Courtesy of www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Dairy free, Gluten free, Low carbohydrate, Wheat Free

A good way to ensure people eat their veggies is to thread them between pieces of meat on a kebab.
It helps ensure they are getting more fibre, antioxidants and vitamins, and improves the texture and colour making the overall dish far more interesting.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
½ tsp hot English mustard
1 small lemon, chopped
600 grams beef, diced into 2cm pieces
400 grams button mushrooms
1 Spanish onion cut into squares
1 red capsicum cut into squares
1 green capsicum cut into squares

Prep Time: 1 hr
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Ready in: 1 hr 10 mins
Suitable for: Dinner

Preparation:
Combine the garlic, herbs, olive oil, mustard and lemon juice together. Rub the marinade over the meat and veggies, cover and set aside for one hour.

Method:
Thread the meat and veggies onto 8 soaked bamboo skewers.
Heat a BBQ and cook the kebabs for 2 - 3 minutes each side.
Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.
Note: Pasture fed Australian meat contains more Omega 3 fatty acid and overall less fat than beef cattle fed on grain food. Omega 3 fatty acid helps reduce the risk of heart disease, slows brain degeneration and is essential for growth and development.

Makes 8 servings

For more delicious recipes from Judie Davie The Food Coach please visit www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Are you struggling with those last few baby kilos?
I am - well I was until this week. Let me explain. My daughter is 16 weeks old and I started exercising when she was 6 weeks old. Prior to falling pregnant I had just completed the first stage of my weight loss journey and I had lost 20 kilos. The additional 15 I was left to lose to get down to my healthy weight range was put on hold until bubs was born.In the past 10 weeks I worked much harder than the time I lost the 20 kilos plus I was eating healthier than ever. To give you an idea, when I lost the 20 kilos my exercise for the most part consisted of walking on weekends for one or two hours. For 10 weeks I have been working out a minimum of 7 times a week, some weeks more than 7 times. As opposed to brisk strolls I have been jogging, yes jogging (I can’t believe it either) on my treadmill and elliptical trainer for 40 minutes - every day. Plus three times a week I do weight training. So I have been pretty displeased to say the least in the results this hard work has been getting me.

Now, back to my struggle with the excess baby kilos - there were 4 of them to be precise, 4 friends who long overstayed their welcome. I put on 14 kilos during my pregnancy and lost 10 within the first two weeks. For 10 weeks I have worked my butt off and the scales have not been accommodating. I used to find weighing in a joyful experience because I consistently lost kilos. It is quite novel (to put it nicely) to have 10 weeks worth of weighing in with nil weight loss.

I became so concerned and frustrated that I even asked my GP for advice. Her theory was that it took me nine months to put the excess weight on so it was going to take me nine months to lose it. I decided not to take her theory on, especially since a) she was a size 8 and b) she is not a mother. I decided that I was going to prove her theory wrong. I would love to hear from you if you have got back to your original weight in less than 9 months. I have posted this article in the Parent Wellbeing forum so that you can add your personal comments.

Something extraordinary happened this week. I lost more than one kilo. That is not as extraordinary as to how I actually achieved that result and what I learnt from the experience - so I thought I would share it with you.
One week ago today I woke up with a nasty headache that lasted a couple of days, I decided to give exercise a break for two days. On the third and fourth day I didn’t exercise because I had so many early appointments booked. My first tip is to you is do your exercise at the most convenient and enjoyable time for you every single day. For example, if I don’t exercise in the morning the chances of me exercising that day decrease dramatically.

On the fifth day I hopped on the scales to work out what I had cost myself on the scales by not exercising for almost a week. Lo and behold I was amazed by the most beautiful number I saw - right there in front of my eyes. I had lost 1.4 kilos! In my 20 kilo weight loss experience there was not one single week that I lost more than one kilo. I realised at that moment I was exercising too much and not eating enough.

How good did I feel knowing that I had to either decrease my exercise or increase my calorie intake to continue losing weight? Do I have to answer that? Of course I am not advocating that you do this but I do have some tips to share about what you could do if the kilos are not budging.

1) Start recording what you eat so you have a record, this way if you aren’t losing weight you can adjust your menu plan. My plan is to start eating more calories every day and having a record of what I have eaten in the last ten weeks helps me do this easily. Contact ShapeShifters and request a complimentary copy of our Thought for Food journal.

2) Consult a dietician who specialises in assisting you work out your metabolism type and who will provide you with an appropriate low GI weight loss plan for you to follow. This way you can make sure you are eating the right amount of calories - not too little and not too much. If you would like such a plan, with or without coaching support, we can help. ShapeShifters has secured a 12 week weight loss program from an accredited practising dietician.

3) Review your exercise regime. Are you exercising too much or not enough? There are many professionals who can assist you work out how much exercise is recommended on a daily basis, for example, personal trainers. Visit the resources page of www.healthyandhappy.com.au and you will find a (growing) list of recommended personal trainers. The Department of Health and Ageing recommends that for adults the minimum amount of physical activity required to enhance your health is 30-minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most, preferably all days of the week.

4) If the kilos are not budging then try something different. Don Berwick (who happens to be the CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) says “If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you have always got”. This point was proven in my case - I did something different and it worked. If I stop losing weight down the track then I will try something different again.

5) In response to my GP’s claims that it will take me 9 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight I say “It’s mind over matter, not mind over fatter.” I truly do not believe it will NOT take me 5 months to lose my excess 3 kilos - I will keep you updated in future blogs.

Danielle Ferris, Head Coach
ShapeShifters - supporting, guiding and motivating women to achieve their ideal weight, health and lifestyle goals

Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs. We must become more self-conscious and more explicit in our praise and reinforcement as children use unstructured play materials: “That’s good. You use your own ideas….” “That’s good. You did it your way….” “That’s good. You thought it all out yourself.”
James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist, author

Young children learn through play so toys that only do one thing (for example a push button figurine) will not encourage a child to extend imaginative play. But sand and water play, gardening, playdough or cooking will provide a lot of opportunity for any child aged from one to twelve or beyond to explore sensory play.
Now the weather is cooler a warm batch of playdough is fun and easy to make.

Playdough Recipe
Into a bowl put:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
Into a cup put a teaspoon of food colouring, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and add 2 cups of very hot water. Mix all together until a firm dough is formed. If it is too wet, put in a microwave oven for 30 seconds. If it is too dry add small amounts of water until it doesn’t crumble.

We made playdough at playgroup today in three colours and allowed the children to experiment mixing yellow and blue playdough to make green. Each family took home a bag of rainbow playdough and the recipe to continue the fun.

Judyth Roberts
Seaton Central

I was recently chatting with a friend of mine about baby blues and postnatal depression. As a child care worker I had seen first hand how debilitating just the baby blues could be let alone dealing with post natal depression. I have worked with mothers with post natal psychosis and mothers who have been hospitalized with depression. I am aware of the monumental challenges these women face.

I have always been quite a happy person but during my second trimester of pregnancy I had a month of feeling incredibly down. I was carrying my very wanted baby but felt fearful and sad about many things – the future for my child, my loss of autonomy, I even woke up at night worrying about what age it was ok to let them go to the park on their own! Everything overwhelmed me and many times I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life. This period in my pregnancy gave me quite a reality check. I realized that regardless of temperament, experience, outlook and age we can all be prone to depression on varying scales. Add into that the changes in hormone levels after birth and the massive workload we face looking after our new baby and the ‘blues’ or full scale depression are almost to be expected.

Whilst talking to my friend I mentioned that I had made a contingency plan with my partner and family just in case I became depressed and we as a new family needed extra support. To some it may seem like tempting fate but to us it seemed like a really logical thing to do. We spend so much time planning and preparing ourselves for the birth of our children and the physical care of them; why not make plans to care for our mental health?

It was just a few little things -

We both did a little reading on post natal depression and made ourselves aware of the triggers.My partner had read up on signs and symptoms to look out for.

Family and friends were in place to cook meals, give us crucial sleep time and general kindness.I had people I trusted to talk honestly about how I felt without judgment (you’d be surprised how hard it can be to find these people – there is nothing more upsetting then being brutally honest about how down you are feeling about your loss of identity, lack of personal space and time,  the fact that you haven’t slept more then 3 hours in a row for 2 months and you feel like your breasts have been out more then they’ve been in only to be told not to complain because you have such a lovely baby!)

We made time as a couple.

We exercised and got out in the fresh air.We knew who to call to get professional advice and support.

We were always aware that none of these steps could stop postnatal depression and they may seem like such simple things but we honestly felt better knowing that we were prepared.  In the end I had no problems besides extreme exhaustion, a few tears and some crankiness…

And it was lovely getting the home cooked meals!

Emma Anderson

Emma is an Early Childhood Professional, on the South Australian Executive of Early Childhood Australia and mother to Jasper, 10 months.

IF stay-at-home mums were paid in cold, hard cash, they would receive an annual salary of $124,000, according to a new study. The eighth annual survey of mothers’ market value, by Salary.com, a US firm that studies workplace compensation, calculated their worth by studying pay levels for 10 job titles with duties that a typical mother performed.

 Some of these job titles include housekeeper, CEO and counsellor. 

 Read the full story here:

www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23670306-401,00.html

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this was reality and all mums were paid their market place worth!

Courtesy of www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Gluten free, Low carbohydrate, Low GI, Wheat Free

Large field mushrooms provide the perfect base for an easy mid week meal. Peel the skin, remove its thick stalk and it’s ready to be filled.
For those with no issues with dairy, low fat ricotta is a good source of protein and calcium and combined with pesto has a terrific flavour. If you’re serving one, divide the recipe ingredients by four!

Ingredients:
4 large field mushrooms
2 cups low fat ricotta cheese
4 tbsp pesto sauce
1 bunch English spinach

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins

Suitable for:
Dinner, Side Dish

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Method:
Peel the skin of the mushrooms and brush or spray with a small amount of olive oil.
Combine the ricotta with the pesto and fill the mushroom. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.
Serve with steamed English spinach.

Note: People who are dairy intolerant could substitute the ricotta with soft tofu and a vegan pesto (for vegan pesto recipe visit our recipe database at www.thefoodcoach.com.au ).

Makes 4 servings

For more delicious recipes from Judy Davie The Food Coach please visit www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Slow Gardening - what does it mean to you? A friend’s email last week titled ‘slow gardening’ acted as a timely reminder of what gardening should be about. The words brought a knowingness that gardening was about relaxation and life enhancement and that it shouldn’t be a stress related activity.

Gardening had always been my ‘time out’ from the children but now I questioned my most recent approaches. That very day I had been outside as a task master with my mental ‘to do’ list, “first pruning, then seeding paddock, then finishing rock wall”. The garden had effectively been divided into chores. I had focused only on what needed to be achieved or completed.

There is much research showing the great therapeutic value of gardening. The combination of feeling the soil in your fingers, watching a plant grow, breathing in fresh air, physical exercise and being outside acts as an antidepressant and mood enhancer. However if we become overly task driven these benefits will be lost.

I am now focusing on keeping the garden my sanctuary, not another workplace. Once my ‘task master’ starts up and heaviness creeps in then it is time to leave it. I shall go and make a cup of tea or merely sit back, lighten up and enjoy.

Take ‘slow’ gardening a step further and consider investing in low maintenance plants such as natives, many herbs, bulbs and flowering annuals. These plants are resilient, often drought tolerant and will still bring rewards when neglected. They don’t require much effort to maintain allowing more time to just ‘be’ in your garden. Some of my favorites include lavender, rosemary, sage, achilleas, calendulas, marigolds and the native shrubs; banksias, grevilleas and callistemon.

This month I have planted out asparagus and garlic; they act as my patience lessons. Garlic takes about 7 months and asparagus 2 years until harvesting. Watching them grow reminds me that rushing and gardening really don’t go together.

My day is brightened by the cosmos, marigolds, calendulas and pineapple sage flowers that are bringing colour to a garden that on the whole has the decay of autumn. Most of them have self sown over summer and will continue to do so. Calendulas and marigolds are easy self sowers if left to go to seed.

In a fast world of instant results make gardening the different way of living or time out. Let being out in the garden bring you a sense of peace, solitude and patience.

Until next time
Rachel

Sustainable living eco mum

This week at playgroup the children and parents were planting bulbs in pots.
Bulbs are big enough and hardy enough to enable young children to handle them and plant them and have success growing a plant.

Two of the mothers asked for help. They told me they had never planted anything before.
The children and parents enjoyed the experience which I have always taken for granted - getting your fingers dirty, adding some water to the mix, planting and waiting and watching things grow. It made me think about all the things we learn through interacting with a garden…watching the different seasons and the changes they bring, waiting for things to grow, eating some fruit and plants, admiring the flowers or leaves of others, examining the bugs, butterflies and birds that visit, digging up worms, composting green waste and of course making mud pies.

Playgroup is a good place to try some messy play like gluing, painting, wet sand, cooking with flour and water, gloop and gardening. Children learn through sensory play that no toy can replace.

Judyth Roberts
Seaton Central Communities for Children

Ah, the new moon in Taurus, what a delight! Taurus is the sign that we associate with the pursuit of pleasure of and enjoyment of the senses.  It is a time when you can get in touch with those things you enjoy of a sensual nature!  So ‘eat drink and be merry’ could almost be the signature of the month. 

The New Moon in Taurus on May 5th is particularly special and emphasises the nature of the Taurean (practical & sensual) experience.  As parents, this could be a great time for you to you to steal a few moments of grown-up time and enjoy each other’s company. At a minimum it’s a time to tell people you really do care and value the relationship you have with them.

On a practical level, it is a great time to make or build on your financial plan and take care of your body.

Potentially, this energy will peak around May 20 with a full moon in Scorpio suggesting intensity, control and desire. If things are good, they are likely to be great! If things are not so good, be aware of power struggles!

On May 26 Mercury the planet of communication will commence its backward journey in the sky.  Of course this is only an optical illusion and astrologers interpret this to mean that communication will literally run amuck until it corrects itself around June 20.

This period of time is likely to coincide with instructions being misunderstood, and people interpreting what you say, quite differently from what you meant to say.

If you happen to be a Gemini or Virgo, you will be particularly affected by this pattern.  Take heart, it doesn’t last that long, and the way to use this time is to think carefully before you speak, to ensure that even you understand what it is you really want to say.

Take care until next month
Helen

Helen Hartley

consulting astrologer, coach, public speaker, educator, writer, radio presenter

Zodiac Greeting Cards http://www.astrologymatters.com/

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Email: helen@astrologymatters.com