"Sometimes it takes something cataclysmic for us to change paths..."

For the most part we are creatures of habit. We stay the course. We fail to listen to the little warning bells the universe sends us day to day. Or maybe we sense the discomfort but are too afraid to change course. Too afraid for countless reasons. Until one day it happens. Seemingly out the blue. You didn't get into the uni course you so desperately wanted, or your partner up and leaves you, or you lose your job, or you didn't get that promotion, or you succumb to debilitating illness, or you lose a substantial amount of money, or something  occurs that feels nothing short of cataclysmic.  

The ground beneath you shifts so dramatically that the world as you know it is no longer the same. The door to your old life slams so hard it shatters before your eyes. There's no way back. You're officially in no mans land.  The place of transition. The place where you've let go of the old (often by sheer force) but haven't yet grasped onto the new. The place where you feel stuck and confused. Standing on the edge of a precipice looking down onto completely unchartered territory. Frozen with fear. The universe gives you a gentle push. You're now free falling. But you see a trapeze in the distance. By reflex, you reach for it. For there's no other way. You move in this new direction. Like navigating a foreign country without a map. Overwhelmed and exhilarated all at once. You doubt yourself but you tell yourself all you have to do is to get through that single moment.  One single second. And you do. And then the next second and the next. You start to feel the wind through your hair as you swing from trapeze to trapeze. You feel a sense of lightness and freedom you hadn't felt in a long time. You are on a new path you hadn't even known existed. What lies ahead? Mind racing, anticipation building. Somewhat haphazardly, you find your groove. You discover a new chapter, a new way, a new life. It was unexpected but the universe was nudging you towards it all along. You just  needed a monumental push to kick start your journey. 

Do you remember a time when life struck you a massive blow? It's those blows that force us like a sharp slap in the face to change direction or do something pivotally different. 

Hardships are the catalysts that catapult us to greater heights. 

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Without them we wouldn't grow as strong or bright. Everything happens for a spectacular reason even though it might not be apparent at the time. But I bet you that each time the ground beneath you radically shifted, you look back now and think "that was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Sometimes it takes nothing short of a thunderbolt to make us sit up, listen and do things differently. But hard lessons make for adept students. Next time adversity strikes remind yourself that a more beautiful (silver lined) path lies just ahead.  

September Newsletter

1. MORE PRODUCTS FROM THE CANADIAN WAY!

We are big fans of David from The Canadian Way. I love his story. A Canadian guy who lands in Australia to find himself more than a little miffed about the fact that the only salmon fillets and smoked salmon available in Australia were all farmed and not wild. I've written about the wild versus farmed fish thing here. So he started importing wild Salmon from his home country Canada. Then his friends wanted in, so he started importing for them too. Then the circle keep expanding and expanding and before long he had to give up his day job in IT to exclusively work on importing and distributing wild salmon products from Canada. When I met David 5 years ago he was still juggling 2 jobs. He also imports the Jakemans pure maple syrup which is our sweetener or choice in our sokolata.

Due to customer requests, we have now expanded our range of The Canadian Way products to the following:

Maple syrup 250ml glass jar
Maple syrup 1L plastic tub - NEW! 
Maple syrup 4L bladder in box (with tap)- NEW! 
Smoked salmon 250g - NEW! 
Salmon raw portions 500g
Salmon raw portions single serve 180g - NEW! 
Caviar (salmon roe). 

2.  CONSCIOUS CLUB 22 OCTOBER

The CONSCIOUS CLUB IS BACK! Diarise 6pm Saturday 22nd October, Paddington Town Hall for an evening of THE POWER OF SOUND. BYO yoga mat to lie on and soak up the vibrations with 400 other people! 

Quantum field physics has proven that at the subtlest level of existence that EVERYTHING is VIBRATING. If it's vibrating, then it is making sound. The question is, what kind of sound ? A pleasant one, in tune with its surrounding and contributing in a positive way, or an out of tune one, disturbing the atmosphere.

Believe it or not us humans are vibrating and in the midst of our busy, technological world it's easy to get out of tune. 

Sound has been used for healing in cultures around the globe for millennia, but only recently, thanks to new scientific advances, have we begun to understand the profound benefit sound can elicit on our physical wellbeing and the elevating effect it has on our conscious state.

Matt Omo @thegongguru has been asked back to the Conscious Club after the huge success of the previously sold out and much talked about sound healing. Matt will provide deep insights into the effect of sound on the body, mind and spirit and lead us through a transformational sound immersion using a swag of instruments and innovative techniques to create a powerful 60 minute sound bath!

Also, international guests from Damanhur Sustainable Community in Northern Italy will explain their research of capturing the electromagnetic variations of plant leaves and roots. They will demonstrate how plants can sing! Bring your favourite pot plant along to see it to believe it. 

