The book Nourishing Traditions changed the way I looked at food. It sent me on a trip down the nutritional food rabbit hole.
When I was a kid, I was constantly hearing about low fat foods. My family bought margarine, egg whites in a carton, skim milk. There was a constant reminder to be skinny. It led to an unhealthy relationship with food.
CHANGING FOOD HABITS
Over the years I’ve made improvements along the way in how and what we eat. When my son was small, I started looking into food dyes. The jury is still out (officially) if food dyes affect behavior in children but I know with my children, it did.
I’ve always cooked homemade meals but my level of homemade has changed over the last 20 years. When I first started cooking, I thought homemade and from scratch meant throwing cream of mushroom soup over a beef roast in a crockpot. This is no longer the case. It took many years to get here though.
Now, to me, homemade means using flour, butter, onions, mushrooms, etc. to make that same cream of mushroom soup for that roast. It only takes an extra couple steps and keeps all the extra ingredients out of our food.
Locally purchased chicken frames, feet and livers. This will make some very nourishing food for the villagers!
My entire life I was told I was lactose intolerant. Milk, cheese, ice cream…all the good things in life were off limits because they made me miserable. When we moved to SC, buying raw milk was no longer illegal. That’s a whole other issue BTW. I started buying raw milk and no longer had any of the issues I’d dealt with my whole life. I’ve found a wonder raw milk supplier and buy raw cheese, pasture raised butter and other goodness in my monthly co-op order. I can now make raw milk ice cream at home, it’s so nice to be able to enjoy ice cream again!
Raw milk, pasture raised eggs and organic strawberries purchased from a local farm!
FINDING NOURISHING TRADITIONS
Several years ago I started looking into organic and nongmo foods. I started looking into the difference between conventional and grass-fed meat. Raw milk became a staple in our diet. I started making big changes.
Finding Nourishing Traditions sent me down a deeper road. It’s more than a cookbook. It explains the science behind how our body is affected by fats. It gives us the specific dangers of soy. It’s biology 101. It taught me that there are over 30 different names for MSG. That number is ridiculous! I knew I had to make even bigger changes.
The book tells us that our food is full of terrible things. It asks the questions that need to be asked. Specifically, is there a major connection between the foods we eat and the chronic illnesses that are plaguing us as a species? Right now we are suffering from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, physchological and physiological issues, nervous disorders and neurological issues at an alarming rate. Could our food be causing this?
Nourishing chicken bone broth that’s been simmering for the last 18 hours. This will go into mason jars for the freezer.
MY MAD SCIENTIST KITCHEN
I’ve learned about fermented foods and now my sourdough starter has a permanent spot on my kitchen counter. We now have kombucha brewing in our kitchen. Finding local, organic produce has become a priority. We’ve stopped buying garbage hydrogenated oils and embrace butter. The changes in our health have been wonderful. Better blood pressure numbers. Less stomach issues. Clearer skin. Better sleep! It’s been amazing!
This book is a must for any homestead kitchen, even the backyard ones 🙂
A gorgeous homemade beef stew. Full of organic veggies, locally raised grass-fed beef, beef bone broth and some leftover braising liquid from a braised beef earlier in the week. Yummy!
What do you think? Have you went down the whole foods rabbit hole? Have you read Nourishing Traditions? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
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I’m currently listening to Nourishing Diets by Sally Fallon Morrell for the second time in three days. It is reinforcing my belief that, while we have gained so much knowledge about food and nutrition, we have lost so much more listening to the “experts” telling us how to eat to be healthier. The book you mention in this post is the next one on my list to get.
It was a game changer for us!