Real Food Kitchen Tour: Holistic Kid

Welcome to another edition of the Real Food Kitchen Tour. This week we're featuring Emily Bartlett of the Holistic Kid blog.

What's a Real Foodie?

A “real foodie” is someone who cooks “traditional” food. We cook stuff from scratch using real ingredients, like raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs from chickens that run around outdoors, whole grains, sourdough and yogurt starters, mineral-rich sea salt, and natural sweeteners like honey and real maple syrup.

We don't use modern foods that are either fake, super-refined, or denatured. This includes modern vegetable oils like Crisco and margarine, soy milk, meat from factory farms, pasteurized milk from cows eating corn and soybeans, refined white flour, factory-made sweeteners like HFCS or even refined white sugar, or commercial yeast.

We believe in eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that come from nature. So we shop at farmer's markets or buy direct from the farmer, or we grow food in our own backyards.

This Week's Real Food Kitchen Tour: Holistic Kid

This week I'm featuring Emily Bartlett of the Holistic Kid blog.

Emily is an acupuncturist and holistic practitioner. Her grandmother was the shaman-healer in her village in the Philippines; her father was a Western family doctor here in the U.S.

Emily is also a friend of mine. We love hanging out with her and her husband Anthony and their kids. I'm going to be sad to leave her here in Los Angeles, but I'll be back often for visits.

She's especially lucky because her husband is totally on board with this way of eating. “On board” is an understatement — he's just short of being a zealot. He'll talk your ear off about the dangers of soy, why grass-fed meat and dairy is so important, and fermented foods.

But we love that about him!

Blog Name : Holistic Kid
Blog Author: Emily Bartlett 

How Long Blogging: Seven months about nutrient dense, real food; about 3 years about holistic health. I practice acupuncture and holistic medicine for kids and families. Over the years, I've become more confident in sharing my nutritional principles with my patients and readers. In the beginning, if they were vegan or eating a diet full of modern junk, I didn't say much unless it was obviously affecting their health. After years of seeing health issues (from eczema to autism, PMS to infertility) either caused or exacerbated by poor diet, I now feel that it’s my responsibility to educate and inspire optimal health through nourishing food.
Location : Los Angeles, CA 

House or Apartment: House in Topanga Canyon. It's the best of both worlds — 30 minutes to the city, chickens next door and coyotes howling at night. 

Size of Kitchen: Perfect sized. Big enough for someone to do the washing up while the someone else is cooking.
Things You Love About Your Kitchen: We did a big remodel when we moved in July 2009. It was pretty gnarly before that with the stove facing the wall and cornered into the sink and sticky, gross outdated cabinetry. Now bright and open, the stove looks across dining area and breakfast bar so family and guests can visit and chat while I work. I love my double farmhouse sink. I have plenty of counter space, and tons of dreamy cabinets. My fridge is roomy and quiet (the old one hummed and groaned). Big window looks out to greenery and a mountain views.
Things You Would Change: I could use a few shelves in my cabinets (hint, hint, honey!), and I'd love a tiled backsplash. Also, my double oven has a noisy fan that I wish I could silence. Other than that, nothing! 

Favorite Tools & Gadgets: Immersion blender. Food processor. My strainers and funnels. Ice cream maker. Le Creuset Dutch oven. Soup scum spoon. And I couldn't live without my trusty kitchen gloves and jars. 

Biggest Challenges Cooking Real Food: I don't do it if it feels too challenging! I cook when I'm inspired, and don't when I'm not, that way I just don't get burnt out. I used to get discouraged if something got ruined or didn't turn out great. Now I just shrug it off and move on.
Current Family Favorite Meal: So hard to pick just one! For me, it's definitely carnitas. Or steamed clams in butter and white wine. Breakfast is big in my house… my son is really into french toast made with sour bread and pastured eggs. My husband says he loves everything I make. The baby, well, she'll eat just about everything too, but I love to watch her eat clams and oysters. 

Favorite Cookbooks: Nourishing Traditions and the great cyber cookbook known as the internet.

Here are some photos of Emily's kitchen (with her comments in and quotes and mine not in italics):

My kitchen. Designed for me by me (and my hubby.)

I love how modern it is! I'm planning the design for my new kitchen (in the new house we'll be moving into in the next few months) and I definitely want something modern like this.

I think that's the same white high chair I have — is it from IKEA?

View from the kitchen through the dining room to the backyard.

I love kitchens that let you look out into the backyard. You can keep an eye on the little ones while you cook. I definitely want this in my new kitchen!

The Pantry. Love my new two gallon ‘bucha jar. Nothing packaged in here other than the unpasteurized soy sauce, Italian tomatoes, and cold pressed olive oil.

Space saving spice rack, rice soaking, and some stuff culturing on the counter.

Dills flanked by cultured bevvies.

Homemade granola, beans and grains.

LOVE the glass jars! Where did you get them?

Before the renovation – sticky cabinets, electric stove backed against the wall and a weird wheely island. We've since painted the ceiling, stained the floor dark, and replaced everything but the double oven.

Cultured lemonade, pickled veg, and farm box fruit ripening on the counter.

My giant pot of happiness.

Ha ha! That has to be one of the cutest baby pictures I've ever seen. I hope you have it framed!

He looks like a British Mod rocker in this pic. (A la The Small Faces.)

Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts

Real Food Kitchen Tour: Artistta
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Nourished & Nurtured
Real Food Kitchen Tour: May All Seasons Be Sweet to Thee
Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Horting Family
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Hybrid Rasta Mama
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Granola Mom 4 God
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Real Food Devotee
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Real Food Forager
Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Leftover Queen
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Health Home & Happiness

Let Us Tour Your Kitchen

Are you a real foodie? Do you have a kitchen that you'd like to see featured on CHEESESLAVE?

Please email me at annmarie AT realfoodmedia dot com. Either send me a link to a Flickr set or email me your photos (minimum of 5, but more is better). Note: Please send me LARGE photos. Minimum 610 width. If they're too small, I can't use them.

Oh, and please send the answers to the above questions (at the very top of this post).

As much as I'd love to include all the photos I receive, I can't guarantee that I will use your photos in the series. I'm looking for creative, good quality photos.

Some ideas for photos:

• Show us what's in your fridge or what's fermenting on your counter
• Take some snaps of some of your favorite kitchen gadgets, or show us how you organize your spices
• Got backyard chickens? Send some pics!
• How about a lovely herb garden?
• Kids or pets are always cute!
• Try to include at least one photo of yourself, ideally in your kitchen

And no, you don't have to have a blog to be included in the tour.

Photo credit: A warm welcome Project365(3) Day 10 by Keith Williamson, on Flickr and photos by Memories by Michelle