{"id":1842,"date":"2011-10-24T16:06:13","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T06:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=1842"},"modified":"2011-11-02T19:37:44","modified_gmt":"2011-11-02T09:37:44","slug":"fluid-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=1842","title":{"rendered":"fluid food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Talofa … or should i say Kia Ora as New Zealand and our All Blacks\u00a0wake up\u00a0today as the official\u00a0World Champions of the World<\/em><\/strong>. Growing up for the first 19 years of my life in NZ\u00a0makes me a\u00a0very proud kiwi for many reasons but there’s nothing that reminds me more of my love\u00a0for home as watching the mighty All Blacks\u00a0play (even if\u00a0i was almost\u00a0physically sick with\u00a0anxiety). I, along with my fellow\u00a0whanau were at the\u00a0Beach Hotel last night where it\u00a0felt like\u00a0we were hanging on for our lives to a\u00a0bobbing 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 !!!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

yes i do <\/p><\/div>\n

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\u00a0up because nothing was really grabbing me.<\/p>\n

Finally on Thursday evening i went into Woolies (not to buy food i might add) but to\u00a0browse through their library of magazines to try\u00a0and\u00a0find 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\u00a0drinks and coolers\u00a0but what i really took to were the jewel-like glittering jugs of punch\u00a0… HA !!\u00a0i thought, could this be it ? Punch\u00a0is\u00a0commonly made with fruits\u00a0… and\u00a0fruit is food …\u00a0and these particularly stunning and original punches had\u00a0foody ingredients like fennel, cucumber, basil along with\u00a0rhubarb, blueberries and apple as their\u00a0imaginative ingredients which made me think of foods\u00a0with fluids … and finally<\/em> FLUID FOOD.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

packing a punch<\/p><\/div>\n

Relieved and relaxed i left the store\u00a0having 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\u00a0nearly had me licking the page.\u00a0Great and tasty concoctions these punch recipes\u00a0were but how<\/em> i thought am i going to\u00a0create 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\u00a0feel it would\u00a0be interesting enough to fill in an hour long show.<\/p>\n

After sleeping on it for a few nights\u00a0i decided to get up early Sunday morning and head off to the Bangalow markets, armed with my recorder and the determination to find\u00a0fascinatingly full and fluid filled people to discuss this tantalising topic with. Somehow though it didn’t happen\u00a0as i wandered open mindedly,\u00a0happily looking and listening for some thread of interest while\u00a0collecting a\u00a0frozen banana sundae and piece of\u00a0raw beetroot cake along the way.<\/p>\n

Parking myself\u00a0beneath the trees in the filtered morning sun at the back of the food caravans,\u00a0dreamily\u00a0listening\u00a0to the band warm up\u00a0with a respectful tribute to the indigenous Arakwal people of this area, i surrendered to three things – the\u00a0frozen banana sundae, the\u00a0raw beetroot cake and<\/em>\u00a0the conclusion that i wasn’t going to find an interview for belly here today … but i still had tonight !<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

liquid lunch ?<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u00a0truthfully following the garden path you are meant to be waddling along on. Belly is something i absolutely\u00a0LOVE 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\u00a0ridiculously excited\u00a0about 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\u00a0leave it to the belly brigade of Byron Bay\u00a0to help me in my hour of need.<\/p>\n

Along with my\u00a07 inch long black and white feather earing worn in support of my team, i carry\u00a0on me another important accessory\u00a0– my recorder –\u00a0and 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

let's go nuts !!<\/p><\/div>\n

Unbelievably (of course) and directly across the road from the Beach Hotel in a small, echoey\u00a0and blissfully buzzing arcade, i stumble across a\u00a0hole-in-the-wall type place\u00a0called “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\u00a0the monotony that can sometimes occur when you have been down every street there is).<\/p>\n

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 !!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As i approach i recognize one of the owners from the cane juice stall at the markets\u00a0who has his mouth open so wide it resembles the\u00a0size of his\u00a0shop.\u00a0It’s a worthy yawn\u00a0as he’s been on his feet for almost 11 hours blending, whizzing, frothing and pouring out\u00a0bucket loads\u00a0of healthy concoctions\u00a0either readily available\u00a0on the menu\u00a0or plucked\u00a0from the imagination of customers who treat this place\u00a0as though\u00a0it’s\u00a0their own personal\u00a0wellbeing centre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

tooty fruity beauty<\/p><\/div>\n

It is understandable when he declines my offer to talk about the sugar sweet services they provide here for the purpose of putting\u00a0a radio\u00a0show together but as miracles happen,\u00a0his 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\u00a0YES\u00a0…<\/em>\u00a0i smile for it seems at this precise moment sweeter words have never been\u00a0heard and sweeter liquids have never been sipped\u00a0by my lips as Ljudan offers me a “Bom Bom” (cane juice and milk frothed warmly with a shot of expresso poured through the middle).\u00a0I\u00a0slurp on this healthy take on an Argentinian delight as we take a pew on one of the many casual\u00a0seats near the counter to talk about …\u00a0Fluid Food.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

nutritionally nice n naughty<\/p><\/div>\n

HERE<\/strong> 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\u00a0on\u00a0what they whizz up in\u00a0here.\u00a0The interview is a smooth blend of informative story telling with a pinch of giggles and a dash or\u00a0two of\u00a0laughter. We wade gently through the sugarcane fields where\u00a0tasty tales\u00a0rise to the surface about\u00a0the worldly past\u00a0and present inventors\u00a0of such\u00a0wizardry wonders as ‘sun flower power’ and ‘mood shifter’. With all of\u00a0this comes\u00a0the grounding health benefits of cane juice and the many other super foods (including LOVE) they\u00a0splash out\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0community. 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\u00a0VICTORY !!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>

arohanui <\/p><\/div>\n

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\u00a0along with my own additional imput that we\u00a0may learn something from.<\/p>\n

Why Beverages are Important<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Benefits of Drinking Water<\/h2>\n

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\u2019s other benefits include:<\/p>\n