Nourishing Traditions

I have always been wary of food and diet fads. I find them incredibly intimidating and counter-intuitive. I have been interested in "eating healthy" for years, but failed to do any research because I had an invisible barrier between me and knowledge: fear.

I was afraid of what I might find.
Of what it would require of me.
Of how much work it would be.
And of how expensive and time consuming it would be.

This trip has given me an overwhelming amount of time to leisurely think about whatever I please. It has been wonderful! For the first while I just thought amazing thoughts. Made amazing life plans. Did plenty of self reflection. Talked with my husband about anything and everything.

And thirsted for knowledge.

I have read things on the internet. About birth, doula-ing, parenting, relationships, eating, and current events around the world. And all this has been interesting, but internet is often hard to come by and who wants to sit staring at an iPad? That requires low-light and seclusion.

When our friends came to join us last month I asked them to bring me a book. I took some time to think about what precious book I was interested in and decided on a big, heavy book.

Nourishing Traditions. By Sally Fallon.

I decided it was high time to face the giant and learn more about this thing called nutrition.

And you know what, it has been wonderful.

This book has made me fearless. It has shown me that our family really does an excellent job of eating healthy and nutritious foods. It has validated my fears about various food fads and shed light on benefits of a balanced and inclusive diet.

Everything I have read has revealed how intuitive healthy living really is. And how easy.

Yes, there are a few changes we need to make, and even more that I would like to make. For example, I want to start soaking grains, nuts and seeds. I want to add more fermented foods to our diet (more sauerkraut please) and make some of those foods myself. I want to purchase better butter, better salt, and raw dairy products. I want to make bone broths.

But I feel affirmed. We have a firm foundation to continue building on and I feel excited and empowered to continue on this journey. Inspiration has replaced fear.

Nourshing Traditions. Read it.

More thoughts to come.