Health and Food

Health & Food Articles

Leek and Potato Stew

23 Aug 24

A simple, flavour-packed stew utilising spring veg and pantry staples – serves four. Recipe and photos by Tess Lenart

Shai Magic

23 Aug 24

Raglan organic grower, compost maker, gardening educator and permaculture landscape designer Shai Brod shares his compost-making and spring gardening tips with Mynda Mansfield.

Kūmara and white bean soup

25 Jul 24

This seasonal soup serves 6, is quick and easy to make, and very nourishing fare on a cold winter’s day. All the ingredients are easily sourced from an organic shop near you. By Christine Dann.

The Wild and Wonderful World of Perennial Brassicas

25 Jul 24

Fancy growing a hardy vegetable that will provide nutritious food for a few years? Several members of the brassica (cabbage) family grow as perennials, not setting seed for years. By Peta Hudson and Philippa Jamieson.

Winter Jobs for Blueberries in the Home Garden

25 Jul 24

There are many blueberry varieties available to the home gardener. Large and small, sweet and sour and everything else in between. They can be notoriously difficult to grow. So if you have some blueberry plants, here are a few winter jobs to help your plants to thrive. By Andy Jeffs.

Shelf life – or human life?

27 Jun 24

There is a new system of industrial food manufacturing that produces edible substances that are not food, but rather food products containing novel, synthetic molecules never found in nature. These ever-increasing laboratory-engineered chemistry experiments are designed to simulate food.

Neurotoxic Pesticide in our Food

27 Jun 24

Recently the Safe Food Campaign presented an oral petition to the government’s Petitions Select Committee, asking for the urgent reassessment and ban of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, due to its harmful effects, particularly on babies and young children.

Facts About Flour – The Grist On Wheat Flour

20 May 24

Traditionally, wheat was a protein and vitamin-packed staple chiefly used for grinding into flour and making bread. Theresa Sjöquist investigates how it is grown and processed in New Zealand today and details its composition and effects on our health.

Miner’s Lettuce – Claytonia Perfoliata

20 May 24

It is prolific, grows just about anywhere with minimal care, and self-seeds for the following season. Anna-Marie Barnes describes an easy-care plant that provides fresh greens all winter long.

Cooking with oil – which one is good for you?

01 Mar 24

Trans or saturated, polyunsaturated, or monosaturated? What’s the difference between cold-pressed and virgin, light and refined? Paula Sharp smooths out the choices of what is best for our bodies in terms of oils and fats.

To GE or not to GE?

01 Mar 24

We are at a critical point in decision-making about releasing genetically engineered organisms into New Zealand's environment. Philippa Jamieson outlines some of the potential risks and benefits of our options in a comprehensive flowchart.

Live2Give: Focusing on foundations, making good ethics a viable business

01 Mar 24

Two Manawatū couples with a big vision made hard choices, distilling their operation down to its essence. Rachel Rose talks to the owners of Live2Give about how their business has grown, diversified, adapted, and prioritised, all the while keeping the culture of doing it for good.

Support your liver and DETOX

01 Mar 24

Whether it was a summer of excess or just daily life, Laura Hett advises how you can support your liver to eradicate toxins from your body.

The battle for the future of food

01 Mar 24

Jon Carapiet outlines why the push for automatic acceptance of unproven technologies that have the potential to irreversibly contaminate our food and environment (aka GE) is the wrong direction.

Hydration: more than water

18 Jan 24

We have all heard we should drink water, but Laura Hett dives into the intricacies of cell hydration that can keep us looking, and feeling, young and healthy.

The wonders of water

18 Jan 24

It’s prolific, peculiar, fundamental, and all too often, unappreciated. Dr Charles Merfield marvels over the properties of banged-up stardust and explains why it is essential to life on Earth.

Contaminated ground water in New Zealand: The causes of and solutions for nitrate leaching

18 Jan 24

Tests are showing a high percentage of New Zealand’s ground water is contaminated at levels that pose a serious health risk. Rebecca Reider outlines the cause and potential solutions.

Studying the benefits

01 Nov 23

An ambitious new study looks at nutrient-dense food production in New Zealand. Many growers and their customers believe biodynamic and organically-grown food has specific health benefits. Kete Ora Trust is undertaking research here in Aotearoa New Zealand that compares the nutrient density of food produced...

Happiness Begins With Good Food

01 May 23

The hormones that support us to feel calm, content, and happy are produced in our gut from the food we eat. Laura Hett explains how our diet affects our state of mind.

Beauty and business on borrowed land

22 Feb 23

You don’t need land to have a garden. Nor capital to start a business. Diana Noonan finds out from an innovative artist how she turned her life around to create a satisfying organic lifestyle and income - without land or start-up capital.

Health & Food Articles

Proudly published by the Soil & Health Association NZ