the beauty of allowing others to interrupt your very important work

This is a behaviour in myself I really wish wasn’t part of my makeup: friends call or drop in or write to ask if they can come stay and sometimes, not always, but way too often, I get…antsy. I feel they’re going to break my stride, stop me from achieving things.

125434 5 600 the beauty of allowing others to interrupt your very important work
Photo by Rachel de Joode

On the phone I’m too often distracted. When they drop in it takes me a good 15 minutes and some internal self-talk to be cool. And when I have someone coming to stay I have to talk myself down from a mild panic. This is partly borne from working for myself from home – my parameters are very loose and loved ones can forget that my lounge and kitchen is my office and that at 10am, when they want me to hang on the beach with them when they come visit, I’m meant to be at work.

I get irritated. I want the world to just go away in that moment.

I know not all of you work in the same manner, so you might not empathise. But maybe you do. Because you might find personal calls at work distracting. Or impromptu weekend drop-ins annoying when you’re in the middle of a project. Or when you’re stressed, visitors might tax your tolerance quotient. You issue impatient, “Yep, yep, yeps” as they talk.

If you do, you might find comfort in some ideas I came across.

Recently I read Trust the Process by Shaun McNiff, which is seriously a great book for anyone who gets writer’s block or struggles to access their creativity. He writes that

Picasso welcomed visitors to his studio because they recharged his creative energies.

It was these distractions that provided his inspiration for the day. His muses were people who popped by on that day.

Then Stephen King in On Writing said this:

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23 tips for beautiful food photography

Now. You might have noticed (and politely not commented): I’m am THE crappiest food photographer going around.

Cooking? I’m in my element. Dreaming up flavour combinations? Few can rival my boundless creativity (hyperbole alert). But I just seem to descend into an impatient numbskullness when it comes to capturing it in a pretty pic.

EDOC4006 23 tips for beautiful food photography
photo by Aran Goyoaga, Cannelle et Vanille

 

I’ve been meaning to ask a few friends of this site for a while to share their tricks. They most gracefully agreed to share theirs here with us all. And all of them are indeed graceful…their pictures speak more than my words can…

Aran Goyoaga, food stylist, writer + photographer

Her blog: Cannelle et Vanille, a basque-inspired mix of food, life, and photography.

Her story: a gorgeous Basque ex-pat living in the US since 1998. We connected online and share auto-immune love (Aran also has thyroid issues)…there’s a little community of us who’ve connected in this way and we plan to unite on a project one day, don’t we Aran!? Aran runs food styling workshops around the country and her first cookbook will be published later this year.

1. Lighting is everything. Shoot in natural light when possible. Find a bright space, but try to avoid direct sunlight as it casts harsh shadows on subject. If sun is right on top, diffuse the light with a diffuser, a sheer curtain or even a sheet of parchment paper taped to the window. Manipulate light using white or black foam board. White will reflect even more light into the subject and black will take away. Play with these elements until you find the bright/darkness balance that speaks to you and the mood you want to evoke.

EDOC9207 23 tips for beautiful food photography
photo by Aran Goyoaga, Cannelle et Vanille

2. Determine what the focus of your image will be. Then think about what depth of field suits this image that you want to create. You will have to think about the lens you want to use. Once I have determined the lens I will use, I examine the light available. I set my aperture and ISO according to the light. The aperture I select will also affect the depth of field so I take that into account. I always shoot in manual mode so I control all the settings and I shoot RAW.

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how to choose a toxin-free sunscreen

*this post has been updated in red below

Sunscreens confuse me. They’re full of toxins…should I bother with it at all? Zinc? (oooh, but the nano-particles?!)…You too? Good. I did some scouting, asked experts and here’s what I found…just in time for Australia Day!!

Picture 15 how to choose a toxin-free sunscreen
photo via bauhaus

A lot of the sunscreens out there do NOT protect us against harmful UV rays, plus they can contain chemicals that affect our hormones, damage our skin, and sometimes increase the risks of skin cancer. Oh, the tedious, messy, modern-life irony of it all! Today’s post is going to try to get to the bottom of the sunscreens that are purposeful AND harmless.

However, my advice, first and foremost, is:

don’t use sunscreen

Covering up with a hat and clothing, and not staying out in the sun too long, is the best tact. No chemicals, no “stuff” and far more economical. But also (and, yes, I know it goes against how we were raised)…

Getting sun, without sunscreen, is actually good. Better than good actually. Recent studies reveal that people who spend more time outdoors without getting sunburnt, actually decrease their risk of developing melanoma. The benefits of Vitamin D exposure (which can only be reaped without sunscreen) actually protect against many types of cancer; including breast, colon, endometrial, esophageal, ovarian, bladder, gallbladder, gastric, pancreatic, prostate, rectal, and renal cancers, as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Indeed, more people die of Vitamin D deficiency-based cancers than from melanoma. I’ve written about it previously here.

Get sun every day, but only for 20-40 minutes at a time and, if you’re in Australia, before 10am and after 5pm.

Just don’t get burnt. (In countries with less harsh sunlight, any time of day is fine for sun…and in fact advisable by many doctors these days.)

