Go bake a cake

102. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Finally learning not to say my pin out aloud as I type each number into the eftpos machine.
2. Being the little spoon.
3. Learning the true definition of “house proud”. My husband and I moved into the brand new house we bought. We are so in love and content with our home. I’ve had countless moments like on that roof ad where the guy goes out to get the paper in his undies and ends up staring happily in a daze at his house while all the neighbours look on. However I’ve been fully clothed.
4. Isla Collective stripey-ness.
5. The funny moments of living in a new house like stumbling around in the dark in the middle of the night trying to find the bathroom not knowing where the hell you are. Or turning every single switch at the wall on each time you walk into every room to figure out which one will turn the light on.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Does anyone else love HONY (Humans of New York)? I first heard about the project on Triple J’s Hack about a year ago. A fantastic photographer captures portraits and does a mini interview with people he sees on the street in NY. I follow it on Insta and Facebook. They have just been SO GOOD lately!

This week there was a photo of a middle aged woman standing next to this vibrantly dressed older woman with a walking stick wearing bright red lipstick and a gorgeous smile. The caption read:

“What's your favorite thing about your mother?"

"She loves life more than anyone I've ever known. I hope she doesn't mind me telling you this, but recently she's had some health problems. And her health got so bad at one point, she called me and said: 'I was starting to wonder if there was any reason to go on. But then I had the most delicious pear!'

True inspiration.

How good is snail mail! There was a big parcel waiting for me in the post box this morning on my way to work.

My mother has always been the most thoughtful and selfless human I know. She sent a beautifully soft jumper she had been knitting my husband and just so I wouldn't feel left out, she sent me a little set of gardening affirmation cards! I just pulled this one out.

Enjoy this fresh new week. It's going to be a great one!

Hello to all the pregnant mamas out there!

Just a gentle reminder to keep an eye on your vitamin D levels this time of year as you are your bubba's only source of D while its chilling on the inside.

Optimal vitamin D levels will help bub grow strong bones and teeth, help the absorption of calcium and phosphorus as well as protecting against diabetes and heart disease.Vitamin D will also give your immune system a fighting chance this winter!

Aim to go for a walk daily in the sunshine and incorporate vitamin D-rich foods into your diet like free range eggs and organic butter. When looking at supplements, make your choice based on quality. I'm a fan of BioCeuticals D3 Drops Forte. Ask your GP for a blood test to monitor your levels.

Enjoy the sunshine!

*LOCALS SUPPORTING LOCALS*

I'm a massive fan of beeswax candles. Who wouldn't want their house smelling like honey!?

I met a lovely couple from Bucca (10 mins north of Coffs) in the shop recently. The husband is a beekeeper and his wife uses the wax to create gorgeous candles!

Needless to say, we are so happy to be stocking a variety of beeswax candles (starting from $1.75 for tea lights). When the bees come out of hibernation in Spring (learn something every day!) we will also be stocking their local honey!

"I don't feel very much like Pooh today", said Pooh.

"There there" said Piglet."I'll bring you tea and honey til you do".

-A.A. Milne

103. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Chet Faker’s cover of Lover (You Don’t Treat Me No Good) for Like a Version. Honey to my ears.
2. Reclining on my gorgeous new purple lotus bolster from @O
3. The cheeky possum that ran out in front of me while I was walking home with the groceries the other night. I got such a fright that I dropped the banana I was eating (um, or I MAY have thrown it at him), then he picked it up and ran off with it!
4. Baking my head off this morning for our Sunday picnic with the fam: zucchini slice and carrot cake. Sharing the recipe with you all this week.
5. My oversized ‘Good Morning Sunshine’ mug that has a picture of a flamingo wearing sunglasses standing next to a pineapple. A dear girlfriend gave it to me for my birthday this year. As soon as I wake up I fill it with milky chai and sit in a patch of sunshine that hits our courtyard at about 7:35 each morning.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. My routine has been totally out of whack for at least 6 weeks I reckon. But the dust has settled and my intention for this coming week is to put some positive lifestyle rituals back into place. I truly believe that we are only as strong as our daily habits.

Welcome back green juices, beach walks, my regular yoga practice, new recipes and journaling. Things that bring me back home to myself.

Have you been off track recently? Have a think about what you need MORE of in your life right now. You know those things you know you SHOULD be doing but you don’t really get around to doing? Let’s do them this week!!

*Photo of Emma the Naturopath chai-ing it up in Winter 2009 -taken by Brett the Physiologist.

So I made the BEST CAKE of my life on Sunday. Big claim, I know. Adapted from my fave cookbook ‘Wholefoods’ by Jude Blereau (page 289 for those of you playing along at home). It’s as if a carrot cake and fruit cake made love. There’s an interesting visualisation for you… Dairy free and gluten free. A lot of natural sugars so share it around. Really dense and moist. Perfectly accompanied by a hot tea and good book.

CARROT CAKE
2 cups gluten free self raising flour
1 cup coconut sugar
½ cup shredded or desiccated coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sultanas
4 cups (400g) grated carrot
3 pineapple rings, roughly chopped
¼ cup (60ml) pineapple juice from the can
½ cup olive oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, spices, walnuts and sultanas in a large bowl and mix lightly.
3. Mix together the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl then add to the rest of the mixture.
4. Line a cake tin with baking paper or lightly grease with coconut oil. I divided the mixture between a round 24 cm spring form tin and a loaf tin. Bake for about 1 hr and 15 mins or until the center is cooked when tested with a skewer. If the top starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil. Leave cakes to cool for 15 mins in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack. I actually turned my super powered oven down half way through, so just monitor.

Enjoy!

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health
0266 514 533
carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com

Tell me everything...

Top Five Things I LOVED This Wk: (our 99th!!)

1. This week’s ‘Food Safari’ in Japan on SBS. Oh the memories… Kind of makes up for Maeve O'Meara's hectic wardrobe choices.
2. Gorman’s range of watermelon swimwear, vegetable doona covers, broccoli totes and pineapple cushion covers. Makes my little naturopath heart beat faster.
3. Having a “stay-cation” for 5 days just around home.
4. Sitting on the jetty… seeing a few bubbles float to the surface… then a shadow… then a big old sea turtle coming up for air.
5. Going for a walk around the neighbourhood just on dark when you can smell people’s fire places and their hearty dinners bubbling away on the stove. I love the crisp night air!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. I remember asking a client once if they meditated.
“Yes I walk my dogs in the bush near my house” they replied.
I paused… “But do you MEDITATE?” I asked again.
“Yes” they repeated with a smile. “That is”.

In every consultation I am humbled by what my clients teach me.

I meditated my head off this week. I sat on the end of the jetty and watched the water lap the pylons below. I sat on a little red wooden stool in my garden and weeded in the sun. I slowly stirred my porridge in a clockwise fashion. I laid in the bath and stared at the steam on the mirror.

My mind wasn’t buzzing. It was quiet. It helped me come home to myself.

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes a day, unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour”.
-Zen proverb

I've had such a satisfying time in clinic lately. Such wonderful souls have been coming in (or bringing their children in) to learn how to nurture their bodies better. They leave feeling more empowered.

It melts my heart.

I've had an influx on teenage boys as well as pre-diabetic individuals these last few weeks. I love the observing the waves of particular people that all seem to come at the same time.

If you want to come in and chat with me in my little pale blue room, please give the shop a call and we'll work out a time that suits you. I'd love to meet you.

~*OUR 100TH TOP FIVE THINGS I LOVED THIS WEEK:*~!!!

1. Being read to in bed (The Way of the Peaceful Warrior) while sharing a hot water bottle.
2. Broccoli from Dorrigo, coriander from Bonville and wild caught Coffs king prawns. I love the Coffs farmers markets.
3. Those random moments that restore your faith in humanity.I was waiting for my takeaway wrap at a café where a Matt Corby-esque busker was playing nearby. I watched all the people rush by with their busy lives as he started playing a haunting rendition of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. I saw a woman in probably her fifties stop in her tracks and she became fixated on him. As the song progressed she gravitated closer and closer to the busker and by the last verse she was standing directly opposite him, only 2 meters away. When he finished the song she removed her glasses to wipe tears from her eyes, whispered a few words to him while her hand was on her heart and they embraced.
4. Shiitake onigiri from Zen Japan.
5. The instant warmth on my face when the sun popped out of the ocean this morning while I sat on the rock wall doing my meditation.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Thanks guys for frothing on my weekly stoke with me for the past 100 weeks!! Not a week goes by without someone kindly telling me that they dig the Top 5. I remember being in the shop one day and hearing a woman say to her partner “I just have to tell the lady in here something”. She explained that she was holidaying from Tassie and she found my shop so she could let me know that she always looks forward to the Top 5. Bless.

