I’m so excited to share an especially interesting just 1 book guest post by a fellow educator and author, Tara McClintick. Tara shares the way that one book helped shape the way she views, prepares, and purchases food ever since her son’s autism diagnosis and their resulting 12-year ‘nutrition journey’.
Tara is the author of numerous books that help to promote language and communication development in children. She’s kindly offering to give away one of her books (the winner’s choice!) to a teachmama reader!
About the author: Tara McClintick is an early childhood/special ed. teacher turned mom/therapist. She is passionate about a holistic approach to supporting child development and lifelong learning. Tara now creates special books to promote awareness, thinking, interaction, and language development for young children and/or older individuals with special needs. Please visit www.BooksByTara.com to learn more.
- just 1 book: guest post
One inspiring book: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, written by Tara McClintick
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon is one book that helped me understand the relationship between food and our bodies, and the importance of protecting our freedom to choose foods produced with more than financial profits in mind.
Sometimes it seems like certain books find their way to me as a direct answer to my prayers. Nourishing Traditions answered my prayers for answers about nutrition, food choices, preparation, and health. I’ve been on a nutrition journey for over 12 years due to my youngest son’s diagnosis of “severe autism.” Jake’s diagnosis was an umbrella term for his extreme hyperactivity, chronic ear infections, eczema, sleep issues, digestive issues such as food allergies and dysbiosis, extreme sensory issues (i.e. acted as if deaf), minimal social and language development, and almost non-existent attention span.
The “food” connections in his puzzle became clearly evident as I began experimenting, not through the advice of his doctor, but as a result of what I found out through books. Jake was breastfed, and when I removed dairy from my diet the oozing, red inflamed patches on his cheeks cleared up within a few days! The doctor had told me that his eczema was “extremely dry skin”….why hadn’t they mentioned a possible food connection? Later, as his diet began including more solid foods, I decided to try taking wheat out of his diet. Much to my delight, his chronic ear infections finally cleared up!
Though his eczema and ear infections had thankfully left the picture, so many of his other significant challenges persisted, and I knew I had just scratched the surface. I used to think a frozen waffle popped in the toaster with some squeeze bottle maple-flavored corn syrup was a hot breakfast. What I was discovering through books wasn’t easy to integrate with what seemed culturally “normal” to me. I kept reading, learning, trying different diets – the gluten free/casein free diet, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, the Body Ecology Diet, the anti-yeast diet, the food rotation diet. If there was a possibility that it might help, I wanted to try it! It was all so confusing because sometimes the information was conflicting especially in regards to meat, grains, legumes, nuts, dairy, and fruit. Almost all allowed for vegetables, but a growing boy that spent each day in non-stop motion needed more than baby carrots!
Nourishing Traditions explains the importance of raw milk and veggies.
I thank the book Nourishing Traditions for putting an end to the madness. Fallon shares the findings of Dr. Weston Price, Dr. Mary Enig, and others who have studied the nutrition/health relationship in great depth. She explains the history of technology and the rapid changes that took place in the way we store, prepare, and eat our food. It is a world wide look at the genius of cultural traditions, societal changes, and political involvement (i.e. $$ talks) and how the mass production packaged food industry changed everything right under our noses. It is a thorough, but easy-to-read account closely examining the history, science, and our complex relationship with nature’s provision of real foods.
I now understand there’s a lot more to consider when purchasing eggs, meat, or any food item for that matter, besides price. I’ve learned I can pay now for quality food, or pay later in health issues. Because of Nourishing Traditions I now own a herd share so I can get a regular supply of fresh, unprocessed, full-fat, delicious milk and butter from grass-fed, organically raised cows raised locally. I make soup stocks, crispy nuts, creamy yogurt and kefirs, and cultured vegetables, and appreciate the benefits these foods naturally have to offer. I buy coconut oil in gallon tubs, and I now understand that fats are not evil at all – fats are complex substances that are crucial for a healthy brain and nervous system, and they are worth learning about.
I’ve come a long way from getting my health information from mainstream advertisements and “experts.” I have my son’s “autism” to thank for opening my eyes to the importance and complexity of relationships that we all seem to take for granted. Nourishing Traditions shows just how significant and complex the relationship between food, the earth, and our bodies really is… a relationship that has my full respect.
Wow! Such an enlightening–and amazing–way that a book moved you, Tara! Many thanks for sharing.
GIVEAWAY: One Book By Tara (winner’s choice–see Tara’s site for options!)
Do you want to win your choice of one Book By Tara?
- Leave a comment here (along with your email address) simply sharing who in your life needs one of Tara’s special books that promote OR which book you would like to win.
- For extra entries, you can share this post with a friend (just tell me who you shared it with!) OR Tweet this: Win your choice book by @BooksByTara on @teachmama http://teachmama.com/?p=757 #ece #literacy
This contest ends on Saturday, December 4, 2010 at midnight ET.
