HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT BAGS!

It’s that time of year again! Deep breath and…. sigh. Each year as I walk Chesterfield Pde stunned by the transformation of Bronte’s seaside fig lined street into a Halloween extravaganza with no expense spared on either houses or costumes, I am even more stunned that in this day and age with SO! MUCH! INFORMATION! on the dangers of sugars and artificial ingredients, how on earth can people  STILL THINK THAT IS OK to shove a stupendous amounts of toxic crap into our kids. How is this STILL OK?!? Halloween would actually be quite cool if it wasn’t so deadly. 

For the record…"Dear residents, can you pleeeeeeeeeeease stop poisoning our kids?!?!!”

No, I’m not Amish. And nor am I a party pooper. Allow me to let you in on a little secret in case you didn’t get the memo: This is not about deprivation! This is about healthy swaps!! Yes! Healthy swaps that are just as, if not more, delicious than artificial crap, and are made with nutrient dense ingredients that are actually GOOD FOR CHILDREN, and that don’t leave a trail of learning, behavioural, digestive and skin issues in their wake after consumption <<loud clapping, cheering, fireworks>>

With the above in mind, a few years I decided to take matters into my own hands and provide my community with a healthy Halloween trick or treat bag. They went down a treat (excuse the pun) and parents loved them! Why? Because we are not afraid to start a ripple effect that demonstrates:

1. As parents we care about what goes into our children's bodies
2. We are fed up with the toxic crap that gets dolled out to our kids  in the name of “treats”
3. Kids are happy to eat healthy treats, without all the toxic ingredients, if we just offer it to them. D’ah! 

This year our Halloween bags contain a delightful mix of 7 of our favourite nutrient-dense organic raw treats handcrafted at Broth Bar & Larder:

🎃 2 raspberry gummies made with raspberries, gelatin powder and the teeniest amount of maple syrup (less than 1/10 teaspoon per gummy). 
🎃 2 mango gummies (as above but made with mangoes instead of raspberries). 
🎃 1 mint carob bear made with carob powder, raw cacao butter and therapeutic-grade Young Living peppermint essential oil .... With NO ADDED SWEETENER!!! 
🎃 a 30g pack of our signature activated macadamias. Nice to have something savoury in the bag!! Traditionally, trick or treat bags contained nuts. 
🎃 a 30g pack of activated pepitias and goji berries 
🎃 2of our choc orange raw dark chocolate segments infused with therapeutic-grade Young Living orange essential oil
🎃 1 choc orange bliss ball infused with therapeutic-grade Young Living orange essential oil
🎃 kid friendly Halloween jokes selected by my kids 😂

All ingredients are certified organic and maple syrup is pure Canadian maple syrup. 

These trick or treat bags retail for $19.95 and can be used in 3 ways

1. Take them with you when going trick or treating and let your kids munch on some of the healthy snacks rather than the crappy confectionary they will be given (which you can accept graciously then turf at home). If you have no alternative with you,  the temptation to eat confectionary is too great for kids.
2. When you get back home use the treats as a healthy swap for all of the crap that they will be given.
3. Use the treats or the jokes when a little ghost or dracula comes knocking on your door. You'll feel good knowing that you have provided a little soul with something actually good for them. 

---

These bags will be available for collection from Broth Bar &  Larder in Bronte by pre-order and pre-pay only. Call Broth Bar directly on 0421 786 009 to pre-order. 

---

And if you don’t live locally to collect one of our bags, you can read this blog post that I wrote many years ago on 6 ways to deal with Halloween. This trend is catching, so you too might like to make and take your own healthy trick or treat bag with you when you and your kids do the rounds of the streets. 

I would love to know what you think of these trick or treat bags. Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

 Here's some feedback from one of our Broth Bar regular mums on our Halloween bags from previous years:

“What a wonderful idea!!! Such a relief knowing I’m not the only parent who thinks this whole thing is crazy following northern hemisphere traditions that are not aligned with our earth based seasons as an excuse to sell crap to our community and fill our children with sugar!! It is spring here in Australia!! Flowers blooming, baby animals being born and new Life emerging!! When I was growing up in the northern hemisphere Halloween was about letting go, it was autumn and there were pumpkins everywhere and leaves falling from trees and we honoured our ancestors from our past (hence the scary dead theme of Halloween). Anyone else feel as confused as I do?? What exactly are we programming our children with?? Anyway, thank you Soulla for bringing a healthy real option to the festivities of Halloween. Appreciate everything you offer to our community”

— Lizzy

HAPPY TRICK OR TREATING!!!!! 👻👹😈🎃👽💀

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! 

---

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!

---

Father's Day Chocolate Coated Coffee Beans

Father's Day is Sunday 2 Sept 2018. Holy smokes that came around quickly!

We have crafted especially for the blokes these epic chocolate coated coffee beans ! Just when you thought that our raw dark chocolate (sokolata) couldn't get any better...These are diabolical...

Combining my love of real raw dark unadulterated (i.e. crap free) chocolate (sweetened only with pure maple syrup) and my love of Sacred Grounds organic fair trade coffee beans. 2 coffee beans in every square...An espresso hit that will get his motor running and humming. These are retailing for $13.95/100g bags at Broth Bar & Larder or we can courier to Sydney and Wollongong areas. Limited quantities so get in quick! To prepay and pre-order call Broth Bar directly on 0421 786 009 or email orders@staraniseorganic.com

We wrote on the packet that this one is for the blokes but I reckon there's going to be a tug of war between the sexes on these babies!