The famous Laura Thai Marinade

My thai marinade has become infamous with those who frequent our dinner table and also when we are invited to barbeques. I get asked for the recipe all the time, so finally folks, here is the secret to my Thai success!

This amount makes enough marinade to coat 6 chicken skewers, or 2 pieces of meat.

Combine the following in a bowl or measuring cup:

• 1 stalk lemon grass, end roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbs olive or peanut oil (I use olive)
• 1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded if desired
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 Tbs fish sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar

Mix well, so the sugar dissolves. Pour over your favourite meat - I have done this with chicken, turkey and fish and all have turned out superbly. I think it would taste good on pork, but unsure about red meats.

The marinading can be done an hour before cooking the meat. I usually give it 4 hours.

The meat can then be grilled, barbequed or baked.

Thai marinade in action!

On Tuesday night I had 3 of my gorgeous girlfriends over for dinner and we were having so much fun and laughing without the need for alcohol!

Our dinner was detox friendly, pregnancy friendly and dairy free. 

Not only did we have Thai marinade chicken, but we also had sweet potato slices shallow fried in coconut oil, garlicky goodness snowpeas and a simple & delicious salad provided by Kate & Erin - toasted almonds, broccolini, avocado, tomato and lettuce mix in a balsamic dressing.

Summer meal favourites - exotic barbeque and salad

Summertime in Australia calls for the numero uno cooking device to come out and play - the barbeque. While charring meat is not good for you, the slow grilling of meat can be very healthy. And barbeques don't need to be all about sausages! You can make a barbeque an exotic affair with a bit of imagination and motivation, which hopefully this meal will inspire!

It was a gorgeous summer evening in Melbourne, so it calls for a meal to match it - barbequed turkey steaks marinaded in my own home made thai marinade, charred asparagus and zucchini spiced with cumin, mango, spinach & mint salad and a glass of Queensland mango wine. 

A healthy, whole food meal and would be great for a detox (minus the wine!)

Watch out, its sunburn season!

Ok people, listen up... you know I'm a big advocate for walks in the sunshine without sunscreen, as its important to help get your daily dose of vitamin D. But this heatwave... these 35° Celsius (95° Fahrenheit) plus days call for sunscreen to be worn when going outside and to be reapplied. This is not your happy sun. This is EVIL sun!

Sunscreens - a toxic jumper for your skin

Buying sunscreens is hard enough, as you really don't know what they put in it. Sunscreens are basically lathering your skin in a toxic bath in chemicals known to be carcinogenic, and these soaks into your pores and go through your bloodstream. There are chemical free alternatives out there, but be careful - even some chemical free alternatives still contains some dodgy ingredients.

Read the ingredients labels to see for yourself. Try to avoid any sunscreen product containing ingredients that sound like chemicals:  Methyl... Propyl... Butyl... Ethyl... Trieth... Dieth... etc.

Always buy unscented sunscreen unless for some reason you just enjoy coating your skin with artificial perfume chemicals. A typical sunscreen product is made with over a dozen cancer-causing fragrance chemicals.


You don't need to go to extremes by going out and buying SPF 50,000, in fact, there isn't a lot of difference in cover between SPF 30 and anything above it. And if you are sunbaking for hours in this heat, avoid the reef oil - the smell of your cooking skin may turn your fellow beach gatherers into cannibals wanting to feast on your tasty coconut smelling crispy goodness. Oh, and it will make your skin leathery. But the cannibalism aspect is the bigger issue! :)

Sunburn tips...

In case you are extremely lucky (like winning lotto lucky), in Australia, you are going to experience some sunburn at some point of your life. Not matter how much you try, you may miss that one spot, forget to reapply after going in water, or sunscreen gets rubbed off before you know it, sunburn can occur and it is horrid. Really evil sunburn can take a few hours to show, and you will feel that heating, almost pulsating glow on your skin when you go to bed. Here is a couple of natural remedy tips to help you conquer the experience:

• When you get home from your sunny outing and you believe you may be at risk of burn, take a shower. This can help cool the skin down, and also removes your chemical jumper of sunscreen!

• After your shower, after sun lotions can be a blessing. Again, check the ingredients for a chemical storm. There are some good natural ones out there. 
• Some lotions contain the plant aloe vera, which has an amazing soothing property when applied to sunburn. If you can get hold of the real plant, its even better. Just snip off a leaf, split it open and apply the gooey gel directly onto the burn. It will feel sticky, but I have always had instant relief with this. 
• Lavender oil is excellent for burns. There was a great story I head about this guy who worked at a lavender processing plant and he burnt himself badly on one of the machines. He instinctively put his arm into a vat of lavender oil and it ended up not scarring. Of course, sunburn is slightly different, but the anti-inflammatory properties are still the same!
• Calendula oil is ultra soothing and also anti-inflammatory on the skin. I'm afraid I don't have any awesome stories about calendula, but it is one of my favourite herbs. :)
• Some lotions contain vitamin E, which is a great antioxidant and is both soothing & repairing for the skin, but be aware if you have sensitive skin - it has been known to cause allergic reactions in some people.
• Lotions usually come in either a gel or cream variety. For an extra soothing effect, put the gel in fridge. 
• Remember to reapply - don't expect full results from just one application! Reapply often - every 2 hours if you have the time. 

• Rubbing a cucumber onto your burns is not only refreshing and leaves you smelling like cucumber, but also helps hydrate the skin and it contains a small amount of vitamin C, which reduces inflammation.

• A home remedy that helps take the heat out of sunburn is black tea. Black tea contains tannins, which are astringent and help draw the heat out of the burn. I've tried this and it worked really well, and left me smelling like a strong cup of tea. What to do...
• Put 8-10 tea bags into a 500ml jug. 
• Pour 500ml boiling water over them and allow it to steep until the water is black. Boiling water is used as this helps infuse the tea, this cannot be done with luke warm water. 
• You also want the water to cool - I'm not going to torture you by telling you to put a boiling hot liquid onto burns, I'm not sadistic!
• Once the water is luke warm to cool, use a cloth or paper towel and soak it in the tea mixture. Put the cloth onto the burn and leave it on for 5 minutes like a compress. 
• After 5 minutes, you will feel that the cloth is quite warm, so wring it out and do it again. Continue doing this until you feel the heat go out of the burn.
• This can be repeated several times if you wish, depending on the severity of the burn.

Taste the rainbow of goodness!

• Food can help, who would have thought it?
• Drink plenty of water - chances are you are dehydrated!
• Eat antioxidant rich foods - your skin has undergone a massive oxidation, so antioxidants will help replenish your body and also help with skin repair. Not sure where to find antioxidants? Think lots of colourful fruits and vegies!
• Antioxidant rich foods, especially those rich in carotenoids (carrots, dark leafy greens), lycopene (tomatoes, watermelon) and vitamin C (citrus, kiwi, berries) help provide an anti-sunburn effect on the skin when eaten regularly before going out in the sun. Another reason why a whole food diet is so important!

There are more remedies out there for people in pain, these are just a few of my favourites. If you have any you would like to tell me about, please comment below. I wish you all the best for this summer season, good luck in the sun! :)

Spicy garlicky cripsy goodness snow peas & salmon

Ok, I think the title gives you the idea on what this is all about.

Recipe inspired from myrecipes.com, snow peas fresh from my in-laws garden :)

Tonights meal - hoisin glazed salmon, with steamed vegies and spicy garlic snow peas!

Hoisin salmon: 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 2 teaspoons of tamari (or soy sauce) and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Marinading only needed to be done 10 minutes prior to cooking. I cooked mine in a fry pan with a bit of coconut oil, but it can also be baked.

The snow peas were the star of this dish and I had to share how to make AMAZING snow peas in 5 minutes!

Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add snow peas and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 crushed garlic cloves and your choice of spices (I used Shichimi pepper mix); sauté for 1 minute. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon sugar; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil. Spicy, garlicky, sweet, crispy goodness.

And the steam vegies on the side, look to my steam vegies blog for more on those!

My favourite summer salad - mango mint nom nom

This combination of flavours has to be my all time favourite summer salad and is very popular amongst my family and friends. The best part? It's really super easy to make!

Toast some pine nuts in a fry pan with a little oil. Watch them carefully - they go from nicely toasted to burnt very quickly. When they start to smell fragrant, toss them around to brown both sides. Remove from heat when cooked and allow them to cool on a plate.

Slice a mango, wash spinach leaves, tear up mint leaves, chop up a capsicum and combine with the pine nuts. add some cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and toss. The flavours of the fruit and vegies are so strong, a potent dressing isn't needed.

Don't feel obliged to stay with just these ingredients - depending on what is in the fridge, I may add extras - spring onions, avocado, cucumber and sundried tomatoes have all made guest appearances to the salad.

The mango and mint hit is so refreshing and summery, it is great with barbeques and grilled fish or meats.