Okay so I'm really new at this whole TFD...

[purplemamaturtle5]

I just embarked on the TFD yesterday..... and I just need some tips/advice. whatever you've got to give me. It was a decision my husband and I made for ourselves and our little boy yesterday after doing quite a bit of research. Previously we had been vegetarians for 3 years. We just weren't healthy. We had gained a bunch of weight and whatnot.... The veg. lifestyle just wasnt for us, but we didnt want to go back eating a bunch of crapy meals and unhealthy meat so when I heard about this TFD I thought "This is it, this is whats going to get myself and my family healthy". I figured this.... We would only eat (red)meat a couple of times a week and we are going to make sure that the meat came from as much of a healthy source as possible (range free/natural/organic/local). The reason we only want to eat red meat btw is because thats the only kind we feel comfortable with eating... especially making the switch from veg-head to TF'er. So I just want some advice on how to get started. My mom just purchased the book "Full Moon Feast" for my today so I will be reading that soon. What are the basic "rules" of this diet? I have heard of a lot of people say that they are TF'ers and are gluten free now..... or they dont eat much grains. Is that nessecary? Can I still incorperate a ton of veggie meals into our diet (like today I made a split pea soup using fresh ingredients and dried organic peas) What are going to be some pantry staples?? What about my son's diet? Should he eat exactly what we eat? I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!!

[PaulaJoAnne]

Oh yes, the TF myths. THere are lots of those floating around.
Get a copy of Nourishing Traditions, and browse through this site, www.westonaprice.org
We eat grains:, its the old fashioned preperation of grains that is different.
There are several stickys in this section that will be of great service to you as well.
Full TFers drink raw milk, eat either pasture raised meat or wild game, lots of animal fats and we do eat lots of veges.
We eat Real Food.
To qualify this though, some do not eat grains due to allergies, and others do not eat dairy or shellfish due to allergies.
TF is a little bit different for everyone.

Here are some TF blogs that you will find helpful as well.
www.cheeseslave.com
www.thenourishinggourmet.com
www.kellythekitchenkop.com
http://www.nourishingourchildren.org/

[ChristieB]

TF looks different for everyone. If you feel more comfortable eating mostly veggie, then you can do that. The important thing will be treating your grains and legumes in such a way that you get optimum nutrition from them. That's mostly what TF is about. Optimizing the nutrition in your food. It's about getting the best nutrition you can get.

For most of us, that includes eating meat. And for a lot people that includes eating raw dairy if you can find it, and at least the best quality dairy (if you eat dairy, which some of us can't). It also includes properly soaking grains and legumes to neutralize the phytates and allow your body to utilize the minerals in them. Again, some of us can't eat grains and/or legumes. But if you eat them, fine. The idea is just to make them as digestible and nutritious as possible.

TF also includes eating plenty of good quality fats, which includes animal fats, saturated vegetable fats (coconut and palm), olive oil, avocado (mostly the whole fruit - I only splurge on the oil for mayo), and I'm sure I'm missing something here. Cod liver oil is also important. It's used like a supplement. It's high in vitamins A and D, and also essential fatty acids.

Fermented veggies and beverages are also good for you. They really help to improve the flora in our guts, and also make more nutrients available from the food. They're also very tasty! They may seem daunting, but they're soooo easy!

There are many other points I could go into, but really the most important thing to remember when deciding how TF will look for YOU is that your food should be nutrient-dense. It's about nourishing you and your family rather than just feeding yourselves.

As for your son, how old is he? If he's eating solids already, then yes, he should eat what you eat. He probably needs more fat than you do, and there may be other things that he needs more or less of, but that often comes naturally to kids when offered good healthy foods and not offered unhealthy foods.

And I almost forgot, but the stickies at the top of this forum have a lot of good infor. This sticky is particularly great.

And any specific questions you have, feel free to post them here, and you'll likely get a lot of great answers.

Congratulations on your new journey!

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

I was veg for about 10 years before getting seriously into TF. I still don't eat a lot of meat though. I do incorporate a lot of the principles laid out in NT. For instance, beans and rice are pretty much my ultimate comfort food. However now I make sure to soak my beans (instead of my old pressure cooker), I cook the rice with butter and chicken stock, cook the beans with stock as well...maybe throw in a slice or two of bacon. Top it off with some fermented salsa if I have any on hand (or sour cream/creme fraiche if you like it). I incorporate the things that work the best for me right now. Eventually, I'd love to add organ meats and more fermented foods, but right now I'm just not there.
Mostly though I feel like I've just switched out a lot of my old "bad" veg foods for good almost-veg foods. Sprouted grain or sourdough bread instead of commercial wheat bread, coconut oil instead of canola oil, high quality olive oil instead of bottled salad dressings, home-made or high quality purchased whole milk yogurt instead of nonfat sweetened yogurt, pastured eggs instead of battery organic eggs, raw whole milk instead of soy milk, kombucha instead of diet soda...you get the idea.
I do take CLO & HVBO everyday. That's an adjustment, I hate the stuff, but it has done a world of good for me health wise.

Basically, once you get the principles down, I think its a lot easier to fit your diet to it.