Beetroot lipstick

I just read an article that told me to suck on Beetroot ice cubes to have permanently 'natural' red lips....seriously who has the time to discover this stuff!

After the cucumber on my eyes, the beetroot on my lips and the brewed lettuce (to help you sleep?!) I'll have nothing left for the salad I'm suppose to eat for lunch.

KFC and gastro

On Thursday night my 2 year old daughter started throwing up about 4.30pm and continued to do so every half an hour.  By 7pm the poor little soul was exhausted and miserable and Mum couldn't take any more...so off to the hospital we went (I should mention, as I've noticed a few Americans have joined, that this service is free in Australia).

The staff were really kind, telling us there were several cases of gastro going around.  We were put in the "handle with gloves" bays and my daughter soon relaxed after some anti-nausea medication. I was super impressed with their non judgmental approach.  I was never made to feel like an "over reacting" Mum.   I was musing on this, when I overheard a doctor tell the family in the bay nextdoor to monitor their daughter's diet.

"No probs" said the Dad casually
The doctor went on to recommend "no dairy, lots of veggies and plenty of fluids....avoid soft drink" there was an almost pleading tone to the doctor's voice.

Soft drink!  Who on earth would give their child a can of Coke straight after a fit of Gastro?!  And it only got worse - when I walked past to leave I saw the child (maybe 6 or 7 years old) eating a big box of KFC.  When I saw this, all judgments left me and I was overwhelmed by a genuine sadness - where are our health and education systems failing that some people have so little nutritional understanding?  Or perhaps what is even more frustrating is that we've built a food supply chain that can sell a box of fat-covered chemicals at a much cheaper price than fresh food...

Now I'm no Saint - who doesn't enjoy a McDonald's chocolate sundae (sauce on the bottom and top thanks) every now and again.  And perhaps, just maybe, that is the only food option these parents had available to them.....?

Hmmm...delicious chocolate balls - no cooking, no sugar, no worries!

Cacao Balls

These are a winner in my house with the adults who appreciate something to curb the sugar cravings and even with the kids who, at this stage, are convinced they're "chocolate balls".

Ingredients
200g blanched almonds or pecans or walnuts or a mixture - whatever you like!
1/4 cup pepitas
2 tablespoons chia seeds
250g pitted dates
1/3 cup goji berries (can substitute with low-sugar craisins if you're not worried about the sugar)
1/4 cacao power
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon rice malt syrup (optional - you don't have to put this in if you want them to be 100% no added sugar but I like the way it helps the ingredients bind together)
Coconut for rolling

Instructions
1. Put the 200g of mixed nuts in a food processor and finely chop
2. Add all the other ingredients into the same food processor and finely chop (you should end up with the mixture being like a lumpy-paste)
3. Roll the mixture in to balls and coat with coconut
4. Refrigerate, preferably covered, for about an hour (they can then be stored in an air tight container in the pantry...I'm not sure how long for as they never last longer than 2-3 days in my house!).

Enjoy xo

Profiting from Cancer - don't eat kale if you break your leg!

Profiting and Cancer are two words that don't sit comfortably together yet that's exactly what Belle Gibson did.  For those of you that don't know the now infamous Ms Gibson, she is a young Mum who fraudulently claimed to have Brain Cancer and, even worse (yes, it can get worse!) she claimed to have cured this incurable cancer through alternative therapies.  Her initially tragic tale and then miraculous survival story generating an enormous interest, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers, an app and, of course, a book deal.

This young lady was interviewed last night on 60 Minutes and whilst I don't want to give her any more airplay I must say there were a couple of themes that came out of it that really worried me.

Firstly, this strange and misguided belief that there is strength to be gained from rejecting conventional medicine.  If you broke your leg would you start eating kale?  If you had a car accident would you start taking Vitamin B17? If you cut your finger off would you start meditating?  So why when faced with an equivalently traumatic disease like cancer would you reject the professionals that can re-set your leg, can cut you out of that car or can sew your finger back on?!

That's not to say that once the symptom is treated you shouldn't optimise your future health.  For example, the broken leg may increase your chances of osteoporosis and it may have damaged your muscles.  It would be wise to watch your calcium intake, ensure you're within an optimal weight range, exercise to strengthen those muscles.  The best method to empower yourself, in my mind at least, is to have all avenues on your side.  Eat well, exercise, reduce stress, discipline your mind, love your family and find connections.

The second theme that concerned me was that being a 'wellness warrior' is easy to achieve.  The cold hard facts are that it takes effort to eat organic, homemade meals.  It takes effort to get up before the kids to go for a run.  It takes effort (and a whole lot of support if you are a parent!) to close that computer at work and reach your meditation class/writing class/friends dinner (insert any type of hobby here!) on time.  We lead such an "and" life...I am a parent "and" I work "and" I exercise "and" I eat only organic food "and" I etc etc  Something, somehow has to give - don't let it be your health.

