I loved this post on the High Steaks Farming blog so much I had to share it here with you all – Check out some of their other great posts about the ethical raising cattle and sheep on their farm on the NSW Central Highlands.
Ethical Omnivores
So apparently us compassionate foodie types have been assigned a label. We are known as “ethical omnivores”. I haven’t decided yet whether I like this or not. One one hand, it seems like just another attempt to homogenise a group of people with diverse opinions so that they can be categorised, and hence marketed to. On the other hand, if I believe in the principles of ethical omnivorism, perhaps having it well defined will make it easier for others to get involved.
There are various definitions around, but I’d like to present my own, beginning with what we’re not: ethical omnivores are not failed vegetarians trying to appease their guilty consciences. Most of us believe the best way to make a difference to the welfare of animals is to support those farms who are treating animals with compassion and respect. If you’re of the more fundamentalist view that it is inherently evil to kill animals, you’re never going to accept this philosophy; but those who are vegetarian simply because they feel they can’t source meat which is produced ethically, could perhaps try a little harder.
I quite like the fact that the term ethical omnivore doesn’t just relate to meat. Quoting from an article on the subject, “An ethical omnivore may be just as concerned about the production of the bread he or she eats as the meat inside the bread.” http://animalrights.suite101.com/article.cfm/what-is-an-ethical-omnivore Having seen cereal production close up, I’m just as concerned with finding cruelty free and environmentally responsible grain farmers as I am in finding ethical meat.
From what I can gather, the label is here to stay, it seems to have been around for a while, so I’d best get used to it.
So lately I seem to be attracting those clients I love to work with – those that don’t really have the best relationship with food or their bodies and have been on so many diets in their lives, they have forgotten how to listen to their body.
Their general thoughts and feelings about food involve guilt, control, perfection, deprivation followed by binging and “I’ll start Monday” thinking. The focus for them is really about what they can and can’t eat and what they should or shouldn’t eat. They come to me with an expectation I will tell them what they are allowed to eat. They have so little trust in themselves around food that they need lists and plans to tell them when and what to eat.
The funniest thing is that every client does the same thing. They write their food down for me for a week or so before their first appointment and bring it in saying; “this week was very different, I don’t usually eat as much chocolate or takeaway as that. (Keep in mind there is never any judgment from me; I certainly don’t go over the list with a red pen telling them how bad they have eaten. So after questioning them further, turns out they subconsciously wanted to get in what food they could before seeing me. They spend the week having a series of ‘last suppers’ in that they eat all those foods they think they wont be allowed to eat again.
This way of thinking and behaving is just one example of searching outside of ourselves for answers. Of course, there are times when this is necessary, however, when it comes to eating and nourishing our bodies, our intuition and the natural signals we were born with can be our best friend!
When you are searching for what foods can help you achieve your health goals, whether they are weight loss, more energy or simply better health, focus on what you can do in each moment, at each meal or snack, to feel good straight away. Choose those foods that will nourish your body.
Feeling good physically can have such a fantastic effect on your whole life, the way you function at work, at home, how productive you are and how you treat others.
So what choices can help you to feel good right now??
Instead of diving into that bag of chips for something to crunch on to relieve stress and getting the guilts when you get to the end of the pack…… How about giving yourself permission to have something to eat, but first taking out some time, even just 5mins to de-stress, lie down, take some deep breaths. How much better would that make you feel?
Instead of eating when you think you are hungry…… How about having a nice cool glass of water to make sure you’re not just dehydrated? Wouldn’t that feel good to give your body a chance to more clearly tell you when you are hungry?
Instead of getting so anxious to eat something at dinner time you snack before eating the main meal, then sit down to eat and the hunger is no longer there…. How about allowing yourself the full enjoyment and satisfaction of the meal by being nicely hungry to eat it. The food will taste so much better when your stomach is empty.
Instead of giving up every time you overeat or make a choice that doesn’t nourish you, then vow to ‘start again tomorrow’ and eat everything in site until then…… How about being kind to yourself and making a choice to listen to your body and eat again when your stomach tells you you’re hungry? Wouldn’t that feel great to break that cycle and make a change RIGHT NOW?!
Sometimes it can become overwhelming to think of all the things we should be doing in regards to our health. Most of the time though, making a few simple health changes can make our lives even more fulfilling and less overwhelming. We have so many opportunities to make feel good choices everyday. What feel good choices can you make?
The yearly pilgrimage to Darling Harbour for the Sydney International Beauty Expo took place on Saturday and I have only three points to make, well maybe four if you include how awesome the Momos were at the Nepalese food fair taking place just across the way in Tumbalong Park.
So here are my three points.
Soto Skincare is my pick for the NEXT BIG organic skincare brand – unexpected combination of ingredients and fabulous packaging!
Real Safe Flameless Candles are one of the coolest new products of 2010 hands down. They’re a real scented candle, made from normal candle wax, that has a glowing LED light inside at the base that gives an authentic candle glow and flicker. Check the out here The other great thing about them is that they actually last about 5 years!
If I hear “this product contains <insert bogus sounding pseudo medical ingredient here> and will prolong the life of your regular Botox treatment” again – seriously, are we at the point where we just assume everyone is getting Botoxed? Please tell me it isn’t true?
I’m so proud of all of us, Gorgeous Things blog turns three this week and it’s thanks to all of you that we made it this far. So a heartfelt thank you to everyone who reads this blog regularly or from time to time. It really has been such a pleasure getting to know some of you so well. An extra special thank you to our gorgeous contributors Angela Stewart, Megan Faulkner and Gabrielle Sutton – I couldn’t do it without you. xoxo
To celebrate, I thought I’d share some of the most popular and a couple of my favourite posts so far.
Most popular posts on Gorgeous Things
Love & Sex – now, I wonder why these posts are so popular? Hehe!
But not a s much as Sharon Perkins from Beaut Vintage…
I noticed Sharon’s website Beaut Vintage when she dropped by to comment on Laura E’s most recent post. I liked the site so much that I asked her to share a little bit about herself, her love of vintage dresses and her gorgeous vintage fashion website. Here’s what she had to say…
My passion for vintage
For as long as I can remember I have always had a passion for vintage – long before it was deemed cool – and before uncool was cool, growing up in the 80s I loved nothing more than to play in the dressing up box that was my mothers wardrobe.
60’s dresses & micro minis, 70’s ethnic tunics & slogan T’s -she had the most amazing clothes coveted from her years spent in London.
Growing up in Ireland there were very few ‘vintage’ shops around however plenty of markets – my nan used to bring me to these hidden away places in the city where the floors would be piled high with clothes and shoes, where it was every woman for herself!
I can only compare it to being a spectator at a shark feeding frenzy…grannys battling it out literally nose-diving into piles of garments in the quest for the ultimate find…I guess it instilled my love (and game) of the treasure hunt!
Collecting vintage has always been to me what favourite hobbies are to others, I love that these clothes & accessories have a history, a story and act as a cultural expression of a time gone by.
Being a hoarder I literally had and still have tons of pieces accumulated over the years.
My first dabble with selling vintage began as a subsidy whilst studying -I practically paid my way through Art College by selling in markets in Dublin, Ireland.
In my working life from event production to retail management I continued to collect & sell vintage. I knew this was what I wanted to do full time, this led to my sister and I setting up Irelands first vintage online store in 2006 which became and continues to be a great success!
Having lived in Melbourne previously I was eager to return and to provide and bring my love of vintage fashion to the virtual dressing up table.
Creating your own signature look
Mass market fashion has never really appealed to me, I love providing vintage as an alternative choice for women where they can create their own signature look with one off pieces that will always be in style as opposed to the latest fashion trend.
It has taken nine months (yep it’s a baby) to get Beaut Vintage off the ground and has been a lot of hard albeit enjoyable work!
At Beaut Vintage women can avail of collections sourced from right across the globe each piece being handpicked on exclusivity, quality and beauty.
SPECIAL OFFER: Sharon is generously offering Gorgeous Things readers a 25% discount – just use the code GORG25 when you order
I’m a firm believer in sustainable fashion and also offer a revamped range-one off pieces that have been reworked from ‘daggy to darling’ with a contemporary twist!
There is so much to love about vintage for me it ticks all the boxes: authentic, unique, beautifully crafted, eco-friendly and great value for money.
I hope I can provide a great service to the gorgeous women of Australia for many years to come!
Don’t forget Sharon’s special 25% discount for Gorgeous Things readers – use the discount code GORG25 at the check out to recieve your discount.
‘Out of three, how would you rate your level of happiness?’
With one being ‘not very happy’,
two being ‘fairly happy’,
and three being ‘very happy’
How can this be right?
According to management consultant, author and speaker, Marcus Buckingham (who by they way, is fabulous if you ever get a chance to get along to one of his seminars) and the more than one million people who have been asked this question in various studies around the word, over the last 60 years, women are becoming a little less happy than they where in the 1950s. In a surprising contrast, men have become increasingly happy over the same time period.
How can this be? We women can now vote, work, have children and return to the workforce, and pretty much anything else that we want to do. But it’s not making us any happier. As Marcus says, it’s not that each of us is unhappy, but it is statistically proven that as a gender, women are becoming slightly less happy. Of course there could be a huge number of reasons for this and anyone with a sociology degree is most welcome to start a list of them for me in comments below if they have a spare 5 minutes.
This study that’s taken place in many countries, including Australia determines what’s called our level of ‘subjective wellbeing’, a psychological term that really just means – how happy we believe ourselves to be in general.
How can we become happier?
I’m curious to know what you think would increase your level of subjective wellbeing? You might say more money, more time to do the things you enjoy or a holiday. It’s interesting to see that in results taken from other studies, Marcus noted that for women an increase in free time didn’t actually increase their level of subjective wellbeing. The same study he said also showed that for every hour of additional free time men are given, their subjective wellbeing rose by 8%.
Another point that I must say, kind of shocked me, is that having children doesn’t actually increase happiness. Please don’t shoot the messenger, but apparently all you mothers out there would probably rate your happiness below women without children, like moi! Now I know you’re thinking “but, but, I love my children, they do make me happy” – that may be so, but statistically, us birds without chicks are chirping a little louder and brighter than y’all. Don’t worry, apparently your lives have more ‘meaning and purpose’ than ours – so it all works out in the end for everyone! (You girls know I’m just kidding around, right? I see no need to make a distinction between women with and women without children – just the same as I don’t make any distinction between what men and women are capable of in all areas of life.)
So, where do you find your ‘strongest life’?
If as a gender we are becoming slightly less happy then it’s incredibly important that we take control of the situation now, before it gets any worse. We owe it to our daughters, our sons, our sisters and brothers, friends and lovers and most importantly to ourselves to take back our happiness by living a life that has the capacity to create more and more happiness.
We certainly can’t create happiness by bitching about a job we can’t stand, or picking ourselves to pieces day in day out or by watching ‘The Secret’ every week in the hope that we’ll magically become ‘superwoman’ just by focusing on what we want – way off in the distance.
(takes 5 minutes at the most) to help identify the role to most invigorate you.
It’s no surprise to me that I was primarily a Teacher with the secondary strength of being a Creator
What’s yours?
It’s not about goals way off in the future
I agree with author and speaker Marcus Buckingham when he says that ‘life is about following the moments that invigorate you’, he talks about the notion of to ‘catch and cradle’ those moments that invigorate you. That’s a great term, to ‘catch and cradle’. To catch something you have to be aware of it, you have to be on the look out for it. My best moments have always been when I’m sharing new information and I see a light go on inside someone and they ‘get it’. To cradle these moments to me means to make sure I have more moments like that. I nurture the opportunities I have to share new information and keep my attention focused on finding new opportunities to share what I learn. Like here on Gorgeous Things.
Nurture what makes you feel invigorated
The idea of cradling also says to me (and I’m not sure if this is how Marcus means it) that you don’t need to hold on too tightly to these moments to get the best out of them. If you hold on too tightly you’re almost saying that you don’t believe this opportunity or moment will come along again. After all, a moment is just a moment, right? No need to grab it by the feet and shake it until every drop of moment-y goodness is gone. They’ll be another one soon – because you’ll create it by being aware of what makes you feel invigorated.
Where you can find more information about living your strongest life – the life you were meant to live
Marcus told a couple of inspiring and motivating stories about women who he’s interviewed for his book ‘Find your Strongest Life: What the happiest and most successful women do differently’ and to be honest, I could never do them justice in a paragraph here so I’m going to suggest that you read Marcus’s latest book and find your strongest life and take the first steps towards starting to live it. As I said earlier, we owe it to ourselves and if that doesn’t motivate you, then think of your daughters and the further decline in happiness that their generation will face if we don’t teach them by our own example.
My history of disordered eating and messed up body image, led me to becoming a Nutritionist and Disordered Eating Specialist. Day in, day out I see the effects of this kind of crash dieting and I’m utterly appalled that Kyle & Jackie O are getting away with this childish competition!
Public humiliation? Anyone?
The competition involves listeners entering their details and a before picture of themselves as their ‘fat photo’. They nominate a weight that they want to lose within 8 weeks. If they don’t lose the weight, the radio station is going to shame them by putting up their before pictures on the 2 Day fm website!
