LSA (Linseed, Sunflower, Almond) Recipe

LSA goodness
LSA goodness

LSA is short for linseed, sunflower and almonds. You grind these seeds down to a fine or coarse form  in a food processor and you have LSA:  One of nature’s super-foods…

Why is LSA a super-food?  Its packed with  goodness:  It’s high in protein, it’s got a healthy dose of Omega-3 fats (which help promote a healthy heart and brain function). LSA also helps boost bone and skin health thanks to a number of vitamin and minerals.  This clever mix also plays a great role in helping cleanse and detox the liver, which can help regulate cholesterol levels and help eliminate unwanted fat from the body.  Oh, did I mention it tastes delicious?

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Art Deco Makeup – Hit or Miss?

Art Deco makeup review nz

Have you heard of German cosmetics brand Art Deco? I’m not surprised if you haven’t, this has to be one of the most underrated makeup brands outside of Europe! So please, let me enlighten you: Art Deco is the cosmetics market leader in Germany and a best seller in Europe. Having lived in Germany and other parts of Europe, Art Deco is a brand I loved and used a lot of ‘back in the day’.  So, as you can imagine, I was jumping for joy when Farmers announced they’d be stocking Art Deco at some stores in NZ last year. Their range is comprehensive, there’s a mineral makeup collection, foundations, eyeliners, blush… Look, you name it, they’ve got it. My favourites are the colourful array of sixty-something eyeshadows which you can purchase individually, or make up your own little cosmetics palette: Blinkin’ genius.

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Spice Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin and Pomegranate Molasses

Spice roasted chicken recipeSpice Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin and Pomegranate Molasses… *Contented sigh*. This Middle Eastern inspired recipe, from NZ’s delightful Dish magazine, is totally dinner party worthy and will knock the socks off your guests, or your family: Don’t feel you need to save it up!

The combination of the sweet/sour pomegranate dressing with crunch almonds, which is spooned over the chicken after cooked, makes it something oh-so-special. When I made this I doubled the recipe and we had it on salad the next night. I love leftovers…. A night off cooking = more time for blogging! (more…)

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Zucchini Slice

Zucchini sliceI love hearing about recipes that get passed down  through generations. This savoury slice of goodness was made for me by my friend Emma, who whipped this up for dinner when I was staying with her recently. This recipe has been in her family for ‘donkey’s years’ and she and her sisters all make it, with their own unique twist on the recipe.  

Bugger changing the recipe, I’m sticking to what’s below: It was fantastic and talk about easy.  (Hmmm, then again, this would be good post Christmas to use up my leftover Christmas Ham!).

 Anyhow,  as a full-time working Mum I’m a big fan of ‘biff it all together and cook it’ type food, especially when there’s likely to be leftovers for lunch.   We had this for dinner with roast chicken, homemade wedges and salad.   Guess what Emma served on the side as an accompaniment?  My Chilli Jam.  That made me smile!   (more…)

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Day-to-day Makeup Tips – How to up your game

38e0e049e731d5d7b1d8ced8d5c260ffI spent some time on the weekend with a friend who wears makeup most days: Foundation, concealer, mascara, a touch of lippy. What she was keen for was to learn how to learn how to take her makeup to the ‘next level’: My friend was keen to mix up her makeup look a little: But she just didn’t know how. This is something I hear a lot: “I want to do something different with my makeup but I have no idea where to start”, or something along those lines! So, armed with my makeup kit, and a kick-butt antipasti platter and some quality vino, we set ourselves up at the kitchen table and got playing.  Here’s a quick roundup of the top makeup tricks that my buddy reckoned will make a big difference in her makeup regime. I hope there’s something in here that’s a game changer for you. (more…)

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Prawn, Pita and Salad Pile Up

Prawn Tostada Gordon RamsayYou might not know this: I really do NOT enjoy week night cooking. I find it an absolute chore: Time is limited and everyone wants my attention – and I’m so hungry after a full day of work that I’m eyeing up the corn chips and the hummus (and the baking) and my willpower is waning.  So, to get week night dinners on the table FAST there’s two ingredients I’ve just got to have on standby: Large wholemeal Lebanese Bread (of the ‘pita’ variety) and frozen prawns.  Both are super versatile and assist with getting dinner on the table in record time. (more…)

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Bronze Smokey Eye Tutorial

Bronze Smokey EyeA makeup tutorial is well overdue, sorry folks!  They just take so blinking long…!   I did this bronze smokey eye a few months ago for the first time and it’s been getting a good thrashing ever since. So, I figured I would do a tutorial on it so you can all share the love too.  I’ve done this look on a few friends that have brown, green and blue eyes and it looks absolutely fabulous on everyone.  I love this look as it’s relatively quick and straightforward to do, you only need two eyeshadow brushes and the overall combination of MAC’s Bronze Eyeshadow and Maybelline’s Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze is stunning. Of course, you can use any bronze shade eyeshadow, and any taupe/bronze toned eyeshadow in place of the cream Maybelline Colour Tattoo – don’t feel you need to rush out and buy these specific products. Anyhow, this is a look that’s absolutely day appropriate, as well being glam enough for an evening event. Mac Bronze, by the way, is my Number One favourite eyeshadow, it’s stunning just on it’s own or used with other eyeshadows.  (more…)

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