Feeding the family

I like to think I serve up a variety of pretty okay chow to our kids. But every now and then I catch the kids rolling their eyes in a "not this again" fashion and realise I'm stuck in a same old pattern. That's where books like this are great. They give you that nudge and inspiration to freshen up the recipe routine with some kid-friendly fare.
I first met Annabel Karmel through her Baby and Toddler Cookbook which was a gift after our son was born back in 2003. I found the simple tips, ideas and recipes great for a new mum with zip experience in making food for a little one.
Our kids will now eat most grown-up meals but it's still fun for them (and us) to have kiddy meals every now and then and the funny face pizza is always a good way to introduce new foods (our daughter garnered a taste for olives at an early age this way). What I like best about Annabel Karmel though is the lunch ideas. This is the area in which I get most stale (pardon the pun) and because I'm usually stuffing the lunchbox like a robot early in the morning a resource on hand with step-by-steps to something other than an egg and lettuce sandwich is a friend of mine indeed.

Charting their success

We've not previously been a "charty" family. There's been a few (feeble) attempts at a stay-in-my-own-bed chart but that's it.
Last week our son requested a job chart so that he could earn pocket money. School. It teaches them so much more than how to read and write...
Okay, I had to think about this one on a few levels.
I haven't ever really been one to make our kids do "jobs". That's not to say they live a hotel-like existence. Or maybe they do. Come to think of it... No, they do a few things like help pack up their toys and the things they ask to do sometimes (sweeping, vacuuming, dusting) and a lot of "jobs" helping mamma in the kitchen and outside with their dadda (gardening, raking, jumping in piles of leaves, etc...).
So, I had to ask my husband, did we want our kids doing "jobs"? After a pros and cons convo we decided having a few set tasks builds responsibility, pride, independence, routine, time management skills and helps mamma out with the morning schedule big time. Everyone wins.
The jobs we have allocated are pretty basic. Cleaning teeth, putting clothes in the laundry, tidying the playroom, taking dishes to the sink. And each of them has their own special job (recycling for our son and helping to fold and put the washing away for our daughter — have we stereotyped too much there?). There's also been a lot of bed-hopping in this house lately and thank goodness they requested a stay-in-bed chart to be tacked on. I think the dollar signs in their eyes produced this one but hey, who am I to argue if I benefit from it too?
Then there was the pocket money thing. We have savings accounts for our kids that we bank into for when they are older and we buy them everything they want need. Sure we talk to them a bit about money and how much things cost and have explained the concept of working for money and saving for things but we hadn't considered giving them their own money yet.
I had to give over the most on this one. Because they don't really want for anything I thought giving them money to do with what they please could turn them into spendthrifts (not to mention the visions of crap toys coming into the house I was having). My husband on the other hand saw the opportunity for some life lessons.
So we've decided to go with pocket money in the hope of teaching them to spend wisely, the value of goods, the need to save up for big ticket items and the difference between quality and crap. And for me we've decided it will be good practice in *gulp* letting go of my control over their every little move. Hey, I still have to drive them to the shops with their bags of coins... do you think they'd believe me if I told them BigW had closed down and the only shop left open was the art store?
Lastly there were the logistics of the whole plan. We thought there was opportunity to build the house rules into the project (you know, "no pushing", "no shouting", "ask first if you want to borrow something", etc...). We really need to move on from the time-outs and I find it easier to discipline if I have a streamline approach. So the set up is that each job earns you a sticker on your chart. But if you break a house rule you will have to put a sad face on a sticker. At the end of the week you count up all the happy stickers and get 20 cents for each one. There's the potential to earn $7 a week. I think that's plenty for a four and five year old. Isn't it?
And the charts. I had visions of embroidered felt boards to hang on their doors with little pockets for them to put reward tags in but you know they want to start this thing now not in 10 years time. Then I tried making something up on the computer but it looked very average so I ended up just drawing them in crayons and getting them laminated so that they can be reused week to week. Cheap and easy. And this way if another idea pops up or this one isn't working we can easily update. At the completion of the making and the beginning of the doing I am looking forward to seeing what choices they make (I think) and encouraging them to develop a healthy attitude and spending and saving. At the very least it's a good opportunity to see if we wield any influence what so ever over our children.
I'd love to hear your tips on this one? Do you use charts in your house? How do you structure it? Is it successful?

