• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

  • THM Coaching
  • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
    • Everyday Nourishing Food
    • Salad Cookbook
    • Soup Cookbook

Nourishing Practices

What the Ancient Romans Taught Me About Eating Well

September 3, 2019 by KimiHarris 9 Comments

We recently sat down to a flavorful dinner, every dish well seasoned with fascinating spice combinations. Our meal was relatively simple, full of “whole food” ingredients, and fun. Why so fun? Our meals were inspired by our history studies on Ancient Rome. 

While our scenery has changed from the lush greens of the northwest to the open range of the prairies, our school has continued. I love making history a central part of our homeschool, and we’ve picked up where we left off – Ancient Rome. I thought it would make history come alive to eat like a Roman for a day. 

How Did the Ancient Romans Eat?

This time period has the potential to inspire lush and delicious meals. I should well know as my husband and I once went to a delectable four-course dinner at a pop-up restaurant in Portland with a guest chef who cooked us a meal inspired by traditional Roman food. Yum! 

How well an Ancient Roman ate varied by their social status. The very rich could eat ridiculous and precious food items, and the poor could eat repetitive and nutritionally deficient meals. But generally, their diet was full of nourishing, varied ingredients, and well spiced. I joked that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone capitalized on how healthy their diet was by writing a book entitled something like, “Eat like an Ancient Roman for Health.” But let’s be honest, it’s true! Most people would eat a healthier diet if they ate like the Ancient Romans. 

Their diet, very similar to a modern Mediterranean diet, was full of whole grains, lentils, peas, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, eggs, and meats. What sets the cooking style apart for me was their use of spice combination. One article mentioned that the flavors they used – balancing sweet, savory, umami, and sour – were closest to modern Asian cooking. Regardless, there is a lot of inspiration to be had from the Ancient Romans. They also flavored much of their food with a fermented fish sauce. Our closest equivalent now would be Asian Fish Sauces (like this one from Amazon: Fish Sauce). 

Regardless of what people group you look at, I’m reminded how simple many foods were in Ancient times. You will notice the simplicity of the meal plan below. 

Other resources for Ancient Roman Recipes: Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome and Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City: A Cookbook

Our Ancient Roman Meal Plan 

(Note, we weren’t trying to be completely historically accurate in how we prepared all of these foods, but just got as close as we could). 

Breakfast (ientaculum): We enjoyed Milk and homemade Bread or Bread dipped into olive oil and vinegar. If this sounds “light” to you, consider that milk and bread (a standard breakfast for Roman children) was likely more hearty than the typical bowl of cereal with milk we eat now. 

As I researched midday meals, I came across numerous articles discussing Roman street food. Did you know that Ancient Romans were probably the first to popularize street food? (You can read about this historical tidbit here.)

One fact that I have always found especially fascinating was that a form of pizza was likely a popular street food, alongside many other food offerings. How fun that this popular meal has such old origins! 

“Poor citizens of Pompeii could order some of the ready-to-eat specialties of the era, which most likely included a sort of tomato-free pizza (tomatoes were not yet brought to Europe at the time) made of cheese and onions, soups, pickles, eggs, fish, ham, and of course wine.” Source

Lunch: prandium

We went with a simple lunch inspired by this description: “The Roman lunch (cibus meridianus or prandium), a quick meal eaten around noon, could include salted bread or be more elaborate with fruit, salad, eggs, meat or fish, vegetables, and cheese.” Source

Our lunch, eaten on the fly after a hike (which, since most Romans ate on the go at lunch time, was appropriate) included: Delicious wine crackers (you can get the recipe here – I also made a gluten-free version), goat cheese, olives, grapes, and apples. This was an easy and scrumptious meal! 

Dinner: (cena) 

While the rich could eat elaborate and lengthy dinners, we opted for a more moderate feast. I spent some time researching gluten-free grains that would be still authentic to Roman times. In the past, historians assumed that millet was only consumed by the poorest in Ancient Rome. Recent research suggests, however, that it was eaten by a much broader swath of the population. 

Ancient Romans ate many grain porridges, so I thought it would be fun to make a savory millet porridge. (You can see an authentic sweet porridge recipe here.) 

Unable to find a definite recipe for a millet porridge from Ancient Roman times, I improvised adding herbs I knew they used (basil and oregano) and flavoring it with broth, onions and garlic. It may not have been authentic, but it was very delicious. I may make it part of our regular menu. 

We also made a chicken dish cooked in a white wine sauce, spiced with fennel, dried herbs, and pepper… (Delicious!). 

Broccoli steamed in a spiced white wine sauce, and then served with a mint spiced sauce over it (inspired by this version). 

And we also had cantaloupe and cucumber slices on the side. 

After dinner, I asked the kids what they thought about eating food for a day inspired by history, and they were all fans. I was asked to continue the tradition as we continue to read about new people groups and other time periods. 

Ancient Romans reminded me of these four essential concepts: 

  • Eating simply can be very nourishing as well as delicious. Most people from Ancient times, like us now, had little time to make elaborate meals. Simple doesn’t necessarily mean bland or unhealthy. 
  • Many ancient people groups included grain porridges on the menu (I’ve always enjoyed the Asian rice porridges, Congees, for example). These can be hearty, simple, frugal, and delicious. 
  • Produce – such as fruit and vegetables – should be more central on our table. It’s a healthy practice, but it’s also satisfying and delicious. 
  • Use spices and herbs liberally, and make simple sauces to further enrich the flavor of dishes. Roman food was bursting with flavor, and there is little reason we can’t follow suit!

Filed Under: For the Kids, For the Love of Food and Books, Nourishing Practices, Uncategorized

How Buying Prepped Vegetables is Saving Our Dinner

November 11, 2016 by KimiHarris 3 Comments

I'm so thankful I can buy prepped vegetables. They are helping us get dinner on the table! -- The Nourishing Gourmet

The first tip I wanted to share in my series, The Low Energy Guide to Healthy Cooking, is a simple one, but it has made such a difference for us during a challenging year.

Buying prepped vegetables.

Can I be honest for a minute? I never really thought I would buy pre-cut and prepared vegetables. I do hate the extra plastic packaging that pre-cut vegetables tend to have. Plus, I never saw a problem with an extra five to ten-minute preparation it took to prep my own vegetables.

It never seemed like a big deal to just prep them myself.

But then my kind of low-grade health issues sky-rocketed. This whole last year has been one long sick year for me (we finally got a diagnosis last week, but more on that later). Suddenly those five to fifteen minutes of extra preparation were a big deal. It could mean the difference between having a vegetable side or not, or getting a homemade dinner on the table that night.

I wanted us to eat healthy. I needed us to eat well. But there are seasons when you need all the extra help you can get to make that happen. This has been one such season for us, and having vegetables ready and waiting in the fridge for us to cook up has been a big help.

My husband has been helping much more with the cooking, which has been extremely helpful. But he often gets home late-ish, so having the dinner cooking process as streamlined as possible for him was also important. Once again, it’s been so helpful to have at least some of our vegetables prepped.

Unfortunately, not all prepped vegetables are inexpensive. However, I have been very happy with what I can find at Trader Jo’s. They have a large selection of prepped vegetables, including: cut and washed broccoli and cauliflower, riced cauliflower (frozen and fresh), washed lettuce greens, prepped kale, butternut squash “zigzags” and noodles, a multi-chopped vegetable container (that is very tasty), and more.

While I still have to prep some of our vegetables, having more than half of them prepared for me has been a dinner saver!

The next best thing is hiring someone to prep vegetables for the week for you, or setting aside time (perhaps with a spouse) to prep vegetables for the week using a food processor when possible to make it easier. Neither of these options works well for us right now, so we are really thankful for the prepped vegetables we can buy. If you have any available in the stores near you, give it a try!

Filed Under: Health, Nourishing Frugal Tips, Nourishing Practices, The Low Energy Guide to Healthy Cooking

Enjoying a Gluten-free or Grain-free Holiday Season

November 18, 2015 by KimiHarris Leave a Comment

 

Enjoying the holiday season on a gluten or grain-free diet (resources and recipes!)

The first holiday season we were gluten-free was a big adjustment. So many family recipes and treats were off limits. But you know what? We’ve found that the holiday season can be a joy and a blessing with glorious food!

