...but do you know HOW to “JERF?”

I love this quote and it does summarise how we should be eating as a species BUT what causes confusion for many people is the finer (and no less important) detail of the SOURCE, the PROCESSING, the PROPER PREPARATION and the MACRONUTRIENT RATIOS of that real food. 

For example, raw honey is a real food but how much concentrated sweeteners should we be having a day? Spinach is a real food but do you know it shouldn’t be eaten raw? Meat is a real food but how many people consider that its nutritional value is entirely dependent on what the cows ate? Nuts are real food, but conventional nuts are one of the most heavily sprayed food items and moreover nuts need to be prepared in a certain way to make them digestible and absorbed. Fish oil and olive oil are real foods but their processing spans the spectrum to such a degree that they could be either rancid or powerfully medicinal. Ditto chocolate. Getting the balance (macronutrient ratios) of real food can also have a profound effect on your metabolism and health. If don’t get that balance right (e.g. eat too many real-food carbohydrates), optimal health and weight will be out of reach. 

If you’ve switched to a real foods diet but aren’t getting the results you want (looking and feeling your vibrant best!) it’s these finer details that can make a huge impact. 

So “just eating real food” is really only one part of dietary puzzle. I see so many people really struggling with the “HOW do I just eat real food?” This is where I come in and provide you with comprehensive yet concise fact sheets, information and education in my one on one health coaching sessions with exactly the same information being relayed (at a fraction of the price) in my FOOD AS MEDICINE TALKS. 

Next cities in the Australian Food As Medicine tour: 

Adelaide 16 Feb
Sydney 2 & 3 Mar
Byron Bay 13 Apr
Gold Coast 14 Apr

Make 2019 the year to really demystify any confusion you might have around what is real food and how to eat it to really optimise your health and well-being. After all, sourcing, preparing, and eating real food should be an enjoyable, easy and nourishing experience for our species on every level. 

How to launch yourself into a deeply nourishing and fulfilling 2019

Image: Ezequiel Pini

As we kiss goodbye to 2018 I’m turning my mind to INTENTION SETTING FOR 2019. I want it to be a deeply nourishing and fulfilling year. Nourishing on every level- physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. To that end I want you too to think about the type of year you want to experience and how you want to feel at the end if it. Notice I said how you want to ‘feel’, as opposed to what you want to achieve. For achievement without a sense of deep fulfilment is futile. This is how I felt for many years as a corporate lawyer (not that I have anything against that profession... it just didn’t fulfil and nourish me). 

For me it’s wanting to feel that I have made a genuine impact. It’s about touching and changing lives, it’s about making people question the status quo, it’s educating and inspiring people on how to better nourish themselves and their families, and it’s about how to reduce the toxicity that surrounds us without getting overwhelmed. It’s about how to make small changes that have big impact on our health and the health of the planet - for what could be more important?

It brings me joy beyond words knowing that I can have that impact on even one person’s life and make their life more nourishing and enriching in some way whether it’s helping them lose excess weight, become pain free, fall pregnant, regain a healthy relationship with food, feel more energised and vital, start ovulating, kick chemicals and pharmaceuticals to the curb, develop a love for cooking or find enjoyment in life. 

In setting my intentions for 2019 I follow a 2-fold process:

1. Write a list of the broad categories of things you want to spend your time doing and what you DON'T want to spend doing- much like a TO DO list and NOT TO DO list. The latter, for example, might be admin tasks that you can delegate or pay someone to do (such as kids emptying the dishwasher or hiring a PA for sending out certain emails). 

2. From the list of things you DO want to do, determine how you’ll prioritise them. Do your MOST IMPORTANT THINGS (MITs) first (a top tip I got from one of my besties @Melissa Ambrosini) and then spend the rest of the day doing the rest of the stuff that floats your boat. I need to drastically work on this for 2019 as I spent waaay too much time in 2018 in reactive mode (diligently responding to people’s questions and trying to keep my inbox under control) rather than in creative mode (creating programs and classes that can benefit you) or attending to my needs (such as movement). So I need to prioritise the latter and even have my phone turned off until just 1 MIT is done. 

I’m also going to cut myself a lot of slack and gently remind myself that if things don’t go to plan that’s ok too. Life gets in the way of the best laid plans especially when you have kids and ageing parents. I’m going to remind myself that the most important thing we can create and cultivate are the RELATIONSHIPS we have with others and to prioritise these. When reading memoirs of those on their death beds, their regrets universally are not what they didn’t achieve but instead not spending enough time with those they loved. 

