All I See Are Ingredients

I once had a friend tell me that when he looks in his cupboard all he sees are ingredients. It sounded funny at the time, yet lately I’ve noticed the same thing in my kitchen. When looking into the cupboards in my home, all you see are whole, plant ingredients. There are no processed foods or “grab and eat” junk foods . You won’t find boxes and bags of cereal, potato chips, canned soup, or fish-shaped crackers. Everything consumed by my partner and I is made of real plant ingredients, and prepared in our own kitchen.

Convenience foods are not convenient to your body. Food made in factories, no matter how organic or natural they may claim to be, is still food made in a factory. It is still mass produced. The way food is made in factories is never the same as the way we make food in our own kitchens.

We live in a fast-paced world and while pouring a bowl of packaged cereal from a box may feel more convenient, it only takes a few extra minutes to prepare a pot of quick-cooking oatmeal topped with fresh fruit, dates and hemp seeds. Choosing a boxed breakfast vs. a homemade, fresh breakfast will create different outcomes in your body. Vitality comes from eating fresh food that is mindfully prepared in our own kitchens.

When you shop, I suggest doing what you can to avoid the packaged, convenience “foods” and instead purchase whole, plant-based ingredients. When you shop for these “ingredients” you control the amount of oil, sugar and salt in your diet, as well as the quality of what you eat for a fraction of the cost of mass prepared food.

Choose ingredients that match the lifestyle you want to lead. If you want to thrive and have energy, choose ingredients that create that outcome in your body. Fresh organic fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes, and grains can be combined to create beautiful food that optimally nourishes the body.

If you are worried about coming home from a long day and finding yourself too hungry to create something from scratch, get a head start. You don’t need to start from scratch every time; having prepared leftovers or snacks like bliss bites in the fridge or freezer will give you the energy required to create your next real food meal. Make extra rice or quinoa and keep it in the fridge so you can whip up a quick buddha bowl, or create dinners with leftover lunches in mind. One of my secrets is to always have fresh fruit available, along with my handmade cultured cashew cheese, dates and almond butter.

You will know you’ve reached the pinnacle of healthy eating when you look around your kitchen and hear yourself saying, “All I see are ingredients.” Seeing only ingredients reflects your desire to have your body function at its highest level. Anything short of that reflects scarcity of time, and scarcity of trust in yourself. When all you see are ingredients, you’ve reached a point where you fully trust that you can optimally and properly feed yourself. When you no longer see convenience foods, you realize that your health is not a rush job, it’s a priority.

I am excited to tell you that my next cookbook, For the Love of Vegan Cooking (sneak peak of the cover on the right) will be available on Amazon soon with a book launch to celebrate it’s release in June. Watch for an exciting announcement about the launch soon. This book is a collection of all of my latest recipes, and includes a vegan pantry list. If you are looking for an idea of what I mean by healthy, whole plant ingredients that you will find in my cupboards, here is a list from my upcoming book to get you started.

If my words hit home and you’d like to support my work, please donate: