As the synapses connect throughout childhood, kids brains are growing and learning how to memorise, organise and categorise. They are also learning how to retrieve their stored information, reshape it and apply it in a useful way (unless it has anything to do with making a bed once in a while).

As psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, the co-author of The Happiness Diet says, “These years are critical for brain development, and what they eat affects focus and cognitive skills.”

Food is a very important factor affecting brain development (along with stimulation, exercise, hydration, and a supportive and mindful upbringing).

So here are five foods that help kids stay sharp, and which have positive long-term effects on brain development.

 Fish, Seeds and Nuts

These foods contain essential Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids that actively promote mental health by keeping our kids’ brains healthy.

The best sources of Omega-3 are from wild or organically farmed salmon, sustainable tuna (though be mindful of mercury levels), sardines, herring & mackerel, whole anchovies, flax, hemp, pumpkins and chia seeds, and eggs.

Try these Sweet Potato, Corn and Wild Salmon Fritters.

The best sources of Omega-6 come from seeds (sunflower, sesame) and walnuts.

Try this Muesli Slice recipe, a great one for lunchboxes

Tip: Measure one part each of sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, along with three measures of flaxseeds into a sealed jar and store in the fridge. Freshly grind one heaped tablespoon of these seeds and add to your child’s smoothie or porridge in the morning.

Eggs

Eggs contain choline, which is vital for the creation of the memory stem cells formed deep within our brains. Choline also helps our kids to concentrate

Pastured eggs ensure your child is eating the best quality fats. Your child can safely have one egg per day.

Find out my favourite brands of eggs in this post All Eggs Are Not Created Equal and here’s a simple family-friendly recipe for Potato, Feta and Spinach Frittata 

Protein

Amino acids are life’s building blocks, and protein is where you get them. Amino acids build the neurotransmitters that affect your child’s mood, memory and mental alertness.

Ensure that your child has a 1-2 servings of protein-rich food daily in order to keep their brain humming, and them feeling positive, motivated and energised.

Favourites: Meat, eggs, fish, dairy, lentils, beans, seeds, nuts, quinoa.

Lentils and Rice (Mjadra) makes a cheap, easy and extremely tasty dish the whole family will enjoy.

Fruits and vegetables (especially greens!)

Vitamins and minerals may play a support role in the development and function of your child’s brain. The most important are the Vitamin Bs, Vitamin C, folic acid, magnesium and manganese. They are also full of antioxidants & minerals.

Greens are my favourite because they are full of folate and help ward off dementia later in life.

Tip: Overcome the challenge of getting kids to eat their greens with this Crunchy Kale Chip recipe or by adding finely chopped kale or spinach to omelettes or stir fries.

 Wholegrains

Complex Carbohydrates come from wholegrains like brown rice, buckwheat, oats or quinoa, as well as the foods mentioned above.

They are low GI and provide the most important food for your child’s brain – glucose – the brain’s major fuel.

Tip: Studies show that fueling the brain with breakfast is important for thinking, acting and learning. Try a slower-releasing breakfast in the form of bircher muesli.

There is no second best when it comes to looking after your kids’ grey matter. As the long term control centre of the body, it really is no surprise that our brains need nourishment just like our bodies do . By focusing on a varied diet rich in fish, seeds and nuts, eggs, protein, fruits and and wholegrains, will ensure that you’re giving your kid’s brain all the nourishment it needs.

Bren x

Source: 
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/features/brain-foods-kids http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/healthy_aging/foods_that_boost_brain_power?page
Optimum Nutrition for your Childs Mind – Patrick Holfod and Deborah Colson

If you’re like me you’re panicking a bit, and don’t know what your going to get your loved ones for Mother’s Day, you’re going to find this bunch of  beautiful items handy because you can buy them all online for your mum, grandmother or you can hint for yourself if anyone happens asks : )

MY FAVOURITE GIFT IDEAS FOR MOTHER’S DAY

HOME

S’well Calacatta Gold 500 ml Insulated Stainless Steel Bottle

Gosh I’d feel special and blingy getting one of these water bottles! My current one is old and quite smashed up…hint, hint! (they have lots of gorgeous finishes to choose from).

Betty Bossi Veggie Twister

Gives you vegetable spaghetti in seconds!

Hemp Organic Cotton Sheet Sets

I would adore a set of these beautiful, natural hemp organic cotton blend sheets to sink into every night.  

