Year: 2012

behold my new project: an e-cookbook!

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I’ve been working on a very exciting project. Can’t say too much yet…

MG 24921 behold my new project: an e-cookbook!
Sprung! Delirious! Fuzzy, Marija, me and Lee eating dessert after 15 hours shooting

…Oh, OK, then. In a few quick points:

It’s a follow-up to I Quit Sugar: a sweet 8-week program.

It’s an e-cookbook of super simple sugar-free recipes.

It features a number of incredible contributions from some famous chefs and food folk I know you love, plus some e-tricks that will make the experience quite a bit of fun to read.

It will land on virtual “shelves” in a few weeks; you won’t miss it. But if you’d like advance notification, and to receive an introductory offer, sign up here (I promise we won’t be emailing you about anything else if you do!).

There is one other thing I’d like to share for now….about the making of the book…the way it’s just flowed into place. It went a little like this…

For the past year I’ve been experimenting with sugar-free dishes and ideas…really just because it’s been fun to do so…

Around the time I realised I was ready to write another ebook, I also realised I had enough great recipes to share with everyone. Also around this time I met two great women: Faustina and Marija Ivkovic. I’d e-met Faustina (Fuzzy) on Twitter ages back…she and Marija were visiting Byron and looked me up…they cooked gluten-free dumplings for me…and we chatted about how we loved working on projects with good energy…and I mentioned my nascent cookbook idea…and they said, “We want to help you”…and…I resisted at first because I’m not used to such generous offers…but…

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how to heal autoimmune disease: remember you’re no Robinson Crusoe

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Hands down the biggest comfort to anyone with AI is to know the crazy-weird stuff they’re experiencing… isn’t so crazy-weird. Or at least, other people on the planet are going through the same crazy-weirdness.

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image via ‘Sweet pics dude’

The whys and how comes of AI remain, largely and bloody frustratingly, a mystery. But ask anyone with the condition and they will no doubt have a gut or emotional sense of what it’s all about. I have AI because I have lessons I need to learn. I have to slow down and enjoy life more. I yearn this and so my AI is here to ensure I get it. One day.

Someone sent me the below “letter from my disease”. As always, if you don’t have an AI or chronic illness, bear in mind that an AI is merely an extreme version of the dis-ease I think so many of us are feeling. When you have an AI, the reminders of the dis-ease are just louder.

If you’re new to this blog, you might like to catch up on some auto immune and hashimotos reading here.

The letter was originally posted on a UK thyroid support group forum and has circulated a little.  It struck me as uncanny how many AI phenomena it raises that I thought were just Me Things. Like:

* it rears its grim head on days when you’re looking forward to something

* it stems from a trauma. Yep, tick. Mine was a series of traumas that conflated.

* the Hashimoto’s roundabout ALWAYS involves seeing 23847239 doctors before you get something resembling traction.

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10 clever food ideas

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This is just a fun post…but with some helpful shares. I love this kind of thing.

1. Store things upright

I love these ideas developed by artist Jihyun Ryou, using sensible “Grandma says it’s so” food storage concepts that save things longer, better.

root 10 clever food ideas

Veggies grow in the ground standing up, so goes Jihyun’s explanation, based on traditional oral knowledge. Thus, they’d be happier waiting to be eaten while standing up, too, yeah? The sand also helps keep the right level of humidity to keep them fresh.

2. “Plant” your shallots

I personally do something similar to the above. When I buy a bunch of shallots (green onions), I store them in soil outside – in a pot among my herbs or flowers. They keep this way for months and I simply pull out a stem at a time. My Mum taught me this one.

3. Use your apples…

This one makes sense, too. Apples muck with other fruits and veggies (“one bad apple…”) so it’s good to keep them separately. The ethylene gases make carrots bitter, for example.

apple potato 10 clever food ideas

BUT, with potatoes – apples keep them from sprouting. So, store together, no?

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The 10 things you must do now to fix your fertility

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So, so, so many people around me have hormone issues and fertility challenges. It breaks my heart. The sense of loss is palpable. I recently read stats from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that at least 1 in 4 (and it’s getting closer to 3) women in Australia will not have kids…this is for all kinds of reasons that aren’t always about health.

166914729909568124 FJZfChzC c The 10 things you must do now to fix your fertility
image via pinmarklet

But it doesn’t take away from the fact that health is fundamental to giving an aging body the best crack at conception. Some of you might recognise Nat Kringoudis’ name from the forums. She’s a fantastic acupuncturist, herbalist, natural fertility educator, writer, blogger and natural health expert who’s devoted her career to helping people get their body baby-ready. Nat owns The Pagoda Tree, a natural health and fertility clinic in Melbourne, and I’ve asked her to share the best diet shifts you can make to get things on the right track….

Diet and lifestyles are major contributors to our growing fertility problem.  Of course, diet won’t solve 100% of the problem but it will undoubtedly help your body get more fertile.  Before I go on, know this.  If you hear the word ‘fertility’ and back up a few steps, keep reading.  Fertility doesn’t immediately equate to babies.  Fertility is an extension of your health, the potential to conceive.  It’s not limited to conception but extends to all reproductive health including health menstrual cycles right through to your bowel movements!

1. Pump up the protein

Your hormones are made up of fats and protein, and it is for this reason that we need to ensure we are getting enough animal and plant protein to support fertility.  I’m talking 50% of each meal. Sounds a lot, but do the math – a serve of fish and salad or a quiche with salad.  There you go.  Not hard at all.

  • invest in a pea or rice protein powder to boost your levels and blend yourself a morning smoothie. I’m loving sun warrior brand for it’s quality.
  • add chia seeds to salads, smoothies and cakes – they are a complete meal! (highest plant based source of omegas, fiber and protein)

2. Never fear fat

As I mentioned, fats go in the mix to make up our hormones.  When we rob our body of these vital ingredients, it goes into a frenzy and shuts down our reproductive functions.  Let’s face it, we don’t need our fertility to survive.  So ensure what’s on your fork has quality therapeutic fats – think oily fish and eggs (omega 3’s & 6’s), animal and plant fats (coconut butter, salmon, milk).  Not only will your loins love you, your skin will show how kind you are being to yourself and your brain will tick like you’re five again.

  • Look no further than eggs.  They will provide the best balance of fat and protein.  Contrary to what you’ve probably been told, you can’t have too many.  Ever.

3. Superfoods

These are the key to optimal health – and since your gut is the pivot of your health, maximizing absorption of vitamins and minerals is where it’s at. Get onto these superfoods:

  • Macca – high on my superfood list, it goes great guns on balancing hormones and enhancing libido. Pop a scoop into your smoothie, or sprinkle on your salad.
  • Use Mesquite – another superfood available from loving earth – to stabilize insulin, it’s the highest anti-oxidant on the planet.  It’s important to balance insulin for reproductive health – especially in those with poly cystic ovarian syndrome and thyroid troubles.
  • Come one step further – Gubinge. It’s native to Australia and is the king of superfoods. You can get your hands

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what is the paleo diet? (plus how I’m doing it)

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Paleo is the new Atkins. I don’t actually think this. But it’s what everyone likes to say. It certainly is a way of eating that’s attracting a lot of attention…and with it some terribly hysterical mis-information.

Screen Shot 2012 03 27 at 5.53.08 PM what is the paleo diet? (plus how I'm doing it)
infographic mages via greatist.com

Wondering what the hell I’m talking about? How about I give a bit of a Paleo 101 rundown…with some pointers to how I’ve chosen to interpret this way of living. Because, as hopefully you know, I’m not into doing “diets” or being strict and draconian with my eating, or doing what I’m told I should do (this extends well beyond food, I’m afraid) or getting caught up in a fad.

I like to eat my way… and gently. And so: the below is not a guide to how I think YOU should eat. I’m simply sharing my experiences experimenting, which perhaps might prompt you to experiment, too.

To be honest, I’ve resisted writing too much about it previously, although a lot of you who quit sugar are asking whether you “should also be quitting carbs”. (Should, should, should.)

I’ve resisted in part because I’ve been wary of boarding too many bandwagons and becoming a dreary bore who tells other people what to do. And in part because I’ve wanted to distance myself from the Paleo bores. And there are many. And they are vocal!

But mostly I’ve resisted because I like to try things fully before I buy it and share it (although I’ve written about it briefly here and shared recipes here.).

I’ve now tried out the caper fully – for about five months. So, time to share:

The elevator pitch answer: what is the Paleo diet?

Also called the cave man diet, it’s about eating in a similar way to the way our ancestors – up until the agricultural revolution about 7-10,000 years ago – used to eat.

This equates to: meat, saturated fats (from animals, avocados, nuts etc), non-starchy vegetables, nuts, eggs and a little low-sugar fruit.

It means not eating: anything that arrived on the scene since farming and processing began (grains, sugars, vegetable oils, Dunkin’ Donuts).

