Have you met Miss Organic?

I bumped into Miss Organic on one of my many travels through the vast land of the interwebs and identified with her immediately - you see, she also has learned everything she knows about health from her dog, who was diagnosed with cancer and not expected to live. After Rocky's diet was changed over to a completely organic, natural raw diet some amazing transformations took place - and the rest as they say is history. Apart from her offerings of fresh, organic fruit and vegies delivered to your door, Nicci's online store also offers a range wholefoods, home products and gifts.
Last night I was fortunate enough to attend a free presentation by Sherry Strong, presented by Miss Organic at the Tivoli Club in Windsor. The presentation was titled A Return to Food: How Going Back is the Way Forward. Sherry is a truly charismatic speaker, and she kept us all enthralled with her philosophies on food and health for about 2 hours. Sherry's approach isn't the typical 'You Must...' but she presents the information, tells us what is in the food we eat and what it does to our health - then asks us to make our own minds up.
There were so many wonderful things to take away from the evening but here are some main things that have stuck in my mind,

• The most toxic thing you can give to someone else is Judgement - and it reminds me of a quote I've heard: 'Don’t Judge others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.' This sounds so basic but it's so important, when we judge someone we compare them with ourselves, and decide how much we value them and the things they say and do. This is so often done without knowing the whole picture and is so often hurtful to others.
• China are pursuing the Western lifestyle but it would actually take 3 more planets of resources for them to achieve a European lifestyle, and 5 more to achieve an American/Australian lifestyle, the fact that humans are the only species on Earth that create waste and landfill only contributes to part of this problem - how many products in your house were made in China?
•  'What's good for your body is good for the planet, and what's good for the planet is good for your body' - this resonated with me so much - you would have heard me say that when I've improved one thing for myself, this has also had positive effects on the planet - take bicycling to work as one perfect example!
• Stick to Seasonal, Local, Organic produce as much as possible - and if you can even grow just one thing in your own garden, this really will have a profound impact on not only yourself but also the planet. Take our tasty Backyard Salad that accompanied our fabulous breakfast this morning, filled with snow peas, wild rocket, beetroot leaves, radicchio, peas and pea shoots, parsley and spring onions and topped off with a superbly ripe red pepper - this is as fresh as it comes, picked minutes before eating it has held onto most of its nutrients, unlike those limp vegies you'll see in your local supermarket that have been sitting there for who-knows-how-long? I'm halfway through reading 'Never be Sick Again' by Raymond Francis and when he wrote that vegetables lose a significant percentage of their nutrients just by slicing them up for a salad I recognised the true value of starting with the freshest, healthiest organic food you can find.

Mmmm our Backyard Salad

• Sherry's philosophy focuses on Love as the other Absolute in this world. She is confident that love can be just as nourishing as food and some relationships actually have an unhealthy effect on our bodies. I agree with this completely and have felt the draining effects of 'toxic' relationships. Sherry would rather eat a greasy hamburger with her closest friends and family than the most nutritionally rich meal with a group of angry people. She recited a French Proverb that is now firmly in place on my fridge at home 'When a table is set with love, food will taste its best'.

Thank you so much Sherry and Nicci for such a fantastic evening! Opportunities like this remind me how far I've already come on my journey to a Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability, my 30th birthday gift is going to be the biggest lifechanger ever!