I often get asked what books I’m reading. I’m really bad at answering definitely (on most things). In part because my memory is shocking. But also because everything is always “for now”.

photo by edina csoboth

So, here are five reads I’ve experienced recently that touched me because the author truly went deep into their search or their fear or their desire to share and connect. And in turn took me to my own version of this place. Not in a bash-over-the-head way. But just through the process. You might like them, too.

1. Your Voice in My Head by Emma Forrest.

A quirky memoir of an eccentric as she grapples with managing her weirdness and various breakdowns via what is almost an ode to her shrink. It’s a tender, sad and real read. It could be accused of being self-indulgent, in a Prozac Nation way. But it dodges such a call with the bravery and rawness of her writing. It’s unapologetic. And this frees it from contrivance. And freed me to dig down deep with her and to feel the freedom of it all. PS a big part of the book is her battle to recover from one particular ex…who is clearly Colin Farrell. Buy it here.

2. This is Not the Story You Think It Is by Laura Munson.

This book started as a Modern Love column in The New York Times in which Laura details how she sticks by her husband when he announces he’s leaving the marriage. She refuses to buy his story. Not because she’s a martyr or damaged or desperate. Instead it’s because she chooses not to do pain. This means sticking by the man she’s always loved. It’s a fascinating and very pragmatic approach to love and I like it. As real as it comes. I interviewed Laura and you can read about it here. Buy the book here.

On Friday I had the indescribable joy of chatting to Nora Gedgaudas on Skype. Nora wrote the paleo living bible Primal Body, Primal Mind and is a gem of a woman.

photo via The Alkaline Sisters

In a nutshell, the premise of her thinking is this:

* our genealogy hasn’t changed since Paleolithic times when we ate fat, protein and low-starch veggies.

* our diet has changed to a high carb/sugar/starch diet, with the introduction of the agricultural period 10,000 years ago, which our bodies have not been able to adjust to…which makes us sick and tired.

Ergo:

We need to eat MORE FAT and ELIMINATE CARBS for optimal health and longevity.

Perhaps the most home-hitting point she makes is this:

Fat doesn’t make us fat, fat eaten with carbs does

and:

We aren’t what we eat, we’re how we metabolise what we eat

If you’re interested in all this, her book is seriously the go-to bible. I went crazy with my highlighter and post-it reading it last week. And for auto-immune/hashimoto sufferers…it almost caters directly to our conditions (Nora’s family all have hashimotos).

The great news is: Nora’s also out here in Australia in November speaking at universities in Sydney, Armidale and the Gold Coast. I’ll be at the Goldie to see her speak. It will be rad.

But in the meantime…our chat:

Chat with Nora Gedgaudas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some of you asked some questions via twitter on key points of the paleo diet. I thought I’d spell things out a little, because they’re themes that I’ve touched on a lot on this blog. My sugar quitting philosophy is similar, ditto my exercise approach.

But aren’t grains needed by our bodies?

It would appear not. They contain no essential nutrients we can’t get from elsewhere in more effective ways. They’ve traditionally been eaten when fat and protein haven’t been around (and, thus, signal to the body there’s a famine going on). Since we have the option not to eat them, why would we? Especially given the below…

Me, I get a little tired of food types banging on about their amazing eating habits. I mean, I MUST really annoy some of you with all my “sprout this”, “slow cook” that rants. So perhaps I should mention, I also eat in food courts. And at 7-Eleven. Because I get really hungry and I move about a bit and just have to eat and not be too precious sometimes.

I approached some of the food types who contribute on this blog and asked if they’d come clean with their on-the-run eating  tricks. We all do it. Eat crap and live to see another day!

Mine are thus,

* I avoid Thai (the coconut cream is great, but it’s full of palm sugar). Greek is great. Pubs are my favourite. Indian is OK (coconut cream with less sugar!)

* At food courts, I eat meat. Kebab joints – the straight up meat (with their salady stuff). The beef stew. etc. These stews are likely to have homely ingredients (my experience dating chefs is that Mum makes these dishes and keeps it pretty unadulterated). I avoid anything with sauce, or bready stuff and steer wellllllll clear of salad bars with dressing.

* If you eat sandwiches, ask for it to be made up with your ingredients – pre-made ones are full of gunky sauces. Ask for mustard. Full fat cheese and tuna, toasted, is pretty safe.

* At corner shops/ 7-elevens:  I like Kat’s advice below – just buy the dark chocolate and be done with it.

* Soup is always a good option. Again, often made simply and sometimes by a Mum.

* I’ve written about what I eat when I’m traveling here.

But over to the others now…do add your ideas below!

Thai

Lee Holmes is author of Supercharged Food: I usually order a chicken and cashew nut dish and ask for no sauce.  I say I’d just like to have it stir fried with garlic.  If you’re ordering a curry you can ask for it without sugar too and most Thai restaurants are happy to accommodate you.

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

In seven words, Michael Pollan succinctly sums up the best way to eat. He’s famous for this mantra, from his superb book In Defense of Food. It sticks, hey!?

                            photo via Cannelle et Vanille

 Michael has just released his latest book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual in which he lays out the most deadset simple rules for eating that don’t tax willpower and brainpower. And they work. For health and for the planet. Here’s some of his highlights:

some tips from Michael:

1. if it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.

2. when shopping in a supermarket, shop the periphery of the store and avoid the centre aisles laden with processed foods.

3. avoid sugar… (and) note, too, that refined flour is hardly different from sugar once it gets into the body.

4. avoid foods advertised on television…and food products that make health claims. No natural food is simply a collection of nutrients, and a processed food stripped of its natural goodness to which nutrients are then added is no bargain for your body.

It’s almost spring. Which, for all kinds of reasons, is a good time to get fresh with our foods and clean things up a bit.  Our bodies respond so well at this time of year to a “cleanse” – it shakes us from the winter heaviness and gets us digesting light and breezily ready for the heat. Oh yes, heat!

From an ayurvedic POV, it’s all about enlivening kaphic energy (spring needs an alert kaphic energy to withstand the dampness). (I’ve written rundowns on ayurvedic doshas, and the vata effect previously)

Personally, I’m not a massive fan of full-on, restrictive eating detoxes. And, indeed, it’s the principle behind the new show I host Eat Yourself Sexy, which launches THIS THURSDAY!!! Our bodies naturally detox far better when fed good food, aided with a few tricks. Honestly, eating our way through a clean out is soooo much more fun.

If you feel like cleaning things out ready for the warmer weather, a few tricks and recipes (and please add your own ideas at the bottom…these are just the things I’m going to be doing):

1. Get plenty of sleep – our bodies detox throughout the night. We need to get to bed by 10pm to align with the detox/cell regeneration processes throughout the night.

2. Eat ginger. And other digestive herbs and spices as much as you can: cumin, fennel, cayenne pepper, turmeric.

3. Drink digestive teas. Licorice, fennel, mint, dandelion…

4. Eat green. As much as you can. Green cleans. Silverbeet, spinach, kale, broccoli…and be sure to start to move into the cooler green things as the weather warms: avocado and cucumber, mint and parsley. I love this recipe for rawvocado soup from wholeliving (pic above). It pretty much combines the top cleansing ingredients in the one little package….

Chilled ‘Rawvocado’ Soup with Coconut Water

This recipe makes two servings.  If you want more soup, double the amounts accordingly.

• 2 large, ripe avocados
• 1 cup coconut water (you could also use nut milk or filtered water)
• juice of 1 lime (about 4 tablespoons)
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• ¼ cup chives
• 1 shallot, minced
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Cut open and pit avocados. Scoop out flesh, reserving a small portion of one half for garnish.

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add more coconut water until the desired consistency is reached (it should coat the back of a spoon, but not be solid).

Pour into a large jar with a tight-fitting lid and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Serve when cold. Garnish with avocado cubes and chives or coriander.

5. Chlorella is great. The benefits are

* this post is regularly updated*

I’ve been asked a few times by readers to provide a visitor’s guide to Byron Bay. I’ve been here almost a year now. Blimey! I live just outside of Byron on seven acres in the forest, but I come into town almost every day to surf, have coffee or tea, buy groceries, run to the lighthouse, go to yoga etc.

Photo Trent Dooley via Common Ground

Byron is a unique place. It’s both a sleepy, old-school coastal hamlet in bits, but big bands and performers pass through regularly. It’s full of fancy Sydney types, but the sense of community is potent. It’s transient, but everyone feels they belong. For a while. And everyone has a theory on the place (why there are seven single women to every single man, why there are so many divorces in the area…). I quite love it. For now.

So a guide, based on places, experiences I’ve come to love. I contacted some of my favourite people I’ve met here to share their tips, too. Also, for a great overview of what the locals are doing, and what gigs are worth seeing, check out Common Ground.

You might also like to read about the road trip I did in the area a little while back…

coffee at the Top Shop, photo by Johnny Abegg

1. Coffee

My favourite is a weak long black at the Top Shop. They also serve organic milk on request. And everyone sits out on the lawn and chats in the sun in the morning. My other pick is Bayleaf. They roast their beans across the road. And they have sun all day out front. I’ve been able to drink coffee again since I’ve been in Byron (I cut it out for three years because it upset my adrenals). My theory: Byron is, energetically, a very Kaphic place (heavy). Kaphic areas grow stimulants – coffee, chocolate and chilli – and indeed these are the big crops for the area. And so it makes sense, it fits, to drink coffee here. It’s appropriate. Most cafes serve local coffee.

Johnny Abegg is a surf filmmaker from Byron Bay and photographer at Common Ground. His coffee suggestion is also Top Shop. In fact, it’s pretty much the local pick.

