by Danielle on November 21, 2018
Get ready for some AMAZING fruit and vege during summer!
Why do we love seasonal fruit and vege?
- TASTES GREAT– when fruit and vege is in abundance and picked at it’s peak, you can bet it will taste a lot better than if it has been stored for some time or has travelled from the other side of the world
- BETTER FOR YOU– when fruit and vege is fresh it absolutely has greater nutritional value. Antioxidants such as vitamin C, folate and carotenes can decrease quite rapidly with storage and/or transport, so the fresher the better!
- SUPPORTS LOCALS– Supporting locals is a “feel-good” experience. Not only are we helping out the people in our community, it is often cheaper to buy from smaller shops or farmer’s markets and they produce is so much fresher. Also, the kids can’t pester you for a chocolate when you’re at the checkout! BONUS!
- NATURAL SUPPORT FOR YOUR BODY – Seasonal fruits often help nourish us with the vitamins we need through different times of year. Citrus fruits are often best in winter and the vitamin C can help with keeping that cold/flu away. Likewise, the beta-carotenes in stone fruit (hello summer!) can help protect again sun damage (yes you still need to slip, slop, slap!). 
Of course, some fruit and vege are available and in season all year round – take kiwifruit for example or lemon.
Brisbane and QLD seasonal fruits:
Summer fruits:
- Red apples
- Green apple
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Bananas
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Figs
- Red grapes
- Green grapes
- Lychees
- Mangoes
- Nectarines
Peaches
- Plums
Summer vegetables:
- Broad beans
- Green beans
- Many vegetables are available all year round, so not really seasonal – which is fantastic!
Of course, there are other fruit and vege in season in other parts of the country, so if you don’t mind your produce coming from another Aussie town, there are more options!
by Danielle on November 14, 2018
Afternoon tea can be a time where you might find your little one is “HANGRY!”. They’ve had a huge day at school or day care where they’ve burned a lot of energy and perhaps were too excited or too engrossed in what they were doing to eat all of their morning tea and lunch.
As adults, we see if we miss a meal or deprive ourselves at lunch time e.g. when you only eat a salad for lunch and by 2:30 you could eat a whole loaf of bread! Well, this is just like what children experience. Except, often, they expend or burn a lot more energy than we do.
If your little one is complaining of being ravenous at this time, try and suss out when they had morning tea/lunch and what they actually ate. If you’ve got a fussy eater and they choose NOT to eat their lunch box food because they prefer hot 2 minute noodles at home, I’d be more inclined to offer them the food they didn’t eat from their lunch box.
If they have eaten all their food during the day and genuinely hungry, try some of these healthy afternoon snacks:
- 1 thick slice fruit toast with margarine +/- piece of fruit
- 2 wholegrain crackers with cheese + carrot sticks
- Homemade banana bread with peanut butter
- Milkshake – milk, strawberries and ice
- Fruit
- Vegetable sticks with dip or cheese
We don’t necessarily want to fill them up so much that they don’t want dinner (so no full sized meals) but a snack that has carbohydrates to replenish any used energy stores and some protein and/or healthy fats can be a great way to tide them over until dinner time.
If your little one is not achieving the amount of fruit and veggies or dairy in their day this might be the perfect time to sneak in that extra serve.
As always, if you feel like you’d tried the best you can and are still struggling, please book in to see me and we can create a personalized plan for you and your little one!
Danielle
