STAY WARM....STAY HAPPY AND HEALTHY Keeping the winter blues at bay

  Its not often that I submit to the idea of winter, each day dressing as if the sun was going to come out, and as illogical that is, it get's me through the colder months...because the truth is that the sun is on it's way...it always is.  The colder months give us an opportunity to go within and close the doors on the past year, just like on the farm its from the darkness that the new seeds grow.  Winter serves us, it enables us to stop and focus, to re-seed, to start again... So use this time to look after you...don't give in to the winter colds and flu's, or the winter blues.

  

Get outside and get moving

 Make a commitment to your self to spend some time outside everyday, get fresh air circulating through your lungs, absorb some vitamin D, and move your body. Sweat. Breathe deeply.

Breathe through your nose

A large majority of people have a tendency to breathe through their mouth, this bad habit contributes to many associated respiratory problems, reduced CO2 content in alveoli of the lungs, and pathological effects due to suppressed nitric oxide utilisation including bacterial infections, depression and many other ailments. When we breathe through our nose, we utilise out own nitric oxide that is generated in the sinuses. Nitric oxide functions to destruct 

viruses, parasitic organisms, and malignant cells in the airways and lungs

 by inactivating their respiratory chain enzymes.

Eat whole

Trytophan is an essential amino acid that regulates serotonin in the brain, meaning that this mighty amino acid has the ability to make you feel good and keep the winter blues at bay.  Try foods like quinoa, raw pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds. 

GO GREEN

Its only natural in winter to crave warmer heavier foods, these foods warm from the inside, they also have a tendency to make people tired because alot of energy is diverted to  the digestive tract for digestion. Despite the need for warm foods be sure to include raw greens everyday. A green smoothie or a green juice will leave you feeling light and full of energy as well as nourishing you with vitamins and minerals. Try it for a week and see how you feel....the difference is amazing!

 This week we are all about green, check out our new recipes this week for green foods and enjoy better health.

  

Thank you all for your amazing support, helping to build a better food system,  

Angela

organic empire, local organic food, organic fruit, fresh organic vegetables,

  

Carbing out, the lowdown on carbs

Carbohydrates have such a bad reputation, touted to be the greatest evil and for the majority of the western world, there is good reason to avoid them because most of the carbohydrates in the standard western fare consist of highly refined, and concentrated carbohydrates that are devoid of any nutrition.  The carbohydrates in this form require no digestion, as they enter the body and are assimilated as sugars.  

Removing this essential nutrient, carbohydrates that is, though is truly not in your best interest, its most likely to cause fatigue, moodiness, lack of concentration, increased sweet cravings and weight gain.

  

NOT ALL CARBS ARE CREATED EQUAL......

But it's not all bad news, you see there are some amazing carbohydrates that provide the body with vitamins, minerals and nutrients, and unlike the nasty carbs, these carbohydrates provide the body and most importantly the brain with a slow steady stream of glucose.  There's more, the digestion of complex carbohydrates leaves no residual chemicals to be eliminated, once they are broken down, the only wastes are carbon dioxide and oxygen, unlike proteins and fats.  These carbohydrates we speak of will help you lose weight, will help you feel good and will nourish your body.

  

So let's look at what substitutions we can make....  less desirable for the more desirable, please don't discount these substitutions till you have tried them, especially the ones we have for the pasta.

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GET HEALTHIER, honest to goodness health.

I am a big believer in honesty, it is the most beautiful gift that you can give yourself and to everyone else, it's liberating and beyond that it keeps you healthy.

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that people that spoke their truth had fewer headaches and sore throats as well as experiencing less mental health compiaints.

 This insecurity driven behaviour usually leads to self sabbotage, saying 'yes' when we mean 'no', keeping your opinions to yourself and not standing up for what we believe in. 

This doesn't have to be the life you live out,it can be honest and happy and healthy, you can have a strong sense of your self and your self worthiness will define you. not other peoples opinions.

This week I would love you to work on your sustained honesty, it keeps life clean.  Be honest with you, be the most honest person you know.  What do you believe in????? For me, it's a good world, one where we all have access to organic food and to be honest with you all, I would love to know that you begin to live the best, healthiest life ever.   

As always, thanks for your love and support and assistance in creating a better food system, we hope that you have  a beautiful happy healthy week,

Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX

"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth." 

