Food and Feng Shui

I must admit: I don’t cook (much). My mother tried to teach me how to cook when I was a teenager but cooking was something that never really interested me. I breastfed my three boys as long as they wanted it and I did manage to puree some healthy baby food when they were little (mainly potatoes and vegetables), but other than that, my husband is the one who has always spent more time in the kitchen than me. Those were the days when we lived in London and he returned from work early enough to cook dinner.

(In my defence I must say that I was working too and dropping off/picking up the boys on the way.) When we moved to the Philippines 10 years ago and we were going to get a domestic helper (what a luxury!) my only criteria was that she must be able to cook.

Of course I enjoy eating. I’m not a very adventurous eater, but like everybody else, I have some favourite foods and every now and then I look for new recipes (for my helper to cook). And I am especially attracted to recipes with nice photographs. To someone like me, who doesn’t cook, photos are very important to tempt the tastebuds!

So when the first food blog by my friend Rebecca landed in my FB newsfeed I was curious. I haven’t actually seen Rebecca for many years, but I slowly remembered that she used to be into healthy food and that in fact she is a dietitian! Reading Rebecca’s blog almost felt like reading a holiday novel, except that the yummy photos reminded me that I am reading about cooking! I was immediately inspired – not to cook – but to add a connection to Feng Shui.

Feng Shui is all around us. Literally everything can be classified as “yin” or “yang”, every single object in our house, every living and non-living thing outside, and of course food as well. But rather than giving you a long list of this and that, I find it more important to remember the basics. Most people associate Feng Shui with harmony (correct). And harmony needs balance. The same goes for food. We all like different things, but it is important to remember the balance. Take a look at what you eat. Do you have a balance of strongly flavoured (yang) and bland (yin) foods? Do you eat sweet as well as sour food; salty, bitter and savoury? All these flavours should be present in your daily diet. If you find you avoid one of them consistently, this will lead to an imbalance in your diet and maybe even signal an imbalance in some other area of your life.

I guess I can say healthy and balanced eating is part of good Feng Shui too! If you are on the lookout for healthy and yummy recipes, do have a look at Rebecca’s website: www.thexpatdietitian.com. We have thoroughly enjoyed her Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup!