Makes approx. 12 goodie balls

• 1 cup pesticide-free raw almonds, or other raw nuts
• 1 cup pitted Iranian dates
• 1-2 tablespoons warm water, to mix
• 1-2 drops of peppermint essential oil (don't use any more than this - consuming too high a volume of essential oils e.g. more than a few diluted drops in food by mouth can have serious health hazards!)
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons organic desiccated coconut
• Optional: goji berries, Inca or golden berries, chia seeds, powders such as spirulina or maca, cacao nibs

Put all ingredients in a food processor. Blend on a low speed till it gets moving and then process on high until it’s well mixed but not smooth! Depending on how powerful your blender is this could take up to a few minutes.

Use a tablespoon to measure out mixture for each goodie ball and roll them into balls. You can roll the balls in coatings such as cacao powder, chia seeds, desiccated coconut or sesame seeds to create variety. Have fun!

Who wants to live to 100?

Who wants to look 25 forever?

If you've been brought up or conditioned to any extent by mass western culture, you may find your answers to those questions a little bit contradictory!

The western world is obsessed with youth, yet most of us want to live forever. Which implies ageing.

Our cultural impetus is on remaining youthful looking at any cost but at the same time, wanting to extend our life span for as long as possible -  it's a really weird mix.

Whilst I was in India earlier this year, I was astounded and pleasantly surprised to see billboards with elderly female politicians, activists and even moviestars - complete with jowls, pigmentation spots, double chins and droopy eyelids. How refreshing! You never see this kind of thing in Australia.

Of course there is a reverence for youthful beauty in India, but it doesn't totally predominante the media's portrayal (and therefore, the people's acceptance) of women. It got me thinking - if I had to choose between the two, would I rather live to 100, or look 25 forever? Obviously one is possible naturally, the other is somewhat possible via unnatural, expensive and painful means. So having a low tolerance to pain and no progress to date in my plastic surgery funds savings account, I guess I'll go for living until 100! (And just enjoy being 27 while I'm at that actual age).

The nutritionist in me then asked the inevitable question: what should we eat to live to a healthy 100, rather than the decrepit centenarian on life support and a plethora of medications that fuels the fear of ageing? And possibly even retain into advanced age, a degree of sexiness, aliveness, vivacity and pep? (I realise that using that word reveals a distinct lack of pep).

To answer this, we need to distinguish between life span and health span.

It's curious that in the west there is an emphasis on extending life span, rather than health span. According to United Nations estimates, Australia has the fourth-highest male life expectancy in the world (79 years) and the third-highest female life expectancy (84 years).

Big woop!

Many of us have spent time in nursing homes or seen grandparents battle with multiple chronic diseases for years leading up to their deaths. Life span seems more an indicator of how accessible modern medicine and pharmaceuticals are than how healthy a people are overall.

Life span is measured in years, but a longer life doesn't necessarily mean a healthier life. For many people in the western world, optimal health is reached between ages 20-30, after which pre-disease states start to set in and health deteriorates over the next few decades - asthma or allergies in your 20's, adrenal fatigue and PCOS in your 30's, pre-diabetes or diabetes in your 40's, high blood pressure in your 50's and so on. Check out any national health statistics for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases - and the ever-younger ages people are developing these conditions - and you'll see that we have succeeded in extending our lifespans, only to spend more of our lives dying slowly.

Despite its amazing advances in treating acute health crises, modern medicine has been less successful in treating chronic disease, prolonging life span but not the proportion of life spent in an optimally healthy state. Our hospitals and nursing homes are filled with people "living" to ever increasing ages, but rather than dying late in life, people are spending more time starting to die early in life, and spending much of it in a suboptimal state of health.

Health span on the other hand, is the capacity for people to live vitality-filled, healthy lives until very late in life. According to John Robbins in his fantastic book, Healthy at 100,tThe Okinawans of Japan, Abkhasians of the Caucasus, Vilcabambans of Ecuador and the Hunzas of Pakistan are the longest-living peoples on the planet, but they also maintain incredibly high levels of health until very late in life.

So how do they do it? Sure, they exercise far more, have a respect and adulation for elders, find joy in their work and don't have a word for retirement in their vocabularies; all of this contributes to their comparitively long and vitality-filled lives. But from a purely dietary perspective, the traditional diets of these long-lived cultures are remarkably similar:

* The percentage of their diets that come from plant foods is between 90% (Abkhasians of Soviet regions) and 99% (Vilcabambans of Ecuador and the Hunzas)

* Their consumption of salt is low, and consumption of refined sugar and processed food is nil. Yep, not a smidgen of crap.

