Books

In 2015, naturopath and owner of The Staple Store Catie Gett, raised almost $10,000 through crowdfunding after only six Instagram posts to self publish ‘Notes To My Future Daughter’.

Catie’s notes are powerful, compelling and honest. She writes with a beautiful sense of empathy for all women.

These are notes for women to read to their daughters, sisters and most importantly themselves.  Woven through striking art work these notes will move you: you'll laugh, cry and most importantly, you'll feel hopeful for a beautiful and safe future for our daughters.

(passage from the book)

By the time an intelligent, clever woman leaves her home, she has been exposed to over 165 hundred chemicals.  She has washed in them, cleaned with them, applied them, eaten them, drunk them, sprayed them on and breathed them in. These chemicals are being marketed to very clever, highly educated and extremely discerning women and it’s working.  And it’s working because she doesn’t like patchouli, or camping, or chakra cleanses or nonsense. And when I tell her that antiperspirants contain chemicals toxic to females, it’s not the first time she’s heard it, it’s also not going to be the second time she chooses to ignore it.  So how do I get her to notice, to pay attention and to be aware?  To become educated and informed about her health, despite its counter culture tones?  How do I make her understand that just because something is not widely accepted, that it is in fact scientifically validated and that this lack of education is harmful?  Very recently I figured out how.  It’s simple, you write it for her daughter, then she will listen because she was born to protect her.

TRUTH in BEAUTY  is a practical, easy-to-follow guide that will help you make the switch to clean beauty and a healthier lifestyle without compromising on results.

• Compelling facts that expose beauty industry secrets and harmful ingredients found in everyday skincare, cosmetics and personal care products.
• How to decipher labels and verify marketing and product claims.
• Healthy, nourishing alternatives that will give you a glowing complexion.
• Skin types deconstructed and how to nurture your skin naturally at any age.
• Ultimate beauty biohacks and a comprehensive A–Z Blacklist of ingredients you should avoid and why.
• Checklists to help you make the switch to clean, sustainable products that work for you without harming the environment.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As the founder of Australian eco-luxe beauty brand Mukti Organics, Mukti has been actively engaged in the beauty industry for over two decades. A pioneer of green chemistry and award winning formulations, Mukti draws on her background in complementary medicine to offer comprehensive inside knowledge on the importance of detoxing your skincare routine.

For many people, deciding what to eat is often filled with confusion, fuelled by temptation or convenience and leaves them begging the question, “So, what am I supposed to eat?”

From knowing how much, what kind, to whether the latest food trend is ‘the one’ we need to follow, food has become overwhelming. And then there are those moments when you feel like no amount of food could satisfy your hungry heart. This book is a fork in the road when it comes to better understanding your food, your body, your appetite and what you are supposed to eat.

In this practical, inspirational, and visually beautiful book, Dr Libby pours her two decades of knowledge, research and clinical experience into comprehensive and easy to-read articles, step-by-step guides, worksheets and real-life examples, to help you answer the question, “So, what am I supposed to eat?”

Live Your Purpose, Lift Your Platform And Leap Into Prosperity

From rockstars and record companies, to bestselling authors and celebrity chefs, Yvette Luciano has worked with thousands of Soulpreneurs internationally in the past two decades to achieve soulful success.

Now it’s your turn.

Whether you wish to start up (or supercharge) your business, create your blog or book, attract abundance as an artist, or transition from your day job to your dream career, Soulpreneurs is your instant life and business coach.

Filled with inspirational stories, lessons, practical tips, action steps and easy exercises for developing your clarity, courage and platform.

Discover how to confidently serve your audience, heal the world and flourish financially.

Step in to your true purpose, power and potential.

Create a thriving career and life that feels good on the inside.

Soulpreneurs is the ultimate guidebook to living your purpose, lifting your platform and leaping into prosperity.

About the Author

Yvette Luciano is the founder of holistic business school Soulpreneurs - mentoring healers and creatives from across the globe, to build soulful careers and businesses. With two decades of experience in events, media and marketing magic with rockstars, record companies, bestselling authors and celebrity chefs, Yvette is a passionate coach, writer and bass player from the Sunshine Coast, Australia.

This is one of the bestselling aromatherapy books of all time with vital information on plant origins, medical herbalism and the properties and actions of herbs and essential oils. It covers 165 oils, their actions, characteristics, principal constituents and folk traditions and is a must for experienced aromatherapists and beginners alike.

Imagine yourself on the beach, by a roaring fire, as you fry the fish you just fished out of the ocean. This is Wild.

Chef Sarah Glover has travelled the rocky coasts of Australia creating dishes from Australia's beautiful produce – all of which is available right at our fingertips.

Rock hop with her, from Tasmania to Byron Bay, from rabbit to seaweed, and learn how to love the simplicity of food and travel in the great, great outdoors.

You know that sneaky voice inside your head telling you that you’re not good enough, smart enough, skinny enough, whatever enough? That’s your Mean Girl. And she’s doing her best to keep you stuck in Fear Town, too scared to go after the life you always imagined.

But enough’s enough! Melissa Ambrosini has made a life beyond her wildest dreams, all by mastering her Mean Girl, busting through limiting beliefs and karate- chopping through the fears that held her hostage for years. And now she wants to help you remember not only what you are capable of, but how amazing you truly are!

In this inspiring, upbeat guide, Melissa provides a practical plan for creating your own version of a kick-ass life — one that’s wildly wealthy, fabulously healthy and bursting with love. Designed to propel you out of stuck-ness and into action, this is a must read if you’re ready to let go of your Mean Girl and start living the life of your dreams.

Walking is man’s best medicine.' – Hippocrates

Walk invites you to explore the benefits to be gained from the simple act of walking and spending time outdoors.

A great natural way to boost your mind, body and soul, walking is simple and free. Without the need for specialist equipment or personal training, it is just about the easiest way to get more active, lose weight and become healthier. And it can be done anywhere. Travelling by foot is also meditative as it fosters a slowness of thought, as you become more aware of your surroundings.

Drawing on Sholto Radford’s extensive work with mindfulness-based practices, this book offers expert guidance and practical exercises to cultivate emotional and physical wellbeing.

Learn how to change your speed, shift your perspective and discover the pure joy of walking.

About the Author
Sholto Radford is a researcher at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University, with a lifelong passion for the outdoors and walking. In 2012 Sholto founded Wilderness Minds, combining his passions and leading courses and retreats with an emphasis on developing present moment awareness and well-being through time spent in the natural world and walking. He is also a qualified mountain leader.

The ancient art of fermenting is finding new popularity again as modern science and trends discover the importance of gut health for overall wellbeing.

Ferment for Good is a guide to discovering the joys of fermentation in its myriad variations – framed through the eyes of Sharon Flynn, a one-time English teacher who has hooked early in her 20s and has since made it her life's work to learn and share all there is to know about this most ancient of practices.

Her mission with her business is for the person who buys her products to feel as if they are receiving it from an old friend - one who desperately wants to share her discovery and passion with them. So too with the book. Alongside a how-to guide to the basics (why do it; what you need; and what you'll get), the book offers sections on wild fermented vegetables (including sauerkraut, kimchi and brine ferments); drinks (water kefir, kombucha, Jun tea, pineapple wine, mead); milk and dairy (including yoghurt and milk kefir), condiments and breads (such as mustard, spreads, dosa and injera); and Japanese ferments (including miso & tamari, soy sauce, sake kasu and pickled ginger).

Sharon Flynn shares her knowledge of and passion for fermentation in her accessible, chatty style, combining personal anectdotes of her fermenting adventures with hands-on instructions on how to set up your own benchtop fermentary at home. She completes the package by sharing her favourite recipes and ideas for incorporating ferments into your everyday life and meals.

Lovingly illustrated and featuring informative photos, Ferment for Good is a beautiful, carefully curated collection to introduce you to the world of fermentation.

About the Author

Australian-born Sharon Flynn was living in Tokyo, teaching English at a university, more than two decades ago when she first learned about fermenting. An elderly Japanese neighbour and her family introduced Sharon to the joys of miso, tofu and eventually fermented vegetables. Many city moves later - she married a financier who moved with work regularly - Sharon found herself in Seattle. That's where she really caught the fermenting bug. She belonged to a Community Supported Agricultural Scheme and received so many little cucumbers that she recalls she had to learn to pickle! She moved on to cheese, yoghurt and bread - and was truly hooked after meeting the man regarded as the master of fermentation in the US, Sandor Katz.

