POO TALK PART 2

So how’d you all go with my last post? Not too put off I hope.

If so, well too bad, ‘cause here’s Part 2. I wanted to go a little further into our ‘poo’ topic as I think it’s something that no-one really talks about it (properly) or knows about… a lot of people get squeamish at the mere though of it and whenever I ask people how often they go if it’s relevant when they come to see me at the health food store, I get a non-existent answer. Like I said, no-one wants tot talk about it.

WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR POO? PULL UP A STOOL

Ok somewhat 'controversial' in the sense that would anyone actually write about that? is my post today.

It was Monday morning that the idea for this post came to my mind. And I actually got so excited about it I finished getting ready for my day before jumping online and beginning the draft for this - as I'm jetting off to work in about an hour and know I won't finish it.

So what am I talking about?

Soul Food

I've come to realise in these past few days that one thing I thrive off, that feeds my soul, makes me smile and fills me with joy is creativity. Maybe not such an AHA moment of sorts, but as I've been trying to finish a bunch of assessments to hit my study goals for May, I feel like all I've been doing is assessment after assessment after assessment... which is true. In and around the health food store, going for walks or runs and whatever else I seem to fill my days with, all I've been doing is assessment after assessment after assessment. Don't get me wrong, I love my studies (Biology has actually been fascinating for me - no joke!), learning new things and going WHOAH when I read something that blows my mind, but it can kinda get to feel a little like ground-hog day.

So as I worked everyday bar one this week, I decided to do a few things differently so as not to get all tied up in stress and continuous worry about the lack of college work that would get done, when I've usually got more than half each week to do it.

I got creative. And more creative. And more. And I loved every little bit of it I feel like my happy pot has been filled up again and I'm ready for more!

I found a few recipes of home-made beauty products from a magazine I kept from years ago and decided I wanted to make some things from it; I'd run out of my mouth wash and it's not cheap so instead I made my own Double-Mint mouthwash. I also made a Stimulating Hair Oil and a Fragrant Hair Tonic.

Double Mint Mouthwash

1 Tbsp dried spearmint
1 Tbsp dried peppermint
180ml boiling water
5 drops tea tree essential oil
3 drops peppermint essential oil
5 drops clove essential oil


- Place the herbs in a bowl. Pour over the boiling water, cover the bowl, and steep for 30mins. Strain.
- Add essential oils, mix well, and pour into a dark glass bottle.
This is only a small amount but shouldn't be kept much longer than a week. For one person you could get away with halving this recipe.

The mints are effective at banishing odour and making your mouth sweet and fresh. Tea tree fights gum disease and is great for receding gums. Clove is both antiseptic and healing. Warning - the mouthwash packs a punch!

The process of making these is what I loved - the creativity of it. I had a spoonful of this herb, a spoonful of that herb in stainless steel bowls, covered in hot water to steep until cool, adding essential oils, straining, adding other things like apple cidar vinegar and pouring them into little bottles and making my own labels!  
I felt like a witch in my spell-concocting kitchen!

And I get just as excited when I make Bush Flower Essences; these babies work a treat if you've never tried them! You can buy ready-made combination bottles at health stores; we sell them they sell themselves. I recently did a course on them and found it incredible, and immediately bought some stock bottles to make my own remedies. I've tried different one's for different things, given some to my partner as well, and love getting feedback on these!

I've made up and taken one for the female-hormonal-emotional-drama-type-escapades (girls - you know the ones), another one I tried for a fungal skin infection, one for a lymphatic boost for my acne, and I'm currently trying a bottle of Five Corners which works well for self-sabotage (I had a feeling that a lot of my efforts in clearing my skin might be in vain due to unconscious self sabotage holding onto the acne I've had for so long; an unknown feeling that I'm not sure how to look at myself without it). When I read more about it I was surprised (although everything is divine timing right?) as it also helps with self esteem and a dislike of ones physical body, bringing about more self love and acceptance. Yes please! Alongside taking this remedy for 2 weeks I've got myself affirmations to say -

So far so good. I'm feeling great and sure other things play their roles but I know this remedy is pulling some strings.
But my blog wouldn't be mine without a mere mention of food now would it!! As you might recall from my last post, I haven't had my camera for a while as I rely on the one in my phone, and my phone was bust at the repair store. I knew I used my phone camera a lot, but I was surprised how much. Still not totally fixed, I can't get onto Facebook from my phone, so can't upload any pics I can now take, onto FB. Argh!! I've got my fingers crossed for the most delicious super-duper inexpensive camera I can one day afford! But I digress - where were we? Ah of course Food! Yesterday evening I decided to come up with some sort of  a-make-do-tabouli for dinner (that is "hey I've got loads of parsley - the main ingredient, but not a lot else...hmmm"). Having 2 massive bunches of parsley I wanted to juice, but realising I had nothing else to juice them with, (good one Christie) I instead made tabouli! And it was so good!


Make-Do Tabouli

1 bunch flat leaf parsley
2 small tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1/2 lemon (squeezed)
drizzle of garlic infused olive oil (I got lazy here; you can use fresh garlic and oil of your choice)
sea salt to taste


Chop parsley until fine. Throw in a medium sized. Dice tomatoes and onion. Add them to the bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over, drizzle oil, sprinkle salt. Voila!

I added this to a bowl of kale and sunflower sprouts I had and enjoyed it in front of the fire at mum's place whilst the others ate spaghetti bolognese.

And then with cravings for some sweeties and there being nothing to have (according to them - meaning no ice cream), I pulled a few things out of the pantry and made fudgy chocolate balls, and sweet halva balls. No pics of these I'm afraid as they got demolished too quickly! Sometimes the experience of eating something far beats waiting for a happy snap! And again I got some creative juices going and had another smile on my dial :D

On another note though, I finished all my Biology assessments yesterday!! I had 21 in total and they have taken me since last October to complete and I am so so happy to say they are all done! YAY!! I've still got a few Nutrition assessments to do, and then 2 exams before I jet up north but know they will all get done.

But I've gotta dash up the road now to grab some things with mum. I've got a few surprise announcements up my sleeve; I'll save them for a rainy day, so stay tuned! All very exciting!! I hope all is well out there in blogging land with you all! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekends :)

Cancer; Allowing The Body To Heal

 A couple of weeks ago I was driving back from Birkenhead Point, the opposite of Sydney for me, to go and buy my mum a handbag for her birthday that we couldn't get anywhere else. A step back in time as my dad used to take us there as kids and I hated it (factory outlet shopping for all those unfamiliar), but I have to say it has perked up and offers quite good shopping now! But here I am getting side-tracked as I often do... 

Driving back home I get a phone call from a friend of mine; let's call him 'Terminator' (always an Arnie fan). Naughty me was still driving whilst chatting to Terminator until I hear the words 

"I've been diagnosed with lymphoma". My heart sank, and I pulled over right away.

I'm not sure whether or not my friend knew that I have been hugely interested in learning more about cancer and healing it naturally the past couple of years, but he is aware of the diet and lifestyle I follow. So he rang me to ask for some help. Some suggestions. Contacts of people I know. Information I had. I believe he wants to heal this as naturally as possible.

As soon as I got home I began compiling a list for him, and with his permission am sharing it with you here.

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves - I heard an analogy only the other day that was so good to hear... something along the lines of... when we fall over and scrape our knee, the graze forms a scab to heal. We don't need to go to a doctor or the chemist to buy a scab, coz our body is already in the process of forming it! So long as we don't interrupt the process and start picking at it, our body will heal the way it knows how.

Sure cancer is a little different to a scab, but with the right tools and putting each foot in front of the other, in the right direction, I believe our body's know and will do exactly the right thing. After all it's all it's ever tried to do isn't it?

Unfortunately, like a lot of us find over time, our bodies continue to take a beating from us until we make big changes. I know health and lifestyle coaches now helping and supporting clients through processes, having come from big places of learning themselves - like cancer diagnosis's, or chronic inflammatory conditions, adrenal exhaustion, the list goes on. So when I heard the news from my friend, I was shocked, but at the same time I was a little excited for him knowing that now is the time to change his life. For the better. Cancer is just one big f*#k-off mach-truck life experience your physical body gives you. There's usually small, niggly little things leading up to such an event (inflammation, exhaustion, trouble sleeping, digestive upsets, headaches, etc) but when these get pushed aside due to stress, work, relationships, to-do-lists, earning money... the list goes on - our body then decided it's no longer sitting there quietly waiting until you destroy it. It yells HEY MISTER WAKE THE F*#K UP AND DO SOMETHING!!! And then Hello cancer.

So over the phone I told Terminator a bunch of things to begin with, but followed it up with more detail and places to get more info.

First up tho was Raw Foods Baby! Take MASSIVE raw food action! Step number one and he told me he had already done it so that was AWESOME! 

