I just spent the past two weeks prepping food with my mother and aunt for Easter. It was exhausting, glorious, and 100% #notshedapproved.

We made these Italian biscuits/cookies/bagels(?) we call “Tadalles” (I think it is derived from the Italian Easter cookies, Taralli). Our family recipe differs from any other recipe I’ve ever seen for them though, which makes them even more special to us! I also helped make a taleggio cheese and mushroom lasagne; lamb stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, and garlic; carrot cake; appetizers; and more.

The food tasted amazing, but I think it has an extra special je ne sais quois that comes from the joy of cooking and preparations for our loved ones.

This is one of my more “woowoo” inclinations, but I believe the energy that you have when you prepare food gets served to whoever is the lucky eater. So when you’re cooking, I think it’s important to mind your attitude and try to make it a joyful, loving experience.

Along the same lines, if you choose to eat animals, I think the energy of the animal gets transferred to you! If those cows had room to graze, and were treated well, their happiness lives on and that’s what you absorb. If, on the other hand, they had a miserable existence and were crammed into small stalls with never any exercise or sunshine– I believe we absorb that energy too. When you view the world from this perspective, it encourages all of your eating decisions to be “soulful” and healthy! It broadens your viewpoint beyond just ourselves, but also to the experience of other life forms.

Traditional Chinese Medicine takes it to another level (see chart below!). Certain foods have certain energetic properties. Feeling anxious? Skip the alcohol and sugar! Have you been a running all over the place lately, super busy? Have some fish with root veggies for a grounding meal!

Why do we tend to crave root vegetables when its colder? Besides being more readily available, they are warming to the body! Why do we like salads and smoothies in the summer? They are cooling, and its what our bodies need!

Eating seasonally and locally helps us become in tune with the natural rhythms of the earth. Not to mention, some local foods can have awesome benefits only available to you– like local bee pollen! If you add it to your diet you have protection against some seasonal allergies! Growing your own food or purchasing from the local farmers markets helps to create connection to our food and locale.

Reprinted with permission from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Have you ever thought about the different ways foods can affect you? What ways will you take the different energetics of food into account as you prepare your meals next week?

Will you cook with love and mindfulness?
Source your animal protein from happy animals?
Go to your local farmers market?
Choose to eat or cook foods to help you round out your own energy?

I want to know! Leave me a note below or on social media! xx, AHS