My niece got married on Friday, so it was an opportunity for us to get an updated family photo - all dressed up. When I look at this photo, my heart just bursts with pride and wonder. How did I get so blessed to call these humans my family?
They are my why.
They are the reason why I continue to Stand for Children's Health - even in the face being attacked for the work we do here at The Root Cause.
I won't go into what has transpired this year but suffice to say my niece's wedding came at the perfect time. My resolve to keep going was truly being tested.
My nephew took this photo. One look at it and I just knew I couldn't walk away just because some people were trying to bring me down.
I simply can not look my kids and say "oh you know what, it all got too hard, so I walked away and found a different job."
So here I am, still Standing for Children's Health. Thank you for being in this community and for standing alongside me.
If you wish to delve more into the data behind the statistics I quote about Children's Health, I have included a list of research below for you. I find going back to the data also gives me resolve to keep going.
This weeks email is titled Weddings, Parties, Anything not just because of my nieces wedding but because the wedding inspired me to share how vegetables can be the hero of weddings, parties, anything. They really are so versatile. The food at my nieces wedding was a reminder of this. Here's a collection of ideas showing the simplicity of vegetables.
At the wedding, buttery salted green beans were shared in the centre of the table. They were cooked to perfection. Just the right amount of crunch, the silkiness of the butter made them glisten and the salt gave them a bit extra pazzazz. Try these out in the centre of your table. Here's a recipe.
Jamie's Perfect Roast Potatoes
Incredible roast potatoes were served in the middle too. The menu said they were rosemary roasted kipflers, but I'm going to share my go to BEST EVER roast potatoes by Jamie Oliver. Last year I taught our Kids Health Quest Members to make a roast dinner for mum for Mother's Day and I taught them to make these roast potatoes. They were a smash hit. Here's Jamie's tutorial video.
Vegetable Crudites Platter
My niece had a beautiful outdoor wedding. After the ceremony, the most amazing spread was put out to nibble on. There was an incredible antipasto platter with an abundance of veg sticks and dips. It reminded me about how it's hard to go wrong with a massive platter of vegetables finger food like this.
You can make it so there is something for everyone. Platters like this are a great way of exposing kids to a variety of different foods without them feeling like they have to try them. Be sure to add ones you know they will eat, plus the ones you want to eat. Team it with some dips and it takes the platter to a whole new level. This article by Take Two Tapas explains how to make a platter really simply.
Children's Health Data Sources
If you sometimes find yourself thinking that you don't want to be 'that mum' who raises concern or you feel beaten down by people rolling their eyes at your position around food or health, then I hope these data points give you some resolve. The issue is real. We can't keep sweeping it under the carpet.
- 43% of Australian Children have one or more chronic health conditions - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Australia's Children Report - page 63.
- Primary aged children are eating between 4.8 and 6.2 serves of discretionary foods a day - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Nutrition Across Life Stages Report. You can access it here and those data points can be found on page 35 and 45
- 24.9% of our children aged 5-17 are now overweight or obese - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Overweight and Obesity Amongst Australian Children and Adolescents. Refer summary section of this report.
- 7.4% of our children aged 4-17 now have ADHD - this is from the Australian Government Report on The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Australia. Refer to section 5.1 of this Report. The Young Minds Matter Report funded by the Australian Govt found "ADHD was the most common emotional or behavioural disorder in Australian school students, and was more common in males than females. ADHD affected 1 in 10 males but fewer than 1 in 20 females." refer to page 9.
- 6.9% of our children aged 4-17 now have an anxiety disorder (278,000 kids) - this too is from the Australian Government Report on The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Australia mentioned above. The Young Minds Matter report shows anxiety disorders for children in school years 1-6 as 7.9% boys and 7.1% for girls, for children in school years 7-12 as boys 6.4% and 7.5% for girls. Refer again to page 9. Resilient Youth Australia also reports 1 in 4 primary school children feel highly anxious.
- 2.8% of our children aged 4-17 now have a major depressive disorder - similar to the above 2 points, this data was from the Australian Government Report on The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Australia. The Young Minds Matter report shows anxiety disorders for children in school years 1-6 as 1.3% boys and 1.5% for girls, for children in school years 7-12 as boys 4.1% and 5.6% for girls.
I hope you enjoy the simplicity and wonder of vegetables this week and your resolve for Standing for Children's Health is as strong as ever.