Brisbane 25th May Healthy Homes / Healthy Swaps / Essential Oils gathering

My recent talk on the Gold Coast in mid April on swapping out the toxins in our home was fully booked with many disappointed to not have secured a spot. I’m delighted to announce that I’m heeding to your requests to run another identical talk in QLD – this time in Brisbane on 25th May (1PM - 4:30PM in Toowong).

If you have already been to one of my Healthy Home talks please come again and bring friends to help them onto a less toxic, more nourishing path. After all, it all starts with a friend helping a friend, who helps another friend, and so on. My journey started over 20 years on the grassy knoll of Bondi with a friend telling me that conventional apples were sprayed. I was so shocked, disgusted and outraged that the “food” that I thought was healthy was actually covered in a toxic film. This then sparked a journey that radically altered the course of my life. And of course one door opened another door and from an exploration of our food system the path then lead to an investigation of the ingredients found in personal care products, household cleaning products, pharmaceuticals and everything in between. Chemical Sh%tstorm is how I would sum up what I discovered. Is it any wonder why we have this epidemic of chronic illness and degenerative disease when so much of what we ingest, touch, inhale, and slather on our skin, hair and scalp is questionable at best or toxic at worse. 

In my next Healthy Home talk I’ll show you how simple, easy and cost effective it can be to rid your house of all hormone-disruptive toxic chemicals and healthy swap to all-natural, super powerful products. In this no nonsense, comprehensive 3.5 hour talk I’ll explain how you can use therapeutic-grade essential oils and oil infused products to:

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

• turbo charge or enhance the fundamental pillars of health to take your and your family’s health to a whole new level; and 

• 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 kicking toxic chemicals to the curb in the ONE and only environment you can control! 

Learn More, or Book Here.

I can’t wait to see you in Brissie!!!

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“Hi Soulla, a huge thank you for the amazing session last night. It was such an eye opener and I am feeling so inspired and ready to dive in. I was up til after midnight checking my existing personal care products only to find many of the “clean” options I have been using are scoring really high in the toxic category. Perfect time to start swapping them out! Thank you for sharing such a wealth of information and being so generous with your time. I so deeply appreciate it 🙏 ”

— Kate

“Thank you so much for such a fantastic morning talking everything oils! Your session was brilliant and covered everything I could have hoped for. Your beautiful energy, integrity, knowledge and lovely, relaxed way of educating and sharing information was infectious (in the very best way!). Thank you again as I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I’m really looking forward to seeing you again in Melbourne as you’re like a breath of fresh air and really motivated me to up my oils game. Absolutely love Young Living!! ”

— Tracie

“Soulla, I would have been lost if we hadn’t crossed paths. I am so different than everyone over here. You and our Young Living tribe have given me so much love and support. Without that I’m sure the stress would have taken over! ”

— Kelly

“Hi Soulla, I just wanted to reach out and tell you how much I appreciated today. Thank you. This is the start of my journey, yet after today’s workshop, I walked away feeling:
* empowered by the knowledge you shared
* clear on the direction I wanted to take; and
* motivated to change
The first thing I did when I got home was run all my favourite household products through the EWG website. I’m now scared to touch some of them but I’m grateful that I now know what is really inside them. I can’t wait for my Young Living Healthy Homes kit to arrive. Thanks again!”

— Fabiana

10 things you can do starting tomorrow that can INCREASE NOURISHMENT and REDUCE TOXICITY in your life

When people start learning about the toxicity that surrounds us in our modern day life, they can often feel overwhelmed.  From the “food” we eat, the tap water we drink, the toxins found in personal care products and household cleaning products, the blue lights we are exposed to at night, the chronic levels of stress we labour with, the electromagnetic radiation we are bombarded with, and the list goes on and on. 

Indeed, one door opens another door which opens another door and suddenly you feel like you’ve been doing everything wrong and you’ve ruined not only your life but also your childrens’ lives! I’ve been there! It is indeed tragic that we live in an increasingly toxic world where we are exposed to unprecedent levels of toxins that have directly contributed to this epidemic of chronic illness and degenerative disease. However, burying our heads in the sand is not the answer. But neither is getting overwhelmed – which just adds to our stress levels. 

When I start telling people about the toxicity that surrounds us, their response is “Ok! Ok! I’m in! I’m in! Let’s do this!! But where on earth do I start?!??!” 

