♥

When was the last time you really fell in love, disappointment free? I fall in love over and over again when my will leads me towards the scenic hills landscape of Roleystone.

Where to? Genesis in the Hills; where the division between food and love is negligible.

You’ll know you are on your way to something special when the road starts winding and the still of nature starts to permeate.

The organic garden @ Genesis

You will be welcomed through a fairytale pathway which leads to the outdoor decking of this beautiful eatery, dressed with both lounge and formal style seating, naturally bathed in morning or afternoon sun. Inside the French doors; you will be greeted by a homely feeling that will bend your will, just enough. Yes, you’ll be staying, a little longer, than you usually would.

People are an essential ingredient to the overall effect of Genesis in the Hills. You will feel openly welcomed by Ita and Rivka, the women behind the concept, who, without fail, express a warmth that couples perfectly with winter chills and warm vegetarian food.

Genesis in the Hills is open Thursday to Sunday every week. 10:30-5pm on Thursday and 8:30-5pm Friday to Sunday, I adore mornings, simply because, a smile is a perfect way to meet the day. You can expect delectable cakes, quality coffees, elegant teas (like Persian rose and Sencha green) and simply scrumptious mains (vegetarian/vegan friendly).

Yum! ♥

I favour a spiced fruit and sweet potato cake with a soy cappuccino or raw juice with ginger, but I have pleasured in many other taste delights, from herbed sour dough breads to soups, salads and open sandwiches (unclose-able because they are so generous).

Aside from boasting incomparable coffee, food and atmosphere, they also host Art exhibitions throughout the year, which makes every visit to this location, a complete sensory experience. Unequalled, Genesis in the Hills is a love worth experiencing at least once. I guarantee it, but don’t hold me accountable if you become addicted! It is only natural. Enjoy!

Contact details:

Genesis in the Hills
124 Croyden Road
Roleystone WA 6111

Ph: 9397 7799

Genesis Facebook page
Web: http://www.genesisinthehills.com.au
The next up and coming event at Genesis in the Hills!

Review by Lavida Rose.

Be well,

xoxo

♥

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person that doesn’t have any trouble eating my two portions of fruit per day. In fact, if there was some kind of disease you got from eating too much fruit I’d probably be riddled with it. Very little makes me happier than an overflowing fruit bowl of colourful delights!

As we head into the cooler months, it’s easy to forget about beautiful sweet fruit and replace our portions with stodgy (READ: UNHEALTHY!) snacks. As a pescetarian and lover of fresh food, I’ve recently begun embracing the yearly food calendar. A website that is truly wonderful, if you enjoy fresh food, is http://www.seasonalfoodguide.com. It’s even categorised by states so you can specifically select the freshest food grown in WA. Could it be any easier?

Stewed yumminess!

Pears, while not very exotic, are my first example of delish autumn fruit to enjoy regularly. They’re versatile as they fit perfectly in my handbag for uni and also taste INCREDIBLE stewed for dessert with a little bit of cane sugar and cinnamon, YUM!

♥ The glistening rubies of the fruit world! ♥

Pomegranates are another beauty. Similar to passionfruits, these fruits have the most spectacular colour (perfect for aforementioned fruit bowl) and the little juicy red seeds almost explode in your mouth. Pomegranates are delightful on their own, or in fruit salad or juice. They are also is incredibly good for you!

The unique looking custard apple!

While at a recent dinner with a couple of girlfriends, I was introduced to the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture of the custard apple. While I’d heard about this fruit from the apple family, I wasn’t aware of how amazing it tasted, nor did I realise that it would become my current addiction (I go through food phases faster than Paris Hilton goes through BFF’s). While it can be a bit pricey at around $5, it’s better for you than a block of chocolate and will leave you feeling just as warm inside. Depending on where you live, you can purchase these babies from the Herdsman, Fresh Provisions and the Boatshed.
As someone who reaches for comfort food as the nights become chillier, I have vowed to remember that Summer is not the only time of year to indulge in fresh fruit and veg. If you haven’t already, add one or all three of these Autumn gems to your fruit bowl for a little extra zest. Your body will love you for it!

