Sunshine is skinny sweet weather

When it is beautifully sunny, the sky is impossibly perfect and blue, and the water is glittering with shards of sunlight, the world does seem like a better place. The birds are creating a chorus of tweets and the river is creating a calming lapping rythem.
When I am feeling happy, I feel less like I need a skinny sweet or treat by my side to brighten up the day. Even better, it encourages me to get out and enjoy the breathtakingly beautiful world outside and burn off those calories. Hope it is as gorgeous as it is here today wherever you are.

Skinny anzac cookies

The coconut, butter and golden syrup combination create a very intoxicating smell as you bake these lovely sunshine coloured cookies. For my adapted recipe, I still used 50 grams of butter as I think it is an important component of the flavour. I replaced the golden syrup with organic honey that I had in the pantry. The oats increase the healthfulness of this recipe and reducing the fat means it qualifies as a skinny sweet. The coconut adds fat but as it is a natural product, I don't worry too much. If you want to cut the fat down more, only add 1/2 cup of the coconut and add extra oats.

What are Anzac Cookies? The acronym ANZAC was coined in 1915 when Australian and New Zealand troops were training in Egypt. The word ANZAC was eventually applied to all Australian and New Zealand soldiers in World War 1. The term is particularly associated with the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. They were baked by the wives, mothers and sisters of soldiers in the war and sent to provide home comforts and much needed energy.

Skinny Anzac Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup of plain flour
1 cup of oats
1 cup of shredded coconut
1/4 cup of organic honey or golden syrup
50 grams of butter
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of bicarb soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 tablespoon of water
Extra water if needed

Method:
Sift the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter and honey in the microwave and add the teaspoon of vanilla essence, water and bicarb. Stir in the coconut into the flour mixture and make a well in the centre. Add the melted butter mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. Add extra water if the mixture seems a little dry.

Place tablespoons of the mixture onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 15 minutes, or until golden. Take out of oven and leave to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.

Limoncello Gelato

Limoncello, a true Italian treat, has a special meaning for me. I am certainly not Italian, but was introduced to authentic Italian food as a child. Our summer holidays every year were spent at the beach staying at a sweet little hotel right on the sand's edge. Room service was provided by the Italian restaurant below, called 'Lindoni's'. We learned to decipher the complicated menu and began tasting some very new flavours, 'umming' and 'ahhing' at truffles and porcini mushroom.

Every year, my grandparents and my family would toast my dad and my grandad's birthdays at this gorgeous authentic Italian restaurant at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. We would enjoy garlic and tomato bruschetta, creamy veal and mushroom tortellini and grilled Moretan Bay bugs. As the evening drew to a close, the two dad's would start having some shots of Limoncello. My grandad's jubiliant face would get rosy and his laugh would become more exhuberant. It was such happy times and became a treasured tradition. While at that time, I didn't indulge in the pastime, the mere concept of the drink reminds me of those happy nights together.

If you are not ready to drink the alcohol unmasked, try this delicious sorbet recipe. I found this courtesy of Marie Claire - always such stylish recipes!

Ingredients
3 lemons, juiced and rind, finely grated, plus 2-3 lemons extra for serving
190g icing sugar
450ml softened low-fat vanilla ice cream
3 tablespoons limoncello, chilled

Method
Place lemon juice and zest into a bowl, stir in sugar and leave for 30 minutes. In another bowl, whip cream and limoncello until soft peaks form, then beat into lemon mixture. Place mix into a container and freeze overnight. To make limoncello gelato wedges, halve extra lemons lengthways, scoop out flesh, fill with gelato then freeze. Cut segments in half again lengthways before serving.

jeez not jell-o! the revival of jelly moulds

Jelly really is very underated. It is the perfect skinny sweet, the low-calorie mixes are so low on the radar you could eat a whole punch bowl of jelly without guilt (but I am sure there would be other consequences...).

Get creative with your jelly and add fruit to your favourite flavours and select moulds that make your dessert as fun to look at as it will be to eat!

wedding shoes - glitter bows by Kate Spade

While not a skinny sweet, these gorgeous glittering gold creations are certainly a treat. In fact, they are my wedding shoes. Not too high, they are so comfortable but absolutely breathtaking. I will make sure I have many moments to reveal them in all their glory... Just a note, the glitter on these heels makes for a catchy finish and my shoes were pulling the threads underneath my wedding dress. Haven't figure out how to solve that problem yet!

Missoni plates

I find that the more special you make your meal, the more of a treat it becomes. Regardless of the calorie count, you can make your snacks feel very special by using some gorgeous crockery. After developing a rather unhealthy obsession with Missoni's divine towels, bathrobes and throw, I was soon delighted by their sumptious crockery selection. In true Missoni style, the ceramic collection features stylish bright colours in summery patterns, which look delectable all on their own. Once you pop a few of your skinny sweets on top of your margarita dessert plate, you are instantly in part of the Mad Hatter's tea party, sans the calories.

Palazzo Versace healthy lunching

Grilled barramundi at Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast.