ON THE MENU

Food is an art that might be the most important.

Think about it: we eat not only because we want to, but because, if we don’t, we will die. We’ll waste away into nothingness and cease to exist. Calories keep us going. They keep us alive, and allow us to continue on our daily adventures. What, other than food, can keep us sated and keep us going like that? Nothing, except for maybe water.

Even then, you cannot survive with just one. You need both, water and food, in order to keep a human body nice and healthy.

Here’s the thing, though: it is my belief that, if we need to eat in order to keep breathing, then we must eat what we like to eat. Yes, it’s better if it’s healthy, but different bodies need different food in order to keep them going. For me, my body needs a lot of cheese, meat, and shellfish to feel healthy and stay healthful. Other people need leafy greens, while still other people need certain types of sugars in their bodies. Each of us become healthy off of different foods. Sometimes, your nutritional needs change based on what your body needs at the time.

The best way to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need is to both eat nutrient-dense foods, and to eat processed meals, snacks, desserts, and drinks as little as possible. That’s why there are healthy sodas now, and why the health kick kicked off. It’s also why no doctor can agree on what is healthy. Some people say the vegan diet is healthiest, while others swear by the paleo diet. Each one is different. That’s one of the reasons why I believe in swearing off these diets altogether and finding a way to tailor what you eat to what your body needs.

It’s the same thing as, ‘the sun helps your body to break down Vitamin D’ — the same idea, anyway.

That’s why I’ve decided to create this segment under Kitchen on Armida Warrior. Sometimes, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what our bodies need, not based on what a doctor says, but based on what we know to be true about ourselves.

‘On The Menu’ is a segment based on the clean eating that I, myself try to keep up with in order for my own self to be healthy. A lot of these recipes are, what I like to call, ‘gourmet comfort food’. I call it ‘gourmet’ because it uses real ingredients, and is, for the most part, as clean as I can possibly make it. The word ‘gourmet’ means ‘true food’ in French. Essentially, it’s food that’s healthy that’s made a certain way to take care of sight, smell, taste, and feeling, sometimes even hearing.

In the recipes, the intros will not do what a lot of health cookbooks do, though. The introductions will not be based on a health focus. Instead, they will be about why I love making them, and they’ll sound more like I enjoy the food rather than just eating them because they’re healthy. There must be a bridge between something that’s delicious and something that’s good for the human body, and I do enjoy the food I make. Each recipe builds itself when I’m wandering around my kitchen, looking for what to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There’s no professional food photographer. There’s just me and the camera on my phone. I eat what I make, which is why I can fully say that I love this food. It’s me on a plate.

It’s food that feeds my soul, and allows me to fight for the healthy food.

I feel as though taking care of ourselves has come under fire, and that people now look down on what our bodies need to survive. Throughout college, I was bullied for my gourmet lunches that I’d make by hand before classes started. I was shamed as a ‘snob’ because of what I love to eat, and how clean food tastes to my palette. Because of that, I learned to turn my ears off. Nobody is going to be allowed by myself to shame me for taking care of my body.

That’s why ‘On The Menu’ is here, and I hope you find recipes in this segment that both taste good, and allow you to understand that anything, if made correctly, can be healthy. In fact, I love these recipes enough to say that you shouldn’t pay attention to if they’re healthful or not because everyone has a different idea of what that means. Instead, pay attention if they’re what you want inside of you body. That’s the most important part of any recipe.

Sweet Toast

This isn’t quite French Toast. You’re not coating it with a batter. All you’re doing is dredging it in sugar, egg, and a little bit of melted butter. There’s no milk involved and no flour. Other than that, this recipe is ridiculously simple to follow, and produces an outcome that is kind of like French Toast. Because this isn’t battered and fried, it’s more of a sweet toast. Whatever your morning is, or whatever your morning is like, I hope you enjoy this recipe. As most of t

Balsamic & Feta Pasta

I love the idea of tossing hot pasta into easily meltable cheese like feta. The silkiness of each strand of spaghetti is my favorite type of texture, along with whatever globules of cheese around it. Pumpkin seeds give this bowl a little texture with a soft crunch. There are also two different types of tanginess: that of the feta, and that of the balsamic vinegar. It’s creamy, it’s filling, it’s easy, and has a complex flavor profile. For anybody who needs to double or quadru

The Umami Pasta

There is a lot of layering of different flavors here in this dish. It’s a great bowl of pasta for those days when you need something comforting and warm inside your stomach. Great for those rainstorm days in front of a crackling fire. It uses a technique that, if you don’t pay attention, might burn the pasta. As long as you keep the dish moving, you won’t burn it. There are a lot of components here, but the addition of every ingredient creates a savory bite. I hope you love t

The Vinegar Bite Pasta

I love using balsamic vinegar as the base for pasta sauces. The first time I did this with pasta was a long ago recipe with vinegar, olive oil, and walnuts. How I use my favorite ingredient has evolved since then, and has only gotten better. When I designed today’s recipe, it was from the need to throw together something quick, easy, and that would fill me up. Most of the recipes I release are born from that necessity. Who decides what a serving is, anyway? Ingredients: 1 ser

Double Sugar Popcorn

I love experimenting on popcorn. There are so many different types of toppings that could be consumed on it. Sometimes, it’s fun to go savory, which feels much less classic than today’s recipe feels. This one is more of a dessert, and goes along in the same vein as quite a few of my other popcorn recipes have gone. I wanted to share this one. The texture from the graininess of the sugar mixture is slightly addictive. You’ve been warned. Sometimes, popcorn doubles as a meal. T

Fresh Shrimp With Red Wine & Dijon

Shrimp is one of my favorite things to eat in the summer. All you need is to throw together a sauce. I was so hungry when I made this,...

Cocoa Sauce & Sugar Strawberries

There’s a secret to this recipe that creates a good, complex flavor: how the chocolate sauce is made. You want the strawberries to be...

Cucumber & Apple Salad

I’ve never seen apples and cucumbers utilized like this before, nor have I seen them together as main ingredients as much as I’d like....

Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

I grew up eating no bake cookies my mom would make me all the time. It was one night, though, when I was alone at her house with our dog,...

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