In the background here, her third daughter became quite ill. By this time the family had moved to Brussels and she found that antibiotics had left her daughter's system devoid of essential bacteria. Sharon says she read up more and more on fermenting - every culture has a version of some sort - and her daughter eventually regained her zest and good health. Fast forward a few years and Sharon found herself in Melbourne, this time sans her husband, with her three daughters. She learnt to make kefir, made her own ferments and started sharing these with friends. She tried to teach her friends, but quickly discovered that what they really wanted was for her to make it for them! So began her little business, The Fermentary.

Her products quickly won a following, alongside acclaim in the restaurant world. Now, with new partner chef Roger Fowler, her business is not so little; they sell both wholesale to leading Sydney and Melbourne restaurants and retailers, as well as direct to their customers at farmers' markets. As well, Sharon conducts regular workshops in Victoria and beyond. Sharon was also fortunate enough to spend a fortnight in late 2015 undertaking an intensive, advanced fermenting workshop with Sandor Katz (described by The New York Times as one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene) at his home in Cannon County, Tennessee.

The New Bohemian Handbook guides readers in beautifully simple techniques for adding good vibes and style to living spaces. Packed with hundreds of ideas for bringing positive energy to your home, the book features exercises and activities for thinking about rooms in new ways.

With Justina’s expert guidance, learn how to rearrange, paint, prop, and plant your way to a home that’s fresh and inspiring. Uncover your “spirit environment” and learn how to use color and scent to enhance mood, productivity, and relaxation. Revel in Justina’s encouraging advice (“you got this!”), and easily and affordably turn any dwelling into a personal sanctuary.

About the Author
Founder of the award-winning blog TheJungalow and author of the New York Times bestselling book The New Bohemians, designer and artist Justina Blakeney is the go-to source for bohemian design inspiration. Her eponymous lifestyle brand, Justina Blakeney Home, includes home furnishings and accessories with: Loloi, Hygge & West, Selamat, Jonathan Louis, Valdese Weavers, Studio Oh!, Wedding Paper Divas, and Peking Handicraft. Blakeney lives in Los Angeles.

In Natural Beauty, Karin Berndl and Nici Hofer share 40 natural, organic beauty treatments. From dull skin to drab hair and tired eyes, the traditional recipes in this book can solve a multitude of little beauty niggles, and each of the treatments are easy-to-make and really do work. Free from nasty paraffins, synthetic colours and Triclosan, they can also be made at a fraction of the cost of storebought products.

About the Author

KARIN BERNDL, photographer, and NICI HOFER, art director, have worked together on many high-profile advertising campaigns, for brands such as Selfridges, Galleries Lafayettes, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and Georg Jensen jewelry. Their editorial work has also been featured in Tatler and Harper's Bazaar.

In Sunshine Spaces, designer Beci Orpin show us how to make and create a range of fun homewares and other fabulous ideas for your outdoor space, including outdoor entertaining as well as how to bring a little of the outdoors inside your home! Inspired by the color and beauty of nature, projects include planter pots and hanging pots, picnic blanket and outdoor cushions, hammock and swing, sun umbrella and many more. Beci also includes advice on the best indoor plants and their care, some great pots to put them in, flower arranging and natural art installations, as well as a complete guide to plant-based fabric dying.

Chapters also include Party and Play with inspired ideas for an outdoor moonlit dinner party with lanterns, flower crowns and table decorations, and for the kids there is a play tent and cubby, pet rocks and a sun dial. Using a range of easily accessible materials including wood, flowers and plants, fabric, rope and string, concrete and some recycled products, Beci shows you everything you need to know about bringing the sunshine into your life and home.

