It's not how much we GIVE, but how much LOVE we put into giving

There is an awareness that FOOD IS MEDICINE. But so many people are confused and overwhelmed about how to used to best feed themselves and their children. My DREAM was to create a tribe of people and businesses throughout Australia who's purpose is to give back, help, educate, inspire, spread love and encourage holistic healthy living and unravel the confusion. I imagined The Wellness Project after a deep meditation about a month a go... after a trip to the Uk. I came back with a new vigor to make a difference and the event actually came to fruition, last week in Mosman at the beautiful Boronia House. Not only was it a beautiful inside but outside also!

When I began the quest.. I asked.. and everyone said YES! The result was an incredible collection of talented people that all shared the similar outlook in life, educating parents and families and creating happy healthy kids, mindful living, giving back. It was just the tip of the iceburg as far as talking about Food as Medicine and healing our guts with bone broth, fermented foods and healthy jellies.

My interest stems from being a mother foremost. Like so many people, as soon as we become parents. our outlook and attentions change to finding better ways to feed our children. Mine too has been a personal journey of discovery as my son as a baby suffered from allergies, eczema and other gut aliments that seemed to get worse after eating certain foods.

I really have Jamie Oliver to thank for inspiring me into action last year when I helped create the Food Revolution at The Grounds of Alexandria. As a Jamie Oliver Food Ambassador http://www.jamiesfoodrevolution.org/ our remit is to connect the dots and bring people together to educate and spread the word about good nutrition for our children and children's children, so the day was dedicated to the Food Revolution.

I truly believe it takes a village to bring up a child and often in a city that sentiment can get lost and people and families can feel isolated and misguided by doctors. I really wanted this occasion to be about connection, networking and a time for mums and dad's to come together and find a common purpose to make a difference in their communities.

We were lucky enough to have two more Ambassador's who supported our day... Chef Steffen, Jamie's Kitchen Head Chef https://www.facebook.com/chefsteffen/?fref=ts shared his recipes and tips for weaning babies.

Nutritionist Krys Lojik showed us a really easy Red Cabbage Saukraut and talked about her tips on avoiding Additives http://www.kryslojeknutrition.com/

I'm also excited to say I've heard of another local nutritionist who has been inspired to become a Ambassador, so I'm sure there will be lots of inspiration coming our way on the North Shore soon.

All 50 tickets were taken, there was no fee, only a donation of a shopping bag of food for The House of Welcome who supports asylum seekers.http://www.houseofwelcome.com.au/ By actually buying the food and putting it into shopping bags, the symbolic act meant everyone felt so much more connected to the day than simply making a donation.

Paul Bottril from The House of Welcome was overwhelmed by the generosity of our guests and so grateful to take away the array of the shopping bags of goodies for asylum seekers. Many of the asylum seekers they help would be homeless if the House of Welcome did not step in to help.

Back to the content of the day, we talked gut health with Nutritionist and mum, Alex Luffman http://www.pachamamanutrition.com.au/ who showed us her Bone Broth techniques and a great gluten free kids pizza base. We could've had so much longer with all the speakers but we had a packed day so sadly couldn't hear as much as we would've liked to hear from everyone.

We also heard from Pogurt which is a favourite probiotic of mine http://www.progurt.com.au/ which was keenly tasted and enjoyed by all. Everyone was left with a sachet to taste and Robert also left with us a yoghurt making which is currently doing the rounds with everyone. Let me know if you would like to try it out.

We also had the lovely Holly Clarke, Health Coach, who shared with us a delicious Green Chai Smoothie, and how intermittent fasting and nutritional cleansing can have incredible health benefits, which I can absolutely vouch for, having used these products and techniques to supplement my wholefood diet for the last 3 years. Everyone was given a box of eshots to take home! Lovely little natural energy boosts containing the herb Yerbe Matte!

