Around Point Cook 122 by Around Point Cook

Issue 122, May y 2020 020

FIND US ON Facebook.com/aroundpointcookcommunitynewspaper

page NOT WHAT ANYONE

EXPECTED

The Around Point Cook Community Newspaper is distributed in Point Cook

page A NATURAL WAY TO

page PHOTO PAGE

STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

HOW TO STAY CONNECTED WHEN SEEMINGLY YOU CAN’T

How to stay connected when seemingly you can’t? It’s a good question. Many of us have family and friends scattered afar. Time and space, and now social distancing rules, along with restrictions on non-essential travel, have conspired to make staying connected seem difficult. WE NEED TO BE CONNECTED We don’t normally live in isolation. We’re connected to others through our family ties, friendships, work, church, sport or community activities. Such connections with others are vital for our health and wellbeing. Togetherness strengthens us. It brings comfort and promotes individual and collective happiness. Most of us have an instinctive need to be connected to others. This sense of being linked, helps us to flourish. It counters the feeling that we’re alone and have to manage everything in life on our own. Through our connectedness to those around us, we can share encouragement and support. It’s why staying connected to others is worth our best efforts in these difficult times. TIPS TO STAY CONNECTED WHEN SEEMINGLY YOU CAN’T • Think laterally. Acts of connectedness are wonderfully varied. You can Skype, Zoom, Messenger, Facetime or phone family or friends to stay in touch or have a catch-up. In tough times, it’s encouraging for someone to know they’re being thought of, to have

a listening ear, share helpful ideas, or enjoy a happy conversation. Such interactions go a long way to staying connected when seemingly you can’t. • Seek fresh ideas. Don’t think there’s nothing you can do to stay connected to people you care about. We all have access to a divine Mind – the source of all good ideas. Turning to this infinite Mind can lead us to find unique avenues to stay connected. Seeking and finding fresh ideas shows that “We are all capable of more than we do”. Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health p. 89. • Get creative. Distance doesn’t have to dampen family activities. Although living far apart, it’s possible to have all the family cook the same meal, sit at their own table and eat together via Zoom. Or, grandparents can play fun card games online with their overseas grandkids. Nothing is impossible. With a good dose of inspiration, you can shake-up your creativity and work out how to stay connected when seemingly you can’t. • Be love impelled. Let your loving heart move you to stay connected to others. Divine Love cares for you, yours, and all. Allow that tender Love to guide your actions. Through it you can renew old connections, establish new ones, and enjoy being connected to others. “Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.” Bible. Colossians 3:14. – Beverly Goldsmith writes on the connection between spirituality and health and is an experienced Christian Science practitioner and teacher.

Please redistribute rather than discard this paper - give it to your friends, family or neighbours!

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Hello from the other side! Without speculating too much, I am tipping that you are in some form of isolation. The entire world has come to a standstill – a pause if you will. Depending on your perspective and circumstances, it may be a welcome pause, giving us all a chance to slow down, in this endlessly fast paced world. The flipside might mean you find yourself alone and without work. Wondering how you might make ends meet. You might be home schooling 2 children and working 3 jobs from the home office, struggling to cope without the social network you’ve so tirelessly built for yourself... Whatever your situation, there are difficulties across the board. Loneliness, anxiety, boredom, depression. These are just some of the emotions you may be experiencing. There might also be moments of gratitude, joy, peace and quiet. The truth is, I experience this full range of emotions on most days. I remind myself to feel grateful, while simultaneously feeling the strain of my four walls and my little family closing in on me.

The pandemic has impacted us all, even rendering our little paper “digital only” for the time being. We are very sorry to anyone that relies on the physical copy – we hope to be back at it as soon as we can. In the meantime, enjoy the efforts of our writers, who have spoiled us with recipes and tips on how to get through these strange days... Enjoy! See you Around – online. Melissa Longo www.inkcloud.co

THINGS WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT OURSELVES It’s a sad day when Around Point Cook has to suspend hardcopy printing. I told one of the few friends I have left that the publication could now be read online only and he would have to go to the library to read my insightful contributions. Even that would stretch his technical ability. “I bought a new pencil sharpener the other day,” he told me. “It has two sizes. Isn’t it wonderful what technology can do these days.” So, he is unlikely to be reading my thoughts on some of the side effects of our current troubles. He was shocked to learn from TV that people were stockpiling toilet paper and his comments on that matter were of a type that could not be included in this publication. The extraordinary thing of course, was that the run on toilet rolls was not confined to Australia, but happened all over the world. No doubt there will be doctorates on the subject in sociology or anthropology or some other -ology, or maybe the universities will invent a new term of the human need for the stuff.

“And what was that traffic jam in Geelong all about,” he asked me. “Queues for football tickets I suppose and there might not be games for months. They’re mad keen on football down there,” he felt it necessary to explain to this out-of-towner. “Or maybe it was milk or something. Maybe toilet rolls,” he added with a laugh. I didn’t want to tell him it was nothing to do with footy or toilet rolls, but something more basic, if that’s the word I want. Suppose a novelist were to write a story that involved a country facing serious social disruption. If in the book, the citizens reacted by hoarding toilet rolls and visiting non-football comfort stations in Geelong, he would have been accused of racism or some other word that would have him banned from polite society. Anyway, that’s what I think. By Frank O’Shea

ABN 78 809 543 573

Will: 0449 834 359 Email: will@aroundpointcook.com Louise: 0403 191 084 Email: ml.goegan@gmail.com

www.aroundpointcook.com

Advertising: will@aroundpointcook.com

Contributions: editorpointcook@gmail.com

INSOMNIA CAN’T SLEEP? There is nothing better than a good, sound and peaceful night’s sleep! Insomnia is estimated to cost billions of dollars worldwide each year in terms of impaired performance and lost income from absenteeism. Studies are ongoing, which have focused on pilots, doctors, industrial workers, radar operators and others, whose sleep habits could increase the risk of accidents, indicating that the longer people are deprived of sleep, the greater the possibility of errors. Lack of sleep has been associated with both the Exxon Valdez and Chernobyl disasters. This news is of little comfort to the world’s insomniacs and there are quite a few of them. An estimated 40 per cent of all adults have trouble sleeping and for every three men, there are four women plagued by sleeping problems. THE EFFECTS OF LACK OF SLEEP Thinking is divided on the effects of sleep deprivation. As research has accumulated it has become apparent that the effects of lack of sleep depend not only on the amount of sleep lost and the type and length of the activity next day, but also on age and personality. You may sleep better knowing that under most circumstances a night or two of poor sleep will put you at little or no disadvantage in performing moderate physical tasks. Studies of runners, cyclists and swimmers have found that simple repetitious physical exertion is not significantly impaired by short term lack of sleep. Even studies of top competing athletes have shown that even the excitement of a race can more than compensate for any adverse effects of sleep loss. Long repetitive tasks are more likely to be affected by sleep loss than short interesting ones. There is no doubt that sleep restores us mentally and losing one night’s sleep can make us irritable, moody and unable to concentrate. Scientists have discovered that levels of the chemical Interleukin I increase during sleep. The chemical stimulates our cells to fight infection. Without sleep the levels remain low, throwing our immune systems out of kilter. IS EIGHT THE MAGIC NUMBER? How much sleep we really need can also vary according to our personalities. It seems that dynamic types can adjust to sleeping fewer hours. There are a group of people that only sleep for around four hours a night and are able to function at their peak. Both Napoleon I and Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, were able to achieve great intellectual and physical endurance feats on between two and four hours of sleep a night.

Some people may need eight hours of sleep, for others three or four hours is often enough. Five uninterrupted hours of sleep is far better for you than eight hours of interrupted sleep. Each person needs to determine how much sleep he or she needs. SOME IDEAS TO HELP YOU SLEEP BETTER 1. If you are a worrier, try to resolve your problem by talking to someone or consulting a practitioner. 2. Don’t eat a big meal before bed time or drink large amounts of liquids. On the other hand, don’t go to bed on an empty stomach or you will be woken up with hunger pangs. 3. Stay away from stimulants. Limit coffee or soft drinks throughout the day. 4. Spend an hour relaxing before retiring – watch TV, read, listen to music or take a warm lavender bath. Keep away from work related matters. 5. Don’t exercise close to bedtime – it will stimulate your body, making it more difficult to fall asleep. If you feel stressed, do some gentle exercise or meditate several hours before your bedtime. 6. If you can’t sleep after 30 minutes get up and do something. Simply walking backwards and forwards in the room for three or four minutes without doing anything else is known to often relax a person enough for sleep. 7. Don’t worry if you have the odd night where you can’t sleep. No-one ever died from it. Rest itself is also beneficial. 8. Make sure you have good sleeping conditions. Avoid temperature extremes in bed. Make sure you are not too hot or too cold. 9. Get a good mattress and ensure the room is dark enough and noise-free. 10. Get a regular schedule of going to bed and waking up at a set time. Yours in good health always, Sleep tight... Cherie de Haas

