JulieBhosaleAchive

I simply love cup cakes. Once upon a time before little monkeys were on the scene I would spend hours making cup cakes and decorating them...yes hours! My husband was in the force at the time and his crew would always happily benefit from my creations. If you can imagine an officer carrying in a cake holder full of beautifully decorated cup cakes for night shift you can imagine why. The only wee trouble with the beloved cup cake is that well ah they are not terribly nutritious. More of a challenge when you have hormones doing the loop-de-loop permanently post baby. I always try to find a way to have your cake and eat it too...and these gluten and dairy free chocolate cup cakes just may have hit that spot! I have been playing around for sometime to come up with a cup cake recipe that does not contain ingredients which can really irritate our guts but also provides some nutritional goodness! This recipe uses almond flour (ground almonds or almond meal) which I know is a little more expe

This is a blog that I did not mean to write. I had another blog planned for today…but in true real mum life a lot of things went sideways today and I have not got it quite finished….along with a lot of other things, dishes included. Our big boy woke at 4.20am this morning. 4.20am. How is that even possible? But try getting a four year old to go back to bed at that hour right?!! So I knew the day was going to go sideways before it had even begun. I also needed to teach a class which I do not normally do on a Monday AND students were really struggling with an upcoming assessment. My hubby was also feeling a bit under the weather so I needed to give him a break and wrangle both monkeys into bed on my own - he is doing tomorrow night on his own so this is just what we do to help share the load. By the time I sat down again to work I was shattered both physically and also mentally. Normally I push through but tonight I was just feeling more flat than normal. Probably the 4.20am start and th

It started as a typical hectic day. Children waking at the crack of dawn, inhaling coffee while ensuring they are fed, asking a million times for pants and shoes to be put on, refereeing the fight over the one particular dinosaur they both want and then like an octopus carrying them plus daycare bags and the kitchen sink into the car, to do the double drop off. When I finally sat down to work, finding my sanity with a peaceful second coffee…my email pings. I had a feeling when I saw the title of the email that it was not going to be pleasant and I should have probably left it unopened, but like a magnet you somehow get drawn in and I opened it. The words have been hard to forget…. “Commercial Whore”….. “You are a Commercial Whore.” I will spare you the subsequent lengthy paragraphs of ranting that were also included in this email to me because…well you get the gist based on those two words alone. This was not an isolated email. This is one of many emails and messages I have received o

This recipe takes the old-school gummie bears and turns them into a immune boosting healthy hit! Made from foods designed by mother nature to help us ward off and fight germs including lemons, oranges and boysenberries - which also give these gummies a wonderful colour. Honey provides a dash of extra sweetness, helps to ease sore throats and has anti-inflammatory properties of it's own. Finally the gelatine is the surprise ingredient here which not only hold everything together but there is now a lot of research to show it actively helps to reduce inflammation. For those that are vegetarian there are now also gelatine options for you too in most local supermarkets. Ingredients: 1 cup of frozen boysenberries (or other berries is fine too!) Juice from 1 lemon Juice from 1/2 an orange 2 tablespoons of honey 2 x 10g packets of gelatine   Directions: 1. Place the boysenberries into a blender and squeeze in the lemon and orange juice. I find it helpful to slightly warm the berries for 30

This is a debate which has raged for a long time, I have seen research dating back to the 1950s on this! Due to the increased awareness on gluten, gluten intolerances and immune-mediated diseases affected by gluten (celiac disease) this debate has come firmly into the public realm. One google search for this question and you will find a divide of opinions, not all of them backed by evidence either. Adding to this confusion is many national guidelines and policy statements are also different. For example in New Zealand the position statement from Celiac NZ strongly recommends against oats for those with celiac disease ( read their position statement here ) . Where as in the United Kingdom the Celiac UK website states that "gluten-free oats may be introduced to the diet at any stage, however, a small percentage of people with celiac disease are sensitive to gluten-free oats". I will get to gluten in a minute but I think the real question should be... Are oats right for me? We

Looking for a super easy, healthy dessert that does not require any preparation? My take on an Eton Mess using my favourite Nairns Oat Biscuits will tick all those boxes! Your traditional Eton Mess uses meringue....aside from the fact it does not have a lot of good stuff in it, I am just not a huge fan of meringue at all (sorry for those that are!). In this recipe I replace meringue with the Mixed Berry Nairns Oat Biscuits which have 40% less sugar than your normal biscuit (you can read my full review here). Not only are they healthier and have zero preparation, they add an extra berry-ness to this whole dessert...with very little work! Oh and I know I said this was dessert but I had this for a late afternoon snack (in the interest of taste-testing of course!). Ingredients: 1 Box of Mixed Berries Nairns Oat Biscuits (3/glass) Greek yoghurt Frozen mixed berries Desiccated coconut Grated dark chocolate (I use Lindt 90%) Directions: 1. Roughly break in three Mixed Berry Oat Biscuits per

It is Mothers Day and this time of year always makes me a little more reflective than usual. When I was first pregnant and had a little being kicking away in my belly I could not really imagine what life would be like when they arrived. When we had said baby…I could not imagine life with two. Around Mothers Day, in 2013 I wrote a blog called ‘ Being Mum – 18 Months In ’. It feels like a life-time has passed since then! So I thought it was worth putting my thoughts on life with two down, in case plans for number three become reality (hold your horses, definitely not any time soon) and I look back and how idyllic (??!!) life was. But I am going to keep this well summarised, time is basically gold now. Time Speaking of time, the mere fact that it has taken me over two years – two years and 3 months to be precise, to write this blog basically sums up life with two. I could say ‘the end’ right here. No seriously, with one child I thought I had no time….but really that was just the training

A very hearty, wholesome meal which all family members can enjoy! This recipe is very high in iron with the inclusion of beef, chickpeas, some green leafy vegetables. I discuss more about the importance of iron for all family members over on my next blog . A casserole is a true classic and this version has a real taste kick with the Cajun spices, red onion and capsicum, without it being super hot (though you can add a chili if you really like!). For those with babies just blitz up a small portion of the vegetables, meat, chickpeas and juice into a blender for easy homemade baby food. Ingredients: 800g casserole meat (I recommend Quality Mark) Extra virgin olive oil (to fry) 2 Tb crushed garlic 30g Cajun seasoning 1 cup of chopped leek 2 potatoes diced 1 capsicum sliced 2 red onions sliced 1 tin (or 400g) chickpeas 2 cups of beef stock   Directions: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees and prepare the beef. 2. Heat a medium sized fry pan, add oil and when hot quickly add the beef, garli

The first week of May is World Iron Awareness Week. Here in New Zealand this is something that health professionals actively team up together to support and there are some good reasons why..... Concerning Iron Stats: 1/3 of the worlds population are anemic, which is actually a late consequence of iron deficiency. Iron deficiency in infants is the biggest nutrient deficiency world-wide in both developed and under-developed countries. 1 in 14 women here in New Zealand are low in iron. Iron deficiency in children can lead to cognitive delays and behavior problems long after the deficiency has improved. So What Does Iron Do? One of the primary roles iron has is in the synthesis of haemoglogbin in red blood cells which carries oxygen around the body. Iron is essential for brain development, which is particularity important in the first few years of life. In addition iron is crucial for a strong immune system, helping to fight off germs and inflammation. Most At Risk? Those that