Surrender

Almond milk

Frozen mango

Red pawpaw

Cinnamon

Coconut oil

Barley grass powder

Pea protein powder

Chia Seeds

Whizzed up in our pimping BioChef blender

What was in your smoothie this morning?

118. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Watching a young tradie pull his ute over and scoop up three tiny plover chicks and reunite them with their mummy and daddy who were distressed that they couldn’t jump up the gutter. Bless. I on the other hand have taken out a restraining order against all plovers...
2. Pomegranate sorbet after wandering through the Bangalow markets.
3. Stopping over at our favourite antique shop on the drive home. Yes I did need that goose-shaped serviette holder.
4. The craziness of the teepee markets at the Byron Bay Surf Festival.
5. The sweet elderly customer who knitted a pair of booties, mittens and a little hat for my bub -all wrapped up in waxed baking paper!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or a hostile universe”
-Albert Einstein

It’s good just to check in with ourselves every now and then to see how optimistic our view on our world really is

119. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Listening to ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’ by Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill.
2. The cat that sat on our window sill at 2:30 this morning and began serenading us at the top of its lungs. We were in hysterics.
3. Sneaky Spell purchases…!
4. Incredible jacaranda trees lighting up my life like exploding purple fireworks.
5. Mum’s perfect lamb roast and veg with homemade mint sauce followed by a gluten-free apple and date lumberjack cake =food coma for days.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. There are three things my dad has always tried to instill upon me for as long as I can remember. The first is to not attach unnecessary emotion to a situation. The second is not to live beyond your means. And the last is to have patience...

I’ve always sucked at the latter. It’s a work in progress.
The yoga affirmation card I pulled out this morning read:

PATIENCE (Kurmasana Pose –Tortoise Pose)

Patience is not a command to wait.

It’s a relaxed approach to this moment,

so the next moment can reveal itself with ease.

Your patience creates excellence.

What an eloquent way of describing patience… Please borrow this sentiment this week if it resonates with you. It hit the nail on the head for me.

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
SURRENDER

I’ve always had such a fear of giving birth.

After a lot of reflection, I figured out that the fear stemmed from the lack of belief in my own body as I felt that I was “too yin”. I thought the tougher, stronger and “more yang” you were, the better you would be at birthing your baby. “Why can’t YOU do this?” I’d say to my husband (the most yang person I know).

But after doing the HypnoBirthing course, hearing positive birth stories from women I align with and reading Sarah J. Buckley’s book ‘Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering’, I have really transformed my feelings.

This passage by Buckley completely clicked for me:

“Surrender is not a popular virtue in the West. In fact, surrender is often seen as weakness in our culture; we are instead encouraged to be active and in control of our lives. This very yang, masculine attitude may serve us in some circumstances, but we cannot birth our babies through sheer force of will. We need to learn more subtle –yet equally powerful, path of surrender.
When we surrender conscious control, we allow our deeper innate rhythms to surface. In allowing her labour to go at its own pace, without hurry or interference, a woman learns to trust her own , and her baby’s, natural rhythms.

In surrendering to birth, we also learn about our role on the Earth: we are neither the rulers nor the architects of creation. Life comes through us, simply and gracefully, when we allow it”.

Did you have fears around giving birth? What helped you and what did you discover about yourself?

Emma the Naturopath xx
*picture taken last wk at 6 months*
(27 wks –length of a continental cucumber)

I am so head over heels for what Elizabeth Gilbert wrote last week about staying true to yourself that I just had to share it:

Thought of the Day: DON'T LIVE SOMEBODY ELSE'S DREAM.

Dear Ones -
I found this picture today that my husband took of me in 2011, doing research for THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS. This photo captures exactly what I did for three straight years. I sat in a chair, reading books about botany, evolution, abolition, women's history, missionaries, Dutch 18th century commerce, and more...in order to fill my brains (and index cards) with enough information to write that novel.

