Find Priority In Your Change & Change Will Find You!

Today I’m going to put things into perspective a little. Not only for myself but to share with everyone that change is possible.

I’ve decided to share a little bit about my background and how I got into looking for a better answer when it came to nutrition and how I now OWN every health choice I make!

I follow a 2 part philosophy that someone won’t do better, unless they know better. Part two follows that. Find priority in your change and change will find you.
People often don’t understand or know any better. How can they then be expected to do better? The reverse is also common. People often know what is better for them but have not surrounded it with enough priority or enthusiasm to prompt change. So in order for change to take place, a person would need to first understand a better way, then make it their priority to change.

Sometimes, a person is forced into change i.e. health related illness, emotional energy either expressed by themselves or by an external force like a wife or a child to change their habits and ways, for example. Sometimes change comes from looking at other people, wishing that you yourself had what they had. You might look at these people and say “wow, it’s really working for them! Maybe if I change I can also have it work for me.” (Just to clarify “it” can be anything. It’s your change!)


Now I guess the reason I changed was a little of column A and a little of column B. (emotional and health) I had some pretty restricting health problems and I had seen some things in some people that made me think change needed to be done. It was just that the things I had seen were not very inspiring.

My parents at the time represented a bunch of things that I did not want for my life. They seemed to be un-happy; they were angry, bitter, negative, victims of the world and stressed. This was obvious to anyone who knew them. So instead of me looking at someone I wanted to become, I was seeing and living with people who I knew I didn’t want to become.

Mum, dad if you’re reading this, please know that you gave me the values I now have and am EXTREMELY happy for these gifts. Without you two, I would have not started on my amazing life journey. I might have taken life for granted for a lot longer and missed the multitude of opportunities I have taken already. This is in no way, shape or form an insult to you! You were good parents but you had a very different lifestyle to the one I wanted for myself.

I feel that if you have seen a life that is not right for you, not only seen it, but lived it for a considerable amount of time then it will motivate you to push towards the things you DO want in life, eventually.

Change is not hard, unless that is what you make it. I used fear as a motivator. Fear is a powerful emotion. It pushes us to our best. It can sometimes however devour us in irrational thinking, negative thinking and worst of all, procrastination. The fear of doing NOTHING with my life scares me the most and makes the idea of change an easy one.

Do you have fear in your life? If so, what are you doing to use it as a way to get what you want out of life? After all, life is about growing and achieving the things in your mind that make you happy. It can be anything!

Blame is useless and I don’t blame my poor nutritional habits on my parents. Sure they were older, had more experience, and had the income and the resources to give a better nutritional up bringing. But did they know better? How could they DO better unless they KNEW better? Did they know that through my younger years how important OPTIMAL nutrition was? That because of the foods I was eating it was adding to the chance of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, a bunch of autoimmune disease and hormonal suppression?


There’s no way any parent would do that deliberately. Did they realise that not only was it important for my growth and development of my body but how important it was to my mind and metal ability? My ability to handle my own emotions, my own thoughts?

All too often do we put the responsibility for our well-being in the hands of other people and then blame them when things go wrong. This is a waste of time and energy! The first step towards change is ownership.

Eventually I had the information. I had grown up, I was now in charge of the things I did, the food that I ate and the way I lived. I took advantage of this. Now I was the only person who was going to help me! I owned my decision to change. This is very liberating.

Over the next 7 – 8 years after moving out of home, I studied the human body, the effects of foods, the different types of ways of eating and came to one conclusion - I needed to own my own health decisions. I could not listen to others about what was good for me. I needed to teach myself, listen to my body and do what it needed. Sure, I could see how some of the mainstream health recommendations might be beneficial but ultimately it would always seem to lead to an ulterior motive for this advice (like product sales). One place you can see this in full force is our food pyramid or product pyramid as I like to call it (an article on this soon).


The best advice I have ever received was to look at the source of the information. Is there a reason that this information is being presented in a particular way? Do they have something to gain from you doing this and the best question of all. What if they’re wrong? These question help me filter through the useless crap I find on the internet and help me side up to things I like and see merit in. Thus enabling change!

In conclusion, if a once negative, nutritionally void individual can see a clearer brighter future in changing my ways one step at a time until I’m where I want to be and can implement small things in to my life in order to help, so can you, so can anyone.

