I only ever feel truly good when I'm eating high amounts of fibre. That means I poo at least once a day but hopefully twice, I can stand up and walk comfortably without feeling like I need to breathe in a bloated tummy, I feel strong, awake, like sleep has restored me instead of simply rested me for a few hours. My eyes will look clearer and my complexion more even (I've got genetic rosacea). I feel healthy and healthy to me means comfort.

When the seasons change I always like to up my fibre intake for the first two weeks of the new season so that environmental changes don't throw my system out of whack. My body is really sensitive to temperature and daylight changes so it's important I feed my gut bacteria lots of its food of choice (fibre) to ensure balance throughout the seasonal change - especially as I'll crave more sleep with less daylight. I'll normally take a weekend out to be super slow where I bake and prepare lots of granola, crumbles and breads and then lie on the couch with cups of tea, wooly socks, huge blankets and my dog snuggled up beside me resting his chin on my lap. I'm pretty bad at staying still so it'll normally be a weekend on my period where the rest and focus on change is even more essential.

To make your own crumble and granola for when the crumble's all gone you'll need the following-

Equipment

• 2 trays
• Greaseproof baking paper
• 1 large pie dish
• Mixing spoon
• Non-stick pan

Dry Ingredients (try to buy organic if you can)

• 350g sprouted gluten-free oats (if you can't find sprouted regular is fine)
• 200g buckwheat groats
• 200g almonds, chopped
• 180g pecans
• 80g pumpkin seeds
• 70g chia seeds
• 60g sunflower seeds
• 60g ground flaxseed

Wet Ingredients (try to buy organic if you can)

• 4 heaped tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Crumble Ingredients

• 6 cooking apples
• Butter to grease the pie dish
• Some raw cane sugar to sprinkle on the apples

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Line two large trays with greaseproof baking paper.
3. Using a small frying pan or non-stick pan melt the coconut oil on a medium heat. Switch off the heat once the coconut oil has melted and mix the rest of the wet ingredients through the oil.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mix and stir until every single particle has a wet glisten to it.
5. Spoon the mixture onto the trays flattening it out as you go.
6. Bake at 150C fan for 15 minutes.
7. While the granola is baking, peel your apples and grease the pie dish with butter. Then slice the apples chunkily into the pie dish and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of raw cane sugar to take out the bitter taste.
8. Take both trays out of the oven at the 15 minute mark. Stir the mixture on one of the trays, flattening it out again and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
9. Spoon the mixture from the second tray on top of your apples flattening it down to make everything quite compact. Any granola left over can go back into the oven for another 15 minutes.
10. Once the granola has had its full 30 minutes baking time take it out of the oven. Allow to cool before transferring into a large glass jar.
11. Put the crumble into the oven at 180C fan for 30 minutes. To store the crumble simply cover it with two layers of tin foil and keep in a cool part of your kitchen for up to 3 days. Any longer keep it in the fridge.

I adore this crumble piping hot from the oven with cream, yoghurt or ice-cream and a large cup of black tea with milk.

For breakfast I'll eat it cold with natural yoghurt and a small pot of freshly brewed coffee. I love drinking my morning coffee alongside grainy, creamy mixtures. For me it's the perfect way to kickstart my metabolism into action!