Talofa Lava, sister Rasela in the bellylicious kitchen today. Yes, it’s that one hour of the week where we turn the BayFM studios into a tasty treat for your hungry ears … what are we covering today ??

GLUTEN, GLIADIN, COELIAC DISEASE … living with it, learning to live without it, replacement foods and alternatives so delicious they may entice you into a gluten free life whether you need to or not !!

fields of wheat ... pretty but painful for some

I had a panel of guests this wonderful wheat free morning. They all had fascinating and informative stories about gluten and how it has graced their lives with lessons and learning’s, which is what disease can do if you look at it positively and discover more about the incredibly unique and gorgeous body you live in.

Perhaps you already know about gluten inside out or perhaps by listening or reading this you could learn a thing or two from belly, after all this is community radio, deliciously diverse, full of facts, fun and free spirited conversation.

What you choose to do with what you hear or read is entirely up to you because only you can know what’s best for you. We are just here chewing the unsaturated fats and stiring up a pot of bubbling belly broadcasting.

We started with a track from Xavier Rudd and maybe he’s singing about gluten in this track because it’s called FREEEEEEEEEE … all other tracks came from the Bomba vs Laroz album which i highly recommend.

A little lowdown on Coeliac Disease may help you to understand the basics of someone that has to live with this mostly reversable condition. This person could be YOU.

Coeliac Disease is a hereditary disorder which looks to be on the increase and thought to currently affect around 1 in 150 people. Still so many people live with the symptoms and are unaware they have to suffer this way. Those with the condition are sensitive to a part of protein found in wheat called gluten but more specifically GLIADIN which is the protein part of the wheat. It also includes some other grains that between them cause an immune response which damages and changes intestinal villi (vil-eye)  leading to malabsorbtion of nutrients from food amongst other things.

The walls of your intestines are covered with this villi which sort of resemble fingerlike structures, naturally flowing upright from the walls of the intestine. They are meant to allow the absorption of the nutrients we need to survive in between their villi structures.

a computer generated image of healthy intestinal villi ... aint it purty ?

Check out this slide show for a more detailed exploration into your intestines – http://www.medindia.net/slideshow/celiac-disease.asp

Someone with Coeliac Disease like my first guest Mikki has a different story going on down there. The villi in her intestines lays flat if she eats gluten. This is part of the immune response. If the villi are laying flat on top of one another, then the nutrients from food cannot be absorbed.  Inflammation and destruction of the intestinal villi also occurs which reduces the surface available for absorption in the small intestines so it is easy to become malnourished.

Common symptoms include – diarrhoea, abdominal pain, flatulence (farting), muscle cramps and spasms, fatigue and weight loss, and when more severe, anemia, easy bruising and bleeding, and reduced bone mineral density.

!! THE GOOD NEWS !!

Unlike most diseases, damage to the body is almost totally reversible by adopting a gluten free diet and a possible change of lifestyle. Rigorous reading of food labels will be necessary to detect ingredients and hidden wheat additions as wheat is used as a ‘filler’ to bulk out things like sausages for example !! Significant renewal is possible after 1-2 years of consistent effort but villi reversal results can often be seen after only a few weeks.

Many individuals with this disease are also lactose intolerant and so avoidance of most dairy products or at least reduced intake is recommended.

OMG !!! you may be thinking and a few years ago you might have had every reason to wonder what the beejeebers you would have left to eat BUT don’t despair … there are many many alternatives and here to tell us about them we have not one but TWO gluten free creative artists – Dale and Naomi – who are here to chat about their delicious mouthwatering xmas treats they have developed to cater for such needs.

... doesn't have to taste like stale cardboard !!

As the guests lined up and we settled into the show Mikki spoke up first about bringing up her daughter who had Aspergis until she put her on a gluten free diet at the age of 11  and witnessed unbelievable changes. At the same time a listener called in to say it also helps in Down Syndrome and it has been documented that it is very common for people with Schizophrenia to be Coeliac’s, gluten intolerant or allergic to gluten … I’m sure the list goes on. The membrane of the intestine is very similar to parts of the brain and a sensitivity to gluten can cause moodiness and depression as well as agitation. I know this first hand.

I will come back and complete this post shortly but for now i will leave your belly’s rumbling with a link to “Lindt Chocolate Christmas Log”, “Heavenly Christmas Fruit Babycakes”, “Heavenly Gingerbread Stars” and “Star-Topped Mince Pies” all preservative free, chemical free, with natural food colourings, organic eggs, Australian butter, fruit and nuts and of course GLUTEN FREE .

My mouth is truly watering because i have a leaflet beside me with pictures of the above mentioned !!

Here are the luscious links –

Email – glutenfreeXMAS4u@gmail.com

Phone – 02 6680 1797 or 0434 550 811

Last orders Dec 17th. Last baking day Dec 21st.

Yuuuuuuuuum. With love sista r x

Talofa Lava, sister Rasela with you for a scrumptious hour of belly – THE tastiest show on the airwaves, where we bring you stories, info and basically anything tasty, little or large, titbit or trailerload, delightfully dipped and carefully picked, bits and snipets.

As you can imagine it’s a never ending topic as everyone has their own story about food. Today we are joined by Chrissy Butler who has recently moved to the area as a vegetarian chef extraordinaire. Blessed in ways they may not yet be aware of, the homeless and hungry have this lovely lady volunteering her love, time and cooking skills to feed them all in the LIBERATION LARDER.

Just in case you don’t know, the Liberation Larder is located downstairs from the BayFM studios in the Community Centre Fletcher Street entrance and provides a free cooked meal to anyone in need every Monday at around 1.30pm. This meal of course does not miraculously appear out of nowhere. A team of vollies start at around 7am to gather, sort, chop, cook and serve donated food to the people in our community that really need it.

!! HERE’S WHERE YOU CAN HELP !!

LIBERATION LARDER IS DESPERATLEY SEEKING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE PERIOD LEADING UP TO XMAS AS THEY PLAN TO SERVE UP A MEAL ON XMAS DAY … alot of their vollies are away at the moment and it places extreme strain on the few that are left behind so PLEEEEEASE either just wander in and offer your help on ANY Monday or Thursday or organise to help at Xmas time by contacting –

Rhonda – 0431 523 310

Please help if you can, i saw Chrissy yesterday after they had shut up shop and she said she had to do the job of 3 people and was pleading with me to let anyone i know know .. know what i mean ? Happily she was on her way home to put her feet up and you could be too with a warm fuzzy heart, knowing you have done something for and within the community. We are all part of the same community and there are some asking for HELP right now.

Do it if you can …

There is more info to follow in this post relating to “Frauduent Quackery”. This may help you to know whether what you are reading on the internet or hearing people discuss is fact or in fact fiction.

In the words of a tired and yawning bellysister – I’ll be back … badder and better after a bitta sleep xx sista r

Talofa … or should i say Kia Ora as New Zealand and our All Blacks wake up today as the official World Champions of the World. Growing up for the first 19 years of my life in NZ makes me a very proud kiwi for many reasons but there’s nothing that reminds me more of my love for home as watching the mighty All Blacks play (even if i was almost physically sick with anxiety). I, along with my fellow whanau were at the Beach Hotel last night where it felt like we were hanging on for our lives to a bobbing life raft amongst a choppy sea of Frenchies both in there and on the field. It was definitely more of a relief than a celebration when the final whistle blew – phew !!! Go the mighty All Blacks !!!

yes i do

I had spent the last week leading up to the game thinking not only about the world cup final but also what in the heck i was going to present on belly this week. Some shows are organised weeks before with guest lined up and interviews completed but all week i kept coming up blank. Every time i tried to make an effort to plan something i just gave up because nothing was really grabbing me.

Finally on Thursday evening i went into Woolies (not to buy food i might add) but to browse through their library of magazines to try and find some inspiration in the food features. Low and behold in the back of a white covered lip glossy Donna Hay’s ’10th Birthday collector’s edition’ mag (not usually something i’d look at) i discovered a whole section on exotic and mouthwatering drinks and coolers but what i really took to were the jewel-like glittering jugs of punch … HA !! i thought, could this be it ? Punch is commonly made with fruits … and fruit is food … and these particularly stunning and original punches had foody ingredients like fennel, cucumber, basil along with rhubarb, blueberries and apple as their imaginative ingredients which made me think of foods with fluids … and finally FLUID FOOD.

packing a punch

Relieved and relaxed i left the store having purchased my first ever shiny food magazine and came home to re-read it. The punch section was by far the best although the photograph of the lemon meringue chocolate cake on page 181 nearly had me licking the page. Great and tasty concoctions these punch recipes were but how i thought am i going to create a whole show about punch ? Maybe i could throw in a bit of the history of punch, Punch and Judy, the nutritional values of the more healthy ingredients in punch, but i still didn’t feel it would be interesting enough to fill in an hour long show.

After sleeping on it for a few nights i decided to get up early Sunday morning and head off to the Bangalow markets, armed with my recorder and the determination to find fascinatingly full and fluid filled people to discuss this tantalising topic with. Somehow though it didn’t happen as i wandered open mindedly, happily looking and listening for some thread of interest while collecting a frozen banana sundae and piece of raw beetroot cake along the way.

Parking myself beneath the trees in the filtered morning sun at the back of the food caravans, dreamily listening to the band warm up with a respectful tribute to the indigenous Arakwal people of this area, i surrendered to three things – the frozen banana sundae, the raw beetroot cake and the conclusion that i wasn’t going to find an interview for belly here today … but i still had tonight !

liquid lunch ?

It may be the Samoan in me but i have a way of believing that things don’t happen unless they are meant to and that you just can’t push anything or force things to occur unnaturally. Accompanying this is my ability to not worry and to know that some how it will always work out if you are truthfully following the garden path you are meant to be waddling along on. Belly is something i absolutely LOVE being a part of and if it means that at 5pm on a Sunday evening I’m getting dressed from head to toe in black, heading to the Beach Hotel and getting ridiculously excited about the rugby world cup final without a single stitch of preparation for the show at 11am the following morning, then so be it. I shall have to leave it to the belly brigade of Byron Bay to help me in my hour of need.

Along with my 7 inch long black and white feather earing worn in support of my team, i carry on me another important accessory – my recorder – and when i arrive unknowingly 1 hour early for the game, i ruthlessly abandon my friends, their beer and the smell of hot chips and take to the streets of Byron to obtain the necessary content for my morning show.

let's go nuts !!

Unbelievably (of course) and directly across the road from the Beach Hotel in a small, echoey and blissfully buzzing arcade, i stumble across a hole-in-the-wall type place called “Cane Bar”. Having lived in Byron now for almost 3 years i find it hard to believe that i have not been here already (partly in my attempt to save certain arcades, alleyways and random back streets until such time as i am in need of something new and exciting in this terrific but tiny town and to save myself from the monotony that can sometimes occur when you have been down every street there is).

As soon as i read the words CANE BAR i know i’m in. This is why i didn’t find anyone at the markets to talk to today. This is what i have been waiting for all week. I go with the flow and it leads me to my story … you can’t get any more fluid than this !!   

As i approach i recognize one of the owners from the cane juice stall at the markets who has his mouth open so wide it resembles the size of his shop. It’s a worthy yawn as he’s been on his feet for almost 11 hours blending, whizzing, frothing and pouring out bucket loads of healthy concoctions either readily available on the menu or plucked from the imagination of customers who treat this place as though it’s their own personal wellbeing centre.

tooty fruity beauty

It is understandable when he declines my offer to talk about the sugar sweet services they provide here for the purpose of putting a radio show together but as miracles happen, his liquid lady of loveliness Ljudan has just come in for 1 hour to give him a break and is totally up for a chat. I alert her to the fact that i only have a limited amount of time before the All Blacks kick-off across the road and suggest i may have to come back later if she is too busy but instead she suggests we sit right down and do it NOW. Aaaahhhh YES … i smile for it seems at this precise moment sweeter words have never been heard and sweeter liquids have never been sipped by my lips as Ljudan offers me a “Bom Bom” (cane juice and milk frothed warmly with a shot of expresso poured through the middle). I slurp on this healthy take on an Argentinian delight as we take a pew on one of the many casual seats near the counter to talk about … Fluid Food.

nutritionally nice n naughty

HERE i just tried to upload my MP3 version of the interview which i have just spent about an hour editing (licensing laws mean we are not allowed to play the beautiful NZ reggae tunes that graced the show in true kiwifruit style in honor of the All Blacks win) but it says the file is too large. I’m sure there are ways around this and i shall have to consult with sister T before going any further … but keep your ears out for it as it’s full of fun and juicy information on what they whizz up in here. The interview is a smooth blend of informative story telling with a pinch of giggles and a dash or two of laughter. We wade gently through the sugarcane fields where tasty tales rise to the surface about the worldly past and present inventors of such wizardry wonders as ‘sun flower power’ and ‘mood shifter’. With all of this comes the grounding health benefits of cane juice and the many other super foods (including LOVE) they splash out into the community. You’ll hear the bussle of the magicians mall and the buzz of Byron as it sways on the brink of a balmy sunset … and an ALL BLACKS WORLD CUP VICTORY !!

arohanui

Other information covered on the show today was why … WHY do we need to hydrate ourselves ? Here’s a bit of info i found on the net along with my own additional imput that we may learn something from.

Why Beverages are Important

All beverages are mostly water (apart from the ones usually found in pubs and other such establishments) which is a nutrient that is essential to life. Every body function depends on water and you can live only a few days without it. Your total body weight is 55-75% water. Water makes up about 83% of blood, 73% of muscles, 25 % of body fat, and 22% of bones.

Eighty percent of your total fluid intake comes from beverages of all kinds, and the other 20% comes from foods. Fruits and vegetables – fresh, frozen and canned – contain lots of water. For example, watermelons (funny that), tomatoes, lettuce and celery contain more than 90% water, and oranges are 87% water. Milk, soymilk, juice and soup all supply water to the body and contain other nutrients.

Benefits of Drinking Water

Choose clean water as your primary beverage. It is usually inexpensive and readily available. Water is also thirst quenching, contains no calories, fat, cholesterol, or caffeine, and is low in sodium. Water’s other benefits include:

• Prevents dehydration
• Regulates body temperature
• Gives the feeling of fullness if you’re trying to loose weight
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells
• Provides moisture to skin and other tissues
• Helps prevent constipation
• Cushions joints
• Helps strengthen muscles
• Feels reeeaaal good to swim in

Tap water, especially from large municipal water systems that may be fluorinated is debatable whether or not it’s just as safe as bottled water but it’s definitely less expensive. If bottled water gets a person to drink more water then the added expense may be worthwhile. Be aware, however, that some bottled water is actually reprocessed tap water, and others have added sugar and sodium. There is currently NO GOVERNING BODY to monitor the quality of bottled water !!!

On an average day, a healthy adult needs 8 to12 cups of water to replace the amount lost through perspiration, breathing, urination, and bowel movements. These fluids must be replaced to avoid dehydration and to keep the body working normally. When eating a high fiber diet, extra water is needed to process the additional roughage.

The exact amount of water needed depends on: age, gender, weight, health, level of physical activity, foods eaten, medications taken and the weather.

Thirst is one sign that you need fluids. Your current fluid intake is probably adequate if you drink enough water to quench your thirst, you feel well and you produce a normal amount of urine that is colorless or only slightly yellow. However, do not wait until you feel thirsty before drinking something. Sometimes the brain doesn’t get the thirst signal. Older adults often lose the ability to sense thirst (and don’t like getting up to wee in the night) so often become dehydrated.

What Determines Water Needs?

Execise: When involed in an active sport that makes you sweat. make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day, not just during the activity, Sweat or perspiration is the body’s natural way of cooling down especially on a hot day or when your body gets a real physical workout. Without fluids your body overheats. To replace fluid loss drink plenty of water and juice before, during, and after physical activity. These fluids prevent dehydration and the tiredness that accompanies it.

To avoid cramps and dehydration during activity, drink fluids at regular intervals and continue to replenish with water after you’ve finished. A good rule of thumb is to drink a cup of fluid every 15 minutes during and immediately after exercise.

For most physically active people, water is the best fluid choice. Natural electrolyte filled drinks (such as coconuts water) are necessary more for endurance athletes and people who have exercised for an hour or more because they lose sodium and potassium through sweating.

Environment: In hot or humid weather, drink more water to replace what’s lost through sweating and to help lower body temperature. In winter more fluids are required due to loss of skin moisture from heated indoor air. High altitudes (greater than 2,500 meters or 8,200 feet) cause an increase in fluid needs and recirculated air on planes promotes dehydration too.

Health Conditions or Illnesses: Fever, vomiting and diarrhea cause the body to lose extra fluids that must be replaced with water or other solutions such as coconut water. Sometimes intravenous water and electrolytes may be necessary. Certain health conditions prevent the body from getting rid of water such as heart failure and diseases of the kidney, liver, adrenal and thyroid. People with urinary tract stones usually need to increase water intake.

Pregnant or Breast-Feeding: Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding need more water. The Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women drink up to 10 cups of fluids a day and women who breast-feed should get about 13 cups of fluids daily.

be thankful for what water you have

Tips for Drinking More Water

• Drink a glass of water as soon as you get up each day
• Add slices of lemon, lime or orange to water for a hint of flavor
• Start your meal with soup occasionally
• Enjoy water breaks instead of coffee or tea breaks
• Take GLASS water bottles* with you to work and when running errands
• Keep a bottle of water on your desk to sip on as you work at the computer
• When passing a water fountain, stop and take a drink
• Instead of a soft drink, or soda, reach for bottled water in the convenience store, as well as from the vending machine
• At social gatherings substitute sparkling water for alcoholic drinks, or alternate them
• Drink water before, every 15 minutes during, and after physical activity

*Every time you drink, bacteria from your mouth contaminate water in the bottle. Keep your water bottle clean or replace it every now and again. Wash it in hot, soapy water or run it through a dishwasher. If you use a bottle repeatedly, make sure it is designed for reuse. Plastic leaches out into water. If you taste PLASTIC it’s because it’s in the water !!! GLASS IS BEST (unless like me you decide to ride your bike with no hands, fall off and smash your bottle all over the road).

NOW IT’S TIME TO TALK PUNCH – A DRINK THAT MAY WELL KNOCK YOU OUT !! 

posh punch

Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or at the very least, fruit juice. It was introduced from India to England in the early seventeenth century; from there its use spread to other countries. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as (funnily enough) punch bowls.

The word punch comes from the Hindi word panch and the drink was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices.

The drink was brought back from India to England by the very merry sailors and employees of the British East India Company waaay back in the early seventeenth century and was very soon introduced into other European countries.

pretty punch

The term punch was first recorded in British documents in 1632. At the time, most punches were of the Wassail type made with a wine or brandy base. But around 1655, Jamaican rum came into use and the ‘modern’ punch was born (yaaaar maaaan).

There are several rum-based punches: Planter’s Punch, Bajan Rum Punch, Caribbean Rum Punch, and probably a few others that have never been named. The two most historical rum punches are the Planter’s Punch and Bajan Rum Punch.

Bajan (Barbadian) Rum Punch is one of the oldest rum punches and has a simple recipe enshrined in a national rhyme:

“One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak.”

 That is: one part lime juice, two parts sweetener, three parts rum (preferably Barbados) and four parts water. It is served with a dash or two of Angostura bitters and maybe some nutmeg.

The recipe of Planter’s Punch varies, containing some combination of rum, lemon juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, grenadine, soda water, curaçao, Angostura bitters, and cayenne pepper.

partee punch

 THANKYOU WIKIPEDIA for your wealth of information regarding PUNCH.

I will endeavour to add my favorite punch recipes from the glossy magazine article recipes only once they have been tried and tested by me of course.

Here’s a bitta belly humour for all of you punch party folk looking for some good tunes for your next shin dig –

Pop music: The Curry Charts :

Popadom Preach – Madonna                                                                                              Korma Chameleon – Culture Club 
Bhaji Trousers – Madness
King Prawn Massala Drinks Are Free – Wham
Dansak Queen – Abba 
Tikka Chance On Me – Abba  
You Can’t Curry Love – Diana Ross and the Supremes  
It’s Bhuna Hard Days Night – The Beatles
Brothers in Naans – Dire Straits
Pilau Talk – Doris Day
It’s My Chapati and I Cry If I Want To ? – Dave Stewart/Barbara Gaskin
Bhuna Round The World and I Can’t Find My Bhaji ? – Lisa Stansfield
I Don’t Want To Dansak – Eddie Grant
Dansak on the Ceiling – Lionel Richie
We Are Jalfrezi – Sister Sledge
Vindaloo – Abba
Rice Rice Baby – Vanilla Rice
Tandoori Deliver – Adam and the Ants
Love me Tandoor – Elvis Presley 
Bhuna to be Wild – Steppenwolf
Livin’ Dhal – Cliff Richard
Raita Here, Raita Now – Fatboy Slim

That’s all folks !!

xx sister R

Talofa, Sister Rasela in the belly chair this morning on a beautiful grey day – beautiful because no matter what the weather is doing out there, here in the BayFM studios we are constantly striving to bring a sparkle to your day – every day on this, your diverse and divinely delicious community radio station.

It’s like a family up here with everyone sharing the most important room in the house, coming and going all day every day in and out of the studios. Is there a secret recipe for this flow on fluidity and heartfelt happiness you may well wonder ?? Well if there is i think I’ve found it …

A Happy Home Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups of LOVE

2 cups of loyalty

2 cups of forgiveness

1 cup of friendship

5 spoons of hope

2 spoons of tenderness

3 litres of faith

1 barrel of laughter

Now all you have to do is:

– Take LOVE and LOYALTY, mix thoroughly with FAITH

– Blend it with TENDERNESS, KINDNESS and UNDERSTANDING

– Add FRIENDSHIP and HOPE

– Sprinkle abundantly with LAUGHTER

– Bake it with SUNSHINE

– Serve daily with generous helpings and always offer seconds !!!

L o V e

You will notice that the above recipe is totally vegan. I thought it was about time i slipped in a little bit of belly veganism on the show. I am not insisting that you all become vegans, i just feel the need to speak for the creatures that can’t. To be the voice of the little piggies, the baby calf separated from it’s mother at birth, the terrified cow standing next in the cue at the abattoir, our oceanic creatures, fellow living beings  … and Mother Earth.

Look away NOW if you don’t wish to read some facts and figures relating to the brutal murder of other living beings for our own – dare i say – “pleasure” …

THREE GREAT REASONS TO BECOME VEGAN

1) Animals will be saved – Turning animals into food generally causes horrific suffering and billions of creatures are slaughtered each year. By being vegan you can ‘vote with your dollar’ and know that you are not responsible for anyone else’s slavery, torment and death.

2) You could end up healthier –  If you decide to cut out animal fat you could also greatly reduce your risk of many major illnesses which may include heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, and high cholesterol. You may discover a more positive lifestyle and frame of mind and experience more energy, enthusiasm and good health.

3) The EARTH will be cleaner – The production and waste from processing billions of animals into food and dairy each year is a very real cause of global pollution amongst other things. By making the choice to be a vegan, you will also be contributing to a much cleaner, kinder and more gentle world.

You wouldn't would you ??

Over the years we have tackled AGEISM/HOMOPHOBIA/SEXISM/RACISM … but what about SPECIESISM ??

Animals are not ours to do whatever we want with. No living creature on this planet should have the right to decide whether another lives or dies for their own personal use and satisfaction. Every living creature and species is an individual sentient being. Whatever colour your skin may be, whether male or female, whether we have fur, scales, feathers or skin, we ALL feel pain and pleasure.

All life is interconnected and it is unfair for one species to enslave another for their own selfish purposes. It has a huge detrimental effect on the biodiversity and balance of nature.A healthy and sustainable world respects the lives of ALL that live here. As long as we continue to treat animals as though they belong to us and choose kill them at leisure, we are still living in the dark ages !!

50 billion animals or more are killed each year and this doesn’t even include the water animals. Here we are, us humans, intelligent enough to fly to the moon, build computers and skyscrapers, read, write, paint, cure diseases and compose masterpieces, yet in our bloodthirsty-ness we are also the only species on the planet to design and build massive killing stations and slaughter houses where we routinely murder billions upon billions of animals. These terrified individuals are forced to wait in queues watching and waiting for their turn to come.

Cows for example are intelligent creatures who form lifelong bonds with each other. Thanks to us their lives are usually miserable as they are routinely desexed, de-horned and hot ironed without any pain relief. They are also forced into a relentless cycle of pregnancy, birthing and milk production which often leaves them with chronic mastitis (causing blood and mucus to seep from their udders and combine into the milk), lameness, severe liver damage and very painful digestive disorders.

Cows and their calves are separated at birth. Mums break down fences and walk miles to be reunited with their babies.Both bellow and cry for days to be reunited ….

…. DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS TREATMENT ??

Free to do as i please ... please !!

I could go on … and on … and on … but i think this is enough to bring a glimmer of awareness or if you so desire, denial. It is YOUR CHOICE to live the way you choose but PLEASE spare a thought for those creatures that have NO CHOICE, NO VOICE. They cannot speak for themselves and tell us their stories of sorrow and depression, of friends and families murdered and slaughtered. If they could, I’m sure we would be morbidly horrified.  

A note from Mother EARTH

In Australia, methane emissions from livestock (breathing, burping and flatulence) are greater than the carbon dioxide emmisions from all of our coal-fired power stations combined. Carbon dioxide takes hundreds of years to break down and disappear from the atmosphere, whereas methane is a short lived gas and breaks down in the atmosphere after 8-10 years. Reducing methane is the key to rapidly cool the planet. CSIRO Perfidy (Russell 2009)

A vegan driving a hummer contributes less to greenhouse gas than a meat eater riding a bicycle !!!

An organic vegan diet produces 94% less greenhouse gas emissions than the average meat and dairy diet. Foodwatch Report (Germany 2009)  

I leave it in your minds and hands to do what you think is best for yourself, our fellow living creatures and MOTHER EARTH.

Many thanks to ‘Alive’ and veganeasy.org for the information gathered and shared. Please visit the website and discover further the vast world of veganism. 

don't ... SAY CHEEEEESE !!

Moving and Grooving right along …

My lovely guest in the studio was Camilla Chamberlen who is self  diagnosed as being MAD … about FOOD. Just what the doctor ordered here on belly !!

Here’s a serving of words she very kindly provided me with for your perusal although you really should have heard her sweet dulcet tones across the airwaves on the day. Hmmm perhaps i can learn to download interviews as sister Tess has been doing and bring it to you alive and kicking. I’ll see what i can do but i’m sure you can make do with this for now.

Camilla Chamberlen

0450 732336

cjchamberlen@gmail.com

I was a very willing guest on the Belly Sisters show this morning, 17th October 2011, and have been invited to post a bio on the website. This is my colloquial version of my story so far, and of my plan for what next.

I realise how lucky I am to have lived and worked in some of the most beautiful parts of the world, the mountains of France, Ireland – both North and South – Canada, Greece, the West Country of England and more recently, New Zealand and Byron Bay, Australia. I have been able to indulge my passions for nature, photography, writing, music and food – following my trail with all these very much a part of my life.

I have been nomadic for the past seven years – finding my natural curiosity for new experience and my interest in food combining naturally to present me with varied and sometimes challenging opportunities to put bread on my table. I have worked with and met some fascinating, wholesome, forward thinking characters who have housed me, employed me and inspired me along the way.

I have contributed to food/travel guidebooks both in Ireland and New Zealand, nationwide and local, reviewing restaurants, secret dining and compiling regional, seasonal articles to direct the discerning visitor. I have learned about the issues that affect the communities I have temporarily been part of, have tapped into the passions of small producers of beautiful products – edible, wearable and collectable -, contributed to the success of homegrown businesses and thankfully survived and been humbled by the Christchurch earthquake earlier this year.

I have made new friends, walked many paths and discovered much. I have experimented with holistic treatments, learned about eastern philosophy and medicine, learned the word for ʻbeautifulʼ in many languages and tried my hand at a ridiculous array of whatever may be on offer in each locality that I have found myself living in. Bikram hot yoga and long distance kayaking being my least wise choices – and acupuncture and Les Mills Body Balance classes being two of my best.

Having Time has been a blessing. To make ends meet, alongside writing for websites or books and the occasional photography commission, I have cooked for families, private clients and friends. Covering all aspects of catering support – from quiet suppers at home to full blown parties – to stocking the fridge or freezer or making a special occasion feel effortless for the hosts, thereby allowing them to enjoy the party.

All these experiences have one thing in common – they feel like an exchange – they are of great value to me and to those that request them – giving me the opportunity to give what I can and my friends and clients the time they need with guests or family plus the peace of mind and trust that all will be well on the day/night.

Having Time has also been a curse. The slow burn of living a life without a home base, unforeseen and for so many years, has at times been both wonderfully inspiring and equally quite debilitating. The choices I have made are ones I stand by and would not exchange and in the difficult times I have learned much.

One of the most valuable perhaps is that I have come to understand the complexities of too much attention on food becoming a fixation, and from there a disorder. It is debilitating beyond comprehension for those that have not physically experienced the grip of the mental illness that is complicated and fuelled by the body chemistry involved in the extraordinary survival instinct that the human body naturally produces in order to save itself. Helping people in this situation is difficult to get right – the catalyst for change is always within them – and the sensitive nature of a personʼs appearance and suffering is one that often makes friends and family uncomfortable and therefore less forthcoming with their own contribution to recovery. Hence the professionals that are highly skilled and necessary in many cases. I believe that simply knowing, subtle understanding similar to using animals as healers, is a hand to hold when words are too much to take in. The solution has to be the focus, not the problem, and one of my intentions for the future is to help people who may be ready to come back to us from this dark and difficult place.

Otherwise, I am ready to make a base somewhere and set up a viable home business based on the joys and appreciation that life is about pooling resources, inspiring eachother and making everyday existence more fun.

My varied experience with food and catering steers me naturally to continue to make my living from it. We all have to eat – everyday – so one idea of mine is to start a series of short cooking courses – inviting small groups to come and learn simple, nutritious recipes to help make their everyday cooking more enjoyable. These could be themed by country, by season or at the request of those participating – and all the ingredients would be locally sourced, thereby supporting and connecting with the suppliers and producers that we all want to keep.

As I have already mentioned, helping recovering eating disorder sufferers relax into a healthier food regime, compiling recipes that gradually increase in calories whilst supporting a system that has been under pressure due to lack of nourishment is another way I would like to contribute.

I also want to continue to write promotional material, edit websites or compose copy for those that find self promotion so difficult – and to capture evocative images and compile a series of postcard collections or possibly even books one day. So much to do!

I would love to connect with people of like mind and similar interests and I hope that BayFM listeners enjoyed my story – and perhaps the show and this bio will be a catalyst for the next chapter of it.

THANKS CAMILLA … YOU ROCK !!

SISTER RASELA xoxoxo

Track 1 – Lord Tanamo – In the mood for LOVE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpYqTnHU9oM

Talofa … Sister Rasela here fresh from a weekend of dancing barefoot in the sun amongst reggae beats and peaceful peeps at this years Roots and Culture Reggaefest at Missingham Park in Ballina. A litta bitta Jamaica came to the Shire this weekend with blazing sunshine and swinging dreadlocks creating the perfect ingredients for a tasy belly report. I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of the media team for the beautiful BayFM which  meant i was equipt with my recording gear to grab interviews and conversations with bands and punters alike. So much fun i had that i left very little time to prepare for the show today, which prompted me to get my a into g and run around in the final few hours of the festival to find out how people had been treating their belly’s.

Track 2 – Stranger Cole – These eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVh3dGp0tjk&NR=1

I wandered around food stalls, seated munching areas and basically approached anyone with a plate in their hand and a mouthful of food to ask … How do you prepare for a 2 day festival ? How much do you think about food before you arrive, if at all ? Do you eat before you get there ? Do you plan your meals and budget for the weekend ? Do you pig out once you are there knowing that you can dance it off ? Do you try things you normally wouldn’t ? What’s the best thing you’ve tried here ? Do you bring your own food like me and go back to the car for picnics ? Are you selling something fascinatingly scrumptious as a stall holder ? … Many questions and many conversations with a huge range of people from young children who had recently become vegetarians because they now think it’s cruel to eat the animals to stallholders who eat at festivals all the time and recommend their favorites.

Track 3 – Paua – Sweet Reggae Music  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q702Q1WHGeQ&feature=related

All of this was recorded with a backdrop of rolling beats and atmospheric delight that is hard to recreate in words on a screen. It was both the most pleasurable pre-recorded interviewing i have done to date and the most gentle and soul filling music festival i have attended as the peaceful and positive vibes that emenated throughout the festival meant that people were open and willing to sit and chat about not just what made their mouths water but also about themselves, sharing stories that go far beyond food and festivals. It is a very special gift to meet strangers and capture the essence of who they are and what they are about. Yesterday’s strangers become todays friends. One Love.

Track 4 – Darky Roots – Only You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAb8oN7Yzu4

So, this may possibly be the shortest and sweetest post from me to date. Some things need to be captured in the moment and this show was one of them. Keep listening as you never know what you might miss out on !!

Here’s a link to the Echo’s ‘Harry Potter style’ moving pictures newspaper to take you into the festival if you didn’t manage to make it.

http://www.echonetdaily.net.au/?iid=53945&sr=0#folio=001

Pees and LOVE maan

Talofa Lava – it’s another beeeaaautiful day in paradise. Spring is coming and it’s time to awaken and reach up out of that winter slumber. Rise and shine sleepyheads, there’s a world out there waiting for you.

booooiiiing booooiiiing

Please excuse the random placing of the photos … learning curves don’t always bend where you hope !

Sister Rasela donning the apron and headphones today, an unusual yet exciting combination mixing music, interviews and other unique ingredients together to bring you radio you can taste … just use your imagination. 

 Track 1 : Bob Marley ~ Is this Love  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHekNnySAfM

We start with a little story i found in the in flight magazine en route to Samoa a few (too many) weeks ago. It’s about the latest food movement known as the ‘Food Rave’ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/us/15rave.html  which is basically where locavores and food fetishists gather under the cover of night to cook, sell and eat foodstuffs from pop-up market stalls. Just like the illegal rave/dance party explosion that took off in London the late 80’s, no-one knows where it is, when it’s going to happen or in fact if it even did, for the next day there is not so much as a paper napkin as evidence of a midnight meandering munch.

All night binging on wholesome goodness ... now that's a turn around !

It began in San Francisco as a way for food geeks to gather and sell their wares without paying high vendor fees, health permits or liability insurance and it seems to be growing into a form of underground indie movement that can be found as far afield as London and Amsterdam. I wonder how long it will be until it hits the star strewn back alleys of Australia. Soon i hope. It’s a movement similar to guerrilla gardening, knit-graffiti and pop-up food trucks. It’s a very hipster response to economic downturn and the fast food generation. Most of what is sold is homegrown, homemade and gives buyers a taste of something fresh amongst the dimly lit streets of these ‘invisible’ markets. It’s an urban phenomenon fuelled by social media, conscience and never ending hunger.

 It’s fast gaining momentum as markets grow in size gathering memerships from thousands of willing participants with huge appetites and the passion for creativity in all areas of food supply. In the words of Chef Christopher Lee who started up a pop-up food market in California – “It’s about stripping away … the externalities and artificial things. It’s about getting rid of the wall that separates the kitchen and the dining room” uummm if you live in a house big enough to have a wall between the two of course !

So keep an ear out for talk of such a movement in cities around Australia and be sure to let us know here in the belly kitchen won’t you ?? ssssshhhhh secret squirrel like .. ya know ?

A bellysister raving illegally til daybreak

 Track 2: Give a little Love ~ Aswad http://youtu.be/X_0mlZIW1_0 

Over these past few weeks of August during our annual Major Subscriber Drive we have pleaded with you in so many ways to subscribe to your “Community Radio Station” – ” The Voice of the People” so i thought OK, lets hear from some of those voices, the people that make up a part of our food loving community, the ones you might live up the road from, stand behind in the cue at the post office or sit in front of at the movies, the ones you smile at as you pass on the streets of the Shire, you know, people just like YOU.

Both of my guests today share a passion for good food akin to that of a first crush … and perhaps food is the first thing we fall in love with and the one emotion that stays in our hearts every day from the moment we are born. Whatever your tastes, whatever fills your shopping bag, pantry shelves, fridges, fruitbaskets, mouths and belly’s LOVE and GOOD FOOD should go hand in hand and it’s something we can never get our fill of here on belly.

Pepa and Oliver are two passionate belly’s of the Shire and they each shared stories about their fondness for food with mouthwatering mumblings and a recipe or two all stirred simmeringly into your marvellous Monday morning.

Track 3 : Piece of my heart ~ Barry Briggs from Reggae Love Songs. Can’t find it on you tube so heres the live Janis Joplin original http://youtu.be/-7JVxE2SYxo 

**WARNING – THIS SHOW MAY MAKE YOUR BELLY RUMBLE**

The lovely PEPA and a story or two …

As you will all know inside out and back to front by now, our major subscriber drive ended on 21st August and on that particular Sunday we all had a bit of a knees up at the station. Well, we did make it to 21yrs so we had good reason to celebrate … i mean with a cake like this how could you not ??

Our birthday cake … lasted about half and hour before it dissapeared into thin air … errr … make that happy belly’s

The 100 or so volunteers who all help to make this station move and groove have all been acknowledged along with supporters and subscribers near and far but i thought in particular Pepa should be thanked for she lovingly fed all of our hungry belly’s throughout the afternoon and evening helping us to soak up all that bubbly mineral water we were all drinking.

