I’m always learning about learning, and today practicing a 4-part approach to teaching: Why, what, how, what-if…

Culinary Alchemy/Sacred cooking - food prep as prayer. It's a peachy passion when I'm not fasting !

Why?

Adds a whole new dimension to the food you make.

Haven't you ever just "tasted the love" in grandma's cooking?

I believe that food crafted with intention, prayer, and presence can be tremendously more nourishing - and a powerful way to co-create beautiful moments....

Even if it's just placebo, why not leverage that massive power?

(After all, the force behind placebo can heal cancer and create phantom pregnancies)

Once I made a very intentional Chia Pudding for a party. Nobody knew that I had blessed it up 1000x over.

But soon enough, people were raving about it. Someone I had never met before told me “wow, I FEEL your love in this!” (and we ended up dating after that)

I’m convinced that culinary alchemy is worth the extra effort.

What it is

Don't just focus on the physical ingredients of the food you make, or the dimensions of what you are chopping.

Sacred cooking involves focusing on the emotional, energetic, or intangible qualities you want to include as the "ingredients" of this meal.

The history goes far back. Anybody with exposure to a plant medicine lineage knows that the brews are prayed over for hours.

Culinary alchemist Serena Poon (who btw cooks for celebrities like Puff Daddy!) says:

"In my practice of culinary alchemy, I teach people that the energy and the thoughts you put into your food preparation can directly affect the energetic vibration of the food, as well as how your body receives it. So while you’re cooking, think about how the meal you are preparing will nourish you and your family and keep you healthy and your immune system strong.”

It goes far beyond that though. "Culinary Alchemy" can include intuitive ingredient choosing, expression of subtle energy, and even spellcasting of sorts!

How to get sacred in the kitchen

Some strategies I recommend are as follows.

Ask for guidance on what ingredients will be most nourishing to you and whoever you’re cooking for.

Example dimensions: more raw or cooked foods? Animal protein or not? Warm or cold?

(double bonus: use muscle testing or other strategies to access intuition/subconscious guidance)

Drop into presence and move intentionally as you gather the ingredients.

Connect with your breath, move with the kind of energies you want to put into the meal.

Peel & chop mindfully with deep presence.

Infuse intentions into each ingredient. Get creative!

What do those beautiful pink Himalayan salt crystals remind you of?

For me, I associate salt with divine feminine. And I invoke the divine masculine with black pepper.

Each ingredient gets a special energy.

Maybe it’s just “nourishment”, or maybe you make those carrots all about “bright healthy sacral chakra connection”

Speak out loud the energies you invoke.

Vocalize! Use your powerful tool of breath and sound to literally vibrate the food in front of you.

Use generative words: invocations, intentions, mantras, positively phrased and spoken with emotion!

Use your hands to touch the food!

Our hands have incredible healing and energetic potential.

Especially for salads and raw foods, massage the food, rub it with your (well-washed) hands and fingers, treat it like you would your favorite person.

Geometry & plating opportunities

Remember you can get creative and artistic with how you present the food too.

You can include words of affirmation - I like to put sticky notes or index cards near the plates.

What if? Aka objections…

What if this is all just useless wishful thinking?

- Cultivating a state of being through presence and intention is never useless

- Why not try it and see how you like it?

What if I don’t know what energies to choose?

- Trust yourself. Desire is always ready to be listened to. Try with just one word if you’re feeling stuck.

What if I’m just following a recipe?

- Even better! Relax into being super present, appreciative, and intentional about each ingredient and quantity!

What if!

Curious how this post lands with y’all - do you like this 4 phase approach?

Do you practice culinary alchemy? Or think it’s a bunch of woo-woo hogwash?

Not trying to egg you on, but orange you glad we live in a time of such possibility???