We all have the same TIME each day. It’s just what we each do with our time that makes us different. What will you do today to bring you closer to happiness and your much wanted goals?



As always, keep smiling and stay awesome!
Also, if there is anything or any story you would like to add. Please do not hesitate to add it to the comments section. If you share your thoughts then people can get a broader perspective. Plus I like reading comments! haha


Health & Chi
Shane Richards

Sunday Dinner Update! :)

Well well well!
Once again I was massively impressed by the amazing dishes everyone cooked up on Sunday! As I mentioned briefly on Sunday, it is so awesome for Myself, Steve and Pete to see every single person who is coming along developing their culinary skills.

Everyone is researching their foods, sourcing ingredients from local areas (even their own back yards). This is EXACTLY why we decided to start up Sunday Dinners. We are hitting our goal of cultivating health and creating a strong community that is educated and supportive of good QUALITY food!

We also would like to welcome Tash and her friend Shani (I hope i got that right) to the Sunday Dinners. They came along and it was great having them there! Can't wait to see the dish that you create at the next event!

Enough of me chit chatting. I'll post up some photos from the last 4 Sunday Dinners we have had! :)

But first, if you are reading this and have not yet come and joined in on this AWESOME event, then your next chance to come along is the 7th Of November.

1. Eliza (Grass finished steak and vegetables)



2. Michael & Justine - Scotch Eggs (Free range eggs, grass finished mince)















3. Justine and My - Slow Baked Apples With Cinnamon and Strawberries



4. Justine Ward - Pumpkin Muffins



















To anyone who has made a dish people have said that they would LOVE to make (you know who you are) for themselves, could you please add to comments the method and recipe

Thanks everyone!


Health & Chi

Shane Richards

SharkWater

I just finished watching a documentary called “Shark Water”. A friend of mine told me that this was something I needed to watch, as it would be an eye opener to the horrible practice of Shark Finning happening all around the world.

Little did I know how deeply it would affect me! Not only how it would affect me, but after looking into this subject a little deeper, eventually it will effect us all, whether or not we know about it or not.

First off, let me fill you in on what Shark Finning is and why it’s such a problem.
Shark Finning is the process in which sharks are taken from their habitat and have their fins cut off. This is not done in a humane way. Once the fins have been removed the sharks are then dumped back in to the ocean to die slowly. Most sharks will take days to completely die. It’s a slow, cruel and painful death for these sharks. Because they are left without their fins, they cannot get water to run through their gills which enables them to breathe. If they don’t die by suffocation, they are either eaten or bleed to death.

Why are people killing sharks for their fins??
Some people believe that sharks are a cure for traditional diseases and that because sharks have a tendency to have strong immunities against most diseases that humans suffer from and sharks are resilient against some parasites then they are some magical creature that can help to prevent people from contracting deadly diseases if we consume their fins (silly right?).

There is NO scientific proof that eating shark fin will have ANY positive impact on a persons susceptibility to things like cancer or arthritis. Shark fin soup is also a very popular delicacy in a lot of Asian countries particularly China. A bowl of shark fin soup can typically cost over $200. One pound of dried shark fin can cost upwards of $300. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry. You can see why so many people keep it quiet.

Now for the shocking news:
It’s estimated that sharks are being wiped out at an alarming rate – up to 90% of sharks. It’s also estimated that 100 MILLION sharks are killed for their fins annually. At this rate we will have almost no sharks left within a decade.
This is a scary thought. Sharks are one of the top predators in their ecosystem. Without a top predator controlling an eco system you get a big shift within that ecosystem. It will have an effect on all below it. Seeing as though the majority of our oxygen comes from the ocean. Maybe we should stop to think about what might happen to us by disturbing this ecosystem?

Like many cases of animal cruelty and exploitation, it its incumbent on us to act on behalf of these magnificent creatures. It comes as no surprise to see victims of shark attack recently appeal to the Australian Government to act on the world stage to stop this cruel and needless practice. These animals cannot ask for our help, they cannot walk in to a cop shop or a court room and tell someone what is happening to them on a MASSIVE scale. They cannot protest, they cannot beg for mercy, they cannot create awareness to help SAVE themselves.That’s our job.


