I really do think that Cadbury have sent me a bottomless box of chocolate...because this is the third recipe and I STILL have plenty left! I am pondering what to bake next...with Christmas just a few weeks away I am thinking some baked goodies for friends and family. Perhaps a chocolate gingerbread inspired treat?

Thanks to the lovely people at Cadbury Kitchen, I have had a large box of chocolate hanging around the kitchen that they very kindly sent to me to review. It included the new range of white chocolate which is something I don't normally bake with, being more of a dark chocolate fan. I am also a little scared of white chocolate because it can be so much more temperamental than milk or dark! However, the new Cadbury range proved to be very easy to use and I even cheated and was able to just melt it in the microwave - super quick and simple. It melted to a very smooth consistency and John has told me that this blondie was rich and delicious.

I first made these tasty little muffins for a nutrition & wellness event with some mums and their kids - they were gobbled up by all and I was very impressed I got the little ones approval too. The original ones were just a basic berry buckwheat and millet muffin...I refrained from nuts and oats for those with food intolerance. These are the ones with lots more things in them! How can you go wrong with raspberries, coconut, almonds, oats & 85% dark chocolate?

I made this granola for a very special girl who I was lucky enough to meet this year through my work...she loves muesli and granola so I thought for Christmas this was the perfect gift for her. Unfortunately, I wrote the recipe down on a scrap of paper and...well I have to admit I lost it somewhere. I do have a list of the ingredients, but not the quantities. However, to make up for it I have found some other delicious looking granola recipes for you to try!

Well this has got to be the easiest brittle recipe I've seen. True, it's the only brittle recipe I've ever tried but it didn't even need a candy thermometer. I simply just used slivered almonds and increased the amount as I prefer more nuts to sugar, but if you like that clear caramel look, then just use less nuts...or more sugar or whatever you like!

Was super simple to package into to little cellophane bags with a gift tag and some pretty ribbon for some lucky friends and work colleagues. A great crunchy treat with a cup of hot coffee.

Now since I have had a billion and one Christmas recipes to post...perhaps you could gift these for New Years?!

 For Christmas this year we moved into a beautiful new apartment 5 minutes from the beach. Apart from the amazing holiday lifestyle and finally feeling settled with my man in a home (rather than the old bonsai sized Kings Cross apartment); it also meant that I got a brand new kitchen for me to play in! So how could I possibly resist baking everyone's Christmas presents this year?!

Whilst the kitchen is not huge by any means, it has ample storage, a gas cooktop and good oven, space for a large fridge (heaven) and a microwave - something I forgot about the convenience of. It is also just generally much more pleasant to be in and I am feeling inspired to bake and cook again...well once my body sculpting meal plan becomes a bit more flexible anyway! Nothing like eating exactly the same six meals every day made from only chicken, red meat, fish, rice vermicelli, green beans, eggs and mountains of salad, to put a stop to any creative kitchen thoughts! Still it's been fantastic for getting results and my overall health as well. BUT...I can still bake for everyone else luckily, because the holiday season seems to bring out my baking urges!

Today was the first day I have stopped for long enough in the last two months to bake something delicious. I am in the final 5 weeks of a 12 week challenge at my gym, so I also have been eating very clean and trying not to have jars of delicious tempting cookies around! However, these are not too bad in moderation, and I have a whole week of holidays and people to share them with too.

We are heading up to the Hunter Valley for a 4 day refresh and relax. I am looking forward to doing nothing and spending some time cooking in a big kitchen and just exercising and eating and sleeping and doing nothing...and also sitting on the porch sipping tea, reading a book and perhaps munching on one of these delicious but healthy little cookies.

I use a fantastic all natural protein isolate powder called Vital Protein. It's made from golden peas and has the most balance amino acid profile of any plant based protein and is highly bio-available. It is 88% protein and vegetarian, vegan, certified kosher, lactose and gluten free. It also has a high alkalinity level (Ph 7.5) which is quite unusual for any protein powder. My favourite things about this protein powder is that it has no artificial sweeteners or flavours or anything and still tastes delicious.

I use it daily in my green smoothie and also after training. I have also recently started experimenting with some baking recipes as it is not altered at all by heat or cooking, again another plus. So for our recent road trip I wanted to take some muesli bars as they are easy, healthy snacks when made right. Adding in the protein powder just helps to boost the protein content so you are getting a more balanced nutritional profile as well as feeling fuller for longer, without too much of a carbohydrate spike.

Now don't be put off by the long list of ingredients - I just like to cram in as many different nuts, seeds and dried fruit for fun. It is so simple to make that once you measure everything out it is super quick. You can always just keep the ratios of nuts, seeds and dried fruit the same and use less types too.