We also heard from Fiona Donohoe Bales from Womb in Bloom https://www.facebook.com/WombInBloom/ she discussed the childhood obesity problem in Uluru. She asked the room who would like to support a campaign to make a difference to these children.. and there were lots of hands in the air.. So watch this space for news of her plight to help educate the careers of aboriginal children who are in a health crisis! They are unable to digest sugar.. therefore there is widespread early onset of diabetes amongst the tribes and children.

In my opinion the best and easiest meditation to practice is TM meditation. So I was thrilled my teacher the incredible Cathy Knoles came and spoke on how mindfulness and regular meditation practice of 20 minutes in the morning and night can help us lead a less rushed and more mindful life. Oprah, Ellen and Russel Brand to name a few well known successful people use this technique of TM Meditation. http://meditationforwomen.org.au/learn-transcendental-meditation-in-sydney-and-regional-new-south-wales/

I'm a huge fan of Thermomix and I just love this shot of Lynda Griffin who came with her daughter to show me how it worked for my last birthday.

Since then I've been madly creating incredible food and learning how to share the Thermomix with others. I regularly have cook ups at my house and we do some amazing dishes together. Linda Petrone did a are really brilliant dish for kids that involves using the steaming function to cook meatballs and the bowl and blade to make a sauce at the same time. It's really the most amazing time saving piece of kitchen equipment for families wanting to cook healthy food from scratch.

Lastly Soulla from Star Anise Wholefoods who is also a Health Coach gave us the most delicious tastings of her bone broth and shared her incredible personal nutrition journey to health and wellness. I've heard so many of ours guests have been rushing over the bridge to the eastern suburbs to taste Soulla's bone broth all week and learn about her workshops! http://www.staraniseorganic.com/

We were also indebted to so many others who helped and supported us by donating samples, tastings and giving their time.

Scoop Wholefoods donated produce for Alex to make her protein balls and also donated a prize for the raffle., http://scoopwholefoods.com.au/

Thermomix for supporting the day, https://www.thermomix.com.au/

Kombucha, http://wildkombucha.com/ who donated 12 bottles of their finest Kombucha for us to taste

Sustainable Meat and Bones http://www.grub.com.au/ who were unable to attend but sent their fantastic eggs from Egganic and bones for our bone broth.

Energy and performance supplements by http://www.isagenix.com/?sc_lang=en-AU Everyone was given a box of eshots to go home with and we had delicious tastings of healthy chocolates and protein bars.

Our incredibly fresh organic vegetables came from Brian's Best Organics https://www.facebook.com/search/1454924454824351/local_search?surface=tyahI who delivers locally and is also at St Georges Heights in Mosman everyone Thursday and Saturday mornings.

I was so thrilled to get a message from Colin at Oz Harvest who attended the day and took a box of our vegetables from our display to give to his kitchens... http://www.ozharvest.org/

"Hi Caroline, you will be please to know that the produce taken went towards making 70 Oz Harvest meals this morning for Rough Edges a drop centre for homeless - thanks for a great day" Colin.

This completely aligns with the spirit of The Wellness Project's aim. Bringing communities together to give back to others.

All in all it was an incredible collaborative effort, with so many giving their time. I've also had such great feedback and lots of requests for more..

I've heard from my local butchers.. there seems to be a rush on organic bones as everyone is getting into making their own BONE BROTH and the RED CABBAGE is flying out the doors too as so many of the guests are making their own gut healing saukraut. Lots of people have commented they are looking to reset their health and want to learn more about how to help their kids nutrition.

I loved seeing Maria Cecille George from Campbelltown's pictures of her saukraut on instagram.. "After such an inspiring day yesterday, I haven't stopped cooking😍. Thank you for putting such a wonderful event @carolines_kitchen_wisdom.."

Ahhhh my heart is full...

I will post lots of the great info we learnt plus recipes we featured on the day as soon as I can get them up... In the meantime keep up to date with future events, recipes and news www.facebook.com/thewellnessprojectcommunity

Caroline x

PS.

I'd love to thank Linda Petrone who helped me get set up, sort out the technology and my husband Simon who is a genius when it comes to design and power point presentations! He's just a genius point blank.