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I love eating sushi! But sometimes I crave something more nutritious and wholesome than polished white rice. Let’s jazz it up! So when I saw this recipe from Janella Purcell on Good Chef, Bad Chef recently, I knew I would be making it oh-so very soon. You see, instead of rice she adds a mixture of quinoa and millet. Both wholegrains are gluten-free and are great sources of protein, especially in a vegetarian diet.

Recipe (adapted from Janella Purcell)

Ingredients

♥ 1 cup firm tofu, julienned
♥ 1/2 cup tamari
♥ 1 tsp sesame oil
♥ 1 cup quinoa
♥ 1 cup millet
♥ 1/2 avocado, sliced
♥ 4 spring onions, sliced lengthways
♥ 1 carrot, julienned
♥ 1 cucumber, julienned
♥ 1 tbls wasabi
♥ 2 tbls soy mayo
♥ 2 tbls black sesame seeds
4 toasted nori sheets (you may need more)

Dipping sauce

♥ 1/2 cup tamari, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp umeboshi vinegar

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Method

1. Cook the quinoa and millet together, using 4.5 cups of water. To do this, simply bring both grains to the boil, then let simmer until the water absorbs. This takes about 15 minutes.
2. To prepare the tofu, place it in a pan and add the tamari (tamari is just a wheat-free soy sauce, but feel free to use whatever soy sauce you have) and sesame oil. Then add enough water so the tofu is just covered. Let it simmer until the water has been absorbed by the tofu. Set aside.
3. To make the rolls, place the nori sheets on a dry surface, shiny side down. Press about 1/2 cup of the grains on the sheet.

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4. Scrape a little wasabi on top, then some mayo and sesame seeds.
5. Now top with a few slices of avocado, half a spring onion, some carrot, cucumber and then some tofu.

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6. Roll up, then cut into 3cm slices. Serve with the dipping sauce.

7. …….don’t forget to eat them!

These sushi rolls were amazingly tasty! My friend, expecting white rice sushi with chicken, still thought they were delicious! I didn’t have any spring onions, wasabi, mayonnaise or black sesame seeds. But hey! Next time I might add some grated or pickled ginger. Yum 🙂

Foodie review by Hannah from Dear Asparagus.

Be well,

xoxo

When I saw this recipe for strawberry sorbet on The Hungry Australian, I was amazed. Ingredients? Only four. And three out of four of them are foods we normally have in the house. Three out of four of them are fruits. YES! Fruits! So you’re probably guessing that the last ingredient is boatloads of sugar? Nope! Simple jam!

I decided to make mine blueberry flavoured, seeing as blueberries are cheap at the moment and I’d been dying to use some Blueberry Jam we bought when we visited Eden Gate Blueberry Farm when we were in Denmark over the Christmas/New Year holidays (by the way, this place has the most amazing blueberry ice cream!). Feel free to experiment with your favourite fruit/jam/honey!

♥ Recipe adapted from The Hungry Australian

Ingredients: (a.k.a. The (un)Usual Suspects)

♥ 2 punnets blueberries
♥ 1-2 tablespoons blueberry jam to taste (optional!)
♥ 1 frozen banana (chopped into pieced. I always have this in the freezer for my smoothies. PRO TIP: Peel and slice the banana before you freeze it!)
♥ 1 small avocado (or half a regular one)

Method

♥ Place all ingredients into the jug of your stick blender. I found that it was easier to blend with the frozen banana at the bottom of the jug and the more smooshy (i.e. blendable) ingredients at the top.

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Blend away till you receive a nice smooth consistency and everything is all mixed up. Have a taste and add more jam if you feel like it’s needed. Pour into an air-tight container and stick in the freezer. Make sure you put the lid on first (I don’t know why, but I felt the need to mention it). I love the bright vibrant colour from the blueberries!

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Every half an hour for two hours, take the container out of the freezer and give everything a good stir. I must admit that I did this once then went out shopping and didn’t come back for a couple of hours. Don’t worry, no sorbet was harmed in the making of this post! It may have been a little tougher to stir, that’s all.

There you go. Your healthy and delicious frozen treat is ready. Take it out of the freezer for 10-20 minutes to soften up a bit before eating.

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How does it taste, I hear you ask? Everyone I’ve served it to tasted it differently! For me and I think most people, it tastes like a blueberry-banana ice cream/sorbet hybrid. My mother in law thought she tasted pineapple.

Try it yourself and let me know how you go!

Be well,

xoxo

Article by Vanitha from Buttons & Bites!

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Yay wellness crushes! To be honest, I have so many crushes at the moment so I found it hard to pick just 5, but I will do my best to get more of these articles going because I know you love em, and I love writing them!

♥ Eden’s Salad Bar

This place is a little slice of heaven nestled in Subiaco & Nedlands. My pick is the Subi store as they have a wider menu range (tofu & veggie burgers! corn fritters! vegetarian sausages!) and I always try and get down here on my day off for their ‘Edens Green’ smoothie… spinach, lime, mango (& one other thing I’ve forgotten!). So totally thick, bright green, smooth, creamy and delicious. HUGE fan. They also have this amazing pumpkin bread. Love heading to pick up the smoothie after a hot personal training sesh. Will do a proper review soon, but if you haven’t heard of it then get down there. It’s not just vegetarian/vegan but they do have a lot of options for those so inclined 🙂

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♥ Wella SP Hydrate Shampoo ($18.50 from StrawberryNET)

While I’d prefer to use a more natural shampoo, I haven’t come across one yet which delivers results as good as the shampoos from the Wella System Professional range. Leaves my hair super clean and pretty smelling every time, plus tames and controls my hair, while providing much needed moisture. Tick tick tick. I’m loving this one in summer, but when summer is done I think I’ll go back to the Wella Shine Shampoo!

