(finally) coming up for air.....update on the retreat and other shenanigans
I took a couple of months off blogging. Partly intentionally to spend more time with my family and partly because I've been flat chat with holding a couple of lacto-fermentaion workshops in September and more significantly the Blue Mountains retreat in October which I hold annually with my business partner Lisa Wood. I'll give an update on lacto-fermentaion in another post. I wanted to share with you in this post the awesome experience myself and a group of 7 clients had in the mountains on the retreat.
I started holding these retreats because I (selfishly) wanted to go on a retreat myself in a tranquil setting away from the buzz and jolt of Sydney and be assured of being served up real food ie traditional nutrient-dense fare that your ancestors would have just called "food". No toxins, no grains, no sugar, no industrialised oils, just hearty delicious meals. I explained to the clients over the course of the weekend how dead-easy it is to prepare food in this way and showcased how to make a casserole in a matter of minutes plus a mini-workshop on making goats curd which we then used to make labne dip. Over the 3 days I held a couple of info / Q&A sessions on the Fundamentals of Good Nutrition where we blew the doors off some commonly held myths and opened our minds to a way of eating that is designed to promote robust health and longevity (and not the hip pockets of big business). Largely due to my 2 super efficient helpers, this year I actually got to take part in most of Lisa's movement classes, the bush walk, the nature walk through the rhododendron gardens and the inspirational doco film Finding Joe (which I thoroughly recommend).
I wanted to thank each client for taking the time to invest in their health and being open to new ideas about nutrition and movement. Thank you to the 2 most awesome helpers ever - Kate Callaghan and Erika Parisi - the retreat would not have been possible without your tireless help in the kitchen! Thank you to GRUB butchers who supplied the grass-fed lamb shoulders and pastured chickens. And to Egganics for the amazing eggs and to Pete from Suveran for the fresh produce.
This is what a couple of the clients who went on the retreat had to say:
"Hi Soulla, Lisa and crew,