But Paleo peeps vary their take on the details (see below). To this end it’s an approach, not a diet (there’s no manifesto or original author who cashes in on the idea).

Why would you do such a thing?

Because we evolved to eat this way – and metabolise this way – over millions of years. Grains and other “processed foods” require radically different metabolic and digestive processes. Our bodies simply haven’t adjusted to these different processes (evolution is a damn slow process) and so we struggle with these “new” foods  at every mouthful. Our genes are 99 per cent the same as they were 10,000 years ago.

We haven’t changed genetically; our diets sure have. Ditto our waistlines and health…

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why it’s good to give your stuff for free

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I like this story: Trevor from Youth Lagoon recently told my friend Tim (who told me) that back before he was Somebody he decided to release his first single “July” on Bandcamp for free. Everyone told him he was mad. That he should monetise his efforts. But then the track went viral. And he got fans. And Youth Lagoon got big.

We know this kind of story, yeah?

advicetosinkinslowly27 why it's good to give your stuff for free
by Lee Basford via advice to sink in slowly

It’s The New Creativity. Give first. See what happens next.

PS: you might like to listen to “July” while you read the rest of this:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/34332459[/vimeo]

Seth Godin first explained the beauty of this concept to me early one morning on Skype. We chatted, quite literally, about the point of existence. He told me it’s about “shipping”.

“Real artists ship,” he says. You can fiddle and perfect and rehearse for a while. But then – fire up! – we have to press send or call in UPS to pick up our contribution to the planet – whether it be a report, a love letter, a meal, a blog post. That’s the point. Which is not far off my “quit the rehearsals, skip to the play” theory from last week.

Art is something we offer as a gift to humanity, Seth tells me.

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how to make your own (gut-friendly!) cream cheese

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This could possibly go down as one of my favourite recipe shares ever. It involves one ingredient. It’s satisfyingly wholesome and River Cottage-y to make. It produces no wastage AND results in two invaluable edibles. And it’s super superfood-y and gut-goodish. I could go on… 

how to make your own (gut-friendly!) cream cheese

I’m talking about homemade cream cheese.

The stuff from the box is terrible. It’s extracted by placing milk under high pressure, and contains very little goodness. The homemade version is essentially the by-product from extracting whey from milk or yoghurt (I do it with yoghurt), with extra gut-guarding goodness from the lactic-acid bacterial processes involved. Aaaaand, it tastes immeasurably better and creamier. Note: different yoghurt brands may produce different amounts of curd and whey. Generally, a cup of yogurt will yield approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup yogurt cheese and produce about 1/2 cup whey.

The cheese:

* spread it on biscuits and toast with a sprinkle of rock salt on top

* mix in some fresh herbs and oil, or pesto, to make a dip

* put a blob in an endive leaf and top with some smoked salmon or grilled sardines and chives

The whey:

Make sure you keep the stash of whey. Whey is great stuff and I’ll be writing about what you can do with it down the track. For now:

* store it in the freezer to use for fermenting your own saukerkraut and probiotics (as I say, more to come.)

* add a tablespoon to your smoothie in the morning. It’s full of minerals and will help digestion.

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Want to learn more about the Paleo diet? This is for you…

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There’s much buzz at the moment about the Paleo diet. Some of it painfully pious. Some of it fascinatingly valid. I’ve written a little about it here and shared some Paleo recipes here. I keep getting asked to share my thoughts, and am often asked by recent sugar-free converts, “should I be quitting all carbs?”

Screen Shot 2012 03 23 at 7.46.12 AM Want to learn more about the Paleo diet? This is for you...
Photo by Lee Blaylock…a stylist I’m working with!

To be honest, I’ve been reluctant to wade into things too much because I’ve been experimenting with this way of eating myself, and forming my own opinion slowly. I don’t like to opine until I’ve tried and researched.

But recently the big names in the Paleo movement got together for an online Paleo Summit. I mention it because I think it’s possibly the best overview of the science, techniques, controversies and so on behind the thinking and it certainly helped me get to the bottom of what the eating approach/lifestyle is all about. Some of the names on the lineup you might recognise from on this blog (Chris Kresser who I’ve interviewed here, and Nora Gedgaudas who I interviewed here.)

For those of you who’re interested you can get the package of podcasts and videos and other bits and pieces here. Those of you who have noooo idea what I’m talking about…next week I’ll be doing a bit of Paleo 101 rundown. Tune back in.

Meantime, some of the more interesting guff that’s ticked off at the Summit:

How to do the Paleo dance with kids and a family

Are some carbs OK to eat? Nora Gedgaudas’ presentation is friggen great. She argues that no starches are safe. Others at the summit argue some rice and sweet potato is cool…all the evidence is laid out in both directions so you can make your own mind up.

Does Paleo help with autoimmune and inflammation? Neurosurgeon Dr. Jack Kruse speaks about how leptin resistance lies at the root of inflammation, obesity, and chronic disease. He also shared how he lost 60kgs in a year. Dr. Thomas O’Bryan, a gluten sensitivity expert, gives the rundown on how allergies work.

How to Win an Argument with a Vegetarian. Denise Minger, Author, Death by Food Pyramid, is a legend. She breaks down the China Study argument…with facts. I’m not sure who points this out, but most people who eat this way eat more vegetables than a vegetarian.

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a kid in the 70s? then you probably have this photo of yourself…

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I tweeted recently about how funny it was that family photos for anyone who was a young kid in the ’70s are identical – same props, same setting, same clothes. Let’s see what I mean…

010 Copy a kid in the 70s? then you probably have this photo of yourself...
Sunday after church shot. In good “clobber” and thongs

Any of these so very random captures familiar to you?

* you and sibling(s) in a wheelbarrow

* first day of school shot. You’re in uniform; younger sibling is wearing a pirate outfit (or vice versa). Perhaps they’re holding their capgun. Or sporting a batman cape. Whatever. It’s convincingly competing with your uniform. You’re smiling. They’re looking well grumpy.

* you as a toddler holding a beer can. Better still, an over-sized beer can.

* you as a toddler with a plastic ice cream bucket on your head

* family photo, often taken after church (when you’re all in your good clobber, knees scrubbed; thongs washed; BMX tee tucked into Rugger shorts). Me, I was mostly holding the youngest (and have wonky hips to show for it now…that one on my lap above…almost 12 lb when he was born!).

* wearing corduroy overalls with a coloured skivvy. That every other sibling also wore at some point.

* in a bath. With your brothers. And your cousins. It’s Christmas time and you’re so very not happy about the arrangement.

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how to make chicken stock (and my mum’s chicken soup)

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If there’s one thing anyone serious about their health should learn to do, after learning how to poach eggs, it’s to make chicken or beef stock.

image21 how to make chicken stock (and my mum's chicken soup)

It’s wonderfully weekend-evocative for me (was that a very Nigella line right there?). In winter Mum would always put a big pot on the stove on Saturday and it would bubble away for hours, then Sunday lunch was chicken soup full of root vegetables and herbs.

Mostly as an adult I’ve been too impatient to make my own stock. But then I did. And (apologies to issue a very Jamie O line now) I’ve never looked back. I try to eat some stock or bone broth every day, either to braise vegetables for one of my mish mash meals or as a soup or stew.

As you might recall, I’ve already done a post on how to make bone broth. Bone broth is same-same-but-different as a stock, but is mostly bones (and thus full of gelatin and minerals from the bones themselves). Stock or standard meat broth uses meat and bones, or in the case of my recipe below, a whole chooken.

7 reasons to make your own stock

1. Stocks are beyond nutritious…

…a condensed cauldron of minerals and electrolytes in a form easy to assimilate.

2. They are great for anyone with digestion issues.

Stocks have a soothing effect on any areas of inflammation in the gut. That is why they aid digestion and have been known for centuries as healing folk remedies for the digestive tract. This from Sally Fallon: “The gelatin in meat broths has the unusual property of attracting liquids… The same property by which gelatin attracts water to form desserts, like Jello, allows it to attract digestive juices to the surface of cooked food particles….Gelatin acts first and foremost as an aid to digestion and has been used successfully in the treatment of many intestinal disorders, including hyperacidity, colitis and Crohn’s disease…

3. It’s an efficient way to get protein into your diet.

Again Sally: The gelatin in stocks also “acts as a protein sparer, allowing the body to more fully utilize the complete proteins that are taken in. Thus, gelatin-rich broths are a must for those who cannot afford large amounts of meat in their diets.”

4. The store-bought stuff is full of additives and salt and tastes like crap.

5. It’s economical.

You can get about 3 litres and 6-8 portions of meat from one chicken.

6. It’s a de-stresser.

Seriously. According to cookbook author Hanna Kroeger, it’s more relaxing than Tylenol because it has a “natural ingredient” that feeds, repairs and calms the mucous lining in the small intestine…which of course makes up a large part of our nervous system. Ergo all that “chicken soup for the soul” stuff.

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