My food journey has taken many twists and turns throughout my life, and I recognize that it will probably take many more before my life is over. We are ever-evolving, always adapting people, and we do what we think is best for ourselves with the information that we have at that time. As times change, circumstances change, and perspectives and resources change, so may our diets and lives change with it.
Today, I’m sharing my story. My food story.
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I was raised by a health conscious mother, so from the time I was young I was aware of what “organic vs conventional” meant, how to avoid “high fructose corn syrup”, and how to make my own bread.
During my teenage years, I struggled with bad acne. It affected my self esteem and I started depending heavily on makeup to cover it up.
When I got married and moved out of my parents’ house at 20, I decided it was time for me to try going vegan full time to see if that would help my skin. I had tried a few weeks of being “dairy free” here and there during my teens, and it always seemed to help my acne.
So at 20 I decided to give up meat and dairy completely. I gave it up overnight and didn’t look back! I loved all the fresh fruits and vegetables I was eating, and I enjoyed learning new recipes.
I stayed strict vegan for 2 years, and then I decided to add eggs back into my diet. I added eggs in mostly because I was tired of feeling quite so “legalistic” about my food. If someone made me a cake that had eggs in it, I wanted to be able to eat it. If I went out to eat at a Japanese restaurant, I wanted to be able to eat the fried rice, etc. Adding eggs helped me feel a little more “free” with my diet.
I got pregnant with my daughter shortly after adding eggs into my diet, and I stayed plant-based for most of my pregnancy. I was dedicated to tracking my nutrients and taking my prenatal. Throughout my pregnancy, I found myself craving more and more vegan “junk food” that was fast and easy to make and get protein. I started eating a lot of pasta and Gardein Soy “chicken tenders”. I started making chocolate shakes at night with protein powder and chocolate almond milk (so much sugar, *cringe*) because I was having trouble getting enough protein.
During my third trimester I decided to add fish into my diet. It was tough for me to taste, but after I did, I never looked back. I love fish and I love all the health benefits it brought to me and my baby.
Postpartum, I began discovering the work of Weston A Price and the cookbook Nourishing Traditions. The idea of eating a diet similar to what my ancestors have eaten for thousands of years, really appealed to me.
I think while I was vegan, I thought that I was eating primaly. I thought that indigenous people all over the world ate mostly plants. But through doing more research, I realize that native people actually rely heavily on saturated fats and dairy through the animals they hunt. They ferment many foods so that they will be preserved, and in return, they have a very diverse microbiome.
So I have been slowly transitioning my family to a nourishing, ancestral diet over the last year. It’s a big change and we are not perfectly following a “Nourishing Traditions” diet. I’m always learning and making changes to our food.
Right now, our diet includes a lot of bone broth, homemade sauerkraut, roasted whole chickens, sourdough bread, cooking with lots of butter, eating fruits and vegetables that are in season, and soaking/sprouting legumes.
Over the next year, I would like to begin fermenting even more food so we have more variety, and also incorporating beef into our diet more. I would like to begin consuming raw dairy, raw cheese, and making raw milk kefir. I would also like to mill my own grains for sourdough bread or at least transition to whole wheat instead of Organic All-Purpose flour.
At this point in our life, our bodies are feeling really good eating this way. We feel nourished, engaged, and thankful at every meal. I’m enjoying seeing how fast my hair is growing and how smooth my digestion feels.
If you eat a vegan diet, or regardless of the type of diet you eat, there is space for you here. I harbor no feelings of bitterness or resentment towards my time being plant-based. We are people who are always changing and adapting, and our diets can be a reflection of that.
I am looking forward to diving more into the details of the foods that we eat, because I do feel that part of being a Wild Mother is providing my family with nourishing, ancestral foods. This feels right.
Thank you for being here and for reading my story.
If you’d like to check out more of my content to help you get started on your Ancestral Diet Journey, check out my YouTube Video below – lots of great info about how I healed and where to start!
Also – if you’re interested in consuming Beef Liver Supplements or Collagen, Gelatin, etc – then I highly recommend checking out Perfect Supplements. Their quality is unmatchable and the safety testing their products go through is some of the highest on the market.
More Articles You Might Like:
- Where To Buy Raw Milk
- A Week of Easy, Nourishing Lunches
- Nine Nutrient Dense Foods I Eat Every Day (And you should too!)
