Not only is this an amazing recipe book, complete with options for those dealing with food allergies and special dietary needs, but because it is written in the format of the extremely popular Cooking Traditional Foods’ Menu Mailer  spanning 30 weeks, Back to Basics includes detailed shopping lists, batch cooking instructions and pre-prepping schedules. You can take as much or as little of the information provided as you need, and you can gently work into introducing or adding traditional food recipes and techniques to your repertoire.

KerryAnn Foster starts at the beginning and walks us through how to set up a menu plan to make the best use of ingredients, time and effort. The information and details provided take a huge task and break it down into easy to accomplish steps. This makes real food menu-planning and executing that menu plan a relistically doable task, even for the busy wife and mother. Back to Basics provides wonderful, family-tested recipes, with varied options, for many tastes and preferences.

From KerryAnn’s site, Cooking Traditional Foods – what you will find in the Back to Basics series book, available in print, e-book, DVDs and by individual weeks.

• How to produce a moist, tasty roast beef in the crock-pot and the oven.
• How to pick cheaper cuts of meat.
• How to roast a whole chicken in the crock-pot and the oven.
• How to pan-sear chicken without drying it out.
• How to brine meat.
• How to stir-fry.
• How to roast vegetables.
• How to make soup.
• How to make ‘cream of mushroom soup’ replacement.
• How to use your broiler
• Homemade mayonnaise
• Homemade spice mixes
• How to reduce sugar and additives in your diet if you are new to Traditional Foods.
• Homemade dressings
• Homemade sauces and gravies
• Homemade gluten-free breads- quick breads, flat breads and sourdough.
• How to soak and cook grains.
• KerryAnn’s formula for great hamburgers, meatballs, meatloaf and more.
• Nourishing breakfasts, snacks and desserts.
• What to do with leftover, cooked meats.
• How to make stock.
• How to make yogurt.
• How to take a technique and change it into multiple different recipes.
• How to stretch meals and save on your grocery budget.
• How to decrease your time in the kitchen.
• A Traditional Foods Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• How to hide vegetables and liver in your meals.
• And much, much more.

The Back to Basics series book is an essential part of any traditional, real foods plan and I highly recommend it and the resources at Cooking Traditional Foods.

Updated from our family favorite, Baked Oatmeal comes a wheat-free-dairy-free Oatmeal Blueberry Breakfast Cake.

Wonderful warm for breakfast, room temperature for brunch or a snack, or even topped with ice cream for a simple, delicious dessert.

Oatmeal Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Variation on our family favorite “Baked Oatmeal”

Servings: 15

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible**

5   cups  rolled oats,  or quick oats
2   cups  apricot, orange juice, or apple juice
4  large eggs
1/2 – 1 cup  honey, or organic granulated sugar
1  Tablespoon  baking powder (gluten-free)
1/4 teaspoon  salt
1 teaspoon  almond extract
1 1/2  cups  blueberries, fresh or frozen (sweeten to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss blueberries in dry ingredients and coat well. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until completely moistened.

Pour batter into an ungreased 9 x 13 baking pan.  I like to sprinkle a little organic granulated sugar on top to make it glisten and give it a slight crust. Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes, or until center tests done.

Cut into squares and serve warm or cold.