Babies in the wild

If you're in Sydney I'm very jealous of you this weekend.
You see there's something very special happening in your beautiful harbour.
A baby seahorse release!
When we visited the Aquarium last summer these little critters were my favourite. They are so tiny and delicate and I was mesmerised watching them float through the water wrapping their spiny tails around reeds.
You and your littles can get on board a cruise to "Seahorse City" this Sunday May 17. The Sydney Aquarium Conservation Fund and leading seahorse scientist David Harasti will release captive bred baby seahorses into the harbour during a half day cruise. Check here for booking deets.

Park life

Last weekend my hubbie went in a cycling event that started in the NSW central-tablelands town of Blayney. It's a small town of a tad over 3000 residents so there's not really a whole lot going down there. What they do have though is a totally kick-arse children's adventure playground.
When you have kids you spend a lot of time in parks and a lot of them are pretty ho-hum, you know two swings, 10 kids trying to get on all at once.
But here, in the little township of Blayney is a park big enough for all the resident's kids and plenty of passing through hanger-oners like us.
There's a kiddy bike path, HUGE sandpit with shadecover and built-in diggers, ponds, lovely nature areas for picnicing, bridges, giant chess game, a train, quite a few spinny thingamegigs, lots of swings (including a special needs swing), an awesome flying fox (even Mama gave this one a red hot go), a sizeable climbing structure and the piece de resistance for our kids — a human mouse wheel.
For the rest of the day they kept giggling to each other about how they still felt like they were going round and round in the mouse house.
Needless to say the question of the week around here has been "When can we go back to THAT park?"

