For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed cooking – it’s the way I show love to my family and friends. As a teenager I would prepare afternoon tea for my parents on the weekend. My earliest memory was making a Black Forest Cherry Cake (a challenging recipe for a high school student but aligned with German classes I guess). Mum has a sweet tooth and Dad certainly did too, so I’m sure my baking was a weekly highlight!

These days however, baking and cooking is much healthier with an emphasis on goodness, variety, colour, and freshness. I’ve always been a recipe follower, and each week I spend a few enjoyable hours searching through recipe books and meal planning for my family so we stay on track with healthy eating. Unprocessed whole foods impact everything including mood, energy, vitality, connection, sleep, productivity and longevity. Every time we eat, we have an opportunity to heal our bodies, improve our cellular health and boost energy.

We ‘eat with our eyes,’ so it’s important to make meals colourful and visually appealing without compromising on deliciousness and flavour. I follow the SLOW food principle when preparing food which means I choose Seasonal, Local, Organic and Wholefoods where possible. I aim to keep our food intake plant-rich and gut friendly so I usually include fruit or vegetables in every meal including snacks and baking. It’s important to remember that anything you make for yourself is 100% better than anything pre-packaged or bought, because at least you know what’s in it!

I feel very fortunate living on a few acres in Grose Vale where we are able to grow our own:

• Vegetables: lettuce varieties, rocket, kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, beetroot and spinach.
• Fruit: oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, mulberries and strawberries
• Herbs: basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, mint, thyme and tarragon
• Pecan and macadamia trees

We even have a bee hive and produce raw unfiltered ‘Queen Dee Honey’.

I’m pleased to share some of our favourite family recipes from over the years with you, and we’re grateful to all the talented cooks whose creations have inspired our kitchen.