Quirky Cooking Chats
by The Wellness Couch
What happens when a well known healthy food writer hits a brick wall with her children’s health? She goes back to square one and begins the long journey of gut healing, both for her children and herself. Join Jo Whitton of Quirky Cooking as she shares her families’ journey to good health.Cook with Jo in her kitchen; absorb her knowledge of food as medicine to develop a healthy mindset towards nourishing your family with real food; and learn how Jo balances the food prep and cooking for her family with running her own business and raising four kids. Listen in as Jo chats with friends and guests about everything from culinary medicine and nutrition to family food stories, healthy homes, regenerative farming, reducing stress, balancing work-family-life, saving time and money while eating well, and much more!You will find links to recipes and information discussed in the show notes of each Quirky Cooking Chats episode, along with a link to the Quirky Cooking YouTube Channel where you ca
Episodes
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QCC 166: Be Curious! The importance of having a curious mindset
Having a curious mindset is of major importance in all areas of life, and is especially crucial in the area of health and wellbeing. If you find yourself shutting down anyone who challenges your thinking around health and diet, you may be shutting down opportunities to learn and grow, and...
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QCC 165: Q&A and Dairy-Free Nacho Cheese Sauce
“Q&A and Dairy-Free Nacho Cheese Sauce” Watch the video here! This week I answer listener’s questions which include: – When will your new cookbook be available? – What kind of things you can make with meat stock? – How many hours a day do you cook? – How can I heal my toddler’s gut? She’s a very...
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QCC 164: Activating Nuts & Seeds – Why, How & When
“Activating Nuts & Seeds – Why, How and When?” Watch the video Here! This week I answer listener’s questions about activating nuts & seeds, such as: – Why activate nuts & seeds, and do you always do it? – Are some nuts harder on the digestive system than others? – What is the difference between...
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QCC 163: Gut Health – Where Do I Start?
“Gut health – Where do I start??” Watch the video Here! This week I answer the question of where to begin when you want to work on improving your gut health, but feel like it’s all too overwhelming. I share simple steps for a gentle approach to healing: 1) Start slowly! 2) Add in before taking…
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QCC 162: Saving Time with Meal Prep
In this episode I share some tips for keeping up with the cooking when you have young kids & work full time. Most parents struggle to keep up with cooking healthy, balanced meals for the family as well as working full time, taking kids to school and other activities, and finding some time for...
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QCC 161: Lamb, Leek, Lentil, Lemon Soup + Gut Health Q&A
Learn how to make a delicious lamb, leek, lentil and lemon soup, and get some tips for starting on your gut-healing journey! Elyse Comerford, nutritionist and GAPS practitioner, joins me on the show to talk about healing the gut without getting bogged down by stress and overwhelm. We also give an...
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QCC 160: Getting the Family on Board with Healthy Eating
Every day I receive many questions via emails, messages and comments. Sometimes the questions relate to food and healthy eating, sometimes family and homeschooling, sometimes business and personal development. Each week I’ll be choosing a few of these questions to answer in a video/podcast, and...
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QCC 159: ‘Toad in the Hole’ + How to Save Money on Your Health Journey
Beginning on a health journey can be overwhelming. As expenses mount up, so do stress levels! Listen in as I share some of my tips for reducing the money stress while you are working towards a healthier diet and lifestyle and trying to heal your family. I also demonstrate how I make a simple,...
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QCC 158: Spicy Cabbage Rolls + Done is Better Than Perfect!
DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT! This episode is all about letting go of perfectionism and just jumping in and giving it a go… whether ‘it’ is cooking, starting a new project, business tasks you’ve been putting off, exercising, or anything else in life that is making you feel overwhelmed and ‘stuck’!…
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QCC 157: Helping Teens to Heal – Q&A with Isaac Whitton
My son Isaac was diagnosed with severe OCD and anxiety in 2014 (when he was 13 years old), and so began our journey into healing the gut and working to improve his mental health. For the first half hour of this episode I talk to parents of young people who need to move towards a healing diet and...
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QCC 156: Meat Stocks & Bone Broths – How & Why
Welcome to the first episode of “Quirky Cooking Chats”! 2020 has been a year of changes, and as Jo nestled in to her home during lockdown and shared her everyday cooking via videos on social media, she found that her listeners were excited to have practical help with cooking for good health – not...
