365wholesomedays (2026)

19/01/2026

Yesterday I ran Bay to Bay 15 km with no expectations, no reason to race, and no pressure on myself.

The result? A solid run — not too fast, not too slow. Fast enough to feel stoked with the time, gentle enough that my hamstrings stayed happy.

But the real win was the headspace.
The views.
The cheering.
The runners alongside me.
My boys high-fiving me in Camps Bay.

I compete a lot — mostly with myself — and sometimes the cost is missing these moments. Yesterday reminded me what it’s really about.

Official time: 1:09:32
50th overall
14th woman
4th AG

Proud of the stats, but even more chuffed that I followed the brief and truly enjoyed the run. 🫶

Thanks to
for my speedy shoes.
for always keeping me focused.

14/11/2025

We have a teenager in the house!
We are so proud of who you have become.
Your quiet strength, integrity, and depth of your soul.
You are calm, steady and dependable.
You are grounded yet purposeful,
You don’t seek the spotlight but always hold your own light.
Where others flicker, you endure.
Where others rush, you listen.
Moving through life with calm purpose,
anchored in truth and guided by heart.
You remind me that strength does not always roar.
Sometimes, it simply burns - warm, constant, and sure.
Happy birthday my boy.

26/10/2025

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APPLE PURÉE MUFFINS

Overripe, floury apples make the best apple purée - perfect for baking. To make, just chop, simmer with a splash of water, and blend until smooth. Use it in muffins, cakes, or as a natural swap for oil or sugar.

250g stoneground flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut blossom sugar
1 cup homemade apple puree
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12 muffin baking tray.
Sift the flour, cinnamon and baking powder into a large bowl.
Mix together the softened butter, maple syrup, sugar, apple puree, eggs and vanilla essence.
Gently fold in your flour and baking powder. Don’t overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and bake for about 25 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean).

13/08/2025

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MY TEETH WHITENING JOURNEY. START TO FINISH.

I’ve been putting off whitening ever since my braces came off last year — convinced it meant days of sensitive teeth and giving up my morning coffee.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. My teeth are now beautifully bright, I’ve had little to no sensitivity, and I still enjoy my morning black coffee (just through a silicone straw!).

Total chair time: ~60–90 minutes. Mild, temporary sensitivity for a day.

Grateful for Dom’s meticulous prep, my smile whisperer. I now have healthy gums, cleaner teeth and a safer, brighter smile.

See below for a step by step of my journey, or just take the plunge and book your treatment

Don’t forget to use
WHOLESOME10
to get a 10 percent discount with Dom.

The process. One step at a time:

1.     Dom explained the process and the various options I had - in the chair vs at home whitening.
2.     We documented my starting shade and checked my teeth/gums for any issues.
3.     Dom did a thorough scale & polish so the whitening gel worked on a clean surface.
4.     Cheek retractors on, lips protected, and a barrier painted over the gums. Protective eyewear on.
5.     A whitening gel was applied evenly to the teeth.
6.     The Philips Zoom LED light activated the gel. We ran 15-minute cycles (4 rounds), while I enjoyed a Netflix documentary and was treated to foot massage!
7.     The gel was removed, teeth rinsed, and the final shade recorded against the starting shade.
8.     For a week I avoided dark foods/drinks (blueberries, tea, beetroot, curry etc).
9.     I was shown how to use the take-home trays to help maintain results.

10/08/2025

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WALNUT SUGAR COOKIES

These cookies are buttery, nutty, sugar-dusted bites of celebration. Usually passed on through the generations, depending on where you are, they all have their own cultural sprinkling. In Greece, they are known as kourabiedes. In Spain, polvorones. In Mexico, wedding cookies. In Russia, tea cakes. In America, snowball cookies.

1 cup stoneground cake flour
1 ½ cups walnuts, finely chopped
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
113 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 cup icing sugar, for coating

In a large bowl, combine flour, walnuts, sugar, and salt. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Cut butter into small pieces, add to the bowl, and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll tablespoons of dough into balls. Place on baking sheet, spacing well apart.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Let cool for 2–3 minutes, then roll warm cookies in icing sugar.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Roll in icing sugar again before serving if you want extra sugary cookies.

05/08/2025

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SAGE AND BURNT BUTTER CHICKEN AND RICE PILAF

Sage and butter are one of the wonders of the world of flavour. Few ingredients work such magic together. Add a bit of burn and it becomes sublime.

The trick with a burnt butter is to know the smell. When it’s just right, there will be a nutty, caramelly aroma. The moment when your mouth starts to water and you think, I have to eat that now.

It’s that point when the butter, on a low heat, has started to burn, turned a caramel hue, but beyond which you risk actually burning it and it taking on a charred flavour, which means you’ve gone too far.

6 chicken thighs or breasts
2 Tbps EV olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus parmesan rind
4 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup dry white basmati rice
3/4 cup dry orzo pasta
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tbsp chopped sage, plus 8 sage leaves
2 cup chicken broth
4 Tbsp salted butter

Preheat the oven to 200C.
In a bowl, toss together the chicken, olive oil, parmesan, garlic, thyme, rosemary, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Allow to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
Pour the rice, orzo, onion, zucchini, and chopped sage into a large baking dish. Pour over 2 cups broth and add 2 tablespoons of butter.
Arrange the chicken over the rice and zucchini. Add the parmesan rind, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through. If the rice is hard, add 1/3 cup water and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Just before serving, melt together the rest of the butter and sage leaves in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browning and the sage is crisp and fragrant. Be careful not to burn the sage.
Serve the chicken and rice topped with sage butter.

27/07/2025

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FAMILY FRIENDLY COCONUT CHICKEN CURRY
with mango and cucumber salsa

This curry is flavour-packed but not too spicy (I love heat so use less red curry paste if you don’t) and really fast to make. Perfect for lazy Sunday’s when you feel like tapping Uber Eats, or crazy busy weeknights. You can top the curry with mango and cucumber salsa and creamy Greek yoghurt, if your kids (or your hubby 😉) need to tone down the heat. I serve it with steamed basmati rice, fresh coriander and sliced naan bread. A wholesome meals with balanced macros ready in a flash.

2 Tbsp sesame oil
800g skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 Tbsp mild curry powder
4 Tbsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp salted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped

In a large heavy bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, combine the oil, curry powder, and a pinch of salt. Cook until fragrant. Add the chicken, curry paste, tomato paste, butter, garlic, and ginger and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the chicken is well coated and cooked through.
Add the broccoli and pour in the coconut milk and cook and season to taste. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Be careful not to overcook the broccoli.
Stir in half the coriander and serve over basmati rice, top with the extra coriander and a mango and cucumber salsa on the side.

MANGI SALSA
1 mango, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1 cup coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (black + white)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of chilli flakes

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.

21/07/2025

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ALMOST 50
Stronger. Fitter. Faster than ever.
Never let your age define you.
Run strong. Lift heavy.
Impossible is nothing.

20/07/2025

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WORLD CHAMPS STOCKHOLM 2026
Here we come!
Pro Woman Doubles
1:08:41
1st Age Group🥇 (45-49)
4th Overall

Resilience. Perseverance. Pain.
Jump through hurdles.
Leap over fences.
Pe*****te walls.
Never let circumstances defeat you.

Special thanks
a coach in a million
my rice guy!
for putting on the show

17/07/2025

FROM GRIEF TO GRIT
This is our journey.

We didn’t start this Hyrox journey for medals or times.
We started it for a little boy named Hunter — Shirley’s son — who showed us what true strength looks like.

Diagnosed with a rare brain cancer at just 1 year old, Hunter faced more than most of us ever will. He lost his sight, his hearing, and eventually, his voice. But he never lost his hope. Or his heart.

When we lost Hunter in November last year, everything changed.
But training gave us a way to keep breathing — and now, racing is how we honour him.

This is Hunter’s Hope.
A project built in his name, to carry his legacy forward.
To raise funds so another child — not because he’s top of the class or fastest on the field, but because he is kind — can go to school.

We are two moms. Training like athletes. Running on purpose.
This is our story.
This is for Hunter.

Full YouTube story linked in bio.

13/07/2025

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FAMILY FAVOURITE CHOC CHUNK COOKIES

Choc chunk vs choc chip.
Unlike chocolate chips, designed to hold their shape, chocolate chunks melt more freely — creating delicious pockets of melted chocolate that spread through the cookie. This means more intense chocolate hit in every bite! Instead of using premade chunks or chips, I prefer chopping up a good-quality chocolate bar - the irregular sizes melt at different rates, making each cookie a unique and adding different textures.

2 1/4 cups (313g) stoneground bread flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup coconut sugar
2 cold eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
Pinch of salt
2 cups (400g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, followed by vanilla extract, until the batter turns pale.
Gradually add the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
Fold in chocolate chips (leaving about 1/4 cup for finishing).
Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet leaving about 5 cm between each one. Top with the extra chocolate chips.
Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

11/07/2025

.
ON BEING A MOM
What a privilege to raise these boys.
A storm and a stillness.
A challenge and a joy.
To teach them to grow with empathy.
And to lead with heart.
Some days I soar.
Some days I stumble.
But grace carries me.
And love leads the way.

365wholesomedays