I will let you know that Terminator was a meat eater right up until his diagnosis. It was only a week before he was asking me how to eat less meat, and drink more juice. I wouldn't recommend going from a meat based diet to a raw food diet overnight... in this circumstance I believe it was of up-most importance to do so, but I still had concerns.

Stock your place with SHITLOADS of delicious raw foods. Of course only organic but he already only eats organic! And don't forget variety! When there's good looking produce lying around, our bodies instinctivley know to go for that, and not the chip packet in the pantry. Juices are AMAZING also, I'd stick to green juices with lemon but be warned - the detoxing here will be profound (esp. coming from a meat diet) so book colonics asap. Ur in for a bumpy ride. I wont hide that from you. Due to your circumstances going raw is the best thing for you, but I am a little concerned of the shock it might initially put your body in so be very very gentle on yourself. If you feel you're detoxing far too quickly for your comfort, bananas are great 'earth-ers' I say. They bring you back to earth, if you feel you're up high in la-la-land, which raw foods can do to you. Nuts are also good here, and will give you calories and satiety. But look into this more on the Gerson website as they say no to nuts - only recommending flax oil for your fats. 

One thing that may not be so great to hear is that fruits may not be so good for you. You've likely heard that cancers feed off sugars, and even natural ones are food for them. Look more into it for yourself tho. I wouldn't be eating fruits, but again I'm not in your shoes. Right now I'm sure whatever you're eating is already an immense step forward from where you were last week and that alone should be commended :) I know how hard raw food can be - I live it everyday! I'm not perfect. I don't expect you to be. If you get stuck with it, call me anytime. Maybe even do up a list of reasons you're now eating the way you are and phrase each point positively. Refer to that anytime your having a hard time. Put it in your wallet. Stick it on the fridge door.

And don't worry about all the nutrients we read about, hear about, get asked about - "what about protein?", "where's your omega 3's?", etc etc etc. Right now they are the least of your worries (raw veggies have everything you need anyway!).

“When our bodies are exposed to carcinogens, free radicals are formed that try to steal electrons from other molecules in the body. These free radicals damage cells, affecting their ability to function normally, and the result can be cancerous growths.” Get on the antioxidants baby!! Get your bare-feet onto Mother Earth as much as possible (I eat my lunch in the back yard with my shoes off, in the sun, on study breaks).

I mentioned The Gerson Therapy which you said you have already heard of. Like you I wasn't too sure how lymphoma would go but I read this from their website - “the therapy has had repeatedly good results with the following diseases: melanoma, lymphoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, Duke’s C colorectal cancer, Systemic Lupus Erythematosis.”  Yay to that!

The website is here 

General questions about it are here
There are also menu plans which would be of great use to you when you get stuck.

Movies about the therapy can be found here -  I have seen 2 of the 3 (not The Gerson Miracle) and have happily gone back to watch bits again as I find them both fascinating with huge WOW factors!! Must must see's!

Wellness Warrior herself

Next up we have The Wellness Warrior - A Sunshine Coast girl who is still doing Gerson Therapy herself ; I'm sure you can email anytime. A great blog site and under ‘CANCER’ on the home page are a lot of great write ups, info, her experiences with different things, including Gerson.

Colonics - YAY :) haha I laugh only coz I know everyone's initial thoughts on such a thing (mine was also)... but those thoughts only last until after your 2nd or 3rd colonic (with Leanne it'll be after your first or 2nd guaranteed!) and then you'll be converted!! I wont say much more here but would love to hear your experience after you've been. Don't wanna give too much away ;)

In Newtown is the Release Wellness Centre owned by the beautiful Leanne who is very much into clean healthy living. Once a raw foodie herself, but no longer. Has lived in the USA and has a wellness centre there also, an absolute treasure chest of information to chat about for the hour you're with her. HAVE FUN! You'll come out a new person. Take my word! A blog write-up on it can be found here if you're still wondering what to expect.

Enemas - I only mention these as something I would do. I'm no expert in this field but like I said, I'd do it. Particularly as colonics are not cheap and I think Gerson Therapy recommends enemas anyway. Again, first time is a little scary only coz you've no clue what you're doing, but I'd be happy to run you through it. I still use enemas at home if and when I need be/feel like/want too. Yep, there is a place you might one day get too where you just FEEL like doing an enema coz u WANT too! Haha who would have thought?!?! Enema bags can be bought at chemists, are cheap, like I said you can then do them at home anytime of the day, whenever you want. Water enema, apple cidar vinegar enema, but I believe coffee enema's are used for cancers. Google it if you don't believe me!

