I’m sure you’ve heard of people eating more whole foods, ancient grains, and fermented vegetables these days. But did you know there are cookbooks and books on the traditional foods movement that are sparking a generational shift in how we understand food?
As a homesteader myself I am all about eating food straight from the source! We raise all of our meat and protein – rabbits, chickens, venison, fish, and eggs (with pigs and sheep coming soon) – and love growing vegetables, herbs, and various fruits on our property. We source high-quality dairy, nuts, grains, and beans since we can’t grow those ourselves.
While this isn’t exactly possible for everyone, we should all start to pay more attention to the food we are eating. Where does it come from? How is it processed? Is it nourishing to my body? And why am I choosing it eat in the first place?
People are indeed waking up to the scams of previous health advice and the convenience of processed foods. Our bodies need nourishing foods straight from the earth! These books on the traditional foods movement will provide you with all the information you need to get started on your journey to a healthier life.
Let’s check them out…
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To me, this book is the icon of The Traditional Foods Movement, along with the accompanying books: Nourishing Broth, Nourishing Diets, Nourishing Fats, The Nourishing Traditions Book for Baby and Child Care.
Nourishing Traditions covers everything you need to know about eating foods that your body craves for energy and sustainability. I recommend starting with this one. Next read Nourishing Broth for a deep dive on the science and healing power of broth, along with recipes so you can make it correctly in a variety of ways! It also has lots of incredible soup recipes.
Nourishing Diets will take you around the world as you look at how each continent and people group used different healthy and natural fats throughout history! It is fascinating to compare their diets to our standard American diet. I especially appreciate the chapter at the end “What to eat?” because it goes over all the diet questions running through your head, almost like an FAQ section. There are some recipes at the end too.
Nourishing Fats will make you start eating animal fats tomorrow if you aren’t already! I had no idea about all the benefits of animal fats because they just aren’t talked about by our country’s leadership. There is data, science, and pure facts to read in this book today! Plus there are recipes for cooking with animal fats to help you ease into this diet change.
Last, as a mother myself, I appreciate learning about the safe way to introduce these nourishing traditions to my family! It goes all the way from before you get pregnant, to pregnancy, the newborn stage, and beyond. There are so many natural remedies in this book and the baby book that can help a mom in a dire situation!
Check it out on Amazon here!
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This is one of the books on the traditional foods movement that I proudly display on my bookshelf. Not only is it beautiful but also so informative, helpful, and thorough.
The introduction of the book tells you everything you need to know about the traditional foods movement. It involves sustainability, balance, tradition, and community involvement. Then the author helps you understand what is important to eat in each category of food before jumping into all the recipes of the cookbook.
I love that the cookbook has every single category of food with nothing left out. The categories are from the garden, from the pasture, from the range, from the waters, from the fields, from the wild, from the orchard, from the larder. The resources page at the back is extremely helpful as well, as I even found some new websites and companies to check out.
Check it out on Amazon here!
From the same author as The Nourished Kitchen above, comes a cookbook all about nourishing our bodies with broth. Our family consumes broth for almost every single meal if I am being honest, especially in the winter. We never tire of it!
But I always stick to my same standard chicken broth with our chicken carcass and vegetable scraps in the Instant Pot. This book was a wonderful resource for me to try some new versions of broth, from pork to fish to mushrooms to greens!
There are also several recipes for using chicken broth, beef broth, fish broth, and vegetables in various broths. I am excited to try even more recipes from the cookbook on nourishing our bodies with traditional foods.
Check it out on Amazon here!
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A part of the Traditional Foods Movement is eating vegetables, although I don’t think veganism is the way to go personally. This book dives deeply into each vegetable family and then provides delicious recipes to make yourself!
For example, the first chapter is The Carrot Family. You will learn everything you need to know about carrots from varieties to cooking companions and using the whole plant in your cooking. Then there are six incredible recipes to make incorporating more carrots into your diet easy!
This book is large and not a quick read, but that’s one reason I have to recommend it. It brings you on a journey. Or, should I say that it comes alongside you on your journey of eating healthier and changing your habits?
Check it out on Amazon here!
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If you read this book then be sure to read all the books by this author: Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail; Buck, Buck, Moose; Hook, Line, and Supper; Hunt, Gather, Cook. They not only help you learn the importance of eating a variety of meat but also widen your pallet from the traditional American meat diet of mostly beef and chicken.
He explains the troubles of sourcing new animals for your diet like duck and goose in this book. But, asking around with local farmers could land you some great connections, even to online sources. The pictures in this book are fantastic to help you in preparing the meat.
Most of the book is recipes, which I am so excited to try. If you want to start eating a certain food group more, like duck, moose, or fish, then check out Hank Shaw’s books! It will be a learning curve at first, but it will result in one of your new favorite books on the traditional foods movement.
Check it out on Amazon here!
The Traditional Foods Movement is a wake-up call, just like this book! The way the government controls our food, makes labeling confusing, and limits us from real food education is awful. Joel Salatin does a fantastic job at breaking down all that’s wrong with our food culture today and what you can specifically do about it.
It’s like you’re talking to your old wise grandpa when you read this book. He sure does need to release an updated version soon but all the information in the original still drives the point home. Plus, I appreciate the five-ish bullet points at the end of every chapter with action steps. It eliminates the question, “But how do I get started?”
Check it out here!
Related Post: The Top 10 Cookbooks Every Homesteader Needs In Their Kitchen
This book is huge and packed with information! I need to have this book on my shelf because it answers any question I have regarding fermentation plus new ideas on things I can try fermenting myself for the first time!
If you wondering what the importance of fermentation is, then just read the first few chapters of this book. Don’t let the size of you intimidate you because the information and drawings are easy to understand.
This is one of the books on the traditional foods movement that inspired me to start adding more fermented food back into our diet! Like I used to, I now put sauerkraut back on our table for every evening meal, yum! For a less intense book, check out Wild Fermentation, another one I love by the same author.
Check it out here!
There you have it, the books I love on getting back to real food and living a healthier life from fantastic authors that support The Traditional Foods Movement! Which book will you be reading first? Let me know in the comments below!
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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