Sarah Wilson

paleo coconut flour muffins – sugarfree, of course

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I’ve been asked a few times about coconut flour. Is it a grain? Is it starchy? Good for kids quitting sugar? I could’ve mouthed off based on a vague knowledge. But I dug around a bit…

IMG 0105 paleo coconut flour muffins - sugarfree, of course

Erstwhile, my conclusions:

There are six reasons to give coconut flour a crack.

1. It’s sweet tasting, but contains no fructose (as with all coconut products).

2. It’s great for baking – it gives things a dense texture.

3. But it’s grainless, thus containing no sugary starch nor toxins (phytic acid etc). Which is why it’s the paleo’s “flour” of choice.

4. It’s efficient. It’s the natural byproduct from making coconut milk – the dried coconut meat that’s left over. I like this. It’s using up stuff that would otherwise be chucked.

5. It curbs cravings. It’s rich in protein, fiber and good fat. As well as manganese, which is craving-curber.

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I Quit Sugar program: love that fat (week 2)

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All things cruising well, most of you are probably a good few days, if not a little longer, into this sugar quitting caper. I’ve loved following how you’re all going.

Unknown I Quit Sugar program: love that fat (week 2)

First up, some little house keeping:

* I have a new Facebook I Quit Sugar page: I’ll be updating it mostly daily with new helpful information and tips and offers… feel free to wade into the community and hang out there.

* If you’re on twitter, use the #IQS hashtag. See what everyone else is saying, support each other, post photos of the food you’re making. It’s a growing thang!

* And I invite you to join the IQS mailing list here. To be really honest, I haven’t thought of how I’ll be using it yet, but I PROMISE it will be only for special offers and information. NEVER spam.

So, how’ve you been going?

I think the general vibe is that most of you have skipped the easing off process and gone straight to NO SUGAR. All good.

But equally, no stress if you’re taking a slowly, slowly approach. I did and I found it was the best attack.

This week we’re introducing some more fat and still cutting back on the sugar, gearing our bodies up to the change.

Also no stress if you’ve QUIT. Then lapsed already. Seriously. No stress. This might happen from time to time.

And no stress if you’re just getting on board now.

Let me share three things:

1. We’re doing this gently. When we’re gentle, things feel good. When things feel good, we continue. Studies show we’re more likely to stick to a resolution if we’re compassionate with ourselves as we go.

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friday giveaway: 10 copies of the luscious “Supercharged Food” cookbook by Lee Holmes

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It’s Friday. It’s summer. Everyone seems to be on some sort of healthy switch-about. So a fitting giveaway! This week I’m giving away…

10 copies of ‘Supercharged Food’

SuperCharged Icecream friday giveaway: 10 copies of the luscious "Supercharged Food" cookbook by Lee Holmes
From Lee’s book: sugarfree coconut icecream! See recipe below.

Regular readers will have caught previous posts about Lee Holmes‘ cooking. Lee has an autoimmune disease and has healed herself through diet and her new book – Supercharged Food – includes 90 recipes that don’t contain gluten, wheat, sugar, yeast or dairy. Seriously, this cookbook is the most perfect little package of whole food eating ideas. Honestly, as sound as it comes. Which is why I put my name to a blurb of endorsement on the cover.

Anyway, a lot of you got as frothy over it as I did, so Lee and the good folk at Murdoch Books have generously offered to give away some copies to regular readers here.

9781742663159 300 friday giveaway: 10 copies of the luscious "Supercharged Food" cookbook by Lee HolmesTo be in the running for a copy of the book, you’ll simply need to do the following:

* Go to my new! I Quit Sugar Facebook page (“like” it) and then share a sugarfree eating tip you’ve been playing with. Or a factoid you’ve come across. No rush: just like ‘n’ post by Friday 13 January.

* We will randomly select ten people, and a copy of Supercharged Food will be on it’s way to you.

* For anyone too impatient to wait: Lee’s book is available from her website. Lee is a regular columnist for Wellbeing magazine, and a writer for Miranda Kerr’s Kora Organics blog. Check out her website and blog.

 

But to that ice cream recipe…

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I love this idea: the plentitude economy

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This video from the Center for the New American Dream paints a picture of how I think we all want to live.

Everyone talks about green economies, decluttering, recycling…which are good. To a point. But they’re still focused on consuming and growth. Right?

The. Only. Way. To. Be. Sustainable. Which at the same time is The. Best. Way. To. Live. Happily and Purely is…

To consume and do less.

The video suggests:

  • Reducing work hours – a 4 day work week. The Dutch have done this. It works. My God we need to do the same.
  • DIYing our lives a lot more. This makes us happy, I’ve written about this in Sunday Life.
  • Building communities. I want to investigate this further myself. Which is why I’m thinking of going to Scandinavia this year – to check out how it’s being done over there.

