Our journey to real/whole/traditional foods

How we eat today is so drastically different than how we ate this time last year. Having my son Finn changed my life - in the obvious ways of course (breastfeeding!) but my whole outlook on life;it changed that 'bar'setting of what I was and was not going to do. If you had asked me a year ago if I would sprout and cook dried beans to add to a soup - no way! Even meal planning at all was pretty much a foreign concept to me. I just cooked whatever I felt like cooking! Which, as an approach, most will recognize is more costly, wasteful, and less nutritious.

When Finn entered my equation, I suddenly wanted what was best for him - which includes a healthy mommy and daddy! The question really started at non-organic food. What made sense to buy organic, what did that really mean? Which led me further to - what do these words on the carton mean? Eggs, milk, meat!!! What is the best option?

I bought Nina Planck's book real food for mama and baby (husband was very resistant, so I got a book that 'didn't include him' - it seemed safer!). Of course, what I soon found out (as did he) is that it held truths for everyone in the family. His fear was that I would not 'let' him have skim milk anymore. He's over that now!

Since reading Nina's book, I have been slowly changing our habits. I found a few blogs (kitchenstewardship, heavenly homemakers, GNOWFGLINS). I Found a source for raw milk, pastures eggs, meats, healthy fats. recently I started ecourses from GNOWFGLINS on the fundamentals of traditional food!

We cut out refined sugar completely. I use honey, maple syrup, and sucanat sparingly. With a hubby that was so resistant at first, how did I get him on board with all of these changes? It was mostly God. But, making yummy food doesn't hurt! When he realized that this food was as tasty if not tastier than the old ways, I think it made further changes easier. He just trusts me.

With all of these changes, I've lost 15 pounds effortlessly, my skin is glowing, I feel more healthy. My husband, who has been battling acid reflux from the age of 11, hasn't had a flare up in a long time! Hallelujah! He said that his pants are getting looser...

Who knew changing from skim milk to WHOLE milk would make you lose weight! Full fat dairy, folks!

Tonight's awesome Bean Soup!

I have been taking GNOWFGLINS' Ecourse on the fundamentals of real food. The latest class was on soaking and sprouting beans. I don't cook with beans - historically, I do not like them much. BUT - I want to! I like the idea of them & fully recognize them as a super food.

A while back, I bought a few bags of dried beans. So I got out the Great Northern beans and sprouted them. It took me 3 days total (including the initial soaking, which I think I did wrong but it worked anyway!). The sprouts weren't very long - just a quarter inch or less.

Bean, Sausage and Spinach soup
1c (dried) great northern beans, sprouted & cooked (it'll be more than a cup when sprouted, but I didn't measure)
1lb fresh chorizo (from pastured pork) - cook and dice
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 medium apples diced

saute the onion and apple mixture in the soup pot after cooking the pork in there (yummy flavors)

2 jars homemade chicken stock

add these along with the cooked beans - simmer for flavors to combine
using your immersion blender, blend the soup up.

add the chorizo, along with any other veggies you have around. I added
roasted corn and potatoes (about a cup of the mixture).

Season: I used salt, pepper, and cinnamon

add as much spinach as you like & simmer until the spinach is wilted.

Voila! It's really tasty, but most of all - it's really nutritious!

I served with homemade pumpernickel bread.