5 Ways to Bring Hygge to Your Kitchen

written by

posted on

February 14, 2024

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to succumb to the convenience of processed foods and takeout, sacrificing both our health and the joy in the process. We become overwhelmed and things just seem to move faster and faster. What we need is hygge. There is transformative power in bringing Hygge to our kitchens, in embracing whole ingredients, and in reconnecting with the art of cooking.

"So," you may be saying, "that's nice, but how am I supposed to have time to cook with my busy schedule? What on earth is hygge and where do I get it?"

Hygge (ho͞oɡə, h-you-guh) is a Norwegian word and means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people.

Think about this: cooking from scratch is an opportunity to engage your senses, express creativity, and nourish mind, body, and soul. When you cook with fresh produce, herbs, spices, and unprocessed meats, you have the freedom to experiment with flavors, textures, and cooking techniques. Whether you're sautéing vegetables, grilling a whole spatchcock chicken, or simmering a hearty stew, the process of transforming raw ingredients into a delicious meal is immensely rewarding.

Before we delve more into bringing hygge to your kitchen, I have to say a quick word on embracing whole ingredients. One of the most compelling reasons to embrace whole ingredients is their superior nutritional value compared to processed foods. Whole foods are rich in essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which are vital for maintaining optimal health and preventing chronic diseases. By prioritizing fresh meats, vegetables, whole grains, grass-fed proteins, and plenty of healthy fats in your diet, you provide your body with the building blocks it needs to thrive.

Moreover, whole foods are free from artificial additives, preservatives, and excess salt and sugar commonly found in processed foods. By avoiding these harmful ingredients, you can reduce your risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other health issues (of which America is in the forefront). Instead of relying on pre-packaged meals laden with hidden sugars and unhealthy fats, opt for homemade dishes made with wholesome ingredients for a nourishing and satisfying dining experience.

So now, our list. These are simple things that will make a big difference in your mindset and, over time, lifestyle.

5 ways to bring Hygge to your kitchen

Plan Ahead: Take the time to plan your meals and shop for wholesome ingredients in advance. This ensures that you have everything you need to cook nutritious meals throughout the week (or even month!) and reduces the temptation to opt for convenience foods.
Keep It Simple: You don't need to be a gourmet chef to enjoy cooking. Start with simple recipes that highlight the natural flavors of fresh foods and gradually experiment with more complex dishes as you gain confidence.
Get Creative: Don't be afraid to get creative with your cooking! Explore different flavor combinations, try new ingredients, and experiment with various cooking methods to keep things interesting and exciting.
Involve the Whole Family: Cooking can be a fun and educational activity for the whole family. Get your kids, significant other, or best friend involved in meal preparation, teach them about the importance of healthy foods, and share a love of cooking and good food.
Practice Mindfulness: Slow down and savor each bite of your homemade meals. Pay attention to the flavors, textures, and aromas of the food, and appreciate the nourishment it provides for your body and soul.
(Bonus) Light a candle: Lighting a candle is known to aid mindfulness and bring feelings of peace and comfort. Get cozy at the table or even light one while you're cooking to bring an air of wonder and light into your kitchen.

Keep practicing these things. Write them down somewhere if you'd like.

Remember: cooking with whole ingredients is not only a delicious and satisfying experience but also a powerful tool for promoting health and well-being mentally, emotionally, and physically.

By practicing these 5 (6) tips, you can enjoy a wide range of culinary delights while reaping the countless benefits of a nutrient-rich diet and enjoying hygge. So embark on a culinary adventure today and discover the joy of cooking. Your taste buds and your body will thank you for it!

Duplication

"How does this scale?" Whenever someone asks me that question, the underlying assumption is that production volume requires consolidation, concentration, and centralization. In other words, the only way to feed the world is to make bigger chicken houses in one place, bigger canneries in one place, bigger machines and bigger warehouses. I remember well being vilified by a Smithsonian historian at a food conference where he and I were both on a panel. When I dared to suggest bigger is not always better, he interrupted me and ranted for 10 minutes on why bigger is always better. "A bigger fort was always bigger than a smaller one. A bigger gun was always better than a smaller one." He went on and on about how historical accuracy and authenticity demands addiction to bigger. But biology is not forts and guns. It's not mechanical. Critters have an optimal size. As animal behaviorist guru Temple Grandin says, living things demand energy for three things: reproduction, growth, and immunological function. All three must be in balance. When anyone selects for only one of those traits, the other two suffer. That's why American dairy cows only have two lactations on average. When they milk as heavily as our one-trait genetic selection asks, they don't breed and have all sorts of sickness problems. Nature does not scale through concentration; it scales with duplication. If nature wants more oak, it doesn't make one big tree; it makes acorns. If nature wants more milk, it doesn't make a great big cow; it makes calves. If nature wants more tomatoes, it doesn't make a monster tomato plant; it makes a bunch of seeds that make more tomato plants. Nature scales with duplication. At Polyface, rather than having a chicken house big enough for 15,000 chickens, we have 170 little 120 square foot portable shelters holding 75 birds apiece and giving us cumulative capacity for 15,000. But they're spread out in modules, duplicated, to give us the production volume. We run pigs in groupings of 35-50. A Smithfield confinement facility might house 5,000 hogs in a bigger-than-football-field-sized facility. The stench is unbearable. By spreading these pigs out across the landscape in small groups we get the same scale without any of the ecological, immunological, or animal welfare dysfunction. This could even be said of farming in general. People see the massive corn, soybean, and alfalfa farms in the mid-west and wonder how we would possibly survive without those massive, single-species outfits. The fact is they aren't even producing food. Half the soybeans are exported to other countries; those markets are drying up rapidly with competition from other countries like Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Nearly half the corn goes to taxpayer-subsidized ethanol. The alfalfa goes to Japan and Saudi Arabia to feed racehorses. By and large, all that production isn't even food. The fact is we don't need to produce all those commodities and even if we needed it all for food, we could do it in a more spread out, diversified platform. America has 35 million acres in lawns. We have 36 million acres housing and feeding recreational horses. All of this could be turned into duplicative production, like acorns for oak trees. My point is this: scale as commonly understood in modern American lexicon is completely anti-ecological. The real mechanism for scale is duplication. A more democratized production creating volume through multiplicative nodes is the way nature works. This is why farms like Polyface, with spread out infrastructure in repeated modules offers multiple advantages. Polyface can't feed the world by itself, and we have no desire to build an empire trying to. But thousands of Polyfaces can feed the world. Indeed, they're the only way to do it for the next 500 years. This is one reason why we invest heavily in germinating new young farmers. Our stewardship and apprenticeship programs are all about this kind of duplication. In fact, Aug. 21-22 we're hosting the Stockman Grass Farmer's Launching Young Farmers conference where we'll feature 8 of our graduates who were 20 years old, no money, no land, and at 40 are full-time farming without government subsidies. If you ever dreamed of bootstrapping a farming career, you should come. We still have room. It will be the most profound agricultural conference in America this year. Information is on our website on the education tab. For most of you, the fact that you keep us in business to duplicate production and the farmers who will carry these principles forward, indicates your heart investing in an authentic food and farming model. Thank you for making it all possible.

5 Ways to Bring Hygge to Your Kitchen

5 ways to bring Hygge to your kitchen

More from the blog

Events of The Month

Duplication

Smart Cattle Grazing -- Virtual Farm Tour

About

Education

Polyface Farms

Healing the land one bite at a time!