5 Rawsome Protein Ball Recipes

Raw, real, unprocessed, containing just the ingredients you want and nothing else!  It's easier than you think to whip up these protein balls or bars at home (also known as a bliss ball, goodie ball, treat ball!).

Here's five of our favourite rawsome protein ball recipes, perfect for a pick me up any time of day.

1.  Tree Nut, Tahini and Loving Earth Cacao Protein Ball

Protein ball recipe image copyright accidental-greenie.blogpost.com

We whipped up this raw, vegan protein ball recipe to celebrate the arrival of Loving Earth raw cacao at Biome. Woo hoo!  Super simple recipe (free range with your preferred substitutions): place approx. 4 tblsp Loving Earth raw cacao, cup or so of dates, 2 tblsp tahini, cup of mixed nuts like almonds and cashews, and 1 tblsp coconut oil into a food processor and whizz! Adjust ingredients till you can scrunch together into small balls. They set hard in the fridge or freezer.


2. Walnut and Raw Cacao Nib Bliss Balls

This recipe is from Thermomix super-cook Quirky Cooking.  Jo says the mixture of dates, nuts and raw cacao make these balls like mini 'high protein power bars' - but they're much better for you than commercial power bars!  Why are they called 'bliss balls'? Because raw cacao contains "naturally occurring phytochemicals like theobromine (considered an aphrodisiac), phenylethylamine (PEA – released when we fall in love), and anandamide (the ‘bliss' chemical)."  See the full recipe at Quirkycooking.blogpost.com.au


3. Coconut Lemon Meltaways

Contains almond flour (you can make this, or buy it - however most store bought Almond flour is not raw), dried shredded unsweetened coconut, coconut flour, salt.  Combine wet ingredients separately: agave, maple syrup or honey, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest.  Strem wet ingredients into dry in a food mixer. Then mix in coconut oil to thicken (buy coconut oil here).  Form into balls.  The trick now: warm them in a dehydrator or oven (set at it's lowest heat, leaving the door cracked open) for an hour or longer.  Finished balls will be dry on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth moist on the inside. Leave to chill and set in the fridge before you eat. Full recipe at addicitedtoveggies.com 

4. Carob & Tofu Balls

 Made with medium firm tofu (patted dry and mashed), dates, maple syrup, carob powder, vanilla, tahini, ground almonds and dessicated coconut.  Mix together and shape into balls with your hands.  Full recipe at mydarlinglemonthyme.com.au


 5. Raw Cinnamon Orange Energy Bars with Orange White Cacao Icing

A bar rather than a ball, but still raw, delicious and packed with protein from chia!  Contains almond butter, dates, organic coconut oil, orange juice and zest, agave or other sweetener, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, raw oats, cinnamon.  Uses a food processor to blend and then press out ingredients in tray and leave to dry overnight.  For the Orange White Cacao Glaze use raw cacao butter (not coconut butter), sweetener and orange zest.   Full recipe on rawmazing.com

Find more protein ball recipes on our Pinterest collection. And for even more delicious inspiration check out NaturalNewAgeMum's post 10 amazing bliss ball recipes.

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Ta‘Kaiya Blaney - children are our future

Image from http://bcrainforest.com/saying-no-to-oil-sands-mining/

Young Candian, Ta‘Kaiya Blaney is a Sliammon First Nations singer, songwriter and environmental activist. Now about 12, she has campaigned more for environmental protection in a few years than most adults. 

This is an incredible TEDx talk she made at TEN years of age - she lays out the issues with oil and consumerism so beautifully.  At the end of this talk she has a message for children: "You have a gift - a voice - be heard". Wow!




In Ta'Kaiya's words: 
Hi, my name is Ta’Kaiya, I’m from the Sliammon First Nation and I am 12 years old.    I feel that as humans, as participants and beings that walk upon  this earth, it is our responsibility to help the earth. We all need to take steps towards a clean and healthy future regarding animals, humans, plants, and the various ecosystems. Our earth is our home. Over the past four years I’ve been an advocate for providing better qualities of living in Indigenous First Nations territories, and ending the oppression, racism, and corruption we face from our government and within our community. I’ve spoke at UN meeting across the globe, including The TUNZA UN children and youth conference on the environment in Bandung Indonesia, and the Rio+20 UN conference on the environment In Rio de Janiero. I advocate to change not only the human condition, but also in the condition of our planet. In my culture it’s a fact, and an understanding of life, that everything is connected, and we were put on this earth to be stewards and caretakers of the environment. In my culture, it’s a teaching to do more than connect the dots, to see the picture as a whole.  I feel that advocating, and speaking at mere conferences isn’t enough. Actions speak louder than words.

You can also see her original song "Shallow Waters" on You Tube here.

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Australian made goodies

Mungalli Creek Dairies ~ North Queensland, Australia

To help support Aussie industry and encourage us all to choose locally grown and made, we recently asked our Biome blog and Facebook followers to share their favourite Australian-made products. Here's a compilation of their suggestions to look out for next time you are shopping.*  Please feel free to share your favourites in the comments.

Food

Alexandrina Cheese Company
Angelica Organic Farm:  Australian Certified Organic garlic - seasonally available.
Barambah Organics:  Certified organic dairy products made on the NSW/QLD border.
B.-d. Farm Paris Creek:  Organic & biodynamic dairy products.
Buderim Ginger:  Ginger products.
Bundaberg:  Brewed drinks.
Cafe 26:  Dressings, sauces & marinades.
Carmans Kitchen:  Muesli products.
Chocolatier
Daintree Estates:  Chocolate made from cocoa grown in Australia.

“Daintree Tea. One of the nicest teas I have tasted and anyone who comes to my place and has a cup of tea has commented...grown without the use of insecticides or fungicides.” Sharyn W, via FB

Darrell Lee
Dick Smith Foods
five:am:  Certified organic flavoured yoghurts.
Fountain Sauces

Green Grove organic licorice ~ Junee, New South Wales

Green Grove Organics:  Certified organic chocolate and licorice.
Haigh’s Chocolates
Highland Organics:  Organic dairy products.
Hightree Estates:  Organic coffee from northern NSW.
Kenilworth Country Foods:  Gourmet dairy products.
Koko Black:  Chocolates.  
Kurrajong Kitchens:  Lavosh made in NSW.
Loving Earth:  Raw chocolate and other raw foods.
Maleny Dairies:  Cow and goats milk, Queensland.
Melinda’s Gluten Free Goodies
Meredith Dairy:  Handmade goat and sheep dairy products.
Mungalli Creek Dairy:  Biodynamic milk, yoghurt and cheese made in North QLD.
Nudie:  Juices and smoothies.
Outback Spirit:  Chutney, preserves, sauces, dressings, and herbs.

“We love...Oz Tukka for their amazing range of authentic blends and easy to use products.” Theresa W, via FB

Pana Chocolate
Queensland Yoghurt Company
Table of Plenty:  Spices, cereals, snacks and breads.
Vanilla Australia
Yarra Valley Dairy
Yummabubba:  Brisbane-based home-style baby food.

Bathroom cabinet (skin, body & hair care)

A'kin
Aesop
Aura
Beauty and the Bees
Cleopatra's Bath Milk

Corrynne's Soaps ~ Dunsborough, Western Australia

“I love Corrynne's Eco Soap - orange, patchouli, clay and red ochre! Love the natural scent on my body, and look forward to having a shower especially in the warm summer! The scent gives a very relaxing and soothing effect...best of all it is made of natural ingredients! Love me, love my skin and love nature! A must have, must buy!!!” Lorraine K, via FB

Davroe
De Lorenzo
Eco Tan
Gaia

“I love the Jack ‘n Jill Natural Calendula Toothpaste Raspberry Flavour that I just bought for my toddler! It is natural product, best for toddler, and amazingly the toothpaste is safe to swallow...which I hardly can find other products in the shelf!”  Yew J F, via FB

Kosmea
Jurlique
MooGoo
Sukin


Cleaning supplies

“Clean Conscience cleaning products from fabulous Tasmania....ethical, vegan, environmentally sound and they smell great (plus they get the cleaning done really fast)!!!”  Fiona L, via FB

EucoClean

"Discovered Kin-Kin Naturals recently. Being super sensitive to chemicals, was delighted that their wonderful range - dishwash, laundry liquid, oxy-bleach - did not give me any skin reaction. I am actively supportive of locally grown businesses also, especially eco-conscious ones!! ps. their products smell wonderful too.”  Sharon L, via FB

Orange Power
Planet Ark
Thursday Plantation
Tri Nature


Lifestyle products

“I love my Keep Cup. Reusable, and no polystyrene after-taste.” Pauline O, via FB

Driza-Bone
Inky Co.
Lambykins:  Australia merino products.
Master & Miss:  Organic childrens clothing designed and made in Australia.
Pure Pod:  Australian made sustainable womens fashion.
St Albans   Mohair and alpaca products.