Not only is this a ridiculous thing to encourage people to do, but it sets up so much potential damage in regards to body image issues and eating disorders.
For many women and young girls trying to lose weight, food, what size you are, how your clothes look and what people might be thinking of your weight is on your mind constantly. You go to bed obsessing over what foods you shouldn’t have eaten that day and how you will be perfect tomorrow; you go out stressing about seeing people and worrying that they are thinking you have put on weight and you spend your life trying to control what you eat and how much exercise you do in an effort to lose weight and be thin.
In this state, if you attempt an unrealistic, impractical and idealistic weight loss program or competition and fail, it is highly likely that your obsessions with food, weight and how you look intensify and potentially turn into an eating disorder.
The idea is that contestants enter because they are then forced to lose the weight they want to.
How can Jackie O support this competition?
Worst of all, this is being promoted by the female in the radio duo – knowing what women and young girls are exposed to everyday in the media, it’s completely baffling that Jackie O would be promoting this?
I would like to ask her, if she had the guts to face some opposition, what would she say if she had a daughter and her daughter entered a competition like this, failed to lose the weight, and her picture was displayed on a website to make her feel guilty, fat and ashamed that she is now stuck being who she is, left to feel disgraced at the sight of her own body!
Loving your body and the way you look
What about feeling grateful for the body you have? How about promoting acceptance of the gorgeous and unique body that is yours? I know what self-acceptance does for you and I see the results of people nourishing rather than abusing their bodies because they are grateful to be them.
As far as feeling shameful, this radio duo should be ashamed of themselves for not having the brains to think of something that would actually help rather than harm people.
Maybe it’s because it’s Sex & the City 2 week, but fashion is currently taking a front seat in my life. I’m finding myself lingering longer in King St shop windows, touching delicate fabrics with a wistful sigh and fantasising about being able to walk daintily in 6 inch spike heels. And you know when you focus on something – it just seems to have a habit of finding it’s way to you in delightfully voluminous quantities.
If you’ve got a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear, this site could really help you to get your fix of something new without the credit card binge, hangover.
There’s two things that you really need to know about 99 Dresses
Nikki’s idea for sharing and swapping clothes with friends and beyond through a website is exactly what I want. I’ve been to a few clothing swap parties which were great. You get to expand your wardrobe without reaching for your wallet. The problem is – there’s never one on 2 days before an event that I need a new dress for! Nikki has solved that problem for me by taking the concept online.
Nikki only left High School last year! She’s now in her first year at university. Even though I don’t want to make too much of her age, as I don’t really believe that it’s relevant if you have a brilliant idea and the gumption to pull it off. I find her idea and passion for pursuing it, more inspiring than her age. But hell yeah – she’s only 18!
Re-use, re-duce, re-cycle & save!
99 Dresses fits perfectly with the Gorgeous Things mantra of looking fabulous and feeling great naturally and I’m seeing it as a sustainable choice for expanding your wardrobe and getting rid of clothing that you no longer want, need or even fit into.
The site launches in a couple of weeks but check out what’s been happening on Facebook on the Anyone Want Free Clothes page.
Today we welcome our very dear girlfriend, Laura E as a new contributor to Gorgeous Things. Laura E is a Nutritionist, a Personal Trainer and a gorgeous girl who has had her fair share of battles with food and her weight. She’ll tell you about her journey and give you the skills you need to overcome emotional eating and repair your relationship with food forever. LA is currently working with Laura E on a few of her own ‘issues’ – and getting fabulous results! (Yep, I’m beach running now! – Ed)
Laura E
Nutritionist and Intuitive Eating Guide
Intuitive Eating: a guide to overcoming and preventing emotional eating
As someone who was an emotional eater I know what it’s like to use food to cope with difficult emotions. I also know the feelings of being out of control and thinking there must be a healthier way to cope. The after effect of using food to cope comes with unwanted weight gain and poor health, mentally and physically.
Bottling up your feelings, pushing them down with food is like leaving a sink full of dishes for days and days. Eventually there will be a mess you will have to deal with. Experiencing emotions is inevitable, emotional eating however is a choice.
Which of these symptoms do you have of emotional eating?
Sharp cravings
Demand food immediately
Sudden and urgent cravings
Eating when not hungry
Eating really fast
Eating immediately after getting home
Eating until uncomfortably full
Feelings of guilt, disgust and depression afterwards
Mindless eating
Sneaking food when no-ones around
Healthy Ways to Cope with your Emotions
Everyone is different and for that reason there are many different healthy coping mechanisms.
