to create ideal worlds in which individuals thrive. In the 19th century, three of the most
famous American utopias were in Middle
Tennessee: Nashoba, Rugby, and Ruskin.
This area is also home to The Farm, where
the modern art of midwifery was reborn in
the 20th century. In the 21st century, Laura
Lea is building on these traditions in the
reality of food to connect us to the ideal of
loving balance, abundance, and a willingness
to engage in new creations.
Laura Lea creates recipes that are bites of
love, containing her loving ambition to feed the
world well, and to feed the world deliciously—
with positive intentions for our bodies, for the
health of this planet we call home, and for
restoring joy through the pleasure of taste.
Every year, each of us embarks on a 365-
day journey around the sun. This cookbook
invites you to make part of your journey a spa
for the soul. Cook through these pages, and
you will discover that Laura Lea provides an
easy way to feed your body, your family, your
friends, your lover, and any and all beloved by
you in a way that restores balance by adding
more joy, beauty, flavors, textures, elegance,
energy, and calm. This cookbook is more than
a cookbook—it is a map to a balanced way
of life that reflects the graceful wisdom of a
serene young chef, wife, and friend.
— Alice Randall
Author, with Caroline Randall Williams,
of Soul Food Love
Nashville, Tennessee, 2017
introduction
Finding balance, or even knowing what
balance means, is something most of us
struggle with. I certainly did. I spent four
years in New York City after college, pinballing
between health extremes. I either obsessed
about and restricted food, or I prioritized late-
night pizza and cocktails. Both approaches
left me anxious and unhealthy. With food,
I was either being “good” or “bad”: I labeled
indulgences as “cheats,” and praised myself for
being “clean” when I dieted. I spent countless
hours researching the “hot” nutrition trends:
vegan, raw, paleo, pescatarian, juice cleansing.
I tried them all, but nothing gave me the health
and balance that I desperately wanted.
After four years of this I discovered the
Natural Gourmet Institute in the Chelsea
neighborhood of NYC. NGI is an accredited
chef’s training program that focuses on
nutrient-dense, whole-foods cooking. NGI
offers a variety of approaches to wellness, and
it is not dogmatic about any “right” or “wrong”
way. This was revelatory—the idea that there
is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to how
and what we should eat. My time at NGI
helped me to realize why my previous food
strategies hadn’t worked. I had been trying to
mold myself into guidelines that were created
by people with completely different lives and
bodies than mine.
The truth is that sometimes I eat “paleo.”
I enjoy meat and veggies and potatoes, and
they make me feel great. Sometimes I eat
“vegan.” I enjoy grains and beans, and they
make me feel great too. I can eat gluten in
moderation without experiencing negative
side effects. I love butter and occasionally
include goat cheese or yogurt in my meals.
I don’t count calories, but I pay attention to
my body’s hunger cues. I like fat, carbs, and
protein, all in different proportions at different
times. I can fit into all of the trendy food diets
and none of them, at the same time.
And I am 100% okay with that.
I finally understood that I didn’t need
to follow anyone else’s ideal diet, despite
how much I admired them. Becoming a
Certified Holistic Chef gave me the confidence
to create my own food “way,” and to share
it with my beloved Nashville community.
Which is exactly what I did in summer
2013 when
