I have a few simple guidelines for the food I like to cook at home.

1. It should taste really good (duh)

2. Our meals should have some variety and interesting flavors

3. Nothing should be too time-consuming or difficult to prepare

4. The meals should largely be nutrient dense

Number 4 is often considered to be the undoing of Guidelines 1-3, but I've discovered that's not the case, particularly when you consider what kind of food is truly nutrient dense. I'll write more later about what I consider to be good nutrition, but will sum it up to say I have come to the conclusion that traditional, whole foods are the best things for us to eat. 'Traditional' meaning the kind of food humans have eaten for most of our history. Meat, cheese, traditional fats (butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.), veggies and fruit - awesome! That is, if you are eating reasonably good quality sources of these items (again, more on that later). Processed, refined, sugary, "20th century" foods - these have to be considered "treats" to be eaten on occasion (which is a hard truth to face up to, since we all tend to get addicted to these). I do love to bake treats, and will share these kinds of recipes at times, but I usually wait to make these for when I'm feeding a crowd or on a special occasion.

If you are curious, check out the Weston A. Price Foundation. Their work and writings, combined with others and our own experiences here in the Samurai household, have shaped my opinions on healthy eating a lot over the last few years.

Eating should be enjoyable from start to finish. Cooking should be fun, the meal should taste yummy, your digestion should feel good afterwards, and your health should flourish. Wow, I'm hungry now. Time to go make dinner!