PUT THE BUZZZ BACK INTO YOUR BIZ! Advertise with Around Point Cook/Altona community newspapers Contact

Will M: 0449 834 359 E: will@aroundpointcook.com

Louise M: 0403 191 084 E: ml.goegan@gmail.com 3

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF FOOD Smoothies: a great way to sneak veggies into your kids

Do you have kids that don’t like most veggies? Maybe that’s you.

Honey (if it tastes too “healthy” and you reckon it needs a little more sweetness)

It’s always a great time to make your body sing with nutrients, and smoothies are an easy, quick way to do that.

Method: Blend

Well, I used to make either green smoothies or fruit smoothies, but the green smoothies don’t fly with my daughter (or hubby!) There’s rarely any problem with fruit smoothies, since they’re so sweet and many of us have a bit of sweet tooth, don’t we? Then I read a few smoothie books that gave me a simple, yet brilliant idea: add frozen fruit to veggies. But make sure there are more veggies than fruit. This gives it sweetness, yet you know you’re getting a good dose of veggie goodness. Here’s a smoothie recipe that has passed the kid test many times. To make it even more enticing, I serve it in a little glass milk bottle with a coloured straw. Warning: It’s scrumptious. Recipe: Sneaky strawberry smoothie I love adding beetroot, because it turns the smoothie from a not-so-convincing beige into a lovely shade of dark pink, the color a strawberry smoothie should be. After all, we eat with our eyes as much as our mouths. Ingredients: Almond milk Frozen slices of banana Frozen strawberries 1 carrot Celery sticks ¼ beetroot a few kale leaves 1 teaspoon maca powder (optional) 1 teaspoon hemp seeds (optional) 4

Sit back and watch them slurp. Cynthia Marinakos

NOT WHAT ANYONE EXPECTED

I do believe you have been living under a rock if you’re not fully aware of the global health crisis we find ourselves part of right now. Whether you like it or not, nobody is immune from the flow-on effects of the virus that is spreading like our recent bush fires, across not only the globe, but here in our own backyard. Sadly, in the time that elapses between writing this article and you reading it, so many things will have changed. Businesses will have closed, people will be unemployed and citizens will be in some type of mandatory lockdown. And sadly, thousands of people globally will have lost their lives. Otherwise, healthy people with no underlying conditions who were looking forward to spending Easter, Mother’s Day, birthdays, Father’s Day and Christmas are tragically no longer with us. I know we have heard it all before, and when you hear something non-stop, it’s impact can often diminish, but this has become a matter of life or death. Please. Stay home. Stay safe. And stop the spread of COVID-19. On a stranger and slightly more light-hearted note, the supermarkets have become the arena of modern day combat in some municipalities and basic items such as butter and cream, tissues and paper towel are as scarce as hen’s teeth, as my Gran would say. Normally sane people are fighting over Sorbent and rations have been imposed on rice and pasta. It’s crazy. A few weeks ago, whilst in Coles I genuinely thought our Woodend Branch of the CWA must have been 6

holding a baker’s convention, as I strolled past empty shelves where I would usually find flour, yeast, sugar and other baking essentials, until news stories appeared showing people panic buying for fear of enforced isolation and diminished grocery supply. It was then I also realised that I clearly live in a town of very few coeliacs, who are going to bake their way through self-isolation. So, if you are one of the lucky ones able to secure some of those baking products that are such a hot commodity right now, I have a few tried and tested recipes that you might be interested in trying. We are all in this together, so let’s stay home, wash our hands, and get back to basics in the kitchen! Dee One Cup Cake 1 cup Self Raising Flour (or 1 cup Plain Flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder & ½ tsp bicarb soda) 1 cup shredded coconut 1 cup white sugar 1 cup milk 1 large egg Method Pre-heat oven to 160C fan forced (or 180C non-fan) Mix everything together really well with a wooden spoon and pour into a loaf tin. Sprinkle with coconut and bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. *Use almond milk and omit the egg for a vegan variation *Get creative and mix it up by adding 1 grated apple OR the zest & juice of a lemon OR 1 cup blueberries OR 1 cup any dried fruit (sultanas, dried apricots or mixed fruit)

