Fall in love with your kitchen.
How we feed ourselves is a form of self-love. So, how do we overcome the busyness and make our kitchens more of a place we love and want to be? Here are a handful of tips.
Favorite tips for falling in love with your kitchen.
Shortcuts are the key to happiness in the kitchen.
You have probably found yourself scratching your head staring into the abyss of your spice cabinet. What goes with what? Creating a crowd-pleasing combo can be challenging. Let the experts help. Explore a local spice shop like Old Towne Spice shop in St. Charles, MO, and buy a handful of blends. These blends have been taste-tested, meaning the hard work has been done for you. They’re definitely going to be edible, probably even great. Can you say that about the bottle of mysterious green flakes that have been at the back of your cabinet for years? I’ve also been experimenting with essential oils in food and mocktails. High-quality, therapeutic-grade oils like doTERRA last for years, far outlasting the potency of dried herbs.
You could also consider buying meat by the pound from a local BBQ for an easy meal. When you get home, make a slider bar with fun toppings like pickles from the farmers market or locally sourced cheese. When I “cheat” with a premade ingredient, I usually add something I created to the meal. I might make my own salad dressing to add to a slaw to serve or delicious condiment like my homemade mayo.
Grow some herbs or lettuce in a pot outside your back door. When you want to add a finishing touch to your meals, you’ll have fresh herbs at your fingertips. They will make your meals look effortlessly beautiful. You can make a salad a meal for lunch or dinner by grabbing a handful of greens, opening a can of quality seafood, or popping some chicken tenders in the air fryer. Good food does not have to be complicated.
Keep some healthy, indulgent staples around.
So many of my clients tell me they want to eat better, they just can’t seem to make healthy food taste good. If you were on a diet in the 1990s you probably still carry the belief that fat is bad for you. It is true, highly processed fats are not great for you (seed oils, vegetable oil, peanut oil.), they cause inflammation). BUT good ones are great for skin and brain health (olive, avocado, and coconut oils).
I make my own mayonnaise and hummus weekly. In French kitchens, mayonnaise is viewed as a sauce, not just a globby condiment like commercial mayonnaise in the US. This is worth the time to make. All you need is eggs, a neutral-tasting oil like avocado, lemon juice, Dijon, and S&P. Fresh hummus comes together with a can of beans of your choice, lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I put these homemade condiments/sauces on tacos, potatoes of all kinds, make dips, or use them as salad dressings. They can also add a little oomph to lean, healthy meals by adding a satisfying fat component.
If you have a food processor or a quality blender, you are on your way to creating sauces that satisfy you. Put simply, fat tastes good. If you source it from quality sources like olive oil and avocado oil, you’ll have nothing to feel guilty about.
Choose special ingredients and get a break from your normal routine.
Visit local shops and farmers' markets to find unique ingredients, then build a menu around it. You’ll have the pleasant memory of your outing tied to your purchase, feel great about supporting a small local business, and get something special.
For example, you could source a locally crafted elixir like All Things Elderberry (first press elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, clove, raw honey, and lemon juice) and make a fun immune-boosting mocktail with some ginger beer, and a fresh lemon wedge. If you'd like, you can add gin or vodka.
Challenge yourself to get an ingredient you might not usually go for from the farmer's market. Turnips anyone? Roasting is one of the best ways to bring out the naturally occurring sugars in vegetables. Put them on a sheet pan with some other root vegetables like carrots, toss generously with olive oil and your favorite seasoning blend, and roast at 350 until most of the turnips have a golden brown color. Most food grown locally tastes better because it has had less distribution time and is grown by people who care about where food comes from. You can taste the love in locally grown food.
Final thoughts…
All of these tips are intended to be easy to integrate into your routine. If you try to make lots of changes at one time, you probably won’t stick to them. Pick a few things, and have fun!
