FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET - A PICTORIAL POST OF MY DAY

What's an average day for me? Most of my days are pretty much the same... except for the one or two each week I'm working at the health food store. Then it's kinda a get up, train with my bestie, eat brekkie out, chat over great food and awesome coffee til we moan about having to leave the sunshine, get changed, and drive to work. But even once there, we have a ball. After all, who wouldn't wanna work with their best friend?

So, as all good stories, let's start at the very beginning...

REVIEW: Paleo Cafe Cairns

WARNING: Amazing food pics below...

Last week I decided to get down to the Paleo Cafe in Cairns for lunch with B and friends, to see what the place had to offer. Having only ever had an almond milk hot choccie there before (but eyed off their cakes every time I walked past), I was eager to see what their menu was like.

The cafe seems to have close to every table full whenever I wander past, and from the menu, I could only assume why - everything sounded amazing!

And so we started with what we knew - coffee. Only better. Bulletproof coffee! Have you heard of this yet? It's kinda gaining attention in the fitness world as a better-than-coffee-coffee. And I have to say I am a fan. B has done a youtube clip on it here if you wanna try making your own, and here is a longer vid in much more detail as to why people are loving bulletproof coffee and why it may actually be really good for you....

This was B's lunch - a Thai green papaya and cashew salad which he added a salmon steak too. Of course I had  little nibble and yep it was pretty darn good. Green papaya has a great texture to it for use in salads, and mixed with fresh rocket, capsicum strips, zucchini ribbons and bean sprouts, we licked the plate clean!

This is what I ordered - as did one of our friends. I was tossing up between this and the salmon with veggies and sweet potato mash... but I think the fries and the fact the fish is local got me. One thing I love about living in Cairns is the abundance of fresh fish. Our local seafood place sells mostly local caught fish and for all we know, it likely came off the boat that morning! The dukkah was crunchy and very fragrant (a little chilli would have had be drooling) and their home-made tartare sauce is by far the best I've ever tasted! Oof yumoo!

This pad thai dish was a special of the day, and it appears to be on the menu this week as well - clearly a crowd favourite. The clear noodles that look like rice noodles are in fact made from sweet potato (rice isn't technically 'paleo'). We didn't believe them so the chef brought the packet out to show us. He says they get them from the local Asian grocer and they're cheap as chips! This had the delicious chilli I love, with punchy prawns bursting in your mouth, and all the trimmings of a real pad thai.

And then for this -   just give me a sec   -
This carrot cake has to be the most delicious looking cake ever (to me). Carrot cake has always been a favourite of mine - and yes even over chocolate cake. The moistness, with juicy sultanas and crunchy walnuts, and always a delicious buttery icing. But this one was even better. This icing is made from cashew nuts, almond meal and honey (from memory) so it's totally super good for you (in small doses). The cake also is bursting with amazing ingredients as listed below. Add a bit of bicarb and that is all that is in this cake. I have wanted to taste this for over 6months - I'm not kidding. Twice I went in, they were out of it. And then I was in Thailand for 2 months. So when I saw this in the display cabinet... SOLD!

And only after that I saw this dessert walk past me onto someone else's table. Hello. Excuse me. What on earth is that?!?! The dessert special. Yep ok hunny, we're sharing two desserts. Chocolate creme brulee! Paleo style! Meaning no dodgy sugar or dairy cream! This is made with coconut cream and honey. Wowzas! Of course my eyes had decided on getting this even before I knew what it was and boy-o-boy was it delicious!

Served with CocoLuscious strawberry coconut ice cream and fresh strawberries....

The perfect ending to a great lunch with friends.

Find the Cairns Paleo Cafe (the first official one in fact) on Facebook here and their brand new blog with amazing looking recipes here. And watch out Australia, a little birdy told me Bondi Junction and Brisbane are rolling out as we speak.

Christie xx

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Reintegration + Looking after Me

I’m back in Cairns! And I gotta say it’s so nice to be back. It also feels a little weird, a little unsettling, and a tad something else that I’m having trouble articulating. So instead of the usual weekend recipe I give you guys each Friday, I thought I’d fill you in on what I’ve been doing, where I’m at, and what’s happening next.

We landed here in Cairns yesterday morning after a beautiful week in Darwin with family; resting, playing with our gorgeous nephew and adorable niece, spending time on the bikes riding around town, and we even managed to get a free week’s pass to the local gym and hit the weights each day which felt GREAT after having not been in a gym for over a year due to adrenal exhaustion and fatigue – I feel I’m slowly getting my strength and energy back now. It’s been a while.