Super Mum :: Tanya from Additive Free Pantry

When our son was three he developed a cough that just wouldn't leave him. It was keeping him (and Mama) up half the night. Numerous trips to the doctor led to ventolin inhalers and talk of asthma. My mother's intuition didn't want to accept the diagnosis. Then I read Sue Dengate's Fed Up, a book about food additives and the effects they can have on people's health, development and behaviour. And here I was thinking we were a healthy family; I served up plenty of fruit and veg, steered clear of highly processed foods and limited the treats. I was shocked to find that I was still giving my children a considerable portion of foods that contained additives Sue believes are linked to conditions such as asthma. Fed Up reveals what all those numbers on food labels mean and explains what they do to us. I worked hard (it took a looong time to read the back of packets and cross-check numbers and letters) to eliminate all the offenders from our family's diet. And I have to say I was amazed (not to mention relieved to get some sleep!) when our son's cough disappeared. (I must mention that I don't prescribe to Fed Up's elimination diet or limited-fruit diet, it's fruit and veg till you burst around here.)
It's no surprise then that I am loving mum-of-three Tanya Winfield's work. She runs Additive Free Pantry Party in NSW's Upper Hunter region and visits homes to explain the effects of additives and help you clean out your food cupboard and clean up your family diet. Tanya, you're welcome to clean my pantry out any time...
So what is an additive-free pantry party?
I guess it's like any party plan but a lot more information-based. The host invites friends over for morning or afternoon tea (additive-free home baked goodies are supplied by me) and I talk about additives — what they are, what they do to our bodies, which foods they are in, etc... I also supply a handout with websites, reference books, recipes and where to shop in the local area. I also do one-on-one pantry clean-outs and information sessions.
What alerted you to food additives?
A friend loaned me a book, Additive Alert by Julie Eady. At the time my children were snacking on a plain store-bought biscuit and when I looked up all the ingredients I was shocked to find out what my kids were really ingesting. One of the synthetic antioxidants (320) is so bad it was banned in Japan in the 1950s. I cleaned out my pantry that afternoon and have been additive-free since.
What exactly are additives and why are they in so much food these days?
Additives come in many forms. Colours, flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, bleaching agents, humectants, preservatives, anti-foaming agents and so much more. Some are added for colour, some to change the flavour, or to increase shelf-life. Most food additives are chemicals and offer no health benefits to the consumer at all.
What are the main nasties we should get out of our pantries?
320, a synthetic antioxidant found in biscuits, breads, vegetable oils and margarines.
282, propionates found in bread and some dairy products.
220, sulphites found in processed meats and juices.
621, MSG found in sauces, soups, frozen meals, seasonings and more.
What challenges are involved in maintaining an additive-free lifestyle?
My teenage daughter is not 100% additive-free all the time as she is just that — a teenager. This dose unbalance me at times but we have an agreement on which additives are in the no-go zone and I make sure she knows what food additives can do to her to her body so she can make informed choices on her foods when she's out with friends.
What changes have you noticed in your family members since you went additive-free?
I have noticed my kids are a lot calmer. My two boys sleep soundly every night for up to 11 hours. My youngest was a tantrum thrower and this just doesn't happen anymore.
My husband is a shift worker and he seems to cope on the change overs a lot better. I feel like I have sooo much more energy than I did before. If ever I eat anything with additives I feel tired and lethargic that afternoon or the next day.
Please tell us it's not all mung beans and brown rice. Can you still enjoy treats and be additive-free?
Absolutely, my kids still enjoy chips, lollies and ice-cream every now and then. You just need to check the labels and find out which ones are OK. There is not a lot my kids do not eat. We choose not to eat take-away any more as most is laden with additives. I still cook a lot of the same meals I used to, I just check all my ingredients.
Does it cost more or less to live this way in your opinion?
For a family of five I spend around $220 per week. That's for EVERY meal, EVERY day. I shop at supermarkets, a butcher, baker and a local fresh fruit and vegie stall. I don't buy a lot of prepackaged foods so this is where I save.
What are your plans for Additive Free Pantry Party this year?
I'm happy to help spread awareness of the food additives in our everyday foods. I believe that everyone has the right to be informed on these hidden nasties. I'm looking at getting into local canteens to clean up the foods we offer our kids at school.
Can you give us a yummy additive-free recipe to try?
Sure! Here's two:
:: Of course I just had to try one of Tanya's recipes. The Coconut Slice is quick, easy and so yummy! This plate was polished off very quickly. ::
Quick Coconut Slice
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup organic desiccated coconut
1 cup raw sugar
125g melted block butter
½ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
Preheat oven to 180°C and lightly grease a 20x30cm slice pan.
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl then stir in coconut and sugar. Add butter, milk and eggs, mixing well. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 20-25 mins, until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer.
Cool in pan. Dust with icing sugar. Cut into squares to serve.
:: Check the label on your coconut — a lot contain preservative 202, a sorbic acid which is harmful to asthmatics and can cause behavioral problems in children.

Banana Bread
2 bananas
2 tablespoons golden syrup
¾ cup raw sugar
1 egg
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of sea salt
Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and line the base of a loaf pan.
In a large bowl mash bananas with a fork. Add golden syrup, mix. Add sugar and stir in. Add egg, flour and sea salt, lightly mix until combined. Pour mixture into loaf pan, cook in oven for 30–40 mins or until golden on top. Check with skewer, if it comes out clean the bread is cooked. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!
For more information including purchasing books about food additives you can contact Tanya via email on Supermummy[at]live[dot]com[dot]au.

Cooking for kids

I'm always on the search for cooking inspiration for kid-friendly chow so was very excited to stumble on Tamra Davis on You Tube earlier this week. She makes little videos of her, her kids and her friends cooking for children (she's also a film maker and married to Mike D from the Beastie Boys!). Then I discovered she has her own website where you can view her cooking shows and get some of her recipes. Check it out, I think you'll love it. She's also just released a cookbook that you can download or buy here.

