Act local.

I wandered through the farmers markets in town today and filled my bag with spelt bread from Bellingen (20 mins south of Coffs), bananas from Woolgoolga (20 mins north) and then bought a piece of gluten-free zucchini slice from a little old lady who was doing a roaring trade with all her scrumptious looking homemade treats. I went over to a local business and they ground up some fresh peanut butter for me, then bought the softest bamboo top from a lovely little shop that sells Australian owned and made goods. Afterwards I went into four different op shops and bought a stack of empty jars to put tea light candles in.

Here are Essential Health’s top 10 ways to support your local community:

Visit your local farmers market
Grow your own herbs, fruit and veg and make a compost heap
Pass on old clothes, sheets and blankets to an op-shop
Hand down old toys and out grown clothes to your friends who have kids
Donate money to your Surf Life Saving Club
Adopt new pets from the RSPCA rather than the pet shop
Buy your coffee at a little café rather than a big chain
Volunteer at the RSPCA, a retirement home or soup kitchen
Get crafty and make cards, toys and decorations this Christmas
SUPPORT INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES RATHER THAN FRANCHISES!!!

What things do you do to support the town and country that you live in?

Treats.

The Bellingen Valley

Ceres RAW Food Bars from NZ

Drishti Candles from Bellingen

CocoLuscious coconut icecream from the Goldy

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon


There’s a quaint little town that’s a half hour drive from where I live in Coffs Harbour called Bellingen. Nestled at the top of the main street in Bello is my favourite health food shop (apart from my own!) called Kombu Wholefoods. It has an amazingly earthy and community feel to it and has that “organised chaos” look about it.

After loitering around touching everything for so long that I’m sure the staff were convinced that I was a shop lifter, I departed the shop with a cardboard box containing a copy of Sally Fallon’s classic book Nourishing Traditions, a spicy smelling Drishti ‘Fire Dancer’ cinnamon candle, a quickly melting tub of Organic Chai CocoLuscious ice cream and an apple and cinnamon Ceres RAW Food bar –there’s no hiding my cinnamon fetish!

I’m not sure what I love more… all of these mentally and physically wholesome treats or the fact that my accountant allows me to pay for them all on the company credit card as “research”!

Here’s a quick rundown of my loot:

I am becoming painfully aware of the toxicity of paraffin wax candles and the noxious perfumes added to them. Drishti candles have 100% cotton wicks, are sourced from sustainable palm wax, are scented with 100% pure essential oils and are Australian made and owned. My massive 120 hour candle was about $30. Even when the candles not lit my lounge room smells all spicy and warm.

If I eat anything pre-made like snack bars or pasta sauce, I like to be familiar with everything that’s in it and I prefer to be able to count all of those ingredients on one hand. Ceres RAW Food bars from NZ cost $2.95 are certified organic and contain: apples, dates, almonds and cinnamon. The CocoLuscious ice cream from Burleigh Heads contains: coconut cream, coconut milk, agave nectar, pure vanilla extract, chai spices and guar gum. 500ml was $11.95 and I’m getting the mint choc chip next time!

I know of a number of naturopaths and nutritionists that base their practise solely around the book Nourishing Traditions. I’ve added it to the ever growing mountain of books to read on my bedside table.

Click here to check out Drishti candles.
Click here to check out Ceres RAW Food bars.
Click here to check out CocoLuscious ice cream.
Click here to check out Nourishing Traditions.
Click here to check out Kombu Wholefoods.

And go and have a look and count the number of ingredients in your muesli bars, then see if you can recognise them all without pulling out The Chemical Maze book.