Since arriving home, our car battery had died, we had to get a jump start, and then off to grab some organics, it died again and we had to call for a new battery. The place we were meant to be staying for a week or so fell through so we had no place to go to for showers and snoozes, so instead we grabbed our swimmers and headed for Stoney Creek (our favourite fresh water creek) for a freezing cold refreshing wake up dip and wash, and felt much better after that. Stopping by a mates place for hello’s and ending up with an invitation to crash there in a spare room with full use of kitchen, bathroom and living areas until further notice… things were falling into place. A quick trip for some veggies for dinner, a pot of herbal tea, and we were ready for bed.

On waking this morning I could instantly hear the banter going on in my head and all the things “I had to get done” – I was already feeling stressed just by being here and I hadn’t even gotten out of bed. Feeling restless lying there, I got up, poured some tea and sat on the deck in the crisp fresh air staring out at the garden. I needed the stillness and quiet in my mind, and after a whole large pot of tea and green grass staring, I felt much better, although I still feel a little off kilter today.

So as I begin to reintegrate back into home, without my own home to do it in, I know I’ve got to be gentle on myself and take things slowly. My own space, quiet time + tea, journaling and kitchen cooking is huge on my sanity list and so I intend on keeping those things in my day-to-day activities whilst we continue to hunt for our perfect place to live.

This is total looking-after-me-ness

What things do you need in your day-to-day that help to keep you feeling your best?

In the meantime I’ve got a bucketload of photos I need to edit with plenty of mouth-watering Thailand food porn pics to deliver you sometime in the next couple of weeks so I’m gonna jet to do so.

Have a fabulous weekend, enjoy whatever beautiful things come your way.

Eat well, stay well,

Christie   xx

2012 End + 2013 Beginnings

As I sit here munching away on a brekkie bowl of Coyo yoghurt, acai, walnuts and buckini muesli, looking out at the sunny day it has already bloomed into in Cairns... I feel inspired to (finally) write this post.

It's been over a month since I last posted and as much as I would have loved to keep in touch more, well Summer, Xmas, New Years and 5 weeks on the road all came first. But now I'm back, have begun my year full swing (with assessments and an exam in there as well), back to work, trying to find a new place to call home - again - (minor stress there) OUR NEW HOME HAS JUST BEEN CONFIRMED!!! now to begin moving in!!! That's the fun part tho and I am so excited! College begins in a couple of weeks, and I've also been hugely excited about a few other things in the pipeline but I'm struggling a little finding the time to put my focus there at the minute, so fingers crossed I'll get my schedule sorted a little better when I've got a place to call home now I've got a place to call home :)

So since we last spoke, Brock and I have been from

Cairns to Sydney to Cairns

and everywhere in between

We left here December 13th and got back January 20th. In that time we swam in oceans and rivers, slept under the stars at Prosepine and Hervey Bay, ate at my favourite cafe in Brissie, had amazing smoothies in Byron, visited my mum and step-dad twice, met new born babies of friends, stayed with Brock's 94yr old nan in Alstonville, picnic'd in Rockhampden, celebrated Christmas with four separate food feasts across Sydney and to Bowral, laughed with family, spent New Years with our best friends in Bondi,  visited the Hunter Valley and had a little too much vino, trained, ran, drank way too much coffee, tried to catch up on what seemed like never-ending-lost-sleep, spent 2weeks on the Sunshine Coast with mum, and the rest of the time in our little Toyota Corolla hatch back - filled to the seams with clothes, boxes, yoga mats, water bottles, food snacks, my teddy bear, sleeping bags, a (busted) tent, (then) a new tent, and loads more... driving the east coast of this beautiful country of ours, tunes pumped, horrible singing voices on... with no air-con. Yep. From Cairns to Sydney and back again - no air-con. We had a ball!

But like I said, we're back in Cairns now where it's freakin hot and deliciously sunny! We were very lucky getting here when we did as if were a week later we would have potentially got stuck with bushfires somewhere, definitely been bogged in by floods somewhere else, and quite possibly have experienced our first cyclone - crazy country of ours.

