How to love mindfully

Oh I do love a bit of Thich Nhat Hanh. I recently discovered that the Vietnamese monk who brought us the mindful concept of “washing the dishes, to wash the dishes” has written about mindful love in his book “How to Love”.

Image via fourtears.tumblr.com
Image via fourtears.tumblr.com

It’s a beautiful read. It hits nails on relationship heads. But I was struck by this passage that points to a yearning, which I’ve written about before. This yearning is a deep sense that something is missing, a “something” that we long to connect with. It’s essentially a visceral longing to connect with our “real selves”. But we don’t always get this.

Nhat Hanh writes:

“Sometimes we feel empty; we feel a vacuum, a great lack of something. We don’t know the cause; it’s very vague, but that feeling of being empty inside is very strong. We expect and hope for something much better so we’ll feel less alone, less empty…

“Because we feel empty, we try to find an object of our love. Sometimes we haven’t had the time to understand ourselves, yet we’ve already found the object of our love. When we realize that all our hopes and expectations of course can’t be fulfilled by that person, we continue to feel empty. You want to find something, but you don’t know what to search for.”

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8 clever ways to reuse a ziplock bag

Let’s get really Sustainable Nerd today. I promote using sealable plastic bags when cooking and freezing food. They’re the perfect size for storing individual portions and things like parcooked ‘n’ frozen veggies really well; they become totable freezer blocks in a blink; they are better for storing in the freezer (I pack mine in layers); they’re washable and reusable; and they can be kept in your wallet ready to pull out at a restaurant or cafe when they serve too much bacon or butter or whatever, becoming waiter-friendly doggie bags.

You can check out my other daggy food tricks here.

FullSizeRender1 8 clever ways to reuse a ziplock bag
Yes, I carry ziplock bags around in my purse…

I use ziplock bags that come with prescriptions and electrical equipment. I use all my ziplock bags multiple times. I’ve only ever bought one box of the things. I simply wash them out, then dry them by hanging them on my spoons in the drying rack or sticking them on a window or a splashback (they fall off when they’re dry).

Here’s a little listicle of other stuff you can do to max ya zips:

1. Make pre-packed smoothie bags. Freeze all the ingredients for your smoothies and freeze in icecube trays. Transfer to a ziplock bag and they’re ready to plonk into your blender (no ice required).

2. Store parcooked ‘n’ frozen veggies. Place in the freezer flat so that they can then be stacked neatly. It’s easier to “crumble” off veggies when they’re in a bag, much like you probably do with frozen peas (I often have to bang the bag on the bench).

3. Use as a take-away bag. When you’re grabbing a bagel or sandwich from a cafe, use the ziplock bag instead of getting it wrapped in a million layers of paper bags.

4. Create different scrap bags in the freezer. I usually add vegetable, herb stalks and other scraps as I go along. I have one for vegetable stock, chicken and fish stock and a leftovers pesto bag.

5. Stick a wet sponge inside and use as a freezer pack. You save tossing out an old sponge at the same time.

6. Remove chewing gum or candle wax. Got gum or wax on your tablecloth, couch or carpet? Fill a ziplock bag with ice and gently rub it on the gum or wax until it hardens. Then shatter the frozen gum with a blunt object and vacuum up the chips. Or use a plastic spatula to peel off the frozen wax.

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The soulful secret to family holidays (and to moving in with your boyfriend)

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni does his summer holidays like my family and I: all together, in a beach house, for an extended period.

Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest

Here he is:

“EVERY summer for many years now, my family has kept to our ritual. All 20 of us — my siblings, my dad, our better halves, my nieces and nephews — find a beach house big enough to fit the whole unruly clan. We journey to it from our different states and time zones. We tensely divvy up the bedrooms, trying to remember who fared poorly or well on the previous trip. And we fling ourselves at one another for seven days and seven nights.”

Why do we do it? Why do we stay so long when – to be honest – it ain’t always that easy?

To be there for the good stuff.

