Imagine a location that feels like another world away, but is in reality just a hop, skip and a jump from anywhere in Australia. A place where you can fly and flop all within the space of a few hours and feel like you’ve been transported to a parallel universe.

Located in Bali, nestled alongside the sacred Ayung River near Ubud, and beyond the hustle and bustle of Kuta and Seminyak lies Fivelements, an award winning eco-conscious wellness destination which is inspired by the natural and holistic Balinese way of life.

Fivelements encourages guests to nurture harmony of their spirit, the environment and with one another and tune-in to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs, allowing an organic healing process to naturally unfold.

Medicine cabinet love. My all time favourite ingredients ginger and turmeric.

Upon arrival I was greeted by warm Balinese smiles and given a refreshing coconut welcome drink before being led through pretty gardens and stone pathways to my private modern thatched hut. It literally felt like I had stepped into the colour and magic of a traditional Balinese painting.

My gorgeous hut away from home

Flinging open the wooden doors will reveal a surprising level of plushness and comfort. The beautiful rooms are peaceful and serene with jaw-dropping natural décor and attention to detail. With an emphasis on nature, the elements of timber, bamboo, stone, water and natural tones all meld comfortably within the space and open balmy air.

Sleeping tight under the net

Walking through into the bathroom my heart skipped a beat when I saw the liberal use of stone and wood, housed with bamboo to bring as much of the outside in, and create an ambience of being totally at one with nature.

Stone and Wood

And then there was THAT shower.

Forecast: Sunday morning showers

One of the other water highlights of Fivelements is the open-air bathtub which sits inside a private bamboo enclosure, enabling you to enjoy your surroundings during a relaxing salt water soak. It was perfect for soothing my weary yoga muscles after a big day of yoga the day before.

In the early evening, the girls from the spa popped around to offer me a revitalizing bath ritual composed of five powerful healing ingredients: lemongrass to activate blood circulation, aromatic Balinese orange and lime, and pandan leaves and ginger to awaken your senses and clear my mind.

Bath ingredients!  Orange, pandan, sea salt, ginger and lime.

Move over Vivid Sydney! The supernatural volcanic stone bath featured customised therapy lighting which showcased the seven colours of the chakras, and as you lay there it encouraged the unison of the mind, body and spirit and the connection with nature.

Each of the five residences at Fivelements features a private, hewn-boulder bath overlooking the Ayung River.

Post bath time bliss, I sat on the private deck, a wonderful place to unwind from any stresses in laid back style, and perused the menu which was prefaced as offering raw vegan living foods cuisine in celebration of our “aliveness.”


Long lunch with mountains of greens

When it comes to food at Fivelements their goal is simple; to allow mother-nature’s cuisine to shine with all her exciting tastes, textures, vibrant colors and pure flavours. It was evident to me that the food they serves was prepared with love, passion and attention to detail and each dish just oozed the feeling of being so healthy and full of energy-giving nutrients.

Living Foods

The menu is based around the concept of a fine-dining healing cuisine of ‘Living Foods' comprising of raw vegan fare, and other lightly-prepared plant-based dishes. As I like to have a mixture of cooked and raw foods this suited me perfectly.

You can choose to enjoy the refueling food either in your room or at Sakti dining room, which is a bamboo architectural masterpiece, topped off with a sweeping thatched roof in the shape of a banana leaf, a Balinese symbol of food. The restaurant overlooks a pretty lotus pond on one side and the mesmerizing Ayung River on the other.

Virtuous breakfast offerings

During my three day stay, I happily ate my way through their fantastic menu, at breakfast I enjoyed Coconut Chia Porridge with local Tulsi Seeds, Oats, Activated Seeds, Goji Berries and served with Coconut Milk, on day two I had a Superfood Dragon Bowl with Purple Dragonfruit, Banana, Coconut, Chia Seeds, Strawberries, Sprouted Nut Granola, Lime Yoghurt and Cinnamon and on my final day I enjoyed the Spiced Granola with Activated Nuts, Oats, Coconut Milk and Banana, which was my favourite!

