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About

Portrait of blog owner, Lori.

Hello, and welcome to Our Heritage of Health! My name is Lori Elliott. I live in suburban Massachusetts, but I’m a country girl at heart, and someday I’d love to live in an old, historic farmhouse with a front porch and a fireplace and enough land for animals and a big vegetable and herb garden.

I love all things old-fashioned, and my favorite pastimes are the simple ones like taking my dog on a walk through the woods or reading a book on a rainy day. I could read all day and never get tired of it. My idea of the perfect relaxing evening would be sitting by the fireplace with a good book, a cozy blanket, and a warm cup of tea.

When I’m not reading, I enjoy quilting, playing the piano and the violin, listening to music, and working in my little backyard garden. I also love browsing through antique stores and collecting old cookbooks and household items from the 19th century.

More important than any of those hobbies and interests, though, is my relationship with God. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ, and I’m involved in my church and enjoy spending time with the people in my church. (And if you’re interested in learning more about what I mean when I say I’m a follower of Jesus, I explain in more detail on this page.)

Cup of tea with antique books and dried flowers and clover on a table.

This is my “baby,” Daisy. She’s just as sweet as she looks in this picture (most of the time), and she’s my motivation for getting off the couch and going outside for some fresh air in the winter time. If it weren’t for her, I think I would just hibernate until spring. Daisy also takes care of any of my failed recipe experiments so that no food goes to waste. And, yes, the trash strewn all over the floor is from her 🙂

Picture of yellow lab Golden Retriever-mix dog with stuffed animal.

I’ve always had a fascination with the past, and I love learning about history and finding ways to incorporate what I learn into my daily life. While I still use and enjoy modern conveniences, I’m a very traditional sort of person, and I love doing things the old-fashioned way.

I might not be ready to give up the washing machine quite yet and go back to scrubbing clothes on a washboard, and I’m definitely not ready to give up the conveniences of electricity and indoor plumbing . . . but I do think that there is a lot that we can learn from the traditional foods, work ethic, and do-it-yourself mentality of the “good old days.”

Even though I don’t do my cooking over an open fire or even with a wood stove (although I’d love to have one of those someday!), I like to make things from scratch, focusing on using fresh, whole foods and natural ingredients rather than processed and packaged foods.

Bowl of chicken and vegetable soup with spoon.

I cook the way I imagine my great-great grandmother might have cooked over a century ago. I believe that God has created so many healthy, beautiful foods for us to eat, and it makes no sense to me to destroy the natural state of those foods with modern food processing, chemical preservatives, and artificial ingredients. I do a lot of experimenting with old-fashioned recipes and with traditional methods of food preparation, and I am on a journey toward healthier eating, natural living, and a simpler lifestyle.

There’s so much that we can learn from the past, from the heritage of those who lived in the centuries before us. I want to return to the old ways of cooking a nourishing, homemade meal rather than popping a box in the microwave, of using household products made with simple ingredients rather than chemicals, and of focusing on the health and well-being of the whole body rather than swallowing a pill to mask an isolated symptom.

I think it’s about time for our modern world to remember its rich heritage of health!

Mortar and pestle with dried herbs and bottle of herbs.

About the Blog:

Our Heritage of Health is all about ways that we can let old-fashioned wisdom inspire our modern lifestyles, including topics such as:

  • Old-fashioned, real-food, made-from-scratch recipes
  • Natural health and wellness
  • Herbal remedies
  • Gardening
  • DIY household ideas and projects
  • Household cleaning, organizing, etc.
  • Random old-fashioned tips and advice
  • Recommendations for books, products, inspiration, etc.

 

 

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meryl

Thursday 6th of January 2022

Hi Lori. Im an old codger (77) who grew up on a farm. My mom made mincemeat pies, but my dad made the mincemeat. It was stored in the cellar in an earthen crock and kept all winter. My dad's mincemeat was just that. The main ingredient was moose or deer meat. Any time since that, any mincemeat I have encountered was pretty much all sugared fruit with little or no meat. Bummer. Tonight I am overburdened with a beef animal and decided I would turn some of that into real mincemeat. Found your recipe. God bless you. Just like my dad made it. Thank you so much!

Lori Elliott

Saturday 8th of January 2022

Hi Meryl, it's nice to meet you! That's really neat that you have those memories of your parents making old-fashioned mincemeat, and I'm really glad to hear that the recipe on my site was similar to the one your Dad used to make!

Carolyn

Tuesday 27th of July 2021

Hi Lori, I enjoyed reading your bio too. I love old houses, animals, reading (books are my weakness - bookstore stores/ websites I can get lost for hours) & discovering recipes. I need to get motivated to start eating healthier & following your great example. Look forward to discovering helpful information & inspiration.

Lori Elliott

Tuesday 27th of July 2021

Hi Carolyn! It sounds like we have quite a bit in common :) I definitely know what you mean about books being a weakness - I could easily spend hours reading. It's nice to meet you, and I'm glad you stopped by!

Sarah

Saturday 14th of November 2020

Hey Lori, I love your idea of living a simpler lifestyle. I agree, God did make so much healthy food for us to nourish ourselves with. I love things old-fashioned too. Love, Sarah in Canada

Lori Elliott

Monday 16th of November 2020

Hi Sarah! It's nice to meet someone who shares a similar mindset and also loves old-fashioned things. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Alice

Sunday 14th of June 2020

Hi Lori, I bought your e-book heritage cooking and am Wondering where it goes when you download it? Is it a kindle or do you need to print it? Thank you, Alice

Lori Elliott

Monday 15th of June 2020

Hi Alice, I'm sorry about the delay in my reply. (I didn't check blog comments yesterday.) The book is a pdf file, so you should be able to download it to your device. You could print it if you wanted a hard copy, but you shouldn't need to print it in order to view it. If you have any trouble at all with downloading or opening it you can comment again and I'll see what I can do to help figure things out :)

Lila Hernandez

Saturday 11th of April 2020

Hello Miss Lori, I'm Lila. I'm in Ft. Worth,TX. I stopped by briefly. It was a pleasure meeting you. I appreciated your bio. I, also, appreciate old fashioned wisdom for modern living. Funny how things/"living"- changes with technology. Yet old fashioned wisdom is everlasting. Tku for sharing a piece of the past! See you soon, Mrs. Lila Hernandez

Lori Elliott

Wednesday 15th of April 2020

Hello, and thank you for stopping by! It's nice to meet you too! Yes, it's very interesting how things can change a lot with technology but old-fashioned wisdom stays the same. You're welcome, and thanks again for stopping by! :)

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