There is no situation in which I could possibly be happier than this — submerged in the vocation that I love, vanishing for hours a day into my work.
Un-showered, greasy hair, eyes tired, totally falling down the rabbit hole of research...this is me, living my dream.

I was thinking today about all the other paths that I did not take in life, no matter how shiny and appealing they may have looked. I've had the possibility of living so many different kinds of life that could have been a dream for somebody else. I never choose those lives. I've never lived the dreams that other people wanted for themselves — nor have I lived the dreams that other people may have wanted for me.

I never had children...because that's somebody else's dream.
I never took the opportunities that were offered to me after the success of EAT PRAY LOVE to have a TV show of my own...because that's somebody else's dream.
I never took a good steady job teaching writing at a nice college...because that's somebody else's dream.

I didn't remain in Bali or Rome, gorgeous as those places are...because that's somebody else's dream.
I turn down 99% of the invitations I get to attend to fancy parties and stellar gatherings...because that's somebody else's dream.

I sold my big beautiful house with its fabulous gardens and lovely library...because one day I looked around at that gorgeous home and realized: "This is somebody else's dream." (Happily, I sold the house to the family whose dream it actually was. So we all win.)
I never hired a team of personal assistants and staff and consultants to help me "grow my brand"...because that's somebody else's dream.

I know what makes me come to life — working on my books — and this picture tells the whole story. Knowing what makes me come to life has helped me to distinguish between my dreams and the dreams of others.

WHAT MAKES YOU COME TO LIFE?
Ask yourself this question, whenever you are given any choice or opportunity. Ask: "Will saying YES to this path bring me closer to the source that brings me to life? Or will it take me further away?"
No matter how alluring, no matter how beautiful, no matter how sparkling and fancy and delicious — do not say YES to other people's dreams.

Do your own thing. Live in your own waking dream. Stubbornly.

Even if it means not washing your hair for a week. (ESPECIALLY if it means that!)

ONWARD,
LG

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health

0266 514 533

carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com

Facebook: Emma the Naturopath

Smoothie O'Clock!

It was *SMOOTHIE TIME* at the Caller household this morning! We make our own separate ones because he likes his thick and sweeter and I like mine milky and fruity.

His: pea protein, cacao, coconut oil, chia seeds, rolled oats, organic acai powder, almond milk, banana and blackberries.

Mine: pea protein, mango, blackberries, LSA, coconut oil, super greens powder (wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina and chlorella).

It’s so fun to get your creative juices flowing in the kitchen and really get involved in preparing nourishing LIVE food for yourself instead of just pouring some processed cereal into a bowl. I always tell my clients that LIFE GIVES LIFE –which means you take on the vitality of your food so be mindful of how fresh your food is. Needless to say we are now bubbling with energy to bounce through the rest of the weekend!

Did you guys get your smoothie on this morning? What taste sensations did you come up with?

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Learning that the size and extravagance of a bunch of flowers is in exact proportion to the amount of brownie points the can be earnt from me. I’m a sucker for Precious Petals bouquets.

2. Another yoga retreat booked in for next month!

3. Wandering into a new café and having the BEST salad: chicken, walnut, green apple, parmesan, celery and rocket with a honey mustard dressing. All while the new Fat Freddy’s Drop cd was cranking.

4. Riding my bike past a sea of happy yellow daffodils in someone’s front yard. It’s a sure-fire way to tell that August is here.

5. Picking up my guitar again after many years and strumming little songs to myself.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “And then there’s the most dangerous risk of all… The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself freedom to do it later” –Randy Komisar.

Make your dreams a priority because there is no dress rehearsal for this precious life of ours.

"Wow it smells so good in here" is what we hear multiple times every day as people walk into the shop.

We'd like to say that it was us, but its actually our delicious Drishti Candles from Bellingen.

I've got the Fire Dancer burning at work (cinnamon and sweet orange) and I light the Uplifter (lime and lemongrass) every morning at home to begin each day with a fresh start.