Main meals always begun with a serve of Curried Kale Chips with Balinese Spices, and Coconut and one of the highlight meals was the South Indian Dahl with Coconut Yoghurt, Coriander and Chili, served with crunchy flaxseed crackers.

I made this raw zucchini pasta with marinara sauce during the cooking class

On the menu, there were mountains of zesty green salads to choose from featuring edible flowers, leaves and raw dressings, Balinese Green Urab-Urab with Organic Greens, Vegetables, Herbs, Coconut Bacon and Aromatic Balinese Dressing and one of the popular meals is a Shitake Mushroom Burger with Rice Bun, Caramelized Onions, Kimchi Mayonaise, Umami Ketchup, Pickles, Jicama Slaw, and yummy Sweet Potato Chips which I polished off for dinner.

Dessert was also a feast for the eyes not to mention the tummy, there’s nothing quite like experiencing the Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with White Chocolate Ice Cream, Raw Cacao Syrup and Chocolate Tuile with a side of Homemade Cashew coconut Ice Cream.

This really is clean eating at it’s finest.

Once you’ve had your fill of fruits and organic vegetables it’s time to relax by the pool on the comfy terry toweling lined day beds and indulge in an afternoon drink.

Lazy days by the pool

There are plenty of beverages to choose from; smoothies, juices and healing and comforting hot elixirs and tonics were all offered. I enjoyed the Bali Spiced raw hot Chocolate and Chai Latte made with locally sourced Tea and Spices, Coconut Milk, Coconut Sugar.

One of the major attractions of Fivelements is the spa which is central to the area and a place where you can not only be slathered in locally made ingredients and transported to a world of bliss but also experience energy healing, rejuvenating massages, deep bodywork, ultra-nourishing body care, local super food facials and unique water healing experiences.

Room with a view

Featuring nine private healing rooms for Balinese therapies, each has their own ensuite bathroom and bathhouse with a river stone healing bathtub.

All of the treatments at Fivelements embrace holistic Balinese-inspired therapies and are administered by traditional Balinese healers using ancient wisdoms passed down from direct lineage.

Following the Balinese principle of Sekala-Niskala, which holds that we all live equally in two worlds; the seen or conscious world Sekala, and the unseen or psychic world Niska- la, the Balinese healers engage the help of the higher divine source during each healing session.

Gorgeous foot soak bath with Balinese sea salt, petals and lime.

Whilst I was at Fivelements, I joined Chef Made Tantra for culinary training which was a fantastic experience, he certainly took me on an inspiring gastronomical journey! We created some absolutely delicious basics and dishes such as coconut milk, green juice, cashew dressing, and granola.

A man on a mission

Chef Tantra is a man on a mission with a passionate interest in local and native ingredients having worked in hotels across Bali and overseas.   During the class he showcased exciting and absolutely delicious vegan and vegetarian fare made with flare using aromatic herbs, vegetables, spices and a healthy dose of flavours.

Cooking class ingredients

During the class I had an introduction to living foods and the importance of using local and in season food sources and also picked up some great tips about quick and easy meal preparation, I shared with him some of my own cooking tips too as we had a mutual interest in simple and healthy recipes. He was most interested in nutritional yeast flakes and wheat free tamari!

I learnt how to make a delicious garden blend soup with fields of greens, crushed garlic and orange, and also a marinara sauce that we had with the zucchini pasta that day for lunch.

Garden green soup with swirls

The soup was delicious and so energy boosting and I felt like a million dollars afterwards 🙂

I really enjoyed my time at Fivelements and came home refreshed and revitalized with a sense of peace and harmony.

To find out more about what they offer you can visit their website: http://www.fivelements.org

Worms. I’m sorry, this isn’t the most enjoyable subject material, but if you’re a mum or dad with  school aged children, you may already be familiar with this unsavoury situation. If you haven’t experienced it in your family yet, it’s time to get informed so that when the problem rears its ugly head you know exactly how to tackle it. I also have some great news on a natural way you can rid your body of these pesky critters before resorting to drugs.

