If you are looking for a healthy option to boost your families nutrient content with very little effort, I highly recommend making gelatin jellies. A variation of these gummies are something I make almost weekly for our family and try to eat them daily. They are so simple, nutritionally dense & a healthy ‘treat’ for the little (& big) ones.

Quality Gelatin is an excellent source of protein and amino acids. In nature we find it in perfect balance, with the full spectrum of amino acids when we eat a nose to tail diet. Unfortunately this is not very common or supported in our modern lifestyle. Whilst gelatin is not a complete protein, it is a beneficial option to boost protein intake for anyone needing it. Glysine is one of the most valuable amino acids found in gelatin which is hugely beneficial in so many ways such as:

• Reduces inflammation,
• Improves brain function & mood,
• Supports detoxification,
• Builds strong joints & bones,
• Heals leaky gut,
• Supports digestive health,
• Promotes hormone balance
• Supports Skin, Teeth, Nail & Hair health

What a love about these is how simple they are to make and that they are so supportive of anybody’s health from small children, to busy individuals, new mumma’s…anybody!

If you have some silicon moulds on hand, you can set the mixture in those OR you can line a baking tin with baking paper and pour it all in. After it sets, you can cut them up and store them individually. I highly recommend double batches to your favourite recipe combinations because it is difficult to limit yourself to just one! Kids often love them in fun and silly shapes so investing in a lego men or mini teddy silicone moulds is also a fun way to get them on board.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON QUALITY:

Bovine gelatin is derived from animals making the powder very concentrated so you want to make sure you source quality, ORGANIC gelatin with no impurities. Remembering, what ever animals eat ends up in their muscles, skin, tendons & bones, and therefore when we eat the animal, we ingest the qualities of that animal. So please, do your research. For quick reference, I personally I use Changing Habits gelatin powder.

I recommend eating around 1-2 gummies daily, which is really quite easy when they are so delicious.

TIPS AND OPTIONS

• INCLUDE FATS: Without getting too technical, I recommend substituting half the liquid in the recipe with organic pure coconut milk. Eating 1-2 of these 30 minutes before bedtime can be highly beneficial to encouraging a sound sleep because of the wonderful fat, protein, carbohydrate balance in the jellies which help to support energy for the detoxification & endocrine systems/organs whilst you sleep. Alternatively, you can add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the full mixture as the fat component.

• LIQUID: Use any combination of your favourite cold pressed, pure fruit juice (no additives please!) OR use organic coconut water as the liquid. You can even use steeped tea!

• FREEZE: Store them in individual portions the fridge to keep them jelly like OR in the freezer to enjoy as a lovely refreshing icey treat.

• INCLUSIONS: Don’t be afraid to adventure. Cocoa powder and coconut milk make a lovely chocolate treat, whole berries can be set inside the blended mixture before refrigerating, you can even use coffee as part of your liquid to make an adult version (combine with coconut milk to balance the coffee effects).

• SWEETENER: I like to use natural sweeteners such as raw honey or maple syrup. You can adjust the quantity to your taste.

• GELATIN/LIQUID RATIO: You can alter the ratio of gelatin to liquid to suit your preferred texture. More gelatin will give you firmer jellies.

Healing Gelatin Jellies

Gelatin Jellies are a healthy option to boost your families nutrient content with very little effort and they are so delicious.

Get creative with flavour combinations, set in fun moulds to really make it extra special.

A lovely nourishing snack for any time of the day!

• 3 tbsp Gelatin
• 2 cups Cold pressed fruit juice (I juiced a combination of carrot, orange, lime, ginger & mint. (other options in text above))
• 2 tbsp Raw honey
• 1 pinch Sea salt

1. Place the juice/liquid of choice in a pot and sprinkle the gelatin over the top in an even layer. Leave to absorb (bloom) for 5 minutes.

