Short Street Kitchen

We're getting to the very end of the avocado season, but if you're someone who loves your daily avo, or has found you have more than you can get through, we're here to tell you that avocados can be frozen and used to make the most perfect smoothies!

❄️ FREEZING AVOCADOS 🥑
It's generally best to eat foods that are in season of course, but you can also extend the season or make the most of bumper crops by freezing avocados.

Our tip for freezing avos: Halve, scoop, slice into sections and lay on a baking tray in the freezer first. Then once frozen transfer to a container or zip lock bag and the portions wont stick together! ✅

Frozen avocado can be added to smoothies or used in recipes like vegan mousse. Yummmmm... 🤤

We have to admit they aren't quite the same in a salad when they've been frozen, so stick to any recipe that blends them and make the most of their texture, while also benefiting from their nutritional qualities. 🌿

🤓👧 WANT TO SNEAK MORE NUTRIENTS INTO THEIR DIET? 👦😉

We made these gummies recently - using this great recipe created by the founder of Foraged For You...

Gummies are a great way to get extra nutrient's into your child's diet, especially with the addition of the Foraged For You nutrient blends that are now available in our shop. We made these with berries but we've also used fresh orange juice in another gummies recipe which you'll find on our page.

INGREDIENTS
🍓 1/2 cups water
🍓 1 cup berries - or try Mango when in season!
🍓 4 tbsps gelatine - we use Thankfully Nourished Australian Gelatin
🍓 Optional sweetener to taste - Thankfully Nourished Monkfruit Concentrate is our fave
🍓 Additional *optional* nutrient bombs - 1 tbsp of Foraged For You Mother's Blend or Children's Blend

METHOD
1. Blend 1 cup of water, your fruit, optional sweetener and nutrient bombs, and set aside.

2. Combine the gelatine and remaining 1/2 cup water, and gently heat until fully dissolved and you see no granules.

3. Pour the gelatine into the fruit mixture and stir through with a spoon. If you blend this, it will create foam/bubbles, so just stir through with a spoon.

4. Pour mixture into your choice of moulds, pop them in the fridge and allow a couple of hours to completely set then enjoy!

Read more about gummies and the Foraged for You products here: https://foragedforyou.com/blogs/recipes/foraged-for-you-gummies
.. And you can pick up the Mothers and Children's blends via our online store as well as the Thankfully Nourished Gelatin and Monkfruit, then all you need is the fruit!

💻 www.shortstreekitchen.com.au 🌿🛒

We're getting some wonderful feedback on our broth boosters! Have you made a broth with our kit yet?

We've created these packs so you can easily boost your homemade broths with these certified organic ingredients:

🌿 Reishi Mushroom - Enhances immune response and reduces inflammation.

🌿 Shiitake Mushroom - Rich in vitamins and boosts antibody production.

🌿 Burdock Root - Promotes gut health and detoxifies the system.

🌿 Astragalus Root - Stimulates white blood cells and combats stress.

🌿 Nettle Leaf - High in nutrients and supports respiratory health.

🌿 Calendula Flower - Anti-inflammatory and aids in skin healing.

These powerful ingredients provide a wealth of other benefits too.

This simple broth that can be used as a base for soups, added to sauces and casseroles or simply as is! The recipe we use is on our website - take a look via our bio links. 😊

Please note, our broth boosters are not suitable for use in pregnancy or breastfeeding mothers.

Nettles are popping up everywhere at the moment! 🌿

We didn’t have any growing here until we purchased a load of cow manure, and now we have them everywhere that I spread the manure. They love rich, fertile soil and they'll be prolific in Spring.

Nettle is a highly nutritious plant, in fact one of the most nutritious edible and medicinal wild plants you'll find. A wonderful and well known herbalist David Hoffman says “when in doubt, give nettles”.