Pinworms, also known as threadworms are the a parasitic worm and the most common worm infection in Australia, the UK and the USA.  Kids are more likely to pick up an infection than an adult, probably because of children’s tendency to put their fingers in their mouths, and you may notice worms emerging in your family when your littlies begin day care and school. An annoying truth of the childhood worms experience is that once a child is infected, other members of their household are also likely to get pinworms unless strict hygiene practices are observed.

Threadworms are spread by children scratching their bottom and carrying the worm eggs back to their mouth with their hands. They can also be spread indirectly through food and dust. The eggs can survive up to two weeks outside the body, and once these eggs are swallowed, they hatch in the small intestine and travel down.

Despite the ugly reputation, a pinworm infection is relatively harmless and can be easily treated.

On the other hand, if you're struggling with any type of pests in your home or commercial area, it's time you get in touch with http://www.thebustersgroup.co.uk/.

What to look out for

Signs of a pinworm in children include

• Tiredness, or generally feeling “out of sorts”
• Disturbed sleep
• Lowered appetite
• Itchy bottom, especially at night
• Small white worms appearing around the anus
• White worms in stools

Home care practices

When you notice an infection of worms, you can help reduce the spread to family members through

• Discouraging scratching the bottom
• Keeping everyone’s fingernails trimmed and clean. A nail scrubber is a good option.
• Washing hands with warm soapy water after the toilet
• Laundering bedding in hot water
• Vacuuming the house often to remove eggs

Ridding the body of worms naturally

Diatomaceous Earth is a brilliant first step alternative to over the counter drugs and is something that I personally consume regularly to rid my body of parasites, especially during travel overseas or if I suspect an infection. It’s been very effective in gently cleansing my digestive system. And a clean digestive system is the starting point for overall body and mind health. 

Diatomaceous earth is one of the best natural, food based anti-parasitic medications. It works by attracting bacteria, fungi, viruses, pesticides, drug residues etc to absorb them. The hollow cylinder structure allows pathogenic bacteria to become trapped and passed through the body. Larger parasites found in the stomach are actually cut up and killed by the Diatomaceous Earth particles!

My naturopathic grade, Diatomaceous Earth, also known as organic fossil shell flour or as I like to call it Dinosaur powder, also contains 15 minerals that are beneficial to your overall health and wellbeing. With its detoxifying properties, you will be able to absorb these minerals much more effectively!  Being high in silica it has the added benefits of better hair, skin and nails too.

One teaspoon of diatomaceous earth taken by an adult, once a day for seven days, can be extremely effective for killing parasites. 

You can simply add your appropriate dose to water or juice daily, preferably before meals. You can even add it to smoothies or sprinkle it on top of your children’s cereal as it’s completely free of additives, fillers, sugars, artificial sweeteners or preservatives! These healthy food alternatives are an excellent way to teach your children how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Many trusted naturopaths like this Toronto naturopath would highly recommend it to all people who want to feel the benefits of a proper diet and the effect it can have on their wellbeing. 

Love Your Gut, Diatomaceous Earth is a safe food grade product and of the highest D Earth grade. When using it, be sure to drink plenty of fluids and always consult your health care practitioner when treating children.

Find out more about my Love Your Gut Powder here.

A bowling club by the sea was the eclectic backdrop to my recent June wedding where we celebrated making us official.

In keeping with our autumnal theme, as sheets of rain hammered in sideways off the ocean onto the RSL’s flat roof and rivulets rushed down the sandstone walls, inside, our cheery crowd of friends and family gathered warmly around us to help celebrate our happy event.

The grand thunderstorm provided a dramatic soundtrack to our fun-filled and festive afternoon. From the onset, we wanted to create a bohemian wedding with a community feel and the venue we picked felt as though it just oozed that old school village hall charm.  We decorated and lit up the wooden stage to make it a focal point of the hall and ceremony. 

Growing up in Canterbury in the UK meant that our village hall was central to the town, so when it came to planning our wedding, we wanted to create a day that was homespun and one that reimagined the tradition of a community coming together to celebrate the unity of a new family. 

