enlightenedcuisine

What To Eat? There are so many delicious options out there with food. Being consumed by a passion for cuisine, I want nothing less than completely delicious food. Can food that is actually really tasty be good for you? Can delicious food rid your body of disease and maybe even make you look and feel better? Well, that was and continues to be my quest and the answer is a resounding  “YES”.

The other day I saw Matthew Kenney’s recent talk at a TED conference. ( Video Link: http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxOKC-Matthew-Kenney-Are-You ) Being reminded that the biggest killer in America actually comes from our dinner table, I was instantly drawn back to the place that got me here in the first place. Too many people are simply dying and suffering from diseases that need not be happening to them. The health care and illness crisises in America are mostly related to diet. If we simply changed the way we eat, we could resolve much of the heart disease, cancer, diabetes and mental illnesses that plague us….  Additionally, we would probably have a better sex life, look better and really enjoy eating too! Food is a pleasure. And food can be a wonderful delicious good pleasure.

About a year and a half ago, I decided to forfeit my flex vegan and raw ways and completely embrace the food and methods I was being taught. I enrolled at The French Culinary Institute to learn techniques…. but while there, I also learned about butter, salt and cream… and actually a lot of it really did taste very good. What happened?

What happened wasn’t pretty. Well, lets just forget about the 20 pounds I gained, lets forget about my complexion, lets forget about how I aged more in a year than I did in the past five, lets forget about my lack of energy, lets forget about the congestion and allergic reactions that again started to blossom…. The worse part was, I got sick… frequently. Having not been sick in years… that was debilitating.

Every few weeks I would have a cold or some type of something that was keeping me from enjoying life and living to the fullest.  Depression started to plague me again and not knowing what to do, I turned to a doctor and pharmaceuticals. I know better, and getting sick from those drugs was one of the worse experiences of my life.  I then decided that once I left culinary school, I would return to my former ways. It hasn’t been as easy as I originally thought it would be.

Chefs by the most part really don’t get raw and vegan cuisine. I actually think some are insulted by it.  Yet there is something odd there.  Food is about making you feel good, and nourishing your body. It is a requirement that is on the same level as air, water and love.

Imagine a meal that could make you feel better, look better and taste amazing.  And so, with this 20-minute talk by Matthew Kenney I was back on track. Here is a chef who gets it.  I was reminded of why I got into the culinary field; to learn as much as I could about food and what it did to the body and our environment and then find out how to make it taste amazing. My palate and my body are craving more. More will be discovered and shared.

With love,

Mary