Path to Wellness

I am so excited by the arrival of Spring I could jump for joy. I have been craving balmy nights, morning beach walks and swims (even though I did this in winter). It’s just nice to not freeze my little tushie off. There are so many great things about the arrival of Spring, especially all the exciting fruit and vegetables that are now in season. Eating in season is very important! Because if it ain’t in season where the heck are they getting it from? Something to think about!

As a result of my recent inspiration I have been cooking up a storm and trying all new and different recipes. This Spring Green Salad aka Spreen Salad was inspired by my beautiful friend Tegan Haining over at Happy Healthy Hot. This delish salad compliments any dish. We slow cooked lamb (for 7 hours) and added this salad on the side.. mmmmm YUMO

Here’s how to make this recipe.

What you need:

• 1 bunch of broccoli
• A hand full of broad beans
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 cucumber
• 1 green apple
• 1 bunch of Fennel
• Organic goats yogurt
• Himalaya Salt

What you do:

1. Lightly steam the broccoli and broad beans.
2. Cut up the celery, cucumber, apple and fennel and add to a salad bowl.
3.  Add the broccoli and broad beans.
4. Sprinkle over the yogurt and salt and mix.

What’s your fav spring salad recipe?

One thing I love about winter is eating warm brown rice porridge for breakfast.

What you need:

• 1 cup organic brown rice flakes
• 2 cups filtered water or rice milk
• 1 tablespoon goji berries
• 1 tablespoon coconut flakes
• 1 tablespoon raisins
• 1 teaspoon organic cacao power

What to do:

1. Cook brown rice with either water or rice milk in a small pot. Make sure you keep stirring so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
2. Once cooked add to bowl and sprinkle over your goji berries, coconut flakes, raisins and cacao power.

I recently came up with this delicious recipe inspired by one of my favorite restaurants in Sydney, Wafu.

After being vegetarian for five years and vegan for a while, I have recently upped the ante on my fish and meat intake. Mainly because of health reasons that I won’t go into right now, and a whole lot of research. I am also an O blood type and we are meat eaters. But most importantly eating meat FEELS right for me. I feel more grounded, my body loves it and I am far less tired.

This recipe is packed with wholesome goodness.

Here’s how you do it.

What you need:

• 1 cup of brown rice
• 300g of pumpkin, chopped into thin slices
• 1 parsnip, chopped into thin slices
• Coconut oil, for frying
• 1 glove garlic, grated
• 1 onion, grated
• Ginger, grated (to taste)
• 1 carrot, chopped into thin slices
• ½ red pepper, chopped into thin slices
• 1 celery stalk, chopped into thin slices
• 1 zucchini, chopped into thin slices
• 1 bunch of bok choy
• 1 piece of salmon

For the sauce

• 1 tablespoon of miso paste
• 1 tablespoon of tamari sauce
• 1 tablespoon of kuzu

What you do:

1. Add water and rice (that has been soaked over night or for at least a few hours) to pot, or use a rice cooker if you have one.

2. Lightly steam the pumpkin and parsnip.

3. Heat up wok and add oil.

4. Add garlic, ginger and onion to wok, stir fry until lightly golden.

5. Add carrot, red pepper, celery, zucchini, bok choy and lightly stir fry.

6. Add pumpkin and parsnips.

7. Turn down to a really low heat or off whilst you prepare the rest

For the sauce:

1. Add oil into a small pot.

2. Add miso, tamari and kuzu and stir until a sauce like consistency.

Salmon

1. In another pan oil and salmon and cook until desired.

2. Place the brown rice in a bowl, add the stir-fry veggies, then place the salmon on top and drizzle your homemade sauce over everything.

Bon appetite.

I am going through a ‘cereal/crunchy’ kind of stage for breaky at the moment and because all the brought packet cereals from the supermarket are packed with sugar, preservatives, artificial colours and favours + a whole host of other junk, I set out to create my own morning breaky crunch.

This is what I came up with.

What you need:

• Handful blueberries (either frozen of fresh)
• 1 tablespoon activated hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon activated pipits
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon macadamia nuts
• 1 teaspoon desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon goji berries
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

What you do:

1. Throw everything together in a bowl.
2. Add a dash of homemade almond milk if you like.

See super quick and easy + amazingly delicious.

One thing I love about this cooler weather is the warm hearty dishes I get to whip up that aren’t really appropriate for summer.

Here is one I absolutely LOVE.

