I’ve been good girl watching what I have been eating this year, the big change is having no chocolate in the house, eating more fruit and in particular not skipping lunch.  Last year I was finding that I was too ‘busy’ and would just work through lunch and then found myself snacking around 4ish, really bad, I know!  The key to eating lunch and not skipping it, is:

• Ensure that you lunch either in the fridge or pantry
• Make it easy, lunch doesn’t need to be gourmet
• Change it up and don’t have the same thing all the time

I found that I ended up making the same kind of sandwich each day and it can get a little dull.  When Cruskits asked me to take the challenge last week to ‘fight the carbs’ by swapping white bread for Cruskits I was really happy to give it a go.  

My Cruskits ‘Fight the Carbs’ Challenge

Day 1

Avocado, chicken and red onion

Day 2

Tomato and cheese with all-purpose seasoning

Day 3

Tomato cream cheese and mayo

Day 4

This is my favourite – cream cheese and salmon

 For the kids lunch boxes

Cruskits sliced into 4 for easy dipping into cream cheese, healthy salad, mandarin and homemade biscuits

We always have Cruskits in the pantry, I find it’s a convenient go to lunch as an alternative to having bread, both for lunch boxes and myself. 

I must admit when I usually have Cruskits I usually always have cheese and tomato. But I absolutely loved the cream cheese and salmon topping and will include this into my regular lunch selection.  Tins of salmon and Cruskits are easy to store in the pantry and I usually have cream cheese in the fridge for the kids to use with lunches.  

I did not eat any bread for 4 days and I feel less bloated and satisfied with Cruskits as a meal.  Did you know that two Cruskits contain  60% less carbs than two slices of most bread? That’s always a good start to making a change in your diet. Just with this one little change of making sure that I eat a healthy lunch and gearing away from bread, I can see a 1kg weight loss on the scales… yay me!!   

After looking through the Cruskits Facebook page I can see that topping ideas don’t have to just be savoury you can top with delicious foods such this cinnamon and nutmeg spiced ricotta, bannana and honey on rye Cruskits.  Yummo!!

Visit the Cruskit Facebook Page for more topping inspiration

Giveaway

1 lucky readers will receive a $100 coles voucher, with special thanks to Cruskits

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note:  This giveaway is coordinated by Nuffnang and run in accordance with my disclosure policy.  This giveaway is open to Australian Residents Only. Winners must respond to email within 72 hours. If I have not heard from you another winner will be chosen in your place.

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {Giveaway} $100 Coles Voucher – Fight the carbs with Cruskits is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Lime Tree Kids has grown so much over the years with a collection of

Unique, Stylish and Fun items

Each item has been handpicked because of its usefulness , creativity, developmental & emotional encouragement and general fun-ness!!

Lime Tree Kids toys are for children with special needs and those whose needs are special! They love to include Multicultural toys & Nurturing products as well!

 

Lime Tree Kids offers parents and their children items that are of exceptional quality, that will encourage positive interaction and bonding between you and your little ones and stimulate their senses and your too.  They want to make parenting easier for you by providing options of outstanding quality and that something “a little different” .  

Here are some of those fun products kids will enjoy

 

Sand Toys

Building sand castles helps the kids to use their imagination and their hands.  The products in this range will help the kids scoop, dig and build. The Sand Bucket Scooter looks really cool and I love that the scooter has wheels on it so if it’s too heavy the child can push it from the water to the castle.  See more details here.

 

Tiger Tribe

Imaginative play helps to grow little minds, and this tiger tribe range does just that.  With many different box sets to suit both boys and girls, from an airport, pirates to fairies, beach villas and more. The kids can have so much fun.  These box sets are easily portable and very stylish, folding away into a neat and easy to carry compact wooden box, nice and organised!   See more details here.

Find Lime Tree Kids: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway

1 lucky readers will receive a $100 Lime Tree Kids voucher, to spend in store

Note:  This giveaway may not be visible on some mobile devises. If you can’t see the  form please try refreshing your screen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Please note:  This giveaway is run in accordance with my disclosure policy.

 

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {GIVEAWAY} $100 Lime Tree Kids Voucher is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Tontine Pillows

Keeping Pillows Fresh

 Australia’s leading pillow manufacturer, Tontine, recently conducted a major scientific research study on hundreds of used pillows from across Australia and the results suggested our old pillows can make us sick.

