Family

Healthy Lunch Box Challenge

by Fiona Rossiter on February 2, 2012

 

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As parents we all know how important it is to ensure that your children eat a healthy balanced diet and how difficult it can be to achieve, especially when you have fussy eaters in your family! When it comes to packing a healthy lunch box, we can all relate as to how frustrating it can be to continually come up with new, healthy lunch box ideas! I know that I find packing lunch boxes a challenging task, especially when you children become bored with what you are offering them. So it’s fair to say that we could all use a bit of help when it comes to “lunch box ideas.”

 

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Just the other day a rather clever “idea” popped into my inbox, in the form of the “Healthy Lunch Box Challenge” being run by “Little Cooks Club”.  Interesting – that’s what I thought, so what does this entail?

 

[quote style="1"]Our “Challenge” this year is to get children eating healthy food at school during school times (08h00 – 13h00). We are only concentrating on during school, not after school. If all children are getting good, healthy food, they will all be forced to eat healthy food with their peers. – Little Cooks Club [/quote]

 

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What are the benefits of your child eating a healthy school lunch:

 

  • As there is a rather high rate of obesity in young children, it goes a long way to eliminate this problem by excluding unhealthy options from your child’s diet.
  • Eating a healthy well balanced, nutritious diet is vital for good concentration and avoiding learning issues.
  • Certain unhealthy foods can negatively affect behaviour; some children are allergic to the preservatives in these foods which can lead to inattentive or bad behaviour in class.

 

How to join the Healthy Lunch Box Challenge:

 

  1. First register for the Challenge. By doing so it will then allow Little Cooks Club to send you a new monthly schedule with recipes for that month, tips and ideas. It also gives us an idea to see if parents are interested in the Challenge. Click here to register.

 

  1. Print out the monthly schedule and stick it onto your fridge. (This is what it looks like.) If your child doesn’t like certain things on the list then choose from the other options – everything is healthy on my list and acceptable for children. If your child has specific food allergies then please give them something else; you all know your own children – this is a guideline only.

 

To read more about this awesome challenge click here to visit the Little Cooks Club website.

 

Image source: Pinterest

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WhatWhereWhen – What’s On at the Movies?

by Fiona Rossiter on January 27, 2012

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If you are in need of a bit of R & R this weekend and want to escape the heat why not treat yourself to a movie. I love going to the movies, especially if you add the popcorn, Coke and Jelly tots!(Naughty treats – well baring the popcorn!)

I thought I would share a few that are currently showing and are on my list to see.

 

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Seeking Justice

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I am particularly biased when it comes to Nicolas Cage – I love him, so this will be a definite must see for me! So if it’s a bit of nail-biting, edge of your seat action you are seeking, this could be the one for you!

Who’s In It - Harold Perrineau, Nicolas Cage, January Jones, Guy Pearce, and Jennifer Carpenter

What’s It About:

Nicolas Cage stars as a high school teacher who bands with a group of vigilantes in order to avenge a violent crime against his wife in this thriller from director Roger Donaldson (The Recruit, The Bank Job). The husband unwittingly pulls himself into a dangerous underground vigilante operation after agreeing to an intriguing offer for a stranger to exact vengeance on his wife’s attacker. While continuing to protect his wife from the truth, he quickly discovers that his quest for justice could lead to frightening and deadly consequences.

 

We Bought A Zoo

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This one sounds a bit off the wall but like a good dose of family fun. Matt Damon is a great actor and everybody loves a bit of escapism,  so it could be entertaining for the whole family.

Who’s In It – Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Thomas Haden Church

What’s It About:

In this comedy drama from Vanilla Sky & Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe and which is an adaptation of true events, single dad Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) decides his young family needs a fresh start in order to bring them all back together, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. When a local zoo is faced with closure and the future of the exotic animals within hang in the balance, Benjamin seizes the initiative and hands over his life savings in order to buy the place and move there with his kids Dylan and Rosie.  With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory, and to give 200 wild animals a safe and well-maintained place to live.

 

A Dolphin Tale

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Ok I have it on good authority that this is a real ‘tear-jerker’ so make sure you have loads of tissues on hand! Again a great cast and it’s based on a true story which is always a winner for me. This is top of our family list of movies to see – I am a bit of a cry-baby, so I will probably need a box of tissues!

Who’s In It – Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman

What’s It About:

Inspired by the incredible true story of a courageous dolphin named Winter who was rescued off the Florida coast after her tail became caught in a crab trap, this family movie details her fight to survive and the group of compassionate people who banded together to help her when she needed human help most of all. The film centres in particular on the unique bond between the injured dolphin and a young boy. After Winter loses her tail in the accident that almost killed her, her young friend convinces the locals to build her a prosthetic replacement, inspiring hope and courage in the local community as well as in handicapped people across the globe.

