From Healthy to Nourishing

As I continue to tackle some new cooking and diet techniques, I want to share with you a little bit about what I am doing for my family.  Thanks to Nourishing Our Children (see their Facebook page here) for putting together this "checklist" of ways in which you can start implementing traditional foods and traditional cooking techniques into your family's diet! 

Buy a copy of the book Nourishing Traditions
**this is an extremely interesting book - I just started digging in.  Although some of their techniques appear extreme to the everyday American, it is FULL of information regarding traditional cooking methods, some of which are very easy to integrate into your repertoire.

Join your local community: http://www.westonaprice.org/find-a-local-chapter
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We encourage you to start with a single item from the list below and create changes one step at a time.

Eliminate all industrially processed soy foods from your household.

Replace sugar with natural sweeteners in moderation, such as raw local honey, grade B maple syrup, pure maple sugar, molasses, dehydrated coconut nectar, coconut palm sugar, green powder stevia, rapadura and sucanat.

Replace fruit juices with lacto-fermented beverages, such as kombucha, traditionally made ginger ale and beet kvass.
**I am making my first batch of water kefir this week - stay tuned!

Replace poly-unsaturated vegetable oils and trans fats with traditional fats such as raw and cultured butter, olive oil, sesame seed oil, coconut oil, lard, chicken fat, tallow, etc.
**I just started using coconut oil for cooking and baking the past couple of weeks - it is so tasty.  We even melt some in our oatmeal in the morning - YUM.  You can fry meat, veggies, etc. in it.  You can find it at your local co-op or Whole Foods possibly even Trader Joe's?  I need to check on that...)

Replace industrially produced breakfast cereals with nutrient dense eggs from hens on pasture, non-nitrate bacon, homemade kefir, whole milk yogurt, and soaked oatmeal.
**Who doesn't love bacon?!  :)  Try Beeler's or Applegate - easy to find.

Replace pasteurized dairy products with raw and cultured dairy.

Replace processed, convenience foods (boxed, packaged, prepared and canned food items) with fresh, organic, whole foods.
**Of course, fruits and veggies are a given.  But, I am starting to think beyond that and looking at all of the other processed snacks we eat.  My family eats a lot of breakfast and granola bars.  This seemed like a natural first thing to move away from when it comes to the boxes in my cupboard.  I made my own granola "bars" this week (it came out more like bites than bars - but it was SO yummy - between the three of us it is already almost gone!)  Check out my menu plan post from last week for the link!)

Take your daily dose of high vitamin cod liver oil – with no synthetics added, along with high vitamin butter oil.
**My little guy and I are now taking cod liver oil daily - I mix his with some of his Barlean's Fish Oil (as mentioned in this post).  Again, this is a little "extreme" (it's not the most pleasant stuff) but take a look at some of the history and health benefits, it may motivate you to give it a try!

Check out Nourishing Our Children on Facebook for a wealth of information!!! 

Taking it a step further...

After another asthma attack and further prescription medication administered to our little guy (along with his ears continuing to be inflamed with fluid behind his ear drums, potentially requring tubes if we don't correct it quickly), we have decided to take my son's health into our own hands and meet with a chiropractor/naturalist to discuss alternative options to help heal him from the inside out as opposed to masking his health issues with these medications that could result in long term side effects.  As a result, my family will be taking yet another step towards a more traditional way of eating.  This will take some effort to adjust to in the short term, but so worth it for our overall health and wellness in the long term!  This includes all organic/grass fed meats, dairy free for the little guy (sub in coconut milk), and other food preparations that will help his gut heal, his ears clear up, and his asthma diminish.

So, you will see a few changes to this blog as a result.  I am excited to introduce some of you to cooking techniques and recipes that, like myself, you may be new to.  The people with whom we have surrounded ourselves for the sake of our son's long-term wellness have also been awesome about referring us to resources that I intend to make mention of where appropriate. 

Please let me know your thoughts and ideas, as well.  The biggest thing I have learned in the past couple of weeks is that you don't have to accept the status quo - challenge the "norm" if your gut tells you that it may not be the right path for you and your family!

I found this great list of 10 tips for real food newbies from Nourished Kitchen (thanks to Taiha Wagner for referring me to this site, it is awesome!)

Interesting (Foodie) Reads This Week!

My passion for cooking for my family (and my family's allergy-friendly cooking journey) drives me to read a lot about food and cooking - there are so many awesome resources!  I plan to share some of my favorite articles, news and sites along this vein as often as I can.  I hope that this will be a great go-to resource for you and your family, too!  You can also check me out on Twitter @elevatewellness (see my feed to the right) for some of my favorite daily posts!  Please email me or send a Facebook message with any sites or news that you think would be great additions to this type of post!

Thanks to one of my Facebook friends, Bridgett, for making me aware of this news on Subway adding gluten-free options to their menu!  Maybe the beginning of a movement towards more intolerance and allergy-friendly food choices at restaurants?!

My family LOVES Chili in the wintertime!  Check out this post from Shaina who writes a blog called Food for My Family (a fellow Minnesotan and food lover!) (via babble.) 

Check out Karina's Kitchen on Facebook here.  As she explains, her FB page (and blog!) is "a dynamic gluten-free food blog for families living well with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, ASD and food allergies. Vegan friendly."

As you know, I am a big quinoa fan - these seeds can add big nutrition to your meals!  This article elaborates on the benefits of quinoa!

Eating seasonally and sustainably - the more I learn about this movement, the more passionate I become about it!  This article (and recipes!) at Simple Bites got my attention!

I hope you enjoy these reads!  Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated!