Bircher Museli

Take care of your poo!

Pooing is very very important. It is kind of like breathing - we would be dead if we stopped doing it. I know that it isn't talked about that much but bowl cancer is a real problem for a lot of Australians. It is important to take care of your bowl by taking care of your poo.

One of the best ways to get that great big log poo without straining is fibre. And one of the best most yummy recipes to make sure you get heaps of fibre and great poo is Bircher Museli. This stuff is the BOMB and will have you pooing regular as clock work each and everyday.

Bircher Museli

1 cup oats
1 tbsn coconut flakes
1 tbsn slivered almonds
1 grated apple
sprinkle sunflower seeds
1 tbsn dried paw paw
1 tbsn cranberries
unsweetened apple juice

Place all dry ingrediants into a bowl and mix. Add apple juice until everything is just covered with liquid. Place in the fridge overnight. The apple juice will soak into everything.
Serve with vanilla yogurt.

The idea with Bircher Museli is that you can add any nuts, seeds, or fruit that you want. The more the merrier. Try different combinations and experiment a little.

Some stats on bowl cancer from Bowl Cancer Australia....
Around 14,234 Australians are told they have bowel cancer every year.
Bowl cancer claims the lives of around 4,047 people every year.
1 in 12 Australians will develop bowel cancer before age 85.
Both men and women are at risk of developing bowel cancer.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR POO!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers,
S.

Children and Pets

Justin and I believe in the importance of having animals in Alex and Ellie's lives. Having Sash our Border Collie has taught all of us the importance of feeding her healthy food, taking her for daily walks, giving her lots of cuddles and pats and learning not to scare her (with Ellie's high pitched screams of delight every time Sash walks by).

In return, Sash showers the kids with 1001 kisses, wags her tail when we get home, barks to scare away strangers and eats all of Ellie's food scraps that fall on the floor (sweeping is over-rated).

Sharon and I met each other through our dogs (Sash met Ginger while out walking) and we have been firm friends ever since.

Having a dog is not cheap. The annual vet checkup and vaccinations are around $200 and when Sash fell ill 4 years ago, we were sent a $2000 bill. Still, she is money well spent and is a gorgeous girl with a wonderful nature.

I read an article several years ago about Vets choosing to sell commercial dog food in their surgeries and then telling pet owners to purchase the food as it was 'best' for their dog's health. The article raised the issue about a Vet's duty to his/her pet patient rather than to making profit out of selling commercial food.

I find commercial dog food not only expensive but it gives Sash the 'trots' and gives her flatulence. So, I started feeding Sash home made dog food several years ago which is inexpensive and she is thriving.

Ingredients:

Chicken Stock - I buy chicken frames and put them in my slow cooker overnight ($1.50 for two frames makes 6 litres of stock)
1 cup of frozen vegies (no onion)
1 cup oats
1 chicken drumstick or a couple of chicken necks/beef bone
1 tablesoon olive oil (gives her coat a lovely gloss and helps with dry skin)


Method:

I pour the chicken stock over the frozen veggies and heat them in the microwave for two minutes. I then add the oats, meat and olive oil. The bones help clean her teeth and she relishes in crunching them up.

Bon Appetit to our furry friends!

Haircuts

I have spent a fortune at various hair dressers over the years and with Justin and Alex needing haircuts every six weeks, I was paying $100 every six weeks just for basic trims for us all.

Justin is a bit precious with his hair and has only entrusted his golden locks to a professional hairdresser. However, he was charged $28 for his latest hair cut and was disappointed with the results and the cost.

We received a Myer gift voucher for Christmas and decided to buy a Haircut set from the store on the weekend. They were having a 15% off sale which bought the set down to $30.

I read the instructions and used Alex as my first guinea pig but we are all very impressed with the results. The process was very cathartic for myself and Alex looks quite handsome as a result. That haircut alone saved us $13 and we have nearly recouped half of the cost of the haircut set.

Justin has promised me that I can cut his hair when it next needs doing. I think that I'll do some internet research and watch some u-tube videos on how to cut men's hair prior to cutting his hair so that he is blown away by my talents!

Fruit or Veg?

L is now nearly 6mths old. I have started to think about (and experiment with)solids. Which are really more like gloopy fluids rather then actual solids.

I took L to daycare and they asked about what foods I have introduced L to. I mentioned a few things like banana, potato, peach, pumpkin, blueberries, grapes, avocado. The daycare lady was horrified that my list included mostly fruit. I got a huge lecture about how children will always go for foods that are sweet and if I want L to eat his veggies for the rest of his life then I should give him mostly veg and very little fruit.

At first I believed her. I mean - she works with children and has a diploma in childcare and I have not even been a mum for 6mths yet. So it makes sense that she has more idea on these things then I do. But - it really did bother me not to give L too much fruit. I mean - it is packed with vitamins and minerals and high in fibre with zero fat (except for avocado). How can it possibly be bad?

So I started investigating. Turns out that breast milk is very sweet and we have been told forever that breast is best. Also - almost all of the baby foods on the market have a combination of fruit and veg (sweet potato and pear, or pumpkin, carrot, and apple).
The new weight watchers pro points plan has zero points for most fruit and veg. The idea being that you can eat as much fruit and veg and as you want without counting it towards the total points for the day.

The most important thing for me though is to let L grow up without having the same hangups and problems with food that I have. I don't want to introduce him to a diet at 6mths old! And of course as long he is eating plenty of fruit and veg - how can that possibly be bad??

Here is a picture of L enjoying his first taste of watermelon. I think I will continue to introduce L to fruit and veg without feeling guilty.

Cheers,
S.

Meal Planning

My good mate in Brisbane introduced me to the concept of meal planning in 2010. I have since become a meal planning convert and know that it saves me money and time.

I sit down at the end of each month and flip through my cooking mags, recipe books and online recipe websites. I try and find three or four new recipes to add to my monthly meal plan to spice up our culinary repertoire.

I then open up Microsoft Word and make a table, Monday to Sunday across the top and weeks one to four down the side. I then insert my recipe name and relevant recipe book page numbers. If there's any extra ordinary ingredients needed, I jot these down on my shopping list.

Each Monday, I make a quick list of the ingredients that I will need for the forthcoming week's recipes. When I go shopping on Tuesday, I quickly zip around the supermarket and only buy what I actually need.

To make cooking easier on myself, every Saturday night is automatically takeaway and Friday night is a simple meal e.g. frozen ravioli with a pre-prepared sauce and vegies that takes 5 minutes to prepare.

The beauty of meal planning is that I don't have to think 'what's for dinner' every day and my family gets to try new recipes.

Bon appetit!

Homemade Laundry Powder

I have been buying commercial laundry powder for years. I loved the claims that my laundry powder box made; removes stains without scrubbing garment, won't make colours run in the wash, removes every bacteria known to human kind......

A year ago I decided to run the gauntlet of the laundry aisle and make my own laundry powder. I was inspired by my blog guru, Rhonda Jean of www.down---to---earth.blogspot.com who had a homemade laundry powder recipe. I have had nothing but success with this recipe but recently decided to ditch the soap flakes and instead added bicarb soda.

Warning: if you love the smell of chemical laden laundry powder do not use this recipe as your clean laundry will only smell of sunshine and fresh air!

Ingredients:

2 cups of bi-carb soda (found in cooking aisle of supermarket)
2 cups of nappy soaker powder (found in laundry aisle)
2 cups of borax (found in pest aisle)
2 cups of washing soda powder (found in laundry aisle - do not buy the washing soda crystals as they're too big)

Note: Add a dash of lavendar oil to the powder if you like a scent to your clothes

Method:

Just mix all the ingredients together in a tub and store with a lid on. I use two tablespoons per wash and don't dissolve the powder before adding to the washing machine.

It cost me $15 to buy all the ingredients and that quantity will make two batches of powder which will last me around 4-5 months!

I use this recipe as a laundry soaker as well for dirty nappies and stained clothes.

My clothes are always clean and fresh and I even managed to convert my mother (who has been using the same washing powder for many years).

Happy Washing.

Home Made Greek Yoghurt

For those of you who have made my homemade natural yoghurt, I have tried a new twist to this original recipe; turning it into Greek Yoghurt.

I love the creaminess of Greek Yoghurt but many of the store bought Greek Yoghurts use thickeners to get this consistency and add $1 to the price for the privilege.

Using the wisdom of the internet, I searched Greek Yoghurt and came up with the following method:

1. Make my homemade natural yoghurt and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hrs

2. Tip the yoghurt into a fine muslin bag (a bag that will let the liquid drain without the yoghurt escaping)

3. Place the muslin bag into a flour sifter/colander and then place the sifter over a bowl. Make sure that the sifter does not touch the bottom of the bowl as you want the liquid to drain freely from the yoghurt

4. I would suggest tasting the yoghurt after one hour to see if it's thick enough for you. I let mine drain for 2 hours and it was a bit too thick so I will try 1.5 hours next time.

Enjoy

Butchered Lullabies

Recently I was out walking with my god son A. We were strolling along holding hands and just mucking around (as you do when walking with a 3 year old boy). To kill a little time during the walk I asked A if he knew Twinkle Twinkle little star. He sang the song to me - it was perfect. So I asked him if he knew Humpty Dumpty. I guess the attention span of a 3 year old isn't that great - and A must have started to get bored with the songs because he started to improvise. It was obvious that he knew the song and the right words as he used one substitute word here and there throughout - never missing the rhythm or rhyme of the song. The substitute word that the used was poo.

As a 3 year old boy he thought this was all rather funny and we continued walking with me naming a song and him singing it perfectly - but substituting more and more of the words with the word poo. So it went something like this.....

Baa Baa Black Poo
Have you any Poo
Yes poo, yes poo,
3 bags of poo.
One for the poo,
Poo poo poo
one for the poo who lived down the poo.

I must confess that I butcher some of the lullabies and songs that I sing to L at night when I am putting him to sleep. I don't use the word poo but I do change the words slightly to make them more relevant to us. Does anyone else do this? If yes - what lullabies/songs do you change the words to and how do you change them?

I will leave you now with the one song that I sing to L every night without fail. I would like to apologise to anyone that is religious and finds my version of this song offensive. It is not meant to be anything other then personal to me and my little boy.

Cheers,
S.

Away in a manger,
No crib for a bed,
My little baby L,
Lay down his sweet head.

The stars in the night sky,
Look down where he lay,
My little boy L,
Asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing,
My baby awakes,
My little boy L,
No crying he makes.

I love you baby L,
In each and every way,
For now and forever,
I will love you always.

Exercise for Mummas and Bubbas

I have never been a gym junkie and have never owned a gym membership in my life. My one time experience in a gym as a 17 year old exposed me to muscly men pumping iron in front of wall length mirrors (doesn't sound like a bad memory in hindsight) but it certainly wasn't my cup of tea at the time.

My parents instilled a love of bushwalking in my sister and I from an early age so I am a seasoned walker. I walked through both my pregnancies and having a dog adds extra motivation at 5.45am each morning.

Now that Alex is 3 years old and not interested in sitting in a pram for lengthy periods of time, I have divided my exercise regime into two parts; morning walks by myself and afternoon walks with the kids.

I get up at 5.45am each morning to walk the dog. I go for about an hour at a reasonable pace and love having the time just to myself. My good friend in Brisbane downloads free podcasts onto her phone and listens to them when she walks. ABC radio have wonderful podcasts and are free to download.

In the afternoon, Alex hops on his bike and I push the pram with Ellie in it. Sash is tethered to the pram and has learnt to avoid the wheels.

Justin takes the kids out to the park each afternoon and they fly the kite and kick the footy. We have made a family rule to only buy the kids 'active' presents for their birthdays so the whole family can get outside, exercise and have fun together.

Walking is free and fun and good for my mental health and waistline!

Trip Organisation with Children

Whether we are travelling 2 kms or 200 kms down the road, my children are constantly hungry or full when we leave the house and starving when we reach the end of the road.

It has taken me several years but I have finally learnt to pack plentiful snacks and drinks when travelling with the kids. I try to prepare the snacks just after breakfast when I can add more mess to the kitchen bench. I usually pack fruit, cheese, nuts and plain biscuits for Alex and cheese and biscuits for Ellie. This way they can munch in the car, shopping trolley or at the park.

I have saved a lot of money, tears and tantrums by being organised when we're out and about. It takes me a few extra minutes each morning but it makes for a more pleasurable day with the kids.

I pack all our food and drinks into a small cooler pack and then put it all into a large bag I made for Ellie for Christmas. I also put our sunscreen, hats, wipes and spare nappies into this bag so I can just 'grab and go'.

Full tummies equal happy kids.....

Queensland In Crisis

For the past couple of weeks I have been sitting at home glued to the TV. This is a rather unusual pasttime for me. But this time - I have not been able to stop watching the news on the natural disasters that are decimating Queensland.

At first the floods - and the shock and horror of the lives lost and the damage done throughout the southeast. I was so worried about the people involved and the possibility of my house being flood affected that my milk supply reduced noticably (I had to defrost some of my spares). And just when we are coming to terms with that disaster - the biggest cyclone Australia has seen comes along to destroy the top of Queensland!

I appreciate that I personally have not been affected by either of these disasters. Yet I am still profoundly affected by them - and cannot imagine what the people that are directly impacted are going through. The horror of it is so much worse because it is all happening in my backyard - my state, my home.

I feel rather useless sitting at home not being able to do anything to help in the clean up (donating money just doesn't feel like enough). I would love to get out there and lend a hand to those that need it - to help in some way in putting everything back to normal.

By watching all the drama of it on TV I have been reminded of what is most important in life. I have on several occasions gone to my little boy and given him a big hug. Friends and family are so very important and in the end the only things that really matter.

Cheers,
Sharon.

Playdough

My sister and I grew up with home made playdough. Mum would often colour our playdough and put different scents in it to excite our senses. Alex has always enjoyed playing with playdough at Kindy and Playgroup; squishing it between his fingers, eating it and turning it into bird's nests.

I recently went to Kmart to price commercial Playdough and it was $10 for three small tubs. I have been making it at home for around $1 for a whole tupperware full. I keep it stored in the fridge and leave it on the bench to warm up for around ten minutes before Alex plays with it.

A friend of mine recently shared her 'no cook' playdough recipe which works well:

Ingredients:

2 cups of plain flour (I use homebrand to keep the costs down)
4 tablespoons of Cream of Tartar
2 tablespoons of oil (I use homebrand canola oil)
1 cup of cooking salt
2 cups of boiling water

Method

Simply mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well in a big pot. I then squish the mix with my hands just to make sure the flour and salt is well combined

To Jazz It Up

To jazz up the playdough I added red food dye and some oil of cloves

Ellie happily munched on the playdough until I took it off her so I'll probably let her play with it around 18 months of age. Alex loves getting his cars bogged in the 'mud' playdough(typical boy).

Happy Playing.