New Food Lover's Market at Morning Glen Mall

Food Lover's Market at Morning Glen Mall

Food lovers in the heart of Morningside, Morning Glen Mall, are in for a greater variety of food as Food Lovers Market opens.

Food Lovers's Market "Farmer's Crop"

I was most impressed last week with the offerings at Food Lover's Market at the revamped Morning Glen Mall. As a vegetarian I spend most of my food budget on vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans. The Morning Glen Mall has recognised the need to support the growing healthy living habits of the community. My list grew larger and larger while I was walking through the displays and shelves. The variety, freshness and healthy choices makes it easy for a one-stop shopping experience. Which I always try to do!

Maboneng is an experience

Market on Main

We have always heard about Maboneng, Market on Main and Arts on Main.
We decided on Sunday to drive through for lunch and a bit of browsing.
It is a cultural experience of sounds, tastes and visual bombardments.

It is worth going, and it seems lots of people are doing the same on a Sunday.

It was packed!

We followed Waze to Fox Street, but there was no parking available and we had to park around the corner. Parking In Johannesburg city is still an issue to me, and I was glad my car was still there when we got back... (The only negative of this experience!)

Photobombed by Little Miss

Arts on Main - Photography exhibition

Arts on Main

#iwasshot - a cool idea at Arts on Main

Little Miss was sketched by Mwanawasa, an art student

And finally the coffee!!

Did we miss something?

Found a spot with a view and vibe

The Windjammer

We are always in search of a view here in the city! Somewhere to catch the last rays of the sun and being able to look towards a horizon and not into the rows of brick walls!

We found that on Friday night while I was scrolling through Zomato looking for a place we have not visited before.The Windjammer Restaurant and Upperdeck Bar in Honeydew is such a spot!

We got seats on the deck with a great view. There was also live music that was not bad at all. In fact, it was excellent!! A few of the Sting songs really got us going. We left early, because CHILD, but apparently they were waiting for the main entertainment at 9 pm. (Date night spot, definitely!)

The food was just as great! I wrote a review on Zomato. Little Miss loved her squid starter, I had the Mediterranean pasta and Hubby the huge double burger!

We will be back to get more of this view, vibe and food!

There were a number of children with their parents at the venue. Next time I will ensure that I bring earplugs on a weekend as the music was extremely loud.
 (I don't think it is good for young ears to be exposed to this for too long!) 

What spots can you recommend for their views?

The power of a R2 coin #addhope

October focus on World Hunger Month!
Poor nutrition leads to stunted mental and physical growth, which is irreversible!

KFC started with their CSI campaign, Add Hope, in 2009. Each R2 added on a KFC purchase goes into a Trust which looks after beneficiaries which provides healthy meals to children in South Africa. Their crazy dream is to feed over a million children in the near future. At this stage there are 103 beneficiaries in their system which feeds over a 100 000 children each day.

The stats are overwhelming. 11 million people go hungry in South Africa each day, of which 3.2 million are children!

KFC has raised R263 million, and all the funds are used for the purpose that is intended for! The marketing gets funded from separate budgets.

A new advert was unveiled yesterday to grow awareness of the campaign! The images were created by one of the beneficiaries of the campaign, Afrika Tikkun. The children of Afrika Tikkun created the drawings used in the video.

When children are not getting sufficient nutrition, even their drawings reflect this sad state. The pictures lack definition, colour and vibrancy! The first character in the video shows a hungry character who changes into a bright and multi-faceted character in the story line.

It is a Story of Hope: Children who are hungry lose hope! They lose hope in the future!
A full stomach makes all the difference!

A wonderful young lady, Sinanzi Ndlovu shared her experience at Afrika Tikkun. They gave her a meal and a place to do her homework in the afternoons and learn extra skills after both her parents died. She was able to complete her matric and carry on with extra courses. She was given hope where it would not have been possible without it!




We can do the following:

1. We can add the R2! Off course!

2. We can share a photo of an empty plate on social media and nominate somebody else to do the same!

Pledge your plate @samomblogs It's super easy! R2 #addhope #pledgeyourplate

A photo posted by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Oct 6, 2015 at 2:50am PDT

What does it take to raise a child to adulthood? - Kid Calculator

Kid Calculator

Finally, a calculator to compute the expense of having a child and raising him/her to adulthood!
It's a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun.

