Good afternoon! I hope this finds you all well and that you had a beautiful weekend!

I am thrilled to be able to bring to you another guest blog and free recipe from a gorgeous Facebook friend of mine, this lady is funny, smart, obviously gorgeous and has a beautiful blog that I just love following…..I hope you enjoy reading her story as much as I have and I am sure you will LOVE keeping up with her wonderful blogs too!

Kristin from ‘MAMACINO‘

Tell us a little about yourself and your Family…

I’m Kristin. I am a mother to three gorgeous children who are 9, 6 and 2. My husband works away from home about six months of the year so I’m a sole parent a lot of the time. We live at the beach which we love and enjoy an outdoors kind of lifestyle. My daughter has a condition called Pyroluria which means we need to take a lot of care with what we eat. I am really passionate about organic, whole food eating and I love to cook and share food with friends and family.

I am mostly a stay at home mum but by trade I am a teacher and still make guest appearances at my kid’s school as an Emergency Teacher. Most days for me involve cooking, transporting children around, getting organised and writing for my blog, Mamacino.

How big a part does food play in your overall daily health?

Food plays a really big part in my family’s health, in fact, I would say it’s the most important factor. We try to stick to real, whole foods and have a mainly gluten free and dairy free diet. My mother’s family is Italian and so I have inherited the need to feed! It makes me feel great when I know my family are getting as many nourishing and nutritious meals and snacks as possible. Some may say I am even a little food obsessed!

What inspires you?

When I look around and see some of the amazing things other Mums like me are doing for health and well being I get incredibly inspired. I’m also a very visual person so anything that is presented beautifully, from a gorgeous recipe on a favourite blog to a big display or organic fruits and vegetables at the Farmer’s Market inspires me and gets the creative juices flowing!

What is one piece of advice you could pass on to other Mums?

Appreciate every effort that you make to secure the health and happiness of your family and yourself. I have been known to be a bit of a perfectionist, but this doesn’t serve me well. Aim to do better. Every small step that is taken in the right direction a better life should be celebrated and even if things go a little awry, don’t worry about it…tomorrow is a whole new day.

If you could have dinner with any three people in the world, who would it be and why?

This question has really got me thinking…just three people? I’ll keep it food related. Firstly, I think I would invite my Italian Great Grand Mother so I could ask her lots of questions about traditional Sicilian cooking and hopefully get her to teach me how to make her famous ravioli. I think Gwyneth Paltrow – seems like a funny choice but I really relate to her and we have shared a very similar path health wise (not so much the movie star, famous millionaire side!). She seems down to earth and has an equal passion for health and wine! It would be great to chat about motherhood with her. And finally…maybe the Olivers. I love Jamie and Jools and would love to have their entire brood around for a big rowdy fun filled feast and chat about how real food is making a come back!

Please tell us three fun facts about yourself.

I have a passion for nineties rap music and do a mean Ice T impersonation…but only after several champagnes.

I am the world’s worst disco dancer, despite studying dance fairly seriously until I was eighteen.

My secret dream is to travel the world learning about food and different cultures and then to write a book about it…despite being happily married, I AM Liz Gilbert and that was my book, she just wrote it before I could get to it!

QUINOA AND VEGETABLE SURPRISE

This recipe is so versatile; it’s not really even a recipe! This is how I made it but you could really use whatever you have in the fridge.

Makes 4 large or 12 small slices

Ingredients:

2 carrots, grated

Small piece of pumpkin, grated

Kernels from one cob of corn

A handful of parsley, chopped

1 cup of cooked quinoa

4 eggs, free range or organic

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to season

A handful of grated parmesan to top with, if you like – optional

What to do:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl (except parmesan which you will sprinkle on top before cooking) and pour into a lined 20cm, square cake tin.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180C or until brown and set firm.

Allow to cool a little before slicing. Serve hot or cold with a favorite sauce.

Options:

Add some chopped cooked chicken or a can of drained tuna.
Substitute the quinoa for cooked brown rice.
Add chopped tomatoes and basil for an Italian twist or spinach and feta if you prefer Greek.
Use other vegetables such as zucchini, potato, capsicum, peas, asparagus (risky, but some kids like it…don’t they?).
Put slices in a whole grain roll with lettuce and good quality tomato sauce to make a veggie burger.