When i arrived, i instantly gravitated towards the food table (a habit of mine) and was in awe of the display of vibrant, wholesome food that was layed out like a family feast. Actually. it’s not all that uncommon to turn up to a BayFM gathering of some description to discover that the person who has volunteered to organise the food has made it themselves, sometimes even grown it !! Many a BayFM management meeting has been encouragingly enhanced by the tasty treats for tea from Carrie D (The Cowboy Sweetheart) and the succulent sweets brought in by Quentin (Q’s Jazz and Blues) Watts courtesy of her talented sister, are almost reason enough to join the committee and stay for a very long time … mmmmm management meetings never tasted so good.

a i r w a v e s o f l o v e

So a huge thanks to Pepa for all the love, energy, time and thought that went into what could easily have been a few plastic containers from the supermarket full of fast machine produced junkfood. Alot of people thanked her on the night as we each stood in front of the table for long periods chatting and munching and mmmmmmming and ooooooohing trying to pretend that we were  there to talk to each other which was actually physically impossible due to the fact that our mouths were so full we couldn’t !!

A wanna be presenter for next season getting a taste for it

Track 4: Last war ~ Berres Hammond http://youtu.be/tS70kgpWbH8 

Pepa shopped locally from markets and local grocers, noticing that one of the hardest things was to obtain any form of receipt for the petty cash records as it’s not a market thing to ask or recieve dockets for purchases. She ended up getting intials and signatures instead. Great, another way to help save this planet, the trees and the amount of uncecesary packaged waste and rubbish that usually comes with a shop at a big chain supermarket.

We talked about taking the time to think about what it is you are going to make a few days before you invite guests over or before you prepare for a gathering. Allow yourself a day or two for purchasing, soaking, preperation and creativity. Make sure you have the time to put a little (or alot) of loving energy into what you make. The place that you prepare the food should be chilled and calm and you shouldn’t be rushed and hurried with anxious energy flying around. Whatever we touch carries our energy and that energy in the food we make is part of what is used to fuel our bodies. It’s going inside your precious body so it makes sense to prepare food with love and care if that’s what you wish for your body. Think about the reason you are inviting your friends and lovers over or volunteering to feed people in any situation, even if you eat alone. It’s a chance to spread some real good lovin and what better way to spread it than in a dip ?!

Three of the easy to make dips that Pepa prepared for us all were Guacamole, Blackeyed Bean Dip and Tabouli and she has very graciously provided us with the mouthwatering recipes. I highly recommend all three … although i must say i think the Blackeyed Bean Dip won me over if i had to choose my favorite.

Quantities of ingreients depend on the amount you want to make and what is readily and closely available. Of course it’s going to taste different to the last one, keep food entertainingly varied. It should be stimulating and sustainable, calming and comforting. A smooth ride through the day. Eat intuitively and when your body tells you to. Keep it fresh and alive. If your food is then you will be too. Believe me, i’m living it here in Byron snd i’m  feeling more alive than i ever have. Gotta find the balance that suits your own body. You, me and everyone else are all uniquely beautiful individuals and what suits you might not suit me right now Learn what your body needs not just what it wants. Big difference. Honor your own needs. Make it your own way.

Track 5: Baby I Love your way ~ Big Mountain http://youtu.be/iT6Uc-dYKyg

MEXICAN GUACAMOLE – Garlic Free. Cool, sweet, smooth and juicy.

Guacamole

• Avocados
• Red onion
• Corriander
• Green  Chilli
• Red Chilli
• Lemon Juice
• Olive Oil
• Tomatoes

Chop tomatoes, salad onion, chillies and corriander. Cream the avocados then add to the rest of the ingredients. Add lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

BLACKEYED BEAN DIP

Blackeyed bean dip

• 1 cup blackeyed beans
• Garlic peeled and quatered
• Olive oil
• Lemon Juice
• Cumin pinches

Soak beans overnight. Boil until cooked. When nearly ready add salt. Strain and place into small bowl. Add garlic, cummin, lemon and olive oil. Blend to your desired smoothness, Season to taste.

  Fresh an’ wild TABOULI … can’t ya just taste it ?

Tabouli

• Parsley x 1 bunch flat or curly
• Tomatoes x2
• Spring Onions
• Burgal 
• Lemon Juice

Soak Burgal/Buckwheat overnight. Drain then place in a clean cloth and wring out any excess water. Finely chop tomatoes, spring onions and parsley. Combine all ingredients then dress with lemon juice, salt pepper and olive oil.

Might i suggest you make all three of these dishes, get some fresh seeded bread, fresh leaves of rocket or lettuce, switch on a sunny Spring day and get some picnic tunes going. Find somewhere as beautiful as you can find that day and share all of that loveliness with others. Bring back the lazy days of feasts in the gentle warming rays of Spring. Ignite flames of awareness …  back into the light.

Track 6: Dedicated to the One I Love ~ Bitty McLean http://youtu.be/VMTLDKbmlEs 

Remember to love yourself on the inside and the outside will take care of it’self. Think about how much money and time is spent on maintaining and decorating the outside of your body and then tell me again that you can’t really afford to eat unsprayed organic food instead of chemical ridden poison.

Happy Springtime shennanigans ...

Talofa … Afio Mai. sister Rasela dishing up the dirt on local food gardens.

Horticulturalists and Permaculture peeps of the Shire, Don and Beck are out there getting their hands dirty … for you !! Yup, if you are interested in planting, sewing, growing, eating and admiring your own food from your very own garden then look no further than outside your own window. How ??? you may well ask, especially if you don’t have the foggiest idea where to start or if you don’t know your carrots from your cucumbers (there is a difference in colour i am told).

Never fear … help is here !!! These people know what they are doing and they want to do it for you … yes YOU.

We had a great discussion today on how, where, when and why to plant a functionally frothing garden … positively blossuming with goodness and vitality.

May i suggest … just for now … (that is until i sit down and really get into the nitty gritty of what this interview was all about) that you contact these passionately positive land lovers and ask them a thing or two about what it means to start your own garden. They have piles of organic fertilisers to feed your brain with, mountains of mulch to nurture your whims and wants … they are very friendly (which is why we invited them on belly) and would LOVE to hear from you i’m sure.

You can currently email them on – localfoodgardens@gmail.com to discover the world of acidic soils, fertile farming, seasonal planting, recommended places to plant your goodies and how to make the very best out whatever situation you have found your garden to be in.

They were a joy to speak to and an inspiration to me. I know that if you meet them you will certainly agree.

With local food gardens of love i bid you farewell until next out muddy patches cross.

Sister Rasela xo

Do you have a gratitude attitude ?

Talofa … it’s me Sister Rasela on a fine, crisp, sunshiney morning, where i continue to feel inspired and dedicated to bring y’all ways to make you feel tastier on the inside. Love yourself from the inside and see who the person on the outside really is. Respect to this Bundjalung Nation for allowing us to rest here on the land we call home. We give gratitude.

