While the traditional foods movement seems to focus heavily on the inclusion of high-quality, pasture-raised meat and dairy products and is, indeed, a largely animal food-based diet, that doesn’t meant that it offers no guidance or dietary wisdom for vegetarians.  Indeed, there’s a lot that vegetarians can glean from the traditional foods movement and, in many ways, the practices advocated by traditional foods enthusiasts and organizations like the Weston A Price Foundation and the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation might prove even more important for vegetarians and vegans who rely on grains and legumes for much of their foods.  From soaking and souring grains and legumes to fermenting veggies and eating healthy fats, here’s five things that vegetarians can learn from the traditional foods movement.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/what-vegns-can-learn-from-traditional-foods/

Sadiqua Hamdan is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.Liberationwellnessblog.com) and other leading health and wellness resources.  The combination of health and writing manifested itself after overcoming Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer, at the age of 19.  It still took her several years to value the importance of nutrition and started taking steps to cleanse the toxins from chemotherapy and radiation.  Sadiqua enjoys traveling, cooking, researching, and connecting with people.  She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Organizational Change.  She may be reached at sadiqua.hamdan@gmail.com

Scott Trautman, a dairy farmer in Wisconsin, wants to know what you feel the risk factors are for raw milk. He says:

We all talk about it. A lot.

They all talk about it. A lot.

Time to focus the attention on the problem. I want opinions.

I want to know what a good cross section of people think on this. I bet it’s real interesting. And I will let you know the results.

Please indicate to me some idea of who you are. Health official, University researcher, farmer, consumer, activist, nutcase, oddball, weirdo, fascist, idiot (okay I’m getting a little off track here and amusing myself)

But really. What is your source of inspiration for your opinion.

Rank for me your idea of what the largest to smallest risk factors in raw milk are. For those of you that think there are no risks, well, you are fools. For those of you that just say don’t drink raw milk, the same. Fools. You’ve got an opinion – risk factors that make the possibility of raw milk making people sick – rank them. Start with 1 as the highest risk, and end with 5.

Five reasons is all; anyone’s that thought about this at all ought be able to come up with five risk factors.

Drop me an email at scott@trautman.net

Please include “Raw Milk Risk Factors” in the subject line. Don’t bother sending me a bunch of garbage. Don’t go on forever about it. List out the risk factors, and if you feel like you need to explain it, then great, but no War&Peace epic. And indicate your place in all this, what perspective you have.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Scott Trautman – despite the very best efforts of the State of Wisconsin – STILL proud Wisconsin Dairyman

See public responses by visiting Local Harvest (http://www.localharvest.org/blog/15556/entry/risk_factors)

Sadiqua Hamdan is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.Liberationwellnessblog.com) and other leading health and wellness resources.  The combination of health and writing manifested itself after overcoming Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer, at the age of 19.  It still took her several years to value the importance of nutrition and started taking steps to cleanse the toxins from chemotherapy and radiation.  Sadiqua enjoys traveling, cooking, researching, and connecting with people.  She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Organizational Change.  She may be reached at sadiqua.hamdan@gmail.com

THE SEARCH FOR EGGS is more fevered at Easter than any other time of year. And in these days of never ending options, deciding which type of egg to buy can be a little overwhelming. But don’t get scrambled—we’re here to help. More.

(Source: www.takepart.com)

It’s different when you’re dealing with friends and family. You want to get along with them, but what do you when you’re dating someone from a different culture? Are your parents going to boycott your invitation to the next family gathering because your boyfriend or girlfriend follows the same, but slightly different set of “God Rules & Guidelines” than they do? And what about that teenage pregnancy you never thought would happen in your family? Let’s not forget the younger brother who is using prescription drugs for non-medicinal reasons.

Too often, we let sensitive issues like these tear us apart. We think our way of thinking and beliefs are going to save our loved ones from doing something wrong for the rest of their life – but enforcing family patterns and cultural traditions may cause irreparable divides in relationships.

What are the benefits of choosing your battles with friends and family over sensitive issues?

1. Not every battle is worth fighting for. When you fight or argue over every confrontation, people will perceive you as a troublemaker. If you challenge only those issues that are truly personal and offensive to you, your opinions and disagreement will bear more weight, and people will listen.

2. Acceptance. Some battles you can never win, so why try? You can pull someone toward your own ideals, but eventually they will pull back to their own instincts. Therefore, have a spirit of acceptance when people’s ideals are different from yours.

3. Agree to disagree. This keeps the communication lines open and you never know when you’re going to need that person’s help, or be able to make a positive change in their life.

4. Know your boundaries. How much family drama are you going to put up with? Avoid getting in the middle of everything and allow yourself to say “no” without feeling guilty. You can’t be happy if everyone is leaning on you with his or her problems. You can’t fix everything. The clearer you are with your own boundaries, the happier you’ll be.

5. You miss out on learning important life lessons.

People closest to you are often the ones that push your buttons. You have to decide whether you want to be right or happy and realize happiness is not tied to perfection. It means you’ve decided to look beyond imperfections. Everyone’s perception of the truth is different. Your disaster could be perceived as “not a big deal” for the other person… so choose your battles wisely! Let others learn from their own mistakes.

How can we feed our children healthfully and economically? And what in the world are we teaching our children when we put food in front of them that has little nutritional value or is high in fat and sodium or that we would not dare eat ourselves?

Read the full story here.

What are Fermented Foods?

The term fermented sounds distasteful, but the results of this ancient preparation and preservation technique are actually delicious.  It was common practice to preserve vegetables and fruits in cans and other airtight containers using lactic acid fermentation.  The lactic acid causes the food to pleasantly sour (think of pickles), increases the vitamin and mineral content of the food, provides a rich source of digestive enzymes, supports immune function and preserves the food for months at a time.

Sadly, today’s industrial food model has changed these traditional foods into something else.  Although it is not difficult to make your own fermented foods, most people would prefer the convenience of buying them.  However, convenience comes with a higher price tag, because they are not found in most grocery stores.

Many cultures still preserve their food the old fashioned way.  Examples of fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, chutney, unpasteurized cheese, sour cream, pickles, yogurt, olives, buttermilk, kombucha, miso, tempeh and kefir.

Where Can I Find Fermented Foods?

1.  Learn to Make Fermented Foods in Your Kitchen

It’s easy to make fermented foods – but there are a few things a beginner should watch out for (it’s easy to make a bad batch when you first start).  Pick up your copy of Wild Fermentation, a book written by Sandor Ellix Katz.  This author is dedicated to the discussion of fermentation and provides over 100 basic delicious recipes that are easy to make at home.  www.wildfermentation.com is an excellent website that offers additional useful resources, including a fermentation support forum.

2.  Local Farmer or Farmer’s Market

Another easy way is to connect with your local dairy farmer who sells unpasteurized dairy products, such as cheese, sour cream, yogurt, and buttermilk.  These are real sources of dairy – and naturally produced as fermented foods.  To find a Farmer’s Market near you, visit www.localharvest.org

3.  Buy Online

www.grainfieldsaustralia.com

www.itsalivefood.com

www.culturesforhealth.com

www.zukay.com

via TED Blog: Teach every child about food: Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish, now on TED.com.

Click here to read to read the full report: naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com

** Attended by more than 53,000 industry professionals from across the globe, Natural Products Expo West is the premier trade show for the healthy products industry. Co-located with SupplyExpo, the Nutracon conference, the Healthy Baking Seminar and the Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace, these combined events showcase the entire value chain of healthy products from start to finish, identifying the bestsellers of today and the trends of tomorrow. Natural Products Expo West is ranked as one of the top 100 shows in the US and one of the fastest 50 growing tradeshows in the US and Canada.

** Natural Products Expo has two trade shows per year.  Anaheim, California hosts Expo West in the month of March, while Expo East takes place in Boston, Massachusetts — usually in October.  For more information, visit www.expowest.com and www.expoeast.com

Her latest quest has been to cook with pure, wholesome ingredients – the way her grandmother used to cook.  These are recipes made from scratch with homemade chicken broth, fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies and lacto-fermented foods (such as kefir and raw sauerkraut).

Spots are still available for her cooking class this Saturday, January 30, 2010!

Time: 1-4

Location: 425 Maple St, Geneva, IL 60134

Contact: Call (630) 301-9741 to RSVP today!

Cost: $50

Casey-2.Jane.flyer.jan.30.10.present

Mercola’s official pronouncement is a strange mixture of true statements and illogical sequelae, conflicting reasoning and unexplained omissions. While it is unfortunate that Mercola has joined establishment voices against vitamin A, what concerns us most is not the fact that Dr. Mercola disagrees with us, but that he misrepresents the WAPF message on the importance of vitamin A in the modern diet.

The following is a point-by-point rebuttal, with Mercola’s statements in bold.

www.westonaprice.org