I need your help with I Quit Sugar in America!

I start by apologising: I’m about to ask a favour. I don’t normally do this kind of thing and I’ll try not to make a habit of it. But I would love your help on this occasion.

This is the cover of the US edition of I Quit Sugar. Same-same-but-pleasantly-different.
This is the cover of the US edition of I Quit Sugar. Same-same-but-pleasantly-different.

In two weeks I Quit Sugar comes out in America. In fact, I write this post as I await my flight to Seattle (I then head to Calgary and then New York). But the way things in US Bookland work is this: if a stack of people pre-order the book – buy it before its release on April 8 – then it has fighting chance of becoming a “bestseller” and then (as a result) being stocked across the whole of America. Which is my aim. To get the book to everyone who wants or needs it. No force feeding, of course. Just available as an invitation.

So, to keep it simple (oh, I feel awkward asking – sorry!): I’d truly love it if any of you interested in buying the book could do so via pre-order. Like, today. So…

If you are a US or Canadian reader

* Click here to pre-order the book now.

* You will receive a free mini sugar-free cocktail cookbook. You’ll be able to download it straight after pre-ordering, so you can get playing right away. Click here to learn more.

* Of course you can wait until the book appears in stores April 8. But a pre-order will help me out a stack. You pay the same price for the pre-order, get something for free, plus you’ll get the book ahead of everyone else. No downside.

If you’re Australian…

* I’d love you to share this message with your American mates – alert them to my fumbly favor.

* For your troubles, I’m giving away a few thank you prizes: a Tefal Soup & Co (valued at $299) which blends smoothies and

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Seven ways to make your blog better

I recently posted my 1000th blog. I figure this puts me in a good position to share a few ideas that might help you if you’re starting out or want to extend things a little.

Image via The Berry
Image via The Berry

1.    If you’re just getting started…

here’s how to start a blog.

Just get into the mosh pit. It doesn’t matter where. Just be in there. It’ll be messy. Everyone will forgive you, though. Then piece things together as you go, build, layers, learn from working out the problems. Don’t panic that you’re getting it wrong. Continue. This is the new frontier.

2. If you’ve been blogging for a while, here’s a podcast I did with Srinivas Rao of Blogcast FM on how to develop your blog voice.

I cover off:

  • The foundations of traditional journalism
  • The power of including your personal story in your content
  • Why the message is more important than the medium
  • Keys to studying another writer’s style
  • Developing a message and a voice that’s authoritative

3.    If you want to get more polish….

join Problogger Community.

This is a community for bloggers at any level where you can learn directly from some world-renowned full-time bloggers and meet, get advice from and collaborate with other bloggers around the world. 

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My fructose-free Chai Kombucha recipe…yes!

I’ve become a little obsessed with making kombucha. I’ve had a brew going continuously on my bench since I made my first batch a few weeks back.

Image via Nourished Kitchen
Image via Nourished Kitchen

One of the concerns some of you had was with the use of sugar to feed the yeast and bacteria. As I pointed out, very little sugar is left behind. But if you’re drinking a few nips of the stuff per day, it can add up to several teaspoons. So I gave things a crack using rice malt syrup, which contains no fructose. RMS is a blend of complex carbohydrates, maltose and glucose. It’s fructose free, slow releasing and doesn’t dump on the liver like pure glucose.

I’d read that honey doesn’t work when making kombucha – the theory being the antibacterial agents kill the SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). So I was a little concerned about RMS – it’s a fermented product and I had a picture of the different bacteria squabbling for attention in the bowl, eventually annihilating each other. Plus, I’d used RMS to make my Fermented Ginger-Ade and found it needed to be a blend of sugar and RMS to work properly. Oh, and having spoken to various experts and Googled the bejesus out of the topic, I found no one had tried it this way.

But, I can report back from the moldy frontline: Rice malt syrup makes a perfect kombucha.

Simply swap the sugar for the same amount of RMS in my Kombucha recipe and you’re away. You might need to leave it to ferment an extra day or two, and I think it does produce a slightly tarter result…which I personally MUCH prefer. If you’ve been off sugar a while, you’ll probably be the same.

I’ve since used this adjusted fructose-free version to make flavoured brews. Today I’m sharing my favourite: a Chai flavour.

Chai Kombucha

  • 3 cups plain kombucha (my original recipe uses a litre of water, but I find I’m left with a little over 3 cups, a little of which

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Getting too caught up

The other day my meditation teacher Tim introduced me to a young bloke over an impromptu lunch. I was not in the mood for meeting someone new, to be frank. I was thyroidy and scratchy and couldn’t deal with the “So, what do you do?” palaver (a conversation pivot point that always makes my eyes glaze over). But something piqued me to show up.

Image via Dangerous But Sweet Tumblr
Image via Dangerous But Sweet Tumblr

Turns out this young bloke (my goodness, I am sounding old) – Sebastian Terry – and I hung back and chatted for some time after Tim left. We’d got onto the “So, why do you do what you do?” train of chatting (a thoroughly meaty one).

