Roasted Almond Chocolates
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons cacao or cocoa or carob
- 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons roasted almond butter (for a nut free version use 2
tablespoons of hulled tahini mixed with 1 teaspoon of honey or maple
syrup, delicious!)
Place your silicon mini muffin tray into the freezer.
Gently melt the coconut oil and honey or maple syrup, remove from the
heat and stir in the cacao/cocoa or carob. Remove tray from the freezer
and spoon in enough of the chocolate mixture to cover the base. Gently
spoon in the almond butter and pour over the remaining chocolate to
cover. Put your chocolates into the freezer to set and store.
Date and Orange Scones-not-Scones
- 350gms cooled roasted sweet potato flesh (the white flesh/purple skin variety)
- 6 medjool dates, seeds removed
- Zest of one orange
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
Grease a 12 hole muffin pan
Blend the potato and the dates roughly in your blender, add in the
remaining ingredients and gently mix until well combined. Spoon into pan
and bake for 30 mins. Allow to cool slightly before moving to cooling
rack. Enjoy
Wholefood Simply Bread
- 300 grams sweet potato flesh*
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon bicarb soda / baking soda
- Juice of half a lemon
- pinch of salt
Roast a purple skin / white flesh sweet potato and keep the flesh for this recipe.
Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius or 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease and line a mini loaf tin (mine is 6″ x 2.5″ ) with baking paper hanging oven the sides for easy removal.
Put the ingredients into your food processor or blender and pulse until
well combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth over the
top with a spoon. Bake for 40 minutes. Cover the loaf with foil and
bake for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool
before slicing, Enjoy.
SECOND-HAND DOESN'T MEAN SECOND-BEST
Consider buying items from a second-hand store. Toys, bicycles, roller
blades, and other age and size-specific items are quickly outgrown.
Second hand stores often sell these items in excellent condition since
they are used for such a short period of time, and will generally buy
them back when you no longer need them.
BAN BATHTIME!
Have a no-bath week,
and take showers instead. Baths require almost twice as much water. Not
only will you reduce water consumption, but the energy costs associated
with heating the water.
INVEST IN YOUR OWN COFFEE CUP!
If you
start every morning with a steamy cup, a quick tabulation can show you
that the waste is piling up. Invest in a reusable cup, which not only
cuts down on waste, but keeps your beverage hot for a much longer time.
Most coffee shops will happily fill your own cup, and many even offer
you a discount in exchange!
Clean the Dishwasher!
To clean your
dishwasher effortlessly, fill a dishwasher safe bowl or jar with 2 cups
of vinegar and set on the top rack of the dishwasher. I used a small
glass Pyrex container.
Run through on a hot cycle with no other dishes in the dishwasher to clean and remove the musty odor.
Basic Air Freshener Spray Formula
There are so many reasons to give up commercial aerosol room sprays and make your own air freshener spray!
Chlorofluorocarbons are harmful to the planet, and aerosolized
chemicals should never be inhaled, yet that is exactly what we do when
we spray aerosol air freshener!
As a safe, non-toxic
alternative, you can make your own air freshener using baking soda as
the base, because it is a natural deodorizer.
You will need:
• Baking Soda
• Warm water
• Lemon juice or your favourite essential oil
• small spray bottle
Dissolve 1/8 cup baking soda and 2 cups of warm water in the spray
bottle, and shake well to dissolve. Then add several drops of your
favourite essential oil. If you don't have essential oil on hand, use
1/8 cup of lemon juice. Citrus is a great choice for this formula,
because it smells clean and fresh! Remember to label this bottle, and
shake well before each use to mix the fragrance.
National Quality Framework & National Quality Standards
NQF 1.2.2 Educators respond to children's ideas and play and use intentional teaching to scaffold and extend each child's learning.
This is one of the most important aspects of the NQF. How Educators interact with children and encourage their learning is an area that Validators look at closely.
Intentional teaching - what is it you want to achieve? How will you
assist in extending children's ideas? What questions can you ask?
- Can we make it?
- Can we borrow it?
- Where else would we find it?
- Have you ever seen that before?
- Should we look in a book?
- Could we ask some friends to help?
- I wonder what would happen if..........?
When you pose some interesting questions to children the responses you get will usually surprise you! Have Fun!!!
NQS 1.2.3 Critical reflection on children’s
learning and development, both as individuals and in groups, is
regularly used to implement the program.
We used to call it evaluations but now it is reflecting and
the key component is the word ‘critical’. When you watch the children
in individual and group situations do you take the time to ask yourself
‘what’s actually happening?’ ‘What do I think?’ and ‘where to from
here?’ Use these questions to make sure you are reflecting on the
children’s abilities, interests, creative thought processes, imagination
and skills and extend upon these accordingly.
NQS 2.1: Each child’s health is promoted.
This is pretty broad and can be interpreted in many ways but when
looking at this and how it looks within your service break it down into
areas and work on these.
- Are they
comforted when distressed?
- Is water always accessible?
- Are their meals
nutritious?
- Are effective supervision techniques implemented at all
times?
- Do they understand hygiene practices and are these consistent
within your service?
- Are Parents aware of all these items and how you
do it?
NQF 2.1.1: Each child’s health needs are supported
Allergies and Intolerance's – we know these words well! This element
also refers to any health need of a child, a disability, an injury,
cultural beliefs or simply something specific a Parent has requested.
Get to know your children and families – what are their needs and can
you cater for it? Something that is always helpful is an ‘allergy,
health requirements and intolerance list’ form. You can complete one
for every room so that all educators are aware of these as well as
relief educators as the children’s health, safety and well being is
always our priority. Don’t forget to regularly update these!
Early Years Learning Framework
2.4: Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment.
This doesn’t only apply to our environment as a whole but also to their environment at childcare, school, family day care
and home. We need to teach children to be responsible for their
belongings, their artwork, the equipment they use, their books, toys
etc. Be patient with them and teach them how to do this!
With
regard to the environment, do you have recycling stations in your rooms?
Do you sing songs about the environment? Have you got a vegie patch?
Do the children understand why we turn off fans, lights and air
conditioners? Do you know what’s happening globally so you can educate
your children?
There is so much we can teach our children about saving our planet – get involved!!!
3.1: Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing.
HUGS, HUGS and more HUGS!! That is a great place to start. Children
need to know they are safe when they are with you so by showing them
affection and using comforting words they can then become more confident
and secure. From this children then have the confidence to explore and
understand new relationships both with peers and Educators.
Remember:
When children feel as though they BELONG and have opportunities to BE
children, they BECOME confident learners.
3.2: Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical well being.
So often we underestimate what children can do and tend to take over as its quicker – slow down, look at your environment, think about your age group and your pace.
We are talking about self help a little here so make sure children can
access water on their own, can go the bathroom on their own, wipe their
faces, assist with cleaning where possible, choose what they want to do
within the room etc. Give them time to dress themselves, put their own
shoes on and celebrate these wins. They are gaining confidence with
every small step they take.
Barbecue Sauce (Dairy Free)
Quick and delicious, this is an easy sauce to make for burgers.
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
Olive oil, for frying
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped ½ cup tomato paste (concentrated puree)
½ cup apple juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch ground cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 teaspoons tamari
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons honey
Method:
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add
the onion and garlic, cover with a lid and cook gently for 3 to 5 mins,
or until soft (a heat diffuser is useful here). Add all the other
ingredients. Cover again with the lid and continue to cook over low
heat for 15 to 20mins. Blend in a food processor or blender until
smooth.
Source: Wholefood by Jude Blereau
PLANT A TREE
It's good for the air,
the land, can shade your house and save on cooling (plant on the west
side of your home), and they can also improve the value of your
property.
Make it meaningful for the whole family and plant a tree every year for each member.
USE YOUR CRUISE CONTROL
You paid for those
extra buttons in your car, so put them to work!
When using cruise
control your vehicle could get up to 15% better mileage. Considering
today's fuel prices, this is a bonus not only for the environment but
your budget as well.