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♥ Floradix & Liquid Vitamin B

I get by with a little help from these two liquid supplements. Alright, number 1: FLORADIX. This is a herbal iron supplement that is useful for those low in iron and who don’t tolerate iron tablets well due to… slowed down traffic. I’ve just started taking this again after stopping for a few years and I have to say, the difference to how I feel is really noticeable. While I dislike the perception that vegetarians can’t get enough iron, because they can (plus I know many meat eaters who are deficient too!), I like to take this as my busy lifestyle means that sometimes I’m a little low – and this helps. Plus it tastes pretty good and can be taken with juice, smoothies or even water.

Number 2: Grants Liquid Vitamin B. Since our bodies don’t store vitamin B’s, we need a constant supply in our daily diet. Due to stress, heat and a busy lifestyle, we can sometimes have a need for an extra supply to keep us cool headed and feeling great. I love this liquid B and I always feel better taking it, just put some in water and drink. It’s recommended not to take it at night though, as vitamin b’s give you energy 🙂

Both are available from health food shops & some chemists.

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♥ Kikki-K Weekly Habits Pad

I had wanted this for SO LONG, and a few weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and shelled out the $5.95 so I could take it home with me and start getting myself into line. If you’ve got a million things on your mind everyday, sometimes those good intentions don’t get a chance to make it to the forefront of your brain. This will help. You write down some small (or big!) things you want to achieve throughout the week and tick the boxes on the day/s you achieve your goal. When you’re writing them in, you also choose a reward that you can treat yourself with if you complete your goals! For example mine reads like this:

♥ Green smoothie 4 x a week – reward: buy frozen goji berries
♥ Iron supplement every day – reward: more energy
♥ Zinc supplement every day – reward: clear skin

Some example they provided were:

♥ 8 hours of sleep – reward: breakfast in bed
♥ Read the newspaper – reward: buy a gossip mag

It keeps me on track, and I love it! 🙂

♥ Yoga Girl

This has been out for a while now… but if you’re into yoga and haven’t seen it, you MUST!

“I’m gonna grab a coconut water…and be on my way”

Did you enjoy these crushes? Anything new that you’re crushing on, I’d love to hear!!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥ YUM!

At age 19, I can honestly say I’ve started to find balance in what I eat. I never weigh myself or count calories, but focus on eating fresh, wholesome food. I love going to Farmers Markets and buying produce that’s in season, and creating simple and delicious recipes. Lately, I love recipes which taste indulgent but are really super healthy and packed full of nutrients. These Superfood Raw Fudge Balls are a perfect example.

Why not take these bite sized delights to your next party to share, or wrap up & give as a gift 🙂

Recipe:

Ingredients–

♥ 1 cup dates (medjool work best)
♥ 1 cup walnuts
♥ 1/2 cup shredded or desiccated coconut, plus extra
♥ 1/4 cup raw cacao
♥ handful of goji berries (use dried cranberries for a cheaper alternative)
♥ handful of chia seeds

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Method–

1. Blend all ingredients together
2. Form into balls. If they fall apart, simply add more blended dates to the mixture
3. Roll in shredded/desiccated coconut

Ta-daaa!

This recipe can be altered according to taste or what you already have. Feel free to swap the walnuts for almonds or the dates for prunes. I decided to wrap about 10 of these for my ballet teacher the other day. Here’s how to wrap them up…

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Simply take 1 sheet of baking paper and 1 sheet of cellophane, as well as a longish piece of string

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Place about 10 fudge balls in the centre

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Wrap the baking paper around the fudge balls first, then the cellophane. Tie the string around to secure.

Gift complete! How easy was that? Does this look like something you’d like to make/scoff down?

Recipe by Hannah, a full-time nutrition student and blogger at Dear Asparagus!

Be well,

xoxo

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♥ Joshi’s Holistic Detox

I picked this up randomly when a lovely little bookstore near me was having a 50% off closing down sale. Never one to say no to the possibility of a bargain, I dashed in and came across Dr Joshi’s book which I’d been intrigued by previously but never bought.

While I don’t need to be slimmer, healthier I can always go for. Basically Dr Joshi draws on Ayurvedic wisdom, as well as the principles of alkaline eating to help you feel your best. You will go without a few much loved things for 21 days, incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and veggies (some are out though), gluten-free products, herbal teas, supplements and other good-for-you treats. It’s a really well designed program and leads you through everything with LOADS of information and reviews/testimonials from many of his well known clients, including Gwyneth Paltrow.

The only thing that is personally detrimental is that the majority of recipes call for chicken stock (even the veggie ones), so as a vegetarian it would be hard to follow the supplied detox menu. That said there ARE options, and I’m sure you could use veggie stock, but there’s a lotta chicken in this book – organic, free-range naturally! Which reminds me of THIS wonderful Youtube…

Despite the chicken qualms, I’d totally recommend this book if you’re game for a detox, but want to know all the little details behind how/what/where/why, in an accessible and interesting format. I really enjoyed it, go Joshi! Available on Amazon for about $21 USD.

Have you ever tried a detox or wanted to? If so let us know your experience / reason for wanting to try!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo