Cypriot Flaounes (cheese and currant slices)

This is a uniquely Cypriot recipe served at Greek Easter. I took my mama’s traditional recipe and “wholefoodised” it to make it gluten-free and maximise nutrient-density. I think of this as a healthy bread /slice with a slightly sweet twist.  As a result kids LOVE it!

Traditionally each flaouna is made individually in the shape of a square about an inch heigh, but for convenience I simply pour the batter into a square baking tray and cut them up in the desired size after they are cooked. 

Ingredients:

• 300g Reggiano Parmigiano (parmesan) cheese (or other cheese or combination of cheeses), roughly chopped

• 1.5 cups (250g) of activated savoury buckwheat 

• 1 cup whole full fat milk

• 1 cup Greek style full fat yogurt (255g Meredith Sheeps Milk European set yogurt with the blue lid)

• ½ cup extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

• ¾ cup (125g) currants (or 100g sultanas)

• 4 eggs

• 1 bunch (approx 50g) mint leaves, roughly chopped, stems removed

• Sesame seeds for decorating the top of the loaf, preferably activated

Directions:

Rehydrate currants/sultanas to bring them back to wholefoods by soaking them in a bowl of filtered water for several hours or overnight then discard soaking water. 

Process activated buckwheat in a nut grinder or Theromix until it resembles a soft fine flour and add it to a large mixing bowl.

Beat the eggs with stick blender, or process them in a food processor or Theromix until fluffy and add to the large mixing bowl.

Grate the cheese by processing it in a food processor or Theromix then add to the large mixing bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients (other than sesame seeds) to the large mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined to form a batter. 

Pour batter into a 20cm2 square cake tin or rectangular loaf tin lined with baking paper and liberally scatter sesame seeds on top. Alternatively, pour batter into cupcake/muffins cases then scatter with sesame seeds. Makes approx 20-27 muffins depending on size. 

Bake at 180 degrees for 60 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. For a double batch bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. 

Place under heated grill element to brown the top of the slice (if desired). 

Allow to cool before cutting into large square segments of about 10 cm2 (for square cake tin) or 1 inch slices (for loaf tin). Serve at room temperature.

Slices can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days before requiring refrigeration. They can be frozen up to 3 months. 

If you make these please tag me in your post as I’d love to see them. Happy gluten-free Greek Easter! Remember – this is not about deprivation, it’s about healthy swaps! ;-) 

Easter 2019!

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 2 fabulous offerings this Easter! Both are available NOW until stocks last at BB&L…

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). 

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 19 - 22 April

Wishing you all a happy chocolate-filled easter!!

Byron Bay / Gold Coast Talks & Workshops: 13 & 14 April - tickets on sale now!

I’m thrilled to be presenting 2 talks on the Gold Coast (my old home town!) and 2 in the Byron Bay area on the weekend of 13/14th April as part of my Australian Food as Medicine Tour. With both Sydney events already sold out, please make sure to book in ahead of time to avoid disappointment!

My mission is to inspire others to lead less toxic, more nourishing lives. Why? So that you can be the best possible version of yourself and live the full and vibrant life that you so truly deserve. It’s a simple message but there’s much work to be done. Last year I started my Australian tour with pre-eminent holistic dietician Marieke Rodenstein to spread this important message to make a greater impact on people’s lives. We had packed rooms and brilliant responses from Melbourne and Sydney last year:

“Thank you Soulla for sharing so much wisdom with us at your ‘Food As medicine’ talk in Melbourne. I have enjoyed several of your online workshops, so I was thrilled you could come to Melb to present this one in person. Your wealth of knowledge on this topic was really impressive and I loved that you included not only nutrition, but also lifestyle choices and low toxic living in the discussion as well. I’ve already implemented some of your handy hints and health hacks at home. My kids are particularly loving the healthy home made chocolates! The worksheets you gave us are fantastic and a bible I know I’ll refer to often. I particularly love the Healthy Swap table and the recommended holistic practitioners in Melbourne. It was fantastic to have Marieke there as well and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to her afterwards for further nutrition advice. Thank you Soulla for spreading the ‘truth’ about nutrition and what our bodies are naturally designed to eat”

