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Thanks for this, Jennifer. I can’t believe I haven’t been reading you… Traditional foods AND Waldorf! It’s all me, but you seem like you have way more knowledge on it all. I’ve just starting learning about Steiner’s/Anthroposophy’s views on foods and to what I’ve read they seem quite different than the traditional foods approach that we mainly use in our house. How do you meld the two?
Also, I was thinking about the milk products and juices… I don’t know when pasteurization became common place in Europe but I know it wasn’t compulsory here until the 1910s. I was wondering if any of the Anthroposophical Societies say anything about this?
Hi Acacia! Sorry for not commenting back sooner. We have all been sickies over here!
Oddly enough, it was because of Waldorf that I discovered Traditional Foods. All the Waldorf schools utilize Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions book. Seems odd to me as the Weston A Price folks push protein and no grains for the first two years and the Steiner folks push grains.
I have done a lot of research on my own and basically, the main variance comes in the first two years of life. The two schools of nutrition are rather similiar from there. I personally fall in line with the protein first – grains later camp. I noticed that my daughter was naturally drawn to protein at a young age and shied away from grains. When she did eat grains (properly prepared) she had all kinds of digestive issues. Her little body was just not ready for them and I suspect that this is true of a lot of children. Even at almost 3, grains are not her best friend so we are basically gluten free in the grains department.
When it comes down to it, you have to blend ways of eating to find the perfectt balance for your body and family. There are so many different ways of getting the nutrition you need and although I really tend to believe our ancestors did it right, they are not living in our world today.
Interesting question about milk and dairy. Let me look into that more!
I was really surprised to see the preference for grain over lean proteins in the anthroposophical viewpoint. With the incredible obesity problems in the US today, I would have thought that it would be smarter to have less of a focus on grains, etc, given their high carbohydrate content and addictive sweet taste. I’ll definitely take what I learned here into thought when I start weaning with my second child 🙂
Liz, I think you make a valid point. The way we consume grains today has contributed immensely to obesity and many other health problems. However, as far as I understand, the Anthroposophical viewpoint was formulated in early 20th century Europe, largely by Rudolf Steiner. The way his culture prepared and consumed grains looks very different from ours.
You may want to take that into consideration, and perhaps do a little research in how they prepared their grains if you are considering their viewpoint. Jennifer may be able to speak to this as well.
Naturally, I have tended towards Traditional Foods (Weston Price), which I am trying to meld with some of Steiner’s work on nutrition. You may want to look at Traditional foods grain preparation if you are not yet familiar with it. I have a 22 mos old who has always been rather resistant to proteins aside from eggs and I find that traditional grain preparations have worked well for us.
Hi Liz,
I agree with Acacia. Grains today and grains long ago are different as night and day. Our food sources, the harvesting practices, the overuse of grains, pesticides, etc… all create a different grain for today’s world. Proper preparation is the key. Sally Fallon authored Nourishing Traditions and I highly recommend that you review that. It can be a little overwhelming at first but take baby steps. You will notice your body reacting much different to properly prepared grains than it does to the typical methods employed today.
i thimk you should address the grain issue in your blog post, as not all read the comments. It is quite misleading for those who do not know av=bout grain soaking/ fermenting, etc… other than that, cool post! thanks for sharing. Love me some Steiner.