William Faulkner

 

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Get the glow... Organic mandarins, pomegranates and avocado

Who doesn't want glowing beautiful skin?? Contrary to popular opinion, it can't be brought in a bottle, healthy glowing skin is more about what your are putting in your body than on it. Your skin is the largest organ in the body, used to protect your vital organs but also release toxins through.   So it makes sense to put less toxins in so that less toxins need to come out.   Making your skin radiate health can be as easy as......getting healthier DETOXIFY: Clean our your cupboards and rid your home of processed foods they rob the skin of luster( as well as the rest of your body).   Start your day with a glass of hot water with lemon Increase your daily greens- try a green smoothie or a green juice Eat organic foods whenever you can, by eating organic you eat real food sans chemicals, no pesticides, herbicides or artifical fertilisers floating around in your body or on your skin ;) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with clean pure water, get a good filter, preferably a reverse osmosis system (we love the one we have from Pure Water on Tap.) FEED YOUR SKIN: Your skin is a living breathing organ, that thrives on good nutrition. Nourishing your skin begins on the inside with clean pure foods. In particular.... leafy green raw vegetables,  Pumpkin seeds(pepitas) are a great source of  zinc (an essential beautifying mineral) and essential fatty acids, making them a potent anti inflammatory. Chia seeds, are a phenomenal food for skin, made of 20% protein and essential fatty acids amongst other nutrients Eat foods high in Vitamin A, a deficiency in this vitamin can result in dry, scaly and crinkled skin, Vitamin A also helps regulate pore size. Foods high in vitamin C, help protect collagen fibres and keep capillary integrity by ensuring the health of the capillaries that deliver nutrients to the skin, this prevents skin from broken veins and early wrinkling. MOVE IT:  Proper elimination is essential for skin health, this means eating food high in natural fibre, ie fresh fruit and vegetables.  When wastes are not eliminated property , this can result in stasis contributing to early ageing. Moving your body with physical exercise every day is a simple tool to get glowing skin, cardiovascular exercise, that is exercise that get's your heart pumping, also works the lungs and helps deliver oxygen rich blood throughout the body.  Exercise also works to promote bowel movement. Join us in continuing  the conversation on Facebook  tomorrow, going through some great foods high in Vitamin A. PLEASE NOTE ANZAC DAY:  As a sign of respect we will not be trading on Anzac day, that means that the Food Store and home delivery will be closed.  We are back to normal trading and are open on Friday though;). Any queries regarding your order email us As always, thanks for your love and support and assistance in creating a better food system, we hope that you have  a beautiful happy healthy week, Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX And like flowers in the fields, that make wonderful views, when we stand side-by-side in our wonderful hues.. We all make a beauty so wonderfully true. We are special and different, and just the same, too! So whenever you look at your beautiful skin, from your wiggling toes to your giggling grin... Think how lucky you are that the skin you live in, so beautifully holds the 'you' who's within." Michael Tyler, the skin you live in Fresh organic food, local organic food, organic farm, organic food store, organic food school

life on the farm

The rains have come, I have never truly known the value of rain, well that is before I became a farmer.  Rain is something I would dance for, it's so exciting particularly because we had so many autumn seedlings go in today.  

For those of you that haven't yet visited our farm, we like to consider it to be 'beyond organic', we don't practice monoculture production nor do we enlist heavy machinery to do all our labour, we have people.  Everything that we do is done by hand with love, rain or as Summer has dictated heat..and it is looking amazing.  

  

I am so passionate in demonstrating that growing food can be aesthetically beautiful, as well as functional and our food forest is a perfect example of that.  We are using time honoured methods of food production as well as utilising the wisdom of the present and our organic produce is divine for it.  Despite the continuing heat, our summer crops are still going strong, we have cucumbers, apple and lebanese, silverbeet, all the herbs, eggplant, tomato, pumpkins, corn, amaranth, beans, lettuce, rocket and so much more and I can't wait till we open it up and share it with you all.  In the meantime you can rest assured that you can't get any fresher than straight from the farm, this defines slow food.  Imagine when we have completed the whole farm, imagine when the majority of your food is harvested on the day you purchase it, this concept is virtually unheard of in this day and age...we are bringing it back. Absolute freshness and amazing health.

That is what I want for you..healthy people make a good world and good world makes for the best life, so get healthy, we have our last juicing chart available online this week, this is no 5 and looks at juicing peaches to plums and all the juice inbetween.

