These tasty crackers are so easy and so nutritious! They make the perfect mid-morning snack topped with your favourite toppings. I love avocado, ricotta and pepper.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1/4 cup chia seeds

- 1/4 cup pepitas

- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

- 1/4 cup sesame seeds

- 1/2 cup cold water

- pinch of salt

METHOD

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and leave to sit for 10 minutes

3. Place a piece of baking paper on a large baking tray and pour the seed mixture on top. Place another piece of baking paper on top of the mixture and use a rolling pin to roll out flat.

4. Remove the top layer of baking paper and bake the crackers in the oven for 45-60 minutes. If you prefer your crackers cut perfectly, remove from the oven after 30 minutes, cut them up and place them back in the oven until they become hard and crunchy.

This nutty bread is so delicious served with a little spread of butter and a hot cuppa for morning tea! 

Makes 2 loaves with 10 slices per loaf

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 apples, peeled and cored

- 1 cup coconut flour

- 1 cup plain flour, sifted (to make a gluten free loaf substitute the wheat flour for gluten free flour and add an extra egg)

- 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder

- 2 tablespoons of black sesame seeds (I used black purely for the look. If you can't find black sesame seeds, regular white ones are just as good!)

- pinch of salt

- 2 eggs

- 1/2 cup of tahini + an extra 2 tablespoons for the top

- 1/2 cup of maple syrup + an extra 2 tablespoons for the top

- zest of 2 limes

- 3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt 

- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste (or preferably fresh vanilla bean if you have it)

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line 2 small loaf tins with baking paper.

2. Roughly chop the peeled apples and place them in a small saucepan with a dash of water. Cook them, covered, over medium heat until they are soft enough to be mashed with a spoon. Set aside to cool

3. Place the flours, baking powder, sesame seeds and salt in a large mixing bowl and combine

4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs, 1/2 cup tahini, 1/2 cup maple syrup, lime zest, yoghurt, oil and vanilla.

5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until well combined.

6. Stir through the cooked apple.

7. Pour mixture into the prepared tins

8. Combine the extra tahini and maple syrup and drizzle over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

9. To finish, Grate some extra lime zest over the top of the cooked bread.

Recipe provides 621kj, 4g protein, 7g fat, 14g carbohydrate & 92mg sodium per serve

Serves: 14

INGREDIENTS:

·      1 medium sweet potato, peeled & diced

·      Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

·      1 tablespoon maple syrup

·      1 teaspoon cumin seeds

·      10 sprigs of thyme

·      Salt

·      2 cups self-raising flour

·      5 eggs

·      ¼ cup EVOO

·      1/3 cup milk

·      150g spinach leaves

·      ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

·      250g plain soft goats cheese

·      ½ cup pepitas

·      60g marinated goats cheese

METHOD:

1.     Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2.     Line 2 muffin trays with either grease proof paper or EVOO

3.     Line a baking tray with grease proof paper and EVOO. Spread the diced sweet potato out evenly on the tray, drizzle with some extra EVOO & maple syrup. Top with cumin seeds and half the thyme

4.     Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until nice and soft

5.     Meanwhile, place the spinach in a saucepan over medium heat. Add a dash of water and stir until the spinach has wilted down nicely

6.     To make the goats cheese mixture, add the goats cheese to a small bowl along with 1 teaspoon of the milk and the remaining thyme leaves. Whisk well with a fork until smooth and creamy.

7.     Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.

8.     In a separate mixing bowl, add the eggs, EVOO and remaining milk. Whisk until well combined.

9.     Make a well in the flour and add the egg mixture in the middle of the well. Gradually work the wet ingredients into the flour.

10.  Add the roasted sweet potato, parsley and spinach and season with salt.

11.  Place a teaspoon of mixture at the bottom of each muffin tray, then place a dollop of the goats cheese mix (about a teaspoon). Cover with the remaining muffin mix.

12.  Top each muffin with some crumbled marinated goats cheese and pepitas

13.  Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the tops are golden brown

Chia Puddings

If your excuse for skipping breakfast is "I don't have time" then these little puddings are for you! They take 10 minutes to prep on a Sunday and you can grab one from the fridge in the morning and go!

Chis seeds are a wonderful source of protein, fibre and omega 3 fats so will set you up for the day!

They also make a great afternoon snack to help manage those sugar cravings either in the office or after dinner.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:

- 4 cups milk

- 1 cup chia seeds

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 2 tb honey

METHOD:

1. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until well combined

2. Pour into 6 jars with lids (I bought 6 jars for $5 from Target)

Great served with fresh fruit

Try these savoury muffins in the kids' lunchboxes or as a mid-morning snack at work. Homemade snacks like these are a much healthier alternative to pre-packaged, convenience snacks like muesli bars - and they are WAY tastier! 

Serves: 15

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 large zucchini, grated

- 1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled & diced

- 1 cup self raising flour

- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

- 6 eggs

- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

- 60g feta

- 1/4 cup pepitas

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius

2. Brush a baking tray with EVOO and spread diced pumpkin evenly on the tray. Brush with a little extra EVOO and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until soft

3. Brush a muffin tin with EVOO

4. Meanwhile, squeeze as much excess moisture out of the grated zucchini as possible

5. Place roasted pumpkin, zucchini, egg, cheese and remaining EVOO in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Sift in flour and stir until just combined

6. Place mixture evenly in the muffin tins and top with crumbled feta and pepitas

7. Bake for 40 minutes in the oven or until nicely browned on top and cooked through

This recipe could be used as a nourishing dessert to cure those evening chocolate cravings or as an afternoon snack to help prevent that trip to the cookie jar at work! Each serve has 4 g of protein and 4g of fibre which will help you to feel full. It also has less sugar than a fruit flavoured yoghurt - winning! 

INGREDIENTS:

- 1/4 cup chia seeds

- 3/4 cup milk

- 3 teaspoons of cacao powder

- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup

METHOD:
1. Place all ingredients in a food processor

2. Blend until smoothe

3. Pour mixture into 4 small jars and refrigerate for at least 4 hours

4. Top with seasonal fruit

Makes: 24 balls

INGREDIENTS:

- 25 dates

- 1 cup boiling water

- 1 cup hazelnut meal

- 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes

- 1/2 cup cacao, sifted (cocoa also works well)

- 1/4 cup chia seeds

- 1 tb maple syrup

- 1/4 cup pistachio nuts

METHOD:

1. Soak dates in boiling water from the kettle for 15 minutes. Drain and blitz in a food processor with the coconut flakes

2. In a mixing bowl add hazelnut meal, cacao, chia seeds and maple syrup. Add the date and coconut mixture. Mix well until all ingredients are combined

3. Place pistachios in the food processor and process until finely ground.

4. Roll teaspoon sized balls of mixture, then coat with the pistachios

**To make the choc-peanut version, place 1 cup of roasted peanuts in a food processor and blitz until well crushed. Add 2/3 of the peanuts to the mixture and reserve 1/3 of the peanuts to roll the balls in (instead of the pistachios)

This banana bread is so much more nutritious than regular banana bread and it still tastes amazing! Using Greek yoghurt keeps the bread moist while increasing the protein and significantly reducing the saturated fat content as no butter is required. The added chia and linseeds increase the fibre, omega 3 fats, protein and help to lower the GI. This recipe is the perfect cure for 3.30-itis!

Serves: 16

Ingredients

- 3 bananas, mashed

- 2 eggs

- 1 cup low fat natural Greek yoghurt

- 1tsp vanilla bean paste

- 1 3/4 cups plain flour

- 1tb baking powder

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1tb chia seeds

- 1tb linseeds

- pinch of salt

- 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, defrosted (or fresh if you can afford it!)

- 1tb rolled oats

- 1tb shredded coconut

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and line 2 medium sized loaf tins with butter/margarine and flour

2. In a mixing bowl, add the mashed banana, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla and stir until well combined - don't worry, it's supposed to be lumpy!

3. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder, then add the sugar, seeds and salt and combine. Make a well in the centre.

4. Gradually add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Add blueberries.

5. Pour mixture into prepared tins and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the oats are golden brown.

6. Let stand for 10-15 mins the turn out onto a wire rack to cool

INGREDIENTS:

- 200g tinned chickpeas

- 2 heaped tablespoons tahini

- juice of 1/2 a lemon

- 1 clove of garlic

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- 2 tablespoons EVOO

- 1/4 cup water

METHOD:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and blitz until the mixture forms a smooth paste

2. Place into a serving bowl & drizzle with a little extra EVOO

One serve of these delicious cookies provides a great hit of protein and healthy fats so they make a perfect afternoon snack if you struggles with the yummy rumbles after work! One cookie has about 700kj (165cal) so make sure you only take the one if you're watching your weight. 

SERVES: 15

INGREDIENTS:

- 1/2 cup 100% peanut butter

- 1/4 cup honey

- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

- 1/4 cup chia seeds

- 3 teaspoons cacao (or cocoa)

- 1 cup rolled oats

- 1/4 cup coconut flakes (or desiccated coconut)

- 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

METHOD:

1. Combine the peanut butter, honey, olive oil, chia seeds and cacao in a large mixing bowl. Let this mixture sit for 15-30 minutes so the chia seeds can absorb some of the moisture.

2. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well.

3. Spoon onto a lined baking tray and top with some extra coconut flakes.

4. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.

The most common mistake people make when adding a smoothie to their diet is to make it WAY too calorie dense. Yes, smoothies can be very healthy, but they can also be quite high in total calories, sugars and fats. 

Give this recipe a go for the perfect sized smoothie as a breakfast on the run or a snack to get you through the afternoon!

SERVES: 1

INGREDIENTS:

125ml milk

1 medium banana

1tsp chia seeds

1tsp LSA

1tsp honey

METHOD:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth 

These gorgeous little treats are so quick and easy to make, yet they look so impressive (like you've spent hours painstakingly creating them) and will be sure to be a hit with both the adults and the kids on Christmas day!

Source: Pintrest

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 punnet strawberries

- small packet of pretzels

- 100ml cream

- 1 tsp icing sugar

- 1/2 block cooking chocolate

- little chocolate balls for the eyes (you can find these in the cooking section in the supermarket)

METHOD:

1. Take 1/4 of the strawberries from the punnet and chop them lengthways (for the reindeer) & cut the pretzels in half

2. Take the remaining strawberries and chop the tip off (for the Santas)

3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or on the stove over a double boiler. Dip the reindeer strawberries in the chocolate and place on a plate. 

4. Add the pretzels for antlers, chocolate balls for eyes and a small piece of strawberry for the nose. Refrigerate until set.

5. Add the icing sugar to the cream and whip until stiff. 

6. Pipe the cream onto the top of the Santa strawberries, replace the lid and add an extra dot to the hat and on the front for buttons. Add the chocolate balls for eyes. 

Ta Daaaa!