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

Glowing skin smoothie

In last week's blog, we gave you our five easy steps to clear, radiant skin:

1. Avoid skin aggravating foods

2. Maximise skin enhancing foods

3. A simple, effective skin care routine

4. Experiment with skin healing supplements

5. Try a juice cleanse

This week, we're dishing up a recipe for a yummy, skin-friendly smoothie to kick off your day.

Glowing skin smoothie:

• Almond, millet or brown rice milk
• ½ medium-sized banana
• Handful of mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 heaped tbsp of a superfood powder* of your choice
• 1 heaped tbsp of LSA (Linseed, Sunflower and Almond) powder
• Optional: Sun Warrior vegan protein powder

Superfood powders*:

• Green superfood powder – we like Vital Greens
• Acai powder – we like Rio Life
• Raw cacao powder – we like Loving Earth

For candida/dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut) sufferers, swap the fruit (banana and berries) for egg yolk, cashews or avocado. Coconut oil and cinnamon are great bacteria-fighting smoothie boosters for candida – add natural vanilla extract to enhance flavour and/or manuka honey for sweetness (manuka honey doesn’t feed the bad bacteria in your gut).

Smoothies are a great breakfast option for individuals prone to breakouts or skin irritations, and for people with weak digestion or digestive disorders – they deliver a burst of vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients in a form that is super easy for your body to break down (most of the work has already been done by the blender) and draw goodness from straight away.

Enjoy! xx

Food for your skin

The skin is the largest organ in the human body. It protects us from external pathogens, regulates temperature, facilitates vitamin D absorption, enables tactile sensation, and boosts detoxification.

Its detoxification function has the biggest connection with skin appearance. If we’re overloaded with toxins – playing too hard, eating too much (or too much of the wrong things) and sleeping too little – it all takes its toll on our skin. Dehydration lines, breakouts, rashes and skin irritations are all signs our skin needs some serious TLC.

To get your skin in tip top shape, we recommend these 5 nice and easy steps:

1. Avoid these skin aggravators:
- Dairy
- Sugar
- Yeast
- Alcohol

2. Eat lots of these super healthy foods:
- Fresh fruit and veg
- Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
- Healthy oils: olive, coconut, flaxseed
- Nuts
- Water!

3. Maintain a simple but effective skin care routine:

Skin products often promise to fix your every skin problem; they won’t. That said, choosing a brand with pure, natural ingredients, or at the very least free from the nasty stuff, is key. We recommend Simple if you’re on a budget or, if you feel like treating yourself, here are some of our faves: Aesop, Origins, Aveda and Kiehl’s (all stocked at Myer, except Aveda).

Rather than getting a whole heap of products, just get a few really good ones – a great cleanser (this one doubles up as gentle exfoliant), a supercharged moisturiser (still looking for one, tips most welcome!) or soothing face oil, and a gentle make-up remover.

4. Supplement (if you can afford the extra splurge on your skin):

For acne and breakouts – as these are often linked to bacterial overgrowth (dysbiosis) in the gut, we recommend taking a high-strength probiotic and, if you can get to a naturopath or health store, ask them to mix you up a liquid herbal formula to support adrenal health and immunity, and combat dysbiosis.

For dry skin, inflammation and recurring skin irritations (such as dermatitis or eczema) – we recommend a high quality fish oil supplement.

5. Try a juice cleanse: 

We have had excellent feedback from customers with skin conditions. If you think about it, it makes sense – by doing a juice cleanse you are eliminating all of the aggravators, giving your digestive system a rest, stimulating detoxification, and adding in a whole heap of goodness!

What are your skin secrets? We’d love to know.