I've got a lot of ideas for my little blog site this year as well so little by little you might be catching some of those changes. As for my posts - they're usually varied as to what I write about but please email me or let me know on the Facebook page, if there is anything you would like to see. I will be sure to inform you all of how my own health issues are going as well - hair mineral analysis results are back today! Bloods have come in also. I'm back seeing my TCM guy, as well as an osteo and physio for other issues I've got going on, and have begun with a few other little things that I'm loving also.

Until next time,

Peace and Love

Christie

EXHAUSTED BEYOND WHAT I THOUGHT WAS POSSIBLE

I haven’t really been keeping you all updated on how my adrenal exhaustion is going, and as things have changed a little I thought I’d give you an update. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, feel free to read a recent-ish post about it all here.

Since then I felt I was doing pretty well until little by little (of which I was completely unaware of until it all became too much) everything started rolling downhill. 

What's been happening up Far North

Here we are now in October – wow hasn’t this year gone so fast! As a kid it never seemed to go fast; if anything it was all really slow. As I get older, it fly’s by. Why is that? Am I having too much fun? Or simply have too much on. Both? Whatever the reason I’m not really all that fussed, I think I easily fall into these habit-forming-sayings due to people around me saying them. In fact I LOVE Christmas so bring it on!

Since my last post where I left you tempted by FNQ's CACAO fruit, I’ve had a fully loaded schedule (and thus no blog posts). Here are a few of things that have been going on:

The Organic Experience

A day trip back to the grass roots of local organic farming, and to our food source as nature intended. When I first heard about this I definitely wanted to go. And with good reason. What a day! We began in Cairns then drove up the range to Kuranda, where The Real Food Network shared information on the importance of how locally grown and ethically sound food can build a stronger community, help local farmers secure a reasonable income, ease the pressure on farm lands and bring healthy food to our dinner table. 

Back on the bus we were then off to Kaizi’s coconut oil farm - Australia’s only Indigenous, Torres Strait Island producers of Pure Coconut Oil. Whilst slurping fresh coconuts, munching on grated coconut, and devouring the most amazing coconut treat, we discovered the marvels of this fruit including the methods of production, how to use coconut oil as your preferred oil to cook with and some of the different traditional dishes using coconut, it's topical uses, and its environmental impact.

 

Kaizi’s Coconut Keai (freshly grated Coconut with chopped dates, Coconut juice and Keai sprinkled on top) WOW!

Kaizi labelling his coconut oil jars

Off again, this time to stunning location up the top of Hallorans Hill in Atherton where we had a Thermomix demonstration and had our lunch prepared fresh in front of our eyes. 

And last, but certainly not least, we were at a lovely couple’s place near Lake Eacham, just outside Yungaburra, where they lead a self sufficient lifestyle. Most of their food is produced using biodynamic and organic practices, including growing fruit and vegetables, rearing livestock for meat and milk production, rearing poultry for meat and egg production, cheese making, bread making, bee keeping, making preserves and cooking great food. Brock and I were very interested in this - these guys do the lot! Home made scones with home made butter (both of which were made with ingredients from their farm) and tea were on the cards, as were big chunks of gooey delicious honeycomb. Yum!

Dairy cows on the sustainable property

Inside the veggie-herb-green house

Daintree Getaway

I took a week off work after working double my usual shifts for all of September. We wanted to drive up to the Daintree and just chillout for a bit. Lazy days, swimming holes, lots of fruit eating, beautiful locals, and we found the most amazing places to do our daily yoga practice as well.

We saw this guy jump off the cliff on our drive up; just before Port Douglas

Daintree tea plantation

Hottie in the jungle

The first river we came across

Typical scenery when driving through - not bad ey?

House Sitting

Ok so maybe not a big deal, but it was for Brock and I as our friend owns a mansion on top of City View (the suburb name – for obvious reasons). We did our yoga, swam everyday, ate all our meals overlooking the city, and really only left when we had too. A bliss-full long weekend that was.

Little overcast that day but we weren't complaining! Best yoga spot ever!