Mandy Rose Beeswax Candles

I love these beautiful Australian made 100% natural candles which purify the air and invigorate the body.

SELF CARE

Wheatbags Love Eye Mask – Rainforest Clouds

When your brain senses pure darkness, it signals the production of the melatonin which is the sleep chemical, vastly improving your chances of getting a good night’s sleep.

I love these ones because they are locally and ethically made and the watercolour prints are so lovely.

Non-toxic Nail Polish

So many gorgeous colours to choose from! I’m thinking the Coral Blush, Impeachment, The Future is Female or Narcissist. Just.Can’t. Choose!

Salt by Hendrix Body Glow

A gorgeous bath oil to leave your skin bronzed, glowing and radiant. Extremely hydrating and offers an abundance of vitamins and minerals. Suitable for day and night. Divine!

Body Brush

A body brush is a must have to ensure we are draining the lymphatic system, detoxifying, exfoliating every day. The natural bristles in this beechwood bath brush are perfect for massaging the skin and stimulating  blood circulation. I do love an extra long handle to get to those hard-to-reach areas.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are concentrated liquids made of aromatic compounds from plants. The best essential oils are typically steam-distilled and 100 percent pure.

Sensation – This is going to be my gift to myself. I only had a sample of this scent and OMG, it’s just so me. It combines fragrant, feminine essential oils that are uplifting and refreshing. Diffusing it made me want to curl up on the lounge with a good romance novel and escape. It’s currently my fave. 

Stress Away Roll- On

This can be bought singularly but also comes in the Premium Starter Kit (below). Not only do I use it as a toxic free perfume, but while I’m swanning around smelling great, ‘stress away’ is also helping me feel relaxed, calming my nerves and gives me a deep, restful sleep when I apply it at bedtime.

Premium Starter Kit

In every way possible it’s important to create healing environments in our body, and essential oils are one way to help do this.The essential oils in this starter kit are just so beautiful and soothing. They
evoke relaxation and a positive feeling, which promotes healing in the body. Isn’t that what every mum wants?  Add a few drops of lavender for a relaxing bath, diffuse some peppermint to create a sense of calm or ‘purification’ to detoxify the air, ‘francincense’ is perfect for meditation or to promote a beautiful complexion. Note: the ‘Stress Away Roll On’ mentioned above comes with this kit.

You can email me directly to learn more about this or any Young Living products.

What are you hoping to receive this Mother’s Day?

Don’t forget to treat yourself too. I always like to do that because it reduces the expectation and potential disappointment of not getting exactly what you wanted (we’ve all been there!). 

Bren x

Infertlity led me to a holistic fertility centre where my naturopath helped me to discover the negative health affects we can experience from consuming foods with artificial additives, antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and other chemical residues.

Certified organic foods have a higher nutritional content and are much kinder to the environment. Today, nothing is more important to me than keeping myself and my family safe from these toxins.

Here is a rundown of some of my favourite produce and products which proudly wear the trusty Australian certified ‘bud logo’ and I’ve shared a few recipes which incorporate them.

Certified Organic fruit and vegetables can be purchased from your local health food store. It’s worth asking which fruit and vegetables may not be supplied by Organics Growers of Australia (a small producer initiative from Australian Certified Organic), because not all are. Some OGA suppliers to my favourite health food store About Life are Champion’s Mountain Organics

On those super busy days when I’m running really low on produce, I occasionally pop into Woolworths or Coles to pick up the odd thing or two but the fact that the produce is wrapped in plastic really bugs me. I understand that they do this to keep the produce from contaminates when it’s in the warehouse, and through delivery as they are larger supply chains, but I still use them for emergencies only.

The best way to ensure you are purchasing ACO products without the plastic would be to use a home delivery service such as Organic Angels or Aussie Farmers Direct and Daintree Organics.

Here are a couple of recipes to help you use up all those beautiful seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Fresh and Raw Zucchini Noodle Salad

Mix ‘n Match Muffins.

It’s super important to me where my meat comes from and I only buy chicken and meat from sustainable farms which allow their animals to graze freely on pastures and live and eat as nature intended. Meat accumulates all the toxins in our environment, yet another important reason to buy Certified Organic.

My favourite chicken is from Inglewood Farms and we’ll have a roast chicken every week, keeping the bones to make another round of chicken stock. Inglewood chicken can be found in health foods stores, speciality shops and some supermarkets.

Here’s a delicious quick and easy Sticky Orange Chicken recipe my family just loves!

Coconut oil has got to be my absolute favourite pantry staple. Not just for it’s taste, health benefits but for it’s versatility. I use it fry frying, sautéing, and in bliss balls

and add it into smoothies too.

Coconut oil is also my everyday skin moisturiser, makeup remover, hair de-frizzer and more! Buying organic ensures that it contains no synthetics and no insecticides and also that no chemicals are used during the extraction and processing of ACO coconut oil.

Tamari is a wonderful flavour you can add to most dishes from stir fry, to soups, dressings and I even add it to my Mexican dishes. Spiral brand is my trusted favourite.

Photo credit: Spiralfoods.com.au

Absolute Organic brand of raw honey is much loved by the kids. Raw honey is a great choice of sweetener, particularly if eaten raw (not cooked) because it contains all it’s enzymes, vitamins, nutrients and minerals. (unlike refined sugar or pasteurised honey which has all goodness stripped out of it). Raw honey is our favourite sweeter to use in my famous Notella.

Often I’ll find I’ll stock up on Global Organics passata, especially when I find it on sale. I avoid buying anything in tins due to the chemicals in the BPA cans, but especially tinned tomatoes because the acid from the tomatoes reacts with the BPA causing it to leach into the tomatoes. So not feeding that to my kids! We use it in Mexican, Italian, soups, stews, slow cookers. It’s divine in this Slow Cooked Lamb Shank and Barley Soup

We are a cheese-lovin’ family and have a healthy rotation of variety in the fridge, but our everyday cheese is  Barambah Dumeresq Organic Cheddar which comes from a farm whose farmers cares about the wellbeing of it’s calves and cows and allows them to  graze on mixed pastures and are mostly grass fed. My kids love this cheese melted on some buttered sour dough bread in the grill, or grated onto some baby spinach and ham wraps which we then toast.

And something else you’ll find in my cupboard is the old vodka. Nothing beats sitting down with a certified organic vodka, soda and fresh lime as the hubby does a bbq after a big weekend of shopping, kids activities and a big cooking. Ahhhhhh!

What are some of your favourite pantry staples?

Bren x

I do my best to keep 80-90% of the food healthy, or what they know to be everyday food. We don’t keep any ‘sometimes’ food at home, which is reserved for parties, grandparents, friends houses and other events. The food I provide my kids aims to provide them with energy and nutrition so that they can feel happy and healthy each day and in the future.

So I have provided a list of regular foods my kids will eat in the hope this well help you…

Breakfast

• Spelt and buckwheat pancakes (or they are loving my latest banana pancake recipe, which I will try to blog soon)
• Smoothies – they love the Banana Nut-butter Protein Shake by Quirky Cooking from my free breakfast e-book 
• Anti-oxidant smoothie
• Eggs and soldiers – 2 eggs and soldiers made out of Sonoma Spelt sourdough bread with grass fed butter and cut up veges on the side
• Scrambled eggs made with Barambah cheese and milk with baby spinach and a side of  raw vegetables and avocado sourdough toast
  Egg Muffins
• Fried egg and bacon with cut up raw vegetables
• Bircher Muesli or Mamacino’s Feel Good Buckwheat Bircher Muesli from my free breakfast e-book 
• Golden Ricotta Wraps – from my free breakfast ebook
• Natural yoghurt mixed with lots of cinnamon, vanilla powder, frozen berries or seasonal fruit and a mix of chopped nuts and seeds
• Coco- nutty Granola by Sarah Wilson
• Grass fed sausages with homemade baked beans and a side of raw chopped vegetables
• French toast using sourdough bread
• Brenda’s Brekky Ball with a green smoothie
• Notella on spelt sourdough

Morning Tea/Snacks/After school snacks

• Chopped fruit with nuts and yoghurt
• Healthy treats like Chewy Choc-Banana Biscuits, Brownie Cake,  or Date and Cinnamon Muffin
• Home popped organic popcorn (non-GMO corn) with lots of grass fed butter and sea salt (or cinnamon)
• Leftover homemade pizza
• Plate with nuts/seeds, a Medjool date and natural yoghurt
• Kale Chips
• Frozen blueberries or rasberries with cashews
• Mango sorbet
• Home made ice block
• Super Smoothie
• Dips like hummus, pesto and guacomole with vegetable sticks and a small amount of Eat Rite brown rice crackers
• Mix n match muffins
• Cheese on top of cucumber slices
• Lots of water
• Coconut water from fresh baby coconut
• Muesli slice

