26 minute read
Living
EatHappyFeelGood
Batch cooking = weekly balance
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These recipes are all about making mum’s life easier! I’m going to show you how batch cooking one simple base recipe of seasoned mince which you divide and freeze, can then become delicious meals in minutes because most of the cooking time and effort has already been done. You can use any mince you like; beef, chicken, plant based, pork or even a combination. I use beef as it’s my family’s favourite.
Ingredients
• 4 large onions, finely chopped • 4 tablespoons olive oil • 2kg beef mince (5% fat) • 2 tbsp tomato puree • 2 cans chopped tomato • 2 large courgettes, finely grated • 2 cubes veg stock • Salt and pepper
Method
Cook the onions in the olive oil until softened. Add the mince and cook until no pink remains. Add the tomato puree and cook for another two minutes. Add the courgettes, canned tomatoes, vegetable stock cubes and cook for 30 minutes till reduced. Season well. Let it cool. Divide into four and freeze – food bags are great for this. Each portion then becomes a meal for four people.
To make it bolognese
You can simply defrost, add another can of chopped tomato, heat through, add some basil and it’s done. Or, to up the flavour and veggies, cook some mushrooms, carrots and celery in a little olive oil, add the defrosted mince, a can of chopped tomatoes, simmer, add some herbs and your veggie-loaded bolognese is ready.
To make it chilli con carne
Defrost the mince. Put 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add 2 chopped peppers. Cook for 10 minutes to soften. Add 1½ tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp cumin, 1½ tsp paprika, 1½ tsp ground cinnamon. Cook for two minutes stirring continuously so the spices don’t burn. Add the mince. Add ½ tsp chilli flakes, another can chopped tomatoes, 2 cans kidney beans. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for spice and seasoning and add more chilli or seasoning if needed. Serve with rice, vegetables and lime.
To make it a pie
Defrost, add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, a can of sweetcorn (drained) and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas. Put into a pie dish, top with mash and bake till golden. You can absolutely use store bought mash for convenience. To up the veggie intake you can make the mash with half potato half cauliflower. Delicious with some gravy!
Walnut Chocolate Balls
Ingredients
• 80g oats • 100g walnuts • 150g medjool dates • 20g cacao powder • 40g maple syrup • Optional but very yummy extras: dark chocolate & sprinkling of sea salt
Method
1. Put the oats, walnuts, dates, cacao and maple syrup in a food processor and pulse till the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Don’t over-mix, keeping a little texture is lovely. 2. Take a spoonful of mixture and firmly press together. Roll into a ball. 3. Melt the chocolate and either dip the balls into it or drizzle over the top. Sprinkle it with salt and place in the fridge to set. 4. Keep in the fridge.
Note: if you don’t add the chocolate you can store in the freezer where they keep up to three months so you can just grab one whenever you fancy it.
By Henry King
I was more than a little apprehensive when my wife and I decided to have our first child. We had not been married for very long and I was still wrapping my head around that momentous event. The idea of adding children to the mix was almost more than my tiny mind could handle. It was not helped by the fact that we had a couple of friends who were early to the party and took great pleasure in letting us know what was in store for us.
In the time-honoured tradition, we booked ourselves onto the local NCT course. I will admit, I was quite sceptical about going to these classes. In fact, it is fair to say that my wife had to pretty much drag me to the first one. I remember speaking to my brotherin-law, Gregg, who was due to have his first child around the same time. The feeling was mutual.
We were, rather arrogantly, not particularly interested in making new friends and misguidedly thought we would pick up relevant information and advice in the weeks preceding our due dates through hospital visits and chats with family and friends.
Both of us quickly changed our tune once the first few sessions were out of the way. It was obvious that we would have been completely out of our depth had we not educated ourselves about the various antenatal challenges ahead. Full disclosure, I did draw the line at a threehour breastfeeding class, complete with knitted woollen breasts as props, and only stayed for half of the allotted time, leaving under the pretence of an expired parking ticket.
Attending a course like that made us realise how little we knew and how unprepared we were. It also helped us see the value in meeting other like-minded parents at a similar stage of life with the same anxieties and concerns.
This was a daunting realisation as it highlighted our knowledge gaps and generally played to our insecurities as firsttime parents. We really did not need any more fuel poured on that particular fire!
From that point onwards, we found ourselves frantically googling, scouring the web for relevant blogs and buying endless parenting books. My house is littered with these things, most are only half read.
In parallel to this somewhat panicked experience were our wives who had managed to find about 15 different mothers groups, signed up to several different podcasts and had identified multiple resources to ease their minds. They were cool, calm and collected. We however, were not.
We had our first children and muddled through this wonderful yet bewildering
experience. My wife and I then decided to have another. I was a bit more clued up by this time, although there was still a lot of room for improvement.
Our experience of life during the run-up to having our first children and then the early years of fatherhood got Gregg and I thinking. While there are many support systems and groups catering for mothers, there is very little provision of the same types of service for fathers, or least ones that are engaging and done in a way that is not cringe inducing. This was further confirmed by numerous conversations with other dads and more research.
What we really needed was a single source of accurate information that could provide reassurance and help us prepare for short and long term, family related considerations. We wanted insight and knowledge to help plan for the road ahead. To be forewarned is forearmed… so the saying goes.
And so, Gregg and I decided to set up ‘Hank’, a new service designed to equip fathers and fathers-to-be with the necessary knowledge that will help them overcome the many challenges they will face when raising a family.
Hank offers a curated programme of inperson ‘Hosted by Hank’ events and ‘Hank Online’ sessions that are delivered by a trusted network of specialists. Local ‘Hosted by Hank’ events are also an opportunity for like minded fathers-to-be and fathers from the same neighbourhood to meet each other in a relaxed environment, have a beer and take a break from work & home life.
Here at Hank, we do not pretend to be experts on fatherhood or parenting. In fact, we are still learning. Every day is a school day. The list of topics covered by Hank is long and continues to grow, ranging from antenatal guidance; financial planning; schooling options; mental and physical health; childcare options; child development and cooking, to name but a few.
Feel free to check out our website: www. hellohank.co.uk. Hank is focused on fathers, but partners are very welcome to join our sessions as well. Below is a selection of online and in-person events that are coming up. We hope to see you soon!
Online
Bachelor to Baby Maker Monday, March 21, 2022
First Aid for Dad
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
In-Person
Please check the website for venue details
Dad Bod – Keeping Trim Saturday, March 19, 2022
How to Plan for Your Child’s Education
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Responsive Parenting
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Looking after Hank
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Social Skill Building
By Reena Anand
As a mum of two boys (Evy who’s autistic, aged eight and Eashan, neurotypical, aged six), I’m passionate about finding strategies that can work well for both my children. So, I wanted to share how I’ve created an environment at home where I can support them with social skills.
Social skill building doesn’t have to be restricted to school and the more we can do to consolidate our children’s learning, the better we’re empowering them for the future. Here are my top tips:
1. Demonstrate empathy. Consciously let them hear you role-modelling empathy in real-life situations such as checking in on a neighbour or asking after someone – this way they can hear the language you use. Evy would get flummoxed if he wanted to ask about someone but didn’t have the words available to him. Over time, he’s learnt to label feelings and I also taught him some stock phrases. I was so proud recently when we went to see my ill aunt and he said, “I’ve made a cake for you to enjoy with a cup of tea, to make you feel better.” This was momentous for us!
2. Practice turn-taking. We regularly focus on this at home and weave its relevance into so many of our conversations. Partly this is because Evy can be more dominant, which can feel unfair to my youngest, but also because being patient is a life skill they will both need in order to function in the wider world. So, I let the children know that we’ll be practising turn-taking at say, story-time this week. I might say to Evy: “Today I’m going to pick the bedtime story we’ll read and tomorrow it’ll be your turn.” I always give them a heads-up so I can tackle any objections there and then.
3. Let them lose. You know that cute thing we do when we fudge our moves in a game to engineer our child’s victory because basically, we love to see them happy? Well, this isn’t always helpful. Evy especially likes to feel in control so can dissolve into a meltdown if he loses but
I’ve come to realise that if I don’t create a space where he can express his big feelings safely at home, I’m setting him up for a huge shock when he interacts in the real world. I pre-emptively support the boys with words they can use if they win or lose (“congratulations” and “better luck next time”) then see how the game unfolds. If Evy loses (the game and his temper) we later have a reflective conversation on reactions and managing our big feelings.
4. Observe gratitude. Children sometimes lack awareness of other people in their lives. So, to remind my two of all the wonderful people that make up the tapestry of their lives – from friends and family to learning assistants – they create virtual birthday messages and ad hoc cards of appreciation for others. This reminds them that there are a bunch of people always rooting for their happiness.
5. Go team! Teamwork is a key ethic we imbue at home especially because of
Evy’s proclivity to always be the ‘leader’.
We love Lego because of the ample opportunities to build, innovate and work as a team. We have structured play where one person is the engineer, another the builder and another the supplier. This helps to develop communication skills as each character explains what they need or where to place pieces.
6. Understanding facial expressions. Evy can now label expressions but there was a time when he couldn’t. One strategy I use is to point to the faces of people in a book and ask questions like: “Why do they look so worried?” Or, if there aren’t any pictures then ask: “Can we think of a similar word that means glared?”
Children love a challenge, so it’s rare that
I get any resistance to this.
You can find more tips and hear about my autism parenting journey at: Instagram: @Asian_Autism_Mum • Facebook: @AsianAutismMum Website: reenaanand.com
The Most Colourful Places In The World
By Paulina Joukov
Hidden away from crowds of tourists, these most colourful places in the world are truly inspirational. Artists and writers have found inspiration in these colourful destinations. So, fairytales do come true, and a visit to any of these places will surely be a life-changing experience for you too.
Cinque Terre
Italy
Whether it’s a grey winter day or blue-skied summer day, Cinque Terre is colourful in any weather. The beautiful houses have a view of the blue sea and create the most colourful picture. Moreover, every village you visit in Cinque Terre is more colourful than the other, with houses painted in yellow, pink, red, and orange tones.
So, together with the blue sea and green hills, the Cinque Terre region in Italy is one of the most colourful places in the world. This colourful journey begins in La Spezia town, a great port town and departure point of Cinque Terre train. Travelling around Cinque Terre by train is best since the train passes each of the villages, so you can go and return to any spot whenever you want during the day.
Tulip Fields
The Netherlands
Pink, white, orange and purple, Holland’s tulip fields are magical in all the colours of the rainbow. The best place to see the amazing tulip fields is in Keukenhof and you can admire the beauty for free. The marvellous fields are fifteen minutes walking from Keukenhof. However, continue for another fifteen minutes and you will see even more beautiful tulips.
You can enjoy this colourful view between April to mid-May, during the tulips’ blossom. The big tulip fields are a short trip from Amsterdam, so it will be a wonderful day trip to the Netherlands’ countryside. In addition, you could rent a bicycle like the locals to admire the breathtaking flowers.
Nyhavn
Copenhagen
The picturesque port once inspired one of the greatest children’s book authors to write the Princess and the Pea. Yes, number 20 townhouse was once home to Danish Hans Christian Andersen. Colourful Nyhavn was a lively central port, where you could hear sailors’ calls in almost any language.
Today, the renovated Nyhavn is where locals come to relax at the end of the day. Dinner with jazz music, watching the sunset over the boats and colourful townhouses, is a remarkable experience.
Wroclaw
Poland
The largest city in Western Poland, Wroclaw is one of Poland’s hidden gems. Wroclaw is a charming off-the-beaten-path destination in Europe, and its colourful architecture makes it one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The most colourful spot in the mediaeval market square, where you can take in the lively atmosphere in one of the restaurants around.
So, be sure to grab your camera and good walking shoes for your stroll in the colourful lanes and old town. From winter to summer, the colourful Wroclaw will greet you with a warm welcome, and Polish pierogi stuffed with potatoes, cheese, or fruit.
Chefchaouen
Morocco
Hidden away in a green valley, just two hours from Tangier, is the bluest and most precious gem Chefchaouen. Painted in blue and white, with colourful decorations, Chefchaouen is the brightest place in Morocco. Similar to the Greek island Santorini, the quaint streets and architecture captivate the most serious traveller.
Legends say that the unique colour choice dates back to the 15th century when Jewish people lived in this small town. Therefore, the blue colour symbolises the sky and the connection to god. While Jewish people are no longer residents of this small town, nonetheless the place preserved its beauty throughout the years. Today, this small town attracts thousands of tourists, so be prepared to meet excited crowds around every blue corner.
Colmar
France
Colourful half-timbered houses, flowerdecorated canals, Colmar is a magnificent French town where fairytales come to life. The beautiful canals will lead you through charming alleys into open squares. Here, fishermen used to sit and talk of the day’s adventures and tales of the sea. You can get to Colmar from Basel in Switzerland or any major city in France, by train. So, put down a visit to Colmar in your European holiday itinerary. Another great option is spending your entire vacation only in Colmar. Either way, there are many things to do in Colmar except to take pictures of the most colourful place in France. For example, cruising the canal, shopping in the covered market, and tasting Alsace wine.
Burano Island
Italy
One of the three famous islands near Venice, Burano is the colourful one between the three lovely Italian islands. A boat trip away from the mainland, Burano’s bright-painted houses are a great offseason vacation destination. While you can go round the island in two hours, you will end up spending an entire day just taking pictures.
The charming fishermen’s houses along the bridges together with the many canals add to Burano’s beauty. This adds to the postcard-like image of one of the top five colourful places in Europe. A visit to Burano is a great day trip from Venice, great for lace shopping and Aperol afternoon drinks with views of the Venetian lagoon.
Top Tips to Travel with Kids Stress-Free
Everyone loves a holiday – the chance to get away for a few days or even a few weeks, coming back and feeling fresh and raring to go. However, when you have kids, the seemingly simple process of travelling to your holiday destination can seem like a chore, and it may prevent some from going on holiday at all.
The Edit by Silver Cross has put together some top tips on how to travel with kids, to ensure your holiday goes as smoothly as possible.
Timing is key
When going for a ferry or a flight or even working to a check-in time at a staycation, give yourself more time to get there when travelling with children. It’s best to expect the unexpected, and by giving yourself a generous time buffer you can handle your children’s needs and still get to your destination on time, without too much added stress.
Snacks to the rescue
There’s nothing worse than making headway on the motorway only for your little ones to start complaining they are hungry. Food keeps both hunger at bay and keeps your children entertained, so planning out a snack routine and packing plenty of food and drinks is key to a stress free and smooth journey away with your kids.
Keep your kids in the loop
If your child is old enough, it’s always a good idea to chat to them about the trip ahead of time. Younger children especially can get confused or stressed when they are out of their comfort zone, which can lead to tantrums and a more stressful journey for all involved. Talking to your child, explaining where they are going and why, will help them to process the journey and will hopefully minimise confusion along the way.
Pack light and go with the flow
You’re leaving the comforts of home, and this can be daunting, and as a result you may be tempted to try and pack everything you use to look after your children on a dayto-day basis. As well as weighing down your car or bag for the plane, this is a recipe for disaster from a mental perspective as well.
The trip is destined to be unpredictable and trying to keep strictly to the routine you’re used to at home is likely to fail, which will result in both you and the kids being more stressed. Pack light, with essentials such as favourite toys, snacks, and spare comfy clothes. To a degree, having a stressfree trip relies on you embracing the unpredictability and going with the flow.
The best books to read this spring
Recommended by Sara Bragg @sarabraggwriter
Spring has finally sprung and it’s finally warm enough to sit outside and read a great book (or two). Here are six brilliant reads to enjoy, from unputdownable thrillers to heartwarming fiction, there is something for everyone.
