You really are what you eat

In my first post I hinted at the fact that the food we are eating these days is so far removed from actual food that our bodies don't really know how to assimilate any of what we are actually putting into them. In order to grasp the concept of what organic and natural REALLY means, I think it's important to first understand the difference between what we class as food, and what real food, actually is.

The saying, "You are what you eat" is completely true. Everything that you eat gets used to build the body you have. Your body is constantly regenerating itself and it uses WHATEVER you give it, to regenerate itself. It won't be able to differentiate between an organic apple and a packet of crisps. Your digestive system will break it all down and send it out to be used to build more cells. You can imagine that the apple will provide some stellar fuel for your system, but the crisps? Not so much. More about that in a bit!

Pick me, pick me!

       

Here's some trivial, but interesting, info! You can lose anywhere from 200 000 to 3 000 000 cells per SECOND. It's difficult to get an exact answer as to how many body cells we lose on a daily basis but the atoms in your body go through a complete turnover about once every 7 years. That doesn't mean you get a whole new body as you hit the 7 year mark;) It means that, by the end of those 7 years, all the cells you started with at the beginning of that 7 year cycle, will have been replaced with new ones. When we are younger, we are making far more cells than we are losing. As we get older, or we get sick, we are making fewer cells than we are losing and that's how you notice the aging process beginning to happen. We see the result in the wrinkling of our skin, the greying of our hair, the loss of muscle and strength etc.  

Now let's go back to the apple and the crisps... Nutritionally, I think even the most hardened junk food addict will have to admit that the apple wins hands down! We all know a packet of crisps isn't going to win any nutritional food prizes;) But what difference does it really make to your life if you eat the crisps instead of the apple? It's food either way, right? Your body can use it for energy and it all goes out the same way doesn't it? Not quite...

Those crisps aren't ACTUALLY food. I mean, they LOOK like food because we've been told our whole lives, that they ARE food and so our brains are programmed to put them under the food category. But they aren't actually slices of a healthy, organically grown potato that was grown in a field that provided it with nutrients. The flavours are far from real. They're a mish mash of ingredients made by scientists using test tubes and machines. You only have to look at the ingredients to know that they are so far removed from what real food is, it's actually quite frightening.

Rennet of Calf?! I'm sorry... What?!

Someone very clever took all of that stuff, put it in pretty packaging and marketed it as food. They made it look so good and sound so healthy to us that we were convinced enough to slot those crisps into the food category and make them part of our daily intake. They are so full of all sorts of things specifically designed to appeal to our tastebuds that our minds go, "Ooooh, that tastes like food!"  The scary thing is, we totally ignore the process that goes into making them and what they look like before they are zapped full of colorants and flavorants. They will look and taste nothing like the end product and I can guarantee they have no real food in them. They were probably grey in color to start, before they were bleached and then smothered in colorants and synthetic spices! I mean, what food do you know of that is called E-330?! It sounds like a robot in Star Wars more than something that should be in your food. Seriously, the mind is an amazing thing. We can convince ourselves to not even ask questions about where those crisps come from because the marketing campaign was so good we've bought into the propaganda.

Who wants to be a simba chippie now?!

This may sound like an exaggeration but it does make you think, or it should! Don't ever believe that something is healthy or good for you based on marketing. There are NO companies who exist only for your health and well-being. They are all trying to make money and they will say just about anything to take that money from you, even if they've twisted the truth. Crisps are not, and never will be, real food, unless you make them yourself, from scratch.

So, what you think is food, is NOT food. Not even close. It's difficult to grasp that, especially since the marketing behind everything is so GOOD!

Alright then, what else can you class as not real food? Well here is where things can get overwhelming. Most of what we eat these days is not real food. The amazing thing is, real food is at our fingertips, but we have been so programmed over the years, to eat and drink certain things, that we can't see the raw honey for the corn syrup! I challenge you to go into your  kitchen and look through your cupboards and sort out what is real food and what isn't. Basically, anything processed in a factory can be classed as not real food. That will include pretty much anything refined, that is in a box or a packet.

Here are some examples: White flour, sugar, biscuits, chips, sweets, packet sauces, bottled sauces, 2 minute noodles, anything in a tin, white rice, bread, dry pasta, cereals etc. You get the idea? None of that stuff is real food. It's something made by scientists, in a factory. That means you can't be sure of what's in it. Even if you read the ingredients, there are things they are not obligated to tell you. And they conveniently don't have to tell you HOW it was made. Believe me, it's not made in a kitchen with a cook standing next to a stove adding real ingredients. It's made by people in white coats, wearing big rubber gloves, in a production line of machines and who knows how many machines and people it has bypassed on its journey to that packet. Contamination anyone?

And there is NO love going into that "food". No matter how much the marketing tries to convince you it's all about YOU and what's good for you, I promise you, it's not. It's all about what lines their pockets. They have some really clever words to hook your interest! They say things like "lower in fat" and "new improved formula" and "added fibre" and our minds are programmed to recognize those as good things and we blindly take them off the shelf because that's what we've done for so long and that's what our parents did and probably their parents.

But I'm guessing their parents grandparents DIDN'T. Before factories existed on a large scale, people bought from the local grocer who was supplied by small farmers who grew things naturally, before pesticides became the norm and genetically modified crops took the place of real crops and food was made by scientists and big machines in bigger factories.

They ate REAL food. And they died more from old age and natural causes than awful diseases and they weren't obese and heart disease wasn't even thought of. Did you know very few people died of heart disease before 1900? It was barely a whisper back then. Now it's the number one killer. The same goes for cancer. A by-product of our so-called "civilization".

You know, now, what not real food is! But what is real food? This one is easy:) It's anything that is literally REAL FOOD. If it was grown in a field, the natural way, without pesticides and chemicals to make it grow faster or out of season, it's real food.

Um, if you need that mask then you probably shouldn't be spraying that on our food?!

If it's meat or eggs or milk from an animal that has been allowed to range free and eat it's natural food rather than genetically modified grains, that hasn't been pumped full of hormones to make it grow faster, and antibiotics to try and cure the horrible diseases it gets from being held in such cramped, unhealthy quarters, it's real food.

Exactly how healthy and ethical is this?!

That's it.

I can practically hear you all saying, "That's IT?! The list was far longer for processed foods! What are we supposed to eat?!"

Actually, a lot! I, for one, only eat real food and yet I never go hungry. I can vouch for loads of people who do the same, and they don't go hungry. Not only do they not go hungry but they don't gain weight, they don't get sick, they don't have dread diseases and they are just all round happier, healthier people.

That is definitely enough food for thought for one post;) I am going to leave you there, but not for long!  This blog is going to be ALL about what you SHOULD be eating and all the deliciously yummy food you can make and eat knowing that it is all ethical, healthy and REAL. Can anyone say "Banana bread?!" Yes please!

Watch this space;)

Monday Mix-up - Terre Madre: Supplier of all things organic and free range to Gauteng

It's difficult to go free range and organic if you have no idea where to get the food from! Although some grocery stores are stocking a few products now, it's intermittent and that has little to do with it being in season and a lot more to do with them just not bothering to get more stock because there's not enough demand. I'm also wary of their free range meat options because not all meat is as free range as you'd think.

