The Sweet Life

Its been a long time coming BUT I finally have time to add a new recipe to The Sweet Life! Yay! Since moving back to NZ from the UK and getting back into teaching again I have been so busy... it has been a huge shock to the system. But now that i've got through to the end of the year and have a bit of down time I can focus again on what makes me happy... food :). So after the festive season i've been slowly getting back on track with my eating. This week i bought fresh blue cod fillets and experimented with some toppings tonight...which turned out to be delicious. This recipe is super quick and easy. It could work with any firm white fish or salmon. The salad is easy to chuck together and you can add anything to it BUT the toasted seed topping is a must as it adds a bit of crunch and sweetness to the dish! This recipe serves 2.  Ingredients Fish Parcels  2  fish fillets (I used blue cod) 2 teaspoons crushed garlic (you can use fresh garlic) ...

This salad is so tasty! The quantities of each ingredient really depend on how many people you are feeding. With salads I never tend to measure anything out, I just throw it all together and taste it at the end, then make any adjustments necessary. Tip - At the start of each week I boil a few eggs and cook a pot of quinoa - and always have these in the fridge as a staple for a whole range of meals. I often whip up a salad or buddha bowl for lunch after the gym, which means I want something healthy with carbs that I can whip up quickly. Having quinoa and eggs pre cooked makes this so much easier. Ingredients Spinach (roughly chopped) Sprouts Cucumber (chopped) Capsicum (chopped) Hard boiled eggs (sliced) Avocado  (roughly chopped) Dried cranberries (roughly chopped) Pumpkin & Sunflower seeds Feta (crumbled) Cooked Quinoa (cold)  Method 1. Pre cook the Quinoa and eggs. 2. Chop the spinach, cucumber, capsicum, avocado, cramberries & eggs, then add...

Oh my goodness, this has to be one of the best things I have every tasted! I am now in love with buddha bowls and will be testing out some different flavours combinations over the next few weeks!  You don't have to use these exact ingredients - you can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge for the salad and any type of seeds and/or nuts. But I do really like this flavour combination - the cranberries add sweetness, the feta adds creaminess, while the veggies add crunch and freshness, then there is the pistachio crusted chicken which is just divine and tops it all off!  The pistachio crusted chicken looks fancy, but it is very easy to make!  Ingredients Pistachio-Crusted Chicken: 1 chicken breast 1/2 cup pistachios 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds  ½ tsp granulated garlic Salt for seasoning chicken Extras for Buddha Bowl:  1 boiled egg (sliced) A handful of spinach  A small handful of dried cranberries (roughly...

When it comes to takeout i always choose Thai. I love Thai food and somehow whenever Thai takeout is involved i always end up ordering larb gai! Its such a refreshing dish with classic thai flavours.  Traditional larb gai has red onions (you can add these - i'm not a big fan), rice powder, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and a few other things but i thought id put together a recipe that you could make with what you would normally have in your cupboards at home, plus put a healthy twist on it as well.  Using 1 red chilli gives it a good kick but its not really spicy so if you like a lot spice add more chilli.  It tastes great on its own as a salad, or served with brown rice. If you are looking for a low carb option is is delicious served in lettuce cups.  Ingredients  1 tablespoon sesame oil (peanut oil or any other oil is fine) 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 cloves garlic (roughly diced) 2 spring onions (finely diced) 1 la...

This recipe is dedicated to the BFF, Tess. I don't know how many Saturday's we spent down at the Nelson Market searching for 'The Nut Man' and his delicious honey roasted cashews and almonds. I promise you these cashews taste just as good! They are added into the salad for this recipe but i often just make them by themselves and have them stored for snacks. They taste so good! This is my absolute favourite salad. It's my go to dish that i always make when i need to take a plate to a BBQ or a potluck dinner and it always goes down a treat. I often have this salad for lunch or a pre/post work out snack because pumpkin is full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. You could also have it as a side salad with dinner.   It seems like a random mix of ingredients and i have no idea how i came up with this recipe, i think because i love each one of these ingredients equally i thought they must all taste great together and you know what.... they do! I...

This salad is super filling and full of goodness. I've called it an Autumn salad because its full of orange vegetables that remind me of Autumn. You could use any vegetables for this salad and also any meats. You can literally add anything - spices, nuts, raisins, anything you think works well together. This recipe makes enough for 4 servings. Perfect for dinner and then left overs for lunch the next day. Ingredients 2 cloves of garlic 450-500g of lean diced beef 1 cup of organic wholewheat couscous 1 organic (Kallo) vegetable stock cube 1 1/2 cups of boiling water 1 sweet potato 1 orange capsicum 1/3 of a pumpkin/squash 1 large carrot A big handful of baby spinach Coconut oil (for cooking) Any seasonings for the veges (i use onion and garlic granules and mixed herbs) Method 1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. 2. Cut and dice the sweet potato, capsicum, pumpkin, and carrot. Put all vegetables in an oven tray and top with a teaspoon of coconut oi...