So … do what i did and take some long slow breaths and just STOP for a moment … STOP and close your eyes for a few seconds (no, no not yet, read to the end of this caption first !!) and think of all the things you are grateful for. It could be something glaringly obvious or something as simple as the sun shining out there today. Acknowledge and give gratitude for what you already have, what you have achieved, what you have learned in this life, it can be anything !! Your favorite food perhaps … hey, it makes ya feeel reeeal goood right ??  (might make your belly rumble too) Carry on if you want while you stand on this beach staring out …

Great attitude - Gratitude ?

Being grateful – This is the simple core philosophy at Cafe Gratitude way over there in San Franciscoland when it comes to food and lifestyle. We usually like to keep things local on belly but this attitude should be spread around the world and back. Start by thinking good and healthy thoughts and this will transpire into good and healthy eating … could it be that easy ?? Well that’s up to you to make your own mind up about. This is a cafe that encourages you to think, speak and eat positivity by naming their dishes with self affirming names. For example, if you wish to order the ‘I am adored’ dish then you have to say the words, ‘I am adored’ and when your dish is served, the waiter will present it to you by saying ‘You are adored’. This is how it all begins …

It’s an interesting concept and one that really captured me which is why i chose to share some readings from the book with you on belly. The book is called “I Am Grateful”  and is written by the co-owner and chef of Cafe Gratitude Terces Englehart. It’s the ‘Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude’ and it seems to be distributed by North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California if you’d like to get your hands on it and thumb through it’s pages of deliciousness. It’s full of the cafes recipes which are interspersed amongst captions like … ‘Do you invest more attention in being grateful or chasing desires?’ or ‘Unhappiness is the hunger to get, Happiness is the hunger to give’ so you see. it’s more than just your average cookbook in fact there is no cooking involved – It’s RAW and VEGAN !!!

We all have our own story and journey that has brought us to where it is we are today and Terces’ story is no exception. From her book i shared some of her story.

“This book is dedicated to my Mother and her love of food , with which she gifted me” Terces Engelhart. A wonderful gift indeed passed down to Terces in the kitchens of home. It was here that she was taught to follow explicit measurements and it was also here that she re-learned to cook with intuition. Her huband and co-owner of the cafe calls her a “Food Alchemist” which has been more than proven by their thriving providing !! A  natural kitchen farmer in the making it seems but not until she had made it back through to the otherside, from a life accompanied by eating disorders.

Things started to change back at the age of sixteen when her swim coach pressured her to loose weight for the National Championships and the possibility of going to the 1968 Olympics. That dream was never realised and instead a nightmare began with what was the start of a slow self starvation at this tender age, living on only lettuce and tab cola as the fear of regaining weight became too great. At just over 36 kg Terces found herself in a military hospital in the midst of the Vietnam war where she was molested by her physician and told to keep quiet, learned to lie and fill her pockets with rocks at weigh-in to be released into the fearful hands of her mother, who wanted only to feed her daughter and return her to ‘normal’. With the help of a tutor she went on to finish high-school and continued on into her 20 year battle with anorexia and bulimia. The secretive lives of these dis-ease sufferers was not understood back then. Today there is more awareness and help on offer but Terces believed she was caught in some unknown swirl of punishment and survival.

Still managing to major in Home Economics, she got her first job as a dietitian’s assistant in a hospital and while at the time married to her childhood sweetheart, she was once again sexually molested by one of their friends. Divorced at twenty she went on to join the airlines, become a dental assistant, work in and around restaurants, marry a Vietnam vet who was an addict, give birth to her first son, move to a farm in Pennsylvania, get hit by her addicted husband, go to work in the local pub, give birth to her daughter, start a wholesale bakery, get divorced, open up the first Mexican restaurant in Pennsylvania, marry the bartender who hired her in the pub, become a Navy wife, have another son, be transferred back to the Naval base in California where all of this started. Whoah !!!   

byronstyle

One day after coming out of the bathroom having vomited, her 8 year old daughter asked her “Mummy are you ok?” to which she brushed off with a casual “Yes,” before realising and deciding that she did not want to pass the lies, destruction and unhealthiness of her ways onto her own children.

Amongst the many healing modalities that were available and used it could be said that the ‘kitchen farming’, preparing, eating, sharing and being grateful for nutritious food was an outstanding element in Terces healing. To truly fuel and nourish a depleted body, to bring yourself back to life with raw, living foods, to love yourself from the INSIDE, to feel yourself revive means that people with eating disorders can be encouraged to go on to live a life that is literally full of life !!! Raw foods and juices were a predominant part of the turnaround for Terces and letting go of old patterns and habits which is harder than some of us could ever imagine … but it is possible. Clean and clear foods create a clean and clear mind. It’s a beautiful thing to discover your true self. Terces is now into her 20th year of loving and living life without any eating disorders and is therefore a live, breathing, vibrant voice of encouragement and inspiration. If you can change the way you think about food, it could well change the way you eat it. Putting positive, living thoughts and foods into your mind and body can only have positive effects … no ?? I think it’s time to start practising some of this around the Shire. Let’s open a belly cafe and bring the tasty love to one place where we can all come, share, learn, teach and EAT !! ha ha ha … maybe i should ask the other bellysisters first tho ….

Go to www.cafegratitude.com and be grateful for what you find.

If you need it – http://www.edap.org/ National Eating Disorders Association

I would recommend seeing both a Naturopath and Doctor if you have an eating disorder. There are some great clinics around the Shire where the two support each other. It’s my belief that the natural approach as well as the conventional approach is healthy, that way you have a broader understanding of information and it can be left in your control as to what you decide is best for YOU. It is my dream that Alternative Practitioners and Conventional Medical Practitioners will work together with mutual respect for each other and for the good of the patient one day … soon.

The other half of belly today was shared with the voice of an ambitious and nutritious film maker. I give thanks and more gratitude to the creators of this food documentary –

I found myself on the end of the phone to James Colquhoun who co-produced and directed “Food Matters” along with Laurentine ten Bosch. They are both Nutritionists who have brought a great documentary to the world which highlights some of the core issues that are still eluding many consumers. I urge you to watch it and decide for yourself how much Food Matters in your own life. Think about how much you spend to put premium petrol in your car or buy new clothes to keep you warm in winter, holidays to make you feel better because you are often unwell, makeup and perfumes and hair products and lotions for the outside and then tell me you can’t ‘afford’ to eat organic. I’m telling you now … if you take care of the inside, you will spend less money trying to make the outside look better !!!

Go to www.foodmatterstv.com for munch munch munch more info.

Alofa,

Sister Rasela