Bringing some basics

When you have a home (or kitchen or time in camp) to prepare some spices and herbs, it will make your meals so much more tasty and level them up above many restaurant meals.

Simple ingredients made special by carrying some basics

A small bottle of good quality olive oil is comparatively heavy but it adds so much to your meal. Together with some herbs and simple ingredients your food while traveling gets a real boost. At least, mine does. For me no more spaghetti and sugared tomato paste EVER!

Cold-pressed olive oil that I pour over my meal
Roasted cumin, roasted at home and then grind
Dried oregano from my garden
Crushed coriander seeds, crushed just before I leave
Whole peppercorns, grinded at home just before I leave
Good quality salt without caking agent

Carbs

I like to add bulgur to give the meal more consistency and overall more carbs. Any kind of rice or noodles/pasta/wheat will do too.

Protein

When buying eggs and boiling them all together it adds a lot of energy and protein to your meal. Lentils or (canned) chickpeas. Canned fish (in olive oil). Cheeses.

Vegetable

Carrots, red onion, canned beans, avocado, cucumber, radishes, (peeled) ginger and spring onions are best added raw. Canned vegetables. I try to buy vegetables that have lower pesticide residue levels.

Flavor

The dried herbs that I take along, including fresh cracked pepper and salt. An amount of olives that I can eat in one meal can be added.

Fat

When I can find minced meat (preferably not pork) I fry this in some butter. Olive oil will be poured over at the end. I may add butter fried or raw nuts.

Acid

Yoghurt, labneh, lemon juice and tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are better in keeping unspoiled, I wash them before use.

Mozzarella and feta. They stay reasonable well in hot weather, even when going slightly bad they still are edible. Check for: slimy surface, sour or “fermented” smell, cloudy or fizzy brine, soft cheese turning mushy or rubbery, any mold, bitter aftertaste, gas bubbles in the liquid, then do not eat.

It’s not often talked about but what goes in must come out, preferably daily on set times, as it is when a body is functioning well. Consuming bread and pasta will not do well when not used to it. Being in a different rhythm means the body needs time to adjust, then, there’s nothing better than having a system that works like clockwork.

I try to adhere to biological food but the truth is that not much is biological, if anything from the supermarket at all. That’s the era we live in and by trying to buy with a conscious mind, local produce that is not flown in, I stick often to very basic products. Although avocado always ticks off all the no-ethical boxes.

Although an American list of foods to avoid, I often keep to these guidelines when I am not eating from my own garden.

The Clean Fifteen

Frozen sweet peas

Asparagus

Cabbage

Califlower

Sweet corn

Onion

Banana

Carrots

Mushrooms

Avocados

Papaya

Pineapple

Mango

Watermelon

Kiwi

The Dirty Dozen

Blackberries

Apples

Potatoes

Pears

Cherries

Peaches

Nectarine

Grapes

Strawberries

Kale/mustard greens

Spinach

Hoi Monique, hoe gaat het met je? Begint de zomer ook een beetje te komen daar? Hier langzaam wel. Vandaag gaat het een goede dag worden, het gras vol dauw, dus dat beloofd wat. Parijs was inderdaad prschtig, vooral als je met iemand bent die de stad door en door kent. Dominique is een erg prettige man om mee samen te zijn en we konden het, vreemd genoeg, 5 volle dagen heel goed vinden samen. Dat is toch bijzonder voor twee mensen die graag alleen zijn. Parijs was makkelijk te fietsen, makkelijk erin, makkelijk eruit.

Wat de satelliet betreft, die heb ik eraf laten halen. Ik vind het geen prettig idee dat iedereen weet waar ik ben. Als jij dit wel wilt weten laat ik je op de lijst met namen zetten die dan dagelijks een mail ontvangen met een ‘oké-bericht’, wil je dat? Laat het me weten en ik geef je door aan de jongen die dit regelt.

Liefs Cinderella

3 replies on “Bringing some basics”

Hallo Cin,
Ben je Parijs al door? Prachtige stad, hé, zelfs in de regen! Zo te zien aan de fotos heb je het wel naar je zin; altijd optimistisch en even goedgeluimd! Rust maar op tijd!
Ik kan je wel niet meer volgen via sateliet, werkt die nog of moet ik misschien iets aan m’n instellingen veranderen?
Liefs, kus, Monique