The Plate-Switcher

Sometimes, after spending a lot of time and thought preparing a beautiful dish, I have difficulty finding the right plate to put it on.  I always feel like plates need to complement the appearance of the food itself, and that in turn, the appearance can affect the experience of the food.  That being said, I do not always have the best selection of plates on hand (as a student, I consider myself already fortunate not to have to dine on paper plates and styrofoam cups every evening).  Sometimes, the search goes on for a while.

Sometimes, I find a plate, put the food on, realize it’s wrong, and switch plates.  Sometimes, this happens more than once or twice.

And sometimes, I never find the right plate.

Purple kale wraps…

Mom’s asparagus stir-fry…

Raw gingerbread cookies… (inspired by this recipe from Karen Knowler)

The most beautifully-coloured and absolutely delicious Red and Orange Hemp purée inspired by Gena’s soup recipe.

Juice pulp falafel (SO tasty!)…

Lately, I’ve been having plate-switching days.  Not gastronomically, but I mean in my day-to-day life.  In small decisions like, is exercise going to make me feel better today?  If so, do I have to run a 10-miler with 21 hills?  Or will a 30-minute walk do?

In big decisions like, what the heck do I want to do after graduation? Truth be told, there are days when all I want to do is high-tail it to nutrition school and become like Meghan or Marni.  But I think it’s more complicated than that.  Because there’s this other Person to whom I owe every member of my body, and perhaps I ought to consider what He wants, hmm?  Even though I know in my heart of hearts that I don’t want to miss His leading or His speaking in anything, big or small, when push comes to shove – can I really take the plate that He wants to offer me?  Why can’t I have the fancy plate with the octagon trim?

But I’m learning.  I’m learning to be OK with my plate.  I think, Life is the most intense experience that anyone of us could ever have – why spend time looking for the “right plate” when the perfect one is right in front of you?   Our plate is what we make of it.  Again, I’m learning.

What do you plate-switch about?

Cheers,

xo Aletheia