#137 Principles to eat well
And feel good
Diets are cults. It's crazy how you can easily jump between different diets just to remain in the same place. We already have enough rules and Frankenstein foods to avoid in this world. So instead of choosing a new diet as we enter the second half of the year, subscribe to PRINCIPLES that allow you to eat well and feel good:
Eat every food group. Build your meals around high quality protein sources. Prepare your grains and vegetables like our ancestors have. Wash, soak and sprout. Eat fresh seasonal fruit under the Sun. We’re human beings, we can eat everything.
Always read the ingredients. Labels don’t matter as much as they used to. It doesn’t matter if something has all the fancy labelling and stickers in the world. The truth is always revealed in the ingredients list. You choose what goes into your system.
Have hard no’s. There are some ‘foods’ that you’re better off not consuming at all. Fast food. Ultra processed snacks. Deep fried garbage (that’s often fried in weeks old oil). They just don’t make you feel good. Sometimes they don’t even satiate you. Judge foods by how they feel after you eat and not while it’s in your mouth.
You need more honey. Incorporate raw honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, etc as a staple. Why wouldn’t you? Tastes incredible and the benefits are unreal. Truly one of the easiest ways a little nibble can elevate your health.
Don’t be afraid of dessert. You only binge dessert eat when you view it as this amazing thing that you want but you shouldn’t have. Treat yourself to an affogato on Sunday. Enjoy a slice of basque cheesecake. Don’t fear dessert, just don’t overindulge like a glutton. Use whole foods ingredients as much as possible and enjoy small portions, tastefully.
Your gut matters. If you’re feeling tired and sluggish all the time, you might need to heal your gut. Start by eliminating all processed garbage, and slowly reintroduce foods that you can tolerate. Eat more gelatinous cuts of meat. Drink broth. Work with a naturopath or holistic practitioner for personalized advice.
Don’t eat organs everyday. Yes, you read that right. Unless you’re having the smallest portions, organs are better eaten a few times per week at max. You don’t want to skew your micronutrient balances the wrong way.
Seafood is crucial. Especially so in a world full of Omega 6s seed oils. You need good quality Omega 3s and nothing compares to high quality seafood. Eat your sardines. Have sockeye salmon. Bake an entire salt-covered snapper (peak summer activity). Fish oils are not as bioavailable and often found rancid in the bottle itself.
You need more herbs. Grow them yourself if you can. It’ll not only be more aromatic but there are incredible benefits that will only compound. Rosemary. Thyme. Parsley. Keep them on hand and always find a reason to throw something in. Chopped parsley on an omlette. Rosemary sprigs to baste your steak. The neuro-regenerative and immune benefits are incredible. Your body will thank you.
Prioritize different cuts of meat. Don’t just have steak and chicken breast every day. There’s more to life. Stew beef shin. Make oxtail. Sip on collagen-rich soup. You’ll also be surprised at the number of good deals you can get for these often ignored cuts.
Water matters. The water you drink matters as much as the food you eat. Get rid of as much toxins and contaminants as possible. No sodium fluoride. No pesticides. As minimal microplastics as possible. Then, make sure it’s full of electrolytes and trace minerals for elite hydration.
Romanticize life. Cooking doesn’t have to be this boring, monotonous thing that you do. Find joy in whisking your morning eggs. Have fun nailing the perfect steak. Not everything has to be optimized to the second.
Fasting is a tool. It shouldn’t be how we all live 24/7. Starving yourself every single day isn’t the smartest thing to do. A beautiful breakfast in the morning is one of the best ways to fuel your day and keep your metabolism running high.
You need more Vitamin C. Eat golden kiwis (skin stays ON) under the sun. Make orange juice. Eat mangoes. Enjoy a bunch of strawberries.
Look out for artificial dyes. Especially if you have kids. Dyes such as Red 40, yellow 5 and blue 4 have been linked with mental illness and they’re not something we should consume. It’s amazing how those brands who understand know this.
What else would you add?
Calming green
Support local
Thinking about butter
Eat white
You need to be eating more white
❋ 6 COMPOUND BUTTERS TO ELEVATE YOUR STEAK
Compound butter is a flavored butter recipe. The butter works as a chilled topper to add to your sizzling hot steak dinner. Essentially, compound butter is traditional butter mixed with other ingredients. Then you can add the butter to meals as a finishing touch or sauce. We use compound butter to create a richer steak flavor profile. You can add spices, honey, cheeses, or herbs into your butter, be creative! Compound butters are the perfect addition to a steak dinner for any beginner (or advanced) home cook. Adding flavored butter to your meals, especially a tender steak, is a very easy way to make a dinner extral special for the holidays.
When we cook steak with sea salt and high-heat oil, it is fantastic, but we can get a little bored with just the basics. Sometimes, we just want to add a little something more to elevate the steak. Especially when we are cooking for guests or having family over for the holidays. We love making compound butters and keeping them in the fridge or freezer. They are handy for quick addition—to turn dinner into a steakhouse-worthy meal!
❋ CARLOTTA IS A LONDON HOMAGE TO 1980S ITALIAN-AMERICAN COOKING
The new Carlotta restaurant in Marylebone is the closest most Londoners will ever come to stepping into a Scorsese movie. A homage to 1980s Italian American culture, Carlotta has all the chintz and meatballs of Brooklyn’s best red sauce joints transported to one of London’s most upper-crust neighbourhoods.
It is the fifth London restaurant from the Big Mamma Group, who made their first big splash in the city with Gloria in Shoreditch. There, guests line out the door for a chance to taste the famous carbonara made at the table in a round of pecorino cheese, share a three-tier tower of focaccia, cheese and meats, and eat a bowl of stracciatella like its ice cream.
❋ HOW THE HUMBLE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE BECAME THE HOTTEST DISH ON TIKTOK
Mousse, meaning “froth” or “foam” in French, first gained popularity in the Thirties when chocolate puddings in general were becoming increasingly sought-after. It’s a popularity that has largely remained steadfast. “It’s a timeless classic, that’s loved by everyone regardless of age,” says Bake Off: The Professional’s judge Cherish Finden. “It ticks so many boxes — it’s airy and light yet intense in flavour and feels a little indulgent, plus it simply melts in the mouth.”
Certainly the humble dish has some stellar fans, Hélène Darroze among them. “I have a very sweet tooth and can’t resist anything with chocolate,” she says. “Cooking is speaking about my life, my emotion in life, something that comes from within me, and chocolate mousse is a dish of my childhood.”
Darroze is not the only one to have lifelong connections to the dish. “I love chocolate mousse, it was always a favourite treat as a child. It’s still one of my favourites and always hits the spot. My mum made a great one,” remembers Michel Roux.
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