The Why of Cooking (2017)
I spent too much of my life learning to do things by following rules, up to and including a PhD and an MBA. I&#x27;ve since learned to love learning by doing and diving in.<p>Food is probably the best success in that area, combined with the observation that constraints breed creativity. My cooking gets high reviews (from friends, not critics <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;joshuaspodek.com&#x2F;food-world-reviews" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;joshuaspodek.com&#x2F;food-world-reviews</a>) and has inspired my passion and podcast on leadership and the environment <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;joshuaspodek.com&#x2F;podcast" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;joshuaspodek.com&#x2F;podcast</a>.<p>Two constraints revolutionized my cooking:<p>- to avoid food packaging<p>- to avoid food where fiber has been removed<p>Joining a CSA&#x2F;farm share helped a lot too, by forcing a deluge of new produce on me that I had to figure out what to do with. I guess a third constraint was not to allow any food to go to waste.<p>The three constraints force me to cook almost entirely from fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and bulk legumes, nuts, grains, and seeds (filling bags I bring with me to the bulk food store).<p>My diet became bland when I stopped packaged food since I didn&#x27;t know what to do and mostly steamed vegetables or fried them with garlic and onions -- not bad once in a while but not exclusively. I don&#x27;t like bland and do like delicious (I&#x27;m funny that way), so I experimented and learned how to combine flavors and textures to my tastes.<p>Now my food is more delicious than ever. It&#x27;s also cheaper, more convenient, and more social (I&#x27;ve met the farmers and visit their farm annually, and I invite people to dinner more than ever, plus I get invited to cook for friends&#x27; dinner parties). I <i>love</i> finding new local produce and the change of seasons bringing foods I haven&#x27;t had for a year. I also pollute less -- I last threw out my landfill garbage in June.<p>If you&#x27;ve read this far and care for advice, I advise just forcing yourself to cook from scratch for six months, no exceptions. Your diet will be boring and bland for a few months, but by a year, you&#x27;ll find your diet more delicious than ever. At least that worked for me. My blog posts a lot about avoiding food packaging <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;joshuaspodek.com&#x2F;js_blogseries&#x2F;avoiding-food-packaging" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;joshuaspodek.com&#x2F;js_blogseries&#x2F;avoiding-food-packagin...</a> and such if you click around.<p>Oh, and buy a pressure cooker.