My simple home: why I chose a latex mattress

I struggle with sleep. It’s elusive stuff. It’s largely related to my auto-immune disease (although sometimes I wonder what comes first…). I’ve written about my insomnia here, and I’ve shared a bunch of sleep solutions you all sent in here. But at some point I had to look at my bed.

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Image via Favim.com

I’ve been sleeping on a coil spring ensemble for 11 years. I’ve previously been told they ain’t great for you, especially for AI folk – they’re essentially EMF conductors. But I’m vocally and stridently against chucking stuff out just because a product no longer suits my principles or whatever. Thus, for many years it’s been a dilemma – replace or stay and burn?

But this is where I have arrived: my old bed is 11 years old and it’s generally advised you should replace a coil spring mattress after ten. Plus, I need a guest bed (my coil-y one will move into my spare room). All of which- now that I’ve weighed up the various factors – has given me a green light to get myself a new bed.

Please note: In this My Simple Home series I implore you to weigh up your own predicament at every turn as I have above. Please don’t chuck stuff out other than as a carefully considered last option.

I have researched my options for several months now and the Big Fat Conclusion I’ve arrived at is that…

a latex mattress with a wooden slatted base is best.

 

Me, personally, I’ve chosen the Bio Latex mattress from The Comfort Shop, and I’ll explain why.

And just so you know, this is a sponsored post, but opinions are all my own and I researched the topic and approached The Comfort Shop myself. You’ll find my position on sponsored posts and advertising here.

So why latex?

 

It’s 100% natural. Latex – despite the scientific-y name – comes from latex vessels under the bark of the rubber tree. Which means…

It’s best for your health. Latex is hypoallergenic so it’s great for allergy sufferers or for people who suffer from hay fever, asthma and respiratory problems.

Oh, and it’s also anti-microbial. Rubber trees have a protective anti-microbial “milk” to protect it from damage. The milk forms a protective layer to

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Why I visited an abattoir

I think some of you noticed on my social media outpourings recently that I visited an abattoir in Tamworth. I want to explain why. And how. And what I came away with. For it was a deeply emotional and BIG LIFE thing to do on a sodden Friday afternoon. I hope I can fairly reflect it all here.

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I’m a spokesperson for the beef and lamb industry’s Target100 program, charged with sharing information about sustainable beef and lamb consumption. And before we kick off:

This is a paid role. But my opinions in this blog are my own. And I should highlight that I approached the organisation myself – for information – in the first instance.

For those wondering, this is how I work when it comes to being paid for things.

This topic – meat eating and sustainability – matters massively to me. And I’ve been on a mission to get my head around the issues and the challenges that we all face – whether we eat meat or not.

So why go see an abattoir?

Because I want to make sure I really get what’s going on. If I’m going to rant on the topic, I have to see the full picture. This is where the world is at: we want transparency (because a troll or two will trip us up if we deliver anything but).

The Target100 crew asked if I’d like to see how the whole meat production picture works here in Australia. I said, “Right up I do”. And so we headed to Tamworth. To visit breeders (the Sprys farm), feedlots (where a lot of our supermarket meat comes from), the paddock-to-plate restaurant Graze (this place is worth a stop-off if you’re in the area…they grow, butcher and age their own meat and really know how to grill a rib eye steak), and the Teys Australia abattoir – or processing plant as they prefer to be called.
I can tell you, I’ve never seen anything like it.

Eat meat? Then you must explore.

If you eat meat, it’s unconscionable not to explore where it comes from.
Equally if you don’t eat meat. For a vegan diet also relies on meat. Where do you think the fertilizer comes from to feed your soy and grains?

As a relevant aside, my food philosophy is squarely about sustainability.

We can care about organic v local v grain-fed v pasture-fed v farmer’s market-selected v supermarket-bought. But really, the discussion we need to have is about sustainability – both of the planet and its food systems, and ourselves. Because the reality is there simply ain’t enough food – meat or otherwise – to feed us all. I’ve spoken to

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11 sugar-free Easter tricks (plus free IQS shipping!!)

