Philosophy

Health in body and soul.   
  1. Play your role in health.  While chronic diseases are the most common and costly of all health problems, they are also the most preventable (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
  2. In defining what is "healthy," choose guidelines from a reputable source.   For a quick rule of thumb, choose websites that end in .edu or .org rather than .com or blogs.  OR, choose websites that back up their claims with .edu, .org, or other research-grounded sources.  This usually insures that you are reading peer-reviewed (meaning other members of the profession agree), scientifically calculated (meaning that randomized, legitimate research backs up the claim) guidelines.
  3. Drink water. We aim to drink 2 big cups (pint size!) of water before breakfast, and two after/with each meal. That gives you a gallon of water every day (think of the power washing going on inside!). Learn more about benefits from Web MD.  
  4. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper (National Library of Medicine).
  5. Limit negative intake.  Choose My Plate has some great guidelines to limiting empty calories.  Real food is better appreciated when  you "season every meal with hunger" (Richard Proenneke, who lived off the land for 30 years).
  6. No food is healthy if no one will eat it” (Crystal Miller's Homemaking on the Homestead).  Cater to your family's wants and needs.
  7. Be grateful for your food. "To say we feel grateful is not to say that everything [or every meal] in our lives is necessarily great. It just means we are aware of our blessings [that we have food]." (Mayo Clinic)
  8. Live in the circle of life. Eat food in amounts that are naturally occurring (is chicken more natural at every lunch/dinner...or once a week?).  Read more in Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma
  9. Feed souls.  "Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul."--Doctrine and Covenants section 101: 37
Our intent is well-put in the book Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver & family:



"Households that have lost the soul of cooking from their routines may not know what they're missing: the song of a stir-fry sizzle, the small talk of clinking measuring spoons, the yeasty scent of rising dough, the painting of flavors onto a pizza before it slides into the oven.  The choreography of many people working in one kitchen is, by itself, a certain definition of family, after people have made their separate ways home to be together.  The nurturing arts are more than just icing on the cake, insofar as they influence survival.  We have dealt to today's kids the statistical hand of a shorter life expectancy than their parents, which would be us, the ones taking care of them.  Our thrown-away food culture is the sole reason.  By taking the faster drive, what did we save?"

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