This week Megan from EatBeautiful.net and I shared about how we love the holidays, and holiday food – even though we eat differently. More then that, we found our holiday meals to be beautiful with real food!

Megan and her family have been on the GAPS diet, which is a healing, grain-free, starch-free diet. Half of my family is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free.

Maybe you can relate. We hope that this conversation is encouraging to you! We discuss not only recipes, but also some of the surrounding issues, like how to handle children on restricted diets during holiday get togethers, making desserts sweet enough to share with the general public, and more!

To get all of the links to recipes and resources: visit my holiday recipe page here.

Filed Under: Dairy Free, Egg Free, For the Kids, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nourishing Practices, Nutrient Dense Foods

3 Tips for Sharing Food with Others (Even When Life is Crazy)

November 10, 2015 by KimiHarris 7 Comments

It's so important to offer hospitality and to bring food to those going through hard times. But how do you do that when your life is crazy? I'm with you there. I share 3 tips here on how to get it done. -- The Nourishing Gourmet

We’ve had some very peaceful time periods. But if I’m honest, more often than not life has seemed very busy, hectic, and at times, stressful too. During the midst of stressful times, it can be hard to rip your eyes off of your own situation and share and serve others. I know it is for me.

But I want to share food with others (and serve them in other ways too). Why? Because people have done that for me. For example: When I was 16, I was in charge of my younger siblings while my mother recovered from a serious surgery and my dad helped take care of her and worked regular long hours. Our community rallied around us by bringing us dinners for weeks on end. To this day, I remember the support and help that brought us during a stressful time and am thankful for it. Years later I was pregnant with my second child and went through premature labor. I was hospitalized for two weeks until I stabilized. Friends brought me dinner every night so that I wouldn’t have to live off of hospital food. Once again, I still remember and am thankful for that tangible support.

That’s why for my very first Periscope, I shared on the topic of Sharing Food with Others During Busy Times. It’s a topic dear to my heart not because I am a rockstar in this area (I’m not), but because I have been greatly blessed when others have done that for me.

I loved sharing these tips on Periscope, so I wanted to share them here too!

(You can follow me here to watch future scopes! For those who aren’t familiar, it’s an app that allows you to broadcast live stream videos, and it allows you to respond in the text box in real time too! It’s very fun.)

Don’t be a perfectionist when sharing food

It can be easy to allow fears to derail our good intentions. We may wonder if others will like our cooking, or whether they will think our food is good enough, for example. When you are known as a “good cook” or (the horror of it) are a food blogger and cookbook author, expectations can be high, and that can put a lot of pressure on you. Once we invited a couple over for dinner, and when the husband walked through the door he said, “I feel like I’m in a dream. I can’t believe I am eating dinner with The Nourishing Gourmet.” I just about died right there and hoped that dinner was especially good. (I think it was a success, or perhaps my guests were just very good actors as they talked about how yummy it was!).

Sometimes that pressure has held me back, because, in all honesty, we eat plain and simple food most of the time! Nothing fancy! But then I realized that it was my pride holding me back. I don’t have a responsibility for people’s reactions to my actions, but I do have the responsibility to share and serve those around me. And you know what I’ve found? People are always thankful for you sharing food with them. I think our fears are unfounded. Even if they don’t love the food you brought to them, they will love the heart behind it.
Sometimes it takes a small amount of courage to share with others, and that’s okay. It’s worth the bravery to share life and love with others.

All you need is one meal

Some of the people who are the best at bringing food to others during times of need have one meal they always bring. It’s delicious, they know the meal so well they could make it in their sleep, and it’s generally frugal and family-friendly. For example, one lady I know cooks up a pot of rice, steams some vegetables, and bakes teriyaki chicken. She then layers the cooked rice, vegetables and chicken in a casserole dish to bring to someone. It’s delicious! Another brings makings for a healthy taco salad, and that’s always popular too. Another brings a big pot of hearty soup and homemade bread. Homemade pizza is popular as well.

The point is this, if you just figure out just one meal that is well-liked and that you can fit in your budget, it won’t be stressful at all to share that meal with others – whether they are coming over for dinner, or you are bringing them a meal.

Bonus points if the meal is allergen-friendly, as then you can serve it to a wider base of people. For example, it’s easy to make gluten-free teriyaki and even soy-free and gluten-free teriyaki!

Make it serve you (and your family) too

My sister recently had a baby, and although my life seemed very chaotic at the time, it was important to me that I offer help and support. While I wasn’t able to do all that I wished to do (I also have a nine-month-old baby, and she had a runny nose at the time, so we didn’t want to expose her newborn), I at least wanted to help provide meals for her during that happy, but fragile newborn stage.

So this is what I did. I set aside a couple of hours and got in a good cooking rhythm. I whipped up some hearty soups from my cookbook, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for all Seasons. I made a homemade marinara sauce with Italian sausage, and bought some nice organic noodles for her husband to cook up to go with it. I made teriyaki chicken and rice. I made granola and bought a whole milk organic yogurt to go with it for breakfast or snacks. I picked up some fruit too. My sister-in-law made another soup to add to the box, and then I was able to send over a whole box of food for her.

But here’s the deal. While I was doing all of that cooking, I doubled everything so that my family also had plenty of food for the upcoming week. It was heavenly to have all of the food already prepared and ready to be enjoyed. I was able to serve not only her but my family as well.

If you deal with health issues, or just have a busy lifestyle, being able to kill two birds with one stone will be very helpful.

Finally, this list of gluten-free freezer meals may come in handy as well when sharing food with others. I often share freezer meals with others. This allows me to cook when I am able and then share when a need comes up.

What meals do you like to share with others? Has there been a time when people brought you meals? I’d love to hear about it!

Filed Under: For the Kids, Nourishing Frugal Tips, Nourishing Practices

Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

ConvertKit Form

Get Every Recipe

And the insider's view from our kitchen

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Search

Please Read:

The information you find here at The Nourishing Gourmet is meant to help you become a better cook! This site is primarily for sharing family friendly recipes. It's not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases.This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Also, any links to sponsors or affiliates (including Amazon) may give me a percentage of the sale or a pay per click. Thank you for supporting this site.

Categories

  • $10 Main (42)
  • $5 Dishes (43)
  • 52 ways to save money on a healthy diet (53)
  • AIP (23)
  • Baked Goods (83)
  • Beverages (72)
  • Breakfast and Brunch (61)
  • Condiments (8)
  • Dairy Free (492)
  • Desserts (184)
  • Dietary Needs (6)
  • Egg Free (11)
  • Egg Free (86)
  • For the Kids (66)
  • For the Love of Food and Books (18)
  • Gluten Free (484)
  • Grain Free (95)
  • Health (75)
  • Kitchen Tools (4)
  • Main Dishes (126)
  • Nourishing Frugal Recipes (167)
  • Nourishing Frugal Tips (70)
  • Nourishing Practices (56)
  • Nutrient Dense Foods (70)
  • Q and A (15)
  • Salads (39)
  • Sides (101)
  • Snacks (124)
  • Soups (50)
  • The Healthy $1 Menu (21)
  • The Low Energy Guide to Healthy Cooking (18)
  • THM (2)
  • Trim Healthy Mama (2)
  • Uncategorized (846)
  • Vegan (241)
  • Vegetarian (361)

Recent Posts

  • 2 Ingredient Peppermint Bark
  • Herbal Hibiscus Lemonade (Keto, THM)
  • Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup
  • One-Pot Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
  • Healthy Pumpkin Spice Granola
  • Crispy Pumpkin Spice Granola (oil-free)
  • Why I Use THM Principles Now
  • Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad
  • Coconut Flour Pancakes
  • Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

Recent Comments

  • Dorene St G on Cracker Toffee (Easy Peasy Christmas Candy)
  • Nadia Kriston on Finding a Toaster Oven Without Nonstick
  • KimiHarris on How to make heavenly coconut milk whipped cream (with an isi dispenser)
  • KimiHarris on Autumn Beef Stew (Tomato Free)
  • KimiHarris on How to make heavenly coconut milk whipped cream (with an isi dispenser)

Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons

Get Every Recipe

And the insider's view from our kitchen

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Footer

Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework