Last month I wrote a post about primary versus secondary food. You can read it HERE. To recap, primary food includes all the things that nourish you OFF the plate such as relationships, career, creativity, spirituality, etc. Secondary food is the literal food on your plate that you put in your mouth. With that said, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) identifies home cooking as one of the primary foods. Hmmmm .... is this confusing or what? Home cooking RESULTS in secondary food, so how does it also nourish you "off the plate"?

To answer that, let's first agree on the definition of home cooking. Home cooking is the act of preparing food in the comfort of your own home. When we take time to chop veggies, measure spices and combine ingredients this process goes beyond the food itself.
Home cooking is an act of self care.
Home cooking can provide a significant source of emotional nourishment. It grounds us in connection to the source of our food in a way that eating a restaurant or getting take-out food can't replicate.
Additionally, home cooked food always includes a special ingredient not found in food prepared by a restaurant chef or line cook - Vitamin L --> LOVE.
Vitamin L explains why your mom's cooking just tastes better than someone else cooking her recipe. I have a very specific example of the phenomenon of Vitamin L.
For years I've been making myself a mocha every morning. It took me a lot of trial and error and research, but I finally perfected a mocha that tastes just right to me - the LauraMocha. Making a LauraMocha each morning has saved me a lot of money as coffee shop drinks cost at least $6 each! My fiance, TJ, has learned to make the mocha (although when he makes it, it's the TJMocha) and he sometimes makes it and brings it to me in bed on the weekends. (Swoon!). Funny thing, though - when TJ makes it for me I SWEAR it tastes so much better than when I make it the exact same way! That's because he adds the special ingredient, Vitamin L, and it literally changes the experience for me.
Back to home cooking ... there can be many reasons in our busy lives that we may neglect to focus on making meals at home. It can feel overwhelming, especially if we don't like to cook or feel unskilled when it comes to home cooking. If we don't plan ahead it can be frustrating because we don't have the right ingredients on hand. I totally get it!
Here are some considerations for you as you contemplate home cooking:
Cook with whole, fresh foods. Spend less on convenience and more on high quality ingredients. Trade packaged and processed foods for the foods you will find on the perimeter of your grocery store.
Keep it simple. One solution that I have for you is using Epicure products. They provide all the delicious seasonings with no yucky additives and all you add is a few fresh ingredients to make amazing and healthy meals your family will LOVE. I am an Epicure consultant and will be happy to answer any questions you have. You can explore my website HERE.
Switch things up. Swap veggies in a recipe for ones you have on hand or know your family will love. Try different cuisines. Try cooking things at home that you enjoy when you go to a restaurant.
Cook once, eat twice. I always make a couple of HUGE recipes on the weekend or Monday night and eat the leftovers for lunch at work. It saves me both time and money.
Experiment. Remember that home cooking is about progress not perfection. I love to try new recipes, but many of them don't make the "keeper/repeater" list. That's okay! I have fun making them and finding out what we love and don't love.
Find tools you LOVE. I am in love with my air fryer. I use it to make tofu cubes and to cook potatoes, to reheat pizza and for much more. I also love my Epicure steamers and use the small one almost daily to make my oatmeal. Kitchen gadgets are so fun!
Another important home cooking consideration: eat seasonally. This is important for several reasons.
When food is picked at the peak of ripeness, it is packed with nutrition.
Indigenous tribes have practiced seasonal eating for centuries and have more diverse microbiomes and stronger immunity than those of us who have a more limited diet and who consume many foods out of season.
Eating food in season helps keep our external and internal worlds in harmony.
Here are some ideas for eating through the seasons:
SPRING
tender spring greens
sprouts
baby lettuces
use local honey to reduce seasonal allergies
SUMMER
abundance of fresh fruit which is naturally cooling & hydrating
mango
zucchini
tomato
bell peppers
FALL
time for deep nourishment
squash
onions
garlic
ginger
WINTER
root vegetable season
carrots
turnips
potatoes
time for all the cozy soups

In the winter, I like to roast up a big pan of veggies like the one shown here - this pan is loaded with the rainbow colors and SO much nutrition - cauliflower, broccoli, onion, potatoes, butternut squash and tofu for protein. As shown in the first photo, I topped this roasted mixture with some pomegranate seeds and vegan feta cheese. YUM!!
Here is another sheet pan vegetable recipe for you to check out from Eating Bird Food. I have also made this one and the tahini dressing is TO. DIE. FOR.
Tell me about your home cooking woes and celebrations. What do you like to cook? What is a barrier to home cooking? How do you eat seasonally? What seasonal foods do you look forward to?
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