Which ‘you’ are you changing for?
It’s a truism that you should never try to change yourself to please somebody else. People who attempt to quit smoking, lose weight or get off drugs or alcohol because a loved one told them to, rarely stay quit, slim or sober… assuming they made any attempt to change in the first place. The…
Asian Eggplant, Beanshoot and Mushroom Stir-Fry
I used spirulina noodles for this recipe, but any thin noodle will work well. Ingredients: 1 onion, peeled and diced 500 g Japanese eggplant, trimmed and cut into 5 mm rounds 1 carrot, scrubbed and cut into matchsticks 300 g green beans, topped and tailed 300 g mushrooms, sliced (I used a mixture of button…
Crossword puzzles or pumping iron – what’s best for maintaining your marbles?
and Dementia. We all make jokes about it: grey nomads put ‘Adventure Before Dementia’ stickers on the back of their Winnebagos; middle-aged people ascribe forgetting a familiar name or fact to ‘having a senior moment’; and the ‘silly old bugger’ character is a standard fixture of TV shows and movies. But if you’ve…
Are you health-minded or orthorexic?
As so often happens in my practice, in the last week or so the same topic of concern has arisen in conversation with several of my clients: “How can I tell if I’ve crossed the line between a rational, healthy level of interest in my own well-being, and an unhealthy obsession with eating ‘right’…
Vegan Spanakopita
My high school boyfriend was Greek, and his mother made the most delectable Spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie) ever. After I went vegan, I assumed Spanakopita was a lost pleasure. Luckily for me, it is not so – this vegan version uses almond ‘feta’ in place of the usual goat’s or sheep’s milk feta. The…
Beetroot Bliss Salad
I adapted this recipe from Angie Cowen’s beautiful recipe book, Love Life and Gluten Free, veganising it and making it no oil wholefood plant-based compliant by swapping aquafaba* for the olive oil and maple syrup for the honey in the dressing. I also substituted strawberry vinegar for the apple cider vinegar that Angie’s recipe contained,…
Mango Raspberry Chia Breakfast Pudding
Chia puddings are incredibly simple to make, and are delicious ways to get the goodness of chia into your body every day. Just 2 teaspoons of chia seeds provide over 150% of the daily requirement for the essential omega 3 fat, alpha-linolenic acid. Chia seeds are also rich in fibre, calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc.…
Pumpkin Puddings
The key to success with these easy-to-make puddings is choosing a full-flavoured pumpkin such as Jap. Baking the pumpkin takes more time than steaming, but you’ll be rewarded with a rich, sweet taste that more than compensates! Ingredients: 1 tbsp ground linseed/flaxseed – preferably golden 3 tbsp water 1 1/2 cups mashed, baked pumpkin (cut…
Buddha Bowls
I love Buddha bowls, for so many reasons. They’re a fantastic way to use up random things in your fridge, like leftover cooked rice or beans, and they’re great on a steamy Sydney night when you don’t want to eat a hot meal but feel like something a little more substantial than salad. This is…
5 surprising benefits of exercise you never knew about
You already know how important exercise is for your physical health, right? A varied, balanced exercise program: Improves your cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, flexibility and balance; Helps you avoid weight gain or regain (although it’s not that effective for promoting weight loss); Improves your sleep quality; Reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular…