Sometimes I'm not the best influence on Meggsie.

These are the easiest health switches I’ve found. I hope this helps her. And You.

• Join a local farmer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). A what? You basically give a local farmer $30 or so a week for a bag full of their freshest produce. It’s great because you save time at the farmers market and get introduced to all of this seasonal stuff you would never have tried. That’s how kale and I became BFFs. By you giving all the money up front, the farmer can do great things. My farmers from Bending Bridge Farm could buy a greenhouse for the winter because of the CSA and now offer an a la carte option. I miss them.

• Add Chai seeds and LSA (Linseed, Sunflower seed and Almond seed meal) to smoothies.

• When craving sandwiches, add tofu puffs instead of meat as a filler.

• Use coconut oil when making Asian foods. Then use coconut oil as an after shower moisturiser during winter .

• Michael Pollan in the Omnivore Dilema said that there isn’t that much nutritional value between organic and “normal” vegetables but there is a big difference between grain and grass fed beef. So splash out on the organic, free-range hormone free, 100% grass fed steak.

• One of the healthiest people I know said to eat an apple and drink a glass of water half an hour before every meal so you have better portion control.

• Rose tea is really high in Vitamin C. Brew 1/2 a cup of boiling water with five rose buds until it’s cooled. Take the rose buds out then add to 500ml of iced water. Fancy flavoured water for the win! Add lavender or peppermint for variations.

• Add a tablespoon of goat cheese or yoghurt to your lentils or soups for protein.

• Cheese and crackers count as a high protein snack as well.

• Eat naturally coloured things; a variety of veg.

•  I found that if I add a tablespoon of yoghurt to my baby spinach smoothies, I can double the spinach amount. Might be worth the experiment.

Feel well soon Meggsie Moo!

Yesterday, I was making veg stir fry and while I normally chop and drop everything into the wok, because there was so many people, I cooked everything seperately and chucked it into a big bowl to toss like a salad at the end. And it was AMAZING! Everything was perfectly cooked. The carrots had bite, the bok choy was soft but still had that crunch and zucchini was nicely browned, which you just know, is optimal for soaking up marinade.

Previous to this, it’s been a game of juggling all the veg to cook at the same time and some would get burnt while others get undercooked. And at that point, it’s not a stir fry, it’s a steam bath. This is a great work around and I’m going to cook stir frys this way even if it’s for one person.

The vegetables I used was cooked in the following batches:

• Sliced Zucchini: until browned and transferred to a bowl with absorbent paper.
• Baby bok choy leaves: just before the thickest part become transparent.
• Sliced Carrots and Capsicum: until they glisten.
• Sliced Radish: Wasn’t such a great idea, I’ll omit this next time.
• Sliced Mushrooms: until how you like them.  I like them burnt.
• Sliced Scallions: 20 second stir fry to get rid of the bite.
• Shelled Peanuts: until they slightly brown. Watch carefully. These can burn easily.

The marinade was:

• 3 tb Soy Sauce
• 2 tb Sesame oil
• 2 tb Oyster Sauce
• 3 tb Hoisin Sauce
• 2 tb Honey

Whisk with a fork until mixed through. I’d add garlic and ginger to the marinade as well, if you really want to knock socks off.

Remove the absorbent paper from the big bowl of stir fry love. Pour the marinade over the cooked ingredients, mix in the big bowl, wait a minute then serve with chopped coriander and steamed rice.

You can thank me later.

a) a living room that could fit 12

b) food that could feed 12 bellies

and well, my apartment is tiny. So I sent off an email and thought nothing of it until I got a reply. This is what I cooked for a woman that continues to inspire me.

Zucchini slice, that I had previously blogged about and hadn’t pictured. Fred from the Nervous Cabaret thought it was a bread of some sorts. I was stoked that he didn’t realise it’s main ingredient was (drum roll please) a vegetable.

Pumpkin and tatsoi pasta. A uber healthy shot of baked pumpkin (butternut squash), tatsoi sauteed with garlic, pine nuts, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil and goat cheese. Substitute a cream sauce with olive oil and the left over oil from the sun-dried tomatoes. I know you think that the prep work is crazy but I roasted the butternut a couple of days before and sauteing the tatsoi took 5 minutes tops. You can use spinach or any leafy green.

