Talofa. Your tastebuds are being tantalised today by Sister Rasela on which will be my last Belly show of the year. Of course we won’t be leaving your belies empty – Sister Tess is back next week and i’ll be serving up large portions of the Belly show in the new year but as always December is a time of reflection. I personally believe that every day you wake up is a new year but for now, let’s go with what the calendar says and think about what your journey with food has been like this year.

I don’t know about you but it has been another fascinating trip for me. I feel privileged and extremely lucky to be a part of both the belly show and the beautiful Bayfm – YOUR community radio station – where i have had opportunities in abundance to both meet and talk to so many incredible foodies from the Shire, both resident and passers through. I’ve also been drawn into the Raw Food world this year which has helped to give me the energy to continue with the 50,000 things i do (well, ok, maybe more like 20,000), I’ve also found myself working amongst and becoming a part of our blossoming farmers markets but most of all i have loved being able to share knowledge and information as well as stories and tales surrounding food as nutritional medicine. I always leave it up to you to decide what you feel is best for you.. FEEL being the operative word of course. You are your own experiment… don’t believe other people!! Listen to them and then see what works best for you through a process of trial and elimination. It’s a long and hopefully healthy life so there’s plenty of time to think about it… just don’t leave it too long because the benefits of being healthy are so incredible, you are going to wish you did it sooner, no matter when you start.

I’d like to give thanks to BayFM and all the guests for providing the place, the space and the time to share all of this with you – the listener – because without you there would be nothing to do and no reason to do it.

So, let’s get on with this show where i’m exercising my right to be Samoan and am taking it easy… I invite you to put the kettle on if you’re at home, make a cuppa, slow down if you’re driving to take a breather and settle in for the rest of the show… all you have to do is listen… how easy is that?

I send out this first track and ask you to stop for a moment to give thanks to your body for carrying you through this wonderful life. Whether you’re big or small, fat or skinny, whoever you are, whatever you’re doing and wherever you’re doing it – LOVE YOURSELF AND LOVE OTHERS, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE… Track 1 Billy Joel – Just the way you are.

The following is taken from the book “The Sex Life of Food” By Bunny Crumpacker.

“They dined on mince and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon” , by Edward Lear. -The Owl and the Pussycat

The first meal is a simple one. Eve’s was just a bite of apple; a baby’s is just a bit of milk.

Some babies try to eat even before their first meal. There are infants born with tiny calluses on their thumbs from sucking in utero, already working at filling the void. Once delivered, eating is the first continuing encounter the hungry babe has with the rest of humanity. Food is our first comfort, our first reward. Hunger is our first frustration.

Simple as it is, that small sip of milk, the first meal is the beginning of a complexity of food and emotion that is mirrored over and over again in a pattern that never stops. When we begin to eat as babies, we fall in love. We discover pleasure, we make friends, we learn to smile. We sup with darker things too – loneliness and fear, anger, even pain – and relief, afte having waited so long, empty, for the next meal.

No wonder, then, that grown up, when we open our mouths to eat, our souls fly out. We are too thin or too fat. We go on food binges, secret eaters alone with the refrigerator in the middle of the night. We eat too little and are afraid too little is too much. We eat too fast and develop heartburn. We work our mouths constantly: we chew gum, we make a fashion of cigars, we drop in for a cup of coffee, we suck on candy, we smoke cigarettes, we talk too much, we drink too much.

In one way or another, we’ve been worrying about food since the apes moved down from the trees when the fruit ran out. We’ve been so busy chewing that we haven’t sat down and thought about the missing link between our dinner and our selves, between the way we eat and what we eat and who we are – why we eat in the ways that we do….

This book is a great read and i suggest you do if you are interested in these few opening paragraphs. It goes on to cover some very interesting and intimate aspects of food and relates to just about everyone in one way, shape or form.

Without going on to copy the whole book, i will leave it here and hope that you enjoy this feasting season. I will NOT tell you to go easy on your bellies, listen to when yours say’s it’s full, to not overindulge and to remember that we live in times of excessive consumption so don’t buy into the need for more than you truly do need… i’m sure you already know these things. I WILL however wish you a relaxing and sunny break, full of love and happiness and all that comes with it.

See you again in the calendar New Year!

xx Rasela