My Tea Habit

Isn't it a wonderful relief that Summer is finally over! Three solid months of 35 degrees plus just isn't fair on a pregnant chick! But now it's cool at last. And that means I can drink tea again!




Antonio cultivating his tea habit

His favourite is chamomile













Herbal tea drinking is a habit I cultivated. My family's tea habit is a traditional Irish addiction to very strong cups of English Breakfast many times a day! While I don't object to a 'propper' cup of tea, I found it much more useful for me, health-wise, to cultivate a habit of drinking herbal teas. It's a perfect example of how to choose a health enhancing option over a health degrading one. (There are many stories floating around about how wonderful tea is for our health. The truth is the benefits are outweighed by the effect of the tannins on the stomach. A leather stomach doesn't digest food very well.) So during my years at the Perth Academy of Natural Therapies, where the student's common room kitchen was well stocked with some "out there" herbal blends, I learned to love the stuff.

I mean really love the stuff! I'm very proud of my extensive and eclectic tea cupboard! I feel that my approach to tea drinking is probably akin to that of our ancestors. Thousands of years ago, and until recently, people drank tea as a tonic, choosing herbal blends to suit the time of day, the season, their constitution or state of health. I use it simultaneously as a source of comforting warmth, a gesture of self care, and as medicine. I often turn to a tea for relief before any other treatment, if I feel 'below par'.

Right now my tea choices are influenced most by my pregnancy. During the first two trimesters I choose nettle and rosehip, sometimes separately and sometimes blended together. Rosehip is a great source of vitamin C, while nettle is a great iron source, as well as a good kidney tonic. After the 30th week of the pregnancy I will add raspberry tea, to strengthen and tone up my uterus for birth.

If I was feeling bloated or overfull,  I might choose peppermint tea, which is a calming and uplifting digestive aid. Chamomile is calming and soothing, and also a wonderful remedy for an unsettled stomach. I might even blend it together with peppermint for this purpose. I often order these teas when I'm out for a meal, partly because they're often the only ones available, and partly because they can be an antidote to any dietary indiscretions that may have transpired!

When a cold strikes I actually use tea as a primary source of relief. Besides taking such things as garlic tablets and tablespoons of coconut oil, I take teas containing such herbs as sage, calendula and golden seal. These three are antibacterial and help with lymphatic drainage, alleviating sore throats from glandular enlargement or infection. I also squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a cup, add a splash of water and drink this several times a day as it is a strong antiviral remedy, and I find it very relieving. Last week I had a cold, and, being pregnant, these gentle remedies became some of my only options. I also ate a handful of small, young nasturtium leaves daily as an immune boost. The cold was mild and lasted all of three days before I was fully recovered.

If I felt anxious or stressed I might choose white tea, vata tea (see below) or chamomile. Any of these would bring me down to earth. If I was feeling sad I might choose peppermint, lavender, rosemary or my personal indulgence tea, a cup of chai! (I've posted the recipe as I make it in the thermomix below)

Teas are a part of my beauty regimen. My beauty regimen is almost entirely focused on keeping my gut healthy, I do very little to my skin on the outside as I consider it too late by the time the skin cells have reached the surface! Ginger tea is especially good for the stomach and intestines, helping them break down the food we eat. Green tea is also a digestive aid, and mild liver tonic. In addition to gut health, hydration is important for the complexion. Any herbal tea is hydrating, while tea and coffee are dehydrating.

Ayruvedic medicine, which is the ancient Indian medicine system, offers tea tonics as wonderful daily balancers. I discovered in college that 'Vata' tea helped to relieve my period pains. Vata tea is also a wonderful digestive aid, and soothing to personalities prone to stress and anxiety. However if you are a 'hot' type of person, say you might suffer from reflux, or arthritis, dislike eating chilli and work in a creative or athletic capacity, the Pita tea is for you. Finally the Kapha tea is for those of us who are 'smell the roses' types, heavier set, robust and grounded people. Kapha tea can get you motivated and help with weight loss, sinus congestion, a sluggish bowel and even help alleviate depression.

Finally, my indulgence tea is another Indian inspired one, chai! I love a good chai. When I feel a hankering I take a teaspoon of black leaf tea and put it in the thermomix with a stick of cinnamon, some cloves, some cardamom pods, a star anise, a good chunk of fresh ginger and some peppercorns. I blitz them for 10 seconds on speed 9, then add a cup of water. I boil this at 100 for about 7 minutes, then add raw honey and raw milk, and strain into a big mug! Sometimes I make a big batch of the brew (before adding milk and honey) and put it in the fridge in a milk bottle. Then I can use it as a cold chai smoothie. I put a third of a cup of the brewed tea into the thermomix with a banana, some raw or nut milk, 2 raw egg yolks and some honey and blitz at speed 7 for 20 seconds. Great breakfast on the go!

What is your tea habit? Get eclectic and try something different next time you have a tea break!

Bread Habits - staff of life or contributor to chronic disease?

This habit change will be about bread. Bread has been known throughout history as 'the staff of life'. For most people bread is a huge part of the diet, and we're told it's good for us, which is easy to believe since humans have eaten it for several thousand years. However the reality is that bread is now a very different beast than it was even 150 years ago, increasingly so, and it has become a big health problem for everyone in the developed world today.

Just pause a minute to consider your bread habits. How much bread do you eat in a day? Which bread do you buy? Why do you buy it? Are you buying the 'healthiest' bread available? Or do you choose based on taste? Or texture? Or the brand you grew up with?

What if I told you that bread in general is a very nutrient poor food? It's marketed as a fibre rich food, but compared to any fresh vegetable or fruit, stacks up very badly. A wheat grain is indeed high in fibre, however about 94% of it is lost in the milling process. Bread is so nutrient deficient, in fact, that if synthetic vitamins and other guff weren't added it'd be downright poisonous (like confectionery). As it is, I class wheat bread as an 'antinutrient'.

To get right to the point about bread; there's only one in Perth I'd recommend consuming regularly. It's the Organic 100% Rye from Bodhi's Bakery, and you can buy it almost anywhere these days, even supermarkets. There are four things that make this bread a better choice than any others. (Unless, of course, you're gluten intolerant, in which case either avoid bread at all, or find one made from sprouted gluten free grains.) It's probably significantly more expensive than what you're buying now, that's fine. Don't eat it every day, and don't have more than two slices per day. And remember that health is worth paying for, slow acting poison is not!

1) It's Rye, not wheat.

There are several problems inherent in wheat itself, in its current, selectively bred incarnation, which make it worth avoiding. The reasons for its wide use in baked goods are that it gives a good yield to farmers and an attractive and tasty product to food industry. But compared to other grains it's not even close to being the best nutritionally. Wheat is also known to be a great favourite of opportunistic gut flora, like candida albicans, so avoid it for the sake of your gut flora!

2) It's stone ground.

In the late 1800's a brilliant breakthrough was made in flour milling. It put an end to inefficient, laborious stone grinding of grain. It was steel rolling! Problem with it was, unbeknownst to anyone, steel rolling was causing a health crisis. This new processing method was busting up the endosperm in every little grain. Stone grinding didn't do this, thus the most nutritious part of the grain was left intact. When steel rolling became widespread, people started to suffer on mass from symptoms of nutritional deficiency. The remedy was the addition of a few synthetic nutrients to the flour after it was milled, however they have never matched the levels found in an original wheat grain. Yet this seemed to fix the problem and no one has questioned it ever since. However it is widely documented that the omission of bread from the diet can be an effective treatment for many chronic diseases, so the problem has not gone away at all, it's simply less acute.

3) It's sourdough.

Our ancestors have always soured their grains. They knew this was the only way to render them digestible. We now know why. Grains contain phytates, chemicals which block digestion and make it difficult to absorb nutrients. Souring predigests the grains somewhat, neutralising the phytates. This takes the pressure off our digestive system and renders the bread less acceptable food for opportunistic gut flora, like candida. It's important to avoid any bread that isn't a REAL sourdough (and plenty of so-called sourdoughs out there aren't real these days). In fact, most bread is given no time at all to ferment, more yeast is added instead, which gives another set of problems for the gut.

4) It's organic

For obvious reasons, this is ideal! Don't need pesticides in your bread.

So that's why I choose Bodhi's Organic 100%. You try it too, and see if it gives you a happier tummy!

Healthy Habits - Shopping

This weeks healthy habit is all about where you choose to do your food shopping.  Your choice of shop can affect your health enormously. Where you shop determines the quality of the food you buy. Supermarkets take about one third of all the money spent on food in this country. They have a huge influence on the market, and their priorities are profits and shareholders, not health or even quality. Therefore the stuff you buy there is the lowest quality available. They exploit our weaknesses and addictions, providing far more processed 'food' than fresh. Yet they survive by selling convenience. They have a version of everything, so it's a no brainer.  For many years now I have been systematically reducing my dependence on them. I find it difficult, sometimes more expensive, but endlessly more rewarding to shop anywhere but at the supermarket. I have not yet broken my reliance completely, but I'm getting closer!

Here are the food products (stuff other than toilet paper and dish washing liquid!) that I still get at the stuipidmarket:

yoghurt
cheese
coconut cream
tinned beans
rice

I'm working towards not going there at all, ever, and in fact even the above list is just laziness. I should not need tinned beans, I must get more organised at meal planning and legume soaking. Coconut cream is a tricky one because I only know of one brand who don't use thickeners and water down, but if I find it elsewhere... The dairy will soon be produced at home by my man, from raw milk. He has been taking cheese-making classes so we can supply ourselves. And the rice is just a lot more expensive from the organic shop. I should probably just cut down my consumption!

Everything else I need I buy either from my local organic shop, my local (truly) independent grocer, (not IGA) and my local farmers market, where we get our biodynamic eggs and organic meat from Robyn at Redtail Ridge. We buy our milk from a raw milk supplier.

So in essence we have to spend a lot more time shopping, because it's not a one stop affair, but so worth the bother! My first stop in the week is always the organic shop. It's a family owned business and they now know me and my boy, so shopping there is a social event! (It's made even more special as the owners' daughter is an ex Masterchef star! Her sugar free cakes and salads are always a treat.) I get as much as I can there, in terms of fruit and veg, then, if need be, I top up at my local independent grocer. But I try not to. If you can't get to your local organic shop because of work, most will deliver a mixed box in various sizes to your door. On Saturdays we go to see Robyn at the Subi Farmers Market. She knows us too, so it's another social occasion, the way shopping was until the evil, impersonal supermarkets took over. Very olde worlde!

Buying most of my food from the organic shop automatically ensures that my food is healthy. I hardly need to think about it. Most food is not even in a packet, and there are few 'ingredients lists' to read or 'nutrient profiles' to interpret, simply because most things there are whole foods, and a whole food doesn't have an ingredients list. At the organic shop I'm also able to buy good quality natural salt, bulk nuts, seeds, oats and legumes, dairy, frozen berries and peas, various types of flour....And best of all, if I'm feeling lazy, I can get a masterchef quality lunch!

Ideally though, in the long run I'd prefer to grow as much of my own fresh food as I can. Currently we aren't set up to do so, but working towards that too. If you do have the space to grow food, I envy you! Get outside and plant some!!

Meat and eggs raised ethically, organically/biodynamically have higher nutrient profiles and don't contain antibiotics or any other nasties. I feel much safer feeding them to my toddler, than their supermarket counterparts, and I know that they are providing him with awesome nutrition. The same is true of raw milk. This is a whole food, while pasteurised milk is a highly processed, very damaged food. Of course, you don't have to drink cows milk at all, but if you like to, raw is the only healthful way to do so.