If you loved this list, check out the products made in Australia from Biome.

*While we have done our best to confirm that these companies produce their products in Australia, please check for yourself and let us know if we need to update our information.

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Organic coconut oil

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Where can you buy certified organic coconut oil?


You can buy coconut oil online and in store at Biome  Brisbane.  We are impressed by the Niugini Organics story, which being produced in Papua New Guinea, has the lowest food miles for delivery to Australia.  It is extracted without heat and is jarred and boxed by the community of growers who grow the coconuts from which the oil comes.  The other organic coconut oils also have good features. Choose from at Biome:

Niugini Organics certified organic coconut oil  
Coconut Magic
Banaban coconut oil
Oil4life organic coconut oil.
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We've learned many times at Biome that every idea will have its day!  And it appears that the time has come for the idea of Organic Coconut Oil.  Although some people, like Bruce Fife of the Coconut Research Centre cracked this coconut wide open many years ago. 

Fife believes that in the 80's coconut oil was wrongly lumped in with harmful saturated fats (partly due to propoganda by the soy bean industry) and it was replaced in general food use by hydrogenated soy bean oil, with devastating economic impacts for the Pacific communities that grow organic coconut oil.  He says:
The connection between heart disease and coconut oil that frightened so many people never existed. What most people didn't understand at the time was that there are many different types of saturated fat and that the fat in coconut oil is completely different from that found in animal fats. This difference is important because it's what makes coconut oil unique and gives it its remarkable healing properties.

Of course, there are some who are not so upbeat about coconut oil, so please do research and decide for yourself.  Remember that virgin (unprocessed or raw) organic coconut oil is very different to hydrogenated coconut oil, which is not healthy.
 
Biome has sold organic coconut oil for about two years.  Originally it was a customer in store who suggested we should take a look.  Then it turned out that some of the healthy living Biome team were already experiementing with coconut oil!

Healthy eating role models like Sarah Wilson have promoted the organic coconut oil message for many years (here is a 2011 post from Sarah Wilson that explains perfectly what is so great about coconut oil).  Sarah is now regularly called upon by the media to talk about coconut oil.

Yet, it was way back in 2004 that Bruce Fife released The Coconut Oil Miracle  where he outlined his research that found when taken as a dietary supplement, used in cooking, or applied directly to the skin, coconut oil could:

• Promote weight loss
• Help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and many other degenerative diseases
• Strengthen the immune system
• Improve digestion
• Alleviate premature aging of the skin

You can read more about Coconut Oil on the Coconut Research Center website, where Dr Fife explains the drastic economic impact there has been for Pacific communities.  He writes: Up until the mid-1980s coconut oil was commonly used in many foods. The anti-saturated fat campaigns sponsored by the soybean industry and misguided special interest groups succeeded in frightening the public away from using coconut oil and food manufacturers and restaurants eventually replaced it with hydrogenated soybean oil. By 1990, coconut had virtually disappeared from American and European diets... Demand for coconut products plummeted and the coconut industry fell into a deep depression that lasted for two decades... Literally millions of farmers, pickers, consolidators, truckers, and processors were no longer able to earn a living...They barely eked out a living year by year on a pauper's wage.
 

Why is organic coconut oil finally having its day?

It appears that the relationship between coconut oil and "sugar" has propelled it into the mainstream.  We have seen the Sweet Poison and no sugar diet phenomenom, coupled with more people needing to manage Type 2 Diabetes.  And, as Sarah Wilson explains, coconut oil helps stop sugar cravings and energy slumps.  Your body sends medium-chain fatty acids straight to your liver to use as energy. This means that coconut oil is a source of instant energy to your body, much like when you eat simple carbohydrates. But although they both deliver quick energy to your body, unlike the carbohydrates, coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. This saves you from a slump, and is good news for anyone struggling with insulin issues.
 
