Foodie Friday with Disney's Cookabout - Cornbread with Cheddar and Herbs

Cornbread with Cheddar and Herbs -
Image: Anita Reed/Disney Channel

Every Friday I get a Foodie Friday recipe in my inbox. Inspired by Disney's locally produced live action show Disney's Cookabout on Disney Channel, they are sharing some of their healthy and totally delicious recipes that were featured on the most recent season of the show. Kids learn where our food comes from by visiting farms from around the country, before they head back to the kitchen to learn to cook with the ingredients.

I made this absolutely divine cornbread. We have an issue with our oven in our rental, but it still came out super delicious. See our version in a photo, where we used the exact same recipe. Which is a first. We usually add, or substitute something in a recipe, but this one is perfect, and super easy to make!

See recipe, which I copied exactly as is:

It's easy to create a stir with NOLA Mayonnaise

NOLA Mayonnaise blog drop

A firm staple in our house is mayonnaise. It can be used in so many dishes, from savoury to sweet. In my pre-vegetarian days I used to make a mean chicken dish with mayonnaise that I could just pop into the oven. I now have a standard potato dish recipe with mayonnaise that gives an extra luxury to traditional baked potatoes.

NOLA Mayonnaise partnered with local foodie Sithembiso Ndashe (Ndash), who has some modern day twists to popular Mzansi recipes.

See below how you can create a stir with NOLA Mayonnaise.

How to get rid of the winter blues - Nestle scalloped potatoes

Nestlé Winter Warming package

The winter has us slumped and hibernating. I definitely suffer from the winter blues. I know there's things I should be doing better. But all I can do is sit under a blanket or hide under my covers. I am in awe of people continuing with their exercise programs and eating salad. Who are you? How do you do it?

Nestlé sent us the Winter Warming package, with tips on how to shake the winter blues. All the things that helps cope with the cold of the winter. Thanks, Nestlé! From now on I will make sure to have the Nestlé Evaporated Milk on my monthly shopping list. It gives so much flavour to a dish.

Nestlé's 7 point plan to shake off the winter blues

Naazneen Sali-Ameen, Nutrition, Health and Wellness Manager at Nestlé South Africa, has drawn up the following great solutions to help keep you on track when it comes to winter eating and exercise habits. (By now we know these things. Or we should.) But it helps to hear it again.

1.    Create simple ‘one pot’ meals. 

Remember that for each main meal you should aim to have ½ plate veg, ¼ plate protein and ¼ plate starch/grains.

A recipe for Indian Butter Chicken, using the Nestlé Ideal Evaporated Milk, was included. As I am vegetarian, and it is Meatless Monday, I searched for a vegetarian meal. I used our Nestlé Evaporated Milk with a Scalloped Potato Dish. Great for winter warmth. See recipe below.

2.    Don’t overindulge. 

The cold weather often brings out the craving for comforting, starchy foods. You can still enjoy these nutritious dishes by being mindful of your eating habits and appropriate serving sizes. Eat slowly and make mealtimes an occasion, eating in front of a TV or while sitting in front of your computer can easily distract you and cause you to overeat.

3.    Create alternatives to your favourite take-outs. 

The budget also does not allow take-outs, so we dó make our own. Vegetarian hamburgers with mushrooms, and home-made burger patties from mince is much more tasty in any case. Pizza making at home is also a great idea.

4.    Keep hydrated. 

We just had an issue with Miss Fine who does not drink enough fluids in winter. We were at the doctor on Friday with severe stomach ache which turned out to be constipation. Now we have to remind her to keep up the fluids. Herbal teas, Milo or Hot Chocolate and fresh juices helps. A lot!

5.    Enjoy the outdoors. 

The days are very mild here in winter. We should be out more to enjoy the sunshine, get more Vitamin D, and be more active.

6.    Move more to keep warm. 

Move what makes you happy! Miss Fine loves to play with a ball. We also love walking the dog. (We should just do it more often!)

Recipe to follow:

Meat-free Monday win - Quinoa Salad

Quinoa salad with chickpeas

Mondays are the worst with trying to conjure up easy and filling dinner ideas. One of us comes late with a hungry Miss in tow. This past Monday it was my turn to make dinner. A friend of mine made this quinoa salad at a braai (barbecue) a while ago, and it is simply delicious. I did not have all the ingredients that the recipe suggested, but it worked just as fine.

Recipe for easy Quinoa Salad

Chilli Non Carne - a great vegetarian dish

Chilli Non Carne with roosterkoek

I have been following Mary-Ann Shearer for many years. Ever since her first book, The Natural Way, hit the shelves more than 30 years back. I believe she has the recipe for health! She is the ultimate health guru! (I am a fan! You probably can tell!)) I have signed up for her 100 days to health programme recently, but I am not doing it religiously. (Although I should! *sigh*)

Mark and Mary-Ann Shearer lost their Health Food business in the recent fires in Gordon's Bay. They have a Fundraising Drive on the go if you want to help! They have some families in the business depended on the business functioning again. You can see some of the devastation in the videos, but I am sure they will be back with more health, energy and motivation!

The Chilli Con Carne recipe is in one of the daily emails of the 100 days to health. It is a lovely rendition of a Chilli Con Carne, but without the meat. Apparently it's Mark, her husband's, version. I used a can of lentils and a can of  white beans in my recipe.

It is delicious!

Chickpea Tikka Masala recipe

Easy Chickpea Recipe for vegetarians

The end of the month cupboard scratching catches us sooner rather than later each month! When you find a can of chickpeas in your cupboard, a half cup of cream and a half tin of All Gold Tomato Puree... This is what you do! Google recipes always comes to the rescue!

I found this [Vegan] Easy Chickpea Tikka Masala at The Iron You. Of course we got creative with some of the ingredients (or lack there-of).

Tomato and Baby Marrow Tian - All Gold recipe

Baby marrows with All Gold Whole Peeled Tomatoes

I am always in search of a twist on a vegetarian dish. We bought a box full of extra large baby marrows the previous week, and it had to eaten before it got wasted! I found this on the All Gold website. I adjusted it according to our own ingredients.

Easy Bean and Lentil Casserole

I have thrown the food-making arrangements in our household in a disarray with becoming a vegetarian. Hubby loves preparing and barbecuing meat, and now he is feeling a bit lost.
The rest still eats meat, but now I have to come up with alternatives for myself, as well as side dishes for the family.

Luckily we have Google, and I can put in my ingredients (of what I have in the cupboard) for vegetarian recipes. I found the Speedy Lentil and Bean Casserole from food.com.
I made a few adjustments based on what we had available, and it is very good for a quick and filling recipe that will be added to my basic recipes of what-to-make-when-you-don't-know-what-to-make-and-you-are-hungry!

This is what I made a few evenings back.

Easy Bean and Lentil Casserole recipe

Ingredients:

- Can of Three Beans mix, drained and rinsed

- Can of organic lentils, drained and rinsed

- 2 Tomatoes, chopped

- 1 onion, chopped

- 4 green onions, chopped

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- half teaspoon thyme

- one and half cups of Gouda cheese

- pinch of pepper and salt

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a pan on the stove. Cook the onion, green onions and tomatoes until soft. Add the beans and lentils and the thyme until it simmers. The cheese comes on top of the dish. Dish up as soon as the cheese becomes bubbly!


Totally yum!

Next time I am trying it with a bit of chilly!

Disney Africa launched two new websites for parents and children

As a parent I am always keen to explore websites with information about parenting and everything to do with our children. It is even nicer when my child can explore with me through games and activities.

