Lacto-fermented Recipes

So I had some left over Whey from when I separated my milk to make some cheese the other week. What better way to put it to use then to ferment some apples and beetroot's

First things first. You'll need some Whey.

Whey made from separated raw milk. Pour milk into glass jar and allow to separate
out of the fridge. Usually takes 2 days. Then separate in a very fine material, a
hemp pillow case works well. Let the milk hang in the material for about 24hours till all the whey has drained through into a bowl. The curd (that's left in the material) can be salted and made into soft cheese.




As always with food, own your own health decisions as I can not recommend the consumption of raw milk because it's illegal for human consumption. Can legally only recommend raw goats milk as always do your own research - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_milk

What you will need!

Beet Kvass:


3 to 4 beets
Salt
Grated ginger
Water

Slice beets in to Chunks. Place into 2 Litre air tight glass jar.
Grate a GENEROUS amount of ginger add to jar with beets.
Pinch of organic sea salt.
Fill the rest of the jar with filtered water.

Leave out some where warm on the kitchen bench for 4 days or more then place in the fridge.

Apple Cider Ginger:

3 green apples
Grated Ginger
Whey
Salt


Slice beets in to Chunks. Place into 2 Litre air tight glass jar.
Grate a GENEROUS amount of ginger add to jar with apples.
Pinch of organic sea salt.
Fill the rest of the jar with filtered water.

Leave out some where warm on the kitchen bench for 4 days or more then place in the fridge.


ENJOY a glass before each meal of the day!

Love & Chi
Shane Richards

Sick Animals

The last week or so has been a real battle for me to understand certain people’s outlook on animals and food.

To me, being healthy means taking every opportunity to make informed and educated decisions that will best suit my personal, physical and mental goals.

To do this, I make sure I understand what I'm supporting with every dollar that I spend. I buy from local farmers who farm in a sustainable manner and look after their animals, their soil and the earth.

I have a question for everyone to think about.

How can a person experience supreme health and wellness unless the animals, fruits and veg they consume are coming from a healthy source to begin with? Do people honestly expect to help repair nutrient deficiencies by eating animals that were less healthy than them to start with?


Let’s use cage chickens as an example. If you chose to buy a caged chicken, you are basically saying that you're happy to purchase/support the inhumane treatment of that chicken. You're also ok with it being abused almost, if not all, of it's life - kept inside ALL it's life (like a prisoner); never allowed to just sit and relax without having to FIGHT for it's life every day against other chickens. Think about how stressed you’d get if you were trapped inside and couldn’t get out. Stress releases certain hormones and these hormones are absorbed throughout the body – YOU’RE EATING STRESS!!



These animals are incredibly unhealthy and definitely nutrient deficient in so many areas. The obvious one is Vitamin D. Not being allowed outside has some serious health impacts and effects. How will you make Vitamin D if the food you're eating to help you produce vitamin D didn't have it in the first place?

Instead, what you may opt to do to help support your own health, the animal and the environment, is find a farmer who allows their chickens to roam outside, having a full and complete life. Allowed to eat their natural diet, allowed to bath in the dirt and dust and able to stretch out their wings and lay in the breeze relaxing, not freaking out from over crowded pens. This way, you too can be healthy and so can the chicken that has been purpose bred and raised to provide you the best nutritional outcome.



Consuming sick and dead animals will only lead to more of the same in humans! When you look at it logically, it makes perfect sense.

Is it any surprise that 1:2 - 1:3 Australians are suffering from some form of cancer or other health related disease?

When will we learn that getting back to HOW WE EVOLVED and supporting the LIVING EARTH will be the only way that will prevent this ratio from getting worse?

We have gone off our traditional diets SOOO much that it scares me to think how further off track we may get unless someone starts to see the link!!



In these busy, consumer based times; it can appear difficult to break from certain cycles of consumption. To assist you in making changes, list your eating habits and identify areas where you can improve. Are your choices (because everything is a choice) giving you and your family the maximum health benefits or could you be doing more? Over time, with small incremental changes, you will eventually benefit from these changes.

The first people who can start this revolution of change, is you and me. Own your thoughts and decisions on ALL your health choices. Support local farmers doing it right by the soil, the animals and the earth. Make sure you eat organic, fresh fruit and veg grown without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilisers.

We can do it. Together, we can make the world change for the better.

Health and Chi.
Shane Richards

Michael & Justine Pearsons - Scotch Eggs!!

