My 'Go For Green Smoothie'

Sure, I love quinoa as much as the next person and have been known to enjoy the addition of chia seeds to my morning cereal. But when people start talking about wheat germ shots and activated almonds (which, as I found out recently from a misty eyed and overly excited girl at Veggie Bar, is simply almonds soaked in water) I have to admit, I start to think this whole 'health food' thing is a bit of a gimmick. The caveman diet, the 5:2 ratio and the lemon detox have all had their time in the sun when it comes to health food trends and I have to say that these are band wagons I never chose to board (seriously, who wants to eat like a caveman?). However, recently I found myself rather intrigued by this whole 'green smoothie' thang, which has resulted in pressed juice bars popping up all over Melbourne. The idea of blending banana and spinach together was such an unusual one that I felt I had to discover  what all the fuss was about for myself.

After much googling and sifting my way through health and fitness blogs (apparently there's some berry from Venezuela that can melt fat off your thighs...and it's only $139.95 a kilo!)  I finally found a recipe that I felt wouldn't put me off eating vegetables for the rest of my life. Technically the colour itself is not actually green, which I feel makes the whole experience slightly less gag-worthy for a beginner, but there's no doubt that this drink is green in spirit -I like to call it the 'Go For Green Smoothie'.

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 orange

1 handful of spinach

1 banana

3/4 cup of frozen or fresh berries (I used a combination of fresh blueberries and some frozen raspberries)

1/2 a stick of celery

a few ice cubes

1 tsp of linseed

1 tsp of sunflower seeds

1 tsp of pumpkin seeds

Method:

Add juice and spinach to the blender and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend the crap out of it.

E voila! My green smoothie. I have to say, I used a food processor which didn't make it as smooth as I would I have liked. In fact the texture was a cross between PVA glue and lumpy mucus...yes, it was somewhat off putting. But taste-wise this baby wasn't half bad! I'm not saying I'd have one every day, or that Iv'e suddenly decided to start eating soggy almonds, but if you want to give this trend a try then by all means, blend away. 

Gelato Messina

I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret. I'm not much of a sweet tooth. But before you scoff with disgust and pledge never to read my blog again, I should tell you that the one sweet thing that gets me every time is good ice cream. And I'm not talking about this pishy-poshy froyo shit, I'm talking about the real deal. Perfectly creamy, deliciously flavoured, wonderfully whipped ice cream. So when I heard that Gelato Messina was finally opening it's doors in Melbourne I was, well, lets just say I was pretty pumped. And, given the massive queues since it's opening, turns out the rest of Melbourne was just as excited as me.

Opening it's doors in Darlinghurst in 2002, Messina has now moved toMelbourne, alongside the dive bars and up and coming restaurants of Smith Street. It maintains 40 signature flavours that have all been perfected, including white chocolate and salted caramel (their biggest seller...gee, I wonder why), chocolate fondant, pear and rhubarb and the more adventurous chocolate and pandan. They also have weekly rotating specials that will delight and encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. I've always been a big chocolate ice cream fan, so I couldn't pass up the milk chocolate with peanut butter (try it or be a desperately sad, sorry person for the rest of your life) and a scoop of the special, 'cremino', which was vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks, salted caramel and amaretto biscuits. Now, I'm not one to exaggerate, but this ice cream has literally, literally changed. My. Life. The flavours were rich and actually tasted like their ingredients, the chocolate was creamy, the peanut butter perfectly salty and the amaretto biscuits crunchy and delicious. From first bite you can tell that this ice cream is made with love. Everything is made from scratch at Messina, meaning that when you order a scoop of 'apple pie' ice cream you're eating home-baked pie, and don't even think of uttering the words 'preservatives', 'flavourings' or 'colourings' within earshot of this gelateria. When I questioned my ice cream companion about his flavour choices, he described it as (if I recall correctly) 'sex in my mouth'.

So if you're wondering if the hype about Messina is worth it. Stop wondering. It is. If you're thinking 'ppshh, it's just ice cream, what all the fuss about?!' then you must try it. The ice cream is so good in fact, that when I typed 'Messina' into Google Translate, it could not give me an english word to define it's excellence. Google Translate has spoken-this ice cream is literally indescribable. 

Chasing Skirt

As a someone who has a particular interest in fashion I'm supposed to love Winter Style with all it's layering, knee high boots and sharp tailoring. But to be honest with you, there's almost nothing I hate more than pulling on jeans so tight my bladder feels like it might explode (a pleasant sight for no one), strangling myself with a scarf and dragging on layer upon layer of jackets until I waddle out of the house looking like the Michelin Man. Which is why I love warm weather dressing. I can roll out of bed, not brush my hair and call it the 'beach wave' look, pull on a floaty Summer frock and a pretty pair of heels and finito! No hassle, no fuss and best of all, no exploding bladder.

When considering my Summer shopping list each year, skirts are almost always at the very top. Whether high waisted, floor length, mini or arse-huggingly tight, Iv'e found that a good skirt or two (or seven) help mix up simple basics that I keep on a high rotation and manage to keep me cool on those 39 degree days. Two skirts caught my eye early this season, which of course meant that I had to buy them (no seriously, I had no control over the situation) and I have to say that so far they've done my wardrobe proud. The first is this cute little skater skirt from Pare. It's navy colour makes it more interesting than black but means I can still wear it with any colour on top and the chord-like material makes it perfect for Winter when paired with stockings. The second is from Miss Selfridge (one of my new favourite labels stocked at Glue) and ticks the 'pencil skirt' category on my Summer shopping list. I fell in love with the maroon shade and the simple paisley pattern that adds the perfect amount of detail to the simple shape. I don't care what people say about paisley, it's totally rad.

Despite Melbourne's weather not getting the memo about it being mid-November, I have still found these skirts a worthy addition to my wardrobe and believe we will share a very happy Summer together. So say goodbye to bulky blazers, hair-hating beanies and super tight jeans and invest in some easy breezy skirts to see you through the warm weather. Trust me, your bladder will thank you.

Flipboard Cafe

It seems like there's no space in Melbourne these days thats not occupied by cafes. They tend to creep up on you when you least expect it, then BAM, you've consumed more than a weeks worth of long blacks in the time it took you to read Broadsheet cover to cover. Despite this, there are still a few coffee black spots on the East side of Melbourne CBD where tumbleweeds tumble at their own accord and finding a good long macchiato is harder than memorising the entire periodic table (which would also be incredibly pointless and dull), which is why I'm so excited about cafe newcomer, Flipboard.

Created by architect Martin Heide and interior designer Megg Evans, you can expect this place to deliver big in the looks department. Set in a three meter-wide gap on La Trobe Street and split between three levels the cafe is filled with clean lines, pale wood and large windows that can be folded back to let the Summer sun flood in. Grab one of the very few tables (and by very few I mean, err, one), settle yourself in the little window nook or else pull up at a bench with cleverly designed seats made from compacted old magazine collections. National Geographics have never looked so cool. Coffee is sourced from artisan roaster Josh bailey and put through its paces by the La Marzocco machine to create a sweet, creamy blend with just enough kick. The menu, much like the cafe itself, is pretty small-think ham and brie baguettes and egg-sandwhiches alongside a simple cake selection and daily juice.

Though small, Flipboard is the perfect example that size does not matter (gentlemen). It's a place to enjoy a little quirk with your coffee as you sit and watch the tumbleweeds of the Eastern CBD roll by. If you enjoy people watching, good coffee, impressing friends with your knowledge of great Melbourne cafes in random places, maliciously laughing at busy office-folk rushing to meetings, or even just hanging out with friends for a couple of hours in a beautifully designed space, then Flipboard is for you. And if none of these apply to you, then you obviously have no soul.

Monk Bodhi Dharma's Introduction to Summer

Sorry I've been M.I.A everyone! While I wish I could tell you that Iv'e been sitting front row at the Autumn/Winter Paris fashion shows and becoming besties with the likes of Rosie Huntington Whiteley and Kate Moss, the reality is that Iv'e only just recently emerged from my Winter hibernation that consisted of salted caramelle ice-cream  and Sex and the City marathons. Safe to say I'm now more ready than ever for sun, sandals, sun baking, sand and any other Summer-related alliterations you can think of. Though I did eat an entire football team's weight in ice-cream, my last two months weren't spent in a complete comatose...that is to say, I broke up my Winter-long sleep with bouts of shopping that were necessary to keep my style-obssesed brain functioning at optimum potential. Needless to say, my new 268 purchases will be featured on the pages of this blog in the weeks to come, so stay tuned! 

On one particularly warm Spring day I also found myself, rather bleary-eyed, in the sunny suburb of St Kilda (ok, technically it was Balaclava, but that just sounds way less cool), making my way to a cafe Iv'e been intrigued by ever since hearing about it's, err, how shall we say, hippy-esque ways. I know that nowadays everyone's obsessed with quinoa, activated almonds and green smoothies, but Monk Bodhi Dharma was serving up healthy soul food before gluten-free was the new black. 

Opening in 2010, this tiny little warehouse cafe is nestled in a car park and can be a little tricky to locate, but don't give up hope because it's well worth the search. Originally a bakehouse in the 1920's, Monk Bodhi Dharma has transformed into an all vegetarian cafe with a focus on good coffee, healing teas and a menu that will feed your soul as well as your stomach. I was half-expecting to walk in on a group of dreadlocked activists who would hiss at me as I walked past in my leather boots, but instead I was met by smiling staff and a tiny space filled with families, friends and gym-goers. Not a dreaded lock in sight I am happy to report. The cafe has been stripped back  to it's raw-industrial state with exposed bricks and light globes hanging from dark wooden beams, giving the place a trendy but very homely and care-free feel. 

I have to say, when I heard that eggs weren't on the menu I almost gave up hope...let's be honest, the perfect poached egg is to brunch what Beyonce is to pop culture. Necessary and wonderfully saucy. Nonetheless, I was so pleasantly surprised when I viewed a menu with fresh and interesting options, such as the Bodhi bircher with cinnamon and roast almonds and the slow-roasted umami mushrooms on house made pumpkin bread with goats cheese and chilli oil, that I forgot about eggs all together. After much umming and ahhing over the daily specials (and much patience from my lovely bearded waiter) I finally decided upon the Mexican bean stew packed with black beans, brown rice, corn and a wonderfully flavoured tomato sauce all topped with avocado and house made chilli jam. I gotta say, if there's one thing Monk Bodhi does well, it's flavour. This dish was an explosion of spices, herbs and textures that can often be hard to find in traditional cafe food. The cheap-skate in me was even more happy that this whole dish only cost a measly 14 dollars, proving that good food doesn't have to cost you your first born child...or even worse, lots of money. I guess they make it affordable so the hippies can return to the  hairdressers every week to get the peanut butter re-applied to their dreadlocks...or whatever it is they do. My somewhat cynical-of-health-food friend selected the umami mushrooms which also went down a treat with the perfect balance of creamy goats cheese, crumbly pumpkin bread and umaminess. The meal was topped off perfectly by our delicious coffees with the in house roasted beans.

All in all, Monk Bodhi is well worth the hike over to Balaclava and totally helped to rouse me from my Sex and the City stupor. Sometimes simplicity is key, and this tiny little cafe seems to specialise in simple, healthy and hearty food that will get you regrouped, rebalanced and re-energised in no time.