* Their overall daily calorie intake (adult males) is 1800 to 1900. In Australia, where lifestyles are far more sedentary, the average man consumes 2650 calories a day.

* In these diets, percent of calories from protein ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent, from fat it's 15-20% and from carbohydrates it's 65-74%. Mind boggling to the average westerner, who has been told to up the protein and cut the carbs in order to lose weight! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends a daily macronutrient ratio of 10 percent to 35 percent protein, 20 percent to 35 percent fat and 45 percent to 65 percent carbohydrates.

I'm not saying we should emulate exactly the macronutrient ratios of these cultures, in the same way I don't expect we should all live in mud houses and run up mountains for 6 hours a day. These are simply points to think about and experiment with in your diet, rather than replicate exactly. And it doesn't have to complicated. In the words of Michael Pollan, "Eat real food. Mostly plants. Not too much."

I want to share with you one of my dirtiest secrets. We all have a shadow side after all.

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be time-consuming, labour intensive and require 54 different ingredients per dish.

But if you come here often you probably know that already. Plus that's not exactly my secret...

In this blog I want to share with you my favourite fast and healthy meals of the moment, because it’s time I let (one of) my dirty secrets out of the bag and fully embraced it.

Here’s the thing. Even though I’m a dietitian, and my work day involves a LOT of talk about food, meal preparation, cooking and eating... I am actually really lazy in the kitchen.

At times I’ve felt guilt over not being a Nigella-esque nutritionista, or a 3-Michelin star raw food chef, or in any way exceptionally gifted in creating mind-blowing dishes. I like my food pretty simple, and I mainly cook to please myself... when I actually go to the bother of cooking!

I like my meals to take ten minutes or less to prepare. In and out of the kitchen in as little time as possible. Whiz it up in a blender and go. Let stuff cook itself. Chuck something in the oven and forget about it for an hour, then eat it with no extra fuss required. Chop up no more than five ingredients then run off to the garden to sit and enjoy the eating of my meal. I’m a blend, dip and chuck girl, not a sauté, broil and stir girl. A dirty secret no more!

Of course, there is the odd moment when you can’t keep me away from the kitchen. At these times I closely resemble a mad scientist constructing cauliflower crusted vegan pizza as if it were my personal Frankenstein, whipping up lemon almond macaroons, chipotle veggie stew, or teriyaki glazed portobello steaks with a big rocket, veggie and goats cheese salad. I would be a very sad nutritionist if I were banned from the kitchen for life!

But most of the time, I make my meals in the time a commercial break takes place. (I don’t own a TV, but I’m guessing the average ad break is five minutes these days.)

It doesn’t help that my partner is a highly experienced chef and a genius with wholefoods. This guy makes his own multi-national cuisine curry pastes, herb & spice mixes, scented oils, exotic reductions, gourmet chutneys, and elaborate vegetable salts. His Frankenstein dishes are more Japanese - Greek fusion than the blended green soups I toss into a bowl and call "cuisine". And while I easily and happily make do with my simple diet while we are apart (right now he’s in Thailand permaculture-ing it up) I’m more than happy to let him cut sick in the kitchen for a few hours and come out with a gourmet 7-dish vegan Mexican feast that s#*!s all over Montezuma’s.

I know, I’ve got a pretty raw deal.

This also means that my weight fluctuates a little according to whether or not I’m living with my partner. Being female, this alarmed me at first but now I'm (mostly) cool with it. I gain a few healthy kilos when he’s around and tend to be leaner when we are apart. That’s just how it goes and I can rest assured that my body functions perfectly either way. I enjoy my simple bachelorette diet just like I adore Palasis’ decadent yet healthy cooking – as long as I can occasionally forgo his richer vegan creations for a 1-minute blended kale, tomato and avocado salad. But back to the task at hand – nutritious fast food for those who do not have a resident chef on hand.

In honour of my (and I’m assuming, your) inner lazy foodie, I thought I’d share with you some of my easiest under-5-minute dishes. Despite being fast, these are brimming with minerals, phyto-nutrients and other nutritional awesomeness. No dehydrating, basting or multi-tray steaming necessary.