It was also discovered that pillows older than five years had twice as much mould in them compared to pillows less than two years old.  Quite a squeamish thought if your pillow is older than 2 years that you are resting your head to sleep at night on a mouldy pillow. Or even more so that the kids who are in the stages of growing and are developing their immune system, this can increase the risk of adverse health effects.  Research also found that mould levels differed from state to state.  Pillows in the Northern Territory had six times more mould than those in NSW.  WA was the next highest level, followed by QLD, SA, VIC and Tasmania having the least, I presume because it’s the coldest!

To make it easier to know when it’s time to replace your pillow Tontines Fresh date stamped pillow have a ‘use by’ date so you know when your pillow are fresh and need replacing.

Tontines Fresh pillows are available from major department, discount and specialty stores RRP $21.00-61.00

Find more details about Tontine

Website  |  Facebook

Giveaway

10 lucky readers will receive six Tontine Pillows (RRP$10 each), with special thanks to Tontine

Please note:  This giveaway may not be visible on some mobile devises. If you can’t see the giveaway form, please try refreshing your screen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Please note:  This giveaway is coordinated by Nuffnang and run in accordance with my disclosure policy.

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {Giveaway} Tontine Fresh Date Stamped Pillows is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

ThermoChef Natura

One appliance, doing the job of ten.  Economical, intuitive, brilliant.   

Find more details about ThermoChef here

The Newwave ThermoChef Natura: the compact kitchen appliance that does it all.  It’s hard to believe that one appliance can chop, mix, whip, grind, mince, juice, blend, beat, heat, knead, cook, steam and weigh food. The intuitive ThermoChef saves you time and effort in the kitchen, making it easy to prepare delicious, wholesome, home cooked meals.  Say goodbye to pre-packaged, additive laden foods, forever!

The function of ten appliances for the price of one.  Get yours now for only $795.

Key Features: 

• Blending and heating for easy cooking with multiple functions
• 2 litre jar capacity. Detachable jug with S/S blades
• Multi-functions: scale, turbo, blend, heat, kneading, steam and timer
• Optional temperature levels from 37-100°C
• Optional 1-10 speed levels, plus turbo.
• Accessories include: instruction manual, DVD, recipes, warranty card, rating label sticker, steamer, butterfly, spatula, and basket.
• 2 Year Warranty
• 1550W Motor:550W Heater:1000W

Find more details about Newwave Appliances

Website | Facebook

Giveaway

2 lucky readers will receive one ThermoChef Natura each, with special thanks to Newwave Appliances

Please note:  This giveaway may not be visible on some mobile devises. If you can’t see the giveaway form, please try refreshing your screen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Please note:  This giveaway is coordinated by Nuffnang and run in accordance with my disclosure policy.

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {GIVEAWAY} ThermoChef Natura from NewWave Kitchen Appliances is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Sangenic – Nappy Wrapper System

Everything you need to lock away germs and odours and make baby changing time simple

When closer to nature read that I was looking after my niece for 4 days late last year they wanted to send me one of their Sangenic Nappy Wrapper Systems to try and review.  I didn’t have a super system like this when my kids were babies so I was happy to review it.

It worked really well, I took the dirty nappy off and placed it and the wipes directly into the system then finished changing her nappy.  This was particularly handy because I soon learnt that bub liked to put everything around her in her mouth.

Then with one hand I could easily twist the bag to seal away the nappy and odour, place down the lid and walk away.  It is then all ready for the next change session.

We had bub for 4 days and during this time the Sangenic system held all dirty nappies without any odour in the room.

I loved how this worked because when my kids were little I used nappy bags and a nappy bin, if I didn’t regularly empty the bin the room would smell horrid.  We all know that we think “ooh I’ll empty it next change” but time just gets the better of you.

I was telling a friend of mine about it and she said she had one.  Here is a picture of it in her nursery, really fits into the decor well.

Key Features: 

• 1 x Nappy Wrapper System and 6 x Fits all Tubs Refill Cassettes
• Twists & Locks away germs and odours
• Easi-Push plunger pushes nappy away into the tub
• Antibacterial protection – kills 99% of germs on contact
• Holds up to 28 nappies
• 100 times more effective at odour protection than nappy sacks
• Comes with one pre-loaded cassette
• Each refill cassette lasts up to a month

Read more about the Sangenic Nappy Wrapper System here

Find more details about Closure to Nature

Website | Facebook

Giveaway

5 lucky readers will receive one Sangenic Starter Kit (one sangenic unit with 6 cassettes) thanks to Closer to Nature

Please note:  This giveaway may not be visible on some mobile devises. If you can’t see the giveaway form, please try refreshing your screen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Please note:  This giveaway is sponsored by Closer to Nature and run in accordance with my disclosure policy.

