Opinion: I’m really good at BEING the foodie.
Opinion: And I’m really good at BEING knowledgeable about health.
Fact: I can’t always sustain both together –but I work towards that as much as I can.
Combining the two can be more possible when you cook at home. Doesn’t mean dining out is a no-no, it just comes with its price. And it is also rewarding in a non-nutrient manner as well. We always circle back to community as an antidote to loneliness and the importance of relationships; for many, dining out or traveling feeds that part of the soul, and with it, comes food experiences or choices that are delicious, but not always the healthiest. So be it. Do it (if you don’t have a huge immediate price to pay for it).
But generally speaking and most of the time, getting to be a healthy foodie at home IMHO simply just means trying new recipes and new ingredients from around the world, and using ingredients that are as close to the original source as possible (i.e. least processed possible). Here are my top 7 tips to be a healthy foodie:
Here are my top 7 tips to be a healthy foodie:
- Use spices. Even the finest dining experiences will play on a single spice in a perfectly executed traditional dish. Think of this Best Restaurants List in the US in 2022; check out the menus for inspiration.
2. Chop your vegetables in different ways. It isn’t only about presentation. The cut makes the mouthfeel too. Try a mandoline. Or use the rangiri cut for carrots–pretty easy and quick!
3. Use condiments/sauces. This is the fast, home-cook, weeknight way to make delicious food. Preferably MAKE those condiments since the store-bought versions typically can be loaded with very poor quality inflammatory oils. If you’re buying them, read the labels! You want clean, pure, readable ingredients with good quality fats or oils, preferably extra-virgin olive oil and for now, avocado oil (as far as we currently know).
4. Use a vegetable you haven’t worked with before and find a recipe to highlight it. Look at Le Bernardin’s menu right now that has heart of palm. Think outside the box with dried foods as well (love the seaweed “caviar” here)
5. Speaking of vegetables, go to the Farmers Market if you can, or order from a CSA. That way you are forced to work with a new vegetable that is seasonal (and yes, rotating the veggies is EXCELLENT for the microbiome)
6. Join or start a cookbook club. I’ve been in one for many years and not only do you get to have a community, but you also never tire of the same old recipes. There are no recipe ruts. And it forces you to cook more at home!
7. Source good quality ingredients as much as you can. That alone can make the home-cooking shine, by flavor AND by health.