♥ Amazing graphic design by yours truly! ♥

Eating lentil burgers is one of the true great delights of being a vegetarian, of course meat eaters can (and should!) indulge in these legume-y treats too, but they do hold an extra special place in my non-meat lovin’ heart due to their deliciousness & high protein content!

Some people I’ve spoken with think lentils are a little bit hippy. A bit too mung beans, peace signs and make love not war, man.

Well I’m here to tell the naysayers to get nay-ed, and throw it out there that I think my most recent healthy lentil burger creation would turn even the most hardened carnivore into a giant big fan of these less than beautiful, but more than tasty food friends.

Time Required: 30-35 minutes ’til you get to dine.
Difficulty Rating: 1 lentil. If I can do it, anyone can.

Notes: This burger is very filling, you will more than likely feel like chowing down another one straightaway but wait 10 minutes for your food to settle, then reassess! The structure of the burger is very important so as to separate the flavours in the optimum way, so take care 😉

Ingredients:

♥ 2 slices of your bread of choice. Mine since you asked is Abbott’s Village Bakery – Light Rye. Stunning!
♥ 1 Sanitarium Lentil Patty. These are located in the frozen section of the supermarket, most Coles & IGA’s I’ve been to have them.
♥ 1/2 a tomato.
♥ 2-3 thin slices of reduced fat fetta.
♥ 1/4 sliced avocado.
♥ 1/2 tbsp hummus.
♥ A lil bit of tomato sauce.

Method: (is that the right word? or did I just slip back into high-school science..)

Cook the lentil patty in the oven til golden brown and crispy on both sides, this takes a while in my non fan-forced oven, so I heat it to 200 degrees cook for 15 mins, then flip over and cook for another ten.

Toast the bread & spread hummus on one piece and spread/place the avo slices on the other.

Place the patty on the avo side, and decorate patty with the desired sauce pattern then top with the thin fetta slices.

Tomato slices are up next and you may then finish with the piece of hummus’d toast on top.

For optimal eating pleasure, cut diagonally into two halves.

Experience the taste sensation, then come back here and leave a comment telling me how brilliant I am! Hehe.

This burger is so good for you, full of nutrients, good fats & protein. If you try it, let me know! Just writing about it has made me hungry so I’m off to create some havoc in my kitch.

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Heath & Emma

♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

Hi, I’m Em – I’m a 22 year old uni student and co-owner of The Raw Kitchen. The key aim of the The Raw Kitchen is to share and teach people about not only the incredible benefits of including raw living foods into our diets, but also how delicious they can be!

We currently run a raw food and smoothie bar down at The Fremantle Markets, where we also stock a wide variety of products, books, and appliances. We run raw food workshops and events and now have a RAW catering trailer out on the roads also hitting the local festivals and events!

♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

Fast and simple due to necessity! In the mornings I rinse my face with fresh water, while my evening shower is my main opportunity to cleanse my face and body using a natural, organic body wash or soap. I’m not too fussy with anything beyond chemical-free ingredients so I alternate between brands like Suki and Natural Instincts that offer great value, affordable hair and body products.

♥ What’s the one beauty treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

I’m not sure if a massage technically classes as a beauty treatment, but this is certainly the one indulgence I pick first every time! Perth’s best kept secret has got be the training colleges – I’ve had many a wonderful massage from students at Endeavour College of Natural Health for $20-$30!

♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

I very rarely get my hair cut professionally – in fact I quite enjoy snipping away at my ends on my balcony!

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

Coconut oil and/or cacao butter – these natural oils are such amazing moisturisers! I use them on my body, hair, lips and face (as well as in my food!) and they leave you feeling so beautiful and soft and without any fear or additives or chemicals, just pure, natural goodness.

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

– Good quality essential oils for when I feel like wearing a scent
– Mineral makeup – I’ve tried a few, currently I’m using an Australian brand – Claytime.
– Neem Leaf Extract – excellent for irritations, blemishes, itches. (ED: Neem leaf is also an ingredient in some La Mer products!)

Em lives on lots of whole, fresh, raw foods to keep her looking lovely!

♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

As the saying goes, it’s about what you put inside your body and I’ve certainly found this to be true. Plenty of clean, pure water, ensuring the largest part of my diet is fresh, raw, living wholefoods, daily movement, and daily activities that I love.

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

A facial from Cherry Blossoms Organic Beauty Salon in Subiaco – they use the most divine, high quality organic products from Europe.

An example of some chia porridge!

♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

Breakfast is often light – either a smoothie, juice, fruit, a salad, chia porridge or similar.

For lunch/dinner we very rarely go without a big salad packed with greens, sprouts, avocado, seaweeds and then whatever other veg is in season and colourful!

For snacks I might have some flax crackers and dip or vege sticks, nuts, nori rolls, fruit, or a blended soup.

And of course desserts! At the moment I’m really into frozen berries and mango, but I’m fortunate to live in a house where there is often some wonderful raw creations being experimented with so there’s often something delicious in the freezer to finish the day.

♥ Describe your fitness routine.

Time is of the essence so I have to try to fit exercise into my day wherever I can. This often means walking/riding to uni, early morning walks, walks to the shops, stretches on the bedroom floor…and just in the last few weeks my partner and I have started attending classes as casuals at the local gym which has offered a great bit of variety and motivation.

♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

We alternate a large range of different superfoods and minerals in our smoothies and daily intake. Seaweeds (spirulina, chlorella, modifilan etc) are something I make sure to get in one way or another everyday. Chia is another being such an excellent source of omega 3s, calcium and more. As far as alternative therapies go, I’m lucky that my partner Heath is a naturopath so he takes care of my health needs!

Emma & Heath can be found at their food stall, The Raw Kitchen, at the Fremantle Markets on the weekends! x

Any questions please leave them below!!

Be well,

xoxo

These little guys are the secret ingredient!

This salad, rocks my world on a regular basis. There’s not much else to be said except for the fact that it is FREAKIN’ amazing.

Check it:

♥ 1 x tin of 4 bean mix
♥ 1/2 x ripe avocado
♥ 1 x best quality tomato you can find (most recently I’ve been enjoying some hydroponic wonders from the Subiaco Farmers Market)
♥ As much reduced fat fetta as you like, I tend to cut about an inch thickness off and chop that all into lil bits
♥ A generous sprinkling of dried cranberries

Mix that all together and you have my favourite salad. You can also add spinach if you like, my housemate is keen on balsamic vinegar with it & I’ve often topped it off with sesame seeds.

So simple to make, so good for you and SO TASTY (most important bit!)!!!

Do you like this salad? Discuss.

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Just a quick one! I’ve just discovered a great new smoothie and wanted to share it with you.

Blueberry, Banana & Cashew Butter Smoothie.

♥ 2 x small-medium ripe bananas
♥ 2 large cups of cold filtered water
♥ 1 x cup (or more!) frozen blueberries
♥ 1 x heaped teaspoon of Organic Cashew Butter (yum yum yum)

Mix this all up in your blender for a minute, it’ll make 2 large glasses full. I love the extra bit of creaminess that the cashew butter gives it and it’s a great way to add some extra protein.

I think I’ll be rockin’ this smoothie before and after workouts as I felt pretty good after drinking this pretty purple drink.

If you try it out let me know what you think!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

There’s not much better on a supermarket adventure than suddenly realising the fruits and fresh foods you adore have come into season and you can spend a ridiculously small amount to fill your trolley with a delicious, vitamin packed fruit feast.

In this case mangoes and avocados are our triumphant heroes.

I’ve previously written about the benefits and joys of eating lots of avocados, they are one of my favourite products for healthy skin.

They are also amazing for the body in times of stress due to being packed with B-Vitamins (known stress reducers!).

Most stores are selling them for under $2 so there is no excuse not to get these globes of green goodness onto your plate and I’ve included a recipe idea below!

Now to mangoes, beautiful yellow-orange tropical wonders. These guys have been delighting me at work for the past few weeks, making my keyboard all sticky (oops) and generally being very sweet and refreshing. A few days ago I came across some perfect HUGE PINKY SKINNED ones at Subiaco Farmer Jacks for only $1.99!!

You know it’s Summer when the mangoes are out in force, try reaching for one at 3pm instead of that Mars Bar, it’s probably cheaper right now too!

To celebrate the abundance of these two loves of mine, I’ve decided to share with you a delicious little recipe, behold:

Mango & Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

1 x large, ripe mango
1 x large, ripe avocado
1 x can of butter beans (organic if possible)
A few sprinklings of dried cranberries.

For optimum effect make this salad after just completing a fantastic yoga class and revel in the amazing feeling that both are giving you. That’s where I’m at right now!

Cut / slice up the avocado in your preferred method, slice n dice your mango to make it look pretty like the one pictured above (instructions on how to do so), rinse your butter beans thoroughly, mix all the ingredients together and then sprinkle a generous serving of dried cranberries.

Voila. Totally tasty and healthy Summer snack / light dinner.

What are your fave Summer fruits?

Please share below!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo