Dietitian, food lover and passionate cook.
Please note: Due to the COVID-19 government regulations I’ve had to cancel my cooking classes.
I now do Weight & Life Coaching – details here
“There is no sincerer love than the love of food” George Bernard Shaw
Hi, I’m Caroline. I love cooking and eating and I’m passionate about getting people to cook with and eat more plant-based foods.
I’m an ex-cafe owner who now works as a dietitian/nutritionist in Sydney, Australia. Pre-covid I also ran cooking classes but have sadly had to let them go. I’ve since become a life coach and now use those skills in my consulting.
What I hope to achieve with my books, blog and recipes is to inspire and provide you with practical information to assist you to take charge of your health.
“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” Michael Pollan
That’s my favourite way to describe how to eat.
In fact, I have written “veggie-licious” – a cookbook all about how to cook with and eat more plant foods (that’s food grown on a plant, not made in a plant, aka factory).
Why? Because if you read any well constructed research (that’s how I put myself to sleep at night) and population studies (that’s where they don’t mess with things, but simply look at populations who eat different things and see what their health outcomes are), they overwhelmingly show that eating a lot of plants is the healthiest way to eat.
And this is not just healthiest for us, but also for our poor, long-suffering planet!
Okay, a little more about me…
My life experience includes:
– running a very busy and successful cafe and catering business for more than 12 years
– studying naturopathy (many many moons ago)
– training as a dietitian at Monash University (one of the top 5 unis in Australia and ranked in the top 50 universities globally) – oh and perhaps another science degree from Monash (I sound like a real geek now!)
– working as a dietitian for more than 15 years
– hypnotherapy training (RTT) with Marisa Peer
– health coach training with IIN (Institute of Integrative Nutrition)
– eating psychology coach training with The Institute for the Psychology of Eating
– life coach training with The Life Coach School – which was interesting, but mostly a waste of time and A LOT of money – you can learn everything by listening to the podcast!
– writing for Healthy Food Guide magazine
– many of life’s challenges…
And when I’m not cooking, writing or consulting, I can be found…
– walking our gorgeous groodle
– trying to look graceful and not fall over in yoga
– checking out new restaurants with my lovely husband
– travelling overseas and immersing myself in the culture through doing cooking classes
– or enjoying a champagne (preferably French) whilst socialising with friends!
I used to run a cafe…
When I was young and had too much energy (in my early 20’s- mid 30’s), I ran a very busy and successful cafe and catering business in Melbourne, where I was also head cook. This has influenced the way in which I cook and my business name…. ‘Healthy Home Cafe’!
I used this experience combined with my nutrition education and knowledge to run fun, interesting and informative cooking classes in the Inner West in Sydney using easy, replicable healthy recipes for every day use.
I didn’t so much teach people how to cook (although I have been told that I do provide lots of very practical and helpful tips!), but rather how to quickly and easily prepare delicious, nutritious food and use food as medicine. They were fantastic and very popular classes and I loved inspiring people and showing them just how yummy eating healthily can be. Sadly Covid put an end to that!
Why this website?…
I thought it would be a fun way to record my recipes as I cook them. Plus I get to share them with YOU!
BTW, my recipes are not only delicious, but most are also quick and easy to prepare using everyday ingredients.
And I want to help empower those wanting to look after their own and their family’s health, do so more easily.
Together with quick tips and helpful hints, I hope my blog will inspire you to think of healthy eating in a new way.
Overall, I want to show you just how easy it is and how delicious it can be to eat well, and that you can be healthy, happy and in fantastic shape, no matter how busy your life is.
My practice and non-dieting approach to eating well…
When I’m not cooking or eating, I work in private practice, where I help clients improve their health. I have a personal interest in insulin resistance, diabetes, food intolerances, irritable bowel syndrome and a non-dieting approach to weight management. I also aim to cut through all the confusion and mixed messages out there when it comes to food and health.
I love my role as a dietitian as I get to talk all day about food with my clients and spend the rest of my time either researching about food, thinking about food, eating food or planning my next meal!
Eating well is vital for me, not only so I can practice what I preach, but also because I recognise that I feel and perform at my best in all aspects of my life when supported by a healthy intake.
My key approach is balance.
I believe in occasional and moderated indulgences. The rest of the time, the food we eat daily needs to be delicious, flavour packed and nutritious.
Diets encourage feelings of deprivation and often hunger.
Plus studies show (and I see this all the time in my practice) that they actually help people to gain weight.
I don’t believe in deprivation when it comes to food, I believe in balance.
After all it’s what you do consistently and every day that has the biggest impact on your health and how you feel.
If you want to know more about…
– my consulting practice, click here
– my amazing e-cookbooks that teach you all about plant-based eating, along with many deeelicious recipes, then click here
– or if you want a hard copy of my book veggie-licious, click here
– and if you want to learn more about how to get a healthy balanced vegan intake, grab my book How To Be A Healthy Vegan