Wholemeal Bread 1 pkt of Tandaco dry yeast (1½ teaspoons) 2½ cups wholemeal Plain flour 1 teaspoon salt 1½ teaspoons brown sugar 1½ teaspoons skim milk powder 1 tablespoon margarine 250ml tepid water Method 1a. If you have a bread maker, add all the ingredients into your bread pan in the order listed and use the dough only setting. 1b. Alternatively you can throw everything (in that order) into your stand mixer and using the dough attachment mix for about 20mins until a smooth ball forms. Cover and let rise for 30mins, then knead again for 10mins. Cover and let rise for 20mins. 2. For both methods now roll your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for 30 seconds, shape into a load tin or freeform onto a baking tray. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake on 200’c for about 30 mins. The loaf is cooked when you tap the top and it sounds hollow.

Ricotta Gnocchi 450g ricotta 230g Plain Flour 80g parmesan cheese ½ tsp nutmeg ½ tsp salt Method *Throw everything into your stand mixer and using the dough attachment mix for about 5-7mins until a smooth ball forms *Turn out onto floured surface and divide into 5 equal portions *Roll each portion into a long ‘snake’ and cut into equal sized pieces *You can cook them at this point, or roll them down a gnocchi board to create ridges, or create ridges with a fork *Cook gnocchi in a pot of salted boiling water. (Do not add gnocchi until water has reached a rolling boil.) When they rise to the surface, they are cooked *Remove, drain and add to the sauce of your choice. Serve with freshly grated parmesan

HOW TO GET THROUGH YOUR DAY WHEN YOUR FAMILY IS DRIVING YOU CRAZY

My daughter was wailing because I had accidentally elbowed her in the hallway while putting my jumper on. My husband had his music turned up loudly in the lounge. He moved to the bedroom after I told him I was about to do a yoga session, but still, the music was loud. All I wanted was a few minutes of quiet. I grabbed my mat and laid it out on the grass in the backyard, my insides seething and my mind anything but calm, while my yoga teacher spoke in soothing tones, guiding us into stretches. I felt like yelling and crying at the same time. The end of many weeks homeschooling and I feel like a yoyo. Many days I have an awesome time playing Italian cafes (to help my daughter learn Italian), making rainbow butterfly streamers with friends online, and celebrating that my 7-year old finally learned how to tell the time in between o’clocks and half pasts. Then there are those days she drives me mental. I’m exhausted, angry and frustrated. And my hubby is leaving us to it, retreating into the study all day. I’m an introvert — this situation feels unbearable. All I want to do is get into my car and head to a gorgeous rock climbing wall outdoors with mates — because choosing which crevice to place my feet and whether that bit of rock sticking up will turn out to be a decent hold — well it’s one of the only activities that truly focuses my mind and gives me a brief hall

pass from being a 24/7 mum and wife. Of course, I can’t run away from this, none of us can. Instead, we’ve got to explore ways to manage those days when the family is driving us crazy: 1. Look inward How things are can be a reflection of what’s going on inside you. Are you tired? Do you feel well? Are you worried about how you’re going to lift your income or keep your job? These feelings show up as impatience, anger, and irritation directed at our families. For instance, when my daughter has a sore tummy she doesn’t respond to what we ask her to do. When I get irritated that I don’t get enough time to work, I get angry with my husband for not doing the dishes. When we look deep inside ourselves, we discover the source of the irritation, anger, and impatience. Simply being aware of it is helpful. 2. Communicate Often when we feel bad, it’s easier to clam up, bang doors, and make snarky comments. This doesn’t create a nice environment at home though. And when we’re here all day together, it helps to get along. Telling our family how we feel can be a first step to easing tension. I find this is easier for us after we’ve taken time out by ourselves first, to change our mood and get perspective. Then simply saying “Sorry I

