Guest writer: Janice on her journey to vibrant health

Today Janice is going to share a bit of her journey for all of us who curious to know more about whole foods and the lifestyle…thank you so much for taking the time to write this, Janice!

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After what Liz has written about me I am feel quite shy to try and say something that will help a larger audience.  When I reached out last Fall I wanted to save an anxious mom from feeling overwhelmed.  I remember too well the feeling of not having known enough soon enough.  That is really where our faith comes in-to remember we find what we need as we become aware and pray for guidance not knowing how that will show up.  Unfortunately I did not have that kind of relationship with God back when I began my journey with WAPF(Weston A. Price Foundation) or I should qualify I was not as aware.  

My son was born in 1999 and I was eating low fat, drinking soy milk and even gave it to him as he weaned although thank goodness I felt strongly about nursing and was determined to continue for 2 years.  I also knew enough to keep organic butter in our diets and had been buying organic meat and produce for a few years.

I found the WAPF or actually Sally Fallon when my son was 3 ½ .  I had chronic insomnia and what later I found out to be malabsorption issues.  One night in October 2002 when I was up once again drinking a cup of tea at 2 a.m. I picked up a copy of the Wellness Journal.  I came across a small article by Sally Fallon about fat and the need for saturated fat.  Now I had studied nutrition and was trained to believe as the rest of the world that saturated fat was the cause of all kinds of evils, however as I read her article I felt the truth of it resonate deep within me.  I knew she had something valuable to teach.  The next day I started looking for a copy of her cookbook, “Nourishing Traditions”.  After calling the US I was given a number of a chapter leader here in Alberta that happened to have some copies to sell.  Calling this woman turned into what is now a 9 ½ year friendship and a source for grass fed meat as she and her husband own a farm in Castor, AB.  They are wonderful people and because of that one article the web has grown. 

I must say though that I have gone through much since this all began. Being who I am I wanted to do things perfectly so tried to make up for all I had not known earlier.  Since there was no one here to mentor me or to even bounce ideas off of I began to teach myself the basics.  I am somewhat of a traditionalist and a introvert so I now know.   I have always loved to cook so taking this on was exciting to me.  I learned to ferment my own sauerkraut and other veggies as well as some chutneys.  I eventually expanded into drinks like beet kvass and gingerale and making yogurt.  It really has been a journey as I reflect.  My cookbook is very worn, the signs of a good book I hear!

Now I have to confess it has not been an uphill climb.  There have been MANY valleys along the way.  Good health takes more than food as most people already know.  I  became the Calgary chapter leader in hopes of meeting others and I did eventually but alas food is not the only common ground that makes for good relationships as I was to learn.  Since I had studied nutrition professionally and had a few letters behind my name, feeling this was the path I wanted to lead others to, I was intent on starting a consulting business as I was unemployed and recently a single parent.  If I could go back and do something over I would spend more time just being with my young child and less time worried about a career or as much food peparation.  When I say worried that is exactly what I did.  Although I did help a few people along the way one being my sister when she had to undergo surgery in her early 40’s I was not cut out for telling people what to eat.  I have since realized that the best teacher leads by example and experience.  

I must back up a bit though, as I said I wanted to do things perfectly and  that meant taking all the “right” supplements and finding the “right” food as the foundation deemed fit.   At some point I wrote to Sally Fallon after I had become a chapter leader to clear up some things I did not understand and when she wrote me back it gave me perspective.  She said her intention was not to have people make a fetish of their food but to prepare and enjoy good food in the company of others.  That is what food is meant to be- nourishment and enjoyment taken in by the body in sharing with the people we care about, eating in an environment that feels nourishing to our other senses and taking time to prepare whole food that has hopefully been raised or grown with care for the environment. 

Now that I have come through 10 years of all of this I can honestly say that it has taken time to open my eyes to what Sally meant.  There are so many “diets” on the market and so many “experts” selling their ideas on what constitutes the “perfect”  or “healthiest” diet.  I am here to say there is not one.  What we need or crave is a culture around our food and connection.  Some people still have it if they stayed close to family and were raised with a culture of food say Ukrainian or German or Italian. Alas, many of us are the product of a world where mothers went out to work and were led to believe by food manufacturers that TV dinners were just as nutritious as homemade.  Unfortunately the number of health related problems would prove otherwise although as I said before it is not just food.  Many of us moved away from family and have no support.  Also when families stop sitting down together for meals something happens to the relationships.  They don’t converse as much and soon evolve into strangers who may share the same home but no longer have the deep connections that family meal times can nourish.  Then comes the pressure to have our kids in all the activities their friends are in so they don’t get left behind so next we are eating fast food in the vehicle on the way to some activity, simply filling the gap instead of the need for intimacy and love.  Please let me say I am not judging anyone here.  Many of us do not have the time to question or if we do it is difficult when we are swimming against the norm.

There are no easy answers either as I face the need to go to work and I have no idea how this will impact my values.  I do know that my food culture is Nourishing Traditions and it runs deep within me just as though I was raised this way(in some ways I was at a very early age from my paternal Ukrainian grandmother) so I will make the adjustments to be able to keep preparing food this way.  It is deeply nourishing on many levels and I have met many wonderful people through belonging to the foundation and made some lasting connections.

This really is a journey and for whatever reason people look here for support or guidance I hope something I have said will inspire.  There is so much more that happened along the way for me but I would have to write a book to fit it all in.  I already feel as if I have written too much and maybe not said enough! 

I wish you good health and good memories made in the enjoyment of the food you lovingly prepare for your families and friends.  Thank you Liz for inviting me to write a post on your Blog.  I have read over your posts and enjoyed them very much, you have a lovely way with words!

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If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask away. She is the perfect person to ask all sort of "where-to-find-it" or "how-to-make-it" questions.

I am hoping we can get Janice on here once a month so that we can continue the discussion. Just as she mentioned in her post, it's not all about the food- it's the preparation and love and together-ness surrounding food. Along those lines, she also has great resources on parenting, and we love discussing Gordon Neufeld's great book, Hold on to Your Kids, together.