More and more we’re seeing the rising trend of couple dressing. Accidental or on purpose, couple dressing has been around for a while. Whether you find it cringe worthy or super cute, it’s here to stay. I have become prone (victim?) to couple dressing. I can count on two hands the number of times I have jumped in the car with my always patiently waiting husband or turned up to meet him at an event wearing the exact same outfit as him. To the point where the kids now think it’s a hilarious running joke… not so much when we do it out in public with them.
From Victoria and David Beckham in matching leather Gucci suits, Kate Hudson and husband Danny Fujikawa wearing matching Christmas onesies, Jonah Hill and Sarah Brady in pale blue matching Gucci suits at the premiere of “don’t Look Up” (I see you Gucci jumping on this trend…Double $$$), Prince Harry and Megan with their family denim Christmas card look which was really just a poor attempt at taking the “Couple Denim Dressing Achievement Award” off Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake at the AMA’s back in 2001 and no one can ever forget that fashion moment, regrettably. The celebs really are still leading the way for couple dressing to be a ‘thing’.
But it just doesn’t stop at couples. Families are getting in on the trend as well. You can find designers that specialise in matchy matchy outfits for parents and their offspring. Pinterest is littered with it! Dad and son matching swimwear is a huge one and mum and daughter dresses. We saw same-same family PJ sets littering the catalogues of Kmart and Target this season.
Let’s not forget the ever so popular family photoshoot down on the beach where all wear white t-shirts and jeans. Everyone perfectly groomed with parents shouting at their kids through gritted teeth fused in a wonderful fake smile “Can’t you all just pretend to be happy for 1 minute!” with the result perfectly framed and speckling the walls of family home staircases around the world proclaiming evidence of the picture-perfect family that lives there.
But are two adults dressing exactly the same in public, taking it too far?
Let’s do a quick deep dive into the reasons why two people in a relationship want to dress the same. At the forefront it shows a united front, couple branding, pack mentality, family identity, team spirit, show of loyalty or just because they really love each other… and more than likely, to embarrass the hell out of the kids. Is it not also a class style statement as well… God forbid my partners tie doesn’t clash with my dress! (Face palm).
But at the end of the day, when you spend and share so much time with someone, and both of you have a similar taste it’s inevitable that you will dress similar. Some studies suggest that you even start to physically look similar… but that’s a whole other article!
Maybe it’s all a ruse to get you out the door quicker if there is a sense of a “couples’ uniform”? Whoever gets dressed first sets the precedence to the type of attire for the outing and minimises the 6000 wardrobe changes?
All one can hope, is that the person who has the best fashion forward sensibility and taste of the two, has the slightly more dominating edge in the relationship, for all our sake.
I was at the airport recently and there was a mother with a 6-month-old baby in a sling strapped to her chest. The plane had been delayed a few minutes while we were boarding. The baby started to get bored in the queue and just ever so slightly fussed. The mother immediately whipped out her phone and held it in front of him and the baby basically inhaled whatever was on the screen. In this instance, at 6 months old with thanks to modern technology, this baby had 0.2 of a second of boredom and uncomfortableness.
It made me think of another example. Kids and eating. All parents have had a moment where they need to engage in a total power play around getting their kids to eat a meal (my hand is raised!). Usually, we decorate the battle with the promise of desert, or an iPad is thrust in front of them. Just stop for a second and consider it. You must make the act of eating easier for your child. Why don’t we just use hunger? If your child doesn’t eat the meal in front of them, how about letting hunger be the motivator for them to eat? Is that not the reality of not eating? But we don’t do this do we, we couldn’t possibly let them experience the actual consequence and simple fact of life that if you don’t eat you get hungry and by not doing this, we are disallowing our kids to feel any sort of discomfort.
Doesn’t the saying go “life starts when you are outside of your comfort Zone”? If we are making our children’s life too comfortable, how do we expect them to personally evolve? Why would they bother to?
In perspective, life today has generally never been so comfortable for the average child. Everything is at their fingertips. There has never been so much support from parents and schools. They have so many opportunities but so many expectations. Not allowing our children to feel discomfort is setting them up for a very painful adulthood because we are setting them up for an unrealistic way of life. We use the word resilience a lot in schools. But the only way to build up resilience is to have discomfort. Without discomfort there is nothing to be resilient too.
A frustrated parent posted on social media the other day saying, “after I spent all morning doing chores, my teen woke up at 2pm and I told him to take the rubbish out to which he replied, ‘Do I have to do everything?”. Is this the level of expectations we are creating for our future adults?
A beautiful friend confided that she gets up at 5:30am to check that her son is up as he sleeps through his alarm, so he isn’t late for work. What? No! Let his boss threaten him with losing his job as a motivator to get his feet on the floor in the morning… in fact make your mum a cup of tea in bed before you go too!
Adversity is a great motivator. We need to reframe how we parent. Our job is not to cushion the falls, not to protect from failure and not to carry the burden of our kids’ shortfalls. We have enough on our own plate! We need to teach them to embrace life’s challenges and hard times, to embrace chaos and to embrace mistakes as these are the moments you learn and grow. We can only give them the tools, the rest is up to them.
So maybe, the next time your child says they are bored for 5 seconds on the weekend while you are trying to saviour your first sip of an actual hot tea in 3 years, and you drop everything to take them to the park or a movie. How about handing them the washing to hang out? Or passing them the toilet brush? Watch how quickly they find something to do!
Or the next time you go to email the teacher supporting an excuse for late homework, so they don’t get a detention- stop and let them learn the discomfort of actions and consequences. Let them forget their sports uniform and walk home in the rain. Does your teen want money to hang with friends, ok, how about they get a job? Is that not the reality? There must be a balance of being kind and supportive but also being a parent that teaches them to fly.
At the end of the day, it’s not our job to protect them from life’s discomforts, but to gently guide them through it. It’s in the discomfort that we truly learn to evolve and adapt. We all have our life lessons to learn, let’s not take that privilege away from them.
When the love of two leads to a blended family of nine! How to make a modern day Brady Bunch work.
It was an obvious perfect match to close friends in hindsight. Our first dates were truly magical days, sparks flew and Cupid had a target directly on our backs. It sounds so cheesy and it was. We couldn’t believe it either, we still talk about them today. There was a such a lovely sense of calm contentment and comfort amongst a lot of laughter. A clear life lesson that chaos brings clarity and to never lose faith!
It was so nice to have someone reciprocate goofy romanticism, a terrible sense of humour, spontaneous adventures and most importantly respect and loyalty. But we soon realised that it wasn’t just about us… there were seven children also in the mix that had to come on board as well.
Covid meant we had three attempts at the wedding. It went from a 200 plus guest list to only 15… and most of them were kids 14 and under. With half the family and friends in the UK and half in Australia, it was a hard decision to go ahead with it on a stripped back scale. But how could we wait… we had a life to build together when we were already at the midway mark.
To become a nine person family overnight had its challenges but it was nothing that a lot of love and a bigger washing machine couldn’t fix. There were seven children, aged from twenty three down to six. I get asked all the time about how we make it work and we found that the success to combining the two families was down to to a few key things.
We are both family driven. I always have the table set at night like the queen is coming to dinner and would make everyone sit down together. No phones, no TV, just talking to each other! Usually the youngest Henry (6), has the job of asking everyone about their day. Everyone has a sense of inclusion and a voice.
We celebrate… everything! Birthdays, holidays, seasons, anniversaries achievements and a tooth falling out. A month never goes by when there is no birthday or nothing to celebrate… luckily the nine of us love a good party and of course we always have the best music!
We play “all in” family games. Whether it’s an epic dominoes tournament, football match or ’44 Home’ at the park, trivia, poker… the competition is fierce and very fun. The Family “all in” hide and seek where we couldn’t find Henry for about 20 minutes was legendary. We finally found him in the clothes hamper. He was ecstatic at his epic win. We were relieved.
None of the kids are the same age which means no one competes with anyone, no one is in the same developmental stage so everyone has their own thing going on individually. It’s been a true joy watching how the older kids mix with the younger kids and the breakaway groups that happen. Whether it’s a craft activity, Marco Polo in the pool, cooking or a FIFA Play Station match… everyone can connect on some level in an activity.
I think for blended families who have the same ages, engaging the kids in an activity that neither of them have done before would really work as they can navigate the new experience together without any rivalry and bond on a level playing field.
We make sure we look out and look after each other. If someone sees the other dropping the ball, a bit down or needing help we all respond to each other and help out. We all maintain and oil the family mechanics.
Doing seperate activities with the older three and younger four really helps as well. Dinners and drinks with the older kids and the zoo or movies with the younger kids. Age appropriate activities allows us to connect with each group more individually on their level and have some fun. Cocktails with the older kids and ice cream’s with the younger? No complaints from us!
It all comes down to time. What you’re willing to put in is what you’ll get back, whether you’re the stepdad or stepmum. Most importantly, you need to be selfless and make sure you have the right intent. If you all intend for the family to work, and you’re all willing to work at it… then the house will be filled with fun and love. Both of us have accepted the responsibility of all seven kids together and our intent is to be one big fun family. If you don’t accept the responsibility, it won’t work.
Treating everyone as an equal is important. If anyone thinks there is a favourite we simply say none of them are, so now is the time to start sucking up!
For us, the best thing about our relationship, has been watching the relationships of the seven children flourish and build lifelong connections.
It’s loud, messy, insanely busy, sometimes a logistical nightmare and there’s usually a life drama to sort out, at any age. We don’t cook dinner anymore, we cater…and yes I installed a dinner bell! We work at it everyday but it’s easy work when you are part of team that is so appreciative of each other.
Like we needed an excuse to get together and drink champs! oh ok maybe a guilt free one because anything for research right? Doing our bit for the community, blah blah blah… Ha! It has been a long running dispute in my group of school mum friends that the there is no difference between the real French Veuve and the Aldi Veuve, actually to the extent where some mum’s (albeit being cult Aldi fans) believed they preferred the Aldi one more.
The Aldi Veuve… (Pic Via: Google)
Having been a well, well…well… seasoned drinker of the real Veuve, I was more than certain the taste is completely distinguishable between the two. But the big test was which one did we prefer?
Veuve clicquot…. (yummmmo) (Pic Via: Google)
I seized the moment by inviting over 24 women to put this argument to bed. Do we really need to spend a fortune on champs? From Moet $80-$90, Piper $50-$60, Dom perignon $220,Louis Rogederer Cristal $309 and perrier-joust $220 and veuve around $80 is there ACTUALLY really a difference and do you need to mortgage your home for a quality glass of bubbly??
So my beautiful friend Sam set up a blind tasting and voting system. As the women walked through the front door they received a glass with a pink bow, then a glass with a white bow. Whichever one they “preferred” the most, they put the same colour token as the champs glass bow into a vase.
Let the vote begin! (Pic Via: Facebook)
Look I am NO scientist but we did have VERY strict conditions. You were allowed a refill or six… just in case you couldn’t make up your mind … but you were not allowed to drink anything else until you had voted, I think the lab boffins refer to this as a “controlled environment.”
Everything organised and sterilised in this experiment… take that science!! (pic Via: Facebook)
After lots of sipping and chatting and giggling and sipping… the votes were in and I was sooo shocked!
Over our meal of Thai food (I was too busy being a research scientist to cook ok!?) the winner was announced and the most preferred champagne by a big majority of the women turned out to be the Aldi Veuve Olivier at the crazy price of $7.99!! (Sorry Posh Veuve…)
What to ‘research’ next girls? (Pic Via: Facebook)
The census was that it wasn’t as “bitey” with it’s flavour, a bit smoother and really easy to drink…but in hindsight as I spoke to some of the girls the next day… maybe we should have had the variable of which one would give you the worst hangover…..
School fundraising. That extra but ever important expense you need to factor into your budget when your kids start school. From spell or math ‘a thons’, twighlight markets, cake stalls, Disco nights, Trivia nights, plastic plates with your child’s drawing on it, aprons and tea towels with every kid in the school’s sketch on it… it leaves your purse empty and with whole bunch of stuff. But you know what? The proceeds do go straight to the school and hopefully in a way that benefits your child’s education too if you have a savvy and well oiled P & C.
Primary school Fundraising Committees are constantly trying to come up with inventive ways to get you to give. But one Primary School is doing it in a way that is finally a win-win for the school and yourself. If you have a kid at school, you would be more than familiar with the Fundraising chocolate box. And look…. I have NEVER, even when I had one school kid (I have 3 now), found the time or energy to sell a full box and this is where I have to say that the old Cadbury Fundraising choc box has one actual benefit (?).
NO! Put down the box and back slowly away from the chocolate… (Image Via: mirror.co.uk)
“I don’t have time to sell these so…ok… I guess I’ll have to purchase the whole box” is something that has played out in the mind of many a parent… but you then secretly squeal inside (right?) as you know you are going to delightfully consume most of the contents over the next week while watching Real Housewives and rationalise that it is ok because smashing your mouth full of charity chocolate isn’t as bad for you as normal store bought chocolate because you know…. your helping your school get new Whiteboards with every bite and you’ve got to do your bit for the community….but SPOILER ALERT…. it is still really bad for you. Sorry.
One primary school however, has cottoned on to this… and my waist line would be thanking them very much. Instead of having their yearly chocolate box drive, they are swapping it for a fruit and veg box through this fab company called Delish Deliveries. The produce is local and handpicked delivered to your door.
Not just fruit and veg either, you can get meat (grass fed, free range, hormone & chemical free!) and a selection of dairy products too… Good bye supermarket! (Image Via: Facebook, Delish Deliveries)
Every box from Delish sold, a portion of the profit goes to the school. It’s easy! When you have elected your box or the items you need (Yes, you can individually pick what you want) you just click on your school name and a portion of the sale goes to your school. Even if you are a blissfully childless free person living without anyone bickering constantly over the front seat of your car or your kids are no longer school aged and you use Delish you can elect the school in your community and give back. Brilliant! This is a winning idea for numerous reasons. It replaces your weekly fruit and veg shop (battle) so leaving more time for you to drink wine and watch Wentworth (Ha!). You are supporting a homegrown business. There is no annoying your neighbours to death or guilting your work colleagues to buy up big at the detriment of their health and it is an educational lesson to the kids about the importance of eating healthy and locally sourced food.
Yes and YES!!! (Image Via: Facebook, Delish Deliveries)
Seeming that they are raising money for an education institution, it only seems fitting you grab that opportunity and do it in a way that benefits the students brains too right? Delish Deliveries also supply recipes as well (how good to not have to think about what to cook for dinner each night!! OMG my brain has a massive vacant thought corner now!) so it really is educating the whole community and with our known over consumption of sugar and processed food it is sooooo refreshing to be hustled a product that not only aids the school’s facilities but your families health too.
(Image via: Facebook, Delish Deliveries)
So, I’m thinking this is a win -win?? My waist line definitely thinks so anyway….
If you would like more information on Delish Deliveries and how to implement this fundraising initiative into your school contact 1300 335 474 or email them on info@delishdeliveries.com.au. Check out what else they have to offer at http://www.delishdeliveries.com.au
I caught up with this incredible woman at a mutual friends birthday party and I asked her why I’m not seeing her beautiful sun shiny face on TV at the moment? Well it is because she has not only written a ton of books, started her own activewear collection for FILA, found the love of her life Ed Kavalee but also founded an incredible program called TIFFXO.COM for people who suck at cooking healthy meals, struggle with creating time to exercise and need to change bad habits without robbing a bank.
Tiffiny and Ed. Our men are both in radio…ok… so I can tick one thing off I have in common with this super human! (Image source: Facebook)
What I love about Tiffiny Hall, and have ever since Biggest Looser when she first crossed my radar, is how she brings Mind, Body and Education together giving you actual results so you become the healthiest you to last a life time. Tiffany Hall is now one super busy ‘mum to be’ all while being the ‘mum’ to her other baby TIFFXO.com and she is ready to help you be a healthier happier you by not just changing your body, but your mind and lifestyle too and the successfulness of her TIFFXO.com program I believe is the personal access you have with not only her… but her incredible motivating community of ‘Ninjas’.
If you have kickstarted your fitness goals and not seeing the results, you could be doing it all wrong. Tiffany explains why below (and of COURSE I asked her what her food weakness was!!):
CK: You have just launched an amazing fitness program called “TIFFXO”. Tell me about this program and what motivated you start it?
TH: “TIFFXO is a 30 day program that includes 20 minute video workouts with me every single day. Me, as your personal trainer taking you through a variety of workouts from HIIT to Tone to Ab Ninja. There’s a 10 minute workout option as well. We provide you with delicious meal plans and recipes (vegetarian, gluten free options available), there are self-defence videos, meditations and weekly catch ups with our clinical psychologist Cass for motivation tips to keep our mind gym strong. It’s all about keeping happyfit, enjoying the journey to health and wellness and giving yourself some self-love an X and an O along the way.
With 40,000 dedicated followers, Tiff has successfully hit a health nerve with people! (Image via: pressfrom.com)
TIFFXO came from my passion for helping others to feel more confident and well. I’ve been teaching fitness and Taekwondo since I was 12 years old in my family Taekwondo school Hall’s Taekwondo. Whilst at University I was teaching in gyms, taking bootcamps, competing in Taekwondo at a National level and Instructing in the dojang. I couldn’t get enough. I’ve always dreamt of being able to train everyone, not just those living in Melbourne. I’ve lately seen a bit of decline in the participation of our adult programs at Hall’s and I know it’s because people have zero time. I’ve also seen the rise of untrustworthy, unqualified social media fitness and wellness gurus. I really wanted to deliver a program that was expert and personal hence the XO it’s about me giving you some love and you too giving yourself selflove, a little cuddle for the self goes a long way to staying motivated long term and feeling well. I also wanted to created a program that stayed true to me as an Instructor, actually coaching you every day in a video, time effective, and bursting with all my tips and knowledge from working with humans (not just taking photos on Instagram) for 20 years. I’ve worked with morbidly obese people and helped them to half their body fat percentage and reverse their bio age, I’ve worked with athletes, teenagers, fit and fit-ish people. I have years on the ground, grassroots honing my skills and expertise. I know what works and I can’t wait to share it with you, all tied up in a pretty little package called TIFFXO.”
Teaching us to self love is extremely important for our physical and mental health. (Image Via: google)
CK: With so many fitness programs available… and gyms! What makes TIFFXO standout from the rest?
TH: “No other program has ME! A video workout with me every day – no voice over, no printout workouts, I’ll be coaching you every step, kick, punch and sweat moustache along the way. Every month the workouts are filmed fresh, so you have complete variety. Goodbye boring workouts! Every month on TIFFXO is a fun new experience. My workouts are martial arts based so women are loving boxing, kicking and punching. Nothing tones the body or leans you up faster than martial arts.
I’ve worked hard with my experienced team to bring something new to the health space – as a 6th Dan belt, the martial arts twist to the workouts is a standout! I’ll work everyone’s booty HARD but also feed their bellies with fantastic food that won’t make you feel deprived – you’ll feel fantastic from the inside out!
Tiff’s meals are easy peasy!!! You WON’T have to visit 6000 shops to get the ingredients, need 3 ‘Chef’s hats’ and 4 hrs to cook the recipes. (Image via: TIFFXO.com)
AND my secret weapon: I bring a unique perspective to achieving a better state of mind – which we all know is a critical part of good health. I’m super excited to share my own version of Poomsae, a series of Taekwondo movements linked to empowering mantras – kind of like Tai Chi, but with my own special twist!
Not to mention I believe a really important part of feeling well is feeling safe so I include practical self-defence videos to help people feel more confident.
Power to YOU!! Learning Self defence not only aids you fitness but your safety too!! Win-win! Fun Tiff Fact: She is one of the highest qualified Martial Artists for her age in the world! (Image Via: Google)
Plus my Meditations in Action – for people who don’t have time to meditate – I’ll help you find ways to have peace-out moments whilst doing all your regular daily stuff!
We also have a FB community of ninjas who are so positive and amazing. They encourage and motivate each other to shine. The community is one of the best assets TIFFXO has to offer.
A gym membership is more expensive each month and you’re only paying to train yourself without the wonderful support of TIFFXO community and experts, mindfulness or nutrition!”
CK: Your online community of ‘Ninjas’ is incredible!!! Perusing through the posts and comments from your Ninjas, I just feel an overwhelming amount of love and support… kinda of like a ‘Ninja family!’ The honesty and rawness of some posts and the Ninja community celebration of a members achievement is inspiring! Is it because you are so ‘hands on’ and easily reachable? Did you ever expect that you would create such an awesome online community?
TH: “The community is my pride and joy. I started this wanting to help others, so to now see my members helping, motivating and encouraging each other and that there is a positive culture of support is mind blowing. I’ve been a couch for so long, way before personal training was even fashionable, and I’ve always been in it to help others. I love seeing that being paid forward by my ninja clan. They are truly inspiring. No one is a superwoman, even I have moments where I lose motivation, but I jump into the community and after 2 minutes I’m so inspired I feel like I can achieve anything.”
CK: Do you ever give in to temptation? What is your weakness?
TH: “Of course! Croissants, licorice and fish n’chips! But it’s all about being 80% health ninja and 20% naughty ninja. Keeping the balance is very important. If you train hard you can afford treats. Treats will never hurt your progress but a binge will.”
Tiff has some great tips in her program to help fight those desperate nightly cravings that actually make you feel like you are nuturing yourself and not depressingly depriving… whether your pregnant or not! (Image via: Facebook)
CK: Do you think we should stop asking ourselves if we are “too fat” or “too thin” and ask ourselves “Am I healthy“?
TH: “Yes health is beautiful. I always say to my members focus on the fit not the fat. Set goals with your fitness such as running 3km, or holding the plank for 1 minute or perfecting your side kick. Don’t set weightloss goals of losing 5kg or 10kg. Weightloss should be the side effect of increased strength and conditioning. Many of my members lose astounding amounts of weight and say “I wasn’t even trying” and by that they mean they were focused on boxing better, or kicking stronger or mastering the very hard Burpyay!”
Tiff’s commitment to a healthier you is a personal passion. (Image via: Pinterest)
CK: What I Love about your e-book is that not only does it tackle the exercise issue, it also trains your brain to make good decisions and not be too hard on yourself. It also educates it with mouth watering recipes with ingredients you don’t have to visit 64 shops to find! How important is teaching people to cook their own healthy meals to successful weight loss, rather then just getting them delivered?
TH: “I want TIFFXO to be a lifestyle and sustainable. There is no quick fix in the world that will give you lasting results long term. Cooking economically is very important for me. And making it simple and fast. All our meals are family friendly, our meal plans come with a Swap feature so you can swap in and out recipes that you love more and we factor in leftovers for lunches and snacks. You should see our snack menu too! Ah-mazing! I’m finding that my members are not only cooking Tiff food for themselves, but also for their partners and their kids. Toddlers are gobbling up my smoothies and glow bowls, teenagers are loving Tiff food too. If your kids and partner are eating healthy, then with their support, eating healthy becomes a habit and a lifestyle and that’s why my members are having such awesome success. The food is simple, economical and family friendly.”
CK: How can I join TIFFXO and get the E-Book?
TH: “Our next round of TIFFXO commences 6th March. Go to www.tiffxo.com and sign up now and we’ll email you our beautiful free ebook so you can get started right away with some workouts and meals and you will be accepted into the community so you can meet other ninjas and feel a part of the family before you commence.”
Even touching and smelling those brown paper lunch bags makes me salivate for years gone by when it would be a ‘treat’ (or used as a bribe for my mum really) to get a canteen lunch on Friday. Usually it would have been a toasted cheese sandwich or a pie, chocolate milk and a pack of popcorn. While some canteens in NSW have taken their own initiative and sell healthy fresh food, looking at what’s on offer at most Canteens these days it is no wonder we have an obesity crisis with our kids! Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, chicken coujons (whatever they are??) frozen chicken patty burgers, frozen cubes of roast chicken on rolls, flavoured water, Sumo biscuits (cheaper copy version of Oreo biscuits imported from india) and frozen tuna rolls imported from japan thawed in the microwave… and while there should be ‘treats’ in the canteen, we could be making them a lot healthier and fresher.
Why can’t we get these freshly delivered from a local area bakery? Healthier and supporting local business. Win-Win? (Image via: Google)
But change is coming. The NSW Government is in planning stages to completely scrap the outdated “Fresh Tastes Canteen Guidelines” and the confusing and contradictory ‘Green, Amber and Red’ food rating guide. They will be looking to introduce a “Healthy Star Rating” system that includes measuring not only the fat and sodium content of products but the SUGAR content as well.
According to a spokesperson from the NSW Department of Health, the strategy “has been revised based on extensive evidence and to align with the latest Australian Dietary Guidelines” and is a “joint initiative led by the Department of Education and supported by the NSW Ministry of Health”. So as I understand it, canteen operators can check the packaging for a health star rating out of five and be able to place them in either the ‘everyday’ or ‘occasional’ category.
The higher the rating, the healthier. They can also check if there is a healthier option available on the website www.foodswitch.com.au by comparing products. The problem is that most of the products I checked that are in my children’s canteen currently (and most canteens) are not among the 20,000 listed. So does that mean they can still be sold? How are they going to police that canteens are doing the right thing? What will be the minimum star rating for an ‘Everyday’ product? Will there be a policy that will dictate a minimum amount of fresh, locally sourced food to be available as well? After speaking to the Department of Health, it seems they haven’t worked this out yet either. The implementation should be happening early thist year, and really it couldn’t come quick enough.
Will the guidelines be enough to stop the sugar trade lining kids stomachs? (Image Via: Google)
The most recent laughable moment I had lately was when I was visiting another primary school to attend a spelling Bee competition my son was in. They were having treat day as it was end of term. According to the current NSW Department of Education you are allowed these ‘Red’ coded items once a term on ‘treat day’.
Their special treat day food was lollies. But looking at the everyday menu they had, EVERYDAY was a treat day. The menu was selling TNT ice blocks which not only contain hideous chemicals (one that Aldi has banned from its products) but has more sugar (10.5g) than a fun size Kit Kat (7g).
Aside from the sugar, they have high amounts of unnecessary additives such as colour.
“[These additives] are most often found in foods like cordials, lollies, cakes and soft drinks, which we are recommended to have only as an occasional treat anyway, it is easy enough to avoid colour additives by only eating these foods rarely, if it all,” says David Oakenfull from Choice magazine.
