Food for the Soul

What to eat today….

I remember a time when it was such a chore to prepare, cook --- no it was a chore to even think about what to prepare or cook for a meal. It was as if my mind was stuck and I couldn’t even think clearly about what I would like to eat.

Perhaps part of the problem back then was that I was so busy (distracted?) by all the other stuff in my life. At the end of the day I really didn’t have any energy left to do much about nourishing myself, let alone anyone else. 

But another thing that was happening which was probably far worse was that I really wasn’t thinking all that much about the food/meals/nutrition I ended up putting into my body. 

A meal was prepared just to get something on the table most days. Things were rushed, I was tired, food was a hassle, eating was a mindless activity. Life was an ordeal.

Then, when I absolutely had no choice in the matter and had to start carefully considering exactly what went into my body for each and every meal to make it count (because the way I was living had made me sick)…then my eyes and my world opened up.

I allowed my intuition, (not advertising, imbalance, tiredness, peer pressure or worse – indifference) to dictate the needs of my body, mind and spirit. Nourishing myself has since become a multi-dimensional approach to far more then just staying alive –

It’s a process of paying attention, listening and thoroughly engaging with my food and the environment it comes from. I am feeding my body, mind and soul through the food choices I make each and every day.

So, that’s why I feast some days, fast other days and eat normally any days in between. My relationship with eating and food has become a spiritual experience – one that only asks of me to be present and involved with the food on my plate. 

Spiritual for me means being alive….

April

Yarrow 

Fermented Foods….Nature’s Gift of Life

Not feeling well? Dodgy tummy? Down with the flu? Sniffles coming on? Feeling moody, hormonal, unbalanced, unnatural, ungrounded, lack of energy, aches and pains….or just plain not with it? Weeelllll…..

Any of these (and perhaps all of these!) just may have a little to do with a complete and utter lack of (enough) living organisms within (your gut) and without (your skin) to see you through proper digestive processes, immune function, detox pathways and all else that needs to go on in our bodies.

So without further ado – here is some more of what I have been up to for these past few months but this time, with an added dimension. I wasn’t satisfied to just have the usual fermented foods….I wanted something with a twist LOL.

A few weeks ago I placed some veggies into one of my trusty demi-johns (it has a wide mouth – perfect to work with vegetables and fruits) along with some of my goat’s whey and water to see what I would get.

To be honest it was a pure experiment in taste. For years I have not really been all that ‘gone’ on some of the fermented foods, (I really love some things, but dislike the taste of others) so I really just wanted something that tasted, well, nice enough to eat.

The vegetables I used were beetroot, carrot, courgette, red onion, garlic and dulse seaweed….these were all grated and then placed in the glass jar along with ¾ cup of goat’s yogurt whey, a little sea salt and water.

That’s it.

I left them covered (sealed with the cap for the demi-john) for more then 2 weeks or so – but I tasted them every couple of days to see how they were progressing. And with each taste, they changed a little bit more – until the day arrived when I was happy with the taste.

Then I scooped them out and placed them into jars for the fridge. Right now the vegetable mix tastes sort of fresh, a tiny bit salty, a little sour/tangy/vinegary and lovely! I hope to have a couple of tablespoons on my plate each day with my meals.

My digestion feels better already! LOL

April

Fermented vegetables - ready for the fridge

Food Memories and Associations...

Today and yesterday have been full of food memories for me - I ate some venison and really enjoyed it by the way - but that wasn't the entire story. I think the meat triggered some long buried food associations and tastes I never knew where there.

The venison was perfect, I was very careful with it - taking the time to marinade, turn and then roast it in one of my clay pots (soaked for a while in water) on a low temperature over most of a full day. Only in the last hour or so was the heat up a little.

The meal in general is what triggered some long forgotten feelings in me and I am still trying to sort through them. First of all, what we ate was wild game meat and lots of fresh veggies from our own garden. It was fresher then fresh, processed food free, entirely homemade and very tasty.

However, the only words that come to mind right now as I am struggling to describe what I feel is - alive. My meal was alive. The game meat also had substance to it - as if the animal itself had a very different vibration from something like a lamb....

Is it because the deer was free to roam and live as he pleased? Where as a lamb is not. Might there also be some other factors involved here? Do animals have a spiritual dimension and perhaps a spiritual function within their bodies and then ours when we eat them?

At this point I would venture to say yes - because that is exactly what I am sensing has changed inside of me. Some earth energy has arrived together with the meal - perhaps from the combination of everything. And it feels good - like a positive charge.

When I mention the food memories - I actually grew up in a house where we all hunted, fished and lived off of the land. I never ate a beef steak until I was nearly 20 years old. We ate what we could catch and there was plenty to be had (rabbit, moose, sea ducks, partridge, all kinds of fish). 

I took it all for granted and of course I didn't remember fully the differences between this type of eating and the food you can get at the supermarket. Until now.

April 

Roasted venison out of the oven