School Lunch

• Often these are Mountain bread wraps (spelt, rye or rice) with the following fillings (butter and baby spinach are always on the base):
• Goats cheese and olive
• Ham and cheese
• Eggs and bacon
• Leftover chicken and brie
• Egg muffins or leftover quiche
• Home made sausage rolls
• Cheese and spinach Mountain Bread toasties
• Leftovers like homemade pizza, spanokopita (when mum cooks)
• Lately my son is loving taking a “picky plate” which he prepares himself with ham, swiss cheese, olives (Loving Earth), cut up veges and some buttered buckwheat cruskits
• Za’atar (a big favourite!)
• Savoury muffins
• Vegetable sticks, sliced mushroom, cherry tomatoes

Dinner

• • Always includes lots of vegetables
  • Slow cooker meals are their favourite, particularly lamb shoulder
  • Roast chicken with roasted sweet potato, potato, garlic and onion and steamed broccoli with lots of butter
  • Cauliflower and potato soup
  • Pumpkin soup
  • Lamb shank soup
  • Spelt pasta with home made pesto, sustainable tuna and Loving Earth olives
  • Roast chicken with potato, sweet potato, onion, garlic and salad
  • Frittatas
  • Scrambled eggs and bacon with sourdough toast and chopped up vegetables
  • Pan fried fish with peas and salad
  • Stuffed baked potato
  • Chicken burrito (let them build it themselves)

As you can see they eat mainly a whole foods diet aiming for a good mix of protein, fat and carbs (mainly vegetables and some fruit) at each meal, without relying heavily on just one food group (eg. wheat or dairy).

I would love to hear what your kids favourite meals are in the comments below.

Bren x

Guest blog from Jessica Donovan, The Energetic Mama

I am sure all you women out there will agree that the effects of your hormones can be pretty darn powerful! They can cause havoc to our physical, mental and emotional health! Our hormones can make us tired, moody, teary and angry. They can make us gain weight, become bloated and develop depression. We can become ravenous, crave sugar, and suffer with headaches and anxiety when we are ‘hormonal’

On the other hand our hormones are what make us women. They give us our curves, give us our womanly energy and sex drive. They allow us to become mothers and are responsible for our nurturing nature.

The key to living happily with our hormones is Balance! But in this fast paced, toxin loaded world how on earth do we achieve such balance?

Many hormone imbalances are associated with a situation of ‘oestrogen dominance’ or too much oestrogen in relation to progesterone. This can mean your oestrogen levels are too high, your progesterone levels are too low, or both.

Sugars, refined grains, environmental oestrogens (found in plastics, pesticides, toiletries and cosmetics) and poor liver health can all contribute to an imbalance in the ratio of oestrogen to progesterone.

Blood sugar balance

If you have a hormonal imbalance it is especially important to avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. Base your diet on lots of fresh vegetables and salads with clean protein such as eggs, fish and nuts and pasture raised meats.

Environmental Oestrogens

There are a number of chemicals in our environment that act as hormones when absorbed into our bodies, known as xeno- oestrogens. We are exposed to these chemicals in the form of pesticides on the food we consume, soft plastics used in food packaging and many cosmetic products. To avoid exposure to these chemicals

• Eat organic produce where possible
• Minimise the use of plastic wrapping on your food
• Invest in a stainless steel drink bottle.
• Use naturally based cosmetics, being especially careful to avoid parabens.

Liver detoxification

The liver has an important role to play in hormone metabolism, so it follows that keeping the liver happy improves hormone levels. Look after your liver by

• Limiting alcohol and caffeine which put extra stress on the liver, leaving it less energetic to deal with hormone balance.
• Consuming cruciferous vegetables including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts which contain a constituent that helps to improve the metabolism of oestrogen in the liver.
• Drink Fresh lemon squeezed in water, especially first thing in the morning, which aids liver function.

Maintain a healthy weight

Oestrogen is responsible for depositing fat around your abdomen, hips and breasts, giving you your womanly shape but carrying extra weight increases your oestrogen levels, which leads to even more weight gain. To break this cycle eat well and move every day to help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Jessica Donovan is not your typical naturopath. She is a foodie, enjoys a glass of wine and loves dark chocolate.

She doesn’t believe you have to be perfect to be healthy. She believes having GREAT health is achievable for everyone.

