Kaoka Chocolate

http://www.kaoka.fr/cadre256.php

A friend put me onto this. It's amazing, all I eat is one square (granted they're big square's), and I don't scoff the whole block like I normally do!

Banana bread

2 large (or 3 small) banana's

2 eggs (you may need 3 depending on the kind of flour you use)

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

Mash banana's and add whisked eggs. Combine with sugar, flour, salt and bi-carb soda. Mix well, transfer to baking tin (I use a loaf tin) and bake on 180 for about 50 minutes (my oven is broken, so it's hard to determine exact cooking times).

Organika

http://www.organika.com.au

The best organic shop/cafe on the Sunshine Coast!

Markets

Organic Farmers Market
CREEC
150 Rowley Rd
Burpengary

7-11am

Farm fresh local organic & chemical free fruit,veg & eggs. Earth friendly beauty, health & cleaning products. Seafood, smoked salmon, smoothies, ice cream, honey, soy candles, seeds, seedlings, books and much more.

All this and a family friendly play area.

TKN Skincare

http://www.tknskincare.com.au/default.aspx

Locally made skincare products from organic ingredients.

Bread

3 & ½ cups flour
7g (one satchel yeast
1 tspn salt
1 & ¼ cup lukewarm water
Butter (for melting to coat)

Combine dry ingredients. Make a well and pour in lukewarm water. Mix well until it forms a sticky dough. Knead for 10 minutes on floured surface, adding extra flour as needed. Dough will still be slightly sticky, mould into a ball.

Coat the inside of a large bow with melted butter, place dough ball inside and turn to coat with butter. Cover and place in a room temp area with no breeze. The dough will double in size - the time this takes will vary, so just keep an eye on it.

Once doubled, uncover and punch down into the dough. This will release the gases that have pent up from the yeast. Remove from bowl and knead for another few minutes. The dough should have a stretchy, rubbery consistency.

Place into loaf tin and push out to shape. Cover again and let rise for a further 30 mins, or until it has risen slightly over the top of the baking tin.

Bake on medium for around 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when there is a hollow sound when you tap it.

This is a really basic recipe. You can use whatever flour you like, and add whatever you like.

Devilled eggs

I've never made these before, but by golly they're simple and delicious!

6 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard pickle (or use whatever mustard you like)
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Boil the eggs. Peel and cut in half length ways. Remove the yolks and mash in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, mustard pickle and vinegar to yolk mash and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture back into egg whites, dispersing evenly. Sprinkle with paprika.

Eggplant and tomato chutney

1 eggplant
2 tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced and diced
2 teaspoons crushed garlic/garlic paste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
salt

Slice up eggplant, place in a colander in a sink (or something similar) and sprinke with salt. Leave for about half an hour then wash salt off thoroughly.

Roughly dice up eggplant and tomatoes and place in a saucepan with the water. Bring to boil then simmer for about 10 minutes, or until eggplant is soft. Mash together with a fork.

In a frypan heat the oil, then add the onion, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon. Cook on low heat until onion is soft. Add the eggplant mash and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

Can be served warm or cold with whatever your little heart desires.

Thomas Chipman

Delicious range of potato and corn chips. My local Coles and Woolworths stock them, and they are of course available in many organic/natural health food stores.

http://www.chipman.com.au/

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil (pronounced ho-ho-ba) is a fantastic oil with numerous uses. Check out this article for some ideas http://beauty-treatments.suite101.com/article.cfm/uses_of_jojoba_oil

This site is similar with a little extra info http://www.acne.org/jojoba-oil.php

Natural Instinct

Here is a fine example of misleading packaging. I have just read on the Bhip (http://www.borderlinehippy.com/forums) forum that Natural Instinct, although saying their products are Sodium Lauryl Sulphate free, still contain other sulphates. Yes they may use essential oils, organic ingredients and be free of a lot of other nasties, but what's the point if the products still contain other sulphates?

Natural Instinct products contain Sodium Salt of Sulphonated Laureth 2, or SLES 2EO. This is what makes the product foam, however it is also harmful to the skin and can cause irritation after extended exposure. There is also talk of it being a carcinogen, which is an agent related to causing cancer. Check out the Wikipedia reference for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_laureth_sulfate

It just goes to show that when buying, we need to read the ingredients listing on the product (although sometimes even then companies don't list all ingredients). Don't just take the front label as gospel! Remember that most companies out there are only interested in selling, and they'll put anything on their packaging to do so!

Additives

Apart from trying to buy organic, I am also very aware of what additives are in the food I eat.

This is an interesting website with loads of info on what food additives are, and what implications they can have on one's health.

http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/

Here is the link to a list of nasty additives you can print out, fold in half (so it becomes a business card size) and store in your purse/wallet for when you are food shopping:

http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/nastyadditivecard.pdf