I love food. Eating it, making it, watching every single cooking programme on TV – and immersing myself in cookbooks (every single time I cross Waterstone’s threshold, I need to talk myself down from spending that month’s mortgage payment on beautiful, hardback food bibles).
Before kids, my husband and I would spend whole weekends in the kitchen – planning meals, prepping and cooking together, music on, singing and dancing, with the wine flowing. We certainly don’t have time for that these days with two little people, but we still like to eat well, and I don’t think there’s a style of food we don’t like.
When my anxiety flares, sometimes I’m an exhausted and emotional mess, but sometimes it joins forces with my love of food and actually works in my favour!
A month or so ago, I had planned to go to an anxiety social group meet up. But guess what? I was too anxious to go! So, with all my pent-up anxious energy – coupled with some springtime euphoria – I cooked.
One dish turned into a few, and I ended up with Mexican tapas featuring mini beef tacos, roast chipotle cauliflower and spiced prawn skewers with guacamole, salsa, sour cream and tortillas. Apparently, I forgot I was only cooking for my husband and me.
A week or so later, I asked husband what he would like for dinner. When he answered with ‘salad’, some ‘salad doesn’t make you a good enough wife’ anxiety popped up, and I ended up making “build your own” Buddha bowls. Basically, an uber salad that proves your love because you’ve had to prep approximately 3,000 different ingredients.
I do love “build your own” meals though, despite it resulting in 10 times as many dishes to wash in the morning. I love them for the same reason that I love tapas, dim sum and any other cuisine that celebrates this style of eating. I find single, large plates of food incredibly off-putting. I enjoy meals you can delve in and out of – you eat slower, over a longer period of time, it’s more convivial, and you get to eat lots of different things in one sitting (because in case you hadn’t guessed it yet, I’m greedy!)
I’m a big fan of making homemade soup as well, it truly is food for the soul – and you’re less likely to have to have your doorframes widened, than you are with some of my other anxiety-driven mega feasts.
Sometimes though, my brain and my love of food have a disconnect. Like when the “you’re a big fat pig” anxiety means you cook the healthiest dinner you possibly can, but the “why are you torturing yourself, you only live once” anxiety has you fantasising about ringing for a KFC and a bottle of prosecco whilst you eat it…. The flipside of that being when the “my life is a mess” anxiety means you just eat the entire contents of your fridge, covered in cheese and dipped in butter.
Although better that than being in the depths of despair and eating nothing at all. But that’s a story for another day.
I am the same. I’d much rather than a hundred tiny meals that one huge meal so I love things like tapas. I like the social element too. You tend to eat slower and chat more!
Exactly! There’s something so off-putting about a massive plate of food sat in front of you. That’s why – controversial alert! – I’m not a massive fan of the traditional Sunday roast…!
Yes, I am crazy about cook books too! I get far too excited. Strangely, I hate following recipes though, so they’re just there for stroking. 😂 I love a home-made soup too, but I just wing it with fridge leftovers. Sounds like you’re a pretty impressive cook. Xx
Haha, yes! I love to sit down and read cookbooks, like you would a novel, with a glass of wine in a quiet corner, not dirty them with cooking splatters!! x
I love build your own meals too and that cauliflower soup looks amazing!
That soup is fabulous because it’s an excuse to shove huge chunks of cheese into your food without shame, because the recipe says so…
Wow that’s some impressive cooking. It’s great to have an outlet when things are getting to you
Thank you! I do love to cook, it’s a great outlet to have – it’s creative, it calms me down and you end up with something yummy at the end of it!
as a food lover,i really like this post and your food haha, I also love to make food myself, love cooking.
Aah, thank you so much! I know some people really don’t enjoy cooking, but I think it’s a lovely creative and enjoyable thing to do.
As a mum, I struggle to find meals that all of us will eat and that causes a lot of stress and anxiety trying to make sure that everyone has a balance diet. Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
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Photos are great – and I love “make your own”! It’s a ltitle bit iof prep work, but means little miss 6 eats what she puts on her plate, with lots of options!
I like to build my own meals especially vegetarian meals. I would like to make tapas soon.
Oh my. That all looks so delicious. I love food and trying new stuff, so this is right up my ally.
I have a love hate relationship with food. I do my best to eat my best but it doesn’t always work out that way. I am currently struggling due to my finances but I make the best of what I can afford.
I loooooooooooooooooove cooking as it is a way to test new recipes but also spice up familiar ones. I would love to try to make a Buddha bowl someday!
This post makes me hungry
“Eat the entire contents of your fridge, covered in cheese” now this really is a sentence I think we can all relate to! I love to cook so much – when I’m anxious it really calms me and relaxes me < ironic considering how stressful some people find cooking! X
That looks so delicious!!!
We love build your own meals, one of our regulars for dinner is fajitas or byo burger. The food in your pics looks amazing.