Guest Blogger: Jill Clark

How to follow your heart: The stomach detour.

The day I met him I knew I was in trouble. He had a smile that made my stomach flip, eyes that in some lights were hazel and in others green, he was a world traveler, and best of all he was Australian.

Normally, I would have admired from afar but refused to get involved with someone who lived so far away but lucky for me, I was already moving to Australia. Hello fate!

Within a few months I was en route down unda on a journey I assumed would be nothing short of amazing.

I was headed to Australia to shoot a reality travel webseries with my bestie, Stacey. We had big ambitions, big plans, and big crushes to get us through our first roadtrip up the east coast of Australia. A trip that both excited and exhausted us.

Since our roadtrip was sponsored by a camper van company we were supposed to be living out of our van, which as I’m sure you can imagine, doesn’t make for the healthiest lifestyle choices. We spent nights in our van working, writing, editing, drinking cheap wine, and, of course, eating bad food.

When we finally got back to our home base in Sydney we were exhausted, stressed, a few pounds heavier, and just felt ‘blah’. Not necessarily how you want to feel when you are about to have a romantic Aussie reunion with someone you’ve been crushing on for months.

As new couples do, we dined out and drank probably more than we should have. We indulged in all the wrong foods and drinks because we didn’t care; we were just happy to be around each other.

It wasn’t for a few months that I realized that every morning after one of our date nights I felt guilty. Did I reeeaaallly need to have all that bread, or that creamy pasta, those buttery shrimp, three cocktails, and dessert?

My energy levels were low, my skin didn’t glow, and my patience for building our business was teetering on non-existent. I knew I had to make a change.

One morning, after waking up with a sugar, okay fine, alcohol induced headache I couldn’t seem to get rid of, I decided to switch things up.

No longer would I give into these tempting yet digestively tormenting cravings. Instead, I would take charge of my life, my habits, and my (and Stacey’s) business. I would live the life I came to Australia to live.

I started with no junk food for a month, egg whites in the morning, no juice – just water, and salads for dinner with lean protein. I started doing beach walks and putting it out there to the universe what I wanted for myself.

Within months everything changed. I started feeling better about myself, I started looking better, I had more energy, and Stacey and I were presented with an opportunity that would change our lives.

A restaurant owner had gotten wind of our show and offered us a chance to manage his social media presence, shoot and edit videos, and write blog posts that combined our creative passions with our love for food. It was a match made in food lovers heaven.

We accepted the position, didn’t look back and have spent the last year discovering our new found passion for writing and tweeting about rich and creamy foods, instead of eating them.

We have never been so happy to have followed our hearts instead of our stomachs.

JILL’S SEXY SHRIMP SPRING ROLLS
1 package of rice paper wraps – found in just about any grocery store
A cup of water and some paper towels
Your meat of choice – I like shrimp but you can use turkey, chicken, tofu, or just keep it vegetarian
Arugula (or as the Aussies call it, Rocket) Spinach, or Romaine lettuce, your call
Cucumber
Carrots
Sprouts – bean or alfalfa, your decision
Celery
Cilantro
Green onions
Green or Red Peppers
Rice noodles

- Boil water, take off element and place rice noodles into water until soft, this happens really quickly so you need to keep an eye on it, maybe 1-2 minutes. Drain and set aside in a bowl to cool down
- Shred Romaine lettuce to desired thickness, or if using Spinach or Arugula just chop to make leaves smaller and easier to roll
- Slice all your veggies quite fine so they all fit within your wrap but thickness is up to your personal preference and put them each in their own piles or bowls
- Mince meat so you can fit it in with all your veggies…wraps aren’t too big so use your own discretion
- Chop cilantro loosely
- Take out a wrap (it will be hard when dry), lay it on your cutting board, wet one of your paper towels and dab the wrap until it softens up enough to roll
- Fill each wrap with your desired ingredients and fold the bottom up and roll the wrap, closing it at the top once it’s all rolled up. Dab with your wet paper towel to make sure the wrap is sealed
- Each pack of wraps make about 10-12 spring rolls but it’s always best to get a second package as it does take some time to get the process down pat.
- Proceed to dip your spring roll into your preferred dip, I like peanut sauce, hoison sauce, ponzu sauce, sesame ginger sauce, sweet chili, or low sodium soy sauce – the options are endless!

For more on Jill, follow her on Twitter: @Clark_Jill
Or email her: [email protected]