It's a calculator based on American living expenses, and also calculates in US dollars, but it is easy to convert.

I did the quick calculation: Our daughter "owes" us: $ 344 400.40 = R 3 977 996.82 (nearly four million South African rand)

Kid Calculator results

The breakdown on the invoice looks like this:

The certificate can be shared on social media, printed or emailed.
Very cute!

Filed for future reference: The Lunch Box

The daily lunch box

We have to put in a lunch box for 10 am each day at the school.
We are not allowed by the school to put in any sweets. (Which we totally agree with, of course! But it makes it even more difficult to come up with new treats.)

We have a weekly outing to the shops to search for a variety of healthy snacks to put in the lunch box. I also have to be very creative in the way I present it in the lunch box. It sometimes does not even get opened.

And what gets eaten one week does not get eaten the next...

I was told to put in carrots one day, and for all the the other days it was not even touched again.
Apples and bananas rarely gets a bite, and yesterday we were told that she does not like biltong.
(There is only one expletive that works here! WTF!!)

With a different picture each day

The lunch box on top has the following:

- Beef biltong slices
- Two small tomatoes
- Heart sandwich with biltong and butter spread
- Dried fruit strips
- One rusk
- Salt biscuits
- 2 Digestive biscuits with chocolate coating on one side (a bit of a sweet)
- Slice of cheese

I also do a daily different picture on the lunch box with a permanent marker which can be washed off each day.

For future reference: Little Missy, I hope you read/see this one day!
We did put in a lot of effort.

Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days - Hamper up for grabs

I received the Kellogg's Breakfast for Better Days initiative in my inbox.

Since I am a breakfast person (I cannot do a day without breakfast) and I get grumpy without my favourite meal of the day, I love that they are focusing on feeding the children. We are also always trying to get the Little One to eat something in the mornings. She struggles with breakfast, but can get ravenously hungry at ten... Unfortunately we have to drop her off at seven in the mornings, and we have to force her to eat something before she starts her day!

It makes me extremely sad to think that there are so many children who have to go without a proper breakfast each day. That's why I love this initiative by Kellogg's.

The Press Release states:

"Dishing Up 5 Million Breakfasts for South African Children 

On Wednesday 14 January, over 12 million learners headed back to school after the long summer break, but started their day on empty stomachs:  nearly one-fifth of South African children are not eating breakfast before going to school1. To help address this need, Kellogg is launching a large-scale Breakfast for Better Days™ Initiative, which will provide five million servings of breakfast to children throughout 2014, with 25 000 school children receiving breakfast every school day. 

With one in eight people around the world facing food insecurity each day2, Kellogg Company and its foundation, the Kellogg's Corporate Citizenship fund, have pledged to provide a billion servings of breakfast and snacks to children and families who need it most, through this global initiative. In South Africa, a breakfast of Kellogg's cereal and milk will be provided to children in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. Partnering with Kellogg are FoodBank South Africa, the country's largest food banking network and Kellogg's international partner in the global initiative, who will distribute the food; and Parmalat, who will be donating the required milk." 

For more information visit www.kelloggs.co.za or follow @KelloggsZA on Twitter and www.facebook.com/KelloggsMomsSA on Facebook for regular updates.

I asked specifically about the schools that are targeted in Gauteng. The initiative is in its pilot year and will benefit 56 schools across SA, with the following 8 schools in Gauteng as beneficiaries. Kellogg is however hoping to grow the initiative to other schools in various areas across the province next year.

Letsha Primary
Duduza Primary
Michael Zulu Primary
Monde Primary School
Kabelo Primary
Mogobeng Primary
Thabang Primary
Ikwezi Primary

This little video of Mpho touches my heart.
(I would freak if my Little One had to walk in rain and on his own to school!)



Kellogg is providing one lucky reader a one month's supply breakfast hamper.

Please comment below: How can the power of breakfast give someone a bright start?

The draw will take place on Friday at 12 pm.
(Unfortunately only for South African readers)


(Photo on top: Swelihle Masuku from Gugulethu Primary in Kwamashu, KZN enjoying his first breakfast for the year - supplied by Kellogg)

PediaSure for sure?

