A Mindful Effort to Make Meaningful Meals

Recipes from Clean Food, Messy Life by Jamie Truppi, MS, CNS

We eat three to six times daily – ample opportunity to make every bite matter. Yet living and dining with such intention and attention to every meal can be ostracizing, overwhelming and annoying in some circumstances and relationships. Such are the challenges of being dedicated to anything meaningful. Perhaps you can relate?

The food memoir, “Clean Food, Messy Life: A food lover’s conscious journey back to self,” offers a courageously authentic view of love and loss, marriage and motherhood, nourishment and knowledge, hope and perseverance – from the lens of food. These recipes from the book follow the chapters titled “Recipe for Divorce,” “Recipe for Depth,” “Recipe for Despair,” “Recipe for Disagreement,” and “Recipe for Dark Days and Dishes.”

Dutch Babies

Yield: 4 servings • Prep time: 5 minutes • Total time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup salted, grass-fed butter

4 eggs from pasture-raised hens

1 cup whole organic milk

1 cup organic gluten-containing flour (combination of choice)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toppings

Whole, plain yogurt

Granola

Fresh fruit or fruit compote

Maple syrup or ginger syrup a. Prepare the fruit. If you’re making a berry compote (so easy on the stovetop from frozen berries with a few spices), prepare it now. b. Pull out yogurt, granola, and maple syrup. Kids love to help with this part. c. Ask your kids to set the table—most are eager to do so because they’re so excited for Dutch babies!

2. Cut the butter into cubes and place in a 9x13-inch glass or ceramic casserole dish. Place the dish in the oven to melt and brown the butter while you prepare the batter.

3. In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and whisk them until combined.

4. Whisk in the milk and then the flour until no (or few) lumps remain.

5. When the oven has heated to 400 degrees, remove the dish with the melted butter and place it on a hot pad. Carefully pour the batter evenly into the dish over the butter. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Gather toppings.

7. When the oven timer dings, invite kids to check out the fluffiness of the Dutch babies. Like a soufflé, the puffiness will fall within a few minutes.

8. While hot, cut into 8 pieces and place a piece on each plate. Add toppings the actual food that we eat and the food values that is a major part; it’s also the idea of ‘Am I showing up the way I believe that I want to be? Am I pursuing activities in my life that bring me joy and meaning? Or have I succumbed to the mundane?’ Then there is the inner, the personal and the outer.”

A functional nutritionist with a master’s degree in science and nutrition and board certified as a Certified Nutrition Specialist, Jamie uses her nutrition and gut health knowledge to write a column, “A Nutrition Mission,” for the Idaho Mountain Express and writes for a variety of regional magazines. Writing this book expands the work she incorporates into her daily life, personally and when raising her two children. This balance, she says, takes a lot of mental work.

“The mental work when you are a nutritionist and a mom, it becomes all the things,” Jamie says. “What do I want to feed my kids? How do I normalize quality food and make it part of our life without demonizing the other stuff out there that I don’t want them to eat, but I know they will.”

For Jamie, this book is about reestablishing our connections between food, natural rhythms and the earth. “When we lose those connections, all of our systems start to become dysfunctional,” she says. g

French - Inspired Charcuterie Board

Yield: 8-10 buffet-style servings • Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Aperitif, such as kir or vermouth

White wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc

3 different cured meats, such as smoked salmon, prosciutto, salami

3 artisan cheese varieties that pair well with the meats

Pink wine, such as a rosé

3 fruits, such as grapes, fresh figs, and apricots

3 fresh veggies, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and arugula

3 pickled goodies, such as cornichons, capers, and olives

Red wine, such as a pinot noir or a Cabernet franc

2–3 spreads, such as olive tapenade, pesto, and onion marmalade

2–3 artisan bread and/or whole-grain crackers

Digestif, such as Cognac or fruity liqueurs

2–3 desserts, such as pot de crème, macarons, lavender shortbread or simply chocolate

Nuts, raw, roasted, or candied

Water, perhaps infused with cucumber, lemon, or mint

Instructions

1. Line up all the beverages in order of when you’ll consume them.

2. Lay out all smorgasbord foods in an artistic manner, grouped by themes on different platters.

a. Meats and cheese pairings together, adorned with sides like grapes and pickled food like cornichons. Create 2-3 platters of combinations.

b. Bread and spreads go well with sliced veggies, dried fruits and olives.

c. Desserts pair well with berries and raw or candied nuts. Place them away from the rest of the meal as a temptation and reminder not to overeat the charcuterie board.

3. Take your time. Eat and drink with pleasure. Enjoy your company.

DÉCOR & AMBIANCE

Music, French subway or café

Linens, French-inspired, such as the fleur-de-lis, country stripes, or toile de Jouy Candles, tall in silver or gold (whichever match the linens better)

Flowers, wild and colorful plus leaves

Platters, simple that highlight the food, like wooden boards or white ceramic Service, small plates and a collection of antique forks, spoons and knives

Glasses, a collection of liquor, wine, and water