When it comes to feeling good and eating well, local is lekker.There are many things that contribute to our feeling of wellness…personal relationships, financial health, how much sleep we are getting, the exercise we take and our stress levels. One important tool that many Durbanites don’t emphasise enough is the fuel that we put into our bodies in the form of food.
Where that food comes from, the quality of the produce and the way we prepare it are all vital in fighting off infection, keeping our bodies strong and even preventing cancers and autoimmune diseases. We are so lucky to have producers in Natal that go that extra mile to give us the most wonderful sources of nutrition, and all we have to do is pick up a phone or look at a website to have locally raised livestock and North Coast produce in our kitchens and on our plates in a matter of hours.
Cindy in Umhlali is a great go to producer, her produce can be seen in the fields on the way up the North coast, and she sells her fresh produce, mazavaroo, pickles and herbs at the Wonder Market, the I Heart Market, the Litchi Farmers Market and in her shop in Umhlali. Her pickled brinjal and her mazaveroo are legendary.
Dargle Pork from the Midlands bring their famous home cured bacon, pork pies and sausages down to Morningside every third Thursday of the month, and to Westville every first Thursday. If you want to order, go to their new website at www.darglevalley.co.za. Although you might not have pork on your list of healthy eats, many cuts are very low in fat. Try their schnitzels, the cubed pork for a stew, or pork belly for a Sunday lunchtime treat.
If you get up to the Midlands try to fit some produce from Dargle Ducks into your car…most easily achieved by popping into Piggly Wiggly for a pack of duck breasts, or some thighs for confit. The Mediterranean diet includes a lot of duck
and goose fat, and the locals there live longer, healthier lives than those of us eating processed foods. Ziggy’s rabbits on 082735 3821 is fabulous. Rabbit is lean, healthy, and makes a wonderful terrine, or casserole. Greg’s Farm Stall at Lion’s River, on 076 674 5525, with their micro herbs and purple carrots, will round off a day’s food shopping nicely. Don’t be scared to try new things, it’s far better to eat a rabbit than a battery chicken, and kinder too.
On the North Coast we can readily buy locally produced wines from Abingdon wine farm, www.abingdonestate.co.za. Litchis will soon be in season, oysters are clinging to the rocks and our butter avocados are being hailed internationally as the new superfood. They are in fact the only thing other than milk on which you can solely and successfully feed a baby…..a complete nutritional source. We live in an area rich in diverse natural wonders from mountains to sea, and we can all draw on the resources around us every day.
Find a beautiful spot to walk, dip into other cultures. Next time you are feeling low, try and find an Ayurvedic doctor for a new analysis of your health. The Ayruvedic centre in Umhlanga is wonderful, on 031 566 2152. We have a huge pool of knowledge in our Indian population, and the diagnostic and treatment approaches of this ancient medicine will amaze you. I was cured of a bad back and migraines after simply sticking my tongue out, having some wonderful massages and changing my diet.
There is nothing new under the sun they say, and well being is about balance. Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired, laugh when you are happy and be careful what you put into your system. Well being will creep up on you if you obey these few simple rules, and we couldn’t live in a spot more beautifully designed for living well. Put down your
worries and be yourself, Mahatma Ghandi, who lived on our North Coast as a young man said ‘Happiness is when what you say, what you think and what you do are in harmony’. Give it a try.