I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts…

It’s true what they say..'Oils ain’t oils'…After years of being told by doctors that coconut oil is bad for you & raises cholesterol, I now have come to believe otherwise. In the past few weeks I have started to actually increase the amount of fat in my diet, but have just changed the types of fats I eat & am now starting to loose weight much more easily.  I now use only Organic Virgin Coconut unrefined oil for cooking. Real butter on an occasional slice of home made sprouted grain bread, & extra virgin olive oil I only eat cold now in salad dressings. (as heating it pretty much destroys the oil turning it into free radicals/trans-fats etc)

Considering I come for a Sri Lankan background giving up coconut oil was almost like giving up part of my cultural identity. Sri Lankans use coconut oil both internally & externally, for cooking & as a hair conditioner/moisturiser.   The health benefits of coconut oil are just amazing. From actually boosting the metabolism to strengthening the immune system due to high amounts of lauric acid.  The only other source of lauric acid in such high amounts found in nature is in human breast milk.

http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

I used to use Canola oil in baking believing that I was doing the ‘healthy’ thing. Little did I know that I was actually poisoning my body.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/canola.htm

I’ve since learned that the majority of cooking oils on our supermarket shelves are basically rancid and are then refined, bleached, deodorized for sale!!! Yuk!!!

There are a lot of things I cannot control in life but the one thing I can control is me & what I choose to put into my body. I’ve also learned that when buying organic it pays to buy in bulk. Yes you have to initially shell out more cash-eola, but in the long run there are savings to be had if you purchase in bulk. I can't believe I have been avoiding something so good for me all these years. Well better late than never I suppose...

I buy my coconut oil in bulk through this company.. http://www.naturepacific.com/index.html

Dogs are people too...

This has to be my all time favourite poem & I just felt like sharing it today. Those who know me know I have two four legged furry children. A Female Bitso’ Terrier (Bits of this and bits of that) named Molly & a Male Scottish Terrier x Cairn Terrier named Rufus. Now I don’t think I matters if you are Christian or not. I think all dog lovers can appreciate this poem regardless. Brings a tear to my eye every time...

A Dog for Jesus

I wish someone had given Jesus a dog.
As loyal and loving as mine.
To sleep by His manger and gaze in His eyes
And adore Him for being divine.

As our Lord grew to manhood His faithful dog,
Would have followed Him all through the day.
While He preached to the crowds and made the sick well
And knelt in the garden to pray.

It is sad to remember that Christ went away.
To face death alone and apart.
With no tender dog following close behind,
To comfort its Master's Heart.

And when Jesus rose on that Easter morn,
How happy He would have been,
As His dog kissed His hand and barked it's delight,
For The One who died for all men.

Well, the Lord has a dog now, I just sent Him mine,
The old pal so dear to me.
And I smile through my tears on this first day alone,
Knowing they're in eternity.

Day after day, the whole day through,
Wherever my road inclined,
Four feet said, "Wait, I'm coming with you!"
And trotted along behind.

Rudyard Kipling

My furry daughter Molly...

My furry son, Rufus...

"Man canna live by bread alone, but he assuredly canna live without it."

[1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood iii.]

I recently read a book named ‘Plan-D: The amazing anti-diet that will change your life forever’ by Dee McCaffrey. She said a few things that really resonated with me…

Firstly… ‘Everything that we need, that we need to eat was provided for us it grows naturally on the planet. It was only when we thought we could make it better or make it last longer that we ran into the problems that we ran into and why we are facing the health problems that we are today.

Secondly..” If food in its natural state is considered health food, what does that make the food most people eat disease-food?”

& lastly…’Every food in its whole natural state, that exists on this planet contains within it every fibre, vitamin, mineral, & enzyme that the human body needs to properly digest that particular food”

While reading her book I had many a light bulb moment. She has managed to break unhealthy patterns in my life & set me on the path to a more processed free lifestyle. At first I started cutting out highly processed carbs (Sugar, & products made with processed flour) around 7 weeks ago, but I have been wanted to go future than this & to go processed free as much as possible for everything I eat & drink. Her book has shown me how to do that. I’ve lost nearly 6kg so far just by changing the foods I eat. I still have a long way to go to be in a healthy weight range for my height. But hey it’s a start & I feel like that for the first time in my life it’s not a diet but a change in the way I eat for life.

As I have said I’ve cut out anything made from processed flour. I now rarely eat bread but the little bread that I do eat, I make myself. I now make homemade Sprouted grain bread from scratch. I’ve been experimenting with different recipe variations & think I might just have a keeper now. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about sprouted grain breads…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprouted_bread

Here are some pics of my sprouted grain bread… a bit of a fiddly process but so worth the effort. Similar breads costs around $7 a loaf in health food stores. I now buy grain in bulk & make it for less than $1 a loaf.