Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce.  One of my favourites, decadent, rich and a true comfort food.  So, how good was it to discover that with a few easy adapatations to a recipe I could enjoy making this dessert again.  Its a quick and easy stand by for dinner parties, and the texture is so good that every one can enjoy whether they have food intolerances or not.

Ingredients
200gms of medjool dates pitted and roughly chopped
300gms of boiled water
2 teaspoons of baking soda
Flour - add next 4 ingredients together and mix well
180gms of almond meal or dried almond pulp
1/2 cup of coconut flour
3/4 cup of Bob Mills tapioca flour 
1 heaped teaspoon of gluten free Bob Mills Baking Powder
80gms of butter or ghee
3/4 cup of rapadura sugar or sugar equivalent (Can use rice malt syrup for a low sugar option)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or seeds of 1 vanilla pod

Method
In a glass bowl add dates, boiled water and baking soda let sit.
Line a square cake tin with baking paper.  Set oven to 165 degrees C
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together, add eggs one at a time.  If curdling add a little of the flour mixture.  Add flour and the soaked dates and water to the egg mixture. Mix gently.
This should be a fairly runny consistency compared to normal cake mixtures.
Pour into cake tin and place into oven.  Bake on low heat for approx 45 min.  It is cooked when the center of the cake is firm to touch and a skewer comes out clean.

Caramel Sauce
200gms of coconut cream
3/4 cup of rapadura sugar or sugar equivalent (Can use rice malt syrup for a low sugar option)
80gms of butter or ghee
Melt on medium heat in saucepan until butter is melted and ingredients are combined.  
​Pour over sticky date pudding and enjoy

With all desserts, this is part of a wholesome diet.  The sugar content makes it unsuitable for those with auto immune, inflammatory diseases.  Remember that sugar is extremely inflammatory and when consumed in excess, that is over 6 teaspoons per day has been linked to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and chronic ill health.  
Enjoy as a sometimes food.
Source - World Health Organisation

My present to all of you is a recipe for my mother's christmas cake.  It brings back so many happy memories of christmas baking with my mum when I was a child.  The fragrant aromas of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, so typical in christmas baking.  There is still plenty of time to make your christmas cake, it will be worth all the effort, believe me.  Its delicious.

Recipe for  Gluten Free Christmas Cake
Ingredients 
250gms of butter at room temperature  (May use 200gms of Ghee instead for paleo version)
250gms of Rapadura sugar or equivalent sweetner of choice
5 eggs
500gms of mixed fruit of choice.  I used honest2goodness fruit mix
1 grated apple
Flour
2 1/2 Cups of almond meal, 3/4 cup of tapioca flour and 
2 tablespoons of coconut flour.  Mix well.
2 teaspoons of vanilla paste
1 tablespoon of all spice
1 tablespoon of nutmeg
3 tablespoons of cinnamon
Brandy, splash or more
Almonds to decorate
Method
Soak fruit and apple in a splash or more of brandy for 24hrs or longer in a bowl covered with a towel or cling film (making sure it is not touching the fruit...just to keep fruit fly away)
Line a baking tin approx 15cm by 15cm with oil and baking paper.  
Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time.  If curdling appears add flour.  
Add flour and spices, mix well, add fruit and vanilla paste and mix well.  This should be a firm mixture.  Places dollops of mixture into the prepared baking tin, smooth and decorate with almonds.  Place into a low oven at 150 Degrees for approx 1.5 to 2hrs.  Important to bake at a low temperature, otherwise the cake will crack and burn easily.  Cooked when a wooden skewer comes out clean.  Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.
Keep in fridge wrapped in a layer of baking paper covered with either cling film or tin foil.  Will keep for 6mths covered and refrigerated.
Enjoy for Christmas.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 
Thank you so much for all of your support and giving me the opportunity to do the things that I love.

See you in 2017
Krys

Realistically, to create a delicious and "good for you" meal in the time it takes to get a take away delivered is possible. Of course, nothing can beat being organised and having the ingredients on hand.  That is where meal planning is so valuable and such a fabulous time saving resource.   These are meals that can be made in minutes from one mum to another.  
 
Dinner option No 1.
Roasts are very easy.  No one ever complains when I do a roast mid week.  Usually it is our Sunday evening treat where the in laws come over and we share a meal together.  The banter between all of us is priceless.  Mid week, sometimes  it gets to the point where I have run out of cold meats to pack in lunches a roast is an ideal way I can have plenty of left overs for lunch boxes the next day.  To save time,  I will butterfly chickens by removing the back bone, flatten and seasoning with salt, pepper, paprika, oregano with a dollops of coconut oil around the pan.  I will scrub my organic potatoes and parboil them (if I have time) and then throw them in the pan.  The juices from the chicken make the potatoes heavenly.  
This gives me at least an hour free to either help with homework, play a bit of soccer, put the washing out or get some veggies cut ready to steam or prepare a green salad.  Depending on how many of us, I will do two organic chickens to have plenty of left overs.  The carcasses I will put into the slow cooker with some chicken wings to make a bone broth.  A wonderfully healing broth perfect for any recipe requiring stock.

Dinner option No 2
Tray Bakes are amazing.  Throw it all in a pan, season, add tomatoes, anchovies, lemons, garlic, place bacon strips over the top  and a drizzle of olive oil and in 40 minutes, wow the aromas from this dish are mouth watering as well as tasting delicious .  This is especially good with chicken breast, but salmon also lends itself to a successful tray bake.  
Serve with a quick colourful salad and you have a meal in minutes.

Dinner option No 3
Butterflied Lamb.  I will place this on the BBQ or oven, on a tray.  I prefer a tray on the BBQ as the flames will blacken the outside of the lamb in seconds.  I will season, crush  garlic, rosemary rubbed into the skin with olive oil and 40 minutes later depending on how you like the lamb cooked, I have a wonderful meal waiting.  In summer I will serve with a colourful salad, or steamed vegetables in winter.  Once again, if I have time I will roast some potatoes in the pan as well.

Dinner option No 4
I have mastered a few curry recipes, that I make from scratch that take me 30 minutes maximum to cook.  One of these favourites is Butter Chicken.  Once you have the spices on hand then the sauce takes minutes.  Add the diced chicken and let it cook while you start the rice and get the veggies on.  For a vegetarian option add pulses and vegetables to the sauce.  Absorption method rice is also very quick and simple.  For 5 people I place 2 cups of rinsed basmati rice in a pan.  If it is brown rice I will add 4 cups of water, if it is white rice then I will add 3 cups of water.
Let the rice come to a rolling boil. Turn off and forget.  Do not lift lid as all that hot air will escape and the rice will not cook through.  So easy and mindless.
Serve with lots of colourful steamed vegetables.  

Dinner option No 5
Cook more than you need.  For instance when roasting vegetables, roast extra pumpkin and beetroot so that you can add to salads during the week.  Blanched beans are also delicious in salads with caramelised onions in balsamic vinegar.  
Adding seeds, pulses and cheeses such as grilled halloumi or  feta to salads bulks them up and are satisfying with the roasted vegetables and blanched beans.  
​
For fail proof ideas, be organised.  Have some idea of what you are going to eat each night, allowing it to  fit around your schedule.  
Shopping can be a tireless, thankless task at the time, but when you are scouring online shopping lists, going to your fourth store in an effort to buy local, sustainable and organic items, then it will be worth it.
Your family and your tummy will be thanking you for all that extra effort you have made.



​

Some mornings breakfast can be a diabolical disaster.  I become the short order cook from hell, trying to make all the kids eat a healthy breakfast with all the necessary protein and fats needed for their brains to stay focused and on task.   When the cereal boxes were removed from the pantry, the routine changed.  No longer was I calm, tidy and organised.  Now I have a sink full of frying pans, benches covered in egg shells and dirty plates while the dog is hovering around for the bacon rind.  What have I done?  Is this nutrition gig worth it?  Yes.  It is.  It just takes time to create that new comfort zone, because there are easy alternatives without turning to 101 ways with bacon and eggs.  

Here are my 5 top healthy breakfasts:

1. Smoothies:  Buy a Nutribullet or heavy duty blender.  You won't regret it.  You can add a ton of ingredients that the kids are not aware of, unless you get caught.  Some of the mixes that I like are ground flaxseed, ground seeds such as sunflower, pepita's, coconut whether as shredded, milk, or oil, the possibilities are endless.  For dairy free I like to use coconut water with a little added coconut cream to get the lovely rich texture, add frozen banana and berries.  The beauty of the nutribullet is that you can take the cup in the car.  Easy.
2. Porridge:  Believe it or not porridge is so easy to make, once again you can add extra ground seeds to the oats and whole milk for a very sustaining breakfast.  Serve with berries, whole milk and a little honey to sweeten.
   
3. Homemade Muesli:  Whether this be oat based or nut based for gluten sensitive or coeliacs, having a bowl of muesli with whole milk, nut milk or coconut water is  an easy alternative.  I prefer to avoid muesli with added dried fruit, as I would rather add fresh fruit without the extra sugar and preservatives.  Try soaking muesli in whole milk or milk alternative over night with grated apple, and added seeds for a bircher muesli.  Serve with dairy or coconut yoghurt for a delicious breakfast.
4. Paleo bread:   I am not a diet advocate, but believe in finding foods that suit your body.  Paleo bread is just simply delicious.  Perfect as a base for avocado, eggs, mushrooms or home made baked beans.  The options are endless.  Paleo bread is full of goodness that will keep you feeling satisfied till lunch time.  
5. CADA: This stands for coconut, almonds, dates and apple, but really take the four elements and substitute as desired.  I always use coconut and dates,  as I am partial to their texture and flavour.  As for the apple and nuts, I use whatever I have on hand. Sunflower seeds and frozen berries make an interesting mix.   As long as it blends into a lovely consistency I can top with yoghurt and pomegranate seeds adding extra nuts and seeds to finish.  I love this breakfast in summer, and when I am travelling, it is easy to make ahead to have later.

Don't let breakfasts wreck your morning.  Be prepared.  Have the ingredients.  Try not to rush.  Take a deep breath.  Allocate the washing up.
Remember its a team effort, not a mum effort.  Let everyone get involved and encourage independence.
I really must do that!

It Sunday afternoon, the kids have been playing in the pool, my eldest is meeting up with friends, my middle has spent the day looking for something to do and is now out skateboarding, and my youngest has two mates around.  This leaves me with a few short minutes to begin blogging.  Lets talk about Eggplants.  To chat about eggplants I have to take you back to a school BBQ that I organised at the end of last year.  Being the nutritionist that I am, any kind of foodie challenge is met head on.  Can't resist, so when the teacher asked if I could cater for a school BBQ for 30 people for $200.00, I couldn't resist.  I had a rather ecliptic mix of food intolerances/lifestyle choices so to accommodate those here is the menu.

• Grass fed minute steaks
  
• Roast Vegetables
  
• Hummus and crudites
  
• Bread rolls/thick sliced bread/gluten free wraps
  
• Watermelon, rock melon, apple
  
• Sliced cheese/lettuce/tomato/cucumber
  

I will let you know that the BBQ was a huge success, but the most tastiest idea were the roast vegetables.  This is where the eggplant came into it.  

I basically sliced up red peppers, zucchini, eggplant and onion into equal sized chunks.  Put them into a large bowl and drizzled a generous amount of olive oil, cajun spice mix, paprika, a dash of chill powder and Himalayan salt. I BBQ them on a flat plate till they were soften and coloured.  They were delicious. Since then, I have been slicing eggplant thinly and saturating in olive oil and adding paprika, chili and garlic then roasting them on a flat plate to make a eggplant stack with a beef burger amongst it all.  Once again the flavours were delicious.  

So these summer holidays, my memories are of the wonderful eggplant meals we have had whether we were camping, on holidays, or at home.

Here are some health properties of eggplants courtesy of Dr Josh Axe.

1.  Fights free radicals and cancer
2.  Helps lower high cholesterol
3.  Improve digestive health
4.  High source of bone building manganese
5.  Good source of vitamin B
6.  Prevent skin cancer

Eggplants are a member of the nightshade family along with potatoes and peppers.  Some people may have to reduce or eliminate their exposure to nightshades if they are intolerant to them.