Quirky Cooking Chats

AQJ 69 : The Big Picture of Gut Health, with Kale Brock

“Where I really find flow and passion in life is in sharing stories. And for the last four or five years, it’s been that story of the gut and the microbiome because I felt there was a big gap between what the research was saying and what the practitioners were doing, and the everyday person… I felt that ‘normal’ people were missing out because we were making that message too esoteric and too hard to approach. So that’s where I came into it and found the middle ground and was able to build a bit of a place in the industry.” – Kale Brock
Kale Brock is an award-nominated journalist, researcher and professional speaker. With qualifications as a Health & Exercise coach, Kale has worked in the health and wellness industry since 2007 alongside some of the best naturopaths and health personalities in Australia. Now specialising in the areas of gut health and the microbiome, he shares a well-rounded and comprehensive message on these areas to the general public.
Recently Kale has been working on a very special project – The Gut Healing Summit – which features over 14 world renowned experts on the gut and microbiome. Airing from 27th-30th March, the Summit covers leading edge information mainstream media can not cover. It will inform and inspire YOU to take action immediately & to make empowered decisions when it comes to your health. Find out more about the Gut Healing Summit here.
Visit Kale’s website: www.kalebrock.com/
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AQJ 68: Herbal Medicine with Melissa Gearing ND

What is a medical herbalist, and how can they help you with healing naturally? Is herbal medicine useful for those with chronic illnesses, depression, poor gut health, and the common health issues people face in our society? Are modern medicines and herbal medicine diametrically opposed, or can they work together?
In this episode, Naturopath and Medical Herbalist Melissa Gearing answers these questions, and gives us her perspective on how herbal medicines can be used to improve health.
You may like to also listen to Episode 51 with Dr Kelly Brogan to hear another viewpoint on holistic therapies and modern medicine: http://thewellnesscouch.com///aqj/aqj-51-healing-the-mind-without-medications-dr-kelly-brogan
You can find Melissa’s website here: http://www.mgherbs.com
Melissa’s books and herbal ‘first aid kit’ are available here: http://www.mgherbs.com/shop/
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AQJ 67: Matt Rutley – MovNat Natural Fitness

This week Jo and Fouad talk to Matt Rutley about the importance of natural movement and fitness. Matt is a human movement specialist and adaptability coach. He is the owner, founder and head coach of Stage 6 Health & Fitness in Nundah, Australia’s first dedicated natural movement facility. He has been coaching various sports and martial arts since since 2010, both in Australia and the U.S. and is the MovNat Team Instructor for Australia and the Pacific Rim.
Matt has always had a gift for learning and picking up new things. Growing up on a farm in the Australian bush, physical competence, efficiency and adaptability were all a part of Matt’s daily existence. His father taught him and his brothers much about bush craft, carpentry, survival, hunting, tracking, butchery and blacksmithing. He credits this early education in natural movement and adaptability to his success as a coach, a semi professional rugby athlete, a fighter, a craftsman, artist and even a Protection Bullfighter. His passion now is using natural movement as a way to help people unlock their own adaptive and creative potential.
Learn more about natural movement and fitness here:http://www.stage6fitness.com.au
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AQJ 66: Jen Shaw- Living on Little

Meet Jen Shaw, an inspiring woman who has overcome many social, mental and physical barriers from her youth to become a mum of seven, entrepreneur, and author. Jen is passionate about helping young people reach their potential, and through her own difficult journey has learnt how to live well on little, how to heal with food, how to deal with stress and anxiety, and how to support others to do the same.
Jen is the author of two healthy eating cookbooks, Living on Little, and Lovely Little Lunchboxes, which focus on eating well on a tight budget, and cooking from scratch. The recipes are gluten free and whole foods recipes, using basic ingredients, with updated versions of the good, old-fashioned food from her childhood.
Jen’s passion for reaching out to youth in need has caused her to begin a not-for-profit project called ‘Emerge’, which offers a holistic mentorship program and will be based at the Emerge Café in Toowoomba. The cafe is a social enterprise project that aims to deliver training and employment opportunities to youth facing barriers in the Toowoomba region.
Jen believes that by meeting young people facing challenges where they are at and supporting them through a holistic mentorship and training program, they can become valuable assets to our community and become the best versions of themselves.
The training program helps young people to take part in on the job training in a hospitality setting, and encourages healthy living through fitness activities, cooking skills, goal setting, self care and positive mindset. The participants are also given the help they need to ensure they have a safe and supportive home environment.
If you’d like to help get the Emerge Cafe off the ground, you can purchase Jen’s cookbooks which help with funding. Click here for more information.
Follow Jen’s journey with the Emerge project on her Facebook page, Barefoot Kitchens.
You can learn more about Jen here: About Jen
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AQJ 65: Food Trends & Food Goals for 2017

Happy New Year! Jo and Fouad kick the new year off with a fun foodie chat this week, discussing the coming food trends for 2017. They also talk through their own food and health goals, and what that looks like in everyday meals. And they give an update on their new cookbook, Life-Changing Food, which is due for release in March!! (See http://www.quirkycooking.com.au/preorder/)
Listen in as they discuss:
– interesting ways to use cauliflower
– naturally purple foods and why they’re so cool
– the awesomeness of mushrooms for immune boosting
– ethically raised meats
– how to cook awesome pork belly with crackly skin
– buddha bowls and burger bowls
– ancient grains and gluten free baking
– safer sous vide
– flexitarian diets & learning to adjust the way you eat to suit your body
– sugars, carbs, starches and having a balance
– seasonal eating
– how to eat pesticide-free on a budget
– keeping it simple!
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AQJ 64: All Your Water & Water Filter Questions Answered!

What’s the best water to drink? What should you look for in a good water filter? Which is better – reverse osmosis, distilled, alkalised, rain water, spring water… ?
Does your head spin when you try to work out the answers to these questions?
This week Jo chats with Kate Waterson of zazen Water about all things water and filters! Jo gets questions every week in her chat groups about water filters, and how to go about improving water quality for drinking and showering, so she gathered the questions together and asked the expert.
Kate is a nutritionist and a manager-partner of zazen Water – a business focused on improving water for our children, and bringing better health to our communities through an improved water supply. Listen in and find the answers to these questions and more:
– What health benefits are there to drinking pure, mineralised water?
– What should you look for in a water filter?
– How important is it to remove chlorine and fluoride?
– What are the benefits of alkalising your water and adding back in the minerals lost through filtration?
– What’s the most affordable water filter for a family? Can you get good results from just using a Brita jug?
– Is a reverse osmosis filter the best option?
– What about rain water, spring water, distilled water and tank water? Which ones need to be filtered and which don’t? Do they need to be remineralised?
– Why is it so important to filter not only drinking water, but also shower water?
– What’s some good options for those renting or travelling?
– How can my child’s school learn more about getting free water filters for the school?
A very helpful interview that will give you the answers you need.
Kate has generously offered a discount on water filters to our listeners! Go to http://www.zazenalkalinewater.com.au and enter the coupon code QCWATER15 to receive 10% off your order. (the discount has changed from 15% to 10% off). 
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AQJ 63: Fouad’s Story: Fats, Carbs & Healthy Eating

In this episode, Fouad shares his story of growing up in Lebanon during the height of the civil war, living on a diet heavy with highly refined flour, sugar and skim milk powder, and relying on constant courses of antibiotics to avoid illness. He became overweight from an early age, and later on his health deteriorated creating many chronic illnesses that started from when he was 13 years old. He moved to Australia to work and study in 2001, and his health continued to worsen. In 2011, he was introduced to the insulin hypothesis and began eating a low carb diet, cutting out grains, legumes and sugar. He lost 24 kilos, healed his chronic illnesses and greatly reduced symptoms of lingering ailments.
Over the years, Fouad’s diet has evolved to a more flexible paleo-style diet which includes some safe starches and less fats. Jo and Fouad talk about how the way we eat changes as we heal, and as we go through different seasons of life; and how important it is to understand that healing takes time, and ‘diets’ can’t be expected to change everything overnight.
Fouad loves to share his experiences of using food for healing in the hope that others may also benefit from it. He and Jo are working together to write recipes, teach classes and speak at health seminars to help others on their health journeys. Fouad is also beginning private health coaching and can be contacted at fouadkassab.com or email at me@fouadkassab.com.
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AQJ 61: Sleep Nutrition, with Lucy Lichtenstein (part 2)

We’re back this week with the second part of the interview with Lucy Lichtenstein, on Sleep Nutrition! Listen in and learn how to improve your night’s sleep. We talk about:
– how gut health relates to sleep
– how to get out of the vicious circle of stress causing poor sleep, and poor sleep causing stress
– how your diet affects anxiety and sleep
– how to reduce your need for caffeine and not rely on it to ‘prop you up’ each day
– how heavy metal toxicity can affect sleep, and Lucy’s experience with detoxing
– how detoxing on GAPS can affect sleep
– why you may be waking at a certain time every night
– before bed snacks that will help you sleep
…. and more
We also discussed the importance of seeing a sleep specialist if you’re having major sleep issues, such as David Cunnington of SleepHub.com.au.
Listen in, and enjoy more restful sleep!
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AQJ 60: Sleep Nutrition, with Lucy Lichtenstein (part 1)

How important is restful sleep for a healthy gut? In this episode, Lucy Lichtenstein shares part one of her thoughts on Sleep Nutrition.
Lucy writes a nutrition and lifestyle blog called Reconnected.me that compiles her thoughts, experiences, ideas, lessons, perspectives, perceptions and wholefood recipes. Her four part series on Sleep Nutrition is very helpful for those who are struggling to sleep well at night, and wanting to improve their sleep patterns.
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AQJ 59: Kim Morrison – Twenty8 Essential Oils

Kim Morrison is a health and lifestyle educator, environmental health coach, author, aromatherapist and founder of Twenty8 Essentials chemical-free skincare and essential oils. Her explanation of how and why to use essential oils, and practical tips to simply get a personal care routine happening are invaluable. But this podcast is not only about essential oils and chemical free skincare. It’s also about life, and learning to care for yourself and your family through the good times and the bad times.
Kim began studying nutrition and aromatherapy at 19, lived the celebrity life with her famous cricketer husband, and went on to write best-selling self-care and skincare books with a friend. Then suddenly, just as she was about to launch her own skincare brand, everything came crashing down. She shares how she and her husband worked through the hard times, and how the challenges changed her own focus, and the direction of her business.
Kim became very passionate about helping women to challenge their potential, take responsibility for their own health and well-being, acknowledge their own strength and beauty, and take good care of themselves. In this day and age, we are often so busy running around taking care of everyone else and struggling to keep our heads above the water, that we neglect our own selves. Kim shares the importance of learning to nurture and nourish yourself, which in turn helps you to nurture and nourish those around you.
A big thank you to Kim, who has generously offered to give our listeners some tools to help get started!
Click on this link to get a free download of her best-selling book, ‘Like Chocolate for Women’, her ‘Manifesto for Living’, and a 10% discount on her lovely Twenty8 essential oils.
(Discount available until midnight, 30th September, 2016.)
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AQJ 58: All About Permaculture

On a recent trip to Pacific Palms, serendipity would have it that Fouad’s host, Megan Cook, is an expert on permaculture, a farming approach that Fouad is fascinated with. Megan is no ordinary permaculturist. She sits on the board of permaculture Australia and teaches permaculture classes from her beautiful property just over 3 hours north of Sydney. Fouad and Megan talk permaculture benefits and principles. This is a great introduction podcast to a very important topic that will only continue to grow relevant in our society as monoculture continues its steady decline. For more information on Megan and her permaculture classes, check out her website at: gardentotable.com.au
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AQJ 57: What’s With Wheat? Cyndi O’Meara

In this fascinating interview with nutritionist Cyndi O’Meara, you will learn the background behind her new documentary “What’s With Wheat”. We delve into the issues of wheat and gluten allergies, why they have become so prevalent, and what the main issues with wheat are.
Cyndi began her research into wheat and gluten allergies and intolerances, and what causes them, when she began to have problems with wheat at 40 yrs old. She realised that out of anyone, she shouldn’t have any reactions to wheat – she had a very clean diet, had never had antibiotics and medications, ate mostly organic, had never had any food intolerances, so surely had a very healthy gut… Why was it suddenly causing her to react?
Cyndi answers questions like:
Is non-coeliac wheat sensitivity real? What are scientists saying about it?
Why do we see such an improvement in health when modern wheat is taken out of the diet?
What about organic wheat? Or ancient grains?
What about sourdough bread?
What is an optimal diet? Or are there different ways of eating to suit different people?
How can we reduce the toxins in our food, and make changes that will help to improve the way our society eats?
As Fouad says, “This documentary will be a big catalyst for change in our world, and a big help to so many people. Cyndi, the world owes you one!”
You can watch Cyndi’s film here: https://www.changinghabitsaffiliates.com/158-1-3-1.html (affiliate link)
Learn more about Cyndi’s health and nutrition programs here: https://changinghabits.com.au
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