I will be there with another staff member handing out samples of our signature sokolata (raw dark chocolates) for everyone's dessert and we will also have a select range of products to sell. 

Tickets selling fast. Book your ticket here.

I hope to see you there and bathe in sound together 😉 

3. THE WELLNESS FESTIVAL 

After sold-out events in Melbourne and Brisbane, The Wellness Festival is coming to Sydney on October 15! 

The Wellness Festival, held over one day, is a hub of activity featuring world class speakers (including LIsa Messenger founder of The Collective Hub,  presenter Laura Dundovic, Melissa Ambrosini author of Mastering Your Mean Girl, Sarah Holloway founder of Matcha Maiden, Julie Stevanja founder of Stylerunner), a live DJ, fresh coconuts, a workout sesh and The Wellness Market featuring Australia's top health brands and services. We are honoured and delighted that Star Anise Organic Wholefoods has been asked to have a stall offering a hearty meal of the day, bone broth and our activated nuts and raw treats for sale. 

Dubbed ‘the Coachella of the health world’ by Sporteluxe, The Wellness Festival is the first of its kind. Get your tickets here before they sell out!

4.   We are HIRING at all levels of the business. 

Star Anise Organic Wholefoods is growing day by day! To keep up with the continual increased demand for our products we are after people to fill 2 very different positions in the company. One is a full time kitchen hand helping to make our beautiful range of artisan wholefood products. The second role is a very dynamic full time salaried position working in the management of the business with me. To apply for either position contact me directly Soulla Chamberlain (creator and director) by email at info@staraniseorganic.com or by phone 0407 871 884. 

5. Broth Bar & Larder menu for warmer weather

Our meals of the day sell out most days at Broth Bar & Larder. Seems like people love and crave good ol' fashioned honest home-made fare. And that's exactly what we are all about. 

A) POT ROASTS 

As the weather is warming, we are serving up at Broth Bar & Larder more slow cooked pot roasts with salads (as opposed to casseroles). Pot roasts are one of my favourite ways of eating meat. It's very similar to a casserole but doesn't involve adding any liquid or root veggies to the cast iron pot. Just heavily seasoned pastured meat with the lid on for 15-24 hours at low heat to produce the most flavoursome tender melt-in-your-mouth meat. One of our customers recently said in relation to the Indian lamb shoulder pot roast the other day "I regularly eat your meal of the day here but this is one of the best meals I have ever eaten". 

B) ACTIVATED BUCKWHEAT-BASED MUESLI 

If you don't feel like something hot to, our all-day breakfast smoothie bowl topped with our signature activated muesli is perfect for this warmer weather. 

I crafted this muesli several years ago because there wasn't a properly prepared clean muesli in Australia that I could lay my hands on i.e. a muesli that ticks ALL these boxes: 

+ the nuts and seeds are activated (soaked and dehydrated to reduce phytic acid found in all nuts and seeds that lead to digestive distress and poor nutrient absorption);
+ AND doesn't contain gluten (we use activated cinnamon dusted buckwheat);
+ AND contains only certified organic ingredients (conventional nuts and seeds are heavily sprayed);
+ AND doesn't contain puffed grains (nutritionally devoid);
+ AND doesn't contain concentrated sweeteners.

Take a look at the ingredients on the back of your muesli packet. Does the muesli that you are currently eating tick ALL these boxes? I still don't think that there is any other properly prepared muesli on the market... And even though I'm a bacon and eggs girl 99% of the time, occasionally my kids and I crave a cooler crunchy brekky. Our muesli is sold pre packaged as well as dine-in or take-away. And our favourite way of serving it dine-in or take-away at Broth Bar & Larder is with your choice of broth-infused smoothie (raw cacao, strawberry, mango, cinnamon cashew, or salted caramel). Don't worry, you can't taste those 2 sneaky beef broth cubes when they are frozen!  Beef broth when frozen just adds frothiness without affecting the taste. Trust me on this one. We can also make our smoothies without the broth cubes if you are vegetarian/vegan. 

I hope you can try our activated muesli smoothie bowl soon (and if you do let me know your feedback!)

6. UPCOMING COOKING WORKSHOPS

I'm running more ALL THINGS CHOCOLATE and ESSENTIAL OILS workshops in term 4. If you missed out on attending these workshops in the past or aren't already down to attend the ones I'm running in October, please email info@staranisrorganic.com so I can add your name to any upcoming new classes I may run. 

I also hope to run some gluten-free cakes and muffins workshops too- dates to be advised shortly so stay tuned! For all enquiries about my workshops or to come to one of my workshops for free as a helper please contact me directly Soulla Chamberlain (creator and director) by email on info@staraniseorganic.com or by phone 0407 871 884. 

