Jodi & Sally

Sally Fallon, that is, the author of Nurishing Traditions, The cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.

My own history in regard to my diet is such that I have done almost every diet known to modern America.  Weight Watchers, South Beach, Blood Type, Cabbage Soup, Atkins, to name a few just off the top of my head.  Then there was one (I can't even remember the name) where I went in several times each week, had to pee on a stick, ate almost nothing and had to buy powdered packets of supplements to use in preparing the small amount of stuff I was allowed to eat.  That doesn't even count all the goofy things I did with friends in high school and college.  And then there are the "tried and true" habits of calorie counting, carb counting, sugar counting, point counting and all other types of mathematical analysis of food consumption.  Years.... beginning when I was in elementary school.  And...with no lasting success.  Oh, I've lost weight - don't get me wrong.  Hundred of pounds over the years....but THEY'RE BAA-AACK!

I weigh more now than I have ever weighed in my life and I am SICK TO DEATH of dieting, doing all the hard work, only for it to return.  Ugh.  I'm not dieting.  It doesn't work for me.

A couple years ago, my sister's doctor gave her a lot of information regarding an anti-inflammatory diet.  Part of that information was a website to the Weston A Price Foundation.  I read some of it, thought it was a little weird for me, and went on about my business.

Fast forward to a few months ago.

Now that we are homeschooling and have made connections in various HS circles, I've had quite a few diet related conversations with different HSing moms.  Not that HS moms are any different than the rest...except they tend to be a little more willing to think and live "outside the box" than the average bear.  There, in conversation at some point, came up Weston A Price (WAP).  It sounded familiar to me, but took me a while to make the connection to what my sister's OB has told her about long before.

I'm not going to go into great detail about the WAP lifestyle (and it truly is a lifestyle - not a short term "diet"), but suffice it to say that it really makes a lot of sense to me now.  If you want to learn more about it, here's the link.

Weston A. Price Foundation



Doug and I have dabbled with it here and there and have realized that we feel so much better when we are following it (even though we've never followed ALL their practices).  It's really coming together at a time when we are evaluating other areas of our lives as well.

In general, in all areas of our lives, we have sacrificed so much quality of life for convenience and modern technology.  We've bought into the idea that having a lifestyle of more/bigger/faster is better.  The truth, I believe, is that "more and faster" is killing us - emotionally, spiritually and physically.  We've developed technologies and products just because someone had an idea, and haven't really stopped to think, "Why are we doing this?"  It's just an assumption that because we CAN, we SHOULD.   I disagree.  Just because we can...doesn't mean it the right thing to do.

So, we are evaluating a lot of our habits, and trying to compare them to what the Bible has to say about how we live our lives.  Everything from the way we eat to how we worship, how we raise our kids, spend our money and our time.  Up until now, we've just done what every American does...even Christian Americans...without thinking much about it.  Striving for that 'American Dream'..being a good citizen, successful in careers and in our family, blah blah.  The 'American Dream' isn't good enough for me anymore.

SO...Today, the Widhalm family is jumping on the Weston A Price bandwagon.  We'll be praying as we go and looking into what God has to say about what we eat, as well.  I think, though, it is a good choice in that we will be eating what God has provided versus the chemical-laiden junk we've been eating.

We will be adding habits and foods that are traditional.  No more processed junk in the pantry.  Our plates will look pretty simple (which is the way Jackson likes it, anyway).  We'll be raising our own when we can, buying locally, and organically if we can't get local.  I'll be making a lot more things from scratch.  Yogurt, cheese and bread-making are all on the horizon.  It's not going to be easy and it's going to take time to organize and get it all straight.  The biggest hurdle for me will be ignoring the drive-thru and giving up meals at the restaurant.  I'm sure we'll make mistakes and even occasionally dangle our feet off the wagon and get them muddy...we may even fall off if we hit a bump.  But, we'll get back on and learn from our mistakes.

So, move over Julie & Julia....here come Jodi & Sally!  I'm going to be posting about what's going on in our kitchen and how everyone reacts.  We are going to be trying new recipes and techniques from the WAP "Bible/Cookbook" (referenced in the first paragraph) and it could be quite a ride!