Spanakopita {carb free}

You may have read (or even tried) my Spanakopita recipe from a previous post. It's one of my favourite non-meat dishes....but it's very carby....which is no good for my weight loss plan. It's not something we eat everyday, but I do get the odd craving for it and to think I have to give it up forever would be torture. So, after chatting with my PT Elizabeth, she suggested I try to make it WITHOUT the pastry...makes sense huh? 

So, I did...and I cut out a little extra fat while I was at it.

here 'tis

1 Bunch of silverbeet (Swiss Chard), washed, chopped and steamed

or 1 packet of frozen spinach, thawed

150g low fat feta

200g fresh,low fat ricotta

2 or 3 eggs

1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl

spray a non-stick muffin tin with cooking spray

or line with those silicone muffin cases

fill with mixture (it won't rise much)

bake at 180C for 15-20 mins or till set.

serve with salad

You won't even notice the pastry is missing....yum!

Blonde Ambition

G'day...it's me again. How's this cold weather treating you? If you're in my part of the world, you're probably freezing your assets off at the moment......I just can't keep warm...I'm a freak. 

And to my lovely friends and family on the other side of the world...half you're luck...wish I was there. I get beautiful pictures from Santa Monica on a daily basis and I am green with envy....

But today I don't want to talk about green, I want to share with you my thoughts on being a blonde......no blonde jokes please, I've heard them ALL!

I've been blonde all of my life, except a few times that I experimented with colour. I was brunette and auburn for a while (no ranga jokes either!!), but they never really suited me...sometimes you've just gotta go with what you've got. These days though, some enhancement is required....lol

As you may know from several posts here and here on this blog and on my Facebook page, that I am a HUGE John Freida fan, a lot of you must be too...it's my second most popular post(s) apart from Nude Make-Up ...could you imagine if I did a post called Nude Blonde ...lol...erm, yup, that's a whole different kinda blog.


 Anyway, I now have some more lovely JF products to tell you about...especially if you're a blonde like myself.....or if you know a blonde ;) 

The John Freida Sheer Blonde Enhancing Shampoo & Conditioner is my favourite. It smells DIVINE...white tea...mmmmmm

They say you can see a contrast in 1 use and I think they're spot-on. My hair is really shiny after using this too. It contains highlight optimisers to smooth and mend the porous areas of each strand. It restores hair’s healthy texture so light can shine though while sunflower and white tea complex brings out glistening highlights 

for a maximum blonde impact. Sounds good to me.....

One of the most annoying things for me is the lighter blonde tones in my hair can occasionally look a bit brassy and I hate that...
.........so to the rescue comes the John Freida Sheer Blonde Colour Renew tone correcting shampoo & conditioner. 
It renews colour by reversing the look of damage and helps protect blonde from fading. The formula contains UV Filter, lavender and Optical Brightener that protects salon fresh blonde for longer and instantly reverses brassiness and damage from colouring. It deeply moisturises without weighing down the hair. Formulated with Optical Brightener and lavender technology, it converts UV rays to a white-blue light, making colour-treated hair appear lighter and 
brighter. Love this too...it also smells delish..

If you want to keep that summery blonde a little longer between hairdresser visits, you might want to pick up some of this, it's the John Frieda SHEER BLONDE® Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray. It  has a breakthrough formula that gradually lightens and brightens blonde tones. The point and spray formula gives you complete control letting you choose where you want to lighten up and how much you want to lighten. The spray is enriched with citrus and chamomile and works in combination with heat to effectively lighten blonde hair, brighten highlights and blend roots. Hydrogen peroxide provides enhanced lightening benefits for more dramatic blonde effects and a light polymer ensures the spray spreads evenly to control lightening effects. Ideal for blending roots between salon visits or achieving the shade you desire, the formula works to effectively enhance the lightening benefits of the Sheer Blonde® Shampoo and Conditioner. I've put the video from John Freida's youtube channel here at the end of this post so you can see how it works...I've tried it too and it really brings out the blonde. Such a handy item just before you blow dry your hair.

Yup, me as a pickle. 

And now...
see, I told you I was shy.........

I had a few reddish foils put through recently...just for a change. What do you think? Keep it or lose it?
I can never make up my mind...
I have hair commitment issues.......................

How about you?

Do you change you hair on a regular basis?

or is it just me?

Disclosure: This product was provided for editorial consideration. 3pickles has no affiliation with any companies mentioned and has received no remuneration for posting this review. All opinions are those of the author.

Beautiful skincare from Japan

One of the things I love about this blogging thing is that I get sent some really lovely things to try. When I receive something, I like to try it out properly before blogging about it, otherwise I feel I wouldn't be giving a true review. I'm very fussy when it comes to beauty products and this is one that I have fallen in love with....all the way from Japan.

KURAHITO Face Moisturising Cream is a rice essence moisturising cream. Paraben free, mineral oil free, fragrance free and colourant free. 

.......like a fluffy white cloud.

A soft-textured and lightweight moisturizing cream creates a protective layer on the skin without obstructing or clogging skin breathability. Formulated with large amounts of Junmai-shu, it promotes skin clarity and radiance. Enriched with Squalane, Hyaluronic Acid, Marine Collagen and Elastin, it leaves the skin looking plump and pliable.

One of it's feature ingredients is Junmai-Shu (Rice Ferment Filtrate) 

It is natural fermented rice essence made by a Japanese traditional sake brewing technique. The essence exceptionally contains 19 amino acids, various B vitamins, minerals and polysaccharides, which create a smoother and whiter skin.

I have pigmentation from sun exposure and as a side effect from pregnancy. Since I started using this skin care, I have noticed a slight reduction in the pigmentation...something that I haven't been able to achieve before.

