My activated nuts now selling at Bread & Circus Wholefoods Canteen

I am excited to announce that the delightful Bread & Circus Wholefoods Canteen in Alexandria are now stocking my organic activated nuts. Currently in stock are activated almonds, brazils, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, and walnuts. These are retailing for $9 (120g), $18 (300g) and $27 (500g).

For more information on what are activated nuts, and why eating raw (unsoaked) nuts is damaging to your long term health, click here.

Activated nuts can still be purchased from my home in Bronte for all my existing customers.

If you haven't been to Bread & Circus for breakfast, brunch or lunch, I highly recommend it!

Introducing a new (spicy) sauerkraut - ginger, carrot and turmeric

I  have  recently added a new flavour of sauerkraut to my range: fresh ginger, carrot and turmeric. In addition to their numerous health benefits, ginger and turmeric both add much flavour and a touch of spiciness (without being overpowering).

I will continue making and selling plain sauerkraut (using cabbage as the only vegetable).

My home-made sauerkraut is totally unheated (raw) and retails for $27/600g tub. It lasts for months in the fridge. Consume 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons with each meal.

What's so good about sauerkraut? It's an easy and highly palatable way to get cultured foods into your body. Cultured (or lacto-fermented foods) like sauerkraut are high in beneficial bacterial and enzymes which aid in establishing healthy gut flora –  essential for healthy digestion, strong immunity, weight range, metabolism, stable mood and brain function.  Home-made fermented foods have served traditional cultures for millennia. For more information on the benefits of lacto-fermented foods refer to one my earlier blogs here.

In a recent small pilot study, it was shown that consuming sauerkraut appears to have a protective effect on  blood cells when consuming unmarinated pork at the same time. You might recall that in a previous blog post that I wrote some time ago a study showed through live blood analysis how the consumption of unmarinated pork can have a coagulating effect on blood cells leading to brain fog, sleepiness and lethargy (which is why pork is traditionally cured - as in bacon - or marinated in an acidic medium prior to cooking). This new follow up pilot study showed that if sauerkraut is consumed when eating unmarinated pork sausage there was no coagulating effect on blood cells. I find this fascinating. This might be why sauerkraut is traditionally consumed with pork sausage in Northern Germany and Poland. Yet another reason to eat a small amount of sauerkraut with your (pork) meals. I know that after I wrote that previous blog some people wrote to me confirming that they felt tired or sleepy after consuming pork that was not cured or marinated. I wonder if those people would feel the same way if they ate some sauerkraut with their pork? It would be an interesting experiement.

New Product- nut-free date coconut balls

I have added a new product to my range: nut-free date coconut balls made with the following certified organic ingredients:

• raw cacao butter
• medjool dates
• extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil
• desiccated coconuts

There is no added sweetener - the dates are sweet enough in my view.   The healthy saturated fats (raw cacao butter and coconut oil)  slow down the release of the sugars in the dates to avoid insulin spikes and crashes- particularly important for children or those with blood sugar issues. Raw cacao butter is the saturated fat part of the cacao bean which gives the balls that lovely chocolately taste without the stimulatory caffeine hit as no raw cacao powder is added.

These balls retail at the same price as my activated nut balls and my raw cacao balls- $15 for a packet of 6x20g balls. To purchase simply contact me by email (soulla.chamberlain@me.com) or phone (0407 871 884) to arrange a mutually-convenient time for you to collect from my home in Bronte.

I have been making these balls for many years for my kids to take to school as most, if not all, schools nowadays are strictly nut-free. I hand over a large packet to each of my kids' teachers at the beginning of each year and ask them to give my kids 1 or 2 balls whenever a classmate is celebrating their birthday as a substitute for the (usually heavily processed) birthday treats that are brought in for the class to share. Because my kids love these balls so much, and because I have explained the dangers of processed foods to their health, my kids are totally fine with this arrangement (so far!).

I decided to add these nut-free balls to my product range on an ongoing basis because I have been receiving increasing questions from mothers asking me what healthy nut-free snacks they can offer their children especially in substitute for processed foods typically offered at birthday parties. So here's my answer! My raw cacao balls are also nut free but because they are 75% raw cacao powder content they are typically too strong/stimulatory for children ('tho not for my 5 year old daughter - she has somewhat regrettably inherited  her parents' fondness for caffeine!).

If you do purchase these nut-free balls I would love your feedback on what you and your children think of them. Enjoy!