Disney Africa in collaboration with Discovery Vitaly launched two new websites in April:
Disney Baby Africa and Disney Healthy Living

baby.disneyafrica.com
"Creating magical moments from the beginning"

Disney Baby Africa is a great website for expecting and new parents with information and resources for the early years of raising their children. There are sections for "Getting Ready", "Dressing", "On-the-go", "Playtime", "Nursery" and "Milestones". The website also links up to Disney videos, games and activities for children.

[We just could not get the videos playing of the mini adventures with Winnie the Pooh and friends on the main page, not on my iPad and not on my PC. (?)]

http://www.disneyhealthyliving.co.za/
"Celebrating healthy and happy families"

Disney Healthy Living is an engaging website helping families to live more healthy with healthy eating habits and physical activity. There is a Did you know? section which covers the body, food and getting active. There is a Create and Play section, as well as a Recipe  section with healthy, easy and fun food suggestions. Perfect for the fussy eaters!

There's a couple of recipes I am definitely going to try, such as the sandwich sushi.
How ingenious is this?

Sandwich sushi

Both websites are worth checking out!

The final word from Christine Service, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Africa:

“One of Disney’s unique qualities is the strength of its emotional connection with families. This stems from the shared Disney experiences families have from their own childhood through to connecting with the characters and stories as adults and parents,” says  “The Disney Healthy Living and Disney Baby Africa websites celebrate, support and even inspire new magical family moments. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Discovery Vitality in bringing these online destinations to South Africa.”

Disclaimer: I received the following package from Disney Africa, which includes a Consol water bottle, a Discovery Vitality cellphone arm holder, a Naartjie bib and lovely baby socks. (Luckily I now have someone at work who had a baby recently who I can pass it onto)

Disney Africa launches Disney Baby Africa http://t.co/SqS9bAajGG AND Disney Healthy Living http://t.co/TegLwDtEKv pic.twitter.com/x5milG3z2v
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) April 15, 2015

Clover Little Big Cook Off launches for a second season, and meeting a Mama Afrika

I was invited to the launch of the new season of Clover Little Big Cook Off at the Longmeadow Piano Lounge and Restaurant at Montecasino Boulevard.

The Clover LBCO was such a huge success last year that they are planning to build on the winning recipe of last year!

Martin Kobald, Coco Reinarhz and Zuraida Jardine
(photo supplied by Clover)

The new season will air from June 2015 and include another 13 main episodes with celebrity chef judges Martin Kobald and Coco Reinarhz and fellow judge and host of the show Zuraida Jardine. The show will be on SABC 3 at 16:30 on a Sunday. Entries for Season 2, as well as daily cash prizes will open on 15 January 2015.

All you have to do to win a daily cash prize of R1000 is to buy two Clover products.

The show features parent and child teams competing a-la Masterchef style. Zuraida Jardine spoke about how valuable the interaction between parents and their children are when participating in a cooking process, and not only on the television show, but at home as well!

It was a lot of fun for some of the children yesterday making cupcakes, and painting their aprons.

Cupcake creations done by the children

Apron painting

Children with their snack creations

Making milkshakes

Milkshake tasting

I was impressed to hear about the Mama Afrika project. Mama Shirley was there with some of her kids and to say thanks for the empowerment the project has given them.

Mama Shirley

Clover has been running the Clover Mama Afrika project for over 10 years. It follows the spirit of Ubuntu – ‘I am who I am because of who we all are’ – and upholds the values of community, growth and mutual support. The ‘Mamas’ make up the heart of the programme and they pass on their learnings to care for the most vulnerable members of society such as orphaned and abused children, those impacted by HIV/Aids and the elderly.
“The Clover Mama Afrika programme teaches the Mamas relevant and useful skills who in turn transfer these skills to fellow community members.” says Sherian King, marketing manager for Dairy at Clover. “As of December 2014 we had 40 Mamas caring for over 15, 500 children collectively and more than 2 500 elderly. It is a remarkable success and one that we are incredibly proud of.”
The Mamas and their families learn about the importance of cooking and making food together in theirdaily activities. Adults and children alike learn about the nutritional values of food while learning to make bread, a staple ingredient in their mealtimes, as well as other great baked goodies. Each Mama learns how to make other nutritional meals to keep her families healthy and happy, with fresh ingredients pulled straight from their food gardens. The self-sustaining Clover Mama Afrikacommunity is taught to grow their own food in their food gardens, as well as other basic life skills including, sewing, quilting, flower arrangement, hairdressing, crocheting, beadwork, art, basic first aid and how to manage finances. All activities bring the community not only intellectual wealth, but also financial as each activity can bring income into the centres.