Niugini Organics claims that reliable scientific evidence indicates that coconut oil stimulates the metabolism without the production of insulin, assisting with the management of Type 2 Diabetes and Cholesterol.

Secondly, we are also learning that some vegetable oils, like olive oil, can be harmful when heated - whereas organic coconut oil can be heated to 170 degrees Celsius without turning itself into a trans-fatty-acid or transfat.  People using safe, non stick cookware such as Neoflam, know to use coconut oil because it does not ruin the non stick cookware surface.

Read more here about Coconut oil for skin and which coconut oil is best?

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Vulnerable lungfish rescue Gympie, Queensland

Image source: The Courier Mail

It's not every day you get to save the life of a threatened species and a living fossil!

A remarkable photograph of a Gympie resident rescuing a rare lungfish from a hotel car park in Gympie after it was washed there by the flood waters that have flowed through Gympie, Queensland for the fifth time in one year.

This ancient air breathing fish can survive for several days out of the water if the surface of its skin is kept moist.  Fossil records show that the Queensland Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) has remained unchanged for more than 100 million years (since the time of the dinosaurs) - and is the longest surviving vertebrate species on the planet.

The lungfish became well known in the fight to stop the Traveston Crossing Dam near Gympie and may have influenced the then Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett's decision to veto the dam because it posed 'an unacceptable risk to threatened species such as the Queensland lungfish'. The lungfish still faces significant risks from the Paradise Dam on the Burnett River.  The dam has a fish transfer device (a "fish lift"!) to theoretically allow lungfish to migrate upstream of the dam wall as well as a downstream fish transfer device to allow them to migrate downstream for breeding and feeding.  There has been much debate and a court case over whether the devices are effective. It is also believed that lungfish have been destroyed when they are swept over the 62 concrete-step spillway at Paradise Dam

What is the status of the lungfish?
The Australian Lungfish is listed as a vulnerable species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).  Source.

Why is the lungfish threatened?
According to Environment Australia: Evidence suggests that in recent years only small numbers of young lungfish are growing-up into adult fish. In addition, changes to the quality and extent of breeding habitat appear to be reducing the likelihood of successful spawning. Two of the key problems affecting the lungfish are the flooding of suitable spawning sites and physical barriers that block the movement of adult lungfish to the remaining breeding sites.

As explained in this article from the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland:
In the words of Professor Jean Joss, Australia’s primary lungfish expert, '…the Australian lungfish provides the only opportunity to study the development and physiology of the aquatic predecessor of all land vertebrates – including ourselves. Its significance cannot be overstated. Australia is the custodian of the source of this invaluable library of information for the rest of the world.'
 
The Australian lungfish, previously more widespread throughout the continent, is now restricted to the Mary and Burnett River systems, the latter of which used to offer the most suitable spawning sites. Despite having survived this long, and boasting a life span of 80 to 100 years, the Australian lungfish takes 15 to 20 years to reach maturity and is very picky when it comes to the conditions under which it will spawn.  Since the construction of the Paradise Dam, these favoured sites have been flooded on several occasions and have also undergone permanent change. As a result, the faithful lungfish return every year but do not spawn and reabsorb their gametes because the conditions are no longer acceptable to them.

Hats off to this Gympie resident for saving one lungfish by carrying it back to deeper water!

 

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Leaf love: beautiful heart shaped leaves

We love this great green earth. Love is everywhere ... see it in nature around you ... in the tallest of trees, in the tiniest of leaves. We wish everyone a happy day of love and appreciation for every living thing.

The photographer said "The tiny red heart-shaped leaf was one of the last clinging to a branch of this shrub, so I turned it upside down and held it up against a larger, yellowing leaf to show off it's color."  rosecottagegarden.blogspot.com.au

 Flickr gallery Twilight-Faa

 Snowflowers25.blogspot.com

Please share a link for a love heart shaped leaf you come across and we'll add it here.

