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

You wish jellyfish.

Not a dull moment goes by at Essential Health.

A young lady bought a tub of spirulina powder last week for her pet moon jellyfish. You read correctly.

“They’re so cute! Like little lava lamps!” She then excitedly went on to tell me that the spirulina is the food for the krill which the jellyfish eat –which are actually sea monkeys! This consequently turns the sea monkeys green.

You can’t just sprinkle the green sea monkeys into the tank for the jellyfish to eat. You have to suck them up with a pipette, chase the jellyfish around the tank until it’s upside down, and then squirt the sea monkeys into it. The jellyfish have four stomachs which give them a four leaf clover appearance when you look down on them.

I was absolutely enthralled as these facts were relayed to me at 100 miles an hour as the customer gushed about her little transparent friends. Not because I too have a secret jellyfish fetish, but how consumed she was with energy.

I LOVE listening to people talk about what they are truly passionate about. I love seeing their face light up, their eyes grow wider, the wild hand gestures and instant enthusiasm that arises from a topic that is close to their heart. Whether it’s the epic wave they got in the surf this morning or the elaborate meal they prepared from scratch or a tank full of jellyfish.

Listen mindfully to people. Don’t just hear the words they say, mindfully tune in to how they say it and what feelings it evokes.

What floats your boat? What flicks your switch and tickles you on the fancy? xx

Twenty-twelve.

Last year I made an agreement with myself that I would have a life outside of the business. So I fell deeply in love with pilates, joined a new yoga class, took more road trips North and met some awesome new friends.

As a result, my life is now richer than before.

I’m a huge believer that every decision we have ever made has lead us to exactly where we are in our life at this very point. The strength of our relationships, our job, our health, how much money we make, the person we’ve become, but most of all: how happy we are.

So this year (2012) I endeavour to:
*get married to my other half and travel to Fiji
*run 10 km
*have more dinner parties
*buy a 12ft board with my man so we can surf tandem and stand-up paddle board
*be true to myself by letting go of old ways of thinking that don’t serve my life in a positive way

Oh and get lots more reflexology treatments!

Happy New Year everyone xx

Have a read about how I got a life in 2011 here!

Hummus from home.

We’ve received a swag of rad engagement presents over the last couple of months. One if particular being a snazzy little food processor! My latest culinary creation is homemade hummus! Those plastic tubs of hummus in the supermarket just don’t compare to the flavour, texture, smell and how filling the real stuff is!

I’m always trying to discover ways to become more self sufficient to improve my health and reduce the amount of packaging I use. Eg growing my own herbs, mixing up our own muesli, buying toilet paper in paper packaging rather than plastic so it can be popped in the recycle bin.

So I’ve stopped buying crackers and started using mushies, snowpeas, zucchini, cucumber, red capsicum, carrots as my dippers! Also by putting the dip into little glass containers you’re cutting down on the foil and plastic packaging of the commercial stuff.

Here’s what to do:

1 x 400g tin of organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained (packed with protein)
½ tsp pink Himalayan salt (rich in minerals)
1 garlic cloves (natural antibiotic)
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice (vitamin C)
2 Tbs tahini (high in calcium)
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil (essential fatty acids)

Whiz everything in a food processor then store in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days.

There are heaps of variations you can make like pumpkin hummus, spiced beetroot, mint and pea, etc. So get creative!

What new dishes have you made lately? How can you cut down on packaging around your house to reduce your carbon impact? xx

Oh yeah and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Is that a zucchini in your pocket?

I am quite notorious in my house for sneaking in “surprise” ingredients into mine and my future husband’s food. I’ll often present him with an odd coloured smoothie, funny shaped muffin or an exotic new dish and enthusiastically announce “Guess what’s in it!”

He’s had turkey meatballs instead of beef, wombok cabbage omlettes and random wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, raw, vegan cheesecake made with silken tofu (which he couldn’t even tell the difference)!

So this Christmas we are in charge of dessert and I remember having a sensationally decadent chocolate cake in North Fitzroy one night and wanted to try and recreate it... Oh yeah and it had ZUCCHINI in it!!

Here is the recipe we’re using from naturopath Petrea King’s cookbook Food for Life:

Ingredients
· 300g dark Lindt chocolate. Chopped
· 200g unsalted butter
· 5 eggs, separated
· 1 cup raw or brown sugar
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2 cups hazelnuts, whizzed in a food processor until fine
· 1 cup zucchini, grated
· 1 cup wholemeal flour
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· Chopped hazelnuts, grated chocolate to serve

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.

2. Brush a 22cm round cake tin with melted butter or coconut oil. Line the base with baking paper.

3. Gently melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan stirring until smooth.

4. Using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

5. Place the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a medium-size bowl and using the electric beaters (no need to wash from whisking the eggs), whisk until creamy.

6. Fold the hazelnuts and zucchini through the chocolate mixture until well combined.

7. Fold in the flour and baking powder, then using a metal spoon, fold through the stiffened egg whites and pour into the prepared cake tin.

8. Bake for 1¼ hours or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.

9. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

10.Decorate with chopped hazelnuts and grated chocolate.

Merry Christmas boys and girls xx

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?

Mind chatter.

Who should I thank in my wedding speech?
Where should I take the girls for our staff Christmas party?
What do I feel like for lunch today?
What clients am I seeing this week?
Should I get those new Lorna Jane tights?
Maybe I’ll book another reflexology treatment this week?

Many thoughts floated through my head this morning as I strolled over the headland listening to my iPod. Then all of a sudden I saw something purple out of the corner of my eye. I meandered off the track, bent down and to my delight I saw my first Fringed Violet flower.

I’d only seen photos in my Australian Bush Flower Essences book and had always secretly hoped to find one. The flowers are only about the size of a five cent piece and the delicate petals are as soft as a feather.

I was mesmerised for a minute or two then sat down on the grass on the edge of the headland and drank in all the beauty of the crashing waves, playful families, the warm sun on my skin and the salty air. This my dear friends, is called being MINDFUL.

When you focus on the present moment that you are currently in, all mind chatter ceases and you can be truly free from your mind.

Don't miss out on all the natural beauty that is right in front of you because your mind is too busy running amuck. Where are you right now? What can you see/feel/hear/taste/smell? Give it a try. You will feel liberated.