My day on a plate

If you’re a regular follower of NYTD you probably would’ve noticed that I haven’t posted on the blog for a while. There is a good reason for it, I promise! You see, there is a bun in the oven. The kind that takes 9 months to cook up and leaves you feeling exhausted, nauseated and gagging at foods you used to love. Naturally, this has affected my normal way of eating and zeal for all things healthy and nutritious.

Before all this happened, I had this unrealistic image of what my pregnancy was going to look like. I was going to be healthiest pregnant lady around, snacking on carrot sticks, drinking my herbal tea and continuing on with my normal exercise regime. Well that all went out the door when the only thing that made me feel better was carbs, and lots of it, as often as possible - anything to take the nausea away and stop the vomiting!

I think I turned into the world’s unhappiest pregnant lady the day I went to the physio when I could no longer take the pain in my lower back and pelvis. She told me I had pubic symphysis and sacroiliac dysfunction (yeah, it’s a thing – google it!) and abdominal separation which meant only pilates, yoga and swimming for the rest of my pregnancy. Well there goes the idea of being one of those super women that run marathons at 7 months gestation. Sigh.

All that aside though, I am so super-duper excited about the arrival of this little bundle! No matter how uncomfortable pregnancy may be at times, I know that it will fade in comparison to the joy at the end of this 9-month marathon. And thank goodness, I am finally more like myself these days now that I am in my 2nd trimester. Hence, my blog post today! Hooray! Let’s see what was on my plate on Monday...

Breakfast This is my favourite meal of the day at the moment. It is when I feel the hungriest and don't have any nausea or tiredness. And if there's one things that that I've craved this pregnancy it's FRUIT! I can't get enough of it. Here I have a bowl of oats, nuts, seeds and coconut soaked in oat milk and topped with mango, banana and berries. This is definitely one of my favourites, especially now that mango is back in season.

Overnight oats with fruit

Snack I went for an hour walk along the ocean path and grabbed one of these on my way back home. Made from celery, cucumber, kale, spinach, lemon, apple, ginger, parsley and mint.

green juice

Lunch Rainbow sandwich with veggie sticks. The fillings on the seeded bun included: hummus, cheese, red onion, cucumber, carrot ribbons, fresh beetroot ribbons, kale and coriander. This sandwich was so delicious, I wanted another one when it was finished.

Rainbow sandwich with veggie sticks

Snack It was a warm day and all I wanted was something cool and creamy. So I whipped up some banana and date ice cream with almond butter. This one is super easy and quick. All I did was put 1 large frozen banana and 2 medjool dates into my thermomix (any high-speed blender will do the trick) and blended until smooth and creamy, and topped it with a teaspoon of almond butter. You really don't feel like you're missing out on the real deal here - it is THAT good!

Banana & Date Ice Cream

Dinner When it comes close to dinner time I am usually pretty tired and a bit nauseous, so I need something quick and easy. I've been a bit off meat since being pregnant, but if you find yourself searching for the meat at dinner time, this one's really delicious with some lean mince added to it. This literally took me 15 minutes from start to finish.I quickly whipped up a sauce of garlic, onion, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, olive oil, and a bunch of fresh basil. Added the sauce to some fresh zucchini noodles that I quickly hand-peeled with a special peeler and added some parmesan cheese on top.

Zucchini pasta

Dessert I finished the day of with a small bowl of canned peaches and some low fat Greek yoghurt - yep, more fruit! I was too tired to take a picture of this one, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

This was my day on a plate, I hope you enjoyed it! Keep in mind, I am by no means perfect and I don't always eat like this. I also have days where I eat ice cream and chocolate and eat a few too many chips. I think that is good and it's part of a normal way of eating and a sign of a healthy relationship with food. I know that the moment I tell myself that something is off-limits then all I think about is THAT food. Even if I have the worst day of eating, there is ONE simple rule that I try to stick by: aim for at least 5 veggies and drink at least 8 glasses of water.

Healthy Hummingbird Cake

I love makeovers. Before and after photos of people who lost weight, renovated their home got a new haircut. It's so fun to share in the transformation. But the best makeover of all is when you can take one of your favourite unhealthy recipes and make it healthy! But hopefully in this case, you WON'T be able to taste the difference between before (unhealthy) and after (healthy) - I couldn't!

All you get here is a 100% satisfying piece of cake - dense, moist,  and chewy. This is packed to the brim with good-for-you ingredients and filling too - so you won't be tempted to have a second slice.

I didn't think you needed any reason to eat cake, but in case you do, here are some points on why this cake is so good for you!

WHOLEMEAL SPELT flour comes from an ancient grain that contains much lower amounts of gluten than wheat. This doesn't mean our Coeliac friends can eat it, but those with gluten intolerance MAY be able to tolerate it. Wholemeal spelt is also much higher in protein and fibre than regular flour.

Some studies have shown that CINNAMON may help to regulate blood sugar levels, which means we won't suffer from that typical sugar slump and we're less likely to overeat at our next meal/snack.

MACADAMIA OIL is a wonderful oil that contains a lot of heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. It is shelf-stable and has a much higher resistance to heat so it doesn't oxidise as easily as other nut/seed oils. It is rich in vitamin E and squalene, both of which are important antioxidants for beautiful skin.

PECAN NUTS are packed with plant sterols that can help lower blood cholesterol. They contain the same healthy fat (oleic acid) that we find in olives and avocados. This nut is also a great source of vitamin B3 (niacin) to help us fight afternoon tiredness and fatigue by accessing the energy that we get from our food.

Ingredients:

Cake 3 cups wholemeal spelt flour ½ cup honey or rice malt syrup 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ tsp sea salt 1 tsp cinnamon 3 eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract ½ cup cold pressed macadamia oil 1 can crushed pineapple (drained) 3 large mashed bananas ¾ cup pecan nuts ½ cup shredded coconut

Icing/frosting 250g light cream cheese ½ cup thick unsweetened plain Greek yoghurt 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup liquid stevia drops to sweeten to your taste 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Topping ½ cup pecan nuts 2 tablespoons shredded coconut 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Combine dry cake ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine all wet cake ingredients and mix until well combined.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix until well combined.
5. Oil the inside of a 22cm/8.5inch springform cake tin and pour mixture into the tin.
6. Place the tin in the oven and bake for 35-40minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Meanwhile, combine all the icing ingredients in a bowl using a hand mixer until creamy.
8. Combine all the topping ingredients in a separate bowl and mix to combine.
9. When the cake is done, remove from oven and let cool completely.
10. Once cake is cooled, use a bread knife to cut the cake in half horizontally.
11. Remove the top layer of the cake and smear half the icing onto the bottom layer of the cake.
12. Place the top layer back onto the cake and smear the rest of the icing on top.
13. Finish off with the with nutty coconut & cinnamon topping – divine!

Healthier Malva Pudding

One of my most precious memories as a little girl was coming home from church, the house filled with aromas of the Sunday roast my mum had put in the oven that morning. The whole family sitting down for a long lunch with lots of laughter and jokes, us kids playing under the table and making fun of the mung beans in mum's salad (little did I know about their nutritional value). The moment we were all waiting for finally came at the end of lunch and mum would reveal a perfectly baked Malva pudding from the oven. We could hardly wait for her to evenly divide it so that everyone had their fair share, and then of course with a big scoop of ice cream on top. Back then, you didn't have dessert every night, you had a treat once a week. The desserts weren't low fat, sugar-free, or gluten-free but man did they taste good! Every now and then I will have a craving for this kind of pudding. If you're South African (like me) or if you have any South African friends, I am sure they would've told you about this pudding before. It really is heavenly in taste, but unfortunately being laden with sugar, butter and cream, not so heavenly for your health. So here is my best recreation of a healthier version. Remember that any dessert, whether healthy or unhealthy, is still a treat and should only be enjoyed occasionally.