Do you want to share a book that moved you? Let me know!
The just 1 book feature gives everyone a chance to share their love of literature and the power of books. Guest writers are invited to share a book that moved him or her:
‘all it took was just 1 book’. . . to get you thinking, get you moving, get you arts-and-crafting, get you talking, get you writing, get you counting, get you traveling, get you thinking, get you cookin‘, dancin’ or dreamin‘.
And if you’re interested in guest posting for the just 1 book series, please let me know! Anyone and everyone is welcome; just drop me an email at [email protected]
Julie
Reading Nourishing Traditions right now! It is an amazing book and it is totally changing the way I am eating and feeding my family. Wish I had found it years ago!
Gaylene Walsh
Oh how wonderful it would be to think “all it took was just one book” to help me with my 8 year old ADHD/ODD Daughter. I would love the chance to read “Nourishing Traditions” to get me on the right track to help my daughter and my family enjoy food the way it should be “natural”
amy
Gaylene–
Great! I’ll just clarify that Tara is giving away one of the books SHE wrote as a giveaway (http://www.booksbytara.com), not the book that she chose to share in her ‘just 1 book’ post. I know it’s a little confusing, and my apologies for the misunderstanding. I’ll still keep your name in the mix for one of Tara’s books, though!
Gaylene Walsh
Ok thanks for that. (silly me) Much appreciated.
Melissa Taylor
I don’t need to win any more books but I do just want to say that I really enjoyed reading this post and am going to order this book right now!
Thanks,
Melissa
tatiana
Tara is amazing and her books as well. You can feel the love she puts into her books!!
Tara McClintick
Thank-you Tatiana, that is the most wonderful compliment, I really appreciate you saying that 🙂
Shawntanet
I love this giveaway! Thank you!
wocket
It always amazes me what has become culturally normal for food. We rarely visit supermarkets and I’m always a bit shocked by the three or four isles filled with Food Like Substances. They resemble food only on the packaging.
my neighbor tells me that they have started a “whole foods” diet. i had no idea what that was. she looked at me, over at our huge vege patch and down to the home made cookie my little one was munching on, then over at our chickens and sighed. yeah, she said, you probably eat like that all of the time. After she explained it I realised that I do. no food is banned, we just take a moderation approach to some things. No food is Evil, unless you count those Food like substances and multinational takeaways. they don’t count as food for us.
i don’t need the book, just wanted to add my two cents. 🙂
amy
SO interesting! So you’re a natural food naturalist! :*)
Thanks for reading, more thanks for writing and sharing your two cents–all the best to you.
wocket
oh, and it might be worth reading “The Fail Safe Cookbook” by Sue Dengate http://www.judyoz.com/ccp0-prodshow/failsafe-cookbook-sue-dengate-new-softcover-recipe-book.html
and “In Defense of Food” http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/
Coupled with this book I’m sure they’d make for a fantastic start to anyone food journey.
Tara McClintick
I love Michael Pollan’s book too! I will check out the Fail Safe Cookbook as well -THANKS! I found “The Maker’s Diet” another awesome book too – it details the story of a man healing from Crohn’s after being to doctors around the world, and he did it through faith and real food 🙂
Jaynee
Just placed the book on hold at the library and am about to forward this link to my friends. The book sounds fantastic and would be wonderful for so many people I know.
amy
awesome, Jaynee!
Thanks for forwarding, and I’m curious to hear what you think!
Risa
We have been learning about individual personal nutrition. Our son, SPD & HFASD had a “mental breakdown” last spring after his diagnosis and being on waiting lists for 9 months. We had to stop being on waiting lists and get help. Mental health just did not seem right. We found a nutritionist/natural healing practitioner. He has helped each of us learn what our own bodies need and can not handle. It has become my passion (to the annoyance of my entire family). We have cured epilepsy (older child) and now helping our son who is too sensitive to the world around us. We have eliminated foods that don’t digest and found his imagination!
I would love this book and probably pass it along to the front office waiting area of our healthy living practitioner.
amy
Risa,
WOW! What a journey! Tara has kindly shared how this book has changed her, too, but the giveaway is for one of the books Tara wrote. I’ll enter you in the giveaway, and perhaps you can find Nourishing Traditions at the bookstore? Sorry but so glad you wrote!
Tara McClintick
Hi Risa, I have found family resistance to be extremely challenging as well – not necessarily on purpose, but simply because they aren’t as “motivated” to change. It is certainly a consious effort and one worth speaking up about for the sake of our children’s health despite the resistance. I applaud you, I know it is not always easy! Sounds like you’ve had amazing results -so wonderful!!!
Augie
Tara, this is a great idea. I would love to win one of your books. I will share this on FB now!
I have to agree that the NT book has changed our health and lives for the better.
Fawn Cole
I love Tara’s books! So, I know she has good taste in choosing a good read. I am putting this book on my list. Right now,
I am reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan because I also feel food is more important than we know!!