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White Lie?

One of my favourite pastimes is a cup of black tea and a couple of pieces of organic dark chocolate. I’m sure many of you would agree with me that dark chocolates bitter qualities is definitely a somewhat acquired taste. But is dark chocolate as unpopular as fake chocolate? Please do not adjust your screen or refresh the page, that was not a typo. I did indeed type fake chocolate. For any die hard chocolate fans out there you will know that I am talking about white chocolate because by definition white chocolate is not technically chocolate.

Excuse me?

Before I give you the nitty gritty details here are some facts about the addictive confectionary. The word Chocolate itself originated from the Aztec’s word Xocalati translating to ‘bitter water’. The Aztecs were known to produce a drink by mixing cocoa beans with chillies, achiote and cornmeal. Twice as many women eat chocolate than men and indeed dark chocolate can be good for you (Yay!). In moderation of course which is around 1 to 2 pieces of organic (minimum 70% cocoa solids) and with no filling e.g. peanut butter.

I can’t believe it’s not… Chocolate?

So where does white chocolate come from if it is not real? White chocolate comes from the cocoa bean, which is the same as any other chocolate out there, except only the fat (which is turned into cocoa butter) from the cocoa bean is used. After the beans have been extracted, roasted and crushed the chocolate liquor is pressed to draw out the cocoa butter. The brown cocoa solids which give chocolate its brown colour are separated. The butter is then combined with milk, sugar and other flavourings such as vanilla to give it the correct taste. But as a result, white chocolate does not contain the antioxidant properties other chocolates would normally contain such as phenylethylamine, theobromine, thiamine and riboflavin.

So there you have it folks, whether white chocolate is real or not is up to you to decide. Personally I’m a sucker for white chocolate and raspberry cookies. So I’m happy to class white chocolate as real chocolate.

Last Minute Fact.

“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”

The above sentence uses every letter of the English alphabet. So next time you want to see how fast you can type or you just want to test out your calligraphy remember the sentence above.

Yoga For Kids: helping them deal with stress and anxiety

What are the benefits of yoga for kids?

Introducing yoga early in life can have positive effects on a child’s emotional and social development, as well as their physical well-being. Yoga for children teaches positive self-esteem and builds confidence, self-love and acceptance of who they are through visualization techniques. It teaches children that they are all unique and special. Yoga can help children with behavior issues, by teaching concentration methods and making them aware of their surroundings through relaxation, and training the mind not to wander off into daydream or anxious thoughts. Yoga provides a safe exercise routine for children with physical disabilities, and those with weight issues, by learning how to deal with cravings and false hunger pangs.

A typical yoga class for kids

The class will begin with a warm up by getting children to take of their shoes, find a suitable floor space and sit with their legs crossed. They will start the class feeling relaxed, and then guided through a visualization exercise with their eyes closed which helps quiet the mind.

Breath awareness will be central to the class, and children will learn to breath steadily and from different parts of the body as they relax and as they move and stretch in and out of postures. Breathing techniques will help them learn how to relax and focus by simply watching the breath. Yoga can also help children who suffer from asthma or other respiratory illness, but it is important to disclose any medical issues like this to the instructor so that they can support your child in the best way.

Children are not taught how to make perfect posture, but how to stretch safely and have fun at the same time. Associating posture with real world objects such as trees, space ships and animals promotes an atmosphere of fun and humor into the class, and some instructors bring their own props to help with these visualization methods. Different postures will include standing, sitting, balancing and bending, whilst reminding children to breathe in and out gently though the nose.

Guided relaxation through visualization exercises encourages creativity as well as concentration:  teaching children to free their minds of worries and anxieties, and taking them on adventures within their own imaginations. This could be floating on a cloud, or swimming amongst fish.

Classes usually finish with a reawakening exercise that brings them back to the present. This might include lying on the floor, wiggling fingers and toes, and standing up slowly.

Remember, Yoga for kids should be fun, creative, confidence building, and relaxing for all children regardless of shape and ability.

Further Reading

Yoga Bugs run groups around the UK

www.yogabugs.co.uk

Yoga Journal the benefits of yoga for kids 

Check out this sun salutation to help get you in the yoga mood :)

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Toddlers & Tiaras

Photo: Taken by Toddlers & Tiaras

Mom "She's my beautiful little girl, all grown up."

It's important to support extra curriculum activities outside of school. For some parents, baby beauty pageant competitions is their thing.  Beauty pageant is an international competition which reflects the support from a lot of parents.

For the performers (the children) usually are given a series of tasks to perform, including fashion features on stage, and other talent performances. Then a panel of judges will award scores to each beauty pageant on a score card based on their performance and answers.  Sounds like America's Got Talent show, except the age limit is taken down a lot lower.

The winner will walk away with a cash prize starting form as little as $100 USD to thousands of dollars. How would you compare this to a Sunday Creative Art class or a horse ridding school? Let's take a look at the losers... for an adult, losing can be a traumatic experience but they have developed the communication skills and coping mechanism through adulthood to deal with the set back & rejection. How about for the young beauty pageants? Does anyone know how a young child deal with these difficult emotions and how would they learn to communicate this to their moms & dads?

[polldaddy poll=5842939]

Competition: Solve the Riddler

$10 USD to the first right answer submitted in the comment box below:

What goes around the house, and in the house but never touches the house?

Goodluck

Mr Riddler

Competition expires soon!

Dyslexia in Babies

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Recent research at a Children's Hospital in Boston, USA (2011) in children with dyslexia has discovered new hopes.

Dyslexia is an illness which is characterised by difficulty in speaking and reading. A diagnose of this illness is not common until the child has reached the 3rd grade in kindergarden/ playschool, which is considered late for many experts. Children with a family history of the condition are at higher risk to develop dyslexia.

The clinicians at Children's Hospital in Boston hopes that their early prevention measures, like MRI brain-scans, may detect the signs of this illness before it develops, and help child combat this life-changing condition.

...to be continued by K

Two Hearts Beats As One (A Pet Owner's Story)

How long does it take to count up all the cats in the world? ... all 220 million kitties. <3

Here is another interesting fact submitted by one of our lovely subscribers. A recent research study on the connection of pet ownership and a persons heart health draw the following result: A pet owner's heart respond better to body's changing requirements, such as beating faster under stress conditions (i.e during exercise or stressful activities) and had higher heart variability then those who doesn't own a pet.

The uniqueness of this experiment was that over 190 people's heart were monitored in real life situations, outside of the laboratory. The researcher at Kitasato University in Kanagawa, Japan monitored people with diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol over 24 hours.

One professor from UCLA of Public Health said "...pets are a form of social support and they can satify some but not all social companionship needs."

The detail report can be found in the American Journal of Cardiology. Here is a link directly to their website! http://www.ajconline.org/

Please subscribe to us! <3 Thank you from FFM

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Super Healthy Ginger Cookies

Super Healthy Triple Ginger Cookies

Soft, Tender and a Gingery Texture. The taste feels raw and crunchy leaving a touch of vanilla sweet fragrance lingering in your mouth...

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (use frozen or peeled ginger)
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• a finger pinch of minced crystallized ginger
• crushed brown sugar

Directions

1. Whip the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy, then add the egg and vanilla and stir to combined.


2. Whisk together rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, sweet rice flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt in a medium bowl and add to the butter mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated.


3. Add the molasses, fresh ginger, powdered ginger and crystallized ginger and mix to distribute evenly.


4. Put the mix in the fridge for an hour. *this process encourages the mix to reform and flavours to soak through*


5. 10 minutes before the mix comes out of the fridge, preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.


6. Sprinkle some of the brown sugar onto a large plate.


7. Take heaping teaspoons of chilled dough and roll in the sugar. Drop on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.


8. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until the cookies turn a light golden brown. Remove from oven and let the cookies stand on the baking sheet for a minute or two. Remove to a cooling rack.

Depending on your taster's appetite, you have enough dough to make 30 - 40 cookies.

Please subscribe to FMM if you wish to see more of these articles! <3 <3 <3

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