present with your food. Food that is cooked, accepted and eaten with love and attention tastes better and is better for you. When you eat in a good mood, your body is better prepared for digestioniii. And when you know what your choices mean for your environment and your body, you can make more conscious decisions about how and what you eat.

Taste your food before you serve it. I used to smell my food without tasting, then I realised that you can't smell salt.

Use organic produce where possible. It tastes better, confers more resilience to you, and does not have the same pesticide levels as conventionally grown produce/products. Seasonal produce is most sustainable; it naturally requires less pest control, is more plentiful and, hence, costs less for way more flavour.

Know where your produce comes from. Local is awesome because its nutrients are usually better preserved, but you'll need to ask your supplier about storage conditions, how many miles it has actually travelled and under what conditions to be certain.

Common fruits and vegetables can be superfoods, depending on how they are grown, stored and transported. Superfoods are just incredibly nutrient dense foods.

If using meat, source free-range, organic, grass fed and preferably biodynamic. These meats taste better and are available from good butchers, and you can often find nitrate free ham and bacon from farmers' markets.

If you are not eating meat, you may want to choose cheeses that use animal free rennet.

If using eggs, buy organic and free range eggs – or keep your own chickens. When chickens are treated well, their eggs are more nutritiousiv, and you do not bear such a burden of suffering when you eat them.

Sesame seeds in my recipes are unhulled, for their higher calcium content.

Use vegetarian stock and stock cubes for a flavour and no harm to animals. It is possible to buy chicken-style stock cubes that contain no MSG and no chicken.

Experiment for your palate and needs. Even the recipes that are not vegan, nut or gluten free can be modified to be so, hence they are not marked in any special way.

Make the recipes you feel comfortable with, and don't be scared to substitute. Most meat-based recipes can be converted to vegetarian, and cooked recipes can be converted to raw. For example, tempeh can often be substituted for chicken, mushrooms can make a good red meat substitute in sauces, and sesame or sunflower seeds can often be used in place of tree nuts.

Equipment and measures

Standard measures are Australian – 250mL for a cup; 30mL for an ounce; 20mL for a tablespoon; 5mL for a teaspoon.

In terms of recipe shorthand, 'tsp' refers to 'teaspoon' and 'Tbsp' refers to 'tablespoon'.

I own a Thermomix which I use for any recipe calling for 'processing'. If you don't have a Thermomix, you can use a food processor or good quality blender. Your desired consistency may just take a little more time, but you'll get there.

You don't need much fancy equipment to make these recipes. In fact, I still whisk dressings with a fork, I sprout in jars and, until last year, I didn't even own a citrus juicer (I used a fork and strainer). You can even substitute a clothes rack and cloth in the summer sun for a dehydrator if you happen to have time and sunshine working in your favour.

I use some French terms in my recipes. For an extensive list of terms, you can scour the Internet, or take a look at: http://www.easy-french-food.com/french-cooking-terms.html

Other terms that may be new to you

Biodynamic: Biodynamic farming aims to harmonise the people, plants, animals and soil of a farm in a holistic and self-sufficient way. If a product is biodynamic, it is also organic.

Foodologist: A Foodologist is someone who eats well, researches and respects food, and conducts foodly experiments for the absolute love of it – and can't help but talk about food at pretty much every waking moment that they're not sampling, studying or experimenting with food.

Organic: Organic foods are produced without the use of artificial chemicals (like pesticides, herbicides, artificial fertilisers, growth hormones, antibiotics), ionizing radiation, food additives or genetic modification.

Locavore: Someone who eats as much of their food as possible from local sources.

Mindful eating: Mindful eating is about understanding where your food comes from, how it is sourced/processed/prepared, and the impact it has on your body, mind and environment. It is also about using all of your senses in the eating experience and knowing how to get the most out of it, as well as understanding what you want from your food.

Phytochemicals: These are naturally occurring plant chemicals. Often, phytochemicals exhibit antioxidant or anticancer properties.

