Combining Foods for Easy Meals
The trick to feeding oneself easily and simply is to remember a little of a lot. If you plant and grow an inner culinary sense, matching raw food ingredients together from nutritional categories to create a whole meal becomes second nature. Sustain the health of your body and mind requires drawing from a wide variety of foods. The trick is to think in categories that mix well together — you end up creating your own Cava or Chipotle fantasy in the comfort and privacy of your own kitchen, dressing and seasoning the meal to match your own personal tastes.
It becomes easier than you think to cultivate less of a reliance on fast-casual dining experiences by learning to recognize the very strategies these corporations use to create the mixed grains or salad bowls they’re milking your bank account dry with, all because you think cooking rice and chopping a tomato is “too hard.”
Start by searching for your closest source of local foods — there might even be a farmer’s market on your block that you’ve never known about.
Remember: Chipotle is a corporation, farmers are people. Which of these two benefits from your purchase more? Which of these two supplies healthier food items?
Let’s take a look at what we’ve got in the adjoining photo:
Rice: a grain. Carbohydrates. Your body needs calories to function. Calories are human gasoline. You won’t live without them, period. I don’t really care what fad diet of the month you’re on, they’re all gimmicks anyway and don’t replace basic healthy food preparation.
Kimchi: a fermented vegetable, full of lactic acid bacteria good for your microbiome. A staple in Korean cuisine. It’s a little sour by itself but mixed in with other ingredients provides a zesty kick that pairs well with vegetables and other acidic juices.
Hemp: a seed. Fats and Protein - but careful! This is not a complete protein all on it’s own. Mixed with the rice, however, this meal provides all essential amino acids, just like animal meats!
Tuna: an animal protein. I wanted an extra protein boost today but this dish works perfectly well without any meat whatsoever. Fish also gives the dish additional “good” fat content.
Red Onion: a root vegetable. More vegetables is never a bad thing. I’ve made this dish with carrots, celery, peppers, you name it. Get creative and make the choice to take control of your diet rather than eating what's been sitting on the Chipotle buffet all day (yes, it’s a buffet. They just plate it for you because corporations realized that gimmick that would sell, and they got you boo).
Lemon: a squeeze of acid - this goes a long way in any dish. Lime or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar are also fantastic options!
Salt & Pepper & Season & Spice to taste. What flavors and herbs do you like? There are no wrong options.
A dash of olive or flaxseed oil. More healthy fats. A tablespoon or so for the precise measurers in the family.
Optional: just like in Cava, this dish works well over your favorite greens.
You may be jumping with inspiration after what I’ve just described, or aghast at the notion that I dare shame your beloved fast casual dining joint. Regardless, there is no substitution for cooking your own food, and that statement is even more true if you’ve grown that food yourself.
You have the power to make choices. Use it. Participating in a food system that keeps you unwell and spending is also a choice you’re free to make. I won’t be offended, I promise.
Cheers.
Luke Andahazy is the creative director, product manager, and webmaster for Sueño de Vida. He handles the cacao once it arrives in the USA and is responsible for getting it delivered to your door!
He is the founder of Sueño de Vida’s partner site, Harvest Drive House, which re-focuses food forest land regeneration onto the scale of the typical American home.