My mantra for this year is...

‘It’s the small changes you make every day that count’

Making a concerted effort to eat more vegetables and less processed food will have an ah-mazing effect on your body. Even if you feel the irresistible lure of comfort food, including a couple of healthy swap outs, like using zucchini in place of pasta and adding yoghurt instead of white sauce you can still enjoy a wonderfully healthy and filling meal such as this scrumptious Supercharged Lasagne.

I think small changes everyday work. When you think about it, that extra-large slice of cake or chocolate square is ok, on occasion, because if we go cold turkey and become too strict on ourselves then we end up craving a sweet treat even more.   Then what can happen is that you starve yourself of the occasional treat and then when you do relent you gorge out on the whole cake, which can leave you feeling guilty and mad at yourself. (more…)

You don’t have to be a supermodel to have a close personal relationship with your veggies.  Finding appealing ways to increase your intake of veggies  isn’t always a simple walk on the catwalk.  Although we all realise the benefits of including them in our diets, there is often a disconnect between what we know and what we actually do.

The abundance of options in the vegetable department can often be overwhelming as many of us struggle to accessorize our veggies and turn them into attractive designer dishes.

Here are a few delicious vegetable recipes, which will transform your evening meals and have you hungering for veggies like there’s no tomorrow!

  (more…)

Australian made Cosima skin care is a beautiful range of Advanced Organic Cosmeceutical products which are completely natural.  I  reviewed the Gentle Cleansing Milk, Regenerating Night Cream, Purely Radiant Elixer and Flawless Day Cream which all made my skin feel rejuvenated and refreshed. The products are formulated with carefully selected natural ingredients and researched for their anti-ageing, skin enhancing properties and nutrients. 

The good news is that there are no fillers and each ingredient in every product has beneficial properties for your skin and body. The products improve the condition of your skin and its underlying health helping to preserve or regain skin youth. 

Here is a list of what is not contained in Cosima products, which are also not tested on animals and come in recyclable packaging.

•  NO Sodium Lauryl Sulphate
• NO Mineral Oils
• NO Petroleum
• NO Artificial Fragrances
• NO Artificial Colours
• NO Harmful Detergents
• NO Animal Derivatives
• NO Parabens
• NO Harmful Chemicals
• NO Propylene Glycol

For more information visit the website.

There’s no time like the present for a bit of self- reflection.  How did last year shape up for you? Was it smooth sailing or were there things that you would have done differently given the opportunity?  

Many of us start the New Year with a resolution or two, whether it involves assessing our relationships, financial decisions, deciding to clean out your proverbial closet or vowing to never drink again after one too many cocktails!

What are some of the changes you’d like to see happen in the year ahead?  I’d like to do some more travelling this year and experience life a bit more, instead of being chained to my computer and also teach a restorative yoga class for people who want to do gentle yoga to help give them have more energy and enable them to recover from illness.

Whatever it is you choose to do this year, if you’re ready to wipe the slate clean, start afresh and ring in the New Year with a resolve to be happier and healthier, then setting yourself a realistic resolution to make gradual changes to your eating habits and lifestyle will be a lot easier to maintain.  Making small changes might not seem like much at the beginning, but soon, these small changes really do become significant larger changes that you'll notice.

In a dietary sense, a few examples of small changes might include swapping your daily coffee every second day for dandelion or herbal tea, or cooking with brown rice instead of white. Or it may even be that you will become less restrictive with your current eating habits and allow yourself the occasional treat without feeling guilty. (more…)

Homemade Superfood Chocolate

If chocolate is your weakness you don’t need to give it up altogether just because you are eating healthy.  Chocolate created with super food ingredients is as delicious as it is good for you. Packed with essential vitamins and minerals, simple homemade chocolate contains nourishing properties. 

The wonderful thing about this chocolate recipe is that you can make it your own with whatever flavourings you would like to add in depending upon your specific craving. Maybe its orange or peppermint choc chip or hazelnut? Whatever your fancy this recipe will rock your socks off.

(more…)

When I fall in love with something I eat it repeatedly. 

Take these delicious almond croquettes for example, even the name evokes in me a warm fuzzy feeling. Every time one enters my mouth, I still have that same old familiar first encounter feeling, you know the one that never quite leaves you, the one that is at its most natural. Like first love.

Speaking of natural these croquettes are a world away from the diminutive, bread crumbed, deep-fried, old style versions, full of binders and fillers that loiter in counter-top bain-maries at fast food joints getting drier by the moment.

A brief history lesson into croquettes, from the French verb croquer, "to crunch" and you’ll find that they've been hanging around for centuries, with food historians believing that recipes for croquette-type dishes likely descended from Ancient Roman rissoles. These little football shaped snacks were not built in a day. (more…)