Playground Rivalries: Lunch Time Edition!

Ask any parent about the competitive nature of the playground and chances are they will have at least one story of having to keep up with the Joneses! Whether it is the latest trainers for your kid's gym bag or the newest designer jacket to wear during the winter months, it is amazing just how many opportunities parents will use to try and get one over on their rivals. We look at the top causes of parental competition in the playground, are you guilty of any of them?

Dinner times may seem like a fairly competition free zone, however if your child takes a packed lunch to school then chances are their classmates will be interrogated as to what you are putting in it! Whereas a ham sandwich, an apple and a bag of crisps used to suffice, parents now compete to have the healthiest, obscure options in their child's top of the range lunchbox. Thanks to celebrity chefs, lunchboxes are now full to the brim of foods that would not look out of place in a posh bistro. From sushi to super food salads, children can no longer just eat and run back to the playground, instead their lunch time is a formal affair with no expense spared. For those parents that do not subscribe to the need to impress the dinner lady or cling to the hope that little Timmy will tell his mother about their carefully crafted homemade salmon rolls, we offer our heartfelt congratulations!

Once a new boy band, sports personality or cartoon character have their faces plastered all over promotional items the race begins for parents to collect as much as their can. Send your child into school with a see through container and an empty coke bottle used to hold their orange squash and they will definitely seem out of place next to the brightly coloured lines of lunch time accessories. Kids' water bottles can be found in a wide range of designs and when paired with a matching lunch box will send your child straight to the top of the lunch time food chain!

Trying to keep up with the more competitive parents can turn into a full time challenge therefore sometimes it is best to listen to what your child actually wants. Choose a few quality pieces that are designed to last and forget about the quest to have the latest fads!

Zoe Robinson is an enthusiastic writer in the subject matter of novelty gifts and accessories. The websites recommended by Zoe Robinson have been thoroughly researched and come highly acclaimed from direct experience. Take a look at a range of kids water bottles today.

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Ultimate Guide to Eating Well on a Budget

Food prices have risen quite dramatically lately, and more of us are finding we are desperately trying to source the cheapest (which often means nastiest) option, in order to keep to our tight budgets. It is bad enough having to worry about our food budgets, let alone having to worry about whether we can afford to eat sustainable, local food. However, it needn't be so difficult. If you follow some of these simple tips, you can save money, without having to abandon your ethical values and new sustainable leanings!

One way of cutting your food costs is cutting your food waste. It is astounding that in the UK we throw away around 25% of all the food we buy. We throw away 7% of the milk we buy, 36% of bakery goods, and around half of all the lettuce and salads we buy. This is crazy!

So this list is a combination of saving money by cutting waste, and saving money by being shrewd! Here goes:

• Make a list. Before you go food shopping, check what you have in your fridge and cupboards. How often have you bought ingredients for a recipe, and when putting them away you find you already have them, hidden at the back of the cupboard. I find, this is often the case with spices! So, plan what you are going to buy, and make sure that you stick to your list.


• Plan your menu for the week. By spending a bit of time before each food shop, planning what you are going to cook for the week can save a lot of money, and food waste. This will help you make a list of the things you need to buy, and not have you wandering around the shops buying whatever you want to buy. If a recipe calls for one carrot and two courgettes, buy one carrot and two courgettes, don't just reach for a pre packed selection for convenience. Plan to cook extra some evenings, so that the leftovers can be used for lunches the following day, or to freeze for another meal.


• Use up your fruit and vegetables. If your fruit is starting to go a bit soft, make a smoothie or a compote, or maybe put it in a pie or crumble. If your vegetables are past their best, make a soup, minestrone or even roast them in the oven with some herbs and garlic.


• Shop around. Take some time to go to different shops to see if you might be able to get better deals elsewhere. For example, fruit and veg tend to be cheaper at markets or greengrocers, spices are much more affordable and often better quality in Asian shops. Some products like Parmesan cheese or Parma ham can often be found in foreign discount chains, along with various other products. Organic vegetables and eggs can often be cheaper if bought from a farm shop, farmers market or veg box scheme than in the supermarkets. Discover your local area - you will often find that different parts of town might be cheaper than others - find your bargains!


• Use up your leftovers. Start with a good stock of store cupboard staples like dried herbs, spices, grains and tins and then get creative! Don't bin your leftovers, plan to turn them into a new meal. For example, leftover mash, use it to make fish cakes tomorrow. Leftover roast chicken, make a chicken curry tomorrow. Leftover rice, make a rice salad for tomorrows lunch. Leftover bread can be used to make breadcrumbs, or maybe a bread and butter pudding. As a starting point check out BBC Good Food leftovers page they have a great selection of recipes that use up leftovers.