I love the packaging, it looks so pretty sitting in my bathroom.

Japan Skin Care - KURAHITO Face Toning Lotion (skin whitening)

Smooth-textured and lightweight skin lotion brightens and balances skin tone while restoring moisture. Formulated with large amounts of Junmai-shu, it promotes skin clarity and radiance.

Application Tips: After cleansing, saturate a cotton pad with the skin lotion and gently stroke over the face. Or apply to the face directly, pat dry.

If you're looking for skincare products that will reduce your pigmentation and help to even out the overall colour of your skin and give it a silky, moist texture, then give this a go, I think you'll be pleased with the results. It's reasonably priced too! You can get it from here choiceessentials.com

Baked Ricotta {recipe}

Back to good cooking habits after the weekend baking attack here & here. I still managed to lose 500g over the weekend, so that's good......


Onto today's lunch...I hope you try this recipe, it's very simple to make and can be adapted to suit what you have in the garden/pantry. Today I only have parsley and eschallots growing, so I used those and some dried oregano, but you can use whatever tickles your fancy. The great thing about this recipe, besides being low in fat & carbs and high in protein is that you can make it for one, two or however many people you like. Simple and quick. I made it for 2 today...I ate one and have kept the other one for tomorrow's lunch.


I love making this for lunch and it works well for the lunchbox too.

makes 2

150g fresh, low fat ricotta (from the deli department)

20g fetta (optional, but I like it for some zing...I used Danish fetta)

sprinkling of fresh &/or dried herbs (I used dried oregano, fresh parsley)

2 tablespoons finely chopped red capsium

2 tablespoons finely chopped eschallots/spring onions

1 clove finely grated/crushed garlic

salt & freshly ground pepper 

Mix ingredients together and press into lightly oiled muffin tin.
Bake at 180C till set (about 20-25 mins)
Serve hot or cold with salad

I like to make a simple dressing for my salad...just a little olive oil & some balsamic vinegar.

More low fat, low carb, high protein recipes to come.

Be good.

{Point & Shoot} my baby

I'm joining the Point & Shoot linky at Sunny + Scout today. Hope you join in too.

I love shooting with natural light and it was just right this morning.

I know I'm biased, but isn't my littlest pickle adorable?

Our new floors got laid yesterday and he was having a ball, sliding around on them in his PJ's.

I'm off to enjoy this sunshine. 

See you tomorrow.

Mars Cheesecake {recipe} AKA Nickelback Pie

OK, so it's a special occasion recipe (for us)...and yes, I'm still on this weight loss journey O' mine, so I've been good. But....
IT'S MARS CHEESECAKE DAMITT!!!!!


....and I'm celebrating because.......... I'M GOING TO SEE NICKELBACK....LIVE!! WOOT, WOOT. 


Got my tickets on Saturday and I'm so excited, I might actually vom..


So, I'm renaming this recipe "Nickelback Pie"...yeah, yeah...I know...you must have been expecting something like this from me by now?? Will be counting down the days and of course blogging about it in November. I even got Mr 3P to come with with me....he certainly knows the words to their music...bless his cotton socks. what a good man.


Anyhow, I've had many requests for this recipe, which was given to me by a friend and I think she may have gotten it from Women's Weekly...but I can't remember.
I make this when we go to someone's house for dinner & we take a dessert....sometimes...lol
Many times I have taken the basis of the recipe and swapped out the Mars bar, caramel & choc for other things, like strawberries and strawberry jam, or chocmint and peppermint crisp....use your imagination.
And don't spoil your dinner!!

250g chocolate biscuits

120g melted butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

25g extra butter

300ml thickened cream

50g chocolate

3 teaspoons gelatine

1/4 cup boiling water

500g cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 Mars Bars, chopped (180g) I used the "fun" sized bars (there were leftovers...mwahaha)

1. Make the base by processing the biscuits into crumbs and mixing through the melted butter. Line a 20cm springform tin with baking paper and press mixture into base (and up the sides if you like...it never works for me). Cover with foil and refrigerate for 30mins to set.

2. Combine the brown sugar, extra butter and 2 tbsp of cream in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until dissolved. (This time, I just put these ingredients in a microwave safe mug and microwaved for one minute...worked out the same).

3. Combine the chocolate & 2 tbsp cream and melt together. (again I did this in the microwave, but you can do it on the stovetop in a small saucepan).

4. In a heatproof cup add the gelatine and stir with boiling water until dissolved. Set aside to cool...no longer that 5 minutes or it might set.

5. Beat the cream cheese and caster sugar together with an electric mixer, until smooth. Beat the rest of the cream together in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Stir the gelatine mixture into the cream cheese mixture, then add and stir in the Mars Bar bits and then fold in the cream.

6. Pour half the mixture into the prepared base. Drizzle half of the caramel and chocolate sauce over. add the other half of the cheesecake mixture and top with the rest of the 2 sauces. Drag a skewer through to make a nice pattern if you like.

7. Lick the bowl...it saves on washing up and is much better for the environment.

8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours....overnight is best.

9. Yum.

I made Mr3P hold this for me while I took a bunch of pictures...it started to melt by the time I got the lighting right...lol

linking to Whipperberry

Custard Creams {recipe}

I'm baking this weekend, something I haven't done in a while. I used to find it hard to resist, but now I can bake and walk away.


Custard creams have always been a hit with the pickles and with the lemons at their peak again, I have to find ways of using them up....this recipe only uses one...but that's one less than I had falling off the trees.


This is a very simple recipe and I wouldn't worry about how long they'll keep for...cos they'll be gone as soon as you serve them.


Enjoy....

I'm making a Mars Bar Cheesecake today as well, so I hope to have that recipe on here by Monday.


Have a great weekend.