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Blog

This blog started as a way for me to share my recipes + culinary adventures, tips for vibrant health + happiness, thoughts on the latest developments in nutritional medicine + the low down on the Sydney wholefoods scene and beyond...

Shop! ..My products

mystaranise

I decided at the end of last year not to wholesale any of my products to shops. Apologies to those of you who have gone into GRUB or OVVIO looking for my activated nuts, raw dark chocolate balls or nut balls not to find them on the shelves! The long and the short of it was that I just couldn't keep up with the ever-growing demand. Nice problem to have, I know, but I was reluctant to open up commercial premises to meet the demand as my ethos is and always was to keep my products hand-made home-made in small volumes to maintain the highest quality and freshness. So I only sell my products from my home in Bronte. To purchase, simply call, text or email me and pop over at a mutually convenient time to buy or simply sample and have a chat. My price list is located on the Products page. I still deliver to the gyrotonics studio in Paddington every Thursday afternoon.  Everything is in stock below other than pate. I'm also moving my focus to nutrition education, cooking classes, workshops and retreats (alongside retail sale from home). Keep your eyes on the current events page for more info!

Reflect! ...on Nora Gedgaudas

mystaranise

Last November I went and saw Nora Gedgaudas, the author of Primal Body Primal Mind, during her Australian tour. It was an all day seminar at UNSW. While I have the utmost respect for her as an author, and I found her book very insightful, I couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed when I later reflected on the seminar. I was disappointed that she was not very specific in answering my friend's question on the need for supplements. Nora said that she thought that supplements "have a role to play" but didn't specify the circumstances in which they have a role ie in all circumstances or only some? I was disappointed that she couldn't answer my question on dairy consumption. I asked whether our ice-age ancestors consumed dairy to which she answered no, so when I asked her whether we should be consuming it she skirted around the issue saying "well there's a big question mark around that". I'm sorry but I think that's a bit of a cop out answer on such a significant issue for someone who holds themselves out as knowledge in the field of nutrition. She really avoided dealing with the whole dairy issue. (For what its worth I actually couldn't agree more with Chris Kresser's view on dairy that simply because something wasn't eaten by our hunter gatherer ancestors doesn't mean that we shouldn't eat it- we can PROVIDED 3 conditions are met: (a) its nutrient-dense - which whole unprocessed pastured dairy is, (b) its non-toxic - and whole unprocessed pastured dairy is not toxic- unlike grains/legumes which do contain toxins in the outer husk and (c) you body has the enzymes to digest it. And I'd probably add a fourth being (d) you like the taste of it and enjoy eating it.... if so then BRING IT ON!! She also couldn't answer my question on what proportion/percentage of macro-nutrients (fat, protein and carbs) a typical meal could comprise. She took a hard line on 100% avoidance of grain consumption (ok, I get that) but didn't state what the consequences were  if you very occasionally consumed it if you are not showing any untoward symptoms of grain consumption. Try as hard as you may it is virtually impossible to raise a child on a completely grain-free diet in modern society (the minute they step foot outside the house its basically the main staple of what is given to them eg at restaurants, friends houses, preschools, birthday parties etc). Nora doesn't have kids of her own so this explains her "there is no room for error"/ "you cant be half pregnant" approach. We are all human and as a parent in particular I make mistakes or bend the principles on my journey all the time, and wont the consumption of nutrient-dense foods 99% of the time compensate for the consumption of properly prepared grains the other 1% of the time? For those who saw Nora too- what were your thoughts? (Leave comments below!) Despite my above disappointments it was awesome being immersed in a community of people aspiring to raise consciousness and I made some new contacts and connected with others I hadn't seen in a while.

 

Move! ...exercise the body and mind

mystaranise

In the same way that human beings thrive and perform their best when we eat foods that we are biologically designed to eat (ie nutrient-dense unprocessed wholefoods), we also increase cardiovascular fitness, muscle mass and fat loss when we move in the same way that our ancestors moved. And our ancestors moved in their daily life by walking, squatting, climbing, lifting heavy things, chopping and also sprinting in short intense bursts when hunting down a wild animal to kill or running for their life from a sabre-toothed tiger. They didn't run for miles and miles and hours and hours on end at the same steady pace - they would have had no need to!! This is why numerous studies have shown that long distance running (eg marathon running, endurance events, and all other conventional aerobic training) does more harm than good in the long term on all measures (esp increasing cortisol and risk of cardiovascular disease) whereas cross-training or interval training - which mimics the short bursts of intense exertions of our ancestors- improves cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and stimulates fat loss because - like nutrient-dense foods- our genes are geared for this type of activity. So with this in mind a friend and I have started to do some sprint training at Bronte beach and park 2-3 times a week. We sprint as fast as we can for a minute then walk back to the start to get our heart rates back to resting then do it again about 8 times. It only takes 20-30 minutes, then its all done. What a time saver! What a relief that I dont have to run for an hour at a time at a constant drone like a mouse on a treadmill to make a positive impact! Exercising with others makes it more fun and motivating so if you want to join me, meet us at Bronte beach 9am-ish (after school drop off) Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Its great to breathe in ocean air while exercising and we finish off with some sit ups, push ups, yoga and a swim on hot days. Sounds pretty awesome and it is! And did I mention that it's free and fun!!!

For mothers with kids in tow I know exercising can be tricky. When my kids were babies and napped more than once a day I used to walk the baby in the pram for one of their day naps so I could connect with the local community as well as getting some exercise. I also walked the kids to school (45 minutes each way) a couple times a week (one on foot or scooter, the other in the stroller)- sounds like a long time but it goes fast especially for your 6 year old who would take the opportunity to talk incessantly about Lego without drawing breath ("mum, how did we get to school so fast?!??!"). When the kids were playing at the playground I would try to do some yoga poses or stretches instead of standing or sitting there idle. I didn't care what others thought and most of the time they would probably be thinking "that's a bloody good idea, I should do the same!" When Will did swimming lessons I'd jump in the other side of the pool and tread water or do laps.

When playing with the kids on the floor I'd sit in a simple yoga pose (such as virasana <seen below>, feet folded back near ankles- just like kids naturally sit) . Of an evening I would sometimes put on some dance music and bop around the lounge room like a crazy lunatic taking my kids for piggy back rides around the dining table. I bought a hula hoop last year and occasionally put it to good use while watching the kids play in the garden. This brought never-ending amusement to passersby ("...there's that crazy woman again...."). And my most recent addition is a rebounder (the trampoline substitute for those of us who aren't blessed with huge back yards....I live in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney- what's a backyard?!!).  Hopefully these simple ideas might spark some inspiration to squeeze in a bit of "movement while mothering". And above all else, remember that day to day functional activities (like housework, walking up and down stairs, tidying the house, walking around a shopping centre etc) count for a lot!! Simple daily life can be physcially active when mothering! And if it's not, remind yourself that its not always going to be that way. Your routine and rhythm changes as fast as the kids grow.