Raw: Raw means uncooked, unheated, unprocessed and organic. Nothing ingested is heated past 115-118°F (46-48°C) in the preparation, as much as possible, in order to preserve the enzyme and vitamin content of the food. Raw food is also known as living food.

Special ingredients

Welcome to my world! I use a wide variety of ingredients in my recipes. Some of the more exotic items that have at times found their way into my fridge, freezer and pantry include:

agave syrup - the nectar of the agave plant, which is native to Mexico – and, yes, the same plant from which tequila is made. Although sweeter than honey and sugar, it has a milder flavour. Note that this sweetener has recently come into question over its processing and healthfulness. If you can get hold of it, miel de agave (traditionally produced) is best;

apple cider vinegar - this vinegar is made from fermented apple juice, so it contains all the goodness of apples with the added benefits of enzymes and organic acids. Proponents of apple cider vinegar claim that it assists weight loss, and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure;

asafoetida - an onion-like seasoning (usually powdered) that comes from the Middle East. Asafoetida is actually the stinky sap of a plant that is related to carrots, parsley, dill and fennel. You can buy it in powdered form in Australia, just be aware that it is blended with gum Arabica, which contains gluten;

barley grass powder - barley grass is a nutrient-dense food that is rich in chlorophyll and harvested young to maintain its high concentrations of multiple vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes;

belachan - also known as belacan, ngapi, terasi. Fermented shrimp paste used as a fishy flavour enhancer in many south-eastern Asian dishes;

cacao - raw (unroasted) cocoa. The stuff that chocolate is made of. Cacao contains theobromine and is high in antioxidants, iron, Vitamin C, magnesium and manganese;

coconut butter – this is coconut oil in most people's books, however some make the distinction that coconut butter uses the coconut flesh, as opposed to pressing out its oils. As with all oils, you should buy it cold pressed and virgin;

coconut sugar - a decent alternative to both raw and palm sugars, coconut sugar is made by boiling coconut blossoms and evaporating the liquid from the resultant mixture;

creme fraiche - a French sour cream, less sour, less viscous and higher in fat than American sour cream;

flaxseed - also known as linseed. Flaxseed is high in B vitamins, fibre, phytochemicals, magnesium and manganese, low in carbohydrates, and prized for its high omega 3 and omega 6 oils, however these volatile fats can only be preserved at low temperatures;

garam masala - an Asian spice blend, ground from as few as four ingredients (at its most basic – pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seeds) or more than 40.

goji berries – aka wolfberries; a red berry found in southeast Europe and Asia. Goji berries are known as superfoods for their high levels of vitamin C, amino acids and carotenoids, as well as many othernutrients;

gorgonzola - a creamy Italian cheese with a bite – thanks to its veins of blue mould;

kailan - Chinese broccoli. Broccolini is actually a hybrid of kalian and broccoli;

kale - related to cabbage, kale is an excellent source of carotenoids, iron, calcium, and vitamins C and K. Cavolo nero (also known as black cabbage, black kale, dinosaur kale and Tuscan kale), is the darkest green of the kales and is exceptionally high in nutrients;

kang kong - a relative of sweet potato, also known as water spinach or Chinese spinach, this leafy vegetable is high in iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C;

kelp noodles - raw food product made from kelp and sodium alginate, an extract of brown algae;

kohlrabi - an alien-looking vegetable that tastes something like a milder cross between broccoli-stem and radish. It is high in vitamin C;

lucuma powder – gold of the Incas; a Peruvian fruit that is high in calcium, iron, phosphorus and Vitamin C;

maca powder - ground from a heart-shaped root vegetable that is native to Peru [don't so many great things come from Peru?], maca powder tastes a bit like malted milk powder. It is renowned for balancing female hormones – and for raising the male libido;

nasturtium – ok, so not from my cupboard, but from my garden. Nasturtiums are high in Vitamin C and are a natural antibiotic against upper respiratory tract and urinary tract infections;

nori - type of seaweed. I keep other types of seaweed in my pantry, including kelp (noodles), wakame, karengo, dulse and spirulina. Seaweeds are high in iodine, iron, calcium and a swathe of