Eating In by Design: The Essential Guidebook to Redesign Personal & Planetary Health from Home

By Callie Cavanaugh, Heather Boisseau and Eloise Nelson

Have you ever really explored your relationship with food? Do you struggle to eat as well as you think you should? Do you find food shopping and cooking a chore? If you are not clear about your relationship with food you probably find it easier to get meals to-go or eat out. In this book, Callie asks us to take a deeper, more insightful look at

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eat In Media DBA Nonna Eats LLC
• Release date: Aug 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9798218062385

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Eating In by Design

The Essential Guidebook to Redesign Personal & Planetary Health from Home

Callie Cavanaugh

© 2022 Eat In. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 by Callie Cavanaugh

The advice herein is not intended to replace the services of trained health professionals, or be a substitute for medical advice. You are advised to consult with your health care professional with regard to matters relating to your health, and in particular regarding matters that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions contact [e-mail].

Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

Eat In Media

[e-mail]

calliecavanaugh.com

First Edition: September 2022

ISBN 979-8-218-06238-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022915912

Printed in the United States of America

Cover and internal design: Callie Cavanaugh

Edited by: Heather Boisseau

Photo courtesy of David Slayden

The Eat In Method™

To the Inherent and Eternal Power of Food

Table of Contents

Part I The Basics

Introduction

Method

Part II Build Your Personal Pantry

Clear

Organize

Build

Part III Design Your Ideal Meals

Plan

Shop

Cook

Part IV Create Connection at Mealtime

Eat

Conclusion

Resources

Acknowledgments

Index

Foreword

Eating In by Design is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn to be an artist in the kitchen. Callie’s inspiring life led her to write this extraordinary book, which she shares using her down to earth approach. Her expertise as a chef and designer teaches us new ways to experience ourselves through a deeper connection with food, nourishment, and health. The Eat In Method is a step-by-step program that begins with cleaning and organizing your kitchen and leads you down the path to becoming an artisan chef. You’ll learn the most efficient way to set up your kitchen and pantry with the essential items needed to be a culinary virtuoso, always prepared to whip up beautiful, mouth-watering food. Complete shopping lists, modular recipes and menu plans are all included. Callie’s food preparation methods show you how to make delicious meals that help you eliminate waste, save money, and support our planet. Preparing food at home and sharing it with family and friends is an act of love and nourishes us on a deep emotional level. I encourage you to join Callie on this powerful journey, and discover proactive steps to enhance your health, your family’s health, and the health of the planet we love!

Eloise Nelson

Holistic Nutrition, Ph. D.

Part I

The Basics

The following chart introduces The Eat In Method

Introduction

We plan our lives around food. How we eat is, inherently, how we live. It is an extension of our culture, traditions, and health. Food paints the picture of our land. It is a celebration of the seasons, the earth, where we came from. In an ideal world, the dinner table is a source of connection in our homes — the place where we come together with those we love.

Eating today

But today, many of us eat at the kitchen counter, from a drive through, or out of a wrapper. 20% of American food is eaten in cars. Research suggests we spend, on average, over seven hours looking at a computer screen daily. Those seven hours are vital time we could be connecting with one another. We pack our grocery carts with fancy superfoods and elixirs in search of feeling better, yet nothing satisfies. The wellness industry was estimated to be over $4.4 trillion in 2019, and is expected to grow to over $6 trillion by 2025. At the same time one third of our food is wasted, which equates to 4% of our global greenhouse gas emissions. Our hunt for convenience is costing us our individual, collective, and planetary well-being.

My story

My love for food was sparked at a young age. I’ll never forget the day my dad served a bowl of warm milk with crunchy pasta and floating pockets of powdered cheese. His attempt at making mac and cheese was the first and last time he ever tried to cook for me. In that moment, my hunt for food was born. At age five, when most of my friends were playing with dolls or riding bikes, I found myself experimenting in the kitchen, making concoctions out of all sorts of foods, and creating a cooking show Callie Cooks Cajun for my friends and loved ones. While most of the food I served was inedible, my friends and family loved the show. These were my first experiences of bringing people together with food, and I have been doing so ever since.

On my hunt for food, the next logical step was to go to culinary school. This time my concoctions, with a few exceptions, were edible. To my surprise, culinary school wasn’t only about cooking. It was a cultural, political, and environmental experience. We visited a variety of farms from industrial feedlots to conventional berry patches and quarter acre organic plots. I learned how many of these farmers only survived with government subsidies.

The biggest impact was studying abroad in a small Italian hilltop town called Orvieto. I experienced the highest quality food and oldest cooking traditions. I was astounded by the way the locals grew, cared for, and cooked their food. Meals in Orvieto were simple, genuine, and they lasted for hours. Dining was an art, and food and cooking were a religion committed to slowing down, decompressing, and connecting with others. This forever changed how I cooked and approached food; it could be simple, stunning, and social all at the same time.

A new way of life

I came back to the States feeling homesick for a place that still felt like a dream. I observed the cultural difference in how we ate — fast, fearful, and gluttonous — and yearned to be back in Italy. After experiencing this other way of life I realized, so plainly, what our fast paced modern world was costing us. Stress was overtaking our systems and leading to a number of health diseases and concerns. We were desperate for connection, yet still looking to our screens for a solution. My time in Orvieto had sparked an inner revolution to reclaim the art of eating for our culture as a whole. Food was no longer just a quick fix for flavor or fuel. I got a glimpse of what it could be.

The way forward

After culinary school I managed a variety of food establishments to get a taste of the blood, sweat, and tears — the reality of the industry. From a deli to a general store, to a restaurant to a catering operation the common denominators were hard work, long hours, and little pay. Behind the scenes I got a close up view of the astronomical waste, poor food quality, and challenging working conditions. Hours of reading and years of research later, I learned that the waste was killing our planet, the ingredients were killing our people, and the farmers and cooks feeding us could barely afford to feed themselves. I reaffirmed my original hypothesis of a broken food system, and wondered how to solve it. I was left with the desire to hack the system, and find a way to provide opportunities for talented individuals with whom I’ve worked with over the years.

Back to school

So I went back to school to learn design thinking, a problem solving approach mainly used for digital products. Moving from kitchens to the world of technology was a tectonic shift. I received a Masters in Interaction Design which taught me how to think about systems, design cool logos, and create provocative websites. I went from working daily on my feet and with my hands to churning out wireframes on a computer twelve hours a day. Most of my peers went on to work at top tech companies. I was desperate to get off the screen and connect with real people.

NonnaEats

In 2017 I started a supper club that turned into a business called NonnaEats, bringing people together with food through intimate dining experiences. We cooked everywhere, from my tiny apartment to grand homes, to open fields and ocean beaches. We prepared everything from gourmet takeaway meals to eight course tasting menus. I cooked, served, designed, and worked with countless chefs and brands to bring their stories to life. While some days felt like a success, others felt like a disaster. But the common thread was the memories and comments from diners who remembered the tastes, smells and conversations for months. They were hungry for community and beautiful food — just like me. Humans have been gathering at the dinner table for centuries, we’d just lost sight of the importance and spirit of doing so.

The bigger picture

While I love bringing people together with food, the big problems I want to solve are still looming in the background. Climate change is getting worse, with record high temperatures and the rate of rising temperatures doubling every decade. Illnesses are at an all-time high, with obesity affecting 42%, anxiety affecting 18%, and chronic disease falling upon 51% of the population. Food and agriculture workers remain some of the lowest-paid occupations, making $8.23 and $7.25 per hour respectively. Natural disasters are occurring on a daily basis and we are suffering from a global pandemic. Our health and well-being are of utmost priority. We need a better, simpler way for the future.

What is food?

To me, food is health, connection, and love. As you will learn throughout this book, food is the thing that healed my gut after a tapeworm, brings me together with those I love, and empowers me to care for our planet. A study that illustrates our differing relationship with food was undertaken by Roeline Kuijer and Jessica Boyce. It involved a researcher simply asking what a piece of chocolate cake represented. Interestingly, the majority of Americans answered guilt, and the majority of French answered celebration. Our inherent love of food has transformed into fear. Throughout my decade-long research journey, I discovered we have lost traditions and knowledge of how to cook, and the importance of gathering together. Our modern lifestyle prioritizes speed and convenience, and there is a lot of misinformation about healthy food.

The Eat In Method

In order to see food as a nourishing daily ritual we need to prioritize eating healthy food with others as a way of life, with conscious sourcing practices, presence, and connection. Enter The Eat In Method, a seven component system designed to eat well and restore our well-being. In the next chapter, I share how to apply this method to your life and use this book in a way that works for you.

The following chart introduces how we eat…

Charts based on The American Population

The following chart introduces benefits of The Eat In Method…

Method

The Eat In Method is a new approach that redesigns our relationship with food for personal and planetary well-being. Over a decade of research and experience has led me to create this method. It was born from studying both ancient and modern modalities of health, my experience in various cultures, and running a variety of food businesses. In this method, you can create a mindset where well-being is a state of balance between physical, social, and metaphysical environments. This method leads to lasting results that can change the way you eat and live.

How to use this book

Chapter by chapter we walk through the seven components of The Eat In Method.

Part II Build Your Personal Pantry

Introduces the first three components – Clear, Organize, and Build.

Part III Design Your Ideal Meals

Includes the next three components – Plan, Shop, and Cook.

Part IV Create Connection at Mealtime

Includes the final component – Eat.

Each component is broken down into current and future states, followed by a practical roadmap. In current state, we determine where you are right now and where there is room for improvement. In future state we dive into the psychological, financial, environmental, social, and physical impact of each component. Various case studies illustrate real-life scenarios of each component. Finally, each roadmap explains how to optimize the component with interactive lessons, journal questions, and key takeaways. At the end of the book you will find a quiz that provides a full assessment of your relationship with food to see how far you have come on your journey.

The Eat In Method is a journey of care. The psychological, financial, environmental, social, and physical impacts of each component are designed to empower you. Reorganizing your kitchen is a physical shift you can feel right away. Other components, like mindful eating, create a gradual shift over time. It can be helpful to remember why you are changing your routine. When in doubt, remember The Eat In Method is preventative care for yourself and our planet.

Setting the pace

This system can be tackled all at once or over several years. Some of the concepts will land with you, others might not. Use the interactive lessons to see what works best for you and do it when you have the time. You get to set the pace. Build up slowly and, over time, it will become a way of life for you. Race to complete every step and you might burn out. Think about it like building a muscle. In the beginning it might feel more challenging, but down the road, it will be easier. Any small step from this process is a success.

Have you ever watched Julia Child’s cooking shows? If so, you know how messy the kitchen can be. I encourage you to allow yourself to fail and make a mess from time to time. This method is not about perfection. Your home and how you present yourself do not determine your worth as a person. Don’t do this to feel better about yourself, do this to feel better. Never go above and beyond to prove. Do only what you need in order to enjoy your space. The concepts are designed to be fun and done gently, or they will do more harm than good. When in doubt, look for the lowest stress option. The goal is to engrain these habits to create more rest and relaxation, not more