Australia Specific Thread

[Herbie]

You can find interesting products if you read all the labels in the supermarkets.

For example Coles brand wafer biscuits use hydrogenated coconut oil as the fat.

Oak Strawberry milk and Dare ice coffee do not contain gums.

Old Spice original stick deodorant is the safest out of all of them (for men) in Coles/Woolworths.

Cussons imperial leather soap bars are the only Ivory ones in the supermarkets (Ray Peat recommend using Ivory soap)

Some of the biggest challenges for me is avoiding Soy Lethicin and only buying things with vegetable oils which contain antioxidant 307 (alpha–tocopherol vitamin e)

 

[A. squamosa]

Yeah they've got a good vanilla too, and a really amazing banana one if you can find it.

Have the salted caramel as an affogato .. sooo gooood

If you check out their website they've got heaps of other flavours - probably the place you buy it from would try stocking them if you asked?

 

[walker_in_aus]

If anyone is following the thread about dental decay and the mouth hygiene system about glycerin in toothpaste, Aldi has glycerin free toothpaste. Granted, it also has fluoride and all kinds of other ***t.

 

[churchmouth]

As someone with fair skin, I find the sun in Australia very intense. I want to increase my exposure (full body) but I can only last literally <10mins (rotating front and back) before I start feeling cooked. I admit though the hot sensation I experience on my skin I only correlate as being bad due to previous burning experiences. My strategy is just to get a few smalls sessions in the sun per day. I don't know if this is optimal though.

Also how to find ripe fruits? People here mention we are so lucky with fruit in Aus, but rarely can I find good ripe fruit in the supermarkets. At the moment the oranges seem sweet (I have started self-squeezing), and watermelon is easy to pick. Everything else has been so hit an miss I don't risk it as I might get a crunchy bit of fruit.

 

[Herbie]

Also how to find ripe fruits? People here mention we are so lucky with fruit in Aus, but rarely can I find good ripe fruit in the supermarkets. At the moment the oranges seem sweet (I have started self-squeezing), and watermelon is easy to pick. Everything else has been so hit an miss I don't risk it as I might get a crunchy bit of fruit.

The farmers markets will have the freshest produce. The fruit which is in season is the cheapest. Its a skill to learn how tell by the smell, texture, firmness, softness and look of a fruit to determine how ripe it is.

 

[churchmouth]

The farmers markets will have the freshest produce. The fruit which is in season is the cheapest. Its a skill to learn how tell by the smell, texture, firmness, softness and look of a fruit to determine how ripe it is.

Do you have any go-to fruits at the moment?

 

[Herbie]

Banana, orange, watermelon, kiwi fruit.

 

[walker_in_aus]

Supermarket fruit is not always great. Local green grocers and market stores are better. Supermarket ones get injected with gases to preserve them, then later ripen them. The best thing I found is using frozen organic fruit in smoothies when there is nothing but apples and unripe melons at the supermarket, and even preserved fruit (peaches!!!) in glass jars are great for snacks (Aldi does great peaches in glass jars).

 

[Waynish]

I shopped at AboutLife when I was living in Sydney. Produce quality seemed pretty good and could find things like refined coconut oil there. Best price/quality supplements are usually found online, though.

 

[churchmouth]

I figured frozen fruit and canned fruit (usually in syrup) might have the same issues with being unripe. Coles frozen berries/ cherries were bliss for me until (and economical) until I got anxious about pesticides in Chile.

I think my fall back has got to be cooking/stewing a bag of peeled apples.. costs time though.

 

[A. squamosa]

If you don't have access to good ripe fruit, buy any fruit that improves upon cooking: apples, pears, pineapple, stone fruits, berries, bananas. Bake/grill/fry/stew/poach etc.
When I am craving fruit that isn't in season I just stick the ripest one I can find into the oven with some honey and butter.
Also, if you have any good juice around, like Lakewood Organics (crazy expensive, even I can barely ever justify it and I'm happy to spend heaps of money on food) or similar, or whatever you squeeze yourself - make jelly with it that will last a week, have a serving a day. That means you don't necessarily have to juice oranges every day as well.
Also with stewing apples, you can always make heaps and freeze them, I don't know how long they last but that would be pretty easy to google. Also don't forget you can make marmalade! So if you squeezed like 3 kilos of oranges, make jelly with it, then make some marmalade with the skin - you've got a week's worth (at least) of orange goodness.
In an ideal world it's good to set aside one day a week and do a bunch of batch cooking so you're set up for the upcoming week.
I also usually have one or two medjool dates a day - can't go overboard on them though.

 

[churchmouth]

Travis thread renewed my interest in A2 dairy, the A1 protein seems to have significant immunological implications - So at the moment I am enjoying A2milk Light (~4.8$), and Bulgarian Sheeps cheese or Goats cheese (about 9$/450g tub at woolies/ coles). Note the fat and salt content of the sheeps/ goats cheese is pretty high, but comes with a decent amount of protein.

 

[churchmouth]

I've noticed a significant difference between the lamb/sheep liver between coles and woolworths. Coles 'fry' appears a lot 'lighter/grey' than the deep dark of the 'lambs fry' at Woolworths. Darker = better?

On the topic of supermarket lamb, my Coles do "lamb shank meat" at around 10$ for pack of meat off 4 bones. This might be the best value for a gelatinous cut of meat? It is more convenient than the bone-attached version :)

 

[Jem Oz]

If any fellow Aussies have some advice I'd be stoked. After conducting a rigorous experiment (...) I've concluded that the Nudie brand of pulp-free OJ isn't good for me. It's currently incredibly sour (to the point where I feel like you can't even call it oj). I feel like their standards might have dropped off over the last few months, unless the orange supply has been poor.

Anyway, does anyone know what the other Nudie juices are like? ie apple, tropical, carrot. Can someone recommend a quality brand of oj easy to get in Melbourne? I'm budget conscious at the moment, so daily juicing at home isn't an option. If I can find a reliable but expensive brand in store, I'll ration it. used to live in the leafy eastern subs, and Leo's supermarket did their own daily in store juicing. Might be worth a trip across town once/twice a week?

 

[churchmouth]

I'm in WA but nudie oj currently is the best it has ever been. Usually it is sour.

My favorite thing is oj from the farmers market where they let people sample before buying. But that is about 11$ a litre so just a once a week treat.

 

[churchmouth]

Can't comment on the other flavors

 

[Jem Oz]

Cheers @churchmouth I need to bone up on when various fruits are in season, rather than relying on the endlessly shiny offerings at Coles! Think I'm gonna hit a couple of local organic grocers this week, see what's on offer on the oj front

 

[A. squamosa]

yeah Ive tried other nudies, they're good, I especially like their tropical breakfast juice, and the oj they're putting out in NSW is fine. There are always heaps of other random brands in harris farm/wholefoods house, other places, just gotta nose about for them.

 

[bluewren]

I’m from NSW, and enjoy Nudie pulp free orange juice. I think it’s still the best and sweetest available.

 

[Jem Oz]

Maybe I've been too harsh on Nudie. Or Victoria copped a bad batch. Anyone tried Emma and Tom's pineapple crush? Very tasty. Wish it came in larger bottles