Simple ways to add value to every meal (and your life)

Use these everyday and see the difference.

1. Black pepper (use generously on salads and cooked meals).
2. Fresh (uncooked) turmeric and ginger.
3. All aromatic spices (garam masala) - cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise.
4. Fenugreek (methi), cumin, coriander and nigella (kalaunji) seeds - use them for cooking vegetables.
5. Sprinkle seeds on your salads - sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, linseed, chia, sesame seeds. Use freshly squeezed lime juice on the salads.
6. Fresh coriander, mint or other herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary - use them very generously every day! If you can grow some of your own herbs, it is great - freshly harvested herbs not only add wonderful flavours to your meals, but also lots of life energy (prana). Oregano, basil, rosemary are also easy to grow.
7. Eat your water - have soups and pulses (dals) with lots of gravy.
8. Use ghee, butter and vegetable oils very generously. Don’t shy away from fat!
9. Use nuts generously in your baking.

Needless to say, all these should be organic.

Whatever you eat, you should eat slowly and consciously, without TV, mobile phone or too much conversation. Don’t eat when you are angry or in a hurry.

If you would like more value, always wash your hands up to the elbows before eating. Sit facing East. Sit cross-legged on the floor. I know this sounds too far away - you can sit cross-legged on your dining chair. Don’t drink any water at least an hour before and after the meal.

For even more value, cook facing East, have an oil lamp (diya) with organic vegetable oil or a beeswax candle burning in the kitchen while you’re working there and place it on the dining table while eating.

And now, the most important bit: be grateful for the food and all the forces that have contributed to have that meal in front of you. The sun, the land, the farmers, the traders, the cook. Every time. Take a moment to think about it. Develop reverence for food.

If you are the cook, be grateful that you have had the luxury of time to make it.

I hope that having read this article, you will start to develop awareness for the various aspects that contribute to nourishing ourselves:

• the material aspect
• the rituals and ambience enabling our bodies to be able to make the most of what we eat, and then
• being grateful for it.

Track the aspects you put into practice for one month - and share your experiences with me.