My name is Karen and I live in Sydney, Australia.
Food is my passion. It’s not just about cooking – but also about health, travelling, celebrating cultures, and bringing people together. Food is one thing that we all have in common, and the experience of cooking and eating is what has led me to create this blog.
if we have to eat is all about the food (and drinks) we put into our mouth.
Since eating is something that we have to do everyday to survive, we should make sure that the food we eat is tasty, enjoyable – and as healthy and homemade as possible. We don’t all have to be rabbits eating lettuce and carrots!
I do hesitate to use the word “healthy” here because I have no qualifications to determine what is healthy or not. Nutrition is a complex topic and everyone has their own needs. Instead, I look to food guidelines and try to cook balanced meals based on recommended portion sizes and servings of vegetables, meat, dairy, cereals and grains.
Processed and prepared foods are readily available and with our busy lives. It’s hard to avoid them altogether. However, the more we can eat food that we have cooked ourselves, the more we can control what goes into our bodies – and that can only be a good thing. Cooking at home makes it easier to control portion sizes and allows me to pack as many vegetables that I can into every meal.
Finally, to make good that you want to eat, a good toolkit in the kitchen is key. In world where we’re time poor, the right equipment makes it easier and quicker to prepare your meals. You can find out what’s in my kitchen [here].
It’s also important to look at the individual ingredients that go into what we eat. We all know that some ingredients are better for you than others. For example, starchy vegetables like potatoes shouldn’t be eaten in the same quantities as others.
As we age, the quality of life that we have is partly related to the ingredients in our meals. I am a strong believer that we are what we eat. If we want to have a long and active life, we should try to choose the right foods for our bodies. I like to look at different foods and ingredients to understand how they are used, what we should eat more of and what we should avoid.
At the same time, we’re not hermits. Going out for a meal is a part of building and maintaining the relationships that sustain us. There’s joy in eating a dish that makes you want to go back for more and sharing that with others. I love discovering new restaurants and new dishes and eating food that I didn’t have to cook myself!
Travelling the world can also fill our souls with new experiences and exposure to new cultures. Purely based on our upbringing and experiences, we’re exposed to different foods and ingredients. The more we can be open to trying to new things (and I don’t mean grubs and sheep’s brains) – the more we can understand each other and celebrate our cultures. One of the first things I do after booking a holiday is to look at dishes and places to eat.
At the end of the day, it’s all about balance. If we have to eat, then let’s have good food that nourishes our bodies and our souls.
