Slow Living and Cooking
An introduction - taking the time to savour it all
‘The central tenet of the slow philosophy is taking the time to do things properly, and thereby enjoy them more.’ Carl Honoré
Welcome to Generosity of Spirit, a space to share my slow and gentle living philosophy - alongside my love of plant based living and food. Please do subscribe to join me on this gentle journey of discovery.
One of the most inspiring concepts of slow and gentle living is the mindset of savouring. Savouring the present and slowing down your pace so you can live in the moment with more ease. This can be anything from a slow nature walk, a mindful meditation - to simply listening to your body or getting back in bed in the morning with a cup of tea! Slow living gives us the opportunity to take our time, and really appreciate the simple things.
One of my core values and passions - is plant based living and cooking - Generosity of Spirit was born out of this love. I am never happier than when I am in my kitchen, cooking - meal planning or watching foodie shows.
I have been itching to get a newsletter out about cooking, but I also wanted to allow my slow and gentle living philosophy to take centre stage for a little while - after all it is what grounds me and acts as my anchor. Adopting slow living has been absolutely life changing for me, but I wanted to explain how I find it compliments my love of food so well.
Why Generosity of Spirit?
Before arriving on Substack a few weeks ago … I posted regularly on my own website Generosity of Spirit- I have managed this website/blog for over three years - alongside my Instagram @generosityofspirit . After a break and a touch of writer’s block, I decided I wanted a fresh start - hence my arrival on Substack. I also realised that in just posting about food, I was only telling half the story. Generosity of Spirit is about slow and gentle living, and for me there is no better foundation for this philosophy than in food- plant based cooking and nutrition.
I cannot remember the light bulb moment, but I settled quite quickly on the name Generosity of Spirit.
Generosity of Spirit is the openness and willingness to share our ‘gifts’, our ‘spirit’ (both emotional and material) freely with others .
These words felt like the perfect guiding philosophy for the path I found myself on. I had found balance, peace and inspiration in slow and gentle living - and through applying these principles to cooking, I had discovered the sweet spot. I had found something I was good at, and something I loved to do.
Following the guidance of Ikigai - I wanted to find a way to share this love and knowledge with others… Generosity of Spirit.
My Vegan Journey
I have been vegan for about four years and it has transformed my life and my relationship with food. I spent my twenties living at odds with food and nutrition, with a terrible body image and an unhealthy relationship with eating. Even though I spent most of my days obsessing over food, I wasn’t able to fuel my body and it took its toll on my physical and mental health.
It took time, but I started to embrace a vegetarian diet and slowly with the help of my Husband – I started to learn to love food. We would go out to dinner, cook together, and enjoy meals – everything I used to try and avoid.
Over time, I found food and nourishment had so much goodness, it actually fed my mind, body and soul.
After a few years, my vegetarianism grew into veganism and I became more and more confident in the kitchen. The kitchen became my ‘happy place’… I could be myself, lose myself, relax and create.
I started to enjoy experimenting with plant-based food – and found great joy and pride in creating recipes. Soon, I was obsessing over food but in all the best ways.
Like most of the world, the pandemic saw our lives move indoors, into our homes. I found even more comfort in food, cooking and creating plant-based meals, and I wanted more. I started to post daily on my Instagram @generosityofspirit , as often as I could on my website Generosity of Spirit and I completed a Vegan Cooking and Nutrition Diploma.
The more I learnt, the more I wanted to learn.
At the same time, I was reaching a much better state of mental health- I had started to adopt slow living practices and I was finally finding healthy ways to manage my anxiety with mindfulness and self care. I knew a healthy plant-based diet, together with slow and gentle living was the key to achieving full nourishment of my body and mind.
Slow Cooking
‘Slow down, breathe in, savour every bite’
The prominent guiding practice of slow cooking for me is mindful nutrition (i.e., paying attention to our food, on purpose, giving it the time it requires, without judgement). Essentially, it is about being more conscious of our relationship with food - this starts with intentional meal planning, moves onto the practice of cooking and concludes with mindful enjoyment of the food you consume.
Mindful nutrition uses the principles of mindfulness, and meditation to truly experience food, meal planning and cooking by heightening our attention in the present moment with a focus on our sensory interactions and experiences.
In this newsletter I want to just focus on meal planning, and give you a general idea of how I meal plan week by week. In future newsletters we’ll explore the practice of cooking and how you can make cooking a full mind, body and soul experience, and lastly how to truly start eating and consuming food mindfully.
Meal Planning
‘there are dreamers and there are planners; the planners make their dreams come true’
I love meal planning. Every week, usually on a Sunday - I look at my Husband's schedule and my own, and I work through a meal plan and a shopping list for the week. It is one of my favourite things to do.
I work this practice into my slow and gentle living philosophy … I give it time. I am not scribbling a shopping list on the back of a bit of paper, or making a quick decision in the supermarket.
I make a cup of tea, I may burn some incense, light a candle or put my essential oil diffuser on, I play some calming music, settle down on my sofa, and make my plan. I use notion (I have mentioned notion before, I love it, I will explain what it is in a future newsletter but trust me - it’s the best) but you can use anything.
I tend to save recipes that I want to try through the week, so they are easily accessible for me to peruse and choose the ones that will work with our schedules. I may take this time to go through some of my cook books or watch some YouTube for inspiration (Pick Up Limes is my favourite). I also use the Deliciously Ella app which is bursting with amazing plant based recipes.
I often have my own recipes (a collection I am focussed on growing) that are either tried and tested, or ones I want to workshop or improve. I always try to make sure we are getting varied, nutritionally balanced meals and I try not to have the same handful of meals on repeat.
I love exploring food, and find taking the time to meal plan means we also get excited about what we are eating. We try new things all the time, and it is much easier to make sure we are approaching our meal choices from a healthy and balanced perspective.
Meal planning also gives you that moment of pause - to really think what do I need this week? Comfort and ease, choices to inspire, or opportunities to experiment.
I love how meal planning has allowed me to feel inspired by the seasons. I am starting to embrace seasonal living in a lot of aspects of my life, but none more than food. I love exploring what foods are in season and finding ways to champion local or organic food in my recipes.
I love the influence a new season can have in your life, but particularly in our food choices. The instinctive choice in the warmer months to eat more fresh foods, to enjoy more salads and lighter meals, or eat outside and cook alfresco. And then in turn, the colder months in which we crave more warming, hearty and comforting meals.
Devoting some slow and gentle time to meal planning and then creating a shopping list each week- is not only productive, but it also drastically cuts down on food waste and is a powerful mindful activity.
If you allow it the time in your week - meal planning can be nourishing and calming. It most certainly will help you make healthier, more balanced and varied meal choices and gives you the opportunity to think seasonally and locally. It can have a positive impact on your budget and also give you a sense of control as you approach a new week. And to be honest, it is just good fun.
‘Slow food has captured the public imagination and spread across the planet because it touches a basic human desire: we all like to eat well and are healthier and happier when we do.’ Carl Honoré
I really hope you feel inspired to set out some intentional time this week to meal plan, and explore what difference it could make to you.
Please share your thoughts on meal planning, if you do it already or would like to!
Until next time, have a slow and gentle week.
