Strawberry Tea - raising money for breast cancer care

Register to take part in Breast Cancer Care's Strawberry Tea!

When you register you will receive a free strawberry tea pack, which within the guide you will find all the ideas and inspiration you need to host a strawberry tea, together with bits and bobs to help promote and run you event like invites, stickers, a poster, game, quiz and collection box.

If you have never had a strawberry tea before they are so easy to organise and a great excuse to spend an afternoon or lunchtime with friends, family and colleagues - eating sweet treats and raising money for a great cause.

Please visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk/strawberry  for more info and to register your party.


Details of my strawberry tea will be available soon!!!

Good luck, have fun and get raising money!!

Part 2 of go nutty ..... Nutty cereal bars

Yum scrummy nutty cereal bars can be enjoyed at anytime of the day and are great for lunch boxes, a quick breakfast or snack. Get your parents to help you make them and enjoy all their healthy yumminess!!

What you will need:

A big mixing bowl, wooden spoon, microwave, tablespoon, scales, small shallow baking tray

Ingredients:

4tbsps honey or golden syrup

3tbsps butter or margarine

75g plain flour

75g cornflakes/frosties

2tbsps dessicated coconut

2tbsps chopped hazelnuts

2tbsps raisins

2tbsps pumpkin seeds

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

What to do:

Get an adult to pre-heat the oven to 200oC

Melt in the microwave the butter and honey or syrup

Stir in all the other ingredients

Press into a greased shallow tin

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes

Take out allow to cool then cut into snack sized chunks

 

Part 2 of go nutty ..... Peanut butter apple rings





You will need: an apple corer, knife for cutting, knife for spreading and a plate

Ingredients: 1 eating apple (washed), peanut butter, about 1 tbsp dessicated coconut

What to do: Get an adult to core and slice an apple into fairly thick slices, then you can spread with chunky or smooth peanut butter, put on as much or as little as you like, then you can sprinkle with dessicated coconut and enjoy as a healthy quick snack!!!

Here is Tommy tucking in ....

Vegetable fun with Tommy and George

Ok so yesterday I decided to let the boys loose with lunch and the results were as follows!!

Firstly we made a cucumber snake using a whole sliced cucumber and a pepper for the tongue and cream cheese for the eyes. Then we had a go at creating carrot snails, cheese boats and egg and tomato toadstools. They loved getting involved and eating the end product!!

Get your little ones involved with lunch or snack time, making sure that you do all the tricky knife work!!

THE SNAKE (and attempt at snails!)

Next we have the egg and tomato toadstools nicely demo'ed by Tommy

Then we made some boats using peppers, cubes of cheese and some mange tout

All there was left to do was to munch our way through it all!!!

There is so many different things you can do with vegetables, get creative and let the kids run riot with their imagination!!

Have Fun x

GIVE YOUR KIDS A DOSE OF NUTS ... YES REALLY ...!!

GO NUTTY WITH YOUR KIDS!!!

Snacking on just a handful of nuts each day can decrease your risk of heart disease, help prevent heart attack and help control your blood sugar. Nuts are not only high in protein, but they also contain an assortment of vitamins and minerals. Despite their high fat content, nuts are considered a health food and should be consumed as apart of a healthy diet.

Zinc

Cashews provide twice as much zinc as any other nut. Zinc is a mineral used by your body to fight off infections, and having too little zinc can put you at risk for illnesses your body can normally fight off.

Iron

 

Nuts, especially cashews and almonds, can provide you with some of your daily intake of iron, but because nuts are a plant-based source, the iron is not as readily absorbed by your body as it is from animal-based sources. Therefore, if you are eating nuts as one of your main sources of iron, you will have to eat more and also eat foods rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps your body absorb more of the iron you consume.

Selenium

The amount of selenium contained in foods can vary, based on the amount of selenium that was in the soil it was grown in. One oz. of Brazil nuts can contain as many as 544 micrograms of selenium, which far exceeds the recommended daily intake, while 1 oz. of walnuts contains just 5 micrograms.

