It’s been almost two weeks since I set myself some challenges in my last Friday Finds post. And those challenges have been going well… mostly! But there’s also been real life finds such as new housemates, great podcasts and the brilliance of crispy rice bowls (the details of the above one are below, don’t worry I’ll get to it). Plus some exciting news about one of my favourite recipes!

1. That exciting news: my Coconut and Chocolate Icy Pole recipe is being featured in Bank of Melbourne’s crowd sourced #socialfeeds cookbook there’s also a food truck event for this during Melbourne Food and Wine Festival – which is now! My recipe won’t be there but lots of other delicious things will be so click the link for info on where to find them. I’ll update you all when the cookbook is released so you can download it 🙂
2. 2 hours a day of exercise + 7 vegetables a day. I feel like I have basically been killing it at this if I pretend the weekend doesn’t exist. I had a wedding on Saturday and was suffering the effects of too much champagne on the Sunday but I got right back on the wagon on Monday  so in my mind that’s good enough – more than good enough. The exercise has been a mixture of walks, runs, barre body and pilates and vegetables have been… well, you can see my Instagram feed for that. Although throwing some greens into a smoothie is a winner, the key has been mixing it up and being aware of my vegetable intake when I’m eating out too. Last night I went to Char dining for my Dad’s birthday dinner and probably ate most of the side serving of broccolini + an amazing kingfish ceviche (they used nasturtium!) and my first steak in quite a while. May have over eaten? Definitely did once we all shared dessert, including the perfect lime creme brûlée.
3. Speaking of doing that amount of exercise, podcasts are still helping keep it interesting. This week I’ve been listening to This American Life ( great episode about mental illness) and This is Criminal. I love true crime stuff, I used to study Criminology and taught Forensic Science so my love for this is easy to understand, they’re also just fascinating, short, stories. Give it a go.
4. Crispy rice bowls are definitely my new food obsession, I created this recipe (which TopChef reposted on their Instagram feed, and I fan girled over as it’s my favourite cooking show/reality tv/competition thing) and have been doing lots of variations on it. The first picture in this post is the same base as my original crispy rice bowl but with lemon and thyme instead of lime and coriander and herby mushrooms and spinach as the veg component. It was delicious.
5. I have been doing a 30 days of minimalism challenge and am up to day 14 today and it’s amazing. Find a friend and have a go, it’s really surprised me how much stuff I hold on to for no particular reason. Like dresses I haven’t worn in two years or shoes that are destroyed, my only reason for keeping them was the good times once had. It is also going to be very helpful at the end of the month when I move into the slightly smaller room in the house to make way for the new housemates.

Now I’m off to enjoy some more of this glorious weather Melbourne has been indulging in.

HH. x