Superfoods and Super-Remedies. Don't Miss Out!

Happy New Year everybody!! I hope this finds you all well and looking forward to 2014.

I've just come back from Australia with some interesting products. Some of these items are limited quantities, so it's first in first served. We are planning to import some large orders over the next few months (dried fruits, nuts etc), but this lot is a "trial run" to see if these products appeal to others (besides myself!)

Pure Australian Honey - Squeezable Bottle (374g) $9

Barley Leaf Powder (50g) $10
A rich source of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and enzymes. One of the highest known sources of chlorophyll. Take 1 - 2 tsp in glass of water or juice. Best Before: 10/2014

Cayenne Pepper (25g) $5
High in vitamins and antioxidants. Excellent for heart and circulatory system. Around 60,000 Scoville Heat Units. Cayenne Pepper is one of the best-loved items in my medicine chest. We use it on any cuts or wounds that are bleeding heavily. Apply it direct to wound (it stings), but the blood begins to clot immediately - and has the added benefit of speeding up healing and preventing infection. We also mix a pinch with coconut oil and use as a massage oil for cold feet or limbs with poor circulation. Best Before: 03/2015

Blood Cleansing Tea - Looseleaf (25g) $7
Ingredients: Licorice Root (strengthens adrenal glands, detoxifies liver), Burdock ( reduces inflammation), Chaparral (antioxidant, aids digestion, kidneys, adrenals, liver, immune system), Red Clover (cleanses the blood), Cascara Sagrada (tonic effect on liver and digestive system), Dandelion (liver tonic), Cat's Claw (anti-viral, anti-fungal, aids immune and intestinal health), Buckthorn (cleanses toxins from the tissues, also used for intestinal parasites). Best Before: 04/2016

Stainless Steel Tea Infuser $10
  
Organic Maca Powder (50g) $10
Superfood grown high in the Andes mountains. Known to increase fertility and balance hormones in both men and women. Rich in iodine, plus many essential minerals and trace elements, such as calcium, zinc, iron, B-vitamins (including B12!!), silica, manganese, magnesium. Take a small amount daily (starting with 1/4 tsp and working up to one full teaspoon). Best Before: 10/2016

Activated Charcoal (20g) $7
Adsorbs up to 100x it's weight in toxins, heavy metals, bacteria. Used internally to detox, and externally to draw out bacteria and toxins from wounds and bites. Also effective against upset tummy, traveller's diarrhoea and food poisoning. I even use a smudge of activated charcoal as eye-shadow sometimes (the only make-up I wear!), as it also helps prevent eye infections (conjunctivitis etc) Best before: 10/2015

Fennel Seeds (25g) $4
An aromatic Asian spice, used in mild curries and chutneys. Can also be used to make tea, which decreases appetite if taken half hour before meals. Can also be chewed throughout day to freshen breath.

Celery Seeds (20g) $4
A potent aromatic spice used to flavour pickles, soups, dips etc. May be used as a remedy for gout.

Poppy Seeds (35g) $4
Crunchy with a pleasant nutty flavour, can be used sprinkled on breads or baked goods.

Calcium Bentonite Clay (100g) $12
Used externally (mixed with water, as a face mask etc) to draw toxins and impurities from skin. Used internally to remove heavy metals and radiation from body. Can also be added to bath water.

We also have plenty of products available via the products and prices page. 

I have some exciting ideas for our business this year, but currently lack the capital to make them reality. The first part of this year will be focusing on raising the capital required to turn this into the thriving, sustainable business that I can see in my visions :-)

New Stocks Have Arrived!!

Last week was like Christmas for me!!

We had a carton of supplies arrive by boat, so we had a hectic - but exciting - few days packaging all our stuff. Then we took it to the WISE (Women in Sustainable Enterprise) market night, which went off great. We sold LOTS of stuff, and when I looked around the crowd and spotted people snacking on dried apricots and cashews, etc, it made me soooooo happy!!

We've now got dates, sultanas, brazil nuts, apple cider vinegar, dried apricots, and Corn Thins back in stock. We've got cashews too, but this time we're trialling roasted (unsalted) cashews.

Also a few newbies, are Date & Hazelnut Bircher Muesli, Mixed Salad Beans (I'm not a bean expert, but it looks like it could be a mix of small kidney beans, cannelini beans, black beans, and pinto beans.), bulghur wheat (also known as burghul wheat).

I've updated the products and prices page, so click on the link above for the full list.

Also, as I write this, I have my first batch of home-made yoghurt fermenting, and also this morning, made my first ever batch of cashew nut butter. Once I have them perfected, I hope to offer yoghurts and nut butters for sale too, so watch this space....!!

Some Good News and Some Not-So-Good News...

Ok, the good news first:

The new supplies are in!! How nice to see my shelves full again. We've had a really busy couple of days as we repackage approx 140kgs of bulk food supplies...The products and prices link up the top has been updated, so be sure to check it out after this...

Now for the not-so-good news...

We have raised the prices on many of our products. I've really put off doing this, because I want healthy food choices to be affordable to as many people as possible, BUT...the harsh reality is that unless we start charging a decent price for our products we are soon going to find ourselves out of business.

Now that we've been in business for several months, and (hopefully!) starting to get the hang of importing, we are better placed to know the true cost of our products, and feel that the new prices more accurately reflects that.

In other news: My creative genius friend, Larry, recently turned his hand to making BBQ sauce. His first trial was pretty good, but he did some fine-tuning, and his latest batch is seriously the best sauce I have ever tasted!! My kids were licking it off their fingers!

It has NO MSG, NO preservatives, NO colours...made entirely from scratch. Even the liquid smoke is made from scratch, using some long complicated process with hickory sticks, that Larry tried to explain to me, but it went right over my head...Anyway!!

After that culinary triumph, Larry is turning his attention to making pasta sauces, seeing there is such a bounty of ripe, local tomatoes at the moment. The sauces will come in a variety of flavours, and should be ready early next week. I cannot wait!! Also hopefully we'll very soon have some locally made tahini on the shelves.