Children

Healthy Mum Series: Jen Dugard’s Top 3 Tricks

Jen Dugard is a highly motivated mother of two, fitness specialist and author who thrives on showing all mums that they can put themselves first and achieve both the body and lifestyle of their dreams.

Jen is on a health mission! She’s passionate about redefining what it means to be a mother in Australia today. While previously it has been all about looking after the children, Jen is showing mums another way by bringing back communities through exercise; building support networks and challenging mums to take time out for themselves.

 
What are your top 3 tricks to getting more fruit and vegetables into
your children’s diet?

Keep trying! – Just because your bub rejects something the first time, don’t then just give up. It takes a while for babies sometimes to gain the taste and start to ‘like’ something. This can also change as they grow up, so something they refused 6 months ago,  may be something they enjoy now.  Persistence is key!
Create a habit – Habits are best formed from an early age. Everyday our children, as part of their packed lunch, get a little box of raw ‘veggie snacks’ (these can be any veggies your child enjoys, mix it up day by day to try new things).  My kids know they have to eat their veggie snack before any other part of their meal. It’s just how we’ve taught them to approach their lunch (or they can have it as a snack before lunch time) but they don’t get to eat their yogurt or little parts of their meal until they have eaten their veggies. It’s what we have always done and just the way it is. At 4 and 6yrs old, they don’t even question it!
 If all […]

By |September 2nd, 2014|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition|0 Comments
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Healthy Mum Series: Sonia Donaldson’s Top 3 Tricks

Sonia Donaldson is a passionate mum on a mission.  She wants to change the world, one family at a time. ‘Healthy, Happy and Holistic’ is her catch phrase and goal in life.

Sonia is the creator and writer at Natural New Age Mum, a popular blog sharing ideas on healthy, whole food, chemical free living and inspiration for the soul.

After contracting an auto-immune disease 8 years ago, Sonia was forced her to examine her life in more detail and start exploring and adopting a completely natural, new age way of living.  It has been incredibly life changing for her whole family.

Sonia lives in sunny Queensland with her new age hippy husband, two teenagers and a dastardly dachshund called Wilbur. You can find her on the yoga mat, walking on the beach, sipping a chai tea on her back deck or scrounging in the op shops for bargains.

 
What are your top 3 tricks to getting more fruit and vegetables into
your children’s diet?
I have two gorgeous children and although we have had our moments, both of them are now in their teens and eat most vegetables and every fruit you could imagine. It takes a little perseverance and some clever strategies as well as setting a good example yourself.  My biggest tip though is to make food fun!

It’s all in the marketing!  Get your kids excited about fruit and veges by sharing the benefits with them in a fun way. Carrots have special super powers and can make you see better at night. Oranges fight off the cold and flu germs in your body. You can also make up fancy names for healthy food you prepare. Green smoothies can become much more appealing if you call them a […]

By |August 29th, 2014|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Recipes|0 Comments
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Healthy Mum Series: Lee Holmes’ Top 3 Tricks

Lee Holmes is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Hatha Yoga Teacher and Whole Foods Chef.  She is also the author of four best-selling books Supercharged Food, Eat Yourself Beautiful, Heal Your Gut and Supercharged Food for Kids.

Lee’s website encourages S.O.L.E food;  sustainable, organic, local and ethical.  It features delicious anti-inflammatory recipes, information, news, reviews and menu planning ideas to make it easy for people to enjoy a satisfying, wholesome and nourishing diet. She created a petition to improve food in hospitals in Australia and as a result a healthier menu has been introduced by the Minister for Health. In addition to passionately creating change at government and policy level, in 2013 Lee won the title of Health Influencer Blog of the Year.

 

 

What are your top 3 tricks to getting more fruit and vegetables into
your children’s diet?
Creating nutritious foods for kids is easy with a few little tips and tricks. Firstly, you can involve them in the shopping and cooking process and get them interested in the kinds of foods that they are eating.

Veggie-packed meatballs – Next time you make meatballs, use a food processor to blend mushrooms and zucchini, then add it to the meat mixture before forming the balls. When cooked, your kids won’t notice the extra veggies, but you’ll know they’re in there!
Marinara sauce – Most kids love pasta, so take advantage of it and make a sauce that’s full of vegetables. When cooking the sauce as you normally would, add zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, kale or any other vegetable you’d like to sneak in. Use a handheld blender to smooth the sauce before dishing it up with a bowl of pasta. They will never know the difference.
Chia muffins – Chia seeds are a delicious super food, packed with omega 3s and ridiculously high in antioxidants. They’re extremely […]

By |August 22nd, 2014|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Recipes|0 Comments
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Healthy Mum Series: Alison Morgan’s Top 3 Tricks

Alison Morgan is a smart, savvy business women (and busy Mum!) with a thriving online store called the Relauncher, a reflection of her lifelong passion for natural health, beauty and wellbeing. She is on a mission to connect the Health & Wellness industry via her Networking Events and empower small health businesses through Business Coaching. Alison’s business is a culmination of all the things she loves – living authentically, with passion and maintaining a ‘from the heart’ philosophy.