I truly try to live this way.

  • I have a car and it’s not a new “green” one. But I drive it less. I move less. When I do move, I ride. I read a report that says walking to the shops once a week instead of driving reduces one’s footprint more than owning a green car for a year (don’t quote me on the specifics…it was something to this effect…and if anyone knows the study, please share!).

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I Quit Sugar Program: let’s start

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Welcome! Welcome! And Happy 2012 to you. I reckon it’s going to be a ripper. And a great time to shed the stuff that holds us back. Like sugar. (The astrologists agree, apparently).

will murai 1 I Quit Sugar Program: let's start
Image by Will Murai

For the next eight weeks I’m going to “hold your hand” through the process of quitting sugar. It is a bit of a process and it took me months of research and guinea pig antics to find the safest, most effective, gentlest, most permanent and enjoyable (yes!!) method.

I overeat. I’m food obsessed. I was a starch addict. I have an auto-immune disease which means I have problems with hypoglycemia.

Ergo, I get your fear and resistance and I know all the little tuggings going on right now in your being.

But know this: this process works. And it’s worth doing. Even if just for eight weeks. To see what happens.

This is our mantra: to see what happens. We’re experimenting.

This is how it’s going to work:

* You read the book. I suggest reading the whole lot. Then refreshing week-to-week as you go through the process. No drama if you’re just getting around to reading it. You can follow the 8-week program in your own way.

* Every Monday I’ll do a post that updates you with some extra tips, provides comfort and answers to a bunch of your questions. Because you will have some!

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failures + healings: the year that was

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This post has been updated.

Every year since starting this blog I’ve done a NYE post (give or take a few days) that outlines my resolutions for the coming year. Last year I wrote a bunch of “intentions” for 2011.

be48f1c82eaa11e1abb01231381b65e3 7 failures + healings: the year that was
My brother Nick and me – 17 years and 7 inches between us

Below I outline which ones I stuck to. And the other events that emerged, with intention, too. And then where I want to head in 2012.

But first I want to discuss “failure”.

My “failures” in 2011 have been observable by many due to the nature of this blog – in real time, with commentary and opinion from virtual strangers (very much literally). Which has been an interesting process to be a part of. But good. Definitely good.

Failure. I’ve had some this year. I observe many of us have. Or rather many of us have had plans that went awry. Complications. False starts. Steps backwards. Recalibrations that involved dismantling a few things in the interim.

But then – and tell me if it was this way for you, too? – the year has somehow ended with some resolution or settling or forgiveness or landing.

This has been the theme this year. It was a massive year. A hard year.

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Q: whose advice do you *actually* still follow, two years on?

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Since I quit my Sunday Life column I’ve been asked by many of you what tricks and techniques acquired along the way are still part of my life repertoire. As in, the things that actually worked and stuck. Last week I posted some techniques. Here’s some advice that’s stuck really firmly…I do all three techniques … Read more

Yes, Sarah wore frog shoes out to lunch. With me.

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For this post I’ve handed reins over to Jo… to choose some favourites from the year that was. Jo, go for your life!

It’s not an easy gig, picking (only) three of my favourite posts/thoughts/memories to share on the blog. I’m usually attached to each post, for all sorts of reasons on any given day. So I decided to go with posts I had been a little more intimately involved in the behind-the-scenes “The Making Of” earlier this year…
Here’s my (current!) favourite three.

Picture 118 Yes, Sarah wore frog shoes out to lunch. With me.

1. Breakfast sausages with Louise Hay.

Sarah was invited to interview Louise Hay earlier this year, and I was lucky enough to have been there on the day – enjoying cups of peppermint tea and breakfast sausages, listening to Louise, amazed by her vitality (at age 85!) and her wisdom. She was wonderfully generous to both Sarah and I, and meeting her was a highlight for me. This is one of my favourite ‘Louise tips’, from Sarah’s interview with Louise:

“Answer the phone and open the mail. She says this a bit. And what she means is, don’t look for outcomes or success. Simply go about your day, doing your job and watch what happens next. Don’t fret. She also says the right things come slowly. Indeed!”

Read the full article here.

2.Getting real, with Brene Brown.

Sarah interviewed Brene after a lecture she gave in North Sydney earlier this year. Again, I was lucky enough to have been invited to the lecture (Brene made us all dance!) and I got to sit in on the interview as well. The three of us sat in a little semi circle, and talked about the nitty gritty of getting real and authentic with LIFE. I adore Brene, and what she stands for, and what she tries to share with the world, and I loved this post.

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