The banner at the top of this article is the same one I put at the top of all my e-newsletters. I included it on this post because I want to focus on its Meal Making Transformation message. That’s because transformation is top of mind for me after getting a request to teach a 32-year old how to cook.
Surprisingly, that request came from an addiction recovery coach. What, I wondered, could cooking have to do with addiction recovery? A lot, it turns out.
Cooking and Addiction
Nutritionist and Addiction Coach Heather Dale has discovered that a key component missing from traditional recovery approaches is biochemical repair of body and brain. That, in turn, is achieved through the simple and powerful modalities of food and targeted supplementation.
But here’s the problem: Unlocking the powerful modality of food requires cooking! And unfortunately, Heather’s 32-year old client knows nothing about how to cook.
The The High Art of Everyday Meal Making
Of course I am happy to teach anyone to cook but as I considered the enormity of teaching this particular young man, the undertaking seemed quite daunting. Where would I begin?
This question brought up something I’ve long noticed, i.e., we fail to give credit to all that it takes to make health-giving meals on a daily basis, e.g., things like having some manageable meal ideas, combining one or two for a meal, knowing how to shop for healthy ingredients, having the tools and equipment needed, having a few cooking skills, knowing how to clean up, organizing the kitchen for easy access, and understanding what healthy food looks like and how to make it taste good!
Considering the many balls that must be juggled to make a single healthy meal, kudos to everyone doing so day in and day out. It is a high art!
The Deeper Problem
More problematic than our 32-year old’s lack of skills, however, is his lack of interest and respect for cooking. To his mind, cooking was something mothers do, not him.
This gets back to why I wanted to emphasize Meal Making Transformation. Skills are easy enough to teach and acquire. But we’ll never learn and adopt them if we don’t care about and value the kitchen and cooking. This is why a fundamental belief in the worthiness of meal making lies at the heart of everything I do around cooking and the kitchen.
Because what we honor and value is what will show up in our lives, no matter the barriers we face around lack of time, skill or money.
This is why I offer articles, like this one, to inspire respect and honor for the humble kitchen and the seemingly mundane act of cooking. Although it can be a bit aggravating at times, I’m guessing our community members have a deep sense of the worthiness of meal making. But it’s important to keep renewing and reinforcing those values as our culture seems intent on doing just the opposite.
The Other Pieces of Meal Making Transformation
But there’s more to Transformation than supportive thinking. There are also skills for radically simplifying cooking and for transforming the kitchen into a friendly ally, things like finding good ingredients, seasoning food so it tastes good, setting up an efficient kitchen, basic cooking techniques, understanding what healthy eating looks like, etc.
That’s why my articles and posts offer a range of tools, tips, meal ideas, nutrition info and tricks to help in this multi-faceted activity called “cooking.”
Happily, even after decades in the kitchen, I’m always discovering and anxious to share new things. So we’ll never be bored!
To many more years of continued inspiration and learning,
Mary Collette
P.S. if you have a spouse or child–teach them to cook! We won’t be around forever and our loved ones’ lives may well depend on having a few skills to at least get started–and the mindset to value and honor making our daily bread.