All living beings need the whole enchilada, an integrative life, in order to feel balance, to be healthy inside and out, to the core, our essence. All of it.

Social, emotional, physical, and nutritional well-being.

Unifying separate things.

Creating a whole from different parts.

Integrative.

Fifteen years ago I realized that the pretty dog food bag that I was drawn to  was in fact not dog food, but rather food made by humans for dogs, for convenience. There was a shift in the way I started to see my dogs, who they were, and what their needs were.

An actual CANINE DIET – +/- the percentages, this is average

• 50-60% meat
• 30% bone
• 10-15% organ meats
• 5-10% plant (fruit/veggie)
• Social contact that is mutual
• Physical well-being – appropriate for age and breed
• Emotional balance

Please take note that the actual canine diet does not include thrice baked pellets of food with 30-40 ingredients, including things that are impossible to pronounce. You can feed kibble from a bag, but just know it is your choice for convenience, it is not dog food. Now we all know dogs are predators, but they are also opportunistic scavengers. This means no holds barred on kibble, butter, pumpkin pie, trash, or the creamy iced latte on the coffee table. So manage your environment because now you know.

RAW MEATY BONES A great book, a great website, a great and important education!

Twelve years ago I learned the ‘food pyramid’ that we were all raised with was just a marketing tool for Agri-Business, propaganda, I was crushed. For me, the Food Pyramid and being able to sing every single commercial jingle (b-o-l-o-g-n-a…), was part of my very fiber. That is just how it was.

And then another shift started to take place. Curiosity I have in spades, especially when I want to gain more knowledge. I kept going down path after bumpy path, making turns, walking backwards, and sometimes upside down, and then going sideways for a bit.

I stayed as far away from information that was government related, agri business connected, or had a marketing type of ulterior motive. Please note, if the very company that stands to profit off of their products from favorable papers and or studies that they so happen to conduct themselves, and edit themselves, well therein lies a bit of an ethical problem. And this happens all of the time, it’s prolific. So please read the fine print.

And on one of the sideways paths I stumbled upon, rewilding, wild and uncultivated foods, and finally, the ancestral diet. The original ‘food pyramid’, but not a pyramid at all, rather ‘groupings’, a life style, truly integrative.

Yes. The complete HUMAN DIET, for function, health, and well-being. You might be surprised, and hopefully you will be curious to learn more.

• animal
• plant
• fungal
• bacterial – probiotics, etc
• elemental – outdoors, sun, contact with soil, earth, tree, rocks, water, snow, etc
• experiential – spirituality, movement, celebration, community, etc

A far cry from frosted flakes, hot dogs, and coca cola, which our very own FDA lists as ‘food’. Just sayin.

ARTHUR HAINES – his blog, books, and podcasts are amazing!

DANIEL VITALIS – his podcasts are all about rewilding. Super educational.

While I learn more about wild edibles, wild crafting foods, and what nature is providing all around me, I will still garden, grow, and produce all I can for my family from the earth. It is my start, my personal evolution.

Curiosity, knowledge, and food … It makes for a great day. And the more we all know the better we can do.

All the best, Nancy