This is a photo of a meal I prepare regularly, with variation. It consists of whole grain, mixed rice, kidney beans, lemony beets (recipe in post "Beet the Blues Away"), baked acorn squash, and some pretty pieces of lettuce.
It's a very satisfying meal because it has multiple tastes going on: sweet squash, sour beets, salty beans, astringent lettuce; multiple colors- vibrant magenta beets, bright green lettuce, earthy rice and beans; also a variety of textures- soft/slimy (squash), chewy (beans, rice), and crunchy (beets, lettuce). These elements are essential to creating a satisfying eating experience.
Another, less obvious element that lends to the completeness of this meal- I have included plants that grow down in the earth (beets), on the ground (squash) and up in the air (lettuce, rice). It might seem like a strange thing to think of when deciding what you are going to include in a meal, but if you try to incorporate a plant from each of three types you will really come up with something well-balanced, beautiful, and tasty. After all, we experience our food with all five senses, don't we?
It isn't easy to plan meals. In fact, just the effort of trying to come up with something to cook can be frustrating, exhausting, and discouraging! "Oh screw it, lets just order Chinese." Boy, have I been there. To avoid the incredibly crappy and strange feelings you usually have after consuming this sort of food, you must make one tiny change. MAKE IT EASY. "Huh? There's nothing easier than take-out; no shopping, no cooking, no cleaning, no THINKING!" Hm. There's a red light if ever I saw one (and yes, I do see that light sometimes myself-I'm no angel). Okay, so how do we make this easy? First of all- you do need to go to the store. Unless you are very privileged and can use Fresh Direct. I don't know you personally if that's you. If that is you, then good for you. I'm jealous. So the rest of us will go to the store. And what you need to think about- MOST IMPORTANT! is the base of your meal. What are you going to build upon?
In her book, "The Self-Healing Cookbook", Kristina Turner tells us that originally in Old English, the word "meal" meant GRAIN. (Like... oat meal). "Meals based on whole grains and vegetables were, in fact, the staple fare world-wide long before meat and potatoes became the standard Western supper." She believes that eating traditionally- preparing foods as they are in their natural state, will allow the body to come into balance and find healing on its own without the use of chemical medicines.
Whole Grains are available at every grocery store. I said I would help make this easy, so here is "easy". I bought a container of Rice Select Royal Blend with Texamati white and brown rice with red beans. The Rice Select brand can be found in the rice section, and is sold in clear plastic, cube-shaped, 24 oz. containers. This rice and bean mix only takes 15 minutes to cook, and tastes delicious and pure, and makes me feel very happy for hours to come. A serving of this provides you with 4 grams of Protein, 2 grams of Fiber, 27 grams of Carbohydrate, plus some Calcium and Iron in there to boot.
If you have access to a natural food store (I don't in my neighborhood), you can find many varieties of grain to suit your preferences and needs. If you keep grains stocked in your pantry you have the perfect base to a meal! All you have to do is open your cupboard and say, oh! There's dinner! You can serve a dish of rice, barley, quinoa, etc. as the foundation to an infinite number of delicious and nourishing meals. Try throwing them in soups, or in a salad. Serve with any combination of veggies, and you've got something good going on.
Another natural grain that is essential to any home is some kind of warm cereal. We've already gone over this in the blog and I don't want to be redundant here, but you really do need to eat your oatmeal. Any kind of whole grain, hot cereal will give you a calm, warm, enduring energy.
So, make it easy for yourself. Stock your pantry with a few kinds of whole grains and some legumes, that way you can always have something nourishing to inspire you. Be creative with your veggies- don't make a grocery list. WING IT! Go to the store and pick up whatever looks beautiful, attractive, and healthy. If a vegetable looks like it wants to be eaten by you, then put it in the cart. Sometimes I walk by the kale and just can't help but smiling when I see those crisp, verdant, ruffled leaves. Bok Choy looks like a gorgeous piece of modern art. Beets just beg to me whenever I walk and see their deep color and whiskery tails. How could you not love a root like that?
When you get home with your stuff I recommend just looking up recipes featuring each online to get and idea of how to cook them if you need one. Then just improvise. The best meals are made that way. A few general principles to follow: the harder a vegetable is, the longer it takes to cook so add veggies into a saute pan according to their solidity; greens are best cooked lightly to break down cell walls but not so long as to ruin their gorgeous color; lemon and oil makes a fantastic flavoring to pretty much anything.
I hope this gives some inspiration!
Happy cooking.
Alice
