Glorious food - by Asha Hawkesworth

Glorious food by Asha Hawkesworth
Some people say that you have to be vegetarian or vegan to be spiritually evolved. Others are into raw foods, or macrobiotics. Some folks say that it just has to be organic and "natural," or that your milk should be raw and unpasteurized. Or maybe your diet should be low fat, low carb, low sugar, or low protein. It's enough to make you wonder what's left to eat. Really, these food fads are the luxury of the wealthy. Eating a healthy vegan diet is not easy. To be successful, you must have access to a variety of alternative foods to ensure that you're getting the nutrition you need. Wealthy people—and by "wealthy," I include the American middle class—have this access. People who live in poverty or in poorer countries don't have those kinds of options. A person in an African village is going to eat whatever is available and in season. In season. We Americans have largely forgotten this concept. We're so accustomed to getting summer fruit in the winter (shipped in from below the equator) and the best cuts of meat on demand that we have become disconnected from the natural food cycle. But if we're even going to pretend to be spiritually minded about what we eat, this has to change. In a recent article, Jonny Bowden said, "There is no perfect diet for human beings." And he's right; everyone is different. Everyone has different needs and different available resources. What you eat should be determined by what is available to you and what feels supportive to your body. If a vegan diet is what you need, then follow that. On the other hand, you are not "less spiritual" or evolved if you eat meat. Everything has a consciousness, including the plants, but we have to eat something. The key is to be mindful, thankful, and avoid waste. There is certainly enough to feed everyone, but we need to rethink how our food must look. It's incredible that crooked carrots won't be stocked on grocery store shelves because people won't buy them. Apparently, consumers expect all carrots to look "a certain way"—straight. Additionally, Americans shy away from a number of perfectly good cuts of meat because we're just not used to eating them. Cuts like ox-tail, heart, liver, and tongue taste great when properly prepared and are incredibly nutritious. We just can't afford to waste good food like that. If we're going to eat meat, we need to reconnect with the whole animal. We honor the sacrifice of its life when we use all that it has to offer us. We must also reconnect with the natural cycle of our food. For example, it's accepted wisdom that our bodies need the foods that are in season. You may be able to get cherries in January, but harvest apples are probably closer to what your body needs at that time of year. This doesn't mean you should never eat anything that is out of season, however. Eat the peaches you preserved in the summer, by all means. Just be aware of the rhythm of the year and include in-season foods in your diet. In-season foods not only provide the appropriate nutrition for the time of year, they provide the appropriate vibration as well. All things are energy, so all things have a vibration. Food is no exception. Some foods have a higher vibration than others do, and we basically know which ones are which. The more processed the food is, the lower its vibration. The higher the quality, the higher the vibration. And when good food is grown and prepared with love, it has the highest vibration of all. All of the best cooks know that love is the most important ingredient. Julia Child taught us how to make gourmet food in our own kitchens, and her passion lit the fire of many an aspiring young chef. My grandmother was a great, but simple, country cook, and love flavored every bite of her food. I still wax rhapsodic about her meals. They were a balm on my child heart. Love really does raise the vibration of any food, and when we prepare it or sit down to the table, we can and should consciously ask the food to raise its vibration to our own level. In this way, we can get the most out of what we have. As our economy heals and we as a society shift our consciousness, the way that we think about food must also change. Large, sterile factory farms with poor conditions for workers and animals alike cannot produce anything of a higher vibration. We must produce our food with integrity and with respect for natural systems. Some farmers and ranchers are doing this. We can vote with our dollars and support them. It's a win-win: we support the people who are making positive changes, and we get excellent, high-quality food in return. Today, the opportunity to connect with our food and the seasonal cycles is still largely limited to the middle class and above, but this is changing. In Portland alone, you can't throw a stick without hitting a community garden of some kind. People who own lawns are converting them to gardens. And for those who qualify, the Oregon Farm Direct Nutrition Program provides a subsidy to help people with lower incomes to purchase produce directly from farmers. Food is a local issue. We need to support our own communities and make the most of our local resources. Here in Oregon, we are blessed with an abundance of farms, ranches, and rivers, and we can make or grow everything from berries and cattle to wine and wool garments. But every town and region in the country has something to offer its citizens. The end of hunger and want begins at the local level, not the national one. When we come together as a supportive community, we can move mountains. Food is one of our basic needs, but it also unites us: we celebrate with it, mourn with it, forge new relationships with it, heal with it, share it, and obsess over it. Food is the core of every culture's identity, and sharing a meal binds us together in community. Food is powerful. We can use this power wisely, in harmony with the earth, and create something really fine. Or we can choose to degrade our health and the earth's by continuing to produce and think about food in an unbalanced way. All of us make this choice every day. Which will you choose? Related articles & additional resources: Directory of Oregon farmer's markets Food stamps, now paperless, are getting easier to use at farmer's markets Things to be thankful for The pleasures of less-than-perfect fruitcake

Glorious food
by Asha Hawkesworth

Mayan calendar

Some people say that you have to be vegetarian or vegan to be spiritually evolved. Others are into raw foods, or macrobiotics. Some folks say that it just has to be organic and "natural," or that your milk should be raw and unpasteurized. Or maybe your diet should be low fat, low carb, low sugar, or low protein. It's enough to make you wonder what's left to eat.

Really, these food fads are the luxury of the wealthy. Eating a healthy vegan diet is not easy. To be successful, you must have access to a variety of alternative foods to ensure that you're getting the nutrition you need. Wealthy people—and by "wealthy," I include the American middle class—have this access. People who live in poverty or in poorer countries don't have those kinds of options. A person in an African village is going to eat whatever is available and in season.

In season. We Americans have largely forgotten this concept. We're so accustomed to getting summer fruit in the winter (shipped in from below the equator) and the best cuts of meat on demand that we have become disconnected from the natural food cycle. But if we're even going to pretend to be spiritually minded about what we eat, this has to change.

In a recent article, Jonny Bowden said, "There is no perfect diet for human beings." And he's right; everyone is different. Everyone has different needs and different available resources. What you eat should be determined by what is available to you and what feels supportive to your body. If a vegan diet is what you need, then follow that. On the other hand, you are not "less spiritual" or evolved if you eat meat. Everything has a consciousness, including the plants, but we have to eat something. The key is to be mindful, thankful, and avoid waste.

There is certainly enough to feed everyone, but we need to rethink how our food must look. It's incredible that crooked carrots won't be stocked on grocery store shelves because people won't buy them. Apparently, consumers expect all carrots to look "a certain way"—straight. Additionally, Americans shy away from a number of perfectly good cuts of meat because we're just not used to eating them. Cuts like ox-tail, heart, liver, and tongue taste great when properly prepared and are incredibly nutritious. We just can't afford to waste good food like that. If we're going to eat meat, we need to reconnect with the whole animal. We honor the sacrifice of its life when we use all that it has to offer us.

We must also reconnect with the natural cycle of our food. For example, it's accepted wisdom that our bodies need the foods that are in season. You may be able to get cherries in January, but harvest apples are probably closer to what your body needs at that time of year. This doesn't mean you should never eat anything that is out of season, however. Eat the peaches you preserved in the summer, by all means. Just be aware of the rhythm of the year and include in-season foods in your diet. In-season foods not only provide the appropriate nutrition for the time of year, they provide the appropriate vibration as well.

All things are energy, so all things have a vibration. Food is no exception. Some foods have a higher vibration than others do, and we basically know which ones are which. The more processed the food is, the lower its vibration. The higher the quality, the higher the vibration. And when good food is grown and prepared with love, it has the highest vibration of all.

All of the best cooks know that love is the most important ingredient. Julia Child taught us how to make gourmet food in our own kitchens, and her passion lit the fire of many an aspiring young chef. My grandmother was a great, but simple, country cook, and love flavored every bite of her food. I still wax rhapsodic about her meals. They were a balm on my child heart. Love really does raise the vibration of any food, and when we prepare it or sit down to the table, we can and should consciously ask the food to raise its vibration to our own level. In this way, we can get the most out of what we have.

As our economy heals and we as a society shift our consciousness, the way that we think about food must also change. Large, sterile factory farms with poor conditions for workers and animals alike cannot produce anything of a higher vibration. We must produce our food with integrity and with respect for natural systems. Some farmers and ranchers are doing this. We can vote with our dollars and support them. It's a win-win: we support the people who are making positive changes, and we get excellent, high-quality food in return.

Today, the opportunity to connect with our food and the seasonal cycles is still largely limited to the middle class and above, but this is changing. In Portland alone, you can't throw a stick without hitting a community garden of some kind. People who own lawns are converting them to gardens. And for those who qualify, the Oregon Farm Direct Nutrition Program provides a subsidy to help people with lower incomes to purchase produce directly from farmers.

Food is a local issue. We need to support our own communities and make the most of our local resources. Here in Oregon, we are blessed with an abundance of farms, ranches, and rivers, and we can make or grow everything from berries and cattle to wine and wool garments. But every town and region in the country has something to offer its citizens. The end of hunger and want begins at the local level, not the national one. When we come together as a supportive community, we can move mountains. Food is one of our basic needs, but it also unites us: we celebrate with it, mourn with it, forge new relationships with it, heal with it, share it, and obsess over it. Food is the core of every culture's identity, and sharing a meal binds us together in community.

Food is powerful. We can use this power wisely, in harmony with the earth, and create something really fine. Or we can choose to degrade our health and the earth's by continuing to produce and think about food in an unbalanced way. All of us make this choice every day. Which will you choose?

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