Bloom Womens Health and Wellbeing Event

I was at this on Friday night and from the first time I heard about this (from Emma who also organized The Organic Experience) I couldn’t wait! It was held at the beautiful Shan-gri La at the Marina and on arrival ladies were greeted, welcomed with drinks and healthy canapes, there were goodie bags, loads of exhibitors with their products; be in natural skin care, massage, mineral make up, natural organic food products, pregnancy and doula information, meditation workshops, chemical free house hold cleaning products, the list goes on! The main ladies included Bec for a local radio station doing the MC-ing, Jessica Ainscough from The Wellness Warrior got up and spoke about her cancer healing journey and her tips to live a holistically balanced life, and Kim Morrison fwho has written a book titled Like Chocolate For Woman. This woman had me at Hello! She is absolutely beautiful and her presence and energy, and just herself is what had me so enthralled. You know those people you either meet, or you just hear speak and you know that they have something (or alot of things) that you need to learn from them. Not a chance encounter type thing. That's what I felt when listening to Kim speak on stage. Her business is centered on self-care and empowerment for women – something I’m finding myself drawn more and more too day by day and I can’t seem to get enough. She spoke for an hour perhaps and I wanted more. Which is why I immediately signed up for her Aromatherapy workshop the following day, which I went to yesterday.

SPArkle Aromatherapy Workshop

This was just divine. A small group of less than 20 women and again, Kim had my full focus instantly. We went into more depth with the range she sells, and spoke a lot more about self care; it’s not selfish – it’s essential. This is where I am being drawn to most, where I know I need to focus more attention, and where I am seeing the biggest changes when I do so. It was beautiful. Very much the feminine energy I've been craving. We had our cups of tea and our raw balls and enjoyed an afternoon together surrounded by yummy smells, trying on skin care, passing 'round oils... 
I do want to make mention of one thing Kim spoke about that really struck a chord with me and instantly it felt so real to hear -  
Kim started talking about the many many women all over the globe who complain about their appearance – we all know one if we're not one ourself. I’m one of them. I don't complain out loud to girlfriend or colleagues, but I do have a whinge every now and then to my partner, and I know too-well the continuous stream of dribble-drabble that plays like a broken record over and over in my head, most of the time. Kim continued and went on to say that if we are a woman who dislikes something about her appearance, we’ve got 1 of 2 options – and she didn’t care which one we took.

(1) Step up and commit to change; changing our diet for the better, getting out to exercise or signing up to a gym, wearing clothes we feel good in, whatever it may be. Say affirmations, and day by day our bodies change. Our mindset will change. Our thinking will change. It might be tough work – Gwenyth Paltrow said in an interview when asked about her appearance that she works out 6 days a week for 90minutes a session, she eats certain foods and not others…her list went on, but she said she deserved the body she works so damn hard for. And it’s true! 

(2) The alternate option was to stay where we are because it’s comfortable, familiar, and not scary. And a lot of us do stay here, even though we THINK we so badly want to be elsewhere. So we keep eating cake and cream or whatever it may be … and this is where it got real... "but you have no right to whinge about how you look. No right! And everyone gets sick of hearing it, so if you’re not going to do anything about what you’re always whinging about, you’ve no right to whinge about it! You've made the choice to do nothing about it. Would you be complaining about your boobs and saying they’re too big, too small, or too saggy to someone who’s had to have hers removed? Would you whine about how you dislike your legs to someone sitting in a wheelchair who can’t stand up let alone walk like you can? How would you feel if you were saying "oh gosh I really hate my hair" to find out the lady beside you was going through chemo treatment?" 
These questions are very powerful and easily put everything into perspective. 

I do exercise. And I do eat well. But it's my mindset and negative thinking that creeps in and sabotages it all. The best food in the world won't do shit if your head is in the wrong place. Even with nutrition my passion, I truly believe that. I've seen it in my own life for years. It's my self-care and self-worth that I'm not prioritising. Why? Because when you go there it's scary and confronting. It's very easy to change a bad habit if it's easy to do. What about trying to eat better if there were no emotional attachments - might not be so hard. Think about self-worth issues - it's all the tough emotional stuff. Straight up, on the rocks. I know exactly why I've avoided it for so long! It's no fun, but the rewards are well worth it!

As for the change bit, and the self-care – I've learnt that time and money are no longer excuses. Prioritising is what it’s all about. And when we do so, self-care is fun!

So I took a lot away from yesterday afternoon (including a great book and one oil blend to get me started) and cannot wait to start implementing what I learnt. I also highly recommend reading some of Kim’s website if you’re into self care and aromatherapy. I'll definitely let you know how I go working with all this :)

A few other things up in Cairns:

- The Paleo cafe opened a few weeks ago and so far has great reviews. I was initially excited having never seen one before, until it sank in that every other cafe in town offers meat protein with veggies on a plate! Not so new. I will get excited though if they use the space to really educate people about the benefits of food as close to its natural state as possible; even if this does include the use of meats. That is one big plus with all the Paleo followers cropping up left, right, and centre. They're all really amping up the colour on the plates and buying fresh produce. A step in the right direction for anybody.

