What to Eat? Traditional Fare and Summer Diets

There is so much confusion about what we need to eat, in order to be healthy. People have become very polarized in their beliefs about food. What to eat and what you believe about nutrition, runs as deep and is just as sensitive, as talking about religion, in some circles.

Our ancestors grew their own food, ate the animals they raised or hunted and lived off the land. Our parents and parents, parents, did not have the same levels of health issues we have today. They also did not have shorter life spans, as some people would have us believe.

Some say we are essentially malnourished because of our modern diets. These folks feel that Traditional Diets embody the common sense we forgot. Traditional rules in general say that you should eat everything in moderation. Make sure you have a large variety of foods with as many food groups as possible. The food source is also key. Eat real, whole, fresh, natural food found as close to the source as possible, i.e. local. It is also important to eat according to the seasons.

In general, do eat: Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kombucha, pickles; organ meats, grass fed beef, free range eggs, cod liver oil, fish eggs; fish such as salmon or herring; lots of  brightly coloured vegetables cooked with a little fat; cooked green vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip; pungent vegetables like leeks and onions; mushrooms especially those growing on trees like chaga; soup stock, especially bone broth; whole milk and butter; fats like lard, bacon fat, coconut oil, pure olive oil; and fruits in season like berries.

In Summer: The taste of summer is burnt which coincides with the barbecue season. Meals should be lightly cooked with steam or simmering with high heat and short cooking times. BBQed meats are perfect cooked on the grill. Hot foods need to be balanced with adequate hydration and paired with cooling foods such as apples, cucumber and watermelon for example. Balancing the properties of foods and their flavours between hot, cold, moistening, drying (astringent), sweet, salty, pungent (spicy), sour and bitter is always important. The taste of summer is bitter so adding bitter greens and vegetables like dandelion, kale, arugula, Swiss Chard, celery, Romaine, broccoli and Brussel spouts is always a good idea.