What is "regenerative eating"?
Writer's block, regenerative eating & cooling dishes for summer
Writer’s block is for real y’all. Don’t think I haven’t taken stock that 6+ weeks and counting have gone by since your inbox has heard from me. I’m still cooking, and thinking about your inbox (with a fair bit of guilt), but sometimes, you just have to let go and ride the waves life serves you—until they’re calm enough to invite creativity to put pen to paper/fingers to a keyboard again. When life and temperatures flare, it’s hard for me to simply sit and think of what to write, let alone cook and eat or be any ounce of creatively expansive. I doubt I’m alone in that problem area, especially when it’s 95F / 34C in NYC—a steamy batch of city summer “soup” as it’s being called on Instagram. All I can think about is sprawling somewhere on a sandy beach with a massive iced cold beer hugging a “Fire Island, NY”-logoed beer koozie or a Bloody Mary rich with enough horseradish and pickle juice to somehow make you sweat the perfect amount to cool your body down before making a run into the ocean. Lucky for me, and maybe for your inbox, I’m back in Copenhagen where it’s a balmy 70F/20C with a lite breeze and some cloud cover. I could use another 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit to be honest. But the point is, the creativity and cooler temps are flowing again. And I’ll be biking to the beach here regardless.
But, onto the topic of this post. A few weeks back in the midst of New York City’s summer sweat, I put on a 2-day pop-up at one of my favorite wine bars, Cellar 36. Fresh, flavorful summery dishes fitting to be paired with natural wines and fitting to be executed without any kind of actual kitchen (like the Montauk fluke crudo with fig leaf leche de tigre pictured above). About 6 feet of bar counter, a few small fridges and 2 induction burners is what we were dealing with (the other half of “we” being my go-to gal—note: if you ever need an incredible cake, she’ll soon be your go-to too).
So naturally, I leaned hard into a menu that felt both fitting for the insane temperatures outside (almost every item on the menu was cold/chilled) and achievable given the lack of kitchen equipment (nearly nary a heating element = cold or room temp dishes). When visioning each dish, I also took into account how I would want to feel were I one of the diners during the meal and after getting up from the table, and what items were particularly inspiring to me at the greenmarket. What were my favorite farmers showcasing that week? What summertime vibes was Mother Earth giving? What colors, textures, flavors, feelings and emotions might be evoked? Refreshing, cooling, lip-smacking, crispy, crunchy, icy and creamy, herbal, uplifting and just the teensiest bit fiery (like the weather). And always, always layered in flavors that scream the season. This is where my brain takes me when I’m considering ingredients, pairings and combinations and ultimately how dishes come together for me. It’s rooted in a concept that I’ve taken about 2 decades to properly name—”regenerative eating.” So it felt perfectly timed when my friend Sam (who happens to have a fab Substack of her own called Dinner at 10), asked me while she was dining at the pop-up to describe my philosophy of cooking and eating to her friend sitting beside her.
Regenerative eating is an intentional, intuitive awareness of how we feed our bodies and as a result, how we feel in our bodies, how we care for ourselves, our communities, and the natural ecosystem and climate around us. Regenerate means to improve, restore, nourish, bring back to health/life/energy, foster a holistic ecosystem–a lot of the tenets of regenerative agriculture. Regenerative eating weaves those tenets together with our personal cravings and habits, along with the seasonality of good quality ingredients, the locality of where those ingredients are grown and the farmers and purveyors stewarding that growth. When we eat and cook with thoughtful, regenerative intention we have the ability to magically impact and potentially overhaul our own wellbeing and health as well as the health of the climate and mother nature.
In practice, regenerative eating is rooted in daily/seasonal eating habits and cooking with the seasons and with your intuition—building a confidence and a resourcefulness in the kitchen (perhaps initially through recipes and learned techniques…and then being able to riff on them based on what’s on hand, what’s left over, and what your body gravitates towards naturally again and again at specific times of the year). For instance, right now, it’s peak summer…it’s hot, humid, we’re sweaty and barely can think of turning on the stove or a hot oven. Dishes that sing with a cooling, crisp, hydrating effect that keep us light and energized and dishes that play up the flavors of summer (maybe some nostalgic childhood summery tastes thrown in there too) are what come to immediate mind. For me, each summer season, my cravings and tastebuds tend to come back to the following ingredients, items and favorite go-to recipes: tomatoes, melons, cherries & blueberries, corn on the cob, peaches, cucumbers, summer squash, shell peas & fresh beans, all the fresh summer herbs possible (basil, oregano, thai basil, mint, shiso, anise hyssop); ranch dressing (y’all know I love good ranch), nuoc cham dressing/sauce (tangy, limey, fish sauce - keeps everything lively and refreshing), my go-to gochujang-plum/peach bbq sauce for ribs and anything you can put on a charcoal grill, freshly-caught seafood & fish, my mom’s tabbouleh salad (the perfect lite yet satisfying summer lunch), fresh tomato pasta sauce, lots and lots of satiating, hydrating salads and fresh/grilled vegetable dishes—to name a few. What dishes and patterns come to mind for you this season?
To sum it up, here’s a few guiding principles when I think of regenerative eating:
Create a basis of vegetables/fruits as the foundation of your meals. What produce is available at a given time (a given day or week) - ideally, by farmers or small producers in your locality or region. building meals directly from what the Earth provides us is, in my opinion, the route to satisfaction, BIG flavor, loads of health/skin/digestion-bolstering nutrients and in turn, automatically creates a inherently healthful underpinning of your diet (even if something is slathered in ranch dressing, for real!). Seasonal veg and fruit are like an insurance policy that allow you to weave in other favorite foods without much thought, stress or guilt (that much more room for ice cream). Consider veg/fruit *first* when you’re planning a meal, and build other ingredients around them - try it and see what happens, it’s often pretty magical and very filling, and less expensive. And when you’re aiming to get most of your produce from local sources, their taste is amplified exponentially—so there’s not a ton you really have to do so make them appealing. A peach simply grilled or fresh and topped with feta, lemon, olive oil and some fresh basil—it can be that easy. Add a piece of fish, steak, chicken and/or some cooked farro or grilled eggplant, you’ve got yourself a meal.
Tap into your body and let it have a conversation with you. How does eating certain foods make you physically, and often, emotionally feel? Energized or lethargic? Happy/elevated or depressed? Satiated or still hungry /craving more? What’s the positive or not-so-positive impact on your digestive system? Tapping in helps you identify patterns, on lots of levels. The Earth wants to do good by you, let it! If something doesn’t make you feel great, maybe it’s a “no-thank you” for a while (it’s worth taking note how certain times of day and times of the year/weather shifts impact feelings and digestion). What does your body crave more/less of when it’s 95/34C, hot and humid versus when it’s the middle of winter and you need more warming, caloric-foods rich in good-for-you fats (for that protective winter blanket)? How does your body digest a particular in the morning versus the afternoon or evening (sounds insane, but I’m serious - bananas wreck me after 12 noon, it’s weird, but something I’m conscious of and as healthy as morning oatmeal is, for me individually, it’s not a stabilizing or satisfying breakfast option).
Create patterns that work for YOU. We’re all different and have different, varying needs. A bit of routine and daily structure around meals and go-to recipes keep things (like blood sugar, digestion and satiation) running more easily and streamlined. A hearty salad for lunch is my golden ticket to an energized, balanced afternoon. But that’s me—what about you?
When possible, think beyond your own plate or kitchen when purchasing ingredients. What impact does your purchase have on your family, your community and local food systems/small businesses and farming? Localized, smaller scale food makes a huge difference in taste, health, nature’s ecosystem and the vitality and financial wellbeing of communities, towns and cities.
I will leave you all with a few links to “heat wave” summer recipes perfect for hot and sweaty mealtimes (from the recipe archive). (And for those of you who are paid supporters, I’ll have an additional new summer chill recipe or two in your inbox later this week - perhaps this chilled rice noodle salad above with loads of herbs, crispy ground pork, leftover avocado, and my go-to nuoc cham dressing spiked with a little tahini).
*Watermelon, Smashed Cuke & Tomato Salad with Ginger-Lime-Chili Dressing
*Icebox Pickled Shrimp (quite possibly an exceptional beach snack)
*Grilled Squid Salad (the previous post, and one that is delish chilled)
Stay cool y’all. x