Celebrate Mother’s Day with some healthy indulgence!

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Motherhood.

For me, it has been the most incredibly rewarding journey. And to be honest, not without its hardships either. My children are my greatest teachers. They remind me on a minute to minute basis how much I still need to grow as a mother and as a person. I probably wouldn’t have changed careers had it not been for them and they provide me with constant inspiration in both my personal and professional life. My children bring up in me the full gamut of emotions – from sheer wonderment, to unconditional love to utter exasperation. It wasn’t until I became a mother that I truly understood that a love so pure and intense even existed, nor truly appreciated the sacrifices that my own mother had made to raise me.

To my own mother, and to all my fellow mothers out there: I salute you. I see first hand through my health coaching sessions, cooking classes and from meeting and talking to you every day at Broth Bar & Larder just how hard you are working for the health of your family. I see the effort you put into making nourishing meals and the hurdles that you are overcoming in the pursuit of providing your children with the best start in life. I am in awe of you and I want each and every one of you to take a moment to reflect on all that you do, to appreciate your worth and to take a little time out on Mother’s Day to savour all of the delights showered your way no matter how great or small.

To celebrate and honour the mothers in our lives and the incredible role they play, we have crafted something truly special this year. An organic muesli of the highest quality. We started with our organic hand-crafted muesli (to read why our muesli is so unique and of the highest quality that you will find in Australia, click here). We then infused it with Ovvio Organics rose petals and pieces of our signature maple-sweetened raw dark chocolate for the ultimate healthy indulgence.  

The impetus for creating this muesli came from my own mother a few years back who asked for something that would provide nourishment and delight rather than “dust collecting crap that I don’t need or want” (that’s the English translation of the Greek version!). So I put together something that I as a mother would love to receive. Organic artisan wholefood that will nourish, satisfy, and delight! This muesli is bound to entice even the fussiest of yummy mummies, and those who need or want for nothing.

Retailing at $25.50/300g, we are selling a very limited quantity only. These make a beautiful gift in and of themselves or as an inclusion in a hamper as part of a larger gift. For ideas on what to include in a Mother’s Day hamper, I can suggest a bottle of Toscana cold pressed extra virgin olive oil which we sell at Broth Bar & Larder, a packet of our activated macadamia nuts, our fruit & nut raw dark chocolate,  our macadamia nut sokolata and/or our choc orange bliss balls.  My friendly staff and I are more than happy to help you construct a hamper if you bring in the box for us to fill. 

As our Mother’s Day muesli contains our pure chocolate, it does require refrigeration.  Purchase prior to Mother’s Day (13 May 2017) from our retail store Broth Bar & Larder or if you prefer to have a packet couriered to you for an additional shipping fee please pre-pay and order on 0421 786 009 or orders@staraniseorgnic.com in advance.

I will leave you with some of my favourite quotes on motherhood. I hope these resonate with you as much as they do with me.

Easter 2018!

Our nutrient-dense no-crap Easter chocolates are once again available for purchase at Broth Bar & Larder! 

This is artisan chocolate alchemy made with the highest quality ingredients. To create our Easter range, I took  our original sokolata recipe and tweaked it to make it more kid-friendly for younger palates.

As usual, we have two fabulous offerings this Easter! 

1. ORGANIC YUMMY BUNNY

These little fellows are made of solid raw dark chocolate and retail for $22.50 (cheaper than the Lindt ones I saw in Woollies!). Perfect for all the yummy mummies, delicious daddies and little bunnies out there….these will get your bunny tails shaking! 

2. MINI SOKOLATA DELIGHTS

These delightful little half eggs are the perfect mouth-sized treat. Each egg is decorated with either a goji berry, an activated almond or activated cinnamon buckwheat. You can pop them into some hard plastic egg-shaped containers from $2 shops for those treasured Easter egg hunts (pictured below). 

They are retailing for $15/100g bag and each bag has a mixture of the 3 flavours. 

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THE INGREDIENTS THAT GO INTO OUR ARTISAN CHOCOLATE...

Our artisan Easter chocolate is made with the following 3 pure ingredients:

• Certified organic raw cacao powder
• Certified organic raw cacao butter
• Mineral rich pure Canadian maple syrup

In keeping with previous years traditions we have reformulated our signature raw dark chocolate recipe by reducing the amount of raw cacao powder to make it less bitter for younger palates. Because it is less bitter, we reduced the amount of maple syrup as less sweetener is needed when there is less raw cacao powder. Commercial manufacturers increase the amount of sweetener for kids’ chocolates but we did the exact opposite as we know how unnecessary and damaging an excess of sweeteners are, especially for young growing bodies. The result is a silky smooth melt-in-your-mouth buttery sensation with a hint of raw dark chocolate. We trialled these on the harshest of critics (kids!) and got the big thumbs up!

To read about the nutritional benefits of raw cacao powder and what’s in commercially-produced chocolate that you might want to steer clear of (such as soy lecithins, refined sweetens, agave syrup, preservatives, milk powders), read one of my earlier newsletters here.

If these Easter chocolates don’t take your fancy, there’s always our sokolata (raw dark chocolate slabs…choose from 4 different flavours) or our raw cacao coconut balls (sweetened with whole medjool dates). 

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AVAILABLE NOW UNTIL STOCKS LAST AT BROTH BAR & LARDER IN BRONTE

To avoid disappointment, I strongly encourage you to pre-order and pre-pay for your Easter chocolates by calling the friendly staff at Broth Bar & Larder on 0421 786 009 or emailing us at orders@staraniseorganic.com and we will put packets aside for you. We can also courier the Easter chocolates to Sydney Metro Areas for an additional courier fee.

We are closed over the Easter 4 day public holiday long weekend 30 March – 2 April.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY CHOCOLATE-FILLED EASTER!!

BACK TO SCHOOL LUNCH BOX ESSENTIALS

The summer holidays are quickly drawing to a close and as a mama this brings mixed emotions:
BIG YAY for getting back into some semblance of an exercise and meditation routine which went totally out the window, and BIG BOO for early morning rises and gun-to-the-head time pressures. 

I can’t guarantee that the emotional and physical transition back to school this coming week will be an easy one for you either, but I can assure you that with some basic fridge, freezer and pantry staples, you'll be well prepared to tackle the early morning rush hour with less stress and haste, and more ease and grace, as well as ensuring that your little chimps will be well fed with nutrient-dense foods that give them the energy and building blocks to learn, play and concentrate all day without energy dips. 

Here is what I always have on hand at a minimum to make sure I never get caught out:

Lunch boxes:

1. Rectangular and square leak-proof stainless steel lunch boxes with removable dividers. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder. I love the quadrangle ones because I can ensure that ¾ of my kids’ lunch boxes is vegetables and ¼ is protein. I simply remove the divider when packing a salad. 
2. Nesting trio of 3 round leak-proof stainless steel lunch box containers. Super handy for morning tea. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder
3. Insulated food jars to keep food cold (e.g. yogurt) or hot (soups, broth, stews). Sold at Broth Bar & Larder. Hot tip to keep food hot for longer: fill with boiling water to warm the container up, discard the water and add in the hot food. 
4. Stainless steel (not plastic!) water bottles: buy online from Klean Kanteen or selected homeware stores like Kings of Knives and organic stores. Kings of Knives also sell the spouts separately if you loose one and I also recommend replacing all of the spouts periodically as bacteria can harbour in the spouts. Glass water bottles are another option but there’s the breakage factor (Miss M learnt that one the hard way!) and also the issue with extra weight to lug around. 

Protein:

