Cut out the Crap Christmas Party

Good Afternoon! I hope this finds you all well. Last weekend I threw myself a Christmas Party….in the world/office of COTC I am the only one that works here and thought it would be fun to throw myself a Party! For a few different reasons I never ended up having a book launch for COTC for Kids like I did for COTC, so I thought inviting a few special friends over that helped in many ways with the creating of COTC for Kids (photographer, editor, cooking testers and ever so important SUPPORTERS!) would be a fun way to celebrate Christmas and the 6 amazing months its been since COTC for Kids arrived.

I love throwing parties and gatherings and get a lot of joy from spending time with family and friends. I am a big believer in planning in advance for parties so they run smooth and then my end goal is to sit and relax when the guests arrive.

I write a list of what I am cooking/serving. I write a list of what I need to buy. I shop. I cook what I can in advance. I prepare all plates and platters etc before the guests arrive and the main thing I do before I get dressed up is lay on the bed for 10 minutes, take big deep breaths and relax f0r a mome nt!

As much as throwing a party or any event can be full on, I think if you are well planned then it can be successful and fun! I had a brilliant afternoon / night (2pm – 2am!) and I know my family and friends did also…..I hope you enjoy the photos and ideas!

Preparing in advance….getting all the plates, cups and platters ready so its all done for when your guests arrive.

** Tip – as we were meant to be eating outside (until it started to sprinkle) I got everything ready on the dining table inside as it wasnt going to be used. In a previous home I use to set everything out on my bed! As it was right next to the dining room When the time came for getting out the food there was no searching for plates and platters etc as it was all done already!

Christmas gifts for my guests!

As COTC is about food, I thought it would be fun to give food scented candles….I couldn’t resist a favourite….”Creme Brulee”

** Tip – when offering gifts to your guests, make it fun, cute, unique and personal. I have each female guest a Creme Brulee scented Soy Candle from Eirian Candles with personal gift tags. They were a HUGE hit! Drifting through my home for the Party was the beautiful fresh scent of ‘Coconut and Lime’ in my oil burner (a little Soy Melt from this same lady) I did a similar thing with little Soy Shots when I hosted a baby shower, we did “Baby Powder” scented!

Be prepared and cook/make in advance….

Making my table decoration

Fun and fresh table decoration and edible!

** Tip – this was my first attempt at making a fruit christmas tree table decoration. Miss 8 helped me and we enjoyed making it. Simply insert toothpicks into the foam and then thread fruit on. I think next time I will cover the foam with coloured material first so you don’t see my gaps of white.

….also in advance

Hommus from COTC and salad sticks

Platters of fresh fruit – some cut and some left whole

Cheese platters for those without allergies

1pm (an hour before guests are due to arrive) rest for 10 minutes then get ready!

1.40pm make drinks (test one to make sure they are ok!)

What is a Christmas Party without a few drinks!

Our gorgeous fresh drinks!

** Tip – Make jugs of drink so you don’t have to keep making individual glasses. Good Vodka is the only alcohol I can drink and I am lucky enough to be able to drink sparkling apple juice and soda water, these are my favourites.

*1* Vodka, Appletiser, Diced green apple, fresh mint leaves and Ice.

*2* Vodka, Soda and fresh slices of lime

1.50pm (10 minutes before guests are arriving) put food on the table and put music on

Yummo food!

I bought sushi from a local shop that I know uses fresh ingredients

** Tip – sometimes it’s ok to buy things! I could have made my own sushi but with everything else I was doing I decided to buy it as I know our local shop makes it fresh.

A platter of fresh prawns….easy and ever so delicious!

Savoury Veg Muffins from COTC for Kids, made into a slice and served with Smoked Salmon. These were made the day before and reheated in the oven for 10 minutes.

Coriander and Lemon Chicken from COTC and Marinated Soy Lamb Cutlets

** Tip – Dice the chicken into bite size pieces so guests can pick it up with a toothpick. I prepared and marinated these the night before and when ready to serve hubby took 10 minutes to cook these on the BBQ (and he had some bloke time….beers, men and bbqs go together at gatherings!)

…..and to finish it all off “sweet treats”

Cherry Bakewells from COTC (on the front cover!) Made into bit size bits!

Miss 10 with the half eaten Christmas Tree!

….and something to tease you

a creation for the next book….sorry you have to wait until then for the recipe! How GREAT do they look…..and they tasted FANTASTIC!

Wishing you all a wonderful week……6 more sleeps until Christmas YAY!

Take Care of You,

Collette x

It is with much sadness we said good bye yesterday to our old loyal mate. RIP Bronson 13.8.2000 – 18.12.2012

He loved food so much! Cooking marshmallows on the fire place we would have to tie him up as he wanted to eat them all himself!

A gentle giant – he loved the kids as much as they loved him!

He always wanted to be near us!

Our friend will be missed but is no longer in pain xxx

Cut out the Crap Christmas Party

Super MUMS from "Kidz on the Coast"

Good Morning and Happy Monday! 8 sleeps until Christmas and YAY I survived the hectic weekend with not much sleep and NO I am not in my Pyjamas this morning!

Friday night my Mum came down to babysit our 4 children, Hubby and I got all dressed up and we headed out to the ‘Kidz on the Coast’ Cocktail Party, celebrating their 10th Birthday! We had such a fun night and it really was lovely meeting some other business owners from the Central Coast. I have spoken to Debbie and Simone many times on the phone and by email but had never met them in person, so I was thrilled to be able to actually meet them!

Me with the gorgeous Debbie and Simone

These ladies truly are 2 beautiful Mums who look so happy and content with their busy lives, finding a work – family balance and were glowing with incredible smiles and you can see clearly they LOVE what they do….so what better time to share them with all my Cut out the Crap friends…..so here they are as my Monday  SUPER MUMS!…..ENJOY!

“Debbie and Simone”

Tell us a little bit about you and your family?

Debbie – I am 45 years old, wife to Steve (we’ve shared 21 fantastic and exciting years) and mum to my beautiful son Jack (16). We moved to the Central Coast 21 years ago from Sydney and now live in East Gosford. Steve does the “commute” to Sydney everyday and I am lucky enough to work from home. My business is Kidz on the Coast magazine (celebrating 10 years in business this December), which I run with my business partner and gorgeous special friend Simone Evans.  I’m also a freelance Graphic Designer squeezing in a few design jobs when I can. Our 4^th family member is our family’s personal trainer – our 5 year old Border Collie, Badger (sister to Jinx). Rain, hail or shine – Badger demands that we all get out and exercise for at least an hour each day! I love playing netball and have just taken up the bass guitar earlier this year (a very effective way to de-stress after a demanding day).  My son has a mild allergy to peanuts, but is easy to live with as there are so many other healthy types of nuts to enjoy.

Simone – Our family consists of:

Husband – Peter……dependable, loving,  patient, & very funny….but his jokes are dreadful!   I can’t work out why I laugh so hard at them, but I always do!  He has the amazing ability to see good in everything and everyone.  
Child # 1 – our daughter Isobella (15) calm, sweet natured, loving & intelligent
Child # 2 – our daughter  Graycin (12)…gentle, funny, creative, such a beautiful spirit
Child # 3 – our son Noah (7) …kind, cheeky, athletic & very easy to love
Dog # 1 – Jinx…a divine border collie who is my running buddy
Cat # 1 – Tabitha – a 17 year old tabby cat who, according to our vet is obese!   

And Me – I’m 43 years old, my children are always my first priority so I feel very lucky to work from home which allows me to balance family committments and work. I like staying fit and run most days. I enjoy cooking for family and friends and am an avid reader.  We live happily at Green Point on the Central Coast and feel blessed to enjoy life in such an amazing community.  We realized long ago that to fuel our bodies for the busy lifestyle we lead, we had to choose food wisely. So we eat clean, fresh food…and our family has no food allergies.

Debbie and Simone with their Children!

 What one ingredient can you not live without and why?

Debbie – I really had to think about this question, there’s nothing that jumps into my head. I would probably say lemons and/or limes. They add great flavour to meals and even the humble glass of ice water!

Simone – I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT HERBS…They make plain food interesting and are so diverse in flavours.  They don’t just taste amazing but have a myriad of health benefits as well.

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

Debbie – A quick and easy favourite of mine, and my son’s is pasta (recently converted to gluten and wheat free) with a simple tomato sauce consisting of fresh or tin tomatoes and some herbs.

Simone – In half an hour, I would whip up an omelette (using fresh herbs) and a garden salad with which ever fresh salad ingredients we had available.

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

Debbie – My advice would be to try and stay as organised as possible. Just getting a few things done each morning before you start work. This is something that I haven’t always been great at but learning from my very organised business partner Simone. It’s amazing how more productive you are when you have a tidy desk!!!

Simone – Be kind to yourself.  Children don’t come with a manual and you will receive so much well meaning advice.  Choose what suits your family best and don’t doubt your decisions!  

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

Debbie – Well, I’m going to cheat here and give 4. They would be Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, my husband Steve and son Jack. Music is a big part of our family, listening to and playing. My husband has always been a huge fan of the Beatles, which has rubbed off on myself and Jack in quite a big way. I would absolutely LOVE to engage in conversation with these brilliant musicians and to witness my husband and son experience a dinner such as this, would just make my day!

Simone – Jamie Oliver – amazing fresh food & interesting banter
Carole King – amazing music & interesting banter
My husband Pete – bad jokes & interesting banter

10 years ago you started “Kids on the Coast” Magazine and it is growing with each issue and loved by so many. I would love to know how this started. What inspires you? What keeps you going?

First and foremost, we are best friends and enjoy sharing our days together.  This has been the basis of our successful working relationship. We made the pact 10 years ago to not allow any differing opinions to come between us and we have upheld this throughout the years.  We laugh a lot and we swear a little too. 

We came up with the KOTC concept 11 years ago as young mums on Coast and decided to combine our experience and create a publication that would assist local families.  We are very passionate about supporting community, hence all information and contributions are from our local area.  The feedback from our readers and hearing that our publication does make a different to their lives, is what helps keep us motivated each issue. 

Check out our website www.kidzonthecoast.com.au for our current issue.

www.facebook.com/pages/Kidz-on-the-Coast-Magazine/124713427543885

When you see these Mums together you can see the amazing friendship they have and I think this is so lovely and inpsiring!
A MASSIVE Thank you to Debbie and Simone for allowing me to interview you and an even bigger THANK YOU for supplying us Central Coast Mums (and lets face it, Dads, Grandparents and Carers) and awesome Free Magazine!

Wishing you all a wonderful week, don’t forget to take time to stop and enjoy these fun moments with your kids, drink lots of water in this heat and give thanks for your health and family!

Take Care of You,

Collette x

 www.facebook.com/cutoutthecrap

instagram: collette_cutoutthecrap

Super MUMS from "Kidz on the Coast"

11 more sleeps!

Good afternoon! How are you all? Are you relaxed and all sorted for Christmas? Or are you frantic and crazy and running around like a chook with its head cut off!!??

Is this you???!!!

I am kind of inbetween if that is at all possible…..I am feeling organized yet I am feeling insanely busy and at times I really think I am going around in circles or just start laughing (or crying!) for no reason (and anyone that knows me well, knows I only do this when I am nervous or really tired!)….I have to say though (and I know I have said it before) I LOVE Christmas and this time of the year that we call the ‘silly season’….well most of it….I don’t like that its hard to get a carpark at the shops & I don’t like the the aisles are so jam packed with things that it makes it near impossible to fit my double pram down them…but hey, if thats the worst of it I will happily cope! Because what I LOVE is the scrumptious food…WHY do I only make shortbread at Christmas time….all the beautiful fresh fruit….OH MY I forgot just gow much I love lychees and cherries….and I love all those mushy Christmas songs that remind me how blessed I am, to have wonderful family and friends, the most loving and supportive hubby and 4 of the most happy, fun (challenging at times) and healthy children! (told you MUSHY **insert grin**)

My family – last week – for our annual famiy photo

A few years back I never thought I would be the Author of one book, let along two (and working on the third!)…AND one of them (Cut out the Crap) is a BEST SELLER! Every single book I sell gives me great pleasure knowing that my recipes are out there helping others eat Crap Free and hopefully inspiring people to change their cooking habits by cooking with taste not crap….. I never stopped to think about what it would be like to write my own recipe books and the rewards that come with it, to get emails of gratitude from people after buying my books is touching more than I could have known and I never would have known that this time of the year I get the biggest buzz when I hear that underneath peoples Christmas Tree is MY books! (**insert happy tears**)

I have a big few days ahead, will be interesting to see how I am feeling come Monday! I have the kids Christmas presents to sort and wrap today and including in that is the twins 2nd Birthday presents (they turn 2 on the 23rd Dec!) …lets hope I have got everything I need….I need to get that done before the girls finish school next week….I have to do cooking for my work Christmas Party which I have thrown for myself tomorrow! ….. and I need to get off this computer first! …. all this I plan to do whilst the twins have their 2 hour daily sleep which they are doing now, so time is ticking….am I dreaming?! Probably! Tonight hubby and I are going on a date night….well sort of…my Mum is coming down to mind the kids for a few hours whist hubby and I go off to the Kidz on the Coast 10th Anniversary Celebrations Cocktail Party! CAN’T WAIT! Any excuse to dress up and wear heels excites me!!!!!!!!
My Christmas Party tomorrow…I decided that seen as though I didn’t throw a book launch for COTC for Kids like I did for COTC (due to different reasons) and seen as th0ugh it would look bad for me to Party alone at my Christmas Party (I am the only person that works at COTC!) that I would host a wee little Christmas Party / Celebration for the wonderful year that was! So I have around 20 people coming over for drinks and yummy COTC food Saturday afternoon….and I can’t wait (Will post what we eat next week!)
Sunday morning = Church and Sunday afternoon we are at a Birthday Party!
Monday = Pyjamas day?????!!!!!!! ha ha ha ha (not likely I know!)

I was SO excited this week when a gorgeous little parcel turned up for me from the beautiful Sharon from Notox Box!

The December Box – what arrived for me!

Inside my Notox Box was a gorgeous range of goodies – some I have tried before and LOVE, like the Pure EpZen Premium Magnesium Bath Crystals and others that I haven’t tried before like the Activated Mixed Nuts from 2die4live foods – I am saving those to share with hubby and my next movie night on the lounge as they look delicious and too good not to share with him!

STOP. REFRESH. RECHARGE. Pure Epzen Magnesium Bath Crystals

mmmm……LOVING EARTH CHOCOLATE! www.lovingearth.net

A household favourite! All natural fruit snacks! So yummy I am thinking of stocking them but worried I will eat them all myself!
http://yasnaimports.com.au

Foot and Body Scrub made from Natural Coconut Fiber www.inovexenterprises.com

 

Activated Mixed Nuts – www.2die4livefoods.com.au

ALL ABOUT NOTOX BOX

notoxbox.com.au is making it easier to trial  handpicked, premium natural, organic and eco products. Members sign up to a notox box each month, and receive a combination of health foods, superfoods, natural & organic beauty products and sustainable & ethical products, with tips on how to use the products. Every month members have the opportunity to trial, research and discover the products, find ones they like before buying full sized items, and share their experience. It costs $25 a month, with 3 month or 6 month subscriptions also available.

The business started by Sharon Chung, is gaining a following especially for those wanting to try natural and organic alternatives. Given 91% of Australians say “chemical-free” is important to them¹, the subscription helps members make the switch to safer, healthier, and less toxic products in an affordable way.

Having worked in the health food industry, Sharon says “I found a lot of people wanting to make the switch to healthier, safer products but didn’t have the time and money to do it. This takes the hassle out of reading every label while standing in a shop, lets you discover new products, and saves time and money as you get to ‘try before you buy’. I wanted a service like this when I started to buy organic products. I was blown away by the safer alternatives out there, but also overwhelmed”.

The information is especially confusing in the natural and organic space as there are new products and new research out all the time, and ‘greenwashing’ claims on a lot of labels (where conventional products claim they use natural ingredients or are eco-friendly). Notoxbox.com.au hopes to help sort through this clutter by researching products and ingredients, and constantly reviewing them with experts in the health & beauty industry.

“A lot of natural and organic producers don’t have testers or beauty counters or marketing budgets to tell you about their products. Making the switch is expensive. I slowly built my knowledge, and replaced my products, but it took a long time and a lot of talking to doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists, holistic practitioners and people in the organic industry. I want to share all that information and make it easier for people to find and buy these products.”, Sharon says.

Inspired by the quote ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’, notoxbox.com.au hopes to inspire change by encouraging people to look after themselves and the planet better, one box at a time.

The gorgeous Sharon from Notox box!

