Featuring Pandora’s Bliss Balls

Pandora Colledge born in England, immigrated to Australia in 1966 and lived in Prahran, Melbourne. My parents taught me the passion of food and cooking as they were well travelled. Every weekend we went shopping at the Prahran markets, which was an experience in itself. I have inherited my parent’s fondness of cooking.  I really enjoyed starting to cook in my early teens. Our kitchen was often filled with exotic smells and dishes.  Food was always an important part of our social upbringing and this is something I have taken into my adulthood and also as a parent.  My children have inherited this enthusiasm of cooking.

I moved to Coffs Harbour almost 17 years ago with my husband Pete where we live a relaxed lifestyle by the sea. We all love cooking and socializing and this is the perfect back drop to continue our passion. I am particularly passionate about good health and cooking and have since completed my Advanced Diploma of Nutritional Medicine.  My aim is to utilize this qualification in creating healthy fresh food and to also promote organic holistic recipes. I want to educate as many people as possible in the art of fresh and healthy cooking habits.

I enjoy having people around me while cooking so that I can talk about the healthy quality of the ingredients. It is even more satisfying when I see they have thoroughly enjoyed my food and company. The rewarding part is how good healthy food is a natural medicine in itself. Many people are unaware of the value of fresh wholesome food, it is an exciting challenge to help people learn about it. My family has benefited from eating better quality made food which is fresh and healthy and we have more energy. 

Sushi is my regular comfort food – Just love sushi and the different ingredients that you can put with it. It is good for you as the sea vegetables are alkalizing for the body. The most essential item in my kitchen is my new “Thermomix”. I’m just mad about it.  It does everything.  It is the one stop shop.  It grinds grains, makes sorbet, blends, chops, steams and cooks.  It cuts down on time spent in the kitchen and I can also use raw product and grind my own flour. This means I know my food hasn’t been processed, bleached or been tampered with.  It allows for additive free cooking.

My much loved kitchen tool is a Citrus Press – I pick this tool up at least 5 times a day.  It is like a garlic press but it presses juice from your citrus in seconds.  No pips, maximum juice and very easy to clean. My roast chicken is probably my best creation and our favourite dish.  I pick handfuls of fresh tarragon or sage, whole garlic cloves, sliced lemon and orange and then drizzle it with Manuka honey and place in water.  Everything goes into the bottom of the dish. Allow it to roast for a couple hours and you have the most aromatic bird.  I then make gravy with all the juices and cooked zest.  There is never anything left. I find organic or free range chickens are much tastier and tender.  My favourite classic dish is Chicken Parmigiana, topped with fresh spinach, basil, crushed tomatoes and then melted cheese.

My favourite cook book is “Gwinganna Health Retreat”. I was lucky enough to experiment the healthy organic food in person. It is full of healthy organic recipes. Samantha Gowing, whom I gain inspiration from is a therapeutic chef with many years of experience and has a degree in nutritional medicine. She is renowned for setting up health retreat menus around the world and I had the pleasure of completing a one day workshop with her.

Fresh Turmeric is quite strong in taste, much better than the powdered variety and is my newly discovered ingredient. It can be used to make tea or add to your cooking.  An amazing antioxidant and it is exciting learning about all the new recipes that you can combine it with. My everyday food is fresh salad, a complete meal finished by adding, nuts, seeds, fruits, olives, feta, roasted veggies, fish, chicken tofu etc., It is filling without being heavy using seasonal fruit and vegetables. I add fresh herbs and flowers to make salads even more nutritious.

I am very proud of my vegetarian lasagna. Many people can’t even tell that there is no meat included. I can pack as many vegetables in there as I like which is a great way to hide them. I use gluten free lasagna sheets topped with ricotta, spinach and cheese. It is a truly amazing dish even the die hard meat lovers come back for more.

The current trends I see in the food industry today are less is more and plenty of fresh food with masses of colour. Every home should have nuts, seeds, fresh herbs, garlic, onions, spices, apple cider vinegar, tamari, flaxseed oil, coconut oil, fresh vegetables, fruit and lentils in the cupboard or refrigerator. My best cooking tip is let your passion and taste buds guide you. Don’t forget fresh herbs and spices are such a great flavor enhancer. 

At one of my dinner parties, I was boasting about how the gorgeous salad I had made was from my organic garden. The presentation of the dinner was amazing and the salad sat proudly in the middle of the table.  As we raised our red wine glasses to toast a big caterpillar came crawling out of the salad.  My guests didn’t expect the added protein in the salad and although embarrassing I was proud having proved the salad was totally fresh and organic from my kitchen garden.

Pandora’s Bliss Balls

This gluten free recipe, which contains no processed sugar, makes an excellent snack for in between meals, after dinner or especially great for kids at school, before and after exercise. The almonds are full of protein, phosphorus, magnesium, Vitamin E and calcium, good essential fatty acids which lower cholesterol. Dates are packed with calcium, magnesium, potassium and fiber. The cacao is a natural antioxidant which promotes the feel good endorphins and coconut oil has many health promoting qualities.

Ingredients make 45 balls

7 tbls cacao powder (55g)

1 cup dates (soaked 30 minutes) (175g)

1 tbsp coconut oil (20g)

2 ½ cups almonds soaked overnight (420g)

¼ cup orange juice (50g)

3 ½ tbls honey (70g)

Method

Drain the almonds and grind them to almond meal using a food processor. Remove the meal and put aside in a separate bowl. Drain the dates and place in food processor with melted coconut oil, cacao powder, orange juice and honey. Blend into a paste, add the grinded almonds and blend to a thick consistency to roll into balls. Roll the balls in even sizes by hand approx. 15g per ball and coat in either desiccated coconut, LSA, almond meal or your preferred coating i.e. chocolate etc.

Note: You can use hazelnuts instead of almonds, carob powder or cocoa powder may be used instead of cacao and also use some orange zest or fresh ground peppermint to add to the balls.