Drishti Candles have no synthetic perfumes, artificial dyes just pure essential oils that offer a therapeutic effect like lifting your mood or promoting a restful sleep.

Next time you go to buy a cheap brightly coloured tropical scented candle, just be mindful about what you and your family are inhaling.

Every once in a while I’ll meet someone with no sense of smell. Can you imagine that? The things simplest things we take for granted! My yoga teacher once told me that when you need grounding, just tune into your sense of smell and this will stimulate your base chakra.

I came across so many beautiful scents today.

-earthy spicy-ness from a pot of dandelion chai
-salty breeze on the top of Muttonbird Island
-delicious oils infused with Ayurvedic herbs during my Indian head massage (thanks Trista at Ayurvedic Skin Care & Reflexology Fusion.)
-fresh laundry that’s been flapping in the sunshine
-bubbling yellow curry on the stove
-banana oat choc chip cookies baking in the oven
-my husband

Inhale, exhaaaaaale.

Soooo excited to get to work today and unpack the new *KORA ORGANICS* delivery!!!

Every time I order with Kora Organics I keep adding new products and increasing quantities because it's just selling like gluten-free hot cakes!

We're open every Sat from 9am til 1:30pm so pop in and have a play with the testers with me!

Kora is:
*vegan
*cruelty free
*certified organic
*uses essential oils instead of fragrances
*packed with antioxidants like noni juice
*full of essential fatty acids like sea buckthorn and jojoba
*Australian made and owned
*THE BEST SKINCARE RANGE I'VE EVER USED!!

Sunny weather = happy people!

Keep those vibes high everyone!

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Downloading a ‘Daily Affirmation’ app on my phone. Once I read that day’s affirmation, I set it to the background of my phone so I see it every time the screen lights up. Today’s was “I am surrounded with loving, caring people in my life”.

2. Funny faces, big yawns and a little sigh from 8 day old Ayana while she laid my arms. My husband nearly cried when his best mate asked him to be her godfather. Bless xx

3. A box of band aids with sharks all over them that I wrap my client’s fingers up with after I’ve taken their blood.

4. A satisfied craving for baked beans… with a little pink salt.

5. Making almond milk for the first time! Then making bliss balls out of the leftover ‘nut meat’. Recipes coming at you this wk!

 

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Marianne Williamson once wrote:

“Do what you love.
Do what makes your heart sing.
And NEVER do it for the money,
Go to work to spread joy”.

This is my favourite quote in the whole world. It makes me feel emotional every time I read it. What did you want to be when you grew up? Where do your thoughts wander when you daydream? What subject gets you all excited and makes your eyes light up? THIS is your passion! Do everything in your power to pursue this!

There is no denying that Spring is just 2 wks away!! 

The gorgeous Jasmine List at One Conscious Breath Yoga (previously Yoga Sense on Moonee St, Coffs) is running a Spring Intensive. There are only a few spots left so give her a call asap if you are looking to increase your vitality and shred you Winter coat!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Pop over to Facebook and like "Essential Health Coffs"!

Shop local.

Don't you think?

Mine: frozen blackberries, vanilla pea protein, cinnamon, coconut water, fresh mint, LSA, coconut oil.

It's just around the corner....!

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Feeling the sweat trickle down my body at hot yoga on Tuesday night.

2. Three good luck signs this week: making a wish on the hugest dandelion I’d ever seen, picking up a penny (well 10c) and seeing a shooting star!

3. My current obsession: chai spiced dandelion tea with almond milk sprinkled with ground cinnamon.

4. Hour long phone calls, smoothie dates and sweet text messages with three of my long lost special friends that warmed my heart.

5. Tandem surfing with my husband at Scotts Head today. I was upside down during one of our lifts and gained a whole new perspective cruising along the wave with the water where the sky should be. 

