In the XXI century we live on the run. In response to the dizzying pace of life, fast food restaurants have emerged, where in a few minutes we can eat a quick, but often worthless meal. However, more and more people feel the need to slow down and lead a more peaceful lifestyle. Slow food brings the fashion of “pressing pause” into the culinary world.
Slow food is an Italian philosophy of eating and preparing meals with fresh, natural and nutritious ingredients. The products used in the preparation of meals must come from local, natural crops. They cannot be processed or modified. Eating in the spirit of slow food becomes an unhurried ritual that allows you to enjoy every bite. This way of preparing food is becoming increasingly popular among ecologists. This is because the ingredients used in slow food come from sustainable sources
Cooking in the spirit of slow food has quite a few health benefits. After all, if harmful fertilizer enters a carrot growing in a field, along with that carrot, it later ends up in our bodies. Choosing fresh and unprocessed slow food allows us to absorb the best nutrients with our meals. After all, eating vegetables is about providing your body with vitamins and micro and macroelements, not heavy metals. Unfortunately, buying vegetables at discount stores, we unknowingly feed ourselves with artificial fertilizers
Slow food also has a positive effect on mental health. This view helps us to slow down the pace of life and introduce into our everyday life the joy of small things, such as a healthy breakfast
This saying perfectly describes the principles of slow food. It is not just about the ingredients we put into our bodies. Slow food puts a lot of emphasis on traditional and regional cuisine. It is a great opportunity to remind yourself of your origins and go back to your roots. Traditional Polish dishes, such as pierogi, kotlet schabowy or żurek (sour rye soup) can be included in this philosophy. They just have to be prepared not from products bought in discount stores but from farmers or local vendors. So these are not at all fancy and difficult modern dishes, your grandma’s stuffed cabbage rolls are also slow food!
In order to live according to the principles of slow food, it is enough to adapt a few simple rules to your everyday life.
First of all, buy locally. Buy your food at markets and from reliable suppliers, not at the supermarket. This way you can be sure that the vegetables and meat you eat are not mass produced in the spirit of fast food. Shopping at the market has many benefits. Not only are you supporting small businesses, but you save a lot, and the carbon footprint of the produce you buy is usually much smaller
The second rule of thumb is to cook in the most optimal way for your produce. Steam vegetables so they retain as much nutritional value as possible. Bake or braise meat without adding fat, for example in a heatproof dish or a roasting pan. This way the meat will be tender, juicy and free of excess fat, which will melt during processing.
The third rule is to cook with seasonal vegetables and make your own preserves. This follows a little from the first rule, after all, we will not buy fresh raspberries at the market in January. Slow food cuisine allows us to enjoy the benefits of every season. In the spring we can delight in lettuce, crunchy radishes and young carrots. Summer pampers us with the richness of legumes and forest fruits. In autumn, the kitchen will be dominated by mushrooms and pumpkins, and in winter by root vegetables. Thanks to this we will not get bored with the flavors, and there will be variety in our menu. The flavors of each season can be sealed in jars in the form of preserves, jams and pickles, to enjoy them throughout the year.
Slow food is a philosophy that is becoming more and more noticeable in restaurants and in everyday life. It is associated with health benefits, ecology and economy. Therefore, it is worth introducing this philosophy to your kitchen and take care of your health and the planet’s!
