Brunswick Blog

Pachamama Wholefoods : Brunswick’s one-stop-shop to healthier lifestyle choices

In 2018 we all now know that what we put into our bodies has a huge impact on how we feel. However, eating the best foods for us is easier said than done.

Pachamama is a genuine organic food grocer & cafe that hold the health of you and your family with the highest regard. When you visit you'll discover a  friendly, visually-captivating assortment of organic-produce options where the team love helping customers learn about how an organic lifestyle can benefit you. They've also got a relaxed, intimate space to enjoy scrumptious raw and vegan eats, delicious organic fair trade coffee and to top it all off, they've just built a Naturopathy studio within Pachamama so their customers can truly begin to transform their health from within. 

We had a chat with Chris & Dan - (power-couple/owners/all-round inspiring individuals who actually practice what they preach) about all things organic...

Here at RH Brunswick, we’re a healthy team who care about what we eat. That’s why we absolutely love Pachamama Wholefoods. You stock the most beautiful selection of organic produce, and provide us with a peaceful café in which to try and enjoy scrumptious new recipes. What inspired you to dedicate your lives towards this organic living campaign and bringing such delights to Brunswick?

We feel as though the organic life chose us! We have each been on personal journeys of health in the past 10 years and are both really passionate about food waste and its effects on the environment. The opportunity to take over Pachamama Wholefoods presented itself and everything else kind of fell together so perfectly that we knew this was what we were meant to be doing. Being able to share our passion and do something that is bringing health to the community makes us so happy.

You can definitely feel the South American influence on how you’ve laid out your space. What is it about the ‘Pachamama’ way for a healthier life that you endorse so heavily?

What we really believe in is going back to basics. We believe that the health of the individual and the health of our communities starts with food, what we are eating as well as how it is produced and reducing the impact of that production. Moving away from processed foods, crazy diets and unnatural products and instead eating simple, fresh meals using only wholefoods. Just as Mother Earth intended!  

Okay, you’ve got us hooked. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so with all that beautiful fresh produce, we’re sure you must make yourself the ultimate brekkies. Can you share what some of your go-to brekkies are & and what ingredients you use so we can all start our mornings right, too?

One of our favourite ways to start the day is with a No Grainer choc lava bun and a keto or ‘bulletproof’ coffee. It’s basically your morning coffee & muffin but super-healthy version and so easy to pick up or make on the run! No Grainer are an amazing local company who make paleo breads, full of good fatty nut meals instead of grains. We sell their products in store and the very popular choc lava buns in the café. You can also pick up a keto coffee or buy the ingredients to make one yourself. These are: coffee, MCT oil, organic ghee and our special added ingredients of cinnamon and turmeric. When you blend the coffee with MCT oil and ghee, it processes slowly through your liver and gives you longer lasting energy, rather than the spike of energy and shaky-hands that a regular coffee would give. MCT is derived from coconut oil and is a pure energy source for your brain and body, helping you to be more focused, so that works really well with the coffee too.

 

There are a lot of people out there feeling the financial crunch at the end of their weekly budgets. How do you reply to those unfamiliar with organic-living, and concerned it may cost more than your average, ‘less-healthier’ supermarket alternatives?

We do understand that it can be hard to afford organics, but it’s a cost that is worth it for your long-term health. You are what you eat, so it’s a cost worth incurring for a long and healthy life. We would encourage people to start small and look at the Dirty Dozen. These are the top 12 fruits and vegetables that retain the highest levels of pesticides. If you are interested in eating organic but can’t afford it, you should at least start with these. In terms of our café, we already offer really great prices. $3.80 for an organic, fair trade coffee with organic unhomogenised milk is basically unheard of! We really believe in keeping our café prices fair and will continue to do so, happy with the knowledge that we are providing nutritious and accessible food to the community.

What we found most impressive was that you not only provide the produce for an organic lifestyle, but you are also extremely active in the recycling and conservation of our community – starting with planting your budding business inside a former mechanic’s garage. What is other activities Pachamama currently involved in?

We are currently on a mission to be the community hub for waste processing, especially organic matter. Australia has a huge food waste problem so we have a few projects in the works that will not only help people reduce their food waste on a household level but will also help businesses on a commercial level. We have already started collecting the food waste from the Wide Open Road café, and hair cuttings from Paradise Cutters. Every Monday, Chris takes this down to Seeds Communal Garden where it contributes to their compost and helps grow their beautiful fruit, vegetables and herbs. We are also working our way towards being a zero-waste grocery store and are working well toward our goal of having a completely closed-loop system in the café by the end of 2018. This means that everything that enters the café leaves only as compost or recycling, no landfill.

It’s wonderful to hear about those in Brunswick as passionate for healthy, conservational living as we are. What are some of your favorite businesses/communities in the Brunswick area that are engaged in similar projects?

Seeds Communal Garden has definitely been a great connection to have. They are located on Albert Street in Brunswick and share the same values that we do. They have a garden club where volunteers can go help every Monday and Thursday and monthly food swaps. It’s definitely worth checking out! Another one of our favourite local businesses is The FIT Project on Victoria Street. They are an amazing team who really care about their members with a focus on education, movement, and functionality. We go there and love the small-group sessions and super friendly vibe. And we couldn’t go past Summer Healing Yoga where we relax and unwind after a busy day running the store.

You have recently introduced Naturopathy as a service, and offer consultations in a new, specifically-designated space. Could you tell us a little bit more about what this entails and how it can benefit us?

We have an amazing naturopath, Nikki, who works for us here full-time and has a huge wealth of knowledge so we are really excited that she can finally book in private consultations. It is the first of many that we will build as part of Pachamama’s Wellness where we hope to have all kinds of natural healing practitioners. Food is medicine, so having our very own naturopath is like having a doctor who can assess your medical needs and prescribe natural, food-based medicines. Nikki is already booking appointments! If you want to see her, simply visit our website or come in and inquire with us in store. 

Running a successful business can be hard enough. But embarking on creating healthy alternatives for all of Brunswick and beyond? That's an enormous, wide-reaching endeavour. What else are you aiming to achieve with the platform you have created in Pachamama?

Our aim is for Pachamama Wholefoods to be more than just your local health food store. We have already started hosting events and in the future plan to have regular movie nights, cooking demonstrations and workshops where people can come to learn, have fun and network. As well as this we have some serious renovations planned to expand our current small café into one with a commercial kitchen that can cook our beautiful organic veggies and serve them up all day and night in our zero-waste, coeliac friendly café: Pachamama’s Kitchen.

Do you have anything else on the horizon that we can look forward to in the future?

24-hour take-away health food, industrial composters, conscious clubbing and an app that could change our relationship with food forever. We don’t want to reveal too many of our secrets so we will just leave it at that for now! *insert wink face here*

At Pachamama the food soothes and strengthens your body, the atmosphere will do the same for your soul. After all – we are what we eat.

Pachamama would love to offer half-price smoothies to anyone who mentions "Raine and Horne" at the Pachamama café for the month of July too! 

*not available with any other offer

Visit Pachamama Wholefoods at 74-78 Sydney Rd, Brunswick and keep up to date by following them on FacebookInstagramWebsite

Big Love - The RH Brunswick Team xx  - Photography by the incredible Alex Amato

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