• Cook from scratch. Processed foods, convenience foods, take-aways and ready meals are expensive. It is far healthier and cheaper to cook your own food from raw ingredients, and it will no doubt be tastier. This may mean that you need to sharpen your cooking skills, but there are plenty of ways to do this. Keep an eye out for future posts with tips and resources for improving your cooking skills. To start with check outYoutube 4Food channel, some great videos on there.


• Rotate your food! Make sure you move the older food to the front of the cupboards and fridge with the new food going to the back, so the older food gets used up first. This will prevent you finding unidentified mouldy objects in the back of the fridge!


• Use your Freezer. It is always useful to cook double quantities of a meal and freeze for a night when you don't feel like cooking. Just make sure you label it!


• Make your own pack lunch. Another great way of using up leftovers and saving money, taking your own lunch to work is a win win situation. It does require a little planning, but soon you will become a natural at rustling together a gastronomic lunch from odds in the fridge and a bit of imagination!


• Grow your own. Whether it be a window box or an allotment, growing your own veg, fruit or even herbs can save you a stash of cash. Beyond that, there is nothing better than eating veg that you have grown, and just picked. It doesn't get much better and fresher than that. Herbs cost a fortune in supermarkets in particular, so try growing a couple of your favourites so they are always on hand to jazz up your meals. I have just found Allotinabox , delivering grow your own boxes to your door. Great idea!


• Think about fish. Try to purchase sustainably sourced fish whenever possible, I'll go into more detail in an upcoming post. Go for things like seafood spaghetti, where the fish isn't the main part of the meal - thus saving a bit of cash. Frozen fish can also be a good option, if you choose the right brands they can be sustainable, tasty and reasonably priced. Mackerel or mussels are good choices, lots of flavour and not too expensive with other options including herring and haddock. Chat to your fishmonger to find out what's in season and therefore cheaper to buy.


• Think about meat. A couple of things here. Firstly, try cutting down the quantity of meat you eat. For example, in a dish cut down on the amount of meat in it, and instead bulk it out with vegetables, pulses, beans and so on. This will save money and allow you to choose meat that is free-range instead of factory farmed. Secondly, buy cheaper cuts of meat and learn how to cook them. The beef shin, duck legs, pork cheeks, chicken legs are the cheaper cuts of meat, but often have a better kick of flavour. Speak to your butcher, ask for advice on cooking in order to get the best results.


• Never go to food shopping on an empty stomach. I can guarantee you will spend more money and buy a whole load of stuff you don't need!


• Stop drinking bottled water! It costs at least 500% more than tap water! If you don't like tap water, invest in a water filter jug and keep it in the fridge. You will still save yourself a fortune.


• Get to know your fishmonger, butcher, deli etc. Become a regular, and be friendly! Not only will you be able to ask advice as to whats in season, and cooking tips, hopefully you will soon be comfortable enough to ask if they have any knuckles of prosciutto or ham for soups or chicken carcasses/fish bones for stock going cheap or even free!

Come and see us now at http://www.sustainablefoodrevolution.com for more great ideas for eating well, and making healthy and sustainable food choices.

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Enjoying Food This Summer

We all know that in summer we tend to eat a healthier and more varied diet. Is it the sun and beautiful long days that encourage this? Who knows? When people think of summer food they automatically think of salads and BBQ, but there's much more out there. Why not try something different; if you're hosting this summer, be proud to offer your guest something not only different but also healthy.

Meat, meat and more meat!

We Brits love cooking food outside on the BBQ as soon as the sun shines. Burgers, hotdogs, ribs and more, try out some of these new BBQ ideas this season.

Why not move away from meat on the BBQ, for something different. Tuna steaks, prawns, salmon, in fact almost any fish is great on the BBQ. Even better, fish doesn't take as long to cook as a burger, so you can feed people fast!

Fresh vegetables on the grill taste great and vegetarian guests will be thankful for the effort made, as they won't have to eat salad all day. Plus they make a great side dish. Great vegetables to BBQ include asparagus, courgette, aubergine, corn on the cob and sweet peppers.

Save the Salad!

Who said salad has to be boring? In most cases the poor salad is an afterthought or it gets left untouched. Make it the centrepiece! Dress it up! There are a variety of summer salad recipes out there. Use vegetables you wouldn't normally. Tossing in fresh herbs is a great idea to add a depth of flavour to any salad. Try different greens such as spinach and kale or try adding couscous, or pastas.

Sauces and dressings

Mayonnaise is not only boring, but it's bad for you at 100 calories per spoonful! There is a variety of different salad dressing out there, try something new. Or make your own.

To make your own salad dressing you need to combine three parts oil, with one part acid (vinegar, lemon juice etc). Experiment with different flavoured oils, mustard or yoghurt.

Swap ketchup on your burger for a homemade relish or salsa, using fresh tomatoes and a variety of herbs. Find recipes here.