These habits aren't just healthy, they're ethical too. Supermarket corporations are pretty evil in general, and I feel good when I support the 'little guys'. It's also more ethical to buy organic vegies, because they're farmed using sustainable practices, and as far as animals are concerned, biodynamic eggs and ethical AND organic meat (one does not equal the other, hence I don't buy organic meat from the supermarket) is obviously the best choice for an omnivore.

Finally, I'd like to quote Tom Hodgkinson, from the great work, "How To Be Free", which I highly recommend you read. "The supermarkets have sold us a myth of cheapness, convenience and variety. But the reality is none of those: they are expensive, a hassle and you are forced to buy from someone else's selection...I would like to bomb them, but it's probably more effective to boycott them."

Salty and delicious - healthy salt habits

Salt is a much maligned and very misunderstood nutrient. Most people think, because they have been told by mainstream nutritional advisers, that salt is "the most harmful food additive". The general view is that salt is responsible for the rampant epidemic of cardiovascular disease of our time. It's simply not true. Studies show that blood pressure is negatively impacted by salt intake in some sensitive individuals, however they are in the minority and for most of us, salt should not be restricted.

The reason we are told all this nonsense is unclear, but one fact stands out from all the murky science; salt is essential to human life. On a totally salt free diet, we simply die. Cause of death? Dehydration. But long before that happens, we become foggy of brain, exhibit poor memory, coordination goes wonky, then after about a week we become clinically insulin resistant... What does all that mean?

It means that to maintain good balance, cognition and have normal blood sugar levels and fluid balance, we need some salt with each meal. We also need it to produce stomach acid and absorb our food, maintain the correct ph, and to allow our muscles to contract. Pretty basic stuff. You need all those things just to get out of bed in the morning. No kid can sit in a classroom and learn under these conditions. They must have salt with breakfast.

Salt is also very grounding to our energy or etheric bodies. It keeps them firmly planted in our physical bodies, which makes us feel balanced and calm. If you're every feeling 'up in the air', try taking a bath with a handful of crystal salts. You'll feel yourself coming 'back down to earth'.

In the Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems, salt is considered a calming influence.  In ancient times, medicine people of these two disciplines understood the great effect of flavours on our health, and used them to create health changes for people who were suffering. Salt is prescribed for stress and anxiety, constipation and other digestive imbalances, weakness of the muscles and fatigue.

So we have established that we need some salt in our diets. But what kind and how much? This is where the 'good habits' come in.

I'm of the opinion that our taste buds are our best nutritional guide. We simply need to become adept at interpreting our cravings correctly. If you have a craving for maccas (hey, it's ok, it happens to me!) try thinking, 'I must require some salt. I'm obviously deficient.' To remedy this, simply add salt to a healthy meal. To prevent it, add salt to every meal, even for your children when they begin to take solids. Kids' growing brains are particularly susceptible to salt deficiency. When you have had enough of the right kind of salt (see below), your body will tell you to stop. You don't need to restrict your intake. There is a very efficient inbuilt system which will shut off hunger when you have had enough (here is one reason why I don't make my toddler finish his plate of food. I want him to learn to trust his hunger reflex).  If you do overdo it, you'll crave water. Simple.

Now, what kind? This is the big one. That processed, refined salt, easily mistaken for white sugar? The stuff in the uniquely shaped container? Without mentioning brands, you know the one. DON'T EAT IT! If you have some at home, stick it in the laundry cupboard for colour-fixing. The salt you want is at the health food shop, or your local organic shop. Any they stock are fine. They will have sea salt, rock salt, river salt and crystal salt. Take your pick. They're all perfect for our bodies for the simple reason that these are the exact substances that our ancestors have consumed since we became homo sapiens. They are complexes of different minerals, not just pure sodium chloride. They are what our bodies are asking us for when we have a salt craving.

The problem with the salt in processed foods and fast food is that it is highly refined. Food industry knows very well that we crave salt. The more salty flavour they can cram into each mouthful, the more money they will make. To achieve this, they use the most refined form of sodium they can get. This is a major issue. That's the stuff to avoid.