A sugar-free Easter…I’ve done a few now. It is possible. You just have to come to regard pre-masticated, additive-addled chocolate confection as a vile non-food and a waste of your salivary glands. Which it is.

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Raspberry Ripple Easter friends, modified from my recipe (below) by The Rogue Ginger and shared on Instagram.

The last few weeks I’ve been in chocolate mode, putting together my next ebook…yes…a sugar-free chocolate cookbook. I’m not giving away too much yet, so you’ll have to make do with these ideas below for now. Many are based on recipes in my I Quit Sugar book. Which, as an Eastery bonus, you can

buy here from today and get FREE shipping!

* Save $7 if you’re in Australia.

* If you’re purchasing internationally, it’ll cost you a flat $7 for shipping (again, save $7). To anywhere!

* The FREE SHIPPING offer runs from today until April 8.

But to the ideas….

1. My raspberry ripple, with a Lent-breaking twist.  

This fun chocolate bunny (image above) is a great kid-friendly Easter idea. Simply set the ripple in a bunny/chick/egg mould instead of creating a bark, as set out in my cookbook.

Raspberry Ripple

  • 1/3- 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup organic salted butter (be sure to use salted…the saltiness gives it a lovely kick)
  • 2 tbls raw cacao, or cocoa
  • 1 tbls rice malt syrup
  • 1/3 cup coconut, shredded or flakes (for a chunkier version)
  • 1/3 cup of frozen raspberries

Melt the butter and oil (in a pan or microwave…the oil takes longer to melt so add the butter a little after); stir in the cacao and syrup. Arrange the berries and coconut in the moulds.

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a little more catching up

This week I did my third I Quit Sugar book signing – at Dymocks in George Street, where the book is currently sitting at #2. Damn Jodi and her highly digestible fiction!

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I’ve shared a few of the I Quit Sugar media stories recently, but here’s some more. In case you were wondering what to read this weekend!

1. From Marie Claire, “Back to Basics”,  an overview of the Paleo movement and where sugar fits into this. I outline my position, thus:

Author and media commentator Sarah Wilson calls her sugar-free approach to food as “Paleo-ish” – and it’s gaining huge popularity. “Most people intuitively feel we’re on the wrong track with sugar-based eating,” she says. “But we’re exhausted by competing food messages. People just want something that makes sense.”

For Wilson, nothing made better sense than cutting out processed foods and eating more like her grandparents rather than her Stone Age ancestors. It’s not strict and aside from addressing her debilitating autoimmune disease, it freed her from the “blood sugar roller-coaster”.

“I was constantly worried, trying to resist sugar. I used to be resigned to feeling like crap every afternoon. Now, I realise how toxic sugar can be,” she says.

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You can read the full article here.

2. Sophie Miura at Madison magazine, wrote this great rundown. I was pleased to note the nutritionists she consulted were very balanced in their thinking.

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what’s better for the planet: ebooks or print books?

I try not to got holier than thou with environmental footprint prescriptives. I try. (Although, when it comes to bottled water, I’m rather unforgiving.) Mostly I prefer to advocate making better choices. And mostly there is a better choice. And small, everyday, mindful things we can all do.

Image via We Heart It
Image via We Heart It

Problem is, there is so much misinformation out there. How about we spend today clearing a few up? Below is a mix of my own tips and some “dilemmas: sorted” courtesy of one of my favourite magazines, Green Lifestyle Magazine.

What’s better: dishwashers v hand washing?

Based on Green Lifestyle Mag’s research, dishwashers work out better. But here’s some tips for both:

  • Dishwashers come out on top – they use less water and are usually better on the electrical energy – when stacked properly and you do a full load.
  • If washing by hand, use two sinks – one full of hot, sudsy water for washing, and another for rinsing.
  • Clean a dishwasher filter regularly for increased efficiency, and, if you can, bypass the drying phase – simply open the door to let out air while the dishes are hot – you’ll be surprised how quickly they dry.
  • If you’re in the market for a new dishwasher, shop by the stars.