Eating all raw straight from a meat diet, you're going to be detoxing HARD! All those toxins will now be circulating in and around your body and they cannot escape fast enough without colonics and enemas. Without these, the toxins will only be reintroduced to your cells again, and you will feel potentially a hell of a lot worse. This is the reason I say after your first or second colonic, you will be a new person and feel AMAZING!! Ooh Leanne also has an infra-red sauna. DO IT! Sweat out toxins as well. I always do the 2 together and often feel nauseous in a colonic, a little in a sauna, but then WOW I feel 100% better! Toxins gone!

Something else I stumbled across in my research was something called "POLY-MVA" which seems to work very well for patients with non-hodgkens lymphoma. Google into it for more info.

Rebounding - another of the first things that popped into my mind when I got home. So I looked online and it seems others agree. Check out this blogspot and this womans experience with rebounding (ie. jumping up and down on a mini trampoline). It's amazing for your lymph fluid, which cannot move unless we actively do it for it! Our bodies (at a really basic level) are just a bunch of cells (the body is made up of system's which are made up of organs which are made up of cells etc), and 2 fluids; blood and lymph. Get these 2 working and it's smoother sailing! The blood circulates all the time thanks to our heart pumping it around. The lymph however cannot get pumped around the body so we have to do it for it... by exercising, dry body brushing, rebounding!  

Which brings me to the next guy - Dr. Morse. I've only recently been reading, watching, and learning his stuff but think something here might help you also (as I said, 2 fluids, and he has worked with cancer patients before and I'd be interested to see what the clinic there would recommend for you). A telephone consultation to the USA, any herbs they suggest can be made up in the shop, as all herb ingredients in his formulas are listed on his website. YouTube him for tonnes of his video's to get a feel for him. I'm likely to begin some of his lymph herbs myself for my acne issues.

I just thought of Marilyn Golden - my girlfriend's Doctor/Nutritionist/Herbalist/everything else... She's done allopathic medicine as well as natural so she knows her stuff. A raw foodie vegan herself, if u need to see someone about something, maybe give her a try. She's got an amazing recipe book as well (all raw vegan).

Hmmm what else... I'm sure that's more than enough to sink your teeth into for now. Oh Emergency Essence!! Take 7 drops morning and night for 2 weeks straight!! After that we can put you on a different one :) 

Like I have said before, you all know I am not a doctor and these are only suggestions for my friend and a list of things I would do if put in the same situation. It is his choice what he chooses to do and not do, I have pushed nothing onto him, he asked for my help. It should not be taken as prescriptive advice. If you're seeking a formal medical diagnosis or prescription, or if you are contemplating any major dietary change, I suggest you speak with a health care provider.

Since that phone call a few weeks ago, Terminator "had my 3rd colonic yesterday and moving so much junk out of my colon and feeling less bloated each time". He is eating mainly raw, but some fish, cooked millet and a few other things. I will let you know of his progress.


In 2007, there were more than 62,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed in males, which when age-standardised equated to about 595 cases per 100,000 males.
 In 2007, there were 46,000 cases of cancer diagnosed in females, which when age-standardised equated to about 394 cases per 100,000 females.*

* These data are supplied annually for national collation into the Australian Cancer Database (ACD) through the National Cancer Statistics Clearing House (NCSCH) and reported biennially in the joint AIHW and Australasian Association of Cancer Registries (AACR) publication Cancer in Australia: an overview. This complex process of collecting and collating national cancer incidence statistics means the most recent national cancer data generally lags 2–3 years behind the current year.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Cancer Incidence Projections 2011-2020

Hot Choccie to warm them bones

Alright fellow Sydney-siders (and anyone else anywhere in the world where it has been ridiculously cold out of the blue for no good reason)... thanks to my gorgeous girlfriend Bianca, I've got a yummy scrummy hot choccie recipe to share with you all next time that chill hits!

I don't know about you but I have not been able to concentrate on my studies I've been so cold. Trakkie-daks, hoodies, fluffy socks, slippers, scarfs, non-stop pots of tea... I've done the lot! But when I saw taste-bud-tantalising pic, I instantly felt warmer. There's something about hot choocie I think. Just those words;    

      h o t   c h o c c i e

It seems to remind everyone of childhood. Memories of winters at home with the family, or on school camps, maybe the walk to school was a hot choccie time. Whatever the reasons and memories, they always seem to invoke warmth, yummy-scrummy-cuddle-time, and an all-round sense of wellbeing. Who would have thought; Chocolate?

Everyone!

Hot Cacao with Almond Mylk

2 cups of homemade almond mylk*
3 teaspoons of raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon of mesquite powder
1 teaspoon of agave
a dash of cinnamon

First up set aside 2 Tbsp of almond mylk (you'll see why). Put everything else in a pot on the stove and heat on low heat (do not boil) stirring it slowly... once it's the temperature you're happy with, pour into your favourite mug and serve with a swizzel of fresh almond mylk (to make the heart!) and a dash of cinnamon ...that makes hot cacao for two ..

Served with a coconut chia pudding, sliced bananas, coconut flakes and a few dates

 * I've got a recipe for brazil nut milk here, but you can easily substitute amlonds instead. Or use whatever you've got. Almond is nice as it's a subtle flavour, but sesame milk is divine, brazil nut is one of my fav's, or I dare you to try hazelnut milk ... hello Ferror Rocher!!

One step at a time

So not off to the best of starts after my 2 months away... and as much as I procrastinate telling myself that I can't post a blog without photos, as my mobile phone/camera is in at the shop getting repairs done (complete with all my photos of our Sunday banana-choccie-almond-crunch-chia-layered-parfait-brekkie, my tranquil trip away to Bowral last week with my step-mum's home grown vegies in the back yard, the massive green salads Brock and I had post yoga, and more)!!

NOTE: since typing this draft yesterday I've had an AHA moment and 2 of the pics I posted straight from my phone last week onto FB, have now been posted below. Blonde moment yes, but we've got some piccies!! :) And my photo-shopping program has been updated so I have a bucket load of new designs and effects to play with! Happy days :)

Mid-morning snack on the front balcony over looking the lake

Besides the lack of a good mobile phone at present (although my old cute little flip top Sony I bought in Italy years ago brings back such happy memories), things are pretty much the same as usual.

Actually no - you know what, they're not the same! They're BETTER than usual! Yep! BETTER! I'm forever telling people I'm the "same as usual - never ending study, work, etc, you know" when this past week has been so much more than just that! The past few weeks infact.

- I took 3 weeks off work to really knuckle down some college modules and I have done just that, and feel great for it! Sure it's a challenge getting my head around Biology and the deepening ins and outs of nutritional studies but when I understand it I LOVE IT and it's FASCINATING!

- I spent 5 days down in Bowral at my dad's place to really chill out, focus, drink tea (I say that like I don't otherwise drink copious amounts), eat lightly, and rest. I got a bunch of assessments done there, and since being back I've got a bunch more done.

- I'm trying new bits n pieces for my skin issues and am finding small improvements (yippee!). I'll let you know how things are going a bit later.

- Brock and I have been spending the best time ever together - even if that was one whole day driving from one mobile phone shop to the next, back home for contracts and receipts and back again. He is due to head off to Thailand on Sunday so intentionally or not, we've been glued to one another hip. I quite like that ;)

- I've also been doing a few gentle -but powerful- online workouts as well as rebounding and find I'm feeling a lot better from them both. I've always been a fitness and gym junkie but after a shoulder injury, followed by a sciatic injury (both for reason's still unknown to me), I was off the gym and have been for probably 3months now. Soooo unlike me! But you know what? I am so surprised at how my body has held up! My mind was trying to convince me that without my 4-6 gym classes a week I would surely balloon out, get fat and feel yuck! Well, my body looks very close to exactly the same as it was when I was up early every second day to work out. I know there's no way I could lift the weights I was 3 months ago now which is a bit of a bummer, but Brock mentioned to me yesterday that some of the world's top athlete's take 6 months off every year to really rest and recover, which was a huge boost to my self esteem, and a real joy to hear after beating myself up for not working out. My step-dad has also said each time I've popped over to say hello, that I'm looking better than ever! I laugh and say I'm doing absolutely nothing! It doesn't really surprise me though. My body has been feeling too tired and sore and exhausted to do much of anything that all I muster up is a 20minute walk most days, and even that brings on minor pain. But it's good to get out of the house.

So with that, I've been on my rebounder more and that has given me loads of energy, lymphatic boosts, and with minimal impact, and I'm feeling so-far-so-good coz of it! Really good infact. Yay :)

But I best get going again coz my aim is to finish one big Nutrition assessment today, and a Biology one too if I can squeeze it in! I'm off to a comedy gig tonight and very much looking forward to surprising Brock with that! I only just got given free tickets - ten minutes ago!

Quick and easy (minimal pantry ingredients) dessert or brekkie parfait

But before I jet I'll spill the beans on a super easy-use-whatever-you've-got-dessert-or-brekkie-recipe you can try this weekend.I made this at dad's down in Bowral the night before I left to use up my last few bananas, and coconut. I've tried to guess the quantities I used but adjust to taste coz I never measure anything myself.

