Recipe courtesy of www.thefoodcoach.com.au and the Meat and Livestock Association.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Ready in: 60 mins

Suitable for: Dinner

Preparation: Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 fan forced).

Method: Cut vegetables into thick strips and put in a large roasting pan and into the oven for 20 minutes or until edges start to colour.
Remove from oven, top with a whole bunch of rosemary and pour over the stock. Place lamb racks on top.
Return to the oven and roast, allowing 20-25 minutes for rare, 30-35 minutes for medium or 40-45 minutes for well done, basting throughout with combined honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and garlic, and pan juices separately.

Test to see if roast is done to your liking by squeezing with tongs: rare feels soft, medium has a little resistance and well done feels quite firm. Remove lamb from roasting pan and cover loosely with foil. Allow to rest so juices settle before carving (about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, drain the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan and boil until reduced a thin sauce consistency. Reserve vegetables as an accompaniment and discard rosemary.

Serve three lamb cutlets per person on a bed of the vegetables, drizzled with the sauce and, if desired, roast potatoes or sweet potato on the side.

Tip: to keep roast juicy, it’s best not to insert a skewer when testing it, but to practice your touch with the tongs. It won’t take long before you can ‘feel’ just how cooked your meat is.

Makes 4 servings

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

For me the most interesting argument for paid maternity leave is childcare. In most areas of Australia at the moment there is a massive shortage of places in baby rooms. In our tough economic climate more women are going back to work earlier and many are leaving their young babies in childcare. If paid maternity were to be introduced it may just take the pressure off the childcare shortage. And as quality childcare centres lobby for better staff to child ratios, this reprieve may allow this to happen. Interesting…

Emma Anderson, Childcare Professional and Mum to Jasper.

Low GI, Low sugar, Wheat Free

Feel free to replace the rhubarb with pears or any other fruit in season that works well in a crumble. The topping is much healthier than the traditional crumble made from flour, sugar and butter - and much nicer.

Ingredients:
1 bunch rhubarb, trimmed
½ cup apple juice concentrate
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
¼ cup hazelnuts, dry roasted
¼ cup almonds, dry roasted
½ cup rolled oats, dry roasted
¼ cup sunflower seeds, dry roasted
¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), dry roasted
1 tbsp sesame seeds, dry roasted
½ cup barley malt
1 tbsp corn oil
¼ tsp cinnamon, ground

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Ready in: 40 mins

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Wash the rhubarb but don’t dry it, and cut into pieces about 2.5cm (1 inch) long.

Method:
Put rhubarb in a pan over low heat, add the apple concentrate and ginger and cover. The rhubarb will slowly stew in the steam and its own juices. Remove from the heat when the rhubarb is tender but still retains its shape - about 5-10 minutes. Divide among 6 individual ramekins and set aside.

Coarsely chop the roasted nuts and mix with the oats and seeds.
Melt the barley malt in a saucepan with the corn oil and cinnamon and mix with a wooden spoon.
Pour the oil and malt mixture over the nuts and mix until thoroughly combined. Spoon the crumble mixture over the rhubarb and bake for 15 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

For more delicious recipes from Judy Davie The Food Coach please visit 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

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 

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

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!

Why not try walking in the rain? Put on rubber boots, raincoats and hats and grab an umbrella and take a walk around the block. Listen to the water rushing down the gutters and dripping off the trees. Talk about where birds go to keep dry and watch out for snails and other water loving creatures. Notice how different the world looks when it is all wet. Let your child get wet and have a splash around in the puddles - they will enjoy the novelty and can soon dry off or have a hot bath when you get home.

If we want our children to value the natural environment we need to teach them about it through experiences they will remember. Try an all-weather walk and maybe even take a photo, then you can look at it when the dry heat of summer comes and remember the day it rained and you got wet!

Judyth Roberts
Seaton Central

As a vocal advocate of organic food the reason I hear most against eating organically is the cost. There is no doubt it is more expensive than conventionally farmed food, sometimes it can be double or triple the cost* which can be daunting for the average family.

Here are some tips to help make organic food affordable.

Consider your eating and spending habits around food
Look at the fortnightly/weekly budget and note how much is spent on packaged convenience foods, snacks, meat and alcohol. Ask yourself; could expenditure be reduced in any of these areas and reinvested into organic food? In the summer we can easily spend $15 at a quick snack stop for icecreams for our family of five. However when cherry season is here I have no qualms at buying a kilo of organic cherries for around the same price and forfeiting the snacks, the red juiced (loaded with antioxidants!) dripping grins speak more than words.

Consider the health of your family
View organic food as a preventative measure. Rather than spending money on pharmaceuticals or trips to the doctor see spending it on organic food as an investment into your health. I contribute my children’s healthy immune systems largely to organic food, with a visit to the doctor a rare event in our family. We occasionally take vitamin supplements but I prefer to ‘eat the vitamins’ within some great tasting food as well as getting the additional benefits of other nutrients at the same time. Don’t wait until you are sick or health issues arise, see preventative eating as a priority now.

Consider that broccoli is not just broccoli
Don’t be fooled by appearances of fruit and vegetables. A recent Choice magazine survey I read found that supermarket strawberries had up to 27 different chemical residues and not all of them washed off. When buying fruit and vegetables consider how long they have been in storage, what waxes or coating they have and with what and where they’ve been grown. Don’t be fooled by appearance and the cheap buy. Cheap bags of fruit and vegetables are often old, chemically grown and lacking in nutrients and vitamins.

