Four faves: Things that are exciting me right now.

Image from Pinterest

This little segment of my blog is something I plan to continue and repeat. It's a brief collaboration of a few of my favourite things at any given time of my life.... all the things that I'm particularly excited about.

For those of you who don't know me very well, you will need to be informed about my incredible fascination with different foodie trends, superfoods, recipes, books, styles of exercise, as well as a heap of other random stuff. I'm quite a 'phasey' person, I guess you could say. This is how my hubby Grant describes me, and he knows me better than anyone else. When I get excited about something I'll take hold of it with both hands and run with it at full speed.... for a period of time. I'll scream my periodic fascinations from the rooftops. Then I get excited about something else, and I repeat the process with a new found mini-passion.

This is partly why I started the blog. Because, much to my delight, I've found people to be blessed and educated through this seemingly psychotic practice of mine. I used to think of this "phasey-ness" as a negative personality trait, but I don't view it that way any more ( I might just qualify that when it comes to the big important stuff; like relationships and values, I am not so "phasey" and like to think that I'm significantly more solid in those areas). With the birth of this blog I now have a space to rave about all the new things I'm learning about and particular foods, or healthy lifestyle choices I'm incorporating into my life, and everyone else can have the opportunity to share in my enthusiasm. As it has been the case in my experience, perhaps my little passions can impart some kind of puzzle piece into the big picture of your life; making it sweeter.

Take from it what you like of course. Some of it you may desire to incorporate certain things into your own lifestyle, and some of it you may find to be genuine lunacy. Some of it may be helpful to a friend or family member and you may want to forward it onto them. I've personally found these kind of blog posts from other bloggers to set me off on a journey of self education, and I think that's the stuff that is incredibly life changing. I'm simply planting seeds for you. You can water them or not.

Please leave comments on these posts. I really want to make this space interactive, and would love to discuss, respond, encourage, and help anyone who has any questions regarding my content!

Anyway. Into the blogpost we go. 5 of my fave things at the moment are...

1. Cyndi O'Meara

This woman is a legend. She is a highly educated Australian nutritionist and researcher who tackles a range of controversial health topics; particularly the ones that are drummed into us through the mainstream media. She debunks the myths, and supplies solid evidence and easy-to-understand scientific explanations as to why many of the common 'health' practices we are blindly following are actually causing us harm.

Because of Cyndi's amazing information I have changed my views on saturated fats. I eat butter with a smile, and steer clear of margarine at all costs. I also understand that the idea that heart disease is caused by saturated fats is incredibly limited, as is the cholesterol-saturated fat link. I see the value of high quality saturated fats in my diet and have reaped the benefits of this change.

I have also learnt a lot about supplements, medicines, food additives, and all the loopholes that the food industry takes in regards to food labelling, and how this affects my health.

Listen to her podcasts on itunes or podbay if you have an android. Just type in 'Up for a chat', or click here and you will find heaps of them!

Read her book "Changing Habits Changing Lives". It's full of life changing health info that is easy to understand and highly practical.

You can also visit her website, or facebook page to learn more about her and what she's up to.

2. Spicy beetroot dip

I cant get enough of homemade dips. I make a batch every week in my food processor. Right now I'm especially enjoying homemade guacamole, salsa, pesto and this bloomin' brilliant beetroot dip!

Ingredients:

-4 medium sized beetroot; peeled, shopped into cubes and roasted at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 mins or until soft. (use organic, extra virgin coconut oil as the oil if possible)
-3 TBSP EV olive oil
-A few big dessert spoons of organic full fat, good quality yogurt.
-2-3 cloves garlic
-2 TBSP lemon juice
-1/2 tsp of cumin, or cumin seeds
-1/2 tsp ground coriander
-1/2 tsp paprika
-Celtic/Himalayan sea salt to taste

Method: 

throw it all in the food processor and blend well, or to your desired chunkiness. Serve with raw veggie sticks, on homemade bread, or just eat it with a spoon! Its amazing!

3. TED

I'm in love with TED talks. I listen to them weekly and feel that they enlarge my thinking, my perspective and my view of the world tremendously. I think everyone would benefit by listening to all the different conference talks that TED share. Even though many of them aren't directly relevant to my live, I find myself excited, refreshed, creatively stirred and challenged by many of the things I hear. They're great conversation starters! I listen to them on my phone while I do boring housework, or when I'm exercising.

Here's one of my favourites! Its by 'guerilla gardener' Ron Finley from LA. His work in the community is inspiring and he's seriously hilarious.

4. Bee Pollen

My hubby bought me some of this stuff after hearing me talk about wanting to buy it for months. Every few weeks I like to invest into a new superfood that I haven't tried before. I'm not a huge fan of supplements (listen to Cyndi O'Meara's 'Up for a chat' podcast on supplements and you'll know why) and prefer to get my nutrients from food sources wherever possible. Including foods like bee pollen, camu camu, maqui, spirulina, chlorella, chia, maca, cacao, amongst others is how I like to get my supercharged nutritional hit in a way that is easily recognised by the body; in real food form.

Bee pollen is a highly absorbable protein that is rich in vitamins, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals, enzymes and several micronutrients that are important for vibrant health. It's pretty much a complete food. It's really high in B complex vitamins that are required during times of stress, and for promoting energy. I like to add a teaspoon or two to smoothies, and its also great sprinkled on your morning porridge or muesli.