Well, am I lucky or am I lucky?! The gorgeous Nicola Marie of Delicious Skin contacted me recently asking me if I wanted to try out her brand new all natural & vegan skincare range. Um, are you kidding me? Yes! So fast forward a few weeks and I'm sitting here with my face smelling like chocolate and honestly, I can't think of anything more fabulous. Fellow Sydney gal Nicola Marie has only just created her magnificent skin care range, and it hits the shelves on July 1st. Not tested on animals, completely vegan, completely natural, no chemicals, pollutants or irritants, palm oil free, and completely delicious, I wouldn't be able to fault Delicious Skin products if I wanted to.

The full range includes: a butter cleanser, made from organic coconut oil, grape seed oil, macadamia nut wax, vanilla and essential oils (it smells like peppermint) (so beyond delicious), which is perfect for removing your makeup at the end of the day, moisturising your skin, and also works as an anti-bacterial! There is a supple silk serum, made from organic rose hip oil, organic argan oil, and essential oils, which is the ultimate moisturising facial oil, filled with wonderful antioxidants.

Next up is the most amazing moisturising cream, made from organic shea butter and organic cocoa butter, avocado oil, sweet almond oil and vanilla, and it's actually almost good enough to eat (I haven't tried eating it but you know… When your face smells like cocoa and vanilla, it is tempting). I've been using those three products in conjunction with each other for the past week, and my skin is absolutely loving it. As someone who normally suffers from rather dry skin, especially during the winter months, my skin is currently soft, dewy and smooth!

The exfoliating mask is magnificent, made from betonite clay, organic oats, organic almonds and vanilla powder; the ultimate clay mask. Get your cucumber slices out. So necessary. And finally, there is a delicious cocoa and vanilla lip balm. Lip-lickin' good!

Nicola Marie has clearly put an astounding amount of dedication and love into her skincare range, and there's not a single questionable ingredient in her products. They're affordable, effective, cruelty-free, and delicious! I often find that there is a major gap in the market for all natural skincare, and I honestly believe that Delicious Skin is the best skin care range I've ever come across. Thank you so much Nicola Marie, can't wait to watch your gorgeous company take off!



When I was in high school, I absolutely loved the banana bread they sold at the canteen. At least a few times a week I'd be down there buying a slice as a post-lunch snack. So over-the-top sweet and moist, and usually eaten straight from its wrapping. And it had banana in it, that had to count for something… right? Right?! Maybe not.

Well my love of banana bread has not faded, but since discovering the more wholesome, nourishing, plant-based side of life, the type of banana bread my tastebuds sing for has definitely changed. Banana bread is quite a regular go-to for whenever I feel like baking; I just love how versatile it is, how many different delicious extras you can add into the mix, and how cosy comforting it is when you have a cup of tea in one hand and a slice of warm bread in the other.

I wanted to create a vegan banana bread recipe which was super uncomplicated, because often a lot of the recipes I see for it have a million and one ingredients and I don't know about you guys, but my head explodes. I made this loaf a week ago and a friend and I demolished almost all of it over afternoon tea, so I knew it was a winner and I'd have to make it again. And now I'm currently nibbling on my third slice of this freshly baked loaf. I'd call it a success. The bread uses only a handful of ingredients, and you could very easily play around with that basic recipe; I've used a lovely organic wholemeal spelt flour in this recipe, but I'm sure you could pretty much use any flour you have on hand. Also if you don't have coconut sugar on hand (you should buy some…) you could sub it with any other type of sugar. You could add in walnuts (which I plan to next time, yum), cacao nibs, coconut, berries, pepitas, sunflower seeds, chia seeds - the world is pretty much your oyster here.
What you need:

1.5 cups of spelt flour (or buckwheat flour for a gf version)
1/2 cup of coconut sugar or raw sugar
4-5 overripe bananas (should be around 2 cups worth)
1/4 cup of mylk of choice (I used oat)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract or powder
2 tsp baking powder

What you need to do:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and grease a loaf tin. Mash up your bananas until they're super creamy (I use a potato masher) and add in the vanilla and mylk. Sift your flour and baking powder into the banana mixture, add the sugar and cinnamon, and mix until just combined. Transfer into your loaf tin, and pop into the oven for 45 minutes (and enjoy the smell of baking banana bread permeating the air, uh huh honey).

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When I say I love sushi, I don't think that quite does how much I love sushi justice. I mean, I really love sushi. A lot. But, as many of us have found, rolling sushi isn't the easiest of tasks, and we usually end up with an interesting mess of rice and falling apart seaweed. Also, I feel like sushi isn't an acceptable dish to serve up to the family? Don't get me wrong, I'd be ecstatic if anyone served me up sushi for dinner. But my family consists of two teenagers, two adults, and myself, so cooking to please everyone isn't the easiest of jobs. Enter the sushi bowl! Deconstructed sushi! Bowl of goodness! This went down a treat, has so many delicious flavours, and is super nutritious. Get on it.

What you'll need:

2 cups of brown rice
3.5 cups of water
2 teaspoons of sea salt

Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons of brown rice vinegar
2 teaspoons of honey/liquid sweetener of choice
1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger

2 sheets of nori seaweed, cut into strips using scissors
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
Shallots (as much as you want! We like plenty)
Sprouted mung beans (or any kind of sprouts really)
1 head of broccoli
Mixed greens
Black sesame seeds


What you'll need to do:

Soak the rice for a few hours (not necessary, but it speeds up the cooking process), rinse, then drain. Combine the rice, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil, cover, then simmer gently until all the water is absorbed (this takes around 30 minutes) (keep an eye on it towards the end and stir it regularly so that rice doesn't stick to the bottom and burn).

While the rice is cooking, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, honey and ginger in a saucepan, bring it to the boil and cook for a minute or two, stirring regularly. Set aside.

Chop your broccoli into pieces, and steam lightly. Slice up your avocado, cucumber and shallots.

Once the rice is finished cooking, stir in your lemon juice/vinegar sauce.

Serve the rice into individual bowls, on top of a handful of mixed greens. Top with the broccoli, avocado, cucumber, shallots, mung beans, nori seaweed, and finally sprinkle with some black sesame seeds. Voila!


Serves 4-5 people




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