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “Love recognises no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination” –Maya Angelou. This week, show those special people around you that you love them. It doesn’t have to be the clichéd bunch of flowers or box of chocolates. It’s the little things that count like cooking their favourite dinner or making them a hot water bottle and popping it into their side of the bed so it’s toasty when they jump in. Thoughtfulness goes along way.   

Not just for itchy scalps! It's also a fantastic weekly treatment for glossy smooth hair. 

Just don't forget to put an old towel over your pillow before you go to sleep!

"Imagine that you are having difficulties with a loved one, such as your mother or father, husband or wife, lover or friend. 

How helpful and revealing it can be to consider the other person not in his or her “role” of mother or father or husband, but simply as another “you,” another human being, with the same feelings as you, the same desire for happiness, the same fear of suffering.

Thinking of the other one as a real person, exactly the same as you, will open your heart to him or her and give you more insight into how to help."

-Sogyal Rinpoche, world-renowned Buddhist teacher

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Having a Wintery weekday off and waking at 7am, refilling my hot water bottle and jumping back into bed til 10am, drinking tea, reading cookbooks and having lovely chats on the phone.

2. Going for an afternoon walk on the boardwalk at the marina and looking down to my right to see a baby stingray the size of a saucer cruising along beside me.

3. Meeting Billy, my new next door neighbour. The fluffiest white Persian cat I’ve ever seen. He has the hair of about 7 cats! Not the most masculine looking bloke!

4. Being asked at Café Bacio if I would like gluten-free toast or sourdough with my pumpkin soup. Hands up all the gluten-free peeps out there whose pet hate it is to be charged the same price for soup and toast even when you ask for no toast because you can’t eat it!

5. The rambling and wild garden of Mrs Jenny Joske. Could I please move in now?

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. I received not one, not two, but THREE bags of citrus this week from loving customers and friends. Ruby grapefruits, Valencia oranges, lemons and Tahitian limes. There will be no scurvy in this household!

This week, think about how you can show GENEROSITY to your family, neighbours or anyone. Think about what you can do for the other person instead of what you can receive from them. Bake a batch of bickies and pop them in a jar saying “help yourself” in your staff room, tell the checkout chick a joke to brighten her day or leave a ten dollar tip for your waiter –even if you only ordered a coffee. As my yoga teacher once told me “you have an endless ocean of love and kindness inside of you”.

I’m so proud of being a sole trader instead of a franchise for so many reasons!

One of which is that I can stock any product/brand I believe in instead of being dictated by “head office” on what to sell because they have done a deal which certain companies. Ever wondered why you get *discount days* at franchises…?

So I choose to support/stock Australian brands that I LOVE such as:

*Rainbow Chai from Repton

*Drishti candles from Bello

*EpZen Epsom Soaks from Muwillumbah

*MooGoo from the Goldy

*Kora Organics from Sydney

*Bee Natural beeswax candles from Bonville

*D’Entrecastaux soaps from Valla

*Warbotanicals from Warbotan in Vic

Who is your dollar supporting? What is your fave “local product” or “small business”?

Does Vicks Vapour Rub work? Yes.

Is it natural? NO. Vicks contains petroleum by-products which are not good for us or our kiddies.

Here is the recipe I give my clients for a really easy to make chest rub that is gentle on the skin and works a treat!

Coconut Chest Rub

¼ cup organic coconut oil
15 drops eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops lemon essential oil
10 drops peppermint essential oil (if pregnant, swap for spearmint)

15 drops lavender oil (perfect for a restful sleep)

1. Melt the coconut oil by holding the measuring cup in a mug of boiling water.

2. Once melted, add in the essential oils and stir well.

3. Pour into a small glass jar or even an empty lip balm pot. That’s it!

Uses:

-Massage into throat, chest and upper back.

-Add 2 tsp to a large bowl or the bathroom sink filled with boiling water then pop a towel over your head and breathe deeply.

