my top 4 gifts of health + my parting message for 2021

Dear friends,

2021 proved to be another exhilarating and intense year following on the back of 2020. 

While there continues to be much uncertainty and chaos, the silver lining is that it has shone the light on something that is profoundly important that I have been so passionate about for decades  – our health – with people 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 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 that 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 strong social connections we form, in laughter and play, and in living out our truth.  2021 fuelled my fire even more to educate on the importance of focusing on these epigenetic factors as the primary determinants of health, happiness and strong immunity. 

When we attend to and invest in our health, day after day, we live life from a place of strength and love, 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 2021:

• We celebrated Star Anise Organic Wholefoods turning 11 and its home- Broth Bar & Larder – turning 6! With so many small businesses being forced to shut down in 2021, my staff and I feel beyond eternally grateful – thanks to YOUR support- to keep our doors open.

• We have almost finished the new rebranding of our products. I hope you love the new labels as much as we do!!

• We rolled out a new product – our Immunity Boosting Cubes - which has proved hugely popular (simply add to your soups, broths or hot water for an immune boosting hit).

• We rolled out organic coffee and other hot /cold drinks with dedicated baristas working 7 days a week working with a small start of the art coffee machine to provide you with the highest quality hot/cold drinks in Australia (full suite of coffees, bulletproof, chai latte, hot chocolates, turmeric lattes etc).

• To welcome everyone back for dine-in meals on 15th Dec (yay!) we have taken the opportunity to paint the shop white – new fresh energy!

• 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 2022 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 financial sovereignty by doing what you love.

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.

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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 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 artisan organic wholefood products including activated nuts, raw dark chocolate, raw treats, and/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 etc. 

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

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3. GIFT VOUCHERS

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 Products

Purchasing a loved one a Young Living starter bundle, Young Living Ningxia Red (the world’s highest anti oxidant food source) or a selection of one or more YL essential oils or oil infused products (e.g. YL sunscreen, mineral make up, 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 reclaim power as your family’s healer and become pharmacy-free as nature intended

• 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 carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting ones !!

• to infuse your home with a beautiful energy and spirit

• to raise your vibrational frequency

• purify the air (esp if there’s mould!)

• to support and deepen 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 ($1.60/500ml!!). 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 on the public holidays only (25-28 Dec, 1 Jan, 3 Jan) otherwise open for trading every day 8am-6pm and Sundays 11am-4pm.

Last orders for our online store is 22 Dec. Any orders received after 22 Dec will be shipped out 10th Jan when our online store reopens. 

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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..

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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 then 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. 

I hope you enjoy this powerful short film of Charles Eisenstein’s “A Gathering of the Tribe”.

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

Soulla x

PS you might like to make my home made ginger bread men recipe with your kiddies.

Warriors of the Heart

Dear Star Anise Organic family,

How’s my community doing in these challenging times? It’s pretty intense. Eight years ago I was going through one of the most intense times of my life. I made the heart breaking decision to leave my partner of 17 years (the father of my 2 children). I felt like I had let go of one trapeze bar but didn’t have the security of the next, free flowing in the void of no mans land having no idea what my life will look and feel like as a solo mama. My psychologist at the time handed me “The Parable of the Trapeze” to read and it helped me enormously to understand that the space or void between the 2 worlds where we sometimes find ourselves in (whether it’s between jobs, relationships, countries, or careers) is actually where the greatest opportunity for growth is. I re-read it last night and paused to consider that the excerpt applies just as much to the human collective as it does to the individual. Humanity is indeed in the in-between transitionary space- gripped with uncertainty, fear and confusion. We are leaving behind the old world with its broken systems and now have the opportunity (or at least the invitation) to co-create a brand new one. The way to cope in the transitionary void is to TRUST that we will be divinely held and divinely supported by the universe.  I hope you too find some solace in The Parable of the Trapeze…

Sometimes, I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings. I’m either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along or, for a few moments, I’m hurdling across space between the trapeze bars.

Mostly, I spend my time hanging on for dear life to the trapeze bar of the moment. It carries me along a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I’m in control. I know most of the right questions, and even some of the right answers. But once in a while, as I’m merrily, or not so merrily, swinging along, I look ahead of me into the distance, and what do I see?

I see another trapeze bar looking at me. It’s empty. And I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new bar has my name on it. It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness coming to get me. In my heart of hearts, I know that for me to grow, I must release my grip on the present well-known bar to move to the new one.

Each time it happens, I hope—no, I pray—that I won’t have to grab the new one. But in my knowing place, I know that I must totally release my grasp on my old bar, and for some moments in time I must hurtle across space before I can grab the new bar. Each time I do this I am filled with terror. It doesn’t matter that in all my previous hurdles I have always made it.

Each time I am afraid I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless basin between the bars. But I do it anyway. I must. Perhaps this is the essence of what the mystics call faith. No guarantees, no net, no insurance, but we do it anyway because hanging on to that old bar is no longer an option. And so, for what seems to be an eternity but actually lasts a microsecond. I soar across the dark void called “the past is over; the future is not yet here.” It’s called a transition. I have come to believe that it is the only place that real change occurs.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing, and the bars are the illusions we dream up to not notice the void. Yes, with all the fear that can accompany transitions, they are still the most vibrant, growth-filled, passionate moments in our lives. And so transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away, but rather with giving ourselves permission to “hang out” in the transition zone — between the trapeze bars — allowing ourselves to dwell in the only place where change really happens.

It can be terrifying. It can also be enlightening. Hurdling through the void, we just may learn to fly.

