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The first morning we awoke at 8:15am to do our daily 4 hours work in exchange for daily meals and a place to sleep. Harvesting hazelnuts off the ground was our first task. There we were on our hands and knees, underneath the trees carefully avoiding the occasional cow patty for the first hour asking ourselves “what in the heck have we gotten ourselves into?” An hour later Heather came to get us and I was put to work weeding and pruning. Thankfully I had rubber gloves up to my elbows as blackberry and gorse are very sharp weeds!  Meanwhile, Andy was digging a trench for the pond to drain out.  It was hot and we were sweating, but it felt good and satisfying somehow to do manual labor. A river runs right on the other side of the road so we jumped in for a nice, cold swim when we were done. Needless to say, I worked up quite an appetite and mowed a gigantic lunch afterward and spent the afternoon finishing my book.

That evening, their daughter Brooke and her fiance Ant came into town.  Ant is a forest ecologist and is studying the area around Hawke’s Bay and I have enjoyed hearing about the Department of Conservation, forest ecology, Maori history and the effects on the environment in New Zealand.  Everything they do is self-sufficient, Earth and energy conscious and ecologically friendly.  New Zealanders are generally down to earth, natural looking and unpretentious – how refreshing!

The next morning we had our hands right in the dried cow dung and hazelnuts without a care, laughing how the day before we were so meticulous trying not to touch it. The kids from next door created a makeshift water slide next to us on the sheets of garbage bag material laid out to kill some weeds in this one area. I shoveled dirt to help mend the pond the rest of the morning and my arms still hurt. It’s been humbling so far to say the least. That afternoon, we went for another swim in the river with their neighbors who also have a WWOOFer (from Germany) and enjoyed chatting and skipping rocks. We borrowed mountain bikes and took a nice hour-long ride along the river on the highway here in the river valley with beautiful mountains on either side with spectacular views. Visually it reminds me very much of Southern Oregon around the Ashland/Medford region as I suppose it’s approximately the same latitude. Afterward, we had about 15 people over for a homemade pizza party. Dave and Heather have a real stone pizza oven that Dave began heating up around lunchtime and make-your-own pizzas were done within about 2-3 minutes. We had a blast with their friends and neighbors, drinking home brewed beer and sharing stories.

Everything is so fresh and delicious here. Today I was not looking forward to another morning of digging in the dirt so over breakfast I aptly phrased the question, “Heather, might I have the opportunity to work in the kitchen today and learn a few things from you?” She makes jams, jellies, sauces, homemade pasta, homemade bread, soups – you name it. And everything is fresh right from the garden. She obliged and I went to work and made a vegetable lasagne with homemade pasta and everything from the garden. We spent the afternoon at a couple of wineries nearby and brought home a reserve chardonnay from Sunset Cliffs, an organic winery. The lady serving us at the winery is from the Czech Republic who came to visit NZ and never left. I can see why.

The best part of the experience for me in the WWOOFing world so far is the cultural aspect. Heather, Dave, Brooke and Ant have invited us in and treated us just like members of the family. These folks have had WWOOFers for 15 years! It really is a symbiotic lifestyle here, with physical labor here on the property from us while they take care of our room and board.

The reason is that we have changed our life styles. Stress from the economy and work has increased, and we don’t make an effort to eat right and exercise.
If you have tried out other products, I know how frustrating it is to gain the weight back within a couple of months after getting the initial weight off.
Yes! You CAN eat delicious food and work out less yet still lose weight…

How ?

Three steps you need to do lose the weight…and keep it off.
First, you need to remove toxins from your body. Second, you have to maintain healthy eating habits. Lastly, you need to focus on exercises that you like. This is a way to make a life style change without sacrificing your tastes and wants.

Step 1: Detox your system regularly to restore the nature healthy state of the body.

Step 2: eat healthy: Be Label Cautious! Don’t buy any unhealthy products to bring home.
You can still enjoy delicious foods without feeling guilty and unhealthy. A solid diet with the correct amounts of vitamins and minerals is a healthy choice. Think it through and plan your meals carefully. Pay attention to what you are purchasing. Be mindful of to avoid products that are not good for your health or body. Avoid foods with high-carbohydrate counts such as rice, bread, and pasta. Purchase hard wheat pasta. These pasta contain complex carbohydrates with a minor influence on the blood glucose level. Use organic sugar substitutes, and you also need to monitor fat content.

Step 3: exercise:
Exercise comes in a variety of forms (weight lifting, aerobics, yoga, etc…) Weight lifting is good for building muscle, aerobic activity is good for burning calories and increasing your heart rate, and Yoga is for stretching muscles, relaxing tension, and massaging organs. Before beginning any exercise regiment, you should consult your physician.
Don’t just do the boring work out routines to lose weight, because you won’t be able to maintain the commitment. Instead do the exercises you find enjoyable, and do them more intensely over a shorter period of time.

For example if you don’t like aerobic exercise, but you like to salsa dance, just dance fast-speed salsa at home, or find a class on Salsa to take. Being around others and engaging with them, will make the exercise routine more enjoyable!

Old food containers
Yogurt containers are especially helpful for storing small things like corn holders, twist ties, toothpicks, rubber bands, paper clips and push pins. Take a black marker and write down on the lid of the container what is inside. That way you do not have to open it to figure out what you put in the container.

Larger plastic containers from things like margarine work great for helping you organize sauce packets or spice packets. When you use this to organize your kitchen, make sure to store the same kind of packets together. If you have several containers with different types of packets, labeling the side of the container works great.

Glass jars from spaghetti sauce, jelly, olives, pickles or mayonnaise work great for storing items as well. The great part about glass jars is that you can see what is inside so there is no need to bother with labeling them.

Using cardboard as drawer dividers
I have used this one myself before and it works great. Measure the drawer to make sure that you cut the cardboard the right size and then just cut a sturdy piece of cardboard to fit in the drawer. In order to make it look better, wrap each divider in some standard brown craft paper. This is a great way to organize your kitchen drawers and it does not cost a cent.

Shoe boxes
Shoe boxes are my favorite organizing tool. My preference is to use the basic plastic shoe boxes that you can find very inexpensively in stores but you can use traditional cardboard shoe boxes just as easily. I like the plastic shoe boxes because you can easily see the contents inside and often then do not have to label anything. If you decide to use the traditional cardboard shoe boxes, it makes it easier (and makes it look nicer) if you cover them in brown craft paper and label the outside.

When I organize my kitchen, I use shoe boxes for organizing oatmeal packets, granola bars, pastas and a whole lot more. They keep your cupboards neat and are easily stackable so you can maximize the use of your space.

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* Fat Free

* Reduced Fat

* Low Fat

* Sugar Free

* No Added Sugar

* Diet [Insert Product Name Here]

Let us examine some examples of nasty food that is supposed to be healthy:

1. Diet Soda

Why is it good? A sugar free version of the popular carbonated beverage that you can drink on the go.

Why is it bad? OK, so soda is horrible for you, but take out the sugar and add in carcinogenic artificial sweeteners, combined with the artificial flavors and colors that are in all sodas, and you have a recipe for Tumor in a Can. Then of course we have the caffeine factor, which is linked to hyperactivity, high blood pressure, and can mess with your blood sugar.

Instead choose: filtered water and the occasional glass of milk or goats milk

2. Sushi made with white rice and imitation crab meat or vegetables

Why is it good? Seaweed contains essential nutrients such as selenium, calcium, iodine, and omega-3 fats. Sushi is nearly always wrapped in seaweed.

Why is it bad? This garbage does not deserve to be called sushi. They are just small, compact, high glycemic, high calorie, carbohydrate nuggets. There is not even much protein in these things. Eat 3-4 of them and you’ve had your serving for the day. Aside from that, imitation crab meat is not even good for you. It is mostly just a crab flavored tofu-like substance fortified with sugar, sugar, and more sugar.

Instead choose: In order to get some healthy carbs, some high-quality protein, and the benefits of omega-3 fats, choose real sushi made with salmon or tuna. To make it even healthier, order sashimi instead of white rice.

3. Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter

Why is it good? All peanut butter provides a heart-healthy substantial quantity of monounsaturated fat.

Why is it bad? Most commercial peanut butters are made with the same type of sugar that cake frosting is made with. Reducing the fat makes it even worse because even MORE nasty sugar is added and they contain less healthy fat. I would rather just eat the extra calories.

Instead choose: Choose almonds or all natural organic peanut butter instead. Just remember to pour off the top layer of oil and replace it with olive oil if the resulting peanut brick is too stiff. Olive oil is very low in omega-6 fats.

4. Fat-Free or Reduced Fat Salad Dressing

Why is it good? Less fat means less calories. Plus that salad dressing fat is lard just like mayo and Crisco. Sick.

Why is it bad? Firstly because when fat comes out, sugar goes in. Either that or artificial flavors and sweeteners. Secondly, since many vegetables are fat soluble, taking away the fat from the dressing means fewer of the salad nutrients will be absorbed into your body. This was confirmed by a study at Ohio State University wherein a higher fat salad dressing resulted in an increased uptake of the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene.

Instead choose: A salad dressing made with olive oil, or just use olive oil and vinegar as your salad dressing. If you try it you might like it.

5. Anything made with Soy

Why is it good? It’s not. But in the spirit of argument: vegetarians and vegans eat the stuff so they can get protein in their diets. Yay ::sarcasm:: Plus the stuff is apparently low in fat and an alternative to whey for the lactose intolerant.

Why is it bad? Straight up, soy is linked to lower testosterone and increased estrogen in males, and is also linked to increased breast cancer in women. Soy also promotes hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, and infertility. Soy is extremely destructive to infants, as it can effect development in many adverse ways.

