Hot off the press!The Adrienne Hersch Randburg Harriers Challenge

How about starting Spring with improving your fitness levels…check out this great opportunity to have a HEALTHY and FUN filled day out with the family and at the same time contribute to charity!

THE ADRIENNE HERSCH RANDBURG HARRIERS
CHALLENGE
DISCOVERY VITALITY RUN SERIES
Sunday 10th September 2017
21km, 10km and 5km fun run
Soak up the sun and join in on the running action at the Adrienne Hersch Randburg Harriers Challenge with Discovery Vitality taking place on Sunday 10th September 2017, and enjoy the scenic 21.1km, 10km and 5km routes for the entire family. This race provides the ideal chance to test your legs on the legendary hills of Randburg while taking in the spectacular view as well as enjoy the community camaraderie. Festivities at the finish line makes this event a wonderful day out for the whole family and hosts a beautiful market, a VIP lounge hosted by Hello Joburg, tasty food, a festive beer garden and live entertainment.

The Adrienne Hersch Randburg Harriers Challenge is race 3 of 4 in the Vitality Series and will offer Discovery Vitality members between 800 and 2000 points for completing the race. R50 000 worth of prizes is up for grabs and all entrants will receive a goodie bag.

With Spring in the air, we are encouraging as many runners to join us for the 5km fun run as there is no license needed. Whether you are runners or not, come along and walk it, skip it, dance it, just have fun with it – it’s perfect for everyone. Situated on the fields of Randburg Harriers, you will have the chance to meet up with friends and family after the race for a delicious breakfast or lunch with an offering of numerous gourmet vendors while listening to great music. And don’t miss out on browsing the retail market for beautiful table cloths, pajamas, caftans, ceramics, clothing, jewellery, décor, scarves and so much more. It will be a great morning out enjoying the sunshine and healthy lifestyle in a safe and happy community.

Operation Hunger, a non-profit organisation is the charity of choice of this event and a portion of the proceeds will aim to provide poverty, malnutrition and nutrition relief to various communities across South Africa through a variety of sustainable projects. Participants can donate to Operation Hunger via their entry process for the race.

Cost of entry ranges from R40 for the 5km fun run to R120 for the 21km – online entries can be booked at      http://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/runseries

Pre-entries and online entry collection will be available at the Randburg Harriers Clubhouse on:

7 September: 16h00 – 19h00

8 September: 14h00 – 19h00

9 September: 07h00 – 17h00
So put the whole family’s running shoes on and book now for the Randburg Harriers Adrienne Hersch Challenge. For bookings and more information, go to http://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/runseries

Date: Sunday 10th September 2017

Venue: Randburg Sports Centre (Corner Silver Pine Avenue and Republic Road)

21.1km starting at 07h00

10m starting at 07h15

5km fun run starting at 07h30

For any questions please contact alison@fyfepr.co.za

How to reduce your child’s sugar and salt intake?

How to reduce your child’s sugar and salt intake?

http://cheekycherub.co.za/
Photography by Cheeky Cherub

Once we started the solids journey with Mckenzie, we found out very quickly that it’s so easy to feed your child sugar and salt without realizing it. I believe it’s our obligation and duty to teach our kids good eating habits from a young age as this establishes their future eating styles.

I am sure many of us can admit that we eat way too much sugar (above the required daily allowance) and risk passing this bad habit to our kids….this was one of my biggest fears as I have a very bad sweet tooth, which I am slowly curbing with healthier options. (If you would like to see some of my healthy recipes, please comment and I will post them for you. I have recipes that are free from added sugar, vegan, low carb, toddler friendly and healthy Indian recipes)

What are the bad things we know about sugar or/and salt?
• It can lead to obesity
• Increase the risk of diabetes
• Increase the risk of high blood pressure
• Increases the risk of heart disease
• It damages teeth
We generally stay away from sweets, fizzy drinks, chocolates and biscuits thinking that we are doing a great job, but the concern is, a large amount is hidden in the food we eat.
Foods like:
Breakfast cereals,  Fruit  juice (can be just as bad as fizzy drinks)
Readymade meals
Pizza and pasta sauce
Flavoured yoghurts
Tomato sauce – a single squirt is over a teaspoon of sugar
White bread

Here are some of the ways we try to reduce the sugar intake:
Overnight/cooked oats/cornflakes instead of flavoured cereals.
Whole fruit instead of dried fruit and fruit juice. Try to offer more berries has they are lower in sugar compared to grapes, pineapple and melons. Whole fruits are better as it contains fibre. If I do offer Mckenzie juice, I dilute it with water. I would not recommend fizzy drinks until they are older and offered in moderation. Savoury snacks like vegetable pieces and hummus. Kale dehydrated in the oven is also a winner dipped in hummus. Unflavoured popcorn.
We cook meals as often as we can and keep high sugar processed convenient food for occasional treats and emergencies.
Learn to read labels and the ingredients. Fructose, inverted sugar syrup, sucrose, concentrated fruit juice are also forms of sugar.

