Here’s a popular myth that – rumors have it – even Victoria Secret models adhere to: starving loses you weight. It’s common practice nowadays to suggest people ways of losing fat and losing weight fast. But – newsflash – if you want a real life change, that doesn’t happen overnight, it certainly doesn’t happen in a week, and it most definitely doesn’t involve starving yourself. [Read more…]

The foods we eat have been a changing ever since people stopped producing their own food and industrial agriculture took over about 70 years ago. 200 years back most people lived on farms and were producing their own food to eat, but that number gradually decreased once technological breakthroughs allowed producing food on a very large scale and the food industry exploded. And so did industrial animal agriculture.

When industrial animal agriculture emerged

The technological advancements in farming equipment enabled farmers to produce more food over a shorter length of time, which represented an important development in agriculture because there was now the solution of feeding a population that multiplied faster than ever before. [Read more…]

Popular worldwide and expensive in some countries, kiwis might not be number one choice of fruit for many Australians, but considering the set of vital nutrient compounds it provides, they make a fantastic addition to daily meal plans, not to mention the fruit is one of the healthiest and most refreshing snacks during summertime.

Why eat kiwifruits in the summer

Very important during the summer is to stay hydrated, which is even more relevant when spending a lot of time under the sun or performing physical activities. And while nothing should substitute water, consuming fruits and vegetables daily is another way to provide the body with the nutrients it needs to remain healthy. [Read more…]

Reasons to shop at farmers’ markets are many and the most important is that not only do you get to buy the freshest locally grown produce but also choose among a fantastic range of other types of food.

Products sold at Victorian farmers’ markets include olive oils, wines, honey, artisan cheeses, sausages, seafood and meat. Some producers come here to sell leather-made items while others offer a variety of homemade sweets. [Read more…]

Mandarins are a type of orange preferred by many people over actual oranges due to having a thinner skin and a sweeter taste, also peeling a lot easier compared to any other orange and even compared to tangerines, which are a subgroup of the mandarin family.

Mandarins and tangerines are often mistaken for the same fruit, although there are noticeable differences between them. [Read more…]

Australia grows such a huge variety of fruits and vegetables that it’s become a reliable supplier for countries everywhere in the world. Hundreds of tones of fresh produce are transported fresh every year to more than 60 countries worldwide including the Middle East and Europe.

In Australia, the agricultural industry produces a lot of potatoes, beans, onions but also different types of citrus fruits, avocados, mangoes, apples, cherries and more recently goji berries. [Read more…]

So most raw vegan cakes aren’t baked but made. Vegans do eat cooked foods except those in the raw vegan movement, and when it comes to raw-veganizing cakes, you’re in for a little bit of work and trouble if this is your first time.

But if you’re up for a vegan cake challenge, prepare to be rewarded with a very satisfying result and one that comes (possibly) tastier than grandma’s centuries-old recipe. Sorry, grandma!

What does it take to build a raw vegan cake?

Well, this one’s simple. It takes ingredients, silly, non-dairy ingredients to be precise. [Read more…]

So you decided it’s time for a new family member and now you’re going store to store every few days to pick up essentials.

From making sleeping arrangements for your family’s soon-to-be furry companion to sourcing best nutritional foods, it probably feels as though the list only gets longer. But don’t worry, accommodating a puppy may be challenging at first, but the effort is all worth it eventually. That furry ball will bring you many joys. [Read more…]

Ever bought frozen dessert only to look at the list of ingredients after and kind of felt cheated? And somehow tasting the thing didn’t make things better either?

That’s sort of how it goes with maple syrup: there’s the real stuff made from maple sap that comes from actual maple trees, and then there’s the unauthentic version made with who knows what. Well, we actually know what: chemically processed ingredients that lead to health problems faster than the speed of Formula Rossa. [Read more…]

Parents often choose to feed their children raisins instead of the conventional sugary snacks in an attempt to create long-lasting healthy or healthier habits for the little ones. Raisins are sugary fruits that contain fiber, iron, and potassium – to name the three most important nutrients in them.

But are raisins good for children?

Low in cholesterol and low in fat, raisins make a good addition to children’s diet. [Read more…]

Taken into consideration everything dairies that have to be substituted with vegan ingredients, it’s no wonder making a vegan cake seems similar to a Master Chef competition for a lot of people.

Is it a hit and miss? It can be, yes but once you start mastering a few little tricks, you’ll see it can actually turn into a just as joyful activity as baking regular cakes. And if not, there’s always your local vegan bakery shop. That’s never a turn-down.

Don’t know where to start?

Start with knowing ingredients

Baking is basically chemistry reduced to an explosion of flavor and, depending on what you are making, crispiness – say chocolate chip cookies, tenderness – say pumpkin cake, and fineness – say decadent chocolate cake. [Read more…]

Noodles – those tasty little foods that make you instantly addictive could be affecting your health more than you realize.

Think about it. Nothing that takes 2 minutes to cook could possibly be positive for health and nutritious in the real sense of the word.

Even knowing this, many people all over the world still consume instant noodles often, but the worst part is that even children eat them. [Read more…]

You know how they say you are what you eat? Well, this expression isn’t just used in relation to body shape but also to emphasize the connection between food and mood, specifically the fact that foods affect mood and mental wellbeing.

The concept that what we eat has an effect on our state of being and state of mind, whether positive or negative isn’t new at all. Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine,” the quote dating back to before the Common Era, precisely 431 BC. [Read more…]

Imported or not, Australians too celebrate love and the Valentine’s Day celebration takes on different meanings for people. Last year’s shopping was pretty much as classical as ever: flowers, cards, chocolates, jewelry, romantic getaways and the sorts. People spent hundreds of millions (that’s right, hundreds) of dollars on February 14.

It’s not unusual for couples to get engaged or even married on Valentine’s Day, events that come with a fair share of expenses. And boy, don’t retailers know how to up their game with V-day related items! That probably explains all the spending, or maybe that’s just Cupid. [Read more…]

Obesity rates have been sky rocketing in Australia over the past couple of years. Since 1986, Australia has been gaining weight consistently, and there’s no evidence to suggest a change of course. Yet.

Quite the opposite in fact.

• 1986: the rate of overweight or obese children in Australia is around 10-12%.

1995: a two-fold rate increase of overweight or obese children in Australia.

• 2004-05: 18% of men and 17% of women in Australia are obese.

2014-15: 63.4% of Australian adults are overweight or obese. [Read more…]

Used for cooking and to enhance flavor, sesame oil carries more health benefits than people realize. It is actually one of the healthiest alternatives to the other edible oils used in cooking.

Sesame oil is obtained using a mechanical pressing, either cold pressing which gives superior quality oil or hot pressing which gives lower grade oil.

There are two types of sesame oil. First is pale yellow-colored oil that comes with a mild odor and a nutty taste, called light sesame oil. [Read more…]

You must have heard at least once – from doctors, friends or just randomly about the importance of a low-sodium diet. Sodium is the main component in the salt we ingest daily, and it is an important mineral, healthy when consumed moderately but dangerous in excess.

Although the diet is prescribed to people with blood pressure problems, everyone can benefit from eating less salt.

Too much salt has an opposite effect to healthy even for people without heart disease. The higher the salt intake, the more exposed you become to developing heart problems, starting with increased blood pressure to more serious conditions such as heart failure. [Read more…]

Season’s looking up and isn’t autumn a great one, especially for fruits and vegetables?

It seems that all around the world nature works its best during the autumn season, providing people with so many reasons to be happy. Bonfire nights no matter what the weather’s like, trees change color and the countryside suddenly looks more amazing than ever, grapes ripen and the wine starts pouring, plus there’s a ton of good food around.

And nothing, absolutely nothing makes dishes tastier than fresh seasonal vegetables and desserts more delicious than fresh fruits. [Read more…]

There’s nothing quite like a farmers market stocked with everything the foodie in you could ever wish for: juicy-sweet apples, antioxidants-packed berries, fully ripe kiwi fruits, soft-fleshy pears, deliciously flavored persimmons and, of course, strawberries – by the pound.

Yup – you guessed it. This post is about fruits. Love them or hate them, you should eat them. They’re good for you. Fruits are extremely nutritious, and even if they lacked nutritional value, which they don’t, you’d still want to eat them simply because they’re absolutely delicious and a whole lot healthier than sugary kicks like frozen dessert and candy bars. [Read more…]

Only when it comes to wedding cakes, do most Australians think about asking questions before the tasting or before buying.

It makes sense.

When it comes to a wedding cake, you want to know who’ll be making it, what filling choices are available, if the cake is priced by the slice, and so on since a beautifully designed wedding cake can cost $19 per slice or if we’re talking whole cakes, anything between $500 to $750.

But it’s just as important to get to know your bakery when it comes to smaller goods too, not just fancy cakes because ultimately whether its smaller quantities or larger, it’s the quality that counts and the fact that your baker should be able to meet your requests at all times. [Read more…]