Seb’s response was wonderfully naive and authentic: “To prioritise happiness”. Usually such facile answers annoy me. So do “bucket lists”, which is what Seb went on to develop. (After the death of a close friend when he was 27 he was forced to ask ‘Am I happy?’. The answer was no and so wrote a list of 100 Things – most of which are geared at helping others – that he’s systematically worked through over the past four years, relaying the experience in the book 100 Things and in a Discovery Networks documentary. So far he’s married a stranger in Vegas, helped push a man in a wheelchair for a half marathon and run with the bulls.)

But Seb was convincing. He spoke about how, since his massive success, he gets emails constantly asking him to explain the secret to his success and following. “I tell them I simply put happiness first,” he says. “But sometimes people don’t get it. They go and build a shiny website, and do a big launch, and try to do the same thing as me and expect it all to fall into place. But they’re too caught up.”

All this happened on the day I Quit Sugar For Life came out. I was stressed to buggery from some major publisher hiccups (long story) and, earlier in the day, I’d snapped at someone in an email. I’d been feeling very off kilter for weeks, actually, like I was

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This is my 1000th blog. Strewth.

I wrote my first blog post June 28, 2009. I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t. I was filming Masterchef at the time and needed something or someone a little more cerebral to engage with. So I chose, um, you lot!

Image via A Well Travelled Child Tumblr.
Image via A Well Travelled Child Tumblr.

Like many things that I try, if it feels right, I keep going and going. I questioned why I blogged every single day. I still do. But something compelled me to keep writing.

Mostly the comments fueled me from post to post. So did the people I e-met a long the way, some of whom I started up pen pal-like relationships with (I’m talking about you Shauna and Aran). My blog forced me to get real about what matters to me. And called me to account on slippery issues like cash for comment (you can see my policy on advertising here). It also encouraged me to be more generous and less precious about myself. The online world needs to operate that way and I learned that nothing I shared was new or “mine”.

And then it became my livelihood and I started employing People I Wanted To Be Around, starting with Jo.

And here we are today, 999 posts later. I don’t like fuss. But I thought I might celebrate a little and hand over 10 x ebook packs (each pack includes a copy of all of my ebooks) to 10 commenters on my site. Some from right back in the early days and some who’ve contributed a lot of their time and thoughts along the way. Thank you Ian Acheson, Mia Watson, Anthony Porter, Laura Valerie, Jo at Living Savvy, Mike Wilde, Sassi Sam, Liz Wiggins, Jules Eyre and Sarah at Inner Beam (you’ll be receiving an email from us shortly).

I’m also giving away an additional 10 packs to new friends…see below.

Also, since I get asked this a bit…

Some of my pivotal posts:

1. My first I Quit Sugar post. It all started here, as a gentle experiment (and mostly because I was short of a topic for my Sunday Life newspaper column).

2. The post where I first shared about my autoimmune disease.

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How to buy the most sustainable sofa (ever).

As many readers of this blog know, it’s taken me 40 years to buy a sofa. Which, it so happens, is 32 years longer than it took Steve Jobs.

Image via Favim.com
Image via Favim.com

I’ve previously found some comfort in the fact it took Jobs eight tortured years to find his perfect sofa and quietly repositioned my chronic couch commitment phobia as genius when I read that Job’s indecision was due to the same eccentric perfectionism that created the iPhone.

Perfectionism certainly stalled me, as it does often. In this case I feel (reasonably) justified. I do think it’s super important to make a thoroughly researched and mindful decision when it comes to big house hardware. A lot of resources go into creating, building and delivering them. As well as disposing of them once we realize we made a dumb, fashionable purchase.

I think it’s criminal that many of us now regard furniture as almost seasonal.

I don’t want to be the person chucking out a cheap sofa after three years.

I want to be the person who proudly holds on to it, allows stories to attach to it, has it in her life as a familiar totem and who can pass it on in 30 years to a loved one.

How about I outline a few factors I considered in making my decision, and some tips for buying the most sustainable, toxin-free, environmentally credible, practical, timeless, economical sofa possible. (For those not wanting to read all the way to the punch-line: I arrived at the “Leila” three-seater (deep option) by Jardan.)

First up, let’s be real:

  • The most sustainable option is second-hand. No new resources used, no waste going into landfill. Makes sense.
  • The most toxin-free option is second-hand. Most modern couches contain flame retardants that are not chemically bonded to the foam, they are ineffective in preventing furniture fires and are linked to serious health effects. Formaldehyde is used in pressed wood products and may be present in couches that are stain-resistant. With a pre-loved sofa, someone else bore these toxic loads. Clean sailing for you.

I looked into second-hand options for quite some time, and have previously taken on couches from friends and from off the street etc. But I was turning 40 and felt it was time to invest in something that actually suited my needs.

If you buy from scratch:

  • Be practical with the shape. Think about it. Reflect on how you use a couch. I went for a three-seater (I wanted the couch to be a hero

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My Paleo Inside-Out Bread recipe

My new book I Quit Sugar For Life has been out for about ten days now. And going by the feedback on social media it seems the Paleo Inside-Out Bread is a little bit popular. And more than a little idiot-proof (not one imperfect shot so far!)

