Embracing the art of cooking from scratch is a journey that not only nourishes the body but also delights the senses. By choosing whole, unprocessed ingredients and taking the time to prepare meals with love and care, we can reconnect with the food we eat and the people we share it with. When you cook meals from fresh, you can be sure you are preserving all the natural ingredients. Rather than seeing cooking as a chore, regard it as part of a healthy lifestyle, keeping you in touch with the seasons and allowing you to switch off from work and family issues. The world of cooking from scratch invites you to explore, experiment, and indulge in the pleasure of cooking with intention and passion.
Quality Ingredients
When you choose quality ingredients, preparing food is simple. Leave produce in as fresh a state as possible to enjoy flavors and textures as nature intended. Eating fruit and vegetables raw and tossed in salads means no vitamins or anti-aging plant nutrients are lost in heating.
Conserve taste and nutrients.
Preserve as much folate and vitamin C as possible in vegetables by steaming rather than boiling. This helps maintain flavor, too. Stir-frying is also good for conserving taste and nutrients.
Deli entertaining
Informal entertaining is easy with good deli produce. Offer a platter of locally produced cheeses and cold meats, served with fresh crusty bread and an interesting salad or two, or a fresh soup. Buy dessert from a bakery, try organic farm ice cream, or provide a bowl of ripe seasonal fruit.
Pack your lunchbox
Ditch the deli counter and start making up your lunchbox. It might include:
- cottage cheese with walnuts and chopped dried apricots
- homemade hummus with crudités: broccoli florets, slices of red pepper and carrots, celery sticks, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes
- Kale coleslaw, with grated apple and carrot
- open sandwiches on dark rye bread
- Avocado: slice in half, add a splash of balsamic vinegar
- iron-rich watercress soup made with a little onion and potato tabbouleh, soaked bulgar wheat with olive oil and lemon juice, chopped mint, and parsley
Instant good food
Shift your daily menus to fresh instant food rather than microwaved, preprepared meals. Grill asparagus spears for a few minutes on each side and finish with a squeeze of lemon, a little olive oil, and some shavings of parmesan cheese.
Asparagus is a good source of folate, essential for memory retention.
Other ideas for meals in minutes include:
- omelets
- poached salmon
- grilled sardines
- steak sandwich
- smoked mackerel
- stir-fried noodles and mixed vegetables
- fresh corn-on-the-cob, boiled and buttered
Effortless meals
Slow cooking can be effortless, too. Throw potatoes in a slow oven a couple of hours ahead of supper time. Serve with cold chicken or cheese and salads. Roast squash and sweet potato slices, carrots, onions, and whole garlic cloves. Stir into couscous fluffed with olive oil and butter to help your body absorb the antioxidant nutrients.
Slow soups
Roughly chop leeks, onions, celery, and potatoes. Sweat in a little olive oil, then pour over stock, cover, and allow to simmer until soft. Repeat the formula with other combinations of vegetables, try broths, minestrones, and miso soup.
Keep something healthy in the fridge.
Make up simple soups and pasta sauces in advance. Refrigerate so they can be heated up in minutes when you get in from the office or the gym.
Sprouting seeds
Sprouted seeds are living foods. Buy sprouted and harvest mung beans, alfalfa, mustard, and cress for an easy-to-digest energy boost. They are packed with protein, enzymes, minerals, and antioxidant vitamins.
Free your mind
Instead of slavishly following recipes, close the book after you have cooked a dish a couple of times and experiment, focusing on flavors, varying vegetables, and herbs to adapt the dish to suit the changing seasons and personalities of guests. Using your brain keeps it active.
Tasty leftovers
Roast an organic chicken or joint of free-range lamb or beef. Enjoy hot. The next day, eat cold with fresh vegetables, salsas, and salads for an instant healthy meal.
Colorful stir-fries
Stir together finely sliced colorful vegetables: carrots, red onions, red, orange, and yellow peppers, broccoli, and kale. Throw in a handful of Stir-frying keeps food colorful and full of flavor and nutrients.
Quick pasta sauce
Toss artichoke hearts and shelled peas in olive oil to warm through, then stir into cooked pasta, adding torn fresh basil or mint to garnish.
Peas are the richest source of vitamin B, and fresh peas have been shown to enhance sleep, raise a jaded appetite, and boost cheerfulness.
Summer salads
Make up exciting combinations featuring watercress, barely cooked broccoli, sliced red pepper, ripe tomatoes, avocado, and zucchini slices brushed with olive oil and grilled. Growing cress allows you to eat fresh.
Grilled goat’s cheese and toasted pine nuts. Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Youthful salad dressing
Make up in advance and refrigerate to use throughout the week. Cider vinegar is regarded as the essence of youth in some parts of the world.
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp flaxseed or hemp oil
5-6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1-2 tsp runny organic honey
Pinch herbes de Provence
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the vinegar in a lidded jar. With a fork, whisk in the flaxseed or hemp oil until amalgamated. Add the olive oil until the taste suits you. Add the mustard, honey, and herbs, and whisk again until smooth. Season to taste. Close the lid and refrigerate. Shake before serving.
Homemade freezer foods
This provides effortless, healthy home-cooked food when you are too tired to lift a finger. When you do have time, perhaps on a weekend, make up double quantities or more, then freeze your ready meals. In summer, freeze whole berries for winter smoothies, pies, and desserts.
As we continue on this culinary journey of cooking from scratch, we discover that it’s not just about the food – it’s about the moments we share with loved ones, the memories we create, and the love we infuse into every dish. By embracing the art of cooking from scratch, we can transform our relationship with food, our health, and ourselves. So, take the first step, get creative in the kitchen, and savor the joy of cooking from scratch – your taste buds, body, and soul will thank you.
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