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‘C’ for Cat is oh-so-boring!
How about – ‘C’ for Creativity; ‘C’ for Craft ?

Spending time doing art and craft projects with Pari – my 4 year old daughter – is much more than just nurturing a love for creativity in her.

It’s a therapy for both of us that helps calm our anxieties, give vent to nervous energy and keep us focused. And most of all – it’s our best way to bond and share and exchange ideas…

So, honestly speaking, it’s as much for my own sake as it is for her

Among various activities that we do using water colours, poster colours, plastic crayons, wax crayons, glitters, oil pastels etc., we also absolutely looooove doing the ‘before and after’ projects.

I have always encouraged her to reuse and upcycle old items to create something new and nice. This habit, now, has been internalized in her to an extent that she brings back disposable glasses from coffee shops, icecream cups and sticks, popcorn glasses and what have you – so she can recreate those into something else.

Recently, we saved the curd/yogurt box to convert it into a pen/markers/pencil holder.

This is the ‘before-and-after’ picture!

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Pari applied the glue happily. While, I helped her stick the tissue. She coloured the base ink-blue all by herself. I sought her ideas on decorating. She wanted flowers. So, I helped cut the felt flowers. She stuck them and also adorned with the stones. I added the details with the tube colours!

And here is the step by step process:

What you will need:

1. Disposable box/coffee mug/curd box
2. PVA Glue/ Fevicol
3. Acrylic/Fabric/Poster Colours and Brush
4. Colourful Felt
5. Stones/Beads

Process:

1. Clean the box thoroughly
2. Apply PVA glue and stick 1 layer of tissue paper all over – except the inside.
3. Let it dry for a few minutes and once again apply OVA glue and second layer of tissue.
4. It should be firm upon drying.
5. Colour the box with acrylic, fabric or poster colour. (we used ink-blue fabric colour)
6. Cut some colourful felt into flower and letter shapes and stick them on (we cut the felt into ‘c’ – for craft/creativity)
7. You can use beads or stones to further adorn the felt flowers (we used some red stones from her broken hair-band!)
8. Use tube colours to do detailing and add some dimension

Other views:

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Will come back and share more ideas with the same box. Pari’s school summer vacation has begun and I have already prepared a mile-long list of projects to do!

What art and craft did you do with your kid recently? I would love to hear your fresh ideas…!

Flax is nature’s miraculous cure for our heart, blood, joints, colon, aging, brain and even peace of mind!

It was during my pregnancy (4+ years back) that I started reading and researching on natural food, cures supplements, herbs, lifestyle, therapies and more. And I continue to do so till date. Infact, now it’s become a mission for me.

Among all natural food and cures that I have studied so far, one that is discovered to be nature’s most miraculous and versatile medicines is Flax seeds (*Hindi – Alsi).

*scroll to the bottom of the page for the name in other Indian languages

I can’t write enough about the nutritional benefits of Flax seeds and oil. As this food is being rediscovered the world over, Nutritionists rank it among the top 10 health foods.

Flax seeds are the richest source of oil containing Omega 3 fatty acids - that extraordinary component, the deficiency of which may lead our body to cripple and collapse. “Flax seeds also contain over a hundred times more of a phytonutrient, known as lignan, than wheat bran, buckwheat, rye, millet, oats, and soybeans. Lignins have received a lot of attention lately because of possible anti-cancer properties” – Dr. Sears

Here is a long list (trying hard to present in a nutshell!) of health benefits from Flax.

Boosts Immunity: With, H1N1 scare dictating our lifestyle and affecting mental peace, boosting the immune system has become a top priority. Studies have shown that school children who are given about 1 teaspoon of flax oil a day had fewer and less severe instances of respiratory infections (linked to swine flue) than those who were not supplemented with flax oil.

Healthy Brain Development: This is very important in the first few years of life when a child’s brain grows at a rapid pace and even more so – during the fetus stage and infancy. The Omega 3 fatty acids in flax are key to brain building. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, mothers should supplement their diet with 2 teaspoons of flax oil, if not more, to provide the essential fats to the growing baby.

Heart Friendly: The Omega 3 fatty acids in Flax reduce bad cholesterol improving heart health. Also help in regulating blood pressure.

Healthy Skin and Lustrous Hair: The healthy oils in Flax are beneficial for people who have dry or sensitive skin and are prone to sun burns. Flax is also helpful in reducing dandruff.

Helps in Joint Pain and Osteoarthritis: Flax and Cod liver oil, the richest source of omega-3 fats, have been shown to reduce the pain and inflammation of arthritis.

Helpful in Diabetes: Flax may lessen the severity of diabetes by stabilizing blood-sugar levels.

Cure for Post Partum Depression and Hormone Regulation: The lack of essential fatty acids in pregnant women might be a cause of postpartum depression, say experts. Flax can be a cure for this. It also helps normalize hormones during menopause and premenstrual phase.

Cancer Preventive and Healing Properties: Flax seed oil is rich in Lignan, so consuming it can help prevent the occurrence of breast cancer, colon cancer or any other type of cancer.

Stress Releaser: As a result of our processed-food-rich diets, we’re consuming large amounts of omega-6 fatty acids and little or zero omega-3 fatty acids, which is a recipe for feeling “stressed out”, says Dr. James Boschman based on his years of research. The essential fatty acids in Flax have calming effect on us releasing stress.

Great for Weight Watchers: Large amount of soluble fibre in flax slows the release of carbohydrates into the bloodstream, helping control insulin levels and prolong energy. Soluble fibre, when consumed, satisfies hunger pangs by giving a sense of fullness. For this reason, people who are trying to lose weight should increase their consumption of soluble fibre. When I work late nights, I would rather reach out for the box of ground flax seeds than cookies or chocolates..!

Helps in Constipation: Soluble fibre in Flax acts as an excellent laxative.

Overall Health: The Omega 3 fatty acids have shown to improve high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, allergies and inflammation, eczema, psoriasis, and many others as per health experts.

Using Flax Seeds and OIL – Dos and Don’ts

Flax oil should not be used for cooking as it is very heat sensitive and is rather harmful when heated. Flax oil or ground flax can be added to food after cooking.

Flax also turns rancid very quickly. Hence, flax oil and seeds should always be refrigerated with the lid tightly on. Should not be exposed to heat or light. When purchasing, look for refrigerated oil stored in dark colored bottles.

Flax seeds, because they contain high amount of soluble fibre, are more beneficial than their oil. Hence, it’s worth the effort to grind fresh flax seeds. They can be grounded coarsely rather than a very powdery form.

Preparation and serving:

Flax seeds have a yummy nutty flavor. Ground flax seeds can be sprinkled on salads, cereals with cold milk, buttered bread along with jam, in smoothies (soak the flax seeds and blend with any fruit and water/milk).

But, never use it in cake batter, roti/tortilla dough etc because flax loses its nutritional value when exposed to heat (when making rotis over heat).

Flax oil taken with a meal can actually increase the nutritional value of other foods. Mixing flax oil with yogurt helps to emulsify the oil, improving its digestion and metabolism by the body.

So, have Flax, stay fit and turn the life’s clock backward!

References:

- Miracle Cures by Jean Carper
- Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 2 by Michael T. Murray,
- Mike Adam’s – http://www.naturalnews.com
- www.askdrsears.com
- The New Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford
- Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 2 by Michael T. Murray, ND

* Name for Flax in other Indian Languages: Flaxseeds are known as Alsi in Hindi, Gujarati, and Punjabi, Agase in Kannada, Ali Vidai in Tamil, Jawas and Alashi in Marathi, Tishi in Bengali, Pesi in Bengali, Avise ginzalu in Tamil and Cheruchanavith in Malayali.

As moms, we are always juggling with a dozen tasks a day and switching from one role to another. But it seems, that one activity over which we beat our brains out is – “what to cook”! However trivial it my seem, but it’s definitely not a no brainer…

More so, when it comes to cooking for the preschoolers and the growing children. They are not the ones to understand why they should eat more green veggies, or more calcium-rich or more iron-rich and stuff. All they go by is their mood and palatte.
And we busy moms, donning multiple hats, don’t really have the time or energy to do elaborate 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, evening snack, dinner!).

Today, I want to share a recipe keeping in mind the evening snack time which is so very crucial for the growing kids. As they get ready to play outdoors in the evening, its important that they have the essential energy levels. This snack is so convenient to make, you can even whip up during journeys.

Adults and weight watchers will relish it as much. The best part is it does not require oil nor any cooking in real sense.

For 2 adults/ 3-4 kids aged 3-4

2 cups curd/yogurt
1 cup poha (i think it’s called beaten rice in English speaking countries. See the pic to get an idea)
2 cups diced fruits and veggies (banana, pomegranate, cucumber)
2 teaspoons natural brown sugar or jaggery
1 pinch of salt

Method:
1. Clean the poha with water so that it becomes soft and fluffy. Drain the water in a colander (a container with big pores to drain water)
2. Add natural brown sugar or jaggery to the curd and beat thoroughly to get a smooth consistency
3. Add sliced banana, diced cucumber and pomegranate
4. Add poha and mix all ingredients gently
5. Garnish with pomegranate seeds
5. Serve slightly cold

Note: It should be a thick consistency and yet juicy enough. There should be some amount of curd even after the poha has soaked up most of it. You can add or remove any fruit or veggie as per taste. I, for one, like the uniqe flavour of the banana and cucumber combination.

This snack is rich in calcium (curd, banana), iron (pomegranate, brown sugar/jaggery), dietary fibre (poha).

We want to give the best life to our kids. Toys, books, bags, trendiest clothes, cycles, gadgets – we don’t want them to feel deprived. We don’t hesitate once to provide them with materials that will feed their imagination – crayons, chart paper, computer paper, water colours, glitters, glue…

In our well meaning intentions, we sometimes forget that we may also be encouraging the kids to generate immense amount of waste. Paper once scribbled may go into the dustbin in a jiffy, those plastic toys will stop interesting them in a matter of days, bottles of poster colours are emptied in a couple of afternoon activities and tossed in the bin. Why, don’t we keep telling them to clear clutter from their desks, keep the rooms clean. Well, this is a good habit to instill but what about the bigger consequences of first creating all that mess and then dumping it all in the dustbin in the name of clearing clutter? Are we actually clearing
the cutter or just adding more and more mess to our eco-system…?

It’s high time we encouraged our kids to start reusing, recycling, upcycling, buying less and hence generating less waste. Before I delve deeper into this topic, let’s have a quick look at this somewhat lesser known and even less understood term – *upcycle. Upcycling is similar to recycling in that we take something (that we may otherwise throw away) and revamp it into a new form for continued use. Read more about it in my previous post…

Reusing, upcycling – all this can be a lot of fun and deeply satisfying. I will share a few experiences from my effort to reuse old stuff and ingrain this spirit of creating ‘treasure from trash’ in my 3+ daughter – Pari. These are some small things that are now becoming habit forming with us.

1. Revamp old clothes (and no, you don’t need to know sewing for this!)
Instead of buying more and more clothes for the preschoolers and growing children, we can give them a project to revamp their old clothes. It may be as simple as doing some block printing using some fabric colours.

In the picture, Pari (my daughter) and I revamped her old white T Shirt last year by printing ladyfinger cross sections in the Indian flag colours – saffron and green. She was thrilled to bits to see the new look of her T Shirt and infact she wore it for the Independance Day celebrations in her playschool the next day. ater on she went on to colour her father’s old T Shirt as well which he would proudly wear outside during his weekend activities.

2. Good old slate and chalk
For practising aphabets, numbers etc, our older generation relied on the cheap and simple slate and chalk/cacium carbonate pencils.
That practise has somewhat diwndled these days. Come to think of it, a simpe slate can save tons of paper being wasted everyday for these writing practise sessions with the kids.

3. Pamphlets, hand-outs, greeting cards – more useful that you ever thought!
For Pari’s nursery craft projects like “collage of my favourite things”, or “summer/winter/spring collage”, we generally need picture cuttings. I have realized that instead of wasting magazines by cutting out pics for those projects, its a nice idea to save the pamphlets, ad insertions, greeting cards, hand outs in the malls etc. They aways come in handy when looking for pictures of food, veggies, fruits, places, buildings, toys, dresses, festivals etc.

4. Make puzzle out of card board box!
Cut out a not-so-complicated cartoon/picture from any magazine or newspaper. Glue it onto the cardboard. With a very sharp utility knife, you can cut this into pieces to make a homemade puzzle.

5. Old waste materials as tools for painting.
We don’t have to buy expensive paint brushes every now and then for the preschoolers. Old tooth brushes, straws, icecream sticks, tooth picks, feathers – all these make for great brushes/tools to make some unique art work and paintings.

I will keep adding to this list as and when I come up with newer ideas. Do share from your experience in the comments section.