Great question! We start one step at a time. One baby step, then another and then another. With your hand held tight for support (or as tight as you need!) my team and I help you start making SMALL changes that have a BIG impact. At your pace and in your own time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’m been walking this road for over 2 decades now and there’s still things I’m learning, tweaking and changing. It’s part of evolving and growing as a person. 

Ok, so where to start?

Set out below are 10 things that can INCREASE NOURISHMENT and REDUCE TOXICITY in your home (the ONE environment that you can control!). Start where it feels right for you and once you’re comfy with opening one door and exploring that room, then open another door. Remember, YOU are in the driver’s seat. I’m just here to provide you with all the support, education, tools and resources you need.  

1. Be conscious and curious about everything you put in and on your and your childrens’ bodies. Question everything. Don’t just accept that if something is allowed to be sold it must mean that it is safe. Sadly not. 

2. Learn to read labels on ALL packaged goods – food or otherwise - to educate ourselves and make healthier, informed choices. A good rule of thumb for food ingredients– if your great grandmother wouldn’t have recognized that ingredient, don’t touch it. If it’s a non food item – if it doubt plug the ingredient into the EWG (Environmental Working Group) website which rates it toxicity (1 or A being the least toxic, 10 or F being the most toxic). 

3. Buy nutrient-rich whole unprocessed foods – starting with organic produce from farmers markets, co-ops, or organic stores. Try to buy as many single ingredient unpackaged food as possible.

4. Learn how to make nourishing meals for your family with those single ingredients. To that end learn how to make nourishing staples like gelatinous bone broths, slow cook meals, organ meat dishes and gluten-free baked cakes in my online cooking workshops. Subscribe to my website or follow me on social media to learn of upcoming in person cooking classes.

5. If you don’t have the time, energy or bandwidth to make all your meals every single day from scratch, know that at Broth Bar & Larder we make onsite organic bone broth, broth based soups, 15 hour slow cooked meals, fermented foods and drinks, activated nuts and seeds, nutrient-dense raw treats free of all refined and artificial ingredients. We also have an online store.

6. Learn how to reduce the toxicity in your home by attending a healthy homes gathering where my team and I can help you swap out the toxins in your personal care products and household cleaning products in a positive and empowering way without the overwhelm. My team run these at least once a month in Sydney and further afield (including all over Australia in 2019 as part of an Australian tour). 

7. If you really want to get serious about reclaiming and maintaining vibrant health, invest in a life-changing one on one health coaching session with me (either in person or via skype) or attend at a fraction of the price a group Food as Medicine talk (which I am presenting all around Australia in 2019). 

8. For healthy lunch box inspiration, follow me on social media to see what I pack for my 2 chipmunks every single day. I also have a lunchbox inspiration ebook.

9. Educate your children and loved ones, gently and from a place of love.

10. Enjoy the journey of learning new knowledge and using it to make SMALL changes that have a BIG impact. Many think ignorance is bliss but there’s nothing blissful about chronic illness and a ravaged planet. Knowledge is power. Power brings choice. And choice brings an opportunity to change your health, your childrens’ health and the planet’s health. 

When we increase nourishment (in all areas of our life), and decrease toxins (again in all areas of our life) - that’s when our children can grow and function properly, perform their best and reach their true genetic potential, so that ultimately they can be the best possible versions of themselves! At the end of the day that’s essentially what we parents want for our children!

Ultimately this is a message of hope because as parents we are in the driver’s seat. We can dial up our childrens’ nutrient-density. We can reduce their toxic exposure. In our lap lies an awesome and empowering responsibility. 

So I implore you to join me on this journey for the sake of this next generation in any one or more of the ways set out above. MY reach is only so great. And YOUR reach is only so great. But if we work together as a community, our reach is POTENTIALLY UNLIMITED! If I tell 3 people about the benefits of making more nourishing, less toxic choices, and each of those 3 people in turn tells 3 people who each in turn tell 3 people, this creates a ripple effect that can be the force of change that this planet so radically needs. 

Remember that this is not about deprivation. It’s about healthy swaps. We need to change our mindset about healthy swapping and view it as an act of self love because its saying “I care (or give a sh#t) about my health, my kids’ health and the planet’s health.” And at the end of the day, what is more important or empowering than that?!