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AQJ 155: Quarantine Cuisine, with Jo and Fouad
Join Jo and Fouad for a lighthearted chat about food, family, and life during lockdown! They discuss ‘quarantine cuisine’, what they’re cooking, how they’re coping, and ways they are finding the positives in the current situation. Jo and Fouad answer readers questions about: how to make do with...
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AQJ 154: How Kefir & Cultured Foods Can Help With Weight Loss & Mental Health – with Kriben Govender
Kriben Govender, Food Scientist, Registered Nutritionist and founder of Nourishme Organics, says kefir changed his life. Kriben’s story began 8 years ago, when crippled with anxiety and depression, overweight, and lacking energy, he was told by his psychiatrist that antidepressants were the only...
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AQJ 153: Designing a Healthy Home, with Building Biologist & Interior Designer Lucie McCullough – Part 2
Lucie McCullough, international interior designer and building biologist, aims to show the world that it IS possible to have beautifully designed homes that are also healthy sanctuaries from the world! In part 2 of “Designing a Healthy Home,” Lucie discusses questions that arise when we consider...
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AQJ 152: Designing a Healthy Home, with Building Biologist & Interior Designer Lucie McCullough – Part 1
In the next two episodes of A Quirky Journey, Jo Whitton and Elyse Comerford interview Lucie McCullough, a successful, international interior designer who ‘developed an environmental and health conscience’ and altered her career to become a building biologist specialising in creating beautiful...
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AQJ 151: Finding Positivity in the Midst of Crisis
In our first episode for 2020, we (Jo and Fouad) chat about how we are working to begin the year with positivity, in the midst of a national crisis and all the stress that involves. In Australia, we are struggling to cope with high temperatures and drought in many parts of the country, which have...
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AQJ 150: Supporting Your Anxious Child
In the last podcast for the year, Jo is on the other side of the microphone! Dr Natalie Challis (neuro-psychotherapist) and Leigh Shinde (neuro-nutritionist) recently interviewed Jo for their program, “Love Your Anxious Child“, on her experiences of supporting and parenting an anxious child. They...
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AQJ 149: Recovering from PCOS, Healing Food, and Healthy Treats – with Shelley from Nourishing Bites
If there’s anything I love, it’s a special treat that’s not only delicious, it’s NOURISHING! So I’m excited to share with you one of my favourite producers of fine, quality, healthy treats – Nourishing Bites. Today I interview Shelley about her health journey and how it led her to a career of...
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AQJ 148: Navigating Parasites, Metals and Candida When Healing
In this episode, Jo chats with Elyse Comerford, Integrative Nutritionist and GAPS Practitioner, about where to begin on your gut healing journey when you suspect metal toxicity, parasites and/or candida are an issue. This is a question that comes up a lot in the Quirky Cooking for Gut Health chat...
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AQJ 147: From City Careers to Farming Life – The Story of Bellasato Farm
Dan and Leanne Cordner are the owners of Bellasato Farm, where they raise naturally grown, heritage breed chickens on chemical free pasture in North Queensland. The couple, along with their two young girls began farming life just four years ago, leaving their career jobs – Dan was an engineer and...
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AQJ 146: Travelling Around Australia with Kids
Have you ever wished you could just get rid of all the clutter that weighs you down, sell your house or rent it out, reduce what you own to what you can take with you in a caravan, take your kids out of school, throw away the to-do list, leave the city behind, and travel Australia with your…
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AQJ 145: Anxiety – Analysing & Reducing Distress in Children
Dr Natalie Challis (neuro-psychotherapist) and Leigh Shinde (neuro-nutritionist) of the Kids Development Centre in Perth join us once again for another fascinating interview on the study of the brain, and how QEEG’s (brain imaging) can give parents a clearer picture of why their child is...
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AQJ 144: Understanding Histamine Intolerance
Many people struggle with histamine reactions and have been diagnosed with Histamine Intolerance or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and have had to limit their diet to reduce reactions. What do these terms mean? What are the symptoms and causes? And what can you do to heal from these issues? In…
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AQJ 143: Helping Teens to Eat Well, Part 2
Following on from their last podcast, Jo and Fouad have an informal chat about their thoughts on helping children to eat well – with plenty of humour, stories, and insights from their own families! They talk about: the importance of knowing what your goals are, and what you’re trying to teach…
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AQJ 142: Helping Teens to Eat Well, with Dr Damian Kristof & Jo Whitton
As kids get older and become more independent, they sometimes begin to move away from the healthy foods they’ve been raised on. Hanging out with friends, getting their license and first car, going off to work or uni, going to parties and places where the food is far from ideal… Parents often feel...
