How can we find our way back to a simplified more enjoyable approach to eating and cooking? The labels for diet programs and ingredients are pervasive; good for the minority with health and digestive issues directly alleviated by the foods they consume. But, the discussion on various diets which advances some ingredients and flat eliminates others has gotten louder making us feel like we must choose what ingredients are "OK", which we believe are better and which we should avoid even though we may have never personally experienced any ill effect.
I choose simple; that is, preparing a wide range of basic foods, as minimally processed as possible and as simply prepared as possible. I prepare meals from scratch daily using fresh produce as the centerpiece. By using simple techniques and minimal equipment there is less to clean up. Cooking is fun.
By consuming less intricate meals, my tastes have evolved to enjoy the purity of single flavors and the sublety of a few combined. My taste for saucy, rich foods or overcooked foods is diminished. What is heightened is my confidence is preparing foods from scratch, entertaining and the great pleasure I get from cooking.
When we introduce the attribute of simplicity to cooking this creates a broader opportunity to enjoy real food, to feel gratitude for our meals, be mindful eaters and conscious consumers. These outcomes, while not measured by science, I believe must be more advantageous to our long term vitality than any of the modes of eating or cooking we may be tempted to try. Choosing simplicity in the kitchen is perhaps the first and greatest step we can take in simplifying our lives.