We are continuously on the lookout for local companies that supply nutritious, organic, clean, healing food to fuel and nourish our body while still exciting our taste buds. This year at The Health Emporium we are super excited about the ancient tradition of drinking bone broth. This magical liquid has so many advantages for our health it will blow your mind. Bone broth contains valuable minerals in a form our body can easily absorb and use. The gelatin found in broth attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, helping our body’s digestion process along. It also protects against infection caused by cold and flu viruses, and fights inflammation.
How do we get our hands on this magic potion? Star Anise Organic Wholefoods is a beautiful local business creating giant batches of this liquid gold. We are the first store in Sydney to be offering cups of hot chicken bone broth as a dine-in or takeaway drink so you can experience the benefits for yourself. We also sell 500ml containers of frozen organic chicken, beef and fish bone broth to take home and thaw out as you need it.
Star Anise Organic Wholefoods is a small local business not only brewing up broth but also creating a range of the following home-made nutrient-dense products which we are currently stocking:
Pate (from pastured chickens or ducks)
Beef tallow (made from 100% grass-fed and finished cows)
Activated nuts and seeds (long soaked, long slow dehydrated)
Beet kvass (fermented drink made from beetroots)
Activated Muesli (gluten free)
Power bars (date sweetened – plain and raw cacao)
Chocolate balls (raw cacao, activated nuts & coconut)
Raw chocolates (sweetened with organic maple syrup in various flavours)
These goodies are all premium quality organic wholefood products that are nothing but beneficial for our body. The creator and owner of Star Anise Organic Wholefoods is Soulla Chamberlain who also provides cooking classes focusing on traditional wholefoods and personal nutritional consultations.
Soulla took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some of our questions below:
1. Where did the inspiration behind your company come from?
I’ve always been hugely interested in the human body and what makes it best tick and thrive. I started the business more as a hobby after I had my 2 kids when I decided that I didn’t want to go back to corporate law and that my passion was where I was naturally pouring my energy into – that of improving my ailing health and that of my then sick son’s through nutrition and other lifestyle factors. I love crafting simple, delicious and nutritious recipes and then sharing what I know so others can benefit as much as I and my family have. When I first learnt about the healing powers of traditional wholefoods 10 years ago it was simply not possible to buy in my local community nutrient-dense wholefoods using only clean ingredients including bone broth, pate from pastured animals, raw sauerkraut, sweets without refined sugar or agave syrup, properly prepared (activated) nuts that were super crispy or lacto-fermented beverages. Desperation breeds creativity so I had no choice but to start making these wholesome products from scratch for myself and family, then my friends wanted to buy them and then their friends and the circle kept expanding through word of mouth. Then retail shops approached me to stock my products. Despite 10 years under my belt as a lawyer, I can’t imagine doing anything else right now (often to my parent’s dismay!). It also provides me with much flexibility so that I can take care of my 2 young kids and be a full time mum to them. So it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.
2. What makes your products different from other similar ones currently on the market?
All our products are made with nutrient-dense ingredients that are meticulously sourced to ensure that they are certified organic (or organic in substance where certification is not available).
All our products are hand-made using traditional preparation techniques. No corners are cut. Because my business is still so small the food that is made in the business from my own traditionally crafted recipes is what my kids and I eat. There’s no segregation. That’s my quality control and that won’t ever change. In relation to the activated nuts this means soaking for 12+ hours in filtered (not tap) water, sea salt (not table salt) and raw apple cider vinegar to draw out phytates found in all nuts (phytates prevent the absorption of some nutrients and interfere with the digestion of food). The nuts are then rinsed in filtered water, seasoned with sea salt for further minerals and dehydrated for up to 7 days at 50 degrees (to prevent enzyme destruction) which is a longer activation process than anyone else that I know of. That is what is required to get the nuts ridiculously light and crispy.
All our products are free from refined sugar, agave syrup (even though it’s natural it’s too high fructose), gluten and processed oils.
I am personally involved in every step of the process from recipe creation, sourcing of ingredients, preparation and deliveries.
We are a local Sydney-based business dedicated to creating a community of holistically-minded individuals.
I live and breathe my philosophy – that we should align our lifestyle choices with our biology as best as we can for robust health & happiness.
Most importantly, all products are orgasmically delicious!
3. What are some of the benefits we can gain from drinking bone broth?
The regular consumption of broth makes you stronger with more energy, vitality and less inflammation. In particular:
The collagen in broth helps to build and repair our osteo-skeleton system e.g. bones, joints, cartilage, ligaments and tendons.
The gelatin in the broth restores a healthy mucosal lining in the stomach (it “heals and seals” the gut)- so it’s especially important for those with leaky gut.
The gelatin in broth promotes healthy bowel movements (by absorbing water and keeping fluid in the digestive tract).
Broth is easily digested to provide instant energy.
The collagen in broth is a kind of rejuvenating youth serum, making your skin and hair glow (this is why I’m fond of saying “bone broth is my Botox”).
Broth is immune-building and fortifying.
Broth is a great source of non-inflammatory protein and healthy saturated fats (assuming the bones are from pastured animals) which contains a multitude of micronutrients (e.g. calcium and phosphorous) that we need to function properly and perform our best.
Broth helps the body to detoxify.
The glycine in broth promotes sleep quality and mental calmness and counters feelings of anxiety and panic.
4. What is your favourite Star Anise product?
Oh tough question! My daily staple is broth (esp. chicken broth for its comforting flavour) and kim chi (I love spice!).
My favourite treat is a toss-up between the chocolate power bars, and the lemon zest and ginger sokolata (I’m a down and out chocolate-lover which is precisely why I created my own guilt-free range!).
5. What does Star Anise have in store for the future?
I’m always tweaking, creating, testing and trying out new things as I learn and grow so no doubt there will be new culinary adventures around each corner. I really don’t know where the business will take me but hopefully it will be just as, if not more, exciting than the past 5 years.
If your passionate about how your food is grown and processed and also want to know your supporting farmers and businesses committed to sustainable farming practices then Star Anise Organic Wholefoods are product’s you are going to absolutely love and trust. Thanks to Star Anise we are stocking boiling hot bone broth at the Health Emporium ready to take away if you are on the run and also frozen containers in the freezer that you can thaw out as you need. Once you see how much your body positively reacts to this delicious medicine you will want to have it readily available for when you feel a flu coming on, if your digestive system isn’t functioning how you may like, to use as stock for cooking, or even just a warm cup in the morning to kick start your day. Yes once you’re on the bone broth ban wagon you will crave it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and maybe even dessert.
Written by Prue Rustean
