Q & A WITH LOLA BERRY...

At Tigerlily HQ, one thing we love equally as much as bikinis is... Food! We are long-time fans of the delightful and incredibly inspiring Lola Berry - a fellow foodie, talented yogi and overall lifestyle guru... Recently we met with Lola to dress her for her new book. We also had a little chat to her about her exciting future endeavors, travel plans and everything food related (of course!). She is definitely one busy lady! Thank you Lola for giving us a copy of your 'The Happy Cookbook' - we are hooked! Read on for our little q & a with Lola which includes some awesome wellness tips and fantastic recipes...

Explain briefly to us what you do...

For me it’s really about living from the heart and doing what you love. As long as I’m inspiring people - then I’m rapt! I’m a nutritionist, author, yoga teacher and about to open a smoothie bar. So I guess you could say I wear a few hats. My only rule is to live from your heart and live true. I think that its rare to see people living their truth and I think when you do live from that place, you take risks and you have the passion to follow your dreams... That's when the magic happens!

We have been huge fans of your books for a while... What is your all-time favourite recipe?

That's a tough one but I'd say the sweet spud gnocchi with kale pesto and the hummingbird and lumberjack cake with almond cream cheese are my favourites!

DELICIOUS! We can imagine being a cook requires a lot of creativity... How do you come up with new recipes and where do you draw your inspiration from?

It just takes a bit of trial an error and to be honest... I stuff up more than I create winners. It’s just about trying ideas on. Sometimes ideas will come from an experience, like a meal I've shared with someone or something I’ve just whipped up for Dad to try (he’s my number one tester). One day I was cleaning the dishes and I looked at the washing detergent and it was “green tea and lime” fragrance... So that then became a flavor for a raw cheesecake! So really, ideas can come from anywhere. My tip would be just get in there and try it on, who cares if you stuff it up - you’ll be learning for next time.

We've packed away the bikinis (or a few of them anyway) and we're preparing for the winter chill... Can you offer us any advice about strengthening our immunity in the cooler months?

Yes - think about adding warming spices to your winter dishes like chilies, paprika and ginger. These guys all stimulate the circulatory system and will keep you warm in the winter months. I love drinking ginger tea - it really helps if you get cold feet and hands as it sends blood to the extremities. If you want to ward away the baddies, think about chomping on raw garlic. If you’re worried about garlic breath try having it with parsley, as it's said to help counteract garlic breath. When you eat oranges or grapefruit (which we know are high in vitamin C) try to eat the white pith as it’s really high in bioflavoinds - it’s these that make the vitamin C much more absorbable in our bodies. Note: the pith tastes pretty bitter so it might take some getting used to! Try adding big portions of citrus with the pith (this is not the peel but the inner white bit near the peel) into your smoothies to help hide the flavor. Also up your water intake, which can be hard in the winter, but it will keep you flushed of toxins and prevents you feeling flat.

Please share with us one of your favourite winter recipes...

Hmmm.. so hard to pick one! I do love the pumpkin paleo bread fresh from the oven with chilli ricotta. For a sweet treat - the fig, peach and cardamom paleo loaf is delish too!

THE HAPPY COOKBOOK by Lola Berry is published by Plum, RRP $34.99...

Click here to visit Lola's website...

Thank you for inspiring us Lola! Xx