Recipe courtesy of Sydney Fish Market and www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Ingredients:
4 whole silver bream, cleaned
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup mirin
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
4cm piece ginger thinly sliced

Prep Time: 2-3 hours
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Ready in: 3 hrs 15 mins
Suitable for: Dinner

Preparation:
Score fish on both sides. Mix together lemon juice, soy sauce and mirin. Pour over fish and marinate for several hours.

Method:
Grill fish 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove onto serving plates and keep warm. Heat oil in frypan and saute carrots for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and ginger and saute for a further 2 minutes. Serve immediately with fish and steamed rice if desired.

Makes 4 servings

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

I recently spoke to a friend of mine. An amazing mother.

She told me the story of a trip to a local park in Sydney where the council pulls from a bus wonderful activities for children of all ages to experience.

She took her twin boys along even though she had an inkling that they might be a bit ratty and tantrums might be brewing.  She was right.

Both boys were so difficult that she decided that it was home time. That’s when the tantrums started.

Apparently she left the park with a laden backpack on her back, one son screaming under one arm, unceremoniously dragging her other son by the wrist behind her and bumping the pram towards the car with her hips.

It may sound funny but it wasn’t to her. She was distraught by the situation. She was embarrased, frustrated and utterly exhausted.

She passed lots of people on the way to the car (she was now in tears) and most of them were watching with interest.Not one offered help.

She said to me in our conversation that if someone could have just helped push the pram it would have made the world of difference.

People can be cautious about offering strangers help especially in parenting situations. But what’s the worst that can happen if you do offer? The person says no.

And I think it’s important to remember that it could be you next time. Wouldn’t it be easier if we were all in this together?

Emma Anderson Childcare professional and mother to Jasper

Jodie Benveniste, director of Parent Wellbeing, will be speaking at Westfield Tea Tree Plaza in Adelaide with Olympic basketballer Rachel Sporn as part of Westfield’s ‘Mum Coach’ series on Monday 28th of July 2008 at 10am.

They’ll be divulging the secrets to increasing mum’s wellbeing and it’s got little to do with trying to find the impossible ‘me time’.

The event is part of Westfield’s ‘We Are Family’ campaign.

Approximately 160 interactive in-centre events will be held in 32 Westfield centres across the nation on a range of topics for mums.

Each Westfield centre will host between two to six interactive events led by local and national Australian experts based on:

Mum Coach - Helping mums with comprehensive tips for time management
The First 12 Months - Navigating the trials and joys of the first twelve months of parenting
Working Mums Club - Tips for balancing work and family for mums looking to join the workforce or mums already in the workforce
It Takes a Village - Experts join mums for a community forum to talk about a range of topics
DIY Beauty - To look and feel refreshed, some practical tips to help you feel better through do it yourself beauty routines
Laughter is the Best Medicine - Leading mum comediennes provide laughter on the silly and sublime of motherhood
Taming the Toddler Tantrum - Practical tips for mums in taming the almighty toddler tantrum
Better Buddies - Understanding bullying both inside and outside the home to create better buddies

For more information about events in your area, please visit www.westfield.com.au/wearefamily

Feeling down and need a boost?  Forget drugs or alcohol.  Instead, watch your baby smile!

Most of us would know that there is something beguiling about our children smiling.  You can forgive them all the sleepless nights, rejected dinners and whinging and whining with one flash of a smile.

And now new research from the Texas Childern’s Hospital explains why.

Apparently, seeing your baby smile creates a rush of blood to the pleasure centres of your brain.  The same area of the brain that responds to drugs and alcohol.

And the bigger your baby’s smile, the greater the pleasurable affect on you.

So next time you’re covered in vomit, every toy, block or book is now on the floor rather than in the toy cupboard, and dinner has ended up on the floor rather than in your toddler’s tummy, find a way to make your children smile, and you might just smile too!