...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!!!