Recipe (quite literally):

Step 1

Young coconut flesh from one coconut

1 banana

1 tsp vanilla

Coconut water as needed... blend all until smooth then pour into a small bowl and set aside

Step 2

2 bananas

1-2 tsp cacao... blend together then pour into a small bowl

Step 3

Handful of chopped dates

Handful of nuts

Pinch of salt...blend until crumbly and set aside

Pull out 3 little glass cups, bowls or jars and start layering your 3 mixtures. Eat straight away, or set in fridge or freezer. If you're like we were and too full from dinner, save these for brekkie!

I'd usually use a few other ingredients in something like this but at my dad's the pantry is not stocked for a raw vegan and so I use what I can. Something like this can be made with any fruit, and nuts, and any dried fruit. Be creative. Experiment with your favourite flavours and let me know how you go!

Have an awesome weekend!!

Christie :)

Baby Got Back!!

Well... I don't know where to start but I suppose it would be nice of me to say Hello after so long! Over 8weeks now since I was last on here with you guys and thank you for those that did contact me to ask where I was, what I was doing, and why I wasn't blogging - knowing full well the joy I get from blogging!!
I've been so busy with my studies that I literally forgot about my blog for a few weeks, and then just didn't have the time to blog thereafter. I've had assessments and exams coming out my ears, along with continuous worry, stress, and mild panic over how I was going to get it all done! Of course it always get's done, but I have a tendency to worry worry worry, which gets me nowhere but into a tizzy.

Distance study has it's pro's and con's - one con being there's no-one but yourself to push you through the tough sticky bits. But it is getting done and I'm feeling good about it :) Learning more new and in depth topics to get those gears moving up top. It's been great and the thirst I have for new knowledge is what keeps me going. The excitement I feel when I begin to understand something and can regurgitate the information to someone else. I love it!!

Apart from burying my head in the books, I've had nothing too too exciting happen since my last post. A few things that have been wonderful though...

- I have done a Laughter Yoga course that I loved, have fun with and look forward to doing more of in the future. Have a look at this video where CNN news had a segment on it! Amazing!!

- Level 1 in Australian Bush Flowers which I fell in love with, and cannot wait to incorporate, play with, experiment, and help others with! I've got a small delivery coming to me today that I cannot wait to get my hands into and start making up remedies for friends and family to try!

- a 5-day Easter weekend trip down South; Brock and I drove to Tilba Tilba with another friend, to stay at Brock's mate's place on his eco-life property! Rolling permaculture gardens, spring water on tap, so much greenery, beautiful people. There was the annual Tilba Festival on the Saturday so we spent all Friday making risotto tarts, veggie curries, raw power balls and muffins, before a break with live music 20mins away in a seaside town called Bermagui (love that place). Then all day Saturday having fun selling out creations, chatting to locals, listening to music, checking out the local honey guy and other produce... lots of fun! Easter Sunday was a bit emotional for me for different reasons but I did end the day smiling which is the most important thing. Then Monday night we went to visit another friend and stay with him in Batemans Bay. Amazing place. We had so much sensational food, went on bush walks and bay walks, chilled out with tea and DVD's. Bliss :)

- more social gatherings with friends have been great! I'm making this more of a priority coz it's very easy for me to do nothing but study and then wonder why I'm so stressed? No time to rest and have fun! So a few dinner parties (always amazing with raw friends!), tea and gossip catch-ups, phone chats with my sister in Cairns, quality time with my man...

- I made amazingly delicious mini triple-choc-tarts for the birthdays of beautiful friends of mine

And yep, whatever thoughts are running through your head right now - they're spot on!

A delicious choc base (always my favourite part of a tart) with sweet soft velvety filling of 3 different flavours

And these mini versions were dessert for a dinner party with friends. Yum!

I'd love to give you the recipe, but as I tweaked it from the Cafe Gratitude recipe book, I Am Grateful, it'd be easier for you to just follow their recipe. If you can't find it anywhere, shoot me a line and I'll post it to you :)

- making decisions about moving to Cairns!!Yep. I want to do some face-to-face study and that's where my campus is. I'm excited at the thought of living with my big sis for a while up there in the heat of it all too! Having only been there once, I quickly fell in love with the place and cannot wait to get back!

- making decisions about starting an online site with health, food, well-being, fitness, info, tools, talks, products, the lot (very very exciting!!) Hard to contain myself on this one!!

- exploring herbs more and about to embark on a regime that I feel will do wonders for my skin, and the rest of my body (will tell more when I've worked it all out)

- enjoyed a few Hot Cross Buns over Easter. Yep, that's right! The amount of cooked food I eat is so minimal it's not worth mentioning but a good organic hot cross bun with coconut butter (generously spread) ontop is so delicious I look forward to it ever year! My gut is fine with wheat so no issues there. I've just gotta be prepared to not feel hunger pangs for about 5hrs instead of my usual 2hrs :)

Everything is rather exciting and a little hectic but I'm trying to focus more on the exciting bits! My little nephew is coming to visit next week, I hope to visit my dad in Bowral the week after, and get back to blogging for you and me regularly! I've got 3 dinner's on this week where we all eat raw food so I always love seeing what we all come up with!!

So thank you for your patience and hanging in there for me to return. Thank you again to all those who contacted me and left comments on my blog. I was very touched, and initially surprised at how much you guys wanted my posts! That was so beautiful to realise. Drop me a line anytime, always love hearing from yet-to-be-friends :)



Peace, Love and Mung Beans :)

Distorted Eating

More often than not I struggle to find words to begin a new blog post; unless of course they're something like "I made the best cake ever!", or "New raw desserts in Sydney" etc... With such statements as those it's not difficult to begin and the ball just rolls on it's own accord. But when wanting to write about something a little more meaningful I always find it tough to start. Ironic kinda, as here is an entire paragraph already!

So I wanted to put my fingers to the keyboard mainly so my own sake, so I can get a feel for and sort-of map out where I wanna go from here.

As a nutritionist-in-training with a background in vegetarian, vegan, and raw live foods, I've always continued to up-grade my diet. It's like a hobby to me; I enjoy trying new things, seeing how my body responds, tweaking things along the way, all in an effort to feel, BE, and look my best. But in addition to these healthy habits of mine, comes a darker side and a history tainted with eating disorders.
I've come to notice that it doesn't seem all that unfamiliar in the raw food world either - to have a past with an eating disorder. Perhaps because in a distorted way a lot of us were initially striving for the best food our body could get, but in the process we got a little lost. Or maybe it's because on raw foods the restriction of every other food group is so severe, it's an easy excuse not to have to eat breads, pastas, meats, cheeses, dairy, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, rice... and everything else. There are possibly some people out there that fall into the latter, but my intuition tells me that if that's the case, they are few and far between. I think raw living foods for anyone with an eating disorder history is a blessing, for more reasons than I care to mention here.

So why all this talk about eating disorders? 

I've been very much in the head of my eating disorder lately. That might sound strange and a little hard to grasp for some, so let me explain a bit first.
Some people recover from an eating disorder. Some don't. And some might have to learn how to manage it if it hasn't completely left them, but they are wanting a better life. I'm in the third category. I learnt this years ago and have been doing my absolute best to manage my ED, much to my success. Until recently.

Everything in my life seemed to be crumbling around me, according to my over-reactive self that needs to have everything a particular way most of the time. I'm not being too harsh on myself here, neither am I being too easy. It's been a tough few months. And I began to notice that in a bid to regain some control when I felt like nothing was in my control; I turned to my food. And began controlling that. I had a crazy thought that if I could lose a few kilo's then everything would feel better (even tho a small voice in me was trying to yell "BULLSHIT!! IT NEVER WORKED BEFORE!!") But that's how I used to cope. Controlling my food and food intake felt really good as a teenager coz I got the result I wanted. And I felt in control. Calmer. But it's a vicious cycle as with trying to gain control through calorie restricting, one always ends up over-eating due to initial starvation, and then comes guilt, then restriction, then over-eating... the story goes on. So in an attempt to try and gain control, we only spiral further away from it. Go figure.

This week gone I felt like I was stuck in 2 places - one where I wanted to continue what I was trying to achieve by calorie restriction and not tell anyone because they would think I was stupid for wanting to lose weight as I don't need too... and the second place was me wanting to eat proper food and feel amazing again! That second voice was the real me. But as my head went from one to the other and back again within the space of minutes, it was very hard to decide whether or not I actually wanted to call a friend... Ok I do. No, no I don't anymore, I want to stay here and try to eat nothing. But I want to be vibrant and energetic... No I want to be skinny again, don't let anyone know!!

