Empower Wholefoods

21/10/2026

When the food’s so good, you go back for seconds! 😋

One of the recipes from our last Whole Woman Retreat was this delicious minestrone soup, made by Justin with his homemade chicken broth, Martin’s Ridge bacon, Olive Green GF spaghetti and organic vegetables.

He served it with toasted Milford GF bread and ghee or Lagom sourdough. It was so delicious and nourishing, we had women coming back for more!

Food is a big part of our retreats, and Justin makes sure the women are well fed and looked after all weekend. No planning meals, no cooking, no cleaning up. Just sitting down to beautiful food that someone else has prepared for you!

And we’re doing it all again! Melissa and Justin are heading back to Cedar Springs Estate for their THIRD Whole Woman Retreat, 12–14 March 2027.

Bookings open next week, so join the waitlist for first access, early pricing and exclusive bonuses. Link in bio!

And if you’d like to make this minestrone at home, check your inbox for our latest newsletter, where we’ve shared the recipe.

It’s one of those soups that tastes even better the next day, so make a big batch and freeze a few portions for easy lunches or those nights when you just can’t be bothered cooking!

18/10/2026

Happy Monday! ☀️ The sun is shining, the doors are open and Justin and the pups are ready for you.

Pop in for a coffee, stock up on your weekly essentials or just come and say hello. These two are always happy to accept a pat or two! 🐶🐶

Here’s to a beautiful week ahead!

14/10/2026

School’s back! Now, what are we feeding the kids for brekkie?

I try to make sure Banjo has a really good breakfast because he seems to be far too busy at school to eat much of his lunch! 😂

Cereal is an easy option, but some are loaded with sugar and don’t have much protein or fibre, leaving kids hungry again soon after. I like to add some extra nourishment to whatever they’ll happily eat.

A few ideas from Empower:

🥣 Cereal: Try Nature’s Path, Orgran Buckwheat O’s or Olive Green Organics Andean Pops with full cream Tilba milk, Greek yoghurt and berries. I sometimes sneak in a little collagen too!

🌾 Muesli & granola: Our house-made Empower muesli, Mindful Foods Activated Granola or PhycoHealth Seaweed Granola.

🥄 Porridge: Organic oats with milk, berries, banana, nut butter or yoghurt.

🥞 Pancakes: Food to Nourish mixes are great for making ahead and freezing.

🍞 Toast & crumpets: Sourdough crumpets, English muffins or GF Precinct fruit toast. I love adding a generous spread of real fats like butter or ghee.

🍓 Smoothies: Milk, Greek yoghurt, fruit, berries and perhaps some oats or nut butter.

🥚 Eggs on toast: Brilliant if your kids will eat eggs. Mine won’t! 🙄

☕ Hot chocolate: Made with full cream milk, perhaps alongside some toast or fruit.

My tip? Think protein, fibre and healthy fats to help keep those little tummies full and fuelled for the school day.

We’ve got loads of breakfast options at Empower Wholefoods!

What are your kids eating for brekkie? I’m always looking for new ideas!

13/10/2026

Making organic more doable!

With the recent news about pesticides in supermarket produce, you might be thinking more about what you’re buying and how to reduce your family’s exposure.

We’d always encourage choosing certified organic wherever possible, but we also know that grocery budgets are stretched and feeding a family isn’t cheap!

Here are a few ways to make organic more affordable:

1. Buy in season. Seasonal fruit and vegetables are generally more abundant and better value. They’re also at their best for flavour!

2. Buy loose. Rather than buying pre-packed quantities, choose exactly what you need. At Empower, all our fresh fruit and veg is sold loose, so you can buy one zucchini or ten!

3. Meal plan. Even a rough idea of what you’re cooking for the week helps you shop with a purpose, use what you buy and reduce food waste.

4. Keep frozen organic produce on hand. Frozen berries, peas and other vegetables are convenient, often more affordable and great for reducing waste.

5. Know your Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen. If buying everything organic isn’t within your budget, prioritise organic versions of produce on the Dirty Dozen list. The Clean Fifteen can help guide where buying conventional might be a more affordable option. These lists are based on US testing, so they’re a guide rather than an Australian ranking.

6. Try an organic fruit & veg box. Our boxes are packed with fresh, certified organic seasonal produce, with three sizes to suit your household. Order a one-off box or subscribe and save. You can swap items, skip a week, pause or cancel anytime.

And remember, our fresh organic fruit and veg deliveries arrive every Tuesday and Friday, with loose produce available throughout the week.

Eating organic doesn’t have to be all or nothing. A few changes to how you shop can make a real difference to your grocery budget.

12/10/2026

WE WANT YOUR BAGS! (And your bottles!) ♻️

You know that cupboard full of shopping bags? The ones you have every intention of putting back in the car, but somehow forget, only to find yourself buying ANOTHER bag at the checkout?

Yep, that stash. We want it! 😂

At Empower Wholefoods, reducing waste is a big part of how we do business, and we’d much rather give something a second, third or fourth life before it ends up in recycling.

So we’re calling on our wonderful community to help us keep things in circulation!

♻️ Brown paper shopping bags – including Woolies and Coles bags.

♻️ Green reusable shopping bags – yes, the supermarket ones are perfect!

♻️ 1L glass bottles – clean and ready to be reused.

It’s all part of our commitment to reducing waste at Empower. Reusing what already exists, rather than constantly buying new, is one of the simplest ways we can make a difference.

So have a rummage through that bag cupboard, collect those bottles and drop them into Empower next time you’re in.

Your clutter is our treasure! 💚

11/10/2026

The sun is shining (for now) and we have fresh Lagom Bakery Sourdough and No Grainer and Millford Gluten Free in store ready to make school lunches again tomorrow 🙌

Swing by today for a coffee in the sunshine and stock up for the week ahead.

11/10/2026

Who is 7 Days Back to You for?

It’s for the woman who knows she needs to look after herself, but is so overwhelmed by all the information out there that she doesn’t know where to begin.

Eat more protein. Lift heavier weights. Walk 10,000 steps. Take magnesium. Manage your cortisol. Balance your hormones. And apparently there’s another supplement she absolutely needs that she’s never even heard of.

She’s saved the recipes, followed the experts, bought the supplements and promised herself she’ll start looking after herself better. But with so much conflicting advice, where on earth does she begin?

Meanwhile, there’s work, kids, relationships, hormones and everyone else’s needs to juggle, so she puts it off until Monday. Again.

Sound familiar?

After more than 20 years working with women, one thing I’ve learnt is that what works for one woman won’t necessarily work for another. And what worked for you ten years ago might not be what you need now.

You don’t need another list of things you should be doing. You need to discover what actually nourishes YOU.

That’s why I created 7 Days Back to You. A free week with me exploring food, movement, rest, connection and joy through short daily audios and simple practices. Around 20 minutes a day, without having to overhaul your entire life.

We start next Sunday 18 October.

It’s completely FREE, and I’d love you to join me. Sign up in link in comments.

08/10/2026

A new investigation into fresh produce sold at Coles, Woolworths and Aldi has revealed some concerning findings.

Independent laboratory testing of 78 fruit and vegetable samples detected 54 different pesticides, with almost half containing PFAS pesticides (often referred to as forever chemicals). More than half contained pesticides not approved in the EU, and one sample of strawberries reportedly had pesticide residues almost 10 times the Australian legal limit.

It's another reason why we're so passionate about organic produce at Empower Wholefoods.

All our fresh fruit and vegetables are certified organic, grown without synthetic pesticides or herbicides. We believe everyone deserves to know what's in and on their food.

‘We are very loose here in Australia with the way that we regulate chemicals.’