While I’m getting all emo on you guys, I wanted to mention that in May Essential Health celebrated our 9 year anniversary since opening in 2005!! It was my parent’s baby for four and a half years and then mine for the other four and a half.

High five guys! Let’s continue having an attitude of gratitude and who knows what the future will bring…!

“The things you are passionate about are not random. They are your calling.”
-Fabienne Fredrickson

DRY SKIN and WINTER seem to go hand in hand. Think of your cells as little water balloons. The surface of the balloon (your cell) is made of oil so if we don’t have enough oil from our diet, the water will leak out and the skin becomes dry and scaly. A cell with a decent amount of oil and water will be strong and hydrated. Really aim for those 8 glasses of water a day!

OILY FOODS for silky soft skin!
*Grill a lovely piece of Atlantic salmon or barramundi
*Cook stir-fry’s and curries with extra virgin coconut oil
*Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over salads
*Pop a tablespoon of flaxseed oil into a smoothie
*Add 2 teaspoons of coconut oil to your porridge
*Sprinkle chia seeds over your scrambled eggs
*Spread some avo on your toast then sprinkle with hemp seeds

For an extra boost you can also pop some oil capsules like fish oil, evening primrose, sea buckthorn or vitamin E.

Don’t forget to nourish your skin with products that contain high quality natural ingredients. We just received another shipment of Kora Organics by Miranda Kerr today!! It’s such a stunning brand that I absolutely swear by so please come in and try it for yourself!

I've had alot on my mind lately. Something in particular that was causing me to feel fearful. This morning I reached over and grabbed my yoga affirmation cards that I bought in Hawaii from my bedside table. As I shuffled them, I asked what I should do about this situation.

I pulled out this card:

TRUST

"Trust relieves the worry and clears the path for forward motion. Divine forces are guiding your life. You are well protected".

I thought I'd share that with you in case you too needed a gentle reminder to just let go and have a little faith.

Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Toasty flanno sheets.
2. Standing on the end of Woolgoolga headland and just feeling so tiny compared to the expansive ocean in front of me.
3. Conversations that start with “Are you Emma the naturopath?” Followed by a sheepish “Oh hi, I’ve been stalking your Essential Health page for ages”. It happens on a weekly basis and always makes me laugh out loud.
4. Sarah’s mandarins, Ainslee’s raw choc mint cheesecake and Anna’s tahini bliss balls. What clever and generous friends I have.
5. Winter indulgences: Leftover chicken and vegie soup for breakfast and spiced g-free carrot muffins hot out of the oven and smothered with salty organic butter for afternoon tea. Recipe coming to you this week.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “Rest when you’re weary.
Refresh and renew yourself,
your body,
your mind,
your spirit.
Then get back to work.”

-Ralph Marston

I was kindly invited to have a chat with some lovely yogini’s on Saturday about self-nourishment, eating with gratitude and convalescing. Winter is the perfect season to turn inwards and restore our spirit. Embrace this time of year by reading a book in the sunshine, soaking in a candle lit bath and mopping up the last of your soup with some crusty sourdough. Be gentle with yourself.

SPICED CARROT MUFFINS (DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN FREE)

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups gluten-free plain flour (I used the Orgran brand)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 small carrots, grated
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup honey (or rice malt syrup)
2 eggs

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, spices, carrots and walnuts in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.

3. Add coconut milk, honey, oil and eggs. Mix until just combined. Spoon mixture evenly into muffin tin.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Adapted from an I Quit Sugar recipe


Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health
0266 514 533
Boulevard Arcade (opp. Blush), Coffs Mall

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