"You have dirtied the whole floor again! Why do you always do that?"

As parents, arent we sometimes frustrated and have daily struggles to get our children to behave in a certain way ... the way society expects. Children and adults have conflicting needs.  Adults want cleanliness, order, courtesy while children are not too bothered about those things. They are busy being children!


I have to say, my husband constantly are up and arms with my boys on cleanliness and courtesy. The 2 Big Cs in my household.  The kids don't understand why he goes on about it. They abide by the requirements to prevent their father from getting ruffled and cross with them.

I set out to look for some reading material. And this is probably the best to described what is happening and what to do.

I love to hear parents give their views on this.


Have you heard parents speak to their kids this way:

Name calling - "you are a slob. what a dirty room. can't you clean it."

Threats - "If you don't do your homework, I am going to speak to the principal"

Commands - " Do your homework now"

Comparison - Lisa/Bob is so much clever/hardworking/pretier than you.  She/he has so much better manners

Lecturing - "Do you think it is a nice thing to do? You dont seem to realise the importance of manners"

Warnings - "Careful, what is wrong with you" You will be hit.

Prohecy - " Keep doing what you are doing. You will not get anywhere with that attitude"

These is actually verbal violence and abuse. It breaks their self esteem and creates bad feelings.

These are 5 ways to work with kids - pick the ones that work for you:

(i) Describe what you see or the problem.

e.g. There is a wet towel on the bed

It is easier to deal with a problem then with an accusation.

(ii) Give information

Give information that the child can work with. e.g. the towel is making my bed wet

(iii) Saying it to the point
Children dont like lectures and sermons. Shorter the better.

(iv) Talk about your feelings
Dont comment about the child's character or personality. e.g. I dont like slepping on a wet bed

(v) Write a note
My older son is into writing his feelings. I get him to write and i sometimes write him back.

I confess I am guilty of some of things. But sharing experiences help and and I tell my children to remind me or even tell me if my actions are unkind and hurtful. This, I hope shows that I respect them as being intelligent, sensitive and have their own character and feelings.

Interestingly, these are also good reminders for the work place!

I look forward to hearing your views on this topic in particular.

Happy teaching and cooking!

Remedies from the Kitchen

There are lots of home remedies, which are right in our kitchen Spices, olive oil, garlic, lemon, honey, vinegar, the list goes on .... Here are a few i use with my children. My mother is a great proponate of home remedies. Its natural. But of course, nothing replaces the doctor and proper medical care. Natural remedies can nevertheless help.


1.    Cuts and wounds, including paper cuts

(i)  Tumeric powder

Wash the wound first. Mix a little tumeric powder and water and rub over the wounds. It should provide quick relieve. Tumeric is a natural antibiotic.

(ii) Tea tree oil

Stir a teaspoon or so tea tree oil into a cup of warm water and rinse the cut. Do it a couple of times.


2.  Coughs

(i) Honey and ginger
Honey has antibacterial properties and works wonders for coughs and sour throats. Crush some ginger and include some honey with warm water.

(ii) Eucalyptus oil
This oil is wonderful to clear sinuses and the coughs caused by excessive flame. Place some in hot water and breathe in the vapours. Dont forget to place a towel over the child's head. This is better for older children - above 7 because of the strong vapours.


3.   Body Odour

(i) Try wipping vinegar or lemon juice under the arm pits. These will kill the bacteria in the area

(ii) Dusting bicarbonate of soda and corn flour powder is another remedy


4. Motion Sickness

(i) Chew fresh slices of ginger, drink ginger tea or nibble on ginger biscuits



Happy Teaching and Cooking!

Which is a Good Cooking Oil?

Do you sometimes wonder which cooking oil is best? Olive oil? Coconut oil? Canola oil? Sunflower oil? I did some research and this is what I found.

Cooking oil is fat and can be from plant or animal.

Types of cooking oil include:

- Ghee

- Olive oil

- Palm oil

- Soybean oil

- Canola oil

- Pumpkin seed oil

- Corn oil

- Sunflower oil

- Safflower oil

- Grape seed oil

- Peanut oil

- Sesame oil


First understanding the different kinds of fats

Oils differ from one another and are categorized by their degree of "saturation."

Generally saturated fats has heart health risks, which generally come from animal sources. Coconut, palm and palm kernel oils are the 3 plant-based exceptions to this rule, and should generally be avoided.

1. Monounsaturated oils are liquid at room temperature but cloud and thicken when chilled - Olive, canola, peanut and hazelnut oils, safflower and sunflower oils.

Consuming monounsaturated oils seems to reduce total blood cholesterol and the "bad" (low density lipoproteins [LDL]) cholesterol levels without affecting the "good" (high density lipoproteins [HDL]) cholesterol levels.

Olive oil and canola oil have been recommended as the safest sources of fat in a heart-healthy diet.


2. Polyunsaturated oils – regular safflower and sunflower, walnut, corn and soybean oils, remain liquid whether in or out of the refrigerator. Sesame oil contains approximately half monounsaturated and half polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Polyunsaturated oils are healthy because they too reduce total cholesterol and LDL, but they also decrease HDL's positive effects.

Polyunsaturated oils are chemically unstable, especially when exposed to heat and can change in content that contribute to cancer and other chronic diseases. Notice, there is more smoke with these kinds of oils especially sesame oil.

Have you noticed that some advertisements boasts an oil containing no cholesterol. It is true because vegetable oils contain no cholesterol as only animals have cholesterol.


Cooking with oil

Heating an oil changes its characteristics.

The cooking oil we choose depends on the cooking method.

Polyunsaturated oils - degrade easily to toxic compounds when heated. Prolonged consumption of burnt oils can lead to inflammatory joint disease, and development of birth defects.

Saturated fats – such as palm oil and coconut oil can withstand the high heat of deep frying and is resistant to oxidation compared to highly unsaturated vegetable oils. It remains stable in deep frying or in baking at very high temperatures.

Never fry at high heats with corn oil, it's notorious for foaming and smoking.

So, which oil is healthy?

There is no real answer because the fat content between the oils differ and they have their different characteristics. All cooking oils are 100 percent fat and thus the best way is to use oils is with thought and sparingly.

Canola oil is lowest in the saturated fat that clogs our arteries, while olive oil is highest in monounsaturates.

The dietary difference in cooking oils lies in the proportions each contains of the three basic types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

Regardless of the type of oil, we should used no more than 10 percent of total calories intake.  Try reading this book for more information on cooking oils.




Happy Cooking and Teaching!

Family Cooking

Teaching young children about nutrition should start at an early age. How do we do this? Most parents will explain using books, pictures, having a talk and so on. There are other effective ways.




Family Cooking - Click to Get Picture to Decorate Kitchen



Get the children involved in the cooking process, which includes from planning to preparation to the actual cooking.


Growing children have receptive minds. They are able to learn and absorb new information and skills easily. Preschoolders for example easily learn another language compared to adults. It is an excellant time to injet ideas and information to a preschoolers and school going children.

 I am telling my children to drink less juices and fizzy drinks and drink more water. No coke or even orange juice where sugar is added. All these steps prompts my boys to tell themselves that they are 'taking too much sugar' and 'stay away from unhealthy food'. They of course stray - they are children after all - but their minds are being moulded to think about bad food.

How to cook with children

Cooking activities' is  a brilliant way to get the kids 'programmed'. Get the kids involved in the whole assembly line:

Plan and Discuss
Discuss your meals. Allow your child to contribute their ideas. Benefits are endless: children's confidence booster, saves money because of the planning, healthy meals. Aim to
- guide your child
- serve three main meals including healthy snacks
- food must be nutritional from the food pyramid
- have variety - avoid repetition - dont have chicken stew on Monday and Wednesday for example
- use healthy cooking methods - roasting, steam, grill, stir fry

Shop and Teach
Teach you child about food and nutrition when you take them shopping.
- which is good and bad
- expiry dates
- money needs
- reading food labels

Cook and Teach
Depending on the age of your child, start with simple tasks such as washing and cleaning. Allow spread butter, tuna, mix, knead dough etc. They are many reccipes on this blog that helps various age groups.

Cheerful Family in the Kitchen - click to use as wall deco

The old proverb - Give someone a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach someone to fish and you feed him forever.


A simple everyday activity - cooking - can be such a powerful and useful tool for our children. Its free and entirely up to us.

Cooking with children

Click to Find Out More

Happy Teaching and Cooking!

Almonds- A nut for all Children

Almonds is a fantastic nut! Almonds are a great snack for children and adults.  A wonderful food for the growing brain and useful to adult weight watchers.

Almonds

Almonds is extremely great to reduce risk of heart disease and curb hungry pans and thus helps reduce weight.  It is a nut for after meal or between meals.  Its has high content of monounsaturated fats, the same found in olive oil which helps in reducing risk of heart disease.


For children,  we could either soak a few seeds in water to soften it. Take off the skin and allow children to eat at least twice a day if not twice. Another way is simply to pound the almonds making it milky. Have it in the morning is best to start the day.

70grams or about 3 ounces can reduce bad low density lipoprotein cholesteral levels. Thats is only a handful of seeds.

A quarter cup of almonds has 100grams of magnesium plus 257mg of potassium. Magnesium is nature's calcium blocker. With enough magnesium, veins and arteries allows better blood flow and thus oxygen and nutrients flow better throughout the body.

Flavonoids found in almond skin and with vitamin E in the seed delivers double the antioxidant compared to if these 2 nutrients are given separately. There are 20 potent antioxidant in the almond skin which contribute to healthy benefits similar to that found in green tea and grapefruit.


Here is an almond cookie recipe. Simple to prepare and get the children involved. Make sure you explain to the children the benefits of almonds while baking.

50 grams whole almonds
2 tablespoons caster sugar
140 grams plain flour
100 grams butter
pinch of salt

1. Heat overn at 170C
2. Roast almonds for about 5 to 10 minutes - roughly chop the almonds
3. Cream butter, sugar and a pinch of salt and fold in the flour
4. Add the chopped almonds
5. Make into small balls
6. Bake for about 15 minutes

Almond Cookies

The Magic of Guava

Guava is known as a ‘superfood’. It is high in pectin, antioxidants, fiber, nutrients and has 4 times the vitamin C in oranges.

Guava

Oranges, Grape Fruit, Lemon

The guava is a tropical fruit, green in color that changes to light yellow as the fruit ripens. Some varieties have pink flesh with small seeds, while others are white with either seed or seedless.

How to eat Guava?

The whole of the guava fruit can be eaten including the rind. Removing the seeds is optional.

Slice it and dip in soya sauce or a little salt and sugar. Drinking guava juice is also excellent. The only problem is that juicing guava at home can be troublesome because the fruit tends to be hard. It is perhaps best to buy, preferably juice without sugar added.

Another wonderful way is to include guava in salads. Chop up in small bits and include it as ingredients to your salads.

Some also include guava in their dishes such as in making curries.

With all fruits, guava is best eaten raw.

Health Benefits of Guava

1. The guava fruit is one of the richest sources of Vitamin C.

When compared to citrus fruits such as the orange, the guava has over four to five times the Vitamin C of the orange.

2. The guava fruit is also rich in calcium, Vitamin A and B, as well as iron, foliate, and has very high fiber content.

3. Guava help to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure

4. Eating guavas also improves blood circulation and therefore plays a role in strengthening the heart.

5. Guava is excellent in preventing as well as treating scurvy, asthma, acidosis, congestion of the lungs, as well as aiding in the treatment of prolonged menstruation.

The guava is a small fruit which makes it the ideal snack to have in between your meals.

Guava is wonderful for weight watchers as it is low in calories (about 70) and high in fiber and water content which is great for low fat diets.


Happy Teaching and Cooking!

Make Kids (and Adults!) Eat Broccoli - Important Enough to be Creative with Broccoli Recipes

Broccoli is a wonderful vegetable. From the cabbage family, it decreases the risk of cancer and has high amounts of vitamin C. Originally from Italy, its a vegetable that has been around for 2000 years. Here are some simple recipes for kids and adults alike.

Beautiful Broccoli

1.   Steam some broccoli with salt . Add pepper for extra flavour.

2.   Add it to your soups

3.   Stir fry with garlic - here's the recipe. I like this the best because its easy and fast.

400 grams broccoli (stalks and florets separated)
3 cloves garlic thinly sliced or crushed
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 red chilly (this is of course optional but it does give the extra zing)

How to prepare
Boil some salted water and add stalks for 2 minutes and florets for another 2 minutes (
Heat the oil and fry the garlic till it sizzles and browns
Add chilly
Remove from the heat
Add onto the broccoli and serve.

For parents and for children to know why it is important to give broccoli the attention it deserves!

Information on broccoli - summarised from Wikipedia. And there is loads of information on the net.

• Broccoli is high in vitamin C, as well as dietary fiber;
• Broccoli also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties
• The 3,3'-Diindolylmethane found in broccoli is is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer  
• Broccoli is  an excellent source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells

 A single serving provides more than 30 mg of Vitamin C and a half-cup provides 52 mg of Vitamin C.

However, the benefits of broccoli are greatly reduced if the vegetable is boiled.

Steaming broccoli for 3–4 minutes is recommended to maximize potential anti-cancer compounds.

Boiling reduces the levels of suspected anti-carcinogenic compounds in broccoli, with losses of 20 – 30% after five minutes, 40 – 50% after ten minutes, and 77% after thirty minutes.

However, other preparation methods such as steaming, microwaving, and stir frying has no significant effect on the compounds.


Happy Teaching and Cooking!