"Super Mum" Abbie-Lee Wright

 

 

I feel blessed to be surrounded by amazing, inspiring women in my day to day life. I love having the time to stop and chat with them.... whether its late at night on Facebook chat or for the 2 minute chance you get when doing drop off at sports, sometimes we chat daily and often we can go weeks and months without talking....and sometimes we are lucky enough to manage a half hour STOP, CUPPA and CHAT! I love chatting with these women in my life and when I say they inspire me, I don't say that lightly. I learn so much from them, feel often challenged with them, leave feeling uplifted and ready to face the world with the energy and passion that every woman needs. At 3am the other morning it hit me, after a very brief chat earlier in the day with a friend, that it was selfish to keep some of these conversations to myself.....which brings me to now.....I have decided to interview one of these women weekly and every Monday I will post it on here.....remembering these are every day mums like you and me.....and so I start this new blogging journey with the friend that had me rethinking our brief conversation at 3am the other morning.....and I have to say she has started this off with a BANG! I hope you love reading this as much as I loved interviewing her......Please say a massive HI and WELCOME to my first SUPER MUM........ 

 

“Abbie-lee Wright”

Me with my very dear friend, Abbie, last year

     Tell us a little bit about you and your family?

 We are a busy family of five, me, the usual husband and three kids; 2 girls, 14 and 11years of age and a 10 year old son.  The girls are kept busy doing physical culture, ballet, synchronised swimming and soccer whilst Benjamin eats, sleeps and breathes footy and athletics. They constantly amaze me with their determination, drive and talent, especially Benjamin’s speed on the track, he certainly didn’t get that form me!! The last time I ran 100metres in under 13seconds was the Boxing Day sales in 1990!!

When I’m not busy doing the “family thing” I am teaching physical culture four afternoons/nights a week and I spend many weekends away from home due to competition commitments. I love the time I spend with my pupils, young and old, and I treasure the relationships I am able to share with them. As you can imagine, meal times can be a constant nightmare at home when I am constantly out of the home from the hours of 3-11pm so I was quick to teach the three kids how to cook simple meals and my husband isn’t too shabby in the kitchen himself!

I interrupted a Bachelor of Chemistry Degree in my early twenties to get married and have children and when the kids were nearly old enough for school, I returned to study to become a nurse. I juggled shift work as a nurse, three small children and a husband with a debilitating chronic disease until I was ready to drop! It was about this time, whilst investigating possible causes and theories for my husband’s illness, that I rekindled a love for research and study, so it was back to University for me! I am currently in my final year of a double degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition. I also discovered that I have a particular fondness and talent for Biochemistry!!  

My friends love to give me a hard time and call me an eternal student, but I was very fortunate to receive an invitation to join the Priority Research Centre for Human Behaviour at University in my first year, I have also been placed on the Science Faculty’s Commendation List for Academic Excellence, and this year I received a scholarship.

It’s certainly hard work but I wouldn’t change a thing!! Maybe a few more hours in the day or an extra day in the week but I know I would only fill it. School holidays are my favourite time, having the kid’s home and making sure we do our “pyjama and DVD day” is always something we look forward too.

·         What one ingredient can you not live without and why?

I am about to share a shameful secret, I don’t like fruit.

I’ve tried and tried but I just don’t get it??? What is it that everyone loves???

There is one exception, I LOVE TOMATOES.

As many of you may already know, the humble tomato is definitely a fruit although it is mostly used in savoury cooking and may be considered a vegetable.

I love their flavour, their texture and their versatility. Our house constantly runs out of milk, toilet paper, washing powder but I can guarantee you that we will never not have tomatoes. They are so versatile and handy. A good quality can of tinned tomatoes is a fantastic nutritional option for a quick and tasty meal base. Roasted Roma tomatoes are a regular late breakfast or brunch option and sliced fresh tomatoes with a light sprinkling of organic sea salt on a rye crisp bread is my idea of heaven on a plate!!

Not only do they taste good they contain Lycopene, the carotenoid pigment responsible for their red colour, which is the most distinctive compound present in tomatoes and it has been recognised as the most effective antioxidant among the carotenoids. Apart from lycopene, tomato is also a good source of vitamin C, providing a significant contribution to the daily intake. Phenolic compounds are also abundant in tomatoes and are important substances that contribute to the tomato’s “protective” nature. In general terms, many studies have confirmed that lycopene is valuable in the fight against the proliferation of cancer cells as is many other antioxidants.

It goes without saying, a beautiful home grown tomato picked straight from the vine on a warm sunny day….bliss!  

     If you had half an hour to cook dinner and realized you didn’t have anything planned, what would you cook?

Easy answer as it’s a regular occurrence at my house….pasta, tinned tomatoes, tuna or a small amount of sliced chorizo and any vegies I might have available. For example, that could be onion, spinach, zucchini, broccoli and mushrooms. To balance the meal with some dairy I would probably add some low salt, ricotta cheese although my husband would also add a huge amount of fresh Parmesan!!

·         What is once piece of advice you can pass on to other busy mums?