Clover is also to release the new The Clover Little Big Cook Off Recipe Book, with recipes from Season 1, tips and hints in how to make cooking easier and making the most out of Clover's products. I got one of these! (Very nice and easy recipes !)

Clover Little Bog Cook Off Recipe Cook Book
(photo supplied by Clover)

A Cook with Clover app is also going to be launched very soon:

"It will be an interactive space for consumers to search for new recipes, build shopping lists for desired meals and share favourite recipes with friends and family."

For further information visit http://www.clover.co.za/clover-at-a-glance

iCarly's Spaghetti Tacos are great for children's parties

Last Saturday we were invited to a 7-year old party where the requested food was Spaghetti Tacos, as was demonstrated on iCarly.

We were all a bit taken aback by the strange combination, but it was surprisingly good.
The children loved it, of course!

It is also not that difficult to prepare to put together:

Spaghetti Tacos

Ingredients: 

(quantities depending on number of party goers – 1 Taco for each child, and up to 3 for the adults)

spaghetti

beef mince

freshly prepared tomato and onion sauce

corn taco shells

grated cheddar cheese

guacamole

Directions:

Prepare spaghetti.

Prepare mince with seasoning, but not too spicy for the children.

Prepare tomato sauce with fresh chopped tomatoes and onions and seasoning.

Prepare guacamole with extra chillies kept separate for the adults.

Put all the prepared ingredients on the table, and party-goers assembly their own tacos.

Warning: Prone to breaking and spillage! (Keep the serviettes close-by!)

There is another version of a Hungry Spaghetti Tacos recipe on the iCarly Wiki. 

It is worth a try! And a re-try!

 

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 

Apps & More: The Best Tech Tools for Healthy New Year's Resolutions

A new year is a time of taking stock and trying anew to be the best you can be!

I realize that not all people want to make New Year's resolutions, and some say that it is pointless!

I find that it directs my thoughts and my actions and some of my goals I actually DO accomplish!

I don't sweat those I don't reach, and put it again on my new list. Or I take it off, when I feel that it does not serve me anymore!

Health and fitness are definitely staying on my list!

 

As we are way on holiday, a guest post is in order:

For a long time, people have been making New Year's resolutions about their health. Fortunately, a lot of people have recently been able to use technology to help them keep their resolutions. In fact, a concerned resolutionite can use technology to help keep track of any of their goals related to fitness or health. So, here are the five best tech tools to help you accomplish your New Year’s resolutions.

Wii Fit

Even though the Wii Fit is a video game console, it is a brilliant piece of fitness equipment. All over the world, people have started using the Wii Fit to get into shape. It's actually specifically designed for this goal, and when you start out with your Wii Fit, you can easily weigh yourself and check your BMI. Then, there are countless games built in to get started, such as tennis and bowling. Once you get the hang of it, you can buy from a selection of dozens of games that help you get in shape. You then can track your progress on a daily basis to see how you are doing. Basically, the Wii Fit is a great piece of technology for anyone wanting to work on their health and have fun.

