Liberation Wellness

This morning as I was preparing breakfast for my family I got to thinking of just how different our breakfasts are in comparison to the typical American family’s meal. Please understand that I am not writing this to elevate my own family or myself in the eyes others, but rather  my intention is to draw our minds to what our first meal of the day perhaps should look like.

Often we hear breakfast referred to as, “The most important meal of the day”, and for many this is certainly true. As my kids begin a day of learning and my husband his many hours of physical labor, I want them all to be well nourished; their brains and bodies need the proper fuel to function well. For those who do not have the real need for food early in the day, however, why bother; wait until you are actually hungry! But for most of us, breakfast is truly an important meal. It is of the utmost importance, then, that we give our bodies what they really need, not what the television and magazine ads want to sell us, or what the medical “experts” deem wise and good. Toss aside the notion of breakfast cereals, bagels and orange juice as providing a healthy start, and certainly forget about doughnuts or Pop Tarts!

I get up early each morning to do the barn chores and milk our cow. Before I head out the door I enjoy a mug of hot Irish Breakfast tea with creamy milk, vanilla and stevia. A spoonful of coconut oil is often downed with the tea for extra energy and to stimulate my metabolism. This daily ritual, enjoyed usually over a chapter of a good book or while reading emails, is what gets me feeling ready for the day. But I have no desire to eat early and so put it off for a couple more hours. Perhaps if more of us took the time to enjoy such pleasures we might find ourselves in a better state of health, both mentally and physically?

Once I am back inside and have taken care of the morning’s milk and cleaned everything up I begin focusing on my family’s needs, starting with breakfast. Most days this will consist of eggs with cheese, fried potatoes, muffins or pancakes. While I don’t personally wish to be taking in the carbohydrate-rich foods, my growing family and hard working husband require some complex carbohydrate. I am wishing to reduce, not grow, and don’t work as physically hard as my husband, so I avoid these foods. Instead, before the family breakfast is started I have usually downed a glass of fresh, raw milk & cream. Also, I try to have some yogurt or kefir (our family prefers yogurt) as well, often mixed into a smoothy with frozen berries from our orchard. We do not incorporate juice into our breakfast meal as juice is simply liquified sugar, so who needs it? We prefer to have a piece of fruit instead, or enjoy the berries in the afore-mentioned smoothy.

Today being a Saturday I chose to take a little extra time and make breakfast special. The first thing I did was grab a grater to make some potato pancakes which were fried up in a combination of butter and unrefined palm oil. Knowing that the potatoes would be a temptation for me, I made certain to have a homemade eggnog, sweetened with whole stevia, before beginning (it worked, by the way ). While the potato pancakes were cooking I sautéed chopped onions, garlic, and fresh mushrooms and grated up some (raw) Monterey Jack cheese. Next I mixed up eggs & cream for omelets and started cooking, after transferring the yummy filling from the same skillet into a bowl. I use an old cast iron skillet for most of our cooking, and this works beautifully for omelets-it’s the original “non-stick” after all!

My family awoke this morning to the heavenly smells of a delicious breakfast, and were well nourished for the first part of their day. I was satisfied both in their delight, and in a few bites of omelet and the eggnog which I had previously downed. But further satisfaction comes in the knowledge that instead of a brain-fog inducing, diabetes-promoting, nutrient deficient and hyper start to our day, we are instead well supplied with everything our bodies need to thrive in this day with which God has blessed us!

Potato Pancakes

1 medium sized yellow or red potato

1 egg

2 Tbsp. brown rice flour

1/2 tsp. unrefined salt

dash pepper

Grate the potato. Add the remaining ingredients, fry in hot fat (butter, lard, bacon fat, etc.) Top with a dollop of sour cream. Mmm!

Egg Nog

1 1/2 cups fresh, raw cream (part of which may be cultured, such as sour cream)

2 fresh, raw pastured eggs

1/2 cup whole raw milk or yogurt

1/4 tsp. powdered whole leaf stevia

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Whisk everything together in a glass and enjoy!

MaureenDiaz is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist, Educator, and Cooking Instructor. She works from home where she oversees the education and daily life of her large family. Maureen has also produced 3 cooking DVD’s including her latest available now, the Liberation Wellness Cooking DVD. For purchasing information email Maureen at: mamasfollies@gmail.com or visit her website,  NourishingTraditionalCook.com.