What 'Nourished' Means
I’m writing this for you and me. The wind and cold and rain and darkness that hovers over the winter season are the most reflective of times. Ever just feel like your constantly longing through this time? I try not to, but it happens. Thought it’d be good to do a little refresher of what the mission here at Nourished even is.
Some days I’m not real sure if I’m getting the message across via, well, mainly social media outlets - and you’re probably like, “OK, we are talking about fresh, whole food today and now here is a picture of a placenta; and whoa, there’s a really cute !!baby!!, and now we’re back to olive oil?” Yeah, me too.
The definition of this place we’re calling Nourished will evolve. But here it goes for now.
Nourished, first and foremost is a safe place. A place to be 100% you and receive love. It will be filled to the brim with joy and kindness. With kind and honest conversation. There absolutely will not be any tolerating of close-mindedness, racism, gender phobia of any kind, religion and class discrimination, etc. You get the gist. Thought we’d get that out of the way.
After that comes the food. Food is my love language, and I think most of us can feel really taken care of by food. Whether it’s around a huge table with gorgeous place settings, standing around in the kitchen with plastic bowls, barbecue picnic at the park, soup in a styrofoam cup while sitting on a curb — food takes care of stuff. It can bring unimaginable delight or simple survival.
FOOD IS LOVE. I’ll always stand by that.
And when I say to please bring your people some food, I really mean that and I really want you to do it. I don’t care if it’s my food or not, just please do it. Take that big thing — yeah the thing where we need food to survive — off someone’s plate for one meal even. It will be, if not anything else, just a small respite from the everyday grind. Or those moments of delight that let hope show its face and root deep.
You’ll get delicious meals here that are made from scratch, from real ingredients that have been sliced and put together with a whole lotta ‘put it all in a pot and hope it tastes good’. I say it all the time but Nourished cooks real food. That’s it. Think home-cooking but with a fancy flavor twist and spices that I know to taste good together and heal. Mind, body, heart, soul, fingers, toes — all that.
Don’t get me started on the word “healthy”. No. Just real food. Local when possible.
After food comes supporting folks through pregnancy, birth and the postpartum time. A doula is someone who supports, without judgement and with all validation, a person and/or family going through this big time. I want Nourished to be a place where folks in this life space can be held and fed. Discover your doula. Come hang with us and feel supported. Drink tea. Sip Soup. Get educated and be empowered to ask questions and receive the care you deserve.
Nourished began as a place to order food for your village after they’ve birthed a baby. And now it has evolved into ordering food for your village on any day of life. We all have big times. We all need to be fed. But childbirth and parenting will forever remain a strong cornerstone of this space.
OK, it wouldn’t be mine without dinner parties. I have ordered a table that seats 12 people. Here you will sit with loved ones and strangers, be fed a scrumptious meal and feel like your joy reservoirs were filled in the meantime. There will be conversation and silence and laugh so hard you pee moments. There will be tears. It will feel safe. You will feel seen. There will be garlic and olive oil and green stuff and fresh bread. Warm cookies and tea cake. Dinners for Mamas and Papas and Babas and Mamaws and Papaws and Sisters and Brothers. Flowers and mix-matched place settings. The SOUND of love being exchanged,
I hope you are smiling after imagining yourself at that big table. I am; I can’t wait.
Nourished will be a care package wrapped up inside a small business. Come feel cared for or get something for your people to help them feel cared for. It IS all about the village and you are part of that village.
Feed yourself. Feed your people.