I have to say, I’m proud of us! Last year we came up with a plan–to start eating healthier in order to heal our bodies. We have been on this diet for 1 year (tomorrow!), and we’ve stuck to it pretty well! I can count the # of times we’ve "cheated" on the diet, because there weren’t a ton of times. We’ve stuck to it pretty well, and overall we’ve seen a big improvement in the health of our family!
This year, my resolutions are to:
1. stay on this diet because it’s keeping us so healthy!
2. see a naturopath and make sure my thyroid antibodies are under control (diet may not be "enough" for this)
3. grow and raise the majority of our food
4. eat more seasonally/only eat what I have canned or frozen when it’s not in season (we’ve been moving this direction, but currently have store-bought frozen organic cauliflower, peppers, etc., because I did not grow/freeze/can enough)
5. learn how to render lard and tallow and goose fat
6. I’ll share the next one tomorrow! 🙂
Maybe the GAPS Diet is too big of a resolution for you? Here are some suggestions for little resolutions you can make to improve your diet and health:
1. Stop eating sugar. Ok, maybe that isn’t so little for some people! Trust me, though, this has caused the *most improvement* in our daily lives, without a doubt! I now think of sugar as a legal drug that most of America is addicted to. 😉
2. Stop eating grains. Another biggie. Ok, if you’re going to eat them, at least make a resolution to soak them overnight.
3. Eat only raw dairy. Find a farmer, get raw milk, get raw cheese, etc.! We do eat some pasteurized cheese only because our budget doesn’t allow for all raw cheese (we eat a lot of cheese!) but I notice a big difference in both my son (Farm Boy 3) and I when we eat "too much" pasteurized cheese. It’s changed–altered–not as healthy. Stick to raw stuff if you can!
4. Use more honey–which would also mean less sugar. Even less maple syrup–honey is the best! 🙂
5. Eat a whole chicken at least once per week and make stock in the crockpot overnight. Make soup the next night, or drink the broth (or freeze it for using later).
6. Make an effort to buy farm fresh meats.
7. If you aren’t growing every single vegetable and fruit that your family eats, sign up for a CSA (split it with a friend or neighbor if a full share is too much for you), or make regular trips to your local farmer’s market. Support your local farms!! 🙂
8. If you’re still sauteing and frying in olive oil, do some research and make a switch to coconut oil, lard, tallow or palm oil this year. Don’t let the trans fats (from olive oil being heated) clog your arteries. Use good quality olive oil (stored only in dark glass jars–never store your fats in plastic! Fats absorb toxins like crazy), and use it for your salad dressings or drizzled on your meals after they’ve been cooked.
9. Read Nourishing Traditions
10. Read Gut and Psychology Syndrome
11. Avoid soy. At. all. costs. Avoid it like a plague! Read The Whole Soy Story
12. Avoid corn. Learn the many names of corn and keep it out of your diet. Keep in mind that corn is used to fatten animals quickly for higher profits. It is also used as a cheap filler in human food. What is it doing to you?
13. Start reading labels. Or better yet, stop buying food with labels! 🙂
14. Learn about lacto fermenting vegetables and try it!
15. Ditch the exercise resolutions. Your weight, your waistline and your health are at least 70% due to your diet–change the way you eat.
16. Read something by Michael Pollan
17. Keep coming back here regularly so that we can all be crazy health nuts together! 🙂
I have another movie to suggest: “Ingredients”. We saw it in 2010 at the Cleveland Film Festival and it was fabulous!
http://ingredientsfilm.com/
hmmm…I was just thinking about how I’m eating too much sugar these days. I’ve got to stop. I may just pick one of those and work on it. I’m not sure our budget would allow for all of them. Where is the best place to get honey and coconut products? What about agave nectar?
Hey Erin! You can get honey through me 🙂 we have a wholesale account and sell it (from another local farm). We’ve also got our own hive & bees on order for this spring! 🙂 Or–Azure Standard, maybe. That’s another good place to get coconut products, or coconut flour from Bob’s Red Mill. I also have a wholesale account for coconut oil at a good price. 🙂 Agave nectar is a no, because it’s a disaccharide and makes the liver work hard. Honey and fruit are monosaccharides and don’t make the body work so hard. Sorry!