She has over 13 years clinical experience as a naturopath and was inspired to create a program for mums after seeing so many mums in her clinic that were tired and overwhelmed and suffering with hormonal imbalances, digestive discomfort and stress symptoms.

Energetic Mama is a 3 step program Nourish – Balance – Rejuvenate to help mums feel their best. You can find out more here http://energeticmama.com/

Find her on facebook  https://www.facebook.com/EnergeticMama

Buy Jessica’s new ebook, Energetic Mama here

My mission is to guide and inspire parents to positively nourish our children, connect our children, and celebrate life and food with them!

I share so much of what I know, and continue to learn on my Facebook page and I’m so pleased to have reached the milestone of connecting with 1000 followers.

To celebrate and thank you all, I thought I would do a lovely little giveaway.

Three lucky winners will win on of the following prizes:

Natural Instincts Face Care Range

Includes –  Daily Moisturiser, Foaming Cleanser, Clarifying Toner, Facial Scrub and Cream Cleanser.

Natural Instincts provide a high quality product using the finest ingredients derived from plants, certified organic extracts and pure essential oils.

The products contain NO  sulphates (SLS and SLES), petrochemicals, propylene glycol, parabens or PEGs. There are no artificial colours or fragrances, harsh detergents, silicones, preservatives, animal derivatives and mineral oils. We exclude over 400 potentially harmful ingredients to you and the environment.

The products are not tested on animals, they are vegan friendly, Australian made, Grey-water safe, and made of recycled packaging.

Additive-Free Shopping

Additive-Free Shopping Guide created by Tanya Winfield,  is a 64 page lightweight flip chart designed to stay in your handbag, with over 800 brand names of products to buy that have no harmful food additives (not even flavour).

These With many, many hours of research in the supermarket aisle and talking to manufacturers about ingredients, this guide is invaluableitems are segmented into easy to follow sections when shopping within large supermarkets in Australia such as Aldi, Coles and Woolworths.

Wardrobe 101

Written by top style guru Dijanna Mulhearn, this indispensable handbook will eliminate the confusion caused by the avalanche of fashion choices. You will find yourself culling your collection immediately and never succumbing to useless impulse purchases again. Instead, Dijanna will has you investing in timeless staple pieces, whilst teaching you how to play with trends without being a slave to fashion.

Instead of generalising according to body type, Wardrobe 101 addresses questions about body shape by targeting specific problem areas. Fool-proof colour combinations for teaming separates for weekday, weekend, workwear and evening are revealed and industry insiders and tastemakers impart their wisdom on how to create your own signature style. Armed with a checklist of essential items, how to interpret runway into every day to suit you and after a wardrobe workshop, you will instantly graduate from fashion victim to serious style maven!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

CONGRATULATIONS TO  THESE WINNERS!!! PLEASE CONTACT ME BY EMAIL WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS PLEASE:

Peta Gillis – Natural Instinct Face Care Pack
Kirri White – Additive Free Pantry Guide
Rebecca – Wardrobe 101

Entering is easy and here’s how:

Sign up for my free newsletter  here

Like these Facebook pages – Brenda Janschek Health & Lifestyle, Additive-Free Pantry and Wardrobe 101.

Have a look at the Natural Instincts website here and leave me a comment below about your favourite Natural Instincts product and why.

Feel free to share this competition with your friends!

Terms and Conditions:

This giveaway runs for two weeks from today and will end on Wednesday 14th August.

Three winners will be chosen randomly and will be announced on this blog post.

This giveaway is only available to those with an Australian address for postal reasons. Sorry!

Cheers,

Bren x

Tell us a little about yourself.(family, work, etc)

I feel like I am leading a blessed life at the moment! I have a gorgeous two year old son, a beautiful partner, and two Barre Body studios. We seem to have created a pretty wonderful life, where I’m lucky enough to truly love what I do.

Tell us about your business Barre Body and what it’s about?

Barre Body is a fusion of yoga, pilates and ballet. It’s a total body toning exercise system that gets some pretty amazing results in a short time. I started incorporating ballet barre work into my yoga practice after Xavier was born and I got the most amazing results very quickly (body in better shape than before pregnancy!) so I decided to develop Barre Body and here we are! We have two gorgeous studios in Melbourne, with a Sydney studio coming very soon (but I can’t tell you much more than that at this stage).

What are some of the things you value most in life?

My family, freedom, travel, gratitude, friendship, living a healthy lifestyle with food and exercise, the beach, Barre Body.

What is your favourite quote?

“After the darkest night comes the brightest day”

This is a beautiful quote that gives hope during times of sadness and struggle. It’s a reminder that life is full of rich experiences and challenges and being able to make it through the hardest times gives you an appreciation that you wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise had, of the beauty and positive things in life that follow these times.

What are your tips to staying happy and healthy?

Eat well and mindfully.

Exercise almost every day in a way that brings you pleasure so you want to keep doing it.

Give more love and energy to your family than work.

Devote time to your self development.

Do more of the things that bring you joy.

Do you find time to nurture yourself? What does this involve?

Not as much as I’d like, but I am working on this right now! I would like to find more time for my yoga practice and more time to bake and more time to read books that expand my consciousness.

What does healthy eating mean for you?

I subscribe to Michael Pollan’s food philosophy. “Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much”, which basically says, eat a wholefoods as close to their natural state as possible and don’t overeat.

What are 5 of your kitchen pantry essentials?

Quinoa, raw cacao, spinach, berries, coconut oil.

What do you indulge in?

Healthy baking! I love to bake healthy sweet treats.

What do you and your family like to do on the weekend?

Xavier is 2, so we have lots of little family adventures; to the zoo, to the park, to the beach, for bike rides. I just love spending time with my family and we devote pretty much the whole weekend to hanging out together.

Would you like to share one of your favourite healthy recipes?

My Famous Healthy Chocolate Brownie

1 cup wholemeal plain or spelt flour

1/2 cup raw caca

o 1/2 cup almond meal or LSA

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup sultanas

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup milk of your choice

Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients, except the raspberries. Spoon into a baking paper lined square baking tin and then press raspberries into the top.

Bake for 30 mins at 180 (fan forced).

I hope you enjoyed this interview. You can connect with Emma here:

www.barrebody.com.au

www.facebook.com/barrebody

www.vimeo.com.au/barrebody

www.instagram.com/barrebody

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a mother of three… Kelsea, Kade and Fletcher. I have been a mother for over 20 years now which sounds so long, though at the same time it just seems like yesterday that I had my daughter. We live in The Hunter Valley in NSW. My favourite colour is red, I’m made for Michael Buble and chai tea..oh and my husband too 🙂

 How was Additive-Free Pantry born?

My middle child Kade is asthmatic. One day I discovered food additives in what he was eating (which caused asthma). I went home, cleaned out my pantry and never looked back. My business evolved as friends asked “What do you eat”,”Why” and “Where do you shop at”? This started my venture in talking to mums within their homes while they enjoyed “additive free” morning tea as I explained what was really in their pantries. The more confident I got the bigger my audience became, really.

 How do you service and educate children and parents on the dangers of additives?

Additive Free Awareness Presentations are what I LOVE to do. I get to inform parents, help empower them with all of the hidden information about  harmful food additives and hopefully inspire them to make the changes that could make a significant difference to their children’s health and wellbeing.

What do you enjoy about your work?

I enjoy hearing success stories of parents who made changes and got to see the benefits first hand. I love knowing that someone heard my story and made changes in their family pantry. I love working along side other mums that believe our children are worth it. I really LOVE that I get to work for myself. This allows me to fit work in/and around my family…and most of all I like to think that I’m making a difference….no matter how small 🙂

What does healthy eating mean for you?

Eating clean, real, additive free foods. Local (when I can), fresh, organic (were possible), ethical, wholesome and nourishing.

What are 5 of your kitchen pantry essentials?

Chai tea ( you don’t want to know me when I have run out of chai), chia seeds,  miso paste (instead of vegemite), greens and fruit for my green smoothies and an organic chook for “Chicken n Chip Night”

 What do you indulge in?

Toasted sourdough and miso paste…I can’t stop!!

What are some of the things you value most in life?

A good sports bra (seriously, need I say more), my husband’s ability to love me for over 12 years now, laughter, my bed and of course my three beautiful offspring.

What is your favourite quote?

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

What are your tips to staying happy and healthy?

Be you! Stop comparing, competing or trying to be like somebody else. Love what you have, be grateful for what you have and give to someone who may need something more than you…it feels so very good to see someone else smile because you did something nice, unexpected or thoughtful for them.

Do you find time to nurture yourself? What does this involve?

I am learning to SLOW down. Do what I can without rushing everywhere. Breathe. Chai tea, going to the movies and a good old trip to the shops never hurt anyone.

 What do you and your kids like to do on the weekend?

We love going out for Sunday breakfast. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and if I don’t have to clean up it is even better. Or a weekend pyjama day is always a treat too.

Would you like to share one of your favourite healthy recipes?

Tanya invited me to choose a recipe from her website & this one caught my eye. A nice hearty one for winter methinks!

Massamam Potato Bake

What you need!

• 1 sweet potato
• 5 large potatoes
• onion, diced
• garlic clove, crushed
• sea salt & pepper
• 1 capsicum, diced
• 3 large mushroom
• 1 can coconut cream (I used Woolworth’s Select)
• sprinkle of herbamare (an organic herb seasoning found in health food section of most supermarkets)
• 1 tablespoon massaman curry paste (I used Valcom)
• dash of oil
• paprika
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Check out Tanya’s fabulous books which you can buy from her website:

Connect with Tanya here:

www.additivefreepantry.com

https://www.facebook.com/additivefreepantry

Instagram: additivefreepantry

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a single mum by choice and have 1 daughter Betsy and she is 11 months old. I had Betsy in my late forties with assistance from an IVF clinic in Sydney and in Greece. She is my only child and had I have started the journey into motherhood earlier, I would have had more children. I run my own business called A Balanced Life and provide conception coaching and counselling to adults.

What is a conception coach?

Conception coaching is an idea that I turned into a reality in the last 12 months. It wasn’t until after I had my baby that I started to think about adding a service to help others who are in assisted reproductive/fertility programs and decided to add conception coaching to my business. I had been in and out of these programs for 4 years and what I found was there were a lot of services out there for preconception care for the body, Such as naturopaths, acupuncturists, massage, herbalists to name a few, but no one was looking after the emotional and thinking processes for anyone in the programs.

Being in the assisted reproductive/fertility program such as IVF was a lonely process. I had stopped telling people I knew that I was undergoing treatments to have a baby. Most were too opinionated and judgemental, some tried to talk me out of it and most of all I didn’t want to keep reliving the grief and loss by telling people when a round of treatments had not been successful. I was lucky that I had a couple of friends who had been through the programs before me and they were supportive and understood how I was feeling.

My beliefs and values about being a woman, a mother, starting a family later in life, being single, being judged by everyone including my family and society at large was all being tested, turned upside down and inside out.

I had not been through an experience like this before and felt I needed a qualified therapist that could understand it all and had been through the same or similar experience as me who could help me to understand what was happening and how to make sense of it for me. When you are in these programs, you feel out of control most of the time as your life is dictated by blood tests, taking artificial hormones, having internal scans, begin prodded and poked every other day. I felt, and so did many others, that they had given over their bodies and lives to the process of IVF and normality of their lives had faded away.

I spoke to many women who I had met in previous years (from swim classes, to mothers groups, and acquaintances I had met along the way) that had also been in the various programs like I had. I asked many of them how they felt going through these programs and who they had to help them emotionally and psychologically along the way. I was surprised to learn we had the same or similar experience and some had seen counsellors and felt they were not helpful at all. Mostly because they couldn’t assist them in a way they needed. So I decided that as I was a degree trained counsellor and coach I would start offering conception coaching to help others navigate their way on their journey too. I came up the name of conception coaching myself, as I had not heard of it before. I then started to develop how I could take my own experience and help others that were also in these programs.

What do you enjoy about your work as a Life/Conception Coach and Counsellor?

I have always loved people’s stories and each story is unique and interesting. I really enjoy working with people and helping them get back to what is important to them, that being; work life balance, relationships and living congruently with their values and beliefs. My conception coaching is so full of hope for a future and bringing acceptance and balance back into the lives of the parents to be is such an honour to work with them on their journey.

What does healthy eating mean for you?

Healthy eating is paramount in my home. Having good quality produce that is organic and pasture fed meat and fish feeds my families body, mind and spirit. We need our body and brain function to work optimally in this busy world and when it is healthy it works much better for us.

What are 5 of your kitchen pantry essentials?

Organic Coconut oil

Organic olive oil

Organic Quinoa

Himalayan pink salt

Good quality nuts and seeds

What do you indulge in?

Good quality food

Beautiful hand made teas from Ovvio

Chocolate coated macadamias from Byron Bay Coffee Company

A nourishing face cream

What are some of the things you value most in life?

Family, health, loving supportive friends, living in a vibrant city, being free to live life to the fullest and grab any opportunity that is available to me.

What is your favourite quote?

I have 2 if I can share both with you.

When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about & that was the beginning of fairies. J.M. Barrie

And

And the day came, when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin

Do you find time to nurture yourself? What does this involve?

I don’t have a lot of time these days with a small baby. I grab a few minutes each day to breathe deeply and quieten my mind with meditation. I love to cook and this helps to relax me. I take long baths and get a good night sleep most of the time.

What are your tips to staying happy and healthy?

I believe that good health encompasses, mind body and spirit. I can target all 3 with good healthy food as I am nourishing myself from the inside out. I go for walks each day with the baby and the dog. I laugh a lot and find a positive in all my challenges. I am grateful every day and don’t take myself too seriously.

What do you and Betsy like to do on the weekend?

We love to walk in Centennial Park and go to the duck pond and feed the ducks.

We play with her toys and our dog Maudie

Visit friends

Go for long walks

Would you like to share one of your favourite healthy recipes?

Slow cooked leg of lamb in a cast iron pot.

Ingredients, all organic

A leg of pasture fed lamb

Coconut oil

2 lemons cut in half

2 bay leaves

4 large ripe tomatoes, heirloom if possible, chop into small pieces. Or use 1 can of organic chopped or crushed tomatoes.

2 tablespoons of Ovvio Grecian Herb & Spice Blend

Home made stock

Handful of black olives

Salt and pepper

Method:

Brown off the lamb in the cast iron pot with a few tablespoons of coconut oil on the stove. Takes about 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, lemons, bay leaves, and olives and cover the lamb about 2/3^rd with the stock.

Add salt and pepper to taste. I sometimes put in whole pepper and then take them out when serving.

Cover with the lid and put into the oven on 120 C for up to 6 hours. I have many times cooked it for 12 to 18 hours on 90 C. The liquid can be spooned over the meat every few hours. Sometimes I add in sweet potato to the mix too.

I serve with vegetables; either roasted or steamed and if you like to add quinoa, serve it on the side or under the lamb.

Email:  Vanessa@abalancedlife.net.au

Website: www.abalancedlife.net.au

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Balanced-Life/168993066499834

Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/pub/vanessa-roworth/1b/a26/999

Twitter: @balanced_life

I’ll let you in on a little secret early on … it’s possibly not as interesting as the contents of Kate Moss’ or Miranda Kerrs’ handbags (and doesn’t have Orlando Bloom’s number either, darn it). But if you’re still interested, join me on a journey into the unknown as I try to locate the secret pockets, chambers and small community halls that my husband insists are in there.

As my children are now seven and nine years old, the contents have substantially changed. Nappies are now a no-no, and I can’t hide my excitement! Muesli bars, cut up fruit, snacks, textas and toys have also worn out their welcome.

Once diving into my bag (not literally), I thought I would find plenty of empty space, but minimal-me doesn’t sound quite right when I pull out 19 items.

1) Business cards and postcards

2) Wallet

3) Lipstick – my current fave colour is all natural and a sexy pink!

4) Organic Lip Balm – natural and organic & my numero uno must-have in my bag. No chemical nasties.

5) Tinted Lip Balm – I adore this Ere Perez product, perfect for a hint of colour, as well as conditioning for the lips.

6) Teabag – as I don’t drink caffeine I tend to bring my own … just in case.

7) Mobile Phone – goes everywhere with me, just like a baby.

8) Car Keys

9) Scarf – my favourite Jac & Jac scarf perfect to have on hand for these unpredictable autumn days.

10) Book for the waiting room. At the moment it’s Optimum Nutrition for your Childs Mind (nerd alert).

11) Acorn – my 7yr old is a bower bird and insists on keeping little nuggets of nature she finds along the way.

12) Water bottle – can’t leave home without it. Staying hydrated is necessary for me.

13) Tissues – being a hay fever sufferer these are essential.

14) Dental Floss – to save me from potentially embarrassing poppy seed moments.

15)  Sunglasses- love my classic Chanels.

16) Green shopping bag – for any spontaneous health food shopping.

17) Activated nuts – to quell the hunger attacks when I’m on the run.

18)  Organic green apple – my favourite portable fruit & goes well with the nuts.

19) Hand moisturiser – for my dermatitis flare ups.

My handbag clearly reveals that I’m a real natural new age mum & also that I may need to downsize!

If you want to check out what’s in other new age mums handbags go to Natural New Age Mums blog.

What’s in your handbag and what does it say about you? I’d love to know!

Bren x