The ancient Vedic texts of India state that our whole body is built around two things: the food that comes into the mouth and the words that come out of the mouth – both must be healthy and harmonious for the well-being of ourselves and others… Healthy food promotes healthy thoughts, conversations, and relationships that ripple into sustaining healthy families, communities, and societies.
Divya Alter, What To Eat For How You Feel
When my interest in food and nutrition developed a few years ago, I began cooking more fresh, unpackaged meals, and I considered myself a pretty decent leftover-hacker with savvy time-saving techniques.
If you look to many wellness bloggers and health-centric magazines, myself included, you will find nifty Sunday evening meal-prep tips and tricks to have homemade eats throughout the week. An excellent way to get whole foods into your diet in lieu of eating out or relying on preservative-ridden packaged foods.
Throughout the past couple of years I began shopping primarily at my local farmer’s market or health food store, focusing mostly on unpackaged goods as much as possible. I would make a batch of grains and roasted or steamed veggies on the weekend to last the week, kept organic canned lentils and beans on hand, froze leftover soups and smoothie ingredients, brought home leftover grains or veggies from restaurants. I was crushing the meal-prep life hacks, and enjoyed sharing with friends and clients who asked what and how I do it.
Although I appreciate these smart ideas and the general importance of eating as fresh, seasonal, and home-cooked as possible, I have since had to re-configure my own meal-prep patterns for the sake of my wellbeing – I noticed that although I was eating well, for some reason over time I was not feeling so great. Something didn’t add up.
When I had my first Ayurvedic session with Divya Alter, the goal was to crack the mysterious code of my off-and-on chronic muscle soreness, poor and irregular digestion, skin and hormone issues. Most of this, she advised, could be shifted through diet, alongside visits to a holistic allergist to help with any food or environmental allergies that diet alone would not remedy.
One of the keys to preparing my food, I learned with stubborn ears, was not only what I ate – of which I had a big list of what to include and avoid – but how I ate it – which included chewing well and sitting calmly, and no leftovers. I had become reliant on the prepping practice that ensured me home-cooked meals throughout the week, and at the time had no clue how I was going to work all of this into my already full schedule.
I was, however, also determined as ever to squash my suffering, and so I was willing to give it a go. I told myself what Divya reminded me – to do what I can and monitor how I feel.
Leftovers and canned or frozen foods, Divya explained and according to Ayurveda, have lost their prana, or life force, which makes sense if you think about it – cooked veggies in the fridge turn wilty and smell funky. Gases released in refrigerated containers can ferment food and make it toxic, and so it becomes very challenging to digest. This can cause buildup of ama, or undigested food particles/toxins, which can clog the subtle/energetic channels of the body and could go so far as lead to disease.
The website Joyful Belly by Ayurvedic doctors writes, “Once you cook food, the nutrients in the food degrade very quickly, within a matter of hours. Food that sits in the fridge for several days may have very little nutritional value left in it. Kids know this intuitively – that’s why they don’t like the taste. They complain when they have to eat leftovers. The taste buds of adults are dull, concealing this effect. Reheating food causes further nutritional degradation.”
I understand that there are busy people and parents in the world who may not have time, not to mention funds, to cook fresh and seasonal every single day, especially for a hungry family. It is undoubtedly a challenge, and I am certainly not able to do this 100% of the time. That does not mean, however, that I am not 100% invested in trying my best.
I firmly believe – especially since I am feeling better after this practice of not only what but HOW I eat (big shift in relieving bloat and gurgles!) – that investing time and energy into re-working food patterns like this can make an enormously positive difference in overall wellbeing. When the body can settle, so can the mind.
Cooking nourishing food not only forces us off our devices – major priority shift – and into meditative work, but also makes us feel better in both the present and the future. This might result in anything from fewer medications and doctor visits to a decrease in discomfort, and so on. And so it might, in fact, wind up helping to save money (and lives) in the long run…
Although this ancient yet newfound outlook takes a little bit more thought at first, it is certainly not impossible. One of my favorite quotes is from the cheeky doorknob in Alice In Wonderland, who responds when Alice exclaims that what she needs to do is impossible, “No, I do mean impassible. Nothing’s impossible!”
As I learn to un-hack my former meal-prepping habits as often as humanly possible, I share with you a few things and investments that helped me personally make this feel-good shift into something sustainable moving forward:
- Buy fresh, local, and organic if and when possible. If anything, the more unpackaged food, the better.
- When you do buy packaged or pre-made food, aim for as clean and preservative-free as possible. There are a lot of wonderful brands with excellent sustainable initiatives that can be found at Whole Foods or your local health food stores, and online like Thrive Market. Companies like Sakara source organic, top-quality produce for their freshly packaged ready-made meals, and services like Green Chef or Purple Carrot supplies you with ingredients to make healthy meals at home.
- Wash and dry veggies ahead of time, store them in airtight containers, bags, or Bee’s Wrap – with towels to absorb moisture if necessary – in the fridge.
- Peel and chop veggies the night before if possible for easy access when you prepare your meal.
- Soak nuts and seeds overnight covered in filtered water, in a container in the fridge. Drain and rinse to enjoy the next day – use in oats, smoothies, on top of veggies, etc.
- Overnight oats are a great time-saver when I know I will have an early morning or busy day. Soak 1/2 cup whole grain oats in a jar covered in filtered water or unsweetened nut-milk with spices, vanilla, and chopped dried fruit – have fun with it to your taste. Soaking “cooks” the grains, and keeping them in the fridge avoids fermentation that can occur on the countertop.
- Buy a food thermos – something that can keep food hot for at least 5 hours. I sometimes cook my lunch in the morning before I leave the house, and store it here to eat later instead of putting it in the fridge and reheating.
- Practice this order of operations for cooking – as Divya advised me – for maximum absorption of nutrients: heat the pan then add the cooking oil (organic ghee and extra virgin olive oil make a great combo), seeds, fresh condiments (like ginger), powders and salt, veggies, water (if dry), immediately pack in food thermos.
- Use a slow or pressure cooker. I have yet to invest in one of these babies but plan to do so for the colder months. Throw ingredients in the pot overnight or in the morning with spices to be ready by breakfast or dinner.
- If you do eat leftovers, reheat them and enjoy within 24 hours maximum.
- When you do eat out, do your best to support and invest in local eateries who are equally as invested in nourishing their community, like sweetgreen‘s fresh and local salads, or the expertly prepared Ayurvedic meals at NYC’s Divya’s Kitchen. As often as you can, put your dollars toward places that choose quality, clean ingredients to maintain your own optimal health.
- Forgive yourself when you can’t make it happen, and do the best you can. This is a big investment to make for the health of our mind and body, and those we cook for, which will result in a well-functioning vehicle for our short time here on earth. It will support the health of our planet by buying less packaged food to boot.
Keep this practice sustainable by doing as much as you can, when you can. Get the people you live with involved, make it fun, get creative, and enjoy the process of taking charge and taking good care of your Selves and your loved ones.
This is not meant to be extremist, but it is certainly an extreme act of self-care.
How do you plan to un-hack your meal-prep habits and start cooking as fresh as possible, even if it is just one meal a week to start?
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Photo: my beloved McCarren Park Greenmarket produce laying out to dry.
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