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    • Sustainablity
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Banana Oat Cookies

May 20, 2015 Danijela Unkovich

These cookies tick all the boxes - they're nutritious, cheap, easy-to-make, really yummy and they require the simplest-of-simple ingredients list. Seriously, we're talking mashed banana, rolled oats, desiccated coconut, dried apricots, a sprinkling of chocolate chips, and THAT'S ALL.  They're also totally kid-friendly - get the kids involved in mashing the bananas, counting out the apricots and mixing all the ingredients together with their hands - it'll get a bit messy, but fun! 

A wonderful way to get kids more excited about what they're eating is to get them involved in the preparation process - it may require a little extra patience and time (and most likely clean up), but it's a great educational activity with the wonderful follow-on effect of getting them more invested at meal time (and so hopefully more inclined to try whatever is being served!). Of course, this might not be needed when it comes to eating cookies, but definitely something to keep in mind next time you have a pile of veggies to peel in front of you...

Banana Oat Cookies

Ingredients
4 mashed ripe bananas
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
12 dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Method
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

2) Add all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix together until well combined (a big wooden spoon or just your hands will do!).

3) Spoon out large tablespoons of the mixture and assemble into cookie shapes on the oven tray. I say assemble as it will get a little messy! You might need to spend a little time shaping them. A quick way to do it is to  get a cookie cutter and fill each one up with the mixture - when you remove the cookie cutter you'll get even circle shapes.

4) Bake the cookies in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them for the last few minutes to make sure they don't burn.

5) Take them out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before digging in. Enjoy!

Makes 10-12 cookies depending on how big you make them.

In kid friendly, sweet treats, snacks
← Banana Oat Pancakes The A-Z Guide to Healthy Eateries in Auckland →

Hi, I'm Danijela! I'm a nutritionist from New Zealand. Welcome to my blog, a space I share healthy easy recipe ideas and wellness inspiration. 

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Winter adventures in the garden🥦🍋🐓 The pace always tends to slow down this time of year before everything rev's up like crazy come Spring. But there's always a good bounty of veg at a much more manageable pace of "what's good for tonight’s meal", opposed to the maniac harvesting fret of summer aka "these courgettes are ONE second away from becoming marrows". We've been harvesting loads off cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, celery, silverbeet and carrots - the broccoli and cauli's always fun to watch as they grow. This year we're getting some NZ natives in the ground, starting with kawakawa (photo #7 - looking forward to brewing tea) and mānuka trees, though not in an attempt to make mānuka honey - we have waaay too many varieties of flowers around. In chicken news, we starting letting ours fully roam and free-range (they otherwise have nice big run where they also hang in), but problem is we have no idea where they're now laying eggs😳 We found about ten the other day piled up in some long grass but had to discard as goodness knows how long they've been sitting there for😅 They’ve also been eating everything they can in the garden, and have learnt to jump over our mini fences we put up around the produce in an attempt to deter😂. Gardening is so much fun - if you haven't given it a whirl I encourage you to try your hand at it! Even just a small pot on the window sill is awesome. It's a great way to form a closer connection and understanding to where food comes from, the seasons and environmental sustainability; as well as to save on food bill, trips to the grocery shops and you’ll find it brings you some of the tastiest produce you'll ever eat to your plate - you cannot get fresher than seasonal and out of your own garden! #communitygarden #dingwalltrust #gardentotable #gardentotablenz
Banana, peanut butter and sunflower seeds on toast🍌 Rich in carbohydrates which provide energy to the body, and so a great pre-run fuel!👌 I shared a blog post on running nutrition a few months back with the @adidasrunners Auckland crew talking all things food and running. The crux of pre, during and post-run nutrition ultimately depends on the parameters of the run - the distance, intensity, timing, environment and what you’re trying to get out of it. Throw on top of that a hefty sprinkle of individuality - what works for one person may not for another! Head over to my blog and search Runners Nutrition 101 if you’d like to read it😊🏃‍♂️ A reminder to my Auckland friends that this evening is @adidasrunners Auckland. Every Tuesday we meet in Britomart in Auckland's CBD for a community run at 6pm. This is open to all fitness levels - we have options of 5km, 7km and 10km with different paces. I’ve found community fitness to be a great way to get active in a fun and supportive environment, and it’s neat watching your fitness build over time - hope to see you there🙏🏻🏃‍♂️☺️ #adidasambassador #adidasnz #adidasrunners #adidasrunnersauckland #running #runningnutrition #banana #peanutbutter
Colourful veg and tofu sesame stir-fry for dinner🥦🌶🥒 I love stir-fries for an easy speedy meal! They're a great way to use up whatever veggies are sitting lonely at the bottom of your crisper. They also take the phrase 'eat the rainbow’ very seriously - different coloured produce are indicative of different nutrients, which is why we should aim to include a rainbow of veggies in our diet🤙🌈 With my fair-share of average stir-fry attempts at home, here are some learnings 1️⃣Pre-cut everything before you start cooking so it's all good to go - cooking stir-fries is fast business! 2️⃣Cut all your veggies as uniform as you can as this will help them cook at a similar rate. 3️⃣Make sure your wok or saute pan is hot, hot, hot when you add your veggies and protein - preheat until you feel heat radiating off (I usually cook my aromatics - ginger and garlic - on a lower heat first so they don't burn, then remove the from the pan to add in at the end) 4️⃣Make a plan of what to add first into the plan - some items might just need 30 seconds to cook over a high heat! 5️⃣Move ingredients around the pan quickly, so everything cooks evenly - hence the name stir-fry👍 This stir fry contains ginger, garlic, tofu, brocolli (stalk included too!), capsicum, carrot, edamame, mushrooms, soya sauce, and sesame seeds + sesame oil to finish🤤 #dinnerchat #stiryfry #recipeidea #dinner
Avocado on toast…topped with egg and salmon! A favourite breaky, that I find as delicious as I do satisfying🤤. I chat often with clients about the importance of satiation and feeling satisfied after meals. There’s many ways we can help ourselves along here - some which involve concepts of mindful eating and paying attention to cues our body gives us when eating (rather than letting our head guide us i.e. “I should stop eating because I think I should!”) as to whether we feel comfortably full or not. Another way can be how we put our meals together, and the ‘balance’ of the dish. Different foods contain different nutrients needed for good health – which is why it’s important we eat a wide variety daily. In the case of protein-rich foods, outside of the necessity of eating it for general health, it has also shown to have a more satiating effect on appetite compared to the other macronutrients carbohydrates (found rich in oats, toast, fruit…) and fats (found rich in oil, nuts, butter...) – meaning when we include it in meals, we often feel full for longer! I like to encourage clients to kick off their day with protein-rich foods at breakfast, whether that’s eggs (sunny-side up, scrambled, boiled, in a frittata, in pancakes…endless ways to enjoy them), salmon (like I’ve included here with eggs!) greek yoghurt (in smoothies, on top of muesli), baked beans of some kind, nuts and seeds (great added to muesli or over porridge), protein powders (in smoothies or mixed into oats) or tofu-scrambles (yum on toast). Do you find it makes a difference to how you feel in the morning?
I find it super satisfying how orderly these are displayed😅🤣 The Marie Kondo of markets. New to the blog is my healthy foodie guide to London! I have been chipping away at this mammoth post for months heh - it’s a long one. London has an incredible food scene, which I attempted to document during my stay, though with a healthy spin because #healthblog. The list is, of course, by no means even a smidge close to being an ultimate guide/complete list. There were so many places I didn’t get to venture, sadly (next time!), but a good list, shall you be passing through/living there and wish to embark on a tasty food odyssey. As for these snaps - I took them during a culinary school trip to New Covent Garden Market (close to midnight to beat the early hotel/restaurant rush come the very wee hours of the morning!), which is UK's largest fruit, veg and flower wholesale market. There was an endless array of produce...literally endless. With such a huge variety of produce, there’s always going to be waste - however, when I inquired they said they send zero waste to landfill. Instead they recycle around 15,000 tonnes each year and then whatever isn't fit for humans is passed on for animal feed. #fruitandveggies #healthyfoodieguidelondon #healthyfoodie #healthylondon
Forever a favourite!🍫🤤 Medjool date stuffed with peanut butter, a square or two of dark chocolate and a pinch of sea salt. Snickers in a mouthful - I love these as an afternoon sweet treat or dessert. To make slice the date length ways with a sharp knife, pull open the flesh and discard the inner pip. Dollop in a teaspoon of any kind of nut butter (peanut, almond, hazelnut, even seed butter like tahini too!) and any chocolate, but I think the slight bitterness of dark works well with the super sweet date. The variety of dates called medjool work best here - they’re big, chewy, sticky, sweet and kind of toffee-like. Unlike other varieties of dates we sell in NZ these can be found chilled in the fresh produce section rather than the dried fruit aisle at the supermarket. #dessertidea #yum #medjooldates #medjool #snickers #peanutbutter
Grilled sesame salmon, brown rice, a few handfuls of veg (kale, brussel sprouts, mushrooms and brocollini) and a big squeeze of lemon for lunch. I cooked up a few extra servings of salmon/rice/veggies to cover lunches for the next couple of days. Probably one of the biggest ‘healthy’ hacks when busy is meal prepping! This is when we plan or prepare food in advance. It’s an epic time/money/health saver when you don’t have the time, or want, to put much thought into food across the day. Simply prepare more servings than you indeed to eat of a dish, store away in the fridge or freezer, then heat and eat when ready👌 The whole concept of cook once, eat twice/three/four/five/six/seven/eight times. Over winter I love meal prepping curries, soups and stews; as these tend to generally store well, and are a dream on a cold eve after a long day at work when you don’t want to get stuck in the kitchen😊 #salmon #mealprep #yum
Sunday breakfast and a giveaway!🌸 Swipe right for the prize pack. I've teamed up with @littlebirdorganics to gift a foodie-themed goodie bag to one of you - loaded inside your "EAT HAPPY" market tote is 2x packs of Grawnola (granola), 2x bags of Crispy Flats(crackers), 2x bags of their *insanely* tasty raw Macaroons, 1x Little Bird Goodness cookbook by the amazing Megan May, and 3x Good Breakfast Cookies in Double Chocolate; Apple, Cinnamon, Almond and Hemp, and Hazelnut Chocolate Chip. The Apple, Cinnamon, Almond and Hemp cookie is insanely good!😳 To enter the draw, simply tag a friend in the comment below who might be interested - feel free to enter as many times as you like! A winner will be announced on the 28th June at 6pm (NZ time). I'd like to acknowledge that this promotion is in no way sponsored endorsed or administrated by, or associated with Instagram. By entering, entrants confirm they ar 16 years of age, release instagram of responsibility and agree to instagram terms of use. Open NZ wide. Breakfast features the @littlebirdorganics macadamia and berry granola (also in the prize pack) with yoghurt, fresh fruit, seeds and cinnamon☺️ Yummmmmm. #giveaway #nzwide #prize
🍏🥕🍳Clinic musings...since graduating as a nutritionist back in 2015 I've been fortunate to work in very people-focused nutrition jobs. One leg of this is nutrition practise and I’d say the biggest lesson it has taught me, and drives home every time I am in the clinic, is just how different we are. No human is cookie cutter, which means how we approach our diet (and I don't mean diet in the restrictive sense) won't be cookie cutter either. Genetically we're different and we have different lifestyles - the jobs we do, our family and relationship commitments, time and financial constraints, dietary preferences, health status, our interests...which means while someone may come to the clinic for 'weight-loss' or 'gut health' and there’s a general idea or protocol with how you might approach their plan, it's always important to met them where they're at and adapt advice to their lifestyle. Always working collaboratively together, and encouraging them to sit in the driver seat while you facilitate - as ultimately sustainability leads to compliancy which often leads to results. Generally, and as humans, we can be really tough on ourselves, wondering why we can't stick to something or why we don't have the 'willpower' to follow through, when in reality it just wasn't a good fit for our lifestyle and that's really okay. It’s so easy, when our motivation or inspiration is peaking, to set the hoop far to high to jump through, and then trip up on it when reality and life kicks in. This is why if you have a friend raving about how something has done wonders for them and you should try it, or you see something online promoting something that sounds a little too good to be true...just be objective, and really ask yourself if this is a good fit for me? Nutrition theory is one thing - the practicality and suitability side is another! I still have so much to learn and feel very much at the start of the journey somedays (have entered my fifth year now!), but with each client you learn so much. Happy Saturday🙂 #nutritionist #nutritionpractise
Fig, tahini and honey bliss balls🌟 It’s been forever since I’ve made a batch of bliss balls - you can buy them just about everywhere now! But I’ve come to back to this old recipe today, which has been a long-time favourite. With each bite you get bursts of juicy fig, nutty tahini and sticky sweet honey - they’re pretty oh la la tasting! 👨‍🍳To make add to a food processor 1 cup walnuts, 12 dried figs, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup tahini and 2 tbsp honey. Blitz together for a minute or so until a crumbly dough like mixture forms. Roll heaped tbsp of the mixture together between your hands to form a smooth ball, and then roll in your choice of topping - sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or coconut works well! Store in the fridge/freezer and enjoy one or two as a yummy snack on-the-go. Nutritionally, the walnut nut base is source of omega-3 and omega-6 (which are essential fatty acids we can’t make internally so we must get them from the foods we eat - they’re important in brain/heart/skin health!); as well as tahini, which is a source of plant-based calcium; and dried figs, which are a good source of dietary fibre that helps keep our guts happy🤙 #blissball #fig #honey #tahini #blissball #blissballrecipe
