Positive Power of Food + Cauliflower Chickpea Tikka Masala

Last week, I excitedly wrote about the arrival of Spring in all its glory. This week, I decided part of me is still in Winter mode and needs additional comfort food. Hey, I’m a gal who reserves the right to change her mind! Staying indoors during this stretch of isolation, I find myself needing a bit more warm feel-good grub in my tummy. Most of us have more time to devote to cooking at home, but it’s always a score when you make enough to stretch into leftovers! This past week, I made a delicious batch of Cauliflower Chickpea Tikka Masala. We are uncertain, worrisome, and needing powerful positivity right now. I’m going to get mine through the positive power of food.

The Positive Power of Food

For me, I view cooking not as a chore, but as an opportunity to create art on a plate. I see it as an essential habit for self-care and compassion. And most importantly, I build more confidence through curating an enjoyable cooking experience in my own home. My learning will never stop when it comes to cooking. You will never hear me say I know everything there is to know about the subject. What you will hear me say is, “my time in the kitchen is what fuels my creativity.” The positive power of food is a massive part of my life, and I’m here to tell you it can be for you too. 

1. Positive Power of Food as “Self-Care”

We are all guilty of not putting ourselves first when it comes to self-compassion. I used to be the queen of that! It’s so much easier to care for others than it is to care for ourselves, am I right? The day I learned to see food as a form of self-care was the day I began paying attention to my nutritional needs. I put myself in the mindset of, “I am deserving.” Those days of self-deprivation finally disappeared because the feeling of self-advocacy came to the forefront.

Just remember that eating the things you love should never be about guilt. It should be about being kind to yourself, to own your decisions, and let yourself “unbutton.” Honor your choices at the moment, move forward, and feel fantastic! Turn diet culture beliefs into self-acceptance, self-love, and self-compassion when it comes to how you feed your body. I promise you will learn better and enjoy the process as long as you are kind to yourself. Know that food is not a threat nor your enemy. Food is healing, and we can use it to create positive change within ourselves. We just need a little help on where to begin. You can pop over to this blog post for ideas on how to get started.

How to use food as self-care:

• Listen to music that fits your mood when you are winding down, playing dress-up in your closet, or making a badass veggie lasagna.
• Create a page in your journal about what you are feeling about yourself today. Use words you are feeling; are you exhausted, hopeful, burned out, or peaceful? Sit with your thoughts and concepts while listening to music that fits your mood.

2. Positive Power of Food as “Community”

When we sit down to enjoy a meal together, we find it’s so much more than just the meal. It’s the celebration of a newly married couple, your 20th anniversary, pizza after little Sarah’s winning goal in her soccer game. When I invite friends over for a delicious meal, it brings us together to create memories and strengthens our bond with one another. It can even bring strangers together to be strangers no more! I throw small intimate dinner parties whenever I get the chance. Building a community around the table nourishes our soul and enriches our feeling toward those with whom we dine! Although it has been a minute since the last one, “Community” around the dinner table is such a powerful thing. I cannot wait to get through this strange time to host them once again. 

How to use food to build community:

• In the time of Coronavirus, FaceTime or Zoom call your friends for a virtual happy hour consisting of a curated playlist, your favorite sip, or an easy recipe to cook together.

3. Positive Power of Food as “Creativity”

As a creative, I view cooking as the only form of art in which we can use all of our senses. I have been talking about this for years. And, it makes frickin’ sense! I guess that is why I spend so much time in the kitchen. I love creating with food. The limitless combinations of flavor, texture, smell, taste, and presentation are food-porn overload if you just sit with the idea for a minute. There are so many elements to play with and create your very own masterpiece on a plate. It’s mind-blowing, is it not? The act of cooking can teach us about innovation and self-expression. How many “happy accidents” have you encountered when deviating from a recipe? Or, how often do you do a little jig when you taste your creation and proudly say, “That’s some good shit!” That is what I call the positive power of food!

How to use food for creativity

• Get into the kitchen with your family and divvy up cooking tasks for a complicated dish. Laughs, funny failures, or successes and bonding can cultivate from your time together.

So, where do you begin when it comes to self-compassion and tapping into something new? You decide to put yourself first. It’s a tough goal to commit to if you are not used to doing so. Shit, it took me over 45 years to finally see I was worth the effort. Once I saw a clear picture, it wasn’t an effort at all. Find something you are passionate about or keeping yourself from learning because you don’t think you’ll be good at it. If you get stuck in a place where you don’t feel worthy of being healthy, having happiness in your life, or taking time for personal development i.e., cooking, stop what you’re doing and find a picture of yourself as a child. Take a long look at that picture and try telling that adorable kiddo he or she is not worthy of anything. That is where you begin. Knowing where to start is not the important part though, it’s putting what you know into practice that’s crucial. Now, find that picture <3

Just begin.

~Ruthie 

Cauliflower Chickpea Tikka Masala

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5 from 1 review

Print Recipe

This fragrant dish of goodness will blast you into orbit to meet your God!  If you are a fan of Indian food, you will love this recipe. If you’ve never tried Indian food, then this is the perfect place to start! This dish goes best with whole grain basmati rice, but regular basmati will be just as yummy!

• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For Cardamom Yogurt Mixture

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup non-dairy yogurt

3 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated with skin on

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tsps paprika

10 cardamom pods, cracked lightly with the back of a chef’s knife, seeds removed OR 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tbsps blue agave nectar

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

For Curry Mixture

3 tbsps vegan butter

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsps curry powder

1–6 oz can tomato paste

1–13.5 oz can of coconut milk, solid and liquid

2 cups non-dairy milk (I use oat for its thickness)

1 can chickpeas, drained

2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup brown rice, cooked to package instructions

chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

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Instructions

Cut cauliflower into florets and slice tomatoes in half. Set aside in a bowl.

Combine yogurt, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, paprika, cardamom seeds, agave, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Stir together until fully incorporated. Set aside.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter to melt. Sauté the onion for 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste, curry powder, and coconut milk. Carefully whisk until tomato paste has broken down and blended with the milk. Add the yogurt mixture and 2 cups of non-dairy milk to the skillet. Stir to combine. Then, add the cauliflower and tomatoes to the skillet. Slightly cover with a lid and bring to a low simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until cauliflower and tomatoes have softened.

Add chickpeas and fresh spinach to the skillet and stir. Let tikka masala cook for a few more minutes before serving.

Serve cooked rice into bowl and top with tikka masala. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

• Author: Ruthie Landelius
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 25
• Category: Main
• Method: stove top
• Cuisine: Indian