Creativity and the Cooking Connection

Are you a burnt out millennial/former-gifted-kid with neurodivergent brain function and disordered eating patterns? Are you having a hard time reclaiming your connection to your own power, creative energy, and zest for life? Did you grow up in the age of extreme diet culture and the subsequent trauma of low-rise jeans? And do you now have a hard time nurturing your body?

Okay great!! Now that we’re all here, let’s talk about it.

I’ve always been fat. And I always hated it, because society has always taught us that it’s synonymous with bad and ugly. It took a long time for me to understand how I came to be that way, and all of it has to do with trauma and how I used food as my sole source of comfort. Food can be a double-edged sword, and unhealthy patterns developed in childhood can extend far into adulthood.

As a child in the throes and woes of the theatrics of life, I was eating a lot of microwaveable pizza rolls and chicken nuggets with nary a vegetable in sight. With the advent of the internet, I stopped doing anything to exercise. I turned to candy for comfort. Sometimes your feelings become an empty void in your stomach and you will do anything to fill that void. This doesn’t always have to do with cooking, either. Some people choose drugs, or alcohol, or food — or all of the above.

For a long time, I had no care or awareness of things I put into my body (smoking, drinking, junk food, etc) and how it affected my overall function as a person. Everything changed at 27, when I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that is manageable by lifestyle and dietary changes. The change was hard, but it was well worth it. I lost 70lbs and have never felt better in my entire life, all because I suddenly understand, now that I’m approaching 32, how consumption of the physical alters your body chemistry… and how it also alters the way you think about consumption of the immaterial.

Okay, that’s enough of my personal history lesson. You’re probably wondering: What does this have to do with being an artist?

There’s a reason so many of the common phrases relate to our stomach. If you’ve “got guts,” you’re brave. “Trust your gut!” is where our instinctual nature shows itself after millions of years of evolution. An “iron stomach” means you can withstand any sort of pain or discomfort. The stomach is, in many ways, a power center for the body. It sits right in the middle of the body, where all the fuel gets transformed into energy. In Eastern philosophy, it’s equated with the Solar Plexus chakra, where it governs personal freedom, strength, identity and authenticity.

Cooking for myself has changed the game for me, and has become my primary form of self-love, as well as how I engage with my community.

I had a conversation recently between a friend of mine, and they said, “Cooking is a science.” Which, ultimately, is true. Cooking is a form of chemistry. A balance of salt, fat, acid, heat, flavor, timing, and more. Put in (a) and add (b) and when you multiply by (x), you get (c). Science collaborating with technology through engineering and math.

But what’s STEM without the humanities?

Cooking is also about nurturing yourself and the people you love. It’s the easiest way to build community. Get people together in a room with a charcuterie board and suddenly we’re having an intellectual discussion over our adult-sized Lunchables. Food is the ultimate tool for connection. You’re trying to start a club at school? Pizza party! Trying to impress the in-laws? Your grandma’s trusted linguine recipe will do the trick. Cooking for the people in your life allows us to sit down at a table and see one another for what we are: little animals who need to eat to survive, and who must rely on each other for growth.

Sometimes you follow a recipe and it sucks. Sometimes you make it up as you go and it’s magic. Cooking, like art, is all about trial and error. Seeing what you like and finding other people who like what you have to give. Connecting with the people around you and nourishing your body and soul (I mean, they call it soul food for a reason, right?).

What really got me into cooking was Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films, and if you haven’t watched them, stop reading this blog and get an HBOMax subscription to check them out. But if you have, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. There’s something extraordinary about the way the artists portray this one simple task. The chopping, the mixing, the slicing and sharing all become a part of the story. These movies are all about how everyday life can have its own magic, and that includes all the ways we eat and cook and live beside one another as family, friends, and community. These movies taught me, above all, that the little things truly add up to the big things. One small step in healing and helping yourself grow means one giant leap for healing and helping humanity grow.

The problem for me is that I often thought of nature as something outside of myself. Agriculture means we don’t have to rely on the natural abundance of planet to provide for our needs… so much so that it’s become difficult to know exactly what our needs are. Over- and under-consumption are both ways I personally have tried to fill the void… but how can that be changed? By listening to your body. It is wise and if you learn its language, it will tell you exactly what to do next.

Cooking is also so important because it’s a great form of mutual aid that can uplift people. When people are well-fed, their brains and bodies work better. How can students learn in school with rumbling tummies? What if the cure for cancer is trapped in the mind of a person who is starving on the street somewhere? Filling our stomachs with more of the gifts of the earth help fill our bodies and our spirits with love, happiness, and strength.

The body and mind are intrinsically connected. If you’re a burnt-out neurodivergent kid like me and you’re struggling, ask yourself: when was the last time I actually ate a healthy meal? Whether you cooked it yourself or bought it from that local restaurant you love, it’s essential to nourish yourself through the hard times and love yourself enough to do it even when you don’t want to. And if you’re feeling brave, don’t be afraid to use cooking as a means to a new perspective by switching things up! Try preparing your favorite vegetable with a new sauce, or in a way they might make it in another culture. If you’re at a restaurant, maybe try that unusual new salad over the usual chickie tendies and fries. The possibilities with food are endless. You just have to open your mind (and your stomach… and your taste buds) to a fresh, new idea! Then those sweet creative juices will start flowing. Pun intended.

Oh and please remember, because I too often forget: coffee is not, unfortunately, a meal.

If your form of art comes through cooking and sharing with your family, embrace it! I bet any chef in the world would tell you they started the same way. Tapping into your creativity doesn’t mean you have to be a painter or anything like that. It can be as simple and as important as filling hungry bellies and, like our friend Calcifer here, making people smile in the best way.