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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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Salted caramel ice cream🍦I figure this one won’t be too hard a sell heh - just go make it!😋 This would be a greeeat ice cream alternative for all my friends who are dairy-free or vegan, where traditional ice cream is off the cards! Enjoy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ INGREDIENTS📝 3 frozen bananas (peel and slice into coins before freezing) 1/2 cup coconut milk 4 medjool dates, pitted A heaped tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp vanilla essence A few good grinds of the salt shaker ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ METHOD🥣 1. Add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth - you may need to scrap down the sides of the blender once or twice! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. Taste test and adjust salt/maple syrup to tastebuds if desired. Don’t be shy with the salt! 3. Serve immediately or pop in the freezer for an hour or two to firm up! Serves 3-4. In other exciting non-ice cream news - you may have seen in my stories earlier today I’m hosting a Women’s Wellness Workshop the next week with my friends at @theunbakery ! Super pumped about this one - we’ll be delving into the inner workings of the reproductive cycle and chatting through some dietary and lifestyle measures you can take to help support our cycles☺️ An awesome topic for us ladies to be talking more about🤙 For more information head to their IG and click the link in their bio. Finally - Happy International Women’s day everyone💛👭 The theme of this year is #balanceforbetter - think equal, build smart, innovate for change🙏🏻 #icecream #nicecream #dairyfree #vegan #saltedcaramel #icecreamrecipe
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Forever a favourite snack/dessert - creamy thick yoghurt, fresh berries, chopped dark chocolate and a sprinkle of cinnamon🤤 Always look forward to this at work as a late-afternoon pick me up! A source of protein and probiotics from the yoghurt, and antioxidants from the berries and chocolate (the higher the percentage of cocoa/cacao, the richer in antioxidants the chocolate will be!🍫). Give it a go, especially if you’re a chocolate fiend like me🤙 Hope everyone’s Monday is off to a good start! #snacktime #snack #berriesandyoghurt #chocolate #healthysnacks
Eating seasonal – what does it mean?🍓🍊🍋🥦 With the seasons changing in NZ, summer strawberries are sadly no longer on the shelves (and these strawberry picking snaps from Jan!). Like we have a natural cyclical rhythm, so does our fruit & vege. Seasonal produce refers to the times of year when the harvest/flavour of an food is at its peak, which can vary country-to-country depending on what is, and can be, grown locally. I adore living in NZ, for more reasons than I can count – and that includes our range of pretty outstanding local produce! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ While it is incredible to even have the opportunity to eat a huge assortment of produce from, quite literally, around the world, there are many perks to popping items grown within our countries backyard into our trolleys, wherever we can. It’s more environmentally sustainable, as it helps cut down on the fuel needed to transport foods from afar; it’s cheaper due to local supply and demand; it’s good for local communities, which rely on sales and dollars to thrive and develop; and good for our health, with produce fresher. Yes there can be challenges, as with anything - like more limited choices or impacted growing seasons around weather – but I think the intention of celebrating whatever we can, wherever we can, is neat! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here’s five tips for ways for eating more seasonal: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1. Read labels/packages when you go to supermarket to get an idea of what’s in season – the origin of items will be on packaging or sign posted. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. Check out websites to learn more about what’s in season locally and ideas for how to use it (I like @5adaynz and produce.co.nz in NZ!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3. Visit farmers markets – chat with the growers! Hear their story. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 4. Have a go at growing your own - you can’t get fresher, and it’s a great way to foster a deeper connection to where food comes from. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 5. Preserve seasonal gluts! We’re talking jams, pickles, chutneys... a great way to make seasonal produce last longer🤙Think sunshine nectarines from a bottle in the middle of the gloomiest winter. #eatingseasonal #seasonaleating #summerproduce #strawberries #produce #fruit
Green pesto and butter bean pasta for lunch🍃 Made with sautéd brown onion and diced courgette; tossed with cooked peas, tinned butter beans, pesto, pasta, grated parmesan, leafy greens and a big squirt of lemon juice. A recurring fav on the menu. I’ve been experimenting with more legumes (which include everything from lentils, chickpeas, peas to beans...) lately, as they’re super easy to use (especially when opting for tinned varieties on a busy night!), cheap as anything and super nutritious. They’re a plant-based source of protein, which aids appetite regulation and keeps us feeling full for longer; as well as fibre for a happy healthy gut, and a plethora of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which all help keep our health in top tip shape🤙 Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!💃 #dinneridea #legumes #plantbased #vegetarian #pestopasta #pasta #healthydinneridea
Scrambled eggs + basil pesto on toast🤤 I love a good food pairing - hazelnut and chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, roast and gravy. Some things just really work well together - including pesto and eggs. Try it. Now. Or at breakfast tomorrow. Preferably on top of @vogelsnz - the quintessential kiwi bread (not sponsored friends just love a slice of Vogels, like all good kiwis😋☺️). Toast can be an epic vehicle for getting in other nutritious ingredients like eggs, smoked salmon or nut butter - when we pair protein or fat-rich foods with carb-rich foods we can help slow the release of energy from the carbs, which means more sustained energy for longer! Making sure to enjoy a loaf that’s fibre-rich helps too. Happy Thursday friends! #pestoeggs #pesto #egg #eggcellent #toast #breakfast #dietaryfibre #fibre
Eggplant pizza🍕🍆 After taking this photo I immediately demolished, direct off baking paper, every last morsel of these. Sooo good. And so easy to make! Simply slice and eggplant lengthways as per photo, or into 1 cm thick coins width ways. Sprinkle with rock salt and then bake at 200 degrees celcius for ten minutes. Remove and spread with pizza sauce, then add a sprinkle of cheese (I used Edam here) and sliced cherry tomatoes. Bake for another 10-15 mins, or until little cheese bubbles start to appear (cheese bubbles🤤😩). Remove from oven and top with fresh basil leaves. Done! Eat. Enjoy. #pizza #eggplantpizza #pizzaideas #eatyourvegetables #mealidea #healthyrecipeideas
Happy Friday friends🌈 Meant to be watering the plants, but making rainbows seemed like a better idea to the kids in this weeks gardening class. #communitygarden #gardentotablenz @gardentotablenz
Last weeks adventures in one of the prettiest places!⛰ Headed south to Queenstown for a wedding and some exploring - saw the sights, hiked one of the zillions of mountains here, ate anywhere and anything☺️ Currently in total work catch up mode, so today I just have food musings - while the foodie focus of this page is primarily nutrition, there’s many more reasons to base food choice on, and I think getting out of our usual routines is a great reminder! Food is a center point of celebrations – like weddings, birthdays – and an anchor to bring people together and make memories around. It’s so heavily tied to the local environment/ingredients/seasonality/culture/talent – making any kind of travel an endless experience for the taste buds and way to get to know a place. It can be nostalgic, with a smell/taste taking us deep down memory lane or paving the way for future memories. It can be an offering from others to welcome and comfort. It’s one of our main life forces yes, but beyond nutrition it’s ladened with meaning and has the ability to feed other parts of us⭐️ What else does food mean for you? #foodfoodfood #soulfood #happyfood Easy peasy afternoon snack idea: rice cakes spread with peanut butter, and topped with banana and shredded coconut. Energy before heading along to tonight’s adidas Runners Auckland run!🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ We’re week two into an epic new running route which includes running along the iconic pink light path that snakes into Auckland CBD - it was such a blast last week! As per usual, we’re meeting at 5:45pm for a 6pm run at Custom St, East in Britomart. It’s a community run, so anyone can join in for either a 5km, 7km or 10km run☺️ Hope to see some of you there! @adidasnz #ambassador #adidasRunnersAuckland #adidasnz Lemony-mānuka honey ricotta toast with thyme and pistachio🍯🐝 Any mānuka honey fans? While there are hundreds honey types in circulation globally, we in little old New Zealand are world-famous for one in particular - the queen (bee) of honey, mānuka! I’ve recently had the pleasure of collating with @puritipuremanuka , a kiwi company working to champion and safe guard this precious resource, and have written a piece exploring everything mānuka honey related - provenance, nutrition, purity, and even a bit of regulation. Genuine mānuka honey is a beautiful, rare, unique commodity to NZ; with neat scientific evidence backing potential health benefits - growing up, a jar would always be called upon when sick, and it turns out there are reasons for it! But there can be confusion around what makes NZ mānuka unique, and then what to keep an eye out for when buying a jar. Head over to the blog for more exploring this, the recipe for the toast, and an intro to Puriti🐝🍯 #manukahoney #manuka #manukahoneynewzealand #puriti #puritimanukahoney #honey #honeyontoast #newzealand Sushi salad for lunch🍣 Although I ate a lunchbox containing the realistic throw-it-together-it-doesn’t-matter version at my desk😅 Brown rice, edamame beans, courgette, carrot, smoked salmon, a mini avocado dunked in sesame seeds and chopped crisp seaweed, all over a bed of spinach. The black stuff is soy sauce. Taking inspo from sushi for this one - and a mouthful totally tastes like it! Try it friends - you get good veggie bang-for-your-buck too🤙 Spending the eve chained to my desk before flying down to the South Island tomorrow for a wedding for the rest of the week!💍☺️ Heading to Arrowtown, anyone been?! I think it’s the the most fairytale of all the towns🍁 #lunchidea #sushibowl #sushisalad #avocado #salmon #nutrition Halloumi and egg roast veggie bowl for lunch🍆 Made with parsley and mint tossed quinoa, roasted veg (courgette, capsicum, eggplant and red onion), pan-fried halloumi, a jelly egg and a dollop of hummus, all on a bed of spinach! You can kind of just throw this together, however - BUT, a few cooking tips will make a big difference: 🥣 Cook your quinoa in stock! Use whatever flavour you want e.g. vegetable, chicken, beef. It adds so much more flavour depth. To make quinoa just add 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups liquid, bring to a boil covered and then reduce heat and let simmer for around 15 or until cooked, still covered. The quinoa will look like little miniature Saturn’s when they’re done i.e a little ring will appear around each grain, and the liquid will have been absorbed. 🥣 For the jelly egg aka a cooked white slightly runny middle - simply boil an egg for 7 minutes then plunge into ice cold water for a few minutes! Peel and carefully cut open - expect the yolk will rush out quick. Yaaaaas. 🥣 For the halloumi, sear in a hot pan until each slice develops a deep brown crust - maybe a minute or so! Gawd how good is halloumi cheese. 🥣 For the hummus - man you can’t beat freshly made (check my blog for a recipe), but if using a speedy and convenient store-bought variety, like mine here, aim for one that has a high percentage olive oil. #lunchidea #lunch #halloumi #jellyegg #saladidea #healthymealidea Easy peasy pre-run snack!💥 Can’t beat a banana - affordable, perfect for taking on-the-go and gives you energy to burn🍌🏃‍♀️ I’ve just shared my latest blog post all about runners nutrition! It’s been a blast paring up with the team at @adidasrunners Auckland this last year to provide nutritional support and ideas to their superbly fun/positive/epic community of runners. Each week we meet rain or shine down in Britomart in Auckland CBD for a community run - it’s so much fun and I always leave feeling so happy!☺️ This initiative is currently up-and-running across more than 50 cities, on every continent, globally, which sees like-minded runners coming together to hit the streets of their city in a weekly group run! For my first of a two part blog series with them I’ve chatted about two key runners nutrients (carbs and protein) and why they’re important, and then delved into some pre and post run meal ideas. Head over for a read, link in my bio🤙🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Featuring here the latest and greatest PureBOOST GO @adidasnz #adidasnzambassador #ambassador #adidasnz #pureBOOSTGO #runnersnutrition #runningnutrition #running #runner Peanut butter, sea salt + chocolate stuffed medjool dates🤤 Flippen delicious these are - total snickers-vibe. To make simply slice open a medjool date (you can find these in the fresh produce section of the supermarket in the chilled section - or sub for other varieties of dates), remove the inner pip and discard, load in as much peanut butter as your heart desires, and then top with finely chopped dark chocolate and a pinch of sea salt flakes. So good🤙 Dare you to stop at one - near impossible I tell you! Dessert idea for y’all. #dessert #date #peanutbutter #chocolate #dessertidea #nutrition Tomatoey bean stew for lunch with pesto ladened toast, arugula and a big squeeze of lemon. I don’t have much more to say about food today, but instead just wanted to send out lots of love to the Muslim community, and all of those impacted, by last weeks terror events in Christchurch🖤 Man, it has been a pretty rough week in NZ - but as horrible as the events have been, the outpouring of love and support has sent the greatest message of unity and has made my heart swell with love in a way that is really quite hard to put into words. At today’s service in Hagley Park in Christchurch the words ‘we are broken-hearted, but we are not broken’ will linger in the air for a long time - our little nation has shown we won’t stand for acts of hatred, and instead choose to stand together in love. A flower amongst the rubble. Kia Kaha Christchurch xx Edmame and tofu soba noodle stir-fry tossed with courgette, mushroom, eggplant and sesame seeds for lunch. To make, boil together shelled edamame beans (you can buy these in the frozen section at the super market) and soba noodles together for five minutes. While they’re cooking sauté diced eggplant, mushroom and courgette in a pan. Once the noodles have cooked, drain and the toss in the pan with the softened veg, along with a drizzle of soy sauce and rice vinegar, to taste! Then sprinkle over top with sesame seeds and chopped chives to serve! A good source of nutrient-rich veggies and dietary fibre, and plant-based protein from the edamame bean + tofu duo👭 A bowlful of this is powering me through my afternoon prep for my upcoming Women’s Wellness seminar with the @theunbakery crew! Super excited to present on this topic - it’s been a while since I’ve delved this deep into my physiology notes on us ladies again and our reproductive cycle, and finding it all so incredibly interesting😊💞 Head to their page for deets on tickets! xx #lunchidea #lunchtime #soba #sobanoodles #stirfry #lunchideas #yum WORKSHOP GIVEAWAY✨ I’m super excited to be pairing up with the team at @theunbakery and the fab Nutritionist Nellie Pigot to present a Women’s Wellness Workshop this coming Monday 18th March at the Unbakery restaurant! This fun and informative workshop has been designed to help educate us ladies on our bodies and natural rhythms, and will be accompanied with an assortment of tasty nibbles and tea (yasss💃). We’ll be breaking down the female menstrual cycle (prep is taking me back to my physiology major days📚😅) and chatting through dietary and lifestyle changes that can positively impact us ladies along the way. TO ENTER: to win a ticket along, simply tag who you’d bring along with you in the comment section below this photo, and then head along to the @theunbakery page to enter again! The team at @theunbakery will be drawing a winner across our pages. Tickets are limited and can be purchased from the Unbakery online - simply visit the link in their profile for more info and to purchase tickets. It’s going to be lovely evening - hope to see you there!❤ Butternut pumpkin hummus with veggie sticks🥕 I whipped up a batch for the kids at our @gardentotablenz program last week, and was inundated with messages for the recipe after sharing a snap on my IG story...so, see below! For those who may not have heard of Garden to Table before, they're a food literacy program targeted at school age children, centered around gardening and cooking classes. I've been working alongside them for many years now in my community nutrition job after setting up an organic garden at the #dingwalltrust late 2015, and still managing our G2T program today with the help of our fab gardener Victoria - I love it! It's a powerful program and concept, with kids growing their own food and learning ways to use the bounties each week (the hummus here has our own butternut pumpkin and parsley in it💃), which leads to the development of skills that can sustain and nourish them across their lifetime. I totally believe in this stuff, with it having positively shaped my own perception of food too🙏🏻. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This coming March + April, G2T has set up a fundraising initiative where you can host your own 'Garden Party', with any money raised from the support of loved ones used to train and support primary school across Aotearoa to begin and deliver their own G2T program. I'll be hosting a party in April, and will be cooking and baking up a storm inspired all on garden produce! These guys really do great work, but don't have government funding - so our support helps a truckload. For more info on hosting your own party, head to www.gttgardenparties.co.nz ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now for the butternut hummus recipe - to make preheat an oven to 190 degrees celcius and then roast around 500g cubed/skinless butternut pumpkin that has been tossed with a drizzle of olive oil, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, for 30 minutes or until cooked. Once cooked and cooled, blend with 1x 400g tin of chickpeas (drained), a handful of fresh parsley, 4 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp tahini and 1/2 tsp salt until smooth! Taste test and adjust - add more lemon/tahini/olive oil/salt to your liking. Enjoy! #gardentotable 🍋Lemony ricotta topped toast with tossed cherry tomatoes, basil, olives, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Olive oil is one of my favourite ingredients in the kitchen, both from a culinary and nutrition standpoint! It’s the natural oil that has been extracted from olives, with extra-virgin varieties, in particular, often heroed for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties within the body. There has been countless studies done around its protective of our hearts - from helping reduce LDL cholesterol, strengthening blood vessels to it’s protective nature against heart disease - and if you’re interested I highly recommend a venture down the research rabbit hole to learn more!🐰 Culinary wise, I reach for the bottle most days in the kitchen - whether tossed over salad, drizzled over fish/meat/cooked veggies, to cook with it in a pan - even in baking (olive oil + chocolate🤤🤤). Yes, you can cook with it - it has been shown to be fairly resistance to high heat (I had thought otherwise for years!). But left unheated you're more likely to real all the flavor, aroma, and health benefits. Finally - selecting a good olive oil these days feels a bit like selecting a wine - there's so much that could be considered from an age/colour/taste/origin perspective! I usually opt for extra virgin, which is an unrefined oil that tends to retain a more true olive taste and is higher in phenolic antioxdiants. Any one have any brands they recommend?🌿 #oliveoil #olive #extravirgin #oil #toast #toasttoppers Salted caramel ice cream🍦I figure this one won’t be too hard a sell heh - just go make it!😋 This would be a greeeat ice cream alternative for all my friends who are dairy-free or vegan, where traditional ice cream is off the cards! Enjoy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ INGREDIENTS📝 3 frozen bananas (peel and slice into coins before freezing) 1/2 cup coconut milk 4 medjool dates, pitted A heaped tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp vanilla essence A few good grinds of the salt shaker ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ METHOD🥣 1. Add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth - you may need to scrap down the sides of the blender once or twice! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. Taste test and adjust salt/maple syrup to tastebuds if desired. Don’t be shy with the salt! 3. Serve immediately or pop in the freezer for an hour or two to firm up! Serves 3-4. In other exciting non-ice cream news - you may have seen in my stories earlier today I’m hosting a Women’s Wellness Workshop the next week with my friends at @theunbakery ! Super pumped about this one - we’ll be delving into the inner workings of the reproductive cycle and chatting through some dietary and lifestyle measures you can take to help support our cycles☺️ An awesome topic for us ladies to be talking more about🤙 For more information head to their IG and click the link in their bio. Finally - Happy International Women’s day everyone💛👭 The theme of this year is #balanceforbetter - think equal, build smart, innovate for change🙏🏻 #icecream #nicecream #dairyfree #vegan #saltedcaramel #icecreamrecipe Warning‼️ Post exercise may cause endorphins, an energy boost, good vibes and happy feels!🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Today's Tuesday which means it's adidas Runners tonight! We're meeting down at Britomart at 5:45pm for a 6pm run at the @adidasnz store on Custom St East. This week is the first run of the month, which means our routes's going to switch up, and we'll be running an entirely new route around the Auckland CBD! This is a community run, free and open to all ages and fitness levels - you can pick the length you'd like to run, and then the pace you'd like to aim for! As per usual, I’ll be around to answer any nutrition related questions you may have. We had some awesome ones in the lead up to @roundthebays_ last week around nutriton before and after the run - great to see so many interested and curious about what can be done to support health around exercise! #adidasrunnersnz #adidasnz #ambassador #windbreaker @adidasnz @adidasrunners Forever a favourite snack/dessert - creamy thick yoghurt, fresh berries, chopped dark chocolate and a sprinkle of cinnamon🤤 Always look forward to this at work as a late-afternoon pick me up! A source of protein and probiotics from the yoghurt, and antioxidants from the berries and chocolate (the higher the percentage of cocoa/cacao, the richer in antioxidants the chocolate will be!🍫). Give it a go, especially if you’re a chocolate fiend like me🤙 Hope everyone’s Monday is off to a good start! #snacktime #snack #berriesandyoghurt #chocolate #healthysnacks Eating seasonal – what does it mean?🍓🍊🍋🥦 With the seasons changing in NZ, summer strawberries are sadly no longer on the shelves (and these strawberry picking snaps from Jan!). Like we have a natural cyclical rhythm, so does our fruit & vege. Seasonal produce refers to the times of year when the harvest/flavour of an food is at its peak, which can vary country-to-country depending on what is, and can be, grown locally. I adore living in NZ, for more reasons than I can count – and that includes our range of pretty outstanding local produce! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ While it is incredible to even have the opportunity to eat a huge assortment of produce from, quite literally, around the world, there are many perks to popping items grown within our countries backyard into our trolleys, wherever we can. It’s more environmentally sustainable, as it helps cut down on the fuel needed to transport foods from afar; it’s cheaper due to local supply and demand; it’s good for local communities, which rely on sales and dollars to thrive and develop; and good for our health, with produce fresher. Yes there can be challenges, as with anything - like more limited choices or impacted growing seasons around weather – but I think the intention of celebrating whatever we can, wherever we can, is neat! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here’s five tips for ways for eating more seasonal: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1. Read labels/packages when you go to supermarket to get an idea of what’s in season – the origin of items will be on packaging or sign posted. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. Check out websites to learn more about what’s in season locally and ideas for how to use it (I like @5adaynz and produce.co.nz in NZ!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3. Visit farmers markets – chat with the growers! Hear their story. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 4. Have a go at growing your own - you can’t get fresher, and it’s a great way to foster a deeper connection to where food comes from. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 5. Preserve seasonal gluts! We’re talking jams, pickles, chutneys... a great way to make seasonal produce last longer🤙Think sunshine nectarines from a bottle in the middle of the gloomiest winter. #eatingseasonal #seasonaleating #summerproduce #strawberries #produce #fruit Green pesto and butter bean pasta for lunch🍃 Made with sautéd brown onion and diced courgette; tossed with cooked peas, tinned butter beans, pesto, pasta, grated parmesan, leafy greens and a big squirt of lemon juice. A recurring fav on the menu. I’ve been experimenting with more legumes (which include everything from lentils, chickpeas, peas to beans...) lately, as they’re super easy to use (especially when opting for tinned varieties on a busy night!), cheap as anything and super nutritious. They’re a plant-based source of protein, which aids appetite regulation and keeps us feeling full for longer; as well as fibre for a happy healthy gut, and a plethora of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which all help keep our health in top tip shape🤙 Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!💃 #dinneridea #legumes #plantbased #vegetarian #pestopasta #pasta #healthydinneridea Scrambled eggs + basil pesto on toast🤤 I love a good food pairing - hazelnut and chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, roast and gravy. Some things just really work well together - including pesto and eggs. Try it. Now. Or at breakfast tomorrow. Preferably on top of @vogelsnz - the quintessential kiwi bread (not sponsored friends just love a slice of Vogels, like all good kiwis😋☺️). Toast can be an epic vehicle for getting in other nutritious ingredients like eggs, smoked salmon or nut butter - when we pair protein or fat-rich foods with carb-rich foods we can help slow the release of energy from the carbs, which means more sustained energy for longer! Making sure to enjoy a loaf that’s fibre-rich helps too. Happy Thursday friends! #pestoeggs #pesto #egg #eggcellent #toast #breakfast #dietaryfibre #fibre

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