This is my food manifesto.

Cook with love. Even if you don't love cooking, putting love into making food for the people in your life - even if it's just yourself! - will make the food you create truly nourishing and provide more than just calories or nutrients.

Use wonderful ingredients - local and organic if possible. The food you cook will only ever be as good as the ingredients you use. You can cook in any kitchen, with any pots, use any knives, have any style countertop, but if you don't start with incredible raw materials, your food will only ever just be okay.

Take a moment to appreciate all of the people along the way who helped your food find its way onto your table - the ones you know and the ones you don't know. These might include a local farmer or two, and maybe some larger or industrial farmers, migrant workers, truckers, packers, produce handlers, grocery buyers, and even the checkout person. Take a moment to thank the checkout person. Your food will taste better for all of the appreciation.

Take a moment to send some gratitude towards the earth and the sun, the wind, the rain and the moon, whenever they arrive and however they appear. They are more than just our playground, our warmth, our inconveniences, and our night watch. Without them, seeds couldn't pollinate, plants couldn't grow, fruit couldn't ripen, and growing things couldn't rest, and neither could we.

Slow down and taste your food. Try eating without doing one extra thing, other than enjoying the company of whomever you are with, if you are lucky enough to eat with someone. You might find that you enjoy some foods more, or some foods less. You might find that you might not need to eat as much as you thought you did. You might find something completely different altogether.

Thank the person who cooked your food for you. Thank your mom, your dad, your auntie or grandma. Thank your daughter or son, your partner, your caregiver or your friend. Ask your server to thank the chef. You might even ask your server to split their tip with the chef.

Take some time to love yourself. Eat good, clean, food. Try eating more of the good stuff, and less of the bad stuff. Eat a new fruit or a different colored vegetable once in a while. Give your body some exercise. Be in awe at the way your body works, even without you telling it to, and thank it for getting you through another day, in the best way that it could.

Be amazed at the beauty of an apple, the shape of a pear, the crunch of a cucumber, the yellow-green of an avocado.

Think about your food. And enjoy.