I take the making of my salads and the eating of my salads very seriously. Just as seriously as I take the making of my daily coffee and the taking of that very first sip. It's important stuff. It can make or break my day.
When it comes to tabbouli - It needs to stuffed full of parsley and so full of lemon that it makes my cheeks draw in. No exceptions.
What I love about this salad.....no grain in sight.
Read MoreCookbooks, like men, come in and out of your life. Some excite you at first, but leave you totally underwhelmed within minutes. Some, those special few, can quite simply change your life.
The new cookbook by Lee Holmes, Eat Right for Your Shape , is just one such book.
This book takes a fresh look at the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda. A holistic approach to feeling well, balanced and living in harmony with yourself and your surroundings. A union of the mind, body, senses and soul to help achieve balance and good health.
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Full fat organic dairy milk. Such a simple thing, yet one I found hard to find during my recent holiday in New York. Just one choice in one market sitting amongst hundreds of varieties of skim, 0% fat, 2% fat, low-fat and long-life.
At first I was a little horrified, then it got me thinking about diets. About how we've been brought up my our parents and what the experts taught us back then, and even today. It got me thinking how no one person is the same, and no one body is the same, which then leads to the inevitable conclusion that no diet or way of eating should be the same for everyone.
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It's no secret that I'm a fan of the cookbook Love Bake Nourish by Amber Rose, so when she released her new book Nourish, in collaboration with 2 of her talented friends, I was first in line.
Nourish is not your typical cookbook as it's split into 3 sections. The first section (I'm being honest) is my favourite as it's filled with gorgeous fresh recipes by Amber. The other 2 sections cover health and nourishment for the mind, body and soul. This book gives tips, tricks, solutions and answers for getting your health back into shape, stilling your mind and just simply maintaining a positive and happy outlook. It's simply stunning.
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Christmas + the countryside = one very happy girl!
It really is pretty simple. A house surrounded by bushland (no neighbours please!), Bing Crosby, twinkling Christmas lights and a big bowl of fresh prawns. That's all it takes to make me forget about the working year that's been, allowing my shoulders to drop and the biggest smile to appear permanently on my face.
This is my perfect Christmas, all wrapped up with a big red bow.
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3 simple words that when said apart, make me smile, but when said together, make me swoon .... Fruit. Mince. Tart.
In my old life, these 3 simple little single syllable words would conjure up so many good memories, making me feel comforted, happy and oh so "Christmassy".
Now, having run away from gluten and sugar, these words when said together do (if I'm being honest) bring up a little feeling of deprivation, but more so bring up feelings of sugar highs and slumps, sleepiness and foggy brain. Not to mention a swollen thyroid! I’m not one to say “never”, but with the knowledge I now have of how sugar affects my body, I just can’t imaging EVER consuming these little tarts that I once held in such high esteem, again.
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Plump, boozy dried fruit, glace cherries and nuts. All the things I loved in the Christmas cakes of my past. The denser and the darker the better. Cake that would (and could) last for months (if I didn't eat it sooner). And cake that stayed moist without the need for refrigeration.
My body and taste buds may no longer be able to tolerate these sweet fruit cakes of my youth, but I still have a need (and a desperate want) for a boozy, spicy and dense sliver of cake to sit proudly and lovingly alongside my cup of tea on Christmas day.
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Do you ever get a food fetish where all you think, dream and eat is a particular food?
I get it ALL the time, and at the moment my fetish is avocado.
I’m eating it like a machine.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner - there’s no stopping me, and my favourite way of eating it is in this most delightfully, fluffy, light and zingy way….
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Say hello to Nicole.
Nicole is a freelance writer hailing all the way from St Louis Missouri, where she raises 5 teenagers (yes you heard me…5 teenagers), all whilst sharing her love of home cooked, feel good family food on her blog Daily Dish Recipes.
Daily Dish Recipes was born in 2005 with the goal to provide her readers with easy, made from scratch, recipes they could cook at home. God, I love this goal Nicole, as I’m a huge fan of people getting back into the kitchen, ditching the junk food and cooking from scratch.
So in honour of Nicole’s style of cooking and in honour of my grumbling tummy and in honour of my need for tote-able picnic food (now that Summer has hit Melbourne), my Secret Recipe Club recipe for this month is……
Read MoreNo other vegetable signifies the arrival of Spring like asparagus.
In season in Australia from September to March, this little gem of a vegetable is loaded with nutrients from fiber, folate and vitamins A, C, E and K.
It's also packed with antioxidants, ranking it amongst some of the top vegetables for its ability to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals, potentially helping to slow the aging process.
Not bad, huh?
