I’ve noticed that our eating habits change with every house we are in. I think it mainly has to do with the kitchen. Even though this house is smaller, the kitchen is bigger! I l o v e the kitchen!!!!!! Plenty of bench space and cupboard space makes storing goods easier but the best thing is that the stove is fuelled by gas! I love cooking with gas instead of electricity.

About 1.5 km down the road is the local Village Plaza where I have Woolworths and Foodland (Foodland is a South Australian Independent store) but they also have a few butchers, a continental deli , a fresh-food green grocer and a bakery. What more could I ask for? For the first time in years, I am able to actually buy the things that I usually cook with.

Once a fortnight, we’ve been going into the city to the Central markets. Many years ago, the markets overwhelmed me but now I am zipping around them with ease. I don’t know if it is because I am older and a bit more relaxed or that after traipsing around the nation, learning about new, foreign towns every year, that I am thoroughly enjoying the familiarity of Adelaide. maybe my perception of what was hard has now changed, after our recent life experiences.

Anyway, I have been thoroughly enjoying all the cooking and preparing of meals once again. My passion for healthy food has been rekindled and so I’ve been doing some reading of Nourishing Traditions again and visiting a few blogs- only a few though…I have hardly been online at all and I’m not overly keen to start spending hours at it again. However, I did want to mention a few things that I’ve been reading and doing.

Michigan Momto3 writes some very inspiring and informative posts on her blog, Musings of Home and Hearth. I know this lady and she has such knowledge for nourishing foods…and such a passion to share! Do drop by her blog and try some of her recipes and read her shared knowledge of books she is currently reading.

Reading her blog, I was inspired to make my own stock again. I toddled off to the shops and bought some chicken carcasses, came home and simmered them away on the stove. The whole family agreed that tonight’s Minestrone Soup was the absolute *best* I’ve ever made. I credit the stock. Something that I learned from Nourishing Traditions is to add a little vinegar to the stockpot as this helps draw the nutrients out of the bones and carcass.

With rising costs of meat, and the concern I have with typical meat from the butcher we tend not to eat beef or lamb anymore. Instead, we have always used ground kangaroo meat. But I have found the best organic kangaroo store at the Central markets. not only can I get ground meat, but beautiful roo sausages and diced steak. The other night, I did Kangaroo Pepper Steak with mashed potato and pumpkin. It was lovely! Tonight, I used the diced steak to make Kangaroo Stroganoff. Again, the meat was beautifully tender and juice, which isn’t always easy with game meat. Not only is the kangaroo cheaper but it hasn’t been tainted with as many chemicals and other yuckies. So, if you see me post a few recipes, you’ll know why- that’s where my head is at the moment.

Another thing that may be worth sharing is what I have been using to cleanse my face. Yeah, I know, who really cares right? But this is quite interesting. I had previously used Cetaphil with simple moisturiser but since coming down south, away from the lovely humidity of Brisbane, I have really felt my skin, particularly my face, become very dry. I would use the moisturiser but my face would just soak it all up. I don’t like to use a heavy moisturiser as I can tend to have an oily T zone. I had read a little about the Oil Cleansing Method but didn’t like the idea at first…after all my skin can tend to be oily. But I also know that oily skin will become oilier if not moisturised or conditioned. So I took to researching it a bit more. Then I thought I’d have a play and experiment with it. well after using it for a few weeks, I suggested that ‘Miss A’ use it too. She has now been using it for 2 weeks and she loves it too!

My skin has been very clear and feels so smooth. It isn’t dry any more but it certainly isn’t oily. After I get out of the shower I simply splash a little cool water on my face to close the pores and then I use Akin’s Rosehip oil around my eyes and the Simple moisturiser on my face and neck. Sometimes, I use the same oil mixture on my neck and décolletage. Oh, it’s also fantastic for removing make-up! Absolutely wonderful. Other times, especially at night I might use Virgin Coconut Oil. (I also use Coconut Oil on my hair at night- about once a week. It’s magic!)

I poured the oils into a jar and followed the instructions on this site: The Oil Cleansing Method.

I used the following oils for my skin:

  • 30ml Castor Oil
  • 30ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 30ml Grapeseed Oil
  • 5-10ml Tea Tree Oil
  • a few drops of Sweet Almond oil

Here are a few more links if you’re interested:

http://www.highonhealth.org/why-you-need-to-start-using-the-oil-cleansing-method-ocm/

http://www.thebeautybottle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=2

As with anything though, you should do your own research first and then do some test patches before applying to your face.

That’s about it for now…till next time.