Apple slices, peanut butter and cinnamon🍎🥜 A yummy and nutritious snack idea - a sprinkle of cinnamon totally elevates the whole thing! Here’s fifteen more snack ideas if that one doesn’t float your boat: 1️⃣ Veggie sticks with dip (e.g. hummus, pesto, nut butter, guacamole) 2️⃣ The *oh so* humble boiled egg 3️⃣ A handful of berries with thick and creamy plain yoghurt 4️⃣ A handful of homemade trail mix - make your own with your fav nuts, seeds, dried fruit and dark chocolate! 5️⃣ Edamame beans (one cup has a hefty 17g protein - protein is slow to be digested, and will help keep you feeling full for longer) 6️⃣ A wedge of cheese with rice/grainy crackers *cheese drool🧀* 7️⃣ A medjool date sliced open and filled with a little nut butter 8️⃣ Speedy protein shake - shake a serving of powder with your choice of milk, or blend and add a piece of fruit! 9️⃣ Rice cakes smeared with avo + tomato, OR nut butter + banana, OR cottage cheese + tinned fish 1️⃣0️⃣ Popcorn - sprinkle with cinnamon for a sweet version, or your choice of spice/herb for savoury (e.g. oregano, chili, paprika...) 1️⃣1️⃣ Bliss balls - a mix of blitzed dries fruit/nuts/seeds. There’s ten squillion recipes online if you want to make your own 1️⃣2️⃣ Roasted chickpeas 1️⃣3️⃣ Mini frittata muffins (bake whisked egg, your choice of diced veg, cheese, S+P) 1️⃣4️⃣ Veggie soup - I like adding lentils for a bit more protein 1️⃣5️⃣ Last nights leftovers - reduce the portion from a main meal to a snack size. #snack #snackideas #snacks #snackfood #nutrition
Loaded black bean veggie nachos with guacamole, fresh salsa, corn chips and baby spinach🥙 This gluten-free meal inspiration tonight is for Coeliac Awareness week, running this week in NZ! The black bean mix is pretty easy to whip up - head to my blog for the vegetarian chilli recipe, but sub out the kidney beans and corn for black beans. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍞Coeliac disease(CD) is an autoimmune disorder that causes an intestinal reaction to gluten, which is a type of protein found in foods containing wheat, rye, barely, oats (approx 1 in 5 people with CD react to pure, uncontaminated oats!), or any other derivatives of the above. It’s hereditary, however both genetic and environment factors play important roles in CD. According to coeliac.org.nz, it’s currently estimated 60,000 to 70,000 NZ have the disease (aka 1 in 70), but up to 80% are unaware they have the condition - this statistic totally blew me away!😳 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍞CD causes damage to our small intestine lining, the site where we absorb most of the nutrients from our foods, making it difficult for the body to absorb vitamins, minerals and other nutrients form the foods we eat. CD can lead to a range of symptoms; like fatigue and weakness, nausea and vomiting, nutrient malabsorption (iron and folate acid deficiency the most common), difficulty concentrating, weight-loss and more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍞Diagnosis is key to managing and improving health. and fortunately there are a range of tests available to confirm whether or not you have CD. Chat with your doctor about testing if you feel you may be at risk - it’s important is to be consuming gluten for tests to be accurate. Treatment for CD is a life-long gluten free diet - by removing the cause of the disease, this allows all abnormative to recover - as long as the diet is adhered to!🙏🏻 #coeliacawarenessweek #coeliacdisease
#RunfortheOceans 🌊🌊 According to the UN, a staggering 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans each year. The same properties that have made plastic so darn widely used - their durability and resistance to degradation - also makes them nearly impossible for nature to completely break down, having dire consequences on our environment and marine life. There’s no doubt the world has woken up to the problem, and so much can and is being done to now take action against plastic pollution. For the third year in a row, and between the 8th-16th June, @adidasnz and @adidas are helping to fight the threat of marine plastic pollution through their initiative Run for the Oceans. If you lace up and log your run via the runtastic app, for every km they will contribute $1 to the Parley Ocean Schools to help educate youth on how to protect the oceans. In Auckland, our local @adidasrunners Auckland Run for the Oceans will be on Tuesday 11th June (tomorrow!), where we’re partnering with @sustainablecoastlines down in Wynyard Quarter to host our run for the evening! We’re starting our run at the store on Custom St East in Britomart as per, but finishing up down in Wynyard Quarter. It’s going to be an awesome eve, and hopefully we’ll see some of you there!🙏🏻👟 Tomorrow I’ll be wearing the @adidasnz runners in the second snaps for my run - they’re made up from at least 75% upcycled plastic trash, another neat initiative from @adidas 🌊🙏🏻🌊 #runfortheoceans #adidasnz #adidasrunnersauckland #adidasrunners #parley #adidasalphabounceparley
Cream of pumpkin soup with pesto smothered toast🍁 We've well and truly hit soup weather in Auckland. Soup is awesome - a bowlful is comforting and nutritious, and you don't need any expensive/hard-to-source ingredients to make something really spectacular! This version of cream of pumpkin soup is dairy-free, and vegan-friendly, and only requires a few super simple and easy-to-source ingredients. To get the creaminess, without the cream, I’ve made an easy-peasy homemade plant-based concoction to mix through - that being cashew cream! Try it! It’s a nice substitution if traditional cream of pumpkin soup doesn’t fit your dietary preference.👨‍🍳To make the soup simply add 1/2 cup cashews to 1 cup of water and leave to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes. Then carefully clean a 1.2kg whole pumpkin - begin by slicing it in half, scooping out the inner seeds and discarding, then placing the flat-side of each half down. Slice the pumpkin into thick pieces from top to bottom, then thinly slice the skin off each, and dice flesh to uniform large bite-size pieces. Peel, slice and roughly chop an onion and garlic. Add onion, garlic and pumpkin to a large sauce pan and pour in 1L of veggie stock. Bring to boil uncovered, then reduce to a simmer until pumpkin is tender, roughly 35-40 minutes. Once soup has finished cooling blend together cashews and water and put aside. Blend soup using a stick blender or food processor (be careful not to put hot soup into a blender - let it cool a bit first). Once soup has blended, pour in cashew cream and mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy! #soup #homemadesoup #pumpkinsoup #soup #pumpkin