7. NEW & IMPROVED FRUIT & NUT SOKOLOTA 

If your wondering if our maple-sweetened  fruit & activated nut sokolata looks a little different it's because she's had a little makeover! We have had fun bulking up our recipe to make her even more beautiful and delicious than ever by including 7 different activated nuts and seeds (instead of just 2) and 3 different fruits (dried figs, coconut flakes and goji berries). We hope you love the new flavour sensations as much as we do!

All our artisan chocolates are free of refined sugars, artificial ingredients, soy lecithins, milk powders and agave syrup. Using only certified organic pure ingredients we pride ourselves on producing the finest quality crap-free artisan chocolates and raw treats. 

8. HAPPY SEPTEMBER HOLIDAYS!!!   

Now that the school holidays are upon us, I hope you busy mums remember to make a little time each day to connect with nature, breathe some fresh air, connect with your kids, and just be. It's not a luxury, it's a necessity! 

Switch Out The Negative

A while ago I made a decision to rid my life of negative forces. That doesn't mean that issues and problems don't arise (let me tell you that when you're running a small business they arise EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!). But it means that you don't invite them in with loving arms and give them more energy than they deserve. It means that issues and problems that crop up are tackled not with a doom and gloom crisis mentality (I'm thinking of my Greek mama's reaction here to the slightest upset where her heart clutching reaction is of opera-style proportions). Instead they are resolved with grace and a positive problem solving mindset. 

Refusing to accept negativity means for me: 

One

Not giving energy to texts, or emails, that are motivated by anger, hatred or jealously. Yes you don't HAVE to respond to EVERY communication that comes your way. Responding back and forth in a defensive way just makes both of you dig your heels in deeper and drains you of energy. If you pissed about something wait until the anger subsides and communicate with a mindset of "we are one team: let's see how we can work this out together."   

Two

Stamping out all forms of negativity in my workforce. My company was built on passion, wholesome food, love and care. Negative words and mindset spill over into the products and customer experience. There's simply no room for it and those who work for me know that I simply do not tolerate it. 

Three

Choosing friends who uplift and stretch me and make me want to be a better person. In the past I chose friends who put me down to make themselves feel better which resulted in a comparison war. 

Four

Not saying negative things about another person that I wouldn't feel comfortable saying to their face. If that person was standing in the room listening to you, would you be as candid? When I was growing up I used to listen to my mum and aunties gossiping and harshly judging others. Maybe it's a Greek thing, or a religious thing, I don't know, but I know it made me feel yuk inside and brings the whole atmosphere of the house down. 

It's amazing how your children pick up on the negative things you say and gives them the strong message that it's ok to say negative things about others. When my kids say something negative about someone else, I respond by reminding them that a) everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, b) you don't have to be good friends with everyone and shouldn't put up with anything that infringes your values, and c) you don't know what's going on in someone else's life to make them behave that way. We act out (often to the people we are closest to and feel most comfortable with) when we feel stressed in some way, either physically, emotionally or physiologically. 

Five

Reminding myself to not take things so personally when someone has a dummy spit about the slightest thing. The man yesterday at the butcher blew his top when he saw that I was served before him as he (mistakenly) thought I wasn't standing in the queue. Once again don't give it energy. Let it blow over. Allow him to be served first even though I was there before him. Let him feel better about himself. Life's too short to worry about who was first or second in queue.  My kids witnessed this and ask "mummy why did he get so angry and why did you let him go first when you were before him?" Quite simply "because you don't know what's going on in his life to make him so upset about this. His reaction wasn't about us.  Better to be gracious and let him go first if he feels so strongly about it. It really makes no difference to us and shows him a little kindness that he might be lacking". 

Six

Catching the negative chatter that goes on in my head ("I should be doing X Y and Z, if only I had more time, I can't believe this is all I have achieved in my life, I don't know how I'm ever going to get all this done in time, oh my god another wrinkle and grey hair, blah blah blah") and immediately turning it into something more positive. Lately my mantra is "I'm doing the best job I can. It might not be perfect but it's the best I can do right now and I'm happy with that." Flooding your thoughts with more positive talk spills over into how you conduct yourself. When my mental chatter is negative, my actions are often rushed and careless because they are not coming from a place of love. 

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I'm far from perfect at the above things but they are what I'm working towards. In fact I've had to learn these lessons the hard way and swallow many bitter pills in the process of dragging myself and my life out of a negativity cesspit. 

Now I'd love to hear from you. Do any one these things resonate with you? Do you sometimes feel that you are stuck in a tango with negative forces? Would one of the above strategies help you to change it to more of a happy dance? Please share your thoughts in the comments below :)