run your commute

How to run your commute


After a winter under wraps, my running legs have been feeling twitchy in their hibernation. The pavements and parks, previously shrouded with mist and drabness, have been glowing with spring and sunshine. And for the first time in months, a run has looked enticing rather than torturous. Plus of course there’s nothing like signing up […]
16-Apr
27
lunch club sign

6 tips to start a work lunch club


For the last two months, I’ve been a member of a lunch club at work. Once a week, five of us get together to eat lunch, taking it in turns to bring in a home-cooked meal. It started as an opportunity to catch up over a meal – rather than eating solo hunched over your […]
09-Apr
22
how much exercise do children need?

Why we need to play catch (and skip) with our kids


Now that the weather’s warmer, my kids are playing in the garden more frequently. The trampoline is seeing more action, and toys are strewn across the lawn. Meanwhile my eldest daughter, who loves gymnastics and goes to a class after school, spends every spare moment doing handstands, cartwheels, bridges and other ultra-bendy moves, most of […]
02-Apr
29
boiled eggs for breakfast

Food to keep you feeling fuller for longer


I remember the last time I went to a fast food restaurant and wolfed down one of their meals. Despite all those calories, I still had a gnawing, empty feeling in my stomach afterwards. The food had barely touched the sides. (Knowing me, I then ate something else.) I haven’t been to one of those […]
26-Mar
29
pizza-making class at Tozi

Cooking class for kids: making pizzas


One of the treats in our house used to be Friday night Pizza Night. (That was before it became Friday night Pancake Night after my recent success with wholemeal and spelt pancakes.) But recently the kids have started asking for pizza again. Confession time here: I’ve only made pizzas from scratch with my children once. […]
19-Mar
37
Bill Bryson's fish cakes

Fast food for dinner – Bill Granger’s prepare-ahead fish cakes


There’s nothing like challenging yourself to try two new 30-minute meals a week – and then blogging about it publicly – to encourage you to pick up a cookery book. For those who are new to my blog, I always liked cooking before having my three kids, but in the last few years, I’d somehow […]
11-Mar
24
woman looking at mobile phone

8 healthy apps every mum should know about


I’ve recently been researching a load of healthy apps through work, and I’ve started to incorporate some into my life. A few are helping me to become more organised, while others have the potential to make life a bit calmer in other ways. Here’s my guide to the unmissable: 1. Karisma Kidz Moodville, free Having trouble […]
04-Mar
32
making pancakes

TESTED: Healthy pancakes for kids


Wearing my journalist hat, I recently wrote a feature about healthy pancake swaps for lifestyle website Tesco Living. While interviewing nutrition experts and writing it up, I decided to find out what my own children thought of such super-healthy pancakes, made using spelt and wholemeal flours, and with not a sugar bowl in sight. So […]
25-Feb
58
fussy eater

‘My child doesn’t eat enough’: 8 tips for fussy eating


More often than not, my two and a half year old turns down dinner. He takes one look at the lovingly prepared – and, I assure you, very tasty – meal, and says, ‘No. Don’t like dinner.’ Even dishes that should be a surefire hit, like pasta or a proper roast, can be spurned. (He […]
18-Feb
31
tissues, medicine and thermometer

To the child with a really high temperature, cough or cold: a letter from a worried mother


Follow my blog with Bloglovin Last week, first one child had a really high temperature, and then the other two succumbed to the same virus too. Soon all three of my children were suffering from fire and brimstone temperatures of 40˚C (104˚F). They each spiked two to three fevers a day, usually in the evenings and […]
11-Feb
42
slow cooker beef and stout stew with dumplings

Tested: slow cooker beef and ale stew with dumplings


In my determination to get out of my boring food rut, while at the same time focusing on weeknight dinners that can be served up within 30 minutes, I’ve invested in a slow cooker. (Read more about my Healthier Mummy challenge here: Do you have mealtime déjà vu?) I’ve never had one of these kitchen workhorses […]
04-Feb
41
work-life balance pic

7 tips for a healthier work-life balance for parents


Here are some of the signs that my work-life balance is not up to scratch: 1. I’m regularly hunched over my computer till late in the evenings 2. I occasionally find myself scrolling through my phone for emails while at my toddler’s playgroup (only when his back is turned, of course) 3. I sometimes have […]
29-Jan
52
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