I am continuing to embrace change by embarking upon a new career, I am now a herbal gardener; swapping my clinic room and medical books, for the great outdoors and muddy boots!

I love coffee! Having worked in hospitality, and trained as a barista, I have been very spoilt in the world of coffee bean goodness!

We all know sleep is important, and how bad we can feel without it. Yet for some reason we push ourselves to the limit, survive on very little, and wear the lack of it like a badge of honour.

There is often a lot of hype in the media about the rising cost of food - and yes this does seem to be the case. I've been trying to keep to a strict budget, and despite not buying extravagant items, I seem to come out of the supermarket with very few bags containing not very much at all!
Despite this - I will ALWAYS make sure that fruit & veggies are a food shop priority, and that there is no excuse to not be able to include them. I do not agree with the same hype about people not being able to afford fruit & veg, opting instead for takeaways and fast food - particularly in the Auckland area.

This morning was spent @ Avondale market - (in West Auckland), all of the above was purchased for $20! That will be enough for me and my partner for the week, we cook everything from scratch.

If we had more than two mouths to feed we would have got a whole lot more for that dollar if we'd opted instead for the sacks of produce that were available - i.e. : onions, apples, potatoes etc, which we found were often less than $5 each!

There is no excuse to not eat well.

The added bonus of going to a market for your food shop is the experience overall; it connects you to the food you eat - you can see what you are buying in its raw state, choose what you want, chat to the stall vendors as to how to cook it (which is awesome at Avondale which has an ethically diverse range of goodies), compared to buying it take-away where it is packaged in plastic all ready to go, where you have no real concept of how it was cooked or what's really in it.

There is a distinct lack of love in take-away processed foods - it is quite literally 'taken away'; there is no nourishment, it is disconnected.

I encourage all people to eat fresh, to buy from markets, and support local produce and local trade. Food is what nourishes us,  fuels us, and brings people together - what better way to treat yourself?! Not by having take-aways that's for sure...

Our brains are very important - I don't need to tell you that. But how well they function really can depend on how we treat them. Like the rest of the body - our brain needs a certain amount of nutrients, sleep, and exercise to remain in peak condition; and it relies on us to provide the sustenance it needs.
Unfortunately - in 'today's modern society' we are 'too busy'. We consume more processed foods which have little nutritional value, work long hours which causes increased stress and decreased sleep, and are too tired to exercise - opting for the couch and a glass of wine to wind down with.
How can we expect our poor brains to keep up with the increasing demands we place on them. It's like working with a dirty engine, and no petrol in the car!
We are becoming an aging population, people are living longer; and whilst increasing longevity is a positive for us; it's no wonder there are increasing cases of dementia when the population may not be looking after their brain as well as they could do.
Here are some simple things to do for your brain...Treat it well!

Having shared a long flight back to NZ with the delights of a variety of coughs and sneezes; I have spent the last few days getting over a stinking cold!
Those of you who may have also the sniffles here is my tried and tested cold busting protocol!

1) Green smoothies - Start the day packed with nutrition. Try this:
1 x banana
A handful of kale/spinach/whatever is in your fridge that is green!
Chuck in some seeds (chia seeds are an excellent source of goodness!)
A dollop of coconut oil
A big spoon of LSA
enough milk to cover (I use oat milk)
Blitz and enjoy!

2) Spend day drinking good old hot lemon/ginger/honey combo

3) Steam face/clear nose with added tea tree oil

4) Sweat it out! hot baths/showers, wrap up warm, keep toasty

5) Sleep!