Sometimes our taste buds can lose sensitivity to salt, so that we can't taste it properly. This happens as we age, in times of great stress, and for smokers especially. It can actually indicate deficiencies in other minerals, especially zinc. So if other people are saying your food is over-salted, try increasing the zinc rich foods in your diet.

So the habit to change this week is your salt habit. Make sure you get enough of the good stuff and avoid the bad. If you have been actively trying to reduce your salt intake, switch to natural salt, add it to each of your meals and watch your hunger fall away! You'll be eating far less than before, without any effort, and your body and brain will thank you!

Breakfast Habits

Something as simple as changing your breakfast habit can have a profound effect on your health. When you have a great breakfast, you set your body up for the day. A high nutrition breakfast, with heaps of proteins and fats, will make you feel on top of it, and really full all morning. A breakfast high in carbohydrates will leave you hungry again soon. A breakfast high in refined carbs (anything out of a box or bread bag, or from the patisserie) will set up a sugar craving cycle for the day, with your blood sugars bouncing from too high to too low at an alarming rate, taking your concentration with it. Not to mention it's the quickest way to put on weight.

So, a breakfast habit high in proteins and fats. There are many ways to achieve this, you can use whatever combination suits you. The foods to focus on are:

Eggs: the perfect breakfast food! Scrambled, fried in butter, omelet... The yolks are wonderful sources of fat soluble nutrients, and you can pop them in breakfast smoothies. I buy Cackleberries eggs, they're biodynamic and nice and fresh.

Home made baked beans: Soak white beans overnight, then boil them up, preferably in some home made broth, then stir in a home made red sauce. Freeze into portions, defrost the previous evening and heat up in the morning. You could add cheese :) mmmm

Avocado and cheese on Rye toast: might pair well with the next one...

Nitrate free bacon: excellent protein source. Must be nitrate free, and free range if possible.

Oats: soak overnight, then cook with raw milk, nut milk or coconut milk for fats and protein. You can add some activated nuts too, and some raw honey. Usually I soak the oats in the thermomix, so in the morning all I have to do is add milk and turn it on. I only do this one in winter. Doesn't appeal to me in the hot weather.

Smoothies: These are indispensable when you're in a hurry. Here's the smoothie recipe I make for Antonio each morning

• Raw milk or nut milk, I have also used a combo of coconut milk and coconut water
• 2 raw yolks from high quality eggs
• Some berries, fresh or frozen (or any other fruit. Mango works with coconut)
• Half a banana, fresh or frozen
• large tsp mundella plain yoghurt, kefir or some of my probiotic powder

Other potential ingredients might be chia seeds or some other superfood supplement or a fibre supplement.

Green smoothies: This is a fabulous habit to get into. It's one that I'm trying to cultivate right now, so I wont carry on too much about it yet, I don't feel qualified! The basic premise is a fruit and veggie smoothie. Do google it, if you feel you're ready for a real health surge!


So you see that these are all really dense, nutrition filled breakfasts. They all contain enough protein and fats to keep you healthy and satisfied for hours. Contrasted with a bowl of bits of cardboard from a box, it doesn't take a nutrition expert to see which will serve you better! So change your habit to one of these! Pick the one that appeals the most, stock up on ingredients and give it a whirl!
                                           

Healthy Habits - post series

Since recently becoming pregnant again, I have attempted to incorporate several new habits into my lifestyle, to take my health status to the next level. I've had varying levels of success thus far, and it has led me to the conclusion that the key to health is habit. Your daily habits. The habits you grew up with, just as your child is learning his habits from you. To change your health, you need to change your habits.

The philosophy is simple; a habit is just something you do all the time. The more healthy habits you gradually incorporate into your day, the less room there will be for habits that degrade your health. I think this is a much easier and more attainable goal than adhering to a diet. When you change a habit, say, your breakfast habit, you understand your reason for doing so. You have replaced a health degrading habit with a healthy habit.You get a result, e.g. increased energy levels, you begin to do it voluntarily, rather than out of obligation to a 'diet plan'. It slowly becomes your habit, and voila, you've increased your health in a sustainable way.