We didn't set out to transform the place but wanted to accentuate and capture it's simplicity, so rather than add too much, we embraced it's blank canvas appeal and emphasized the old piano and stool and the dart board chalk board (that the kids personalized on their own initiative). 

It was important to us that we took the non-traditional route and avoided all the wedding clichés. Although we wanted to make a statement, it wasn’t the kind of statement about how awesome we are or how lavish and stupendous, but a statement of love, family, community and friendship. Oh and our great love of the classic Aussie bowling club. I mean how could you not?

We also didn't want spend months stage managing or filling up a A4 ring-binder file with wedding inspirations, only to get caught up in the minutiae. We weren’t keen on spending a fortune on unnecessary formalities so we chose to stay true to ourselves and keep the day as simple as possible without grandeur or fuss.  We planned the wedding in four weeks.

The fun part of planning the wedding was seeing whether we could create something memorable on our shoe-string budget of $5k. So we immediately discarded any thoughts of extraneous expenses and started to get pretty creative with our limited funds.

Through the process, what we discovered was so enjoyable about planning a boho wedding was that it frees you up to be unconventional and not worry about the lack of seat covers and pretty bows on the backs of chairs, which didn't really matter to us, and we realised what was more important was the acknowledgement of the bond we have as a family.

A boho wedding enables you to explore and celebrate your individuality. Plus we both didn’t feel that adding money and too many ideas would add any more to the laid back and easy day we had planned.

So in the planning stages we really only had a couple of pre-requisites, one of them was to ensure we were supporting sustainability and local producers and secondly when we chose things they had to fall under the notion or idea of "this is us". 

Our life and belongings are pretty minimal and we needed those values to be reflected on the day, with everything second hand or homemade or able to be recycled in order for it to have the least amount of impact on the planet.

The environmental ethos of the wedding became important particularly with the DIY decor, flowers and stationary. Invitations were designed by us and sent via email to save paper clutter and a tree or two.  We used recycled coasters which had been hand printed using a letterpress by Coco Press Design.

We didn't want anything flown in from across the other side of the world so we sourced everything we could locally. In lieu of presents, because we live uncluttered and didn't want or need any new stuff, we asked people to either make a cake or bring a herb or potted plant for the garden that would remind us of them and also give back to Mother nature.

When it came to decorating the venue, we raided my florist friend Georgie’s green house where I discovered she had been collecting beautiful flora which had been drying over time in her back garden in Bondi.  On the tables we used seed and pods that were collected on local ramblings and street-shopped dried maple leaves to complete the Autumnal feel.  

The club was decorated with old rope from Fowler’s Gap research station, about one and a half hours north of Broken Hill, that was going to be thrown away.

The Banksia, Gymea Lily and Coral Fern were all part of Georgie’s dried flower collection. Because she's doing a master in art in sculpture, particular flowers with texture inspire her and often get reused in her work and practice.

We supplemented the recycled flowers with local seasonal fresh flowers from the market and calendula, jonquil, stock and spray chrysanthemum were placed into recycled juice jars on the tables and along the windowsills to create window-scapes.

On the Friday night many people including the kids mucked in to help set up the hall and add their own touches to it, I loved the eclectic mix of styles that made the room feel simple and natural.

We established a beautiful display table with fresh in season produce provided to us by Harris Farm and filled buckets of kale, celery and pumpkin and seasonal fruits and vegetables which were donated to charity after the event.

Being a foodie at heart, ingredients became the basis of the beautifully scented flower crown I wore. It was reusable too and the produce was cooked up the next day and turned up on the family dinner table!  The remainder that wasn’t being used ended up in the composter to be put back onto our garden.  

My stunning edible bouquet was also founded on food and stuffed with kale, echinacea, rosemary, parsley, pineapple, wheat and mint and garnished with sprigs of baby’s breath and chrysanthemum.

Instead of confetti, the flower girls carried bread-baskets filled with rose petals that came from a local grower.

My friend Emmily from Depths of Beauty, is a natural makeup artist and eco beauty advocate and she did my hair and makeup. I love her business as she shares information and educates people through her master classes about the importance of non-toxic beauty and helps to inspire healthy and positive change for people and the planet.

For my wedding look she used only natural, organic and ethically made beauty products and on the day I felt naturally beautiful and radiant. She focused on creating dewy skin, highlighting the eyes and adding subtle colour on the cheeks, finishing with a natural nude pink lippy for a flush of colour.

On my skin I used my favourite Natural Instinct rose hip oil with rosemary and their silky body lotion which is deliciously hydrating and smells amazing too. 

During the night we enjoyed a spectacular feast of slow cooked lamb shoulder with cinnamon and spices and local greens and of course it wouldn’t be a supercharged party without my famous turmeric cauliflower dish. Our friends helped us out by donning aprons and piling up plates with the delicious food from Shuk Bondi.

At one stage I enlisted my German friend Cindy and put her in charge of making the chai tea as she's a natural born organiser. Its usually tea for two but in this case it was tea for 92!  We had a collection of old teapots from home that were filled to the brim and whisked onto the tea trolley whilst still piping hot and ready for the tea-totallers. 

In addition to the Stone & Wood Beer and Treehouse Cider, we also had refreshments from Remedy Kombucha, and a collection of fresh juices and smoothies from Organic Avenue Juices and beautiful Ovvio Organics Teas for the more health conscious guests.

When it came to a cake there were no fondants or fancy fixings but we encouraged guests to get into their home kitchens, roll up their sleeves and create their favourite home made dessert which formed part of our communal dessert trolley.  This became one of the highlights of the night and received many ooohs and ahhhs and mmms from the guests.

The trolley was laden with all-over-the-place stunning desserts, everything from chocolate ganache to flowerless orange cakes, sticky gingerbread cake and Justin’s brother’s legendary Christmas trifle.  The desserts were handmade with love and adorned with fresh berries, stunning wildflowers and nuts and seeds.

Oh, and ridiculously adorable handwritten hearts which gave us all happy feels.

The entertainment was provided by the guests, who were asked on the invitation to nominate their favourite song to make up the track list. It didn't have to be a wedding song but just one that they liked and meant something to them. The music was an assortment of tunes from all eras, mirroring the eclectic bunch of people who came along to the wedding. Guests also embraced the bowling club chic theme and many got into the spirit by donning their best sneakers, boots and vintage clothing as we danced the night away.

At the end of the night guests piled into the kitchen scraping their dinner plates into our make-shift compost bins and leftover cake and food was delivered to Wayside Chapel and the homeless at Bondi Pavillion. 

We didn’t ask guests to clean up but for many of them they said it felt like a natural thing to do. Everyone pulled together in the kitchen, washing and drying dishes to get the place reordered and back to its bowling club best. It was so lovely to see how we worked together as a little community and that really was the spirit of the wedding. 

Justin's favourite part of the day?  Seeing Lee arrive and knowing she was in (op shop) boots and all!

Lee’s favourite part of the day? The wedding ceremony and wheeling in the cake trolley followed by the chai trolley! The reactions that we got from people were incredible. Plus enjoying all the delicious homemade cakes...

It was a wonderful wedding and really captured the spirt of love and community.

A big thank you to our supporting cast...

• Photography: Blumenthal Photography
• Venue: Clovelly Bowling Club
• Floral Art: Georgie Bridge @Fleurtisan 
• Dress: Kite and Butterfly and Boots: St Vincent De Paul
• Makeup and Hair: Emmily Banks Depths of Beauty
• Catering: Shuk Bondi
• Refreshments: Remedy Kombucha, Organic Avenue Juices, Stone & Wood Beer and Treehouse Cider, Prana Chai Tea with Pure Harvest Coco Quench Coconut Milk and Ovvio Teas
• Table: Recycled Hand Printed Coasters Coco Press Design
• Cake: DIY Homemade Cakes
• Nibbles: Food to Nourish Bliss Balls
• Honeymoon: A four day mini-moon hiking in the Blue Mountains

Looking for some fresh breakfast inspiration?  Batter up babycakes 🙂

If you’re seeking something on the sweeter side, I'm offering an easy-to-make, fruity, Ayurvedic breakfast option that’ll steer you clear of the cereal box or the shake-it and bake it pancake mix and towards a healthier and nutritious opening act.

This beautiful peachy-keen baked pancake is bursting with vibrancy, sweet flavour and is incredibly easy to make; a perfect way to begin a lazy weekend, enjoyed with a steaming chai tea as it conveniently bubbles away with no need for flipping!

This is one of my most prized breakky recipes from my latest book Eat Right For Your Shape, and beyond its morning-satisfaction capabilities, it’s also high in the nourishment stakes.

If you follow Ayurvedic philosophy and identify as vata (air) dosha, you may tend to worry a lot. You require grounding, especially in the mornings before you set off for your day. This will keep you focused, and prevent your mind and emotions flying in all different anxious directions. For you, grounding will come in the form of good fats and oils, and warming foods.

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Hey guys…

Mark your calendars.

If you’re not doing anything on Thursday 16^th June and you’re somewhere in the vicinity of a telly, tune in to Shark Tank on Channel 10 at 8.30pm after Masterchef and watch me attempt to swim with the sharks!

I’m sharing a sneaky little inside snap of how we decorated the tank thanks to the wonderful people at aboutlife who very kindly supplied me with a trolley load of gorgeous fresh produce to supercharge the set.

Check out this trolley!

It was an interesting experience being inside the tank and talking about my Love Your Powder, four-week Heal Your Gut online program, healthy recipe books and blog.

It’s a risky business and tough going, trying to convince those razor-sharp sharks to help me spread the message of wellness further and continue my quest of making a difference to the lives of others.

For those of you who know me, you’ll know that I’m by no means a numbers or business person, and I have to admit there were a few tricky questions that I wasn’t anticipating. Not Gill-ty!

But now that I’m post-tank and still in one piece, I’m pleased to say it was worth all of the pressure and fear of getting eaten alive to be able to have the opportunity to spread the Supercharged Food message to a wider audience and in the process, continue to stay true to my values and mission.

If you don’t already socialize with me online, come and say hello on instagram or Facebook as I’ll be posting live updates during the show.

Also, please share this date with friends, family and colleagues as I’d love to have your continued support. The tank is a pretty scary place!

Tune in on Thursday 16^th at 8.30pm on Channel 10.

Lee 🙂

Looking for a completely natural Super Greens powder?  If you’re seeking a superpower green mix to complete your morning juice or smoothie then Super Greens is the way to go.

Mineral-rich Synergy Super Greens is a raw greens powder that combines some of nature’s most nutrient-dense foods: Spirulina, Chlorella, Barley Grass and Wheat Grass, with a touch of Stevia to sweeten.

The spirulina within Super Greens is a potent nutritious microscopic plant food with over a hundred nutrients. It is extremely high in protein, anti-oxidants, iron and vitamin B12, without any added cholesterol.

Chlorella is another pure green superfood that supports detoxification, alkalisation and boosts your immune system. It’s packed full of essential amino acids, protein, and essential fatty acids, making you one sip away from improving your health!

Another key component of the Synergy Super Greens is Barley Grass, a natural multi-vitamin, which alkalises the body and rebalances pH levels. Barley Grass contains 500% more Vitamin C than oranges and 200% the calcium of milk.

Wheat Grass provides all the vitamins, minerals and other special nutrients that are essential in our diet. Along with the other ingredients in this product, the wheat grass used is grown outdoors without pesticides and artificial fertilizers making it environmentally friendly as well as preservative-free! Wheat Grass is high in calcium, iron, protein, minerals, fibre and antioxidants so an all round beneficial ingredient to include in your diet to help support your energy.

The best part? It’s as nutritionally beneficial for your insides as it is delicious on your tastebuds and you get the best bioavailability in whole food form.

Synergy Super Greens is an easy way to stabilise your appetite, improve wellbeing and get in some of those daily servings of greens!

Why not try in in my mint choc chip smoothie?  You’ll find the recipe here. https://supercharged.wpengine.com/blog/autumn/two-minty-chocolate-drink-recipes/

Find out more about Synergy Super Greens here. https://www.synergynatural.com/products/