With so much focus on food and nutrition in the past couple of years, you could be forgiven for feeling confused by so many mixed messages. I have been examining my relationship with food over the past year or so and become more conscious about my habits and the quality of my food.
A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to attend a wonderful “Intuitive Cooking” event hosted by my beautiful friend, Adele McConnell of Vegiehead in Sydney (as part of her current national tour). I was a little nervous beforehand as even though I have healthy eating habits and food is one of my greatest pleasures, my cooking skills are pretty basic.
However, I needn’t have worried. What unfolded was a beautiful, nurturing evening that reminded me of sacred women’s circles. The venue was the fab Sydney Cooking School.
Adele opened the evening with a beautiful chakra meditation and we all chose an oracle card and each woman shared what the card symbolised. It was heartwarming to have this intimate sharing of why each woman had been drawn to the class.
Adele also talked of how many of the cooking skills and recipes that previously shared between mothers and daughters and passed on through generations in families has been somewhat lost. So much is convenience-driven that many of us don’t feel competent or confident in our cooking abilities to create something from scratch. However I was gobsmacked to learn how easy to make, nutritious meals can be. Creating nurturing food for ourselves is a supreme act of self-love and another way that we can also share this love with others. 
We created Thai and Indian veggie curries which were unbelievably good. I can honestly say it’s the best Thai curry I’ve ever tasted. It was also the perfect food to eat as we listened to the crazy hail storm banging down on the roof of the building. It was not time consuming to make and before we knew it, we were all moaning and groaning in pleasure at how delicious the food tasted. “Convenience” does not necessarily equal quicker and is certainly not convenient for your health. 
Adele’s passion for sharing her love of plant-based cooking is infectious and when you see how much she glows with enthusiasm, you can’t help but feel she knows what she’s talking about. It’s inspired me to look at how I can experiment more with food and step outside of my comfort zone. We also took home the printed recipes. Practice makes perfect 😉
I highly recommend you check out one of her classes on her national tour. If you can’t attend, check out her drool-inducing ebooks jampacked with delicious but easy meals. One of my favourite recipes is the roasted cauliflower slices in her Main Essentials ebook. No, I’m not an affiliate but just think food this good needs to be shared 😉 Have you tried any of her recipes or attended any of her classes? I can’t wait for her 2014 book tour.
All of the photos shared in this post were taken by the lovely Renee Bell. For details of her work see here.
I would love to hear your thoughts re cooking for yourself and what you enjoy or find challenging about nurturing yourself in this way? Please see the comments box below.