Diary note :: dirt is good

+
(+ maybe just a lil dash of help from the vegie patch guru, aka Daddy)
=

The garden is a great place to spend some time with the kids. Getting our vegie patch up and running was one of the first things the kids wanted to do when we moved house. They love to get in and dig and watch things grow from seedlings to "growed-up" food. It's also a great way to cut down the family food bill. A few herbs and salad vegetables can go a long way. And then there's that wonderful little Jedi mind trick of the vegie plot... "you grew me therefore you will eat me".
If you are in Adelaide this weekend you are a lucky duck. Get along to the Adelaide Gardening Expo where you can find out everything you need to know about starting and looking after your own patch. The new Peter Cundall will be there (sorry Stephen Ryan, I'm sure you are sick to death of being called that and you are actually very, very good as the new Gardening Australia host, but it's been a hard break-up for us all).
There will be an ABC activity area just for the kids and the super-fun team from Chooks and Veggies will be on hand to show kids how to set up their own little garden.
Turn yours into a green thumb at the Adelaide Showground, March 7-9, 10am-4.30pm daily. Tickets are $13 for adults and $5 for kids 5-16 (the under-5 set are free). Book online or get your ticket on the day.

Under the sea

We're back from the city and our big adventure to the Sydney Aquarium did not disappoint. I can't believe that in all my years of city living I had never been. Although I didn't have children then and I think visiting with the kids was what made it really great. We entered through the jaws of a shark and saw hundreds of under-water creatures doing their thing — from the playful platypus darting about to the smiling dugong coming up for a kiss, it really was a delightful day.
Oh, except for one small hiccup. The dugong are their "special feature" at the moment and all the promotional material shows a dugong with a mermaid with the tagline, "Dugongs at Mermaid Lagoon". Everything was going swimmingly (couldn't resist saying that) until we exited the tunnel where the dugong were lolling about. Our three-year-old daughter stopped and folded her arms and refused to go back up the ramp to the next section. She wasn't leaving this part of the aquarium until the dugong turned into a "real" mermaid. I attempted to explain the story of the dugong being mistaken for mermaids by pirates but she wasn't having it. The tears started, the body went stiff when I attempted to pick her up and then a full-blown tantrum followed. We even had an elderly lady stop and explain that she had been searching for a mermaid all her life and still hadn't seen one — that's how rare they are. Finally we got her up to the reef tanks and she came around and even got to see "Marlin" and "Nemo" playing in their anemone.
As we dragged ourselves up the last ramp three-and-a-half hours after entering there was a guy dressed as a pirate spruiking that a special show was about to start. Our son wanted to watch so we all sat and the pirate played a little tune on his keyboard and then announced he had a special guest. Out came a 20-something tanned blonde in a bra decorated with green sequins and... a taffeta fish-tail skirt! The pirate introduced her as Mermaid Ruby and our daughter almost burst at the seams. A real live mermaid! Wonders will never cease. I have never been so grateful to see a semi-naked girl in my life (my husband seemed pretty grateful too). Needless to say we watched the entire show, did every dance move and had our photo taken with Mermaid Ruby.
The Stats:
Cost: Family pass (2 adults, 2 kids). $76 at the door; $68.40 online through the Aquarium; $61.20 online through NRMA if you are a member. I really recommend getting your tickets online before you go. Not only is it cheaper but you get to enter via a special queue. The line for tickets when we got there was huge and we heard a staff member telling people the wait would be over an hour. We only had to wait about five minutes to get in.
Parking: You can get your parking ticket for two parking stations (Entertainment Carpark; Harbourside Carpark) validated at the Aquarium and it will cost you $12 to park all day.
What to take: Drinks (pack extra, it's warm in there) and snacks. There is a food station about half way but it's not great and is quite pricey. A stroller for under-threes or kids who tire easily would be handy, we were there for almost four hours. Wear comfortable shoes. And of course, don't forget the camera.
Best bits: The reef tanks with their colourful coral and fish displays — they save the best till last. And the "touching" station where the kids got to pat starfish and sea cucumbers. The boys loved the sharks.

Simple advice

Tsh from Simple Mom is a wonderful blogger. Her posts are always thought-provoking and provide some really yummy food for the soul. She's so super at life-planning techniques and has posted some amazing questions to ponder as we enter 2009. 20 questions for planning new year's goals is one of the best things you can do with your partner. Tsh really makes you think about what you want from the year, your partner and yourself. Insightful questions that make you get specific about life. What a smart cookie she is. Why not tackle a question or two a night as you snuggle under the covers after a busy day?