Scotch Eggs Recipe:


To make six scotch eggs

8 medium eggs ( 6 for cooking , 2 for basting )
Coconut flour ( approx 1 cup)
Shredded coconut, fresh ( approx 1 cup)
Approx 500 gms mince. we used Spring Hill black Angus (grass fed/finsihed) mince and Spring Hill sausages (grass fed/finsihed) ( take off skin) mixed together.
2 bacon rashers (without rind)
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
4 Tablespoons flat leaf parsley
5 sage leaves

Place 6 of the eggs in cold water, bring gently to boil, reduce and gently simmer for 7 minutes. We don't want the eggs hard boiled as their colour wont look so good. Yet we want to be able to peel them easily without squashing them. Run eggs under cold water , then sit the in cold water for five minutes. Peel them, dry them, coat in coconut flour.

Whisk the remaining two eggs, set aside.
Have some coconut flour ready to toll the scotch eggs into.
Have shredded fresh coconut ready for rolling the eggs in at the end.

Combine the mince, sausage mince, finely chopped bacon, lemon zest, herbs, season with salt and plenty of pepper.

Put down some baking paper, or lightly flour bench, divide meat into equal portions, making circles about 1/2 to 1 cm in thickness, about 10cm in diameter. Now take a floured egg, place it onto the meat that has been basted with wet egg mix. This helps the egg and meat stick together. You don't want heaps of meat around the egg, if there is too much take excess off the egg. Press the meat firmly around the egg, roll it in coconut flour, then into the wet egg mixture you have set aside, then dip in shredded coconut.

Normally recipes say to deep fry, but you can use a little coconut oil on the eggs. Sit them in muffin tins and cook for about thirty minutes. Oven temp about 180 deg, This is plenty of time if the meat is not too thick. (or longer time on lower heat)

When Michael and Justine made these eggs they doubled the quantity. Sausage mixed with beef helps it to stay together. Original recipe said to use 12 pork chippolatas (340gms for 6 scotch eggs) but you don't want to run short of meat.

Thank you Justine and Michael for this wonderful dish!! :)

Super Pooping!!

A lot of you will look at this post and laugh. But back in the day, seeing you poop sitting on a white porcelain bowl would have made many people laugh and look quite silly!



Why? Because a full squat position is the NATURAL way to defecate. Toddlers will naturally squat down to relieve themselves. Do you think our caveman ancestors (Grok) would have known what to do with such a device like the toilet?

No! Of course not. Grok would have just done what felt good and this was his natural instinct. This natural urge to fully squat down to do number twos is something that not only EASY but is a HEALTHY and FUNCTIONAL way to use the bathroom!

Not only do you get a FULL movement and evacuation you do so with minimal effort. You massage your organs at the same time, you stretch out your spine and you also get a great stretch in all your lower body muscles that sometimes NEVER see that range of movement. Keeping them moveing and keeping them flexible can only mean that when you're old and grey you will not need anyone to help you do something that you should always have the ability to do. Age should not prevent you from using the bathroom alone. Plus, even as a 90 year old, you'll have a pretty cool squat!!

Grok had his shit sorted, excuse the pun! haha He knew that he could eliminate all waste, and do it as quick as possible if he squatted down instead of sitting on top of something.

The lillipad has been invented to help us re-connect with our Grok selves!!
The lillipad is a wooden stool designed to help you get in to a proper position with having to stand on your toilet seat or instead of having it taken out! haha

There are other benefits to squatting and they are:



Proactive in avoiding colon cancer
Alleviate hemroids (hemorrhoids)
Optimum birthing position (gets you pregnant ladies prepared for birth and better control)
Beneficial spinal stretch (as discussed above)
Help prevent Knee and hip and degenerative disk diseases

What do you have to lose? Give it ago. You be the judge. I first experienced squatting this wonderful way of using the bathroom about a year ago now and have not looked back (unless it was a freezing cold morning and getting undressed was not an option!! haha) In hindsight I think never having to sit on a cold toilet seat again is a good enough reason to give it up!!

Post to comments your thoughts and let me know if you've had ago!!


Health & Chi

Shane Richards
Lifestyle and Movement Coach and Educator

Book Review!

So over the last year I have read many books. Some AWESOME, some TERRIBLE...
But I guess like life, you need balance. Good with the bad, Yin and Yang.

I decided to put together a list of the books I have read or partially read and got what I need out of them. For now, anyway! :)

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

Sweet Poison: Why Sugar Makes Us Fat


I'm 3/4 of the way through. This book is a wonderful book to grasp an understanding of our bodies and how different macro nutrients play a BIG role in our physiology.
This book highlights some important issues with sugar. fructose in particular.
A good light book that is not dry and an easy read. The writing style keeps me infomred and most things are broken down, no prior knowledge is really needed.






Good Calories. Bad calories.