Paleo Inside-Out Bread. Photos (clockwise from top right) by @therealfoodie, @jarkakunova, @sherri78 and @foodnjunk.
Paleo Inside-Out Bread. Photos (clockwise from top right) by @therealfoodie, @jarkakunova, @sherri78 and @foodnjunk.

If you haven’t bought the book yet, I figured I’d give you a little taste of things and share the Paleo bread recipe with you. The concept is simple – it sees outside sandwich toppers embedded in the bread. A meal-in-one in every slice merely requiring a smear of butter or some cream cheese smoothed over the top.

Remember: please do share your cooking results from the book…use #IQSforlife so I can find it and regram it! Oh, and if you’re wanting to buy the book, you can do so directly here…

Screen Shot 2014-02-25 at 12.37.46 PM

Paleo Inside-Out Bread

Makes 1 loaf

  • 1 1/2 cups almond meal
  • 3/4 cups arrowroot
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

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The Healthy Foodie’s Guide to Auckland

Whenever I travel I like to check out and then share great low-carb, sugar-free places to eat. As well as accommodation that doesn’t have a heaving ecological footprint and are… quiet and tranquil, suitable for thyroidy types. You can catch up on my New York, Byron Bay, Sardinia and Provence guides here.

Ortolana
A dish from Ortolana restaurant

I was in Auckland, New Zealand recently to speak at two conferences, Fizz and Low Carb NZ, and did a bit of research, calling out on social media and consulting a few like-minded Kiwis for tips. Here’s a cut ‘n’ paste rundown should you be heading over the Tasman soon.

1. Gather and Hunt – A good website, sort of the “Broadsheet” of Auckland, with lots of suggestions for eateries on the mindful end of the spectrum.

2. The Braemar Bed and Breakfast. I came across this place via the Googles (I search “environmental eco accommodation”). It’s in the middle of the city, but in a very quiet little pocket near some great jogging/walking parks. There’s only four rooms, host John is an absolute and wonderfully eccentric delight with a map and helpful directions and tips ready to go, and a cooked breakfast (mushroom, poached eggs and spinach) is included, along with brewed coffee, the papers and the company of the other guests (who seem to be regulars). Very much a home-away-from-home. Ask for the room with the massive claw-foot bath in it.

2. Wilder and Hunt. This is a Paleo cafe located in St Heliers. Funnily, I’d heard about it and was impressed with their focus on nutrient-dense, no grain, no sugar food. Then, at the low-carb conference, the two young women who started it approached me and very humbly told me they’d opened the cafe after doing my 8-Week Program. I didn’t have time to check it out, but wished I had.

3. Ortolana. A lovely indoor-outdoor restaurant in the Britomart complex in the city. The focus is on garden-to-table dining and they even have a natural wine produced on the owner’s property. Fresh food based around vegetables and herbs picked that day. Love it.

4. Little Bird Organics. A raw food cafe in Kingsland and Ponsonby areas. I’m not always a raw food  fan, especially when travelling (raw food can aggravate Vata and raw food cafes can be a bit grain and legume-heavy), but sometimes it’s a good way to get veggies into the mix. I noticed they offer grain-free and sprouted grain stuff.

The next few recommendations came from Mikki Williden, a nutritionist and senior lecturer at AUT University.

5. The Commons on Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna. You can request a Paleo degustation menu.

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14 handy links for waste-free living

I’m passionate about this stuff. Sustainability. No waste. So I was very happy to be involved in Sustainable Table’s Waste Deep documentary, which is a gentle way of easing people into the issues and what each of us can do about them. I make an appearance – or three – alongside gardening guru CostaTim Silverwood and incredibly passionate initiatives like Second Bite and Buy Nothing New Month. You can watch it in full below.

Highlights from the doco:

  • Aussie farmers are doing it tough. We love it when we can grab our groceries on the mega cheap and our peaches look perfect, but the balance between what it costs to produce our food and what we pay for it isn’t always there. Many, many farmers walk off the land every year. And that ain’t a good thing.
  • We’re tossing out billions of pieces of plastic every year. Much of it comes from food packaging. Too much of it ends up in our oceans and environment, harming wildlife and polluting soil and water.
  • On average, every household in Australia throws out over $1000 worth of food each year. At the same time, we have over 2 million Aussies going hungry. Um…

What can we do?

1. Buy local. The more local the better. Food produced in your state, where possible. Is all the produce at your nearby greengrocer necessarily local? Maybe not, you have to ask. Asking encourages.

2. Get clever about reducing waste. I mention in the doco a few things I do to avoid food waste that also help to make my life incredibly easier by creating flow. On that note, this theme flows through my new book, I Quit Sugar For Life.

To that end,

a little listicle of links to help you live waste free:

1. Shop at a Farmer’s Market. Find a farmers’ market near you by checking this Australia-wide directory. If you’re in NZ, you can find a market close to you here.

2. Try Local HarvestFind food co-ops and organic stores near you. You simply pop in your postcode and presto.

3.  Check out Sustainable Table‘s overview of the variety of grocery shopping options available, from markets to box systems to farm

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