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {Giveaway} Closer to Nature – Sangenic Nappy Wrapper System is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Mia Mixer

Sleek design, quiet operation, large capacity at an unbeatable price.  Everything you need in a stand mixer.

Find more details here.  Colour options, Silver, Black and Red.

Make light and airy cakes, delicious meringues, heavenly desserts and much more at the touch of a button.  The 67 point planetary mixing ensures everything is well mixed, in minimal time.  The New Wave Mia Mixer design is intuitive and built to last.  Easy to use, easy to clean, easy on the eye.  And at only $499.95 it’s easy on the pocket. 

Key Features: 

• 1000 watts
•  Planetary mixing covers 67 points of the bowl
•  Speeds 1 -10
•  LED light into bowl
•  Tilt head for easy access to bowl
•  Durable die-cast housing
• 2 stainless steel bowls, 3.4 litre bowl & 5.6 litre handled bowl
• Flat beater, dough hook, wire whip, pouring shield included
• Attachment hub to run Pasta Rollers & Meat Grinder (due in 2013)
• 5 year Warranty

Find more details about Newwave Appliances

Website | Facebook

Giveaway

2 lucky readers will receive one silver Mia Mixer each with special thanks to Newwave Appliances

Please note:  This giveaway may not be visible on some mobile devises. If you can’t see the giveaway form, please try refreshing your screen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Please note:  This giveaway is coordinated by Nuffnang and run in accordance with my disclosure policy.

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {GIVEAWAY} NewWave Kitchen Appliances – Mia Mixer is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Now that the rush of Christmas is over its time to start preparing for the kids return back to school.  Even though they don’t start for another few weeks, you will need all this time to cover books, name bookpack items, label everything, prepare the uniforms and so much more, especially if you have more than one child attending school.  Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you all my tips and ideas for back to school organisation!

The one task that needs to be completed before anything else is ordering labels.  I say this so you can take the delivery time into account as this usually takes 5-7  days. Labelling ‘everything’ is essential so it’s easier for your child to identify their own items, will stop others from taking what isn’t theirs and if it gets lost having it labelled with their name will help it be returned.

When ordering labels take into account everything that you need to label:

• School uniforms
• Hats
• Socks
• Shoes
• School bag
• Lunchbox
• Drink Bottle
• Ice Pack
• Bikes, helmets and scooters
• Exercise/text books
• Pens and pencils
• Book supplies such as glue, rulers etc

With all the above in mind you may need a variety of labels and in this case a school labels value kit maybe your best option.  Look for a pack that will include of what I think are 4 essential labels:

pencil labels for colouring and lead pencils

clothing labels for uniforms

I like to remove the tags from my kids uniforms as they scratch and irritate their skin.  These labels are made from vinyl, so they are smooth and non irritating.  Treated paper is supplied with the pack so you can easily iron labels onto clothing.

Find tips for ironing on labels here

large labels for lunch boxes

smaller labels for drink bottles

Bright Star Kids have a variety of label packs, something to suit everybody

view pack varieties here

For the purpose of this post I got the labels printed with our surname as I don’t publish my kids first names.  This has saved me from buying  a pack for each child. However, I do recommend if you have more than one child it’s a good idea to order their clothing labels with their first and surname, purely for your benefit so you know who’s uniform belongs to who. I have 2 kids in the same size, easily to confuse who’s uniform belongs to who.

Find more details about Bright Star Kids

Website & Facebook

PLEASE NOTE THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Winners are:  Judith Missen, Simone, Jessie Hay, Amy P and Natalie Cocks.

Five lucky readers will win one $50 Bright Star Kids voucher each.  

For your chance to win leave me a comment below telling me whats the strangest thing you felt you needed to label.

This is not a game of skill, winners will be randomly chosen.

Giveaway ends midnight, Thursday 17th January 2013.

© 2010 The Organised Housewife | All rights reserved - This post {BACK TO SCHOOL} Getting ready, organising labels + giveaway is provided for the convenience of The Organised Housewife readers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.