It’s winter here in Sydney and we are at the end of week 5 of lockdown with at least another 4 weeks on the horizon. We’re all wearing our active wear and eating comfort food. Often, when I meet a new client and we review what they’ve been eating they will mention pasta and say it’s “bad” and expect me to tell them to give it up. But I think I must have been Italian in a former life because there’s no way pasta is off the menu for me and my clients! Here’s my tricks for keeping pasta on the menu - mangiamo!

I absolutely adore soup and it is my go-to lunch in winter. Soups are a great way of getting in more plant foods in an aim to get to the target of 30 different plant foods across the week. Why 30 plant foods? This is to support the microbes living in our gut which need a diverse range of plant foods to flourish. These soup recipes are delicious, healthy and filling from the plant protein.

If your goal is to improve your health the number one thing you can do is add more vegetables to your diet. We know that eating plants is good, but eating a big VARIETY of plant foods is better, as it seems to encourage the growth of different species of helpful bacteria in our gut. So add flavour to your plants with extra virgin olive oil, herbs and spices and add some different varieties to your trolley each week. Here’s 6 of my current favourite salad recipes.

As the weather warms up I’m always on the lookout for new substantial salads. I’m a huge fan of the Community cookbook by Hetty McKinnon and this recipe is a favourite, with the hot flavoured oil poured over the freshly grilled broccolini. The original recipe uses broccoli, but I have a bit of a childhood trauma from broccoli so use broccolini instead! This just goes to show it’s really important to try different cooking techniques to find a way to change the taste of vegetables you dislike - in general though, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan, garlic and chilli all work wonders!

A substantial salad that holds up well in the fridge for leftovers. We love it with salmon, chicken or marinated tofu. This recipe is high in plant proteins from the edamame and almonds. I’m always asked for this recipe when I serve this salad to guests.

What to do do when you’re tired, hungry but know you should have a salad with dinner? Enter my super speedy thai quinoa salad! This plant powered salad packs in a load of different veggies plus plant protein and is ready in 5 minutes, plus holds up in the fridge for leftover the next day. Winner!

It's heating up here in Sydney!  With a newly vegetarian teenager in my house I'm trying to get in the habit of creating a big, substantial salad on a Sunday that can work as leftovers for the week. Or I get on the #meatfreemonday bandwagon.  Here's 6 of my favourite salads, and one little extra.

Had a few requests on insta and FB to share the recipe for my “buddha bowl” - a quick plant powered lunch or light dinner, perfect for this cold weather! Incorporating soy-based foods like tofu is an excellent way to get protein, iron, calcium and healthy fats into your diet with relatively little saturated fat, so beneficial for cardiovascular health. Soy products like tofu and miso are also rich in isoflavones which may reduce your risk of prostate cancer and has a protective (or at worst neutral) effect on breast cancer risk.

Green vegetables are one of the veggies that many people dislike and so don’t eat enough of. But there’s some simple ways to add flavour to greens, making them more enjoyable so you’ll want to eat them more often. And this is one of my favourite ways... SteamedGreens with Dukkah and Lemon.

Low FODMAP Tomato Salsa with Coriander & Lime. A bright and fresh salsa to serve with steak, chicken, fish, eggs or tacos. Or you can mix it through rice or serve it as a bruschetta.

This basil pesto dip is extremely versatile and can be used as a dip, a spread for sandwiches or toast, or to add flavour to pasta or rice dishes. My favourite way to eat this is spread on toast or crackers and topped with fresh tomato. This recipe is low FODMAP, gluten-free and dairy-free. You can even freeze it in small portions so that you'll always have some ready to add a flavour burst to your meals.

Just because I’m a nutritionist doesn’t mean I want to cook dinner EVERY single night.  Why would you live in Balmain (in Sydney’s Inner West) if you didn’t take advantage of all our wonderful restaurants and cafes?

 And just because I’m a nutritionist doesn't mean EVERY meal has to be healthy – because life is about BALANCE – right?  However sometimes it’s great to have a meal out that is healthy and leaves you feeling fab instead of bloated and heavy. Here are some of my favourites.

Busy? In a rush? Know that you should be eating more veggies and fish but not sure where to start? If you’re flying in the door after a busy day and need something easy to get on the table that’s healthy and tasty for your family here is a round up of my favourite vegetarian and pescatarian meals.

Perfect for entertaining, or for a family dinner with the hopes of leftovers, here's how we've been enjoying our grilled veggies.  Our secret is to include a punnet of figs (so cheap at the moment - and they used to be such a luxury!) and to marinade before grilling.  This is a delicious side to barbecued steaks, sausages or halloumi.

In worrying news for hummus fans the world over - we are facing a GLOBAL SHORTAGE OF CHICKPEAS! After the avocado crisis I'm not sure how I'll cope! In the meantime, while tinned chickpeas are still cheap I'll stock up. Here's how we had them last night - roasted til crispy tossed with coriander, cumin and oregano, roasted along side some pumpkin. Served with rocket, mint, toasted pepitas, pomegranate seeds and some halloumi too. 

Has your teenager recently announced they are a vegetarian?  Mine has!  The rest of the family eat meat and I'm too busy to be cooking 2 meals every night so here's some ideas for how I cope.  I've also seen quite a few vegetarian clients recently with iron deficiency so I'll outline some common nutrient concerns with a vegetarian teenager and how to avoid them.

I developed this delicious granola recipe for my son and he loves it.  He mixes it with yoghurt as a great second breakfast after early morning rugby training or after a game.  The combination of protein and carbs makes it ideal for refuelling my hungry boy!