A top book to help you understand that fats are not as bad as they are made out to be. Fats have been vilified for decades now and it's time that we put a stop to this by educating ourselves. This is a great book to help do that. Granted it can be dry but when you get the juicy parts it's worth it!









How To Eat Move & Be Healthy:


My first book that I read that got me hooked in to the whole holistic approach of the body, mind and the spirit. It is an easy book to read for anyone who is interested in anything health related. It talks alot of about food and one thing I really do like is that it slightly goes in to SOURCE and PROCESS which most books don't normally talk about but in my opinion has a HUGE overall impact on a person in every aspect.






Metabolic Typing Diet:



Never really fully got into it. Has some interesting concepts and is a worth wild read but it really didn't strike a note with me. I may read it again in the near future and see what it's like the second time around. Have to wait and see.




These are just a quick look into what I have been reading over the year.
Feel free to add your comments on each book you also may have read. Also, if there is any book you would like to recommend, do so in the comments section of this post and I will give the book a read! :) I enjoy reading so much, it's my time out! haha

Health & Chi

Stay Classy

Shane Richards

What Have You Changed In 12 Months?

Life changes, constantly!

Life is amazing and the only CONSTANT is change!
Pretty cool huh!?!



I was sitting here thinking of all the changes that I have made in the last year and a bit. Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Here is what I came up with.

I changed:
I changed my hair
I changed my clothes
I changed the way I brush my teeth
I eat more eggs then anyone I know
I changed my diet and now eat mainly meat
My diet is 70% fresh, happy, healthy and whole pasture raised fats
I have dropped carbohydrate consumption down to 60g a day at most
I changed the way I vote, instead of voting once a year I now vote every day with my dollar.
I care more now then ever about the environment
I care about humanity and understand it more
I changed the way I see myself and now I care more about myself then I ever did
I have a great connection with the earth and changed my perception and instead of always taking I try to give back to this amazing life force that gives to me everyday
I have created a website and change how my voice is heard
I have several new clients, together we are changing!
I changed the way I store my foods (in glass)
I don’t buy plastic bottles anymore (instead I use Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottle)
I try my best not to use plastic bags where I can (re-usable)
I learnt to cook good whole foods
I changed how I cook and now slow cook 80% of my meats
I changed how I eat and now I eat raw foods more often
I have changed my perception on life. I don’t know that thinking and being positive will work all of the time, but I do know negativity will!
I now cook with stainless steel and not Teflon
I go to bed at 10:30 or before almost every night (expect now cause I have THIS on my mind) haha
I changed the way I breathe (deep belly, instead of shallow neck and chest breaths)
I changed the way I train. Smarter, not harder.
I changed the way I see the seasons. I try to cleanse with them and work with them.
I changed the people I hang out with and socialise with
I changed the way I spend my 24 hours and realise we all have the same time in each day, the only difference is what i do with mine.
I decided to start practical mediation
I changed my rush around and panic life style for one that’s slow paced and more relaxed. I now MAKE time to lay in the sun when it’s out.
I changed where I live

These are honestly just the changes I have thought of in the last 15 minutes I have been sitting here. I know there are PLENTY more and there should be!

Are you changing? Are you growing? Are you moving forward or standing still?
These are questions that I like to ask..

Just like migrating animals, moving on with life means growth and survival. Standing still and not doing anything can mean death. It’s not so morbid or dramatic when you think about how important it really is for us all as animals.

It’s been one year. You will all make new years resolutions at the end of this one. But maybe we should first reflect on how much we have done THIS year and give ourselves a big pat on the back and say, well done! What can I now do, to get me to where my life journey will take me?

Post thoughts and changes you’ve made to comments below! I look forward to hearing from you all. :)


Health & Chi

Shane Richards

Sunday Dinner Recap!

Sunday Dinner! Another HIT yet again!!

The weather was back in full force after a few weekends that were very wet.
The nice warm weather brought together 16 people to the river to join in on nourishing foods and fantastic conversations.



We would like to welcome Alison, Kylie and Ian to Sunday Dinners. It was great having you down hanging out with us and joining in and it will be awesome to see what you will bring to the next one. All the regulars were there and as usual it was a pleasure spending the afternoon with you all. Thank you to each and everyone of you that made the afternoon a great one!

So now enough of me talking, let's get to the good part, THE FOOD!! :)

1. Michael & Justine Lasagna with zucchini base (no Pasta)






2. Johnny M - Grass finished Beef with Eggplant, garlic and dried tomato












3. Justine Ward - Butter Chicken










4. Pete and Kylie Lime, Ginger & Coconut beef Stew

















5. Michael and Justine - Strawberry cream cake





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! See you at the next event on the 21st of November.


Health & Chi

Shane Richards