My raw and real musings on motherhood...and our limited edition Mother’s Day offering

Motherhood.

The most rewarding yet difficult endeavour I have ever embarked upon. My children bring me endless wonderment coupled with exasperation (and which dose is greater depends on the day). I have never experienced a love so pure, intense and unconditional as the love I have for my children. Yet motherhood is by far a vocation that is more painful than anything I have ever experienced. It makes my 2 honours degrees (in law and commerce), a university medal, and the running of my 4 businesses look like absolute child’s play in contrast to the daily struggle of parenting 2 children without my fiery Greek-Cypriot temper getting the better of me. As a close friend often muses “Hell hath no fury like Cypriot scorn”. Just when I think it gets easier they enter a new stage of growth and I’m back to feeling like a novice. Most of the time I feel like I am failing miserably, undeserving of the 2 beautiful souls that I have been entrusted with for such a fleeting amount of time. Guilt, shame and incompetence often riddle me. And the more I talk to other mothers (no matter how zen or perfect they appear, or how many parenting books, courses or programs they have completed) the more I realise that I am not alone. What is portrayed on social media is only one teeny part of the picture.

Don’t ever be fooled to think that it’s all roses, butterflies and unicorns for any given mother as you don’t really know what she’s going through or what goes on behind the scenes. So I’m here to tell you that no mother is perfect, that whatever you’re feeling I guarantee that we have all felt it, and that we are all doing our best to raise children without the village they have evolved to be raised in. And that mismatch in itself brings a myriad of issues. 

While the impact mothers have on their children etches deep and can last generations (for better or for worse) the saving grace is that our children are incredibly forgiving and resilient, and each day is a new start with new intentions. 

The rapid demise of my own mother to dementia over the past few years has given me great cause to stop and ponder my relationship with her and all the sacrifices she made as a mother which I only started to appreciate when I became a mother myself. To see one of the most capable, competent, and driven women I have ever met be reduced to a person devoid of mental and physical faculties, is painful beyond words. When there is nothing left to say all that can be said is “I’m sorry, and I love you”. 

As mothers, we not only bring forth life, we feed, nurture, care, support, love and protect with all our hearts. Yes motherhood involves pain and suffering (often from the first trimester). But it also involves wonder and joy. And let’s not forget that as we celebrate our special day in May. Tonight my son asked me “Mum, why did you have children?” My response: “To grow as a person…. To love and to be loved in returned, to teach you what I know and to learn from you in return.” Indeed, my children are my greatest teachers, my shiny mirrors reflecting back everything I dislike in myself and exquisitely pressing my buttons in a way that only they know how to press.  They will keep pressing and pushing until I show up as the best possible version of myself – happy, confident, capable, fair, supportive, honest, accessible, with clear boundaries. If they don’t feel I’m stepping up in any one of these areas, they will poke and prod (“act out”) until I step up.  As my children grow and mature, I feel it’s an opportunity for me to grow and mature as a person. There are many lessons to embrace, as every mother knows. 

“Mothers have the power not only to rock the cradle but to rock the world””

— Dr. Bernard Jensen

So I dedicate this newsletter to my mother, and to mothers everywhere, who have done and who are doing so much for their children. I see you coming into my Broth Bar and to my classes and talks, driven by a desire to provide the best possible start to your childrens’ lives. It warms my heart to think that the next generation of children that we are raising will be more robust, resilient, taller, smarter and beautiful than our generation, due to our hard work. And for that we can pat ourselves on the back! 

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Limited Edition: Organic Choc-Coated Macadamias for Mamas

To celebrate, acknowledge and honour the mothers in our lives and the incredible role they play, we have crafted as a Mother’s Day special limited edition, our signature activated macadamia nuts smothered in our signature raw dark chocolate: organic choc coated maccas for mamas! Simply superb!

Who doesn’t love that winning combo!? I hope you enjoy them as much as we have enjoyed bringing them back for sale to you as a Mothers’ Day limited edition. Throw into a larger hamper, or simply gift as a stand alone special treat. These are sure to please the yummiest/tiredest/grumpiest/happiest of mummies – for we are all these things rolled into one plus more ;-) 

Sold exclusively at Broth Bar & Larder. To organise a courier to any area within metropolitan Sydney or Wollongong simply call Broth Bar & Larder on 0421 786 009. Limited quantities available, so get in quick to avoid disappointment!

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