New Product!! Organic Immunity Boosting Cubes!

I am so excited to introduce our latest product innovation in our frozen cube range.  These have launched at the most opportune time. These cubes have been a long time in the making and they are flying off the freezer shelves at Broth Bar & Larder and our online store. 

Our new immunity boosting frozen cubes have been crafted for you to easily and conveniently add to your hot broths, soups and hot water at home for a powerful immunity boost. 

For those of you who are customers of  Broth Bar & Larder, you will know that we add various ‘broth bombs’ to hot bone broth for extra nourishment  and flavour. Our most popular broth bomb is a mixture of fresh lemon juice, garlic, ginger, turmeric, parsley and chill flakes. We call this our ‘immunity boosting’ broth bomb, as these ingredients are traditionally renowned for strengthening and boosting the immune system.

We have frozen these broth bombs into individual portions (omitting the chilli flakes to make them kid friendly) to save us the hassle of having to separately add in each individual ingredient into our hot broths and soups at home. Yes to another time-saving immune boosting product!!!

I hope you love these new frozen cubes as much as we have loved creating them for you!

We are replacing glass fish and veggie broth with compostable bowls!

We care about the impact that our packaging has on the environment just as much as we care about the unparalleled quality of their contents. We continually strive to lessen our environmental footprint as a company by making our products more sustainable. 

For this reason, we have decided to make 2 key changes to our packaging:

1. We have replaced all of our carboard soup containers (which ended up in landfill as they are not recyclable due to their plastic inner coating) with 100% compostable bowls. We even went to the ends of the earth and back to source compostable labels and ink (believe me, this was no mean feat!!!!), as we figured that there is no point in the containers being compostable if the label and ink are not. If you have access to a commercial composting bin, you can pop both the bowl and the lid in there. If not, then please put it in your general waste bin. Our local council (the Waverley Council) sends the red bins to a Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) facility. This MBT facility works as an industrial composting facility to recover the compostable material. Read this to learn more on how it works.
   

2. We are replacing our glass jars for our fish broth, veggie broth and soups with our new compostable containers. Some key reasons for moving from glass to compostable containers are:

• Recycling glass consumes a lot of energy and glass sometimes ends up in landfill because glass recyclers can’t handle the high influx of glass.

• Glass weighs more and hence costs more in shipping for online/wholesale orders. A lower weight also means a lower environmental impact of the shipping.

• Glass is more breakable. We have had numerous breakages over the past few years when the broth expands too much in the glass container as it freezes and shatters the glass in the freezer.

• Having both glass and compostable bowl options adds to the complexity of production and adds extra costs so we decided on the need to choose between the 2 options.

Small changes, big environmental impact. I hope you applaud these changes as we wanted the outside to reflect the care and dedication you will find on the inside! 

We will continue to provide our signature chicken and beef broth in glass jars. We also hope you love our new labels that we are slowing rolling out one product at a time. We hope to have all of our products donning the new labels by year end…it’s been quite the process!

Love Soulla and the Star Anise Organic Wholefoods team xx

my top 4 gifts of health + my parting message for 2020

Dear friends,

What an exhilarating and intense year it’s been! 

The events of 2020 brought much uncertainty and chaos but the silver lining is that it has also shone the light on something that is profoundly important that I have been so passionate about for decades  – our health – with people finally placing a greater emphasis and priority on building strong immunity and resilience. And there is no more profound way of building strong immunity and resilience than by doing so naturally through diet and other lifestyle factors.

It is such an exciting time to be part of the health and wellness space because as much as mankind spends so much time, energy and resources in labs trying to create a drug for this or a magic pill for that,  we know that the greatest tools we have to heal, to defend and protect, and to maintain vibrant health already exist in nature– they are found in the nutrient-dense whole foods we eat, in the pure and mineralised water we drink, in potent plant medicine found in the natural world, in sunshine, in movement, in the restorative power of sleep and breath, in the social connections we form, in laughter and play, and in living out our truth.  2020 fuelled my fire even more to educate on the importance of focusing on these epigenetic factors as the primary determinants of health and strong immunity. 

When we attend to and invest in our health, day after day, we live life from a place of strength and not from fear as we have great confidence in our wise biology. We feel assured that whatever comes our way –emotional or physiological – we are resilient enough to deal with it. 

On the home front, some excited developments occurred in 2020:

• We celebrated Star Anise Organic Wholefoods turning 10 with a complete design rebrand of our products. These will be rolled out over the course of 2021. I hope you love the new packaging as much as we do!! We have consolidated some of our range to make space for new products such as our GF crackers and beef broth & liver cubes.

• The home of Star Anise Organic Wholefoods- Broth Bar & Larder – turned 5 this month.

