Small Beginnings: Where Do I Start?

“Despise not the day of small beginnings,” is the wise advice of an ancient Hebrew prophet. If the idea of starting a nutrient-dense traditional foods lifestyle seems a little overwhelming, it may help to narrow your focus. Pick a step that seems doable and start there. Every positive change will be beneficial. By taking one step at a time, you will be amazed at the progress you have made a year from now.

On each Monday over the next few weeks, Real Food in Little Rock will bring you a list of starting points written by individuals who have volunteered their expertise.

Here’s my list. I hope you decide to pick one and try it!

1. Replace processed foods and drinks with fresh whole foods. Read ingredients and skip items with ingredients you don’t recognize or can’t easily pronounce. Start by learning to make something from fresh ingredients that you currently buy in a box, can, or bottle.

2. Replace conventionally raised grain-fed animal products (including organic) with products from animals raised naturally on grass. (meat, eggs, dairy) Start by buying something from a local farmer who raises animals on pasture. (See our homepage for a list of Arkansas farmers.)

3. Eliminate products made with soy. Limit soy consumption to fermented soy in small amounts. (i.e. naturally brewed/fermented soy sauce)

4. Replace processed vegetable oils and hydrogenated oils (trans fats) with traditional fats and oils (butter, olive oil, coconut oil, animal fats from grass-fed animals).

5. Replace refined sugar with natural whole sweeteners in moderation like raw honey, maple syrup, or whole cane sugar.

6. Replace refined white salts (including refined sea salt) with unrefined mineral rich salt.  Try Real Salt or Celtic Salt.

7. Add cultured and fermented foods with good bacteria for a healthy intestine and immune system.  Examples are yogurt, kefir, raw dairy, sauerkraut, and other fermented veggies.

8. Learn to make mineral rich bone broth. This and good salt are the secrets for great tasting food.

9. Buy a copy of Nourishing Traditions. You can also find it at Drug Emporium in Little Rock. 

10. Contact our local Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter and ask for a mentor to help you get started.