Ingredients:

Pudding 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1 tablespoon coconut sugar* 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup* 1 egg 3 tablespoons no-added-sugar apricot jam (I use Charles Jacquin jam) ¼ cup milk (almond/rice/soy/cows) 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda

Sauce 1 cup coconut milk (or full cream cows milk) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Sweetener to taste*

* coconut sugar can be substituted for any other unrefined sugar such as rapadura * rice malt syrup can be replace with honey or maple syrup * sweetener can be rice malt syrup, stevia, honey or maple syrup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Combine all pudding ingredients except the flour and bicarb in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
3. Add the flour and bicarb little by little as you continue to whisk.
4. Pour into a baking dish (20 x 15 x 4 cm)
5. Place in oven and bake for 20 to 25 min or until golden.
6. Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in pan over low heat until small bubbles form.
7. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Remove pudding from oven, cool for 5 to 10 minutes and cut into squares. Pour the sauce over the pudding and allow to absorb. Serve with extra sauce and/or whipped coconut cream - yum!

Healthier Malva Pudding

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Pudding
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar*
• 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup*
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons no-added-sugar apricot jam (I use Charles Jacquin jam)
• ¼ cup milk (almond/rice/soy/cows)
• 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
• Sauce
• 1 cup coconut milk (or full cream cows milk)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Sweetener to taste*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Combine all pudding ingredients except the flour and bicarb in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
3. Add the flour and bicarb little by little as you continue to whisk.
4. Pour into a baking dish (20 x 15 x 4 cm)
5. Place in oven and bake for 20 to 25 min or until golden.
6. Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in pan over low heat until small bubbles form.
7. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Remove pudding from oven, cool for 5 to 10 minutes and cut into squares. Pour the sauce over the pudding and allow to absorb. Serve with extra sauce and/or whipped coconut cream - yum!

Notes

* coconut sugar can be substituted for any other unrefined sugar such as rapadura, rice malt syrup can be replace with honey or maple syrup, sweetener can be rice malt syrup, stevia, honey or maple syrup

3.2.1284

Perfect Protein Bar

A few Saturdays ago I got together with my mum and sister, and we put our heads together to come up with something that so many of us often struggle to find. The perfect afternoon snack.

This was our checklist:

• healthy
• satisfy chocolate craving
• protein loaded
• low sugar
• high fibre
• nutritious
• delicious

I'm happy to say we ticked all of these and created the perfect protein bar from the very heart of my mum's kitchen. We could hardly wait for the bar to cool so we could taste test it. When we did, we all nodded in agreement that this was the best we've tasted. Heck, even the boys that were watching rugby upstairs gave it the tick of approval. If I can get my husband to say "that doesn't taste healthy at all" - it is probably the best complement he can give to my healthy creations!

photo 3

Ingredients:Makes 12 slices

½ cup almond meal
⅓ cup protein powder (I like Sunwarrior Brown Rice Protein)
2 ripe bananas
¼ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup chia seeds
¼ cup hemp seeds (or pepitas/sunflower)
3 tablespoons cacao powder
3 tablespoons almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
15 drops liquid stevia
2 tablespoons raw honey

Method: Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Combine all ingredients in a high power blender. Blend until well combined. Line a bread pan-sized baking tin with baking paper and press mixture firmly into the tin. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing. Makes 12 slices.

Nutrition Info per slice:

470 kJ or 112 kcal
6 grams protein
9 grams carbohydrate
4 grams fibre

It is delicious with a dollop of yoghurt and some warmed berries!

photo 2

Healthy Strawberry Macaroons

I want to clear up the confusion between macaroons and macarons. Macarons is a sweet meringue-based confection made with eggs, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meals, and food colouring/flavour. It is usually filled with a ganache or buttercream. The macaroon is a type of light, baked confection, that can look like a small cake or meringue-like cookie. Here is an illustration provided by blogilates

It is this innocent-looking delightful treat on the high tea tiers that makes us second guess the healthy eating vow we murmur to ourselves as the tea is being poured into our fine china cup.

Not Your Typical Dietitian has developed the "Not Your Typical Macaroon" and gave it a healthy twist, without refined sugar and butter. I am not saying that this treat is that healthy that you can now gorge yourself on them, but they're definitely a better option than the macarons you'll find staring back at you through the glass casing at the patisserie. And they have real fresh strawberries in them!

Ingredients: Makes ~20 macaroons

1 ½ cups almond flour 2 ½ cups organic shredded coconut 3 tablespoons raw honey 3 tablespoons cold pressed coconut oil 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract 1 punnet fresh strawberries (250g) (finely chopped) Pinch sea salt

Method: Combine dry ingredients. Warm coconut oil and honey in a bowl suspended in hot water until runny, then add vanilla. Combine with dry ingredients. Once well combined, carefully mix through the strawberries. Use your hands to form into macaroon shapes and place on baking paper. Chill in fridge for around 1 hour or until firm. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container. Will keep for 1 week.

IMPORTANT: You probably noticed that these babies don't require any baking. However, if you would like to bake these for a crunchy outer casing and soft chewy centre, then you can bake them at a very low temperature (140 or 150 degrees Celsius) for around 40 to 50 minutes. The key is not letting them brown too much - so keep an eye on them!

Rhubarb & Raspberry Tart

Rhubarb is really in right now. Especially since it's winter here in Australia. So I made a rhubarb and raspberry tart to celebrate (healthy style of course!). Here's how I did it.

Ingredients - Makes one delicious tart

Base 1 ½ cup oatmeal ½ cup shredded coconut ½ cup almonds or macadamia nuts 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or 2 ½ tbsp. almond/macadamia/olive oil) 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Filling 5 stalks rhubarb (chopped) 1 cup frozen raspberries 1 large pear (chopped) 3 tablespoons honey/maple syrup/agave (or stevia equivalent for sugar-free diets) 2 tablespoons arrowroot 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping ¼ cup shredded coconut 2 tbsp. coconut sugar 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts

Method Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Using a food processor, lightly process the oatmeal, coconut, and nuts until the nuts are just broken. Add the oil and syrup and pulse until the mixture is combined enough to stick together. Press the mixture firmly into a tart tin using clean fingers. Place in a hot oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden.Meanwhile, heat a saucepan on medium heat and add raspberries and chopped pear. Using a potato masher, squash the fruit to release juices. Stir in the syrup and vanilla until combined. Add the rhubarb and cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring the contents to prevent it from burning. Once the rhubarb becomes soft and starts to disintegrate take off heat and add the arrowroot to thicken the mixture. Cool slightly.

Pour rhubarb mixture into tart base and spread evenly to cover pastry. Place in the oven and reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle over tart after 20 minutes of baking. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and eat warm with coconut ice cream. Heaven!!

This one was eaten with Greek yoghurt, crushed berries and honey, but the flavours in your mouth turn into a party when paired with some homemade or store-bought coconut ice-cream.

Are you licking your screen yet? Go and make it NOW! :)

Baked Pears with Banana & Almond Butter Ice Cream

This dessert is satisfying, warming, and delicious - everything you want in a winter dessert. This is my kind of food, because it tastes naughty but is actually VERY healthy. And who doesn't want guilt-free indulgences right? Especially when the weather is getting chilly!

The main feature of this dessert is the pear. I am a bit obsessed with pears at the moment. They are really cheap at my local farmers market and I love how versatile they are. You can use them in smoothies, grate them into bircher muesli, add thin slices to a lunchtime salad, or even as a marinade for meat (think Korean food....yummmm). They're delicious added to freshly squeezed green juices too (I love kale, cucumber, lemon, and pear).

