Culinary empowerment is not promoting healthy eating, although it recognises the nutritional value of foods. There are lots of websites to gather that information from. Culinary empowerment is far more focused on how you prepare your food, where you eat it, what you talk about while eating, the environment you eat in and who you eat it with. The true gift is how food, in one form or another, can satisfy all six of your emotional needs, calming those negative emotions down and helping you restore balance. Leaving you time and energy to focus on designing the life you desire.
Negative emotions appear in three main circumstances.
- When people’s expectations are not met
- When people experience detachment from a person, lifestyle or dream
- When a person is pulled out of the reality of the present moment by a toxic situation, person or chemical imbalance.
Those negative emotions if left unheard can cause issues. However, rather than dismiss them, we need to embrace the message that is being sent. When we ignore those messages we leave a door open for toxic people and situations to take hold of our attention and make us smaller than we were born to be. So how do we take our power back, well it is a three-step equation.
The first step of the formula is
- to find a focus something that keeps you in the now,
- provides you with energy,
- satisfies your six emotional needs
- and can be done every day.
There are quite a few options but the one I love revolves around food. It’s no surprise that food can provide you with energy and eating is something we tend to do every day, but the true gift is how food in one form or another can satisfy all six of your emotional needs.
Comfort & Certainty
Preparing or eating your favourite meal that warms your heart can be very comforting. Family recipes, hearty meals, warm soup on a cold day are all perfect ways of using food to wrap your soul in a warm blanket. Ordering your usual in your local can also provide stability as not only do you know exactly what you are going to get, you also know the people too.
Variety
Whether you are experimenting with unique foods, testing out a new restaurant, or serving small bites such as tapas, dim sum, or cicchetti so everyone can have a little of what they love, variety is easy to achieve. One can never know or taste all the recipes in the world, so there is always something new to try. If you have an open mind, food will delight and surprise.
The connection between
food and mental health
is well known, but the
whole culinary experience
as the perfect way to restore
balance is often overlooked
Love & Connection
Food is a great way to express you want to make time for someone. Make a heart-shaped cookie, give a homemade yummy goodie or take them to a restaurant for quality time. Sharing time with loved ones while doing an activity can also take the pressure off you when you are struggling or need a distraction.
Significance
Whether it is your first time cracking an egg or you have just secured your second Michelin star, the feel-good chemicals that are released when you achieve your goal is gold dust when it comes to helping distance yourself from any distracting emotions or thoughts. Create goals and challenge yourself in the kitchen.
The first four needs are
crucial to maintain balance
in a very delicate system but
once you have mastered
those, there are two
more to experience
Personal Development
You are your habits. If you eat well you will have more energy. If you understand what you are putting in your body, you can make more informed choices. Food is there to be enjoyed but there is a charm in learning more about it providing yourself with options and possibilities.
Contribution
You’ve come this far and there is only one more human need to complete. That is to give back, whether you are volunteering or cooking for your grandparents or an overwhelmed friend so they can have a well-deserved rest. Giving back is in many ways far better than any dish.
This touches very briefly on how cooking can lift your mood, but if you are interested in learning more about culinary empowerment we look forward to having you in our community. There are still a few more steps of the formula to learn after culinary empowerment but here is a great place to start. Those who want to fast-track, jump on to my podcast as soon as it launches as we will be talking in detail about the simple steps that can get you back on the road to the life you desire and deserve. Or check out prices and packages for our most popular courses here.
Cook Something
Delicious Today