Feel the need for more love??  Check out this blog post with 25 awesome hearts found in nature 

   

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Lunch box ideas

Zucchini & Sweetcorn fritters.  Lunch box ideas photo source: www.taste.com.au

Lunch box ideas to make it easy & nutritious

Biome's eco and health-minded community recently shared a bunch of brilliant ideas to help make packing a waste free, nutritious kids lunch box easy peasy!   They entered our survey competition to win a $200 voucher from Eeni Meeni Miini Moh.

We were overwhelmed by the organised and inspired minds out there!  The primary idea is to make it just as easy and fast to use home-made foods in reusable containers, rather than feeling you only have the time to grab pre-packaged, individual serve foods.  There's no doubt that this bulk buying approach will save money; plus, home made avoids the additives and preservatives in processed foods.  Further, more schools are requiring parents to not send any disposable plastic wrap or pre-packaged food in lunch boxes.

To ease the strain on morning brains, many survey respondents recommend writing a menu plan for the week, rotating set menus or following the same formula every day.   

Following a routine or formula for the lunch box contents each day also helps with making children responsible for packing their lunches from an early age (another popular theme).  A simple break down such as this works well:
1. Sandwich or pasta
2. Fruit or vegetable sticks
3. Yoghurt or sweet home bake from the freezer
4. Savoury dry snack or home bake.
5. Something extra if they want: egg, cheese, dip

The most popular lunch box idea is to home bake and freeze or prepare ahead ready for easy picking in the morning.  Kids love a variety of snack size goodies and you can pack a lot of nutrition into small things that make lunch more interesting and fun.  See the ideas below on what you can bake ahead and freeze. And, of course, get the kids to help with the baking so they have ownership of what they're eating.

We were also motivated by the number of organised people who recommend packing most of the lunch boxes the night before to save stress when the morning rush is on.


Lunch box ideas - Mini foods to bake ahead and freeze

Mini eggless banana choc chip muffins (link below)

You can easily Google recipes for most of these ideas: pikelets and scones, wholesome vegie muffins, eggless banana choc chip muffins, banana and cranberry muffins, home made museli bars, healthy slices, vegetable fritters or patties, vegemite/pizza scrolls, quiche/omelette slices, banana bread, zucchini slice, apricot logs, date loaf, sausage rolls, arancini rice balls, meat balls, pizza on wholemeal base. Often you can bake them to enjoy on the weekend, but make extras to freeze.



More ways to be organised in advance

• On the weekend, pre-pack dried fruit, organic corn chips, dry biscuits into little reusable containers ready for five days of snacks. 
• Cook up bulk amount of pop corn at the beginning of the week (popcorn maker recommended for ease and low fat content). 
• Make a dip early in the week and then simply cut up vegetable sticks on the day.
• Cut up vegetable sticks and cheese (use mini biscuit cutters for fun shapes) for a couple of days supply - or, while making dinner the night before, cut or grate extra for lunches the next day.
• Make extra quantity of noodles/pasta/sausages at dinner and use for lunches. Can be sent to school hot in an insulated food thermos.
• Make a salmon or tofu spread at the beginning of the week to put on sandwiches each day.
• Fill a week's worth of refillable Squeeze pouches with yoghurt or milk and fruit smoothies

Some favourite lunch boxes

Goodbyn - is much loved because it has only one lid to keep track of!  The Goodbyn Bynto is a one meal or small meal size.

Sandwich wrap - saves wasting plastic wrap, the wraps are a good style as once kids open the wrap it acts like a plate





More healthy lunch box ideas

• Steamed chicken makes yummy fresh wraps with salad and sweet chilli sauce for older kids.
• Bulk tubs of Greek yoghurt and spoon into reusable containers with honey, tinned, fresh or frozen fruit.
• Vegies: Cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, celery sticks, capsicum
• Smoothie or protein shake
• Frozen grapes and berries
• Boiled eggs
• Home made chocolate milk slushies (freeze ahead and by lunch time it's a slushie)
• Frozen yoghurt in small containers.

Lunch box ideas from others
Here's two of our favourite posts by others with lunch box ideas
Natural New Age Mum ~ Healthy Lunchbox ideas and none of them are sandwiches
The Organised Housewife ~ Freezable Lunchbox Baking recipes

And see more ideas in our earlier lunch box ideas post.

