What better season to introduce part three of the Natural Eater, my program for healthy eating, than summer? In the Northern Hemisphere nature builds up to its highest point of productivity at this time of year, and is a tremendous source of inspiration for combining fresh ingredients in new ways in the kitchen. In this article I look at why seeing food as personal creativity is a path to healthy eating and ultimately good health. Enjoy my suggestion for a creatively-packed summer meal in half an hour.

Finding the Creative Section of Your Food Store
Sauntering through the local supermarket, I notice that the floor space taken up by the ready-made food shelves is expanding. The names on the labels sound enticing: honeyed salmon with potato gratin; rosemary roast beef with gravy and julienne vegetables; tandoori curry with rice pilaf. My eyes give me a reality check. These are just labels on rather unattractive plastic containers with bits of unfresh food covered in sauce. This is the creativity-dead section of the supermarket only to be sauntered into every once in a while in order to remind yourself that truly good food is something and somewhere else.

The creativity-dead section is also the section where you know least about what you are feeding your body. Sugar, salt and saturated fats, all main culprits when it comes to lifestyle-related diseases, play a leading role in the foods in this section. The food industry knows that in order to deliver flavor easily a lot of these are needed. A shocking report by the London Sunday Times (6 May 2007) revealed that food companies have doubled the quantity of sugar they add to their food products since 1978.

Food from your Garden
I walk over to the fruits and vegetables section; then the fish and fresh meats counters. Here there is material for creativity. Vibrant colors, textures and smells tell me that I am in a better place. I just buy the freshest ingredients that I can find without too much concern for exactly what dish I will prepare with them. I know that when I return to my island and wheelbarrow the ingredients up the garden path to my kitchen, I will find plenty of inspiration in the herb and vegetable beds, the fruit bushes, my hens who are faithfully laying eggs and my stored Spring honey from my bee coups up on the hill.

A Creatively Packed Summer Meal in Half an Hour
It is dinner time and everyone is hungry. A salad won’t be enough to feed this hungry crowd. Here on my island there are no alternatives to my kitchen. The food must be delivered quickly and in such a way that both adults and children enjoy it. Without time to put everything away, I simply jam in the foods requiring refrigerating and focus down on the need of the moment.

New Potatoes
I scrub the new potatoes, cover them with water in a cooking pan and put them on to boil with a pinch of salt. These will take about 20 minutes to cook. They are everyone’s favorite. With a flavor that is somewhere between a potato and an artichoke heart, I can understand their appeal.

Grilled Salmon Fillets
I have bought out all of the remaining odd pieces of salmon fillet at half price at the fish counter before it closes. It is more than we’ll need for our dinner, but I have to think of the next meal and cold grilled salmon is a wonderful ingredient in a sandwich or salad. I rinse and pat dry the fillets, place them in a dish, skin-side down and sprinkle with olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper. These go right out onto my large gas-fired grill, skin-side down so that they cook through from the bottom. The grill heat is on medium-high. During the last couple of minutes I will turn the fillets so that they cook and become a little crispy on top. I’ll shuffle them around gently so that they don’t stick to the grill. Dare to undercook your salmon so that when it comes off the grill it still has a slightly raw pink center. Once it gets onto your plate and into your mouth it will have further cooked itself and you will have that nice buttery consistency rather than a dry shreddy one.

Fresh Salad
During the 15 minutes I’ve got before the salmon needs turning and the potatoes are about done, I clip off some salad leaves in my garden, make sure there is no soil or anything else on them, and toss them into a bowl (washing this type of lettuce makes it go limp). I slice two tomatoes, and toss them onto the salad with a sprig of parsley, chopped from one of my herb pots outside. Four tablespoons of olive oil, a twist of lemon or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a nip of salt and a twist of the pepper grinder, and the salad is ready for tossing at the table. A few slices of home-baked wholemeal sourdough bread go into the breadbasket and we’re almost done.

The Essential Toppings
I return to the salmon and see that it needs turning. I take care of this, shift the salmon around a bit for five minutes and then turn off the heat source. The salmon will stay warm whilst I prepare my essential toppings which are the crown on this simple and delicious meal that everyone likes. On my way up with the supermarket ingredients in my wheelbarrow, it was impossible not to notice the lovage. I set down my wheelbarrow and clipped off the flowers to avoid the lovage blooming – this reduces its quality as a herb for food. It has a wonderful, strong celery-like flavor and only a leaf or two are needed to create a fascinating flavor in food. Lovage grows in almost any soil conditions.

I chop my lovage leaves fine and add just a small pinch to two ripe mangoes that I have mashed in a food processor. Topping 1 is done. I take some whole fat yogurt and add in a few chopped chives from my herb garden. Topping 2 is done. I chop up some eggs that I have preboiled and stored in the refrigerator. I sprinkle these with some chopped parsley leftover from the salad preparation and a sprinkle of salt. Topping three is done.

Time to Eat
In a half an hour dinner is ready. I ring my bell to call everyone back to pick up the knives, forks, plates, glasses and drinks.  The food itself, with all of its colors and textures is the table decoration. It is a still evening when the sounds of summer echo across our lake. There is no greater pleasure than realizing that the beauty I see and taste on my plate is created by me.

Eat Who You Are
Creating great food is not about time. It is about skill, imagination and faith in one’s own ability as a creative being. I’d like to turn around that old saying, “you are what you eat”. In fact, I believe that “eating who you are” – in other words, expressing yourself through food that you create- is a main cornerstone of personal wellbeing.

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