Editor’s Note: This is a post in the series, Simplicity in Action.
John & Dana
Simplicity has meant different things for us over the years, but there were two seasons in our life that merited the greatest reflection of our choices.
The first season was in preparation for a cross-country move to Portland, Oregon after our wedding. We whittled down our possessions to only what would fit in our Honda civic coupe. It was a romantic and ridiculous adventure crammed in that tiny car. However, it enabled us to move to a place we love.
Although we eventually received some of our wedding gifts at our new home, we lived for a couple weeks with two plates, a cast iron skillet, and basic utensils. Somehow, it didn’t feel like anything was missing.
We approached a second season of simplicity when we wanted to start devoting our resources to projects and business ideas we cared about. We had been treating our website intentionally and it was time to decide how seriously we wanted to take it. We sold almost all of our furniture (most of it was unnecessary), bought a slightly nicer digital camera, and intentionally pared down our expenses so we could reinvest our money into our business.
These two seasons of simplifying and greater mindfulness led to a style of cooking that begs us to err on the side of simplicity. We love making food that nourishes us, but also identifies with our tendencies in life. We felt that we tend to keep things simple and easy and our cooking style should typically reflect the same.
Three things we’ve learned from simple cooking:
1. Simple recipes don’t require sacrificing on flavor. This seems to parallel any notion that when you don’t have “all” of something, you’re potentially missing out. Rather, we like to think that fewer ingredients means that each one must be carefully curated as to really make the recipe phenomenal.
2. Simple cooking makes the process more approachable. Whether you are intimidated by cooking or see it as a simple means to nourish your family, it can be a potentially daunting process. Further, overcomplicating the process takes your time and energy away from the things you love. Simplifying your cooking frees you to enjoy other pleasures in life.
3. Fewer ingredients can make dishes more wholesome. Keeping your recipes simple means you need to be mindful about why you are using each ingredient. Knowing how food energizes our bodies makes us students of making sure that every ingredient we consider is one that gives us something of value.
Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated and overwhelming. In fact, it shouldn’t be. It should be a fun, engaging, and meaningful experience to nourish yourself and those around you.
For more simple cooking inspiration, try five of our favorite recipes that require less than 7 ingredients, 30 minutes or 1 bowl to prepare:
- 5 Ingredient No Bake Granola Bars
- One Bowl Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes
- 30-Minute Butterless Alfredo with Peas
- One Pot Loaded Veggie Nacho Soup
- Hot Pink Lovers Juice – No Juicer Required
Read more from John and Dana at Minimalist Baker .
Yeah! I always feel that way about cooking with less ingredients. The end result is usually more wholesome. I enjoyed hearing your story, John & Dana!
Aww, thanks Traci! We like keeping things simple too.
YES!! I am all for simple recipes with wholesome ingredients. Tonight it’s organic pasta with kale, garlic and parmesan cheese.
Umm, that sounds delicious! Thanks Karen!
I usually like the guest writers, but not only was this not that well written (if you write you should know the difference between “pare” and “pair” and what does it mean to “treat a website intentionally”? It’s a website, of course it’s intentional and I could go on) it had little to offer. On the first point, I’m pretty sure people know that less ingredients doesn’t mean less flavour (pasta with olive oil and garlic, for example) Regarding the second point, people who don’t like cooking probably aren’t making complicated recipes. And the last point is just wrong. How does less ingredients mean more wholesome? More vegetables and more spices is going to mean healthier and variety is one of the most important factors in a healthy diet. And to anyone who enjoys cooking and good food it’s just ridiculous.
Hi Julia!
Thanks for pointing out my spelling error. I definitely made a mistake and feel silly for it.
Part of this post was dedicated to showing how choosing a life with less lead us to feeling more fulfilled. Choosing to treat our website intentionally was a season where we decided to sell things we didn’t care about to focus on the things we did. Lots of people start websites, but many don’t treat it seriously. We run our food blog full-time now and we feel that this was a direct result of the choices we made in this season.
For the second point, we cook and create something in our kitchen every day. We actually love simple recipes because it allows us to still have healthy, delicious food without sacrificing too much of our time.
My suggestion on the third point was that if you use fewer ingredients in your recipes, it requires increased mindfulness. Same thing goes for keeping fewer things in your closet. Keeping less clothing means I must intentionality choose the most useful and beneficial items to me. Personally, I feel that we often add ingredients without thinking about how they benefit or might potentially harm our bodies. This is why I only suggested that using fewer ingredients could make your dishes more wholesome and didn’t assert it as a fact.
Sorry that my article didn’t resonate with you, but I hope you ultimately feel challenged to consider how you can practice simplicity in your kitchen.
Loved this post and your loving kindness responses. Found your site last year. Keep up the great work!
Aww, thanks so much!
Thanks for your thoughtful response John and the great post. I can’t wait to try a few of your recipes. Also, typos aren’t deadly and easily fixed.
Ha, thanks! Let us know if you do!
Good food for thought. LOL. Do what is good, less stressful and enjoyable for you. Simple is different for someone who enjoys cooking as opposed to someone who hates cooking. less can be more for all. Enjoy!
Great point Tony! I thought about elaborating on that point, but you hit the idea home!
Great article and motivator! With 2 vegetarians and 2 meat eaters, cooking for four kids was overwhelming until I simply leaned heavily veggie and now am grateful for the veggie kids influence. Wish the Minimalist Baker had been around years ago. And thank you Courtney for putting wonderful sites on my radar. It is both generous and so helpful. 🙂
Thanks Teri! I like to think we have the perfect recipes for hearty-eating vegetarians. I prefer pretty filling meals, so most of our recipes are combinations between things Dana would eat (vegetarian) and what I would eat (anything delicious). Let us know if you find and make something you like!
These recipes sound delicious. I might have to have pancakes for dinner tonight! Thanks, I’ll be following your blog/social media.
Thanks Gina! We are huge breakfast for dinner fans too!
Hi, every time i used to check weblog posts here in the early
hours in the daylight, for the reason that i love to gain knowledge of more and more.
After having a number of health issues with an auto-immune virus that has gone on for a year, I have completely simplified my cooking, too. I compiled a list of very simple – mostly Crockpot recipes – that just take a few ingredients.
Why spend so much time in the kitchen cooking (unless you truly love it) when there are other great things that you can be doing adding value to your life? I am right there with you! 🙂
Love the concept Robyn! Keep at it!
Hey there would you mind stating which blog platform
you’re using? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution
and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs
and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Sorry for getting off-topic but I had to ask!