I get sun every day. BUT I never stay out sunbaking. AND I stay out of the sun in the middle of the day. I personally wear sunscreen ONLY if I’m outside longer than 20 minutes in the middle of the day…the sun here is just too strong. Plus, I generally find that by eating coconut oil – which has an SPF of four – this protects me. You can read more here. So. If you use sunscreen…

non-nano zinc oxide is best

Sunscreens come in two forms:

  • physical sunscreens, containing either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which form a film on top of the skin that reflects or scatters UV light.

These are your best option.

  • chemical sunscreens, which absorb UV rays before they can do damage.

The Environmental Protection Agency‘s graph below features chemical and physical sunscreen ingredients, as well as the type and amount of ray protection that they provide and their class. Note how zinc oxide fares.

FDA-approved-sunscreen-ingredients

don’t want zinc? what next?

If you’re going for a chemical sunscreen, you need to know this:

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Morning Show fluff + truth + the last IQS supper

Happy respill everyone. I’m heading off to watch the disaster that is Australian politics unfold. Personally, I’m glad/not surprised it’s all happening. Truth must find its way out. It can only fester below the surface of consciousness so long before the pressure builds up. The boil must be lanced. And we are at a point, … Read more

a friday giveaway: 5 x Science of Stillness meditation memberships worth $300

So you’ve reached the end of eight weeks of sugar-free life. Here’s to a new, calm, life – free of sugar (!)

To that end, this week I’m giving away

five x premium memberships to Science of Stillness, each valued at $297

to help you kick off your new life.

120541727495826098 FqaWfyHq f a friday giveaway: 5 x Science of Stillness meditation memberships worth $300
image via maui yoga

Tom Cronin (who I met in Bondi a few years back) and Nick Broadhurst have created the Science of Stillness , an online personal transformation program that teaches you meditation.

My assistant Jo has been testing it out for the past few weeks and I asked her to share the gist:

Jo: I was keen to check out the Stillness Sessions as I’ve been wanting to try this meditation style for a while now. The Science of Stillness program is a seven module online video program. Once you’re logged in, you have a personalised dashboard, which you can edit and update, and use to search posts, comments, and the forums. Easy, clean to navigate. No angst!

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Detox holiday? Nah. Ride around New Zealand instead

Detox holidays. Everyone’s doing them, right? I call them “poo holidays”…you know.. the ones where people dart off to Bali or India or Thailand to detox and clean out their insides…if you know what I mean.

Picture 41 Detox holiday? Nah. Ride around New Zealand instead
photo via chicksandbikes.blogspot.com

From what I hear they entail drinking clay (to grab’n’drag whatever’s clinging to their guts) and pumping all manner of things (coffee, herbs) up their you-know-whats. Oh, and then pooing everything back out again.  It’s Operation Eliminate…sitting by a pool. My friend Deb goes twice a year. “I come back scrubbed out and recalibrated,” she says.

I’ve never done such a retreat. I mean, you would’ve read about it if I had.

I guess I cling to the idea that our bodies have their own divine way of sorting out our (I promise this is the last mention) shit. I realize I’m about to sound like my Mum when she’d offer me a celery stick when I complained of being hungry. But I think a far better way to detox is to do stuff.  Stuck? Move a little. Eaten badly? Eat a stack of good stuff. We are dynamic beings, not passive vessels in need of a hose out.

Me. I prefer to keep things clean and simple. I do bike riding holidays. I always have. I’ve seen New Zealand, Spain, California, The Netherlands, Vietnam, Tasmania, vast tracts of NSW and Victoria by bike as well as the 3000km stretch of coast running from Brisbane to Cairns stopping off at all possible gaudy Big Edible Items en route.

Recently I was invited to ride around the Hawke’s Bay region in New Zealand. It came at a time when I needed to get clean and clear (just after I decided to abort my book project). It was perfect.

[Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest of Tourism New Zealand to experience their new Cycle Trails, a project of 18 new trails that zig-zag across both islands. They know I’ve ridden quite a bit of the country before and thought I’d like to check it out.]

Five reasons to detox on a bike

  1. Head down and watching spokes spin, you have a lot of time to think. Actually, it’s more a purging of thoughts. After up to nine hours in the saddle, the toxic thoughts eventually peter out. They just do. And then sweet, Zen-like emptiness. Previously I’ve reinvented my career, had insights into my future, had emotional purgings…the lot! All atop a saddle.
  2. The pedaling motion is also great for lymphatic drainage. So is the sweating. So is the sun.

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Coconut and cheese biscuits (plus 3 more coconut flour treats)

I’m coming to terms with coconut flour. I wrote about the stuff a few weeks back and have been experimenting since. It’s tricky stuff. But once you get it…it gets you. Since a few of you asked…here are some more recipes I’ve been playing with.

DSC 00152 Coconut and cheese biscuits (plus 3 more coconut flour treats)

These biscuits (above) were an experiment…that worked. They’re (good) fat ‘n’ protein bombs. And as with everything I make, you can’t stuff them up. I just throw in ingredients until they’re the right consistency…so don’t fret about exacts.

