Creativity Lab Report #2: Eat, share, explore
Here is the recap of February at our Lab! This issue is all about food... feel-good, real food! Everyone that has met us know that we are absolutely obsessed with food. But not in the traditional sense; we're obsessed with ingredients. I would trade an award-winning high-end dish for a bowl of freshly picked blueberries any time!
Food has become a trend surrounded by big hype. What's the new superfood? Who's the latest celebrity chef? The 50 Best Restaurants? When are the Michelin inspectors coming to Canada? Chefs are being innovative, developing exotic and highly elaborate preparations, making artistic platings and treating the dining experience like a fashion show for food. When did showing off became more important than nourishing people?
Food is meant to be a celebration of life; eating should be about sharing, about the people eating alongside you, nurturing the soil and the soul, nutrition being in perfect sync with flavour, putting something on the plate of those in need. The more I get involved with flashy names, TV shows and fancy meals, the more I enjoy the simplicity of raw ingredients, harvested with care and provided directly by friendly farmers. Every week, I look forward to Friday, when I get my CSA box from Common Ground Farms, and the first thing I do is usually eat a carrot while I organize the rest of the produce.
You must have heard this before "Pay the farmer today, or the doctor tomorrow." It feels even better when the people that grow food for you become your friends. There's a level of trust that is difficult to explain. After all, food, water and air are the only things that connect you with the outside world. Why would you put chemicals, bad energies and lab-made junk in it?
I have nothing against celebrity chefs and fancy restaurants; they're just not for me. I like eating simple ingredients tossed together with ease and very little processing. It makes me happy. It fills my heart and makes my soul dance!
Book: Unmasking Superfoods
Unmasking Superfoods by Jennifer Sygo. We've always been addicted to the healthy stuff. Back in South America, fresh fruit and veggies was the easy choice, and the most available. Things got a little more complicated when we moved to the North. We began falling into the "healthy trap" and seeing packages and boxes and pretty labels with bombastic health claims. This book reminded us to stay grounded. Healthy food doesn't need a label. And often times, the simplest things are the most powerful!
The book will walk you through everyday ingredients like almonds, beans, beets, cheese, potatoes, oats, spinach and more, and also overhyped ones like acai, agave, goji berries, kale, oysters, etc. Describing their origin story, nutritional information and the good, the bad and the ugly from a science standpoint.
Fun
Last year made us all rekindle our love for cooking. As things continue to evolve and our lives get busy again, we might start drifting apart from such fulfilling practice. That is why Chef Shauna Versloot created the Foodie Community, a virtual space to learn, get inspired, meet new people and continue developing our kitchen skills while filling our bellies with healthy and tasty food. It's a win-win situation! And to make things even better, she's now offering a free month subscription, so you can try it before going all-in.
Here is a little behind-the-scenes video from the photoshoot and re-design of the Live Well website.
Hamaka Sessions #2 - Tulum
Some of you have been eagerly waiting for this one! A year ago this same week, we were enjoying the clear waters of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico; it was our very last trip outside of Canada. The Hamaka Sessions #2 is a mystic, slow-burn playlist inspired by the clear waters of Tulum and jungle vibes from the Calakmul ruins. It walks you through our travel experience, from immersing ourselves in the ancient energies of the Mayan Ruins to feeling the ocean's breeze, watching the purple sunset with our feet on the sand, dancing on the beach, trail-running through ecological reserves, kayaking to bird's islands and diving into hidden cenotes.
Since this mail is all about food, we have to mention that we had the most vibrant feast in Mexico. We would just go to the farmers' markets, load our backpacks with fresh fruit and hit beaches, jungles and cities powered by nature's candy. Endless pineapples, Ataulfo mangoes, avocados, watermelons, mamey, tomatoes, coconut water and roasted nuts. It was a raw foodie paradise, aside from the freshly made corn tortillas!
If you missed the first session, you can find it here: Hamaka Sessions #1 - Float
Special Announcement(s)
We've decided to give Youtube a second chance. We stayed away from social media for almost a full year and loved it! We realized that we loved it because we were not engaging the endless scrolling and using what could be "creative time." We never stopped taking photos, making videos, running or doing things outside; we just didn't post about them. We've decided to give Youtube a chance because we're curious to see if it acts as a better time capsule for preserving and sharing memories from our projects without getting trapped in the app. We hope it will allow us to create more and consume less. And if it doesn’t work, at least we tried!
Speaking of sharing behind the scenes from our projects, Chef Shauna Versloot and I have been secretly working on a new book for the past few months. It is time we share it with you! We are over the roof, excited about it, and I hope you feel inspired to join our journey! We'll be sharing little videos and emails of the process, so make sure to subscribe to our Youtube channel, invite your friends to our newsletter, and join the Live Well Co mailing list if you haven't yet! We want to invite you to have fun with us from the comfort of your home!
Check out our announcement video to know more about the book!! :)
Quote
“If you know exactly what you are going to do, what is the point of doing it?” - Pablo Picasso.
Thank you for the reading time! Remember that we send this emails for free, but they’re not free for us to create. If you'd like to support us, please invite your friends to join, get a copy of the Forest City Cookbook e-book, or a branded t-shirt. If you don’t enjoy our emails, you can unsubscribe below. Cheers for a fulfilling March!