farmers market

Necessiteas – Green Olive Tea

/ Katherine Howard / 2 Comments

Green Olive Tea, sounds disgusting doesn’t it? When in fact its actually rather delicious! That’s because there is most definitely no green olives in it. Instead its green tea with only the leaves of the olive tree (and a few other special ingredients .. I’ve locked in peppermint but not sure on the rest). This beautiful tea is from Necessiteas, handmade in Jarrahdale and available for purchase at the Kalamunda Farmers Market on Sunday mornings.

Olive Leaf is especially good for you, especially in terms of  immunity (fighting cold and flu), cardiovascular health and antioxidant free radical fighting but also inflammation, anti-viral/bacterial and energy boosting . I don’t know about you but the taking of olive leaf extract in liquid form is just never going to be a sustainable part of my daily routine, and not just because I’m really bad at routine but also because  its just not delicious.

I was unable to find any resource which compared the benefits of extract versus tea, however I’d wager that the concentration of oleanoic acid in tea is lower than extract. I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Nevertheless, whilst I do look out for things that are good for me and is super healthy, I will not force something into my diet which is not enjoyable. This tea is wonderful.

Its a smooth blend which is refreshing without being sharp. The olive leaf gives it an earthy flavour which is not overpowering or bitter, sometimes thick leaved plants make for very tannin strong tea.   I find it to be more comforting than straight peppermint or green tea, its well rounded.

It benefits from a quick first rinse before brewing, I tend to do this to all green teas after finding it takes out some of the bitterness (definitely not necessary for white tea). All you need to do is pour  a small amount of boiled water over the leaves, throw that water out, and then continue filling your cup. Its probably not necessary for everyone but if you find green tea sometimes a little strong its worth a go.

A wonderful tea which is well worth checking out!

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Off To Market

/ Katherine Howard / 2 Comments

Speaking with my wonderful partner last night about how active and healthy we are, and came to the conclusion that I, in particular, have let this, a huge part of my lifestyle, fall by the wayside.

I’m going to assign this to the extraordinary whirlwind lifestyle we have created for ourselves, we are out all the time exploring and just being in this amazing relationship – so this is by no means a negative thing.

Not 6 months ago I was a regular gym attendee, yoga enthusiast, avid bush walker, and spent almost every Sunday morning at my local farmers market picking up my fresh and organic veggies, meat and bread. Letting these things go, ever so slowly,  has just resulted in a severe drop in my well being.

I adore the farmers market, especially in winter, wrapping myself up in my red winter coat , gathering my African woven basket and assorted bags, and taking off, wondering at my own pace through the bright, energetic crowd. Everything is so fresh, colourful, real, and fragrant. My pickings for the week come from all over the market based  on the best looking, freshest, friendliest farmer, and best price coming together to create a gorgeous basket full of colour and texture. Before munching on a yummy almond croissant from the french baker,  and lugging my full basket home.

Without the market I quickly loose inspiration to cook during the week, supermarkets drain my soul. Getting inspired to create amazing, fresh and healthy meals is so very easy when your surrounded by the best vegetables, and the most amazing herbs – and its cheaper too!!

an interesting wikihow article I found about eating organic food, without it being incredibly expensive;

http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Organically-on-Modest-Means

so! The point of this post was not to tell you about farmers markets – because I could talk for days and days about markets, and perhaps what i’ll do is another blog post to this effect if your interested. When I travel local markets are a major priority for me, especially in small rural towns as a centre of the community and in big cities as their link to the land, so I have stories and photos to show a plenty. I’ve studied markets from a planning and ecology point of view, how they effect communities, for their purposes as a point of connection to where your food comes from and the landscape we live on, etc etc.

The point of this post was to say, I’m taking on getting back into those things that I love and inspire me. Sunday morning markets, Monday afternoon gym, Thursday afternoon yoga, weekend bush walking :) I’m so excited about it, I’m energised and so very keen to get started. The best part about this will be having my incredible Luke along for the ride. Can’t wait to take him out in the bush with me so I can share with him why I’m an enviro, and my source of inspiration! Can you believe its 7 months into our relationship and we haven’t been out in the bush yet!? How am I still breathing? Its such a huge part of who I am.