“You are what you eat from your head to your feet!”

   This line from a School House Rock song resonated with me growing up, and, although I never truly believed that I would physically turn into a banana, I have come to realize the immense impact my food choices have on my body and the world around me.

   Eating is something you do nearly every day of your life. If you embrace this necessary action as a pleasure and accord it the reverence it deserves, you can positively affect your community, the environment and yourself. The old cliché of treating your body like a temple is not at all farfetched. Look at food as a living source of delight – not strictly as fuel.

   You are a manifestation of what you eat. If you eat lifeless, industrialized food that is viewed in terms of units rather than a living being that needs nurturing, it stands to reason that, although you may feel satiated, you will never feel truly alive. Conversely, if you choose to eat foods that are grown and raised with love by people who put their own positive energy into them – food that is then prepared by chefs and cooks who have a reverence for the food and its origins – then you should feel a vibrancy and consciousness that is a culmination of love and thoughtfulness. From conception to consumption, the significance of love in the food should never be underestimated. The proof will be in the taste and the satisfaction.

   As with many pleasures in life, the more you know about the food you eat, the more you appreciate and enjoy it. Begin by becoming familiar with the origins of your food. Go to a farmers' market or stand and meet the people who grew your food. This human connection provides great insight into the labor and love behind something that you may often take for granted. Take this a step further – grow your own vegetables or participate in a community garden or Community Supported Agriculture. Also referred to as a CSA, these local farms allow members of the community to contribute money or labor in exchange for an ongoing portion of the harvest. Witnessing and nurturing the conception and early stages of food is like watching a child develop and grow. Each stage is unique and beautiful in its own way, and the culmination is an amazing display of your very own efforts.

  Conception, nurturing and growing are only the first steps. Next comes the harvesting or slaughtering. By frequenting farms and farmers' markets, you will have the opportunity to eat food that is less than a couple days old. It will have ripened on the vine, rather than in a freight box traveling across the country or even around the world. The sooner you can dine on the harvest, the fresher your food will be. Freshness is the most important aspect of nutrition and taste. The more alive your food tastes, the more alive you will feel when you eat it.

  As a chef, I understand my role as a participant, along with the growers and the food itself, in the fluid orchestration of the circle of life. My responsibility is to capture the full glory of the food and accord it the utmost respect. Using the freshest, best quality ingredients enables me to achieve this. Great food results from a great appreciation of the ingredients. Each season brings about an abundance of new flavors, and if you eat within the seasons, you can appreciate the uniqueness, savor the inherent freshness and enjoy foods at the peak of their flavor. By eating seasonally, you are also keeping your body in synch with the world around you.

  When I think of spring, I think green: watercress, young greens, asparagus, peas and all of the wonderful wild-foraged foods like nettles, ramps, fiddleheads and mushrooms. Their bright colors, earthy aromas, crisp textures and clean flavors allow you to truly absorb the new life of spring. Try these recipes, and seek out the pleasure that comes from eating local, seasonal foods.

Jonathan Grumbles, recently of The Candle 79 in New York City, is a personal chef and caterer in Cleveland, Ohio. He specializes in plant-based, organic cuisine, as well as special diets. He is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Cookery School and has been the Executive Chef at numerous organic-oriented restaurants. He can be contacted at (216) 320-0288 or chefboyjbg@hotmail.com.