Your Body, Your Fuel

Buying (in bulk) seasonal & local

As part of the current business development I have to research & contact a lot of suppliers right now. Saturday morning, we went to the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market – at 6am! No joke, it is a different world. It’s the market at which bulk buyers like supermarkets or restaurants stock up. So, all the local farmers are represented with agents & sell their produce according to the current price. It is amazing & I felt like in my personal oasis, surrounded by all these super fresh fruits!

Registering as a buyer is not only helping us with getting cheap produce for our products. It enables us to group up with others & buy for our whole church & for friends or neighbours for a much better price. For instance if five people need two kilos of tomatoes per week, we can buy a ten kilo box & everyboby profits from it. This is true empowerment, my folks!

Also, a lot of people at my church live in the townships here, especially in Tembisa or Soweto. They can make a living from selling fresh veggies & fruits & then use the money to invest in their education. Empowerment for real.

So, look into that as well. There has to be a fresh produce market in every bigger city. Just by getting five people together, your neighbours, family or friends, you can save a lot of money & really get the freshest stuff. At the market here in Joburg, you don’t even have to have a registered business to become a buyer & quantities start with a single box, which could be eg 7kg of lemons or 10 pineapples. & most of it is half the price you pay in stores, so it really adds up if you eat a lot of fruits & veggies…

…like me:

Eating seasonal & local

I am currently killing about 5 kg of oranges & a kilo of lemons per week alone, just by myself. I’ve fallen in love with freshly squeezed citrus juice in the morning and evenings. Besides that, watermelon season is taking off & I bought these huge babies that make up to five proper lunch portions & cost almost niks/nothing.

What else is on my menu? Went to the Bryanston Organic Market & bought the freshest organic lettuce ever, directly from the farmers. I can’t go too organic over here yet as there isn’t much organic produce in supermarkets. Especially when it comes to fruits the organic selection is almost zero, but focusing on organic greens alone makes a huge difference. Most of the fruits that are in season right now like watermelons are also not that high in pesticides. Am talking about pineapples, bananas, avocados, pawpaws and their likes.

Finding your fuel

My ideal diet is really a high fruit & greens diet. That’s what I personally feel best on. Avocados are my favourite source of fat as they do wonders for you & your body digests them much easier than nuts (let alone animal fat!). Salads from time to time but especially when I go out. & brown rice with steamed veggies as my cooked treat whenever I need it.

& this diet is soooo easy! Fruits in the morning plus some fresh orange, lemon & grapefruit juice. A green smoothie with pineapple for lunch or a pineapple salad with coconut, avocado and goji berries. Some more orange juice & huge portion of watermelons for dinner. Lots of apples & pears in-between, munching on some more greens as well. Natural supplements like blackstrap molasses or carob whenever my body asks for them.

80-10-10: Spend 80% of your money in the fruit & veg department!

I am not saying this works for everyone & your whole body has to get used to this kinda diet first. It works for me though. We all just have to make an effort for finding out what our body needs to perform its best.
The so-called 8-1-1 or 80-10-10 diet just comes natural to me, 80% carbohydrates, 10% fat & 10% protein seems ideal for my body type & my energy levels. Other people may need more fat or more protein, we all have different needs. Just get (raw) greens into your diet cos we all need the best minerals we can get & they do come from greens.

Go for these greens!

Also, don’t force things! We really have to learn listening to ourselves again, in all aspects of life & beyond. This is also the case when it comes to food. It is not about quick fixes, two weeks-ten pounds diets. This is about transforming your life, reclaiming all that has been yours before the beginning of time. So, if we spent 15 years growing up “eating all that is on our plates” no matter what our bodies were saying to that, we won’t change this pattern overnight. If we grew up being taught that we need our glass of milk to become big & strong, we won’t exchange it for a glass of green juice within a week. True change needs true time. Honour yourself, honour the time that you need – in all things that you do. We all have our own schedules according to which we develop & grow, they are put down inside of us.

So, just start by eating more consciously. Become aware of the following things:

• Why do you eat & what do you eat at which times? Are you hungry, sad, stressed, in company?
• How does that food make you feel? Energised or sleepy? You get stomach aches, headaches or a rush of joy?

It is all about:
What works for You?

Photos: (c) organicmarket.com.au & tinyfarmblog.com

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