Foooooood!!

It’s high past time to mention food as a means of nurture!

Eating something broadly healthy is a good start. Well… actually, let’s go back a step: Eating anything is a good start – skipped breakfasts, skipped lunches etc. are not so hot on the nurture!

But if you’ve got as far as having some food available, what makes a meal nurturing rather than just broadly nutritious? There’s bound to be loads of different answers to that!

Spiced Lamb with Hummus, pine nuts, pomegranate

Here’s my personal recipe for food that nurtures:

• Local Produce – Fresh ingredients, purchased from my local grocer, butcher, deli and other friendly stores and suppliers. Preferably grown or reared locally too, but I treat that with a dose of reality (or there would be no olives, lemons, or pretty little pomegranate seeds!)
• Natural produce – seasonal vegetables I’ve grown myself, or veg grown by suppliers with a focus on taste and nutrition rather than uniformity of size and colour.
• Home Cooked – no additives, no preservatives just freshly, lovingly, home cooked food.
• Colourful – my favourite meals are all full of vibrant colour

Colourful Tuna Nicoise

• Gorgeous taste – flavours that make me smile, my personal favourite palate
• Presentation – Nice plates, relaxing surroundings, a few soft details like flowers on the table, and candles.
• Cake – Afternoon tea is a meal! Lovely fresh baked cake, especially after a wonderful walk

Banoffee Cake… with added mountain backdrop 🙂

• Company – Relaxed, warm hearted company, the sound of laughter and chatter… probably the chink of wine glasses too 🙂
• Eating consciously! – Savouring flavours, a bit of awareness of what I’m eating, appreciating, grateful for.
• And also … This is real life! Sometimes it’s fish & chips from my favourite chippy, happily consumed with salt and balsamic vinegar, snuggled up watching a favourite film: It is not so conscious, not so healthy… but ohhhh so snuggly!!!

So, what makes meals nurturing for you? What are your personal ingredients?

P.S Here’s the recipe for those Banoffee Cakes …