Waste Not Want Not Pumpkin Seeds

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend of mine I hadn’t seen in a while. She had an amazing harvest of pumpkins this season and graciously shared a lovely butternut with me after serving up a delicious pumpkin and coriander soup for lunch. Thanks Stacey! Today I decided to roast it and stock up for baby Wil’s meals. I also was hankering after one of my favourite snacks, roasted crunchy salty pumpkin seeds. This is a great way to use the whole pumpkin and if you don’t eat all the seeds while you’re waiting for your Sunday roast to cook (like I do) then it stores well in an airtight container. There’s also the added benefit that these little morsels of crunchy salty yumminess are also good for you, packed full of minerals including magnesium, manganese and phosphorus, iron, copper, protein, and zinc.

So, here it is…..

Read More

Peak Everything and Why We’re Trying to Live Sustainably

The video below offers an easy to understand and entertaining explanation of the swiftly approaching low energy future. It highlights how our current civilisations are based on a model of perpetual growth, exploding populations, and a reliance on petrochemicals, industry and industrial agriculture. This reliance on exponential growth has worked for us in the past but we are swiftly approaching the apex and the downhill slope is looking very slippery. Peak oil, coal and gas, peak economic growth, peak industrial agricultural output, the unsustainable way of living that we are all used to and its resulting environmental destruction paints an alarming picture. Read More

CrossFit, Muffins and ANZAC Biscuits – being healthy never tasted or felt so good!

Well, it has been a busy month settling into family life now that David is back home. The transition from our Standard Australian Diet to a mostly paleolithic diet has gone pretty smoothly although there are the usual stumbles, dark chocolate being the main culprit (we’ve all got to have some guilty pleasures otherwise life would be boring). I find that I crave bread, pasta and sweats much less than I used to. When I do partake, I get the gluten/sugar hangover that leaves me bloated, uncomfortable, tired, more absent-minded than usual and cranky… not really worth it. Read More

Michael Ableman – The Future of Food

David, William and I spent a lovely day at Mulloon Creek Farm on Sunday 15 April to hear a presentation about ‘the future of food’ from Michael Ableman, Canadian farmer, author and photographer. The day was perfect, nature gracing us with warm sun, cool breezes and deep blue skies, a fabulous day to be entertained by Michael’s photos and stories from his very interesting life. Michael has been farming ‘with nature’ since he was 18 years old and currently lives on the beautiful ‘Foxglove Farm’ in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada.

Michael made some interesting suggestions for fixing our broken food production systems, some of which I’ve listed here.

• Fruits, vegetables and herbs should be produced and processed by individual households and in the cities, urban farms, roof-top farms and other innovative intensive farming to ensure access to seasonal and locally grown produce
• Larger-scale broad-acre farming (grains) and farming of protein sources (meats, fish, legumes etc) should remain the main operation of farmers and farming communities in rural areas Read More

A Vegan’s Journey – Friends and Pizza

Hi Greenfoodies,

I just wanted to speak a little about the importance of friends.  I have some amazing people in my life, and have recently acquired some “gourmet” friends-friends who really enjoy food, wining and dining as much as I do.  It is such a pleasure to have long, leisurely meals and discuss everything from politics to relationships while sipping a fruity Sauvignon Blanc. There are also the friends who call, just to see if everything is ok, or the friends who listen after a difficult week. There is something special about such friendships as they are deeply fulfilling and nourishing to the soul.  I’m giving a shout out to my friends, everyday you make me smile.

I have found the most delicious pizza recipe for vegetarians and people trying to avoid bread or other heavy carbohydrates. Something to be shared amongst friends.  Enjoy! Read More

Lunch with Jackie French – A Greenfoodie’s Eating Adventures

What a fabulous weekend! David is back home after four months overseas and we spent a lovely Sunday lunch in GreenFoodie heaven! The Kitchen Cabinet at Old Parliament House in Canberra runs monthly Sunday lunches to celebrate local produce and producers. This Sunday we enjoyed the company of author and organic gardener Jackie French who spoke about ‘Chooks, Books and Happiness.’ She was such an entertaining and genuine speaker and re-inspired our commitment to living a GreenFoodie lifestyle, slowing down, smelling the roses and enjoying the important things in life… family, friends and food.

We bought a couple of her lovely children’s books, ‘Diary of a Wombat’ and ‘Baby Wombat’s Week’ for William and treated ourselves to ‘Backyard Self-Sufficiency,’ ‘The Chook Book,’ and ‘Jackie French’s Guide to Companion Planting in Australia and New Zealand.’ Jackie’s gardening wisdom and experience will be put to good use when we are planning our permaculture/food forest garden for our Bungendore home.

To top it off the menu was outstanding with entree featuring vegetables from local producers Conrad and Carol Kindrachuk’s Garden at Araluen, Matthew and Grace Reid’s Greendale Garden Farm at Majors Creek. Main course was even better with free range organic duckling filled with Ballalaba spiced pork with Allsun tomato and Araluen peach kasundi as well as a caponata of roman beans, Saint Pierre tomatoes, Wethershield red onions, red and yellow horn peppers and Monaro purple garlic. To top it all off we were treated to a fabulous dessert of Smyrna quince pannacotta, Belle de Boskoop apple cloud and American hawthorn berry sorbet. Totally sumptuous!

We have decided to that we just have to go to all the rest of the Kitchen Cabinet’s monthly luncheons for this year. A lovely monthly date with the most important men in my life, enjoying great food from the region, I can’t think of anything better! In saying that, I’m a bit sad that we won’t be able to attend next month’s lunch. The plus side is that we will be heading back to Mulloon Creek Natural Farms for lunch and a presentation by visiting Canadian organic farmer, educator, photographer, author, and advocate for sustainable agriculture, Michael Ableman, on ‘Feeding Our Future.’

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on our experiences. In the meantime, if you’re in Canberra why not book a place on one of the Kitchen Cabinet‘s monthly lunches, or come and join us at Mulloon Creek? Lastly, keep your eyes on the GreenFoodie calendar for upcoming events that might tempt you.

National Farmers Federation – Blueprint for Australian Agriculture

I have just completed a survey that will be used to develop a Blueprint for Australian Agriculture by key industry stake holders. If you care about what you eat and how it is produced, have your say and fill in the survey! This is what the website says:

“The Blueprint for Australian Agriculture aims to bring together all with an interest in, or involvement with, agriculture to help shape its future direction. Farmers, transporters, retailers, consultants, rural businesses, agribusinesses, educators, governments, rural communities, community groups and consumers are all invited to take part. After all, as the saying goes: if you eat, you’re a partner in farming.

The Blueprint is about giving you the opportunity to have your say on the issues and challenges facing the agricultural sector and its supply chain now and in the future, and your thoughts on the opportunities and solutions to achieving a strong and sustainable future.

The Blueprint is an initiative of the NFF, Westpac and Woolworths, and once developed, will map out where we as an industry want to go and how we are going to get there. And to do so, we need your help.”

Here’s what I wrote for the question that asked how I envisioned the Australian Agricultural sector would look in 2050…

• Most Australian farmers taking great pride in their environmentally sustainable and ethical farming practices
• Smaller scale farms supplying local areas with seasonal produce
• No imported produce unless Australian farmers cannot supply demand for some reason
• Farms requiring high level inputs of petro-chemicals, large-scale mono-cropping and other agro-industrial farming in the minority and increasingly unpopular
• More people moving back onto the land and into rural areas as farming and food production becomes a healthy, satisfying and economically viable life/career choice for people
• Consumers avoid highly processed food in favour of fresh produce and whole foods

How do you see Australian Agriculture in 2050? What issues do you think we need to focus on now? Let the National Farmers Federation know what is important to you and we might just start seeing a massive shift away from agro-industrial model (I am obviously assuming that you are a GreenFoodie, or at least considering some form of it!)

