VEGAN VIBE - SOFIA ROGER WILLIAMS

SOFIA ROGER WILLIAMS: VEGAN VIBE

Forest @ Kelmarna Gardens ‘Farm Dinners’ Series.

Kelmarna Gardens is a city farm in Herne Bay, in a world where we are increasingly looking towards sustainability. Started in 1981 they’ve always been ahead of their time.

There is a growing movement towards local, organic and community initiatives in food production and in Herne Bay, Kelmarna Gardens is leading the way. A few years ago they launched a new initiative, teaming up with local restaurants with a series of “Farm Dinners” over the summer months where guests are welcomed amongst the rows of flowers and crops and a gorgeous set up which perfectly complements the food to come.

I joined them in late February for their evening collaboration with Forest - the Symonds St vegan and vegetarian restaurant which aims to source in the most sustainable way possible - through foraging. Because of this, there is an ever changing menu to suit the season’s best produce on offer and there is always something new to try. Founder, Plabita Florence, has put her own unique twist on plantbased dining, making Forest like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. We began with a pepino sorbet alongside pickled cucumber, smoked tomato salt, nasturtium oil, lovage and garlic chives.

Forest is well known for presenting dishes which on paper may sound wacky, but trust me when I say that savoury sorbet works - it was beautifully delicate and the flavours matched each other perfectly.

The next dish was beans, fennel, turnip and shiitake cream, mandarin mayo, herbs and garlic - something perhaps more conventional and with flavours a little more familiar.

Next up was banana and walnut mole, yoghurt (coconut for vegans), greens, and with a generous chunk of oregano bread to mop it all up - finger food but not as you may know it.

Sitting at communal tables, myself and my fellow diners were all intrigued by the next course - marrow custard, tomatillo caramel, Marmite, potato skin sherbet. Yes - you read that right...Marmite. It was definitely unusual, but worked with the flavour juxtapositions together creating a party in the mouth!

The final course was a very pretty presentation of shiso jelly, rhubarb, pear and chocolate, and was the perfect balance of sweet and textured flavours to finish on. To accompany the food, Forest created drinks made too with foraged ingredients. Both naughty and not so naughty were on offer; think fig leaf soda, mandarin, marigold and gin; or plum pit, burnt honey and vodka.

It had been a strange week in Auckland. The dinner had been rescheduled due to a lockdown, and happened fortuitously between that and a second lockdown only a few days later. Lucky us to have this in between. Myself and my fellow diners all left as the sun was setting, with a feeling of optimism.

There is a real sense of community about visiting your local garden and being fed kai which complements both the work of the chef and the farmers - it’s truly an experience like no other.

As we head into the colder months, these “Farm Dinners” will not be held, but instead Forest’s restaurant on Symonds Street is available for bookings - perfect for date nights if you’re wanting something intimate and special I think.

The “Farm Dinners” will be back in summer but sell out fast so keep an eye out with Kelmarna, and in the meantime get involved with some of their great workshop initiatives on offer - mushroom and banana growing workshops, “the fundamentals of fermenting” and “ways with weeds” - to name just a few. (SOFIA ROGER WILLIAMS)  PN

EIGHT SIMPLE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC SWAPS

For most of us, going completely plastic-free feels overwhelming and impossible. If you’re looking for a place to start, here are some easy swaps for common single-use plastic items. (You’ll barely miss them.)

Plastic produce bags – Once it’s your default setting to keep reusable produce bags with the reusable shopping bags, you can cut the plastic ones out of your life. Search ‘reusable produce bags’, or pick some up from our flagship store.

Single use coffee pods – Nespresso admits that 71 percent of its billions of pods end up in landfill. Consider other ways to caffeinate that produce far less waste. Some local roasters, like Kokako, sell excellent organic, fairtrade coffee in home compostable bags.

Tea pyramids – What pods are to coffee, ‘silk’ pyramids (usually plastic) are to our other favourite cuppa. Most traditional paper teabags also use a thermoplastic in the heat sealing process. Consider using loose leaf tea, and make a ritual out of your morning cup.

Takeaway utensils – It’s usually easier to refuse the cutlery than the takeaway container itself, although it does take some organising. Pop a set in your bag from your cutlery drawer, or buy a special set in its own container.

Bottled water – Hundreds of billions of single use plastic water bottles end up in landfill each year. Gulp. All you need for this (money saving) swap is an aluminium or glass bottle, and tap water. If you run out while you’re on the run, many cafes are happy to refill it for you.

Takeaway coffee cups – One takeaway coffee every workday adds up to around 260 single-use coffee cups (and lids) headed for landfill each year. And with so many beautifully designed reusable cups, you can enjoy your treat even more. Some cafes will incentivise BYOing your coffee cup with a discount.

Non-refillable plastic bottles – Ecostore is constantly working on solutions to single-use plastics: like the new aluminium refill bottle that can be topped up at one of 80+ refill stations. Or for your hair, switch to plastic free, solid haircare bars.

Dryer sheets – These are disposable, synthetic, and full of nasty chemicals. Instead, choose a laundry detergent and fabric softener combo with a fragrance derived from essential oils, and dry clothes outdoors – they’ll smell like fresh air and sunshine!

To start your plastic free journey, visit our flagship store for reusable drink bottles, cups, cutlery and produce bags, plus refills of your favourite ecostore products.

ECOSTORE, 1 Scotland Street, Freemans Bay, T: 09 360 8477, www.ecostore.co.nz

BEST FOR WOMEN? MENSTRUAL PAIN AND CANNABIS?

We are all yin and yang, a mix of masculine and feminine. We are also full of local hormones called cannabinoids. These balance ‘who’ and ‘how’ we are.

These vital molecules maintain our chi, our balance, our life force, our ‘well being’. They do this by providing cellular feedback, and regulating neurotransmission.

This allows our cells to self-correct and self-regulate things like pain, reproduction, skin health, weight, emotion, stress, anxiety, cramps/spasms, and much more. This fact, and thousands of years of evidence from many cultures (ancient and modern/scientific) suggests that cannabis is more a mild kind of ‘universal medicine’, than a tool of Satan.

It also suggests that this vegetable should be more widely available than it is. The fact that even whole hemp is prohibited to the public, (despite over 69 percent of Kiwis wanting THC cannabis to be decriminalised) strikes to the heart of the ‘cannabis paradox’. “Why is hemp hard, when half the country wants cannabis?”

It’s brazen. The biggest lies are the lies of omission though, where they just avoid talk of nutrition or cannabinoid deficiency, or the human cannabinoid system and talk instead about ‘safety’ and ‘equity’ while creating inequitable and ineffective systems.

China has long been a learned culture, and the Emperor Shen Nung (father of Chinese medicine) cited cannabis for use in menstrual pain, rheumatism, gout, and more, in 2750 BC. China still grows more than half the world’s supply of hemp today, and is planting more all the time. Traditional Chinese medicine, unlike its Western counterpart, draws from the wisdom of food herbs.

Queen Victoria herself used cannabis for her menstrual pain, and throughout the British Empire it was a common and popular herb until its unethical prohibition. In New Zealand it was freely available and affordable to all at chemists. From 1895 it was even exempt from customs duty, and, funnily enough, New Zealand’s first Catholic Saint is likely to be a trained nurse (Mother Suzanne Aubert) who used “cannabis as a tea for the nun’s menstrual cramps at her mission in Jerusalem on the Whanganui River.”

It’s obviously corrupt in the USA, where it’s a Schedule 1 drug (‘of no medical value and a high risk of abuse’), even though it’s medically legal to over two hundred million Americans, in 34 States, due largely to citizen action and protest.

But here in New Zealand people are slow to demand that politicians serve the public. Women should be able to grow plants for monthly teas and edibles. Patients should be able to grow their own too. Why can’t we?

Twice as many people voted for legal cannabis as voted for the National Party. What right do Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little have to say ‘reform is off the table’? It’s not kind. It’s not decent. It’s not honest.

Even the Jesuits agree that cannabis is a case of “medical necessity verus political agenda’. But the ‘Public Service’ agenda seems to be this instead; prohibit access to consumers, unless through gatekeepers who can monetise it and control it.

Thanks to massive misinformation, cannabis in New Zealand is still at the fringes of healthcare; instead of in a home garden, as a good home remedy should be.

Now, ...why might that be? And what will you do about it today? Why not Grow Your Own? (TADHG STOPFORD)  PN theHempFoundation.org.nz

Parisian woman with her cat in her cannabis garden, 1910

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This month we’re also delighted to welcome into the practice our new oral therapist hygienist Karen Hobbs. Karen is extremely experienced, loves working with children and is getting wonderful feedback from our patients, including the following from Kim H.

“I had my 1st treatment with Karen Hobbs today, and I have to say she is the best hygienist I’ve ever been to. She’s a total professional, who made me feel at ease instantly, and it was pain free which is a total 1st for me and hygienists!”- Kim H Fatima initially came to see us because she didn’t like the shape and dark colours in her smile.

On close examination we found that she had relatively crowded teeth that were darkened with a large amount of aging fillings showing when she smiled.

After discussing her options together, we elected to first whiten the teeth, which worked really well. Then, to even out the crowding and discolouration, we prepared her teeth for veneers, which allowed us to rebuild them to a more pleasing colour and shape.

”What I particularly loved about doing this case for Fatima is the beautiful but natural colour that she selected, as things look stunning but have a really natural subtle look,” says Dr Matt Sumner.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

ACCENT YOUR DENTISTS, Dr Matt Sumner, 332 Ponsonby Road, T: 09 376 4374, www.accentdentists.co.nz

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“Their service is absolutely amazing. They provide the best treatment (also painless) and show a great understanding of a client’s needs. Matt is very personable and highly professional.” - Fatima W

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Fatima W

JOHN APPLETON: D-RIBOSE – IS IT THE SUGAR OF LIFE?

For many people this may be the first time they have heard of D-Ribose.

I have however been using it daily for many years primarily to limit the possibility of a cellular energy crisis during exercise and to assist with recovery afterwards.

So what is D-Ribose (chemical name – alpha-D-ribofuranose)? It’s a simple five carbon sugar (glucose is a six carbon sugar) that is found in every cell in the human body. D-Ribose is a vital nutrient with a very significant role to play. Unlike sugars such as glucose which are metabolised to contribute to energy turnover, D-Ribose is not ‘burned’ for energy but is conserved by the cell for rebuilding the energy pool.

It’s the only compound used by the body to manage cellular energy restoration.

When we consume D-Ribose, the body recognizes that it is different from other sugars and preserves it for the vital work of actually making the energy molecule ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) that powers our hearts, muscles, brains, and every other tissue in the body. ATP is the energy ‘currency’ of the cell and D-Ribose provides the key building block for ATP. Without sufficient D-Ribose the cell cannot make ATP.

D-Ribose is naturally present in foods but only in very small amounts. Red meat is at the top of the list but the amount is insignificant. Dr Stephen Sinatra in his book ‘Metabolic Cardiology’ says “The dietary intake of D-Ribose is insufficient to provide any nutritional support, especially to those people suffering heart disease, neuromuscular disease and those hoping to recover quickly after exercise.”

Although the first research on D-Ribose in humans goes back to 1958, D-Ribose was first developed as a dietary supplement in 1997 by Bioenergy Inc in the U.S. and since then many studies have investigated this amazing, yet simple ‘sugar’. Much of the research has focused on the use of D-Ribose in association with heart disease and its use pre and post exercise. Results have indeed been exciting and it really is hard to believe that D-Ribose hasn’t been headline news. When there is a totally safe option that shows remarkable benefits we need to know about it.

In 1973 German researchers reported that energy starved hearts could recover their energy levels if D-Ribose was given prior to or immediately following ischemia (reduced blood flow causing oxygen deprivation). In 1992 a study published in the Lancet showed that administration of D-Ribose to patients with severe stable coronary artery disease increased exercise tolerance and delayed the onset of angina. In 2003 University of Bonn Germany published the results of a heart failure study which showed that administration of D-Ribose improved the performance of the heart, increased exercise tolerance and significantly improved quality of life.

As to who should consider supplementing with D-Ribose, it would be on my list for any condition where my cells might be energy starved e.g. heart disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and any form of exercise. D-Ribose comes as a powder which dissolves instantly in water and it makes a very pleasant drink.

Research shows that D-Ribose is very rapidly absorbed and approx 97% ‘gets through’. I take five grams daily (as a ‘sports’ drink). Even at high doses it’s a very safe supplement, but because it can lower blood glucose levels, diabetics should talk with their doctor first.

Cardiologists Drs Stephen Sinatra and James Roberts sum it up by saying – “we can’t overstate the effect of D-Ribose supplementation on maintaining energy levels. Any tissue that relies heavily on aerobic energy metabolism, such as the heart and muscles, will be severely affected by any amount of oxygen deprivation. The problem is ATP drain. The solution is to give it back.”

Is D-Ribose the Sugar of Life? As I see it, D-Ribose more than qualifies for this title. (JOHN APPLETON)  PN

www.johnappleton.co.nz john@johnppleton.co.nz T: 09 489 9362

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