Peanut butter and raspberry chia jam on toast🥜 Ever tried making your own homemade chia jam before? It only takes a few minutes and is deelicious! Simply heat 1 cup fresh/frozen berries with 3 tbsp water until soft, gently mash with a fork until pulpy, and then mix in 1 tbsp chia seeds. Leave for a couple of minutes and then watch as the jam starts to thicken/‘set’ right before your eyes! If it gets a little stiff the next day, just add a splash of water to loosen. Nutritionally, chia seeds are rich in fibre - this gives them the ability to absorb water (around 10-12x their own body weight!) swelling in size and essentially causing a gelling effect - perfect for making your own jam! The fibre content will help with slowing the release of sugars from the meal, meaning energy for longer👌 They’re also a source of plant-based omega-3, and by weight are about 20% protein - making for one nutritious jam! I love chia seeds, but mainly for their culinary properties - they’re loads of fun to play and get creative with, case in point💃😃 Try it at home, a fun one to make with kiddies💛 Store in the fridge! #chiaseeds #chiajam #chiaseedjam #pbandjam #peanutbutterandjelly #peanutbutter #peanutbutteraddict
Shakshouka!🍅🍳 Aka tomatoey baked eggs. If you haven’t tried shakshouka you’re missing out my friends. This vegetarian-friendly recipe is perfect to whip up on mornings you have a little extra time on your hands to make something super yummy, and superbly nutritious, for breaky! While traditional shakshouka doesn’t typically contain legumes, I’ve included them in this version, bumping up the fibre and protein content to leave you feeling full for longer into the morning👌Makes for a super hearty meal, perfect for the chillier mornings ahead!❄️ Recipe on my blog - link in bio. #breakfastidea #breakfastrecipe #shakshuka #shakshouka #eggs #tomatoeggs
Snaps from last nights @adidasnz runners Auckland’s social night - and the last social night before winter!💥🏃‍♀️ We started the eve with a community 5km/7km/10km run as per, followed with a mug of pumpkin soup on arrival back thanks to @myundergroundkitchen and then I took the runners through a seminar looking at nutrition for long distance running. While the runs are open for all fitness levels and goals at adidas Runners, some members of the community are longer distance runners, so it’s an awesome topic to explore as training + nutrition are the two most important factors that will determine performance on a race day! It was beyond awesome to see the community each bring along their own mug/cup for soup - check out the colourful line up🌈🙏🏻 @adidasnz has a global stand point to reduce waste, especially single-use items, which we try and do at runners sessions wherever possible. If you want to come join in the fun Auckland friends, we run rain/shine 6pm (meeting at 5:45pm) at 12 Custom St, East in Britomart, Auckland CBD. Hopefully see you there next week! #adidasnz #adidasrunners #adidasrunners #runcommunity
Fish ‘n chips for dinner🐟🍟 This meal idea is pretty easy breezy to whip up. Start by carefully slicing potatoes into thirds lengthways ways, then each third into thirds again to make long chips. Toss chips with a light drizzle of oil and salt (you can add dried rosemary/thyme/garlic salt/whatever here), then pop on an oven tray and into an oven set to 200 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until crispy! Space out and give them a little room to crisp, and not steam. In the last ten minutes or so of cooking time, add fish fillets to the tray and cook through. Serve with salad, a squeeze of lemon and a big dollop of (the greatest condiment/sauce that ever existed) pesto over your fish. Enjoy! A good representative of the balanced plate approach to nutrition which I often teach clinically😊🥕🍗🍚 While there is no one-size fits all approach to nutrition, a great place to start when building meals is the balanced plate model - that is, aiming to have around 50% of our plate greens/colourful non-starchy veggies, 20% or less starchy vege/grains (e.g. potato, rice, kumara), 20% protein-rich foods (e.g. fish, legumes, chicken, eggs) and 10% fat-rich foods (e.g. olive oil, nuts, avocado, butter, nut butter). Different foods contain different nutrients needed for good health - by aiming for quality and variety in choice, and in proportion, we’ll receive a range of nutrients necessary for optimal health, energy levels, and feeling satisfied and fuelled between meals!💃 #dinneridea #balancedplate #fishandchips
Eggy toast🍳🍞 Cute breakfast idea for kids, that’s so totally simple to whip up it barely needs a recipe! To prepare, take your fav cookie cutter and dive it into the middle of a soft slice of bread to punch out a shape. Then lightly drizzle oil/butter into a pan, heat it up, place your slice of bread into the pan, crack an egg into the middle of the holey bread, and leave until cooked, maybe flipping once. Make sure to not throw away the inner discarded cookie cutter bit of bread - it’s the perfect vehicle for a smear of avocado, marmite or peanut butter! Altogether, a good source of protein, energy and an assortment of vitamins + minerals to kick-start a busy morning in the classroom - full recipe and nutrition info on my blog now!💃 Eggy toast aside, I’m excited to share a new an ambassador role with my friends at @lifeeducationtrust , who are a charity that educates and empowers kiddies to make healthy choices so they can live full healthy lives. Every year they teach over 250,000 children about their body, friendships, identity, food and nutrition and helpful and harmful substances. They’ve been around for yonks - I remember visits from Harold the Giraffe back in the days when I was at primary...and well, it has been a few decades (🦒😳😂). This school term they’ve launched Small Changes Whānau Challenge, which challenges families throughout NZ to do something small and fun every day to improve health and wellbeing! Over the next month and a bit they’ll be giving our activity packs at Life Education school visits to encourage families to visit the interactive Small Changes website to try out ideas and activities. I’ve been working with them on the nutrition front, and created some video content chatting about everything from gardening to baking to building balanced plates. For more, head to their website, or over to my blog - I’ve shared info on my latest post☺️#lifeeducationnz #haroldthegiraffe #smallchangesnz #smallchangeswhanauchallenge
Green apple and raspberry bircher muesli. I’ve been sharing my simple recipe a lot with clients in the clinic lately - it’s a super easy breakfast to take on-the-go, as you do most the prep the night before - perfect for mornings you need to get out of the door pronto! Nutrition wise, it’s superbly rich in dietary fibre. One serve will supply a smidge over 17g (😳), with recommend dietary fibre daily intake sitting at 25-30g for adults (25g for females/30g for males in NZ) - so a bowl of this will help you leap bounds towards that! Fibre is an indigestible part of carbohydrate-rich foods, and is typically synonymous with keeping us ‘regular’. Like an internal broomstick, it passes through our digestive system helping to speed the passage of waste - but it also has a whole lot of other benefits, like assisting blood sugar level regulation (slowing the absorption of sugars), feeding our gut bugs who in turn will do handy internal biological work for us, helping to keep us feeling full for longer and softening our stools making them easier to pass (gross, I know, but great!). Recipe for the Bircher is on my blog now - link in bio. #bircher #birchermuesli #yum #birchermueslirecipe #breakfastidea #breakfast #quickbreakfast
Winter adventures in the garden🥦🍋🐓 The pace always tends to slow down this time of year before everything rev's up like crazy come Spring. But there's always a good bounty of veg at a much more manageable pace of "what's good for tonight’s meal", opposed to the maniac harvesting fret of summer aka "these courgettes are ONE second away from becoming marrows". We've been harvesting loads off cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, celery, silverbeet and carrots - the broccoli and cauli's always fun to watch as they grow. This year we're getting some NZ natives in the ground, starting with kawakawa (photo #7 - looking forward to brewing tea) and mānuka trees, though not in an attempt to make mānuka honey - we have waaay too many varieties of flowers around. In chicken news, we starting letting ours fully roam and free-range (they otherwise have nice big run where they also hang in), but problem is we have no idea where they're now laying eggs😳 We found about ten the other day piled up in some long grass but had to discard as goodness knows how long they've been sitting there for😅 They’ve also been eating everything they can in the garden, and have learnt to jump over our mini fences we put up around the produce in an attempt to deter😂. Gardening is so much fun - if you haven't given it a whirl I encourage you to try your hand at it! Even just a small pot on the window sill is awesome. It's a great way to form a closer connection and understanding to where food comes from, the seasons and environmental sustainability; as well as to save on food bill, trips to the grocery shops and you’ll find it brings you some of the tastiest produce you'll ever eat to your plate - you cannot get fresher than seasonal and out of your own garden! #communitygarden #dingwalltrust #gardentotable #gardentotablenz Banana, peanut butter and sunflower seeds on toast🍌 Rich in carbohydrates which provide energy to the body, and so a great pre-run fuel!👌 I shared a blog post on running nutrition a few months back with the @adidasrunners Auckland crew talking all things food and running. The crux of pre, during and post-run nutrition ultimately depends on the parameters of the run - the distance, intensity, timing, environment and what you’re trying to get out of it. Throw on top of that a hefty sprinkle of individuality - what works for one person may not for another! Head over to my blog and search Runners Nutrition 101 if you’d like to read it😊🏃‍♂️ A reminder to my Auckland friends that this evening is @adidasrunners Auckland. Every Tuesday we meet in Britomart in Auckland's CBD for a community run at 6pm. This is open to all fitness levels - we have options of 5km, 7km and 10km with different paces. I’ve found community fitness to be a great way to get active in a fun and supportive environment, and it’s neat watching your fitness build over time - hope to see you there🙏🏻🏃‍♂️☺️ #adidasambassador #adidasnz #adidasrunners #adidasrunnersauckland #running #runningnutrition #banana #peanutbutter Colourful veg and tofu sesame stir-fry for dinner🥦🌶🥒 I love stir-fries for an easy speedy meal! They're a great way to use up whatever veggies are sitting lonely at the bottom of your crisper. They also take the phrase 'eat the rainbow’ very seriously - different coloured produce are indicative of different nutrients, which is why we should aim to include a rainbow of veggies in our diet🤙🌈 With my fair-share of average stir-fry attempts at home, here are some learnings 1️⃣Pre-cut everything before you start cooking so it's all good to go - cooking stir-fries is fast business! 2️⃣Cut all your veggies as uniform as you can as this will help them cook at a similar rate. 3️⃣Make sure your wok or saute pan is hot, hot, hot when you add your veggies and protein - preheat until you feel heat radiating off (I usually cook my aromatics - ginger and garlic - on a lower heat first so they don't burn, then remove the from the pan to add in at the end) 4️⃣Make a plan of what to add first into the plan - some items might just need 30 seconds to cook over a high heat! 5️⃣Move ingredients around the pan quickly, so everything cooks evenly - hence the name stir-fry👍 This stir fry contains ginger, garlic, tofu, brocolli (stalk included too!), capsicum, carrot, edamame, mushrooms, soya sauce, and sesame seeds + sesame oil to finish🤤 #dinnerchat #stiryfry #recipeidea #dinner Avocado on toast…topped with egg and salmon! A favourite breaky, that I find as delicious as I do satisfying🤤. I chat often with clients about the importance of satiation and feeling satisfied after meals. There’s many ways we can help ourselves along here - some which involve concepts of mindful eating and paying attention to cues our body gives us when eating (rather than letting our head guide us i.e. “I should stop eating because I think I should!”) as to whether we feel comfortably full or not. Another way can be how we put our meals together, and the ‘balance’ of the dish. Different foods contain different nutrients needed for good health – which is why it’s important we eat a wide variety daily. In the case of protein-rich foods, outside of the necessity of eating it for general health, it has also shown to have a more satiating effect on appetite compared to the other macronutrients carbohydrates (found rich in oats, toast, fruit…) and fats (found rich in oil, nuts, butter...) – meaning when we include it in meals, we often feel full for longer! I like to encourage clients to kick off their day with protein-rich foods at breakfast, whether that’s eggs (sunny-side up, scrambled, boiled, in a frittata, in pancakes…endless ways to enjoy them), salmon (like I’ve included here with eggs!) greek yoghurt (in smoothies, on top of muesli), baked beans of some kind, nuts and seeds (great added to muesli or over porridge), protein powders (in smoothies or mixed into oats) or tofu-scrambles (yum on toast). Do you find it makes a difference to how you feel in the morning? I find it super satisfying how orderly these are displayed😅🤣 The Marie Kondo of markets. New to the blog is my healthy foodie guide to London! I have been chipping away at this mammoth post for months heh - it’s a long one. London has an incredible food scene, which I attempted to document during my stay, though with a healthy spin because #healthblog. The list is, of course, by no means even a smidge close to being an ultimate guide/complete list. There were so many places I didn’t get to venture, sadly (next time!), but a good list, shall you be passing through/living there and wish to embark on a tasty food odyssey. As for these snaps - I took them during a culinary school trip to New Covent Garden Market (close to midnight to beat the early hotel/restaurant rush come the very wee hours of the morning!), which is UK's largest fruit, veg and flower wholesale market. There was an endless array of produce...literally endless. With such a huge variety of produce, there’s always going to be waste - however, when I inquired they said they send zero waste to landfill. Instead they recycle around 15,000 tonnes each year and then whatever isn't fit for humans is passed on for animal feed. #fruitandveggies #healthyfoodieguidelondon #healthyfoodie #healthylondon Forever a favourite!