7 Nights By Candle Light

Hey everyone,

Join in on a great experience. Hopefully one day it might even be a world event. Time will tell.

I thought up this crazy plan when I looked at my recent electricity bill. There was NO NEED for it to be the amount of usage that it was.



The idea:

Starting Monday for 7 days DON'T USE YOUR LIGHT SWITCHES.
Tape them up, put post-it notes on them, do what ever it takes to remind yourself that for the next 7 days you will do everything in your power to NOT use unnecessary power!








Get some good quality candles, open the blinds, let the moon shine in!
Do what ever it takes.

Don't over complicate it. Just for now, start with the light switches. Then we can move to bigger better things later!

This will be a fun experience. I think some benefits I'll see are increased energy. Increased mental awareness. Better recovery from work, training etc and a connection with my surroundings and the earth.

How cool!!!

So, are you going to make this apart of your week?



leave your progress in the comments.

Interested to get as many people in on this as I can.

We can do it :)

Shane Richards

CAUTION: PLEASE BE CAREFUL and think about WHERE you put your candles. Candles are a big cause of house fires.

Fats and Oils

Welcome to 2011!

After having a little time away from the website it's time to bust back into 2011!

What better way to do this then to chat about fats and oils.
If you're doing a spring clean on the kitchen cupboard you might want to think about what you throw away and what you stock back up on. Maybe the below article will help shed some light on some good fats and not so good fats and oils.



Oils: When picking Oils. Organic is best, pick oils extracted via a cold pressing process. Cold pressed oils are oils that are extracted through very minimal heat. When you use high heats to extract oils (or chemicals) you damage and denature the product making it more rancid and oxidising the fats and oil.

Fats: When picking fats go for Free Range, Organic, Sustainable for the environment and the soil. Pick fats from animals that were grass fed, grass finished, happy and healthy. Check the source of your animals home, go to the farms. With fat, you want to be sure you're getting the BEST, cleanest source possible as fats attract toxins. If your animal was not very healthy and was toxic then the fats would correlate with this type of living.



Saturated fats to eat:
Coconut oil
Palm Oil
(these oils are very good to cook with as they have a high heat tolerance)
Butter
Ghee
Lard
Tallow
Full FAT dairy (don't go any low fat, skim products as it's just extracting more valuable resources from the original product)
Meats with fat from grass finished sources (cooked at a low temperature. Under 120 degrees for longer periods of time)
Fish (hard to find good quality, look around)

Unsaturated:
Avocados
Seasame Oil
Olive Oil
Nut Oils
Flaxseed Oils
Nuts and seeds (activated is best)

(As stated above. Cold Pressed is best from organic sources. Ideally you would consume these oils WITHOUT heating. As in a salad dressing etc and not cook with these oils. If you want to use an oil to cook with, look towards coconut oil and palm oil, as these oils are more stable under high heat)



Saturated fats to avoid:

Margarine
Trans fats (pretty much in anything that comes in a packet)
Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
Fats that are from poor sources. Such as commercially raised animal fats (if commercially raised animal meat is all you have access to, avoid the fat as the fat is where the toxins will be be stored in an unhealthy animal)


Unsaturated fats to avoid:

Soybean Oil (85 - 95% of soy beans are genetically modified)
Grapeseed Oil
Canola Oil
Corn Oil

(generally these types of oils go through a massive process from soil to seed to produce. These oils generally would have been extracted through a high heat type method to get maximum amounts of oil to be sold.)



As always own your own decisions on any food you decide to eat. We are all 100% responsible for ourselves. Don't follow, lead with strong educated decisions on your own health. Your body is wonderful and amazing in all that it does. Be in tune with it!

In health and happiness,

Shane

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