Kelli's Real Food Resolutions

This post continues our series on New Year's Real Food Resolutions.  It is written by Kelli who wrote here about how real food started for her.  She has also written Beef Tongue: Not So Offal.

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In January, 2011 Kelli wrote:
I can’t believe it’s been almost one year since I came home and told my husband I wanted to change our diet and our lifestyle…and my husband thought his world was ending. HA! Looking back over the year I’ve been thinking about a song from “Hairspray”: “I know we’ve come so far, but we’ve got so far to go.” (I know. A bit random, but it fits.)

It’s been a year of firsts: First time to bake bread without the aid of a bread machine, drink raw milk, grind my own flour, embrace fat, wash my hair WITHOUT shampoo, make a sourdough starter, learn that there was something even called “Kombucha”…I could go on and on.

I’m not huge into the whole New Year’s Resolution thing, but I have been thinking about some things I would like to see happen in the coming year.


1. One of the best Christmas gifts I received this year was Nourishing Traditions. I want to read through and absorb the wealth of information.

2. Drink some kombucha everyday – even if it’s only half a cup. (Still acclimating to the slight fermented flavor. Teetotaler here.) Experiment with flavors beyond fresh pineapple – my go-to flavor. An added health bonus is that it seems to help with muscle soreness. I’m training for a marathon and need all the help I can get in that area!

3. Be more diligent about taking my fermented cod liver oil and red raspberry leaf supplement.

4. Focus on gaining strength, especially in my upper body. As a long-distance runner I have plenty of endurance, but no upper-body strength, which is common among us runners. I plan on getting into a routine of pilates and free weights along with my running.

5. Make a better effort to eat well outside my home, which will mean bringing my own food a lot of times. Learn to plan ahead for this. Have a mental list of foods that are quick and easy to throw together in a short amount of time, and are made from ingredients I typically have on hand.

6. Discover the perfect recipe for a natural facial moisturizer: one that moisturizes without drying me out OR causing pimples. No small feat. Any recipes would be appreciated.

None of these things are earth-shattering in their impact, but all of these steps together will go a long ways in improving my overall health and quality of life. After all, it’s all about the Baby Steps!

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2012 Update:

I can’t believe a whole year has past since setting these resolutions! How did I do? I would say…good. Not excellent, but good.

I read a little bit of “Nourishing Traditions”, but still haven’t read it cover to cover.

We were doing great with the kombucha until the cold weather set in. Our house stays too cool for it to ferment, so we’re having to wait until it warms up to start it brewing again. We’ve really come to love it, and I miss it! I console myself by grabbing a bottle from Drug Emporium any time I’m close by.

{JULIE adds her two cents here: I was having the same cold kitchen problem until I ordered this seedling heat mat.  It helps to increase the temperature of my kombucha so that it will ferment.  Worth every penny.}

Am I still great about taking my supplements? Sadly, no.  This is one I am still working on improving.

After running a marathon in March, I’ve been cutting back on the distance running and adding in more Pilates. I cannot say how much I love Pilates!!! I discovered an awesome blog – Blogilates.com – and there are tons of free Pilates videos on there. I feel so much stronger now! The good thing about Pilates is that you get strength without the bulkiness. My belly is flatter and I’m more slim and toned overall.

I have not been diligent about bringing healthy foods when I’m hanging out at someone else’s house, but I HAVE been better at not over indulging and trying to pick out foods that are less evil than the others.

NAILED IT! See THIS post. 

I don’t have any resolutions about food this year, because I feel like at this point in my life, eating traditionally is just something we DO, it’s not something I have to sit and think about. I just want to keep on doing as we do, and if I come across something I feel needs to change, cross that bridge when we come to it. My main goal is to get back into blogging on my personal blog. I didn’t have the time when my husband was cramming in classes to finish up seminary, and I have yet to get back into the habit.

Here’s to 2012!!!

-Kelli