The rise and fall of bread

The history of bread can be dated back at least 30,000 years – that’s a long, long time before ovens or sandwiches. Before loaves of bread, there were flat breads, round breads, bread cakes and patties – all specific to the geographic region they stemmed from.

Bread quickly became a staple of our ancestors’ diets – hence expressions such as ‘earning your bread and butter’, ‘bread winner’, ‘bread of life’ etc. Bread was on every table, from rich to working class, and those who couldn’t afford it would risk everything for a meagre loaf.

So why then have we fallen so out of love with bread? Why is it the enemy of the health conscious? The guilty pleasure we reluctantly place in the same category as dessert?

Bread in its simple form is NOT bad for you. Fact. But add flour treatment agents, chemical oxidants, emulsifiers, genetically-modified enzymes, hardened fats, refined salt and sugar (the list goes on), and bread is nowhere to be seen. It got lost somewhere in the mass of chemicals, additives, and well… cr*p! On top of this, double up quantities of yeast for faster cooking and throw pre-baked dough into the mix and you have a recipe for absolute disaster.

Real baking requires minimal ingredients and maximum effort. Preparing good quality bread takes time – the ingredients often need to work their magic (read ‘ferment’) overnight, and a true baker could be awake and baking away anywhere from 3am onwards.

When it comes to healthy bread, you really only need 5 ingredients:

1. Flour (pref wholegrain and stoneground)

2. Water (filtered if poss)

3. Yeast or sourdough culture*

The last two are optional…

4. Oil (good quality of course)

5. Salt (make it rock)

*We recommend sourdough if you suffer from bloating, candida or acne.

As with so many of the big food myths, the answer is pretty darn simple: anything can be bad for you if you don’t read the label, and don’t know what to look out for. Bread is NOT the enemy. You just need to choose the right one.

Is it time for the humble loaf to make a comeback?

Sources:

Felicity Lawrence, ‘Not on the label’, Penguin, London 2004

Let’s keep it simple. Let’s get back to basics.

We were talking about what we like at the Urban Remedy HQ today. We like: green juice, warming soups, yummy smoothies (no surprises here)… and... well, we’re all a little bit methodical and organised (read geeky) so we also really like lists. When it came to discussing what we don’t like, we were pretty unanimous: we don’t like over-complicating things. And that definitely applies to the world of health.

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of the latest fad or to feel overwhelmed by the multitude of nutritional choices and suggestions out there. Breathe. It’s okay. You probably know a lot more than you realise. When it comes to living well and being healthy, we like to believe that you know best. You just have to tune into your body and get back to the basics.

To help you do so, we’ve compiled a list of super simple guidelines to living well. We’re guessing you know it all already but that’s kind of the point. Sometimes it’s good to remember that it’s not rocket science, that we already have all the information we need to be healthy and happy.

And because we’re total list junkies, here’s... well, a list of...

10 simple health rules:

1.      Always eat breakkie – king. of. meals.

2.      Drink more water – nope, not 2 litres all at once… sip it, slowly

3.      Know your food – make your own or find out what’s in the stuff you buy!

4.      Read the label – look out for trans-fats, sugar and nasty additives

5.      Keep moving – if you can’t do a workout, get your walk or stretch on

6.      Get enough sleep –  6 hours min… find a routine that works for you

7.      Identify your cravings – better yet, find a healthy way to enjoy them

8.      Reduce your stress levels – ask yourself: will worrying change anything?

9.      Listen to your body – are you hungry, thirsty, in need of some TLC?

10.    Take the time to eat – food is there to enjoy!

You’re the boss. Tune into your awesomeness.

The Urban Remedy 'Easy Guide to Summer'

With summer fast approaching, we’ve narrowed down our 10 top tips to get you feeling and looking great.

1. Drink a glass of warm boiled water first thing in the morning to flush out your lymphatic system – this is an amazing (free) home remedy for combatting cellulite, fluid retention, bloating and enhancing digestion and detoxification. We say boiled as the body can then use it immediately rather than processing (digesting) the mineral content.

2. Hydrate throughout the day: don’t guzzle your 1.5-2L in one sitting. Sip on water throughout the day to stay continuously hydrated. And avoid drinking with meals as this dilutes your digestive juices!

3. Do some gentle weights or toning exercises every morning. You don’t need a gym or even gym gear to do this! Tricep dips on the bath are a sneaky whole-body toning exercise (they get your legs and tum toned too if done correctly). Simply do 2 sets of 25, et voilà!

4. Moisturise and protect. If you want to stay youthful and avoid the dreaded leather-face look, moisturising and applying SPF is the ONLY way. Think 15+ not factor 4 coconut oil, unless you’re trying to re-enact a scene from Hot Shots.

5. Fake it to make it. Yep, we’re talking about fake tan. Not the orange kind but a nice subtle hint of summer in a bottle… You can get some pretty good ones now (even organic), either applied in salon or at home. For you Sydney peeps, we like Fleur De Lys MediSpa in Woollahra – $25 tans every Friday, all summer. Yes please.

6. Get 15 minutes of SPF-free sunshine every day to boost your vitamin D levels.

7. Keep it clean throughout the silly season. Make sure your liver is getting the TLC it needs by supplementing with milk thistle and detoxing regularly to avoid toxic overload. We often recommend cleansers with busy social calendars try weekly mini-cleanses throughout December, working their way towards a longer ‘new year cleanse’ in January.

8. Give your summer drinks a makeover. Claire from the Saha Space shared some of her lovely ice tea recipes with us last week. Check them out here. We also recommend choosing your alcoholic mixers carefully – soda water and fresh lime is always a good option. Avoid pre-mixed drinks, soft drinks (even diet), fruit juice (you can bet the stuff at the bar isn’t good for you) and milky cocktails.

9. Avoid yeast and sugar to beat the bloat. We often think wheat/gluten is the culprit (and it is for some people) when in fact it is more likely to be yeast. If you’re OK with pasta but not with bread and pizza, yeast is not your friend. Try sourdough bread if this is the case.

10. Tune in to summer cravings (good ones that is). Fresh fruit, fresh veg, grilled fish, seafood, barbecues… We naturally eat differently according to the season so it’s time to break out of your winter food rut and embrace summer.

Drink more purified water (because it's good for you)

Water. Drink more and drink good quality, pure water. It is as simple as it sounds. Our bodies are around 70% water and it is recommended that you drink 30ml per kilogram of body weight.

For precisely this purpose, we're giving away a stainless steel water bottle (that lovely looking bottle to the left) with every 3 and 5 day cleanse delivered from today until we run out (we have around 500 to give away, give or take the few that I will keep for myself).

According to Wiki (the source of all arguable truth), in 2004 only 42% of the world's population had access to clean water. So in Australia we are incredibly fortunate to have access to such good quality water, though you can do better than tap water and we believe it's worthwhile investing in a good quality water filter.

Good water filters remove bacteria and toxins (and make your water taste nicer!). Purifying your own water is also much cheaper and better for the environment than buying bottled water.

To make our Spicy Lemonade and Cashew-coco smoothie, we use water filtered by our beautiful clay water filter from Southern Cross Pottery. Upfront, they are not cheap, costing from $229 upwards, however the replacement filter lasts for 12 months or 2000 litres and the water costs 11.5c per litre in the first year and 2c per litre thereafter. The water is honestly the best I've tasted and I've also invested in one for home. I know I sound like an infomercial, but I promise I have no friends there and I'm getting no kickbacks (yet, anyway).

Not quite as effective or cheap in the long run, but very easy and convenient, are the Brita OnTap filters, available from Kmart, Target, etc.

Here's to water!