Never ever think that just because you’re sticking to an eating protocol that you have to be a victim of restriction. I’m not a believer in hard core dietary limitation, however I do believe you can achieve detoxification, cleansing, and give your gut a rest from everyday stressors whilst still indulging in pleasure. All it takes is some creativity and an open mind.

In fact, fasting as a spiritual practice is a way to experience the pleasure of a higher conscious state, mindfully detaching from mealtimes as a way to re-focus. During my fasting protocol, which isn’t a complete abstinence of eating all together, you do have the opportunity to truly savor simple elemental flavours. By the end of a fast, you may actually find that your taste buds have re-wired to find even vegetables bursting with sweetness.

Ritual is something of a lost art in our society, and sitting down to food with a mindful, conscious approach is somewhat of a shock to the system in our fast paced world. How often do you sit down, breathe, indulge, and bask your senses in the still quiet of a meal? This approach can act as a mini health retreat, a minor meditation that will re-set your mind on the goodness and beauty of life.

While I’m fasting, I love to sit down in the afternoon to take a pause between ticking tasks off my to-do list, to have some time for myself; refueling for the afternoon. I’ll light myself a candle, prepare myself a pot of herbal tea in a nice tea-pot, and sit down to a snack. My strawberry teacakes are a true delight for afternoon tea, and my lime and blueberry muffins are a sweet treat that will never disappoint.

While I’m fasting, I still want to enjoy a treat that is generous in flavor, and I’d have to say this coconut and banana bread from my new book Fast Your Way to Wellness is an utterly gorgeous indulgence, with a tropical twist on the classic flavours of everyday banana bread, which is usually loaded with wheat and white sugar.

This beauty is free from gluten, low in fructose and uses coconut flour, which imparts the flavour of a Maldivian island, yet offers a range of health benefits. Coconut supplies energy building medium chain fatty acids, micro-flora support and defence against parasites and pathogens thanks to lauric acid and monolaurin. Studies have also shown the fatty acids in coconut help you to eat less, and this is believed to be the result of the way these fats are metabolized.

Bananas are high in potassium, vitamin B6, immune boosting vitamin C, and also contain nutrients that moderate blood sugar levels; helping you to avoid blood sugar plummets during periods of fasting. Bananas are also quite rich in fibre and resistant starch, which are loved by your gut microbes, keeping all those friendly bacteria happy, healthy and fed. Look after these guys and they will look after you! You can read more about the importance about gut health in my popular e-Book Heal Your Gut. By the way if you only have frozen bananas its ok to use them in this recipe. For tips on freezing bananas see here.

I use a few eggs in this recipe, which adds a good hit of protein to keep you fuller for longer. Honestly, I’m not sure I can find another ingredient that quite matches the nutritional generosity and convenience of the mighty egg. These guys are the perfect portion of fats, proteins and nutrients to aid in body building and all round nourishment. They’re an inexpensive, high quality source of protein, which is found mostly in the whites.  Egg whites contain rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B12, B6 and minerals such as iron, zinc and copper. Egg yolks contain fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and lecithin. If you buy high quality free range eggs that have come from hens who have pecked around happily in green pastures, they’ll also contain a nice dose of anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids, so be sure to know you’re eggs.

Aside from binding this bread nicely, eggs are intentionally part of the recipe to ensure you are gaining nutrient density and protein to keep you happy during a fast. But you’ll barely notice you’re fasting when ritually enjoying a slice of this luscious loaf, and with an open and conscious mind, every mouthful will bless your tastebuds.

Take the time to bake and enjoy this gift to yourself with a cup of herbal tea such as this lavender tea with almond milk, or a cleansing and anti-inflammatory turmeric and ginger tea.

Coconut banana bread

Makes 8 slices

119 calories per slice (498kJs)

 Ingredients:

• 3 ripe small bananas
• 3 medium eggs, lightly whisked
• 90 g (3¹/₄oz/¹/₄ cup) rice malt (brown rice) syrup
• a few drops alcohol-free vanilla extract
• 30 g (1 oz/¹/₄cup) coconut flour
• ³/₄teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ¹/₂teaspoon salt
• fruit, to serve (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 21 x 9 cm (8¹/₄x 3¹/₂ in) loaf (bar) tin.
2. Peel and mash the bananas in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, rice malt syrup and vanilla, then mix well. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, then mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
3. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean. Completely cool in the tin on a wire rack, then slice and serve with fruit (if using).

Are you getting ready to hop into Easter?

I have the perfect sweet treat for you this Easter. Some healthy and tasty treats that won't melt while you’re on the Easter egg hunt.

Introducing my Easter Bliss Balls, or as I like to call them LEEaster Balls!

These are the greatest hunter gatherer snack you can find for Easter. They’re nutritious, delicious and won't tie you down in between eating (or overeating) sessions. I like to think of them as a little good thing amongst all the decadence.

Whilst everyone knows that bliss balls are a 'healthy treat', a lot of the time they're filled with a LOT of dried fruit - I'm talking double the quantity you would eat in one sitting! Dried fruit is delicious but it can be hard going on the gut because of the high levels of sulphites and sugars - giving you some unwanted digestive problems.

These balls don’t contain any unwelcome ingredients, which means your tummy won’t be frustrated with you during the Easter holidays. In fact LEEaster balls will make you and your insides happy.

I’ve included two different  variations for you – chewy chocolate and anti-inflammatory attack!

When hosting Easter meals, the chocolate balls go down as a terrific treat and for times when you're in need of a health boost, the anti-inflammatory turmeric balls are the way to go.

I’ve also included my Love Your Gut powder into the mixture for some much-needed gut-loving;  a true necessity after the over-indulging we usually do around holiday time. The powder also has remarkable health benefits, improving nutrient absorption and taking care of your hair, skin and nails, not to mention it's absorbable iron content that is wonderful for energy levels.  You can watch and read more about the health benefits of it here.

By the way, I forgot to munch-ion that these balls are approved by the Easter Bunny, so please be sure to give them a go!

LEEaster Balls

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP LYG powder
• 1⁄2 cup almond meal
• 5 TBSP almond nut butter
• 1⁄2 cup tahini
•  8 drops liquid stevia
• 1 cup chopped nuts of choice
• 1⁄2 cup coconut flakes
•  1⁄4 cup sesame seeds plus extra for coating
• Chocolate: 1 TSP cacao or more if you like them chocolaty!
• Anti-inflammatory: 1 TSP turmeric, 1 TSP cinnamon and 1⁄2 TSP ginger 

Directions

Makes: 12

1. Place almond meal, LYG powder, coconut flakes and nuts into food processor and mix.
2. Add stevia, almond nut butter and tahini and continue to mix until combined.
3. Chill the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Remove and roll into balls on a flat tray.
5. Place extra sesame seeds in a bowl and roll balls to coat the surface.
6. Refrigerate and enjoy.
7. Chocolate version: Add in a 1 tsp of cacao to the base mixture or more if you like them chocolaty!
8. Anti-inflammatory: Add 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1⁄2 tsp ginger to base mixture. 

Supercharged Tip

You can make a big batch and keep a few of these in the freezer for later. 

Happy LEEaster,

Lee xo

Is a Sunday morning really a Sunday morning without pikelets?

When I reminisce about some of my favourite Sunday mornings, they involve late mornings, lazy tunes, light rain and steaming hot pikelets with toppings galore! 

Over the years, I’ve experimented with healthy-fying my old pikelets recipe and I’ve finally come up with a gut-healing recipe I know you all will love...

Green Pikelets!  

Yes you read that correctly - green pikelets! Before you wrinkle your nose and squint your eyes at the word 'green' in front of 'pikelets', just trust me on this one. The green aspect of these pikelets take them to the next level.

As you know, I love trying to incorporate veggies into my diet as much as possible. This is why adding spinach, a brilliant green leaf and a great source of folate, iron, vitamins and minerals, is the perfect addition to any pikelet recipe.

I know how hard it can be to get the kids to finish their vegetables, let alone enjoy them, so my pikelets recipe is sure to be a winner for both you and the kids. Hooray!

Even the biggest sceptics won't be able to taste the difference with this recipe. I've trialled and tested it out on my family and even the fussiest one in our bunch loved them. They’re secretly healthy but let me tell you, they're so delicious that will be adored by all.

To make them extra creamy, I add almond milo the recipe but you can use any milk that you prefer for a good hit of calcium. Rice milk makes them extra sweet and creamy. 

Pikelets are great for Sunday mornings but really, can be enjoyed for any day at any time! They make for the perfect afternoon hit, busy breakfast, lazy lunch, mid-morning pick-me-up or decadent dessert.

The great thing about these delicious treats is that they can be eaten with savoury and sweet toppings. I say - go crazy!

I love having mine with eggs for a savoury protein hit in the morning. They can also be enjoyed with some of my lemon and blueberry ice-cream, nut butter, simple berries for an antioxidant hit or even on their own!

So what are you waiting for? Let's enjoy some fluffy green pikelets for breakfast this morning.

Green Pikelets

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of English spinach leaves
• ¼ cup chia seeds

• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBS smooth nut butter
• 2 tsps LYG powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup almond milk or milk of choice
• good pinch of Celtic sea salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil, or butter for frying

Method:

Place all the ingredients, except the coconut oil or butter if using, into a food processor and combine until smooth.

Remove batter and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add half the oil.

Depending upon the size of the pikelets preferred, could just under ¼ cup mixture into the pan and cook for 5 minutes on one side, then flip over to do other side for about 3 minutes.

Place on a waiting plate and continue until all the batter is used.

Happy cooking!  Lee xo