-Add 2 tsp to a bucket of hot water with a cup of Epsom salts and pop your feet in for 20 mins.

-Massage into feet before bed then pop some old socks on.

My husband even rubs a little under his nose before footy training to keep his airways open!

If you were super keen and were going to make up a descent amount to give to friends/family, whiz mixture up in a food processor and it will be more fluffy and spreadable.

If you don’t have any essential oils at home and didn’t want to buy all four, Oil Garden have a blend of corn mint, eucalyptus and thyme called Breathe Easier which would work well.

Label the jar and keep essential oils out of the reach of children. Do a little patch test first if super sensitive skin. Coconut oil is a wonderful moisturiser especially for eczema and psoriasis and soaks right in! A little bit goes a long way!

Emma the Naturopath xx

Pop over to our Facebook page 'Essential Health Coffs' and say hello!

Stay creatively juicy xx

 *CREATIVE JUICES*

Whether you put paintbrush to canvas, sow seeds in the earth, cook up a storm, write in a journal or dance your story –live each day expressing yourself in your own unique way! Above all else, always keep your creative channel open!

Top 5 Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Chocolate coated almonds on Christmas day. Whose idea was it to put the bowl in front of where I was sitting?

2. Pondering how likely it would be for us to actually turn into mangoes due to the quantity we have been consuming this Summer… Currently obsessed with homemade mango and lychee sorbet from our Cuisinart ice cream maker. Raddest engagement present ever!

3. Lauren Hill’s section in Nathan Oldfield’s new movie ‘The Heart and The Sea’. The soundtrack, Nat’s talent, her gracefulness, that stoked grin.

4. Antipodes mineral water. The glass bottles make the perfect vases.

5. Costume parties! Here is a pic from our friends’ Disney party on Fri night. Take note of Mickey’s buttons that are made from coconut water bottle tops that he sewed on.

Take a moment to reminisce on all the sweetness of 2012!

MANGO COCONUT CHAI SMOOTHIE

What do I love?

Organic stuff, coconut stuff and chai. So you could only imagine the joy I felt when I discovered Pure Harvest’s Coco Quench milk! It’s a blend of organic coconut and brown rice blended into a milk in a nifty 1L carton. I bought it at the Jetty IGA in Coffs for about 5 bucks.

I created this little puppy this morning and threw it in an empty 1L raw honey jar as I ran out the door for work.

1 mango

500ml Coco Quench milk

1 Tbsp LSA

1 Tbsp vanilla pea protein powder

2 tsp Hari Har Chai sprinkles (an organic blend of cocoa, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger)

1 Tbsp desiccated coconut

6 ice cubes

Amazing-ness. I didn’t want it to end...

"Like many over scheduled, multi-tasking women, I questioned if I really had time for yoga; I could use that extra time to get through the to-do list in the office or surely spend that hour getting ahead on my uni assignment...."

Take a couple of moments to read this beautiful account of how yoga inspired Holly H's daily life.

http://www.girlosophy.com/eat/health/yoga-and-me

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Don't forget to 'Like' ESSENTIAL HEALTH COFFS on Facebook!

The Late For Work Smoothie.

I am not by any means a morning person. I always say that I endeavour to be one, but I just have so much fun doing things at night time. Needless to say, my morning routine is rather hot footed.

I was already running 5 minutes late for work this morning and realised that I still hadn’t had breakfast.

So I grabbed my blender and threw in:

300ml of coconut water (super high in magnesium to relax muscles)
8 or 10 frozen blackberries (contains antioxidants to reduce cell ageing)
1 Tablespoon of LSA (protein, good fats and fibre)
1 heaped teaspoon of spirulina (rich in chlorophyll to cleanse the blood)

Poured it into my new Cheeki stainless steel coffee mug and hit the road.

Happy Friday everyone xx

The Thank-God-I-Made-It-Through-November Smoothie.