About the Author
Beci Orpin is an artist, designer, illustrator who represents the next generation of crafters. Known for her geometric designs and gorgeous use of colour, Beci's inimitable style is instantly recognisable. She has written four books with Hardie Grant - Home, Find & Keep, Make & Do, and Sunshine Spaces. Beci lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Smith & Daughters: A Cookbook (That Happens to be Vegan) ignores convention in favor of plant-based creativity in the kitchen. Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse set out to build a restaurant that’s fun and full of life with a rock and roll vibe, and where good food is served – that happens to be vegan. No shouting about saving the animals. Shannon comes from the perspective of a carnivore and combines science, innovation and whimsical methods to create dishes and flavors that aren’t the norm for vego/vegan food. She instead tries to replicate the tastes and textures of meat that is the opposite of bland, predictable vegan food.

Across 7 chapters, including big plates, small plates, salads, sweets, dressings and drinks, Smith & Daughters offers 80+ delicious vegan recipes with a Spanish twist to recreate at home. From 'chorizo' and potato, Spanish 'meatballs' in a saffron almond sauce, chipotle cashew 'cheese', 'tuna' and green pea croquettes to doughnuts, avocado and corn icecream, the recipes give new inventive life to classics that will appeal to meat and vegetarian eaters alike.

About the Authors
Mo Wyse is a Seattle and NY expat. She studied journalism, has a background in production but dedicated her passion for creative, plant-based food to creating Smith & Daughters, where she is the logistical, front-of-house and marketing brains behind this gun team.

Shannon Martinez has cooked since she can remember and due to the influence of her Spanish paternal family and her outside the square, innovative talents she’s contributed to kitchens across Melbourne over the past nearly 20 years. Shannon eats meat, but has perfected her vegetarian – and latterly – vegan repertoire saying this is what makes her food so good; she tries to replicate the tastes and textures of meat, rather than putting out bland, predictable, vegan food.

Smith & Daughters on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy began in 2014. Food lovers went nuts. Almost immediately, they had grown to 40 staff and were doing 400 covers a night. In July 2015, they opened Smith & Deli, in nearby Moor Street an all vegan convenience store and deli. The idea here is a carefully curated selection of all vegan groceries, and freshly made pastries, salads and take-home vegan meals. There are also 32 made-to-order sandwiches, “cheese” and “meat” by the kilo - and, often, queues out the door.

From the creator of the award-winning Slow Home podcast comes Slow the perfect companion on the long road to living a simpler and more fulfilled life.

'Dear Mr & Mrs Jones, I am writing to inform you of my withdrawal from the race to keep up with you . . .'

Once upon a time, Brooke McAlary thought she was close to having it all. Married to a wonderful man, mother to a lively young daughter, and pregnant for a second time, she'd acquired all the things she'd once thought important-holidays, cars, a renovated home. Yet despite this, she found herself utterly despondent. Realising that they wanted a simpler, more fulfilling existence, Brooke and her family gradually created their own way of living, with an emphasis on depth, connection and experiences.

In Slow Brooke gently encourages you to find pleasure and value in a simpler life, sharing the practical tips and rituals that have helped her on her own journey, from decluttering to de-owning, messiness to mindfulness, from asking why to asking where to now?

Part memoir, part practical companion, Slow provides a fascinating insight into the benefits of slowing down. It will inspire you to forget about the Joneses and create a life filled with the things that really matter to you . . . slowly, of course.

About the Author
Brooke McAlary is passionate about slow living. She has experienced the transformative power of simplifying, paying attention and living a mindful, intentional life, and as the host and creator of the award-winning Slow Home Podcast (downloaded more than 2 million times) she encourages thousands of people every day to live a simpler, slower life.

But it wasn't always like that. Six years ago Brooke was completely overwhelmed. She had two young children, a husband who worked long hours, a business, a home filled to the brim with all the trappings of a 'successful life' and a severe case of post-natal depression.

Everything changed when she began decluttering. What began as an effort to remove some of the excess, slowly evolved into a complete transformation. Gone is the overwhelm, the clutter, the excess, the busy-ness, replaced by a simpler, more meaningful, more connected life.

Now she and her husband are self-employed and enjoy a life centred on the important things - which, it turns out, aren't really things at all.

Pana Chocolate, The Recipes, is the sweet book vegans and health-aware sweet tooths have been waiting for. It includes over 70 recipes that cover the sweet spectrum - from breakfast (chia pudding, granola, buckwheat porridge) to kids parties (chocolate crackles, honey joys), to uniquely plated creations based around raw chocolate to traditional desserts that can be made raw, there is something to delight each sweet craving without the guilt of modern additives.

It also presents the story of this remarkable Melbourne business that has quickly achieved a global following for its unique handmade chocolates and desserts that avoid preservatives and are all raw, organic, vegan, free from dairy, gluten, soy and refined sugar, and still taste great!

Pana Chocolate, The Recipes unlocks the secrets behind some of its best-loved creations and offer the ultimate raw chocolate experience for home cooks.

About the Author
Pana Barbounis founded Pana Chocolate in Melbourne. He developed his products over six months, including training in the UK and visits to Belgium, where he worked with traditional chocolatiers. His chocolate is now sold by 3,000 stockists in 19 countries around the world.

Sarah Britton shares 100 gorgeous, all-new plant-based recipes in her debut cookbook, inspired by her wildly popular blog My New Roots.

Every month, half a million readers - vegetarians, vegans, paleo followers, and gluten-free gourmets alike - flock to Sarah's adaptable and accessible recipes that make powerfully healthy ingredients simply irresistible. My New Roots is the ultimate guide to revitalizing your health and palate, one delicious recipe at a time. Whether you are newcomers to natural foods or are already devotees, you will discover how easy it is to eat healthfully and happily when whole foods and plants are at the centre of every plate.

About the Author
Sarah Britton is the acclaimed holistic nutrionist, writer and photographer behind the popular healthy foods blog My New Roots. She has been featured in Guardian, O Magazine, Bon Appetit and Saveur and has spoken at TedTalks. She gives nutrition seminars and workshops throughout North America and Europe and has collaborated with Michelin-starred chefs, including those at NOMA's Nordic Food Lab, for whom she designed a special menu. She lives in Copenhagen with her husband and their child.

An inviting exploration of "the new hygge": the Swedish concept of lagom--finding balance in moderation--featuring inspiration and practical advice on how to find a happy medium in life, home, work, and health.

Following the cultural phenomena of fika and hygge, the allure of Scandinavian culture and tradition continues in the Swedish concept of lagom. Not too much, not too little--lagom teaches us to find balance and mindful contentment with just the right amount in life. From home design and work-life balance, to personal well-being and environmental sustainability, author Anna Brones presents valuable Swedish-inspired tips and actionable ways to create a more intentional, healthy lifestyle. Instead of thinking about how we can work less, lagom teaches us to think about how we can work better. Lagom at home is about finding balance between aesthetics and function, focusing on simplicity, light, and open spaces. Health and wellness in lagom is a holistic approach for the body and mind--including connecting more in person, caring for self, managing stress, keeping active, and embacing enjoyment in daily routine. Live Lagom inspires us to slow down and find happiness in everyday balance.

Move over ice cream, hello nice cream! With over 70 fresh and vibrant recipes, Guilt-Free Nice Cream has everything you need to know about creating delicious and flavourful dairy-free nice cream.

Using bananas as the base, you simply add your main ingredients of choice, churn, chill and hey presto, you have your very own healthy ice cream! Flavours include classics such as Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble, Banana Rum n Raisin and Raspberry Ripple as well as more inventive combinations such as a tropical Pina Colada Nice Cream served inside a pineapple! Margie also shows you how you can use your nice cream as a show-stopping dessert including a triple layer Neopolitan Nice Cream Cake, Double-Choc Salted Caramal Mini Magnums and an exquisite Peanut Butter and Chocolate Tart. Not just for dessert, nice creams also make a healthy choice for breakfast; use in smoothie bowls, shakes, granola pots or for ultimate indulgence, serve on top of waffles or pancakes!

Complete with recipes for fun sauces and toppings, cookies, brownies and a highly addictive Caramel Popcorn, Guilt-Free Nice Cream is the only frozen-treat you will need this summer: natural, nice and (just a little bit) bananas!

About the Author
MARGIE BROADHEAD is the name behind the popular online blog Made By Margie. Margie trained at the world-renowned Ballymaloe cookery school in Ireland, and worked in a number of top London restaurants. Her catering company and blog were born with an emphasis on food that is dairy- and gluten-free, and with little or no refined sugar. Margie has a growing loyal online following - over 30,000 across her social media channels (with more than 21,000 followers on Instagram).