This is a mildly spicy flavoursome pie. Based lightly on B’stilla it is slightly time consuming but very much worth it for a lazy Sunday.

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most people underestimate the importance of protein in their diet. Protein is a vital part of a healthy diet and has way too many benefits for me to bother typing out, but a large benefit of making protein part of every meal is that protein requires more energy to digest and makes you feel “full” for longer.

1 medium banana
10 feijoas
30g whey protein isolate (or your protein of choice)
ice

peel the banana and add it to your blender. add the flesh of the feijoas, and blend until smooth. add the protein powder, ice and a spash of water. blend until ice is crushed and smoothie is thick.

You probably can’t tell from all of the other posts on my site that I am actually a gym junkie. I love working out/lifting and eating clean, and one has to when on evenings and weekends etc there are piles of caramel brownies and other such evil food lying around at home. Eating clean during the day is my idea of moderation and helps me keep my weight in check.

Anyway to help me in my goal of high protein meals I like to have protein bars lying around in case the urge for chocolate strikes. I was so excited when I drove to work this morning (first day of a new job) and saw that a few doors down from my new workplace was Real Nutrition! I have ordered from them before because they have my favourite protein bars (Doctor’s Carbrite) at the cheapest price I have found in New Zealand.

I was even more excited when I jumped on their website and saw they sell a mixed box. So in my afternoon break I wandered down the road and walked in. What an awesome experience, why can’t every shopping experience be like this one was! They were helpful, friendly, understanding and just amazingly helpful. I picked out my own 12 bars of mixed flavours and a 2 month supply of their multivitamins. I sound like I work for them but really I was just so thankful for a nice shopping experience that seems to be the exception these days.

If you are looking for Protein bars or supplements, or I am pretty sure they even do nutritonal consultations, check them out www.realnutrition.co.nz

Ok so this is a little embarrasing because I have to admit that I have only just discovered Mountain bread. I can’t express my love for it in a non creepy way but it really is one of the greatest things to happen to me food wise in a long time ha ha. I lovvvvve wraps/tortilas all that kind of stuff, but I always restrict myself from eating them because most of the brands you buy have around 200 calories and 20-30g of carbs.

These have 60-70 calories (depending on which type you get) and around 10-13g of carbs. ZOMG. So good. So my stand by dinner is:

1 piece of mountain bread
100g (approx) of chicken or 2 tenderloins
Iceberg lettuce shredded
Carrot grated
Shallot grated
Fresh herbs (parsley, corriander)
Capsicum or tomato

add mustard, shredded cheese (tiny amount) or sour cream and roll up. OM NOM NOM. Bring on healthy dinners/lunches/whatevs.

It has taken me a long time to get up the courage to make hummus after a disastorus (read: garlicy) experience a few years ago. This however, has brought back my faith in my hummus-making-abilities. It was even worth the walk in the 100% humidity sweltering heat to pick up some garlic. No more $4/tub supermarket hummus for us! Yum.

If you are not used to using dried chickpeas, I guess you could use canned but dried taste so much better and not to mention are so much cheaper. Just soak them overnight in a saucepan with lots of water, rinse and then cook for about an hour or until they are quite mushy. I like to peel my chickpeas before making hummus but I think I may be in the minority with this. Infact next time I will try without peeling .. what a rebel.

2 cups soaked cooked chickpeas
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste
1 lemon or more worth of lemon juice to taste
salt
pepper

blend garlic, sesame and salt. add 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth.
add chickpeas and blend until desired consistency is reached, season to taste with salt and pepper.