Questions:

What do we want future generations to think of us after we have wiped out certain species, burnt all the fossil fuels, desecrated the oceans, destroyed ecosystem, polluted the air, the soil and the water, all the while knowing what we’re doing?
What will happen to humans if we keep on fishing for sharks?
What can we do to help stop this type of thing from happening?
Ways to help:

• Contact with Wild Aid, the Sea Shepherd, Greenpeace and other groups
• Petition and contact politicians and Government agencies
• Create awareness where ever you can.

Talk to friends and family members about this. Ask what they would do, how can they help?

Interesting Shark Facts:

• Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years
• There are 375 shark species
• Sharks are intelligent and can be trained
• 100 million sharks are killed each year for their fins
• The largest shark is the Whale shark, averaging 9 metres (30 feet) in length—the size of a large bus
• Whale sharks are not aggressive. They eat zooplankton, small fish and squid.
• When a shark loses a tooth, a new one grows in its place
• Mako and Blue sharks are the fastest swimming sharks
• Sharks can take hours or even days to die after being finned
• Sharks are a critical part of marine ecosystems

I’ll lave you with an extract from the movie. Said by “Captain Paul Watson” He sums it up like this:

"I think the problem is, that we don't understand what we are. In essence we're, uh, you know, just a conceited naked ape, but in our minds we're some sort of divine legend and we see ourselves as some sort of god, that we can just walk around the Earth deciding who will live and who will die, and what will be destroyed and what will be saved. But the fact is, we're just a bunch of primates out of control.

We're now in the midst of a Third World War, but this time the enemy is ourselves and the objective is to save the planet from ourselves. There is no hope for the masses of humanity to do anything. They never have, they never will. All social change comes from the passionate intervention of individuals or small groups of individuals.

Slavery wasn't ended by any government or any institution. Women got the right to vote not because of any government. The civil-rights movement, the same thing- India with Mahatma Gandhi, South Africa with Nelson Mandela. Again, it's always individuals. You need those individuals with the passion and the energy to get involved. In fact, I don't know of any governments or institutions that are doing anything to solve any of these problems. All over the world, though, I am seeing individuals and non-government organizations that are passionately involved in protecting ecosystems and species, and that's where I see some optimism that's where results are happening."

Food for thought!

I feel that ignorance is BLISS and knowledge is POWER.
I can choose to be ignorant of my food choices, my connection with others, the earth and things around me. I can be ignorant to pretty much anything I want and still live my life.

What happens when you change that perspective? When you start to wonder about these things. Understanding how you operate at your core is VERY liberating and helps us become more stable in all areas of our lives!

I am constantly asking myself questions to help better understand myself, my life, my morals and to help inspire some growth from within.

I feel that when you ask the questions below it can give you a greater understanding of what you want from this life. It helps you achieve happiness and can give you some purpose. Without purpose does life have meaning?

Clearly, there are more questions to this article then answers. This is simply because these answers are always entirely up to you!

Perception of self:
What do you want to look like & Feel like

Your lifestyle:

What is your perfect Day, Month, Yr, Life?

What to you want emotionally?

What type of relationships do you want?
With yourself?
With your partner?
With family?
With friends?
In business?

What do you want Mentally?

What do you want to learn from you life experiences?
What do you want to offer and teach to those around you?

What type of connection do you want?

What gives you a sense of Purpose?
When do you have the greatest sense of connection?
When do you feel the most energy running through you with tingling up your spine and tears of inspiration in your eyes.

POST ANSWERS TO COMMENTS!!!

Sunday Dinner # 2

It's that time of the week again when I fill you in on what's been happening with Holistic Foundations and The Lower Blue Mountains in general :)

As you should be aware, last week Myself, Pete and Steve launched our SUNDAY DINNERS!

What a turn out we got! I was so impressed with EVERYONE'S commitment. We had at least one organic, fresh, locally sourced and a raw dish. We had such a great turn out that it was clear to us that this was something that we could do on a fortnightly basis.

The location changed to the river, but the energy, commitment and the enthusiasm still showed up in force. We had some new faces and all the old regulars. I don't think the day could have been better. The sun was out and nature was in full force letting us know that we are well and truly in spring!

We will be running this event every fortnight from here on in with the next event falling on the 10th October.



