Chew the fat

Bari Caine says we need to get back to our dietary roots. She recently moved from New Zealand to Reno, where she helped start the Nourishing Traditions book club and a new chapter of the Western A. Price Foundation. Both groups deal with a new, old-fashioned way of eating. The next book club meets Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the River School, 7777 White Fir St., 747-3910, www.riverschool.info/index.html or www.organiclifestyle.net.

Tell me about the book club.

The Nourishing Traditions book club right now is meeting jointly with the Local Food Movement book club. Nourishing Traditions is a book by Sally Fallon. That’s the book that the Weston A. Price Foundation really promotes. I have been involved very actively with the Weston A. Price Foundation for almost 10 years, so this book, I feel, gives the best and most thorough information about food, health and taste. A lot of it is kind of revolutionary.

How so?

A lot of it is contrary to what we’ve been brainwashed with for about 40 or 50 years. People are now coming around to find out that the way people ate maybe 80 or 100 years ago is really the healthiest way to eat. … One of the big things we’ve been brainwashed with is that we should be on a low-fat diet. Traditional food and traditional healthy eating has been a high saturated animal fat diet. Some people have been fighting against this wrong information we’ve been blasted with. … The fats we’ve been told to eat are heavily processed, and they are pushed by the industrial processed food giants.

What would be a healthy meal under this diet?

It could be either beef or chicken or something like that cooked with the bone in and with the fat and skin cooked together and eaten together. … It’s very tasty, and it’s what people have been missing for a number of years. Another thing the Weston A. Price Foundation have found is that what traditional people all over the world have eaten in the past is cultured or fermented vegetables, not the kind that’s made with vinegar, sugar and that kind of thing, but like real, old-fashioned sauerkraut, or other vegetables, fruits or condiments that are traditionally pickled in brine. … Other things that would be a typical meal would be vegetables with real butter or cream. … and then salads with real olive oil and no sugar or processed ingredients.

Did you notice yourself feeling better once you went on this diet? Yes. I’ve had a gradual, steady improvement since I started doing this. I am definitely, hands-down healthier now than I was 10 years ago.

Is this related to the Slow Food Movement?

They’ve got a lot in common. The Weston A. Price Foundation strongly believes in buying free-range, grass-fed animal products as much as possible from local farmers and supporting the local economy. The Slow Food Movement has a lot in common with that. There are some differences, but I feel they’re growing more and more together.

How can people get involved with the book club?

The next meeting is Wed., Dec. 12. That will be a special meeting. We’d like it if people would RSVP [contact jana@pinyondesign.com] if they want to come. … People should either read the Weston A. Price website or the Nourishing Traditions book before coming, otherwise they won’t really be on the same page. The actual book we’re going to be talking about is The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson.