After struggling with digestive issues, Melbourne foodie Hannah Noonan delved into studying nutrition with Endeavour to help herself develop a peaceful and positive relationship with food.

As part of this process Hannah stumbled across social media campaign The 100 Day Project. This led to a lightbulb moment as she asked herself a simple question – ‘why couldn’t I create a different healthy pancake every day for 100 days?’. We caught up with Hannah to find out how the challenge is going so far.

The journey began when I started to transition out of working in dispute resolution.Essentially I wanted something to keep me occupied and challenged besides my studies. So I did a Google search looking for inspiration for a project I could complete. I came across the 100 Day Project and saw people posting their projects on Instagram to ensure they remained publicly accountable for keeping to the challenge.

I loved the idea and decided I would focus on making pancakes .It seemed like the right idea as there were so many food intolerances in my family that I’d become quite good at changing recipes to suit everyone. Plus I didn’t think I’d get tired of eating pancakes every day, and I loved the idea of sharing my recipes with people along the way!

Every pancake recipe I’ve created has been made with wholefood ingredients.I’ve made everything from gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, grain-free, low FODMAP and vegan pancakes. When it comes to flavours and ingredients, I’ve made teff pancakes with coconut yoghurt and cherries, chickpea flour and chai tea pancakes, and even chocolate coconut pancakes with salted chocolate tahini sauce and chia jam.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is about perseverance.There have been good days and not-so-good days, but there has always been tomorrow and I’ve learned all I have to do is show up and try again. I was also surprised at how much I loved being creative, as I often had to come up with new ideas quickly with whatever ingredients I had in the kitchen that day.

I never expected people would look forward to seeing my creations every day, but they do!I’m so grateful for the support and encouragement that kept me going with the project even when I felt like giving up. I’m now up to day 88 and I’m still going strong!

I’ve also learned there is so much opportunity for us as natural health students.I’ve started doing some freelance writing and developing other recipes. I am also enjoying working on my own blog ‘A Gut Reaction’ where I concentrate on digestive health and different dietary needs. I still plan to create pancake recipes once the project is over, just perhaps not every day!

The story began when San Francisco-based artist, designer and writer Elle Luna was inspired by a post graduate college project encouraging students to repeat a chosen action daily for 100 days. In 2014 Elle and her friends joined forces to launch a social media version of the campaign and started sharing their projects on Instagram.

People of all ages joined in, tagging images of their journey with #The100DayProject, and the rest is history, with a growing community of people relishing the chance to engage in a bite-sized way to play creatively.