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?

I was very excited to receive a large red box of chocolate from Cadbury Kitchen a few weeks ago. When I was contacted by them asking if I would like to review and create something with their new range of Real Chocolate Cooking range, it only seemed polite to say yes!

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?!

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.

Last weekend we had the annual Juice Plus+ conference in Newcastle. It was inspiring, motivating and very exciting - so much new research coming out and lots of awesome news.

Anyway, we drove up to Newcastle with some of our team members and I wanted to bring some healthy, light (but totally delicious) snacks for the ride. Something made with fruit seemed highly appropriate (Juice Plus+ is simply fruits & veg in a capsule).

One of these was these snacks that I made was ridiculously easy and healthy apple chips. Whilst they take a few hours to dehydrate obviously, they are certainly not difficult to make...it's not even really a recipe! So that's even more reason for everybody to make these!

Next time I make these, I'm going to sprinkle them with cinnamon...just because I LOVE cinnamon.

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.

Just in case you have been living under a rock or have just discovered the online food blogging world...then I'm sure you would have come across The Green Smoothie once or twice...or fifty-two times before. Well, yes I am totally on the green band wagon and enjoy my vibrant coloured drink every day, sometimes twice a day.

So I thought I would share my typical green breakfast smoothie. Since they are pretty straightforward to make i.e. leafy greens + fruit + water + extras; and don't really require precise measurements or a recipe - I thought a green smoothie video would probably just do the trick!

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!

My mummy sent me some delicious Lindt Easter eggs in the post. I have decided these are The Best Easter eggs ever....so creamy and such good quality chocolate. Thank you Lindt.

Anyway, she also sent me a very cute, pale pink, bunny shaped biscuit cutter. Way too cute. I just had to make something with it for Easter. I would have like to have modified this recipe to make it healthier i.e. substitute the refined sugar and white flour, and perhaps the butter too. However, I simply didn't have time to mess around and just took these to work so I only ate a few...I ate quite a few Lindt eggs anyway, so it wasn't a particularly virtuous weekend; at least I got some good exercise in! (I would really like to tackle this recipe again though and try these changes.)

They are a lovely tasting biscuit, crumbly and crispy all at once with my favourite ginger and cinnamon spice combination. I found them a smidge too sweet, but this could have just been the use of caster sugar which I never really bake with anymore. Still, great flavour with a cup of tea or coffee and a lovely present to box up for friends and family.

You could use any biscuit cutter shape of course too. I can't guarantee the cuteness though...

Haha I know! I'm hilarious!

In all seriousness though, I was quite surprised that these were so easy to make. This was the first time I worked with yeast so I was a bit apprehensive. When I say apprehensive, I mean I couldn't wait til the morning I had planned to bake and started making the dough at 10pm at night and was subsequently up until 1:30am in the morning with a divine smell of cinnamon and sultanas and chocolate. So apprehensive but still can't wait!

On that note of sultana or chocolate - I just say why choose? Go both! I actually added in extra amounts to the recipe so these are packed full of sultanas AND chocolate chips. I also used half wholemeal flour, I was too scared to go the whole hog though. I thought this would make them too dense. Also replaced the butter with sunflower spread and the caster sugar with brown sugar. Added in allspice as well because, well just because I like my spices.

You need a good few hours though to allow for the proving and rising of the dough, but the ingredients are basic and the process is simple. The results are worth it; I will never buy hot cross buns again when I can make them fresh at home. (Except from my lovely friend Pip who makes the best hot cross buns at Baker's Delight of course...I can't beat a pro!)

Last week I had a few days of eating lots of fresh, raw & clean foods. Plenty of vegetables, fruit and some lean proteins. Just wanted to avoid processed foods...so no breads, pastas, packaged goods etc...

So I whipped up some delicious low fat hummus dip to have with raw carrots, celery, capsicum & cauliflower. I can't think of anything more tasty with vegies! This is great for entertaining too - it's so simple that you will never buy store hummus again.

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.