I almost felt sorry for Ms Gibson last night - she was torn to shreds by the interviewer and seemed so genuinely tangled up in all her lies that the truth was indecipherable to her.  I ALMOST felt sorry for her but then I remembered she appealed to an incredibly vulnerable group of people and potentially cost some their lives....all in the name of making a few dollars!

Saucy Salmon Salad - a good way to lose the dressing...

Saucy Salmon Salad

Ingredients
* 1 cup baby spinach - fresh and washed
* A small avocado
* Two eggs
* 50-100g smoked salmon

Method
* Wash the spinach and put it in a salad bowl
* Cut up the avocado and salmon into bite size pieces and add to the salad bowl
* Pan fry two eggs with a little coconut oil but make sure the yokes remain runny (the key here is to not let the oil get too hot as the eggs will go crispy so have your frying pan on a medium to low heat)
* When the eggs are cooked (sunny side up) add them to the salad bowl as well

The runny egg yolks give this salad all the moisture it needs. If you're not a salmon fan, substitute it for poached chicken.

Do I need to be a doctor, a hippy or a cancer-patient to be a wellness guru?

What is a wellness guru? Surf the net and you'll find a plethora of candidates - predominantly young females with surprisingly little credentials and either a celebrity status (think Gwyneth Paltrow's blog Goop) or a serious illness (think Belle Gibson, oops, except she didn't actually have cancer!). Parking the fact that it is unfathomable to me that someone can lie about having cancer to generate blog followers, the fact remains most people want "an answer" to wellness that is not dripping with difficult-to-understand medical lingo nor does it require us all to move to the nearest commune to burn incense, participate in ear candling and only eat green things!

Where is the balance? Do I believe the Pharmaceutical and Supermarket Giants who manipulate me, incorrectly label products to sell higher-margin items and want to poison the world so we're dependent on their medicines? Or do I believe the inexperienced hippies who wouldn't know their @rse from their mouth when it comes to cleansing rituals? The internet, blogs and the media are saturated with options and with information but they're not really clear on "an answer". Given this, people like me start exploring, researching and inevitably reaching out so they can find a digestible solution...and when you're sick you need 'an avenue' - you need a strong belief that there's a pathway to wellness.

The one 'answer' I have been able to glean thus far from my cancer travels is that, contrary to some conspiracy claims, the medical fraternity indeed supports the value of a healthy diet, regular exercise and the reduction of stress (of course in addition to their surgical or pharmaceutical medical management programs):
* "Each year, about 589,430 Americans die of cancer; around one-third of these deaths are linked to poor diet, physical inactivity, and carrying too much weight."
* "Physical inactivity is the second greatest contributor, behind tobacco smoking, to the cancer burden in Australia".

I'm excited by this - it's accessible (I don't need to crush the horn of some nearly extinct Rhino afterall!). Now the exploration becomes - what are 'healthy food choices' and what constitutes 'regular exercise'? Here are my starting points:

1. Healthy diet = HEALTHY EATING PYRAMID (refer http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/healthy-living-pyramid)
2. Regular exercise = ABOUT 30 MINS PER DAY of moderate to vigorous activity (refer http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines/$File/FS-Adults-18-64-Years.PDF)
3. Reduce stress/be more mindful = well now here is a can of worms....back to the meditation classes for me?

So do I qualify now as a 'wellness guru' - I'm 38, I'm female, I have Breast Cancer and I have an 'answer'...oh, and I have a blog!! I'm not a wellness guru...I actually don't think there is any such thing! It all comes down to your definition of "well". Am I well if I am happy and loved but riddled with cancer or do I need to be 80 and rich? I think I'll set about defining what "well" looks like for me before I go striving for "guru-dom".

Squeaky, sweet salad - you can make friends with salad

Squeaky, sweet salad was an invention of necessity - it comprised the items left over in my fridge with a drop of adventurousness!

Ingredients

1 punnet (container) of strawberries 250g
1 packet of haloumi cheese 180g (most supermarkets have an organic version)
2 small avocados
1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Method
* Most haloumi comes in a rectangular block which I cut into 1cm strips before cooking. Grill or pan fry (with a little oil) the haloumi and set aside to cool on a paper towel.
* Take the green tips off the strawberries and cut each one in to four pieces
* Cut up the avocado in to small squares (similar in size to the quartered strawberries)
* Cut up the cooled haloumi into small squares (I do it smaller than the strawberries as the texture is still 'unique' for the kids)
* Put all the diced ingredients in to a bowl and drizzle over the olive oil.
* Toss before serving

The combination of salt, good fat and sweetness is delicious :)

A natural diet, two small kids and an underlying addiction to chocolate!