Roasted mushrooms in tomato and chickpea sauce. Easy as. Two cans of pureed tomatoes, one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, washed mushrooms with the stalks removed. Oven at 180 C (350 f) for half an hour. Garnish with basil. Done!

And at midday, I had this:

And at the end of the day, it was gone.

time needed: 8 mins prep, roughly 35 mins cooking.

• four zucchinis, washed and grated (skin on)
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used jarlsberg)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 slices chopped bacon (if you’re not a vegetarian)
• 3/4 chopped onion
• salt + pepper
• any herbs or veg you want to use up
• a tiny bit of butter

1. Coat your large baking dish with butter.
2. Put everything in. Mix with your hands until smooth.
3. Bake at 180 C (350 F) until crispy on top. Serve.

When I was mixing I thought: Argh! This is too healthy, where’s the butter and milk? Where’s the flavour? But believe me, it’s there. And if you like quiche lorraine, you’d love this.

The ingredients are cheap, the food is fast and it makes you feel good afterwards.

Get cracking on:

• A dash of sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• as much baby bok choy as you please. Remember that it shrinks down to 1/3 of the size.
• 1/4 cup water
• chopped coriander (cilantro), sesame seeds or anything else.
• cooked rice, kept warm.

for the killer sauce:

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon sugar, brown or white
• 1 tablespoon honey

1. Put all of the sauce ingredients into a small pan and start it on a low heat.
2. Get a bigger pot and splash the sesame oil into it. Grate the ginger into the sizzling oil. Add the baby bok choy. Stir every now and again for a minute.
3. Mix the sauce, it should start to thicken.
4. Add the water to the bok choy, bung the lid on and it’s going to steam for four minutes.
5. The sauce should be thicker, take it off the stove and let it cool a little.
6. Get your rice plated. As fast as possible, pull out the bok choy, cover it in the magic sauce and serve.

You need to eat this as hot as possible, otherwise it gets limp, cold and not so yummy.

Tip: You can buy ginger in bulk, peel them, shove it in a ziploc and put in the freezer. Grate straight out of the freezer as needed.

Another tip? Oh ok: Buy most of these ingredients at your local Chinese store, it’s cheaper, fresher and you get more.

The sesame oil on the left cost $7 from a Chinese market, the one on the right cost $14 from Safeway (Woolworths)

Make the extra effort to do this recipe. You won’t regret it. It could be your staple dish to make when people come over. The great thing is once all the toppings are on and you’re good to go, you leave the pizza to rise one more time for half an hour. That gives you enough time to clean up, platter up some appetizers and have a beer.

You’ll need:

• Olive oil
• Semolina (make the purchase, it’s worth it)
• 1 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon rapid-rise yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 41/2 – 51/2 cups bread flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig of basil, chopped
• chives, or any herb you prefer
• artichoke hearts
• char grilled capsicum (red peppers in U.S land)
• sliced red onion
• sliced ham and/or Italian sausage. Use chorizo if you can find it.
• sliced mushrooms
• goats cheese, sliced
• parmesan cheese, grated
• cheery tomatoes, sliced in half

1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Smear olive oil on the sheet and dust with semolina. In a mixer bowl, whisk by hand the warm water and yeast. Let it stand for three minutes so it disolves.
2. Whisk in sugar, eggs, oil and salt. Add flour, mix with a wooden spoon and knead if necessary to form a soft dough. Put the dough back in the bowl, sprinkle a little bit of olive oil on the top and cover with cling wrap. Put in a warm place, such as the top of the fridge, for 1/2 an hour.
3. Chop all of the toppings to any size you like. In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste, garlic and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and let rest for ten minutes. Lightly roll out the dough to a large rectangle or circle.
5. Brush the surface with tomato paste mixture. Distribute toppings.
6. Turn oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 Celsius). Cover the pizza with cling wrap again and let rest for 30 mins.
7. Bake until golden brown on the edges, approx 25 minutes. Cut, enjoy.