I was once the pickiest eater you have ever met. As a child, I would bite grains of rice in half to buy time, I drove my parents insane. I didn’t even like pizza. PIZZA for god’s sake! But now, eating good food is one of the most important things in my life. By good I mean healthy, but I also mean tasty. The two don’t always go together, but often they will if you know how to cook.
But how did I get here? This is the girl who was surviving on super noodles and Domino’s pizza at uni. I ordered PLAIN RICE at Waga Mama’s because everything else on the menu made me anxious. My idea of cooking was putting potato waffles in the toaster and covering them with cheese. We invented The Spaguette - a hollowed out baguette filled with spaghetti bolognaise.
Ok, enough of the disgusting confessions now. You get the idea.
Travelling in me early twenties opened my eyes and my heart to food. It forced me out of my bad habits and into a new world where picky eating really wasn’t an option. When I lived in Thailand we were based in the Issan province, known for having some of the best food in the country. We would return from the market with a plastic bag full of Massaman Curry (yes, you read that right), or a box of freshly fried spring rolls, won ton soup or chicken Thai basil with an egg on top that cost a ridiculous 50p. When we moved on to Malaysia I discovered Laksa soup, hot spicy and fragrant in a way I had never known before. We then moved to Sydney and delved into all sorts of international cuisine from Brazilian to Indonesian and everything in between. My palette discovered the diverse and sensational wonders that it had been missing for so long, there was no stopping me now.
The real shift in consciousness around food came though, when I met my husband Mickael. Being French, good food was in his blood. He embodied the real stereotype of a French person thinking their food was exceptional and unique, which I absolutely didn’t understand at first.
I remember new year’s eve 2014, the end of a week we spent together and fell in love at the beginning of our relationship. He made a huge carrot salad for everyone before heading out to the bar. I thought this guy was completely crazy. A week later, he invited me over for dinner and he made baked salmon with slow cooked leeks, I panicked over the lack of carbs on the menu. He thought I was completely crazy. I now make this dish regularly, but that’s by the by…
Now, I get it. I understand that France is a country that prioritises flavour coming from the freshness of the ingredients, not from over seasoning and certainly not from dousing it in chilli. Pretty much the opposite of everything I’d learned in Asia.
When we eventually moved to France after our year of travelling, that’s really when I learned to cook. We spent that year restaurant and market hopping, always looking for the best food in every town, and boy did we find it. I did a couple of cooking courses and put it all to good use when we returned to real life. When you start to cook, that’s when you learn the importance of good ingredients, flavour combinations and balance. But It wouldn’t be until I had kids that I would start focusing on where our vegetables and meat comes from, and the importance of traceability.
The can of worms was open.
I learned about the vast greenhouses in Spain that doused their vegetables in pesticides and exported it all elsewhere (keeping the good stuff for themselves of course!), not just damaging the environment and our bodies, but treating immigrant workers horrifically too. I learned about the inhumane way animals are kept in order to provide our over populated planet with cheap meat. But I also learned about the sustainable local farms and where to buy their produce, and the difference between buying packaged meat at the supermarket vs fresh meat from high quality butchers. Sure the price isn’t the same, but if you get crafty with your meal planning you can make anything work.
There’s a plethora of fad diets out there whether it be Vegan, Paleo, Keto, Carnivore, there’s honestly too many to name. I’m not about to comment on which is right or wrong because different things work for different body types. Plus, I’ve never actually done any of them, I’ve just learned a bit about them through the fantastic Health and Wellness podcast by Rangan Chatterjee, where he talks to experts across a range of subjects, not just food. I hope to go into more detail about some of his episodes on this blog because he really gives a lot of err…. food for thought. All of what I’ve read and learned recently just makes me more sure that I have found what works for me, and I am happy with the way I eat. I believe it to be a sustainable and realistic model, because we live in a time where we have to be mindful of our health but also the planet.
How’s that then?
Seasonal local vegetables (most of the time)
As I mentionned in a previous post, I get most of my veg from the local organic greengrocer, I spend about €10-€15 a week on whatever he has in stock. I never buy veg from Spain but occasionally from Italy.
Seasonal local fruit (most of the time)
We are lucky to have good fruit all year round in France, the only exceptions I make are bananas and avocados, because they’re brilliant.
Local meat from the butcher
I love going to the butcher and picking out nice prime cuts of grass fed beef (occasionally grain fed part time), but only do so once a month maybe. The rest of the time I take minced meat for batch cooking bolognese or chilli con carne for example, or turkey breast (because they’re amazing over here and cheaper than chicken), love my sausages (home made by the butcher with 100% pork shoulder) and ham (sliced off the leg, roasted by the butcher, no nitrates or other nasties).
Vegetarian days
Always have one or two days a week where we don’t eat meat, batch cooking dahl or soups and salads are great for this.
30 different things that grow every week
The gut microbiome loves diversity, I enjoyed learning all about it on this podcast with Tim Spector. I try to eat 30 different things that grow every week (fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, pulses, spices, grains)
Full fat or don’t bother
None of this fake butter, non fat yoghurt, “healthy” biscuits, skimmed milk or fake milk. They are all full of crap!!! You may as well put something pure in your body instead of fake chemical ingredients. Which leads me to my next point…
ALWAYS READ THE INGREDIENTS LIST
The front of the packet is pure marketing. Always read the ingredients, and take products with short lists. Processed food is the enemy. That said, I cave for Haribo.
Indulging on the weekend
I love going to restaurants and eating cake. Why bother living in France if you’re not going to eat croissants and eclairs, honestly? When I first moved here I put on loads of weight because I had absolutely no control. Now I know it’s not going anywhere, I probably have croissants once a month, cake once a week and that’s good for me.
That’s the rough guide to my eating habits, not that you asked. For me it’s not about picking an extreme point of view and doing it all the time, it’s about being conscious of the choices we make, owning them and enjoying food. I spent so many years of my life rejecting it, it feels good to take pleasure in it and enjoy the bounty this planet provides us with.
I hope to share some recipes with you all soon as I do love to cook too!
What about you? What has your relationship with food become over the years, and what are your guiding principles?
Until next time :)