🍫🤤 Medjool date stuffed with peanut butter, a square or two of dark chocolate and a pinch of sea salt. Snickers in a mouthful - I love these as an afternoon sweet treat or dessert. To make slice the date length ways with a sharp knife, pull open the flesh and discard the inner pip. Dollop in a teaspoon of any kind of nut butter (peanut, almond, hazelnut, even seed butter like tahini too!) and any chocolate, but I think the slight bitterness of dark works well with the super sweet date. The variety of dates called medjool work best here - they’re big, chewy, sticky, sweet and kind of toffee-like. Unlike other varieties of dates we sell in NZ these can be found chilled in the fresh produce section rather than the dried fruit aisle at the supermarket. #dessertidea #yum #medjooldates #medjool #snickers #peanutbutter Grilled sesame salmon, brown rice, a few handfuls of veg (kale, brussel sprouts, mushrooms and brocollini) and a big squeeze of lemon for lunch. I cooked up a few extra servings of salmon/rice/veggies to cover lunches for the next couple of days. Probably one of the biggest ‘healthy’ hacks when busy is meal prepping! This is when we plan or prepare food in advance. It’s an epic time/money/health saver when you don’t have the time, or want, to put much thought into food across the day. Simply prepare more servings than you indeed to eat of a dish, store away in the fridge or freezer, then heat and eat when ready👌 The whole concept of cook once, eat twice/three/four/five/six/seven/eight times. Over winter I love meal prepping curries, soups and stews; as these tend to generally store well, and are a dream on a cold eve after a long day at work when you don’t want to get stuck in the kitchen😊 #salmon #mealprep #yum Sunday breakfast and a giveaway!🌸 Swipe right for the prize pack. I've teamed up with @littlebirdorganics to gift a foodie-themed goodie bag to one of you - loaded inside your "EAT HAPPY" market tote is 2x packs of Grawnola (granola), 2x bags of Crispy Flats(crackers), 2x bags of their *insanely* tasty raw Macaroons, 1x Little Bird Goodness cookbook by the amazing Megan May, and 3x Good Breakfast Cookies in Double Chocolate; Apple, Cinnamon, Almond and Hemp, and Hazelnut Chocolate Chip. The Apple, Cinnamon, Almond and Hemp cookie is insanely good!😳 To enter the draw, simply tag a friend in the comment below who might be interested - feel free to enter as many times as you like! A winner will be announced on the 28th June at 6pm (NZ time). I'd like to acknowledge that this promotion is in no way sponsored endorsed or administrated by, or associated with Instagram. By entering, entrants confirm they ar 16 years of age, release instagram of responsibility and agree to instagram terms of use. Open NZ wide. Breakfast features the @littlebirdorganics macadamia and berry granola (also in the prize pack) with yoghurt, fresh fruit, seeds and cinnamon☺️ Yummmmmm. #giveaway #nzwide #prize 🍏🥕🍳Clinic musings...since graduating as a nutritionist back in 2015 I've been fortunate to work in very people-focused nutrition jobs. One leg of this is nutrition practise and I’d say the biggest lesson it has taught me, and drives home every time I am in the clinic, is just how different we are. No human is cookie cutter, which means how we approach our diet (and I don't mean diet in the restrictive sense) won't be cookie cutter either. Genetically we're different and we have different lifestyles - the jobs we do, our family and relationship commitments, time and financial constraints, dietary preferences, health status, our interests...which means while someone may come to the clinic for 'weight-loss' or 'gut health' and there’s a general idea or protocol with how you might approach their plan, it's always important to met them where they're at and adapt advice to their lifestyle. Always working collaboratively together, and encouraging them to sit in the driver seat while you facilitate - as ultimately sustainability leads to compliancy which often leads to results. Generally, and as humans, we can be really tough on ourselves, wondering why we can't stick to something or why we don't have the 'willpower' to follow through, when in reality it just wasn't a good fit for our lifestyle and that's really okay. It’s so easy, when our motivation or inspiration is peaking, to set the hoop far to high to jump through, and then trip up on it when reality and life kicks in. This is why if you have a friend raving about how something has done wonders for them and you should try it, or you see something online promoting something that sounds a little too good to be true...just be objective, and really ask yourself if this is a good fit for me? Nutrition theory is one thing - the practicality and suitability side is another! I still have so much to learn and feel very much at the start of the journey somedays (have entered my fifth year now!), but with each client you learn so much. Happy Saturday🙂 #nutritionist #nutritionpractise Fig, tahini and honey bliss balls🌟 It’s been forever since I’ve made a batch of bliss balls - you can buy them just about everywhere now! But I’ve come to back to this old recipe today, which has been a long-time favourite. With each bite you get bursts of juicy fig, nutty tahini and sticky sweet honey - they’re pretty oh la la tasting! 👨‍🍳To make add to a food processor 1 cup walnuts, 12 dried figs, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup tahini and 2 tbsp honey. Blitz together for a minute or so until a crumbly dough like mixture forms. Roll heaped tbsp of the mixture together between your hands to form a smooth ball, and then roll in your choice of topping - sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or coconut works well! Store in the fridge/freezer and enjoy one or two as a yummy snack on-the-go. Nutritionally, the walnut nut base is source of omega-3 and omega-6 (which are essential fatty acids we can’t make internally so we must get them from the foods we eat - they’re important in brain/heart/skin health!); as well as tahini, which is a source of plant-based calcium; and dried figs, which are a good source of dietary fibre that helps keep our guts happy🤙 #blissball #fig #honey #tahini #blissball #blissballrecipe Apple slices, peanut butter and cinnamon🍎🥜 A yummy and nutritious snack idea - a sprinkle of cinnamon totally elevates the whole thing! Here’s fifteen more snack ideas if that one doesn’t float your boat: 1️⃣ Veggie sticks with dip (e.g. hummus, pesto, nut butter, guacamole) 2️⃣ The *oh so* humble boiled egg 3️⃣ A handful of berries with thick and creamy plain yoghurt 4️⃣ A handful of homemade trail mix - make your own with your fav nuts, seeds, dried fruit and dark chocolate! 5️⃣ Edamame beans (one cup has a hefty 17g protein - protein is slow to be digested, and will help keep you feeling full for longer) 6️⃣ A wedge of cheese with rice/grainy crackers *cheese drool🧀* 7️⃣ A medjool date sliced open and filled with a little nut butter 8️⃣ Speedy protein shake - shake a serving of powder with your choice of milk, or blend and add a piece of fruit! 9️⃣ Rice cakes smeared with avo + tomato, OR nut butter + banana, OR cottage cheese + tinned fish 1️⃣0️⃣ Popcorn - sprinkle with cinnamon for a sweet version, or your choice of spice/herb for savoury (e.g. oregano, chili, paprika...) 1️⃣1️⃣ Bliss balls - a mix of blitzed dries fruit/nuts/seeds. There’s ten squillion recipes online if you want to make your own 1️⃣2️⃣ Roasted chickpeas 1️⃣3️⃣ Mini frittata muffins (bake whisked egg, your choice of diced veg, cheese, S+P) 1️⃣4️⃣ Veggie soup - I like adding lentils for a bit more protein 1️⃣5️⃣ Last nights leftovers - reduce the portion from a main meal to a snack size. #snack #snackideas #snacks #snackfood #nutrition Loaded black bean veggie nachos with guacamole, fresh salsa, corn chips and baby spinach🥙 This gluten-free meal inspiration tonight is for Coeliac Awareness week, running this week in NZ! The black bean mix is pretty easy to whip up - head to my blog for the vegetarian chilli recipe, but sub out the kidney beans and corn for black beans. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍞Coeliac disease(CD) is an autoimmune disorder that causes an intestinal reaction to gluten, which is a type of protein found in foods containing wheat, rye, barely, oats (approx 1 in 5 people with CD react to pure, uncontaminated oats!), or any other derivatives of the above. It’s hereditary, however both genetic and environment factors play important roles in CD. According to coeliac.org.nz, it’s currently estimated 60,000 to 70,000 NZ have the disease (aka 1 in 70), but up to 80% are unaware they have the condition - this statistic totally blew me away!😳 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍞CD causes damage to our small intestine lining, the site where we absorb most of the nutrients from our foods, making it difficult for the body to absorb vitamins, minerals and other nutrients form the foods we eat. CD can lead to a range of symptoms; like fatigue and weakness, nausea and vomiting, nutrient malabsorption (iron and folate acid deficiency the most common), difficulty concentrating, weight-loss and more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍞Diagnosis is key to managing and improving health. and fortunately there are a range of tests available to confirm whether or not you have CD. Chat with your doctor about testing if you feel you may be at risk - it’s important is to be consuming gluten for tests to be accurate. Treatment for CD is a life-long gluten free diet - by removing the cause of the disease, this allows all abnormative to recover - as long as the diet is adhered to!🙏🏻 #coeliacawarenessweek #coeliacdisease #RunfortheOceans 🌊🌊 According to the UN, a staggering 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans each year. The same properties that have made plastic so darn widely used - their durability and resistance to degradation - also makes them nearly impossible for nature to completely break down, having dire consequences on our environment and marine life. There’s no doubt the world has woken up to the problem, and so much can and is being done to now take action against plastic pollution. For the third year in a row, and between the 8th-16th June, @adidasnz and @adidas are helping to fight the threat of marine plastic pollution through their initiative Run for the Oceans. If you lace up and log your run via the runtastic app, for every km they will contribute $1 to the Parley Ocean Schools to help educate youth on how to protect the oceans. In Auckland, our local @adidasrunners Auckland Run for the Oceans will be on Tuesday 11th June (tomorrow!), where we’re partnering with @sustainablecoastlines down in Wynyard Quarter to host our run for the evening! We’re starting our run at the store on Custom St East in Britomart as per, but finishing up down in Wynyard Quarter. It’s going to be an awesome eve, and hopefully we’ll see some of you there!🙏🏻👟 Tomorrow I’ll be wearing the @adidasnz runners in the second snaps for my run - they’re made up from at least 75% upcycled plastic trash, another neat initiative from @adidas 🌊🙏🏻🌊 #runfortheoceans #adidasnz #adidasrunnersauckland #adidasrunners #parley #adidasalphabounceparley Cream of pumpkin soup with pesto smothered toast🍁 We've well and truly hit soup weather in Auckland. Soup is awesome - a bowlful is comforting and nutritious, and you don't need any expensive/hard-to-source ingredients to make something really spectacular! This version of cream of pumpkin soup is dairy-free, and vegan-friendly, and only requires a few super simple and easy-to-source ingredients. To get the creaminess, without the cream, I’ve made an easy-peasy homemade plant-based concoction to mix through - that being cashew cream! Try it! It’s a nice substitution if traditional cream of pumpkin soup doesn’t fit your dietary preference.👨‍🍳To make the soup simply add 1/2 cup cashews to 1 cup of water and leave to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes. Then carefully clean a 1.2kg whole pumpkin - begin by slicing it in half, scooping out the inner seeds and discarding, then placing the flat-side of each half down. Slice the pumpkin into thick pieces from top to bottom, then thinly slice the skin off each, and dice flesh to uniform large bite-size pieces. Peel, slice and roughly chop an onion and garlic. Add onion, garlic and pumpkin to a large sauce pan and pour in 1L of veggie stock. Bring to boil uncovered, then reduce to a simmer until pumpkin is tender, roughly 35-40 minutes. Once soup has finished cooling blend together cashews and water and put aside. Blend soup using a stick blender or food processor (be careful not to put hot soup into a blender - let it cool a bit first). Once soup has blended, pour in cashew cream and mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy! #soup #homemadesoup #pumpkinsoup #soup #pumpkin Peanut butter and raspberry chia jam on toast🥜 Ever tried making your own homemade chia jam before? It only takes a few minutes and is deelicious! Simply heat 1 cup fresh/frozen berries with 3 tbsp water until soft, gently mash with a fork until pulpy, and then mix in 1 tbsp chia seeds. Leave for a couple of minutes and then watch as the jam starts to thicken/‘set’ right before your eyes! If it gets a little stiff the next day, just add a splash of water to loosen. Nutritionally, chia seeds are rich in fibre - this gives them the ability to absorb water (around 10-12x their own body weight!) swelling in size and essentially causing a gelling effect - perfect for making your own jam! The fibre content will help with slowing the release of sugars from the meal, meaning energy for longer👌 They’re also a source of plant-based omega-3, and by weight are about 20% protein - making for one nutritious jam! I love chia seeds, but mainly for their culinary properties - they’re loads of fun to play and get creative with, case in point💃😃 Try it at home, a fun one to make with kiddies💛 Store in the fridge! #chiaseeds #chiajam #chiaseedjam #pbandjam #peanutbutterandjelly #peanutbutter #peanutbutteraddict Shakshouka!🍅🍳 Aka tomatoey baked eggs. If you haven’t tried shakshouka you’re missing out my friends. This vegetarian-friendly recipe is perfect to whip up on mornings you have a little extra time on your hands to make something super yummy, and superbly nutritious, for breaky! While traditional shakshouka doesn’t typically contain legumes, I’ve included them in this version, bumping up the fibre and protein content to leave you feeling full for longer into the morning👌Makes for a super hearty meal, perfect for the chillier mornings ahead!❄️ Recipe on my blog - link in bio. #breakfastidea #breakfastrecipe #shakshuka #shakshouka #eggs #tomatoeggs Snaps from last nights @adidasnz runners Auckland’s social night - and the last social night before winter!💥🏃‍♀️ We started the eve with a community 5km/7km/10km run as per, followed with a mug of pumpkin soup on arrival back thanks to @myundergroundkitchen and then I took the runners through a seminar looking at nutrition for long distance running. While the runs are open for all fitness levels and goals at adidas Runners, some members of the community are longer distance runners, so it’s an awesome topic to explore as training + nutrition are the two most important factors that will determine performance on a race day! It was beyond awesome to see the community each bring along their own mug/cup for soup - check out the colourful line up🌈🙏🏻 @adidasnz has a global stand point to reduce waste, especially single-use items, which we try and do at runners sessions wherever possible. If you want to come join in the fun Auckland friends, we run rain/shine 6pm (meeting at 5:45pm) at 12 Custom St, East in Britomart, Auckland CBD. Hopefully see you there next week! #adidasnz #adidasrunners #adidasrunners #runcommunity Fish ‘n chips for dinner🐟🍟 This meal idea is pretty easy breezy to whip up. Start by carefully slicing potatoes into thirds lengthways ways, then each third into thirds again to make long chips. Toss chips with a light drizzle of oil and salt (you can add dried rosemary/thyme/garlic salt/whatever here), then pop on an oven tray and into an oven set to 200 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until crispy! Space out and give them a little room to crisp, and not steam. In the last ten minutes or so of cooking time, add fish fillets to the tray and cook through. Serve with salad, a squeeze of lemon and a big dollop of (the greatest condiment/sauce that ever existed) pesto over your fish. Enjoy! A good representative of the balanced plate approach to nutrition which I often teach clinically😊🥕🍗🍚 While there is no one-size fits all approach to nutrition, a great place to start when building meals is the balanced plate model - that is, aiming to have around 50% of our plate greens/colourful non-starchy veggies, 20% or less starchy vege/grains (e.g. potato, rice, kumara), 20% protein-rich foods (e.g. fish, legumes, chicken, eggs) and 10% fat-rich foods (e.g. olive oil, nuts, avocado, butter, nut butter). Different foods contain different nutrients needed for good health - by aiming for quality and variety in choice, and in proportion, we’ll receive a range of nutrients necessary for optimal health, energy levels, and feeling satisfied and fuelled between meals!💃 #dinneridea #balancedplate #fishandchips Eggy toast🍳🍞 Cute breakfast idea for kids, that’s so totally simple to whip up it barely needs a recipe! To prepare, take your fav cookie cutter and dive it into the middle of a soft slice of bread to punch out a shape. Then lightly drizzle oil/butter into a pan, heat it up, place your slice of bread into the pan, crack an egg into the middle of the holey bread, and leave until cooked, maybe flipping once. Make sure to not throw away the inner discarded cookie cutter bit of bread - it’s the perfect vehicle for a smear of avocado, marmite or peanut butter! Altogether, a good source of protein, energy and an assortment of vitamins + minerals to kick-start a busy morning in the classroom - full recipe and nutrition info on my blog now!💃 Eggy toast aside, I’m excited to share a new an ambassador role with my friends at @lifeeducationtrust , who are a charity that educates and empowers kiddies to make healthy choices so they can live full healthy lives. Every year they teach over 250,000 children about their body, friendships, identity, food and nutrition and helpful and harmful substances. They’ve been around for yonks - I remember visits from Harold the Giraffe back in the days when I was at primary...and well, it has been a few decades (🦒😳😂). This school term they’ve launched Small Changes Whānau Challenge, which challenges families throughout NZ to do something small and fun every day to improve health and wellbeing! Over the next month and a bit they’ll be giving our activity packs at Life Education school visits to encourage families to visit the interactive Small Changes website to try out ideas and activities. I’ve been working with them on the nutrition front, and created some video content chatting about everything from gardening to baking to building balanced plates. For more, head to their website, or over to my blog - I’ve shared info on my latest post☺️#lifeeducationnz #haroldthegiraffe #smallchangesnz #smallchangeswhanauchallenge Green apple and raspberry bircher muesli. I’ve been sharing my simple recipe a lot with clients in the clinic lately - it’s a super easy breakfast to take on-the-go, as you do most the prep the night before - perfect for mornings you need to get out of the door pronto! Nutrition wise, it’s superbly rich in dietary fibre. One serve will supply a smidge over 17g (😳), with recommend dietary fibre daily intake sitting at 25-30g for adults (25g for females/30g for males in NZ) - so a bowl of this will help you leap bounds towards that! Fibre is an indigestible part of carbohydrate-rich foods, and is typically synonymous with keeping us ‘regular’. Like an internal broomstick, it passes through our digestive system helping to speed the passage of waste - but it also has a whole lot of other benefits, like assisting blood sugar level regulation (slowing the absorption of sugars), feeding our gut bugs who in turn will do handy internal biological work for us, helping to keep us feeling full for longer and softening our stools making them easier to pass (gross, I know, but great!). Recipe for the Bircher is on my blog now - link in bio. #bircher #birchermuesli #yum #birchermueslirecipe #breakfastidea #breakfast #quickbreakfast

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