Nourishing Traditions

[FarmerDenise]

Thanks for that warning Free, I made some pickles today, I don't want my jars to expland!! I'll have to remember to wrap them in a towel first thing tomorrow morning.
It's bad enough that my freezer dough explanded in the refridgerator even though I wrapped it tighly in plastic

 

[Javamama]

This oughta work for getting some whey - this is the only milk I buy now. I would still prefer raw, but this is good in a pinch. I will start making yogurt from it. It has a great price too! I have talked to the farmers at instore displays and I am sure they would be selling raw if was legal. Makes me so mad that they can't.


Snowville Creamery http://www.snowvillecreamery.com/farm.html

 

[Henrietta23]

Made the buttermilk waffles last night after the new batch of flour soaked all night. I froze them and put one in the toaster oven this morning. Mmmm! I like them. Very dense and filling with a little sourdough taste to them. Didn't need much syrup because there's already some in the batter. Didn't get DS to try one yet but I think he'll eat them.

 

[Javamama]

Oooohhhh, buttermilk waffles sound so good. I'm having some serious TOM cravings this week

 

[Henrietta23]

Picky DS gave them a thumbs up!!! Yay, no more store bought waffles. These freeze really well. I don't know how that may affect their health benefits though. Fresh made waffles on a school morning are simply not going to happen here.

 

[reinbeau]

An excerpt from the Introduction, Page 2, Politically Correct Nutrition:

"The new food guidelines rightly stress the importance of fruits and vegetables; for many years, the medical establishment ignored their value. The American Cancer Society even denied the role of fresh vegetables in preventing cancer, in spite of considerable evidence to the contrary. The new guidelines reflect the fact that this evidence can no longer be ignored.

Unfortunately, several dangerous errors are built into the edifice of the USDA Food Pyramid. First, the new guidelines imply that everyone can eat the same foods in the same proportions and be healthy. According to the recommendations, grains should be the basis of our diet; but many people do very poorly on grains. Others have a low tolerance for cdairy products. These intolerances are due to a number of factors, including ethnic background and genetic inheritance. Secondly, the pyramid calls for reduced fats without addressing the dangers of lowfat diets. Finally, the new guidelines perpetuate the myth that fats, carbohydrates and proteins have equal nutritional properties no matter how much or how little they are processed. The experts make no distinction between whole grains and refined, between foods grown organically and those grown with pesticides and commercial fertilizers, between unprocessed dairy products from pasture-fed cows and pasteurized dairy products from confined animals raised on processed feed, between fresh and rancid fats, between traditional fresh fruits and vegetables and those that have been irradiated or genetically altered, between range-fed meats and those from animals raised in crowded pens; between natural and battery-produced eggs; in short, between the traditional foods that nourished our ancestors and newfangled products now dominating the modern marketplace."

The bold emphasis is mine. This is what I've been saying now all along - not all of us have an 'intolerance' to grains, or dairy, or sugar, even. Moderation in all things is what's important, unless you determine that you actually do have one of these dietary problems. But more importantly, work on getting your diet more natural, eliminate the processed garbage they've been telling us was 'good' for us - learn to live with the inconvenience and yes, expense, of real food. Your health depends on it!

But I'm preaching to the choir, I know This paragraph just struck me, because of the 'nutritionism' I'd read about in Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. We're constantly bombarded with the next newest food fad and how wonderful it is, or how horrible - we've forgotten how to just eat good food and enjoy it.

 

[Henrietta23]

I have probably reread that paragraph more than any other in the book. It really solidifies things for me. I need to start by eating REAL food, non-processed, raised as naturally as possible. I am trying to explain this all to a friend. She can simply not understand why I was willing to save up some extra cash, drive to the farmers' market to buy grass fed ground beef from a local farm owned by the son of a former coworker when Stop and Shop has their 93% lean ground beef on sale this week. I can tell her all the reasons why it is worth a couple of extra dollars per lb. for me to do this, both globally and personally. I just can't get her to think I'm doing anything but throwing my money around foolishly while she is bragging about what a thrifty homemaker she is being. I need to let it go and just accept that she has different priorities than I. I'd loan her the book, but I don't think she's ready, if that makes sense?

 

[freemotion]

This is not a "loanable" book, it is a reference work in my house!

I remind people, when they talk about the "expense" of real food, that they are paying $6 per pound and up for cereal, cookies, crackers, and stuff. I pay $1 per pound for that stuff. They pay $3-5 per lb for cook-in-the-bag microwavable veggies, when they do eat them, and I pay $0.49-1.50 per lb for my veggies, fresh, or pick them from the garden. So there is money in the food budget for things like Real Salt and Celtic salt and pastured meat and organic veggies, when available. And I bet my food budget is STILL much less than anyone's I know!

The USDA's job is to sell agricultural products, not look out for our health. The biggest products are grains and soy, so.....as usual....follow the money!

 

[Javamama]

Anne, your post hit on something I've been struggling with lately - the two main views I've really taken a liking to are on completely opposite sides of what to eat. The Dr. Christopher's herbal classes I'm taking are 100% against dairy and meat. Their belief is that these things cause a buildup of mucus in the body and the bowels and if your bowels aren't clean, then you will have disease. So they are basically vegan. Yuck, not for me. Too many veggies really gives me problems from experience.

Nourishing Traditions promotes pasture fed meats and raw dairy and fermented foods along with whole grains and fruits and veggies with the belief that you are consuming good bacteria and enzymes through these things and hence digestion will work properly to move bad stuff out of the body.
I am having so much trouble reconciling these 2 beliefs, but this is where I tend to look to the Bible and think about what God intended or us to eat. I also have the (personal) belief that humans are made to adapt to their surroundings and availability of food and that's why we see different cultures having the ability to be sustained and healthy on extremely different diets.

So I'm trying to piece it all together into a plan that works for me. Learning to listen to my body is more than half the battle most days. I do feel like I need some meat and dairy in my diet. Lots of good fats and some carbs are needed too.

I also believe that giving the body a routine break from food is good too, so I try to fast once a week. My DH has always fasted but I didn't start until I worked with a coach who was experimenting with it - she learned alot from a program called EatStopEat by Brad Pilon.

edit to add,
And I also eat some things not on either "plan" simply because they taste so darn good! Dang it, every now and then I come across a bag of Cheetos or a sugar cookie or some warm, white yeast rolls that beg to be slathered in butter and dunked in stew...

 

[reinbeau]

Javamama, I'm using your post to wander here, this isn't totally directed at you, I hope you don't mind!

I need to eat a bit of meat. I do not feel good without high-quality protein, and I can't get it from plants, no matter what form it is, beans, tofu, etc. None satisfies the craving in my body for meat. I considered myself a flexitarian, and tried really hard to integrate soy into my diet, it was a disaster. Beans cooked properly are filling, but still, they don't do it. A little piece of chicken, fish, and once in a while a nice little piece of steak, and, of course, my chicken eggs from my backyard are the base of my diet. I do eat cereal in the morning, Kashi usually, but I'm craving protein by 10 am. The cereal is mainly for convenience, I'm always in a hurry - I need to change that view.

I don't know anyone who is successful on a vegetarian diet. They're either very overweight or very malnourished looking. My mother in law is an excellent example, she won't eat any meat at all, her diet is awful, she's very cheap and won't spend money on good food, as a result, her bones are breaking down. She's a thin woman, has always walked, but her hips are gone, her lower spine is deteriorating, she's had both knees done - and I blame it on the poor nutrition she's had over the years. She's 77 and she's almost a cripple, to watch her ability to walk deteriorate is just painful. In Nourishing Traditions the deterioration of bones was explained, and it make perfect sense, after seeing a living example of it.

These herbal classes that are 100% against dairy and meat - think about that. How has the human race reach the year of 2009 without living that 'herbal' way for eons? I'm sure their intentions are admirable, but it's wrong-headed (and I don't know if you know this, but I'm the daughter of an herbalist, I've grown up with herbs in my diet, in my life and in my garden, Mom took the German herbal medicine courses and has a degree in it all). Fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, they all have a place in a well-rounded diet, but they aren't the only part.

The info in Nourishing Traditions just makes sense - our diets veered off path in the 60's, guided by the USDA, big-ag and the farm lobby, now it's being brought back to the path by knowledge, and I think that's a good thing. It's an uphill battle, though, until we 'vote with out wallets' for good quality food the garbage will continue to be promoted by those who are making lots of money on it.