Fast Food has never been my thing!
I had my last McDonald’s burger over 33 years ago, in the late 1980s, and I stopped eating wheat bread, wheat pasta, and drinking milk about the same time because I didn’t like the way they made me feel: bloated, brain fog, and energy zapping. This was many years before gluten or lactose intolerance became prevalent, but the production of bread and milk had begun to change.
The intense cross-breeding of wheat, driven by advancements in agricultural technology, changed the gluten structure. The goal was to achieve higher yields in a shorter growing time. Milk also became a highly processed food, thanks to the homogenization process, which makes it easier to drink and gives this white liquid a long shelf life. The old saying “mess with nature and it will mess right back” is true.
Fast forward a few years to 2012, and my sister (the best cook I know) made a throwaway statement about me starting a business in health because I was so passionate about eating food that supported the body to prevent disease and energized our daily lives.
Only 4% of people statistically eat enough vegetables, fruit, and plants for good health, so this became the driver for Louise, my business partner and good friend, and me to begin our education, which turned into a business.
My kitchen table became a place of research, writing, and joy as we developed a health program to educate families and school communities. Our zeal and ability to communicate complex subjects in everyday language became a strength. We were in such awe and wonder as we delved into the magnificence of the human body and how it interacts with food—whole and undefiled—from the earth.
The human body is amazingly complex. Its design is highly organized and made up of unique cell types with specialized functions, all working together. Thousands of processes occur daily to sustain life and get you and me out of bed in the morning.
Our research was an exciting time of discovery. I was eager to understand more about the complexities of the human body, and I fell in love with the remarkable genius of its daily processes. I’ll never forget the first lightbulb moment we had (and there were many), when we realized that the body was not designed for disease, but life.
It’s been a wild ride since then. We developed another arm of our business and started supplying weekly boxes of organic greens and colourful vegetables to families from our daughter’s school. From humble beginnings out of Louise’s garage, we lovingly prepared these boxes. Our business grew so much that we opened a boutique retail shop, chandelier and all, selling affordable organic produce on the Gold Coast, Australia.
The initial ten women in attendance grew to over 400 women (and some men) in ten months. With no paid advertising, just social media posts and word of mouth, the groups became very large. I was amazed at the hunger in people. Many women told me that “health used to be confusing,” but the simple and yummy approach empowered them.
Our supermarkets are lined with food products that are filled with chemicals, additives, toxic sugars, vegetable seed oils, and unrecognizable ingredients. Food manufacturers are misleading us with health claims on breakfast cereals and packaged foods to trick us into buying products that we believe are healthy for our families. We naïvely believe these foods are good choices when in reality, they are highly processed and high in sugar, unhealthy oils, and salt.
So many of us are on a never-ending cycle of dieting, unable to sustain weight loss. The quit sugar program works temporarily, and the ‘feel good’ benefits of the juice detox become a distant memory, and we start the cycle again.
We’re all so confused about what to eat, and only 2% of diets or programmes work.
Why?
We haven’t been educated ABOUT food and HOW it affects the body, because food provides instruction that regulates every aspect of our biology and gene expression. Eating with intention every day and re-learning how to shop for health is essential for aging with strength.
Healthy eating is so simple when we know how to love our liver, feed our gut microbiome a variety of vegetables and whole food fibres, support our immune system, nourish our cells, and build our brain.
Food affects every area of our life.
I’m not paleo, vegetarian or vegan but my philosophy is to cook with a truck load of veg and whole foods, eat healthy fats, a little bit of good quality organic, grass fed meat, enjoy sweet food made with God’s sugars, stay hydrated, move your body and manage stress, have zero tolerance for refined sugar or toxic vegetable oils in the pantry, but most of all, COOK food that’s ridiculously yummy.
I must burst your bubble on the idea that vegetables are for rabbits, that they are not delicious, and that being healthy means giving up all the fun foods. Cooking from scratch is the key to sustaining a healthy lifestyle, and the abundance of vegetables we intentionally eat daily must be delicious.
No matter how many diets you’ve attempted or how many New Year’s resolutions you’ve embarked on to quit sugar and processed foods, you CAN change your life with delicious foods and simple protocols, one meal, one day, one week at a time, so your precious body is nourished and flourishing.
I’m here to equip, empower, and support you to create a thriving food culture within your home that is sustainable and fun.
So whether you’re a newbie to this healthy way, need a fresh wind of motivation and inspiration, or you just want a good old revamp, I’m thrilled that we are journeying together.
I’m passionate about seeing YOU thrive.