Thanks to Sharon and her AWESOME team, I am running a give-away  at the moment for ONE lucky winner to get a FREE Notox Box in the month of January (entries close Wed 19th Dec)- what a way to start a Crap Free New Year! Just check out my facebook page www.facebook.com/cutoutthecrap for all the information you need to enter and Good Luck. Sadly for you (great for them!) all the December boxes are sold out but pre-orders can be placed now for January Why not treat yourself, I am sure you won’t be disappointed!

Well as my clock keeps ticking I must run and continue my day….I hope you have all had a wonderful week and that your weekend ahead is filled with sunshine, great family and friends and you make many happy memories….just remember to stop and enjoy the moment…..I will try that advice myself!

Take Care of You,

Collette x

My twins, almost 2! They love pretending to cook!

…and then when they are bored of pretending to cook, they throw every kitchen utensil they can reach behind the lounge!

11 more sleeps!

Choc Power Balls - Recipe from Cassandra Michelin

Good Morning! I hope this email finds you all well and not too frazzled for Christmas which is 2 weeks away!

I have a FREE recipe and guest blog  for you all today which is perfect for the whole family, teachers and guests this Christmas! It comes today from a special guest….

They beautifull Cassandra from Choose life, live it, do it! Is a totally devoted HEALTHY LIFE STYLER, a Personal Development, Health and Physical Education teacher, Dance Teacher, naturopathic nutrition student, keen cook and a mum! She is a self confessed total foodie and nutrition nerd and via her posts, Cass’s goal is to empower people to take control of their health and parents to be inspired to raise their own Super natural kids through simple delicious real foods and toxic free living.

CHOC POWER BALLS! 

These little guys are so so so yummy and they are good for you! Woo Hoo! WIN!!

Power balls are the latest thing and we know why! They are a protein packed power snack, as well as a great lunch box treat for your kids. So why not add cocao and make it a chocolate desert? … Our recipe is full of some amazing superfood’s which you will love!

Superfood’s are an excellent part of the nutrition puzzle; they are sources of clean, pesticide free, hormone free and chemical-free protein, Minerals, Antioxidants, Good fats and oil, Essential amino acids, Glyconutritents, Vitamins, Enzymes, Coenzymes, Essential fatty acids and Polyaccharides.

Our power balls contain:

Almonds; which are very high in protein, calcium and full of good fats.

Linseeds; which are a good source of fibre and omega 3 fatty acids. They have anti-cancer effects and may help manage menopausal symptoms.

Cacao; an amazing superfood that is high is antioxidants, a mood elevator, Omega 6′ fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.

Goji Berries are known to be one of the worlds greatest anti-aging super foods. They are extremely high in Antioxidants, enhance libido and sexual function, known to improve vision, support cardiovascular health, supports brain and neurological health, keeps vital organs healthy and is an all round immune system booster.

Medjool dates are the perfect sweetener, they are a good source of fiber and contain high levels of potassium, magnesium, copper, and manganese.

Ingredients

1 cup activated almonds

1/2 cup ground linseeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup cocao powder

2 cups medjool dates

½ cup Organic Goji berries

Coconut for rolling

Method:

1. In a high powered food processor, like a Vita mix , place activated almonds, linseeds, sunflower and cocao.
2. Wizz until mixture is chopped finely.
3. Add Dates in one by one and wizz until mixture is combined and forms a dough.
4. Remove mixture from food processor and place in a bowl.
5. Form mixture into small power balls.
6. Roll with coconut.
7. Store in the fridge.

ENJOY!!!

(If you don’t have a high powered food processor you can use your hands and kneed the dates into the mix… It will do the trick!)

‘Cass’

You can purchase loving earth ACTIVATED ALMONDS, loving earth COCAO POWDER, loving earth GOJI BERRIES and loving earth shredded COCONUT from us at http://shop.chooselifeliveitdoit.com

Twitter: @life_choose

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chooselifeliveitdoit

 

THANK YOU CASS for sharing this recipe!!!!!!!!! I am sure that you will agree these would be a yummy addition to the sweets table or cheese  and fruit platters this Christmas…..and anything that is YUMMY and HEALTHY is perfect in my eyes!

Here is another 2 recipes along similar lines I created a few months ago, incase you missed them…. http://www.cutoutthecrap.com.au/super-food/

My recipes

Wishing you all a wonderful day, YAY the sun is shining, off to go outside and enjoy it!

Take Care of You,

Collette x

Choc Power Balls - Recipe from Cassandra Michelin

Super Mum "Amy Doak"

Good Evening! Happy Monday (I know the day is almost over!) It seems winter weather hit us again today (even though its Summer!), it was cold and miserable and perfect weather to have a cuppa and sit and build blocks with the kids, well at least that was my  morning!

As we are on the count down for the end of the year, I am also on the count down for the last of my Monday Super Mum interviews! With only 4 more to go I can promise you that these ones are going to be as interesting and inspiring as the others have been.

Todays Mum is a gorgeous busy Mum of 2. I ‘met’ this Mum when I was blessed to have a beautiful story, about trying to conceive, written on me and my family a few issues ago in her magazine  – I have to say that this could possibly be my most favourite magazine ever and it is more like a precious bound large book, with pages among pages of touching stories (not just ads!) —- and even though my babies are almost 2, I still buy it because I enjoy it so much! I was thrilled (as I always am!) when this Mum said yes to being interviewed! I hope you love this interview as much as I have!

 

“Amy Doak”

Amy 7 months pregnant and her son, Oscar 2yrs old

Tell us a little bit about you and your family?

I am publisher and editor of LittleONE magazine and I work from my lounge room (or often my kitchen bench to avoid teeny fingers accessing the keyboard of my laptop) and my ‘assistants’ are my 8 month old and 3 year old sons.  They actually are very bad at their jobs and luckily they are family or I would have sacked them long ago!  I swing from feeling blessed that I get to work at something I truly enjoy and don’t miss a moment of my boys growing up…and feeling resentful that everyone else is relaxing at night and I am still working!  My husband, Rod, is a builder and we have been together since we were just 21.  He is my greatest support when it comes to work and every time I am on the resentful bandwagon he is great at giving me a kick up the butt!

I still can’t quite believe how much I love being a mum.  I always thought that it looked like a really hard job and whilst it is, it is the best one I have ever had.  I knew I would love my kids (you sort of have to, really, don’t you?) it has really surprised me how much I LIKE them.  They are awesome little people and I truly enjoy getting to hang out with them, and getting to know them.  My oldest goes to daycare two days a week now, so I can get some work done during the day (although the youngest is sleeping less now, so I will need to rethink this again soon!) but I really miss him on the days he isn’t home.

My mum lived for years with migraines and itchy skin and about 15 years she met a great allergy specialist and naturopath who gave her a list a mile long of foods to avoid and said once she was OK she could start re-introducing items to determine exactly where her problems lay.  For 12 years she hasn’t eaten sugar, gluten, dairy and certain high acid fruits and veg (like tomatoes, strawberries, etc) and wrote a cook book sharing the meals she makes for her traditional-eating hubby and family!  None of us can tell the difference when she presents a meal – she is a great cook – and it is a real inspiration as to what can be achieved.  Every now and then she will have a pizza and suffer through a migraine or tummy pains for the day or two after, but mostly she eats like that all the time and is just very clever with substitutes.  She has dropped from a size 12-14 to a 6-8 eating this way and she looks about 20 years younger than her 63 years!  Definitely proof that what you eat affects your life and I know that when I am stressed or cranky (or super tired) it is usually that I am eating poorly and that is making me feel even worse.

 

Amy and her Mum, Cheree, on her Wedding Day!

 

Oscar with 1 week old Sebastian – you can feel the LOVE in this photo!

What one ingredient can you not live without and why?

Avocado!  Which is crazy because I lived most of my life ‘hating it’ (read: never tried it) and now I think it is the perfect ingredient!  It makes any salad or sandwich instantly delicious (it makes even lettuce feel like real food – ha!) and I even have a gluten free sugar free recipe for ‘chocolate’ brownies that is made with avocadoes and you would never know the difference between the original version!

And prawns would have to be one of my favourite foods…avocado and prawns…yummy, yummy!

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

This question made me laugh because I don’t so much ‘cook’ as ‘assemble ingredients’.  Most meals these days take no longer than 20 minutes to prepare and cook and I have quite the repertoire for easy-peasy meals that fool people into thinking that I actually know what I am doing! One of my easiest trick meals is a chicken, spinach and ricotta risotto.  It is actually cooking the Arborio rice using the absorption method, frying up some chopped bacon and then some chicken breast pieces, throwing it together with a sun dried tomato, spinach and ricotta pasta bake jar, and stirring through some fresh baby spinach and some frozen corn kernels.  The entire thing takes about 8 minutes from start to finish, and everyone loves it!

Amy and her family, including their Golden Cocker Spaniel, Keira!

Oscar and Sebastian

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

No one else knows what they are doing either.  Seriously.  Even the ones that seem to have it together.  So many mums I know make themselves crazy by looking at other mums and berating themselves “why can’t I be more like her and [insert common complaint here – spend more time with my kids/go to work/be fit/have great hair/throw amazing parties/have a clean house/have my own business/go on holidays/have a kid that sleeps/blah/blah/blah!]”

If someone else seems happy in their life, it is usually because they have made choices that fit their family and their situation (although, chances are they are just fumbling through it all too!).  Which means what they do is unlikely to work for you!  You’ve got to do what puts a smile on your face and not worry about anything else.  A lot of mums also worry about being judged, but whether you are a mum or not, if you are happy and owning your choices, people respect that and are happy for you (or incredibly jealous of you, but I guess that is a win too!)

Amy and Sebastian – 7 months old

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

Hmmm…dead or alive?  If I go with people alive today, I would definitely choose women who have to juggle a lot and seem to succeed at it, or seem to have close to ‘it all’ (although, I am sure they would have few secrets to share…see above question!) – Oprah Winfrey, Princess Rania and JK Rowling would make for some fascinating conversation about women and their place in the world today!

You are the Publishing Editor of my favourite Pregnancy and Baby Magazine “Little ONE baby” ….. I would love to know how this magazine got started, how long it’s been going for and what inspires you and the rest of the staff?

My background is advertising and marketing, but about 10 years ago I did a Diploma in editing and writing.  I was keen to develop my PR skills at that time, but I have always loved to write.  A few years after that, I started a magazine in my local area (www.bendigomagazine.com) and all that did was fuel my magazine obsession! 

I got married in 2007 and in the lead up to that, I got hooked on beautiful bridal magazines – there are some really gorgeous ones out there!  Every time a friend got engaged, I would go and buy them a few of my favourites.  Around the same time, a lot of my friends were having babies and I was keen to do the same for them – buy them a gorgeous baby magazine.  Unfortunately, a lot of the magazines on the shelves were either rather unattractive and filled with advice that an educated woman would already know (or learn in 10 minutes of being online) or they were just product lists of things to buy.  There were no positive stories about real women and their experiences or choices, and there was certainly nothing showcasing lovely nurseries.  So, I set about creating one!  Luckily, my distributor in Australia (Gordon & Gotch) also felt that it was an idea that needed sharing and they agreed to come on board and send the magazine around the country.  The first issue was Winter 2009 and two weeks after it hit the shelves, my first baby was born.  Two issues later we started selling in New Zealand and now we also sell copies in the USA, UK, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, China, Korea, United Arab Emirates as well as selling issues online to people in many other countries! 

All of the people who work on LittleONE are also parents of young children and we all agree that we are lovers of beautiful things!  It is very easy to get caught up in the exhaustion and stresses that come with being a parent, but it is important to remember that parenting a little one is such a short window of time in the scheme of your whole life – so you should embrace the lovely parts as much as you can.  Hopefully, we remind people that we are all dealing with the same challenges and that it is OK to enjoy some of the good bits before they are gone forever!

“LittleONE” available MAY (Winter) and NOVEMBER (Summer) and an annual Kids in SEPTEMBER!

 

My family inside “LittleONE”

 

A huge THANK YOU to Amy for being a part of this interview and for also creating such a beautiful magazine that I look forward to so much!

To see more on “LittleONE” and Amy, you can follow them at www.littleonebaby.com.au and www.littleonekids.com.au and BLOG on www.littleonemag.com

www.facebook.com/LittleONEBaby

Twitter – LittleONEMag

Instagram – Amy Littleone

 

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead….can you believe it is 2 weeks until Christmas!

I will show you what I have been up to leading up to Christmas, offering more free recipes and loads more in my blogs over the next few weeks, so don’t forget to register on the front/home page of my website to get these blogs emailed to you automatically so you don’t miss out!

Take Care of You,

Collette x

Super Mum "Amy Doak"