— Anna

“A huge thank you to you and Marieke for a most informative and effectively delivered presentation on how to keep us healthy holistically...I always enjoy your talks...the knowledge you empower us with and your effervescent approach to share what you know is so well received and appreciated”

— Maria

“Hi Soulla, Just wanted to thank you for today -hands down the best 3 1/2 hours I’ve invested in the area of nutrition. Today’s material tied it all together for me and is exactly the information I need to be able to fine-tune my diet and take it to the next (optimal) level. Thanks also again for allowing me to bring my teenage niece along -we spoke about our learnings all the way home. How lucky is she to have exposure to such powerful information as what was presented today at such a young age!!”

— Nancy

“Dear Soulla and Marieke, I attended your’Food as Medicine’ and ‘Essential Oils’ workshops in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. It was honestly the best experience I have had in a long time. I felt as though I was busting with joy, being handed the blueprint for a life that has long appealed to me, but which I have struggled to implement. I feel awakened and informed, ready to wholeheartedly pursue a better life, nourishing my whole self as nature intended. I can’t thank you both enough for your amazing work, thank you for sharing your knowledge and empowering people to reclaim their health. I look forward to attending any future workshops you are running!”

— Lida

The 4 hour Food as Medicine talk and the 3.5 hour Healthy Homes/Healthy Swaps/ Essential Oils talk will both take place on the same day in Tuckombil (30 minutes from Byron Bay area) on Saturday 13th April and again the 2 talks will be repeated on Gold Coast on Sunday 14th April. I hope you can make it to BOTH Food as Medicine and Healthy Homes talks! 

1. FOOD AS MEDICINE TALK - BOOK HERE

> 9AM Sat 13th April Tuckombil (30 minutes from Byron Bay) or
> 2PM Sun 14th April Gold Coast

In this comprehensive 1/2 day presentation, I will dive deep on the Fundamentals of Robust Nutrition, while Marieke Rodenstein will hone in on the fundamentals of robust gut health. 

Our collective forte is to combine the wisdom of ancestral diets with the latest developments in nutritional medicine and robust science, to provide you with all the tools and resources you need on how to nourish your body and optimise your health. 

Health issues, pharmaceutical band-aids, and confusion and stress over what, when and how to eat might be considered “normal” in today’s society, but this is not a natural state of being and you don’t have to settle to live that way.  

By the end of our presentation, our mission is to make you feel empowered that you have all the information, tools and resources you need to reclaim and maintain your and your family’s health and wellbeing so that you can be the best possible version of yourself and live the full and vibrant life that you so truly deserve.

>>> To book or to learn more about our presentation click here!

2. HEALTHY HOMES / HEALTHY SWAPS / ESSENTIAL OILS - book here

> 2:30PM Sat 13th April, Tuckombil (30 minutes from Byron Bay) or
> 9AM Sun 14th April, Gold Coast

While the focus of the Food as Medicine talk is helping you to recognise and eliminate DIETARY toxins (and nourishing our bodies with the nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory whole unprocessed foods that we as a species are biologically designed to eat), the focus of my HEALTHY HOMES talk is to help you become aware of and eliminate ENVIRONMENTAL toxins lurking in conventional personal care products, household cleaning products, make up and perfumes  (and to healthy swap to all-natural, yet super-powerful, cost-effective versions). For what we put on our skin and breathe into our lungs is just as, if not more, important than the food we eat as our skin and lungs have no digestive filters!

This gathering is free to all Food As Medicine attendees as my mission is to help you kick toxins in ALL areas of your life! So if you are booked into the Food As Medicine talk please do come along to the Healthy Homes talk as well and make a whole day transforming your health in ALL areas of your life.

>>> To book or to learn more about our presentation click here!

I can’t wait to see you either on the Gold Coast or in Byron Bay at both the Food As Medicine and the Healthy Homes talks and helping you start or deepen your journey in leading a less toxic, more nourishing life!