Nettles are sometimes referred to as the mother’s milk of herbs because of the deep nourishment they offer with these vitamins and minerals:

🌿 Vitamin A
🌿 Vitamin C
🌿 Vitamin K
🌿 B Vitamins
🌿 Iron
🌿 Calcium
🌿 Magnesium
🌿 Potassium
🌿 Phosphorus
🌿 Zinc
+ all nine essential amino acids necessary for protein synthesis

Nettles are great if you're low on iron, need to detox the liver and gallbladder, and as an anti inflammatory can help reduce pain & symptoms caused by inflammation with conditions such as arthritis or IBD.

If you don't have fresh nettles, dried nettles can be used to make tea, added to green smoothies or to soups and broths. We've included nettle in our BROTH BOOSTER which is now available in our online shop.

If you have a plentiful supply of fresh nettle, you can get busy in the kitchen! Just remember they should be handled with care to avoid stinging. Try these ideas:

🌿 Nettle Infusion (Like tea but brewed for several hours or overnight to extract more nutrients.
🌿 Sauté or steam like you would spinach and have salted as a side dish or added to other dishes
🌿 Nettle Soup
🌿 Nettle Pesto combined with nuts, garlic, cheese, and olive oil.
🌿 Nettle Tincture that can be added to water or juice

Have you tried Nettle before?

Some happy snaps from our fermenting workshop on the weekend, where we made over 30kg of sauerkraut!

Our next fermenting workshop in July has already sold out!

If you missed out but want to learn how to make your own sauerkraut, beetroot kvass, and other fermented foods, let us know in the comments, the poll or send us a DM… we may consider one more fermenting workshop in this year… Maybe. 😊

Should we do another fermenting workshop?

A nourishing home-made broth adds incredible flavour to cooking, and is packed with health benefits! 💪

You can really taste the difference and when comparing to some store-bought broths and stocks it’s no wonder. 🤯

In commercially produced broths you may find ingredients listed such as ‘yeast extract’ (which usually means MSG), sugar, salt and “natural flavours”. You just don’t know the quality of ingredient and the water used. There are some clean versions available to purchase but they come with a big price tag.💸💸💸

We have Broth Boosting packs available now in our shop, packed with carefully selected herbs and medicinal mushrooms - a convenient way to add immune boosting nutrients to your broth. 🙌

You’ll find the recipe on our website now and don’t worry! You don’t have to follow this recipe to a tee – use whatever veggies you have on hand! 🥦🍠🧅🥬🌽🥕🧄

You can also turn this into a bone broth if you prefer, using beef bones or a chicken carcass.

We’ll share some more about the ingredients in our Broth Boosters soon, and if you’re curious, jump online now to see what we have made for you. 😊💪

https://shortstreetkitchen.com.au/blogs/news/immunity-broth

Sundays are made for moments like this. 💚

Robyn collecting her little garden helper, Beau, in the barrow. 😊

Spoilt with the clear skies and sunshine in between the wet weather today! Not bad for a mid-winter's day! 🌦 We even spotted some rainbows. How about you? 🌈

We have good news to share! Our long awaited shipment of Kin Kin has arrived and the shop is fully stocked again. 🙌

We are now stocking a lot more bulk products as we know many of our regulars prefer the convenience of having bulk quantities of non-perishables at home. 😊

We have found that it really does reduce mental load when you don't have to think about what detergents or cleaners you're running low on week to week!

Buying in bulk obviously has it's cost savings too. 💸

We also love the fact that there's a lot less plastic waste when you're not buying new 1L bottles every week or two. 💚 Even if the recycling facilities are as efficient and effective as we hope they are ♻️🤞 there's still all the energy and raw materials that is needed to produce each and every new container, so refilling from bulk containers is reducing that environmental impact too. 🌿 ✅

If you're local, or making a trip to the hills for a day out, we offer free pick up from Stoneville. 🙌

Jump online to see the Kin Kin range at www.shortstreetkitchen.com.au 🌿

If you're on mobile, click on the to the top left of the screen on our home page to find the drop down menu. Click on "Shop" and then use our Filter and Sort feature and select the Product Type "Low-Tox Home". 😊

Update & Boosting Immunity - https://mailchi.mp/4d80ddd601d6/winter-update-boosting-immunity

We are thrilled to be stocking the Beekeeper's Naturals throat sprays - just in time for Winter. 👌

These are known to be the highest quality and most concentrated propolis sprays on the market, and they're also notoriously hard to find in and around Perth.

these sprays are great for keeping the worse symptoms of colds and flus at bay, and the kids spray includes buckwheat honey for a little extra sweetness and soothing for sore throats. 🐝

Certified keto and paleo.
Gluten-free and soy-free.
Always free of artificial colours, preservatives, fillers, alcohol, GMOs, and refined sugars.

We love these throat sprays and we hope you will too. 💛
Available now from our online store www.shortstreetkitchen.com.au 🐝

🌿 3 REASONS WE LOVE USING KIN KIN CLEANING PRODUCTS 🌿

Here at Short Street Kitchen, we believe in the importance of a clean, healthy home and environment that's safe for you and your family. That’s why we have been using Kin Kin products for years, and now proudly offer Kin Kin home cleaning products in our online store.

🌿 Completely Free from Toxins
Are you tired of bringing toxic chemicals into your home? Did you know that over 95% of Australian laundry detergents, including virtually all eco-brands, contain alcohol ethoxylate as a main component? This ingredient is classified as very toxic to aquatic organisms despite being cleared for use in the USA and Australia.

Kin Kin products are different. They are completely free of any toxins, with no ingredients that you wouldn't happily put in your garden or on your child's skin... AND THEY ACTUALLY WORK! ✅

🌿 Eco-Friendly & Biodegradable
Kin Kin products are completely and readily biodegradable, making them a perfect choice if you have septic tanks or want to use the runoff in your garden.

🌿 Bulk Options
At Short Street Kitchen, we provide Kin Kin products in bulk (with free pick up from Stoneville - great if you're a hills local!) 👌

Buying in bulk not only helps you save money but also reduces the mental load of keeping track of your supplies and more frequent trips to the supermarket. It’s a win-win for your wallet and your peace of mind!

If you've been following SSK for a while now, you'll know just how passionate we are about healthy, low-tox living. That goes from what's on your plate, to your home surfaces and laundry, to what's on your skin...

And if you're wanting to make healthier choices, we highly recommend making the switch to Kin Kin home cleaning products - Like everything in our online store, we personally use and love these products for our own family. 💚

www.shortstreetkitchen.com.au/collections/all

The first crop of mandarins for the season! 🧡

We love mandarins over oranges for their easy to peel skins and less mess! Great if you have little people and a great lunchbox addition.

They’re also packed with nutrients!

Mandarins provide Vitamins A, B, and of course are also high in Vitamin C which is great for boosting immunity, wound healing, taking care of free radicals, and supporting skin health.

Are you Team Mandarin or Team Orange?

Happy Mothers Day from the Short Street kitchen family - that has just grown by 1! 👶🏼

Introducing Henry who arrived 2 weeks ago and is settling in at home, with big brother Beau watching over his every move! 🥰

Jess is doing well, and we are keeping up with your online shop orders, and have even added some new products to the range - jump online to see baby and mumma specific probiotic rich blends from Foraged for You, and more!🙌

Wishing you all a wonderful day celebrating the mothers and mother figures in your life. ❤️

What you put ON your body is just as important as what you put IN your body.🌿

Our online store is stocked ONLY with the healthy kitchen, home and body care products that we personally use and love, so you can be sure they’ve been tried and tested and have passed our high standards.👌

We've now added our favourite GRIN toothpaste, and ANCIENT MINERALS magnesium oil as well as the NOOSA BASICS organic deodorant range.

Magnesium oil is great for relaxing muscles and if you suffer from painful muscle cramping, you definitely want to try this! 💪

Magnesium comes in many forms and as supplements taken orally. These supplements can be difficult for some people to tolerate and absorb effectively, whereas this high quality oil, applied topically to the skin, is suitable for people requiring large doses of magnesium or with sensitive guts.