Menu planning
In the words of one our respondents: A few minutes over the weekend plotting out lunches for the coming week means you buy/make what you need so you have it there on hand and it saves SOOOO much angst. You just read what you've arranged for that day, pop it all together and away you go. Highly recommended :)

Here are some of the lunch box ideas that impressed us most (we received so many that we'll post more in the coming weeks)

Make up five days worth of sandwich/wrap items and cook and cut up a healthy slice/tray of muffins that are freezable with the kids on Sundays. Use 4 my earth wraps to store items 'ready to go' in the freezer and grab them out the night before (or in the morning on a really hot day), add a piece of fruit/vege or two, a bottle of water and off to school!!

Don't try to be too fancy or have too many options. My kids happily take and eat basically the same things every day. Sandwich fillings change depending upon whether we have roast or if chicken fillets are on special. I cook chicken fillets then slice them up and freeze in portions. A homemade banana, cranberry & choc chip muffin (from the freezer and zapped for 20 seconds then into small container and insulated lunch bag). Some fruit, chopped for easy consumption and either some carrot sticks, grapes, cucumber sticks or yoghurt - rice crackers or chicken crimpys occasionally.

Use containers with lids attached so you are not looking for lids. Line up containers and cut each persons fruit and then cut each persons lunch,fill each water bottle and place in lined up bags. Don't spend time in the morning looking for containers. Label all items.

I make 5 sandwiches at the beginning of the week & freeze in a Keepleaf wrap. Take it out of the freezer the night before & the next morning pop fresh veg such as avocado, lettuce or tomato on it!

I dont buy plastic wrap so if its not there, it cant be used.

My kids get "bits & bobs" in their boxes everyday = they want variety! The compartments in the Goodbyn make it easy - all fruits cut up in one (stone fruit, pears, berries, etc), all veg in another (peapods, cuc, capsicum, cuc, carrots, celery), salami/bbq chick/salmon/protein in another, naan bread/crackers/grain/muffin in another and a sweet. Goal in our house is a lot of variety everyday and it is all healthy - and gobbled up!

I place all the containers in a zipped up fabric carry bag with a frozen drink bottle wrapped in a tea towel to keep everything nice and cool (old fashioned & a bit daggy but works a treat!)

[Note: this person has five children and has a precision scheme going on :-) !] On shopping day I freeze cheese or vegemite sandwiches into loaf shape containers (I use one container for cheese and one for vegemite).  The slices that don't fit in make sandwiches for that days' lunch which I make at the same time :) This also helps to keep the lunchboxes cool and the sandwiches nice and fresh) They are easy to add salad, chutney, cold meat to when packing or to just grab and go on busy days. With 5 kids I find that making a few loaves of sandwiches doesn't take that much more time than making them 1 each.  If i'm organised I make the lunches after dinner using leftovers if possible or just grab a frozen sandwich on a shelf in the fridge dedicated to lunches/leftovers.  I also try to cut up any vegies such as carrot or cucumber sticks as I'm cooking dinner eg if I'm making a salad I'll cut up the cucumbers for lunch at the same time and pop straight into the lunchboxes.:)

You can find another great list of lunch box ideas in our earlier post and Biome's large choice of lunch boxes and sandwich wraps here.  Lunch boxes also available at Todae Lifestyle Store.

Lunch box ideas photo courtesy of Squeeze ems reusable pouches

A final word on replacement parts

Part of Biome's eco philosophy is to think about prolonging the life of a product and often a bit of a lunch box or water bottle or drinking mechanism will break or wear out long before the main body of the metal or BPA free plastic bottle or lunch box.  That is why Biome encourages all our suppliers to offer replacement parts.
We offer Thermos plastic straw and Thermos silicone mouth pieces for the Thermos insulated Funtainers.  You can find the Thermos Spare Parts here.
Kids Konserve replacement lids


 

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Clove oil and mould

Many people with seemingly unsolveable allergies are excited by the growing consensus that mould causes some allergy and asthma problems - and clove oil is the magic ingredient to help end the sneezing and wheezing.

