Ishana's Blog Archives - Spoonful Stories

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Made with Love: Can Emotions Affect Your Food?

Have you ever wondered why the food you cook turns out to be completely delicious and full of flavour when you cook it in a happy mood and it’s made love? Or have you noticed why the food isn’t as tasty when you cook under stress or anger?

Well, I definitely believe the emotions we are going through while cooking affects our food!

I have always noticed the difference in my cooking when I cook under stress or anger. Whenever I have cooked under stress, anger or when I am in a bad mood the food doesn’t taste the same. It’s easily noticeable that there is something definitely lacking – love! The food will not be energising, flavourful and I wouldn’t achieve that level of perfection i would be looking for. This is what cooking with sorrow does to your food! And can you imagine consuming all that negative energy?

Ancient Wisdom

The food we eat not only affects our body, but our minds too! Ayurveda states that every meal can be turned into a healing medicine by simply cooking consciously. In ancient cultures too there was always an emphasis on cooking and emotions. The Greeks always said, if the food is made with love and positive energy, the food would be delicious and healing at the same time. Not to forget, The Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture, tells us that the intention of the person cooking the food is actually transferred to the food.

Holy Food

Why is it that every time we eat food from a holy place, such as holy water which is sanctified by the priests, Hindus have the prasad (a devotional offering made to god, typically consisting of food that is later shared among devotees) from the temples we feel happy and blessed? The food offered at holy places doesn’t have any special ingredients in it. It is simply made with love, positive vibes, prayers and blessings! This is the true power of positivity and good energy and how it has an impact on us!

Imagine if we start to cook our food with love and positive energy every time, what the results can be? If we cook our food with the blessings and love everyday for the people we are cooking for, our food will be no different to prasad or holy water.

Happy and Healthy Cooking

The simplest meal is the healthiest meal if prepared with love. So whenever you cook in a happy and cheerful mood, your food will taste delicious and will have healing powers. But, if you cook with anger, no matter how hard you try, the food will not have that level of deliciousness and perfection. Thus, you have the power to mould the mood of those eating your food!

So what do you do with all this information?

Start by being aware of how you feel. Before you start cooking for your loved ones, focus and centre yourself, accept any disturbing thoughts or feelings and try to let go of them. Take a moment and remember, “worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.” Focus on the present moment, put on good music, think of happy memories and find something that calms you.

I found a beautiful prayer that you all can put up in your kitchens. Read it frequently and remind yourself, food made with love; can affect your food!

Kitchen Prayer

May this kitchen be so filled with peace

that all who eat food prepared here receive peace

May this kitchen be so filled with happiness

that all who eat food prepared here receive happiness.

May this kitchen be so filled with good will

that working here is a joy.

Bless this kitchen.

Bless all who work here.

Bless the food that is prepared here.

May this kitchen and the work done here be a blessing to all who live.

– John Robbins, May All Be fed.

You are cooking for your loved ones. Your cooking can bring everyone together and heal them. It is all in your hands! Give your cooking the attention and love that it deserves! Follow me on instagram for happy and joyful recipes!

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Eat Right, Bite by Bite!

National Nutrition Week is observed worldwide from September 1 – 7. The theme for this year is, “Eat Right, Bite by Bite.” The main objective of Nutrition Week is to spread awareness and educate people on the importance of nutrition in our lives and impact of healthy eating.

As of today, I want to talk about how to begin eating healthy. Eating healthy is necessary for good health and well being. But for this, some level of dedication, discipline and motivation is needed. Healthy eating doesn’t mean following a strict and restrictive diet and living only on fruits and salads. Eating healthy truly has to be seen from a holistic approach. I truly want eating healthy for all of you to be an enjoyable social experience.

What is healthy eating?

Like I said before, healthy eating isn’t about following a restrictive and strict diet or simply living on fruits or salads. It is about having a balanced diet, eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions that your body requires. It’s simply about getting the right balance of different foods. You can eat all that you want, only if you practise moderation.

How to start eating healthy?

Eating healthy is the art of maintaining balancing. Follow these few tips that will get you started on how to eat healthy.

Proportion control – You can consume all that you like to eat, only if you practise moderation. You can continue to eat the junk food you have been eating but the key is proportion control at all times! As Diwekar’s meal map suggests that, it’s important you visualise how much you want to eat at a particular time, consume half of that amount of food, and take double the time to eat it. And, if you feel hungry again, repeat the same process. The mental meal map provided by nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar is an effective way to practise moderation while eating.
Avoid everything packaged – Nothing is healthier than freshly cooked home made food. Foods that packages are processed and loaded with sugar and preservatives that are harmful in many ways for our body. It’s normal to crave comfort food such as pizza, pasta or cake, but avoid ordering it from outside and instead make it at home. Satisfy your craving by making comfort food at home.
Consume fresh fruits and vegetables – It is important to eat fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. They provide numerous benefits to our body. So make the most of seasonal fruits and vegetables that are available. Eating sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables ensures that you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals required by your body.
Eating local and traditional – Eating local and traditional food that is being consumed in your family for over years is a way to ensure variety in your diet and make sure you are getting sufficient nutrition. Eating seasonal, local and traditional foods is a way to start eating healthy. Our ancestors would eat a balanced diet, so it is important we follow the tradition.

In addition to these points mentioned above, it is important to have a healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind along with a balanced diet and proportion control, make sure you remain active and exercise regularly.

Follow SpoonfulStoriesbyIshanaPassi for healthy and delicious recipes!

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Life is complicated, cooking isn’t!

So enjoy your time in the kitchen and celebrate the joy of home cooking!

This article is something I have been wanting to write for a very long time. But maybe I needed to spend more time in the kitchen before I could write this. And by in the kitchen, I don’t mean any random kitchen, I mean my own kitchen where I feel most at home.

I do not want to talk about nutrition or why homemade food is better than take-out food. I want to share with you my love for cooking and how I feel when I am in the kitchen.

My kitchen for me is like a canvas, the most creative and productive place. The kitchen has always kept me grounded and centred. Ever since I can remember, I have truly enjoyed cooking and baking. My time in the kitchen has always proved to be therapeutic and exhilarating. I don’t cook because I ought to, but because I want to. And, yes, there are days when I don’t feel like cooking. That is what life is all about! For me, the kitchen is not a place I would want to escape from, never can I imagine that. Instead it’s a place to escape to.

Food is simply more than fuel, M.F.K. Fisher wrote, “that our three basic needs, for food, security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others.” Around the kitchen is where these things all meet. With an empty kitchen and an empty stomach you cannot live a content and healthy life. Our lives are formed by memories, and the focus of mine is the food I have cooked and the people I have cooked for. I began cooking for others in my family, and little did I know that we would start sharing heart to heart moments at the table again. In my family, we always took eating together on the table for granted. I realised it was my joy of cooking a simple meal that would bring everyone together and make it for the best memories and therapeutic eating. Every time I would cook, there would be a sense of excitement in everyone to share a meal together.

Sharing a meal together can be a reason to take out time for each other from our busy schedules. It is simply cooking and eating together that brings us closer in such complex societies today.

The art of cooking is what sets us apart as humans. Food is one of the universal topics that can bring people together and be a conversation starter. The food in my blog, that comes from my kitchen, is eaten at my table by my family, and will be eaten by yours, is the food I have always enjoyed cooking. My recipes do not require any technique or expertise. It is simply for you to be creative and have an exhilarating experience, making memories cooking for your loved ones.

Life is complicated, but cooking isn’t. So enjoy your time in the kitchen and celebrate the joy of home cooking!

Follow me on Instagram @SpoonfulStoriesbyIshanaPassi for recipes from the heart of my home, my kitchen.