Excerpted from Warriors of the Heart by Danaan Perry.

How to keep your mattress mould free!

Mould. Argh! It seems to rear its ugly head from time to time in my home especially the master bedroom due to the humid weather in Sydney and the fact that my bedroom is sub-terrain on a sloping block attracting moisture and rising damp. 

We went to flip my mattress a couple of weeks ago (a really good practice to get into which I have been guilty of not doing anywhere near enough) and to my horror the underside was covered in black mould. (Flash to an image of my head exploding off my shoulders). This is AFTER all of the extensive work I have done over the past 5 years to arrest mould in my master bedroom. Obviously I was not doing enough. 

By way of background…I experienced extensive mould incident in my home in 2016 which left me and (to a lesser extent) my kids sick for months on end with respiratory issues and brain fog. I then wrote an extensive blog on mould which viral around the globe. I then blogged about how to keep your wardrobe mould free and then teamed up with one of Australia’s leading building biologists to put together a 4 step mould protocol which revolves around Young Living Thieves products and the work of Dr Ed Close. To access or discuss this protocol if you are not yet a YL member in my community, please fill out the contact form on the essential oils page of my website and someone in my team will be in touch. In terms of detoxifying mould from your body refer to this blog.

Ok now that the background is out of the way let’s get back to my mouldy mattress. Despite doing all of the things listed in my blogs above you can image that I was somewhat peeved when mould presented on the underside of my mattress. Before you tackle the treatment of mould, you want to get to THE CAUSE of it (as per my mould protocol) otherwise it will keep on re-occurring. The cause, is a nutshell, was lack of ventilation under the bed in a humid and damp environment. The bed is very low to the ground (trapping stagnant air), we were diffusing oils in the bedroom for about 3 hours a night which adds moisture to an otherwise humid environment, and failed to flip the mattress more than once a year (due to sheer laziness and the fact that it’s king size and bloody heavy). Yep, recipe for mould. There is no other mould in the bedroom - just under the mattress - so it looks like it was this one area I was neglecting.  

So this is what we did about it:

1. Restore or discard the mattress: As per the Mould Protocol I co-wrote, soft furnishings including mattress typically need to be discarded when they become mouldy: “For porous surfaces (e.g. plaster board, textiles, soft furnishings, books), safest to discard.” Our mattress is the Cloud 9 from The Natural Bedding Company (I’m not an affiliate or get any kick backs - I just love their organic mattresses and love supporting local businesses). When I called them to confirm that I have to throw the mattress out and get a new one, to my delight they told us to send them some photos of the mattress to see if they can restore it by removing the mouldy layers and replacing them. The Natural Bedding Company make their mattresses in such a way that they are layered so that when the top couple of layers are affected they can simply replace those layers without discarding the whole mattress. And that’s exactly what they did. They were able to restore it at a fraction of the cost of buying a brand new mattress. Yay! Keep this in mind when purchasing new mattresses!!

2. Stop using a diffuser in a moisture-prone room or buy a waterless diffuser: It’s not wise to use an essential oil diffuser in a room that contains mould or has poor ventilation as it will simply add moisture to the room. You can get the benefits of the essential oils in other ways like applying them topically to your body before bed and/or applying a couple drops on your pillow. Young Living does sell a moisture-less diffuser called the Aromalux that does not diffuse any moisture into the air (only the essential oil neat) made specifically for rooms that are prone to mould or lack ventilation. I am going to buy one of those for my bedroom.

3. Purchase a couple damp chaser rods for under the bed: I quickly got my trusted Sydney-based building biologist, Jo Lia, to come over to investigate the damage and she suggested to buy a couple of damp chaser rods to stick under the bed. These emit warm air (and warm air rises) so the idea is that they are creating air flow under the bed through the movement of air of different temperatures. These are typically used in small storage places for the maintenance of antique furniture but Jo had the genius idea of popping them under the bed. These run on electricity so plug them into the power point near the bed and leave them turned on all day and then turn them off from the powerpoint at night when going to bed. I purchased online from here.

4. Flip the mattress regularly: a very painstaking, laborious and boring task but oh so necessary because you can investigate any potential moisture and mould growth on the underside of the mattress and give the underside an opportunity to aerate. How frequently you should flip your mattress really depends on your room but for my bedroom we decided monthly. Flipping (and ideally rotating) the mattress is better for the mattress and better for your back too.

5. Give the mattress a bicarb and Thieves oil sprinkle then vacuum: after flipping the mattress and before making the bed, sprinkle the mattress with bicarb of soda and approx. 10 drop of Young Living Thieves oil (you can make up a pre-mix in a container or apply separately). Allow the mixture to sit on mattress for a couple hours or longer before vaccuming. Bicarb absorbs moisture and Thieves creates an environment hostile to the growth of mould. If you can also stick the mattress outside in the full sun for a couple hours, then extra bonus points to you. (If you don’t have Thieves in your life please don’t order it from the YL website – instead contact me and I will explain the most economical way of ordering it and set you up with a wholesale account for you and give you access to our online member resources, personalised support and community educational events).

I hope you find these 5 suggestions helpful and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions around mould. 

Love Soulla

PS Are you in the market for a new mattress? 

If anyone is in the market of buying a mattress (or any product over $500 from The Natural Bedding Company) and would like a $50 gift voucher off your purchase all you need to do is email me your name and mobile phone number. The condition is that you join our low tox community by purchasing a Young Living starter bundle as a wholesale customer which we organise for you on the YL website  so that you fall within our community and get access to all of our incredible online member resources, personalised support and community educational events. First in first served!!!