Culinary Medicine Cookshops, Nutrition and Wellbeing Clinic @ Suite 10, 80 Cecil Avenue, Castle Hill (2026)

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Nutrition And Wellbeing Clinic @ Suite 10, 80 Cecil Avenue

14/06/2026

Which sunset do you prefer? 🌅

Actually, while they're all different, they're spectacular most nights from the balcony of my "bunker" at Corlette, Port Stephens – the place I escape to when I need to get some serious work done with very few distractions.

The challenge? Remembering to stop working long enough to look out the window or step onto the balcony and enjoy the show!

Many thanks to my neighbour David for these beautiful photos – he has a much better camera than I do. 📸

If you haven't visited Port Stephens yet, now is a wonderful time. It's whale-watching season 🐋, the temperature is superb, and you would hardly think it's winter here Down Under. It's also the perfect place for long walks along the beach or a hike up Mt Tomaree, where the views are simply breathtaking.

22/05/2026

Are you getting stuck into pears like me? It’s National Pear Week (25–31 May) 🍐

Some of the reasons I love them? They’re inexpensive, versatile and naturally sweet — yet wonderfully nutritious too.

A few of my favourite ways with pears:
✨ Bite into a perfectly ripe pear for dessert or a snack (I let mine sit on the bench until just right)
✨ Slice thinly into multiple salad types - especially to complement more bitter leaves like rocket or radicchio
✨ Poach gently for an elegant dessert (there are so many things you can poach pears in!) You could also top poached pears with my popular Cashew Nut Cream (recipe in Food as Medicine: Cooking for Your Best Health)
✨ Or spoil yourself with a pear nectar - something I love doing when visiting Italy, which is not often enough! 🇮🇹

Pears are also a simple way to help top up your fibre intake at meals, while being naturally low GI. I'm going to have one for lunch today.

And there’s more than one pear to enjoy! 🍐
Think Packham, Beurre Bosc, Corella, Josephine and the classic Williams pear — each with its own flavour and texture.

What’s your favourite way to enjoy pears?

19/05/2026

Research only has impact if people engage with it – so it’s encouraging to see our paper published in Lifestyle Medicine rank within the top 10% most-viewed papers published by this journal in 2024.

It’s wonderful to see strong interest in this work and especially rewarding because it truly was a team effort involving passionate collaborators from around the world, committed to advancing evidence-based lifestyle medicine.

Importantly, the paper is Open Access, so anyone can freely download and read it here: You can access the paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/LIM2.115?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B2CJNL_MIS_1693050_2026_Top_Viewed_Authors_EM1_T

Thank you to everyone who has supported, shared and engaged with our research. 🙏

10/05/2026

To all the mothers, mothers-to-be, and those dreaming of becoming mothers one day… Happy Mother’s Day ❤️🌸

Today is about celebrating the extraordinary care, love and nurturing that mothers bring into the world — not only through raising children, but through the countless acts of kindness, support and connection that help families and communities thrive.

Whether you are surrounded by family today, remembering someone dearly loved, navigating motherhood for the first time, hoping for motherhood in the future, or playing a mothering role in the lives of others… may you feel valued and appreciated.

One of the greatest gifts we can give each other is connection. Sharing meals, stories, hugs, traditions and time together nourishes more than the body — it nourishes the heart and soul too ❤️

Wishing you a day filled with love, warmth, meaningful connection and perhaps something delicious around the table.

08/05/2026

How often do you vary your breakfast?

Weekends are the perfect time to enjoy a little more variety beyond the typical café-style egg fry-up.

Dietary diversity has long been recognised as a marker of better health. More than 30 years ago, my first nutrition professor Mark Wahlqvist used to remind students of its importance. Today, we better understand why it matters — greater food variety from whole plant foods helps promote a more diverse gut microbiome, which is linked to better overall health.

So, what different brekkie could you enjoy this morning? It doesn’t need to be complicated.

Today, I felt like a simple Lebanese-style breakfast with zaatar mixed into extra virgin olive oil, fresh mint and whatever fresh vegetables I had on hand.

And zaatar is not just for Middle Eastern pizzas! Traditionally based on dried thyme and sumac, it’s one of my favourite flavour boosters — especially the Jordanian blend. In fact, even my teenage nephew now asks for it and mixes it with olive oil himself to use instead of butter or margarine.

Simple. Delicious. Plant-rich. And your gut microbes will thank you for it. 🌿

08/05/2026

How often do you vary your breakfast?

Weekends are the perfect time to enjoy a little more variety beyond the typical café-style egg fry-up.

Dietary diversity has long been recognised as a marker of better health. More than 30 years ago, my first nutrition professor Mark Wahlqvist used to remind students of its importance. Today, we better understand why it matters — greater food variety from whole plant foods helps promote a more diverse gut microbiome, which is linked to better overall health.

So, what different brekkie could you enjoy this morning? It doesn’t need to be complicated.

Today, I felt like a simple Lebanese-style breakfast with zaatar mixed into extra virgin olive oil, fresh mint and whatever fresh vegetables I had on hand.

And zaatar is not just for Middle Eastern pizzas! Traditionally based on dried thyme and sumac, it’s one of my favourite flavour boosters — especially the Jordanian blend. In fact, even my teenage nephew now asks for it and mixes it with olive oil himself to use instead of butter or margarine.

Simple. Delicious. Plant-rich. And your gut microbes will thank you for it. 🌿

07/05/2026

What’s for my work lunch today? 🍲

Often, it’s “fresh from the freezer”! As a busy dietitian, I do plenty of meal prep and batch cooking — especially soups and stews, which freeze beautifully and make healthy eating easy on hectic days.

Today’s lunch is a simple Greek-style brown lentil soup with plenty of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil 🫒🍋 You’ll find the easy-peasy recipe in my book, Food as Medicine: Cooking for Your Best Health.

On the side?
🥖 Grainy bread
🍅 Tomato salad dressed simply with EVOO
🍇 And I always finish with fruit — today it will be grapes.

One thing I love about meals built around legumes and wholegrains is how satisfying they are. They help keep you fuller for longer, making it easier to comfortably space meals and avoid constant snacking.

Simple. Nourishing. Delicious. Real food for real life ❤️

05/05/2026

“Exciting news! ‘A Taste of Food as Medicine for Diabetes’ is now available!

Perfect for educators and health professionals, this evidence-based booklet empowers diabetes management with delicious meals.

Buy in bulk to offer free in your waiting room or use in community or student education programs. It’s only $3.95 per copy!

You can order online from Adventist Book Centres in Australia: https://adventistbookcentre.com.au/books/health/cookbooks/a-taste-of-food-as-medicine-diabetes.html”.

03/05/2026

Not beetroot… 💜
This vibrant dish is purple potato salad—and it comes with a smart metabolic twist.

Potatoes aren’t the problem. It’s how we prepare and eat them that matters.

Here are 3 simple culinary tricks to help lower the glycaemic impact:

✔️ Cook, then cool your potatoes (ideally the day before)
→ boosts resistant starch for a gentler blood glucose rise

✔️ Choose purple potatoes
→ naturally rich in flavonoids that help slow carbohydrate digestion

✔️ Dress generously with extra virgin olive oil + lemon juice
→ healthy fats and acidity help dampen the post-meal glucose response

So… do you need to avoid potatoes?
Absolutely not.

With a few clever tweaks—and mindful portions—even people with diabetes can enjoy them as part of a balanced meal.

💡 One more tip: timing matters.
We tend to be more insulin resistant at night, so enjoying some potato prepared like this like earlier in the day (e.g. lunch) supports better glucose control.

Interestingly, traditional patterns such as the Mediterranean diet often placed the main meal in the middle of the day—not late at night.

📘 For more tips and practical strategies to prevent or better manage diabetes, check out my book Food as Medicine: Cooking to Prevent and Treat Diabetes—available in local libraries or from online bookstores.

Real food. Real science. Real-life strategies.

PlantBasedNutrition MediterraneanDiet DiabetesPrevention HealthyEating NutritionScience EatSmart DietitianApproved BloodSugarBalance WholeFoods HealthyCooking

30/04/2026

“I didn’t expect to learn so much…”

That’s what one dad (and grandad!) told me after last week’s cookshop.

It was his first time attending—his wife had come before but was called into work last minute and insisted he take her place (yes, our tickets are transferable 😊).

He stayed back just to share how much he enjoyed it…
✔️ The learning
✔️ The tasting
✔️ The science brought to life

Before? He was already cooking a weekly Mexican black bean soup for his grandkids—one his wife first discovered through our cookshops ❤️ Apparently, it’s a hit with the kiddies!

Now? Walnut and mushroom meatballs are next on his menu.

This is what these evenings are all about.
Real food. Real science. Real change you can take home—that very night.

If you’ve been thinking about coming along… this is your sign.

NEXT COOKSHOP (just announced)
Gut Health: Feed Your Microbiome to Combat Disease and Power Whole-Body Wellness
📅 Tues, 16 June 2026
⏰ 6–8 pm

In just one evening, you’ll learn how to:
✨ Feed your gut microbes the right way
✨ Harness short chain fatty acids to reduce inflammation
✨ Turn cutting-edge research into simple, delicious meals

👉 We run only 5 culinary medicine events per year in our teaching kitchen—so don’t miss out.

Book now and read more: https://nwbc.com.au/cookshops/dates.html

Bring a partner, a friend… or come solo and leave inspired.

Culinary Medicine Cookshops

14/06/2026

22/05/2026

19/05/2026

10/05/2026

08/05/2026

08/05/2026

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05/05/2026

03/05/2026

30/04/2026

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