Forget dieting – Whenever you eliminate certain foods from your diet, it’s like giving a toy to a 3 year old and telling them they cant play with it. Biologically, dieting goes against everything our bodies are designed to do. When you are emotional, those foods on your forbidden list become so much more appealing. What you tell yourself you can’t have suddenly becomes a simple and instant solution to you needing to feel better.
It’s not just about your mouth – While enjoying everything you eat is important, so is what will best satisfy your whole body. Think about what type of food your stomach wants, how much will satisfy it to leave it feeling just right.
Aim to finish feeling good – Before you eat, ask yourself “How do i want to feel when I’m done, mentally and physically, now and later?” The ideal type of meal or snack to have is one that leaves you feeling good for a few hours.
Recognise your triggers – It’s so much easier to change a negative behaviour when you are aware of what triggers it. What situations are you more vulnerable to using food to cope with your emotions? When watching TV, on weekends, after work, after a fight, after dinner or after having a few drinks?
Be aware of the times of day you are more likely to overeat or eat when you are not hungry. Make sure you have something to do that will make you feel fulfilled and nourished so you are less likely to fill the void with food.
Countermanding action for risky situations (“if this happens I will do this”) – Create healthier alternatives that are do-able for you. Can you go for a walk or to the gym when you are feeling stressed? Could you go on the way home from work so you can deal with work stress in a good way? Could you call a friend when you are feeling lonely and need to speak to someone? Will music help you to lift you up when you are feeling low? Only you know what will work best for you.
Question your actions – What’s bothering me? What do i really want to chew on? What’s irritating, stressing or frustrating me? Will eating change this issue? Giving yourself a chance to be aware of what’s going on is a great step in making a healthier choice.
Practice not reacting – As an emotional eater, you tend to reach for food instantly as a solution. It really is as if you are sleep walking into eating. Giving yourself a few minutes to just sit in the feeling can be an extremely powerful way of creating healthier habits. Practicing non-reactive eating means allowing yourself to feel the feeling and not eating instantly, telling yourself you are free to eat whatever it is you want to eat but first, commit to 5-10mins of just sitting still.
Eating awareness and connecting with your food – When you eat while doing other things such as working or watching TV, you are putting yourself in a state of disconnection from your body. In this state it is easy to not listen to the natural signals your body is sending you. Try being fully aware when you’re eating. The more present and aware you are when you eat, the less likely you are to eat something mindlessly later on.
When you eat, try and think about these things…
a) Chewing slowly
b) Sitting down, no matter what you are eating
c) Eating in the same place
d) Activity – not doing anything but eating
e) Enjoyment – stopping to make sure you are actually enjoying what you are eating
Making the choice to try something different when you are emotional can be hard at first. However, when you start listening to your body more and stop being driven to food by your emotions, you begin to deal with things in such a healthier way and feel the great effect that has on your mental and physical health!
Being a huge fan of Banana Bread led to me eating WAY too much of it, gaining 5 kilos in about 2 months and then resigning myself to the fact that I needed to go Cold Turkey if I had any chance of fitting back in my jeans.
I’ve been experimenting since then, trying to make a less than Sinful Banana Bread. The first step is to change the name from ‘Bread’ to ‘Cake’, this automatically reduces the calorie content as you no longer feel inclinded to spread it with butter. Funny how the thought of spreading cake with butter just seems far too decadant but the exact same recipe with ‘Bread’ in the title can be toasted and covered in fat with minimal fuss.
So, here’s my Gluten Free Banana Bread/Cake Recipe for all those of you who get a funny tummyfrom all that Wheat Flour.
125g Melted “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter” or Real Butter
125g Raw Sugar
2 Free Range Eggs
225g Simple Baking Mix (or gluten-free flour)
4 Very Ripe Bananas
Tsp Cinnamon
Tsp Baking Powder
Tsp Bi Carb Soda
Preheat Oven to 180c
Grease Loaf Tin
Squish Bananas in a Small Bowl
Add Sugar to Butter in another larger bowl and mix until combined
Add Bananas to Sugarey Buttery mixture and combine
Add Cinnamon to Baking Mix
Add Baking Mix, 1/3 at a time to wet ingredients and stir until combined
Pour mixture into Loaf Tin and Bake for 50-60 minutes
Allow to cool and then remove from Loaf Tin
If you’ve made Banana Cake, make a cup of Tea and enjoy a slice.
If you’ve decided to call it Banana Bread then whack it in the toaster and smother it with butter. Yum!
ores