Head to our online shop to find out more. 😊

www.shortstreetkitchen.com.au

🍬 Sugar is sweet, but the truth about long-term effects of sugar in your diet will leave a sour taste in your mouth. 😦

We all know sugar is bad for your teeth, too much obviously will make you feel sick, and eating too much sugar over time can lead to weight gain. Other downsides of that sugar hit include:

🍰 Blood Sugar Spikes & the Crash 💥
High sugar intake can cause rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels. So if you don't want those up and down energy fluctuations and mood swings, look at reducing your sugar intake.

🍩 Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Regular consumption of sugary foods and drinks is linked to insulin resistance and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

🍪 Inflammation
Sugar consumption can contribute to chronic inflammation in the body, which is linked to all kinds of health issues including arthritis, heart disease, and cancer.

🍫 Negative Impact on Skin Health
High sugar intake can accelerate skin aging, increase the risk of acne, and contribute to skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

🎂 Increased Risk of Chronic Disease
Excessive sugar consumption that leads to unwanted weight gain and sometimes obesity, increases the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

🌿 Fortunately, there are natural alternatives that can satisfy your sweet cravings without the negative effects of sugar - our favourite is Monk Fruit Concentrate!

Monk fruit as a sweetener is great with

🌿 Zero Calories
🌿 Zero Glycemic Index (does not raise blood sugar levels, even those with diabetes can eat it)
🌿 No Tooth Decay
🌿 Anti-Inflammatory - contains antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties

Make the switch and enjoy the sweetness of life without compromising your health! 🌱💚😊

You can find the Monk Fruit Concentrate we use and love in our online shop. Just head to the link in our bio or www.shortstreetkitchen.com.au 🌿

If you're wanting to start growing your own garlic, now is the time to plant your garlic bulbs! 🧄

We recently heard that you should plant garlic on ANZAC DAY and harvest on REMEMBRANCE DAY (November) which is a great way to remember garlic planting season. 🤓

We planted ours a few weeks ago now, and have some healthy growth already. 🌿

READY TO GROW GARLIC?

🧄 Choose a sunny location with well-drained soil.

🧄 Break apart garlic bulbs into individual cloves.

🧄 Plant cloves pointed end up, 4-5 cm deep and 15 cm apart.

🧄 You can mulch around plants to keep weeds out and retain moisture.

🧄 Water regularly, keeping soil moist but not waterlogged.

🧄 Fertilise in early spring.

🧄 Harvest when lower leaves turn brown and begin to die back (remembrance day, remember? 😉)

🧄 Carefully dig up bulbs, shake off excess soil, and hang to dry in a well-ventilated area.

🧄 After drying for a few weeks, trim roots and tops, and store in a cool, dry place.

With a bumper crop, we usually also make black garlic, fermented garlic paste and ferment cloves in our honey. 🍯

We will be demonstrating this in our upcoming fermenting workshop in June along with lots of other delicious ferments (and of course making your own sauerkraut on the day which is loads of fun!) 🤩

On EARTH DAY we want to do a shout out to this Australian business that has a commitment to being plastic free - from their products to packaging, you won’t find plastic anywhere!

Mindful Mealtime is small, family run business selling high quality, toxic free, kids sized, stainless steel tableware. 😍

As part of our efforts to avoid plastics and limit exposure to harmful toxins in our home, we recently bought these stainless steel plates and cups for Beau, and they've been a hit! Especially the car-shaped sectioned plate which is perfect for snacks!

If you're looking for a plastic free alternative, stainless steel is a great option as it's durable and long lasting. 💪

Silicone is also a popular alternative to plastic, but when doing research on this, we found it can be a bit of a grey area in terms of safe use, which can depend on the quality of the product, the type of silicone used, and tolerance to high temperatures. These aspects are often not included in the product information...

