Are you ready to EAT GOOD FOOD?

Fresh from her official book launch in Sydney, we sat down with our leading lady and ‘Queen’ of the kitchen, Lorna Jane Clarkson to learn more about what inspired her to write ‘Eat Good Food’ and what her favourite meal of all time is …

When I’m talking with people I get the feeling that they think being fit and healthy takes a lot of hard work, extra time and a complete overhaul of your life. When I know from personal experience that it doesn’t need to be that complicated!

I want to inspire women to be fit and healthy, so I decided to write this book to show that the simplest and easiest way to get your health and fitness on track is to just EAT GOOD FOOD! Because when you give your mind and body the nutrition it craves everything seems to fall into place.

Secondly, I wanted to dispel the myth that healthy eating has to be about calorie counting, deprivation and boring food! I thought that if I could create a cook book with super easy to make and delicious recipes that were actually good for you – then maybe more people would start to EAT GOOD FOOD and take better care of their health and wellbeing.

It’s funny because this was a place holder title that I used while I was thinking about what I wanted to call the book ‘officially’. But the more I read it the more I liked it, because EAT GOOD FOOD is exactly what the book is about and what we should all be doing!

I LOVE food and I know from personal experience that when you get your food right, then everything else just seems to falls into place.

When you eat good food you have more energy and motivation to work out, you think more clearly and have a happier more positive mindset. And when you EAT GOOD FOOD you have a mind and a body way more capable of achieving all of your health, fitness (and bigger life) goals!

As cheesy as it might sound, what you eat today can actually change your tomorrow.

I never recommend anything that I don’t LOVE myself. So I chose recipes that were on high rotation in my kitchen, that I love to make for my family and friends and that I thought would be simple and easy to make even for beginners.

I wanted there to be a variety, so you could really mix it up depending on what you’re feeling that day or how much time you have. But I also wanted to make sure that they were so delicious that you would find it hard to believe that they could actually be good for you!

I think there’s an old school of thought that if something is good for you it can’t taste good! And that being healthy and eating delicious foods are mutually exclusive. But that’s not the case anymore and I’m here to show you that you CAN have both … you can enjoy your food and be healthy all at the same time.

Healthy eating isn’t about zero calories, fake food, fad diets or tasteless food, it’s about nutritious, fresh food that’s health promoting and packed with flavour and goodness.

We have an abundance of amazing, fresh ingredients at our fingertips so why not create super incredible, delicious meals and take care of our bodies as we know we should.. No more limp lettuce and boring salads! My new book will show you that with a little preparation and planning you can experience the best food of your life – absolutely guilt-free!

There are so many! And it does change depending on the weather and what produce is available. But I do love a green smoothie, and the Super Green Smoothie (page 39) is in my opinion one of THE best. I’m also loving the Speedy Coconut Herb and Pea Soup with Chicken (page 80) right now! We made it at my book launch (as it’s super easy) and everyone loved it. There is just something about ‘green’ food that oozes health – don’t you think!

I also can’t go a day without eating something sweet, so the Chocolate Fudge (page 220)) is perfect to make on the weekend to enjoy throughout the week

I love pan-fried salmon with roasted vegetables and greens tossed in coconut oil and salt and pepper and have been known to have it twice in one week!!

But, my favourite meal of all time would have to be my Mum’s good old fashioned roast dinner that we have every year on Christmas Day. Turkey cooked to perfection, with roasted vegetables followed by Mum’s homemade trifle and then my sister’s famous rum balls (not for the faint hearted that’s for sure!)

I’m not sure if it is JUST the food that I love about this meal but I do look forward to it every year, eat way more than I should and love every single mouthful xx

I cook at home most nights, unless I’m travelling or at an event. I just love home cooking, – and love the fact that I’m with family and friends and knowing what’ s in my food and that all of the ingredients are good quality and ethically sourced.

I don’t cook from scratch every night, because I can get pretty busy with work through the week. So I think ahead and do a little meal prepping on Sunday so that I have some ‘easy meal’ options that I can just re-heat when I need to.

I’m quite an organised person, but I’m not the best at following recipes and putting the recipes in my book down onto paper was a little challenging to say the least!

I’m more of a pinch of this here and a dash of that there, kind of cook instead of measuring everything out precisely. And when I’m cooking in the kitchen it can get pretty messy (I like to call it organised chaos!) but I find it’s a more efficient way to cook than putting everything away as you go.

When I’m not in recipe creation mode, I like to be more experimental with my cooking and like to throw together smoothies and snacks (like bliss balls) with whatever I have available. I think that most of the fun you have in the kitchen is when you’re trying something new and I love playing around with new super food ingredients even though the result isn’t always perfect!

I love to eat so recipe tasting and testing is always fun! But I also really loved working on the beauty recipes because organic beauty is a real interest of mine and it was great to come up with some amazing recipes that I could share with you .

The very best part of writing any book is when you finally get the finished product in your hands – You have been working on it for weeks on end, it has been at the printers for a few months and then finally you get to hold in your hands for the first time – it’s amazing!

I’m not sure about another book!! … Right now I’m just enjoying writing blog posts and shorter articles for Movenourishbelieve.com. I do LOVE to write but a book takes ‘everything you have’ for at least 3 months and right now I’m just enjoying designing and working with my team on new products and customer experiences.

But as the saying goes … never say never – Right!

While Lorna was in Sydney she also caught up with Today Extra to talk a little more about why Eat Good Food is so important PLUS a sneak peek into what’s next …