Feijoa season is in full swing. The taste and smell of feijoas instantly remind me of my childhood. When I was a child I used to sit in my backyard surrounded by feijoa trees, cut them in half, scoop out the flesh and then throw the skins over the fence. There are so many things that you can do with feijoas, sauce them, jam them, add them to yoghurt, and even my favourite a good old apple and feijoa crumble. Below are three different recipes that contain feijoas.

Feijoa Smoothie – these are great for a fast nutritious breakfast.
1 banana
4 scooped out feijoas
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup milk or so, depending on how thick you like your smoothie
Some crushed ice
Blend it all together in a blender and you have a delicious drink.

Feijoa Ice Cream
18 ripe feijoas
1 tin condensed milk
A few drops of lime juice
1 cup of thick plain Greek yoghurt
Put it all together in a blender, pour it into an icecream container and place in the freezer for a few hours.

Feijoa and Apple Crumble
Crumble
80 g butter, diced
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
Fruit Base
14 feijoas, peeled and sliced
2 apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
Put all the crumble ingredients into a food processor and blend together. Place the fruit in a dish and sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. Bake for 35-40 mins at 180 °C.

If you love feijoas, make sure that you try out some of these yummy recipes. Check out Nosh for their special on feijoas.

Are you looking for a new gym? Want to get fit and healthy? Check out this new gym, Muscle and Fitness. Don’t forget those new years goal you made!

With top trainers, friendly staff, the best equipment and long hours… what more could you want. I went to go check it out and it is definitely the place to be. The equipment is state of the art and had machines that I had never seen before. Everyone was very friendly, welcoming and helpful.

Muscle and Fitness is located at 8 Bishop Lenihan Place, Botany. At the moment they have a special running for $500 for a 12 month membership, check out their Facebook page for more information.

Time to get fit, healthy and achieve those new years goals!

Mother’s Day is nearly here and for many of us the idea of buying Mum a present sends us into a spin. Cosmetics, jewellery, homeware, the list of options are endless.But this vast selection often makes the shopping process more confusing rather than simple. So here’s where the team at Lasoo come in. We’ve scoured your favourite retailer catalogues to narrow down the options and have come up with some fantastic gift ideas for your Mum this Mother’s Day. At Lasoo we make shopping easier!

Show Mum you love her with our top picks for gorgeous pressies:

Ecoya Mother’s Day gift set from Living & Giving

9ct Heart Locket from Pascoes

‘Lone Wolf’ by Jodi Picoult from Paperplus

Large Jewellery Box from The Warehouse

‘Nadia’s Kitchen’ by Nadia Lim from Whitcoulls

Diamond Mum Charm from Michael Hill

Mother’s Day magazine offer from Tangible

Don’t forget, you can also enter our ‘We love Mums’ Mother’s Day competition for the chance to win a share in our $1,000 prize pool.

Happy shopping Lasooers!

I love Asian food! It is a popular cuisine in New Zealand and how awesome would it be if you could learn to cook it? Sachie’s Kitchen is fun and authentic Japanese and Asian cooking classes

Sachie’s Kitchen operates cooking classes in Auckland in a state-of-the-art cooking school in Parnell. As you enter the kitchen you get to sit down for some relaxing green tea or sake and then get briefed on what you will be doing. Most of the ingredients are local and it is all healthy. This is a fun activity to do with friends and family or as a corporate event.

At the end you will get to taste all of the delicious food and you will also have the recipes to take home and impress everyone with your new cooking skills.

Want to be an expert masterchef in Asian cooking? Check out Sachie’s Kitchen today!

It’s school holidays again which means schools out and the kids are roaming the streets. If your kids need entertaining these holidays then we are here to help. Below are our top 10 list of things to keep your kids busy.

MOTAT- Crazy Contraptions

Motat have released their newest holiday experience combining lots of crazy contraptions including using wedges, pulleys, inclined planes and levers. The kids will learn lots about mechanics and how simple machines are the basic building blocks for things we use everyday.

BEN 10 LIVE: Time Machine Tickets

The TV Show Ben 10 is viewed by over 2.9 million Australiasian homes. It is coming to New Zealand these school holidays. Fans will get to see their favourite characters performing crazy stunts with awesome effects. Extreme fun for the whole family!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON TICKETS

This is a live entertainment event bringing high-flying, fire breathing dragons to live. Your kids will be left amazed. It is inspired by the Academy Award nominated DreamWorks Animation film, How to Train Your Dragon.

BUTTERFLY CREEK

This is a hidden treasure. With over 700 free flying exotic butterflies, tropical fish, birds and lizards, it will be fun for the whole family.

Check out these fun attractions these school holidays!

Ever wish you could quickly dash in, pick up your coffee and reuse your coffee cup next time? Coffee cup disposable is a huge problem globally and Wild Bean Cafe has made cheap travel mugs to help reverse this problem.

Designed for people on the go, the Wild Bean mug will keep your coffee nice and warm for hours. At only $15 you can enjoy your coffee the environmentally friendly way. With all of your favourite beverages you will be sipping away on delicious coffee every day. The first time you buy the mug your coffee will be free. Even better- every time you buy a hot drink with your Wild Bean Cafe travel mug you only pay for a small but get a large!

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week your coffee addiction will always be fulfilled. Find yours today at your nearest Wild Bean Cafe.

Ahh it’s that time again when the bunnies come out and the kids go crazy from all the sugar…. EASTER! With the long weekend just around the corner we thought we would share some events to keep the kids busy.

Coca-Cola Easter Show – ASB Showgrounds, Auckland
5-9 April 2012
Adults: $35
Teens: $10
Kids 12 and under: Free
One of my favourite events to head along to as a kid was the Easter Show. The Easter show started 169 years ago. It is five fun filled days of entertainment and education. There is always something happening. The ASB showgrounds will be transformed into a massive full filled festival of entertainment for the whole family.

Giant Easter Egg Hunt – Karaka, Auckland
6-9 April 2012
Family (2 adults+ 2 children): $35
Adults: $12
Children: $8
Head along to the Amazing Maze ‘n Maize, to find the chocolate eggs that the Easter Bunny will be hiding. This will be lots of fun for the whole family.

Easter Family Festival – Mt Maunganui
8 April 2012
Free
Two huge slides, bouncy castles, face painting and a small disco, there will be lots of fun for the kids. There will also be street performers like Papa Cret and B Looney da Clown to provide hours of entertainment. Head along to keep the family entertained this Easter.

Happy Easter everyone!

Do you love style and shopping? How about Vintage? Then you don’t need to look any further than this gorgeous little boutique vintage shop.

Amber Davies founded Viva La Vintage in 2010. Not only are the clothes high quality but they will also fit you well. She will go out of her way to style you and help you choose clothes that will complement your personal style and body.

Viva La Vintage source their collections from all over the world and are extremely passionate about Vintage and Retro fashion. The collection ranges from 1920s to 1990s and also some designer new pieces. It is definitely the shop to check out for you all you fashionistas out there.

Her private showroom is open Friday and Saturdays, 10am-5pm at 27 Cheltenham Road, Devonport, Auckland. It can also be viewed on other days by appointment. If you would like to buy online, check out Viva La Vintage on Facebook and simply write sold on the photo to buy.

I thought I would give you all a little insight into a passion of mine - the fitness industry.

Last year I won the NZIFBB bikini division and was offered the amazing opportunity to compete at the prestigious Arnolds in Ohio, America. If you don’t know what this is I will tell you one name: Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is his sports event and is the biggest event of the year in the fitness industry.

The Arnold Sports Festival is the largest multi sport event in the world. More than 18,000 athletes compete in more than 45 sports and events. With a huge thanks to the NZIFBB, I was honoured to be chosen to represent New Zealand in the bikini division. This meant months of hard training and dieting ahead. Some people might call me crazy, eating chicken and steak from plastic containers, drinking my favourite Nutrigenix protein shakes and going to lift weights after work, but I love it and I knew I had a challenge to conquer.

March 1st came around and I think I had every emotion possible - excited, nervous and overwhelmed. It was a surreal feeling stepping on stage. After pre-judging I was announced in the top 10 in my class. I couldn’t believe it, I had to keep checking the piece of paper to make sure that my name was definitely there. Finals came around and I was stepping on stage with such incredible athletes and I was announced forth. Words cannot describe the excitement of being announced as fourth in the world in my class.

It was a real honour to represent New Zealand on an international stage. I truly respect every athlete who competes as it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. The expo is unlike anything I can describe. If you love anything to do with sports and fitness this is an event that you have to attend. Just being there inspires you to better yourself in all aspects of life.

If you are sitting at your desk reading this, think about what you want to achieve. Life is too short to just sit there and blend into the crowd. Set a reasonable goal and do everything you can to achieve it. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it.

I am also extremely honoured to be on the cover of this months New Zealand Fitness magazine with a four page article so check it out!

St Patrick’s Day is coming up very soon and Auckland sure knows how to celebrate it! About 20 percent of the New Zealand population claims to have Irish blood, but you don’t have to be Irish to enjoy St Patty’s Day fun. This Saturday March 17th get ready to get your green on and hit the big little city.

You can start off by attending the St Patrick’s Day Parade on Queen Street at 11am. The parade is great family fun and features Irish banners, floats, dancers, and bands. There will also be music and bands all day at the Viaduct Harbour in conjunction with the Volvo Ocean Race. And if it is Guinness or Irish Whisky you’re after then there are plenty of Irish bars in the city throwing a bash for the big day

Clare Inn Irish Pub is hosting St Patrick’s Week Festival and on the 17th they are hosting a brunch, lunch, and dinner with a beer garden and traditional Irish dancing. It’s all starting at noon with traditional Irish music from Alex & Tom, then at 4pm with “The Plastic Paddy’s”, and at 7pm “The Banned” will be playing live Irish rock.

Danny Doolans is selling Murphy’s St Patrick’s Day VIP T-shirts and if you wear your Murphy’s T-shirt on the day you will receive one free St Patrick’s Day Irish breakfast, a free all day VIP entry, and one Murphy’s on the house! Note that T-shirt stocks are limited.

O’Hagans Irish Bar will be open for the festivities from 8am. It is located on Auckland’s waterfront in the heart of the Harbour. O’Hagans is definitely a prime traditional Irish pub with a warm and authentic Irish look. It also has a great outdoor seating area so you can sip on your Guinness while watching the St Patrick’s Day debauchery unfold in the Viaduct. On the day, there will be a delicious BBQ and great live music.

The Claddagh Irish Pub is located in the heart of Newmarket and has simply great service, great food, and the best Guinness in town! On St Patrick’s Day this pub will have live Irish Music all day and night, and more!

This is just a glimpse of Auckland’s Irish pubs that will be going off on the day. Others include The Ponsonby Belgium Beer Cafe, Dogs Bollix Irish Bar, Father Teds Irish Bar, The Fiddler, and the list goes on
And remember to look up at the Sky Tower when the sun goes down as it will go green to celebrate St Patrick himself!