I love a roadside fruit stall ...

Driving through the beautiful rolling hills of the hinterland this morning, I thought to myself .. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

The roads from Montville, through Flaxton to Mapleton have the most amazing Jacaranda's blossoming with the most vibrant of vibrant purple flowers... just so pretty, that I smiled the whole way!

Stall after stall of Avocado's, farm fresh free range eggs, tomatoes, pineapples and more, with honesty boxes to collect your coins ... this is the kind of place I love to call home.

I stopped at my local roadside Mango Man to stock up for the weekend, and decided to get a full tray for $25. ...My boys will be in heaven!

I have just peeled and sliced half of the box's contents to freeze for smoothies and frappes, and the rest we will eat cold for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Happy Weekend everyone .... the weather here is amazing!

On my mind:
http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

lazy Sunday fried rice ...

With not much left in the fridge, this is tonight's early dinner...

FAST FRIED RICE

OMELETTE
2 eggs .. beat with a fork and add a tablespoon of water

cook lightly in a hot pan in your choice of oil, then set aside in a bowl

RICE
onion
zucchini
carrot
leftover cold boiled/steamed rice (I use basmati or brown)
1/2 cup veg or chicken stock
S & P

Very finely chop all of the veg and cook over low heat with a splash of oil, then add the water/stock and put a lid on to soften for a few minutes... add the rice and mix through.. salt and pepper to taste... add the chopped up omelette and a handful of frozen or fresh peas

That's it, fifteen minutes for prep and cooking time, max!!!

I always cook too much rice for this reason, it's so easy to reheat for the next couple of days or to make fried rice .. and if I don't use it, my Jacky boy dog loves it with his dinner too!

Happy Days ... vegetables, protein and carbs to fill up little bellies, my kind of comfort food.

smoothilicious ...

Everyone loves a smoothie during the warmer months!

The boys and I enjoy a smoothie every day, whether it be for breakfast, afternoon tea or most commonly for us, it's dessert

They are healthy, filling, refreshing and most importantly ... delicious!

I always have frozen mango cheeks, raspberries and blueberries in the freezer.  We eat them as cool snack and obviously in our smoothies.

HEALTHY SMOOTHIES

Frozen Fruit ... a handful of any frozen fruit make it cold and thick
Yoghurt ... a couple of dollops of any natural yoghurt (we use Meredith's Sheeps Milk)
Milk ... I use Bon Soy or Pure Harvest Organic Oat Milk
A squeeze of smoething sweet - Pure Maple Syrup, Agave Syup or even Honey
LSA ... Ground Linseed, Sunflower Seed & Almond mix adds protein

Obviously you can drop the yoghurt to make them dairy free, or you use cow's milk if you love dairy!

when life gets a little bit crazy ...

North Stradbroke Island ... Spring School Break

It is so good to be back!! 

I have missed my little tummy rumble blog posts ... I didn't realise how much until today when I was sitting on my deck, at my freshly painted red table, with my lap top and my little Eli riding his bike close by.  I opened up my facebook page and then clicked on a link to my blog... and here I am again.

Sadly, it has been, out of sight ... out of mind.

I also only just noticed comments that I completely missed from as far back as June, and feel a little bit rude having not replied.  So, my sincerest apologies my friends! 

Why is it, that when life gets busy we so easily give up the things that make US happy?!

Whether it be exercise, reading, cooking, blogging ... I am going to make any effort to do at least two of these things every day ... even if it means missing one of my meaningless television programs in the evening when the boys are sleeping.

It is a challenge I am setting for myself!  Anybody care to join me?

the humble onion ... a natural earache remedy

In our house, we thankfully haven't had too many earache experiences, however, when we have we've used onion juice in the ear to clear the inflammation and act as a natural antibiotic...  it does hurt momentarily, but it clears it up so very fast!

We had a restless night a couple of months back with my little 2 year old,  Eli.  Just before dinner  he said "Mummy I not very happy, my ear hurts", with his gorgeous little red feverish cheeks ... he really wasn't happy at all.

I warmed a quarter of an onion (red,white or brown are fine) and squeezed a tiny amount of juice into a syringe and squeezed it into his ear.. It took about half an hour of cuddles, and Bindi the Jungle Girl,to settle him down ... it does hurt a little bit when you do it (quite a bit really, but it settles down fast), but it is so very worth it!

After about half an hour of restless cuddles and sadness, he settled down  I knew he was going to be fine when he asked for some manuka honey and he ate some pear and blueberries and a big glass of oat milk followed by water.

He didn't settle properly until midnight, and had a fever all night.  He slept quite soundly until 6am and woke this morning with nothing more than a runny nose. 

A trip to our wonderfully amazing chiropractor to help with the healing process, who confirmed his ear is still red and in need of more onion juice over the next couple of days .. and hopefully the end of the ear infection.

For the next few days, he requested some onion juice in his ear, as even he is aware of the wonderful benefits!

And, no need for a doctor, panadol or antibiotics .. everybody is happy!