And of course, as a dietitian, I love pears for their high fibre content - a whopping 7g of fibre in one pear! We all need at least 30 grams of fibre per day, so you can see that eating a pear a day pushes things along nicely (literally)!

Ingredients for pears (makes a large batch)

5 ripe fresh pears cinnamon 1 cup of warm water ~ 10 drops Organic liquid stevia drops (~ 3 teaspoons of powdered stevia) 1 tablespoon honey Natural vanilla extract

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Wash pears, cut into quarters, and remove core. Set aside. In a bowl, combine warm water with stevia, honey, and vanilla extract. Add pears and mix to coat pears with syrup. Place the mixture onto a roasting tray and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon (about 2 teaspoons all together). Bake for 20 minutes and then turn pears so the skin faces out (this is to get that crispiness). Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until skins are crispy and golden. Serve warm (or cold) with ice cream.

Ingredients for ice cream (for one serve)

1 frozen banana 1 teaspoon of almond butter 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon maple syrup for drizzling

Method

Place frozen banana and vanilla extract in a high-power blender and blend until you reach a creamy consistency. Add almond butter and blend until well incorporated. Use an ice cream scoop to serve, and drizzle with a little maple syrup.

What is your favourite pear recipe?

Link of the day: Why not make this Maple Brown Rice Pudding with pear?

Healthy Lemon Slice

I gave the classic lemon slice a make-over. No butter or sugar here...

Just old-fashioned deliciousness and amazing flavour. I can pretty much guarantee you won't want to make the old version again. Even my husband agreed this is as good as what his grandma used to make - and he is a connoisseur in desserts.

Ingredients:

Makes 9 small square slices
159 calories per slice (667 kilojoules)

Crust
Half a cup shredded coconut
Half a cup wholemeal spelt flour
2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 Tablespoon honey

Filling
4 eggs
3 egg whites
One third (1/3) of a cup sweetener (honey/maple syrup) 
Juice and zest of 2 large lemons (or 3 small/medium)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup wholemeal spelt flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven on 180 degrees.
2. Combine shredded coconut, flour, oil and honey in a blender until well mixed.
3. Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan (~20x15cm) and bake until light golden brown (10-15 min).
4. Whisk egg, egg white, and the honey-syrup mixture in a large bowl until blended. Grate zest and squeeze juice from lemon; add to egg mixture. Add baking powder and flour. Mix thoroughly.
5. Pour lemon mixture over cooled base. Bake until just set and edges are light brown (about 20 minutes). *be careful to overcook here as you will lose the gooeyness characteristic of a lemon slice
6. Cool and lightly dust with icing sugar using a mesh strainer. Slice into squares.

For an extra bit of fancy, you can combine ricotta with some maple syrup and lemon zest to serve on the side. Greek yoghurt would also be divine!

Go do yourself a favour and make a batch of these. Then hurry right back and come and tell me how you liked them. I will be a very happy girl.

Would you like more recipes like these?

Crunchy Choc Almond Butter Cups

I've been wanting to make these for sooooo long...and finally Easter seemed like the perfect opportunity!

These are so delicious and 100% satisfying - I devoured 2 or 3 the day I made them (...oops!).

What better way to enjoy chocolatey goodness on Easter than these little beauties!?

This is the perfect treat for when you feel like something naughty but don't want to be naughty...it is a wholesome treat you can enjoy (in moderation) without the guilt.

Ingredients: Half cup cacao powder Half cup coconut oil 2 tablespoons maple syrup or stevia equivalent 1 tbsp cacao nibs (optional - makes it crunchy!) Quarter (1/4) cup almond butter slivered almonds

Method: Combine the cacao powder, coconut oil, and syrup together in a bowl and stir vigorously until the mixture is thick but pourable. Pour the chocolate mixture into small cupcake moulds, only filling them halfway. Refridgerate. Once set, top with a small amount of almond butter. Add the cacao nibs to the remaining chocolate mixture and pour over each mould. Top with slivered almonds. Refridgerate until set. Take the chocolates out of the moulds and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Yum yum!

