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FOOD & NUTRITION

Three tasty and vegan-friendly recipes for your child’s lunchbox!

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Choosing healthy and tasty options for your kid’s lunchboxes is often more difficult than it sounds. Find some inspiration in these three recipes!

CHICKPEA SWEETCORN BURGER PATTIES.
Recipe makes 5 patties.

Ingredients:

  • 1 peeled sweet potato cut into chunks, then steamed
  • 200g (1 cup) fresh (or well-drained) corn kernels OR 1 cup frozen kernels, thawed
  • 250g (1.5 cups) cooked or tinned chickpeas, rinsed and
    drained well
  • 2tbs olive or rice bran oil
  • 1 peeled white onion, finely diced
  • 1 peeled and crushed garlic clove
  • 3tbs millet or quinoa flakes
  • 3tbs washed parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/2tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2tsp paprika
  • 1/4tsp ground turmeric
  • 1tsp salt or to taste
  • 1/2tsp ground black pepper
  • 2tbs ground flaxseeds + 6tbs water

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Place the cooked sweet potato in a food processor with the well-drained and dried corn and chickpeas.

3. Blend until the mixture is smooth – with some chunky bits left for texture – and well combined. Keep in the food processor.

4. Heat some of the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.

5. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then add the onions and garlic to the chickpea mixture and pulse briefly in the food processor.

6. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, add the millet/quinoa flakes, parsley, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper and mix well. In a small bowl, whisk the ground flaxseed with the water. Then, using your hands, incorporate the flaxseed mixture into the chickpea mixture until fully combined.

7. Shape everything into 5 evenly sized patties and place on a prepared lined baking sheet. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and then pan fry each patty for 2-3 minutes on each side. Once done, transfer the patties back to the lined baking sheet and bake for 25- 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

 

VEGAN CASHEW CACAO BLISS BALLS:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of raw cashews
  • 8 pitted dates
  • 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 2 teaspoons agave syrup

 

Method:

1. Add cashews, dates, cacao powder and vanilla to a food processor and blend.

2. While blending add the agave syrup.

3. Form the mixture into small balls and then roll them in a bowl with the coconut until coated.

4. Place in fridge until balls are hardened.

 

VEGAN PROTEIN MUFFINS:
Recipe makes 10-11 muffins.

Ingredients:

  • 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsps ground flaxseed + 5 Tbsps water)
  • 1 1/4 cup dairy-free yoghurt, unsweetened (soy can be used)
  • 2 medium (very ripe) bananas
  • 2 cups GF rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup vanilla flavoured protein powder Nutritional Booster
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • Your favourite topping such as berries, granola, vegan chocolate chips, chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, rolled oats, crushed cookies

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

2. Lightly grease each slot of a standard muffin tin. Use paper liners to keep the recipe oil-free.

3. Prepare flax eggs in a small bowl, by mixing together the ground flax and water.

4. Set aside about 10 minutes. It will thicken up and become gel-like.

5. When the flax eggs are ready, add all the ingredients
(except the toppings) into a high-powered blender or food processor.

6. Blend until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down sides as needed.

7. Pour mixture into each slot about 3/4 of the way full.

8. Sprinkle each one with your kids’ favourite toppings. Don’t press the toppings into the batter. It may yield a flatter muffin.

9. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

10. Insert a toothpick in the middle of a muffin or two. If it comes out mostly clean, they are cooked.

11. Let muffins cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack, then cool for another 10-15 minutes.

12. It is normal if the muffins might flatten out a little bit

To avoid the liner sticking to the muffin, let them completely cool before enjoying. If not using liners, gently pop out each muffin with a butter knife.

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HEALTH

Preventable diseases kill: A case for vaccination

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By Dr. Adam Coulson

Would you let a carpenter operate on your child? (and why you shouldn’t trust your child’s healthcare to celebrity chefs, footballers’ wives & other charlatans).

Chloe was a beautiful infant child. Loved by her doting parents and grandparents. Chloe took several agonising days to die of whooping cough in a modern Intensive Care Unit in one of Australia’s best children’s hospitals.

Whooping cough is vaccine-preventable, Chloe was not vaccinated.

The year was 2004. Her death rocked me. I still see her pretty face.

More than 150 people have recently succumbed to Measles in New York State. The US had eliminated measles in 2000. Measles is vaccine-preventable.

Measles is not benign.

If one of our favourite children’s authors, Roald Dahl, were alive today he could recount how his eldest daughter, Olivia, died tragically of measles encephalitis (infection and inflammation of the brain) aged just seven years old in 1962. He was a passionate advocate of vaccination. He had reason to be.

Recently, Oregon State recorded its first case of tetanus in more than 30 years. The six-year-old unvaccinated boy spent 47 days in Intensive Care. Tetanus is vaccine-preventable. I have cared for patients suffering tetanus – an extremely unpleasant and life-threatening illness.

Australia has seen a surge in self-proclaimed “experts and champions” of anti-vaccination. Many of them have celebrity status. They make false and unsubstantiated claims about vaccination.

Make no mistake, these self-proclaimed experts lack any formally recognised training or education in health sciences let alone medicine. They are charlatans and should be called out. Would you allow a well-meaning carpenter to operate on your child?
After all, they’re good with tools. Would you?

Let’s think about that for a moment.
If your child needed surgery would you entrust their care to a charismatic and charming carpenter who lacked any formal surgical training? Would you?

Footballers’ wives might be good for a bit of lighthearted TV
entertainment but would you really turn to them for healthcare
advice?

Isn’t it reassuring that Australia has a rigorous system of surgical training and registration that guarantees the expertise and competence of  Surgeons?

So why do intelligent and well-meaning Australian parents
entrust their children’s healthcare to untrained professionals?

When childhood vaccination was launched in Australia during the last century parents had a lived world experience of the devastation that vaccine preventable diseases caused. From 1944 to 1954 polio was responsible for more than 1000 deaths in Australia. The reality of this disease was ever-present in communities. This devastating illness crippled and killed children. Its vaccine was welcomed. Many elderly Australians still live with
the devastating neuromuscular disability wrought by the polio virus.

Modern Australia, with its public health advances, has seen our communities thankfully grow healthier and safer. The lived world experience of the destructive power of vaccine-preventable diseases is no
longer in our consciousness.

Make no mistake, vaccine-preventable diseases kill
and are ready to strike the unvaccinated, and the “herd”, if vaccine
rates continue to decline.

Remember that the natural world isn’t all paleo and wholefoods. The natural world is life-threatening viruses and bacteria many of which are largely vaccine-preventable.

Would you want to be the parent that has to bury your child of an entirely vaccine-preventable disease?

Intelligent, caring and well-meaning Australian parents are right to question the healthcare their children are offered. So where should you turn for credible advice to answer your questions on vaccination?
I recommend that your “health home” should be your General Practitioner.

These highly trained doctors have undertaken years of postgraduate  medical training to specialise in providing holistic healthcare advice for
the whole family.

Australia has an outstanding system of primary healthcare that
allows consumers to choose their own General Practitioner. Take
the time to find a GP that you like & trust. Recommendations from
friends & family can be a good first step.

Would you want to be the parent that has to apologise to your child for their lifelong disability as the result of a vaccine-preventable illness?

The Royal Australian College for General Practitioners also has an informative website that provides advice on finding a GP in your area: https://www.racgp.org.au/information-for-patients/

Many General Practices undergo rigorous accreditation as
evidence of their quality. A list of these can be found at: https://www.agpal.com.au/for-consumers/ 

If you have a number of questions you would like to ask your GP about vaccination, request a long appointment to allow you the time to explore
your issues. Complex questions might require several consultations.

If your child has complex healthcare needs impacting on vaccination decisions your GP can refer you to a paediatrician or paediatric immunologist for more specialized advice.

Child health nurses are highly skilled registered nurses with postgraduate training and expertise in child health. They can be an invaluable source of credible advice on the healthcare needs of your child.

