It seems like everyone is looking for more power these days, and so many of us are on a mission to find food that is healthier, stronger, and super powerful. The world is now focusing on more health, more wellness, and much, much, more happiness. Figuring out how to get there is the burning question, and for me, the answer will always be, food.

Probably because I always loved food. When I was a little girl my mother used to tell everyone she couldn’t keep me out of the kitchen. But when you grow up in a big Italian family you figure out really quickly the kitchen is where all the excitement is. And I just loved being there, with all the people, but mostly all the food, because to me the food has all the power.

Today people often ask me why I believe in the power of food, and for certain it has a lot to do with where I came from, but the short answer is, “because I had too.” There is something about hearing the words “cancer,” and, “not too much hope,” in the middle of your two-year-old daughter’stest results that makes you want to believe in something and find the answers. I was lucky. I found the answers, actually in the kitchen, and that’s where I have been for the past twenty-nine years discovering the power of food, and myself, at the same time.

And I found out a lot while I was there. Like the right foods, can nourish, transform, and even heal. Food at its best provides the vital energy of life, and the more powerful the foods, the more potent the benefits for our bodies and our minds. You see, our bodies react a certain way to food~all of it; our cells, our neurotransmitters, every single system. And when we put the right food into our body, we make it stronger, and we make it healthier, and we make it happier.

And what makes me even more happier, is we now have the science and research giving us a platform to stand on and there is so much information that can help us to be stronger and healthier. It is like the perfect storm for health and wellness and my column, The Power of Food is the perfect way to share this with everyone.

So find me and your power, and send your questions to powerofmarci@gmail.com

PS...I think my mother would be really glad I stayed in the kitchen. I know you will be.

Question

I want to eat healthier but I do not know where to start? How do I begin?

-Looking for Power in Long Island

Well the beginning is always a very good place to start, and in the culinary world, the best way to begin any recipe is with a strong flavor base using ingredients that tie everything together. A mirepoix, considered the flavor foundation for many recipes, is created by combining essential seasoning elements, and when you use ingredients that have an optimal nutritional profile, we create the strongest foundation I know of to start the journey of health and wellness. The best way I know to explain this is with my Superpower Mirepoix. Trust me, Looking for Power in Long Island, if you make this recipe and begin to use it in your daily repertoire, you will find exactly what you are looking for.

SUPERPOWER MIREPOIX

For those of us who know and love food we realize Mirepoix is a French term meaning a culinary flavor base containing veg- etables and such, although there are many different variations. In traditional French cooking it is a mixture of onions, carrots and celery, in Italian, it is called soffritto, and contains garlic, celery and carrots, and in German, it is suppengrun, and it is made up of leeks, carrots and celery. But no matter how, or where, you dice, chop, and slice it, a mirepoix is certainly the strongest beginning I know.

But for me it is so much more. Individually these spices and vegetables (yes, garlic is technically a vegetable; however, you do not lose points if you call it a spice, only if you do not eat it), contain a multitude of healing properties. Garlic, full of sulfur compounds, most notably allicin, protects the body from damage, disease, and even despair. Turmeric root with curcumin and ginger root with gingerol are a dream team when it comes to boosting immunity, preventing disease, and controlling in-flammation. And because things really are better together, this combination transforms into a true nutritional powerhouse and will be the best thing you ever do for your body and your mind.