Recently, we took a week off and went to our favourite holiday location, Cabarita Beach.  Cabarita is less than an hour’s drive south from us at the Gold Coast, but it’s one of few places where I feel like I can totally stop.  Relax.  Breathe.  De-stress.  Know what I mean?  Once we arrive we can park the car and not drive anywhere unless we want to.  The food shops are just a walk across the road, the beach is an elevator ride and a short walk away, and there’s a restaurant underneath the apartments for when I don’t feel like cooking.  Bliss.

The kids love it there too, and they needed a break just as much as we did.  All they wanted to do was swim in the ocean and soak in the warm spa.  Having their Dad around to roughhouse with 24/7 was an added bonus.  Rose is a true Gold Coaster – her natural habitat is the beach.  She has loved it since the first time we took her there.  The first time we took her she was barely crawling.  She would get bowled over by the waves, turn around and crawl straight back into it!  Leo takes after his big sister and does exactly the same thing, while Lewis and Ezra have both had to learn to love the water.  (They take after their mother.)  Lewis now loves the beach, and Ezra is currently in the ‘running away screaming stage’.   A number of times he bolted on us when we mentioned going closer to the water.  It’s amazing how fast he can run when has some motivation.

Before we left I whipped up a few snacky things to nibble on with a cuppa or our evening beer and cider.  One of them was this Spicy Nut Mix I adapted from the first I Quit Sugar recipe book (one of my go-tos).  I love my version – more flavoursome, and the smokiness of the paprika is mouthwatering.  Try it with a cup of green tea as a guilt-free afternoon snack!

Spicy Nut Mix

3 cups walnuts
3/4 cup pepitas
3 limes, juiced
1 tspn ground cumin
1/2 tspn ground chilli
1 1/2 tspn smoked paprika
1 tbspn salt

Preheat oven to 150°C.  Toss all ingredients together in a bowl until the seeds and nuts are evenly coated with the spice mixture.  Spread out onto a baking tray (a second tray may be necessary, depending on size) as thinly as possible.  Roast in oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and leave to cool completely before placing in an airtight container.