Do you know what I love? A biscuit in a cup of tea.

Do you know what I love even more? Two biscuits sandwiched together with chocolate filling in a cup of tea while reading my newest baby, Supercharge Your Life.

Specific, I know.

I have to admit it, as a self-confessed foodie, I find pleasure out of baked goods and, I don’t think I’m alone. I believe that as humans, we’re programmed to seek pleasure.

However, we’ve become acclimatised to a world that tells us to avoid foods that aren’t ‘healthy’. We live in a nutrition-obsessed world where we are exposed to more fad diets than ever. When we feel the benefits of eating healthy food, we want to shout it from the rooftops Fiddler on the Roof style, and with good reason: our bodies will always welcome real, fresh nutrient-dense foods.

For years science has shown us a narrow cause and effect of eating certain ingredients, however, because of that many of us have started to view food as a catalyst for health or harm.    (more…)

This week I'm excited to announce a new course that combines two of my favourite things, gut health and Ayurveda. The Joyful Belly School of Ayurvedic Diet & Digestion provides top notch Ayurvedic training for those seeking deeper investment in Ayurveda's natural healing techniques. 

You can enhance your qualifications and experience in integrative health care by enrolling in this comprehensive course in Ayurvedic digestive tract pathology and Ayurvedic nutrition.  The course starts on October 14th 2019 and will run annually. 

Through this 500 hour online course you'll build confidence in your ability to improve digestive tract health and wellness using food and herbs as medicine. This rigorous program uses a hands-on approach so that you experience the knowledge directly.

The course is aimed at seasoned Ayurvedic practitioners, health professionals, and dedicated enthusiasts. It's a detailed and specialized program in integrative digestion & nutrition.

The material you'll learn in this ten month online program can be used to enhance your career and clinical skills in digestive health to the point of mastery.

Through this program you will Master the art of digestive tract health and wellness for over 30 major digestive tract pathologies. You'll also experience first-hand the subtleties of your body's unique relationship to food through a hands-on approach and develop your capacity and confidence to make expert food recommendations to your clients, on a case by case basis. The techniques to address a wide range of digestive concerns will help you to work with  clients on a practical level to help them achieve their health & wellness goals.  

Ayurveda is centred around listening to your body, and the certification course will show you how to make better food choices guided by actual digestive and nutritional experiences and pass on the knowledge to your clients through a body centric approach. You'll be able to correct imbalances in digestion through natural remedies. You will develop qualifications in the field of Ayurveda and be able to offer your clients quality care and successful outcomes. 

I'm happy to announce that Supercharged Food readers and blog members have been offered a $750 scholarship towards the tuition fees of the course.  If this is something you might want to learn more about, you can read more about this Ayurvedic certified course here.  

Did you know that studies show Australians throw out around $8 billion worth of edible food each year. This is obviously a very big problem for the environment and our own budgets as well.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, more than thirty percent of food is wasted globally across the supply chain, contributing eight percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Plastic bags, metal cans and the cardboard boxes our food comes in all add up too! For example if you're chowing down on a lasagne, can't get through it and decide to toss the uneaten portion away, half of the emissions that result from it being made, processed, packaged, shipped, stored, picked up and cooked are also wasted. Better still make a Supercharged Lasagne and you are guaranteed to have zero leftovers 😉

To give you an idea of the enormity of the problem, if food waste were a country, it would come in third after the United States and China in terms of impact on global warming. That is a scary thought.

In the lead up to Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday, March 3, I've teamed up with my local store Flannerys Organic & Wholefood Market to provide tips on how to reduce food waste.  I chatted to naturopath Caroline Robertson who believes the information around climate change and our depleting resources has forced many people to look closer at their own footprint and ability to change.

“As a result, we’re seeing more Australians motivated to reduce their consumption of single use items that end in landfill,” she said.

“But there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

If you keen to start in your own backyard, kitchen, garden, home and rubbish bins; here are Ten Ways to Help Reduce Food Waste that not only save your wallet but contribute to a greener planet too.

• Do a meal plan for the week – decide what you’re going to eat on which days and what ingredients you need. I like to meal plan on Sundays for the coming week, but do what works best for you.

• Create a shopping list – that way you won’t be enticed to veer off it buying extra items, which might result in more spend and more waste. Less is more!

• Purchase fresh, quality organic food where possible and batch cook/prepare: Fresh salad leaves and muesli or yoghurt in a jar are healthy, nutritious and easy to prep and pop in the fridge, grabbing when needed. Soups and slow cooks like curries, dahl (you'll love my totally dahl-icious dahl recipe here, chilli and savoury mince are also great to batch cook and freeze, reducing wastage. You can find my ultimate guide to batch cooking here.
• Buy food in bulk: According to a BulkFoods Study in the US, consumers can save an average of eighty-nine percent on the cost of their grocery shop by purchasing bulk foods. I regularly to use this option as Flannerys has a big bulk food section and include sustainably sourced nuts, seeds, flour, dark chocolate, nutritional yeast flakes, sea salt  which I scoop directly from their glass canisters into my own, banishing those pesky plastic bags for good.

• Recycle, recycle, recycle: Most Aussies are on top of this, but if you’re not, now is the time to start! Most local Councils have good waste services, but you can always go one better by doing your own composting or investing in a worm farm. I am loving composting and its quite addictive once you get going!
• Buy straw alternatives: Australians use an estimated ten million plastic straws a day, I was shocked when I read this!.  Because they’re so lightweight, they not biodegradable or recyclable and frequently end up in the ocean in the stomachs of fish, birds and turtles. There are now alternative straws made from stainless steel, bamboo and sustainably grown paper straws which are a better investment.

• Invest in beeswax wraps: If you want to kick the single-use disposable habit, beeswax wraps are a great plastic-free alternative. They can be used instead of clingwrap to cover food and keep it fresh, are reusable and can be refreshed is the wax starts to wear. There are lots of options in store. I use these above because I love the pretty retro patterns.
• Compostable bin liners: Plastic bags can take up to one thousand years to decompose in landfills. A better solution is compostable bags, with one brand shown to biodegrade ninety-nine per cent within the first month in a commercial composting facility. If you're a pet lover, small biodegradable bags are good for doggie pickups too. Flannerys offer free compostable bags at the checkout, bulk bins and organic fruit and veg – they are made from corn husks that will eventually breakdown in your compost; or they can be re-used which is even better.

• Reusable mesh fruit and veg produce bags: Instead of packing fruit, vegetables and bulk-food shopping into plastic bags, using a lightweight, mesh, reusable produce bag is much better for the environment.
• Water filter: One million plastic bottles are bought every minute around the globe, with our insatiable thirst for bottled water creating a crisis that experts say is as bad as climate change. First things first, ditch the plastic bottles. If you’re concerned about water quality, use a good quality water filter – otherwise just fill up your stainless-steel bottles.
• Reusable cups: After plastic bottles, coffee cups are the second-largest contributor to rubbish and they are lined with plastic film, making them difficult to recycle. Since ABC’s War on Waste exposed that we throw one billion disposable cups away each year, sales of re-usable coffee cups have exploded. If you've left your reusable cup at home, most cafes now offer organic coffee in compostable cups, made from plants – not plastic. I recently did a talk in South Australia and the cups we used for my Love Your Gut Lassi demo were able to be planted after use as they contained seeds in them!

To find more ideas on reducing food waste, you can visit Flannerys here.

Grahams Natural is a family run business that offers a range of products designed to care for a variety skin types and condition with natural, effective and clinically tested ingredients.

The thing that’s impressive and impassioned about this business is that it was created through the family’s personal struggle and need to develop a natural and beneficial solution to help treat their son’s eczema.

After almost a decade of formulating products, Grahams Natural crafted a number of different skin care solutions including eczema, rosacea, and dermatitis, with only the highest quality, clinically proven, natural ingredients. They have complimented their remedial range with an everyday natural collection that’s also suitable for sensitive skin.

With age, our skin begins to change becoming dry, wrinkly and less smooth. But most of the available products to treat this are expensive and contain all sorts of chemicals and unnatural ingredients. Grahams Natural have formulated an alternative anti-aging skin care range with a moisturising cream and a night cream, which both feature natural ingredients that benefit maturing skin.

Speaking of mature skin 😉 I’ve been using both the creams following their refreshing Foaming Facial Cleanser and the results are great!

Washing my face with the cleanser leaves my skin smelling fresh and feeling hydrated and deeply cleansed. With green tea, aloe vera and cucumber extract, this foamy cleanser gently and naturally removes excess oil, make up and even waterproof mascara. In the mornings, I follow this with the anti-aging Natural Moisturising Cream and then just before bed I use the Natural Hydrating Night cream. Its not too sticky which I like and I love that its working over night as I sleep!

With seaweed extract, liquorice root and shea butter the moisturiser nourishes, hydrates, and softens mature skin. The seaweed extract contains an abundance of minerals including (but not limited to) B-complex vitamins, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, as well as antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E. These all add to its unique anti-aging and healing properties by improving skin tone, texture, and elasticity. The liquorice root not only minimises inflammation and soothes irritated skin, but it also reduces hyperpigmentation. My favourite aspect about this moisturiser is the shea butter. It adds a beautiful earthy and nutty scent and deeply hydrates my dry skin while also protecting it from UV sunlight, harsh climate and pollution damages.

The night cream is formulated with Coffea arabica seed extract. At first it did seem strange putting coffee on my skin at night. But I have to say the antioxidant rich extract left my skin feeling regenerated and replenished when I awoke in the morning. Since the coffee extract has a high concentration of vitamin E, it is able to assist rapid cell regeneration, the healing of scar tissue and minimise skin damage. With added almond oil, this night cream is hypoallergenic and able to soften and refresh aging skin. I love how it effortlessly soaks into my face, neck and décolletage, deeply nourishing dryness on the skin.

To find out more about Grahams Natural visit their website here.

Are you ready for a waffle of a time?

Yes, you read that correctly, I said waffle!

If you’re a little bit perplexed as to why I would even consider having waffles for breakfast, sit down, get comfortable and make a big mug of tea because it’s time for a talk.

Put your hands up if you’ve ever been confused by what to eat because of all the conflicting messages out there?

Me too.

All my life, I have loved waffles and to be completely honest, when I first started my health journey, I used to think I would never be able to have them again.

Ring a bell?

It’s time to get things straight: waffles can hold a big place in your heart (and your stomach!), no matter your dietary requirements or preferences. I truly believe that eating should not be about deprivation.

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For the past few months over the holidays I've been renovating.  Or as I like to call it summer renos! 

I've been hammering out this brand new Supercharged Food website for you.

The new look site is full of ideas, inspiration and recipes to Supercharge Your Life.  

I've rewired the blog to include more of the things I love and think will be helpful to you, like gardening and growing your own produce.

Want to get debtless? This bit of the site is all about how to save money and live on less. 

I've done some repanelling too and created a space called gather and nest where you can get inspired to create a healthy and sustainable home.

You'll also discover how to make simple tablescapes that'll be sure to turn your next mealtime gathering into something that places beauty and value on those at your table.

Plus it goes without saying, there are bunches of new cooking videos and recipes to feast on, because really, the kitchen is the heart of the home.

We are open for inspection now.  Come in, slip your shoes off and take a look around. I would love to know what you think in the comments section below. 

I hope you'll enjoy it and see it as your new home for health and wellness.