Quick, Easy and Delicious Strawberry and Macadamia NiceCream

Ingredients

2 large frozen bananas (sliced)

11/2 cups fresh/frozen organic strawberries

1 cup coconut yoghurt

1/2 cup of chopped macadamias

Method

Add all ingredients into a high speed blender or kitchen whizz until all ingredients have combined (roughly 30 seconds).

Scoop ingredients into small bowls and serve with extra chopped strawberries and macadamia nuts.

For that festive cheer, add a little mint on top.

This recipe serves 4 depending on the size of your serving dish.

Make this you own recipe change it up add any berries, fresh or frozen.

Coconut yoghurt gives it a lovely thick texture; however you can use 1/2 cup of coconut milk/cream.

These beautiful strawberries contain 97% vitamin C. Vitamin C is nourishing for the adrenals whilst stimulating your immune system. Vitamin C assists the adrenals to produce all of the adrenal hormones.

Macadamia Nuts are heart and health friendly containing those good healthy fats and are loaded with antioxidants.

Spring Recipe: Coconut Poached Chicken and Mango Salad

This is a stunning salad with everything you'll love. Beautiful juicy poached chicken, bright mango and fresh herbs. A great side, lunch or dinner for a whole family.

Ingredients

• 500ml (2 cups) Massel chicken style liquid

• 4cm- piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

• 6 coriander stems

• 310ml (11/4 cups) coconut milk

• 4 (about 800g) chicken breast fillets, or chicken tenderloins

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

• 1 tablespoon finely grated sustainable palm sugar

• 2 fresh mangoes, peeled, thinly sliced

• 1 avocado, peeled, thinly sliced

• 3 spring onions (shallots), thinly sliced diagonally

• 1 long fresh red chilli, thinly sliced diagonally

• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves

• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

• Roasted cashews, corsely chopped, to serve

Method

Bring stock, ginger, corinader stems and 250ml (1 cup) coconut milk to a simmer in a deep frying pan over low heat.

Add the chicken and cook for 15 minutes, or until cooked through (you can check this with a thermometer reaching 75 degrees Celsius. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes to infuse in those lovely juices. Use tongs to transfer to a plate. Shred Chicken using two forks.

Meanwhile, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar and remaining coconut milk in a small bowl. Combine the chicken, dressing, mango, avocado, capsicum, spring onion, chilli, half the mint and half the coriander leaves in a large bowl.

Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the cashews and the remaining mint and coriander.

(I spread the platter with rocket leaves for the bitter component to stimulate digestion and give lots more greens)

Nutritional Information

Mangos contain essential enzymes that assist in breaking down protein and fibre which assists the digestive tract to work efficiently. Mangos are rich in beta-carotene: the precursor to Vitamin A. This powerful antioxidant helps improve vison, boost overall eye health and even may prevent age-related macular degeneration or loss of vison. The high levels of pectin may help lower LDL cholesterol. Additionally, they are rich in vitamin C which is essential for collagen production keeping your skin looking younger and healthier whilst boosting your immune system. And although sweet, the glycemic load is quite low and therefore will not spike blood sugar levels.

The phytochemicals in mangos act as natural fat busters due to the high content of fibre.

Not only are red bell peppers a decent souce of iron, they are also exceptionally rich in vitamin C, which increases the absorption of iron from your gut. Add to this the amazing benefits of ginger for digestion and as an anti-inflammatory aid, combined wth avocado: an amazing fruit containing good amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids and cashews which are low in sugar, rich in fibre heart-healthy fats, and plant protein. They're also a good source of copper, magnesium, and manganese — nutrients important for energy production, brain health, immunity, and bone health. And you have an amazing meal that is as good for you as it looks.

Spring Recipe: Bright Vegan Tacos

For my vegan clients, here's a delicious recipe for Vegan Tacos.

To make this recipe gluten-free, ensure that you choose Tamari that is gluten free as well as corn tacos.

Taco Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of walnuts

• 3/4 cup of roasted almonds

• 1/2 cup of chopped sundried tomatoes

• 1 small clove garlic (or ½ medium clove), minced

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1/4 ground chilli or cayenne pepper

• 11/2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For the Salsa

• 11/2 cups pineapple or ripe mango, diced

• 1/2 red onion, finely diced

• 3-5 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced

• 3/4 cup coriander chopped

• 1-2 tablespoon lime or lemon juice

For the Guacamole

• 2 just-ripe avocados

• 3-4 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

To Serve

• 12 Soft corn tortillas or crispy corn taco shells

• 1/3 cup pickled jalapeños

Method

To make the nut-mince, place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until ingredients are crumbly and just combined – be careful that you don’t over-process the mixture or else it will lose its crumbly texture and be too smooth. The texture should reassemble that of crumbly cooked mince.

Combine all salsa ingredients and season to taste with salt, pepper, lime or lemon juice and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive or avocado oil.

Mash avocado and lime or lemon juice together, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook tortillas or taco shells according to packet instructions – generally taco shells you bake in the oven at 180C for about 5 minutes, and soft tortillas you heat in a hot fry pan with a little drizzle of oil

To serve, place all components of the meal in the middle of the table for people to help themselves and build their own tacos. To build a taco, spoon some nut-mince, salsa and guacamole into a tortilla/taco, top with a few jalapeños and eat!