didn’t mean to be cranky, I’m just tired today” or “I can’t hear the yoga instructor with all that noise” can help the family understand — and remind them to be more considerate next time. Of course, this doesn’t always work despite our best intentions. All we can do is try. Letting go of ego, focusing on how you feel rather than flinging blame around can be a good way to begin. My daughter sometimes asks “Can we start the day again, Mum?” This is also a great way to reset and start communicating better. 3. Find gratitude With all the negativity surrounding us in the news, then being cooped up inside — such an unnatural situation — there’s so much to whine about. What helps me is to find gratitude regularly. A simple way to do this is a morning positivity and gratitude meditation. I find it easier to follow a guided morning meditation for positivity and gratitude soon after I wake up in the morning. Journaling also helps. When you have the intention to be grateful in writing, it’s quite therapeutic, puts daily life into perspective, and gives you a little nudge to follow through. 4. Move How do you feel when you’ve sat in one position for hours? Our bodies weren’t meant to be still. My daughter reminds me of that every minute she’s awake. She wriggles while eating at the table, darting off to dance to the music, kicking her feet back and forth, jumping, climbing, bouncing, running, walking, and wriggling all day. Move more and see how you feel after a brisk walk around the block or 20 star jumps in your lounge. Do a 15-minute yoga session and notice the difference. There’s a good reason for this: moving raises our feel-good hormone oxytocin. That warm feeling throughout your body from even 10 minutes of exercise can help you feel more positive, happy, and empathetic. Our regular activities at the moment are running, riding, yoga, playing footy, and strength training (using bodyweight and household items). We aim to get outdoors at least once a day — I’ve discovered many of my friends are doing the same. What do you enjoy doing? Get into it. Move more and move daily. 5. Call a friend This is one of my go-tos when I’m feeling really down and can’t shake out of it. I call a friend I know will be sympathetic yet positive, someone who knows me well and someone who I can be honest with and don’t have to put on a happy voice for. Someone I can count on to lift me up. You know that friend. Give them a call or text. Have a cry, chat, and laugh together. Find out how they’re doing too, and care about their reply. Perhaps they are going through something you can help them with too. Giving is as good a therapy as receiving. It also helps to take our minds off our own lives for a little while, which is a great way to change our mood. 6. Be kinder to yourself Have you ever noticed that when you’re feeling off, it’s as if you’re running an open house party for negative thoughts?

I can’t do this. What’s the point? I’ll never get that good. It’s too hard. When I feel this way, I stomp around the house unhappy and snappy. Until I realize this isn’t helping me — or the family. Try this: Change: “I can’t do this,” to “I’m just gonna give it a go and see.” Change: “What’s the point?” to “This is worth it, it’s important to me.” Change: “I’ll never get that good,” to “I’ve got to start somewhere.” Change: “It’s too hard,” to “It will get easier if I keep going.” Feelings are signals. Acknowledge them. Embrace them. Let’s analyze them. And then, let’s choose how we want them to work for us, rather than against us. We will get through these crazy days. Perhaps you’re going as bonkers as I am each week at the moment. We are only human. Let’s be grateful that no matter what we lose physically, we always have a choice, even though it doesn’t feel like it. We always have the choice to stop whining, feeling sorry for ourselves, and dwelling on ‘what ifs’ and ‘buts,’ or focusing on what we’ve lost. It’s the end of my crap, crazy day that turned out perfectly, because here I am doing what I love: Caring for my family. Writing for love, for peace, for calm. And hoping sanity for tomorrow when the family starts driving me crazy again. Words and Illustration by Cynthia Marinakos.

A NATURAL WAY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Honey: Learn how it’s made, why local is best, and 15 fascinating facts about honey bees. Now, more than ever, it’s important to take extra care of your health. One delicious way to supplement your food is with honey. Bees give us the gift of honey - a wonderful food that is completely natural. It may possibly be the only food known to us that does not go off. It is full of goodness with its antioxidant and antibacterial properties. What’s more, it contains pre-biotics which is beneficial to the microflora in our gut for a stronger immune system. For good health. Not all honey is the same When you can, source local honey. That’s because often the bees are feeding from the very flowers that produce the pollens leading to allergies or hay fever. By doing this, they make the biotics and antihistamines that help with easing the reaction - and in some cases stopping it. Honey is not the only gift bees bring us: They also bring us the gift of pollination. How pollination works Pollination is the movement of male pollen to the female part of the flower (stigma), the first step in successful seed and fruit production by the plant. Once the plant has been pollinated, the male contribution fuses with the egg in the ovary, the process known as fertilisation. After fertilisation, the fruit and seeds develop and mature. About two-thirds of the food Australians eat is the direct result of pollination by insects, and a very large part of that is the result of pollination carried out by the European Honey Bee. 10

Honey bees fly up to two kilometres from their hive to collect pollen and nectar, so as you can imagine if you have a hive at home, they don’t have to work very hard at all to pollinate whatever is flowering at your place. The fantastic bonus is that you also get floral honey from them, which is often the sweetest honey of them all. There are a number of businesses out there who will host a hive at your place - if you are not interested in becoming an apiarist (a bee keeper) then this may be an option for you. Most of the companies will leave you a little honey for your trouble and of course, you get great pollination. As an apiarist having a hive in my backyard, I’m very aware of how fragile bees are - and how heavily we rely upon them for much of the food we eat. It reminds me every day just how important it is not to spray and use chemicals around my backyard. Instead, it’s better to use companion planting and more natural sprays like chilli and garlic, (I discuss this more in my book Edible Gardens: A Practical Guide). 15 Fascinating facts about honey bees 1. Bees account for 87% of all pollination of our food. 1. If the bee disappears from Earth we only have four years left to live. 2. Australia is the only country left that does not have the Varroa mite that kills bees. 3. Household sprays contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder in bee hives. 4. Honey bees literally work themselves to death. 5. Queens are twice the size of all the other bees. 6. A queen bee can lay up to 2000 eggs a day.

7. The queen bee can live for up to three to five years. 8. Drones are male and do nothing but mate with the queen and cannot sting. 9. The worker bees are female and only live for six weeks. 10. The average worker bee produces about one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. 11. It takes nearly forty-eight bees their entire lifetime to make two tablespoons of honey. 12. There are sixteen kinds of honey bees. 13. A bee hive swarms every year in spring to found a new colony when a new queen is born. 14. Bees are deaf. Highly recommended flowering, bee-attracting plants 1. Lavender 2. Lemon balm 3. Borage 4. Echium 5. Sunflowers 6. Oregano 7. Allyssum 8. Thyme 9. Passionfruit 10. Marigold 11. Calendula 12. Artichoke Strengthen your immune system the natural and delicious way, with honey.

Got any questions, shoot me an email, I’d love to hear from you: craigcastree@optusnet.com.au Craig Castree Craig loves talking to people about how to set up their own edible gardens and make healthier, more sustainable choices. He is also a cheesemaker, an apiarist, Published Author of “Edible Gardens: A Practical Guide”, and presented on 'Vasili's Garden to Kitchen’ program on Channel 44 and 7 TWO. Website: www.craigcastree.com.au

AFFORDABLE, LOW MAINTENANCE LIVING • Spacious open plan living • High quality ﬁnishes throughout • Private rear courtyard gardens • Purchase direct from the developer • Close to schools & Town Centre Furnished villa homes available for private inspection. Contact Peter Di Giorgio 0439 250 995 8 Faro Street, Point Cook www.waterhaven.com.au/botanica

HOW TO MAKE QUICK, HEALTHY LUNCHES WHEN YOU’RE SICK OF COOKING

Photo: Tuna with 2-minute noodles are delicious. Source: Cynthia Marinakos.

I love cooking. It fills my heart to cook my dad’s scrumptious Hokkien noodles, even though it’s a long process. I adore the smell of homemade banana muffins wafting through my home. Yet no matter how much I love cooking, it can get excruciating during isolation. You’re working from home. Your partner’s working from home. If you’ve got school-aged kids, there’s online homeschooling. Everyone in the home. Too much. An unnatural situation that can’t be helped, of course. We’re there doing what we do as parents - juggling. And life seems to revolve around food and household chores a lot more than usual. Add to that, we can’t get away from it all. It feels like we’re 24/7 parents. It sounds strange, yet with care, work, and school, usually we get a few hours not to be parents, don’t we? So whatever we can do to make this situation easier, we’ve got to do. For our wellbeing, our family’s wellbeing, and the peace of our homes. We’ve got to be compassionate and gentle to ourselves during this challenging situation. Apart from eating takeaway every day, how can we keep sane, continue to enjoy cooking, yet keep feeding our families quick, healthy meals during this time? Leftovers. And 5-minute meals. Want to know my family’s favorite ingredients for gourmet 5-minute meals? They’re versatile, healthy, 12

and fulfilling. My family rarely seems to get sick of them. I’m sure yours will love them too... TUNA One of our favorite quick meals. Whether I’m camping or home, if I’m in a hurry and want a delicious, satisfying meal, tuna never lets me down. I especially love mixing it with chopped fresh kale, parsley, or lemon thyme from our garden. I recommend flavored tuna, especially ones with sauce, such as tomato and basil, or tomato and capers. It’s a simple and fast way to flavor your food. ADD: Herbs (fresh or dry) Lemon Kale or spinach sliced thinly Cracked pepper Cheese (grated) Boiled egg Avocado Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds Fetta SERVE IT: ● On top of bread, biscuits, corn cakes or rice cakes ● Mixed into 2-minute noodles ● Alongside vegetable sticks and avocado dip ● With rice or beans I realize not everyone likes tuna. Well, this next meal is sure to be a hit, if tuna isn’t your thing:

TOASTIES Super quick comfort food. It’s warm, oozey, crunchy. It smells divine and gorgeously golden. So hard to resist. At its most basic, a toastie is simply a glorified sandwich filled with melted, stringy cheese, buttered or oiled on each side and cooked in a sandwich press. Don’t have one? No worries. Chuck it under a grill instead. You can add whatever you like. It’s a great way to use leftover meats or baked vegetables. Just be careful with watery ingredients like tomato, which can make the bread go soggy — place it in between other ingredients away from the bread. Or opt for a sundried tomato. Play with fresh and dry herbs. Pack it with extra flavour with your favorite relish. The delicious options are endless. OUR FAVORITE COMBINATIONS: Cheese Cheese and ham or bacon Cheese, avocado, mushroom and bacon Cheese, ham, dried oregano, tomato relish Pumpkin, feta, and pine nuts (thinly slice the pumpkin and it’ll cook from the steam) Cheese, tomato, ham, basil, tomato relish Cheese, salmon, tomato, and lemon thyme Feta cheese, salmon, mushroom, and tomato Pumpkin, eggplant, feta, sundried tomatoes, cheese Chicken, mango, cheese, bacon, mango relish Lamb, cheese, pine nuts, mint, avocado, mango relish

•

SERVE IT: ● With a salad ● With veggie sticks and homemade avocado dip ● With a sneaky smoothie (one with veggies, yet tastes sweet) During this challenging time, whatever we can do to keep our sanity and relationships intact is important. As much as we may adore cooking, it can quickly get stale while in isolation. Having the option to create quick and healthy 5-minute lunches for our families can give us a little respite from cooking and an avalanche of dishes. Eat together and you’ll ease stress, bond with your family, and take care of your mental health. What are your favorite 5-minute lunches? Cynthia Marinakos is a copywriter and foodie best known for her habit of stopping diners from eating to snap up phots of their gorgeous meals. Her culinary tastes come from growing up Aussie with MalaysianChinese parents and an Italian-Greek hubby. She loves spontaneous, playful, creative cooking where measurements don’t matter. Cynthia writes food articles for national and global publications and this new column for Around Point Cook. Got a great recipe? Reach out to her on Instagram and her Facebook page, The Wonderful World of Food. In the meantime, eat scrumptiously - life is too short for crappy food.

Design

•

Sign

Better. Smarter. Easier. Print & Signage Solutions for Your Business.

Quality Colour Printing Booklets_Business Cards_Folders_Banners_Signage Visit us on the web or contact us for our current specials on print, design and signage.

1300 85 77 85

www.carissprinting.com.au 13

Photo page “Around” looks a little different at the moment, but no less beautiful. In some instances – more so! Home schooling, zoom meetings, pop up parks and lakes to ourselves, homemade pizzas and long walks to fill in the days. However you are getting through, take a moment to appreciate the little things – it helps...