I hope this helps you in some way as you enter the gateway of 2019. And my wish for each and everyone of you, my beautiful friends,  is a deeply nourishing and fulfilling year whatever shape or form it takes. 

PS I’ll be posting the schedule for my upcoming cooking classes, healthy homes/healthy swaps gatherings, and more Food As Medicine tour dates very soon! So stay tuned! I hope to see you at one of my classes or talks in 2019. Let’s make it a deliciously nourishing year together!!! 

2 *FREE* Melbourne Healthy Home / Healthy Swap Information Sessions!

I am super excited to be returning to Melbourne to run 2 identical FREE jam-packed information sessions on 10 and 11 November on swapping out conventional personal care products and household cleaning products with non-toxic, eco-friendly, economical (yet super powerful) versions so that you can create a toxic free home environment for you and your family – the ONE environment that you CAN control! 

We know that our hard coded genes are only responsible for a very small fraction of our health and that our health is largely dependent upon or influenced by a number of different environmental or lifestyle factors. The 2 broad categories of environmental or lifestyle factors that influence our health are:

• Nourishment; and

• Toxins.

These 2 factors have such a profound effect on our health that they actually switch our genes on and off for better or for worse and can thus change the expression of our and our loved ones’ genes (read more about epigenetics in my blog post here). This is why we need to be concerned about increasing nourishment and decreasing toxicity whenever it’s within our control. 

One of our lifestyle choices is what we choose to eat (our diet). That food can either be well-sourced, properly prepared and nutrient-dense (nourishing) or processed (toxic) and thus has a profound effect on our health (which is why I’m so damn passionate about it!). But food is only one component of health. The personal care products that we put on our skin and the household cleaning products that we breathe into our lungs are just as if not more important than the food we eat, because our skin and lungs have no digestive filter. Most of the ingredients contained in conventional personal care products and household cleaning products (and even dare I say some of the organic ones) are questionable at best or toxic at worse. We know that toxins cause inflammation and are the root cause of all modern disease. And here we are slathering and spraying them onto our and our kids’ skin, hair and nails, and inhaling them in.  

In my free healthy home information sessions I provide a very elegant solution to the problem and show you how easy, simple and cost effective it is to use the world’s most pure, potent and therapeutic-grade essential oils and oil infused products to:

• turbo charge or enhance the 8 Foundations of Health to take your and your family’s health to the next level; 

• healthy swap ALL your conventional personal care products and household cleaning products to create a toxic-free home environment for your family;

• healthy swap conventional pharmaceuticals with safe, yet powerfully effective, alternatives (this is very empowering as a parent!);

• add a beautiful energy and spirit to your home making it a safe, inviting and comforting sanctuary. 

There’s no time like the present to start increasing nourishment and reducing toxins in your home environment- the one environment that you CAN control. 

To book click here and scroll down to book into the date that best suits you between Saturday 10th Nov in Abbortsford or Sunday 11th Nov in Sassafras in the Dandenongs. Places are limited and will book fast!

These information sessions are also ideal for those who came to one of my previous gatherings to refresh their knowledge and deepen their journey of leading a less toxic, more nourishing life.

I can’t wait to see you there!

Testimonials!

“I have been following your Instagram for over 12 months now and I love the daily uses of the essential oils ... but it wasn’t until your workshop that I truly understand the power that the young living oils have to offer”

— Paris

“Hi Soulla. I just wanted to share my essential oils journey so far. I use them everyday, for baths, diffusing, eating and topically. I can’t see my life without them now and the list of other oils I want to try is growing. I have smashed your booklet, that thing is my bible!!!! I refer to it for everything (I’ve placed it in a plastic folder for extra protection). My husband and kids have embraced the journey. Thieves is the next range I’d like to try (EXIT MOULD has left the house)! I made your chocolate bulletproof with a drop of peppermint, OMG tasted like a mint slice! Soulla, I can’t thank you enough. Your passion has made a beautiful impact on my life, I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me. Many thanks and love”

— Giovanna

“I loved the workshop and very much enjoyed learning about the uses and ways in which to use and apply the oils to my life, and incorporate them in nearly every aspect of life. I will definitely be signing up. I really thought there was a massive difference between young living and other leading brands. It is a testament to Young Living, because I can already smell and notice the quality difference. I loved hearing about your journey because I am obsessed with your products and philosophy on eating...”

— Madeline