Aussie model Abigail O'Neill says chocolate key to her beauty Australian mum, model, raw chocolatier and author of Model Chocolate Abigail ONeill. Picture: Portraits with Damien Nikora. RAW tiramisu for breakfast is hardly what you expect from a typical model's diet but there's nothing normal about Aussie Abigail O'Neill. The chocoholic mum-of-three, who only started modelling in her 30s, says she indulges in the dark stuff all day. "When I discovered raw chocolate about three years ago it was the biggest enlightenment and now I eat it a few times a day," she told news.com.au from her home near Byron Bay. It makes you so vibrant and healthy and takes away cravings for negative things. It just makes you crave juices and salads and good food. I'm not addicted but it's just such a nutritious super food that always hits the spot. The chic clearly loves chocolate. So much so that she self-published a book about it in September. This is not Sandra Bullock, but Aussie model Abigail ONeill. But chocolate for breakfast ... seriously? It's never too early to eat chocolate. It's a bit like the joy of waking up on Easter morning as a kid, only this kind of chocolate is not sickly sweet but rather so so satisfying and delicious," she said. I'd probably have my first empowering dose of raw chocolate at about 7.30am. It's great because I have so many different breakfast/snack ideas within my book so there's an abundance of textures, flavours and different levels of sweetness, depending on how I'm feeling. The raw chocolatier attributes everything, from her good health to her good looks, to her high cacao consumption. "That's why I can eat chocolate all day and still remain really slim and still have lovely skin for my work," she said. People think I'm in my mid 20s at the very latest and I'm nearly 40. People think my kids are my sisters and brothers. Even if you're an office worker and don't get a lot of exercise this chocolate can still be working on your metabolism, promoting good health and making you physically lovelier for it. The cover of Abigail O'Neill's new chocolate recipe book Model Chocolate. O'Neill says she knows this because she's only just getting active again herself. "I haven't actually been exercising much at all for the past three years and that's been the time that I've eaten the most chocolate in my whole life, up to a dinner-size plate full a day, while writing my book and doing all the taste testing and all of that," she said. So I've really proven that this chocolate does not make you fat or give you bad skin because I've literally eaten mountains of it and done no exercise. I was just so snowed under with family and making this book happen. I certainly had to sit a lot and stay up late and that's certainly bad for your thyroid and can make you get fat. But I'm back into it now. I'm surfing again and doing Bikram yoga or going for a walk with some sprinting. Abigail ONeill on shoot for her new book. But the '90 per cent raw foodie', who says she's spent years perfecting the art of preparing raw/vegan/vegetarian cuisine, insists she eats other stuff too. This morning, for instance, I had halva (a mixture of honey and sesame seeds) with a cup of chocolate tea or I'll have a hot chocolate or a big super smoothie with lots of greens and cacao nibs and almond milk. If it wasn't the halva it could have been an almond chocolate or raw tiramisu which is amazing for breakfast," she said. If I'm in a big rush and don't have time to make a smoothie I might have a chunk of my protein bar which is also packed with super foods and is very nutrient dense. I'll have that with a cup of cacao tea and maybe two bananas and I'll rush out the door. Occasionally I'll just have a bowl of chopped up fruit with cacao nibs, almond milk and probiotics in the almond milk. So that's three breakfasts I tend to alternate between quite a lot. And that's just before lunch. I'll definitely make sure I have a fresh juice with lots of kale and greens in it, probably mid-morning. Sometimes I'll just have chocolate again as a late morning snack. If I've done some Bikram yoga I might have a couple of chunks of dark chocolate or a chia seed pudding," she said. Then I'll have a big salad for lunch with lots of nice dressing. In the afternoon if I've exercised a lot that day or I'm just hungry - because I'm hungry all the time - I'll have a big smoothie at about 4pm and I might have another smoothie when the kids get home. I've also got a recipe for a frappé which is absolutely delish which is like an icy-chocolatey milkshake. I'll make a lovely dinner of vegetables, a big salad, sushi or a healthy vegetarian dish. I'll often have just a massive bowl of broccoli with garlic and olives as my dinner. I'm really into my greens, super foods and salads. The busy mum of three teenagers says she hasn't always been so healthy. I'm very blessed to blessed to be as radiant and vibrant as I am. I was not that well for a while there after having my second child. I was run down and had chronic fatigue and typical auto-immune conditions like aching joints and lots of funny things so that sort of got me," she said. I don't tell everyone about that because I do like to appear the image of health to inspire people to be healthier but it's something I have to be onto every day. To feel as amazing as I do I do, have to work hard. O'Neill , 39, says the health-conscious shouldn't be scared of sweets. "You're making quality so this chocolate satisfies you and you feel so good for it that you don't have cravings for more negative food," she said. One thing I believe in is indulging every day because it makes us so happy and makes people feel good. Once people realise how easy it is to make and that it only takes five minutes, realise there's no negative side effects or guilt and that it's real food they decide they'll never buy chocolate again.