So stainless steel was the way to go for us. ✅

HAPPY EARTH DAY! 🌏 💚

Got a sweet tooth? 🦷🍬🍫🧁
.. but also want to eat healthy and avoid processed sugars? 🤨

You might have noticed Monk Fruit is becoming a more popular natural sweetener and sugar substitute. The products commonly available are bulked out with erythritol to mimic sugar, which can be helpful for sticking to a baking recipe, but we prefer the pure concentrate which is 100% derived from monk fruit! 🍃

Monk fruit is a small sub-tropical melon, native to Southern China that contains natural antioxidants called mogrosides that give it a uniquely, intensely sweet flavour. The best part? It's not derived from fructose or sucrose, so it's sugar-free and has zero calories! 🌱

The Thankfully Nourished Monk Fruit Concentrate is crafted from hand-picked monk fruit, crushed and infused in hot water to extract its natural sweetness. This liquid gold is then bottled - a pure, concentrated sweetness without any added fillers or artificial ingredients. 🌿

Monk fruit can be used for sweetening beverages like tea or coffee, your breakfast cereal, yoghurt or pancakes, used in making gummies or sweet treats, and in baking with some adjustment to the recipe.

This concentrate really is a clean and healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth without impacting your blood sugar levels. 👌

Plus, with 165 serves per bottle, a little goes a long way! 💫

If you're looking for the pure Monk fruit concentrate instead of the powdered forms, head over the Short Street Kitchen online store today and find this product under "Pantry Staples." 🌟🛒

We've just added the NOOSA BASICS range of organic deodorants to our online shop! 🤩

After years trying all the organic, aluminium-free and natural alternatives, these are ones that we have found work best, and although there's a lot of products we could share with you, we have decided to only stock the ones we personally use ourselves - so you can be sure they're tried and tested! 🤓👍

With the roll on and spray options, these organic deodorants are the perfect low-tox swap for your regular deodorant and easy to apply (unlike pastes or creams which many people find a bit messy and damaging to clothes).

If you're looking for a quality deodorant that is free from Aluminium salts, Parabens Phthalates and Propylene glycol, these are now available online at www.shortstreetkitchen.com.au under "healthy body" in our shop section.

Are you ready to live a clean, low-tox, healthy Lifestyle?

We know it can seem overwhelming at first, so we have put together this list so you can focus on the key changes that will have to biggest impact.

1️⃣ Swap Out Processed Foods

When you’re shopping, look for artificial additives, preservatives, and hidden sugars lurking in processed foods. At first it can be a little time-consuming, so give yourself time! Where you can, swap out any processed foods on your shopping list with whole foods and organic where practical. Soon enough, you’ll know the products you can trust, and have your go to options.

2️⃣ Ditch Harmful Chemicals in the Home

Take a closer look at your household cleaners, personal care products, and cosmetics - anything that touches your skin! Laundry liquid is the first we would swap out, since your clothes and sheets are in contact with your skin all the time! You want to avoid toxic chemicals like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances to reduce your exposure to harmful substances.

We have been using the KinKin range of products for years and stock these in our online shop. We also have some new personal care items that have just arrived, and while we could fill the store with all kinds of low-tox products, it’s important to us that we only sell what we have tried and tested, and still love to use ourselves.

3️⃣ Wash Your Fruit and Veg

Washing your fruits and vegetables thoroughly removes pesticides, dirt, and other residues. To save time, fill the kitchen sink with a mixture of water and vinegar and wash all your produce in a big batch when you get home from the shops.

4️⃣ Drink Clean Water

Stay hydrated with pure, filtered water. Tap water carries all kinds of impurities, just think of the pipes it travels through, let alone the chemicals used to treat water! Some people invest in home water filtration systems to remove contaminants, others have spring water delivered. Find what works for you and drink plenty of water to help your body process and eliminate toxins everyday.

5️⃣ Mindset Matters

Remember, progress, not perfection, is the key!

Taking small steps toward living a cleaner, low-tox lifestyle, and treating it as a process of learning and changing over time is going to lead to more sustainable, long term, healthy living. Trying to get it perfect, obsessing over all things that could be toxic or harmful, or stressing about what to buy, what to eat, and what to change in your home doesn’t sound too healthy does it?

Oh, and don’t forget the basics! Eat well, prioritise sleep, exercise (and sweat out your toxins) and take time to do the things that bring you joy in your life.

We hope these tips help to kickstart the process for you or give you inspiration to continue developing even more clean, healthy, low-tox habits into your day-to-day.

If you're interested to know more, please like or comment below. We are working on more tips and tricks for healthy living, and as always, aim to share this in the most practical, simplest and easiest ways for you to take away and incorporate in your life.

It's no secret we love smoothies 'round here. 💚

They're something that our toddler Beau is always happy to have and we know he's getting loads of nutrients every time. 😉

You really can experiment with all kinds of combinations, and focus on the foods you love, as well as the ones you know you need more of in your diet.

This smoothie is packed with nutrients! 💪

Avocado fuels you with healthy fats & vitamin E, banana is a great source of potassium and well known as a 'good mood food' and protein powder is great for muscle repair or growing kids. 🥑🍌

We add chia & h**p seeds for their omega-3s (brain health), and spirulina has detoxifying properties as well as being a great way to boost iron intake. We recently collected bee pollen and this is LOADED with nutrients, so we are throwing in just about everything.

We have raspberries growing on the property and these offer antioxidants as well as vitamins and a tangy hit and yes, cucumber is a bit of an odd inclusion but adds something to the texture as well as keeping you hydrated.

You can use coconut yoghurt or greek yoghurt and load up on probiotics and get extra calcium if you use milk too.

You can see why we love a good smoothie - there's just so much nutritional goodness packed into one delicious drink and they're so easy to make. We hope this inspires you to have a play with mixing up your own smoothies too. 🙂

We hope your Easter long weekend is off to a nice start, and whether you're headed away or staying local this weekend, we hope you have a safe and happy few days!

Even if you're not celebrating a traditional Christian Easter, this holiday is still associated with new life (hence all the eggs and bunnies in Easter symbology) and new beginnings. It is especially relevant in the Northern hemisphere where Easter coincides with Spring Equinox and emerging from cold winters, and better growing conditions mean more baby animals being born.

Although we are transitioning from a long hot summer here in Perth, we are also heading into better growing conditions with milder days and more rain in the coming months.

There seems to be a constant flow of work to be done on our Short Street property, regardless of the season. Who else is getting busy in the garden this long weekend?

We recently harvested some homegrown watermelons and decided to make... Watermelon Gummies!

We'll share a video of the end result up next, but little Beau helping harvest watermelons is just too cute!

WATERMELON GUMMIES 🍉🍉🍉
You'll need:
1 cup watermelon juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp Thankfully Nourished grass fed beef gelatin
*optional* Camu camu powder to sprinkle on at the end - this is high in vitamin C and adds a little sourness if you like that sort of thing!

What to do:
1. Place lemon and watermelon juice, honey, and gelatin together in a pot and stir until gelatin dissolves.
2. Wait a few minutes until the mixture thickens into a gelatin bloom.
3. Place pot on stove over medium heat stirring gently until dissolved again.
4. Use droppers or a funnel to pour the gummy mixture into silicone molds.
5. Transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours.
6. Test for consistency - if ready they should easily come out of the mold and if not, place back in the fridge for a little longer.
7. If using the camu camu, place some of the powder in a small bowl and then toss the gummies through to coat them.

TIPS for making gummies:

🍉 Use the best quality gelatin you can - we only sell products we love AND have tried and tested over and over again. We highly rate the Thankfully Nourished grass fed beef gelatin - available here: https://shorturl.at/adTZ3

🍉 Make sure the gelatin is fully dissolved before pouring into molds.

🍉 Remember making jelly as a kid? You want dessert right now, but delayed gratification is what you need to practice. You have to be patient with gummies too. The gummies simply wont have the right consistency if they're not in the fridge long enough!

Let us know how you go if you make these!

Our next MEDICINAL MUSHROOM WORKSHOP with Shrooms is coming up!!! 🍄❤️🍄

Join us Tuesday 19th March (or Tuesday 30th April) from 6-8pm to taste the range of mushrooms and blends available and find out about the unique medicinal properties these mushrooms have for supporting:

🍄 immunity
🍄 brain function
🍄 heart & circulation
🍄 gut and digestive health
🍄 Blood sugar balancing

And you ask Jason all your medicinal mushroom questions! 🤓

Tickets available now. 🍄
https://shortstreetkitchen.com.au/blogs/workshops/medicinal-mushrooms-workshop