Oh Dear! My Sugar Addiction Strikes – A GreenFoodie’s Eating Adventures

Oh dear! I have fallen of the wagon this last week and I am paying for it! Last fortnight I indulged my love of pizza and had takeaway (gourmet). I expected to be slapped in the face with irritable bowels but only had mild symptoms, phew! I was deflated by my measurements though. Upper arm circumference was still unchanged, upper thigh circumference up by 4cm (umm… what the??), hips up by 5cm (again… WTF??), abdomen and waist up by a couple of centimeters. I suspect the gluten may have bloated me and maybe I was retaining water? Surely I couldn’t have increased muscle size or laid down that much more fat in one week? Surprisingly my body fat percentage went down (3%) and so did my weight (.2 kg is still a loss!) so it wasn’t all terrible.

This week I have been craving sugar and carbs like a rabid beast. I caved on Sunday night at an awesome restaurant in Sydney. You like Thai? Then you really should try House Thai. The atmosphere was fantastic but more importantly the food was authentic Northeastern Thai street food, and totally delicious. I had the green papaya salad with deep fried anchovies and dried prawns and deep fried marinated pork with spicy sauce. Definitely hot hot hot but worth the pain. I wasn’t so worried about the deep fried bits but there is quite a bit of sugar in Thai food, to balance out the salt and bitter flavours.

Thinking I might as well make the most of a great restaurant, and to celebrate a night in Sydney, I had a Pimms and lemonade. That was the first alcoholic beverage I’ve had in over a year! Not to mention the liquid sugar with a shot of sugar. Then, why not go for broke, I had an absolutely delicious dessert of toasted brioche, pandan cococonut icecream, drizzled in palm sugar caramel. Can anyone spell H.E.A.V.E.N? I left buzzing from a great meal, so tasty and spicy  (not to mention the buzz from the sugar and alcohol flying around my body).

Ah what the heck, life is about enjoyment and there’s always the 80/20 rule. On top of that my body measurements went down to their previous levels and my weight and body fat percentage held steady. Unfortunately, it seems I’m a sugar junky and the sugar hit has reignited those nasty cravings. Yesterday and today I ate dark chocolate covered berries (of course I justified to myself their health benefits… fruit is healthy, so is dark chocolate). Needless to say I went a little overboard. Now I feel disgusting. I have generalised aches and pains, I feel so heavy and totally lethargic. The usual sugar induced mouth ulcers have flared up, along with addicts remorse. I am now dreading my weekly measure-in.

Just to be even more cheerful, sugar has been in the news recently with reports that it is as toxic to human health as alcohol and tobacco and should be regulated in the same way. See this news article with video clip from the Today show. I just finished reading an excellent article about the research into sugar, the problems it causes with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and its connection to cancer. You can read this article here. There is even research that suggests sugar is more addictive than cocaine, read the Huffington Post article here.

You might be horrified to learn that the cravings may not even be your own. Over-growths of yeast, fungi or bacteria can alter your behaviour and cause you to crave sugar. Read this article for a good overview. The treatment for getting rid of these nasties? Get rid of sugar (that means battling with the bug induced cravings), take good quality pro-biotics and even take an anti-fungal medication. See this article for more info. Here’s another great article from Body and Soul about the causes of sugar cravings and what can be done to address them.

Hmmm, it seems I have a fight on my hands to kick this sugar habit and kill the cravings. Wish me luck…. now where is that bottle of pro-biotics?

Earthships: An Evening with Michael Reynolds – GreenFoodie News and Reviews

Last night I had the great privilege of attending a presentation by Michael Reynolds, renegade architect or biotecture specialist as he calls himself, star of the movie the ‘Garbage Warrior‘ and creator of radically sustainable houses known as ‘Earthships.’ Michael was engaging, passionate, down-to-earth and so inspirational. Although I knew a bit about the man after watching the movie Garbage Warrior, I was still blown away by the concept of biotecture, the practical applications of totally autonomous housing adaptable to extreme climates, and the multi-layered benefits of these buildings.

Michael and his team have been using the Earthship concept to assist people and communities in countries devastated by poverty and environmental disasters, such as India and more recently Haiti. See the video below for an insight into the great work he and his team are doing in Haiti.

Earthships are completely sustainable and autonomous, built with natural and recycled materials (what some people call garbage), heated and cooled with passive thermal and solar design, powered by self-generated solar and wind electricity, they harvest their own water, treat their own sewerage in a zero discharge system and produce their own food.

They can withstand earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and extremes in temperature, maintaining a comfortable internal temperature of between 21 and 26 degrees Celcius. They can be adapted for different climates, different budgets and different purposes (eg private housing, communal housing, schools etc). The can also be created into beautiful works of habitable art or designed to resemble more traditional houses.

Plants are grown in a buffer zone within the building and serve several purposes: a buffer between the outside and the inside to stabilise temperatures, food production, treatment of sewerage (grey and black water), cleaning and oxygenation of air inside the building and aesthetics. Can you imagine the joy of reaching over your dining chair to pluck a fruit straight from your garden or go fishing for your meal inside your own home? Or just sitting amongst the greenery, soaking up the ambiance (and the oxygen)?

These buildings are truly marvelous and I can’t wait to take the Biotecture course at the Earship Academy in New Mexico, USA. When? Who knows, but I am determined to learn to do this for myself, the Universe will sort out the how! In the meantime I can dream and plan and hope.

I hope you get inspired by the Earthships too! Thank you so much to Milkwood Permaculture for hosting such a fabulous event!!

Official Movie Trailer for ‘Garbage Warrior’

Nicole Foss: Preparing for Economic Depression – GreenFoodie News and Reviews

Last Sunday, 12 February 2012, I was lucky enough to attend a presentation by Canadian finance and energy expert Nicole Foss at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms. The event was sponsored by the Mulloon Institute, Regional Development Australia (Southern Inland), the NSW Catchment Management Authority (Southern Rivers) and Bendigo Bank. Catering was managed by Ginger Catering with the organic produce supplied by Mulloon Creek Natural Farms and was absolutely delicious.

The afternoon started with a very sobering presentation by Nicole Foss as she explained the current global economic situation, and the fast approaching and severe economic depression that will effect all nations including Australia. Click here for an excellent summary of Nicole’s presentation reported in the Canberra Times.

Nicole delivered an excellent presentation, calmly and intelligently analysing the historical and current global financial situation, rationally interpreting the data and presenting it in a way that was accessible to a broad audience. Halfway through I must admit I became pretty depressed by the seeming inevitability of another great depression and the awful ramifications this would have on the people and the country that I love.

However, Nicole did have some advice to help people prepare. Her first and most urgent recommendation was to get rid of any personal debts, particularly those with banking institutions and credit unions, including home loans, personal loans, car loans etc.

She also recommended simplifying as much as possible (downsizing, reduced consumption, getting rid of unnecessary and extraneous objects and activities etc) as well as increasing liquidity (storing enough physical cash to last several months, holding debt-free assets like land and housing, and physical precious metals/stones).

In addition, she recommended ensuring that each household was well supplied with hard goods necessary for survival (arable land or access to land, shelter/housing, spare parts, solar powered/kinetic powered electronics, containers, medicines etc). Nicole added that it was extremely important to decentralise and focus on local and grassroots activity, building community and trust economies etc, particularly with regards to food access and production.

Even if you do not believe in the inevitability of an emerging economic depression or you are turned off by such doomsday scenarios, the advice that Nicole offers is sensible and practical. We should all be ensuring that we live more sustainably and within our means. Of course this is easier said than done as many of us (including me) are addicted to the consumer and debt-based society in which we find ourselves. It will take a massive shift in thinking and in our actions to weather the storm.

After breaking to enjoy the delicious food on offer, we reconvened to listen to a panel discussion based on audience questions. The panel included, Tony Coote, founder and Director of the Mulloon Institute and Steward of Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, Chris Presland representing the NSW Catchment Management Authority (Southern Rivers) and Greenbox Food Co-operative, Colin McLean representing Regional Development Australia (Southern Inland), and 2011 National Farmer of the Year finalist Martin Royds.

The afternoon/evening was an extremely enjoyable and informative one, though the message was sobering with a forecasted future that seems bleak and hopeless, or tumultuous at the very least. I met some very interesting people, ate delicious locally grown and prepared food and learned some useful things.

I’m happy with the direction my life is going and excited by the possibilities that could emerge if the economic the maelstrom does hit. Why not plan for a more simple and enjoyable life, based on community, sustainability and humanitarian values?