Read MoreI’ve been contemplating the tough questions in life lately……
1. How will my body react when I re-introduce it to milk?
2. When is it respectable to put up your Christmas tree?
3. When did we start wearing caps into restaurants?
4. Can I eat sweet potato dip for my breakfast?
Read MoreCeleriac. Have you ever seen a more ugly vegetable? By golly it's delicious though! Probably one of the least used and most under-rated root vegetables, which is such a shame as it has some serious health benefits. It’s high in fiber, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B6, which help our bodies absorb nutrients, expel waste, improve immunity and maintain our blood sugar levels.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Read MoreYes the lovely orange root vegetable may have oodles more vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber than its white cousin - the regular potato, but did you know that sweet potatoes are outstanding for your digestion?
Their high starch content can be easily broken down which is so soothing for our stomach and intestines - ideal for those of us suffering tummy issues (like the horrible bloating I'm currently enjoying due to my hypothyroidism).
Read MoreIt's no secret that the French have a flair for taking the simplest of fresh produce and turning it into a rich dish full of comfort and flavour.
I think this is what I love most about French food.
Well, maybe after butter.
Take Paris Mash for example. The simplest of vegetables whipped up (literally) and turned within minutes into this luscious, rich and silky smooth dish. How could anyone not love French cooking?!
Read MoreToday I'm talking about my tummy. My poor, sore and bloated little tummy. It's one of the joys I've been recently discovering that comes hand in hand with having a dicky thyroid (can your hear my sarcasm?). This is a real struggle as I've always had a stomach that could take anything I threw at it.
Out of desperation I've been voraciously researching ways of improving my health without having to resort to pharmaceuticals, and one of my favourite discoveries (giving me a glimmer of hope) has been finding Lee Holmes' website Supercharged Food , and in particular, her Heal Your Gut program.
As you've guessed it...I signed up.
Read MoreIn Winter, root vegetables are indispensable for those of us that love to cook. As the weather cools and the days get shorter, our thoughts turn to long, slow cooking. Cooking that warms our kitchens and fills our homes with comforting aromas.
These are the days when I cook with a cup of tea in hand and my book not too far away.
My weekly organic veggie box from Ceres is filled to the brim with these delicious vegetables for a reason, they're in season. This is their time to shine, and these little fritters, I think (and so do my family) make them sing from the roof tops.
Read MoreThese purple balls of joy may have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, but they're also packed full of some amazing things, including immune boosting Vitamin C, Fiber, Potassium (for healthy nerve and muscle function) and Manganese (good for your bones, liver kidneys and pancreas).
Beetroot helps to lower blood pressure, boost stamina and fight inflammation (due to their unique source of betaine).
When buying beetroot, you want them to be firm with a smooth, undamaged surface and they'll last in the fridge, stored in an unsealed plastic bag, for a couple of weeks.
To get the most nutrients out of your beetroots, rinse and brush them clean, but do not remove the skin or root until after cooking.
Read MoreI love a goodie bag. Seriously, who doesn't?
These gorgeous little bowls just happened to be in my goodie bag that I received at the Noel en Juillet Wokshop recently. Technically they're not made for food, but when something new comes into my house, the rules are quite simple:
1. You must be able to hold food.
2. You need to be pretty for photographs.
Voila!
Read MoreRemember (this post) when Monique at the wonderful blog Nourish Everyday changed my life?
I forgive you if you paid absolutely no attention.
Monique basically yanked open my eyes to the most super simple breakfast idea. A no brainer, which I might add, I have been continuing on with ever since first setting eyes on her post . I'm always trying out new combinations (some brilliant and some that scored an F-), so when a bunch of fresh and organic brussels sprouts and radishes appeared in my veggie box this week.....another combination sprang to mind.....
Read MoreMe without breakfast is a sight you never want to see. So when we boarded the early morning train from Paris to Figeac, before any of the shops or boulangeries were open, we made sure we were prepared.
Breakfast in luggage. Tick.
It wasn't a conventional breakfast, but it was the perfect breakfast. Salade de lentilles a l'oeuf poche. Lentil salad with poached egg.
Read MoreI'm always torn between being on holidays and my home. I love both. I love the freedom of not setting an alarm, of forgetting what day of the week it is, and not having to rush back to work after lunch.
On the other hand, I love my kitchen. My pots, my wine glasses, my sharp knife. It's the little things.
Read MoreSo this is how it goes....you grab the freshest yellow zucchinis (and perhaps a few token green ones - because you can) and you lovingly stir them together with beautiful vegetable stock and the happiest spice of them all. The smile inducing, beautiful colour of sunshine spice...tumeric.
One of nature's super foods due to its anti-inflammatory, pain-killing and liver-detoxing capabilities,
An oldie but a goodie, this soup always puts a smile on my face and utter contentment in my tummy.
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