Feeding a Happy Body

I used to think that food was food and body was body. Food was about taste, and sometimes about memory. A body was what you used to get through the day, and sometimes what people judged you on. And there wasn't much connection between the two. But as it turns out, human beings are made of much of the same stuff as food is - atoms and molecules, cells and enzymes, and other good stuff. And through all the input we get from food - nutrients, pleasure signals, the stimulation of smell and sound - our bodies, how they feel and how we feel about them, are intimately connected with what we eat.

Though I have loved food all my life, I didn't truly pay much attention to those connections until I began to cook for others, teach others to cook, and write about eating. As part of writing about food and being more mindful around the process of sharing food, I've learned a few things (most of them I am still learning - it's a process).

I notice that gentle, earthy dishes with mushrooms or sweet potatoes make me want to curl up with a good book, contemplate the sound of the rain, and write poetry. Colorful salads of fresh crunchy produce make me want to dance.

Each taste combination is associated with a desired action and a particular sense of my body. When eating a soup or a pilaf of whole foods grown close to the ground, I feel more grounded, more balanced, more able to withstand daily demands in a way that helps me see myself, and my body, as strong, with well-nourished creative identity. In enjoying the confettied playfulness of colors in a just-got-home-from-the-farmers'-market salad, my body feels more like playing, and, as an intriguing side effect, others also perceive me and my body as more fun and more capable of play. When my heart is heavy, and I need to allow some lightness in, so as not to carry around the heaviness as extra weight, food that is light and airy allows me to breathe into my hurt and float above it.

Below I offer three recipe ideas that feed shifts in body image. All are best made with fresh, seasonal, organic ingredients, but the most important thing is to use what you find joyful and available. Joyful eating, uncompromised eating, is a way of healing disconnections with our body image. Allowing ourselves the full use of our senses - which paying full attention to real, vibrant food does - gives us permission to be who we are: human sensory creatures who need to eat and to be enthusiastic about it.

JEWELS & GRAINS
When you want to feel more grounded and as calm and cared for as a Maharani in her palace...

• Cook your favorite whole grain to even tenderness (I love a mix of brown basmati rice and purple sticky rice for this, but that's a very personal preference).
• Choose a variety of fresh root vegetables (eg. carrot, daikon, radish, baby turnip, golden beet, sweet onion), cut into slivers the size of your fingernail. Gently saute in grassfed butter, ghee, or your favorite oil until just tender, translucent, and glowing (Note: If you are using red beets, or any other vegetable whose color bleeds easily onto your cutting board, cook separately after the other vegetables, to avoid color transfer).
• Sprinkle the cooked slivers on top of your dish of whole grains so that it is covered with a layer of glistening vegetable jewels.
• Add a little extra gloss with a drizzle of fragrant oil (eg. extra virgin olive, toasted sesame, walnut) and then admire the jewels falling into the grains as you serve.

POWER PUNCH SALAD
When you want to feel powerful and energetic, as up for a challenge as Laila Ali facing her opponents in the boxing ring...

• Combine equal parts crisp greens (eg. romaine) and peppery greens (eg. arugula) in a large salad bowl.
• Add bite-sized chunks of crunchy fresh vegetables, eg. red and yellow sweet peppers, jicama, snap peas, etc.(Note: if you want to make a full meal, add your light protein of choice - eg. marinated tofu, lemon-dressed chickpeas, grilled fish, etc.)
• Dress with your favorite vinaigrette spiked with a jab of grated ginger and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice.
• Finish with plenty of fresh-ground pepper.

CLOUD DREAMING SOUP
When you want to feel peaceful, light, and free, as if spending an idyllic summer afternoon watching fluffy clouds float by...

• Put an assortment of roughly chopped seasonal produce (eg. cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, apricots, melon, peaches, etc) into a blender.
• Add an equivalent volume of water and process until just smooth.
• Add the flesh of one whole avocado and a handful of summer herbs (eg. a mix of parsley, basil and chives).
• Process again until light and frothy. This is your cool summer soup, sweet and green like a nap on a grassy hillside.
• Now add your choice of clouds - a large spoonful of greek-style yogurt, a poached egg, several dollops of farmstead goat cheese, a scoop of white-bean hummus, or a pretty puddle of nut puree (simply soak raw light-colored nuts, e.g., macadamia, cashews, in water overnight, puree til smooth and season).
• Give the soup a sunlit splash of golden olive oil, and a sprinkling finely chopped herbs or a few grass-like strands of chives or edible flower petals (from chive blossoms, johnny jump ups, etc; and if you happen to have access to a garden where borage is grown, add the cucumber-scented stems to the soup and use the beautiful blue starflowers as garnish).
   

Sharon Abra Hanen is a writer, creativity coach, and eater with a fondness for edible flowers and a body that keeps teaching her things. She explores the connections between food, writing, and the creative life at wellfedpoet.wordpress.com.