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When it comes to making decisions about what’s best for your health, and for your lifestyle, it can be a little overwhelming. That’s why we created our gourmet home delivered meals, because we know (from firsthand experience!) that people are busier than ever, often juggling multiple balls at once.

Sometimes there’s just not enough time in the day to plan healthy meals, go out to buy the ingredients (and not forget anything!), then spend the time cooking and doing the dishes each night.  Perhaps you are doing all of the above, and are feeling a little rundown. Well we’re here to let you know exactly why our meals are better for you, for your health and for your lifestyle…

SUPERFOOD PACKED MEALS DESIGNED BY CHEF’S & NUTRITIONISTS

We know that food tastes better when it’s cooked from scratch, that’s why all of our dishes are cooked on site in our small kitchen in Brisbane. Our team of chef’s and nutritionists personally plan each meal (ensuring that it’s nutritionally dense and calorie controlled), shop locally for fresh quality produce, and cook each meal with extreme love, care and attention. Our nutritionist is onsite to ensure that every single meal is packed with superfood benefits, looks beautiful and tastes just as good as it looks!

OUR FOOD IS FRESHER THAN FRESH

Did you know that food starts to deteriorate right after it has been cooked? That’s why we use the benchmark method of blast-chilling and freezing which basically snap freezes the meals before they have any chance of spoilage or growth of microorganisms. Freezing also helps to maintain top nutritional quality of the food, by retaining the vitamins and minerals present in the food. In some ways, frozen food is actually nutritionally better than fresh, because fresh food loses micronutrients over time (that’s why we say fresher than fresh!).

GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY

Fact: 2.5 million tonnes of edible food is thrown out by Australian households every year (that’s 300kgs per person!).

At some point, we’ve all opened our fridge to find soggy lettuce that we just didn’t get around to using that week. If you find yourself throwing out lots of unused produce each week, we can help. Our meals are only around $13-14 each, including delivery. With this price comes lots of time saving (no long grocery shops, meal planning, cooking, cleaning up), plus no wasted ingredients and no wasted money spent on those ingredients! We full support the idea that healthy eating doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.  

WE SUPPORT YOU

We’re here to answer any question you might have, and to support you on your health journey. Whether you want to free up time, lose weight or simply just start eating healthier, as soon as you join us you become a part of the friendly and supporting community that is Wholesomeness!

Click here to check out our nutritious, healthy, delivered meals. 

Author:

Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness and Wholesomeness-on-Roma

The New Year is officially here, the festive season binging has now come to an end… and it’s time to awaken the inner warrior, be empowered and confident with your lifestyle choices.

Let’s face it; eating healthy is just downright hard to do these days. We have fast food at every glance, conveniently located and we tend to forget just how bad highly processed food is for our bodies. If you want to reach your weight loss goals or just continue on the healthy straight and narrow, these are some great everyday tips to incorporate into your daily routine.

Step 1: Give yourself some motivational encouragement! Set reminders in your phone, write things on your mirror, change your screensaver to something that gets you pumped, maybe even change your morning alarm tone! Don’t underestimate the power of your mind.

 Step 2: Time to do a clean out, get rid of your rubbish food so it isn’t staring at you in the face saying ‘EAT ME… EAT ME NOW’. These are generally your trigger foods after a long hard day and you’ve just lost all interest in cooking or making good decisions.

Step 3: PREP. YOUR. MEALS. If you haven’t been doing this, chances are you are going to get super busy, tired and hangry… leading to again, regretful choices. Make the most of our super healthy, freshly prepared meals.

Step 4: Plan your snacks. Snacks are a killer when it comes to weight management. Check out our 7 healthy snack ideas to help improve mood and productivity!

Step 5: Squeeze in somewhere each day to get your 30 minutes of exercise. Whether it’s a brisk walk after dinner, an intense gym sesh or calming light stretches, just do it! No excuses! This is your time to appreciate yourself. It’s worth every single minute.

                         [image] retrieved from: http://www.theearthdiet.org/uploads/3/4/8/4/3484401/__7818460_orig.jpg

Success tips: 