2. Heat the mixture in the pot over a low heat, whisking for about a minute or two until the gelatin is dissolved.

3. Remove from the heat once dissolved & add the honey.

4. Use a stick blender or regular blender to blitz it all together till smooth. Taste it to see if you need to adjust sweetener quantity.

5. Pour into silicon moulds or into a tray lined with baking paper. Then place them in the frdige for a few hours to set OR in the freezer for 20-30 minutes if you want to speed it up.

I have been meaning to post this recipe for AAAAGES!!! My go to, traditional, simple Risotto with a bit of a flavour twist. I am a bit nutty for risotto! I love it’s oozyness, warmth and delicate al dente bite when cooked ‘just right!’ My favourite risottos are generally ones that don’t include meat and I think it’s such a wonderful  way to use and show off simple veggies and of course some creamy cheeses. About a year ago I was showing my parents around the beautiful, old rustic town of York in the UK and we stopped for lunch at Jamie Oliver’s Italian. Here I ate the most delicious plate of risotto I have ever tasted! It wasn’t even mine actually, It was my Dads order that he kindly shared with me after giving in to my prying eyes 😉 A simple, creamy and tasty risotto bianco (white risotto) with blue cheese and topped with pangrattato. It was truly delicious and a perfect example of what risotto should be.

Pangrattato translates as ‘grated bread’ in Italian and is another way that Italians have devised to add more flavour and texture to their dishes without adding parmesan cheese. This might seem a little adventurous and a possibly a little bit too time consuming to make, however, I guarantee it will add a lovely kick to this dish. If you do not use it all, even better as it goes wonderfully on top of a bowl of spaghetti tossed with olive oil, garlic and chilli OR scattered over sautéed veggies. Simple, delicious and unpretentious Italian cooking at its best! You can choose to omit the pancetta if you prefer, however, I think the saltiness and added crunch is a great contrast to the softness of the risotto and the creaminess of the goats cheese.

I hope you enjoy this beauty as much as I love to devour it! It takes a little care and time which always seems to put people off making risotto. Yes, you might have to stand by the stove for half an hour and stir and stir and stir, but the magic is all in the stirring to produce a beautiful creamy risotto and trust me… it is well worth it! Use this as a base recipe and include any other veggies that take your fancy. I often do this with mushrooms which are first sautéed in butter and thyme, then added in with the peas. The other bonus of making risotto is that left overs become arancini balls the next day!!! So stay tuned for those coming up next! Enjoy! xxx

The festive season is upon us and I just couldn’t help myself but jump right in! I have been dying to make some chocolate bark, in particular because you get to flavour it in any way you like, the options are endless! Plus it is just such an enjoyable creative process to make something, which really is so simple, look SO beautiful. My first thought on this little DIY project was that they would make the perfect handmade gift for friends and family at a christmas party. I was imagining the table set, with one of these little chocolate parcels sitting on everyone’s napkin. Not only beautiful as a decoration, but it also doubles as a thoughtful, personal treat for each individual. If you want to really get creative, you can flavour and decorate each block to suit each person. Whilst the ones I have made are quite pretty and sophisticated, it would be also fun to create some for the kiddies, decorated with all sorts of sweets. 😉

I love using edible flowers, don’t they look adorable! The one above I grated some orange rind into the melted chocolate and decorated it with pistachio nuts and a sprinkle of sea salt before it set.

I call this one my tribute to Australia. The dried mango, dessicated coconut and macadamia nuts remind me so much of my home, in particular the state of Queensland, where mangos and macadamia’s are in abundance this time of year. This was also my favorite flavour combination as I jam-packed it with toppings, as you can see. Something I highly recommend you do too!

As you will see in the recipe, I have tempered the chocolate using the microwave method. You can choose whether you want to temper or not, It’s really not going to affect the outcome too much, unless you are in a super hot climate, your chocolate might not hold. To be scientifically correct, chocolate tempering is best done with a thermometer over a double boiler. I find that too fussy so the microwave method works well for me. To find out more, just google ‘tempering chocolate’. However, to keep this activity fun, don’t complicate it too much. It really is more about having fun with the toppings! 😉 I hope you enjoy making (and eating) these as much as I have. Happy festive season! xxx

My favorite thing to do with crumbles is to pick out the crunchy, buttery clusters that sit on top. The bigger the better! 😉 Don’t you think? Crumbles are such a hearty, soulful dessert that feel like your belly has just been given a nice warm hug. I love the contrast of crunchy topping together with the soft stewed fruit.

Whilst the fruit base is quite a traditional combination, my topping is a little bit unique. As I mentioned, I love a good crunch, so the addition of almonds, coconut and oats help to do that. I love the quantities of this recipe as it makes a good amount of crumble.

If you can’t get your hands on blackberries, blueberries or raspberries will work too. I loved watching the deep crimson, dark purple juices from the blackberries bubbling out from under the crumble. A sign of a delicious, rustic crumble begging to be eaten. If you cannot find cooking apples, regular apples will work, however they are naturally sweeter than cooking apples so you could probably reduce the sugar quantities if you prefer. I know the topping isn’t a traditional combination, but trust me, it is delicious and with the added goodness from the almonds and coconut. Serve with a generous drizzle of cream or natural yoghurt, I guarantee you will be scooping out seconds.

Below is the recipe, get stuck in!

xxx

Celebrating summer time with a healthy frozen yoghurt cake with fresh raspberries, blueberries and pistachio nuts on a base of oats and almond butter. Sounds delicious doesn’t it! 🙂 This is one of the easiest desserts/ snacks/ breakfasts you could ever make and boy does it look impressive. I love how the beautiful, bright coloured berries pop up out of the cake, wonderfully contrasting with the earthy and rustic oat base.

The steps to making this dish are super simple and fruit combinations are endless, you can be as imaginative as you like. I use almond nut butter in my base together with the oats, but you could easily choose any other nut butter you prefer. Packed with natural sugars, it’s not going to give you that super huge sugar hit like some other cake recipes 😉 but for those looking to reduce sugar intake, this cake will certainly curb those sugar cravings….for a few days at least….

Whilst making this in a baking tin works well, you can easily use the yoghurt and berry mixture to make ice-cream sticks for the kids. I used greek yoghurt which, depending on the brand you use, might need a little sweetening with some honey before or after you freeze it.

This cake would be perfect as a dessert to an outdoor, summers day barbecue, or even as a sweet treat for the kids after school. Why not get them involved in making this one…They will most certainly love squishing the berries and nuts into the yoghurt! 😉

Enjoy those summer barbecues everyone! xxx

I love to have an easy, healthy snack in the fridge to whip out for my family when they start to whine at me for food in-between meals. I find if I don’t have some of these raw energy bites made up for the kids, they will keep pestering me for more and more snacks before lunch. Packed with nuts, healthy oils/fats and high in protein, your family will be kept fuller for longer while benefitting from their dense nutrient profile. Raw, gluten-free, dairy free, egg free AND guilt free, the only problem you will have is that they will be finished by the next day, requiring you to make another batch sooner than you anticipated. 😉 Luckily they don’t take much effort to put together and require NO baking! If your children are not nut crazy like mine, you can try reduce the quantity of whole nuts or continue to process them until thet are smaller in size. Coat them in some raw chocolate (recipe here) and they may be converted! 😉

If you have a bit more time on your hands, check out my Raw Caramel Cups – another variation of a healthy, bite sized, family snack. If you can get your hands on some mini cupcake silicone moulds to make these, it will make your preparation so much easier. No mess, no fuss, simply invert the mould once the mixture has set and out pops the little bite, so easily! I highly recommend them!

Once you make up a batch or two of these babies, store them in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container to keep them set. They are just perfect for an on the go breakfast, for lunch boxes (if your school has no nut free policy) or a guilt free after dinner treat to curb those sugar cravings!

Enjoy! xxx