Thank goodness – Australian bananas are finally affordable again! Today I bought a bunch for the same price as what just one cost a few months ago. I dumped them in the fruit bowl and with great nutritional joy told my family: “Eat as many as you want!”

To celebrate I whipped up a banana berry smoothie – perfect for a filling snack on a hot Sunday afternoon.

• 1 banana
• 1 cup frozen berries (the more you use, the thicker the drink)
• 2 cups reduced fat milk
• 3 generous tablespoons plain yoghurt (I use Jalna biodynamic organic)
• 1-2 tablespoons honey
• Optional: 2 tablespoons chia seed (for some ALA omega-3′s)

Blend in electric blender and enjoy! The finished article is pictured above.

My good friend Katalin gave me this recipe for the most delicious way to cook dried beans. She uses black beans. So far I’ve tried it with haricot and black-eyed beans. It tastes great whichever beans you use.  I try to make a batch each week, especially at the moment when I can’t exercise and need to not over-eat. After a meal of these beans there is no room for chocolate! They taste lovely with a dollop of plain yoghurt or raita (yoghurt, cucumber and mint). I also eat them with steamed vegetables followed by fruit for a simple nutritious meal.

Katalin’s Beans

• 1 large cup dried beans
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 green capsisum, chopped finely
• 1 red capsicum, chopped finely
• 2-3 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Salt
• 1/4 cup vinegar (I use red wine vinegar)

Soak beans in plenty of water overnight.

Heat a little olive oil in a large fry-pan on medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes then add celery and capsicums. Cook 5-6 minutes until softened. Drain beans and add to fry-pan. Pour in enough stock to cover. Cover and simmer on low for 1-2 hours, adding more stock or water when necessary. The beans should end up quite saucy. Once cooked add cumin, vinegar and salt to taste.

Oh my goodness, these little sweet treats are so delicious, especially with coffee or a cup of Earl Grey tea. This recipe is adapted from Bertoni’s – arguably the most popular coffee stop in Balmain.  Last weekend I spotted a local Balmain dad sipping his Bertoni coffee in Strathfield – a 20-30 minute drive from Balmain. That’s true devotion! Bertoni’s is authentically Italian and their cookbook has some fabulous recipes as well as a history of the Bertoni family and their love of good food.

Lentil pumpkin soup is my latest invention for a no-fuss, high fibre meal. I’ve been eating it for lunch over the past week. Just a quick re-heat in the microwave and I can hobble back to rest up my sprained foot. I usually eat an orange afterwards – the vitamin C quadruples the amount of iron I absorb out of the lentils.

It’s somewhere between soup and dahl, and it’s delicious and cheap! I have to admit that I have no exact quantities for this recipe – I just chuck it all together! If you want it thicker, add more lentils; if you prefer it thinner, add more stock or water. Enjoy!

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 pumpkin (750-950g), peeled and chopped
• 1/2-1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups reduced salt chicken stock
• 1-2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Lemon juice and iodised salt

Place onion, garlic, pumpkin, lentils, stock and cumin in a large pot. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until pumpkin is soft. Blend until smooth. (I use a stick blender which I put straight into the pot.)

Add salt and lemon juice to taste. Add more cumin if you like. The combination of these three flavourings is what transforms the soup into something special.

Let me know if you like it…