Niacin

Niacin, which is also known as vitamin B6, is used to break down the food we eat and create energy. Niacin is water soluble and so is not stored in your body; it has to be consumed on a daily basis. Niacin is found in a variety of different nuts; peanuts, cashews, almonds and Brazil nuts contain rich amounts.

Folic Acid

Since 1998, folic acid has been added to many breads, cereals, pastas, flour and rice, but it is a natural nutrient in many nuts. Folic acid is especially important for women who are trying to get pregnant or those who are pregnant. Having enough folic acid can help prevent serious birth defects that can affect your baby's brain or spine. Hazelnuts are rich in folic acid, and walnuts have some.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, which is also known as tocopherol, is a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps keep your heart, skin, circulation and nervous system in good condition. Trace amounts of vitamin E are found in most nuts, but peanuts and cashews contain high amounts of vitamin E, and hazelnuts and almonds are also a rich source.

Calcium

Calcium is used by your body to maintain strong teeth and bones, and you must also get enough vitamin D to absorb the calcium you eat. Consuming too much vitamin A can compromise the benefits of dietary calcium, because in high amounts vitamin A can contribute to bone loss. Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios all contain calcium.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/351257-what-vitamins-minerals-do-nuts-contain/#ixzz1QZBa2xxp



Providing your child is NOT allergic to nuts, there is no reason why your little ones cant eat them! The most obvious type of nuts that children eat is nut butters more specifically peanut butter, but from specialist shops you can get cashew nut butter, almond butter and pumpkin seed butter to name but a few. Children will always love coconut too which can be added to savory and sweet meals in a dessicated form and cocnut milk can be added to curries, although these can be high in fat so watch out and make sure that you vary the different types of nuts to make sure you have incorporate different nutrients.

Nut butters can be used in a variety of ways, to make savory satay sauces for chicken skewers, to make novel apple pizzas, to use as a dip for vegetable sticks, in sandwiches, to make an eastern sauce for noodles the list is endless!! Sesame seed butter is also very good in both savory and sweet dishes.

You can grind your own nuts and seeds (any nuts from brazil nuts to sunflower seeds or cashews to pumpkin seeds) in a blender and then add these to flapjack, cereals, porridge, vegetable and chicken dishes, cakes and breads. Make sure you always use unsalted, unroasted nuts as these can have additives and added hidden fats. Ground nuts can be used for younger children aged over 1 years old. I would not advise nuts to be given before the age of 1.

You can buy flaked nuts which are good for children as they get older, you can add these to fruit dishes, crumbles, cereals or to top french toast for example. Whole nuts can be used as a snack in themselves when you feel confident that your child is able to chew and swallow appropriately as nuts can get lodged in the throat if not chewed properly. Again, always use unsalted and unroasted, just plain whole nuts. You can mix with dried fruit too for an ultimate snack, kids love dried pineapple and mango .... give it a go!!

PLEASE SEE MY UP COMING BLOG FOR RECIPES WHICH INCLUDE NUTS IN A VARIETY OF CHILD FRIENDLY WAYS ... SEE YOU SOON

MY STORY - Observations of how funny my children are!!

At the weekend, I looked at all three of my children, each busying themselves, muttering, singing and occassionally shoving the other out of the way and it got me thinking how wonderfully different they all are!! My eldest son, Tommy, is 4. He is determined, opinionated and strong willed at home amoung his siblings and when out presents as quietly confident with an alluring sense of charm and wit. He is Superman one day, Ben 10 the next and Spiderman a week later, he is loving then moody, occassionally wrong yet always right, caring then bossy, good at sharing as long as everything is his!! He has the most fascinating eyes, like puddles, they are blue, green, brown and grey always happy but quick to get mad. He is eager and willing to please, giving and expressive yet in a blink of an eye he can turn into a raging bull determined to put the world to rights and hates injustice if only in childs language. He is a Taurus, which explains alot, and from the moment he was born I knew he was my baby bull, a gorgeous perfect 5 pound baby bull!! I think its fair to add at this point that I too am also a taurus, so there is alot of butting heads with Tommy and I, but many loving moments too. Like me, he enjoys and devours fine food. He will normally chose the most expensive and luxurious thing on the menu, he isnt afraid to explore with food (with gentle encouragement) and loves all things which allows him to be hands on with cooking and art. My Tommy, a complex child, a deep thinker and intellectual but with pearls of absolute wisdom of a man who has been on this earth 90 years, he will never fail to suprise me nor end my fascination in his words.