One of the rather large obstacles with genuinely following through with this Earth Mother diet is children - I don't see too many kids running around the playground with kale chips, spinach wraps and grilled fish for lunch. They are not allowed to take nuts to school/care and for the little ones I think there is some leniency required by us parents to understand that their palettes are not quite as mature nor their jaws quite so strong. Having said that I very rarely cook a separate dinner for my children - they are served what we eat but with some minor kid-friendly alterations (if required) ie. remove the chili or finely dice the bok choy/spinach (which they unfortunately choke on). The one habit I'm really determined for them not to adopt is my psychological need to 'round out' lunch and dinner with something sweet. It is 100% an absolute HABIT - a psychological need that I've turned into a physiological necessity (or maybe it's the other way around?) which is SO difficult to break. So my kids now know - there's no dessert at our house...they can have it at Nan & Granddad's (most Tuesday nights). Overlaying all of this has to be some pragmatism...it seems wrong to me to have a low-carb or no dairy diet for children (unless there are allergies) and birthday parties are no fun if you're the child crying in the corner because you're not allowed cake. The newly introduced healthy eating pyramid is a great guide: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/healthy-living-pyramid

The three things I'm doing to help the family eat well are:

1. Hide - my kids happily eat spinach, celery, watercress or anything green if it's pulverised in a blender with a handful of frozen berries, a tablespoon of rice malt syrup and some milk (or OJ if you're a bit over the dairy). We have fun turning the drinks green or red or yellow (banana).

2. Slow Cook - the traditional roast, pulled pork, lamb shanks, paprika chicken...it's all so much easier to chew if it's been in the slow cooker (not to mention the fact you can add carrot, celery, tomatoes and yummy herbs to the sauces)

3. Make my own snacks - this has been a major hit and miss for me! I've tried:
a) 85% dark chocolate and zucchini brownies - too bitter for the kids, OK for the adults...the lack of sugar takes some getting use to
b) roasted nuts - too hard for the kids but yummy for the adults
c) my own muesli bars - moderate success with the kids but again quite good for the adults
d) coconut cream and mango ice-creams - pretty good
e) dipping fingers (carrots, celery, zucchini) with hummus or cream cheese - my daughter just shovels the dip in without taking a bite of any of the fingers!
f) Of course a piece of fruit is quick, convenient and usually consumed (particularly apples in our house!)

Would love to hear other people's ideas on snacks...any winners in your house?

Dr Emmett Brown and Integrated Medicine

Introducing my Integrated Medicine (IM) Doctor, who I'll call Dr IM...

I walk into Dr IM's rooms in a trendy but not pretentious suburb. She wears a pale blue suit - tailored, slightly shiny. It's cleverly non-committal. The cut ensures professionalism, the colour is calming. She doesn't look like a doctor but she doesn't look like a taro card reader either. Mind you, if you take away the scrubs, what does a doctor look like?! She is short, shorter than me - OK, makybe I like her ;) She wears glasses that slide down her pointy nose when needed.

And then I see the hair. Anyone remember Dr Emmett Brown from Back To The Future? Imagine him, without the receding hairline, trying to brush down that mane. Just as I finished my visual assessment Dr IM asks "Why are you here?" A little taken aback I tell her about my diagnosis of Breast Cancer and my desire to find a solution that tackles it from all angels. There's an awkward silence as she scribbles some notes. I look at my husband and we both raise our eyebrows inquisitively.

Randomly back on board Dr IM starts the interrogation:
* What do you eat?
* Do you know cancer loves sugar?
* How much water do you drink?
* How much exercise do you do?
* Do you get out in the sun?
* What time do you go to bed?
* Do you sleep through?
* Do you know what meditation is?
* Are you a stressed person?
* Do you know what a saliva test is?

As I try to answer each question she interrupts me - in fact she interrupts herself regularly as well. Her staccato style conversation has both my husband and I hiding our smiles. At some points she gets so excited she runs over to an 8ft book shelf. On the shelves are hundreds of handouts and photocopies. She snaps up certain papers, clicks her tongue in disapproval, keeps burrowing then triumphantly throws some handouts in my lap.

At the end of our hour together I'm exhausted and Dr IM is chatting away happily about how she eats fish and a cup of seasonal vegetables for dinner EVERY night. "Don't you get bored?!" I ask. "It's just food" she says and there in lies one (of a few) fundamental differences I sense we have.

I leave her office with a new diet, a new meditation schedule, a new supplements program (8 in total [though I never actually bought them but that's a discussion for another post...]) and a new headache! I'll post these new regimes next.

Surprisingly I also leave with a new resolve to realistically challenge each aspect of my life - to make sure I'm filling the right buckets! I'm more and more convinced that busy is not happy, in fact busy is just the new black and it's helping no-one, particularly not me.