Bruni writes:

“With a more expansive stretch, there’s a better chance that I’ll be around at the precise, random moment when one of my nephews drops his guard and solicits my advice about something private. Or when one of my nieces will need someone other than her parents to tell her that she’s smart and beautiful.”

He makes the key point: to truly be present, we need time and space. Actually we need extra time and space, so that we can just be there, present and ready for when life unfurls.

I think a lot of our lives are stressfully spent trying to make quality time. I’ve pointed out how imperative

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You go shopping for shoes. Then the Diderot Effect.

Back in the late 1700s, French philosopher Denis Diderot found himself broke. But he lucked out when Catherine the Great heard he couldn’t afford to pay for his daughter’s wedding and she stepped in to give him a huge wad of cash.

Image via abduzeedo.com
Image via abduzeedo.com

Feeling flush, he bought himself a new red robe. Then this happened…

He immediately felt his other possessions looked flabby in contrast to his new robe. So he bought a new rug. Then some sculptures. Then…and on it went. Until he was once again unable to afford the wedding.

This is the Diderot Effect: when you buy stuff that then creates a spiral of empty consumption.

I’ve said this many times before, shopping begets shopping. You go to The Shops and it compels you to make the most of your visit and you find yourself buying stuff you don’t really need. You figure you

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My Simplicious “Beet That” Popstick Salad

Summer has hit and it’s HOT here in Sydney. So I’m sharing one of my favourite recipes from my latest book I Quit Sugar: Simplicious: the Beet That Popstick Salad. Yep, a salad with popsicles. (Note, one of the Big Food companies – let’s call them Nestle – has the trademark to”popsicles” and sues everyone and their pet duck if they use it in a recipe title. Not kidding.) A great Christmas lunch stopper bound to impress family and friends. You’re welcome.

Sarah Wilson Simplicious Beet That Popstick Salad
“Beet That” Popstick Salad from Simplicious, on the right

I should also point out, I designed this salad to use the whole beetroot – leaves, root and the juice from the water that the beets are cooked in.

Beet That Popstick Salad

  • 3 red beetroots, trimmed, peeled and chopped into 2 cm chunks
  • 3/4 cup frozen raspberries
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 yellow or other coloured beetroots (if you can’t find any, use 2 large carrots)
  • 3 handfuls of baby beetroot leaves or rocket leaves
  • 1/4 cup walnuts (preferably activated), roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • pinch of sea salt

Place the red beetroot in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to the boil (with a lid on) and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through, but not mushy. Strain, reserving the precious bright-red beet water. Place

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It’s OK to do drafts

I’m writing a book. A book that’s extending me in ways I probably wouldn’t have chosen. But I did. So here I am, strapped in, doing the work.

Image via thevintaquarian.com
Image via thevintaquarian.com

I’m particularly attuned to insights about writing and the creative process right now.

A few weeks back I wrote Just do it like a motherfuckerMichelle Barraclough shared this wonderful comment at the end:

“I’m firmly in the Elizabeth Gilbert camp where the motto is ‘Done is better than good’ and to hell with perfectionism. Where the inspiring literary heroes are not the ‘canon of women writers’ whose careers ended in suicide, but the magnificent multitudes of women writers (the Moriartys, Gilberts, Grenvilles, Byatts, Lettes and Atwoods) who shut the door, sat down and put one word down and then another, regardless of the brilliance of those words, knowing that it was just a first draft and all first drafts are shit and at least 3 more drafts will be required (Kate Grenville once did 18 drafts!!)”

Hell, yeah. Art and writing and creativity is about showing up and doing the work. Seth Godin puts it well when he says “real artists ship“. Art is an expression and it must be shared, or shipped. Hovering, hesitating,

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My Simplicious Good for your Guts Garlic recipe

I am a little obsessed with gut-health. I’ve been banging on about the this topic for a while now. I’ve also recently launched my own Gut Lovin’ Gelatin. It’s no surprise then that my latest book I Quit Sugar: Simplicious includes a stack of gut-healing fixes. One of them being my Good For Your Gut Garlic recipe.

Good for your Guts Garlic. Recipe from I Quit Sugar: Simplicious. Photography by Rob Palmer
Good for your Guts Garlic. Recipe from I Quit Sugar: Simplicious. Photography by Rob Palmer

Garlic has amazing properties and is particularly good for fighting off infections in the digestive tract and lungs, but it can be rough on your guts when eaten raw. Fermenting famously fixes most things, including this issue. Plus, if you hate peeling garlic, then doing up a bunch of heads in one fell swoop makes a lot of sense.

Good For Your Guts Garlic

  • 6-8 heads garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • 1 tablespoon Homemade Whey or 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano or basil (optional)
  • 1 bay leaf (optional)

Preheat the oven to 90 C. Place the garlic heads on a baking tray and bake for 1 hour or until the cloves begin to pop out of their skins. (Some ovens may take longer, but don’t be tempted to crank the temp!) Cool a little, then simply pop the cloves from their skins, being sure to leave the ends intact.

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I’m giving away my #Simplicious cover outfit

Well, that’s slightly clickbait-y. But I am giving away a bunch of the sports bras and pyramid necklaces that I wear on the the cover of I Quit Sugar: Simplicious….and that I wear pretty much most days…because that’s the way I roll.

The cover of I Quit Sugar: Simplicious
The cover of I Quit Sugar: Simplicious

To tie it all in to my anti-wastage mission, I’m going to share the below with folk keen to give some of my food waste tricks a crack.

20 x $50 vouchers from Vie Active (my leopard print sports bra)

5 x pyramid necklaces from Jewels by Jacqueline (my triangle necklace)

The Simplicious Challenge:

Make one simple change in the name of sustainability. This could look like:

  • washing out and re-using your ziplock bags
  • saying no to bottled water
  • taking your own reusable bag to the shops and ditching the plastic
  • cooking all your leftover food in a fridge clean-out mission
  • riding your bike to work instead of driving
  • buying local rather than imported produce.

You get the gist. Just do something and share it on Instagram and preferably with your mates and family. My simple aim is to get as many people as possible on this planet pitching in!

  • Do it for a week (December 9 – 16).

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A hiking guide to Hawaii

Another installment in my series of hiking guides. If you’re new to the series…it’s worth my flagging that I travel to hike. I live to hike. Here’s why and how it works for me.

Napali coast, Kauai
Na Pali coast, Kauai

Hawaii is a hiker’s haven so I’m surprised with myself it took so long to get there. But, then, I was always someone who saved the best thing on my plate until last.

So, a few things to know upfront;

* I went to Oahu and Kauai.

* I went in winter and resigned myself to there being a bit of rain.

* I struggled to find reputable info on the hikes… you might, too. Hence this little guide.

* Note that Hawaiian maps and guides share one-way timings and distances (not the return).

* While I was there I was asked to write a few posts for Expedia.com. You might enjoy to read about The Five Healthy Food Trends to Try in Hawaii Right Now and my Guide to Kauai, which will

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When I see those “Gifts for the hard-to-please” guides this is what I do…

These articles are popping up in my feed with increasing ferocity right now. For the “hard to please”. For “the person who has everything”.  You, too?

Image via keepcalm-havecoffee.tumblr.com
Image via keepcalm-havecoffee.tumblr.com

Sometimes I look at their list of gift solutions. It’s all Shit No One Wants. Shit That Takes Up Room in Miscellaneous Kitchen Drawers and Precious Resources On The Planet. Like gold-plated business card clips. And, sorry to target Goop, but, seriously…a Nymphenburg trio of porcelain wine bottle stoppers?! For $1900?

I have an antidote. A better solution. A better guide. If someone is “hard to please” it generally means they don’t want/need stuff. So don’t buy it.

I put out this notice explicitly to those around me. I’ve told most of my loved ones, don’t buy me

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