- College is going great; 99% for my Advanced Anatomy and Physiology exam :) Another reason the blogs have not been at all consistent. And I've just begun Pathophysiology and Symptomatology this week - say that with a mouthful of Sao biscuits! 

- Brock and I are in the middle of a 40-day Yoga journey together following Baron Baptiste's Book, who's training we LOVE and so we're feeling AMAZING! I LOVE yoga so committing to a daily practice that gets longer each week (going from 200mins to 90mins) is complete self-care for me. I feel so much better. My head's clearer. I worry less. My thoughts ramble less. I'm much more aware of my surroundings and less in my future. I look better. I love love LOVE it!

- And we moved into a new place, sharing with another guy we get along with famously and we’re loving it! A 15 minute walk to the Botanical Gardens and the well-known Cairns run, The Red Arrow. A 15 minute bike ride into town. We are surrounded by bush with a little creek at the bottom of the block, and we have a great balcony amongst it all that we are loving doing our yoga on. Happy days :)

I jet down to Sydney in 2 days to pack my childhood home (see my best mates, do my old-usual-weekend-highlight-yoga class and catch up with my teacher, visit my favourite Sunday markets, have girly catch-ups and dinners with my little sister, see my baby nephew, and so much more!). I cant wait! 

Until next time...

And ps. my apologies about the incredible array of font styles in this post - my computer has deiced to do its own thing tonight ?!?!

Australian Cacao Fruit

The other week when my mum was up here visiting, my sister and I took a drive with mum up to Port Douglas for the day. The drive alone is stunning - golden road bends overlooking vast ocean seas, palm trees and pebbles on each opening we passed, and blue skies stretching as far as the eye could see.

The markets were on when we were there, and I was over the moon when I found a lady selling raw chocolate bars, blocks and pieces, along with cacao pods and nibs - from AUSTRALIAN CACAO FRUITS!

I'm not suite sure why I never stopped to think whether cacao could or was being grown in this beautiful country of ours; assuming it was all overseas. So you could imagine my excitement! I have since found out that there are 4 or 5 plantations of cacao up here, all making their own chocolate. HELLO WILLY WONKA!! We'll definitley be planning a little adventure trip to suss them all out soon enough that's for sure!

But when I saw that this woman was selling cacao beans that she had herself taken straight out of the cacao fruit, and dehydrated to dry... I was sold. The fleshy fruit was still hanging on the outside of each bean. And this makes for a totally incredibly different taste sensation on eating...

It's fruity and tropical with hints of sweetness and tang. But once that disappears you're left with the bitterness of the cacao bean. It's Mother Nature's perfect combination...

And afternoon tea's perfect snack.



The following week my partner went on his own adventure up to the Daintree and brought me back that big cacao fruit above. Indeed. Yep. A whole fresh intact cacao fruit. In it's entirety. In Australia! I was speechless! Well no not really, that's a lie. I was jumping up and down in excitement (once again - could I really be that predictable around food?).

This is what it looks like inside - incredibly soft flesh and not much of it. Enough to keep the beans soft and moist. When you bite into a bean when it's like this, it is not hard as you may have had before. It's almost a little chewy. But a little powdery too. I know how odd that sounds and no doubt hard to imagine, but trust me, its' delicious.

The beans are purple inside, not chocolate brown, and you would be hard presed to just sit there and eat many more than just a few. We had fun adding them to smoothies too, believing we were getting an even better, fresher, bigger, richer hit of antioxidants from these babies! Hehe.

So I will be sure to keep you updated on our cacao hunting trips up here! In the meantime, I'm keeping myself very busy with work at the health food store which is great, college work piling up on me as I was in bed for about a week with what I think was a nasty case of influenza running around up here, and trying to rest and get myself back to my usual bubbly self :)

Peace, Love and mung beans xxx

Birthday Brunch and Cairns Catchup

So I know I said I would write a more detailed explanation as to why I'm eating eggs again, but to be frank, I can't be bothered. I had begun a long post about it; my thought, initial objections, feelings, my first egg brekkie again, and then of course all the nutritional benefits I am now getting from them (how could I not indulge myself on that one?)... but un-ironically so, in true adrenal fatigue fashion, it no longer interests me to explain it all to you.

