Friday, June 28, 2013

ice cream friday

(if you are wondering what beautiful cauliflower has to do with ice cream...well nothing. But I didn't have a photo of the ice cream and think these vegetables are quite exquisite. Thanks Robin.)

Today is the last day of term for River. It has become tradition on the last day of term we walk to the local ice cream shop to celebrate River's hard work and spend time with friends. Having an ice creamery within walking distance from school can pose a challenge for some families with children asking for ice cream most days after school. To save the asking we put in place last year that we would go out for ice cream on the last day of term and that really works for us. It means that having an ice cream is a treat and it is really appreciated and anticipated rather than expected.

I am feeling really passionate about at the moment about educating more parents and children about how good real food is for your body, mind and spirit. River comes home with stories of friends having fairy bread for lunch and while I definitely am not into blaming and shaming people into looking at their family diet I think that too many people drastically underestimate the impact and risks to health of eating nutritionally bankrupt food.

A quote I read this week from Jamie Oliver sums it up nicely -
"Homicide is 0.8% of deaths. Diet-related disease is 60%. But no one f*****g talks about that"

So. I am back to looking at studying children's nutrition. It bugs me no end that so many people in our community are sick with cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes and still we as a society are not laying solid nutrition foundations for our children.

Stepping down off my soap box now. Looking forward to sharing the holiday wholefood highlights here with you and excited about having lots of deliciousness planned for posts focusing on wholefood Byron Bay style when we head there next month.

A happy start to the school holidays to all those who finish school today. Three cheers to all you mamas for getting everyone through the term - two weeks of no lunchboxes hooray I hear you cry.

Here is the friday link list just for you:

Following on from last Friday's post about the untimely death of my friend Andrew, before I go any further with the list I have to acknowledge that there is a sense when people are grieving that the world stops for a time and then people resume the busyness of life. I am very conscious of wanting to return to life with a renewed sense of how I live and of sharing Andrew's story to remind people of the fragility and preciousness of life. Andrew died of a sudden heart attack with no warning at age 45. I implore everyone reading this consider their heart health and those of the people you love. There are many risk factors to heart health that can be minimised if you are thinking about having a check up, blood pressure, cholesterol, improving your diet, quitting smoking, exercising the time is now.

I'm not anti eating carbohydrates but I do think there are some interesting points in this article particularly that the majority of people's diets are too carb based. Do we really need to eat carbohydrate for energy?

If you are in Melbourne over the holidays I love going to the Collingwood Children's Farm.

Lunch at Friends of the Earth is always a wholefood highlight.

I had a peek yesterday at Rick Stein's cookbook India. As if I need another cookbook ha! But this one is so very tempting.

If you like blogs about simple living with a young family with a whole lotta heart, soul then click on over to An Every Day Story .

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays and weekending xx

oh forgot to share one of my favorite River and Sol moments from the week...
Breakfast table chat: Sol Mr 3 randomly says "Mum you know that the Dalai Lama he eats bread". River, Mr 6, jumps in with "oh no Sol that was Jesus. He had one piece of bread and broke it up into millions of pieces" :) 

6 comments:

  1. I really look forward to your Friday posts Nikki. Like you, my mind has been focused squarely on children's nutrition this week too. We are certainly not the ice-cream every day kind of family and really have improved the way we eat so much in the past few years...but now for us, it is not a matter of what we eat, but what we don't eat. We have food intolerances and a condition called pyroluria to contend with and our diet and lifestyle is really important. What I struggle with is having no firm boundaries, just my own instincts and research to rely on. It all gets very confusing and I worry my kids aren't getting a broad enough range of nutrients after taking gluten, dairy, soy, nuts and fish (suspected problems) from their diets. And so...we continue to learn and experiment and do our very best. We live down the coast but love eading up to Melbourne for a trip to the market and the Children's Farm on the holidays too. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kristin for your feedback I was beginning to wonder if the Friday list idea needed a makeover but now I know there is at least one reader who enjoys them I'll happily keep them up. Which coast are you on? Peninsula or Great Ocean Road? You can't be my neighbour and us not meet up! I just googled pyroluria that does not sound like an easy condition to live with. 'Learn and experiment and do your very best' as you say sounds good to me what more can you do?! You are probably offered unsolicited advice all the time about living with pyroluria but if you are wondering about nutrient balance I can recommend a very thorough, if slightly unconventional doctor in Melbourne - Dr Xenon Gruba Whole Health and Wellness in Camberwell he has a website. Email me if you prefer and want to ask more details. Happy holidays to you too and thanks for reading and commenting x

      Delete
    2. Thanks for that recommendation Nikki...we are currently seeing a fantastic Holistic GP in Rosebud who specialises in this condition, but I will keep that information up my sleeve.

      We live in Torquay on the Surf Coast...are you on this side too? I would love to meet up one day...we are often in Sorrento too when we come to visit Frankie's doctor in Rosebud - a big day out on the Ferry!

      Delete
    3. We live on the 'other' side close to Sorrento so yes! happy to meet up anywhere between Sorrento and Rosebud one day when you are over. I have heard good things about the Holistic GP in Rosebud and am glad you have found a specialist. Take care x

      Delete
  2. I love your ice cream ritual Nikki. I think if we approach it like treats then we're on the right track, just like you say. I love Luca's excitement when he takes a bite of his dinner and declares it 'the best in the universe', but I also love their little faces when we have pancakes of a morning or make jam tarts with leftover pie pastry. Oh, and you're right to acknowledge how we express our sorrow and then life carries on as it does, but to raise awareness of a healthier lifestyle is very fitting and very honourable. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vanessa for backing up my words. I'm slightly disappointed because I don't think River or Sol have ever so passionately expressed their delight in a meal declaring it 'the best in the universe'! I do like it though when Sol tells me 'Mum, you and Dad are both the best cookers'. Oh how I want them to remain so cute forever x

      Delete

Thanks for your comments. I read every one!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...