I was invited to a talk on child nutrition, but was unfortunately not notified that it was cancelled! Not nice when you organise with Hubby to pick up the little one, and drive through afternoon traffic to get to venue! Luckily it was a great venue and Hubby and Little Missy joined me at Panettones in Parkview. Definitely a place to go with little ones.

So I got the goody bag from the marketing people, which includes pamplets on PediaSure, and a Mr Growing Grass Head which are giving us a daily fun factor when we arrive home. To see how much the "hair" has grown!

I am giving extra vitamins to our little one, but I don't think supplements are the final answer to nutritional deficiencies. We need to get the right stuff from the original source. But sometimes it can help, especially when you knows she needs that extra oomph after a few days of bad eating.

We tried the PediaSure milkshake and it is very tasty. I can't get my preschooler to drink milk. Only once in a blue moon, and then only a few sips. I don't know if it has anything to do with my extended breastfeeding (which hasn't stop), but I think she is only getting a little bit at this stage.

I am not worried, as my oldest was also not into drinking milk!

The Pediasure tastes like vanilla milkshake, and she loved it. But she also only drank half of the glass!
I think I will try and put the PediaSure into some of our food to get her to consume more. They have very nice recipes to try out!

There are days when the sweets of the day far outweigh the healthy food consumed! It happens with a manipulating picky eater who LOVES the sweet things in life! This is great to have in your cupboard as a back-up when you want to ensure they get in a little bit extra nutrition!

Disclaimer: I got the goody bag with the PediaSure as pictured in the photo above.

Even I can make sushi with an iPad #iStoreSA

The only relationship I want with food, is by eating it. That I love!

I hate am not fond of making food, unless on very special occasions. 

I did not enjoy previous team building sessions by my Hubby's work team where we were invited to prepare our own food at the End-of-Year function. 

But I was intrigued when I was invited to become a sushi expert with iStore and iPad. 

Because sushi is a favourite food, and because I love finding new applications with my iPad. Up until now I haven't look that much at the recipes and food applications on my iPad.

Master Chef  Mija Moto (sorry, not sure about the spelling) demonstrated the sushi app Teach me Sushi, which has step by step photo instructions, with a video demonstration added to that! 

We worked in pairs, and I was the "brain" who had to go and look at the hands-on demo of traditional Japanese sushi by the Master Chef, while my partner had to follow the same instructions on the iPad. 

She was also the one who put together our first sushi platter. (With my expert help, of course!)

Chef Karin at work!

It looks much easier than it is! The rice does not stay where it is supposed to, and the filling popped out of the sides, but we got some right! With only an hour and a half of instructions, and trying it ourselves, I don't think it looks too bad. It also tasted GOOD!

I think it is possible to become a Master Chef with an iPad!

(If you wanted to!)

The iStore supplied a whole list of recommended iPad apps in the kitchen:

- Epicurious (free)

- Allrecipes - Your Kitchen Inspiration (free)

- How to Cook Everything

- Vegetarian How to Cook Everything

- The Photo Cookbook

- Table for Two

- Jamie Oliver (free)

- Green Kitchen

- Teach me Sushi

- Grill It!

- Martha Stewart makes Cookies

- Divine Chocolate HD (free)

- Hello Cupcake (free)

Thank you, it was a great afternoon!

Related posts:

Afrikaans op die iPad

Excited about ZA Books

Apple in Education 

Most fav toddler food

The Toddler has a favourite food! She can eat it morning, noon and night!

Pasta!

Pasta in any form and flavour. She loves it!

When asked what she wants to eat, she usually says: "Pasta!"
Even when it's time for breakfast!
It takes a bit of cunning to convince her that breakfast is not an ideal time for pasta!
(I don't think we have fooled her when she reluctantly eats something else... )

It is not always the healthy option, but when faced with a happy toddler who loves eating, we happily order or make the pasta at home!

Her mother loves it just as much, but I try not to eat too much of it...
(The menace of "wheat"and "carbohydrates"! *sigh*)

For now it is pasta. Maybe her taste buds will change, or she will taste something else that will become her most favourite food!

In the meantime - Enjoy it, my girl!

What is your toddler's most fav food at the moment?

Shopping list for healthy snacks for the toddler

I was reading CodeNameMama’s blog post about 5 tips to develop healthy eating habits, especially giving the toddler healthy snacks to eat. The best is to not always grab for bread or biscuits when they ask for something to eat.

The worst time of the day with regards to snacks is when we arrive home at half past four, and the toddler is hungry and miserable. Then it is very easy for a working mother to give in to the demand of an instant unhealthy snack.

I was thinking that it would be nice to have a list available to take to the shops, and always make sure that I have the following in my cupboard/fridge. (I use most of CodeNameMama’s suggestions as well)

SHOPPING LIST FOR HEALTHY SNACKS

Dips:

• Humus
• Plain yogurt/tatziki
• Avocados (can be cut into bite-size pieces as well – my toddler loves it!)

Snacks:

• Fruit (apples, pears, bananas, oranges, etc. – that can be cut into bite-size pieces)
• Raisins, dried berries
• Dried fruit
• Nuts (when they are able to chew it)
• Vegetables (raw – carrots, cucumbers, small tomatoes, etc. – that can be cut into bite-size pieces)
• Frozen peas (only takes three minutes to prepare)
• Frozen corn / corn on the cob
• Chick peas (in the can)

I tend to grab cheese as well as an option, but I want to get away from all the dairy options. (One of the mucus enhancing foods.) I am not including it in my list. Also no meat and processed meats. (I try to be more healthy with more vegan options.)

What did I forget to include on my list?

Wordless Wednesday #28 - toddler eating

Photo by grandfather James

Teen update

Photo: The teen made us the most wonderful macaroni and cheese dish last Friday. We paged through all the wonderful easy recipes in Zhoozsh!, the recipe book by Jeremy Mansfield and his wife Jacqui. The book has fall-back recipes that all of us know, but with some secret ingredient added to it. The macaroni and cheese has sweet chili sauce and Tabasco added to it. She only added the sweet chili, because the toddler is eating with us. The toddler enjoyed the dish as much as we did!

The teen is at a good place in her life right now:
- She and the boyfriend have been going out for 6 months now (Big milestone for teen love!);
- She is getting good grades at school;
- She is going to the hockey practises three times a week, and playing against other schools in the B Team. (We think it is very good that she got as far as this, because she did not start to play hockey until she got to high school.)
- She has positive friends in her life. (Big sigh of relief! We always talk of how important it is to choose your friends.)
I am very proud of her. I am amazed at the beautiful and caring person that she has turned into!

During the holidays she wanted to go and visit the BF at his house with no parents around. I was not that popular when I said “No!” I understand that they miss each other during the holidays, but I know that other parents have the same rules than we do. What do you think, what is the right age to allow the teens to be alone together? 40? (Wink *evil smile*)

The toddler is 15 months

It sneaks up on you! She is 15 months. What happened to 14 months? Gone! Oi!
Our little girl is getting more independent by the day! How I love watching her; exploring and walking and making her little demands. The pointy finger is still getting the job done! (Smile)
Eating is a bit more difficult now. I am still buying some Purity for times when we haven’t finished preparing a meal. I get her to eat about three or four spoons before she shuts her mouth. But she loves playing with it (See photo). She loves eating with us, but we are not exactly sure that’s she gets a substantial amount to eat. Because most of it lands on the floor...
She enjoys Barney very much. We have a Barney DVD, but it does not keep her occupied for long. The little Barney book or Barney doll gets her excited every time. I know three lines of a Barney song:
“I love you
You love me
We are one big family...”
When I start singing it, she starts dancing and nodding with the head. She doesn’t get tired at all of hearing it! I have to repeat and repeat... (Who knows the rest of the song?)
She repeats most of her words. When she starts with “Mama-mama-mama”, or “Papa-papa-papa”, we say “Mieka-Mieka-Mieka” to her. Not really sure what she wants... But I think it is some sort of verbal love expression. (My heart melts every time! Sweet!) I will do anything for her, for sure!
When we call to Arnia, her sister, she also calls her name. It is a difficult name to learn to speak. Arnia took a very long time to say her own name.
Mieka enjoys playing with the cube with blocks and numbers that fits into their specific places. Her dad has taught her to clap hands, and now she claps and smiles every time she gets it in (with help, of course!)
She uses the remotes to phone her grandmothers, and we giggle every time she walks around holding it to her ear... 15X cute at 15 months!
(I am glad I am able to pin down these cute little milestones and things that she does. Thanks, Blogger!)

