Models I Live By

Notice I didn’t use the word ‘cook’.

To get things we want in life, we often have to start by understanding something about ourselves. Goals. What we like. What we don’t. Feeding yourself is no different.

If you want to feed yourself, you need to know what stage of life you’re in, your nutritional needs and tastes.

Each of these 3 can and will change, so it’s good to know what they are at any point. But it’s important to note, the common thing we crave at every stage of life is feeling good after a meal. This is mostly difficult if you feel inept around feeding yourself.

The most efficient way to counter feeling inept is to learn a very basic set of skills. These skills are built on your top 3-5 favourite foods that give you the maximum nutritional bang for your buck. For some this could be a steak, for others tofu, for others egg. I’ve got a comprehensive list at the end to spark your imagination, but most of us know our favourites. I’ll use eggs as an example.

Step 1: Source It

• The number one thing is learn how to source the thing that you’re learning to cook.
• Why? This will impact the effectiveness of feeding yourself exponentially. If you’re already starting with a good product, there’s very little that you need to do. In our egg example, you will smell and taste the difference between old sulphur-smelling eggs and freshly laid eggs. Freshly laid eggs can last at least a month, which means you could get away with buying eggs only 12 times a year direct from farm!
• How do you source your favourite foods? 4 primary ways:
  • Search [thing you’re looking for] + ‘[your state and country]’. For example; ‘crimson snow apples nsw aus‘ or ‘pasture raised eggs tas aus’. This will bring up supermarket or grocer results. To get more specific, you need to use terms that include the properties, for example [‘organic’] or [‘grower in x region’].
  • You can use ChatGPT – see results here.
  • When you taste a really good version of a favourite food at a restaurant, ask where it came from.
  • Go to a farmers market.
• Note on Cost: Often direct from farmer means if you get it in bulk, you get it cheaper. Bulk works well for your favourite foods because you’ll always have your favourites on hand.
• The caveat here is that this can get a bit fragmented when you’re trying to do it for all your food. Just focus on your top 3-5 favourites.

Step 2: Treat It

The next thing to do is to gradually learn all the possible iterations of the favourite food. People tend to think in terms of dishes. Don’t pigeonhole your ingredient into ‘dishes’. There are infinite ways to eat each of your favourite foods, and if you think in dishes, this will restrict you.

Think raw and cooked. Think shapes (boiled then diced, sliced, round, whole, shredded). Think categories of dishes (soups, salads, sandwiches). Think technique (steam, boil, poach, fry). Eggs can be eaten raw in many forms (most often sauces).

FAQ: Won’t this take a lot of time?

1. Don’t invest more time than you want to. But, if you only have 15mins, spend 5 of those deciding on the thing (I’ll go into this below) that gets you excited to eat it. I can’t stress how important this is.
2. Normalise the Learning Curve: It’s also normal in any learning process to invest a bit more time in the beginning. If you can accept that this is normal, you won’t feel as resistant to it.
3. Adopt a Mindset: “these 15 minutes spent learning this new way of making eggs will pay off for life“. And it’s a compound effect. Each learning will layer onto the next.

Step 3: Eat It and Review

You can review meals on something like the Ate app, which I use daily and love (no affiliation). It takes me about 60 seconds (20 seconds to upload each meal and review it) each day.

Here’s a recent screenshot of my day. You don’t have to review. But overtime, it helps you learn what you like, and what you know you can always go back to. It’s surprising how nuanced our palates are.

If you review your meals consistently enough you should know:

• what you’re willing to try next based on what you’ve eaten this week
• what makes you feel good
• if anything doesn’t make you feel good
• when you are hungriest (plan your biggest meal around then)

Conclusion: Feed Yourself

Think of your 80,000 meal journey like a Venn diagram:

How far do you go learning how to feed yourself? It’s up to you. I know it’s impossible to learn every technique, dish and idea in every cuisine, and I know there are a few cuisines I don’t want to invest time to make because I don’t love them as much as others. You will need to decide this for yourself. The compounding effect of learning how to treat your favourites is its own reward.

Now where might you start? Get a comprehensive list of foods here. Highlights indicate the key ones in each category.