Clare McGregor is a music publicist-  Vitamin Records – in Byron (and maaad Words with Friends fiend),  and suggests the cafe up at the lighthouse – it wins hands down for view.

Sarita Merlo is a naturopath and herbalist, and is the founder of the Byron Bay Tea Company. Her favourite coffee is from Utopia in Bangalow.

Going forward the focus of the climate debate is going to be food. All the experts are saying wars will also be about food in the future. The fact is, we’re fast reaching a point where the planet won’t be able to feed us. And we’re going to be falling over each other to get at resources.

To be honest, I’m kind of glad the debate has come to this. It’s a tangible concept. I’m hoping that as the discussion shifts to food and food warfare, we’ll care more. We’ll wake up. Because we won’t have a choice. We need to eat.

Personally, I'd prefer if she bought just the one. photo: Charlotte Abramow

In the US last week a report  found that eating healthy has become too expensive for most. It created much discussion over there. Soon it will be the same with junk food.

Anyway, in the meantime, what to do, both from an economic and an ecological POV?

It’s simple and elegant. Waste less.

I’m unashamedly militant about using every last bit of food. And I get incensed when I’m around people who don’t. It’s a pet issue of mine and I don’t hold back.

Some principles I personally live by:

* I don’t buy more until I’ve finished what I already have (in the fridge/pantry). I completely run out of yoghurt before I set out to buy another. That way I find myself then using up the last of the sour cream or cheese in the interim.

* I cook the leaves from beetroot bunches as I would silverbeet (and eat with oil and pepper and salt). Ditto the leaves from cauliflower and broccoli (just don’t do with rhubarb – the leaves are poisonous)

* I don’t peel anything. I eat the rind/skin on pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, beetroot. A lot of the nutrients are contained in the skin.

* Celery leaves – great in soup and salads. I use as I would parsley. I make a pistou using the leaves, too.

As readers of this blog might know, I can’t do gluten or sugar, which makes breakfast tricky. If not toast or porridge or muesli or fruit, then what? Eggs. And more eggs.

zucchini ricotta cheesecake, via 101cookbooks

Not a sad predicament, but variety is required. Lately I’ve also been experimenting with cutting back on grains overall. I’m not wholly paleo (caveman diet follower); I tend to follow Weston A Price’s eating ideas (although not strictly). I can see merits in not eating so many carbs…doing so does curb my cravings…which I have problems with. I still eat carbs, just not as many.

So back to breakfast…no sugar, no gluten and… less grains. A challenge? Yes, but one I’m up for.

Tell me what you think of these ideas, and please add your own.

Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

This one is fresh from 101 Cookbooks. They used a springform pan, but you could use an equivalent baking dish or deep tart pan as well. I did mine in a skillet with less ingredients.

serves 8

• 2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated
• 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• zest of one lemon
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 170C degrees. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.

In a strainer, toss the grated zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

Combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and mix. Now stir in the zucchini. Fill the pan with the mixture and place on a baking sheet and in the oven and for sixty minutes. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

Let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

One of my favourite things to do is to come up with a meal from… nothing. It’s a sport. And I find myself competing in it often because I travel almost weekly and have to empty my fridge of random ingredients. Oh the thrill of it!?!

Pic: Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

So I always have a few staples on hand that can stretch out the random fridge surprise ingredients. Eggs, tinned tuna, tinned sardines,  frozen spinach, peas and broccoli (I steam, bag and freeze myself, as explained here), capers and activated nuts and seeds (which I keep in the freezer…they keep longer and stay crisper).

Me, at the moment I’m loving these ideas:

* Freezer spinach, pea and parmesan surprise: Take two cubes of frozen spinach (I buy the one that comes in a pack of 6 cubes) and a handful of frozen peas in a bowl and microwave (I know, not ideal, but frozen spinach is dodgy in a pot and this meal works best in a microwave) for a minute or so. I drain a little water out and stir through one egg and some grated Parmesan (which I store in the freezer) and heat for another minute or so. Breakfast!

* Mushroom mush: I saute mushrooms in a pan and some shaved ham (I keep a container in the fridge for such moments) and swirl through some lightly forked eggs, a splash of milk and some chia seeds.

* Broccoli and ….: I steam broccoli cut up pretty fine (as mentioned I do this in advance – a head or two at a time – put in containers and freeze ready to grab) and add:  some shredded chicken (I buy 1/2 a chook and use it across 3-4 meals), a few anchovies and some garlic, a tin of tuna and an egg…I swirl it through the hot broccoli and it “cooks” into a cheesy bind. Sometimes I toss in some finely cut celery  and swirl through some whole-egg mayo (sugar-free). And some activated pepitas (again, which I keep in the freezer). And bang. Lunch. Or breakfast (the other day I took it on the plane with me on my way to Sydney at 9am).

* Meffins (meat, veggie and egg muffins):