That's why, today, I wanted to do a feature on my own free range and organic meat and veggie supplier, Terre Madre. No longer do we have to go hunting for food down aisles in grocery stores we'd rather avoid! Gillian simply sends out a list every week telling us what's available, we fill in the quantities we want of each, and she delivers it right to our door on a Thursday or Friday. The quality is guaranteed and her prices are really competitive.

I did a little interview with Gillian so that you all could get to know her, and her business, and hopefully support her! It's so hard to get a business up and running under any circumstances, but when you are up against the likes of Woolworths and Pick n Pay, it can be even harder. That's why I believe it's so important to support entrepreneurs like Gillian. The advantages are that you don't even have to leave your house to go shopping, you are getting good quality food LOADED with nutrients AND you have the added bonus of knowing that you are doing your bit for the environment by supporting sustainable agriculture and happy, healthy animals. What is there to lose really?

Introducing Terre Madre

Terre Madre is owned, and run, by 
Gillian O’Shea

From the corporate world to life on a farm! It must have been a bit scary taking that leap of faith, to give up a secure job and step into the unknown! Did you always know it was going to happen and what was the journey that led you to that final decision to take the step? 

Well I grew up on a smallholding so it’s not foreign to me; in fact it’s probably more like going back to where I started. Yes it’s scary to say goodbye to the security of a fixed salary every month but it becomes easier when you realise that the fixed salary is more like a prison sentence. So many people work in jobs they don’t like, for ‘secure’ salaries and they are miserable. I was one of those people. We stay in jobs we don’t like out of fear. Life is too short. We need to face our fears head on – spend our time doing what we enjoy, not waste our lives away. Besides, are those jobs really so ‘secure’. The journey that led me to the final decision to leave the corporate world was a long one but when I made my mind up I moved quite fast. The short version of the story is…working for people I can’t respect because of what they do and stand for. The long version may get me into trouble  but seriously, I’ve been fortunate to work in some great companies. I just don’t think I am cut out for that world and South Africa needs more entrepreneurs. 

Why the name Terre Madre? How did you come to it? 

The name came to me. It was more like . . . waiting for me. Terra Madre is Italian for mother earth. Since a little girl I would have sleepless nights thinking about how we humans decimate our planet, its animals and resources…more often than not for the sake of money. My first magazine subscription was to WWF when I was 9 years old! A few years ago I went to see someone for something called cord cutting. Another long story . . .  anyway, during that session she says to me my purpose is to nurture. I’m like the next Mother Theresa say says. I say to her hold your horses! As much as she has always been an icon and role model for me, I don’t want that - it sounds to draining and the poor woman never did anything for herself! I just want to live and be happy, buy pretty things and go on holidays!

I’ve also been told my purpose is to empower. I even once worked as a manager for a division called M Power, go figure. Look, the whole finding your purpose thing is also another story for another day. I believe our purpose is to be happy, love and live. Do what makes you happy and the means (money) will come from that. My starsign is Taurus and I am a typical one, in all ways! I am earthy and need to be in nature often otherwise I get grumpy and out of sorts. I was born catholic and my second name is Theresa…so you see how the name sort of was always there for me. It feels right. But the synergy of the name and the business is that we need to get back to living with nature and mother earth and not against or without regard for. The world is all messed up. We eat foods containing pesticides, genetically modified material and hormones. We use so many toxic chemicals, on ourselves and in our homes. We are killing ourselves and our planet. And do we really care? We all talk about it but how many of us are actually doing something about it? People are also realising this way of living isn’t working but they are not sure what to do differently. Start small, start somewhere, start with yourself. 

You do kinesiology too. What made you choose it and what exactly does it entail? 

About 10 years ago I was retrenched from a company and looking back it was a blessing because although it was devastating for me it also pushed me to think about what is it that I want to do with the rest of my life. During that period I took a bit of a break from work and life (let’s call it a mild depression:) I came across a book by Louise Hays called ‘You can heal your life’. It literally changed my life and I can recommend that everyone should read it. During this period I realised I wanted to know more about health, psychology, how the mind and body works but also about karma, consciousness and other concepts. This led me to study Specialised Kinesiology. It’s a wonderful modality that touches on nearly everything. Took me 6 years because I studied part- time while working but it was worth it.

You also studied permaculture. What exactly is that? 

Permaculture is a practical design concept applicable from the balcony to the farm, from the city to the wilderness. It enables people to establish productive environments providing for food, energy, shelter, material and non-material needs, as well as the social and economic infrastructure that support them. The concept was first developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in Tasmania in 1974, leading to a world-wide movement. Permaculture means thinking carefully about our environments, our use of resources and how we service our needs. It aims to create systems that will sustain not only for the present, but for future generations.

From a philosophy of co-operation with nature and each other, of caring for the earth and people, it presents an approach:

• to designing environments which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems,
• to regenerate damaged land and
•to preserve environments which are still intact.

Permaculture encourages the individual to be resourceful and self-reliant, to become a conscious part of the solution to the many problems which face us both locally and globally. This covers the whole range from the production of our food to the design of our residential areas and management of natural environments and to the daily activities in which we invest our time, skills and money. Permaculture practice leads to conscious imaginative design and involvement in a productive agricultural system in relation to the needs, activities and contributions of the people who culture that land. This has a positive influence on the long term health and well-being of both man and the natural processes on the land. 

I gather from your website that you literally go and BUILD an organic garden for people! Have I got that right and how difficult is that to do? What is actually involved there? 

Yes that’s part of what I do. Through Terra Madre people can order fresh produce on a weekly basis and have it delivered to their homes or offices. I work with about 7 other organic and permaculture suppliers in order to offer this service. Then I also consult so I can design and implement a food garden for people and either do it myself or show them how to do it.

A lot of people have no clue where to get free range and organic produce. That's the main reason I wanted to feature Terre Madre actually. You source, and supply Gauteng with organic and free range produce on a weekly basis. We have been clients for several months as well! I know you grow a lot of the produce yourself but how did you go about sourcing everything else? It's so difficult to know if animal products are REALLY free range. There seems to be little regulation in terms of that whereas organic is far more regulated. Was it difficult to find ethical suppliers and what kind of checklist did you use to ensure they were up to your standards? 

Thanks for your support Melanie. Yes I grow some myself but as my business is only 12 months old it takes a while to establish market gardens so I do source from other suppliers too, also for diversity. It’s tough finding enough produce that’s ‘slow’ and organic and it takes a while for customers to get away from the instant gratification mentality of being able to buy anything at any time and expecting it to look perfect and last a long time. With regards to my suppliers they all feel the same way I do. Believe me you don’t get rich quick by being passionate about growing food organically and raising free range animals. You do it because you can’t help yourself and can’t deal with the alternative. Yes maybe it’s not regulated but it’s costly to become certified. It’s really not easy to be an entrepreneur and it’s not a supportive environment. The government needs to do more to assist people who want to grow the economy and change negative ways of doing things. How ethical is it that the stuff sold in supermarkets is even available for human consumption and at what cost to the planet and animals? Not all my suppliers are certified but they are a lot better than mainstream suppliers and at least they are trying to farm more consciously.

People are so used to ALL foods being available to them all year round. They are simply unaware that everything has a season and that it's actually chemicals, hormones, bad agriculture and mistreatment of animals that MAKE everything available to them all year round. I know that I also took a while to adjust to having to do without things for a few months as I transitioned to organic! What are your thoughts on all of that and how do you get around that issue with customers who expect more?

