A Taste of Tasmania

My boyfriend and I just got back from an amazing time in Tasmania, where we enjoyed lots of amazing food and wine, and I took photos of it, as I do, and I wanted a place to share/store these memories, so I thought i'd put together a visual diary of our trip.

I also wanted to show that being healthy and eating well doesn't just look like kale smoothies and chia puddings, it can come in many shapes and forms and can even include the humble fish and chips. An all-or-nothing approach is often what people go to when they are trying to lose a few kilos or get a bit healthier. However, this can lead to being very strict with food which may ultimately lead to a restriction-binging cycle, which is a horrible thing to be in and ensures the pleasure of eating is completely lost. But food is very enjoyable, and should be eaten with pleasure, and this is why I am an advocate of allowing yourself to eat everything (unless there are intolerances), and listening to your body to eat more of the food that makes you feel good and gives you energy, while still allowing yourself to eat the other foods, that perhaps aren't as nutritious, when you really feel like it and eating them with pleasure.    

So on our holiday, I still ate things like yoghurt, fruit, and salads daily, because these are foods that I enjoy and make me feel good. But I also ate cheese, wine, and hot chips, because these are also foods that I like to eat, and can definitely be part of a healthy diet. One massive thing I've noticed since since studying nutrition is that when people hear about this, they automatically think I must be a type A health freak, and start making excuses for what they are eating, or saying they shouldn't eat A, B, C and should be eating X, Y and Y. But interestingly, this is the opposite to what i feel. Studying nutrition has actually given me the freedom to eat whatever I feel like eating, to enjoy it and feel good about it, and then move on without any negative feelings about it. Yes, I eat very well and my diet includes lots of fresh fruit and vegetables because this is usually what I feel like eating, but I also don't deny myself of anything I want to eat, and I eat all types of food. For the first time as an adult, I feel like I am completely at peace with food and eating, and I think that is something a lot healthier, and more enjoyable, than having the 'perfect' diet, whatever that is. So have a look through our food safari in Tasmania, and enjoy :) 

Dinner in Melbourne pre-flying to Hobart, at a little restaurant called Cafe De Cuba, the seafood pasta was good!  

A late lunch at the Cascade Brewery, such a lovely location in the gardens with live music, and some scatting! 

Random cheese, crackers, dip, cherries and wine for dinner, while playing mastermind (I won!!) 

Enjoying a beverage at MONA (it's amazing btw) after spending the day wondering through the museum. 

Octopus salad and fish and chips for dinner, at Fish Frenzy in Hobart. 

Enjoying a glass of wine at a winery called Goaty Hill Winery, in the beautiful Tamar Valley, up near Launceston.  

We made friends with this nice piggy (by feeding him!) at the Hold Oak Winery, also in the Tamar Valley. 

A gorgeous walk up mount Wellington, through ferns, moss and massive trees. My model is 6 ft 5, so you can see that these trees are huge!!

Dinner at Smolt in Hobart, this is beetroot, fig, herb and walnut salad with goats curd, and the pork shoulder slow-cooked in almond milk, roasted fennel, carrot purée, fennel & apple salad, with hazelnuts. This was a delicious dinner. 

These oysters are from Frank in Hobart (very cool restaurant!), they are fire roasted with chorizo, peppers and garlic. We also got some charred vegetables that were amazing! 

This was me least favourite meal in Tasmania, some very average pumpkin soup, with lavender butter, this was from the Port Arthur Lavender Farm on our trip home from Port Arthur. 

And we also stopped at a lovely little oyster restaurant on the way back. This is the view sans oysters.  

A pre-dinner shot at MONA. We went to an event similar to a dinner party called the Golden Hour and it was amazing! Three courses of delicious food, and a sunset viewing of James Turrell's Armana, which is a light garden that has sequences at sunrise and sunset daily.   

Main course at the Golden Hour dinner at MONA was some sort of slow-cooked pork with wild rice, and was really good.   

Last lunch in Melbourne. Gnocchi with slow-cooked lamb, and an array of vegetables with slow-cooked lamb. The lamb was so delicious.