10 days in a remote part of Bali over Xmas/New Year reminded me of why I love Indonesia so much. I haven't been for 16 years and the changes were profound. The food, fabric, furniture, people, markets and lifestyle are all pretty incredible. I took lots of food pics, as usual, so will load some up on the GALLERY page. Now I'm all fresh and have hit the ground running. We filmed episode 6 of 'The Biggest Loser' the week I returned. It's so much fun teaching the contestants new things, and witnessing them shrink amazes me each week. The launch is January 30 and my segment - Masterclass with Janella, will be each Friday so the first one will be February 5th. It's getting close and this series is looking unreal!

I'm so excited to announce that I am now the new food ambassador for 'Melrose Foods'. I approached them as I believe their products are some of the best available. For years I have stocked many of their products in my clinic like their flaxseed oil, capsules and meal, and their nut butters are too yummy. (I like to make pesto out of the macadamia one and drizzle it over fish with a fennel salad. Or wrap it in a piece of Mountain Bread with some raw honey.) They do lots of different types of unrefined vegetable oils like apricot seed, brazil nut, avocado, maca and stacks more. I also use their tahini, olives and balsamic vinegar. So I'm off to Melbourne next week to film a bunch of recipes for their website. You'll see me using their products lots more in the future and proud to be doing so. Btw, they're about to launch a new website - www.melrosefoods.com, so look out for it.

The big move to the Byron Hinterlands is happening next weekend. I'm pretty happy about this as I see it as a timely move. It's been a dream for such a long time and now it's happening. I have so many ideas for workshops that I can't wait to get up there, get set up and get started. As I've mentioned here before, I will be coming back to Sydney fortnightly at first then monthly. I will be moving back into my original clinic space in Crown Street, Surry Hills, above the organic cafe. I loved practicing there, (and not just because I can just wander downstairs and get the best food and coffee in Sydney, in my opinion) but because it's such a lovely space and close to everything both for me and my clients. Surry Hills has changed so much since I bought that building in 2003. It was kind of dingy in parts, but now it's the food mecca. Lots of organic shops like butchers, bakery's, skin care, fruit and veg' providors and even more fine food stores, wine bars, restaurants (even a vegan, gluten, sugar and dairy free Japanese place) not to mention the great vintage stores close by. So I'll be back practicing there from mid-March. 

I mentioned last time that I would talk about whole grains in my next blog and good timing really as I filmed an episode on just this last week with 'The Biggest Loser' contestants. Teaching them why white, refined carbs are the devil and why we need to be including good, whole grains into our diets. White refined carbs like white bread, flour, sugar, pasta and noodles, donuts, wraps, biscuits, crackers etc etc, quickly turn into sugar thus giving us a momentary high. This is because we release happy hormones like dopamine and seratonin. This feeling is addictive which is why getting off white carbs is just so hard. As the feeling lasts but a moment we feel like we need more all the time, just to get that feeling back. In the meantime the sugar is turning to fat, not to mention that is destroys the minerals in our body, dissolves the enamel off our teeth, contributes to arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, allergies, candida and depression. A bit morbid for me I know but really, white carbs are evil. It doesn't mean you'll never have a pizza again, it just means that they should be eaten in moderation, not daily or even weekly.  Once you make the change to whole grains I promise you you won';t even miss the evil, white stuff. The result will be lasting energy, a clean, regular and calm digestive tract, even moods, so many more nutrients, weight loss, a good nights sleep and happy reproductive and cardio system. 

Explore the many different grains available to us. It's not just about wheat, wheat and more wheat. (That's what got us in this predicament in the first place. Too much wheat so now we've had a gut full gluten.) Try things like amaranth, quinoa, millet, brown rice, rye, spelt, kamut, barley, freekeh and oats. The last five contain gluten but as I've mentioned before - gluten is not the problem, refined wheat is. So give them a try, and add some variety to your diet. I have lots of recipes on the RECIPE page so youll find ways to use these grains there. AND, my recipe book will be out soon (exact date tba) with so many more ideas. My first book 'Elixir' has a big entry on whole grains, blood sugar, diabetes and other related topics.

Happy 2010 to everyone. It feels like a good one so far. And thank you so much to everyone for your really kind emails and feedback on this site. I apologise I don't write here as much as I want to. Hopefully moving to the country will afford me more time. 

Btw, this week I'm eating smoked tofu, It's so good. Marinate it in tamari for a few minutes then panfry or grill it. I have also been throwing it into my Brown Fried Rice and Miso soup. Yum!

Happy experimenting.

J