Is it just me, or does it feel like the world revolves around eating this time of year!? From Thanksgiving dinner, to Christmas parties, straight through to New Year’s celebrations, we all seem to be moving alongside a never ending buffet table of delicious food. With a day planner booked with restaurant dates / dinner parties with friends / work functions, my fridge shelves are now overflowing with leftovers. Because it now seems excessive to venture out on my typical weekly food shopping extravaganza, I have begun exploring new meal combinations using my array of leftovers.
During this season of giving, it is extremely important to tend to your needs. Just for today, release the stresses you feel in relation to all of these holiday dinners. Shift your focus instead to the simple joy of creating a meal for yourself using yesterdays forgotten bits of food.
I was introduced to the Italian expression, “l’arte d’arrangiarsi” meaning “the art of making something out of nothing,” from Liz Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love. One of my favorite moments of her now famous journey was one afternoon in Rome when she created a beautiful meal for herself, to be enjoyed by herself. After mindfully preparing her meal she recalls, “For the longest time I couldn’t even touch this food because it was such a masterpiece of lunch, a true expression of the art of making something out of nothing. Finally, when I had fully absorbed the prettiness of my meal, I went and sat in a patch of sunbeam on my clean wooden floor and ate every bite of it, with my fingers…Happiness inhabited my every molecule.”
Although it may not look like much to the outside observer, creating a meal solely for your own enjoyment can be a powerful expression of self-love. And isn’t that the most beautiful gift you could give yourself this holiday season?
Steps to Practice l’rate d’arrangiarsi, or creating a meal from leftovers:
- Take it all in. Place all of your leftovers on the kitchen counter. It is important to visualize all of your options. (Because most of us are not able to visit a street vendor in Rome to create this masterpiece, whatever you have on hand will do!)
- Ask yourself what you REALLY want. Is your body craving particular temperatures / textures / flavors? What foods can you combine to excite your senses? If you feel compelled to cook additional food to truly meet your cravings, go for it!
- Get creative! Play with your food. Choose your favorite plate or bowl and arrange your meal so that it appeals to you. I love to layer my meal over a hearty grain or bed of lettuce to create a cohesive dish.
- Find an inviting space in your home. Sit down, take a deep breath, and fully enjoy your meal. Focus on tasting each bite and enjoy this time you are dedicating to nourish your body. Give gratitude to yourself for this wonderful gift you created. As someone with an anxious mind, I find it helpful to set an alarm to carve out a specific time frame. It seems counteractive, but this actually helps me to relax more fully – knowing that when my alarm goes off I can return to the tasks of my day.