Tip I want to share: boil only as much water as you need in your kettle.

Kettles and jugs are one of the BIGGEST suck holes of energy in your kitchen. So many people fill the jug unnecessarily to make one cup of tea. Don’t be one of them!

What’s better: print books versus ebooks?

The e-book appears to be greener (when you weigh up the eco-cost of paper v the energy and tech infrastructure used to make an eReader), according to Green Lifestyle Mag‘s research. Here’s a few notes to help you if you’re new to

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Treat your car as a sanctuary

I have a trick I use to deal with my anxiety that you might like to know about.

Image by Carlos Gotay
Image by Carlos Gotay

But first, some clarification. My brand of anxiety comes with the tagline: The Great Lurch Forward. My nervousness is very much tied to my being in a permanent state of forward flight. Not fright. Just the flight bit. I don’t really get frightened.

(I know I talk about my anxiety a lot. Especially lately. But it’s a theme for now. And I write about my current themes, as they emerge. Apologies to those of you who don’t get anxious.)

I tend to breathlessly lunge into the future with every cell during most moments of my days. I think those of you who tend to have your anxiety tied to fright (as opposed to flight) are more tied to the past. Just an idea (I’d love your thoughts). Either way, we both know peace is in the present. Right?

When I wake at 4am, instead of going back to sleep, my mind races to what I need to do that day. I just want to get up and started. When I meditate I think about breakfast. When I’m eating breakfast, I’m thinking of my first email for the day. I’m always prepared. But never present.

My gorgeous friend Poh said to me over dinner on the weekend that I’m “always fleeing”. “You are sitting here,

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how to slow cook lamb shanks

There’s a chill in the air. I just put on a poncho (admittedly, over a floaty summer dress). And the light has softened in a dreamy Autumnal way. All of which is a flagrant invite to me to haul out my slow cooker and start stewing. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my food focus going forward is to share ways to consume food more consciously. It goes like this: food waste is the biggest environmental havoc-wrecker (it creates more greenhouse emissions than cars and cows) and we – the consumers – are the biggest food wasters. About half of all food produced is tossed out by us. It makes me weep…and get fired up.

Slow cooked lamb shanks: recipe below
Slow cooked lamb shanks: recipe below

If you want to get some great tips on how to conserve your meat better at home, check out the Target100 site. Although, a no-brainer solution is to slow cook your meat. How so? Four birds with the one stone:

* Slow cooking requires you use cheap cuts of meat.

You don’t use sirloin in a slow cooker. You use the tougher and bonier cuts – shanks, neck, shins, cheeks and so on. In other words – the bits most folk don’t buy. And, so, they’re cheaper. Which means you can then make more ethical meat buying decisions (ie pay more for organic and pasture fed).

* Slow cooking gets the most from your meat.

The slower cooking process extracts the juices, the cartilage, the marrow, the minerals – all of which are great for your health. But the bonus is that the entire meal cooks in this nutritional soup – nothing is wasted. Oh, and because it’s slow cooked, less enzymes are destroyed, in both the meat and vegetables. I’ve shared on why we need enzymes in our food before.

* Slow cooking means you can use less meat.

Well, it should. Because so much flavour and goodness is extracted in the process of slow cooking, you can afford to use less meat and bulk the meal with vegetables. I’ll be showing you some clever tricks for doing this over coming months…

* Slow cookers save time and energy and washing up.

Don’t be freaked out by the fact you leave a slow cooker on for up to 8 hours. A slow cooker uses about the same amount of electricity as a light bulb

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Is your cooking oil making you sick?

