Hi! I’m Nellie Nature and I am a qualified Naturopath and Medical Herbalist.

My passion for Natural Health started as a little girl in NZ with my nanny who used fresh herbs to heal, her love and knowledge more than  inspired me. I wish I could say that it has always been happy sailing, I have gone through a few health concerns with one of the biggest being very severe acne.  At the time I was doing “everything right “You know, ticking all the boxes!  I was vegeterian, macrobiotic, meditated and did kickboxing, yet I had this horrible inflamed skin. Thats when, luckily, I meet my first Naturopath and she taught me two of my biggest lessons when it comes to health

1.    That my body was not “letting me down”  but working really well and letting me know something wasn’t working on the inside so I now had the opportunity to fix it.

2.    That there is no one diet or answer for everybody.

My approach to health and happiness begins with the idea that  we are all individuals , special and unique and need to treat our bodies with love, honesty  and compassion to achieve the health and happiness. I now  realise we need to nurture and nourish our bodies and have fun sometimes too. The mind is so important and our relationship with ourselves, our food and our environment is too. It’s exciting to help people feel better to let go of their judgements on themselves and to breath.

Yes, sometimes you need to shake things up a little, look at what you are eating , get moving and even think a little differently; we all deserve to feel amazing and we all can!

 Our bodies are constantly trying to reach a balance and our diet and  lifestyle should reflect this. I work with my patients to help them reach their health goals , reduce stress , ease inflammation and reach a place where they feel energetic , calm,  happy and in control. A place where they celebrate life. Feeling good about themselves.

When I was working at an exclusive spa in Thailand, I got to treat some  high profile guests. One of my favourites that I got to meet was Raymond Blanc.  I love his approach to food and will always remember him saying to a room full of executives, celebrities and models, that “as far as he was concerned,  food  should be an act of love for yourself and your family and serving up premade prepackaged frozen food was an act of hate” 

So eat, live, move and think with love and respect for yourself, your environment and your future.

Chai Coconut rice breakfast

This is a great breakfast recipe to be creative with! 


I have given loose instructions, but experimenting and having fun is such a rewarding aspect of cooking, so go ahead and change the spices etc around and really make this recipe your own.


Combine warming spices like ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pod, and nutmeg. oh and a vanilla pod if you have one, 
about 1/2 cup water,
 1/4 cup thai red rice or thai purple rice or Quinoa in pot 
1 date chopped - optional
(you can add few tablespoons of coconut cream now or towards the end of cooking). 


 bring to boil and simmer till liquid absorbed and rice is cooked, cover and set aside. ( if I am using frozen berries i add them now and cover)


 I toast up almonds in oven then sprinkle with cinnamon and keep these ready in the pantry to sprinkle on top. serve with berries/mango/fruit of your choice sprinkle with almonds, alittle extra coconut cream or soy/almond milk. if you need sweetener add honey, coconut sugar or agave but it is pretty sweet with the fruit and coconut cream. and eat it up x

Banana Gluten free Pancakes

These are so yummy and fluffy. You won't even notice that they are gluten free, so perfect for kids. 

I usually make them vegan, so that's no eggs or dairy and they work so well. Especially yummy served with coconut yogurt, sliced pears and toasted smashed almonds. 

1 mashed ripe banana

2 eggs or 2 teaspoons of no egg mixed with 4 tablespoons of water

1 cup soya milk or milk of your choosing

1 1/2 cups plus 4 tablespoons of gluten free flour ( I use a half and half mix of rice and potato flour but have also used store mixed gf flour and worked great)

2 tsp gluten free baking powder ( if using egg replacer add 1 extra teaspoon of baking powder)

4 tsp coconut oil

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• Place the banana, eggs/replacer, soya milk, flours, baking powder, oil and cinnamon in food processor and process ( or do by hand) untill smooth batter.
• place tablespoons of the mixture onto greased pan and cook until bubbles rise to the surface and the underside is lightly browned. Turn over and cook other side
• serve warm. 

Veganomicon and yummy Quinoa recipe

This recipe comes from of my all time favourite cookbooks "The Veganomicon" . This book is such an inspiration whether you are vegan or not!  I love how it has sections on food groups ( like grains and vegetables) and explains clearly  the best ways to prepare each ingredient.

Helpful if you are new to the world of whole grains like millet and quinoa.  Plus as well as being helpful, every recipe I have made from this book has been amazing!

We  are big fans of the mexican millet, moussaka, french lentil soup and the Quinoa and chickpea pilaf that follows.....

Quinoa and Chickpea Pilaf recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
Several pinches of fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
1 cup quinoa
2 cups cooked or 1 15oz can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth

In a small stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil for about 7 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for about 2 more minutes.  Add the tomato paste, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper; saute for another  minute.  Add the quinoa, saute another 2 minutes. 

Add the chickpeas and broth, cover and bring to a boil.  Once the  mixture is boiling, lower heat to very low, cover and simmer for about 18 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed the water, stir occassionally.  Fluff with fork and serve!

This recipe can be changed easily, I sometimes add tomatoes to it, and fresh herbs at the end, or brocalli etc

we serve this with greens, hummus, toasted almonds and roasted cauliflower ( roasted in cumin, coriander salt and pepper and with lemon juice) . Or what ever veges we have around.  

Quinoa - is Pronounced "Keen-Wah" . This yummy grain absorbs alot of flavour, so if I am having it savoury, I usually add stock and herbs, spices and vege when cooking it depending on what I am having it with. Sometimes I also make it into a porridge for breakfast or add the cooked grain to muffins to protein them up abit.  Quinoa seeds were a staple food source in South America for 6000 years. Quinoa is fantastic source of vitamins and essential amino acids and contain no gluten. Quinoa sprouts are the only sprout to contain all essential amino acids for humans. Quinoa is easy to sprout too!! So have fun!

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workshops

New workshops coming soon to Fitzroy  www.ftbe.com.au