Instead choose: any high protein whole food such as brown rice, goats milk, coconut milk, almond milk, whole grains, nuts, seaweeds, seeds, beans, and lentils. As a side note, goats milk is considered one of the healthiest foods on the planet today, so give it a try.

6. Fruit Juice, Dried Fruit, and Fruit Cocktail

Why is it good? Well because fruit is good for you. It has a ton of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants; not to mention fiber.

What is it bad? Fruit juice and fruit cocktail normally have sugar added. Some fruit cocktails come in a thick sugary syrup. You get no fiber from fruit juice, and the stuff usually has preservatives added to it.

Instead choose: eat the whole fruit including the skin if possible, but limit it to one serving of fruit per meal/snack to avoid insulin spikes. If you must have fruit cocktail, choose one that comes packed in its own juices instead of syrup.

7. Smartfood (Cheesy Popcorn)

Why is it good? Because cheesy popcorn is oh so tasty.

Why is it bad? Because you are really just eating the popcorn equivalent of potato chips. Seriously, compare total calories and you will find that you are not saving much on the calorie front by eating Smartfood instead of chips.

Instead choose: get some spray butter, pop some plain popcorn, spray a light coat of spray butter on the popped corn, sprinkle various spices on the corn (but go easy on the salts), and shake it up in a bad. Now you have a low fat tasty treat.

8. Beans packed in sugary syrups such as Boston Baked Beans

Why is it good? Baked beans are good for you because these types of beans are loaded with fiber

Why is it bad? The sugary syrup, just as much as in a can of soda, is just going to spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. This is never good for preventing heart disease or type II onset diabetes.

Instead choose: Red kidney beans. These things are packed with protein and fiber, and can be mixed with any sort of salad or pasta. Sometimes I enjoy kidney beans straight out of the can; no cooking, just wash and chow.

9-15. Granola, White Pasta, Pasta Salad, English Muffins, Bagels, Croutons, and Pretzels

Why is it good? Granola has some fiber, pasta salad has some vegetables, croutons make our salad crunchy, English muffins are one step up from bagels, and pretzels are a quick low-fat snack.

Why is it bad? One word: carbohydrates. All of these foods are made with corn syrup and/or processed white flour. These foods will spike your blood sugar faster than Bruce Lee could have kicked you in the face. You also will not get much nutrition in the way of protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals from any of these foods.

Instead choose: 100% whole grain or whole wheat pasta and English muffins for increased fiber and protein. Egg salad because, like it or not, eggs are good for you and are high in protein. Almond slices are high in omega-3 fats and are crunchy like croutons. Substitute healthy nuts for white starches whenever you can and you too can receive a 30% less chance of heart disease.

Organic salt is a basic seasoning that you will find in nearly every kitchen. Salt helps to bring out the flavor embodied in the dish in its entirety. It helps to heighten the contrasting flavors of each ingredient used in a recipe, no matter from which cuisine it hails.

Mediterranean cuisines, such as those from Greece, France, Italy,and Spain rely on the organic seasonings that are native to their respective regions. A Greek version of pasta, laced with shrimp and feta cheese, would not be the same without the inclusion of the vital flavor of organic seasonings like oregano to season it. The so-called “trinity” of Greek cooking, lemon juice, oregano, and garlic, are used to bring out the flavor of a leg of lamb roasted to perfection in the oven. French cooks like to use an herbal blend known as Herbs de Provence to flavor all manner of savory dishes. This mixture usually includes organic spices and seasonings such as basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, marjoram, tarragon and sometimes lavender. This combination, added to a bean soup, instills flavorful goodness in every spoonful. Italian dishes, such as the ever-popular lasagna, require careful attention to organic salt and spices added to the marinara sauce. Often a meat sauce, the marinara can come in several tomato-based forms. For every region in Italy you can find sauces relative to their area. Marinaras can contain organic spices and seasonings such as chives, rosemary, thyme, oregano, spearmint, savory, bay leaf, garlic, cayenne, and crushed red pepper flakes. A Spanish Romesco sauce might include paprika for added flavor.

Different regions of the United States also have dishes that require organic spices and seasonings commonly found in their locales. Southwestern cuisine relies on organic spices such as chili powders, cumin, epazote, and oregano to bring out their familiar flavors. Cajun food, from the Southern states, such as seafood-laden gumbo, favor the distinctive flavor of file gumbo, which is derived from the leaves of the sassafras tree.

Salad dressings offer another excellent opportunity to use organic spices and seasonings in their preparation. Vinaigrettes are wonderful flavored with tarragon. Basil can be used to flavor oils then used to dress salads. Pickles that often end up in salads can be prepared with spices such as organic salt, pepper, coriander seeds, and cilantro.

If you are an avid cook, it makes sense to keep a good supply of bulk organic spices on hand for when the culinary urge strikes.