I made a batch and froze them. This week I’ve been taking out two for breakfast and heating in the microwave (I know, I know…I haven’t parted with it yet; you can also reheat in a medium oven for a few minutes…but the energy to heat up an oven for a few minutes concerns me…ergo microwave). Great for putting in lunch boxes or for work.

But be warned: they’re super filling and nourishing. You won’t have cravings for hours. (Some of you have been asking about craving busters…).

PS. They taste like something between a cheese cracker and a scone…but denser, like a crumpet.

So, the recipe.

coconut and cheese biscuits

  • ½ cup almond flour or LSA (or other nut flour)
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
  • Salt, a good grind or two
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
  • a generous shake of chilli flakes or paprika
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup sifted coconut flour

Blend the almond flour, eggs, butter, salt, chilli and cheese.

Add the coconut flour and kneed the dough until a moist play dough consistency (1/2 cup of coconut flour might be enough…just see…you don’t want it too dry because it will continue to soak up the eggs…if your dough seems too dry, add another egg or extra butter).

Form dough into balls and put on a tray lined with baking paper. Flatten to either a thin cracker or a thicker (1cm) biscuit.

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The I Quit Sugar program: time to choose (week 8)

Two months. No sugar. It’s out of your system. Hoorah! Now it’s over to you. Do you feel you want to stay off sugar, or do you want to go back to the way things were? Do you want to reintroduce a bit of fructose or be a nah-a-skerrick-pass-thy-lips proponent?

Personally, I say do what you like. The point being, of course, now you’re in a position to choose. And THAT has been my point all along. We can’t choose when we eat too much of it because we’re hooked on it. We can choose when we’re clean, we can moderate when we’re clean, we can back off and recalibrate quickly when we’re clean.

247346204504320632 yRKI3y6c f The I Quit Sugar program: time to choose (week 8)
image via Food and Other Kitchen Obsessions

Some quick housekeeping

  • my final IQS webinar is on Monday 27th February, at 8pm (requests for a later start noted!).  Sign up here. And BIG apologies for losing the recording of the last one…a “fumble with the right button” malfunction.
  • I’m the keynote speaker at The Conscious Club THIS Wednesday night in Sydney. I’m talking about Stuff I Learned From Chats with The Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson et al. We meditate, chat and then eat food by Madam Char Char. Basically, it’s about doing something a bit different…and consciously so. I’ve written about it here…I’d love to meet people from this blog there. Come! A few tickets left.
  • I’ll be continuing with the giveaways, offers and information geared at no-sugar eaters. To have a limb in the running, make sure you’re signed up to the I Quit Sugar newsletter and I Quit Sugar Facebook page.
  • I promised a chocolate post as well as a post on whether it’s good to quit grains/carbs after quitting sugar. Oh, and a post with a rundown of what I eat most days. These are coming…

And a video…

Did you see this on Friday on Seven’s Today Tonight? I feature in it…and have a very tabloid moment where I gaze out to the distance, pensively. Please try not to laugh…And WHAT’S with my lisp? It’s a shame they didn’t quite get the fructose explanation right. And the nutritionist dude didn’t quite explain that our brains need glucose not “sugar” (the kind he’s referring to). But…

A final note from me….

You’ve probably noticed of late…quitting sugar has attracted a lot of attention…and flak. I explain why I think this happens in the book. As you know. It’s also a VERY politically charged issue. And commercially charged. [I’m doing a podcast with David Gillespie on this in a few days.]

Plus, I admit, there are some extremists out there who ruin it for the rest of us. They scare the nutritionists and the columnists into thinking this is some militant diet.

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Friday giveaway: vanessa megan hand cream packs

This Friday I’m in Melbourne and working on an exciting project with my mate Marija…details will come! In the interim…I’m giving away 25 x Vanessa Megan hand wash & cream packs valued at $30.00  I recently met Vanessa through a mutual friend in Byron. She’s a woman passionate about providing natural and organic skin care … Read more

what’s with all the gluten intolerances?? let me explain…

You might have read a column by a former colleague of mine Mia Freedman recently where she questioned people’s food intolerances, specifically gluten, and avoidance of certain foods, specifically sugar. Funnily, I’m both intolerant to gluten and had to quit sugar due to an autoimmune disease.

I was asked during Monday’s webinar for my thoughts. Which I shared. Sadly, it wasn’t saved (the webinar, that is…sorry!). And so I thought I’d post a more detailed response to some of the questions Mia asked, such as, Why so many intolerances? And, Why now? And, Really?

114752 1 600 what's with all the gluten intolerances?? let me explain...
Pic by Jason Schembri

First up. I agree with this point: evangelists are painful. Sharing of information is good. Being your message is ace. And, always, doing your own thing is cool. But preaching does no one favours.

But as David Gillespie wrote during the week on Twitter in reaction to the column, most folk who don’t eat gluten or sugar don’t talk about it….until they’re interrogated as to why they’re not eating their cake.

People want details. They want proof. They want to learn more. Sometimes they want to catch you out.

As to whether quitting sugar has merits…you can catch up here and here

As to whether gluten intolerances are valid, and to the issue of “why suddenly now”… well…I’m going to share facts. No evangelising.

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