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!

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.

Brrrr! It was COLD today! In fact, since Autumn started here in Sydney, today was really the first day that had that real wintery bite in the air...you know the kind that makes your nose a bit pink and your fingers and toes cold? On my way to work at 5am it was only 10.5°C! Well it did get up to about 15°C during the day, but it has just been chilly.

Which brings me to my first soup of the season. My mother had told me to buy red lentils the other week and I had yet to find a recipe that I wanted to use them in...I decided that a simple, warming soup with butternut squash and a bit of spice was the perfect way to use them. This was so delicious...the chili combined with the sweetness of the squash and then that tart yoghurt was just a perfect combination. (I'm glad I have another 1.5 litres left!)

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!

Since my mum is in Melbourne and I'm stuck up in Sydney...I made John's mum some of her favourite cookies for Mothers' day. (Actually I don't even like white chocolate and these could quite easily be on my favourite list too...not my top favourite, but pretty damn good. Certainly useful for carbo loading and getting some good 'guilt drive' to get through my first 8km run in a while!)

My own mum is amazing. Purely amazing. I love her, admire her, confide in her, cry with her, laugh with her and share everything with her...she is my best friend and mother at the same time. Happy Mothers' day Mary...I asked Pickles to give you lots of extra kitten love on Sunday :)

So Happy Mothers' day to all the wonderful, amazing and special mums out there! I hope somebody bakes you delicious cookies too!

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.

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!)