Natural Remedies

My littlest one is sick today. She's running a high temp, and not even a bowl of glistening strawberries could induce her to eat breakfast today (they're her favourite- she scavenges them straight from the patch in summer). NB, she's wrapped in love courtesy of her "Arentie" Shay, who patched this gorgeous quilt for her before she was born.

So, I've just made a fresh lemon juice, and blended it with organic berries and a heap of Manuka honey, which I'm setting into little ice blocks in the hope it will cool her down and soothe her ills. Our house smells of eucalyptus and peppermint oils, too, which is gorgeous, and hopefully helpful. 

Do you have any natural remedies you swear by? 

Bad food day

Last night, I realised my kids hadn't eaten a single bit of fruit or veg all day! This rarely happens to us because well, I'm a planner. Also, I am obviously a little neurotic about kid nutrition. 

But yesterday, we seemed to lurch from one random thing to another, so that the kids had eaten:

2 pieces of rye toast (breakfast)

2 pieces of spelt raisin toast (morning tea)

Tuna sushi (lunch)

Popcorn (afternoon tea- home popped)

A Freddo frog each 

Ravioli with cheese (dinner).

As I mentally recounted their days' menu, I couldn't believe how stodgy their diets had been! A reasonably tragic scene ensued, one that will probably only be familiar to fellow parents, in which my husband and I ferried little bowls of strawberries and sliced banana into the kids- to eat while they bathed! Oh dear. 

The odd day of crap food is fine. Obviously! But I swung the other way today... Smoked salmon scrambled eggs with kale for brekkie (more on this later- it's one if my kids' favourite brekkies but it can be expensive unless you shop smart), nuts and fruit for lunch, a smoothie for afternoon tea, and now a dinner comprised of natural snacks. Busy lives make it tricky to keep an eye on their diets but it's so important to get it right, most of the time.

bath fizzies

These bath fizzies have become a favourite part of our weeks' activities. It's the gift that keeps on giving! 

Making them is a bit of fun, and the kids are learning to read the numbers on the scale, and then at night, they adore dropping one into the bath and watching it fizz and bubble. 

For me, they're fantastic because they have enough bicarbonate in them to act as a cleaning agent on the tub. No rims like you get with commercial ones and you control the quality of ingredients, eg, food safe and organic. 

Here's what I have done over the last few weeks, whilst firming up my own technique and recipe. The main thing is to use organic and food grade products to avoid allergies and irritation. Also, when adding the liquid to the dry, dribble it in so slowly, or else they'll fizz on impact and the jig is up. 

Dry Ingredients 

225g bicarbonate soda

113g Citric acid

113g Epsom salts (or other therapeutic salt)

113g organic corn flour 

Wet ingredients 

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted to liquid

1 tablespoon filtered water

1 teaspoon fragrant oil - I use food grade oils, such as organic rose or orange, or vanilla.

Optional, a natural food colouring- just a couple of drops.

Combine the wet ingredients in a small jug and set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Use your hands to make sure any lumps are broken up completely.

So slowly it feels unnatural, dribble to wet mix in and stir constantly. If it starts to fizz, quickly mix in more dry ingredients- this will halt the reaction.

Once it's all mixed in, you will be able to form the mix into balls. Shape them and set aside for about 20 minutes while they dry out and firm up. Store in an airtight container and use at will. 

Sometimes, inexplicably, I find the mix isn't liquid enough to form. Add a tiny bit more oil if this is the case.

Beans

I love home made baked beans. They're so easy to make and a truckload better for you than their tinned counterparts. Don't mistake me; I have relied on tin beans in the past and will again. For quick, always-eaten dinners, they never fail to get my kids chowing down. But with a little more time up my sleeve, I love to make my own.

I blogged a recipe a little while ago. However, I've tweaked and improved it. So here's my baked beans, the 2014 version.

Ingredients

1 tin organic butter beans

1 tin organic kidney beans

1 small white onion diced

2 rashers free range bacon, diced (NB, replace with a teaspoon of mild paprika for a vegetarian alternative that's still bursting with smokey goodness)

1 celery stalk, finely cubed

2 fresh tomatoes, diced roughly

1 tablespoon good quality tomato paste

1-2 cups filtered water 

I tablespoon extra Virgin olive oil 

Herbs (optional- my master three currently won't eat any "salad", eg, anything green.)

Choose a heavy based pot with a lid- I use my le creuset Dutch oven. Over moderate heat, sautée onion and celery, then add bacon and cook for a few minutes, until a little browned. Strain and rinse the beans and add to the pot. Stir to coat in the onion mix. Add the chopped tomato and enough filtered water to cover. Lower the heat and cover, then cook for around twenty minutes. Remove lid, stir through the paste and cook for a further ten minutes to so. Check seasoning and adjust with a little coconut sugar or honey if necessary. Your beans are ready when the water has become a thick coating and the smell is making your tummy rumble. 

Here's the beta version in case you're wondering.

http://littlelunching.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/home-made-baked-beans.html?m=1