I send them back to mainstream supermarkets lol

The more word spreads, the bigger the business is going to grow. Are you interested in going more large scale and employing people to do all the hard work you're doing yourself or do you actually enjoy the personal touch? I'd imagine it would be a challenge to keep things up to the standards you prefer, if things are on a larger scale?

Yes I want to grow the business and employ more people. It must be sustainable in all ways.

Following on from the previous question, what are your future plans for Terre Madre? (I personally hope you plan to be doing this for a very long time because I'm not sure what we would do without you!)

Well if people keep ordering and requesting food gardens I will be around a long time :) Future plans are big and involve permaculture schools in all our provinces but we need funding and government support for this.

If you would like to get onto Gillian's mailing list, you can send her an email at: terramadresa@gmail.com or visit her her website and browse around to learn more about Terre Madre.

Please feel free to spread the word and support not only Terre Madre, but also our local farmers who are working really hard to sustain our planet and provide us with wholesome, organic food!

The benefits of raw apple cider vinegar

Every day, after I've done my oil-pulling, and rinsed my mouth with salt water, I drink a warm mug of raw apple cider vinegar, raw honey and water with a dash of cinnamon. Why would anyone do that, you ask? Well, I'm going to give you all the reasons why, right here.

Vinegar has, for centuries, been touted as a remedy for just about every existing ailment. But it's actually apple cider vinegar that has, more recently, been singled out as a health tonic. You'll find it in all health stores and Dischems these days. The big pharmaceutical companies would, of course, have us believe that regular medication is far better than alternative remedies. It always is, for them, because they have absolutely nothing to gain, financially, from alternative and preventative remedies. However, even they can't discount the following studies proving the medical uses of apple cider vinegar:

• Diabetes: The effect of vinegar on blood sugar levels is probably the best researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. A 2007 study of people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels by 4%-6% when they woke the following morning.

• High cholesterol: A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol.

• Blood pressure and heart health: A study with rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A larger study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. 

• Cancer: A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. 

• Weight Loss: For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. It stabilises the blood sugar making people feel fuller for longer. Bear in mind that apple cider vinegar alone, will not give you the body you want! But it's a good accompaniment to a healthy diet.

Scientific studies are great for some but they're not the be-all and end-all for me, given that scientists also believe that scientifically created food, and medication, is actually good for you! There are many people who also believe apple cider vinegar has the following benefits and I tend to agree:

• Detoxification: Apple cider vinegar is rich in natural minerals, vitamins and enzymes. The unique acids in apple cider vinegar can bind to toxins and help the body eliminate them more effectively. Apple cider vinegar can also help to stimulate circulation and aid detoxification in the liver. In ancient cultures apple cider vinegar was often used to purify the blood. Apple cider vinegar aids detoxification by breaking up mucus throughout the body and cleansing the lymph nodes to allow for better lymph circulation. A healthy lymphatic system can remove toxins from the cells in the body while improving immune system response.

• To help with digestion: This is possibly one of apple cider vinegar’s biggest benefits. It can help with indigestion and gastrointestinal discomfort caused by certain foods. It's said to clear up chronic acid reflux when taken with each meal and I can attest to that.

• Strengthens the immune system: Apple cider vinegar devotees claim that it is one of the main reasons they are able to ward of common illnesses like colds and flu. This is possibly due to its unique blend of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. It also possesses antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. I can vouch for the faster healing, myself!

• For soft and shiny hair: Acetic acid, the main ingredient in Apple cider vinegar, will remove build up from styling products and strengthen the hair shaft, leaving you with soft, shiny hair. It also balances your hair's pH level, kills bacteria, and helps get rid of dandruff. Dilute 1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar in 4 cups of water and pour over your hair after shampooing. Leave it in for a few seconds before rinse your hair using cold water to seal the hair shaft and create more shine. The vinegar smell will disappear as soon as your hair dries! Don't do this daily as vinegar is acidic!

A few other benefits:

• Prevents bladder stones and urinary tract infections
• Increases stamina
• Alleviates symptoms of arthritis and gout
• Reduces sinus infections and sore throats
• Improves skin conditions such as acne
• Protects against food poisoning
• Improves digestion and constipation
• Prevents muscle fatigue after exercise
• Fights allergies in both humans and animals
• Prevents bad breath when used as a gargle mixed with water
• Prevents body odour when used externally
• Prevents night time leg cramps

When I talk about apple cider vinegar, I don't mean the stuff you buy at pick n pay in the vinegar aisle. That is very poor quality, essentially "dead", vinegar and it's not going to have any medicinal benefits. It's been completely stripped of everything beneficial. It also contains preservatives and drinking it may actually be worse for you than not drinking any at all! The stuff I am talking about is raw apple cider vinegar which contains "the mother".   "The mother" is that cloudy sediment that settles on the bottom of the vinegar bottle if you leave it to stand for a while and it is made of of living nutrients and bacteria which is why it is so beneficial for you.

Dischem raw brand at a small cost of R19.95

A very good, imported brand, but pricier!

So, how do you drink it? Well, as I said in the beginning, I drink it every morning, about 20 minutes before breakfast. This is how I make it:

• Half fill a mug with hot water
• Add a teaspoon of raw honey and mix until dissolved
• Add a dash of cinnamon
• Top the mug up with cold water
• Only THEN, stir in a capful (or tablespoon) of vinegar
• Drink!

In case you're wondering why you add the vinegar last, it's because it is raw and adding it to boiling water will kill off a lot of the bacteria and nutrients that you NEED to be drinking. So it's best to add it to lukewarm water. The cinnamon is not essential if you're not a fan of it but, to me, it makes it more palatable. Cinnamon IS really good for you, in any case:

• It is known to lower blood sugar and cholesterol
• It has natural anti-infectious compounds
• It reduces pain linked to arthritis
• It may reduce the proliferation of cancer cells
• It is a natural food preservative
• It contains contains fibre, calcium, iron, and manganese
• It's been proven effective for menstrual pain and infertility
• Cinnamon holds promise for various neurodegenerative diseases, including: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, brain tumours and meningitis

Knowing all that, why would you NOT add the cinnamon?! Besides which, it makes it taste a bit like mulled wine (according to my brother;)

I was REALLY surprised when, the first time I made it for GLM, she actually said she LIKED it! It is an acquired taste for some but we actually enjoy our morning mug and, if I forget it over the weekend when I'm out of routine, GLM will often go and make it for herself or ask why we aren't drinking it;) 

So, if you are ready to enjoy all the wonderful benefits of apple cider vinegar, head off to your nearest health shop or dischem, buy yourself a bottle and get started!

Real Food Friday Feast - Breakfast Smoothie

Doctors, dieticians and nutritionists have always maintained that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While I think all meals are pretty important, I do agree that skipping breakfast leads to a lot more weight problems. I can't survive without breakfast. I open my eyes and my stomach literally yells for food;) But I struggled a bit with what to have for breakfast when I made a decision to cut out processed foods.

If you walk down the cereal aisle you are literally bombarded with every kind of cereal under the sun. The problem with those cereals is that 99% of them are loaded with sugar (usually GMO corn syrup), and ALL of them are grains with NO exceptions. They are rice-based, or maize-based or oat-based and the rest of the ingredients are sugar, sugar and more sugar, and then add a few of those nice coded foods that no-one understands like E61 and E500. I don't think that starting your day off with a carbo load of GMO grains and a whole bunch of other scientifically generated "foods", is a great way to start it.

