Sometimes we're on a road trip and the only options are the golden arches, so we stop, the kids play, and it always feels a bit wrong saying,
"Finish your burger and nuggets please guys."
When what I actually MEAN is,
"Finish your processed, unhealthy garbage please guys. Or you won't get your pig fat ice-cream."
I've seen how they make chicken nuggets. (Click link at your own peril.)
Beaks'n all, people. Beaks. N. All.
I've pumped crap into my body with the best of them .. obviously, not just food either. I used to wake up in the middle of the night, light up a ciggie, smoke it, and stub it out in the half-eaten pizza next to my bed. I lived three galaxies away from healthy eating. The older I get, the more I realise that while it may be boring, its all connected. The food we eat, exercise we get, books we read, things we pay attention to.
Last Thursday I drove from the Central Coast to Sydney and back, to appear on the Today Show. It was such a nerve-wracking experience that I didn't eat anything so on the drive back I was SO HUNGRY, also with added man-wee. Pulling off the freeway, I'd already resigned myself to fries and a diet coke because that's the only option. Until I saw a place next to the petrol station that had a sign simply saying,
"Real Food."
I thought I'd give it a whirl. Expecting some mangy sushi in the corner with buzzing flies. Oh how I was so glad to be so wrong.
I fell utterly in love and felt like crying. IT IS REAL FOOD. Ordered an organic chicken salad with hot garlic pita bread, alkaline water, then finished it off with a fair-trade organic coffee.
Instead of a side of greasy fries, you can order a side of steamed green beans. There's a sign underneath the green bean side order sign saying, "Are there any lights on that can be turned off?"
MINDFULNESS.
Hot pita pockets, wraps, sandwiches, minestrone, sushi, organic treats ... they also sell vitamins and books, DVD's, magazines.
I almost cried from ... relief? THIS kind of stuff, this mindfulness about what we put into our bodies and how important it is? This is true and real. I'm in no way affiliated with Oliver's, they don't even know I exist - I was just some teary weirdo walking around the place taking photos for my blog to spread the word as far and wide as I can. Because it's important. Because there's something (a lot of things) about how humans are living on this planet that are WRONG.
Maybe the whole Mayan calendar ending thing did mean the end of the world .. as we know it. I feel like human consciousness is evolving at such a rate that there is no longer any excuse for bad farming practices, poor quality food, and people continuing to be uneducated about it all. The correlation between how and what we put into our bodies and the effects of that can no longer be ignored.
The creator of Oliver's Real Food is Jason Gunn, and I wish him all the power and success in the world. There's four outlets so far, all located north of Sydney up near the Central Coast.
"Finish your burger and nuggets please guys."
When what I actually MEAN is,
"Finish your processed, unhealthy garbage please guys. Or you won't get your pig fat ice-cream."
I've seen how they make chicken nuggets. (Click link at your own peril.)
Beaks'n all, people. Beaks. N. All.
I've pumped crap into my body with the best of them .. obviously, not just food either. I used to wake up in the middle of the night, light up a ciggie, smoke it, and stub it out in the half-eaten pizza next to my bed. I lived three galaxies away from healthy eating. The older I get, the more I realise that while it may be boring, its all connected. The food we eat, exercise we get, books we read, things we pay attention to.
Last Thursday I drove from the Central Coast to Sydney and back, to appear on the Today Show. It was such a nerve-wracking experience that I didn't eat anything so on the drive back I was SO HUNGRY, also with added man-wee. Pulling off the freeway, I'd already resigned myself to fries and a diet coke because that's the only option. Until I saw a place next to the petrol station that had a sign simply saying,
"Real Food."
I thought I'd give it a whirl. Expecting some mangy sushi in the corner with buzzing flies. Oh how I was so glad to be so wrong.
I fell utterly in love and felt like crying. IT IS REAL FOOD. Ordered an organic chicken salad with hot garlic pita bread, alkaline water, then finished it off with a fair-trade organic coffee.
Instead of a side of greasy fries, you can order a side of steamed green beans. There's a sign underneath the green bean side order sign saying, "Are there any lights on that can be turned off?"
MINDFULNESS.
Hot pita pockets, wraps, sandwiches, minestrone, sushi, organic treats ... they also sell vitamins and books, DVD's, magazines.
I almost cried from ... relief? THIS kind of stuff, this mindfulness about what we put into our bodies and how important it is? This is true and real. I'm in no way affiliated with Oliver's, they don't even know I exist - I was just some teary weirdo walking around the place taking photos for my blog to spread the word as far and wide as I can. Because it's important. Because there's something (a lot of things) about how humans are living on this planet that are WRONG.
Maybe the whole Mayan calendar ending thing did mean the end of the world .. as we know it. I feel like human consciousness is evolving at such a rate that there is no longer any excuse for bad farming practices, poor quality food, and people continuing to be uneducated about it all. The correlation between how and what we put into our bodies and the effects of that can no longer be ignored.
The creator of Oliver's Real Food is Jason Gunn, and I wish him all the power and success in the world. There's four outlets so far, all located north of Sydney up near the Central Coast.
I hope we get to see an Oliver's everywhere. At every stop on the freeway, in every suburb. I took the boys there on our way home last night, it was incredibly gratifying to see them enjoy real food.
Rocco had a wee tasting plate for kids, Max had pumpkin soup, and I had a burrito hot pita pocket stuffed with black beans. The jizz of God himself. I just want to eat at Oliver's for the rest of my life, is this too much to ask.
Max said, "Mum you really love this place. You should get a job here!"
Last night I saw a lot of people on twitter talking about the documentary on environmentally harmful corporate farming in the US called FOOD INC. I haven't seen it yet, but will be hiring it from my local Civic Video as soon as I pay off the ninety dollar overdue fine I racked up because I flounder through life and didn't take the movies back before we came away for christmas over a MONTH ago.
I'm sick of floundering. I want to be more deliberate, more mindful, pay more attention to the right kinds of things. And I will, as soon as I dismantle my dusty and forlorn christmas tree. Wonder if I can just pole-vault it fully laden with decorations into the nearest dump?
Oliver's Real Food WEBSITE and FACEBOOK
It's all I can think about and I can't wait to go back. Do you go out of your way to eat proper? Any cool places to share?
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