Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats Paperback – January 1, 2001

I found this book through the book "The Maker's Diet" which was given to me when I was 18 and sat on a shelf to be picked up 2 years later after the birth of my first child. I was struggling to breastfeed after having a major loss of blood (OBGYN's mistake led to this and a major birth trauma). I had virtually no milk supply. Tried everything! Persevered for 6 horrible long exhausting weeks before I finally gave up. I did not even become engorged upon stopping, that's how low my supply was. Looking back now i was very malnourished from a terrible diet of fast food and soda during pregnancy, plus the major loss of blood after birth- there's no way my body could produce anything. My teeth were crumbling, horrible cavities everywhere. I was very much against infant formula but I had no other choice, so i started my son of Enfamil. He was colicky, constipated, constant projectile spit up, not sleeping well, and I was DEPRESSED. I was even having to use infant suppositories for him. This is NOT NORMAL!! No matter how common it is, it's not normal...I began reading a lot to try and help keep my mind off of the deep depression I was experiencing (Lack of sleep, stress of being a young new wife and mother, no family in the area, plus my very unhealthy and hormone depleted body). Then, one day I came across the book that I had placed on a shelf two years prior (The Maker's Diet- a great book). When I started reading through some of the recipes, I noticed many of them were referencing this book called "Nourishing Traditions". I went to Barnes and Noble and bought this book the same week. Instantly saw how informative it was and how packed with recipes! I love it!! It opened my life to a completely new way of thinking/eating/ living. One of the first recipes i came across was the infant formula recipe. I thanked God because I knew he led me there, as I had PRAYED and cried out to God to help me find some way to feed my baby, and in the midst of feeling like such a massive failure for not being able to nurse my son, I realized that God had used my dad to give me The Maker's Diet, which I would pick up two years later out of desperation, which would in turn lead me to Nourishing Traditions... Long story short, I used the website provided in the book to scout out a source of raw milk locally, and within that week I found a raw milk cow share and signed up, and ordered all of the ingredients that I needed and started making my son's formula. From the first feeding, he was a much happier baby! He stopped fussing so much, he started SLEEPING through the night, AND he was NEVER AGAIN constipated! His bowel movements turned to mustard yellow, seedy, soft just as they were when I was nursing him.Fast forward to two years later and having completely embraced the Nourishing Traditions lifestyle, my husband and I decided to try for a second child. This pregnancy went much differently. I took care of myself, the nourishing traditions way. I drank superfood green smoothies every single day with home made raw milk kefir, ate healthy (not 100%, but I tried to give my body everything it needed!), plenty of butter and coconut oil and eggs, took whole food supplements and herbs instead of synthetic pharmaceutical prenatals, and never once saw a doctor- only my midwives who I had a home birth with. Gave birth to my 9lb 4oz 23" long baby girl, ELEVEN days late (hey, she knew when she was ready!), at home with no medication, in an inflatable birthing pool. It was awesome. My milk came in within 2 days (holy heck did it come in!!), she never lost weight, she slept much better, was very alert and nursed very well, had no digestion issues and has always been SO HEALTHY! My son is very healthy too (thanks to being able to start making his formula at 6/7 weeks of age), but he did catch and still does tend to catch more illnesses than she ever has. I really do attribute this to the type of diet i ate while pregnant with her, versus the SAD (standard american diet) i ate while pregnant with him, as well as the first 6 weeks of powdered formula and the drug exposure he had during birth in the hospital....ONE THING I have noticed that is astounding to me is the difference in their facial structures and teeth/jaw formation. After reading Weston Price's "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration", as well as Francis Pottenger's "Pottenger's Cats", it makes sense to me why this is so. My little girl has such a beautiful and wide jaw, with perfectly straight and spaced teeth which i know will allow for her permanents to grow in without crowding, while my son has very crowded teeth and a more narrow jaw and has already had cavities while my daughter has had ZERO. (SEE PICS!)It really does make a difference what you eat before conception, during pregnancy, and what you feed your child.. (Btw, I supplemented with WAP homemade formula and eventually switched her to it completely when I decided to quit nursing- don't judge me)I'm not saying everything in this book is completely 100% for everyone, but it worked for me and my babies. All of the information also led me into a completely different life as far as nutrition and eating. I try to stay away from grains completely these days as I have some long standing digestive issues, but if I do have them I believe they are best soaked or sprouted like this book says. Also, try sprouted nuts- SO DELICIOUS and so much better for you than roasted or even raw. Lots of good recipes in the book, and you'll get a ton of practice in the cooking and preparing of different foos. If nothing else, get it for the baby formula recipe and information pertaining to childhood nutrition. My favorite and most used part of the recipes in this book are the fermented foods and dairy.