• This year I concluded my 2 year Australian Food as Medicine tour and am so excited to have launched the online Food as Medicine talk just in time for Xmas for those who missed the live talks. This is the ultimate Xmas gift of health!

• My Young Living family burgeoned in size as my team and I continue to inspire and empower as many people on the planet to become more independent in their health care and to kick the chemicals in their home through conveniently streamlining their purchases to Young Living essential oils and oil infused personal care and cleaning products. If you haven’t attended one of my Healthy Home workshops, this free 50 minute talk is available for you to listen to in your home at any time– just fill out the contact card on that page and we will be in touch with the password and the ink to the talk and will hold your hand every step of your healthy swapping journey. If you are considering a career change in 2021 into the health and wellness space, or want a side hustle that you can do from home at your own pace by making an income as well as an impact, watch this free video. Join my team of business leaders as we mentor you in how to create your dream business by doing what you love.

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Give the gift of health

As we rapidly approach Xmas, I ask you to pause to consider giving the gift of health and conscious consumption this Christmas.  

Here are my top 4 gift ideas that are health promoting, inspiring, sustainable, nourishing, and embrace conscious consumption in every sense of the word. 

1. ONLINE FOOD AS MEDICINE TALK

Following my sold out Australia-wide Food as Medicine tour across 7 cities over 2 years with hundreds of participants describing the full day event as nothing short of “life changing”, all of the presentations and resources are now available to you by popular demand in this premium package (valued at over $1000). 

This comprehensive package is designed to set you and your loved ones up for a vibrantly healthy life  from both a nutritional theory perspective as well as provide all of the practical tools needed to put the nutritional theory into daily application. 

Co-presented with Australia’s pre-eminent holistic dietician, Marieke Rodenstein, our collective forte is to combine the wisdom of ancestral diets with the latest developments in nutritional medicine and robust science to empower you with all of the tools, information and resources to reclaim and maintain optimal health. No crash diets or trendy fads, instead we focus on the robust dietary principles and other lifestyle choices that  have served mankind for millennia and which provide a solid foundation for a life-long sustainable lifestyle optimising longevity and vitality.

This ultimate package affords lifetime access to:

• my three hour PowerPoint presentation on the fundamentals of robust nutrition focusing on what we as a species have biologically evolved to eat with emphasis placed on the sourcing, processing and preparation of nutrient-dense traditional wholefoods and the elimination of dietary toxins (this talk essentially covers the same information provided in a one on one health coaching session valued at $450)

• a one hour PowerPoint presentation on the fundamentals of robust gut health by Marieke Rodenstein

• a one hour presentation plus a 50 minute pre-recorded video on minimising the environmental toxins in your home by healthy swapping all of your pharmaceuticals, personal care products and cleaning products with toxic free, super powerful yet cost effective versions in order to create a healthy home sanctuary

• a 60 page ‘How To’ manual that provides a summary of the nutritional presentations, practical applications of the principles, and numerous fact sheets covering various health topics including the 8 Foundations of Health

• 5 online cooking classes (each with a workshop booklet + video): bone broth, slow cooks, organ meats, gluten-free baked cakes and chocolate, each valued at $79, which equip you to master the traditional wholefood basics and make nourishing delicious meals complete with guilt free desserts

This talk is the culmination of over a decade of research, practical experience and health coaching. My intention was to make it as thoroughly comprehensive as possible, jammed packed with nutritional theory, manuals, fail safe formulas, practical tips, recipes, cooking classes, and answers to all your questions health and wellness related. 

If you are wanting to gift the online talk to a friend, simply download and save the document on your system and forward the document to them as their gift. There is no easier way to inspire a loved one onto the path of wellness than through this package. 

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2. Star Anise Organic Wholefoods XMas hamper

We have available for purchase beautiful Xmas boxes to help you create a hamper containing our organic artisan wholefood products of your choice. Allow us to help you fill the box with a selection of our activated nuts, raw dark chocolate, raw treats, or third party products such as extra virgin cold pressed olive oil, Jakemans pure maple syrup, Undivided Food Co good sauces, Red Boat (sugar free) fish sauce, our home made ginger bread men (or you can make your own with my recipe). 

The Xmas box and ribbon set are $5 or come complimentary with purchases of gifts over $100. 

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3. GIFT CERTIFICATE!

If you are struggling to decide what product your loved one might like best- let them choose with a Star Anise Organic Wholefoods gift voucher to the amount of your choosing. To purchase a voucher, simply contact one of our lovely staff at Broth Bar & Larder on 0421 786 009 and we will take care of the rest. 