Make sure you entrust the healthcare needs of your child to credible health professionals with the appropriate training & qualifications.

You wouldn’t let a carpenter operate on your child? Would you?

About the author: Dr. Adam Coulson is a Practising Specialist Emergency Physician. He is a father to six children all of whom are vaccinated. The views expressed in this article are those of the author. The names and details of any patients have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.

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PARENTING

Sydney school bans kids from handing out birthday invitations

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One school’s decision to ban kids from handing out birthday invitations in the playground has enraged parents across the country.

Mosman Public School in Sydney has banned children from handing out birthday invitations in the playground due to concerns that kids who are not invited will feel left out.

Parents will now have to “covertly” collect the email addresses of their children’s friends’ parents in order to send out e-invites, according to the Daily Telegraph. Children will also have to refrain from talking about their birthday plans at school.

The ban is allegedly the result of one child recently becoming distressed after not receiving an invitation to a classmate’s birthday celebration.

The ban is allegedly the result of one child recently becoming distressed after not receiving an invitation to a classmate’s birthday celebration.

The Department of Education told Yahoo News that the decision came “at the request of parents, and in consultation with the school community.”

Parents across the nation have flocked to social media to weigh in on the new rule, with 87% of those polled saying that the school had gone too far.

Those in support of the move say that not receiving a birthday invite can be emotionally scarring for children, especially if they are the only ones not invited. They particularly focused on special needs children who are often on the receiving end of this type of rejection.

Others called the new rule “ridiculous”, with one woman saying the school was “creating a generation of sooks.” They claim that shielding children from rejection will only hinder their social development and keep them from building up a tolerance for disappointment. “We have to build resilient kids,” said one mum.

What do you think? Has the school gone too far, or have they made the right decision?

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EDUCATION

Why our kids are taking action on climate change

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Children all around the world left the classroom to take to the streets in the School Strike for Climate, despite receiving criticism from teachers, parents and even our top politicians. So, why did our kids risk punishment to take action for the environment?

We recently saw school children around the world united in one common goal: save our planet. In over 112 countries, kids skipped school on Friday March 15 to take to the streets in the School Strike for Climate, demanding governments take action on an issue that will affect the course of their futures.

Many teachers, parents and politicians raised objection, insisting that the children stay in school instead. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament, “We do not support our schools being turned into parliaments… what we want is more learning in schools and less activism.”

Despite drawing criticism, the school strike did make people take notice of the issue in a way that hasn’t before and forced many to beg the question: why are the kids coming together to take action on climate change?

Many teachers, parents and politicians raised objection, insisting that the children stay in school instead.

It was Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden who inspired the more than 1.4 million young people to campaign on climate action this month. Her solo protest outside Swedish parliament last August is what prompted the global movement. “We proved that it does matter what you do and that no one is too small to make a difference,” Thunberg says.

Citing a belief in equality and climate justice as their reason to skip school, those who took part in the march called for a dramatic reduction in greenhouse emissions from their respective countries.

“We proved that it does matter what you do and that no one is too small to make a difference”

Young people, it seems, are the ones taking to the streets due to the lack of action from world leaders. Many, like Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, are under the impression that the adults have left this environmental mess for the children to clean up. With a belief that the press and politicians seem to be ignoring the issue, the youth are taking action into their own hands.

Young people, it seems, are the ones taking to the streets due to the lack of action from world leaders.

Whether you agree with the actions of the climate strike or not, one thing is undeniably clear. The united action around the globe reveals the solidarity of young people that are concerned about the environment. If a united strike such as this created as much conversation and debate as it did, then perhaps the time has come to listen to the kids and start doing something to act when it comes to the future of our planet.

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WELLSPRING

Mindful parenting: Learning to respond rather than react

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This article by Charanyaa Gopalakrishnan explores the concept of Mindful Parenting, which is being able to understand our emotions not allow them to trigger our responses to our children.

Our brain is triggered when it senses danger or a potential threat, therefore making us react instantly to what is going to happen. Unfortunately, it can be tricky for our brain to understand what is an actual ‘danger’ to what is just a situation. In simple terms, it fails to know how to respond instead of react.

Mindful Parenting is a topic that I found immensely interesting wanted to explore, and has now become an idea that I wish to share. This is not about being a ‘perfect parent’, but rather about consciously being present at the situation, absorbing it and not getting hijacked by our emotions. This can be complex to get into our system and put into practice, but it has an immense impact on our children and their ability to be mindful about their behaviour.

Mindfulness in parenting is how we manage our behaviour and emotions to let children learn how they can manage theirs.

It maybe a simple instance of seeing our child having breakfast and fearing there may be a big spill to clean. Instead of responding, a jolt shoots through us making our reaction unpleasant. Many of these reactions are a reflection of our own childhood experiences and consequently this stress response can be triggered easily. When the receptor of stress sparks off, we are unable to get clarity in thinking and we fail to pay attention. As a result, our problem solving ability diminishes thoroughly. ‘Flipping out’ as a reaction occurs in no time and we forget how our children comprehend that. We fail to know how scary we appear in their eyes. Seeing how an adult reacts in distress becomes a negative learning experience for them. We need to teach our children that one can pause, think and respond as an alternative to react.

It also gives you the ability to take a step back and look at a situation rather than being highly impulsive and most importantly to improve your relationship with your child.

Mindfulness in parenting is how we manage our behaviour and emotions to let children learn how they can manage theirs. As parents, we must be regulated before we try teaching our kids. Sadly, when we are overcome by stress or exhaustion, we can be emotionally unavailable to our child. However, if we are carried away by our emotions we can give another chance to ourselves to consciously make a different choice – being present. While there are good days and bad days, there are definitely negative elements of being upset or angry. Mindful parenting is paying close attention to what one feels as a parent and responding in accordance with that without any guilt of past situations. Simply, focusing on what is now. This helps hugely in being aware of one’s own feelings, being more responsive to the child’s needs, and becoming better at modulating one’s emotions. It also gives you the ability to take a step back and look at a situation rather than being highly impulsive and most importantly to improve your relationship with your child.

If we are carried away by our emotions we can give another chance to ourselves to consciously make a different choice – being present.

In times of stress or feeling overwhelmed it is difficult to be the best version of ourselves. Our children can be expected to know these triggers. In order to tackle this effectively, we must know what the ‘hot spots’ or emotional triggers are. We may be most vulnerable at a particular time of the day or be unavailable emotionally. These are the situations that we must familiarize ourselves with so as to make the best choice to change our behaviour accordingly.

As previously mentioned, these are a reflection of our own childhood experiences. Perhaps your child behaves in a way that is against your beliefs, like throwing a tantrum at a restaurant where you feel embarrassment. Maybe it is evoking a childhood memory of your own, such as excelling academically and causing you to ‘react’ when your child fails. Your child’s behaviour may evoke a trauma in your life, for example if you had nearly drowned in a pool you may get paranoid every time your child gets into the pool while learning to swim.

Being mindful can help us understand both our children and ourselves in a huge way.

To get control over our senses and emotions we must first identify what the situations are that may trigger those ‘hot spots’ in us that are responsible for the emotional outbursts. Parenting is not a ‘one size fit all’, however being mindful can help us understand both our children and ourselves in a huge way. Understanding our feelings when we conflict with our child, taking a step back before giving a response in anger and listening before disagreeing to the viewpoint of our children are the essential factors to keep in mind. There will be times when we cannot control ourselves and we react in a certain way, which we regret later. We can always apologize to our kids in such a case, after all we are still in the learning curve and parents make mistakes too.

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FOOD & NUTRITION

Recipes for quick and easy lunchboxes!

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Recipes, lunchbox, two ingredient scrolls, mexican chicken filling, fruity bliss balls, greek mason jar salads

Organise lunchboxes with minimal fuss and lots of healthy yumminess with these four amazing recipes!

Click here for more articles on nutrition, food portions, superfoods and health!


Recipe 1: 2 Ingredient Lunchbox Scrolls

If you want to make some fresh scrolls for lunch at home or lunch boxes, this is a really fast and easy recipe.  Equal parts self raising flour and greek yoghurt, that’s it!!

Serves: 8
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook times: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients: 
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 cup Greek Yoghurt

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Mix flour and yoghurt and make a ball.
3. Knead for a few minutes, adding more flour if mixture is too wet.
4. Sprinkle extra flour on bench, roll dough into rectangle

Mix ingredients together into a bowl to create dough.  I add a little more flour if the mix is too sticky.  Roll out onto a floured flat surface.  I have made a double batch below and created a different variety of scrolls.  One side is ham, capsicum, pineapple and cheese, the other ham and cheese.

Then roll up and slice into 2 cm thick segments, bake on baking tray until golden, approximately 15-18minutes.

Recipe 2: Mexican Chicken Salad Sandwich Filling

Ooh we so love Mexican in this household.  The girls and I like most dishes as I make them, but the boys (so macho) like to add in extra dashes of chilli sauce or jalapenos.   We often have chicken rolls for lunch on the weekends, but this took the traditional chicken and mayo roll to a whole new level.  If you love mexican you must try this!

Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1 tomato, finely diced
1 capsicum, finely diced
3 spring onions, finely sliced
1/2 cup tasty cheese, grated
2 poached chicken breasts or 1 BBQ chook, shredded
1/3 cup mayonnaise
taco seasoning, to taste
Bread rolls

Instructions:

1. Add tomato, capsicum, spring onions and cheese into a large bowl, stir
2. Place chicken, mayonnaise and taco seasoning into bowl and stir to thoroughly combine.
3. Taste and add more mayonnaise and seasoning if required
4. Serve on bread rolls. There is enough mix for approximately 10 rolls.

Firstly I combined a diced tomato, capsicum, spring onions and cheese.

Then added poached chicken(or BBQ chook), mayonaise and taco seasoning.

Serve on bread rolls… tiger bread rolls on this day, for a special treat!

Recipe 3: Fruity Bliss Balls

These Fruity Bliss Balls are nut free, which are ideal to put in the lunch boxes of kids who have a nut free policy at their school, store in the fridge for up to one week.

Serves: 18
Prep time: 15 mins
Total time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

10 medjool dates, remove seeds
1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon cacao or cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
coconut

Instructions:

1. Place the ingredients into a food processor.
2. Process on high speed for several minutes until the mixture sticks together like a paste.
3. Take small handfuls of mixture and make into balls, roll in coconut.
4. Keep in the refrigerator, enjoy.

My kids usually take 3 bliss balls in replace of a fruit, read more about my lunchbox packing guide.

Recipe 4: Greek Mason Jar Salad

I’m trying to mix up what I am eating for lunches during the week.  Earlier this year I was stuck in a rut of making a sandwich every day.  Now I take time to plan ahead and make sure I eat something different each day.  I still have a sandwich, but another day I may have crispbread loaded with tuna, spinach, onion and tomato and then another day a mason jar salad.

Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients: 

1-2 tablespoons classic dressing
1 /3 cup chickpeas
Capsicum, diced
Cucumber, diced
Red onion, sliced
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Olives
Chicken, shredded
Fetta, cubed
Baby spinach, washed

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in the order listed above into a clean mason jar
2. Seal tightly, refrigerate and use within 5-7 days.

https://offspringmagazine.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/greek-mason-jar-salad-5.jpg

There is a special technique to the salad assembly to keep all the contents fresh.  The vegetables and protein need to be layered in a particular way:

Layer 1 – Dressing
Layer 2 – Chickpeas
Layer 3 – Hard vegetables – capsicum, cucumber and red onion
Layer 4 – Soft vegetables – cherry tomatoes, olives
Layer 5 – Protein – chicken and fetta
Layer 6 – Salad greens – baby spinach

Words and Photos from: 

Kat Springer
The Organised Housewife
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