Until my early teens I spent a great deal of time on a farm in southern Manitoba where my Mother grew up. My grandparents were self-sufficient indeed: they raised their own cattle, pigs and chickens, and grew their own food. They preserved, canned and placed items in the cold room for winter storage. It was not unusual for my grandfather to come upstairs from this cold room in the late fall or winter with a tomato, carrots or potatoes. I was fortunate enough to drink milk right from the cow. My mother shares how I would run to the farmhouse for a glass from my grandmother and then race back to my mom, who would fill it up. Now that’s raw milk!
Our younger generations these days do not get the privilege of this knowledge. Food for them comes from the shelves in the store. There is little or no connection to, or awareness of the animals, farms and all the people who strive to bring our food to us.
I love that I know Ted Greenlees who raises the chicken I eat. I visit our local market and share small talk with the Reinink Family Farms folks where I buy organic eggs. I buy loads of fresh organic produced from a variety of people including the Kitchen Garden people who have market share opportunities (CSA’s). I visit Mike and John at Living Rooms Ecological Living for my alpaca pillows and conscious loving products such as, laundry soap.
Why is this so unique now? Yes, times have changed and now we do the best we can. The more we support local producers we make this healthy option a more viable and sustainable one.
Food Is More than Fuel
Food is much more than simple fuel for our bodies. Food is a sacred offering from Mother Earth – a gift we receive daily that deserves so much gratitude. The food we consume sustains our life…it is life supporting life.
A few things to consider:
- Saying grace before we consume our meal honours the beings whose life has given life for our sustenance. (animals, plants etc.) I recall a beautiful prayer my grandmother shared that thanked everyone, even the sun for the food that was on the table.
- When we eat food from factory farms and big commercial companies whose bottom line ($$$) is the most critical element of their business, everyone loses. The current global focus is on quantity NOT quality. Is this the fuel we want to place in our bodies? Would we put old dirty gas in the car?
- Buy local whenever you can, to really support our local growers. We need to stop buying food that has no life force, is genetically modified (GMO), and made with products that are Round Up ready – meaning laden with pesticide. Food of poor quality such as this is simply turned into waste in your body, and is the reason for a host of diseases such a celiac disease, colon cancer etc.
- There is a vibration, an energy to food that is alive and fresh and local. Food that is in cans, fast food etc. for the most part has no life force left to nourish us.
- Eat with the seasons. When we eat what naturally grows in each season, it is exactly what our bodies requires at that time. For example, in the spring eating the bitter salad greens helps detoxify our bodies. Dandelion greens are amazing for the liver after a long winter. In the fall and winter root vegetables are grounding and heavier for the cool winter months when we are less active and needing fuel to stay warm.
- Eat the 4 corners: the inside rows of the grocery store contain mainly dry and canned goods. The outside corners are normally where the fresh foods are located; therefore healthier.
Let us practice the deepest gratitude for the abundance we have the privilege of enjoying in our lives.
I wish you an abundant summer filled with much love, passion and adventure. As always – I am here to support you in this life journey and love your feedback. See you soon!
By Cheryl Hiebert – www.sacred-journeys.ca
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