• Waking up and doing exercise on an empty stomach or a small light snack such a banana or some nuts can improve weight loss. Try high interval training to increase your mitochondria (the bodies energy powerhouse). 
• Drink a glass of lemon water upon waking, this stimulates your digestive organs producing bile, digestive enzymes and getting things moving.
• Try to avoid eating after 7 pm, this should be your time of healing not digesting, a 10 – 12 hour nightly fast is excellent for metabolic processes.
• Don’t starve yourself. Your body actually goes into starvation mode and starts storing your energy into fats as a protective mechanism.
• Drink your 2L of water. A given I know, however, your body can confuse being hungry with being thirsty. Find it hard to drink so much? Why not diffuse it with fruit or make some iced herbal tea – delicious!
• Green tea increases your digestive system functionality, increases detoxification processes and when iced is perfect on a hot summer’s day!
• Don’t eat bland food. Add fresh herbs and spices to your dishes so your taste buds are satisfied! Eating healthy is actually really delicious.
• Set realistic goals. This is really important, as you don’t want to feel like a failure and give up completely; small weekly goals based on changes instead of weight are a great start.
• Invest in a health coach, it can be a great way to really succeed and have consistent support on your health journey.  Talk to our nutrition or naturapath to personalise a program just for you! 
• Remember you may have some setbacks, that’s okay! Get right back up again and figure out what your main triggers are. Take note and put practices in place to avoid that temptation.
• Live your life! Don’t forget to live, don’t drown yourself in saying no to everything… life is just too short to appreciate the good things, just do it in small doses. Sooner than later the positive changes you’ve made become a habit and you’ll find you won’t want it anyway. 

The main thing is to change your perspective and frame of mind when it comes to diet and lifestyle. Believe that you can and you really will. You can achieve results, you can be confident and you can succeed.  Be honest with yourself and accept that changing habits doesn’t happen overnight but it sure doesn’t take as long as you think once you truly commit. It’s one of the toughest, most challenging yet rewarding experiences. You can do it!

 
                                      [image] retrieved from:  http://quotesmag.tumblr.com/page/8 

Want some guidance? Talk to our experienced nutritionists here or why not look at our life changing detox plans.

Ok, so we have all heard about detoxification and how great it is, but why is it so important? Does it really help our bodies or is it just another master scheme to get us to spend money? The answer is, yes, detoxification is a crucial component to achieving optimum health and should be done on a regular or quarterly basis. (1)

Why should we detoxify?

What goes in – must come out and our liver is working around the clock to remove that morning coffee, last night's’ wine and that delicious little muffin you just ate. Everything goes through the liver. Detoxification is compiled of many intricate and wondrous biochemical reactions to help rid your body of nasty toxin build up. Did you know that we are consistently detoxifying? Every bit of air we breathe, food we drink, meals we eat must be digested, put to good use or detoxified.

What our liver detoxifies each day:

• Metabolic end-waste
• Perfume and personal care products
• Washing detergents
• Food Pesticides and added hormones
• Pollutants and heavy metals
• Alcohol and Medications
• Food preservatives
• Paints and cleaning products

Who would have thought – we’re surrounded! These nasty substances can build up and guess where they are stored – your fat cells! Yikes!                          

Signs & Symptoms of Toxicity:

• Dry skin, eczema or acne
• Sinus congestion, irritated eyes or a runny nose
• Headaches, neck pain, joint or back pain
• Constipation, bloating or flatulence
• Inability to lose weight
• Insomnia, fatigue, depression, and irritability
• Frequent infections or allergic reactions
• Bad breath or body odour

How does it work?

Put simply, the liver has a 2 phase protocol:

Phase 1: Our body stimulates a variety of biochemical reactions to reduce the toxic compound into a less harmful and more soluble molecule. Free radicals are synthesised during these processes and must be excreted to avoid further damage in the body, which is why phase 2 is crucial.

Phase 2: The toxic chemicals bind with another substance allowing excretion to occur.

Top 10 Ways To Detoxify The Body:

1. Eliminate all processed foods
2. Eat all the colours of the rainbow with fresh organic fruit, vegetables and meats (this is why we are so passionate about nourishing food, so much goodness!
3. Drink plenty of filtered water or herbal teas (I recommend something containing green tea, dandelion root and St. Mary’s thistle)
4. Antioxidant rich foods such as berries and green leafy vegetables – I am in love with our GoodMix PondWater, which has amazing detoxification benefits (seriously!)
5. Consuming raw juices and bone broths to obtain nutrients – Try our homemade broths
6. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugar and other non-essential drugs
7. Avoid inflammatory compounds in foods such as dairy, wheat, legumes and soy
8. Endeavour to obtain 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night, without sufficient sleep the body reduces repair and detox time
9. Reduce stress, implement at least 10 - 20 minutes of meditation, affirmations or relaxation techniques daily
10. Exercise! Yep, we all know this one – so find something you love! Without sufficient exercise in our lives, we are depriving ourselves of sweating out toxins, circulating the blood, building/ repair/maintenance of bones and muscle, the release of natural endorphins along with optimising our energy levels.