The Victorian Department of Health states:

• Mould associated with damp buildings can trigger nasal congestion, sneezing, cough, wheeze, respiratory infections and worsen asthma and allergic conditions.
• People with weakened immune systems; allergies; severe asthma; chronic, obstructive, or allergic lung diseases are more susceptible to these symptoms and other serious health effects.  Source.

However, to get rid of mould is not as overwhelming as you may think.  Remember, mould can only grow where there is sufficient moisture and it is spread by mould spores.

An excellent ABC article explains: Mould is a fungi, along with mushrooms and yeast, and is everywhere around us; in the air we breathe and in the dust around our homes.  When mould reproduces it creates spores that are carried in the air. As an allergen, inhaling mould spores affects the body in the same way as inhaling dust mites or grass pollen.  ABC Source

Action plan to get rid of mould

1. Remove sources of damp and moisture, ventilate wet areas, mop up water asap.
2. Clean off any visible mould - unfortunately, nothing beats elbow grease to actually scrub it away. You also need to clean it off several times with fresh water, being careful not to re-contaminate the area with the mould spores.
3. Spray with clove oil and water mixture (see recipe below). Clove oil actually kills the mould, rather than a bleach that just masks the mould.
4. Place a clove oil room sanitiser - either a DIY one such as soaking a piece of chalk in clove oil, or a ready made mould aroma gel in the mould-prone area.  The clove oil will continue to kill mould spores circulating in the room.

The great news is that you do not need harsh chemicals such as bleach to get rid of mould.  For those suffering from allergies and asthma, this is a double relief because bleach and ammonia ecascerbate those conditions. 

How to clean mould with clove oil

• First clean the surface with a mixture of 4 litres of hot water, 1 tablespoon bicarb of soda and half a cup of vinegar.
• Mix a quarter teaspoon of clove oil (no more) per litre of water, put it in a spray bottle, lightly mist on. Leave for 20 minutes and wipe off.  Spray again and leave.  It will take 24-48 hours for the mould spores to dry and drop off.

For more mould recipes see our earlier blog post Get rid of mould with clove oil.

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Led replacement for halogen

NASA Earth at Night

Would you like to replace your energy-guzzling halogen downlights with efficient LEDs but are confused about where to start? 

Many people think it would be too difficult or costly - but actually it's much easier than you think.  Read on...

Home lighting is one of the most significant opportunities to save energy and slow climate change. Currently, lighting accounts for approximately 20% of global electricity consumption. To reduce this figure and lower the world’s environmental impact, an Australian company Brightgreen has developed innovative, energy efficient, high-quality lighting solutions.

Brightgreen DR700 is an innovation in LED lighting which can easily replace any standard 12V 50watt halogen downlight globe and provide 1:1 light - but only use 10.5 watts instead of 50 watts (meaning lower electricity costs).

Brightgreen has pursued three objectives:

• Bright, high quality LEDs that overcome the common limitations of LED lights - Brightgreen LEDs are just like halogens (only better!)
• Products made to last - Today’s commercial giants thrive on creating products that have short life cycles and become obsolete within a few years after purchase.  In contrast, Brightgreen’s products are designed to survive for more than 70,000 hours and last 15 times longer than other forms of lighting, such as halogen.
• Always sustainable - Unlike halogens and fluorescents, Brightgreen’s products are free from UV light, mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium and all other heavy metals considered toxic to the environment. All components of Brightgreen’s products are fully disposable and recyclable, again reducing our environmental impact on the earth by not leaving anything behind.

LED replacement for halogen

Simply remove your halogen bulb and replace it with the Brightgreen DR700. It is that easy to install the DR700!   **Please check first that you have an MR16 fitting (which has two sharp pins and is most common for 12V recessed downlights).

You can make difference to global warming and your budget by trying one at home today?  See how the led replacement for halogen works and then consider replacing more.  

A Brightgreen LED light bulb may cost $49 to start, but it will pay for itself through power bill savings in about two years in a home.

For more information, please visit Biome LED light bulbs and Todae's extensive range of LED lights

Advantages of choosing a Brightgreen DR700 LED bulb:

• total light output of 720 lumens, the same as the average 50 watt halogen bulb
• compatible with most dimmers (see below)
• compatible with most transformers
• 3 year manufacturer guarantee
• on average, pays for itself in two years residential use and one year in commercial use
• designed for the Australian market.

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