I never imagined that a bottle of baby shampoo could change our lives.
After the birth of our son (our first child), that all too popular shampoo sent me in a lurch. I read an article mentioning all the horrible chemicals contained in this hospital-friendly soap — which my son had been lathered in day after day since birth.
And I cringed. What was I putting on my child?
After hours of research and reading, my thoughts from there spiraled — what was I putting in my body that was nourishing our child through nursing? What was I feeding my husband who was the head and protector of our family?
So much questioning began.
For our family, traditional foods did not enter the picture right away. They came eventually after other changes led the way.
One Thing Led to Another…
We began purchasing organic everything, from food to toiletries, which seemed the wisest thing to do at the time. Our purchasing and consumption of organic goods continued for a while until the focus changed to more locally grown, pesticide-free goods. I also began to make more and more of our own food instead of purchasing pre-made, processed meals.
We then had our first taste of raw milk and shared a day in the life of friends who were trying to live sustainably off their land. Our hearts and lives changed again. We no longer wanted to purchase raw milk and produce raised by the sweat of others but hoped one day to raise our own food, from the work of our hands.
From there, our first taste of true traditional food lifestyle came from my husband’s prodding and my frustration with commercial yeast. Our affection to sourdough was born (well after a time of miserable attempts and failures making a sourdough starter).
Soon after, fermentation began, as well as soaking and sprouting. My kitchen became what my husband called a science lab — something new always bubbling and burping on the counter. I was experimenting constantly!
And then, we were there. We had found (and embraced) a tradition of preparing food, focusing on stewardship and using the foods to their greatest potential and maximum benefit.
For us, it’s more than a faddish diet, it’s a way of life. We look at food and nourishment as a worthwhile and miraculous endeavor to be enjoyed and shared by everyone in our family.
Reflecting
I reflect upon the past year, full of blessing.
By the grace of God, our family enjoys good health and our new blessing, Amos Thomas.
Our friend’s son who was diagnosed with leukemia is now testing consistently cancer-free.
All this leads me to thank the Lord for this way of life and our enjoyment of His food. Food which can be prepared and used for the goal of strengthening our bodies and mind in service of Him.
What About You?
I’ve lived our story. I’ve lived through the days of changing and evolving into a traditional foods way of life. It all started with that conventional baby shampoo.
And now I wonder, how did you come upon traditional foods?
What was your catalyst — your “bottle of shampoo” — that triggered an avalanche into a new way of nourishment for you and your family?
How has eating traditionally prepared foods changed your life or your health? How has it changed your enjoyment and appreciation of food? What have you learned along the way? What challenges do you face (or have you overcome) in learning traditional food preparation? What new insights have you gained?
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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We came upoon tradtional foods when our son developed eczema. Everytime I looked into it all, everything pointed at the gut as the problem. So we started cutting back on processed food and grains. We are buying the bulk of our food organic. We are sourcing sourdough bread until we learn to make our own and buying raw milk from a local farm. We still have a long ways to go. This year i hope to learn how to make my own sourdough bread, I also hope to learn and make progress on soaking/sprouting grains/oats/beans etc. I would also like to start fermenting and find a local source for meat. We hope to one day jump on the gaps diet. But we are also leaving ourselves opne to what the Lord directs us too as well as He may have other plans.
Thank the Lord for your story! I love the starter scare- we have had a number of those “oh no!” moments with our sourdough starter as well. : )
May you be blessed as you seek wisdom in nourishing your family!
I saw your post and resonated with it, as that’s where I was about 3 years ago. So I wanted to share a little encouragement. We did the GAPS diet for about a couple years, and it did finally bring about healing for my children’s guts and eventually their skin. I will warn that the die-off was tremendous for us. I suspect yeast was a big part of the problem based on foods we had to eliminate (even GAPS-approved ones). Without going into too many details about our experience, I believe that the gut heals long before the skin reactions calm down. It was a LONG process. I now think that the adrenal function (and cortisol production) has a lot to do with it, as it is very taxed by keeping up with allergic responses and die-off; so it takes a while for the body’s adrenals to begin functioning well again. That said, we are at a very good place now. We found a product called MetaDerm that helped to calm the skin toward the end of our GAPS journey (not sure how it would’ve performed during intense die-off though), and we use that for occasional dry spots or flares. Otherwise, their skin is 99% clear, which is HUGE compared to where they started out. Most of their foods reactions are a thing of the past. We tried to reintroduce milk, though, and realized it just isn’t gonna work for us (didn’t matter if it was raw, fermented, or from goats). And that’s one of those things you have to figure out for your own family, which can make it really frustrating. Keep praying and seeking the Lord’s wisdom! You’re on the right track!
Thank you, Danielle, for adding your wisdom and encouragement. May God bless you on your journey!
We started our adventure when my then 9 year old son became lethargic and we realised he was anaemic – I had been cutting out as much fat as possible as I had swallowed the high whole grains/low fat/salt diet, hook line and sinker. A friend gave me her Nourishing Traditions to read and I thought it really weird, but found myself agreeing with what I read – it made sense. So as we follow the Robinson curriculum in our home-schooling, who don’t advocate sugar, we cut that right down and started on butter and full fat and chucked all the packets of stuff out of the cupboard. Out went the cerealstoo and in came soaked porridge and cream. My boys like butter milk biscuits for breakfast, with raisins in and they like home-made low sugar jam on them and cream, like English scones. I already made most of my meals from scratch and my own bread. My son improved. Four years later I am at last getting my head round sourdough and my ‘baby’ sits on the counter top running our lives with it’s daily feeding needs. Oh the family dismay yesterday when I nearly killed it by tipping the salt and oil for the bread into the starter bowl instead of the bread mixture!! (Fortunately I rescued the starter from the bread bowl to which I had only added water, but an anxious moment!)
I’m hoping this year to get into Kefir.
I discovered the traditional foods lifestyle about one year ago. I’m a young woman in her 20’s who was cronically sick with one thing or another, usually sinus or upper respiratory related. I was taking antibiotics about 3 times a year and was becoming very scared for my health. After researching natural cures for a weak immune system on the internet I stumbeled upon the work of Weston A. Price. I found a digital copy of Nutritional and Physical Degeneration online and spent weeks studying it. It opened up a whole new world for me and I began to make my own bone broth, eat liver, butter and pastured eggs. My health immediately improved and I survived a wretched flu season without taking any medication (for the first time in many years!). I even made it through a particularily bad spring allergy season without even sneezing. My immune system is stronger than it’s ever been and it’s all thanks to traditional foods. I now consume raw milk and cheeses made from raw milk, make my own sourdough bread, only buy meat that is pasture raised or wild game/ fish. I also started eating fish roe, sheep brains, hearts, kidneys, etc. Nourishing Traditions has become my go-to cookbook. I am finally happy and healthy and I feel good about my life, health and myself!
Tracey! This is Lauren Franklin. I miss you guys so much and think of you, wondering how you are doing. Brandon found a post of yours randomly and recognized Ruth- what a great surprise. Your testimony is a wonderful story! We are so happy for you guys, and congratulations on your two newest ones! We have a similar story and have been embracing a traditional diet and lifestyle for a few years now, such a wonderful blessing.
Take care and we’ll keep following your awesome posts on this site!
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Commercial antiperspirant was my baby shampoo. I was reading about breast cancer and came upon possible connections. Then I heard “what goes on your body goes in your body” and my journey was on. Essential oils; making my own body care products; allowing my body to take care of itself by doing what it was meant to do like sweating or having a fever; and most recently I’ve starting fermenting. I am really enjoying the science experiments all over my house. I have gotten so much information from this website, thank you for sharing.