"The idea behind what we do was simply to encourage people to include more whole foods plant-based meals into their week and connect with how good food makes you feel and the impact of our food choices on the environment."

Tell us a little about yourself, and your journey to where you are now?

I started an organic plant-based company in 2010 called little bird organics we have cafes, cookbooks and a retail product range, the idea behind what we do was simply to encourage people to include more whole foods plant-based meals into their week and connect with how good food makes you feel and the impact of our food choices on the environment.

12 years later we are still here doing what we love, it’s a very different market than when we first started, now most people understand the importance of adding more plant-based meals into their week and there are a lot more plant-based choices available which is amazing.

The last 2 years have seen many a project put on hold it feels like we are starting to move from a more reactionary place to something more expansive that can include big dreams and future planning. I’m really passionate about making it easy for people to eat organic whole foods at home and want to continue developing our online meal delivery offering to make it simple for people to put a beautiful plant-based meal on the table that’s truly wholesome and delicious.

Do you have any fun Easter activities or traditions you like to do as a family?

We love an easter hunt, each year we create a treasure hunt map by drawing things of significance in the house and the general area we are staying with little drawing clues of where to find them so that all the kids can get involved (no reading necessary), it’s always the highlight of the morning.

Easter swims at the beach, it feels like easter signifies the end of the summer months and with that summer swims so it’s about getting as many of them as we can before ocean swims become more of a Wim Hoff endurance situation.

We are usually getting together with family out of town at easter but this year we will be staying put and enjoying a quieter holiday at home.

Easter break always feels like a moment of transition for us, what do you do to get ready to move into the colder season?

This year is our first year with a bigger garden so we will connect with that transition more than usual. This Easter we will spend a lot of time outside harvesting and processing the last of the summer produce, I have a lot of chilli sauce to make and tomatoes to process and freeze, then we will dig in some compost and start getting the garden ready for planting our winter crops.

It’s also our first winter in a while without central heating so we will be gathering firewood to be ready for the chilly evenings that await us.

Find a Easter treat recipe from Megan below x


Rocky Road Easter Bunnies


When it comes to making rocky road recipes you can get pretty creative with what you have in the pantry - there are no hard and fast rules of what you can or can’t put in a rocky road. The origins story of the rocky road comes from travellers in Australia trying to use up spoiled candy by mixing it with local nuts and chocolate, it’s a bit of this and a bit of that kinda recipe which I love, not a lot of measuring required and an easy thing for kids to get involved with.

Rocky roads should have a delicious burst of flavour and different textures, every mouthful contains a bit of a surprise.    
If you’re going to freestyle your filling ingredients try and make sure you include a range of textures and flavours – something chewy (dried fruit), marshmallows, something crunchy, something sweet, something tart and something nutty.

This is our little bird easter version using easter bunny moulds we got online from homestyle chocolates, you could also use egg shaped moulds or any kind of chocolate mould that you have available just make sure it has some depth to have the layer effect that’s classic to a rocky road.
 


Makes 6 - 8 medium bunnies depending on your mould size.

Chocolate base

1/4 cup cacao butter melted
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup raw cacao powder
¼ cup pure maple syrup or raw agave
Pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract


Filling

1 cup small dandies or other vegan marshmallows (you could use big ones but you will want to chop them up)  
2/3 cup of Fresh As freeze dried raspberries
3/4 cup raw pistachio nuts or macadamias (roughly chopped) 
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut chips
1/3 cup organic unsweetened sour cherries
2 tablespoons of cacao nibs 


Method

To make the chocolate base, place the cacao butter & coconut oil in a metal bowl and place that bowl on top of another bowl or pot that contains hot water to allow it to gently melt. Once they are melted add in the cacao powder, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt and gently mix until combined and then let it sit for 5 mins.
 
Get out your bunny moulds and makes sure they are cleaned and well dried (you want to avoid getting in water on the chocolate) then place them on a flat tray/board/plate that fits in your fridge to make it easy to transfer them to the fridge for setting. 
 
Next get your filling ingredients out and ready to use.
 
Then stir your chocolate base mix the bowl to make sure it’s well combined and place around 2 tablespoons of chocolate base into the bottom of the moulds then sprinkle with some of the filling ingredients, we used 5-6 small marshmallows, a few coconut chips, 3-4 sour cherries, 3 freeze dried raspberries lightly crushed, a teaspoon of nuts, then place in the fridge for 5 mins to set.
 
Once the chocolate has set add in another round of filling ingredients in similar amounts to the first round (this will depend on the size of your mould) you want to be generous on the filling ingredients so that every mouthful you’re getting those bursts of flavours and textures.   
 
Top the filling ingredients with the chocolate base until it reaches the top of the mould, then sprinkle with a few more marshmallows, freeze dried raspberry lightly crumbed on top, a sprinkle or nuts and a few chocolate nibs.
 
Place back in the fridge to set, depending on the thickness of your mould it might take around 30 mins.
 
Once set, remove the chocolate bunnies from the mould and store in the fridge in an airtight container or package them up in biodegradable cellophane bags with a ribbon to give out as presents. (Just remind people to keep them in the fridge)

 
Notes

You could use a good organic chocolate chopped and melted instead of making the chocolate base. 

If you have left over chocolate and ingredients just mix them up in a small bowl together and place them in a small container that’s lined with baking paper, set in the fridge and chop into pieces.