JulieBhosaleAchive

This last month has been very much about turning “I can’t into…I can”. It really has been a total mind game these last four weeks and I have had to really fight to get my head space right in order to write effectively. For those new to joining me on my PhD journey, I now have five months left until my Doctorate thesis submission deadline (November 30 th ). I found out I was (miraculously) pregnant 8 weeks into my PhD and if you had told me then that I would be here, two children later in the count down to the end I would not have believed you. This is a common struggle of mine, believing in myself and I have been right up against that this month. Time is huge challenge. We have to keep coming up with “creative” ways to find more time for me to write, and it is not just ‘time’ but effective time.  When you are a sleep deprived mum, running a business and working this seems impossible. Note I said 'we' because my husband and I are in this together! I have had to try some things o...

Food demands, refusing food, throwing food, wandering off from the table and leaving a trail of mess….food battles and fussy eaters is a common challenge for parents. As a mum I have full empathy for this - just because I am a nutritionist does not mean I am immune to such behaviour. I have had to hold back my own frustrations and even tears at some of the behaviour exhibited by my toddler. However, I am a big advocate for encouraging healthy eating habits from the beginning. Here are my top five strategies for doing so: 1. Routine This is one of the strategies that I really encourage from as young as possible. Babies and children do respond to routine feeding and if you start this young it is a lot easier to implement rather than trying to break habits of 'grazing'. Children will eat best when they are hungry and by having a routine this enables them to learn when food will be coming. Try to limit snacking as much as possible as this is the most common reason children are not ...

Home-made muffins are a great healthy option for mums and children alike, they can be easily made in advance and frozen so that if you are in need of a fast snack you can either pop in the microwave for 10 seconds or take out in the morning and put in your lunch bag for later on. These muffins are super-fast and include basic ingredients, use fruit as a natural sweetener and are gluten-free! Ingredients: 2 cups ground almonds (or almond meal) 1 tsp cinnamon powder 1 tsp baking powder 2 eggs 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional) 1 apple grated (keep juice) Directions: Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, baking powder, and cinnamon. In another bowl whisk together eggs, and oil/ghee. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Add grated apples, including juice and walnuts, and mix together. Divide the batter in muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until muffins are golden brow...

Packed full of wonderful immune boosting ingredients this smoothie can make for a great breakfast or snack option! It has been given the taste tick from both hubby and the toddlers (and neither could tell there was spinach in it!!)   Ingredients: A handful of large fresh spinach leaves 1 cups of plain unsweetened yoghurt ( read my yoghurt review blog here ) 1/2 cup of milk 1/2 cup - 1 cup of frozen berries (any mix will do) Note - you will see here the amounts are quite flexible - you can just adjust to your liking! You could also add a teaspoon on honey/banana or some avocado as different options. Directions: 1. Depending on your blender chop the spinach into strips first. 2. Place everything into the blender, pulse and adjust if need be! 3. Enjoy!! Note:  Eating berries is an essential part of smoothie making :) For little ones who are always on the go or to take some healthy (without mess and stress) with you out and about, you can easily put this smoothie into a Kai Carrier po...

6 months. 6 months on the back of 3.5 years of work. Can I do it? That is the question which keeps buzzing in the back of my mind every single day. Can I actually finish this mountain, the Mt Everest of the academic world? I am scared, scared of failure, scared of the impact on my precious family – my husband and 2 boys. Scared of the impact on my current job and business. I am also scared of success - that I might pull this off and become a Doctor in my field. To back track a little. In 2011 I started the second year of my Master’s Thesis. I was encouraged to apply to transfer straight into the PhD programme based on the nature of my PhD and my academic ability. We got married December that year and while in India (wedding number 2) I found out that my transfer was successful (yahoo – this by the way is very rare). 8 weeks later we found out that I was pregnant – pregnant against huge odds. We were told it would take us 2-3 years plus if we were lucky. And so the journey of my PhD alo...

This is loaf is not flash or fancy but is packed full of crazy cool carrots. Free of sugar and diary it makes for a great snack option - especially if you are breastfeeding and are needing to cut your dairy out! What is more it is one of my one bowl wonders!! My big boy helped to create this one....and eat it too! Ingredients 3 carrots, grated 2 eggs 1 and 1/4 cups of wholemeal flour (can use standard flour if you prefer) 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut 1 x 70 gram bag of walnut pieces 1-2 tsp of orange/ mandarin zest 1 tsp of nutmeg 1 tsp of cinnamon 1 tsp of vanilla essence 1 tsp of baking powder 1 tsp of baking soda 1/2 a cup of extra virgin olive oil Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease medium sized loaf tin 2. Grate the carrots and when whisk the eggs together in a large bowl (#remove egg shells if they get added in the learning process!). 3. Add everything else and mix together. 4. Tip mixture into the loaf tin and flatten with the back of a spoon. 5) Bake for approximat...