I was beating myself up because I felt like a failure for not following through with my restrictive plans, but feeling like more of a failure for not knowing how to help myself! Then thoughts of "How am I to help other people if I cant help myself??" The thoughts kept on coming. And all negative of course.
When I felt enough courage and strength within to ask my partner for help we began talking. He asked me "why can everybody else fail, but Christie can't?" And then told me to stop thinking about other people coz unless I sort myself out, I'll never be able to help anyone else.
We spoke for a while as I really needed to hear the cold hard facts and truth about what I need to eat because my brain was not functioning, I couldn't think, I felt like a little girl again needing someone to feed me because I couldn't make the decisions of what to eat for myself. I made a vow to myself that the following morning was going to be different.

That was this morning. I didn't get up at 5am for the gym, instead I slept in til 730am then went for a walk/run before coming home to stretch and make a big banana bowl. It was the first decent sized meal I'd had in a week. For the rest of today I ate green grapes and figs, keeping it really simple, and dinner was zucchini pasta with a tomato-capsicum-nectarine-garlic-chilli sauce, and chard greens ripped up and thrown in!
My head feels so much better. I feel like I'm alive again. Functioning. Thinking straight. Smiling :)
Sitting here with tea and a few dates :) And all this has happened since breakfast. That's the beauty of raw foods. They are what they are and they will only do amazing things to our bodies, spirit, and souls.

So from here I want to continue this. I kinda feel like I'm back at square one. Getting fuel to my brain. Supplying nutrients to my cells. Fuel for my training. When I first went raw I was eating truckloads of fruit, and felt AMAZING! I wasn't interested in the gourmet-raw at all, and think I got into it when I first had problems in my relationship. Emotional eating I suppose, I don't really remember. Always a sweets fan though, I did enjoy the raw treats I made and bought. And I still do. But for now I'm just going to stick to fruit, greens and soft veggies. If I want a treat (let's say I manage to sneak a Saturday off work and duck over to Taylor Square Markets for the best raw desserts in Sydney...) I'll have one. But leave it at one. And have them rarely. I know how easily my body can become addicted to cacao as delicious as it is, it's not something I need to be eating everyday. I know it works wonders for some people, and as a transition food it's fantastic, but for my body right now, use sparingly! The same goes with nuts, oils and fats.

It's actually been quite interesting the past 24hrs how my body and my brain have responded to what I have decided to begin doing. I was planning another 3weeks on a diet consisting of 2 pieces of fruit a day, 2-4 cups of greens a day, 2 protein shakes... and with that I was drinking espressos! Now, let me explain... espresso, espresso, espresso... oooh I love how the word just rolls off the tongue! It is such a tough one for me, I'm not gonna lie. I've gone loooooooooong periods without it very easily. But I wasn't a barista for 8yrs just to earn money. And I didn't travel around  and live in Italy to meet a sexy bronzed man. I love coffee! Good coffee - I love the culture around it, I love the smell of it, you name it! But it's got to be amazing coffee or I wont touch it. Anyway... even though my love for it is so strong, I notice that I'll drink it day after day when I'm in a self-sabotage mood. How does that work? I don't know. Coz when I'm happy as larry, loving life, loving me, and feel like a coffee, I'll have one also! It's no biggie for me and I don't think "omg it's not raw" I couldn't care less and figure if I'm loving it that much in that moment, it couldn't possibly be doing me any harm. I'd sit and love every teeny sip of my espresso. Get a high and be one my way. And might have another one 3-4 months later... I'm getting off topic here... where was I... Yes! Planning my 3week restriction, which was to be followed by a week long juice fast, and then another month long cleanse. My god Christie!

But like I said, I've been very interested today in seeing how once I spoke to my partner last night (who knows me better than anyone, knows how to push my buttons, as well as reignite my flames that have been burnt out), and made the decision to stop being stupid, my body fell into place. It knew where it wanted to go. It was my head that got in the way. An all to common theme with me it seems. Head stuff = easy. Heart stuff = hard. And that's ok. I'm not perfect (although I have spent years trying to get there). My body was waiting patiently in the wings until my head came to it's senses, and reunited with my body. And my body knows exactly what it wants. Fruit fruit fruit. Greens. And a few veggies. The odd avocado or coconut. More at different times of the year, but right now not so much.

I feel tonnes better than I did last night when I was balling my eyes out in a state of confusion, worry, fear and disconnect. Today I also moved all my gear out of my mums home where I've been staying, and into my grandmothers house where I will be living on my own from now on. I am very excited and feel it will be a big turning point for me. With a fridge all to myself, 5kg of grapes, 13kg of bananas, and then some... it's the perfect time!

Here's to tomorrow!!
xxx