I've been working towards greater body autonomy and self trust for the last four years after 40 years of disordered eating and these posts are so meaningful to me so, firstly, thank you. This one was a special gift this morning as it connected one of my strengths- complete confidence in my ability to cook- to this journey of building trust with my body. I had never considered this a tool that I could deploy to my advantage here. If I am confident in my skills to cook whatever I feel like eating- and I can do that with ease and joy- then how can I naturally extend that same grace and joy to how I feed my body and beyond. Trust begets trust...something like that. This work is so challenging and so nuanced and so personal and every insight like this is such a treasure. Thank you thank you!
I loved this newsletter as a chef and an online educator, so packed with great links to your valuable posts, and I also loved it for the intuitive piece-how can people eat intuitively if they don´t know how to cook intuitively? I´ve asked myslef that question many times myself, which I why I designed my online cooking course in Spanish called Conquista la Cocina-literally, Conquer the Kitchen by understanding the principles of salt, fat, acid, heat. It´s sooooo valuable for beign healthy and organized and not wasteful and for eating deliciously...anyways, thanks for the post today! Very inspiring!
What a gift to read this on a day where I woke up feeling anything but confident! Thank you Julia. Just the other day I realized I’ve had a breakthrough in the kitchen - without really noticing I have become a more confident and intuitive cook, able to sub things in without thinking about it too much, or anticipating when a step in a recipe might not work out and pivoting. And this felt so amazing after only really starting to cook in the last decade, after a childhood where cooking and consuming food was a stressful experience. Such a huge part of my new confidence in the kitchen is thanks to all your work, Julia.
i'm on my third year of working with IE after a lifetime, as adele wrote, of disordered eating. like you, i keep my kitchen stocked and ready. during this process i have learned how to move away from only using formal recipes to winging it. it's so liberating! and, most important of all, i use IE to check in with what i WANT to eat and then proceed from there. this is such a deeply satisfying topic, julia. thank you, many times over.
This all resonates. Thank you!! And thanks too for all the links—I’m a relatively new subscriber, and always looking for new ways to approach cooking. Can’t wait to learn about how you prep leafy greens!
I’ve been cooking comfortably since I was a kid in the 70s, and now that my own kids are mostly out of the house (and thus the daily “who is on dinner and what are we making?” routine is largely in the rear view mirror) I am really enjoying the freedom and flexibility to make what I feel like when I feel like it.
I have a vivid memory of a promo video from Tamar Adler’s first book launch that showed her prepping vegetables immediately after a trip to the farmer’s market. That was a game-changer to me and really cut down on food waste. Our kids were 2, 4, and 9 at that point, and I was working full time—but what I loved was that I could be puttering with veggies on a Sunday afternoon and supervising kid chaos at the same time. It’s funny the things that stick! (Her latest book on leftover magic is also brilliant.)
Thank you for sharing all of this today and all the days before. I'm a regular reader/listener of you and Virginia and you both have helped me so much to relax about cooking -- shortcuts are ok, not every meal has to be the best, buy the jarred sauce and the frozen veg, and give yourself grace that it's ok to have chips, pickles, and cake for dinner if that's what you're feeling, it isn't a moral or health failure.
As other areas of my life have begun requiring more of my time and mind share, the reassurance that I'm not failing myself and my partner by not feeding us all out home cooked from scratch meals every night has been absolutely liberating.
I've been working towards greater body autonomy and self trust for the last four years after 40 years of disordered eating and these posts are so meaningful to me so, firstly, thank you. This one was a special gift this morning as it connected one of my strengths- complete confidence in my ability to cook- to this journey of building trust with my body. I had never considered this a tool that I could deploy to my advantage here. If I am confident in my skills to cook whatever I feel like eating- and I can do that with ease and joy- then how can I naturally extend that same grace and joy to how I feed my body and beyond. Trust begets trust...something like that. This work is so challenging and so nuanced and so personal and every insight like this is such a treasure. Thank you thank you!
This note means a lot. I definitely hope your cooking skills feel like a strong precedent for the rest. Trust begets trust! 🩷
I loved this newsletter as a chef and an online educator, so packed with great links to your valuable posts, and I also loved it for the intuitive piece-how can people eat intuitively if they don´t know how to cook intuitively? I´ve asked myslef that question many times myself, which I why I designed my online cooking course in Spanish called Conquista la Cocina-literally, Conquer the Kitchen by understanding the principles of salt, fat, acid, heat. It´s sooooo valuable for beign healthy and organized and not wasteful and for eating deliciously...anyways, thanks for the post today! Very inspiring!
Thanks Edna!
What a gift to read this on a day where I woke up feeling anything but confident! Thank you Julia. Just the other day I realized I’ve had a breakthrough in the kitchen - without really noticing I have become a more confident and intuitive cook, able to sub things in without thinking about it too much, or anticipating when a step in a recipe might not work out and pivoting. And this felt so amazing after only really starting to cook in the last decade, after a childhood where cooking and consuming food was a stressful experience. Such a huge part of my new confidence in the kitchen is thanks to all your work, Julia.
🥹🥹 thanks for this note!
i'm on my third year of working with IE after a lifetime, as adele wrote, of disordered eating. like you, i keep my kitchen stocked and ready. during this process i have learned how to move away from only using formal recipes to winging it. it's so liberating! and, most important of all, i use IE to check in with what i WANT to eat and then proceed from there. this is such a deeply satisfying topic, julia. thank you, many times over.
Liberating!!!! Yes!!!
This all resonates. Thank you!! And thanks too for all the links—I’m a relatively new subscriber, and always looking for new ways to approach cooking. Can’t wait to learn about how you prep leafy greens!
I’ve been cooking comfortably since I was a kid in the 70s, and now that my own kids are mostly out of the house (and thus the daily “who is on dinner and what are we making?” routine is largely in the rear view mirror) I am really enjoying the freedom and flexibility to make what I feel like when I feel like it.
I have a vivid memory of a promo video from Tamar Adler’s first book launch that showed her prepping vegetables immediately after a trip to the farmer’s market. That was a game-changer to me and really cut down on food waste. Our kids were 2, 4, and 9 at that point, and I was working full time—but what I loved was that I could be puttering with veggies on a Sunday afternoon and supervising kid chaos at the same time. It’s funny the things that stick! (Her latest book on leftover magic is also brilliant.)
Yes to all of this! Tamar’s work is wonderful.
You continue to be a wonderful source of happiness in the day. Thank you for your generosity!
Thank you Jenn 🩷🩷
Thank you for sharing all of this today and all the days before. I'm a regular reader/listener of you and Virginia and you both have helped me so much to relax about cooking -- shortcuts are ok, not every meal has to be the best, buy the jarred sauce and the frozen veg, and give yourself grace that it's ok to have chips, pickles, and cake for dinner if that's what you're feeling, it isn't a moral or health failure.
As other areas of my life have begun requiring more of my time and mind share, the reassurance that I'm not failing myself and my partner by not feeding us all out home cooked from scratch meals every night has been absolutely liberating.
I’m so glad you have this looseness - so valuable 🩷