I've cut most grains out of my life since I discovered they were largely responsible for my IBS flaring up. If I have them now, I'll make sure they're properly soaked and they must be organic obviously;) If you cut grains out of your life, that leaves very little for the "normal" breakfast options. I don't need to eat "normal" food so that doesn't bother me, but GLM is my little creature of habit and is not a fan of change;) There are some things she will go along with, but some things are just a no-go!

One breakfast meal that has always been a winner for her, however, is the breakfast smoothie. I have been making breakfast smoothies for years but, in the last year, the recipe has changed quite drastically. It used to be a very boring combination of banana, apple, almonds, protein shake and soya milk (Can't believe I bought into the propaganda and drank that poison! I'll blog on that at some point too but, take my word for it, avoid it. Especially if you are trying to have a baby. It's loaded with GMO and hormones.) So anyway, that smoothie was pretty average nutrition-wise but it didn't taste too bad.

Enter the organic, super, real food era and how things have changed;) GLM sometimes asks what happened to our "normal" smoothie? (Creature of habit;) You see, what I have realised is that a breakfast smoothie is the EASIEST and TASTIEST way to get most of your fruit and vegetable daily requirements into your body, in one go. Our breakfast smoothie has replaced our multivitamin because it is loaded with all the natural vitamins we need. It is a powerhouse of goodness all in one glass and it's so easy to make, and eat on the run. There are a lot of websites out there by people who have cured cancer with diet and most of them talk about smoothies and juicing. But these are not just any smoothies and juices, they are supercharged, power nutrition in a glass.

So I am going to give you my recipe, but please bear in mind that this is just ONE way to make it. You can add as much variety as you like, depending on your tastes. Don't be put off by the colour. That will depend on the colour of the food you use but it'll still taste amazing. The more different colours you use, the more nutrition you will get out of it. 

You will need a decent blender (a hand blender will work well too.) 

Power Breakfast Smoothie (feeds 2)

1 raw Banana (medium size)
1 raw baby marrow (medium size)
1 raw patty pan
2 tsp peeled ginger root (or just a nice size chunk)

4 Tbs paw paw
2 Tbs soaked organic chia seeds
1/4 avocado pear
2 tsp organic cocoa powder
4 eggs OR 2 eggs and 125ml organic plain yoghurt
2 Tbs dehydrated coconut
2 slices pineapple
Add water to get a nice consistency

Method

• Throw all ingredients into blender EXCEPT chia seeds, adding liquid last.
• Blend till smooth
• Pour into 2 separate glasses
• Add a tablespoon of chia seeds to each glass and mix in
• Drink!

As I said, these ingredients are not carved in stone. You can replace the fruits with other fruits and the veggies with other veggies. I recommend keeping the coconut, ginger, cocoa powder, avocado (it gives the smoothie a lovely, creamy consistency) and chia seeds, but play around with the rest depending on availability and taste preference. You CAN use milk instead of yogurt. Both are a good source of protein. You can even JUST use milk instead of the eggs. As long as you have some protein in there. Bear in mind that eggs are a GREAT source of nutrition (provided they are free range) and are NOT public enemy number one for those with high cholesterol as some people keep insisting. If you are a vegetarian you can leave out the eggs and milk and just use water but you will need a bit more protein in there so I would add a handful of properly soaked nuts and perhaps a scoop of vegetarian protein powder. 

Some of you may be wondering about chia seeds. These little seeds are like magic seeds;) They are so good for you! They contain your daily dose of Omegas all in one little tablespoon. You can buy them at dischem and all health shops as well. They look like this when they are dry:

And like this when you make them into gel:

Why would you want to make them into gel? Well, they go so much further and they're easier to work with. They are mostly tasteless little seeds but they are good for so many things. 

• Omega 3's - Help reduce inflammation, enhance cognitive performance and reduce high cholesterol
• Fibre - Reduces inflammation, lowers cholesterol and regulates bowel function
• Antioxidants - Help protect the body from free radicals, ageing and cancer
• Minerals - Two tablespoons of chia seeds contain 18% of the daily recommended intake for calcium, 35% for phosphorus, 24% for magnesium and about 50% for manganese
• Satiety - They make you feel full for longer
• They are gluten free
• They make a good egg replacer when baking for those who can't eat eggs
• Blood sugar regulation - They play an important role in regulating insulin levels and can reduce insulin resistance and decrease abnormally high levels of insulin in the blood.
• Raise energy levels

See why you would want to eat these? Making them into gel is really easy. Get a clean glass jar and place 3 tablespoons of seeds in the jar. Fill the jar up with filtered water, all the way to the top and stir with a fork. Leave for a few minutes and then stir again. You'll notice they will clump up a bit. That's because they absorb the water and start to swell. Leave for a bit and then stir again to break up the clumps. Eventually the jar will be filled with chia seed gel and no more clumps and then you simply add a tablespoon of those to each smoothie. You can add them to anything really. You won't notice the taste at all, but you'll feel the health benefits! And that jar will last a week or two in your fridge.

That's it! I recommend eating at least one of these smoothies a day, but you are welcome to have more!

Some easy thing to kickstart your clean, green lifestyle!

I know it can be quite daunting making a decision to live green, organic and chemical free. I am sure a lot of you have read these blog posts and been a bit overwhelmed by just how much is actually toxic in our environment, and how much we have to do if we want to keep it, and ourselves, clean and toxin free! I agree. It IS overwhelming. You might be tempted to just leave things as they are and I wouldn't blame you. When I first made the decision to make our household clean and green, I had no idea what I was taking on. Poor GLM had no idea either. She mostly still doesn't;) I often get questions about what goes where and why and how! But she does it without too much complaint because she knows it's good for us and she knows it makes her wife happy;)

So, maybe you want to start with some baby steps, just to ease you and your family into things gradually? Well, you'll be happy to know there are PLENTY of small, simple things you can do that will already make a HUGE difference to both you AND the environment. Perhaps you can make it your goal to achieve just ONE of each of the points below, each week, or even each month if it's easier. I found that I started off a little slowly, because I was learning and discovering things, and then I picked up the pace as I became more accustomed to it. I also found that, the healthier I felt, the more I WANTED to change things. The nice thing about following my blog is that you don't even need to waste time trying to figure things out. I've done that all for you and this blog is here for that purpose. To make YOUR life easier:)

What you can do, food-wise:

• Make a decision to cut out at least ONE of the "normal" foods you buy, from your monthly or weekly shop, and replace it with an organic, or free range, substitute. 
• A great example here would be eggs. By buying free range eggs, you are ensuring that you get LOADS more nutrients into you and your family's bodies. Egg yolks SHOULD be a bright orange colour. If they are pale and anaemic looking, they are not from healthy chickens and have little to no nutrients. They are actually probably doing you more harm than good because the chicken it came from is, very likely, ill. By buying free range eggs, you are also ensuring that you are not supporting the many chicken farms that keep chickens in unethical, cruel conditions. Watch this video to see what you are unwittingly supporting every time you DON'T buy free range eggs. (please be aware that it is not an easy video to watch. I still haven't watched all of it! It just breaks my heart.) Free range eggs are available at ALL grocery stores so it's a very easy, small change to make, and yet it will go a LONG way.
• Most grocery stores now stock organic bananas so that's something else you could consider changing. Kids LOVE bananas and eat loads of them so it makes sense to have chemical-free bananas in the fruit basket.
• If you become acquainted with the "clean 15" and the "dirty dozen", those of you on a budget can make sure you get fewer pesticides in your diet while still spending less money. Of course, the nutritional benefits are far superior when it comes to organic fruit and veg and there is less impact on the environment as well, but just making this little change will already make a big difference to your own health. The list below will tell you what's cleaner and what's dirtier.