Try our nourishing Chicken and Wild Rice Bone Broth Soup

What you receive with the Wholesomeness 30 and 14 Day Reset Plans:

• $100 FREE gift card to use with Brisbane Natural Health
• FREE personal training session with Training Spot
• 1 whole week FREE classes with Training Spot
• FREE support guru to help you through your detox
• 14 or 30 days of prepared meals and snacks
• Eating only organic, pastured meats and fresh locally sourced vegetables
• Elimination of sugar, grains, dairy, legumes and preservatives
• Delivered 3 times per week fresh to your door – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• Choose Pickup or delivery to Brisbane
• Two Free Days if you book 30 Days

Please note: It is important that if you are pregnant and elderly detoxification is a big no-no, if you are suffering from a current health situation, discuss a program with your health professional prior to any detoxification implementations.

Image 1: Reference http://www.positiveandhealthy.com/2016/03/21/symptoms-shows-body-full-toxins/ Retrieved 21/07/16

(1) http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/030314p34.shtml, date retrieved 21/07/2016

Before you reach for the chippies, chocolates or energy drinks try these energy boosting snack ideas that will keep you going to the next main meal.

Steering clear of simple carbohydrates is the key to healthy snacking. Low fibre, easily digested carbs found in refined grains tend to raise your blood sugar, which can leave you hungry again in a few hours.

I have to admit, I used to be a big snacker...in fact I would happily graze all day missing lunch completely before I got organised and serious about good nutrition, by taking control of my main meals and overall diet. I am amazed at how much more energy I have now. Besides, flaking out at 4.00pm is simply not an option now that I have small children!

The trick to healthy snacking is to ensure it's not too much food to interfere with your appetite for that next main meal. Digestion is a four hour process and if you're not getting hungry in between meals your gastro intestinal system is not going to turn on the right hormones to process the food you are eating, leading to digestive issues and weight gain.

So if you have lunch at 12.00pm but are planning dinner with friends at 7.00 or 8.00pm, you might need a snack to get you through at about 4.00pm.

There are endless choices for snacks - and most packaged ones should be avoided. They usually contain vegetable oils, sugar (in all it's many forms) and salt. A much wiser choice would be something fresh like fruit, vegetable sticks or whole foods with little processing, and look for a balance of the healthiest sources of fats, carbs, and protein. For example:

1. Natural or Greek-style yoghurt with a sprinkling of grain-free granola (see our new range of Good Mix products in the online menu like Neo-Blend here)
2. 35g of a home made trail mix, we add our favourite nuts like cashews, pecans, walnuts and almonds, a small amount of dried fruit like goji berries, apricots, dates and cherries, flaked coconut and pepitas - you can even add a piece of low sugar dark chocolate (see our other new offering, Pana Chocolate here)
3. A small portion of hummus or home made pesto dip - about 1/4 cup is enough for a snack - and have with it broccoli florrets, baby carrots and cucumbers and cherry tomatoes
4. An apple sliced, served on a small plate with 1 Tbsp almond butter slathered on the edges
5. A banana sliced lengthways with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter spread on and sandwiched back together
6. Your choice of cheese (just a small wedge), a piece of pear and some raisins (like a mini cheese platter for one - this is my personal all time favourite snack)
7. A small fruit with a sprinkling of grain-free granola or a garden salad (think a cup full or 250ml), shaved parmesan and a dash of good quality olive oil will definitely keep you going until that 8.00pm dinner scenario.

There is no need to deny yourself a little snack here and there. But if you find yourself zombified at 3.30pm everyday, it might be time to reassess what you are eating for breakfast and lunch on a regular basis. Is there a good balance of carbs, protein and fats for your body and brain? You are an individual, only you will know what is right for you.

Basil Pesto Dip Recipe

1. Place a bunch of basil (leaves and small stems only),
   1/4 cup pine nuts,
   1/4 cup cashews,
   30g parmesan (cut into small pieces),
   30ml good quality extra virgin olive oil and
   1 small clove of garlic
   in a food processor and process until combined.
2. Place dip in a bowl and serve with broccoli florrets, sliced capsicum 'scoops' baby carrots, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes

What are your favourite snacks?

Don't miss out on the things you love - that's no fun! Take a step back (when you're not starving at 3.00pm and dreaming of chocolate cake) and see if you can 'healthify' your favourite snack food. Let me know in the comments below what you crave and I'll answer with some ideas on how to make it more healthy for you.

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If you’re struggling with changing your diet and lifestyle, you may want to consider hiring a health coach, the idea is pretty simple – you want to make the changes necessary to be your best – but ‘stuff’ keeps getting in the way. A coach can help you listen to your body first and use the information that best works for you.

As a Nutrition Consultant and Certified Health Coach I'd love to talk to you about a free introduction to Health Coaching. To make a one-on-one appointment contact me today on george@wholesomeness.com.au