What do I mean by soul food?
I’m not talking about the Southern US style of cuisine, I am talking about food and lifestyle choices that nourish your soul.
As a Holistic Nutritionist I believe that our body and soul have to be aligned for us to be truly healthy and I am a prime example of that. Two years ago when I was completely burnt out, my eating was super clean but I wasn’t feeding my mind and spirit so they were exhausted and unhappy and I see this in a lot of the beautiful clients that walk into my practice.
It doesn’t just come down to the food. Yes, I really said that. Don’t get me wrong, the food is a big part of it and something I am obviously passionate about but you also need to feed your soul and these are areas that I am constantly seeing be neglected, just like they were with me.
What are foods that can nourish your soul?
When it comes to actual food choices, these will be very unique depending on the individual and may even depend on the day.
I remember a time when I had just finished co-hosting a full day event, I had an hour to pick up the kids, get them home, make dinner then get them to their activities that night. I remember vividly how exhausted I felt. I had nausea and just wanted to curl up and cry but being the perfectionist and control freak that I was, I pushed through it, got them home and proceeded to make a home-made meal from scratch before getting them out the door.
I can look back now and wish someone had been there to shake me and say, “Enough, you are exhausted, just put a frozen pizza in the oven or go to the drive through.” That would have been nourishing my soul, even though the food itself would not have been as nutritious, the stress that I put on myself was more depleting than the food.
This is where things have to change. I am so tired of putting foods into good or bad categories. I have come to the realization that it’s what your body & soul NEEDS AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME that is key. If that’s a frozen meal or takeout from the local pizza or burger joint then so be it. Be kind to yourself, the last thing you need to put yourself through is more stress and deplete your body and soul.
Also, if you love and I mean LOVE chai spiced lattes from Starbucks and it makes you SO happy to have one of these every day then do it. The joy that this will give you is going to nourish your soul. Now, this is not me giving you permission to be careless about your food and drink choices. If you don’t care about what you’re putting in your mouth and feed your body packaged and processed foods the majority of the time then remember, this won’t nourish you either.
There’s a BIG difference between becoming in tune with your body and soul and listening to what it needs versus just eating mindlessly or as a result of emotions, cravings, hormonal balances etc.
As I said earlier, it doesn’t just come down to the food, there are also simple things that you can incorporate into your life on a regular basis that will provide that much needed love & nourishment that your soul is craving. Going to bed earlier, doing a restorative yoga class, taking a bath, meditating, journaling, going to a therapy session, curling up with a book & a cup of tea, having a date night or meeting up with your girlfriends are just some examples. How many of these types of soul loving things are included in your life?
To help you get one step closer to nourishing your soul, I have included a brand new recipe I created this weekend in the Grime kitchen. Check it out, I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.
2 Tbsp coconut oil
12 oz cremini mushrooms
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
3 cups bone broth (I used chicken but vegetable broth will work if you want to keep it vegan)
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¾ cup cashew cream (see below)
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the coconut oil.
- Add mushrooms, onions, garlic and saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the broth, nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the cashew cream and stir until blended. You can use either an immersion blender (or pour into your Vitamix) and puree the soup until the desired consistency. I personally like mine smooth but if you like it chunky, don’t blend for as long.
1 cup cashews
3 cups boiling water
- Soak the cashews in the boiling water for 20 minutes minimum.
- Drain but reserve ¾ cup of the soaking water.
- Add the cashews and reserved soaking water to the blender and blend until smooth.
Adams Apple Nutrition 