• Start collecting bones after meals, store them in a container in your freezer and, when you have enough, use them to make some bone broth. You can use this to cook EVERYTHING with in place of store bought stock. Bone broth is unbelievably nutritious, and so necessary for your health and yet it is so cheap to make. Find out how to make it here.
• Start buying only fruit and veg that are in season. You may notice that some grocery stores will stock all types of fruit and veg all year round. The problem with that is that, different fruits and veg grow in certain seasons and you can be pretty sure that, if they're being sold at a shop out of season, they have either been grown unnaturally OR they have been imported from somewhere creating a huge carbon footprint. Wait it out for a few months and rather get the proper nutritional and environmental value for your money.

What about things you can do, for the environment, around the house, and in your garden?

• Did you know that while you are running your hot tap, waiting for it to get hot, you waste at least 3 litres of water? I actually tried it one day just out of curiosity and I filled up three one litre jugs before the water even got warm. The same applies if you want a glass of cold water and need to run the hot tap for a while to get it cool, especially on a hot summer's day! (You definitely don't want to risk actually drinking the hot water, no matter how cool it might be, because hot water will have a higher lead content due to the heat of the water leeching the lead out of the pipes. NOT good for you.) I decided to put a big bucket next to my sink and, if I needed to run water for any reason that didn't involve me plugging the sink, I would run that water into the bucket instead and use it to water my plants and my garden or even to fill my steamer or boil eggs. At least it's being put back into the environment, or being used to cook vegetables instead of all that clean water just going down a drain. Something small like that will make a huge difference in the longterm.

• Switch off lights in rooms you aren't using. We only ever have lights on in the rooms we are actually in. If we walk out of a room, the light goes off. It's such a habit for us now that I barely notice I'm doing it. I thought EVERYONE actually did that but, now and then, we have guests stay at our house and I am always surprised at how often I have to go into a room after they have vacated it, to switch off the lights! It's a great habit to get into and Eskom will thank you. Perhaps we can avoid the dreaded load-shedding if everyone starts doing it;)
• If you MUST leave on any lights, make sure the globes are energy saving globes. I can't actually understand why anyone would buy a normal globe these days. They last for such a short amount of time, they raise your electricity bill, and they are dangerous, especially if a child should try and play with a bedside lamp. Energy saving globes are far more hardy, they last for AGES, actually saving you money on globes and they also lower your electricity bill.
• Make a compost heap. Words can't describe how easy this is to do and how much difference it makes to the amount of rubbish your family generates, and to your garden. I had a flat piece of wood in my garage so we dug a hole that was the same size as the wood, and about a metre deep. The wood made a great lid! You're thinking that it probably smells right? WRONG! It doesn't smell AT ALL and that is because there is nothing in there TO smell. It's just fruit and veg cut offs, the occasional pieces of newspaper and tissue, grass cuttings and egg shells (rinsed of raw egg) The way to keep it smelling sweet, is to make sure you don't load your compost heap with all of one thing and not the other thing. A compost heap needs carbon and nitrogen to function properly, and to smell sweet. Carbon comes from dry things like dried plants and grass and cardboard and newspaper and tissues. Nitrogen comes from all the ripe, juicy things like banana peels and apple cores and other fruit and veg cut offs. As long as you throw in some of both, your compost heap will not have a smell. Visit this page to get an idea of what you can throw in your compost heap. Don't make things too complicated for yourself though. I may not be getting it 100% right because I don't calculate the ratios but, the good thing is, I am still getting lovely compost for my garden AND my rubbish bin is hardly being used because of that which means I am saving space in the landfills:) What I do, to make things easier for us is, I saved an old 5kg protein-shake container and I keep it next to the bins in the kitchen. I just put all our fruit and veg cut offs, teabags, etc in there until it's full and then I empty it into the compost heap once every few days. It saves me having to go out to the garden every time I want to throw away some stuff. I promise you that container does not smell at all. I keep a lid on it but that's just to stop the cats from messing with it. Get the kids involved in collecting the compost and emptying it into the heap. It'll teach them some good habits and small kids love to help!

That's the little compost container at the bottom!

• Buy yourself a BIG bottle of white vinegar. 

You may not know it but vinegar has MANY uses around the house and it's natural as well. It's GREAT for cleaning surfaces and stubborn dirt off of pots. It's also great at killing germs. You can use it to clean all your fruit and veg knowing that you are not adding further chemicals to your body because it's just vinegar, but you ARE getting rid of bugs. It's good for getting rid of dirt and insects and other creepy crawlies in your lettuce leaves and other leafy greens. I eat A LOT of those so I keep vinegar next to my sink all the time. What I do is fill a big bowl with warm water and about 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Then I throw in all the leaves, stir it around a bit and walk away, leaving them to soak for a good 10-15mins. Wipe off any excess sand and rinse well in clean water and you're good to go.

Another use for vinegar, oddly enough, is as a laundry softener! It works wonders and it's all natural. Hang your clothes out in the sun or tumble dry them and there is NO vinegar smell at all on your clothes. They are just lovely and soft:)

There are LOADS more tips I can give you but I think that's enough for now. More to come later but I think that's more than enough to get you started;)

What is oil pulling and why should we do it?

I first discovered oil pulling while googling remedies for sensitive teeth. As you all know, I don't use conventional medicines if it can possibly be avoided. So far I've been able to do it quite easily for a year now. I spend my spare time researching alternate options to stay healthy, and so I discovered oil pulling.

Did you know that oil is one of the best substances to clean your teeth and gums? A lot of uber-healthy people who choose to live their lives as naturally as possible, use oil instead of toothpaste. I know, you're thinking about the lack of minty freshness right? I thought the same thing! There is a lot to be said for minty-fresh breath. In fact, I have a RIDICULOUSLY bad aversion to bad breath. That includes onion breath, garlic breath and the dreaded halitosis. I find it hard to keep a straight face when faced with any of those and that also makes me paranoid about my own breath! Given that I get a lot of people in my personal space at shows, I take extra special care that I am chewing on a gum, and that I've eaten no garlic or onion. (I can't eat either thanks to my IBS but sometimes they slip in without me being aware!) Unfortunately, others don't take the same precautions! But back to the oil!

Oil pulling is an ancient  Ayurvedic practice. It's been around for many, many years but is largely unknown to the western world. The east is a wealth of alternate remedies and I find them all so fascinating.

If you really think about it, your mouth is rather a filthy place! It's where most germs first gather before they head into our systems and cause havoc. You'd think the acid in your stomach would kill them all off but, given how we still get sick, it's clearly not the case with all germs. The flu virus enters your nose or mouth and heads straight to your lungs so there's little to no defense there. This is where oil pulling can help.

Oil pulling has been known to cure and prevent everything from the common cold to diabetes, heart disease and skin problems, to name a few. It goes without saying that it also does wonders for your teeth. If they're feeling over-sensitive or achy, if you have a few mouth ulcers or if you bit your cheek, or you have gingivitis, oil pulling will sort it out. I know because I suffer from mouth ulcers whenever the seasons change, or I used to! Oil pulling has solved that problem for me. It also keeps your teeth really clean, it helps remove plaque and it freshens breath simply because the bad breath bacteria get nuked!