These are a lovely, quick and easy little biscotti that goes just perfectly with a hot cup of tea. (I would like to try them with brown sugar next time or all honey, but I only had caster sugar.) You really do need a beautifully flavoured honey as it just shines in these crunchy little bites. So do try and get hold of a good quality honey.

I came across some beautiful, purple carrots at Harris Farm in Potts Point this morning...it was a bit of a detour on the way home from the market buying the cranberries for these cookies. In fact I had only dropped in to get some organic butter for the cookies but somehow (as usual) walked out with a bag full to the brim of fresh fruit and vegetables.



I was most excited about my purple carrots as I had heard that they had double the nutritional value of the orange ones. I did a bit of research and it turns out that not only are the original carrot (orange being a genetic throwback,) they are little purple powerhouses! Compared to our common orange carrots, they have double the levels of beta-carotene and 28 times more anthocyanins which act to capture harmful free radicals in the body, slow blood clotting and act as an anti-inflammatory agent. They also taste just as delicious too!

I would love to get hold of the entire rainbow of carrot colours...

Anyway, I wanted to use my purple powerhouses in something delicious and healthy and have been meaning to try a raw carrot cake for some time now. I used a combination of purple carrots and their orange friend to get a beautiful depth of flavour and speckled colour throughout this delicious, moist cake. I was quite surprised with how much this tasted just like carrot cake too! It has all the right flavours, sweet carrots, walnuts, coconut and the lemon cashew frosting was simply divine. Bugs Bunny would be impressed!

I have been reading and exploring raw foods over the past few months and I am really starting to enjoy creating new raw dishes or mainly raw. I am not interested in being 100% raw but I certainly love the benefits and how my body feels when I eat more fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds etc... but even more so because I'm eating less and less of the processed foods. One day I will perhaps try a totally raw lifestyle...who knows!

I came across this recipe on one of my favourite food blogs Anja's Food 4 Thought. I always find delicious and healthy looking recipes on her site and have finally gotten around to trying one.

I substituted a few ingredients with what I had in the pantry and also halved the recipe. These little bars are quite delicious, a lovely banana flavour with the crunchy nuts and bursts of sweet dried apricots. They stay quite soft with a little crunch on the edges and I think next time I would bake them as individual biscuits so that you get just a little more crunch!

This is one of my favourite ways to have porridge in the morning. It's got all my favourite flavours in it and is a fantastic way to get in an extra serve of vegetables - before the day has even started you're ahead!

If you used a microplane or very finely grate the carrot, the kiddies wouldn't even know they are eating veggies for breakfast. Evil I know. I'm totally mature though and prefer my to julienne my carrot.

I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and share these super easy and very delicious truffles...it's a bit hard to resist these little bites so make extra if you are using them for presents as I guarantee you will snack on them! A rich, decadent treat for the holiday season.

I made these delicious assortment of truffles as a present for John's sister on Christmas night. They all worked out really well and I like that the recipes aren't really particular with measurements...it's more a matter of adding a bit extra of dry or wet ingredients as needed. I admit I basically made these up as I went along so all the amounts are not 100% accurate but you should be able to get it right. These recipes are very versatile and easy to adapt in flavours as you like too...try some different combinations of nuts, spices and dried fruits etc... I wanted to do an apple pie flavoured one but ran out of time.

Each recipe makes between 20-30 truffles...I think...we ate a few on the way! Store all the truffles in the fridge to keep them fresh and the tasty.

Pepitas sure do pack a punch for something so little! I love these little seeds, they are a great snack and have a delicious, nutty flavour. They are high in protein and also the amino acid L-Tryptophan which acts as a building block in protein biosynthesis. (Humans needs 10-20 different amino acids from food.) Pepitas are also rich in vitamins E, C and A as well as many minerals.

I often add them to porridge, muesli or salads...but this is the first time I have made a whole snack based on them. Super easy and super tasty, this is a great way to grab an on-the-go protein bite.

Well though I am eating well at the moment, trying to keeping my macronutrient balance 40/40/20 so all my training doesn't go to waste; once a week is a free day! So I decided to try a little 'raw' cheesecake for dessert one night. I can't call this totally raw since I used heat to combine the ingredients, I had intended on blending in the food processor but I got sick of washing it up over and over! So if you want to make this raw, substitue agar agar for the gelatine and just blend away!

Although it is high in fat, it is all healthy and nutritious fats from nuts, the sugar is natural and unrefined and you get some great nutrients from the raw cacao and spices. We both really enjoyed this and I'm definitely going to do more with this recipe and try some variations. It is quite rich and satisfying, but unlike when I using flour and butter and refined sugar...my tummy was really quite happy afterwards too!