A child's preferences reflect the habits of the family. I hear from mothers who complain that their toddlers prefer processed foods to whole food. This reflects the food choices made regularly within that household. I also know many families whose toddlers prefer whole foods, simply because that's all they've ever eaten. Antonio enjoys sharing my herbal teas with me! I love watching him drink half a mug of nettle and rose hip tea. Herbal tea is one of my favourite health habits, especially in winter. It's wonderful to know I'm passing this on to him.

So I'm going to do a series of posts on healthy habits to incorporate into your day. They will all be 'do's' rather than 'avoids', or healthier alternatives to your current habits. I'll include things like shopping choices, take away choices, meal and snack choices, alternatives to processed meals, and home treatments for minor ills. If you can incorporate them into your lifestyle, one by one, you will notice a huge difference in your health.

Snack on a hot day

As always I'd love your feedback, so please leave a note in the comments bellow. If there's a health habit you'd like to break, if you have one to suggest I cover, or if you have made a habit change you'd like to share, please do!

Sugar free ice cream recipes

It's been really hot here in Perth. Like, the kind of hot that makes you want to move down south....did I say that out loud? Ahem...

There's one thing I've been craving in this diabolical weather - Soft Serve. That evil stuff made from superheated vegetable oils, powdered milk, high fructose corn syrup and thickeners made from refined grains. EW

I believe strongly in cravings, however. And I have a theory that they are our best guide to health. I think the problem is that we usually misinterpret our cravings. It's easy to do. If your body says "Hey! Running low on salt here!" its easy to think "chippies....", which wouldn't happen if they didn't exist. So if our ancestors were in the same situation, say they needed a spot of protein, they wouldn't think "KFC..." they'd probably think "I think I'll cook a beef and kidney stew tonight". Get my drift?

So back to the soft serve. I believe that craving ice or ice cream or anything cold on a hot day is a clue that you're dehydrated. I tried this, but I still wanted that rich, sweet, cold, gooey combo of disgusting, salad bar soft serve. So I decided to make some! Before sticking the churned ice cream into the freezer, I had a few mouthfuls of the gooey, creamy mixture, and boy did it kill the cravings dead!

Decidedly more expensive than the cheap non-foods that come out of the machine at maccas, but this recipe will actually nourish you and your family, and it's a great way of eating your essential fats and fat soluble vitamins. I never heat my ice cream ingredients, and this ensures that the vitamins in the cream and yolks stay intact. Therefore these recipes are high in vitamins A, E and D and K, plus loads of other fat based goodies that will keep you well.



Basic vanilla ice cream recipe

2 cups raw cream
1/2 cup organic maple syrup or raw honey
4 biodynamic egg yolks (I buy cackleberries eggs)
1 tsp real gelatine (made from animal ingredients) dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
vanilla paste to taste (I like a whole tbsp)

Allow the gelatin to cool a bit, then blitz everything in a blender, pour it into an ice cream maker and churn until it almost doubles in volume. Then freeze overnight in an airtight container.

I think an ice cream maker is a great investment if you're interested in keeping processed foods out of your family's bodies. Any equipment that allows you to use real foods to create treats is worthwhile, because there's nothing more detrimental to the cause than feeling deprived.

Another word on ice cream makers, don't buy an industrial sized machine! Get a small one that makes just enough for the family to have a small but satisfying serve each. Our bodies aren't equipped to handle super-size portions. Blame your ancestors.

Rose water and strawberry  ripple ice cream

200g fresh strawberries
1 tsp rose water
2 cups raw cream
1/2 cup maple or raw honey
4 biodynamic egg yolks
1 tsp gelatin dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water

Puree strawberries and set aside. Blend the rest of the ingredients plus half of the strawberry puree, then churn in an ice cream maker. As you pour the churned ice cream into a container to freeze, swirl the remaining puree through to create a ripple.


You can use any fruit you like in these recipes. I've made banana honey and added half a cup of chopped nuts, fresh apricots would work, you could even get really creative and do stewed apples and cinnamon! Totally up to you. So have fun!