The idea with oil pulling is to literally "pull" oil between your teeth and all through your mouth. Any germs that are in your mouth, and are touched by the oil, will get drawn into it and die. The tricky part with oil pulling is that you need to do it for about 15-20 minutes at a time! The first time I read that, I thought, "Eeeeuuww! No way! Not gonna happen." Now that I look back, I can't imagine why I had such an issue with it. The pros far outweigh the cons and it's like second nature to me now.

So, what do you need to do this? Well, just a tablespoon of decent quality oil. To be honest, I think it will work with any oil, but as I tend to avoid all chemicals, I go with organic oil. The one that works the best for me is organic coconut oil and the reason is, because it tastes the best! Dischem sells it too:)

Sesame oil is highly recommended and also tastes better than most. If you are going to have it in your mouth for 20 minutes, you had best go with the oil that tastes the best to you. 20 minutes can sometimes feel like an eternity, especially if you are using plain old sunflower oil! That gag reflex will probably set in.

How do you actually do it? Here is my little routine:

• Always do it first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach (because you WILL probably gag the first few times)
• Put a tablespoon of oil in your mouth (coconut oil goes hard if the weather is cool. I used to melt it but now I just chew it until it melts. I'd suggest melting it initially. I definitely gagged the first time I tried chewing the coconut oil!!)
• Slowly swirl the oil around your mouth. Don't do it fast or your jaw will get tired. If your jaw feels tired or aches, you're going to fast. Move it around your mouth in a slow, swishing action, from side to side, making sure you get it through all the gaps between your teeth, your palate, your gums, even the back of your mouth (don't gargle with it though. Just tilt your head back slightly to reach the back) 
• Try not to swallow it. It is full of bacteria and not something you want in your system
• Try it for as long as you can with 20 minutes being your limit. Start off slow and work your way up to 20 minutes
• Preferably spit the oil in a drain or toilet as it is full of germs. It should go a milky white colour by the time you spit it out. Run some hot water down the drain to wash it away or it will build up.
• Straight after you spit it out, have a mug of warm salty water on standby (just half a teaspoon of salt will do)
• Rinse your mouth with the salt water and gargle with it to make sure you remove all of the oil residue and then you're good to go!

My morning starts off by feeding our 6 cats, which takes about 20 minutes, so I oil pull while I do that to keep me distracted and I'm hardly even aware that I'm doing it anymore. The only time I notice is when I need to say something to GLM and this usually involves a lot of waving, hand gestures and eyebrow wriggling;) She's quite used to me now!

I definitely notice if I miss doing it for a day or two. My teeth are quite sensitive and, as I avoid fluoride at all costs due to it being so dangerous (another blog post about that coming soon!), I don't use any conventional toothpastes. Oil pulling is the best remedy for sensitive teeth, among other things. I feel bad if I start my day without it and I'm convinced I got flu because I was busy and skipped a couple of days!

So, there you have it! Some of you are probably convinced I've stepped off the sanity bus but I'm fine with that;) They say sanity is the playground of the unimaginative. I find I am able to do just about anything if I know it will be good for me, no matter how crazy it may seem. And I dare anyone to define "normal" to me. I'm a gay woman. I've had plenty people try to tell me what normal is;) To me, normal is following the crowd, doing everything everyone else does without thinking of the consequences; whether it's bad for you or your environment, or whether it's not. Knowledge is power and ignorance can be hazardous to your health.

Step out of the box and try something crazy, like oil pulling! You'll find the health benefits far outweigh the strange looks you may get from your nearest and dearest;)

I can live without my Loreal. Could you?

Have you ever thought about what happens to the body lotion you rub on your hands, or your face? I mean, REALLY wondered? I'm sure you know it gets absorbed by your skin, but then what? Well, it doesn't just disappear. Once it's been absorbed by your skin, it becomes part of the system. It goes into your blood stream and, eventually, finds its way to your organs and body tissues, the way everything else we ingest does, and your body either uses it, or loses it. You may be thinking, "Did she say ingest? We don't EAT the stuff, we just lather it on our skin." Well, that brings me back to my first question. Have you ever REALLY thought about what happens to it all?

Let's stop for a minute and take a look at a women's typical beauty routine and all the various products she uses in one session. I'm a woman myself. I KNOW it's a LOT;) The routine probably starts with a shower or bath so that will mean soap, shampoo, a possible hair mask or treatment followed by conditioner. If it's a bath, then it might very well be accompanied by bubble bath or bath salts or some kind of oil or milk soak to "soothe and soften" skin. Once she's out of the bath or shower, she will likely lather herself in body lotion from top to toe and then apply some underarm deodorant. She may also then lather herself with a sun protection cream of some sort. She will wash her face with a special face wash product, apply a toner (probably of the same brand because they always recommend it right?) and then, finally, a day or night cream depending on the time of day (more than likely ALSO the same brand) She'll probably brush her teeth and maybe use a mouthwash as well and then she will apply makeup to her face, possibly spray a hair straightening, heat protection spray, in her hair and then flat iron it, after which she will put a smoothing serum over her hair and THAT is just ONE beauty session. It'll start all over again in 8 hours or so and continue ad nauseum until she wakes up one day and decides she's over it and is giving in gracefully to the aging process. For some women, that day will NEVER come;)

Now let's discuss what happens to all that stuff she's used once she's walked away from the mirror. The outer layer of our skin, the epidermis, is the part of our skin we're most familar with. It prevents our bodies from permanently absorbing everything it comes into contact with. The layer just below it, the dermis, is where most of our blood vessels are found and it just LOVES water and water-based substances. You'd think, given the fact that your skin was designed to repel water, that it wouldn't absorb anything but actually, the longer your epidermis is exposed to water and water-based substances, the more absorbent it becomes. 

Think of what happens to your skin when you lie in the bath for a while, or swim in a pool, or the ocean. You begin to resemble a prune. That's because your skin has become more absorbent from over-exposure to water. And water makes it easier for oils and other substances, to travel through the epidermis, to the dermis below. In effect, your skin is actually like a big sponge. If anything sits on it for long enough and there is water to help the process along, it's going to be absorbed. Pretty much EVERYTHING you put on your skin, contains some water so we can presume that ALL the products listed in the beauty routine above, have disappeared into the epidermis and been absorbed into the water-loving dermis, beneath it. 

As I said before, your dermis contains most of your blood vessels. It stands to reason, then, that all the stuff that is absorbed through your skin, will enter your blood stream and be transported around the body to various organs and  tissues in much the same way as food or drink that we ingest. The only difference is that it doesn't pass through your stomach first, because you it didn't enter through your mouth. But the end result is the same as if you did. 

It's also important to remember that your skin works both ways. It is highly absorbent but it is also your body's largest organ for eliminating waste. If you use products that prevent it from working the way it should, and clog up your pores, your body will not thank you for it.

So why am I blogging about it? Well, do you have any idea what the standard ingedients are for body lotions, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, toners etc, are? I bet you look at that list of ingredients and start zoning out before you've even read 3 of them. I know because I used to do that too! They're extremely difficult to even pronounce, not to mention that most of us don't have a clue what the names mean! We just assume that they're good for us because the adverts say so. You all know my view on that and, in case you've forgotten, you can read it in this blog post. I was talking about food there but it's all the same concept really.

