10 Things We Can Learn from our Great Great Grandparents

With the New Year upon us, everyone everywhere is making changes. Trying the latest and greatest fads, tips, and tricks to become a “new you.” But what most people don’t realize is that there is nothing new out there that will help. Here at CCN we believe you should start eating like people USED to. Not our parents or grandparents… but our great, great grandparents.

Over the years, food has evolved to no longer be food or nourishment to us. Back in the day, farming was more prominent, and factories were scarce. We used to eat food that nourished our bodies. With modernization came packaging and convenience. Less food and so much more junk.

In so many ways, our elders were so much smarter than we were. They lived more simply in all areas of their lives, but today, we’re going to focus on nutrition. Here are ten ways they ate that we should keep in mind in our daily lives!

1. They lived off the land – They grew a lot of food in their gardens to feed their families. They raised their own animals to use them as food.

2. They used whole foods – They ate foods with little to no processing. Much of the processing is what they did on their own farms. 

3. They preserved with fermentation – Our grandparents and their grandparents jarred and canned all their summer produce for Winter. Sometimes, they even had to dig holes to store it in the ground. Preserving with only salt and cold storage creates fermentation, which not only preserves the food for long periods of time but also enhances the nutrients.

4. They were resourceful – If they cooked a bird, they used it all: the organs and the bones for bone broth, too. They didn’t need supplements for collagen because all the collagen protein they needed came from the bones.

5. They ate various types of meat – Not only did they farm, but they also ate gamed meat. This is as free-range and organic as you get. Deer, bison, rabbits, etc, are all very lean as the animals are very active.

6. They used full fat and butter and cooked with lard – GASP! And yet, very few of that generation were overweight… fat is not the enemy! 

7. They didn’t know processed foods – their markets were more comparable to our local farmer’s markets. Again, fresh foods are everywhere. I remember my father-in-law saying when he was a kid, there was only one kind of potato chip, not a WHOLE aisle!

8. They cooked all their meals – There weren’t fast food options yet and while they dined out once in a while, even the restaurants offered fresh, real food.

9. They Did NOT diet – Dieting didn’t even become a thing until the 1980s when processed food began to rise.

10. They moved – they woke up at the crack of dawn and were active right off the bat. They moved more and lounged much less. Their chores required manual labor, and they didn’t have the distractions of TVs, computers, and smartphones to hold them back.

The bad news is that we can’t go back in time. Farming is not an option for most of us, but the good news is we can make small steps to implement these principles in our everyday lives. Dining out less, using leftover veggies and chicken bones to make our own bone broth, shopping local farmers’ markets, and possibly even starting a garden (even if it’s just herbs). This way of thinking is becoming more mainstream again, and there are endless options and opportunities to make it fit into our current, busy, 21st-century lifestyle. 

So don’t be looking for the latest and greatest this month – look back and ask yourself what your great, great grandparents would have done! 

Making your own bone broth is a great first step to adopting your great-great grandparents’ eating habits. It’s quick and easy and freezes beautifully. You can use it to make soups and stews, cook your grains in, or drink straight from a mug on a cold January day. It’s full of collagen and protein and is great for gut health and immunity. Here’s our favorite way:

Crock-Pot Chicken Bone Broth

Ingredients

1 leftover stuffed chicken carcass and any extra bones leftover from whole roasted chicken

Reserved giblets from whole chicken (optional)

1 celery stalk, chopped in 3

1 carrot, chopped in 3

1 onion, quartered

2-3 whole cloves garlic

Bundle of fresh herbs of your choice

Filtered water

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

Place the chicken carcass, bones, giblets, and veggies in a large Crock-Pot. Add the bundle of herbs on top. Pour water over everything till fully covered, and add the apple cider vinegar.

Cover and cook on low for 24 hours. When finished, strain and store in an airtight container (quart-sized mason jars work well). Keeps well up to a week in the fridge. If freezing, leave enough space in your container for the liquid to expand upon freezing.