JulieBhosaleAchive

This is about as simple as a slow cooker meal gets. Seriously. You may not win master chef with this but I promise you that you will get the whole family feed and this is just one step away from homemade baby food too. It's one of my go-tos especially on busy days - a healthy meal does not have to be complicated or involve 20 different ingredients! You can read more about why slow cookers are mum's best friend in my previous blog here , In the meantime just throw everything below in and turn it on :) Ingredients 750g chicken drumsticks 1 onion, sliced in rings 6 button mushrooms, sliced 1 Large kumara, chopped 4 carrots, chopped 3 potatoes, chopped 2 tinns of diced tomatoes 2 tb of pre-crushed garlic Moroccan seasoning (or spices of your choice) Basmati rice (to serve) Note: Serves about four - just increase or double for a larger family Directions: 1. Prepare all the vegetables. Place in chicken at the bottom of the slow cooker. 2. Place in all vegetables. Top with tinned toma...

Slow cookers are honestly the best thing since sliced bread. No kitchen pun intended! Also known as crockpots a slow cooker is an absolute must have for any bustling family kitchen. I do a slow cooker at least once a week if not more (what ever the season) as they are honestly a live saver! Here are few reasons why: 1. Maximum nutrients – Most slow cooker recipes will always include meat and vegetables which of course contain all the protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals you need in a meal! In addition, as the food is cooked at a very low temperature it helps to maximise nutrient retention. 2. Family friendly – Not only do slow cookers enable a meal in one to suit the whole family but you can cook a large amount and there is normally extra left over which you can easily freeze or take for lunch the next day. This leads me to: 3. Fast homemade baby food - for babies and toddlers who may struggle to eat meat as the vegetables are cooked in with the meat they absorb all this g...

Last week was just one of those weeks. Smushie had been sick, we had to juggle everything that comes with that being working parents plus he was waking twice or more in the night and I was shattered. Yes we have had far worse weeks but to be honest I think I am still working through layers of fatigue post-PhD/post arrival of Sumshie last year and sometimes that hits when I least expect it. Thursday. Started at 5.30am, alarm set in the slim hope I could have a shower before the boys wake and get changed to leave the house early. Smushie woke at 5.32am. Feed him then had a shower with him pulling everything possible in his reach. Arjun woke at 5.55 and normal morning chaos ensured. Worked until 5.00pm and then headed to pick the boys up from daycare. I felt this sense of dread build up inside me. It had been a really long (10 hours) hard work day, lots of high-level thinking involved and I knew ahead of me was at least 2-3 hours of dinner/bedtime grind – before I had to finish off work u...

Last week new research came out around screen-time for preschoolers and I spoke on TVNZ Breakfast about screen-time for children. It is an issue that will be ongoing for our life-time and now media and screens are everywhere – there is no escaping it (as I type this blog on my lap top!). There are two sides to the question of how much time should children engage in media. The first being that there are times we need it AND children are growing up with it so we don’t want to deprive them of it. Equally, there is consistent research to show increased show that screen time is associated with low physical activity levels (and the subsequent raft of long-term health implications of this, including obesity) and new findings showing cognitive implications especially in regards to decreased language development, social skills and creativity. The relationship between children’s free play, screen time and health risk factors (including obesity) I investigated in great detail in my doctoral thesi...

Making the most of the end of feijoa season - this smoothie is really refreshing and is a great way to get in some greens, vitamin c as well as probiotics from the yoghurt. I did a demo of this smoothie at my latest workshop and I can promise you it is super easy! You may want to double the amounts depending on the size of your family - there was none left by the end of the workshop - and yes it's been given the seal of approval from the smallest critics!     Ingredients: 1 kiwi fruit 1 banana 6 Feijoas 1/2 cup of unsweetened yoghurt 1/2 cup of milk 1 large handful of chopped kale Directions: Simply put it all into a blender and give a whiz until smooth! You can just use 1 cup of yogurt or 1 cup of milk if you do not have both instead of half and half. Enjoy!! xxx Dr Julie Bhosale  

Fish is an important source of a number of key nutrients but it can be tricky convincing little ones of this!   Benefits of Fish Protein - Fish is very high in protein, which supplies the body with necessary building blocks for physical and mental health. In addition, protein creates the feeling of satiety (feeling full). Minerals - Essential minerals of iodine, selenium, zinc and potassium are all found in fish. Riboflavin and vitamins B2 and D are also found in fish which help transport calcium into the bones. Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Perhaps the most important advantage of eating seafood is that it is an important source of our omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3's are essential for brain function, great skin, anti-inflammatory protection and reducing cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Amount? It is recommended to have at least 2 servings of seafood a week , that's children and adults alike. Fish which contain the highest levels of omega-3s are your oily fish including salmon, tu...

Planning out your family meals in advance is one of my big #mumhacks and strategies to making healthy family meals with less stress! As a busy working mum I know that putting extra time into planning your family meals can seem daunting and it can be challenging when just getting to the supermarket is hard enough! However I can hand-on-heart say it is worth it in the end, especially when 5pm rolls around and you have little hungry mouths demanding to be feed instantly! Plus...like any habit - the more you do it, the easier planning becomes. You can read more in an earlier blog of mine ( Dream Meal Times ) on the benefits of meal planning and below is my top 5 tips on how to go about doing this! 1. Have a planning day - set aside one day in the week (I always do Sunday) which is when you do a big food shop and plan out your weekly meals as it really helps to do both at once and you could also so some meal preparation/baking for the freezer as well. 2. Plan your meat - when really sort...

Coffee and cake....say no more!! These little sweet treats are perfect to make for Mothers Day. They use low GI sugar (and a reduced amount of it) so you can....have your cake and eat it too! Ingredients: 1 Cup self raising flour 3/4 C of low GI sugar 2 tsp of instant coffee 2 tsp of cinnamon 1 tsp of vanilla essence 225mls of milk 1 egg 1/2 c of oil 1/2 cup of crushed walnuts Topping 2 tsp of low GI sugar 2 tsp of cinnamon Directions: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a 12-hold muffin tray with paper cups. 2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (flour, sugar, coffee and cinnamon). In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients (egg, milk, oil). 3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and combine together. Add the walnuts. 4. Pour the mixture (it will be quite runny) evenly into the cup holders. Mix the topping together and sprinkle over each cake, top with a walnut. 5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until cakes are cooked all the way through. Allow to cool ...