One of the perks of blogging about food is that I sometimes am lucky enough to have free food sent to me. Not only that, but free chocolate! Who was I to say no when the lovely people at Royce offered to send me a sample of a new Cadbury range of chocolate? Not only that, if I like it they said that they would give me 5 more of these wonderful 'Marvellous Creations' packs for my lovely ZOMTBAKES and GET ZOMT readers. Pretty nice right?!

Whilst I wasn't able to indulge in this particular chocolate (because it's not gluten free) I have been told be those who tried it that is was very delish and just that little bit different. The flavour combinations sounds simply magical which makes sense because they come from the magical land of Joyville.



The entire package that was sent to me was a total joy to open as well...a hand written letter offering more chocolate for my readers, followed by a letter from Joyville complete with a purple wax seal. Then rich Cadbury purple tissue paper and ribbon wrapped the three blocks of chocolate, on top of an apron. The whole experience was fun and exciting to unwrap and just what I would expect from something called 'Marvellous Creations'. I definitely kept the lovely Cadbury purple apron for myself - I think it's the perfect description for me ha ha.

1. Leave a comment below about the marvellous reason why you would like one of the 5 packs!
2. Pop over to my ZOMTBAKES facebook page and 'like' it = 1 bonus entry 
3. Head over to my GET ZOMT facebook page too if you want and 'like' that (plus there is a free recipe ebook for you download) = 1 bonus entry
4. Share this blog on your facebook page = 1 bonus entry

...and the winners are...

Helen Brereton

Beverly Lane

Sharon Fawcett

Tiana Matri

Suzanne Hill

Please email me your address details so I can send you your Cadbury Marvellous Creations Pack!

 

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 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!

It was my 26th birthday earlier this month. I've been pretending it wasn't happening for the past year. I was quite happy being 25 forever. I just prefer being "closer to 20" rather than "on my way to 30" as I am now.
But I've gotten over it now I guess. It's just a number and I'm in the best shape and fitness of my life, so really 26 is already pretty good! Plus birthdays always mean one thing. Cake. That I get to choose AND bake myself.

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!

I made these blondies for a lovely lady who I am lucky to have in my life - the mother of the wonderful man I am blessed to have as my partner. Her favourite cookies are cranberry and white chocolate, but I wanted to go just one step further for Christmas...and I think that those flavours in blondie form really deliver! I am beginning to love Smitten Kitchen's ever so adaptable blondie recipe and am looking forward to trying more combinations of chocolate, nuts and dried fruit.

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?!

Since we have just moved into a new apartment block, and we have met so many nice people in our building I wanted to bake some little treats to give our lovely new neighbours for Christmas. It's so pleasant being able to stop and chat to our neighbours, unlike in my old apartment where you could hardly get a hello out of someone unless they were drunk or high and then the hello was unwanted!

I had a variety of chocolate chips left over that I wanted to use up and can't seem to get through a Christmas without making some form of ginger flavoured treat and apparently this year is no different! I didn't think you could really improve much on traditional gingerbread but hey, how can you wrong with chocolate chips? As I was pressed for time baking these last minute, I didn't roll them into individual cookies as it was going to mean numerous batches and just pressed it all into the one tray for make trusty old bars. I like how they turned out though, nice and soft but am curious as to how they bake up as cookies - so if you try this please let me know!

 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 am not normally a big fan of cheesecakes...I can never seem to steer myself away from chocolate desserts! However, this light ricotta based recipe is one that I really enjoyed...and I can't go pass citrus curd and fresh fruit.

After the response to the natural sweetener date syrup post that I did a few weeks ago, I decided to try using another dried fruit instead of dates. I use some Turkish dried apricots and have been very happy with this sweet, delicious syrup. Whilst the flavour is not as neutral as the date syrup, it is perfect for adding a twist to your breakfast or porridge or perhaps even baked goods (although I haven't tried this yet.)

I love apricots, and this a great way to add that beautiful flavour to lots of meals. My favourite has been in a healthy and nutritious brekkie parfait which is simply fresh fruit, muesli, natural yoghurt and apricot syrup layered in a glass.

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.

This is one of the easiest recipes I have made I think. It is also one I make on a regular basis. Dates are a fantastic natural sweetener but obviously in their normal whole form, you can't add them to everything. Turn them into a liquid however, and you have a mild tasting, totally natural and raw sweetener. I like to substitute date syrup in everything from baking to in a green smoothie or even in my cup of tea or hot chocolate.

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.