Introduction
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
The opinions on what is an all-natural lifestyle are varied. Just that fact alone can make choosing which one to follow make one want to give up all together.
Here is a quick summary of a few of the opinions out there of what is "all natural" and then, what "all natural" is to me. These are not listed in any particular order and may not be entirely accurate, as they are just basic synopsis based on my understanding of what reading I have done.
1. Raw food: For some, all natural means eating only food that is raw. This category includes nuts, grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and the like. This group of people learns how to make raw soups, raw casseroles, and even raw desserts. To cook is to destroy vital nutrients - that is the basic tenet.
2. Traditional foods: This one gets a bit blurry when I read up on it. Some people hold to traditional foods, as again, being fruits, legumes, nuts, and grains. Others eat those, but will also add in meat and dairy products as well, as long as they are non-processed (such as raw milk) and certified organic.
3. The Genesis Diet : This is based on Genesis 1:29 and is similar to the diets listed above.
"And God said, 'Behold, I have given you ever herb bearing seed, which is upon all the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you, it shall be for meat."
4. Organic only: People who follow this way of life, buy only certified organic foods and meats. They also strive to have cleaning products, makeup, and other things in their home, that are chemical free.
5. Green Diet: Again, similar to the ones listed above. Goals of this plan are to eat "low on the food chain", eat organic, eat seasonal produce, and eating high fiber foods.
6. The Vegan Diet: Absolutely no animal based products are consumed, even things like cheese. Strict vegans will also avoid animal based products, such as leather purses, wool coats, etc.
7. Gluten Free: Issues such as Celiac disease, Autism, Chrohn's Disease, and even Irritable Bowel Syndrome, will often lead to people choosing this way of life. This is simply an avoidance of anything with gluten, such as breads and pasta. What was once an impossibility for those who had to live by it, is now made much easier by the emergence of gluten free products on main streem grocery shelves, such Betty Crocker, gluten free desserts.
8. Avoiding sugar and processed foods as much as possible: Others don't want to be tied down to any one particular diet, and instead, feel they are doing pretty good if they eat more fruit than cookies, vegetables more than chips, and eat salads regularly. This of course varies on the spectrum, with some people never allowing sugar in their home at all, while others will occasionally make a batch of brownies when the craving hits them.
These are main categories. Of course, research this a bit further and you will find even more. You can find books on these different plans all over Amazon. A few titles include:
The Maker's Diet
Green for Life
The Diet Cure
12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food
The Eden Diet Workbook: A Biblical and Merciful Christian Weight Loss Program
What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles that Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health
What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles that Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health
Real Food: What to Eat and Why
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
The opinions on what is an all-natural lifestyle are varied. Just that fact alone can make choosing which one to follow make one want to give up all together.
Here is a quick summary of a few of the opinions out there of what is "all natural" and then, what "all natural" is to me. These are not listed in any particular order and may not be entirely accurate, as they are just basic synopsis based on my understanding of what reading I have done.
1. Raw food: For some, all natural means eating only food that is raw. This category includes nuts, grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and the like. This group of people learns how to make raw soups, raw casseroles, and even raw desserts. To cook is to destroy vital nutrients - that is the basic tenet.
2. Traditional foods: This one gets a bit blurry when I read up on it. Some people hold to traditional foods, as again, being fruits, legumes, nuts, and grains. Others eat those, but will also add in meat and dairy products as well, as long as they are non-processed (such as raw milk) and certified organic.
3. The Genesis Diet : This is based on Genesis 1:29 and is similar to the diets listed above.
"And God said, 'Behold, I have given you ever herb bearing seed, which is upon all the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you, it shall be for meat."
4. Organic only: People who follow this way of life, buy only certified organic foods and meats. They also strive to have cleaning products, makeup, and other things in their home, that are chemical free.
5. Green Diet: Again, similar to the ones listed above. Goals of this plan are to eat "low on the food chain", eat organic, eat seasonal produce, and eating high fiber foods.
6. The Vegan Diet: Absolutely no animal based products are consumed, even things like cheese. Strict vegans will also avoid animal based products, such as leather purses, wool coats, etc.
7. Gluten Free: Issues such as Celiac disease, Autism, Chrohn's Disease, and even Irritable Bowel Syndrome, will often lead to people choosing this way of life. This is simply an avoidance of anything with gluten, such as breads and pasta. What was once an impossibility for those who had to live by it, is now made much easier by the emergence of gluten free products on main streem grocery shelves, such Betty Crocker, gluten free desserts.
8. Avoiding sugar and processed foods as much as possible: Others don't want to be tied down to any one particular diet, and instead, feel they are doing pretty good if they eat more fruit than cookies, vegetables more than chips, and eat salads regularly. This of course varies on the spectrum, with some people never allowing sugar in their home at all, while others will occasionally make a batch of brownies when the craving hits them.
These are main categories. Of course, research this a bit further and you will find even more. You can find books on these different plans all over Amazon. A few titles include:
The Maker's Diet
Green for Life
The Diet Cure
12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food
The Eden Diet Workbook: A Biblical and Merciful Christian Weight Loss Program
What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles that Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health
What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles that Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health
Real Food: What to Eat and Why
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods
~ Making cleaning products from natural products
~ Learning to make your own condiments
~ Raising your own meat products
~ Switching to all natural beauty products
~ Herbs
~ Essential oils
~ Being completely self-sustaining with solar and wind energy and things like greenhouses
So what does my all-natural lifestyle look like? I'm eclectic. I take a bit of this and a bit of that, and throw it all together. We avoid sugar and processed foods as much as our budget allows us to. We hope to be a self-sustaining home some day with solar and wind energy. I think raw is best but I can't handle eating cold, uncooked foods day in and day out. While I felt good in the two months I did so, my stomach also grew a bit queasy at the thought of one more "cold" dish of vegetable "pasta".
Right now, we're avoiding meats as much as possible and aiming instead for legumes, beans, and lentils in our diet. I've learned how to make things like vegetarian tacos and continue to learn how to adjust our dishes. This isn't to say that I don't like a nice big juicy steak sometimes, but if I have one, I prefer it to be grass-raised beef.
My all-natural lifestyle is a story in progress and probably will be for the next several years of my life.
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