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AQJ 141: Healing with Traditional Foods, with Hilda Gore of WAPF
Over the last century, our refined, Western foods have crept into most societies world wide. What has been the impact of these foods on the health and wellbeing of ancient cultures and peoples? In this podcast, we discuss the work of Weston A. Price and the foundation that carries his name, and…
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AQJ 140: Children’s Health, Eczema, Antibiotics, & Boosting Immunity
Jo has an extra special guest on the show today… Fouad is back! There’s lots of laughs and catching up, and sharing stories and news. We know you’ve missed their crazy banter, so grab a cuppa and enjoy the chat. Jo and Foo share their experiences of working through recent childhood illnesses and...
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AQJ 139: Teaching Kids to Cook, with Dani Valent
Teaching kids to cook with real food is important for their future, and the future of our planet. Our children’s enjoyment of cooking begins with our attitude towards food and cooking, and often is dependant on mum or dad being organised so they have the time and headspace to include the kids in...
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AQJ 138: Childhood Anxiety & the Inflamed Brain
Dr. Natalie Challis is a neuro-psychotherapist who specialises in treating children with anxiety and other health concerns. She says, “What drives me? Mothers. I want to be an advocate for mothers experiencing the same distress and frustration I felt.” Dr. Nat first became interested in…
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AQJ 137: Fussy Eaters & How to Have Peaceful Mealtimes
Do you have a fussy eater in your home? Need some help? Beth Bonfiglio of Little Fusspot helps people from all over the world with mealtimes that are less than peaceful. She is known as the ‘supernanny of mealtimes’! Beth brings the core fundamentals of many different professions together to make…
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AQJ 136: Finding Connection & Fulfilment in Your Work, with Helen Marshall of Primal Alternative
Many of us go through a period in our lives where we begin to question the work we do and our career goals and decide we want to find work that is more fulfilling, that gives us purpose, and that brings connection with like-minded people. Maybe you have been out of the workforce for a few years...
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AQJ 135: Empowering Parents of Kids on the Spectrum, with Rhiannon Crispe
Rhiannon Crispe is an occupational therapist and passionate autism advocate. She thinks outside the diagnostic box and sees every child as an individual with unlimited potential. On this episode, Rhiannon shares some of the ideas and interventions that can empower parents of kids on the spectrum,...
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AQJ 134: Travel Tips – Travel Food, Eating Out and Being Prepared!
Jo and her two eldest kids (19 and 21) have just come back from travelling overseas, and in this episode Jo shares her travel tips, especially for those who are on special diets and find the idea of overseas travel a bit daunting! She talks about: What foods you can and can’t take on flights...
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AQJ 133: Play Therapy for Fussy Eaters, with Crystel Poggioli (OT)
In this episode, you get two discussions on health and wellness topics for the price of one! 😀 The main interview is on supporting parents of kids with developmental disorders to eat well, and the importance of play therapy in helping to change your child’s diet for the better. Plus in the…
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AQJ 132: Calming the Chaos – Supporting Kids with ADD, ADHD & Anxiety
Sharon Collon of The Functional Family is passionate about supporting families with special needs. She loves to share step by step, practical strategies and solutions to improve your daily life and routine, helping to reduce the stress and overwhelm that parents of special needs kids are often...
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AQJ 131: A Delicious Wholefood Christmas – with Jude Blereau
“You know how this is supposed to be the season of joy? Well, I don’t know about you, but most years I feel like I’m just running around in the kitchen like a mad woman! I actually want to have time to sit down… time to DO the joy, and to SHARE the time. It’s very much about being organised and...
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AQJ 130: A GAPS Christmas with Elyse Comerford
Christmas is a dangerous time of year for those living in the GAPS village. Taken out of their natural habitat – clean water, chemical-free living, wholesome whole foods without additives colours and preservatives – and instead plunged into the chaos of conventional diets means GAPS folk need to…
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AQJ 129: A Simple, Healthy Christmas with Cyndi O’Meara
Over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, Jo and Fouad are interviewing a few of their favourite health-foodies about their best Christmas tips, with a focus on ways to reduce the holiday stress and enjoying a beautiful, healthy Christmas with friends and family. Each one will share some…
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AQJ 128: Your Gut Health Questions Answered, with Elyse Comerford
Our gut health and GAPS practitioner Elyse Comerford joins us on the show once more to answer your questions. Today’s discussion includes fasting and in particular broth fasting, what to do while you’re on or recovering from antibiotics, Elyse’s approach to SIBO (small intestinal bacterial...
