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Loving this Kikki K Goals journal, which was a lovely Christmas present from my boyfriend – it’s a great way to keep track of the many things on the cards for 2013!

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My Little Pony + Superfood Raw Fudge Balls = awesome! These were super duper yummy, check out the recipe here & make your own variation!

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A light ‘n tasty lunch snack. Organic rice cakes, tomato, cucumber, Caesar salt, sesame seeds & olive oil.

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Water with chlorophyll (plant blood, in simple terms!) has become a daily habit for me first thing in the morning and I find it a great way to start the day feeling fresh.

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How good is dukkah?! This is a super yummy Lemon & Herb one by Table of Plenty, sprinkled generously on steamed veg + a bit of lemon juice & sesame seeds too. Such a delicious light dinner or side dish.

I’d love to hear about your week in wellness, so leave a comment below! 🙂

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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I’ve never been a three meals a day kinda girl. I love to eat when I feel like it, and this involves quite a lot of snacking and grazing throughout the day. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but there are definitely times when the snacking habit I’ve gotten into works against me! Sometimes it’s hard to say no to a bit of chocolate, or a sneaky vegan sausage roll instead of something healthier.

So! I’m always delighted when I come across new and healthy snack options that promise to help me overcome my need for chocolate and instead satisfy my sweet tooth with something more nourishing.

Enter Modern Day Hippie, the latest DIY snack range on the market proving that guilt-free treats are just a food processor away. All you need to do is blend, roll and refrigerate and a whole stack of treats will be ready for you in an hour.

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My housemate and I tried the ‘Sweet and Simple‘ flavour to start with, which contains apricots, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, agave, coconut oil and vanilla extract (all organic). As you can see in the photo above the apricots haven’t been gassed with sulphur dioxide (a preservative which helps dried apricots maintain their orange colour), this is a very positive thing health wise as sulphur dioxide, or preservative 220, isn’t good for your health.

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Dry ingredients into the blender! Unfortunately just after this, we discovered that you definitely need a food processor in order to make these balls, so we transferred the ingredients over to our new Thermomix!

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The sachet of wet ingredients before being added to the mix.

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Post-Thermomix. Note: you can still see a lot of the whole ingredients here (sesame seeds etc) I recommend processing until they are completely broken down and joined together as it tastes even better… see below.

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As you can see, the balls on the left have been processed for longer than the ones on the right and were easier and tastier to eat. We made 35 small snack balls all up and enjoyed munching on them throughout the week.

The cost for the mixes is $13 on the Modern Day Hippie online store, which I think is a great price for the number that it makes and how healthy they are! I’m going to be trying the Choc Cherry one next, can’t wait! 🙂

Do you like the look of these healthy, organic snacks?

* Products provided for consideration.

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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While in Melbourne recently I attended the Mind Body Spirit Expo and was soon negotiating my way round the usual maze of crystals, lotions and psychics. About half way through, just as my feet were threatening divorce from my body, I stumbled across a stand for the Farmers Market at the Melbourne Showground. Okay, I’ll admit the initial attraction had nothing to do with the fresh produce, impressive though it was, no my attraction was the small group of empty plastic chairs in front of the display.

Slumping into the end seat, I closed my eyes and was only vaguely aware of the demonstration taking place. But then I heard the phrase, ‘Fruitballs’ and visions of old Carry on Camping movies morphed with the South Park chef in my brain. Opening my eyes I saw a reasonably sane middle aged woman in a deep state of rapture about her vegan fruity balls. Health treats, hmmm, I wasn’t convinced. More like sawdust balls I thought, as I watched her roll the mixture into shape, place them on a tasting tray and send the tray off into the audience.

With only six of us in the audience and thirty balls on the plate there was nowhere to hide. So when the tray came round I reluctantly popped a fruity ball into my mouth. It was delicious and the perfect sweet injection to help me continue round the rest of the show. I thought I’d bring the recipe home to WA. It’s only fair if the other states take our sporting events, I’ll take their fruity balls.

♥ ½ cup of walnuts
♥ ½ cup of dates
♥ ½ cup of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower or mixed)
♥ 2 tablespoons of carob powder or cocoa powder
♥ 2 tablespoons of honey (or vegan alternative, eg. agave)
♥ Shredded coconut

Raisins can be substituted for the dates, but not sultanas as they are too small. I thought I’d add in some dried apricots. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz it up until it is a good texture, i.e. a crummy, sticky mixture that holds together. Take bites size pieces and roll them in the palm of your hand into a ball. Then roll and push the coconut onto the ball. The big challenge is to stop at one. Enjoy the guilt-free sweetness.

Review by Glennys Marsdon – author, blogger, consumer behaviourist who’s spent a lifetime researching why we do what we do, but still hasn’t worked out Hollywood tap.

Be well,

xoxo