Start small
There is no need to change shopping habits overnight, first try with buying a few organic items a week. A good place to start is buying organically those fruit that have known high amounts of chemical residues such as apples, tomatoes, pears, stone fruit and strawberries.

Consider Lifestyle
A change in not just our shopping habits but also our overall lifestyle may be required. Consider the way you live and how often lunch or dinner is quick snacks, fast food, or restaurant meals. Take a look at spending on family entertainment; are there cheaper options to be contemplated? There is no need to be purist or extreme, my family love to eat out and see a movie; these however are occasional treats not regular entertainment. Buying organically may mean more cooked meals at home, less takeaways and require a little more planning. These changes may be a little challenging at first but reduced stress levels and increased overall well being will be the long term benefits.

Look for seasonal Australian grown produce
If organic food is still a little out of reach try to look for Australian grown produce. A lot of fruit and vegetables in our supermarkets have come from overseas; in particular China. Although pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables are monitored in Australia, other countries do not have the same regulations regarding pesticide and chemical use thus there is no guarantee. Check the label for country of origin; if it doesn’t state Australia or have any label, chances are it has come from another country. Try and buy produce that is seasonal relative to where you live. This is often the cheaper option as well as superior tasting. For example; buying a peach in June in southern Australia tells me it has either been in long storage or comes from far away and will probably taste bland and flavourless.

Grow your own
Growing some vegetables in your garden organically is a good way of reaping the benefits of both the food and the gardening activity. It is a cheap option at around $2-3 for a packet of organic seed although it requires time and patience!

Consider your children
There is a wave of new parents starting their babies off on organic food. This is a great introduction to solids and support to their developing immune systems. I was saddened to learn that this dropped off dramatically once children hit the age of 2. It is worth considering that after the age of 2 there is still much crucial development and growth to happen. Studies focused on children and pesticide exposure have put them at much greater risk than adults. This is because they eat more food relative to body mass and being smaller than adults, doses of chemicals have a greater effect. I see fitting organic food into our budget as an investment into my children’s future health. Consider continuing with the great food provided for your baby into the years to come.

Check out organic and biodynamic food on the web for more information
Suggested links
www.cleanfood.com.au
www.organicfooddirectory.com.au
www.ofa.org.au

* See www.organicfooddirectory.com.au for reasons for the high costs of organic food.

Rachel Furbank
Sustainable living eco mum

This half-way point might be a good time for those of you who left New Year’s Resolutions by the wayside long ago, to use the new financial year as a fresh start. You could define a new vision for 2008/2009 with some new goals to see you through the rest of this year or for the entire new financial year. Just in case you want to do this, we have some information and tips for you to get to work on creating your Personal Vision Statement.

What is a vision statement?
A vision statement is a picture of what you want your life to look like in a designated timeframe, whether it is a year from now to ten years from now. It represents a dream that is beyond what you think is possible and it takes you out beyond the present. It’s a roadmap of your future and outlines the direction you are headed.

What does a vision statement look like?
A vision statement can take many forms. It can be written down on a piece of paper, it can be a collage of pictures and words on a piece of cardboard, it can be an audio or visual recording you have made of a collection of images and/or sounds.

Why create a vision statement?
Just like a street directory clarifies the direction in which you need to drive your car to get to your desired location, a vision statement clarifies the direction in which you need to move to get to your ideal place in life. It is like beginning with the end in mind - if you know where you are going you will be able to get to your destination much more quickly and easily. Would you try getting to a location you have never been before without our street directory?

How to create a vision statement?
Creating a vision statement can be an exciting and creative process and you can have lots of fun with it. Here are six easy steps to follow:

1. Set aside some quite time where you will be uninterrupted for at least half an hour.
2. Prepare all the materials you will need to complete your vision.
3. Create an ambience that will stimulate creativity with music, pictures, candles or scents.
4. Choose a date in the future, one year from now is a good start, or perhaps a special date like a
birthday or anniversary.
5. Start imagining what you want in your life, what you want to create, where you want to be, and what
you want to be doing.
6. Go for it, be creative and have fun.

Ideas for creating your vision statement
Here are a few different ways to complete a vision statement and I have listed some ideas below. Some of my clients choose to use one of the methods and some get a real kick out of using two or more.

Letter from the future
You will need a blank piece of lined paper and a pen. The letter from the future is a letter that you write to yourself one year from now (or the special date you chose). You write a letter outlining all that is happening in your life. Write it in the present tense as is it is happening in your dream life. Be as descriptive as you can and address all the senses, what it looks like, what it feels like, what it tastes like, what it smells like, what it sounds like.

Vision Board
You will need a big piece of cardboard, scissors, glue, coloured pencils and old magazines. Using pictures, letters and words from the old magazines cut them out and glue them on the cardboard to represent your dream life.

Whichever method you choose to create your personal vision, put it somewhere you can see it daily and use it as a constant reminder of where you are going. You can review it on your special date and reflect on all that you have achieved in that time.

Benefits of a Vision Statement
Vision statements create a vivid image in your head that will provoke emotion and excitement. It creates enthusiasm and poses a challenge that inspires you to take action, achieve yours goals and move forward.

Now you have all the tools you need to predict your future.

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