 

A Little Bit of Heaven

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Oh I love a ‘rom-com’, as my hubby calls them and I really enjoy Kate Hudson – so if you need a bit of Romance in your life why not give this a try.

 Who’s In It - Kate Hudson and Lucy Punch, Peter Dinklage

What’s It About:

Marley Corbett (Kate Hudson) is a vice-president at an advertising agency in New Orleans. Full of energy and surrounded by great friends including sassy gal pal Sarah and heavily pregnant Renee, Marley seems to have everything to live for with the possible exception of her perfect mate.

However, when a routine check-up at the local hospital reveals the shocking news that she has cancer her life is upended. Suddenly she has to face the possibility of impending demise and life takes on a whole new meaning. As she sets about dealing with her illness, Marley is supported by her handsome doctor, Julian (Gael Gabriel Garcia), on whom she soon realizes she has an incurable crush. But just as she finds she may have met her soul mate, she discovers that the threat of falling in love may be scarier than death itself.

 

So for more information on viewing times and a cinema near you click on the links below:

Ster- Kinekor

Nu Metro Cinemas

 

I would love to hear from you if you have seen any of the above; your views and reviews and recommendations of movies you have seen recently! Have a great weekend!

 

Look out for more WhatWhereWhen…. news and views of whats happening in and around Cape Town. See my previous post WhatWhereWhen….Cape Town’s Popular Coffee Shops.

 

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Miracles

by Fiona Rossiter on November 21, 2011

 

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What a weekend! My eldest started writing exams today – which means we were all studying, Afrikaans,over the weekend! It actually feels like you are back at school and studying again – I am not sure who is more nervous, her or us?! So being the beginning of a rather long week we can use all the MIRACLES we can get! :) Just not too sure if I am patient enough to wait 48 hours!

Have a great week!

 

Image Source: Pinterest

 

 

 

 

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Milestones

by Fiona Rossiter on November 7, 2011

 

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We cannot avoid milestones – they are a part of our lives from cradle to grave.  We measure our existence and our success in life by milestones, “firsts”, “birthdays”, getting engaged, getting married, having babies – they become our markers along the road of life.

As parents we watch these milestones like hawks – how fast our baby grows, when they start to walk, when the start to talk, when they cut their first tooth – the list goes on.

 

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In our lives at the moment we are facing some rather large millstones, it is our 15 year wedding anniversary next month – yes you can be married for 15 years and still be happy and in love! My beloved is turning 40 early next year – yikes, I remember when I was a child thinking that 40 was so old! As I said fairly large milestones!

Another milestone we have been faced with recently is the decision, whether or not to have any more children – which may not be a big deal to some people but a rather large decision for us. It is almost as if you are closing a chapter in your life. It is not necessarily the easiest decision to make and you constantly question your motivation but now that we have made the decision – I believe it was the right decision and timing for us. I think that you know – that you know!

Going forward I know that there are so many more milestones that I cannot wait to experience – getting older is not one of them but watching my girls become young woman, achieving success in their lives and careers, getting married and having babies – being around to experience all these milestones with them!

 

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So enjoy your family – cherish those millstones, celebrate each one no matter how small and insignificant they may seem.

 

 

 

Images: Super Mom & Pinterest

 

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Good Manners

by Fiona Rossiter on October 19, 2011

 

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It always amazes me as to how easily, we as human beings have the ability to adapt and change dependant on the circumstance or situation – some boarding on split personality disorder. What we say or how we act is largely determined by who we are with and what situation we find ourselves in.

This said, what does it say about our belief system and the type of values we imparting to our children? I would like my children to grow up with good solid values, being respectful and well-rounded adults – which means that I have to be a good role model and give them something to aspire to.

 

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I think in the world at large, most people do not share this ideology, just take a simple concept like good manners – people just don’t seem to care about manners anymore. Yes I am generalising but I see it every day – if someone doesn’t feel like greeting you they just don’t! What’s up with that? I don’t want to be a lifelong friend – but would a simple “hello” kill you???

If we as adults adopt this policy – to only greet or have manners when we feel like, can we honestly expect our children to do any differently? We should be leading by example. I understand that we all have different belief systems and morals but we should still maintain basic etiquette.

“Manners Maketh Man” – William Wykeham. How we behave says a great deal about who we are and manners stop the world from falling into a heap of savagery!

So what can we do to stop the world from degenerating around us?  To me it is very simple –be the better person; never give up and never stop trying! :wink:

 

Images: Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

 

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