Forest of Illusions Bowl

An unbeatable way of sneaking more greens into your diet, something I'm rabidly passionate about.

Any leftovers can be stored in a container in the freezer, but it's best eaten freshly made. A lovely alternative to frozen yoghurt and ice cream! I don’t use sweetener of any kind in mine as I find the banana sweet enough, but stevia would be my first choice. Bonus points if you know which video game the Forest of Illusions comes from… think old school :)

Serves 1
Prep time: 5 min

• 2 frozen bananas
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach, baby kale or other leafy greens                                                              
• a few leaves of mint
• 1 cup frozen organic blueberries
• 2 pitted dates OR sweetener of choice (e.g. honey, stevia) (sweetener optional)
• juice of 1 organic lemon
• 2 tablespoons of my favourite nut & dried fruit mix to sprinkle on top (optional): I like a blend of Inca berries, goji berries, raw almonds, sunflower seeds, big dark green pepitas, raw cacao nibs, and organic sultanas
  

Blend all ingredients except the dried fruit and nut mix well in a powerful blender or food processor, adding SMALL amounts of water as needed. Pour into a bowl and top with the dried fruit and nuts. Grab a spoon and dig in.

Goddess Guacamole & Veggie Crudites

Cures a mid-afternoon or pre-dinner savoury craving. All the crunch of chips without the bloat and lethargy! I often have these for lunch followed by a generous Green Dream Bowl if I’m extra hungry.

Serves 1-2
Prep time 5 min

Fancy Guacamole Dip: Keep it basic with avocado, lemon, garlic and salt with carrot sticks, or splash out and use all the ingredients here! It’s up to how gourmet you’re feeling, and how much time you have.

• 2 ripe avocados
• Juice of 1 fresh lime or ½ a lemon
• 1 tbspn fresh coriander, chopped
• ½ red capsicum, finely diced
• ½ cob raw corn, sliced away from stalk
• 1 tbspn finely diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• Sea salt, pepper and chili powder to taste
  

Vegetable Crudites:

• Raw organic carrots, cucumbers, celery and/or capsicum, chopped into finger-size pieces

In a bowl, combine the guacamole dip ingredients and mash with a fork until chunky or smooth – I like it chunky! Serve with the crudités on the side, sit in the garden and enjoy with a good book.

Guilt-Free Comfort Mash

This requires that you bake a sweet potato in advance. If that sounds like too much hard work, breathe easy – you can throw the whole potato in the oven with no cutting, oiling etc required – just poke a few holes in it with a fork, chuck it in the oven and go have a shower. Too easy.

Serves 1-2
Prep time 5 min

• 1 baked sweet potato (1 hour at 180 degrees C) - must be done in advance
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tbsp dried herbs e.g celery, parsley, rosemary
  

To fold in after mashing:

• 4 handfuls of organic rocket, baby spinach or other leafy greens
• 1 vine grown organic tomato, diced (optional)
  

Topping:

• 1 avocado, cubed
• Dusting of cinnamon powder
  

Peel the skin off the sweet potato (it comes off easily when baked the above way) and with a fork, mash the innards in a bowl along with salt, herbs and garlic. Fold in the green leaves. Top with the diced avocado and tomato. All the satisfaction and nutrition of a roast veggie spread with practically none of the work.

 

Key Lime Pie in a Bowl

I just love finding other ways to eat greens – as if salads, raw soups and smoothies weren’t enough! You feel clever, like you’ve done something very, very for you good in a naughty kind of way. I enjoyed this fresh and creamy meal for dinner tonight and am oh-so-satisfied.

Serves 2

• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/2 avocado
• juice of 2 limes (4 tahitian or key limes if available)
• 1 tsp lime zest (optional)
• 1 cup organic young coconut water
• 1/2 cup young coconut meat
• 15-20 drops liquid stevia
• 1/3 English cucumber (optional, for extra freshness)
• 1/2 tray of ice (optional)
• 1 tbsp. dried coconut flakes or dessicated coconut
  

In a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients but the coconut flakes and blend until smooth. Serve in a chilled short glass or a small glass bowl topped with coconut flakes. Delicious and simple! If you still feel like dessert after this dessert dinner (!), I suggest a raw Cacao-Orange Cashew & Sultana Bar. Like a nutrition-savvy boss.