COOKING
Cooking had been relegated to special occasions until we gained a better understanding of how food is produced today, and the longer-term negative impacts our industrialized approach to food is having on our health and environment. Some readings that opened our eyes and encouraged us to cook more and eat more naturally:
The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan: This book first made us pause to consider how much of the food that we consume is produced. The seemingly “efficient” industrialized and centralized approach of food production is proving to not only be incredibly inefficient, but is proving to be harmful to our health and our environment.
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan: This book considers the “nutritionism” approach of the Western diet which is largely comprised of heavily processed foods with specific nutrient/vitamins additives vs. “whole food” approach that is based on consuming fresh and minimally or unprocessed foods. Evidence has shown that the Western diet is a major driver of largely preventable modern diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cancer.
Eating on the Wild Side, by Jo Robinson: This book ultimately helps us optimize nutrients that we get from eating vegetables and fruits by having a better understanding of how fast nutrients “expire” after harvest and ways of cooking that help preserve nutrients.
When we considered the types of activities that engages us, such as enjoying and sharing food with family and friends, maintaining good physical and mental health, building confidence with each new practical skill learned, the fun of learning and experimenting, and being able to help preserve the environment - we realized that we were able fulfill these priorities through just the simple act of cooking.
Although the thought of having to cook every meal sounds daunting and time-consuming, it does not have to be. “Cooking” for us means being able to eat in a more wholesome but delicious manner, which can be achieved via simple techniques that minimizes the processing or cooking of ingredients thereby maximizing the food’s natural nutrients. Once you learn a few approaches that work for you, it will give you the freedom to cook up something nutritious and great tasting in the time it takes you to order out. For us, this seemed a small investment in time and effort once we appreciated the longer-term health and environmental benefits of eating more naturally and locally.
As usual, we used the same gradual approach in adapting to doing more cooking as we do for other efforts:
Cooking does not necessarily involve turning on the heat. You can get tremendous satisfaction as well as nutrients by simply matching some fresh greens with a slice of pizza or other take-out or prepared food. To maximize nutrients and reduce carbon footprint, use local greens - whether purchased from a local farm, harvested from your own garden, or foraged. We usually incorporate all the above, often combining domesticated greens and foraged greens, tied together with a simple lemon and olive oil dressing.
Move on to cooking one or two simple meals a week (weekends are usually a more relaxing time to experiment). We started with soups and stews, which are more forgiving to mistakes and easier to adjust to taste (just add more liquid, more ingredients or more salt/spices until it gets to the taste and consistency that you like!). Soups and stews are also easy to reheat - and often tastes better the next time once it has had a chance to sit, so it’s ideal to make extra to have ready for future meals.
However what we found to be even more easy and versatile to cook up something fast was to do stir fries. In addition, this style of cooking tends to retain more of your vegetable’s nutrients (vs. boiling for example) and can be taste very good with only a few basic ingredients. There are countless stir fry recipes available online, but at the most fundamental level all you need are: a bit of oil, your vegetable of choice, and salt. And if you enjoy stir fries and rice, investment in a simple rice cooker can allow you to cook up a simple meal for your family in about 30 mins (we’ve noted a few very simple stir fry recipes if you want to try out!).
Making the decision to cook most or all of one’s meals can be daunting. However, once you get into it, you will find that it is actually easier and more beneficial in many aspects vs. cooking occasionally, including:
You will have most of the needed ingredients on hand: Because you are now cooking every meal, you will naturally maintain the needed ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator over time, making meal planning and prep much easier. See below for our current list of “core ingredients” that we keep stocked, and the list can change as we evolve our cooking.
It will be easier to determine what to cook: If you have most of the needed ingredients on hand, it will naturally make it easier to shop as you will likely only need to think about what vegetable and/or meat to buy (assuming you maintain some kind of starch in the pantry) - this saves time and stress. Start with specializing in 4-5 core dishes that you can rotate through, then introduce a new dish every one or two weeks. It is also helpful to introduce a new dish which leverage similar ingredients to your core dishes. For example, we use kale in our smoothies and salads, stir-fry it with garlic to accompany baked fish, and use it in our kale and chorizo soup. One ingredient can take care of several dishes for the week.
You will produce less waste and save more money and time: Using the same/similar ingredients across multiple dishes for the week also results in less food waste. And cooking instead of buying take-out food reduces waste from packaging, and saves money as it is usually more economical to cook than to eat out. You can also save time by cooking, as you can double-up the portion and freeze it for another meal when you won’t have time to cook.
You will eat more healthily: Cooking is the most direct way to know what you are consuming, and to ensure that ingredients are the best and freshest, and therefore the tastiest. It allows you to eat greens and vegetables from local farms or your backyard, maximizing the inherent nutrients in the produce as there’s a shorter elapsed time from harvest to table. Many greens and vegetables start losing nutrients once they are harvested, so the longer it has to travel from the source and then sit on supermarket shelves, the less nutritious they become (Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson provides an insightful guide to maximizing nutrients for different type of greens and vegetables).
CORE STAPLES IN OUR PANTRY
The core staples that you will eventually maintain will be largely driven by the type of cooking that you do and the cuisines that you enjoy - and this varies by individual and family. The benefits of maintaining a set of ingredients and spices include the ability to purchase in bulk, which is less expensive, and makes meal planning and prep easier. Below lists the core staples that we currently keep in our home based on the common types of dishes we have on rotation, although this list will continue to change as we evolve our menu.
Core staples: Salt, pepper, olive and vegetable oils, sesame oil, butter, Parmesan cheese, Dijon mustard, garlic, onion, lemon or apple cider vinegar, eggs, cumin, smoky paprika, chicken stock, soy sauce, wild and white rice, couscous, dried pasta, pasta sauce, bread (usually a country loaf for us), dark and white dried beans, frozen sausage or ham (usually pastured animal or wild game, and chorizo), frozen blueberries, and bananas.
Common dishes on rotation:
Morning smoothie:
Ingredients already on hand: Frozen blueberries, bananas (the more ripe the better).
Fresh ingredients: Any single type or combination of greens (e.g. kale, dandelion, chard), and this is a great way to use up any leftover or foraged greens that can be consumed raw.
Baked fish, stir fried kale, wild rice:
Ingredients already on hand: Salt, pepper, paprika, olive oil, garlic, lemon, rice.
Fresh ingredients: Fish, kale.
Pasta and tomato & basil bruschetta:
Ingredients already on hand: Salt, pepper, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, pasta, pasta sauce, bread.
Fresh ingredients: Tomatoes, basil leaves.
Simple stir fry:
Ingredients already on hand: Salt, pepper, vegetable oil, sesame oil, garlic, soy sauce, rice, sausage or ham.
Fresh ingredients: Any single type or combination of leafy vegetables (e.g. bok choy, Napa cabbage, Chinese broccoli/gai lan, collard greens, chard, kale).
Portuguese kale & potato soup and bread & butter:
Ingredients already on hand: Salt, pepper, olive oil, butter, garlic, onion, paprika, chicken stock, chorizo (we also like adding white beans to ours).
Fresh ingredients: Kale, potatoes.
Salad and dressing:
Ingredients already on hand: Salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon or apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard.
Fresh ingredients: Any single type or combination of greens (e.g. dandelion, mustard greens, sunflower or pea shoots, kale, microgreens), and this is a great way to use up any leftover or foraged greens that can be consumed raw.
SUGGESTED RECIPE REFERENCES & SITES:
Site/Cookbook: Jamie Oliver offers simple recipes that are tasty yet easy to make, and his 5 Ingredients cookbook started our teenage daughter taking turn to cook lunch on weekends!:
Jamie Oliver’s recipes and videos online at https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/
Site/Cookbook: Forks Over Knives offers a wide variety of recipes and references to help folks embark on a more plant-focused way of eating.
Site/Cookbook: Bad Manners offers delicious and creative vegan recipes described in everyday-speak that make it feel like a cinch to "whip up” something good fast. Note of caution: the language is peppered with some profanity (hence the name of the site!).
Book: Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Joshua McFadden provides delicious vegetable-based recipes across the seasons that celebrates flavors at their peak. It provides great ideas on what to do with the ingredients that are available at your local farm stands or from your CSA.