Sometimes we get so caught up in moving from one obstacle/job/day to the next that we stop to forget to acknowledge our achievements. It could be handing in your final uni assessment or cleaning the whole house from top to bottom. The moral of the story is to take a moment to celebrate YOU!

November was a bloody big month for me. I’ve been working extra hours in the shop, seeing an influx of new clients in the clinic, planning our ‘Big Day’, preparing a car to be sold, plus pilates, Momentum group fitness classes and everything else life had in store! With thanks to my now shrivelled up adrenal glands, I made it to December!

Needless to say, my smoothie today is the Thank God I Made It Through November Smoothie! Dedicated to my adrenals.

Whiz up in a blender:

300ml coconut water
1 heaped tsp of spirulina powder (high in chlorophyll which alkalises the blood)
1 tsp of BioCeuticals Silica liquid (essential for lovely skin and tastes like lemonade icy poles! $24.95 for 500ml)
1 Tbsp chia seeds (for fibre)
½ a banana
A handful of watermelon
A handful of frozen blackberries
A sprig of fresh mint out of the garden

Add a little cocktail umbrella because you deserve it!

Now bring on December!! xx

Loco for coco.

What gets your creative juices flowing?

Some people paint
Some people sew
Some people take photos
Some people design outfits
Some people style hair
Some people draw lines with their surfboards on the face of waves

Some people make shapes with their bodies on a yoga mat...

Me? Well I make smoothies!

I’m an absolute fiend for coconut water! If I’m in Byron for the weekend I’ll take a stash from the shop up with me to feed my habit.

So here’s my latest smoothie which is keeping me happy and healthy:

Throw in a blender:

300ml of coconut water
A piece of watermelon
A piece of pineapple (awesome way to get your digestive enzymes going in the morning)
4 strawberries (vitamin C)
1 teaspoon of spirulina (58 times richer in iron than spinach)
1 Tbsp of LSA (fibre and good oils)
And now for the key ingredient.... mint leaves! (great for bloating)

Don’t even talk to me until you’ve tried this smoothie because it’s THAT good!

The benefits of coconut water are pretty amazing. Coconut water is the clear fluid found inside baby green coconuts that tastes lovely and sweet. It’s a natural isotonic beverage which replaces electrolytes (eg. calcium, potassium and magnesium) when your body loses fluid. Yet has nowhere near as much sugar, sodium and artificial colours, flavours and god knows what, as sports drinks. So therefore it’s perfect for after fevers, post-work out, bouts of diarrhoea or a spew after a big night –charming.

Coconut water also has countless other positive benefits on the body which I’ll expand on another time. But here’s a little coconut fact for you:

In the 1500s, explorers thought that the markings on coconuts looked like eyes so aptly named it a “coco” nut which comes from the Spanish word meaning “monkey face”. You'll be happy you read that when the question comes up at your next trivia night down at the local pub.

Click here for some more Essential Health coconutty goodness!

The 'Awesome Day' smoothie.

Good morning everyone!

On Monday morning I was really keen for a smoothie but soon realised that I was out of soy milk. So I figured out a new smoothie/juice recipe and have been having it every morning since!

Add to a blender:

1 cup of watermelon

5 strawberries (or 1/3 cup of frozen berries)

1 cup of fruit juice

1 heaped dessert spoon of protein powder

1 level teaspoon of spirulina

1 tablespoon of LSA or chia seeds

and whizz up!

It's a really adaptable recipe. You can add whatever your little heart desires... a banana, barley grass, slippery elm, probiotic powder, LSA, magnesium powder, flavoured fish oil, maca powder..... This morning I was feeling a bit sniffley so I added a scoop of BioCeuticals ImmunoFactors which is an awesome little powder with vit C, vit A, zinc, quercetin and elderflower to boost the immune system! You could even freeze the smoothie and make into little iceblocks!

So go on, shake things up a bit! Bahaha :)