An Unprocessed Solstice and Yule Season

Taking stock of where we are now and looking back at how far we've come this year alone - things are much the same BUT - everything is completely different. And I am only touching on the food part of things here.

Our diets are pretty well the same - we eat organic and have for many years. We would eat mostly vegetables, some grains, a little fish, some fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs and some meat. Ours is a fairly well rounded eating plan with plenty of room in there for variety and seasonal change.

However, even though I made nearly everything from scratch my self - there is always room for improvement and this year has seen a dramatic shift in our bodies, mind and spirits because of the complete removal of any processed foods.

Right now is the season you would tend to plan for when it comes to food - make it through the Holiday season and it's smooth sailing after that. With this time of year in mind I made jams, chutneys, sauces, pickles, raised turkeys, stored honey and did the extra baking.

And all of it from using only the raw ingredients. If we want juice, jam, halva, pretzels, sweet treats or mustard - we find a way to make it. To be honest, late last night I was up making stocking treats for the kids (and everyone!) everything from scratch, including some of the ingredients....

I am feeling quite impressed with the entire process for a couple of reasons. First of all when I started out, I thought it would all be so complicated and perhaps difficult. At least for some of the foods that we are used to eating. 

Of course it has turned out to be the exact opposite in every way. Making food from scratch is straight forward and gets easier as I gather better tools and try the recipes several times.

Then, there was this entire resistance thing I had to overcome - mostly in my mind surrounding the amount of work involved and the convenience of being able to just buy a couple of things ready made. It may take a little bit more time in some cases, however, this is my food - what could be more important?

 Finally, I really was not prepared for the profound difference in taste, texture and the sheer amount of choice I now have in, well, everything we eat. I can make up my own recipes, create different textures and try out new things....simply by changing an ingredient or two.

Life and food could not get better then this!

April

Barley Cove Beach, West Cork