Reclaiming the Joy of Cooking and How It Can Heal Your Body

Last week, I attended my friend Nicki Sizemore’s book signing for her beautiful new book, Mind, Body, Spirit, Food. An incredible cookbook that will change the way you cook and feed your family forever.

During her talk, Nicki shared a concept that stopped me in my tracks: something she calls “intentional cooking.”
It’s about bringing presence, gratitude, and connection back into the kitchen, transforming the way we cook, eat and relate to food.

She uses the acronym BESTT to guide the practice:

• Breathe
• Engage the senses
• Set an intention
• Thank your food
• Thank your body

Simple, right? But deeply powerful.

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The Moment I Realized I’d Been Rushing Through It All

As Nicki spoke, I found myself nodding.
I thought about my own evenings, rushing home from my kids’ activities, answering emails while stirring dinner, eating quickly so I could move on to the next thing.

Even as a nutritionist, I have my moments of complete disconnection from food and body.

When we eat in that rushed, stressed-out state, our cortisol levels spike, digestion slows, and nutrient absorption drops.
We’re physically eating but we’re not truly nourishing ourselves.

When we slow down, something shifts.
Our body moves into rest and digest. Our parasympathetic nervous system activates.
We taste more. We feel more satisfied. And our digestion, and mood, thank us for it.

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When Food Becomes Empowerment, Not Frustration

One of my clients recently told me,

“I have so much baggage with food. It’s all new to me but my perspective is totally different now. I’m learning how to think about food properly for the first time.”

Like many women I work with, she had spent years disconnected from food. Cooking felt like a burden. Eating felt like an afterthought.

But once she understood that food isn’t just calories — it’s information — something clicked.

She began to see that what she eats literally changes her biology: the bacteria in her gut, her stress response, her hormones, and her mood.

She started cooking simple meals with intention.
Her digestion improved. Her afternoon fatigue disappeared.
She began to look forward to her meals, not as chores, but as moments of connection.

That’s what intentional nourishment looks like.

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A Simple Way to Begin: The Iron + Vitamin C Energy Bowl

If you’re craving a way to reconnect with your food, start small.
Here’s a meal that combines mindful cooking with functional nutrition — supporting your hormones, gut, and energy naturally.

Warm Lentil and Citrus Bowl

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked lentils (green or brown)
• 1 cup baby spinach or arugula
• 1 orange, peeled and segmented
• ½ red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Warm the lentils in a small pan with a splash of water or broth.
2. In a bowl, combine spinach, orange, bell pepper, and pumpkin seeds.
3. Add the lentils, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Pause before eating. Take one deep breath. Notice the colors, the aroma, the gratitude you feel. Then eat slowly.

This bowl provides iron from lentils and pumpkin seeds, and vitamin C from citrus and bell pepper, a combination that enhances absorption and supports sustained energy, especially important during perimenopause.

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One More thing…

When we cook and eat with intention, we’re not just feeding the body, we’re calming the nervous system, balancing blood sugar, and helping our hormones find their rhythm again.

This isn’t about perfection or “clean eating.”
It’s about presence, education, and empowerment, understanding your body well enough to know what it truly needs.

If you’ve been feeling disconnected from your food or yourself lately, I invite you to explore that connection in a deeper way.

Inside my 6-Week Perimenopause Reset, we rebuild that foundation together — using functional nutrition, hormone education, and realistic lifestyle shifts to help you reclaim your energy, mood, and confidence.

Because food is more than fuel.
It’s one of the most powerful tools we have for healing, body, mind, and spirit.

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Join the 6-Week Perimenopause Reset

Enrollment for the next session opens in March.
You can Register here now to be the first to know when doors open.

Let’s bring joy — and balance — back to your kitchen, your body, and your life.