This is such a hard question for me because I quite often think as mum’s we are so hard on ourselves and sometimes “well-meaning advice” can only crush us further….so here is my one and only piece of advice,

At no time in your life are you unworthy!

Some days the hardest thing to do is just get out of bed and start another day! Whatever you decide in life, whether it be right or wrong in some else’s opinion, it is valuable. As women we fight the hard fight. Years of society’s stereotyping of the “perfect women” has left many of our humble female fraternity feeling undeserving and overwhelmed. You are going to need my mantra, especially on the morning you forget its treat day at school and instead of baking like all of the other “perfect mums” out there you go and buy a box of processed donuts. (Yep that’s me!!)

·         If you could have dinner with any 3 people in the world, who would it be and why?

Those of you that may know me will know that having only three people to dinner is not enough!! But if I really have to choose this is who it would be;

1.       Moses.  Yes, that Moses! Here is why, the man survived a boat ride (albeit in a basket made of bulrushes) down the Nile river as a baby, he was forced to flee Egypt after committing a heinous crime, only to be commanded to return to Egypt by a “voice” he believes to be God where he was told to demand freedom for the Hebrew slaves. Moses was not a natural speaker and had to rely on the talents of his brother to make the claim of freedom to Pharaoh (last thing I asked my sister to do was buy mum’s birthday card!!) To cut a very long story short, he went on to give the words of God in the form of the Ten Commandments and these rules have been at the heart of Jewish and Christian morality for over 3000 years.  No matter what your religious affiliation, one must agree that the life lived by Moses was extraordinary.

2.       Shirley Chisholm.  Shirley was the eldest of four girls from a poor New York family. Her parents were immigrants and worked as cleaners. They valued education and sent Shirley and her sisters away to their grandmother to receive an education. Shirley continued with her education and went on to receive a master’s degree in education. In 1964 she won a seat in the New York State Assembly and was instrumental in laws that provided funding for the education of disadvantaged youths. She was the first black Congresswoman and campaigned for increases in funding for day-care and higher minimum wage. She was passionate in her belief in improving the lot of the socially disadvantaged and the unfair treatment of women. She was the initial proposer of the Equal Rights Amendment. Although unsuccessful, in 1972, she was the first African-American woman to seek nomination for the Presidency!! So 40 years before Obama, there was Shirley!

3.       Ricky Gervais. I think he is the funniest man alive!

·         I mentioned to you that if I can’t pronounce ingredients then I don’t buy the product, as it must be bad for you, you told me this isn’t always true. Tell us more.....

Modern technology and the information generation have led to an increase in self-awareness of one’s health and the responsibility of media, big business and governments to become accountable. Consumers are bombarded with “good eating and healthy living advice” and I think for the average individual it can be very confusing. One minute we are told to “eat less of this, and more of that” only to find that this valuable advice is often changed! A major complaint of people who begin the study of diet is conflicting views in almost all sources of information.

The Chinese believe that diet is an aspect of one’s personality. Choosing a path to better health through a change in diet and lifestyle is a way of life often challenged in opposition from family and friends. My daughter has a dairy allergy, my husband’s illness has been a constant balance of getting the “diet right” and my son’s behaviour challenges (although I now know were a phase of growing up), have all been opportunities for our family to practice a form of dietary healing. 

How can we really be sure which foods belong in a wholesome diet? Unfortunately there is no easy answer, however following a few simple guidelines will mean that any research or new food advice you choose to follow is coming from reliable and trustworthy source.

Firstly, check your advice. Is the author qualified to give such advice? This doesn’t necessarily mean they need a degree but have they lived the lifestyle choice? Was their journey a success or a failure? Every story has both positive and negatives, don’t be misled by “fad” food directions. It’s good to remember that just because an author has sold millions of copies of the proclaimed dietary advice does not mean that it is academically reliable. Look at Dr.Aitkens, a Cardiologist and Nutritionist who sold millions of copies of his best-seller worldwide in which he self-proclaimed a diet high in protein (mainly from animal sources which are known to be high in saturated fat) only to die from a massive heart attack at the age of 70.

For many of us, food is just a necessary part of our everyday life and for those with allergies it is more important but beyond that, all foods whether they are animal, plant or mineral have a scientific grounding. Big, complicated Latin words on labels can appear threatening and “unhealthy” but sometimes these words are just the scientific equivalent of a vitamin or antioxidant of which there are thousands! It’s good to be cautious, but eliminating “unknowns” because of the nature of their chemical names may mean that you are not only denying your body of essential nutrients but also of ultimate culinary pleasure and let’s face it, life is too short to deny ourselves of simple pleasures.

The underlying rule is moderation, a word I am not particularly good with but will continue to work on! Good luck on your healthy lifestyle journey; I whole heartedly applaud and support your efforts whether they are small steps or major life changes. It’s YOUR life and your journey, and remember “You are worthy!!” 

Abbie is my daughters dance teacher - she brings out the best in her and the other girls. She teaches them to be confidant and strong whilst having fun and always showing them love.

WOW! What a "Super Mum"....

 

Take Care Of You,

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