Quirky Cooking Chats

Ever feel like you can’t keep up with cooking healthy meals for your family because you’re just too busy? Enter Bek Freeman, a good friend of Jo’s who is an inspiration to all of us wanting to eat well, despite crazy busy lives!

Bek is a teacher, has three young children, her husband works away a lot, and she has an illness which can debilitate her for hours when she’s really tired – so she really has to think ahead with the meals for her family. Her priority is her family’s health, and she has been on a mission to find ways to keep them all eating well, even on days when she doesn’t have the time or energy to do a lot of from-scratch cooking.

Bek plans and prepares all the dinners for three months – (a whole school term!!) – on the school holidays, writing out meal plans and ingredients lists and packing her freezer with wholesome meals for the family. She shared photos of her holiday cook-up with Jo, and Jo shared them with the Quirky Cooking community, and the internet went crazy and questions came flooding in!!

“How do you cook so much food in two days?? Don’t you get tired of frozen meals? How do you afford to do such a big cook-up? How do you store the food? How do you thaw and reheat it? Do you include fresh veggies in your daily meals, not just frozen? What kinds of meals do you freeze? Do you prep for school lunches? Can you share your meal plans and recipes? How do I get started with meal planning and bulk cooking?”

In this episode, Bek shares her tips and secrets for successful meal planning and bulk cook-ups. And don’t worry, bulk prepping doesn’t mean you only eat ‘frozen, reheated food’ – and you don’t have to cook for three months – but having a meal plan and some basic meals in the freezer can really save you time, money and your sanity!

Bek has recently started a Facebook group called Once a Term Cooking – if you’re interested in learning more, join the group! Or you can connect with Bek on Instragram at @rebekah_freeman_.

In the intro, Jo and Foo also discuss the Wim Hof deep breathing method which they’ve been trying for the past week, and their experience of increased energy, improved mood and calmness, and reduced inflammation.

Enjoy the discussions, and join in the chats on the Quirky Cooking Facebook Page and Chat Group, or feel free to email Jo and Fouad at [email protected].

The post AQJ 116: Bulk Cooking, Meal Planning and Freezer Meals appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

In this episode, Elyse Comerford (nutritionist and GAPS practitioner) shares her knowledge and how her attitudes have changed over the last couple of years as a GAPS practitioner. She has a burning desire to share the need for a balanced, gentle approach towards healing, and an understanding that as important as a healing diet is, it is not the ‘be all and end all’.

It’s easy to get so focused on diet that we forget all the other important facets of healing; and sometimes the stress of trying to ‘do it all’ undermines our progress. Be encouraged that sometimes taking a step back is the best way forward. Keeping stress levels low, taking time out to relax and be in nature, and finding joy in every day life and relationships are some of the best things you can do for your family’s health.

Useful Links:

The post AQJ 115: A Balanced Approach to GAPS, and How to Get Deeper Healing appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Fouad interviews Jason Prall, the creator and producer of The Human Longevity Project, a documentary film series that will take you on a journey around the globe, on a mission to discover the secrets of the longest-lived and healthiest populations on Earth.

Filmed over 2 years, in over 50 locations, in 9 countries, on 3 continents, this film looks at the key lifestyle, environmental, and physiological components to avoid chronic disease, increase health span, and put the brakes on ageing in our modern world.

Learn more about the film here: https://humanlongevityfilm.com/

The post AQJ 114: The Human Longevity Project with Jason Prall appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Are you doing all you can to eat well and live low-tox, but still finding you are low on energy, suffering from brain fog, having trouble sleeping, struggling with adrenal fatigue, fertility issues, or can’t lose weight? These can be symptoms of heavy metal toxicity, and are becoming more and more common in our society.

In this episode, Wendy Myers of Myers Detox shares with us the reasons for the increase in heavy metal toxicity, talks us through the symptoms, and gives many practical tips for detoxing, including the use of near infrared saunas. You’ll find more information on her website, Myers Detox, and can also tune into her podcast here.

Useful Links:

Our online program to help with a detoxing diet: Quirky Cooking for Gut Health

Grain free, whole food baking (including our premade Grain-Free Dough) as mentioned in the podcast: Primal Alternatives

The post AQJ 113: Heavy Metal Detox with Wendy Myers appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Most of us deal with stress on a daily basis, and without managing and reducing stress, life could become really difficult. In this episode, Jo and Foo speak to Dr Ron Ehrlich, a Sydney-based holistic dentist, and author of the book, A Life Less Stressed. We discuss the pillars of stress as outlined in Dr Ron’s book: emotional, nutritional, environmental, dental and postural stress. We also discuss how you can take control of your health through managing your sleep, breathing, nutrition, movement and your thinking.

The post AQJ 112: A Life Less Stressed with Holistic Dentist Ron Ehrlich appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

In this episode, Amina E. Hillier, naturopath, medical herbalist and nutritionist from Noosa, Australia, shares with us the importance of integrative medicine for the treatment of stealth diseases. Amina specialises in Lyme disease, mould illness, biotoxins and immune challenges, helping many patients whose cases have been put into the ‘too hard’ basket to regain their health! She is also currently studying nutrigenomics to better understand the interaction of nutrition and genes.

Useful Links:

You can find out more about the work Amina does on her website,  http://lymenatural.com

Amina’s book, Lyme Natural, is very helpful for those with any stealth diseases, autoimmune diseases, or any food and environment related chronic illnesses.

You can also find Amina on Facebook here.

The post AQJ 110: Lyme Disease & Other Stealth Illnesses appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

For those of you with young children, this podcast is a must! Our guest, Dr Leila Masson, is a paediatrician and lactation consultant who uses a biomedical approach to treat gastro-intestinal, metabolic, immunologic or other problems impacting a child’s physical and mental health.

Dr Leila specialises in autism, ADHD, behaviour problems, OCD, recurrent infections, nutritional deficiencies, breastfeeding, asthma and allergies, and answers many of our listeners questions on these topics.

Useful Links:

For a great, practical book on natural children’s health, we highly recommend Dr Leila’s book, ‘Children’s Health from A to Z’. (Also available on Kindle)

Dr Leila Masson’s website

Buteyko Breathing technique for reducing asthma symptoms

Dr Leila’s Facebook page

The post AQJ 109: Child Health with Leila Masson appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

What oils are best to cook with? Confusion around this question has been around for decades and health advice encouraging cooking with oils such as grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil and canola oil is now considered by many health experts to be one of the largest contributors to chronic illness.

A new study that compares the effects of heat on a variety of oils has just come out in May, and goes beyond the usual approach that investigates smoke point as the determining factor of whether an oil is good for us or not. Jo and Fouad discuss the findings of this study, which really helps to shed some light on this confusing topic.

Click here for the study on oils, from ACTA Scientific Nutritional Health

Other podcasts on the topic of oils, fats and cholesterol:

Fouad’s Story: Fats, Carbs & Healthy Eating

Low Carb, High Fat, with Christine Cronau

Fat Adapted: Using Healthy Fats as an Energy Source

The post AQJ 108: Good Oils, Bad Oils appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Is your home making you sick?  Nicole Bijlsma is the founder of Australian College of Environmental Studies and she joins us in this episode to discuss building biology and how you can make your home a healthier environment. With our focus on food, Nicole has really enlightened us on the environmental inputs in the home that could be significantly contributing to our ill health. She also gives practical tips to deal with electromagnetic waves, mould, toxic gases, household irritants, and much more.

Access Nicole’s website here.

Australian College of Environmental Studies can be found here.

Get our cookbook, Life-Changing Food here.

Weleda Evening Primrose Range:  Get 10% off your order and free shipping over $90. Use coupon code QUIRKYJOURNEY on heck out.

The post AQJ 107: Building Biology and Healthier Homes appeared first on The Wellness Couch.