I think these are my new favourite way to enjoy chocolate the healthy way!

What is your favourite healthy sweet treat?

Breakfast Crepe with Protein Berry Filling

Ohhh yes...

This is too good to be true. Surely you can't eat something that looks this good for breakfast, can you? Yes you can, and you should!

Another addition to my dessert-like breakfast recipes. Think of it as the sister of this one, the cousin of this one, and the obscure relative of this one.

Nutrition Perfection: - Loaded with protein and fibre - Sugar-free - Gluten free - Great for blood sugar stabilisation - Provides sustained energy release

Ingredients:

- 3 medium egg whites - 1 tbsp greek yoghurt - 1 tbsp ground chia seeds - 1 tsp cinnamon - 1/2 a tsp vanilla

Filling

- 1/2 cup frozen berries - 1 tbsp protein powder - 1 tbsp greek yoghurt

Method: Combine egg whites, yoghurt, chia, cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl and mix well. Spray a non stick pan and cook on a medium heat for 2-3 mins with the lid on or until mixture is no longer runny on top. Slide it onto a plate.

For filling: Blend the berries in a blender to form a berry "paste". Add the protein powder and yoghurt and blend well until it forms a nice and creamy texture.

Fill the crepe and flip it on both sides so that it looks like a crepe. Top with berries and if you feel like some extra indulgence - pour a little agave or maple syrup!

Question of the day: What is your favourite dessert-like breakfast food?

Link of the day: Creamy Almond Milkshake

Food prep for the week!

I recently showed you (here) part of my food prep and organisation that I like to get done on the weekend so that I’m ready to go for the week. Part of that routine is to go to the fruit and veg markets to get all my supplies for the week at a reasonable price. I also like to prepare a few foods on the weekend to make the process of creating meals easier. Here are a few of my favourites! Breakfast: It’s a real treat to wake up in the morning without having to think what you’re going to make for breakfast. That’s why I like to make a big bowl of homemade granola to last us a week or two. I like to do gluten-free sprouted buckwheat or an oat-based granola mixed in with various goodies. Perfect with almond milk and fresh chopped banana. Watch this space - recipes to follow!

Dips/sauces/spreads: I get so much use of out making these and they are so versatile! They’re perfect as a spread on a lunchtime sandwich, a dip with veggies or a few wholegrain crackers for a snack or to mix through quinoa or steamed veg for a main. - Hummus - Tahini Yoghurt - Chargrilled capsicum relish - Pesto

Here I made a baked sweet potato, radish and tahini yoghurt lentil salad topped with chargrilled capsicum relish.

Poached chicken: It works really well to poach a few pieces of lean chicken breasts, shred them and flavour them with lemon juice, pepper and herbamare. This can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, or I like to freeze them in portions. When you make your salad for lunch in the morning you can take it out of the freezer, pop it on top of your salad and it will be thawed and ready to eat by lunch time!

Quinoa: This is my absolute favourite staple as mentioned before. It behaves like a grain (so you can substitute it for rice/couscous/pasta) but it is actually a seed and a complete protein source. This beauty is perfect tossed through salads or to bulk up soups and curries. I also like to make quinoa pilaf and use it as a foundation for my meals. Here I mixed quinoa with pesto and brocolinni.

Frozen fruit: I love to freeze ripe bananas and mangoes. Whenever I feel like a healthy frozen treat during the week I throw them into my thermomix to make 100% fruit ice cream! They’re also really handy for making smoothies. I love to freeze grapes for a cool summer snack.Frozen yoghurt blocks: I take this as a perfect opportunity to use up the last bit of my yoghurt from the week before it goes off. I like to combine it with honey/agave/maple syrup and any kind of chopped fruit.

Snacks: Trail mix - I like to combine raw almonds, walnuts, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and some chopped dried apple. You can leave this in a jar and grab as you go, or you can make them into little snack packs.

Super snack balls – these are one of my favourite snacks. So easy to make and very tasty!

Remember, 80% of your success is going to be nutrition - whether it is to tone up, bulk up, maintain or improve your general wellbeing. Exercise is vital, but eating the right foods is going to be the secret key to unlock the door to that level you're aspiring to! And being organised forms part of the key.

Question: What kind of foods do you like to prepare to be organised for the week?

Chocolate-dipped Figs

I love summer. Especially the fruit that comes with it. So much so that when I go for my morning jog around my neighbourhood I search out overgrown fruit trees that might just be hanging over a fence somewhere. And this morning - to my delight - the moment was there. A fig tree. Next to a car park. It stood there like its been waiting for me to eat from its fruit for years. Well that's how it felt. If you're a fruit lover you'll know exactly what I mean. So I picked as many ripe ones as I could find.

I love the sweetness of its centre. Syrupy yet crunchy. And the colour is so...rustic. Delightful!

I simply had to make it into a sweet treat - healthy of course! So this is how you can do it! Ingredients: Cacao powder Coconut oil Agave/maple syrup Figs Crushed macadamias

Chocolate - the amount you'll make will depend on the number of figs you have. Just mix together cacao powder and coconut oil until you get a dipping chocolate consistency and then add agave/maple syrup to taste.

Crush the macadamia nuts.

Dip figs in chocolate & roll in nuts. Lay on a plate lined with wax paper or sprayed with oil. Voila!!

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding

Need new inspiration for breakfast, late-afternoon snack, or dessert? Look no further than here!!! This is quick, healthy and delish.

Fruit is my favourite food on earth. If I could I would have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although as a dietitian and a foodie, I feel it is my duty to try other foods as well…*sigh*…tough life! But today I didn’t feel any such obligation when I started to think about my afternoon snack.

I let my love of fruit guide me to the way of a Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding! Even if you don’t love fruit…you will love this!

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding Ingredients ½ cup cooked brown rice ¼ cup coconut cream* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 peach Maple syrup to taste – I used 1 tsp

Combine all ingredients and ¾ of the peach in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with remaining peach and a drizzle of maple syrup.

*for low fat version use reduced fat coconut milk/soy/almond/oat milk instead.     

If you feel you want something creamy and luscious on top...I recommend this vegan cream recipe! It's the perfect accompaniment!

This pudding is also great for our vegan friends and those that need a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free or soy-free option!

And for those interested in the nutritional info, here it is:

Energy: 974 kJ Fat: 5.3g Carbs: 39.7g Fibre: 3.8g Sugar: 13.9g Protein: 4.1g

Fill in the blank: My favourite food is ________

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding

Need new inspiration for breakfast, late-afternoon snack, or dessert? Look no further than here!!! This is quick, healthy and delish.

Fruit is my favourite food on earth. If I could I would have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although as a dietitian and a foodie, I feel it is my duty to try other foods as well…*sigh*…tough life! But today I didn’t feel any such obligation when I started to think about my afternoon snack.

I let my love of fruit guide me to the way of a Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding! Even if you don’t love fruit…you will love this!

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding Ingredients ½ cup cooked brown rice ¼ cup coconut cream* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 peach Maple syrup to taste – I used 1 tsp

Combine all ingredients and ¾ of the peach in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with remaining peach and a drizzle of maple syrup.

*for low fat version use reduced fat coconut milk/soy/almond/oat milk instead.     

If you feel you want something creamy and luscious on top...I recommend this vegan cream recipe! It's the perfect accompaniment!

This pudding is also great for our vegan friends and those that need a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free or soy-free option!

And for those interested in the nutritional info, here it is:

Energy: 974 kJ Fat: 5.3g Carbs: 39.7g Fibre: 3.8g Sugar: 13.9g Protein: 4.1g

Fill in the blank: My favourite food is ________