Everyone and her dog have started a new year starring with gloom and horror at the cover of gossip magazines in the supermarket, full of ‘New Year, New You’ propaganda, with a photo of Kim Kardashian's bum.

I used to secretly love reading all these diets in Woman’s Day and NW magazines, setting out sketchy eating plans and unrealistic fitness regimes. However, like binging on crap TV or picking a scab, it always made me feel worse after.

Sometimes, there would be a half-hearted effort to follow one of these diets, usually an 800 calorie meal incorporating Wheatbix and turkey bacon. Of course, after three days of boiled chicken, you’d probably find me halfway through a pack of chocolate biscuits.

Fortunately, these days we’re a bit older and wiser. Generally, you and I know what works and what doesn’t. Despite intellectually knowing, emotions can often hijack my common sense.

Occasionally I need an injection of new information or energy to help us self-correct on our course. My favourite person to turn to when I feel a bit chunky after drinking too much Sauvignon Blanc and eating out too much is Shelley Gawith.

Shelley is a Resident interviewee - and over the last year or so we’ve also become friends. She’s a Wellington functional nutritionist that provides support and advice, based on sensible philosophies, like eating whole natural foods as much as possible.

In case you don’t already know, Shelley lived through the worst possible health crisis and come out the other side. Over the last two years, she’s built her practice and literally transforms lives. While she personally has a pretty strict regime (which she fully loves) to prevent herself getting sick again, she’s never judgmental about you or your habits.

Whenever I feel a bit undernourished, or need to get some help with health, Shelley is always the most approachable person. She’s like a big sister who is only kind and gentle and doesn’t punch you in the arm.

Over January I did a new programme which had been whipped up by Shelley (and Matt by default). Called ‘Shelley Says So’, every day you got a new email with a suggestion for something you may wish to try to help improve your well-being. Some tips were as simple as to drink more water while others were more offbeat (ever heard of oil pulling?).

Shelley’s greatest gift is getting you to face up to what you might not be addressing. I love hanging out with Shelley for her positive attitude. It’s infectious - spend half an hour with her, and you’ll be feeling like you want to make smoothies, try deep breathing and change your bad habits.

The other night Matt and I got to go over and hang out with Shelley for dinner - a real treat! We talked about what we liked about the new programme, had some healthy dinner, consisting of a green soup, some stuffed kumuras and yum meatballs, and then we sat around and talked about natural skincare and even did ‘oil pulling.’ I can’t help but crack up all the time with Shelley, and we were lucky enough to share not only in her good humour but her delicious healthy home cooked food!

It was while drinking a lovely hot tea at the end of the meal and giving her dog Charlie cuddles Shelley told us why she called her programme, Shelley Says So. “I found I was telling people the same things often time and time again. I wondered if I could make a course for less where I could give everyone a tip that they could actually achieve over 30 days” Shelley explained.

So how have I found the first experience of Shelley says so? While nothing beats the real deal of seeing Shelley, doing the course is far more affordable. I really like that all the videos were just a few minutes long and had very practical advice about health and well-being. Some even overlapped into the mindset, like thinking about Four Dimensional health. I could be a bit tricky to keep up with all the emails, so I’d suggest putting aside some time each day to watch the clip. There was also a super supportive Facebook group where you could share what you’d done as part of the programme (or not, if you didn’t want to). Look out for the next time Shelley runs the course!

Shelley and I got together so I could share a great recipe from her and some of her tips from the course with you all. Watch the video and check out the recipe for some quick and easy ideas. Happy eating!

Recipe: Broccoli Salad with your choice of Protein

I love this recipe as you can use whatever is in your fridge or whatever is at the shops.

Ingredients

A head of broccoli
Red onions
Garlic
Chilli
Corriander/ parsley
Capsicum
Pak choy
Carrots
Zucchini
Spring onions
Bone broth

Sauces

Coconut aminos
Salt
Lemon
Olive oil
Protein source - Organic beef sausages. You can use seafood, beef or chicken or keep all veggies.

Method

So easy - chuck everything in.
Start cooking the sausages first as they take the longest to cook. If it's a warm night, it's perfect to cook them on BBQ.
The broccoli gets chopped up and goes straight in the blender.
Chop up all the veggies.
Add some avocado oil/coconut oil to a frying pan, saute the onion, garlic, spring onions, chillis. Then add the carrots, zucchini and capsicums, as they take the longest to cook. Then add the broccoli, bone broth and pak choy, cook on low heat for about 5 minutes or until the broccoli is warmed.
Chop up the sausages.
Serve the broccoli in a bowl, add the pinch of salt, lemon, olive oil and coconut aminos, as well as the herbs. Sprinkle over the herbs.
Then serve and enjoy.