Ideas Need Feeding
We're brimming with ideas. Let's make em happen. Plus: Weapons, Strangers, Samantha Sang, and Michele's banana bread
Good morning. How was your easter weekend? I spent most of mine outside, walking with friends, drinking coffee surrounded by dogs, and writing in the garden for as long as the sun was out. Very wholesome.
I’m making the most of the neighbourhood as by this time next week, we’ll have moved to North London and be in the process of doing up the new house. I’ve got a fun/ambitious list of ideas for the space already. (Speaking of - if you have recommendations for joiners and architects, please let me know. Rooftop gardening tips are welcome too, thank you.)
In general, it feels like ideas are flowing more easily at the moment. It’s likely down to longer daylight hours, earlier and consistent light exposure, and more time outside, all of which support circadian signalling and in turn influence mood, appetite and cognitive function. All relevant when you’re trying to think clearly or create anything new.
But - how are you feeling? Still shaking off winter or already in the swing of things? I’m curious. It can take a while to feel more energised in spring, to get things moving again after a long winter. And energy matters, because it determines what you can actually do with your day and with your ideas. To start things, and crucially, to follow them through.
Food gives you energy. That much we know. What’s often missed is just how far that energy reaches. We tend to associate energy with muscles or sleep but it underpins cognitive function and attention too, both of which are essential for creative thinking. It shapes how you think, how well you can focus, and how much capacity you have to make something out of nothing. How many times have you thought “that’s a good idea” and then done absolutely zilch with it?
When you’ve got energy you’re clearer in your thinking, more inclined to get cracking. When it’s low, even simple tasks feel laboured and ideas tend to fizzle before they’ve had a chance to develop.
I see this most clearly with nutritional therapy clients who aren’t eating enough or are overly rigid with what they’re getting in. In the same way that we can get constipated when we don’t eat enough food - nothing coming in, nothing going out - the same pattern shows up with ideas. If you’re not giving yourself enough to work with, physically, it becomes much harder to think clearly, follow a thread, or create anything new.
Ideas need input. They need something to work with. So today, we’re going to talk about how food plays that role. Let’s give our bodies a heads up on what we want for the season ahead.
Food, then ideas
Food is often seen as fuel, as if we’re machines built to perform. It’s more useful to think of it as what supports how you think and what you’re able to do - to feel more creative, more alive.
So if you’re feeling stuck, try this:
1. Bring back foods with some edge
Guys, it’s been a long beige winter. Seasonal eating rears its gorgeous head with spring - let’s make it count. A squeeze of lemon, something pickled, a bitter leaf salad. These wake up digestion, which is where energy production begins.
We’ve got to prime the system before we chuck in the good stuff.
2. Eat in a way that keeps energy steady
Skipping meals or relying on coffee alone might get you through a morning but it rarely supports clear thinking across a full day. Have yourself a breakfast, even if it’s just small. Half an avocado with an egg if that’s all you can muster. Or like me yesterday, half a papaya with the seeds scooped out and two dollops of greek yoghurt in the centre and sprinkled with flax seeds.
A combination of protein, fats and carbohydrates at meals gives you a more reliable base. You know this already right? We need to make it a priority.
3. Zhuzh it up with herbs
Rosemary, sage, turmeric, basil. Not just for decoration but also for their active compounds which have been studied extensively for their role in cognition and inflammation. So easy to add to a dish.
4. Don’t strip everything back
A plate that’s too controlled often ends up low in diversity. And diversity, particularly in plant foods, is linked to better gut health, which in turn connects to mood and cognitive function.
5. Get some fats in
Olive oil, tahini, nuts, oily fish, seeds. They help stabilise energy and support absorption of key nutrients involved in brain function.
6. Eat enough, full stop
We need to get enough food in, my friends! If intake is consistently low, energy drops and so does your ability to think expansively or follow through on ideas.
None of these tips are complicated but they are foundational. You’re creating the conditions where your body has enough available energy to do more than just get through the day. We want to feel sprightly, think clearly, act on ideas, and follow them through… and it’s much easier when we’re properly fuelled up.
What’s fed me
It’s not just food. Everything you take in shapes how you think and feel. Here’s what I’ve been up to that’s nourished my creative brain:
Weapons dir. Zach Cregger (2025). Im not a fan of horror but ever since I saw the posters wheat plastered across LA last year, I’ve been working up the nerve to watch this film. This weekend, in the middle of the afternoon, was the perfect time. I loved it. It’s beautiful and interesting and really quite funny - plus I did not lie in bed for hours after replaying scenes in my mind (very important).
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden (2026). If you’re looking for a fully engrossing, heart-rendering read, this is the one. I bookmarked it yonks ago and when I finally got to it, inhaled in two evenings and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Burden’s account of the sudden end of her twenty-year marriage, and everything that follows, struck a real nerve and sliver of fear in me. I’m excited to watch the adaption (Gwyneth is attached as EP). And if we’re friends IRL and you’ve read this please text me so we can discuss.
‘Emotion’ by Samantha Sang (1977). I first heard this song as a (really great) Destiny’s Child cover and thought it was a Bee Gees song, only realising more recently that they originally wrote it for Australian singer Samantha Sang. Now it’s the song I start my runs with, and it gets me feeling ethereal and light on my feet. Who says you need to exercise to thumpin bangers? Not me.
Michèle’s banana bread. On Sunday we went round to our friends Joe and Michéle’s for an easter hang, bringing with us an assortment of pastries for coffee, which turned out to be unnecessary. Michéle is a phenomenal baker and she generously made what she described as “buckwheat almond cinnamon walnut swirl muffins” for the morning.
I don’t have a photo (always a good sign) but wanted to share that she also makes what might be London’s best banana bread, only available at Peckham’s General Store. Go grab a slice next time you’re in the area.