Cook with(-out) thumbs

How not to use a food peeler.
My skills as an excellent cook came to light again. So NOT!
Dries bought us the food peeler with 101 uses. I was so impressed when it peeled the carrots with ease – we have been using a terrible peeler – that I grabbed the butternut with gusto. It was with the second slash that part of my nail and skin came with.
Dries was beginning to say “Be careful…”, but it was too late. Now I’m stuck with a sore thumb for at least two weeks.
Dries has banned Arnia and me from ever peeling the butternuts or gem squashes again. He says he will be doing it from now on. Bargain!
But I did not slash my thumb to get out of peeling the heavy stuff… It is way too sore, and extremely uncomfortable. We DO use our left thumbs, you know!

The baby and eating

The baby has been eating very well since she started to eat. But now The Missy wants to do it by herself. It is very difficult to be creative the whole time about which foods to give her. We try to give her the same vegetables and meat that we are eating, cut into smaller pieces. I still try (that’s the only word that works here) to give her Purity or mashed foodies (e.g. avocado, bananas) at her mealtimes. But mostly she just shakes her head. I sometimes get something in when I can distract her with a plaything, but most of the times it is a shut mouth.
She loves sitting with us, and eating her own food, but I am not sure that she gets in a lot of it. As I have said, Petite Peu the dog, vacuums everything up that falls from her high chair. We catch her sneaking the food off between her legs, or over her shoulder. She then peers over the side of the chair with her mouth full of food, while biting on the side of the chair (see photo). We take this hook-on chair with us where-ever we go, and most of the time I am embarrassed about the food stains on the rim of the chair. It is never clean even when I have cleaned it!
She also tries to poke the food with the back of the spoon or the fork, or squash everything in her fists. Not for the squeamish! We just say to each other, “don’t look!”, and then wipe up afterwards! (This too will pass. This too will pass.)
We had a difficult Sunday. Mieka was not a happy baby, and we still don’t know why. Being difficult, and screaming the whole day. At 8pm we did our first (I am very proud for caving in only now) drive with her. We had a good laugh when the whining had the sound of a wind-down battery. It took five minutes and she was gone! Maybe we should have tried it a long time ago? But she still woke up after that. Is it the flu, the immunizations of Friday, earache, the tantrums? Dries and I are The Walking Dead today…
I have a suggestion for Google: a baby translator. Need I say more?

Invitation to prepare your own meal at the End-of-Year function

Last night I felt like The Outsider. We were invited to Dries’ end-of-year function to “test our culinary skills.” Dries forwarded the invite to me only yesterday, although he had it for a week already. He knows I would have been bitching about it for a week if I had known earlier. To prepare food is not my favourite activity. It is my least favourite activity of all! (There, I have said it! Sound of sirens! Waiting for the bombs to drop…).

To prepare my own food at an end-of-year function feels like absolute hell to me!
I want to be wined and dined and to feel I am in for a treat!
But there I was with all the happy people (happy to be invited to make your own food?) around me, and thinking that I am definitely from another planet to be the only one swearing on the inside. Apparently also on the outside, because Dries told me later to stop swearing.
Luckily there was red wine! The ultimate lifesaver! After three wines it went really well, and I was opening the phyllo pastry packet for the apple strudel and pecan nut phyllo pie with gusto. I don’t know if it was the red wine, or if the chef saw my clumsiness with regards to food, but he helped me with stacking the phyllo layers, and folding it. Amazing, between me and Dries we made the brinjal starter and the apple and pecan nut strudel desert!

I must congratulate Angela Day Kitchen at Lifestyle. Even me, an absolute stick-in-the-mud enjoyed it, and the food was all-round excellent! Luckily Dries also works for very very nice people, and with their partners we had a lovely time!

BUT I still don’t like making my own food at an end-of-year-function!!