Nutrition & The Spice of Life

I went to my botanical medicine teacher's graduate class so he could do a case study of my well-being to help the class see how the process works...what to look for in the patients emotional state, physical state and lab work and what to ask.  Ofcourse it was fascinating to be on front of so many people that are holding my medical records and seeing my history of health and imbalance, but what strikes me currently is the conversation we had about my food intake.

I grow food and eat that food and am an extreme-ly seasonal eater.  I buy in nuts, seeds, grains and fruit, but keep the rotation pretty regular.  My teacher was not impressed by my diet and said it needed more variety and more vegetables...this was in early April when I was eating vegetables and grains we had stored and fresh greens that were coming up.  He follows the notion of eating in thirds.  A third of ones diet is based on ethnicity, a third of what is in season and the last third on healthy choices.  I appreciate his train of thought.

I have to say that I have never been a lover of cooking.  I've always leaned towards baking: as pulling a cake together or a pie is like putting a bunch of ingredients together, placing them in a magical box and out comes edible joy and color.  Cooking never felt so simple or enticing.  I've kind of always had this way of getting into a rhythm of meals and sticking with them.  Yet under the repetitiveness I am always craving different flavors, all the time, but it's never been something that crucial on my list of priorities.

What we eat is the basis of our health, because if we are fortunate,  most of us eat everyday of our lives.    It is a big deal.  Being nutritionally sustained allows other parts of our life to prosper.  At first after pondering a bit on the subject, I had intended to make a unique meal each day.  I began with a purslane, lambsquarter, oxalis salad with some sheep ricotta and sunflower seeds and dressed with a nutritive apple cider vinegar I had steeped a while back and felt satisfied by success.  But then when the next meal came around I just didn't want to make the time for it.  So I think a more reasonable goal for this summer is to make a new meal for each week.  A large meal that last a few days.  Maybe even two new meals a week, but to keep it simple.  I do not need to love cooking and to want to be in the kitchen all of the time, but I can find a way to make it work.

Today I am going to make an escarole walnut salad...

Tomatoes and Brassicas growing on and on, over the rolling hills.

Honey Jars Just Painted

Our first flowers Hypericum perforatum, "St. John's wort"

I do have to say I wonder about the whole variety is the spice of life thing.  When I think of the breath.  Each breath is distinct.  Each breath is it's own adventure, it's own expression, it's own tune.  Could I perhaps be so available to each bit of food that I could eat the same meal over and over for my lifetime and somehow tap into nutrients that haven't been scientifically proven to be accessible, or present?

What cultures eat the same thing all the time and lead vibrant long lives?  I would love to know this.

Glorious Calendula Varieties from Wild Garden Seed