 
What are your top 3 tricks to getting more fruit and vegetables into
your children’s diet?

My kids LOVE milkshakes.  I always put fruit in them and use almond milk.  Fruit I use ranges from bananas, berries, mango and of course a handful of greens!
I always cut up carrot and celery into sticks and put them in their lunch boxes.  As long as they are cut into sticks, they’ll eat them!
My kids come along to the markets each weekend and help choose the weekly produce.  They also pick something from one of the sellers to eat as we make our way around the markets.  Having them involved in the buying process makes all the difference.

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By |August 19th, 2014|Children, Nutrition|0 Comments
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Add a Little Calm to Your Baby’s World

The new massage balm by Little By Nature, is a lovely combination of grapeseed oil, organic olive oil, organic coconut oil, macadamia oil, organic beeswax and the essential oils lavender and chamomile. A perfect blend for soothing your baby after a bath and keeping her skin soft and free of rashes.
When dealing with babies, it is imperative to use natural, non-toxic products. Research has shown that babies are born with a “toxic burden” of chemicals. How frightening that tiny newborns have nasty chemicals in their body!
A ground breaking study by the Environmental Working Group found 287 industrial chemicals in the cord blood of 10 babies. Exposure to chemicals in the womb can have life long detrimental effects. Once your baby is born, it is vital that all chemicals are avoided. Their livers are smaller and their ability to break down chemicals is limited.
Most parents are aware that natural products are better, but many products marketed for babies are still full of nasty chemicals. If you start checking labels for every ingredient you might just be astounded at what is “natural”. A good resource is Skin Deep, which contains an enormous amount of great information.

By |June 2nd, 2014|Children, Sustainable and Green|0 Comments
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Healthy Easter Treat Ideas

Easter time is traditionally filled with chocolate in all shapes and sizes, but for toddlers the blood sugar rollercoaster that follows can result in temper tantrums, which leave everyone frazzled. By starting as you mean to go on, you can encourage your toddler to eat healthily at Easter and not automatically expect chocolate Easter eggs as she gets older.

Keeping in mind that it’s hard to avoid chocolate altogether (and a little chocolate is fine as part of a balanced diet), here are my healthy Easter treat ideas:
Healthy options for Easter

Have your toddler help you make fruit kebabs – make sure you use different colours to appeal to their visual appetite.
Offer plain homemade popcorn – every toddler loves the anticipation of the ‘pop’!
Opt for chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids (ie dark chocolate). This means more antioxidants for growing bodies – plus you and your toddler will eat less of it!
Pancakes with fresh berries or banana and maple syrup make a great Easter Sunday breakfast.
Chocolate beetroot brownies are a great way to sneak veg in, and create a deliciously moist cake at the same time
Easter bunny rice cakes: Take a rice cake, spread with hommus or your favourite dip and use this to start making a bunny! Use thin carrot sticks for whiskers, sultanas for eyes, cucumber for ears and a cherry tomato for a nose. Cute!
For creative fun, use food dye or hand paint boiled eggs

How to reduce the effects of sugar
There will always be times when your toddler eats their fair share of sweet treats. Plan ahead and incorporate some of these tips into her diet on the same day and the sugar fallout will be less harsh:

Make sure your toddler eats low-glycemic index […]

By |April 20th, 2014|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Recipes|0 Comments
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My Most Used Essential Oil

I adore lavender essential oil and use it every single day. Did you know it takes 27 kilos of lavender tops to produce just 450ml of therapeutic grade essential oil? As a naturopath and herbalist I am constantly amazed at how herbs can heal – not just physically but also emotionally and mentally. Often we overlook the more gentle and subtle therapies such as aromatherapy and head straight to liquid herbs and nutritionals.
My love of essential oils began as a teenager when I began using them for perfume – the heady scent of jasmine, the grounding effect of lavender to the uplifting notes of lemongrass. In fact I stumbled across Lemongrass House in Phuket and nearly exploded with excitement! They hand make a huge range of products all based on lemongrass essential oil and supply many of the worlds leading spas.
Let me tell you about the most frequently used essential oil in my house – lavender. It’s been used for thousands of years for it’s calming and relaxing effect. I remember being in hospital when Sophia was born and I sprinkled drops on the floor under our bed. Research shows that pain scores are lower after having a C-section when you smell lavender essential oil regularly, it is a natural analgesic!
Every midwife that came in to our room would literally stop, take a deep breath and visibly relax. In fact, a study involving nurses and workplace stress showed that their stress symptoms reduced by over 55 % when they used lavender essential oil. Check out the study as it makes great evidence for adding a few drops of lavender to your workplace!
Every single day of Sophia’s life I have added lavender essential oil to […]

By |February 24th, 2014|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Infant Sleep, Naturopathy, Research|0 Comments
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Competition Time!!!

Win 6 packs of the best and safest baby wipe on the market thanks to the wonderful people at Water Wipes. Water wipes are a new range of baby wipes that have won the approval of naturopaths and mums for being specifically formulated for a newborn’s delicate skin. The newly launched Water Wipes contain just 0.1% grapefruit seed extract and 99.9% purified water, making them ideal for the most sensitive skin.
WaterWipes follow the same universally recognised formula practiced by midwives for washing a baby’s bottom with just cotton and cooled boiled water. In fact, Water Wipes are so natural that  maternity wards and Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the UK and Ireland have started using Water Wipes and recommending them to parents.
What you didn’t know about regular wipes is that they contain many nasty chemicals such as:

parabens
alcohol
perfume
lanolin
pthalates
benzoates
triclosan

I am a very organic type of mum and wouldn’t use any of these chemicals on Sophia’s skin. In fact, Water Wipes have launched the Great Bottom Campaign to raise awareness about the chemicals that standard wipes contain. Water Wipes are the safest and most natural wipe on the market so here is how you enter the competition:
1. Tell me about the most precious moment you have experienced with your child – post on my official Facebook page 
Competition ends Saturday 18th January, good luck!! If you know any mum’s make sure you tell them about the competition
Valid for Australian residents only

By |January 10th, 2014|Children, Competition, Sustainable and Green|0 Comments
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Calcium – Are you getting Enough?

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and between birth and puberty a child’s bone structure increases 7-fold. About 11% of men and 27% of women aged 60+ have osteoporosis with the lifetime risk of having an osteoporotic fracture after 50 years of age is 42% for women and 26% for men. There are 20,000 hip fractures in Australia every single year. Risk factors for osteoporosis include family history, being female smoking, lack of exercise and depression.
Osteoporosis is a silent disease and the first sign is usually a fracture. Ensuring the right nutrition is vital here. Did you know that:

One cup of coffee takes 40mg of calcium from bones?
Soft drinks are high in phosphorous which binds to calcium making it unavailable for use
Sugar decreases calcium absorption
Salt increase calcium excretion. For each 6grams of salt, 24-40mg of calcium is excreted into the urine
Alcohol inhibits dietary calcium absorption

Alkaline diets, which are rich in fruits, vegetables, pulses and legumes, are associated with good bone health. The role of vitamin D in bone health is critical as it increases bone mineral density. Australia has a widespread vitamin D deficiency and research shows that the lower your vitamin D, the higher your risk for osteoporosis.
What do I need to do?
Every day you need to consume 1200mg calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D. In combination with a calcium rich diet, you need to be doing weight bearing exercise. Choose from the list of calcium rich foods below and eat them on a regular basis.
The values are per 100gr:

Unhulled sesame seeds (think tahini)                                       1160

Parmesan                                                                                           1091

Sardines                                                                                               550

Linseeds                                                                                               271

Parsley                                                                                               […]

By |September 29th, 2013|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition|0 Comments
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How to Make Amazing Jelly Vitamins

Both Sophia and I adore our jelly vitamins as they are the easiest way to get supplements into small children. I load them up with all sorts of therapeutic goodies such as probiotics, zinc, herbs and Kyolic aged garlic extract. Whenever I feel Sophia is starting to fight an infection I make a batch and they really help to prevent her going downhill. I have been known to snack on them too!
Ingredients
1 cup fresh organic apple juice
4 gelatin sheets – organic,  approx. 10gr
Vitamin of choice – kyolic garlic, zinc, probiotics, herbs
Silicone mini muffin tray
Instructions
Cut up gelatin sheets and soak in cold water for 5 minutes. This will allow them to swell. Remove the expanded gelatin from the water and gently squeeze out excess water.
Add apple juice to saucepan and very gently heat to just about luke warm. Add the gelatin and stir continuously until dissolved. The idea is to only heat up the juice enough to melt the gelatin – too much heat will reduce water soluble vitamins such as vitamin C.
Once gelatin is dissolved, take off the heat and set aside for a few minutes. Pour in vitamin of choice and stir well.
Spoon into silicon tray and put in fridge to set. Once completely set, run a hot knife around the edge and pop jelly vitamin out.
Then enjoy and have fun eating them together! Remember that you can use whatever fresh, organic juice you like.

By |September 19th, 2013|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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How to Heal Your Adrenals Naturally

How to Heal Your Adrenals Naturally

Adrenal fatigue is one of the most under diagnosed illnesses in western society. Download a copy of my free ebook to learn about the symptoms and how to heal your Adrenals naturally.

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