Fitbit Smart Scale

So many people get caught up in losing weight, when in reality, they need to understand that body mass percentage is a more accurate indicator. The Fitbit Smart Scale is a powerful tool that measures the dieter’s body mass index and fat percentage. By knowing your body fat percentage, you will truly know how in or out of shape you are - your actual weight can be quite deceiving,

Basis Band

When making changes, it is important for an exerciser to monitor their progress. The Basis Band helps an exerciser monitor their progress by providing data on their heart rate, sleep patterns, and calories burnt. The idea is to wear the Basis Band 24/7, as the makers created the watch to be waterproof and lightweight. Anyone wanting to monitor their vitals should take a look at the Basis Band, as it can be a great tool.

Runtastic

Do you like to jog? It is important for all runners to measure their progress. Thanks to Runtastic, joggers now have an app that measures their calories burnt, how far and long they ran and more - at highly accurate levels. There are multiple versions available, including an app for both mountain biking and road biking, if that's more your style.

Spark Recipes

Anyone who wants to live well needs to plan their meals in advance. Spark Recipes lets users search and browse thousands of recipes. You can search based upon your available ingredients to come up with the perfect meal plan that's healthy, affordable and relatively easy to pursue.




Jenna Hayes writes about technology, self-help & health. Her most recent work helps readers find the best Masters in Health Administration Degrees in the US.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Top 5 Apps for Busy Moms

I am always checking out new apps and got this guest post suggestion which I am happy to publish. Especially if it states  that it helps "busy moms.
(Although, I think it is an oxymoron! Do we get moms who are not busy?)

I have linked to the iTunes stores, but see most of these apps are avaliable on all devices.


The Top 5 Apps for Busy Moms

Our lives are much busier than they were even 20 years ago, and moms are busier than ever.
Many moms raise kids, work, and run their households, all while trying to live their own lives. Fortunately, cell phones are helpful for anyone with a life on the go. They help people stay connected, and with apps, help people complete their day to day tasks.

Thousands of cell phone apps exist that help people accomplish their goals, and here are the top 5 apps for busy moms like yourself.

The Weather Channel

It is pertinent for a busy mother to be prepared for anything. Every single mom should have the Weather Channel app - this is the perfect app to open up first thing in the morning. It allows you to display the current temperature, as well as the short- and long-term weather forecast. The app also allows you to get the weather forecast from wherever you are. Any busy mom who runs around all day needs to know the weather forecast in order to plan their (hopefully dry) day.

Cozi

This is a wonderful app for anyone who has a lot on their plate, but especially mothers. It's so useful that you may even end up grabbing for this app more often than you need the phone itself! It's great for making to-do lists, setting reminders, shopping lists & also the family calendar - this one is key too, because notice that it's for the family. This is different from most calendars, which are only meant for one person and their appointments.
 
Grocery iQ

This app is GREAT for mothers, especially because it's basically available on every platform you can imagine. It allows you to scan prices of products when shopping so that you can get clued in on what you're getting for your money. Is that cereal a bargain, or simply a crafty way of making it look like you're getting a steal? Find out with this app!
 

Whole Foods Market Recipes

Whole Foods Market Recipes is a terrific app for anyone who wants to enjoy a healthy diet. The best thing about this app is the ability to sort based upon dietary preference. The user can sort for gluten free recipes, high fiber recipes and many other types. Kids are picky too, so luckily this app can make everyone happy, especially a busy mom cooking for many.

Kindle

The Kindle app is a great app for the busy mom. A lot of times moms do not have time to enjoy themselves. With the Kindle app, a mom can read her favorite books while waiting to pick up her kids or in those few precious minutes of alone time. The Kindle app is also great to read recipes, pdf files or magazines. Anyone on the go should look into the Kindle app, and perhaps the best thing about is that if you skip buying hard-copies of books, you have more room for storage and less to clean!

Thousands and thousands of applications exist for all phone platforms. There are also apps for all types of users and preferences. Nobody knows the importance of time management more than a single mom.

These apps will not only save a single mom time, they will also save her money!


Jessie Hughes writes about parenting, working from home and more. Her favourite piece is on the Top 10 iPhone Apps for Teachers.


Do you have any apps that you cannot live without?

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*)