We eat when our bodies are hungry. We select foods that taste good, that is available, that we crave….and hopefully, sometimes things that are healthy for our body.
But should our food selections be based on physiological needs alone?
I was struck with this thought while I was reading Nicole Mones’ book “The Last Chinese Chef”. In it, an excerpt read:
“For someone grieving, cook with chives, ginger, coriander, and rosemary. Theirs is the flavor, which draws grief up and out of the body and releases it into the air.” -The Last Chinese Chef
The approach is less about “treatment” and more about the need to being in tuned with the mind and spirit. And when one is conscious of their mind and spirit, you select ingredients to nourish it.
This has really resonated with me over the past few days. But perhaps many of us already inadvertently practice this belief. Comfort Food. Soul Food. When many of us feel under the weather, we want soups or foods that we grew up eating—evoking a sense of nostalgia. Celebratory events almost always have sweets to offer. So although the ingredients selection may not be as methodical, the approach is still the same.
Food should nourish the Body, Mind and Spirit. Perhaps the Chinese had it right all along.
theculinarychronicles.com 