Written by Ellie, a lover of all things fresh and soon to eat her way around Europe!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

1. Kale

I’m currently having a love affair with kale that I’m very pleased about, after my misadventures in the past. A vegan kitchen whiz pal of mine made us a stunning kale, beetroot, pepita, lemon juice & olive oil salad a few weeks ago. It was DELISH. And you can’t help but feel good after injecting all those vitamins into your body.

Last night I bought a giant bunch of organic kale from Farmer Jacks Subiaco (a fantastic place to buy produce – although their fresh organic stuff is a lot more expensive than the delivered organic fruit n veg I get).

My salad was a variation on the original: kale leaves washed and torn into little pieces, pepitas, dried cranberries and an olive oil + lemon dressing. It was really good, and one bunch of kale should cost you between $3-$5 which is super cheap. Plus you can make them into CHIPPIES and the bunches are always huge. If you’re into gardening, kale is said to grow like weeds – plenty to eat!

♥

2. Megan Larsen

The founder of Sodashi, and all round inspiring woman Megan has recently done an interview about the North Freo based skincare and body range that has made it big the world over. Find out how this natural, organic company has taken everyone by storm in this interview with Megan Larsen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMEp_mWqAuY

♥

3. Bloom Sheer Colour Cream in Natural

I’ve been a long time fan of this product in the shade Rosie (perfect for pale skinned brunettes like myself), so when the opportunity to try a new shade came about I was very excited.

This is a really versatile product, you can use it on lips, cheeks and eyes. I found that I love using it to create the highly sought after nude lip. For the cheeks, you only need the tiniest amount, I like to smile, then dab a tiny bit on the apple of each cheek with my fingers and then blend.

I prefer a pinker based blush, so am going to stick with Rosie for the cheeks for now, or maybe try Shy or Coy next as I think the pink undertones suit my pale n proud face best. I’ll still be using Natural as my go-to for a nude lip, but make no mistake, if you have the slightest hint of a tan and want a gorgeous light glow to your cheeks, Natural is going to be your new bestie!

♥

4. Autumn

I have such a crush on Autumn, don’t tell my boyfriend! To me there’s not much better than getting about in snuggly clothes, drinking copious amounts of tea, taking long steamy baths, eating piping hot home-made pear crumble with vanilla icecream and sleeping as much as possible. Absolute bliss.

Link Love!

♥ Take a little inspiration from nature this autumn – very pertinent given my last crush!

♥ Food Label Quick Check – an excellent addition to your purse, this is a pdf which you can use when you go shopping to check against nutrition labels on food, to see how it stacks up in the healthy-for-you stakes! Very handy.

♥ Are you a sucker or a booster? – Mysterious? Find out here… I try and be a booster as much as possible, though I think when I’ve had too little sleep I might be a bit of a sucker, eek!

♥ Coconut and Basil Brown Rice – a delish recipe, if you’d like to make a huge batch and bring it over to me – please do!

♥ Staying green and healthy when time is running short – lots of handy tips.

♥ Brainpower brekkies – If you need to be on your A-game, these breakfast will have your neurons firing with deadly accuracy.

That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed! If you have any comments or questions I’d be happy to answer them 🙂

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

1. Australian Grown Sunflower Seeds

I recently became interested in how I could get more Vitamin E in my diet as it’s said to be fantastique for the skin, brain and overall wellbeing. Sounds good to me, I thought, and went on my merry way to buy some sunflower seeds, which are little treasure chests of vit-e (along with lots of other nutrients)!

Unfortunately I was disappointed at how hard it was to find Australian grown and produced sunflower seeds – they were all imported from overseas. I decided to check with Organic ‘n Green, the place I buy my organic veggies from and lo and behold they stock certified organic Australian grown sunflower seeds as well – this company never ceases to impress me!!

I’m now the proud owner of some sunflower seeds that were grown within our shores, and I’m loving adding them to my salads and trail mixes 🙂

♥

2. The tastiest drink!

Today I had this smoothie, and it was totally delicious, I call it the Double Whammy Banana & Blueberry Smoothie:

♥ 1 x cup of Vitasoy vanilla soy milk
♥ 2 medium sized ripe / just overripe bananas (decadent in these times!)
♥ 1 x cup of frozen blueberries (or more if you prefer)
♥ 1 x cup of baby spinach
♥ 1-2 tsp wheatgerm

Whiz it all up and you are left with a tasty dream treat. Vanilla soy milk is SO much more palatable than regular soy milk, in my opinion. The vanilla Vitasoy can be hard to come by but if you see it, pick some up, I bet you’ll like it!

3. Omnilux

I’m still going with my Omnilux sessions! For best results you need to have at least 2 sessions a week over a 4 week period. I just had my third treatment today. I can definitely tell the difference in my skin the day after! The other interesting thing to note is that the red light is about 40x brighter than the blue light! For me, the red takes me about 5-10 minutes after the session is completed to re-adjust to normal vision (with goggles and cotton wool) but with the blue or white light it’s no problem at all! I’m currently having my sessions at Skin Deep in the city and I always look forward to my next sesh :)!

♥ Eyeliner – & Brush

4. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner & Brush

For the ‘makeup skills challenged’ among us, and I firmly plant myself within that group, this little duo from Bobbi Brown is a lifesaver. It is SO EASY to create a great eyeliner look with these two products, that it’s almost ridiculous. It lasts a long time too and comes in 10+ classic & quirky shades. There’s a reason why this pair have earned cult status worldwide and consistently make it into the top tens of industry experts… but if you’re like me, and still traversing the lower slopes of the makeup mountain (where do I come up with this!) then these are solid beginners companions. Highly recommend. Available online at the official Bobbi Brown online store.

Hans Bruechle..!

5. Date my Mate

Here’s something fun that’s a little bit different! Local fella and man of various infamy, Hans Bruechle, and a friend have teamed up to do ‘Date my Mate’ which is a web series dedicated to reviewing ‘everything in Perth’ as well as getting in a few sneaky dates here and there. The catch? They choose each others dates! Makes for some good giggles.

In the latest episode, Hans heads to the day spa and his mate takes on a brutal personal training session. All while trying to woo a ‘lady’ of the other ones choosing!

That’s all for now my darlings! Please feel free to share your current beauty & wellbeing crushes with me!

Be well,

xoxo

♥ Cherry lurve! ♥

I’ve been wanting to write this post for ages and have now missed most of the Summer cherry season – noooo! Thankfully, these little red nutrient filled gems are also available in many local supermarkets in the freezer section if you can’t find them in the fresh produce area!

Frozen cherries ahoy!

So why have I been so keen to chat about cherries? Well let me enlighten you a little…

♥ Cherries are chockas full of antioxidants, which if you haven’t heard, are SUPER DOOPER little guys that cruise around your body, kickin’ bad stuffs ass, reducing inflammation and stopping cell damage, which in turn lower our risk of cancer and diseases of the brain and heart (+ much more).

♥ Antioxidants are also super heroes for the skin. Eating lots of antioxidant rich food, such as cherries and blueberries, can increase your bodies defense against sunburn. FACT!

♥ Great to have after workouts, as apparently they contain an anti-inflammatory compound that helps soothe sore muscles. WINNERS!!!

♥ Possible benefits in the fight against ageing. Free radicals contribute to wrinkles, antioxidants neutralise wrinkles, cherries contain antioxidants. I’m no mathematician, but it looks like it adds up 😀

♥ And possibly most importantly, the great thing about cherries is that they are delicious and contribute to your overall wellbeing!

This photo makes me go om nom nom

So now we need some mouth-watering recipes for you to try! Do let me know if you end up testing out any of these 🙂

♥ Healthy Cherry Muffins! YUM!

♥ Cherry Smoothie – I would personally have this without the yoghurt, there are lots of variations that could be made.

♥ CHERRY BRUSCHETTA – !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Conor over at Hold the Beef tried this and loved it.

So there’s a few options to get you drooling, let me know how you go.

Do you have a fave cherry recipe you’d like to share?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo