Fresh Yoga Daily

Mankind has been eating since. . .forever (it's science!). Basically, if you don't eat then you will die, but some of today's food may slowly kill you. There is no prescribed diet for a yogi. Vegetarianism is one of the default approaches to preparing meals but eating meat does not necessarily give you bad Karma. Future Fresh Yoga Daily articles about food will discuss different approaches to preparing yogi meals. My food mantra is to Keep my insides Happy.

It seems counter intuitive that something we were born to do (eat), could hurt a person's mind and soul. We have become  "bad" at eating and the consequences are obesity, disease, and unhappiness with body image. I was lucky to live in a Chinese immigrant family, still closely connected to my family's heritage, where there was always fresh fruits and vegetables. Mama's home cooking reigned supreme to my taste buds and limited my exposure to fast food.

A plethora of eating philosophies are emerging in the young country of America, which spawned from discovering how food and diet companies process, market, and sell fake foods. (BusinessWeek, Kind of Corn Movie, popularity of Michael Pollen) Money is not necessary all things evil, people have to make money or they will be homeless, but bottom-line food quality is deteriorating.

My childhood foods were Kraft Singles (Cheese Product, not real Cheese), Capri Sun (only 1% real juice), fruit flavored ice pops (probably 0% real juice), and Pringles (made from flour and not potatoes). My parents did not have access to the food science and nutrition knowledge of today so I digested manufactured chemical for many years. As an adult, I maintained the value of fresh fruit and vegetables and learned to cook by bringing out natural flavors, without adding too much salt, additives, MSG, or sweeteners. It is amazing to eat REAL cheese, drink REAL coffee, cook with spices instead of salt, and add new fruits and veggies to my palate. I hope to share these things so in this section of Culinary, articles will be published on de-processing your daily foods, keeping your insides happy with simply tasty recipes, and approaches to eating well.