Everyone is welcome. Myself, Pete and Steve are trying to create a healthy, happy community who support local farmers doing it right by the soil, humanity and the environment. Come join us when ever you can and join in with a bunch of fun people who care about their health.

Look forward to seeing you one Sunday soon! :)

Holistic Foundations Presents - Sunday Dinner - Converstaion & Nourishing Food

Hey everyone,

Last week was a MASSIVE success. (thanks to all of you!)

Over 15 people turned up and pretty much everyone prepared something for us to share that was organic, raw, fresh and locally sourced.

Keeping the energy flowing, myself, Pete and Steve have decided that we would like to hold this event this coming Sunday. Then every fortnight thereafter, because of it's success at creating healthy communities.

If this is the first you have heard about it, then I have left the event description that I wrote up last week for you to read over at the bottom.

If this will be your 2nd week attending, then we look forward to seeing what you come up with this week. You all did so awesome last week. Hopefully, you are now a wear of a lot of the benefits of locally sourced organic food. Not only on our health, but on our planet as well and will use more of it this week.

--------------------

The idea and concept is to get everyone involved in cooking with locally sourced, fresh, organic ingredients to help us nourish our bodies and become healthy. While connecting as a community and bonding over food and conversation!

Don't worry if you can not get organic, fresh or local food. Just bring along a dish this week and the following week try to replace an ingredient each time we meet. Ultimately we all will be able to hit the requirements of a wholesome nourishing meal!

You can make an entrée, a main meal or a dessert. Just so long as you bring enough to share.

If you are not confident in the kitchen just yet. Still come along and ask questions and learn about how other people were able to make the food that they made. Then have a go yourself the following week.

Bring the kids and the family. This will be a fortnightly event for all of Spring and Summer.

Let me know if you're coming and what you might be making.



Recap:

Fresh
Local
Organic
Slow cooked, fermented, sprouted or raw.
Enough to share
Cooked with love (haha)

See you Sunday! :)

Nourishing Food - A Few Simple Recipies!

You want to eat something, but you’re not sure what?

You have goals that you want to achieve, but making the right choice is sometimes hard.

Instead of racing for that sugar hit and feeling guilty, think of eating something that will last you a little longer, give you a feeling of satiety, balance and best of all – is good for you.

Well you’re in luck. Below I have put together some fail safe recipes. Always have at least ONE of these in the fridge or on its way in the oven and you’ll never be without a nutritious meal.

If we leave it till it’s too late to do something about our hunger pangs then our choices extraordinarily decrease. Why leave it to chance? With the help of these recipes you will have food on hand to help you through the tough times. You’ll also notice there are minimal carbs in these recipes. This follows on from my previous blogs that we need to source our energy from fat and protein, not so much from carbohydrates. All part of healthy living.

Snacks:



1. Organic cheese. Made from good culture! You can buy some or make it yourself from separated milk (REAL milk).

• Weigh up around 50g – 100g for a little snack on the run.


2. Raw Eggs. These amazing things, in my opinion, could be the best, most valuable thing in my fridge. You will never enter my kitchen and ask, “Do you have any eggs?” Eggs are an amazing source of Vitamins A, D, E and K!


• 2 eggs
• 50g Blueberries

Pop your eggs into a blender with 50g of blueberries and whiz them up. Short sharp pulse just enough to wiz up the berries. Enjoy!



Nourishing food:



Raw Beef Tartare*

Carbohydrates Calories
1 kg Raw Beef Chuck Finely Minced 1800 Calories
1 Medium Spanish Onion finely diced 4.6 30 Calories
2 Medium Lemons, juiced 4.5 68 Calories
2 Birds eye Chili's
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
5 Tablespoons Olive oil 603 Calories
10 Cos lettuce leaves
1 bunch of fresh basil, coriander and/or mint

1. Put all the ingredients except for Olive Oil in a Pyrex tray and kneed until mixed thoroughly.

2. Seal with olive oil.

3. Leave to marinate in refrigerator for min. 2 hours.

4. Scoop 3 big tablespoons into lettuce leaves and put chopped herbs on top and serve.

Total 1200g contains 9g Carbs and 2051 Calories
200g serve contains 1.5g Carbs and 416 Calories



Raw Beef Carpaccio*

1 Kg Beef Sirloin (Get the sirloin in one piece) 2250 Calories
2 Medium Lemons, Juiced 2.5 68 Calories
5 Tablespoons Olive oil 603 Calories
Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Place Sirloin in freezer for 1 hr. This makes it easier to cut.

