Why did I continue trying different meal planning services after falling in love with TheFresh20? Just to see if something better exists...and because I was intrigued by a few friends who "swear" by the Weston A. Price based "traditional" style of eating. Trying to figure out that "diet" was extremely overwhelming. I'm not really one to do things half-way. I did buy the book Nourishing Traditions and found it helpful but to come up with "approved" meals on my own with my limited "traditional" eating experience wasn't appealing. Enter: Nourished Kitchen and Holistic Squid.
Contender A: Nourished Kitchen
Pros: This is a really good plan. It fits the traditional way of life quite well and is well laid out. It offers tips on how to save time (make ahead, freeze and store options).
Best Feature: The substitutions for people on GAPS or with other dietary sensitivities.
Cons: Pretty time-consuming to make even with it laid out so well. If you are new to this style of eating--you may hate the menu. (See Family Approval Rating). There's no easing into it...and for me, it was really hard to make a complimentary vegetarian meal along with it when I wasn't feeling up to choking down some weird meats.
Affordability: The plan is a little more expensive than others but it is really well laid out. If you are currently a WAPF fanatic...this plan will save you serious time and brain power.
Family Approval Rating: Eh...too traditional for us. Some things like Italian wedding soup, bison and far too many meatloaf/meatball recipes for our taste...not enough vegetables either! We felt like we were just eating meat with broth...more similar to GAPS.
Conclusion: Great for the WAPF lover. Not the place to start for the "new to WAPF" family.
Contender B: Holistic Squid
Pros: Similar to Nourished Kitchen, this plan is based on the WAPF/traditional way of eating. This lady has her kitchen routine down. You will not waste time following this plan yet you will render lard, make tons of yogurt, culture your own cheese and many other traditional things that may be new to you. And no, you will not spend all your life in the kitchen... Oh and the recipes are AMAZING...some of the best food I have ever cooked in my own kitchen came from this meal plan...my husband agrees!
Best Feature: Time saving tips--this meal plan comes with fairy dust because you will truly feel proud at the end of the week when you serve your family everything from scratch in fewer than 4 hours per week.
Cons: There are some errors in the instructions and missing ingredients here and there. They could stand to be copy edited. The recipes do produce large amounts of food...too much for our family of 4.
Affordability: The year is only $72...so still very affordable. The food per week is a bit pricey but I don't think it would be more than a normal weekly bill for a family following this plan.
Family Approval Rating: Overall my husband and I really enjoyed the plan but only one of our children consistently finished her dinner. It was really hard to make a complimentary meal for my oldest daughter who prefers to eat her food completely separated from other foods.
Conclusion: Totally worth trying...you wont be sorry!
While I have enjoyed using Holistic Squid's meal plans for over 30 days...I have experienced some undesirable side effects of following a traditional diet. I can't blame the meal plan as much as I blame the diet. I'll cover this topic in greater detail in another post.
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