Grass-fed butter and little tutus

My sister-in-law is pregnant. She is so cute. Big belly. Big happy. Big love. And in honor of her big belly, I took a trip to her city of Chicago strategically planned around the Weston A. Price Foundation conference and Megan’s baby shower. Mom made the trip to join in on all of the above, and great fun was had by all.

So, if you like my blog and you haven’t heard of the Weston A. Price Foundation, I must introduce you because I know that you are going to love it as much as I do. Weston A. Price was a dentist in the early 1900’s who looked at his patients and thought, to liberally paraphrase, “why are their teeth so messed up?” His instincts told him that it might be the refined diet of modern society. He already knew what the messed-up teethed people were unsuccessfully eating, so instead, he found traditional societies with straight teeth combined with wide, happy jaws and studied their diets. The findings of his studies are the basis of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and it will blow your mind.

None of the diets were exactly the same, some ate dairy, some beef, some bugs, lots of veggies, hardly any veggies, lots of grain, little grain, but there were over-riding similarities like: fermented foods, soaking grains, careful farming and tending to the soil and sacred foods like animal organs and the first spring milk of grazing cows. When members of these healthy societies left and moved to more modern areas with modern food, their health declined and their children had crowded teeth. But, the craziest thing is, if a person returned to the village and resumed their diet, their health and vitality returned. Holy smokes.

So, Sally Fallon (with me and my big smile above) wrote a phenomenal cookbook/food bible with a Ph. D. named Mary Enig that inspires me like no other called Nourishing Traditions. And while in Chicago, mom and I were first-time attendees to their yearly conference. As I stood in the lobby of the enormous hotel watching people walk by wearing “I love Raw Milk” t-shirts, I was so giddy that I thought my limbs were going to bust off my body and sprint in separate directions trying to gather the experience and somehow shove it in my purse. I wanted to know everything. I had pangs of jealousy when I would overhear someone referencing the conference from 2 or 3 years back. It was nuts. I haven’t experienced that level of 4 year-old exuberance since the first time I walked through my beloved Santa Monica Farmers’ Market.

Above is the Fermented Cod Liver Oil tasting bar. Only here, right? I tried every single one. I was almost embarrassed. I felt like my dad collecting free stuff from fancy hotel rooms. Or, my hungry husband sneaking thirds of grocery store samples. God love ’em – I get it. Our day started off with a phenomenon known as the Oatmeal Bar. Buy Nourishing Traditions, turn to pg. 455, and make yourself some Breakfast Porridge, which is the preparation behind the magical Oatmeal Bar. I’ve since made it for John who calls it High BTU Breakfast, because you feel stable and strong energy all morning long. The secret is fermenting the oats overnight. It is easy, and you won’t turn back. Mom almost paid another $10 to go back for seconds. I think she was experiencing what I did in the lobby… excited panic.

And here’s the Kombucha bar. No coffee stand. No sodas, just kombucha… a fermented natural energy drink. It was delicious. I also bought an organic t-shirt saying “Who’s Your Farmer?” Two packs of grass-fed, all-natural beef stix (slim jim-esque), 1 pack of beef jerky, digestive grass-fed ghee flavored with cardamom, cinnamon and ginger, 2 bottles of fermented cod liver oil, potato chips from the amish table that were fried in lard, a beet kvass beverage and 2 books – Honoring Our Cycles by Katie Singer and Know Your Fats by Mary Enig. I don’t go to the mall much, but don’t set me loose in a Weston A. Price Conference. A nice woman in the bathroom told me that she brings a rolling bag for her purchases… duly noted.

I have so much more to share with you, but I’ll sprinkle it in throughout future blogs. For now, the number one thing I would like for you to take away from this blog is an introduction to the Weston A. Price Foundation and the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

And in the spirit of Christmas, I would like to buy a copy of Nourishing Traditions for one of my Organic Spark readers. Please email me ([email protected]) by December 25 and tell me a story about how you discovered the connection between what you eat and how you feel. I will pick one person and mail you a copy. In the meantime, I wish for this book to be on each of your Christmas lists… no lumps of coal for you. Just a lump of grass-fed butter… or unrefined coconut oil, if you prefer.

So, Mom and I had a soul-fulling, wonderful time at the conference and the feeling continued with Megan’s beautiful baby shower. I made the muffins above. I have been waiting for a month to stick those little toothpicks into something. My brother was happy and relaxed. Marriage and an upcoming baby appear to be treating him well, which wells me up with happy tears from time to time. Megan was beautiful, and she was surrounded by loving friends who brought her amazing gifts, many homemade. Of all the gorgeous gifts, there is one that I wanted to share with you because it’s simply too much. I wanted to put it in my purse with the Weston A. Price Conference. Megan’s sister, Beth Ann, gave Megan a tutu for her little girl’s dress-up collection. And God willing, I have now committed my brain to making sure this little girl has the COOLEST dress-up bin ever. And I, in turn, am going to have the best time ever making sure that happens.

Here’s to Tutus! Don’t forget to write me if you’d like the book, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving. I appreciate you.

xo – Organic Spark