Apologies for the very long gap between blogs. November just zoooomed by. I had a birthday, visitors, 'The Biggest Loser' commitments and flew to Melbourne to film a cooking segment on Channel 10's morning show - '9am'. (The recipe is on my RECIPE page.) And seeing my lovely clients in the clinic between it all. Oh, and finally finishing my recipe book - 'Eating For The Seasons'. So again, apologies.

My big news is that I'm setting up a practice and eventually a retreat centre in Bangalow in the Northern Rivers. Up and ready to go by February 2010. I'll be splitting my time between there and Sydney. I usually do phone consults with clients who live in the Northern States who can't get to Sydney, so now I can see them in person. So if you're interested in a consultation in Northern NSW, then drop me a line. Bangalow is about 90 minutes south of Brisbane, in the hinterlands of Byron Bay. (It's pretty gorgeous.) I will have a healing place here where I will have my practice, but also will be conducting group weekend workshops, healing weekends away for individuals or couples, cooking classes and lots more. If you'd like to be kept up to date with what's happening either in Bangalow or Sydney then join the mailing list, and I'll keep the blog more current in future. 

'Good Chef Bad Chef' has aired its last episode but will be repeating in the New Year again on Lifestyle Food. The response has been so wonderful. Thanks so much to everyone who has posted a comment either here or on the Lifestyle Food website. It really does warm my heart to know that I am helping. Gary and I will be filming Series 3 mid 2010 so expect to see the new series later in the year. We all should know how to shop, cook and eat for good health and make it tasty. I'm glad you want to know. 

I used a grain called 'freekeh' in the episode we did on Southern Italian cooking. I haven't used this grain very much in the past, but since using it in the salad, I'm hooked. It is so, so lovely to eat and just as importantly it feels great after you've eaten it. It has a chewy texture that just seems to melt in your mouth. It's a wheat grain but so easy to digest, so you won't get any digestive or blood sugar issues from this grain. Since ancient times, peoples of the world have enjoyed this nutritious grain product made from roasted green wheat.  When the wheat is harvested whilst still young, it retains more of its proteins, vitamins and minerals and generates great health benefits. It is low GI, low carb', high in fibre(up to four times the fibre of brown rice) and rich in prebiotic properties. According to the CSIRO Freekeh^TM is excellent for managing diabetes and may diminish the risk of colorectal cancer and diverticulitis. So start thinking about using it. It cooks the same way as any wholegrain so use it where you would quinoa, brown rice, millet, cous cous (btw, you can get spelt cous cous now) or amaranth. I think I'll write my next blog on different wholegrains, come to think of it. Most of us think of rice, pasta and spuds when we think of a side for our meals. Not anymore.  I have FREEKEH, both whole and cracked, in my STORE if you're finding it hard to find.

Btw, I have just now loaded the remaining recipes from GCBC onto my recipe page, so they should all be there now.  

'Til next week, happy experimenting with the new recipes I've just posted.

Janella