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4. YOUNG LIVING STARTER KIT

Purchasing a loved one a Young Living starter bundle or even just one YL essential oil or oil infused product (e.g. YL sunscreen, Thieves household cleaner) can be the catalyst for them to start or really deepen their journey in leading a less toxic, and more conscious life. It always starts with that first healthy swap. And more often it starts with a friend or relative inspiring us or giving us the nudge that we need.  After all, friends don’t let friends use toxic products! 

YL sell numerous starter bundles but the most popular is the 12 oil starter bundle with diffuser which retails for $267 (+ shipping) valued at twice that amount. This is the kit I recommend and what I started with because whatever issue crops up, there will be an oil in that kit to support you through it. Game changing!

The unparalleled potency and purity of the YL oils means that you can use them and weave them into every area of your life:

• as your first port of call wellness cabinet for day to day niggles so that you can become pharmacy-free

• as perfumes. Gifting someone a bottle of pure therapeutic-grade YL essential oil to healthy swap their conventional perfumes is the simplest and easiest way to start your friends on their low tox journey. Some of my favourite Young Living oils to use as perfumes are Jasmin, Joy, Ylang Ylang and the blends of Stress Away, Inner Child, and Present time. I guarantee that you will get stopped more in the streets when wearing YL perfumes than the conventional toxic versions!!

• to infuse your home with a beautiful energy and spirit

• to purify the air

• to support sleep

• to settle and calm hard to manage kids

• to boost your physical resilience

• to manage emotions and take the edge off day to day stress

• to sharpen concentration, memory recall and mental clarity

• to swap out your conventional personal care products and cleaning products with Young Living’s comprehensive one stop shop! The Thieves household cleaner is the most economical as well as powerful cleaner on the market. From the world’s highest quality natural sunscreen, mineral-based make up, a men’s range, a kids’ range, a baby’s range, a pet’s range and a supplements range, I take great solace that I never need to walk down “that” aisle of the supermarket or health food store again and that YL make a product for everyone – from young, old, male, female, athletes, animals and everyone who is alive.

If you’re already a YL member in my team: you can organise the purchase of a starter bundle for your friend by enrolling them yourself on the YL website by adding your member number as your friend’s enroller and sponsor (we can help you if you get stuck). 

If you’re not already a YL member: simply read this page on my website and fill out the contact form on that page so that we can have a chat and organise what you’d like. Please don’t purchase directly directly from YL as they will put you in some random team and you won’t have the benefit of my and my team’s vast resources, education, materials and personalised support – which is exactly what you want!!

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XMAS TRADING HOURS

Broth Bar & Larder will be closed 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th December and 1st January.

We will otherwise be OPEN for trading every day 8am-6pm and Sundays 11am-4pm.

Last orders for our online store is Monday 25th Dec. Any orders received after that will be shipped out the week commencing 4th Jan. 

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thank you thank you thank you!

Thank you to my loyal customers, followers, stockists and suppliers, thank you for your continual support, love and encouragement which I felt so poignantly this year. You are the reason why we keep our doors open and why I keep going especially during the times when I feel like throwing in the towel (and believe there were a few of those times this year!). For all your testimonials and encouraging words - I am beyond grateful. 

my parting wish…

We are indeed at the threshold of a massive paradigm shift in global consciousness. Sometimes it takes, as it did for me, a personal health crisis to be your wake up call and sometimes it takes a global health crisis. And maybe for you it’s a bit of both.

If you choose to focus on what is not in your control right now – you’ll find plenty I’m sure. Instead redirect any fear, uncertainty and confusion by focusing on what is within your control. And that is your health and most importantly your diet and other lifestyle factors. Please appreciate how much power and influence you have over your health – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

A caterpillar has to dissolve in order to transform. We too are being invited to shed what no longer serves us. Start shedding one at a time all of the dietary toxins.  Start shedding one by one conventional personal care products with their slew of endocrine disrupting, carcinogenic and neuro toxic ingredients. Start shedding negative thoughts about yourself first and foremost. Start shedding the view that just because something is ubiquitous or everyone is doing it or using it or applying it or eating it surely it must be safe. 

I know change for some people can be painful, whether you’re changing your diet, or the products you bring into your house, or your beliefs. But pain and struggle are and always have been a necessary precondition for growth and evolution. 

And when you shed what no longer serves you, a clarity becomes present along with heightened intuition.  

My parting wish is for you to…
embrace simple pleasures and conscious consumption,
embrace your higher level of (heart centred) consciousness,
embrace and respect the intelligence and the sanctity of our wise biology,
embrace the opportunity to be more communers (and less consumers) of the natural world. 

Take care of yourself and your dependents and trust that everything else will take care of itself.

Lead by example and in doing so you’ll create a ripple effect. 

And the hope is that just like the caterpillar, we individually and as a collective will transform with grace and calm in the service of our greater awakening. 

May you get some deep relaxation and play time in, and may your Xmas be delicious in every possible way!

Soulla x