“In light of the UK food regulator’s decision to push for industry action to remove some of these colours altogether, we’d like to see FSANZ review the situation in Australia.” WOW!
Considering these canteen items contain the same amount of sugar as confectionary AND have unnecessary additives why aren’t they classified as “red” food?
Not only are school kids eating “regular” items that may as well be Kit Kats no one is monitoring how many they consume in a day. From my experience working in the school canteen, most kids never eat just one!
Canteens need to play a better role by being examples of what healthy eating looks like. (Image Via: Google)
Stephen Guilford who is an Australian Food Technology Consultant and is the Directer of ‘Smart Food Consulting’ in Victoria has a degree in (Chemistry), PhD (Organic Chemistry) and has 33 years in the food industry. He is a member of the AIFTST and the American Society for Nutrition. In a report he wrote last year, he narrowed the problem with school canteens with two questions, “Whether children and adults are able to ensure a balanced nutritious diet and adequate exercise when unhealthy foods are available? and Whether schools are an appropriate place for the sale of high sugar, low nutritious food and drink?” he also states that “The current obesity and diabetes epidemic would suggest to me that there is a lack of education and example with regard to healthy eating, an overabundance of unhealthy food and lack of exercise across the community.”
Currently, the Department of Education canteen guidelines titled “Fresh Tastes”, which school canteen operators use as their guidelines when deciding what foods to order for sale, only sets a limit for saturated fats and the amount of Sodium in canteen products, NOT SUGAR or additives. (Pg. 13 of the Fresh Tastes at School canteen guide). The biggest problem is that no one really MONITORS school canteens. Principals are supposed to do a review every two years but no one from the Department of Education is policing it. Also, there is the argument that it is actually the parents responsibility to educate their own children in making healthy food choices and developing healthy eating habits, not the school canteen operators.
However, Dr Stephen Guillford argues this by saying in his report “In a recent study Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10.3945/ajcn. 115.128454, Sarah Anderson et al “found no evidence that US preschool-aged children who frequently consumed fruit, vegetables, and milk were any less likely than children who infrequently consumed these aspects of a healthy diet, to have a high consumption of SSBs (sugar sweetened beverages), fast food, sweets, and salty snacks.” So basically even if your children eat healthy at home they will still buy the soft drinks, salty snacks, processed and sugar laden foods given the opportunity.
Cute fruit and veg cups! (Image via: Google)
Primary schools, being an educational facility plus already having healthy eating information in the PDHPE curriculum absolutely do have a responsibility to then NOT serve sugar/chemical laced junk food in the canteen. We also need to remember that not all kids come from families that have healthy eating habits and so these kids can have an equal chance at a healthy lifestyle, it is their duty of care for the school canteen to provide this.
What about cost? Of course we don’t want our canteens eating up fundraising money to stay afloat. However, quite a few canteens are loosing money under the current Fresh Tastes guidelines from only serving the cheaper quality food as general society are becoming gradually, more educated in healthy fresh eating and our canteens aren’t matching this demand so many parents won’t buy hardly any canteen lunches.
Fresh is best! (Image via: Google)
Plus, healthy food is not more expensive than junk food, Jamie Oliver is not one to fall for that argument. He states in an interview with webmd “I’ve spent time in Italy and seen the poorest of people eating the most delicious — but really inexpensive — food because they know how to use ingredients. I’ve been to South Africa and seen women in shantytowns preparing meals for school kids that cost a few cents but had huge nutritional value. How much are a few vegetables? How much is a bag of dried [whole-wheat] pasta? I could easily feed a family of four for under $10 — which is less than any junk food.” Parents also need to realise that just because it is a school canteen, food in general not going to be cheaper. Food costs what it costs, some parents still have this expectation that it should be cheaper.
The implementation of the new Heath Star Rating guideline should be happening early this year and I really hope it will be able to maintain consistency and monitor exactly what is being sold over the counter… the future health and well being of our children are depending on it.
