Quirky Cooking Chats

AQJ 32 : Anaphylactic Allergies, FPIES, Post Natal Depression, Parasites, and Hope for Healing!

This week’s story is absolutely fascinating – an amazing story of hope and healing, with Mary Kelly of ‘Good Mood Food’.
Anaphylactic to wheat, dairy, eggs, nuts, and sesame seeds, and allergic to just about everything else except white rice and corn, life was difficult for little Daniel. He survived on a hypoallergenic formula, but was not thriving at all – always sick, coughing, vomitting, underweight, and reacting to so many things in his environment. His mother, Mary, was so traumatised and exhausted by her son’s condition, that she suffered from debilitating depression. A visit to the allergist was followed by her spending days in bed trying to cope with the stress of the situation.
After much research, and grasping at the only hope that seemed left to her, Mary decided to try a very slow and careful version of the GAPS diet, to see if that could help their son. One drop at a time, they added broth to his formula… and the healing began.
Now, 2 years later, they have a different child. He’s no longer is allergic to everything – only tree nuts are left on his list of reactive foods, and it’s no longer an anaphylactic allergy. He’s a happy, healthy little boy, mum’s depression is gone, and the whole family have seen major changes in their health through this healing diet.
It sounds too good to be true, but listen in as this mum explains her years of researching ‘white papers’ and working out the best way to help her son and the reasons behind her decision to try GAPS – and the difference it has made in their lives.
Mary shares her story and her research, as well as her family’s favourite recipes, on her website, Good Mood Food.
Follow her inspiring posts on Facebook, and if you need some one-on-one coaching from someone who knows the science behind GAPS, and how to begin GAPS when your child can’t eat ‘anything’, contact Mary here.
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AQJ 31 : Should GAPS or Paleo be a lifetime diet?

In this episode, Jo is joined by her foodie friend, Fouab Kassab, and they discuss how Jo’s family has benefitted so far from the GAPS diet, as well as Fouad’s experience with the Paleo diet. They share the many positive changes in their health through these healing diets, then approach the question, ‘What next?’
Should GAPS or the Paleo diet be something you stick to for the rest of your life? How long do you continue to eat this way before beginning to add some restricted foods back in? What would you add back, and when? What happens if you react to something you add back in? If you do begin reacting to foods, do you have to begin right back at the beginning again?
Fouad began the Paleo diet in 2011, and it changed his health dramatically. He now eats what he describes as a ‘high nutrition, low toxicity’ diet, which is close to Paleo but he prefers not to ‘label’ the way he eats. He’s much more flexible with the foods he eats now that his body has healed. He explains why he feels that you can’t expect a certain way of eating to always be exactly what your body needs, and how we have to stay aware of our body’s needs and change our diet to suit, as time goes on.
Fouad will be regular on “A Quirky Journey” now that he’s closed his pop up restaurant, Baraka. He has a great interest in the science behind healthy eating, and is a talented cook, writer and speaker. You can connect with Fouad on his blog, The Food Blog, and also on his Facebook page, Baraka.
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AQJ 30 : Essential Oils 101 with Samantha Bulloch of The Alchemist’s Tree

Essential oils can be a powerful tool in your ‘health and healing’ toolbox! They are more than just a lovely way to keep your house smelling nice – they can be used for first aid, for relaxation and reducing stress, for natural medicines and for non toxic cleaning products and pest deterrents.
In this episode, Samantha Bulloch of The Alchemist’s Tree, naturopath and aromatherapist, joins us to explain the basics of essential oils.
 why she began using essential oils, and how she went about studying them
 how essential oils are made
 how they differ to herbal medicines and flower essences
 how to use them safely and effectively
 her favourite oils and how she uses them
 basics to have on hand
 where you can study aromatherapy or do short courses to help you use them in your own home
Jo and Sam also discuss where to buy good quality, pure essential oils from, but agree that this is very much a personal choice and there are many great brands out there to choose from.
Next week Sam will share some practical tips and answer specific questions asked by Jo’s readers, so stay tuned for part 2!
You can also join Jo’s Quirky Cooking Chat Group and read more detailed information about these topics in the ‘Files’ section of the group.
If you’d like visit Jo’s DoTERRA essential oils page, you can find it here.
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AQJ 29 : Cathy Benson – How to help your kids to cope with starting GAPS

Do you need some tips for helping your kids to cope with the changes to their diet, and with how they will feel in the first couple of weeks?
Are you worried they will refuse to eat the food you make?
Are you wondering how other families have coped in this situtation?
Listen in as Jo talks to her friend Cathy about what it was like for them when they began their kids on GAPS – the struggles to get the kids to eat, the emotional upheaval, the fear about ‘am I doing the right thing?’… but most importantly, how they overcame these things, their successes, and how their girls have learned to love their food.
If you have kids on GAPS and would love some support, join our GAPS for Kids support group on Facebook.
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AQJ 28 : Dr Oscar Serrallach – Postnatal Depletion

Did you know that if you’ve given birth within the last decade, you may be still suffering some consequences, such as lethargy, anxiety, memory disturbances, ‘baby brain’, and poor energy levels? It’s not just because life gets busy when a new baby comes along, but also because the process of growing a baby exacts a significant toll on the body.
Dr Oscar Serrallach is a GP in Mullumbimby who has done training in Nutritional and Environmental Health and has a special interest in post natal repletion (helping mothers recover from the biopyschosocial ordeal of having kids).
In our society, many mothers are already nutritionally and physically depleted before conception and pregnancy, and this can escalate after the birth, to the stage where mums are ‘running on empty’.
How do you know if you are suffering from postnatal depletion, and what tests should be done to show what to work on?
What are some simple steps to follow before and after having a child to make sure your body doesn’t become run down and nutritionally depleted?
How does gut health impact on postnatal depletion?
What is the peak time for postnatal depression, and do mums who have depletion commonly end up with depression?
How important is a support network for new mums?
Answers to these questions and more! This is a fascinating podcast which really highlights the importance of caring for our new mums.
Useful Links:
Dr Oscar’s website, Facebook page, and Instagram
A great Q&A about Postnatal Depletion with Dr Oscar, here on Goop
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AQJ 27: How good gut health helps kids cope with the world around them!

How can a gut healing diet, natural therapies, and working daily with your kids to encourage optimal learning, help them to cope with the world around them?
In this episode, Leah shares some recent results of their family’s healing journey, the story of their big move out of the city, and their recent transition from homeschooling to public schooling – big changes for the Follett family!
Listen in to learn more about how kids can function so much better when they have a healthy environment – both inside and out. Gut health and stress affect everything from behavior, to concentration, anxiety, food reactions, sensitivity to chemicals in their environment, sensitivity to noise and distractions, ability to cope with change, and more. Big kudos to Leah and her husband for all their hard work – the changes they’ve seen in their kids in the past four years have been amazing.
To learn more about Leah’s story, and how she’s worked with her kids to reduce ASD symptoms, listen in to Our Stories.
To learn more about Jo and Leah’s homeschooling journeys, listen here.
To learn more about helping kids with learning difficulties and special needs, listen here.
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AQJ 26 : Kehoe’s Kitchen: helping to heal the gut with fermented foods

This week’s episode is all about fermented foods! Katrina Kehoe of Kehoe’s Kitchen joins Jo to share her story of the past four years – from GAPS to a paleo diet, with a focus on using fermented foods as natural probiotics to help with the healing process. Find the answers to the following questions, and more!
How can fermented foods help in the gut-healing process? And what do you do if you really just don’t have the time (or the patience) to make your own? Are the fermented veggies you can buy at the grocery store any good? Where can you buy traditionally prepared sauerkraut, and what are the benefits? What is ‘wild fermentation’? Does it make a difference if the vegetables used are organic or not? How should you begin if you haven’t really eaten fermented veggies much before, or are just beginning GAPS? What do you do if you are low FODMAPS – are there some options for you? What if you have issues with histamines? Which ferments go best with which foods?
Katrina also has plenty of helpful information, recipe ideas, tips for getting started with GAPS, and answers to the most common GAPS questions on her website and Facebook page, so check out the links below!
Katrina’s story in more detail
GAPS Intro Meals: see what Katrina cooked for her family while on the GAPS intro diet
Ideas for GAPS friendly kid’s lunch boxes
Katrina’s GAPS and Paleo recipes
Where to buy top quality gelatine
Where to buy Kehoe’s Kitchen’s Organic Raw Artisan Sauerkrauts, Kim Chi, Sauerkraut Juices, Cultured Paleo Tasty Cheese, Cashew Yogurts, Coconut Yoghurts and Raw Activated Paleo Bars: Find a stockist in your area
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AQJ 25 : Q&A with Isaac – gut healing simplified, and kids on GAPS

On today’s podcast, Jo has a very special co-host, her 14 yr old son Isaac. Jo’s family started GAPS (the Gut and Psychology Syndrome protocol) because Isaac was suffering with severe OCD. A year ago Isaac was barely able to function – now he’s doing amazingly well and loves to share what he’s been learning.
Jo and Isaac discuss simple ways to start implementing these gut healing principles into your everyday cooking, without stressing out the family; and how to take some baby steps to get started. Not everyone can jump right in and do strict GAPS, but there are some basic things you can do to begin healing, adding in other steps when you can.
They also answer readers questions like:
– how GAPS has changed Isaac’s life socially
– how to help kids not feel like they’re ‘missing out’ when around friends eating differently
– tips for kid’s snacks
– how to manage GAPS with toddlers
– do people lose weight on GAPS
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, have a listen to these simple ideas and tips from a teenager on GAPS!
Useful links:
How to make bone broths
Easy recipe for fermented veggies
Good quality gelatine: GoBio or Great Lakes gelatine (available at health food shops)
Getting healthy fats into your diet
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AQJ 24 : Changing your life by the way you eat with Marlies Hobbs of the Paleo Cafe

Five years ago, Marlies Hobbs was a busy lawyer with no time to be worrying about the food she was eating. She thought she ate pretty well, and she was excercising, so if she was a little bit overweight, exhausted, bothered by skin problems and not really feeling great, that was just a part of normal life, right? Then her first son came along and shocked Marlies, and her husband Jai, into realising how important food and lifestyle really are for health. Their baby was highly allergic to dairy, and many times Marlies thought she had lost him. Jai began researching the paleo lifestyle and diet, and together they began a journey that has taken this family above and beyond what they thought was possible.
Listen in to Marlies’ fascinating story of the healing power of food, and how eating natural, nutrient dense foods and living a lifestyle closer to nature has changed their lives. Out of it has also come a successful family business with cafes popping up all around Australia, and many other people being helped to change their health for the better.
You can find lots of the delicious Paleo Cafe recipes here on the Paleo Cafe website.
The Paleo Cafe Lifestyle & Cookbook, by Marlies Hobbs, is now available in most bookstores and department stores, including Big W and Kmart. Or you can order it online, here.
And don’t forget to follow the Paleo Cafe Australia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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AQJ 23 : Rachel Favilla: Fighting an Auto-Immune Disease

This week’s guest on “A Quirky Journey” is a young lady who has been fighting an auto-immune disease since she was 14, and shares her story of her ups and downs, and how GAPS is helping her in her quest to heal her body. Rachel Favilla is just 18 years old, but her maturity and knowledge of nutrition, gut health, auto immune disease, and cooking ‘meals that heal’ is astounding! This is one amazing young lady!
Rachel is the author of the blog, “Real Soup for the Real Soul”, where she shares her delicious, GAPS friendly recipes. She is studying nutritional medicine at the Endeavour College of Natural Health, and wants to become a nutritionist, with a focus on healing the gut.
Listen in as Rachel shares lots of tips for learning how to heal your body, and how to cook for good health in a way that is simple and easy for everyone.
Real Soup for the Real Soul: http://www.realsoupfortherealsoul.com
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AQJ 22 : Alexx Stuart Discusses the MINDD Forum, 2015

Alexx Stuart joins Jo in this episode to talk about the recent MINDD Forum in Sydney. Alexx has been a MINDD Foundation ambassador for the past few years, and shares how this not-for-profit organisation helps parents of children with Metabolic, Immunologic, Neurologic, Digestive, and Developmental conditions.
Listen in to learn more about the forum, and how the MINDD Foundation works with health practitioners to help families all over Australia.
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AQJ21 : Jo & Leah Catchup

Jo and Leah are back on air together in this episode, and they have fun catching up, and chatting about what’s been happening the last few weeks. They discuss:
– Leah’s feedback on the amazing MINDD Forum held recently in Sydney
– Jo’s recent illness, and how a healthy diet doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll never get sick!
– what to do if you have to take antibiotics
– Jo’s UK tour and how she coped with travelling while on GAPS
– how Jo copes with such a busy schedule, travel, kids, and homeschooling
– what’s coming up with Quirky Cooking classes and A Quirky Journey podcast!
If you’d like to suggest any topics you’d love to hear discussed on ‘A Quirky Journey’, or if you have questions for Jo and Leah, please leave a comment here or on Facebook:
Quirky Cooking (Jo): https://www.facebook.com/quirkycooking
Leah Follett: https://www.facebook.com/akesisbalance
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