What Might Have Been
By Holly Miller
Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99 Lucy is at a crossroads. She’s just left her job and has no idea about her next step. It almost seems like fate that on that same night she meets Caleb and runs into Max. Should Lucy get to know Caleb better? Or should she go to London and reconnect with Max again after he broke her heart? Perfect for anyone who has ever believed in destiny and soulmates, or wondered what your life might look like if you’d made a different choice.
One Night on the Island
By Josie Silver
Penguin, £7.99 One cottage. Two strangers. Every great love story starts somewhere. Cleo arrives at a cabin on a remote Irish island to find a tall, dark, stubborn American who insists it’s actually his. With a storm fast approaching, they reluctantly hunker down together. It’s just one night, after all. But what if one night on the island is just the beginning? Following Cleo and Mack through heartbreak, selfgrowth and friendship, One Night on the Island is an uplifting, moving love story for fans of The Holiday, Lucy Diamond and Jojo Moyes.
Black Cake
By Charmaine Wilkerson
Penguin, £14.99 Juggling lives and crossing continents, Black Cake is the extraordinary story of how the inheritance of secrets, betrayal and memories can shape a family for generations. Byron and Benny are reunited at their estranged mother’s funeral when they discover a puzzling inheritance. First, a voice recording in which everything Byron and Benny ever knew about their family is upended. Second, a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe with a long history. Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
Wahala
By Nikki May
Transworld, £14.99 Three mixed-race friends, Ronke, Simi and Boo, are living in London. When Isobel, a lethally glamorous friend from their past arrives in town, she is determined to fix their futures for them. Cracks in their friendship begin to appear. When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself. Perfect for fans of Queenie and Expectation, this is an explosive, razor-sharp tale of love, race and family.
The Paris Apartment
By Lucy Foley
HarperCollins, £14.99 An atmospheric and utterly addictive murder mystery set deep in the heart of Montmartre. Welcome to No.12 rue des Amants, a beautiful old apartment block, far from the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower and the bustling banks of the Seine. Where nothing goes unseen, and everyone has a story to unlock. There was a murder here last night. A mystery lies behind the door of apartment three, but who holds the key?
The Sanatorium
By Sarah Pearse
Transworld, £8.99 Unexplained disappearances at a sinister hotel (and former sanatorium) in the Swiss Alps spell trouble for vacationing detective Elin Warner in Pearse’s disturbing closed-community thriller. Elin is there to celebrate her estranged brother’s recent engagement. But when they discover his fiancée has vanished without a trace, Elin realises everyone’s in danger. And anyone could be next.
7 Tips for Stress-Free Property Management for New Landlords
If you’re a new landlord, you may find that managing your property can seem overwhelming.
Firstly, you need to know how to take care of your property, so you maximise your rental return and profit, which includes the following activities:
• ensuring the rent is at market price • screening tenants to ensure they’re suitable • collecting rent from tenants • keeping tenant vacancy rates low • consistent communication with tenants • providing maintenance and repairs • managing the budget. Secondly, you may still be dealing with the pandemic impacts:
• extra commercial cleaning needed • socially distanced property viewings • dealing with changes to eviction notice periods • difficulty in securing good quality tenants
That’s why we’ve put together a list of seven tips for stress-free property management to help you navigate the operation, control, and maintenance of your new investment properties.
Tip 1
Create a Strong Online Presence
If you want to secure good-quality tenants, you need to ensure you have a robust online presence with high-quality images and strong online reviews. Ideally, your property will provide stylish living spaces that are highly desirable for all tenant types, including millennials, professionals, young families, and retirees. Savvy landlords create living spaces that reflect the lifestyle of various types of tenants, which is beneficial, especially with many people choosing to work from home.
Tip 2
Ensure Your Property Is In A Good Location
A good location has never been more important than now, with people living and working within a confined location.
If you haven’t already bought your investment property, ensure that it is within walking distance to pubs, restaurants, shops, parks, and public transport.
Remember to advertise the key features of everything close to the property to encourage potential tenants.
Tip 3
Get Your Property “Rent-Ready”
Before you list your property, make sure it is ready for potential renters. This means making sure it is safe, well-maintained, and clean.
Now is the time to tidy up, declutter and fix the items that need a handyman.
Also, consider if you want to rent your property furnished, unfurnished or partially furnished.
Tip 4
Host Virtual Walk-Throughs
Virtual walk-throughs are popular for showing many people the features of properties at the same time.
There are two categories of virtual reality that are useful for property management:
1. Semi-immersive virtual reality. This type of virtual reality allows prospective tenants to be partially in a virtual environment through high-resolution 2D photos, 3D photos and videos. The prospective tenant views the details via a computer or phone.
2. Fully immersive virtual reality. This is the most realistic simulation experience, complete with sight and sound. The virtual environment is created from highresolution models, images and videos combined to create a new reality. It is like physically being in the property.
Tip 5
Include Extra Incentives
Landlords that include extras will attract good-quality tenants that want to stay longer.
These extras can include the following:
• extra storage space • fast, reliable internet service • Netflix subscription • cleaning • gardening • accepting pets • allowing renters to pay one lump sum every month to cover all utility bills, council tax, internet, and rent – this is especially important for HMOs.
Tip 6
Consider Local Housing Lettings
If you have had challenges renting your property, consider local housing lettings. Of course, you will want to ensure that your property is looked after with quality tenants, which is what we do as part of the REKA Home Finder Scheme.
Our REKA Home Finder Scheme allows landlords to rent their properties immediately through local authorities in London and receive London housing rates. In some cases, landlords will receive a topup on the housing rate.
In addition, we provide a cash incentive of up to £1,000, with a two-year tenancy agreement with fully vetted quality tenants. What’s more, the rent can be guaranteed in some cases, so there is no cash flow loss if there is a vacancy.
To find out more, visit our website page, www.rekaproperty.co.uk/home-finderscheme.
Tip 7
Choose The Right Letting Agent
The final tip is deciding if you are going to be on hand to deal with maintenance and repairs (as well as finding tenants) or if you will appoint an agent to do this on your behalf.
If you decide to find an agent, make sure you find someone reputable that you can talk to. You want to build a strong working relationship with them and make sure they can help look after your tenants and your investment.
Find out what their property management service includes and excludes, so you know what your time commitment will need to be.
At REKA Property Management, we help manage our clients’ property and help landlords keep up to date with COVID health requirements.
If you want peace of mind with your property, call us on 020 3286 6468 or email us at Admin@RekaProperty.co.uk
WWW.REKAPROPERTY.CO.UK
5 minutes with Ben Anderson
He makes us LOL on a daily basis with something as simple as putting the recycling bins out and when he’s not entertaining us with his antics or filming epic scenes with the drone, he’s busy being a wonderful dad to five kids. Yes five! Instagram @thediaryofadad
Your bedside reading at the moment is…
Underbelly, the novel by Anna Whitehouse (@mother_pukka). It’s a fascinating read that I’m recommending to everyone especially those who are involved in social media.
Favourite podcast when you have five minutes peace...
I’m a huge fan of The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett.
Three things you always have in your glove compartment?
Baby wipes, a Fruit Shoot, a kid’s toy that I’ve caught them trying to smuggle into school.
Insta or TikTok?
Instagram.
Ultimate food weakness?
Lamb kofte. Whenever I see it on a menu, it’s like everything else disappears!
Coffee or tea?
I love the idea of being a real coffee snob but I always end up going for tea.
Which album will you have on loop and never be bored with?
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
When you’re not running around after five kids, you are…
Catching up on my huge backlog of Netflix series.
Favourite aftershave?
Currently Issey Miyake for Men.
What gives you instant calmness?
When the kids are all asleep of an evening and I sit down on the sofa and hear the Netflix loading sound.
If you needed to hear a voice of comfort, who would you call?
My dad. He’s probably the only person I know who is more chilled out and relaxed than me.
Next destination on your list is…
Dubai. We’re considering a move out there so we will be house hunting.
You can choose one superpower…
Pause time so I can actually get stuff done and catch up on sleep.
What language would you love to learn?
Spanish.
How would you describe yourself?
Hardworking, Loyal and easy to get along with.
The mantra you live by?
Life is too short to get stressed out by the silly things.