This book stays on my short list of reference books - and it has an incredible amount of information. I read every word in it and it completely changed how I look at food.It is apparent that a previous reviewer has not thoroughly read the book, and seems to be laying on as much 'propaganda' in her review as she accuses the authors of doing in their book. It is true that the authors do not encourage veganism or even vegetarianism - and this reviewer seems to take issue with this particular subject rather than the point of the whole book which has much to offer.I personally think that especially in the field of nutrition a study can be manipulated and produced to prove just about almost anything - depending on the researchers' views and background, and the views and agenda of the study's financial backers - in this field there are too many variables (cultural, genetic, biochemical, physical) to make definitive conclusions beyond bare basics -So I rely on my common sense and my powers of observation of myself and those around me - of what effects I see or feel with different dietary variables and what kind of diet I provide myself and my family. I read a lot of information from a lot of sources to see what is out there - and try to find the common sense, and for things that are less intuitive, I try them and see -Here are some highlights from this book that resonated with my common sense -- Whole grains are far nutritionally superior than refined grains, and how one prepares the whole grains matters - the author doesn't seem to take issue with grains in general, but does take issue with the refined state and prevalent preparation methods of them - I was delighted to see many recipes for alternative grains in this book - I am wheat sensitive and found these recipes refreshing and delicious and very nutritious -- Raw milk and cultured milk products are better for you and contain more nutrients than cooked (pasteurized) milk - this is a no-brainer - anyone who has had a biochemistry class or has ever cooked food before knows what happens to proteins and other heat sensitive molecules when they are heated - they are changed or destroyed - when milk is pasteurized, all of the enzymes, immuno-protective factors, heat sensitive vitamins, etc. are lost. Doctors carefully warn nursing human mothers to never heat their breast milk for these same reaons, but we, out of habit and outdated cleanliness issues drink only cooked milk -In addition, this book has recipes for producing your own cultured milk products - a good second best to raw milk - such as yogurt, piima cream, kefir, buttermilk, creme fraiche and others.- The right unrefined fats and oils, both saturated and unsaturated are necessary for proper functioning of the human body both structurally and metabolically, and wholesale limitation of all fats in the diet or consumption of refined or manufactured fats produces disease - this idea is currently gaining widespread acceptance - that it is the right fats you need to eat - the authors go further to assert that while there is a dietary correlation between diet and serum cholesterol, there is no evidence for a link between serum cholesterol and heart disease - something that many studies (if you support them) corroborate. The authors also assert that fats that have nourished humans for thousands of years, such as animal fat, butter, coconut oil, cold pressed olive oil, etc without producing heart disease or other ill effects are still capable of this feat today.- The authors assert that all traditional diets include some animal products, and are what kept these populations in the best health. In our current society with access to nearly any food grown on earth and in great abundance, I think one might be able to get by without animal products- but it takes careful attention and knowing what you are doing. I personally do better with a little meat in my diet, along with eggs and a little yogurt - I think meat should be eaten sparingly and without wastefulness, but my health is better, and my family's health is better when I include it - even sparingly - not much is needed.The authors include many recipes for many kinds of meat, organ meats, raw meat, and traditional meat preparations. There is a large section on preparing homemade stocks and broths and the great foundational and nutritional value of these.- The authors present a lot of information and recipes on traditionally made foods, many of them cultured - including condiments, vegetables, dressings, sauces, chutneys, beverages, etc - all great information and good recipes-!- There is a large alphabetical section on vegetables and many recipes for their preparation - the authors explain when a vegetable is better cooked or eaten raw and what nutrients are more available in one state or the other.- Soy is a poor food for humans unless it has been fermented (such as miso), and therefore changed to something easily assimilated and nutritious - I have found this very true for me and my family -- The authors assert that any manufactured food, commercially processed food, or food not found in a natural state should not be consumed - I agree absolutely-!I found this book most valuable as an opening to thinking differently about food - and that there is a reason that much popular and media endorsed nutrition is so confusing and contradictory - it is based in political, fad, or agenda thinking rather than biological history - and the absolute flood of processed and manufactured food into our diets and the resulting explosion of health problems has everyone scrambling to come up with answers that don't offend anyone or any industries that might be implicated - or challenge too far the 'everybody says' or 'everybody knows' syndrome.To Sum up: your health is worth your time - if you are too busy to cook or prepare good food, there is little room for complaint when consequences show up later. Eat only whole foods - prepare them well and deliciously - sit down with your meals and enjoy the gift of nourishment-!