I hope you're having a wonderful week and, this week, I am very excited to make this introduction to a new addition to the Northstar tribe! We have regularly crossed paths with Becca over the years as she has a knack for being in the same places we are and we as she... conferences, special events, farm tours, etc. We've always appreciated Becca's enthusiasm, knowledge, zeal, and passion for living well. I am tingly now with excitement as I announce to you that she is going to be joining Mary & I in writing! As you will find, she is interesting, witty, personable, passionate, professional, knowledgeable, grateful, and so much more. Becca is too humble to tell you she has a degree in Scientific and Technical Communication from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, is a licensed, practicing Naturopath, as well as having a "masters in human health from the school of suffering" from the physically & mentally ravaging effects of the highly-processed, Standard American Diet (SAD). Her health journey has taken her on a wild ride of exploration and rabbit trails with a perspective on life one can only marvel at. She's got so much to share and we know you'll be so blessed by her passion, gifts, experiences, & deep knowledge! So, with that, an intro from Becca... I recently got to join the team at Northstar Bison and wanted introduce myself! I’m a big-time foodie and willing to cook or eat just about anything that involves whole food ingredients! I’ve also worked in the natural health and regenerative agriculture space in varying capacities since 2008 (the same year I first learned of Northstar Bison through friends who were raving fans)!
I’ve been actively involved with the Weston A. Price Foundation since 2007, which opened up my world to learning and living out the principles of deep nutrition that begins in the soil. Also, over the last few years, I started co-leading the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter. I live for educating and pointing people towards the most life-giving foods! If you aren’t familiar with this organization, you can check out their mission and research here: https://www.westonaprice.org/ Before discovering the world of deep nutrition, I was on a completely different career and life track. I worked in the University system in Housing & Residential Life and planned on working in that department for life. I loved the relationships, connections, and events that I got to build. During that time period, my life took a 180-degree turn and I became incredibly ill with a number of symptoms that falls under the autoimmune umbrella. The list of symptoms were astronomically long, that I’m certain I’ll expand on in future writings here, but my achilles’ heel was the chronic fatigue, disfigured face from rashes and swelling, as well as figuring out how to work around the ever-expanding food sensitivities (there was even a point back in 2005 where there were literally no ingredients that didn’t cause my body to go into a full blown reaction and I had to resort to water-fasting for a bit)! For as awful as nearly two decades of going from health practitioner to health practitioner (including going back to school to become a naturopath myself!) and trying what felt like everything under the sun with diet, daily practices, emotions, etc., suffering is a great teacher. While not fully recovered, I’ve come a long way and am incredibly happy to be in the place I’m currently at. I’ve learned so much through my health battles that I could not have otherwise gained. And finally, besides my health, I work really hard to stay active in all of my main interests, but also challenge myself to learn completely new things to keep sparking creativity. Here are the main staples that keep me motivated: -
God & Biblical history
- Cooking/Baking (Not only do I adore experimenting with my own food assembly but I have a quirk in attempting to check-off every single recipe in the 80+ cookbooks that I currently own…simply to experience others ideas and expand my own!)
- Natural health & wellness
- Foraging (my favorite item comes in the springtime: nettles, but I especially experience childlike excitement when I discover any new-to-me growths)
- Reading (my aim is 4 books/month): Anything non-fiction with an emphasis on biographies, natural health, U.S./geopolitics, and national/Minnesota history (I gave food & history tours in MN for nearly a decade before the global shutdown)
- Politics/History
- Walking, but never running (…unless there’s a snake). You’ll also likely see me walking while reading…you’d be surprised by how much your eyes pick up on your surroundings so that you don’t trip and fall!
- Sewing/crafting/leatherwork
Looking forward to connecting with you and sharing many food adventures ahead! - Becca Griffith |