1. Activated nuts: if permitted at schools, organic activated nuts are not only delicious but high in protein and  ranked as the 3rd most-nutrient dense food on the planet according to the Mat Lalonde nutrient-density scale. The older grades are becoming more and more relaxed about nuts so these are making their way into my kids’ school lunch boxes in more recent years. Our organic activated cashews, almonds, black pepitas and macadamias come in nifty little 30g snack packs perfect for kids’ school lunches. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder or via our online store.
2. Gruyere or Reggio raw milk cheeses: still made with 100% raw milk world-wide. Perfect to team with fruit for morning tea or can be the protein part of lunch. We sell these at Broth Bar & Larder by weight so you can buy as little or as much as you need.
3. All other organic full fat cheese: I always keep a stash of other organic full fat cheeses in my fridge to have on hand. They will each contain different probiotics so ideally rotate between them. Eg gouda (high in vitamin K2), haloumi (pan fry), cheddar, brie, camembert etc. Purchase from organic stores. 
4. Preservative-free cured meats from Bundarra Berkshires: Capocollo – a little spicy, and Little French Ham – my kids fav! Sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
5. The Canadian Way wild smoked salmon: delicious to throw into a salad to make wild smoked salad or to throw into lunch boxes as is dressed with lemon juice. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder. Beware that all other smoked salmons in Australia are farmed. Read more here. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder. I keep a stash in my freezer to pull out from the night before. 
6. The Canadian Way wild tuna: pre-cooked at low temperatures with extra virgin olive oil and sold in retort packs to conveniently add to lunch boxes or throw into a salad. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder. Shelf stable so I have a stash in my pantry. 
7. Anchovies: buy from supermarkets or organic stores ensuring that they are marinated in olive oil and not vegetable oil or canola oil. Easy to throw into a salad.
8. Other tinned fish: buy wild tinned fish from supermarkets or organic stores ensuring that they are either in brine or marinated in olive oil and not vegetable oil or canola oil.  BPA-free tinned wild fish sold online from Vital Choice. Easy to throw into a salad or can be eaten straight from the tin.
9. Preservative-free beef jerky from Kooee made from 100% grass fed meat and spices. 3 varieties sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
10. Cleavers paleo sausages and meat balls: I keep a stash of frozen ones in my freezer to pull out when needed and fry up the night before. 
    Full fat unsweetened yogurt made by Bondi Yogurt sold at Broth Bar & Larder. I also like the Meredith sheeps milk yogurt sold at organic /health food stores. For our dairy-free friends, an unsweetened probiotic-rich coconut yogurt made by Bondi Yogurt is also sold at Broth Bar & Larder.

Vegetables & Fruit:

1. Fresh vegetables: buy from your local farmers market or organic stores. At a minimum I try to have in my crisper drawer at all times some cucumbers, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery and some salad greens. Left over veggies (make more steamed veg from the night before), raw fennel and cooked and cooled potatoes are nice too for variety. Mix things up!
2. Olives:  Jumbo green olives in brine are sold at Broth Bar & Larder. If you buy marinated olives please read the label or ask if they are marinated in vegetable oils like canola oil – and if so avoid like the plague!
3. Pickles: sugar-free pickles from McLures are sold at Broth Bar & Larder. My kids adore these.
4. Raw fermented vegetables: throw into salads. 3 varieties sold at Broth Bar & Larder. Easy to throw into a salad.
5. Nori seaweed: let’s not forget sea vegetables and their richness in nutrients like iodine not found as abundantly in land vegetables. Remember that diversity is key and the human body wants a diversity of (real, whole) foods. My kids LOOOOVE nori. I buy from organic nori from organic/health stores and be sure that it contains only one ingredients – nori- because many brands coat the nori in vegetable oils. 
6. Fresh fruit: I always have a few pieces of seasonal fresh fruit on hand for morning teas that I team with yogurt, cheese, cream or some other quality protein/fat source (this teaming is important because fruit and veggies contain fat soluable vitamins and minerals meaning that they need to be teamed with quality fats or proteins for those vitamins and minerals to be assimilated /absorbed in the body. Secondly a quality fat/protein source will help slow down the release of blood sugars from the fruit to avoid insulin spikes and crashes).  I also have some fruit berries in my freezer (when I’ve no fresh fruit) to serve on top of yogurt. 

Crap-free nutrient-dense treats:

1. Bliss Balls: sweetened only with dates and no concentrated sweeteners and loaded with healthy brain-boosting and energy-giving saturated fats, these come in 4 different flavours: raw cacao, choc orange, white chocolate and activated nut. The first 3 flavours are completely nut free! Sold at Broth Bar & Larder or via our online store.
2. Gummies: made with 100% grass-fed gut-loving beef gelatin, organic raspberries and pure Canadian maple syrup. Sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
3. Carob bears + mint carob bears: made with 2 or 3 ingredients only, these are completely free of sweeteners and dates = guilt free! Yay! Sold at Broth Bar & Larder 
   [Broth Bar & Larder is open 7 days a week (Monday- Saturday 8am-6pm, and Sundays 11am-4pm). Note that our online store only ships cold items to Sydney and Wollongong.]

To become a lunchbox pro, check out my SCHOOL LUNCHBOX INSPIRATION ebook where I will share with you robust nutritional theory, my secret tips and tricks, school lunch and morning tea “formulas” for success, teamed with pictures of nutrient-dense, grain-free, processed food free lunch boxes.

And don't forget to check out my social media posts to see what my monkeys are taking with them to school each day. See social media platforms below. 

INSPIRING PARENTS TO RAISE VIBRANTLY HEALTHY KIDS ONE NUTRIENT-DENSE MOUTHFUL AT A TIME!