Fresh Desserts

A fruit based dessert is always favoured in the summer. When the weather is warm, a simple strawberries and cream, or summer fruits pudding will go down a storm. With such a variety of fruits available, go exotic. Try papaya, mango, passion fruit and anything else you can get your hands on.

Most of all get creative! There's nothing better than creating something in the kitchen all on your own, especially when everyone else loves it as much as you do!

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Cake Decorating Tips

Cake decorating may be a fun thing for family members to do. Moms and kids may do this for special occasions to make it more memorable. Though it will take lots of practice and experiences before one could prepare a perfectly decorated cake, nevertheless, it will be one great achievement for those who will be able to hone their skills and creativeness when it comes to cake decorating.

Here are some things to remember when decorating cakes for the family, for friends or for others as gifts:

* Before decorating the cake, it is necessary to put it on a serving platter with some strips of wax paper under it. This is needed to protect the platter from getting messy during the decorating process. The wax paper may just be pulled out after.

* Brushing off the extra crumbs from the cake should also be done before spreading the frosting to make it set. The next or the final layer of frosting can be done or the decorations may now be put in place. Leveling the cake before decorating may also do the trick.

* Paste food coloring may be used in order to make the colors brighter and more vivid.

* Cake decorating bags may be filled halfway only to make it easier to work on the decorations. The tip of the cake decorating bags should be held close to the cake before squeezing it.

* It is also necessary to select the proper icing to use. Those who choose butter cream icing should see to it that they have prepared the right consistency in order for the decoration to look attractive.

* Those who would like to make use of fondant have to learn how to do it properly. A smooth and wrinkle-free fondant makes a cake look very elegant and delicious as well. There are some techniques that can be used to cover the cake with fondant perfectly.

* When choosing cake decorating tips, it is necessary to select those that are made of materials that do not rust. Cleaning in warm soapy water and then rinsing the tips with hot water will be helpful in preserving the quality and the life of the cake decorating tips. Other equipment and materials used should also be cleaned and kept properly after each use.

There are lots of recipes as well as designs for various types of cakes. One may start decorating cakes as a hobby and then may think of doing some small business out of it. Cakes are expensive these days but people especially families can still enjoy the best taste and the best decorated ones through their own efforts and creativity.

Get in the business of making people happy with your own cake baking business. You will have fun while servicing others. Learn everything you need to know in setting up a cake business and start making people happy.

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The Perfect Way to Harmonize Body, Mind and Heart: Yoga Is the Mantra

Yoga: The healer of body and mind

The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Yug' which means 'to unite'. It is integrating the body with the mind to attain a peaceful life. The evolution of this artistic form of exercise to heal the body began in the civilization period dated around 3000 B.C. It was initially practised by saints and monks to be in harmony with themself and the environment. Today, yoga has become a household name practised by almost all the age group of people. It helps in making the body flexible and resistant to the toxic substances polluting the eco system.

How does yoga help in rejuvenating the body system

Living in the present environment is not at all easy. One should be internally healthy to combat the external monsters like virus, bacteria and toxic chemicals in air which make the body loaded with many diseases. Instead of killing the disease from the root, we adjust it with the time-being relief using pain killers and drugs with huge amount of chemicals in it. These medicines can only fight the symptoms but not the disease.

Yoga is the answer for a true 'no drug' life. It offers relaxation by de-stressing the mind from the constant pressure to perform better. There is a widely acknowledged yoga text called 'Yogasutra' which defines the various asanas and tools of yoga. It helps in redefining not only the exterior dimensions of the body like behaviour, personality, emotions but also the internal health such as good immunity power, easy breathing, normal sugar count, less cholesterol and blood pressure at a normal rate.

The changes in a person (man/woman) practising yoga on a daily basis can be easily visible in the way he/she grooms himself and in the attitude as well. Let's see the difference:

1. THE QUALITY OF PATIENCE: This change is accepted by most of the people practising yoga. Now, they do not want to complete their work in haste or just be a part of a discussion, instead take their time out and find a peaceful solution to the problem regarding their work or personal matter.

2. TAKE BETTER CARE OF THE BODY: Yoga brings us closer to the body and makes us realise how important each organ of our body is. It is during the exercise session we love our body more and want to take better care of it.

3. LIVE IN THE MOMENT: The moment of joy should not be restricted to a big spending party or a re-union of friends. But, even small moments like walking in the rain, looking at sunrise, peeping out the window at the rushing crowd makes us happy.

4. DE-STRESS: It brings a sense of calmness and peace to all the hustle bustle in life. You do not race your mind fast, decisions are easier to take and you pause to enjoy the good things wherever you are.

Finally, Yoga is not a solution to all the ailment in the body. It is just a transformational healing system which largely depends on bringing the body and mind together. Take some time out of the busy schedule and practise the art of yoga to experience a new change in life.

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