Then there is George, he is 2. George is a fiery red head. Bright orange to be precise!! He was my largest baby and has remained so. He is chunky in everyway from his fingers to his toes, but the most loving boy to his mummy. George was born just after christmas in 2008 and from the moment he was born he showed me his very strong need to be heard. Oh Yes, he cried and screamed and cried, but yet he appears to be a fairly independant child, happy and somewhat unaware of his own being. Unlike Tommy who stands very close and listens to instruction carefully, George is a wild child, every opportunity he takes to leg it, he is off. And he runs and runs and runs, laughing and NEVER listens to commands. He never sees danger and as a result needs constant attention to make sure he doesnt escape and find himself in a dangerous situation. His red hair is coupled with his bright blue eyes, pure and untouched they never show malice or hate only kindness and love. He has learnt that his older brother will always win the war and so far has backed down and allowed him his own way, sharing his toys and saying sorry without prompt. He also has a robust nature, falling down and hardly batting an eyelid at the blood pouring down his knees, unlike Tommy who would cry and howl for hours at a pin prick!! George, like his good old fashioned sturdy name, is everything but stupid, although he may not have any sense of occassion and expected behaviours yet he understands that he too possesses a charm which melts his mothers heart. He does have a stubborn streak and when the mood takes him, he will lay in the middle of the street screaming and will not budge!! He can be much like this with his eating. They say that 2 year olds go through a stage of not wanting to eat but George has no interest in meals at the moment other than to graze constantly on carrots and cucumber, which I am gratful to him for not chosing  chocolate or crisps as his grazing choice!!

So as I continue watching them playing along side each other, for once fairly quietly, I notice my little girl Florence, 1, come up to me with a toy man, desperately waving it in my face, as I go to take it she snatches it back then throws it down casually and going off in search of something else to bring me. Florence is a joy, with a mop of blond curls and deep blue eyes she is (at the moment) a mummies girl, very eager to please me, show me her achievements and to give me so much just from a gummy grin and a clap of her hands. She always has a smile and a cuddle for anyone, although likes to make sure I am within easy reach in unsure territory. She has such a purity and innocence, completely untouched although instinctively caucious of her surroundings. She is the definition of what all little girls should be, cute, blonde curly hair blue eyes with a little button nose which gently scrunches up when she smiles, but she too is a taurus, guttsey and boisterious, she knows how to get around her brothers and they love her unconditionally. She will stand her ground and stare you out!! She has a very soft but certain nature and with gentle persuation she will adapt to most situations using her natural charm to her advantage and when it comes to her food, her stealy determination makes her want to feed herself in her own unique manner and make a complete mess, but she will try anything and when appetite strikes will sit and devour huge meals and healthy snacks too.

I am sure each of my children will change, develop and flourish into something completely different in a years time, five years time and ten years time. Ever determined to find the person they are destined to become, each discovering new talents, foods and characters, learning to socialise, behave and adapt to society. As a mother its both exciting and nerve racking to watch them change and to allow them freedom to express themselves in a society that sets such ridged boundaries of acceptibility.

So I sat and watched and smiled. Feeling very lucky and blessed to have such wonderful, healthy children full of such character giving me everything a mother craves to feel a sense of achievement. In the good and bad, I cherish every moment and even when life can become routine, boring or too serious they always remind me in different ways how to smile and just appreciate the things which are right in front of you.

Take a moment out of your hectic life to just observe your children and take the good, the bad and the funny from everything they do, it really will just pick you up!!