We know salt is bad for kids as their kidneys are unable to cope with it. We decided to prevent Mckenzie from acquiring a taste for salt.

Here are some ways we reduce salt intake:
We opted for fish and chicken and reduced processed meats like sausages and coldmeats.
She does not fancy pasta, but when we try to offer it to her, it’s the wholewheat variety and cooked in unsalted water.
Keep crisps and cheddars for special occasions.
Make your own sauces like tomato sauce and chutneys.

Nutrition matters, teach your kids from a young age!

Photography by http://cheekycherub.co.za/

Doddle Bags- A must for every parent and here’s WHY?

Doddle bags – A must for every parent and here’s WHY?

Doddle Bags – We take it everywhere

Reusable eco-friendly pouches;an innovative concept that serves an array of purposes.

The box consists of 10 pouches/10 colour caps/10 circular colour labels

A lovely PR representative for Prima Baby South Africa contacted me to try out DoodleBags. I jumped with excitement as it had to do with nutritional food and my toddler..BONUS!!!

Little did I know these pouches serve a kaleidoscope of uses;from storing smoothies, chia pudding, nicecream(icecream made from frozen bananas),breastmilk, trail mix, hummus, puréed veggies, icing for cakes, shower gel when traveling, paint for your child’s artwork and I am sure the list can go on.I was so impressed as I could repurpose them after its primary use for food has expired. Perfect travelling pouches for your hand luggage.

This is the ideal solution for parents starting their babies on puréed/bite size foods as you can make your own and take it wherever you go.It is compact for both storage in your fridge/freezer as it stands on its own or for travelling….wish I had these when Mckenzie was being introduced to solids.I found the pouches open wide enough to offer spill free usability and cleans easily by hand or placed in the dishwasher.

Mckenzie enjoys having her smoothies or chia pudding out of them in the mornings. I make batches of chia pudding and leave them in the fridge and she has them over 2 days. Smoothies are also easy for me as I make a large one which I pour 100ml into her pouch and I have the rest.I love having the measurements as I know exactly how much she has eaten.

We are travelling to Cape Town soon and I will be taking them along with us.I will be taking 2 smoothies packs, one for the take off and the other for the landing so McKenzie has something to suck on to help with the pressure. Another pouch will host dried fruit and nuts so she has a snack when we reach our apartment.

We will be using them throughout the trip for McKenzie (and I am sure a few times for ourselves) to carry breakfast on the days we need to leave early for touring and healthy snacks for out and about. This will also help with the budget, for example, we will buy a litre of yoghurt instead of 6 small ones, and larger packet of muesli as we get more value for our money;-)

I am mindful when packing as we will be travelling with a toddler which means both our hands are not usually free so packing light is key. To save space, I will be emptying our moisturising cream from Mckenzie’s big tub into a pouch and we will travel with the pouch…another money saving tip so you don’t need to buy a smaller tub that works out more expensive.

Just had a thought…these pouches will work perfect for wine at the park while having a picnic and who doesn’t need a glass of wine when you have a toddler.Winter days, red will be perfect. Summer days, a frozen Rose will be perfect.

This product is of high quality, BPA free and expert sealing technology gives you comfort of mess free meal and snack times.It comes with anti choke caps in a selection of bright colors together with stickers to help label pouches for the refrigerator, freezer or your travels.

You can read the story behind the invention of Doddlebags in the link below:

https://doddlebags.com/pages/our-story

Please note that I don’t receive any commission by sharing the information below, I am sharing as I truly enjoy this product and trust my toddler is using a safe, high quality product that supports our lifestyle and our bank balance;-)

Give it a try, it works for us and I have peace of mind as I know and control the ingredients  going into my child’s meals.

You can purchase Doddlebags on Takealot, Hamleys stores in Sandton, Eastgate and Menlyn.

Check out the fabulous Prima Baby South Africa facebook page for innovative and parenting friendly products https://www.facebook.com/primababysa