2. Cut the Sirloin as thinly as possible. 2-3mm is best

3. Cover beef with Lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and garnish with parsley

4. Ready to serve immediately

1100g Serve contains 2.5g Carbs and 2921 Calories
220g Serve contains 0.5g Carbs and 584 Calories

Slow Roast Chicken*

1 Pasture Raised Chicken 1900cal ave for 1kg meat
1 Medium Lemon 1.25 34 Calories
1 Tablespoons Dried Organic Thyme
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper

1. Stuff Chicken with the lemon, a pinch of thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper

2. Coat the chicken with remaining herbs, salt and pepper

3. Place Chicken in a cast iron pot with the lid on at 90° for 4 hrs.

4. Baste the chicken with its juices

5. Take the lid off and cook for another 20-30 mins

Total 1100g contains 1.25g Carbs and 1934 Calories
200g serve contains 0.2 Carbs and 352 Calories



Slow Roast Lamb Leg or Shoulder*

1.2 Kg Lamb Shoulder or Leg, on the bone, untrimmed
2556 Cal shoulder 2244 Cal leg
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic, peeled, cut into fine spears 0.7g carb 17.5 Calories
Fresh Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
200g Butter 1.4g Carb Calories

1. Pierce Lamb and insert spears of garlic

2. Mash herbs, salt and pepper and butter together using your hands and coat the lamb.

3. Place it into your cast iron pot and cook at 80° for 4-6 hrs with the lid on.

4. Remove the lid for the last 30mins to brown the finish or you can cook the whole way with the lid off. Leaving the lid on allows for moisture to be retained

5. Leave to rest for 10 minutes and then serve
Total 1415g contains 2.1g Carbs and 4013 (Shoulder) or 3701 (leg) Calories
200g serve contains 0.6g Carbs and 573.2 Calories (Shoulder) or 528.7 (Leg)

Avocado Salad*

10 Cos lettuce leaves, washed, dried and cut into 2 cm strips 130g 2.3 24.7
1 Medium Ripe avocado, peel and seed removed, cut into strips 190g 1.14 387
1 Small Cucumber, Sliced finely 120g 1.5 14.4
1 Medium Ripe Tomato, Diced 100g 2.4 18
1 Small Lemon juiced 100g 1.8 27
3 Tablespoons of Olive oil 362
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Mix lettuce, avocado, cucumber and tomato in a salad bowl.

2. In a small jar mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and shake.

3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss

Total 615g contains 9g Carbs and 833 Calories
115g serve has 1.5g Carbs and 138 Calories


Chocolate Coconut Smoothie*

1 Virgin coconut 14.4 117.4
2 Eggs 0.3 162
10g Raw Cacao 6.3 49
10g Coconut oil 88
Stevia 1/8 teaspoon


1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds

*Always put the coconut oil in just before you blend so it doesn't turn solid in the cold milk. During the winter months you may have to melt it on a gentle heat before you put it in.

*On carb days you can use honey instead of stevia and add fresh &/or frozen banana

1x 400ml serve has 21 Carbs and 416.4 Calories

To bring carbs down & make caffeine free substitute the Cacao for 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. This way the smoothie can be used in the afternoon & during the seasonal cleanse.

Blue Berry Yoghurt Smoothie*

250ml Kefir or Paris Creek Yoghurt 12 210
2 eggs 0.3 162
50g Blueberries 5.65 26
1 Tablespoon Coconut oil 88
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Cinnamon
Stevia 1/8 teaspoon

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds

2. Serve in cup with a sprinkle of fresh Cinnamon on top

*Always put the coconut oil in just before you blend so it doesn't turn solid in the cold milk. During the winter months you may have to melt it on a gentle heat before you put it in.

*On Carb days use more berries
1x 400ml serve has 17.95 Carbs and 486 Calories
To reduce carbs, cut berries. Still makes a delicious cinnamon yoghurt smoothie
Calorie & Carb% Referenced from Food Standards Australia New Zealand


OOE*