"Pure and natural" are the latest buzz words of the beauty industry but don't be too taken in by them. The beauty industry is largely unregulated which means companies can slap the word "organic" on something that is loaded with chemicals, and bad for the environment and for YOU, without you even knowing it. They only SAY "pure and natural" because they know you'll be taken in by it. It's ok, I know you are, because I was too and I see so many of my friends falling victim to it too.

It's time to educate yourself so you can better protect you and your family, not to mention the environment. Here is what you need to look for, AND start avoiding:

• Benzoyl Peroxide: Possible tumour promoter, it produces DNA damage in human and other mammalian cells and it's also toxic by inhalation. It's an eye, skin and respiratory irritant. 

• DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine) and TEA (Triethanolamine): Skin and eye irritant which causes contact dermatitis. They are hormone disrupting chemicals that have been restricted in Europe because continued absorption results in liver and kidney cancer. It's easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs and the brain.

• DMDM Hydantion and Urea: Two out of many  different preservatives that often release formaldehyde (yes, the stuff used to preserve body parts in a lab!) which may cause joint pains, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness and insomnia. It can also irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma and aggravate coughs and colds. Other possible side effects include weakening of the immune system and cancer.

• Dibutyl Phthalate: Used mainly in nail products as a solvent for dyes and as a plasticizer that prevents nail polishes from becoming brittle. Phthalates are also unlisted fragrance ingredients in many other cosmetics. Dibutyl phthalate is absorbed through the skin. It can enhance the capacity of other chemicals to cause genetic mutations, although it is not a mutagen itself. In laboratory experiments, it has been shown to interfere with hormone function (endocrine disruption) causing reproductive and developmental problems. Dibutyl phthalate is banned in cosmetics in the Europe.

• FD&C colour pigments: Look for p-phenylenediamine or colours identified as “C.I.” followed by a 5-digit number. They are synthetic colours made from coal tar, containing heavy metal salts that deposit toxins into the skin causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colours can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic. 

• Fragrances: This can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many of them toxic or carcinogenic. Clinical observation proves that they can affect the central nervous system causing depression, hyperactivity, inability to cope and other behavourial changes. They also cause headaches, dizziness, violent coughing and vomiting, skin discoloration and irritation and allergic rashes.

• Mineral Oil or Petrolatum: A petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores which interferes with the skin's ability to eliminate toxins causing acne and other skin disorders. Slows down cell development and skin function and results in premature aging. Used in many products such as baby oil which is 100% mineral oil!

• PEG (Polyethylene Glycol): Potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin's natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria. It's used in household cleaners to dissolve oil and grease and is found in everything from personal care to babycare products and sunscreen.

• Propylene Glycol and Butylene Glycol: They easily penetrate the skin and weaken protein and cellular structure. PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats! Anyone working with PG is required to wear protective gloves, goggles and clothing and must dispose of any PG solutions by burying them in the ground, because it penetrates the skin so easily. It can cause brain, liver and kidney abnormalities and yet there is NO warning label on stick deodorants where it can be found in VERY high concentration.

• Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth sulphate: This ingredient is used in car washes, engine degreasers and garage floor cleaners and yet its also found in 90% of personal care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, laboured breathing, diarrhea, skin irritation and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain.

• Siloxanes: Look for cyclomethicone and ingredients ending in “siloxane” (e.g.cyclotetrasiloxane)
Cyclomethicone and siloxanes are used in cosmetics to soften, smooth, and moisten. These compounds can, however, irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs. They are also suspected of interfering with hormone function (endocrine disruption) and of liver toxicity. These chemicals are persistent. In other words, they don’t easily degrade and can remain in the environment long after they are rinsed down the shower drain. 

• Triclosan: a synthetic “antibacterial” ingredient – with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! Commonly found in antiperspirants, deodorants, cleansers and hand sanitisers, it is registered it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. It is classified as a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Its manufacturing process may produce dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion; that is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Hormone disruptors pose enormous long-term chronic health risks by interfering with the way hormones perform, such as changing genetic material, decreasing fertility and sexual function, and fostering birth defects. It can temporarily deactivate sensory nerve endings, so contact with it often causes little or no pain. Internally, it can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, and convulsions. Stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidneys and lungs and can cause paralysis, suppression of immune function, brain hemorrhages, and heart problems. Its widespread use in popular antibacterial cleaners, toothpastes and household products may have nightmare implications for our future.

Scary isn't it? And yet we have all bought into the propaganda and think we absolutely cannot live without our Redken/Clarins/Loreal etc. If we are forced to live without them, we will all turn into aging hags, have dry, straw-like hair, saggy boobs, hairy skin, dirty teeth and smelly breath, not to mention BO!

Well, I for one KNOW I can do without all that stuff, because I do it on a daily basis! It wasn't something that happened overnight. Let's face it, those products cost a bomb. Who, in their right mind would throw out a half finished bottle of Kerastase?! So I finished everything I had and tried very hard to keep my mouth closed so I didn't swallow anything. I couldn't do much about the absorption issue but I just kept telling myself that it wouldn't be for much longer.

I am pretty chuffed with myself these days because there is not ONE product that I use that contains chemicals:) What's also REALLY nice about that is that I know I am not harming the environment in any way AND, even more importantly, nothing I buy, is tested on animals. And I'll tell you why I'm even more smug;) I pay far less for my beauty products than I used to! In the past, I could easily spend R1000 on my cleanser, toner and moisturiser in one shot, sometimes more if I was cornered by one of those persistent sales ladies (I know they are doing their job and I always felt bad walking away after they'd spent ages giving me their best sales pitch and that's why I used to always get taken in!) These days I spend under R150 and it's all working really well for me. I love how healthy my hair feels, I love how my skin feels and I can rest easy knowing that my body is not getting fed cancer-forming toxins on a daily basis.

Over the last year I have experimented with a lot of products in order to find the ones that work for me and, when I have struggled too much to find the right ones, I have made my own. I now make my own soap, lip-ice (yes, lip-ice also has all of those horrible ingredients in it!) and body creams. The only thing that is slightly costly, is the body moisturiser, but it is a price I am willing to pay because it covers my entire body and I am simply not willing to take a chance. Besides, I save so much more money on my other beauty products that I don't even notice the slight extra cost. I also have found that, since I have cut out all processed foods and started only eating real, organic foods, that my skin seems to shine from the inside out, without much need for a mountain of beauty products. It's always better to work from the inside out;)

Some of you are saying, "Really? How ridiculous are we going to get?! First we have to watch what we eat, now we can't use any beauty products?" Yes, of course you can. You can do anything you want. It's your body and your life. Just remember that every choice you make has a ripple effect. It's going on YOUR body, and going down YOUR drain, but once it's joined the system, it becomes part of something bigger and then it's no longer just YOUR problem. It eventually affects our rivers and oceans. You will say that your parents, and their parents used it all, but don't tell me that they're fine, and don't tell me that our environment is fine, because you would be just plain wrong. Again, you can read about it in this blog post.

