Happy Food Day! Who can you share a meal with? I’m Hannah Telluselle and this is The Source Podcast, your source of inspiration and good things. Today, we’re focusing on nourishing ourselves with good food.
Now that we’ve entered the fall season in the northern hemisphere, which makes is both colder and darker, and windy and rainy, most of us are drawn to warmer meals and staying inside. Part of living more in harmony with nature is to eat and drink according to the season. This means to use less ice in your drinks and not eating anything too cold, so that your body can get help to stay warm this time of year. One of my favorite things to cook now, is a vegetable soup based on root vegetables. They consist of orange and yellow carrots, celeriac, parsnip and red onion. To this I add pieces of potatoes, apple and tofu, or chickpea for some protein. I fry this first in some olive oil and add some lemon juice, salt, pepper and thyme. Then I fill up the pot with water and let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Sometimes I also sprinkle some chopped chives on top. What is your go to meal for chilly evenings in the fall?
Then of course, curling up in my couch with an extra cup of tea is a must in the afternoon. Right now, I prefer Green Chai, which has both cardamom and ginger in it, with a little honey. While many enjoy their coffee, having a cup of tea has proven have many benefits, especially when you like some herbs or need a strengthening and calming feeling of the black Darjeeling or Earl Grey. Which tea or hot beverage do you prefer?
To make it even more nutritious, Chinese Medicine offers a library of medicinal use of herbs and foods, as well as which time of day is the best and how it is prepared to match your body’s specific needs. When I had a beginning ulcer, I learned to not eat so much fried food and instead boil everything to aid my digestion. This is a matter of whether you need to add some fire or cool things down, which a Chinese Medicine practitioner like an Acupuncturist can help you find through looking at your tongue and taking your pulses together with learning any symptoms you might have, to detect if you have any imbalance or stress responses that can be relieved.
Another thing to consider when you eat, is where and how and with whom. Did you for example know that if you’re angry and upset while you make dinner, this energy can become transferred into your food, so that you will feel angry and upset when you eat the leftovers another day too? This has its foundation in both how we all have energy fields that blend including with our surroundings and environment, similar to how ice can make different patterns depending on what you say to it and how, as proven by the Japanese author Masaru Emoto who claimed that our words, thoughts and emotions can physically change the shape of frozen water crystals. The point is not the ice, but to illustrate how our bodies can sense and respond to harsh words just as loving words said to us. This is true for our food too, according to my own experience.
Where you eat, such as in front of the TV or computer screen, can also affect how you receive it. If you watch action or disturbing news, you might feel stressed and not be able to digest it as well. The same thing applies to who you eat with and how.
When I grew up, my dad ate very fast so that we all felt very stressed at the table. Especially, since he wanted to smoke afterwards with a cup of coffee or so, and wanted us to finish as quickly as possible. I felt an aversion to such eating and prefer eating alone as an adult, where I can do so in a calm environment, with my own chosen menu that fits me and takes my gluten and lactose intolerance into account. I also learned from a Portuguese chef once, that sitting across from someone with a large portion, can make you feel full or overwhelmed since your eyes are taking it all in and know you might not like what the other has on his or her plate or just how much it becomes together with your own. Sitting next to each other instead, can make it more comfortable. Eating without distractions enables us to be more present and enjoy it more. On the other hand, if you have problem eating, watching something fun or calming at the same time if you’re alone, can be helpful. Relaxing a couple of minutes first, also aids our digestion.
Where do you eat your meals and how? How would you like it to be? If you looked at your food as sacred, just as your body is, who would you like to share it with?The next episode of The Source Podcast is published on October 21st, to honor Global Dignity Day. Tune in on October the 21st, to receive a life coaching tip about the importance of treating yourself and others with dignity.
To listen to this blogpost as a podcast, find The Source Podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube.