What you need:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 250g grass fed and grass finished beef or lamb mince
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 capsicum (any colour)
• 2 tablespoons organic tomato paste
• 400g organic tomato puree
• 400g organic adzuki beans
• 1 cup filtered water
• 125g cherry tomato, halved (any colour)
• 200g baby spinach leaves
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 lime
• 1 chilli, chopped (to taste)
• 1 cup filtered water
• Sea Salt (to taste)
• Ground pepper (to taste)

What you do:

1. Sauté garlic, onion, carrot and celery until soft.
2. Add mince and spices until brown.
3. Add capsicum, tomato paste, tomato puree and adzuki beans.
4. Add 1 cup of filtered water.
5. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes until thick.
6. Add cherry tomatos, spinach, salt and pepper.
7. Garnish with coriander and parsley.
8. Squeeze limejuice over and serve with a slice of avocado.

Enjoy!

Warning: These Choc Chip Cookies are seriously addictive! And if you haven’t eaten all the cookie dough before you pop them in the oven (guilty!) I am warning you now you will devour more than just one.

This delicious recipe was inspired by a beautiful soul Tina.

Here’s how you make these ridiculously amazing cookies.

What you need:

• 2 cups almond meal (or almond flour)
• 1 ½ cups coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup organic coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup coconut syrup
• 1 cup organic cacao nibs

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 170.
2. Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix with wooden spoon.
3. Line the baking tray with baking paper.
4. Scoop out a decent size amount of dough and roll into a ball then flatten and place on baking tray.
5. Place in oven for 20 minutes.
6. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Devour!

I recently picked up a packet of organic hemp seeds from my local health food store for the first time. I admittedly had no idea what I was going to do with it. But after hearing my buddy Chris Ogle (also a wellness coach and personal trainer) bang on and on about the amazing health benefits of hemp (he even created a site dedicated to this awesome superfood) I had to check it out for myself.

After a week of it sitting in my fridge and doing a little more research myself, I decided to create a raw hemp protein bar.

These bars are super delicious with a subtle sweetness from the dates which makes you feel like you are having a ‘naughty’ treat.

Have as a post workout treat or afternoon pick me up.

Here’s what you need:

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup activated pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup activated hazelnuts
• 1 cup hemp seeds
• 4 tablespoons chia seeds
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup royal quinoa puffed
• ½ cup oat bran
• 1 tablespoon organic vanilla bean powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

• 10 medjool dates, pitted
• 5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

What you do:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients into food processor and pulse. Do not over process as we want it to stay crunchy. Add mixture to bowl and set aside.
2. Add dates and coconut oil to food processor and mix until combined.
3. Pour wet ingredients over dry, mix using wooden spoon. If mixture is still too dry add an extra tablespoon of coconut oil or filtered water.
4. Spread batter evenly into baking dish and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Cut into bars and store in air-tight container in fridge.

Perfect for this transitional period as the weather really starts to cool down and fresh summer salads no longer satisfy. This soup is jam packed with cold fighting nutrients making this a perfect Autumn dish.

Make a massive batch, that way you can snack on it for a few days.

Here’s how it’s done.

What you need:

• Half pumpkin, peeled and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups bone broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Fresh chilli (to taste)
• Ginger, grated (to taste)
• 1 teaspoons nutmeg
• Sea salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Coriander, for garnish

What you do:

1. Lightly steam pumpkin in steamer.
2. Whilst pumpkin is steaming, heat bone broth in pan over medium heat, add onion, garlic, chilli, ginger, nutmeg, salt and pepper and let simmer for a few minutes.
3. Once pumpkin is soft enough to blend add to the blender or food processor, add the broth mixture and puree on high for a few seconds.
4. Let cool in bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

Enjoy!

This is possibly the easiest and quickest dessert I have ever made! This delicious blueberry crumble came about as I quickly rummaged around my kitchen trying to whip up a dessert for a last minute dinner party.

Here’s how it’s done.

What you need:

• 1 packed frozen blueberries
• 2 cups crushed activated hazelnuts (I blended these myself in the food processor)
• 2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon organic vanilla bean powder

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 120 degrees.
2. Throw berries, hazelnuts, coconut and vanilla into bowl and mix.
3. Evenly distribute mixture to a baking dish or tray and bake for 25 minutes.

Serve with raw organic yoghurt and fresh mint.

Photographed by Susan Papazian

Yes this recipe is gluten and sugar free and super delicious.

* Warming you won’t be able to stop at one.

What you need:

• 1/2 cup of blanched almond meal
• 1 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 organic eggs
• 1/3 cup organic whole milk
• 2 tablespoons organic raw honey
• Frozen blueberries (or any other berry)
• Coconut oil

What you do:

1. In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients – almond meal, coconut and salt.
2. In a second bowl, mix all the wet ingredients – eggs, milk and honey.
3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix batter.
4. Stir in berries.
5. Heat coconut oil in pan on medium heat and ladle in the desired size (try not to go too big otherwise it gets a bit hard to flip).
6. Let the pancake cook at low flame until bubbles form.
7. Loosen the pancake and flip.

Add a bit of honey or cinnamon on top to garnish.

Enjoy!