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AQJ 127: FUNctional Movement with Carl Hammington
It seems that the culture of exercise as portrayed by media equates very low body fat, summer abs and shredding with health. Relatively few exercise practitioners are advocating holistic movement practices, and with the majority of exercise media focusing on attaining aesthetic goals, many of us...
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AQJ 126: Q&A with Jo & Foo
Calorie restriction, colitis, leaky gut, nourishment in time of stress, weight gain, weight loss, kids that don’t eat vegetables – these and much more are on today’s agenda. Jo and Foo take questions from listeners for a session of ‘Ask Us Anything’. Join us for another information packed episode...
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AQJ 125: My Health Record – What’s It All About?
A few years ago, the Australian government introduced “My Health Record”, a nation-wide health database which Australians could choose to be a part of. Australians will now be automatically opted into this system unless they choose to opt out before November 15th, 2018. Some feel there are data...
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AQJ 124: Healing Adrenal Fatigue – Part 2
Join us for part 2 of our podcast on adrenal fatigue. Once more we are joined by our GAPS practitioner Elyse Comerford (and her very cute son, Dylan!), to dive more deeply into this fascinating topic. So many of us, whether we know it or not are dealing with some degree of adrenal fatigue. In…
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AQJ 123: Healing Adrenal Fatigue Part 1
Find yourself feeling constantly tired, always needing that second cup of coffee, or day-dreaming about sleeping on the couch? Our GAPS practitioner Elyse Comerford joins us to talk about adrenal fatigue, a super common cause of daily exhaustion. In part 1 of 2 episodes on this topic, Elyse...
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AQJ 122: Hope for Health – Reawakening Indigenous Health
Earlier this year, Jo and Fouad were excited to connect with Dr Kama Trudgen and Tim Trudgen of Hope for Health and learn about the important work they are doing with the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, a remote part of the Northern Territory of Australia. In this podcast they interview Kama about...
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AQJ 121: GAPS Q&A with Becky Plotner ND
This week Jo chats with Becky Plotner (naturopathic doctor and certified GAPS Practitioner) about some of the most common GAPS questions. In their last podcast together, Becky shared the science behind how the gut works and how it is damaged, and how to begin the healing process. In this second...
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AQJ 120: Low Tox Life with Alexx Stuart
Jo and Fouad have been talking a lot lately about how to make simple yet powerful lifestyle changes that will help to get your health back on track, before you even begin making major diet changes. One of these lifestyle changes is detoxing your home – your body products, cleaning products, home...
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AQJ 119: The Island Where People Forget To Die – Marcus Pearce on Visiting Ikaria
We are joined by the legendary Marcus Pearce, who has just come back from Ikaria, the island where people forget to die. Marcus was running a retreat in this special part of the world, to introduce people to the lifestyle and habits of some of the longest living people on Earth. In this episode…
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AQJ 118: Before You Change Your Diet
It’s a common story. A person becomes sick, and then starts looking at ways to change their diet to heal. Other contributing lifestyle behaviours are often missed, and these can be important factors in the decline of their health. For many, identifying and addressing lifestyle issues before any...
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AQJ 117: Meet Your Microbiome, with Dr Jason Hawrelak
We often talk about the bacterial microbiome on A Quirky Journey, and today we have Dr Jason Hawrelak, a leading expert on the microbiome. Dr Hawrelak has been researching the microbiome for around 2 decades, and is an educator and clinician whose work has been cited over 800 times. In this...
About this show
What happens when a well known healthy food writer hits a brick wall with her children’s health? She goes back to square one and begins the long journey of gut healing, both for her children and herself. Join Jo Whitton of Quirky Cooking as she shares her families’ journey to good health.Cook with Jo in her kitchen; absorb her knowledge of food as medicine to develop a healthy mindset towards nourishing your family with real food; and learn how Jo balances the food prep and cooking for her family with running her own business and raising four kids. Listen in as Jo chats with friends and guests about everything from culinary medicine and nutrition to family food stories, healthy homes, regenerative farming, reducing stress, balancing work-family-life, saving time and money while eating well, and much more!You will find links to recipes and information discussed in the show notes of each Quirky Cooking Chats episode, along with a link to the Quirky Cooking YouTube Channel where you ca
Hosted by
The Wellness Couch