Download it here

If you are lucky enough to live in Melbourne, you can take advantage of our home delivery service all throughout Metro Melbourne or you can come and choose your own from our farm store at 138 Monbulk Rd, Mt Evelyn

If you are interested in learning some new skills in food production, why not volunteer on our farm, register your interest here

  

As usual thanks for your amazing support, we are so grateful to build an amazing world with you,

  

Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX

"

"If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short distances, we would save a lot of energy and carbon dioxide emissions. And just think of what we would save in ecological terms without long-distance transportation, refrigeration, and packaging--which ends up on the garbage dump anyway--and storage, which steals time, space, and vast portions of nature and beauty." 

Carlo Petrini 

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Nice to be back, fresh organic produce straight from the farm, FREE JUICING CHART Part 1.

Wow its great to be back, hope that you have had a great summer break and are well on your way to creating the best year yet in 2013.  Whatever your goals, please make health your priority, I know that life can sometimes get in the way, but if you commit to 80% of the time doing the best that you can, you will be rewarded with good health...and this is the most important thing in the world..

We are committed to making you healthier, stronger, and happier, so in addition to delivering the freshest organic produce, this year we are going to provide you with health tools regularily to enable you to make educated change.  This week is part 1 of our organic juicing chart, (there will be 7 more to come) print it out, laminate it , do whatever, just stick it up and get juicing.  

Download it here

   

Our summer break was spent working a bit around the farm, we have done planting, and now we are harvesting.  Its so amazing, the more that you pick, the more that grows. We have some exciting news coming in the next couple of months, we are planting the seeds of something huge on the farm.

In the food store we have a freezer now and in the next week or so it will be loaded with amazing frozen organics, berries, vegetables and so much more.

The food school schedule will be available online in the coming weeks.

I must thank you for the responses that we received from our feedback forms, we have heard what you want and are responding.

NEW THIS YEAR

• There is a reduced delivery charge, only $6.95 per delivery under $100.
• Orders over $100 will receive FREE delivery. 
•  The store will be open longer hours and more days. Now open till 5pm on Monday's and Thursdays and we will also be opening on Sunday's 10-2pm.
•  We will also be adding the convenience of bulk purchases for dry goods.

 We are so happy to be serving you all again, and look forward to the best year yet.

As usual thanks for your amazing support, we are so grateful to build an amazing world with you,

  

Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX

  

"

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive

"

~

Harold Whitman

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Its Christmas Time

Four organic eggs,  three organic apricots, and an organic box of cherries.


Like you need my reminder, here it is anyway there are only 8 more days until Christmas Day is upon us...Just quietly I am freaking out too, presents aside I am also beginning to stress about the food.... The most important part of the day, the blessing that we have I suppose is that with organic food the flavours are so amazing, you can keep the food simple and produce will do the rest.

So in the midst of the madness, maybe we should take a leaf from nature (pardon the pun) and keep everything simple.  Presents, food, our lives.  The simpler that they are the less stress we have!!!

THIS WEEK WILL BE THE LAST DELIVERY WEEK FOR THE YEAR FOR THE MAJORITY OF YOU.  WHILST WE ALL TAKE A WELL EARNED BREAK AND BUILD AN EVEN BETTER ORGANIC EMPIRE IN 2013.

Some things to look forward to in 2013....

Our farm, this last weekend was spent planting out the farm, lead by our amazing farm manager Steve, Jenny and a host of fabulous volunteers on both Saturday and Sunday. What this means is lots of amazing produce from farm to fork for all of you!.

Our food school, we have an amazing selection of food school courses coming your way, including cheese making, vegan, raw pasta, proscuitto and so much more.

Our food store, the addition of our new fridge means that we will be stocking so much more amazing produce!  We will have so many new products in 2013.  We also have a new range of home wares coming in, eco, organic and amazing

Online store, 2013 will see our best website yet, with a new shopping cart, easier shopping and so many more features..you are sure to love.

HOUSEKEEPING:
Our last day of trading will be Christmas Eve,  Monday 24th December 2012, we will then reopen on Tuesday 29th January 2013.  The food store will be open occasionally when we have some amazing summer fruits coming in, ie peaches and blueberries and we will let you know via Facebook when we are opening...
We have some gorgeous Christmas presents coming for all of our clients, so please be sure to place your order this week leading up to Christmas to receive your gift.  If you have a standing order you will automatically receive your gift in your organic box.   

As usual thanks for your amazing support, we are so grateful to build an amazing world with you,

  

Angela and the team at Organic Empire XX

  

'Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas."
~ Peg Bracken.

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