I'm eating eggs again 'coz I want too. I'm enjoying them. I feel good eating them. And that's that!

As for the adrenal thing; I've actually had one morning this week where I woke up and DIDN'T feel like death! YAY!! I actually felt GOOD! I did have one evening where I was totally wired tho which wasn't so fun in my attempts to fall asleep (typical tired and wired adrenal types). I've been reading loads more in a new book I just got which is proving to be very valuable indeed.

Asides from that, I've got a new job at Go Vita which is a health food store and I'm LOVING it!! I write down everything I wanted from a new job and I got it! Working with cool people, great pay rates, flexible working hours, laid back uniform policy... haha Loving it! My college studies have begun also and that was great too. I've only had one class so far, and spoken to a few people, but in a small class of about 15 of us, I'm sure I'll get to know them all pretty quickly.

Rusty's Markets, Cairns

I get over-excited to get down to Rusty's Markets every Friday morning, even tho it's open all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The organic kale lady sells out on a Friday so I make a bee-line straight to her. The other week I got all this organic (or chemical free) produce for only $27.50... This much would cost me at least double if not triple that in Sydney. And whilst chatting to locals, sampling seasonal produce, grabbing a coffee if I'm feeling like one, perusing second-hand books, jewellery, home made soaps, candles and more... who wouldn't get excited?




My partner arrived last week which was very exciting, and my mother also flew up to see my sister and I. She timed it perfectly for my birthday :) And I had found the perfect place I wanted to go too...




My mum, my sister, my man and I all went up the mountain together to a little hippy town I love called Kuranda, where there is an amazing cafe I wanted to visit. It is nestled in and amongst the Rainforest Market which winds up and down, around, through and within the rainforest, other shops, hidden gems, stairwells and trees. It's absolutely beautiful, very peaceful, really chilled and easy-going. Loads of tourists flock there daily but it's stilled brimming with colourful locals.

We sat down in the sun, deciding what to order whilst eye-ing off all the goodies in their display cabinet. Their list of smoothies and juices was what instantly had my attention - from Green Goddess, to Cacao Maca Buzz... Scent of Summer, Kiwi Zing and Golden Glow... it was hard choosing only one.

So B and I ordered 2 to share; Kiwi Zing green juice, and a Green Goddess (banana, pineapple, ginger, something else, with green superfoods) smoothie. Once we had drinks underway, our food choice was easy - the Raw Power Plate.


This was delicious! It's piled with whatever salads are available on the day, with almond falafels and a sweet tangy tahini dressing. We had green salad, an incredible Coconut Raita which was coconut flesh shredded ever so finely, and tossed through with red onion and herbs, giving it a light and refreshingly fluffy texture that was amazing. I've never had anything like it! Our taste buds also sang tunes to the marinated beetroot and the quinoa tabouli.

Delicious living colourful lunch

Queensland coconuts are hard to pass by, and once all the juice was slurped out, we had it smashed in half to some fleshy eating! Mmmm :)

My sister and my man

And a few others photos of life up here...

Organic salad one day - with homemade saurekraut

Cruising the Cairns inlet in the dingy

Driving through Redlynch - a stunning part of Cairns

ALIVE IN A NEW CITY, SLOWLY GETTING MY FOOTING (and energy) BACK

So here I am. Sitting with a black sapote and a licorice tea up in Queensland's Far North Cairns. It’s not the typical hot sunshine drenched day you might ponder in your thoughts today, but nonetheless I am still in short and a tshirt – a far cry from my thermals, trakkies, ski socks, ugg boots, scarf and dressing gown I used to wear around my place in Sydney only last week. Yep I’ve made the big move and such explains my absence from here. Well that and trying to finish last assessments, cram for exams, see people, pack, clean, the list went on.

Paradise in Cairns Part 2

The produce there was INCREDIBLE!

At RUSTYS MARKETS !! The 3-day markets that are on in the middle of town every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I absolutley LOVE this place! I literally spent 3 days there!

A short drive from Nikki's place, after we had our green smoothies and did our walk, we got out shopping bags and headed on in. Rusty's is un under-cover market selling mainly fresh local fruit and veg, but you can also find organic cheeses and yoghurts, coffees and teas, home made cakes, olives, hot food, books, clothes, even massage beds!  I was in Heaven!

Kang Kong! I had never seen it anywhere before and I LOVE it!

Organic bananas

So many beautiful apples - although I didnt buy any! I went all out on the troical fruits though :)

We wandered up and down the aisles as Nik showed me all her favourites stalls; where she usually gets her delicious bush grown local tomatoes from...
where she sometimes grabs a slice of cheese or two for some nibblies with her partner...
her favourite (and best priced) avocado guy (who lets you taste some sprinkled with a little chilli salt and a squeeze of lemon) omg...
We were tasting everything else as we walked around too coz all the growers have things cut up to taste which is AWESOME coz then you end up buying what you like the best!
But what I loved most was how Nikki was telling me about her weekly ritual when she comes down to the markets - after her initial wander to check out prices and produce, she grabs a vegie samosa with date and tamarind chutney nice and hot from the Hari Krishnas, having a short chin-wag with the beautiful woman that works there... Then she goes to Billy's (who's positioned perfectly next door) for her rice milk mocha and a laugh with him and the girls, before plonking her bum down to read the paper and watch the world go by...

So Nikki got her samosa, got her coffee, I ordered a short black from Billy, and we plonked our bums down watching the world go by...
I loved that :) I love rituals full stop! I love that they make us so happy regardless of what they are...

I know I loved my walk to the espresso bar for my quick shot and short Italian verbal exchange when I was living in Italy... I love that Thursday mornings is gym class at 6am coz it's my absolute favourite - regardless of how many others I do (or don't do), that one is my favourite... Getting down to the markets on a Sunday, followed by yoga (or post-beach when its warmer)... And for the past 2 weeks I'm really excited to say that one new ritual of mine is DAILY yoga, every morning before brekkie. That's huge for me! And I'm LOVING it!

The friendly exchange

We bought greens, fruits, vegies... chatted with local growers about their produce, whether or not they use chemicals (alot don't which is awesome!), tried and tasted their scruptious offerings, and had our thinking caps on over-drive as to what delicious creations we were going to come up with when we got home...

Cabbage and kale salad alongside one very very spicy papaya salad with lots of avo

Kang Kong salad baby!! Great Friday night movie dinner!

One of our green brekkie bowl/smoothies

Banana, coconut and brazil milk thickshake!! So good!

Fresh brekkie smoothies mmm

(We didn't make all that on Friday just so you know... these are our creations over a few days hehe)

Saturday morning instead of doing our own yoga at home we went to a class Nikki goes to each week in town. It was in a beautiful open room, the teacher was wonderful and very thorough in her instruction. After just over an hour of long held stratches, bends, and inversions, Nikki and I wafted out with a few organic passionfruits in tow... on our way to Rusty's again (I was ready for my espresso from Billy) ! I got me a BIG coconut as well (I think the coffee hurt my head a little - not surprising when you're not used to drinking it)

We bought more produce, did some more sampling (you can't resist), more smiles and laughter shared, more people-watching done, more love around... : ) It was my final full day in Cairns so for dinner we had a last minute ENTHUSIASM to do something different!

Nikki has a HUGE basil bush in her back yard... and eggplants growing... we had bought amazing local tomatoes... any ideas so far?
Well we decided in the afternoon sunshine beaming through the kitchen windows we would begin mucking about and come up with some sort of a lasagna/moussaka/layered vegie dish that would taste AMAZING!! (I've had cravings to make one for ages now - you can check out other throw-together ones I've done here and here)

Step 1 - throwing tomatoes, garlic, onion, bit of basil, splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt into the blender = napolitana sauce!


Step 2 - throw copious amounts of basil leaves from the garden into the blender along with garlic, macadamia nuts, olive oil and salt... to find nothing happens... (Nikki doesn't have a food processor)... and then move it to the mortar and pestle to grind it down with alot of loving elbow grease = pesto!

Pesto getting smooshed

Step 3 - an avocado with lemon and chilli mashed in a bowl = guac!

Step 4 - sliced garden eggplants marinated in olive oil = well, marinated eggplant!

And VOILA!

Add some sliced broccoli, kale leaves, whatever you fancy and layer it all together! Nikki whipped up a cheesy sauce using nutirtional yeast flakes, drizzled it ontop. I threw together a side salad using our kang kong and extra brocc, then we took pretty picture before adding extra cheesy sauce, extra napolitana sauce, extra basil pesto... haha THE WORKS!

And god it was good! The perfect end to a brilliant week - but not before a quick last minute dash to Rusty's Sunday morning for coffee and some more fruit to smuggle back home !!