At the end of the day, all of these products never existed for our grandparents, grandparents and they managed just fine. These days, we have learnt what we need to do to take care of ourselves and that is something positive we can take from the boom of civilisation. So we don't need to grow old and haggard looking before our time, but we can do it responsibly, thinking that, maybe, industry has gotten just a little out of hand in their quest to make money. Maybe we don't need as much as we thought we did. Maybe what we do affects more than just us. But if you've understood this blog post, then you KNOW it does affect YOU personally, and your family.

It's time to take your health into YOUR hands. Start reading ingredients on things before you buy them. You do it with food, because you don't want to gain weight, so why wouldn't you do it with your beauty products? Is weightloss more important than life? I don't think so and I know you don't. Take the power out of the hands of the big corporations, and put it back into yours.

Because you're worth it;)

Real Food Friday Feast - Banana Bread

This is the first of many Friday posts, all related to my real food recipe for the week. Why banana bread, you ask? Well, simply because it's my FAVOURITE cake:) I went without it for many years thinking it could only be made with wheat flour and, as an IBS sufferer, I couldn't eat wheat, so that meant no banana bread. It was hard, I can't lie!

At first I played around with a few different flours like spelt flour and rice flour, but I find I battle with most grains, and they tend not to rise very well either, so they weren't really working for me. I always found that the recipes included stuff I'd rather not be eating as well and, as I'm not much of a baker, I really needed a recipe to follow that was tried and tested.

One day, while I was googling (something as common to me as breathing in case you hadn't guessed) I happened upon a link that mentioned grain-free cake. It immediately hooked my interest for obvious reasons! Intrigued, I clicked on the link and discovered a recipe using...

I didn't know it existed either!

Here are some of the benefits of using coconut flour:

• It is rich in protein, fibre and fat which makes it really filling. 
• It is also a good source of lauric acid, a saturated fat thought to support the immune system and the thyroid. Like most healthy fats, lauric acid also promotes good skin health. 
• It is an very good source of manganese which helps you to better utilize many nutrients such as choline and biotin (found in eggs), vitamin C and thiamin. Manganese also supports bone health, nervous system function, thyroid health and helps to maintain optimal blood sugar levels.
• It isn't grain-based, and so, doesn't present many of the issues that accompany grains for people with grain allergies or intolerances, such as myself. 
• It is gluten-free and, while it does contain food phytate, the mineral-binding effects of phytates in coconut are virtually non-existent which means that coconut flour doesn't need to be soaked (but that is something I will cover in another post!)

So, the recipe I found was NOT for banana bread unfortunately but I was undeterred! I now knew what I needed to do. The hunt for coconut flour was ON!

It actually wasn't too hard to find! I am a frequenter of Fruit and Roots in Bryanston and it was the first place I thought of when I headed off on my search. They specialise in all things organic and natural and they also, conveniently, have a 20% off sale every last Thursday of the month. Coconut flour is pricey to be honest. But an upside to it is that you use far less than you would normal flour. For example, if the recipe said you needed 2 cups of normal flour, you'd only need about 1/2 a cup of coconut flour. It's highly absorbent and too much flour will dry out a recipe. The general rule, when baking with coconut flour, is to add extra moisture in the form of eggs or milk or even fruit juice.

I did some more googling and found a few recipes for banana bread and then the experimenting started! Not only was I a coconut flour newbie, but I also needed to figure out a recipe that suited my organic, healthy needs. That meant no refined sugar or vegetable oils or margarine. I also couldn't do cow's milk and I didn't want just normal baking powder because that's full of aluminium. (FYI) I found an aluminium free baking powder at Fruit and Roots again:)

There were a couple of different types but this one was the most affordable.

I tried quite a few different recipes. Most of them ended up coming out very dry and hard and FLAT. They didn't rise at ALL. My wife (we'll call her GLM), angel that she is, dutifully told me every time that it was DELICIOUS, bless her heart;) But I was NOT satisfied. I knew I could do better and wanted it to taste like my mom's banana bread used to taste. There HAD to be a way.

One day, I decided to add a teaspoon of bicarb to the mix and VOILA! The perfect banana bread:) I was overjoyed and, this time, GLM could honestly say that it was delicious;) 

Before I give you the recipe, I need to stipulate that ALL the ingredients used in this are either organic or free range. Oh, and there is only ONE raw honey that I use. It is THE BEST honey in all the world and I buy it by the crate direct from the farmer. I refuse to eat any other. If you would like to order some, please email me: mellowhealth@melanielowe.co.za

Without further ado, here is the recipe: 

Grain-Free Banana Bread with Coconut Flour

4 eggs
2 Tbs honey
1/3 cup salted butter or coconut oil (if not salted butter add ¼ tsp salt to recipe)
2 or 3 (depending on the size) very ripe bananas, mashed
3 full Tbs plain yogurt
3/4 cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

• Whisk up the eggs, honey, butter, yoghurt and mashed bananas 
• Sift flour, baking powder and bicarb into the batter and stir until completely mixed 
• Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F) for 40-50 minutes 

NOTE: Please keep an eye on your loaf because my oven has a door that doesn't close properly and I have had to play around with temperature and time to avoid over or under cooking it! Stick a toothpick in and it should come out clean.

Here are a few really nice ideas to make it more interesting and delicious!

• You can make it a chocolate banana bread by adding 3-4 Tbs organic cocoa powder 
• Make it a cinnamon banana bread by adding 1 tsp organic ground cinnamon 
• Make it a ginger banana bread by adding 1 tsp organic ground ginger
• Give it an extra omega 3, crunchy boost by adding 2 Tbs of flaxseeds
• I also occasionally add a handful of dried cranberries and the same can be done with raisins or nuts

Honestly, once you have mastered your banana bread, the sky is the limit. I tried an apple and cinnamon loaf this morning and it is YUMMY!

A slice of this banana bread has only 6 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat and 18 grams of carbs! That will alter slightly depending on what fruit you use, but it will still be low in calories at only 170 calories a slice. You  can triple all those amounts if you use a grain flour like wheat and even more if you use normal, refined sugar. The amazing thing is that every single calorie of this banana bread is GOOD FOR YOU. Kinda blows your mind a bit huh?

If you find coconut flour is out of your price range, fear not! I have since discovered chickpea flour! 

It is also a grain-free flour and it is a lot more economically viable. It DOES give your baked goods a slightly nuttier flavour but I enjoy it and hopefully you will too! You will just need to alter the recipe slightly with the chickpea flour and these are the changes below:

Grain Free Banana Bread with Chickpea flour

3 eggs
2 Tbs honey
1/3 cup salted butter or coconut oil (if not salted butter add ¼ tsp salt to recipe)
2 or 3 (depending on the size) very ripe bananas, mashed
2 full Tbs plain yogurt
11/2 cups chickpea flour

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

You will use the same method to make this one.

The nice thing about chickpea flour is that you can buy it at dischem. In fact, dischem is going to become your favourite shopping place for all your organic needs;) What's really handy about Dischem is that they have a loyalty card system. Not only do they use the money you spend to help various charities, but you also get rewarded with money back. There is an added advantage for FNB bankers in that you can shop there with your ebucks. I love shopping at places that reward you:) And I really like that dischem has good ethics when it comes to protecting their customers, animals and the planet.

I have plenty of other suppliers that I get all of my organic goodies from. It has been a journey of discovery over the last year and I have slowly but surely built up a good, solid list of organic suppliers and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to bring them all business! I think they deserve it given all that they are doing for a healthier world. That will be a blog post for next week!

Please let me know how your banana bread turns out! Happy baking:)