Familiar Foods Made Nourishing: A Long Term Solution

Restrictive diets have their place. They are powerful allies that help us accomplish goals such as losing weight, detoxifying or overcoming a nutrient deficiency. They are fantastic ways to make significant changes in a shorter amount of time than is possible through more moderate approaches. But, restrictive diets are just that, restrictive. Once our goals are met we must be conscious enough to recognize the need to pivot to ensure we are meeting ALL of our needs. We need to ask ourselves questions like:

• Do I actually like the food that I am eating? Does it taste good? Does it look good? Does it make me feel good?
• Am I getting enough food? Is the food I am eating providing enough nourishment? Do I actually feel satiated when I am finished eating?
• Do I enjoy the experience of eating? Do the timing, setting, and company I am eating with make me feel content?
• Simply put, do I get up from a meal feeling better than when I sat down?

Did you answer no?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then something needs to change. This indicates the diet you are following is not fully nourishing you in some way and, consequently, it can never be a long term solution. Sure, you can attempt to force yourself to strictly adhere to it at all costs. But, if it is not sustainable then it will eventually result in failure.

Eventually, despite all of your hard work, when you fall back into the same routine that tanked you in the first place your health and self confidence take a huge hit. Making a conscious decision now to create a dietary lifestyle that comprehensively nourishes you is a fantastic way to ensure you maintain the gains you made while setting yourself up for lifelong success.

It’s okay. Change is good. Especially when it comes to diet

The diet that healed you may not be the best diet for the rest of your life. The human body’s nutritional needs and innate capabilities of safely and efficiently dealing with different foods change throughout our lives. An extreme example is when we are weaned from our mothers. This transition is more than simply moving from a diet consisting solely of raw milk to solid foods. Drastic biological changes coincide with this change to an entirely new diet. A similar parallel can be drawn during other life milestones such as puberty, pregnancy, lactation, middle age, and old age.

The modern world muddles our already complicated relationship with food. But, one simple truth remains foundational – we have coevolved with our food for millions of years so that when we do it right we are nourished in every sense of the word. Simply put, that means nourishing ourselves should taste and feel really, really good. Each and every meal we eat should make us feel nourished, satiated and content. 

How do we make it work in the real world? 

Well, it is simple really. In our home and at the Modern Stone Age Kitchen, we make familiar food as safe and nourishing as they can possibly be. We are convinced this is the answer to the problems associated with orthorexic, overly restrictive diets that include obsessive behaviors that are ridden with guilt and almost always doomed for failure.

Our approach means that you get to enjoy your food, guilt-free while living a healthy lifestyle that is nourishing in all aspects of your life. That is what eating like a human is all about.

When done right, this approach can also transform unhealthy food into safer, more nourishing forms.

Here are some examples of what I mean. Instead of completely junk, unhealthy fast food, we use traditional approaches to food to make meals that are as safe and nourishing as they can possibly be.

For example, our…

Pizza:

• Wild, long fermented sourdough crust
• Sauce simply made from crushed San Marzano tomatoes 
• Cheese made traditionally from local A2 milk 
• Pepperoni and sausage made from local pigs

Tacos:

• Tortillas made with heirloom Oaxacan maize, nixtamalized, stone ground, and hand pressed 
• Meats butchered and prepared from local animals
• Cheese made traditionally from local A2 milk
• Fermented cream
• Fermented salsa

And, even chicken nuggets and french fries:

• Chicken nuggets made with four ingredients and fried in lard.
  • Believe it or not, in addition to being delicious they are also paleo, keto, carnivore and gluten free!
• Fermented french fries fried in lard
• Mayonnaise made with avocado oil
• Fermented ketchup

What familiar food would you like to see us transform into something more nourishing?