My mate David Gillespie has a new book out: Toxic Oil: Why Vegetable Oil Will Kill You and How to Save Yourself. David and I have chatted before (you can find that conversation here) about the central premise of this new book: that “vegetable oils” (or seed oils) are bad and saturated fats are what we should be eating. Which, of course, is the opposite of what we’ve been told by nutritionist and government bodies for the past 60 years or so. Which is, of course, the period in which “modern diseases” such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disease have been on the rampant rise. Draw breath.

Image via Shutterstock.com
Image via Shutterstock.com

But in today’s chat we’re going to keep it to (mostly) practicalities: which oils to eat, which foods to avoid at the supermarket and some smart food swaps to make.

Listen in:

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For those wondering whether to invest the time in our ramble, here’s a taste of what we cover:

* What oils to use for deep frying, for pan frying and for roasting.

* The clever rule of thumb for making sure you’re not oxidising yourself: everything you eat should contain less

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An eccentric and some e-loveliness

I have days when I resent blogging. I’ve been blogging now for almost four years, 3-4 posts every week, largely unpaid for my toils, sometimes uprooted by trolls. I wonder why I do it. Some days. I mean, why would any sane person expose their controversial brain farts, their innermost reflections and their ugliest fears to hundreds of thousands of strangers each month who are then free to pull apart such thoughts and farts among their friends and in their own heads? My family ask me this often in their unaffected, un-social-media’d way. But, then, they know I have always been a slightly unhinged personality.

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But just as I’m about to throw in the towel, I get reminded of why I blog and why I’m so bloody blessed.

I blog because it allows me to help people. I don’t have dibs on myself. I’m largely a selfish, tight, hard-to-live-with, neurotic human. But I get the biggest kick out of helping other raw, open humans who, too, struggle at times just to get out of bed each day and go through the human experience. Nothing else matters. This is my dharma. And, as I say, just when I doubt myself – working as I do in my isolated, tight, selfish way – I’ll be reminded of said dharma. Someone will come up to me in the supermarket and tell me their story. Or I’ll hear about how a post I wrote connected two strangers on opposite sides of the world, who then helped each other out…generously, openly, lovingly.

This happened a year or so ago when a reader – Gordon – followed my advice to get a VA in a second-world country. Gordon was so touched by the VAs work and life story, he and his wife went to visit him in Thailand and helped him start up his own company, which enabled him to get married. Gordon and his wife went to the wedding, too. He shared this story with Jo and I. It made me weep at the time.

It happened again this week. SMACK BANG as I needed it. Reader Soula contacted me and asked if I’d mind writing to a young family member who was in hospital suffering from depression. She thought a note from me might cheer her up. She likes my blog and book.

I wrote to the relative. I checked first to see if she’d mind my sharing what I shared with her:

“I thought I’d just do a shout out to you and say I’m thinking about you. …I get low. Real low. I

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cooling cucumber and yoghurt soup

Here are a few food rules I subscribe to: eat stuff in season, when it’s cheap, and in contrast to what’s going on with the weather. The first two edicts are self-explanatory. The third might need some detail.

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I eat in a “roughly Ayurvedic” way. I’ve written about how this works here. It’s mostly about eating to what your body needs, taking into consideration your “type” or “dosha”. I’m a vatta with a fair bit of pitta in me too. In summer, the pitta can play up. We get hot. Pitta types get hot and need to be cooled. Mine has been sweating it out a bit lately. And once one dosha is out, the rest get wobbly, too.

And, so, today, as we (here in Australia) sweat out the last of the summer heat, a simple cooling and hydrating recipe for the pitta in us all.

Cucumbers are the ultimate cooling food and are a very good source of vitamin C and caffeic acid, compounds that help the body prevent water retention, a problem that I am battling right now.

A few notes:

* Avoid peeling your cuces: the skin is full of fibre and is a good source of potassium and magnesium – all of which help with the hydrating process. Also, can I just say…what a horrific waste?? Further, skin maketh a chunkier soup.

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