threelilprincesses.com

Author: Kellie O’Brien

  • WIN: It’s giveaway time

    WIN: It’s giveaway time

    OUR favourite meal of the day in the O’Brien household is breakfast – and it’s not always necessarily confined to mornings.

    It’s 8.30pm at night as I’m writing this, curled up on the couch with the laptop and a bowl of Pink Lady Apple and Flame Raisin cereal (RRP $4.99), courtesy of the good people at Be Natural. I could easily sum it up by saying just “scrumptious’’ as milk dribbles down my chin, but I’m guessing you want a better description.

    Coming from the Apple Isle, I’m taken with not only pieces of “real’’ pink lady apples, but also granny smiths. Then throw in extra flavour from raisins, plus – the clincher for a good cereal – crunch from five wholegrain flakes, linseed, pepita and amaranth clusters and, as I said, “scrumptious’’.

    Forget needing artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.

    Despite being the middle of summer, the Vanilla and Almond Porridge (RRP: $4.99) that came with it isn’t going to waste either. Princess Ella loves her porridge. Offer her kiddie-treat cereal and she’ll turn her nose up to them in favour of porridge. Yes, even in this sweltering heat. For her, receiving porridge with that yummy smell (vanilla) and some little nuts (almonds) was just like Christmas.

    The new range also includes Multi-Grain Porridge; Five Whole Grains cereal; and Cashew, Almond, Hazelnut and Coconut cereal.

    The folks at Be Natural are giving away one box of Pink Lady Apple and Flame Raising cereal and one box of Vanilla and Almond Porridge to each of the first 10 readers who leave a comment telling us your favourite way to eat cereal?

    Hmm, I’d have to say with fresh fruit and yoghurt. How about you?

    Don’t forget to subscribe to the site, “like’’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter so you don’t miss out on details for the next giveaway.

  • NEWS: New Zealand’s darkest day

    MOST of today was spent glued to the television as the devastation from the 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch continued to unfold.

    I sat cuddling my little baby girl Holly as words like “we may be witnessing our darkest day’’ and “I’ve never been so frightened in all my life’’ came from the TV set. I was thankful three-year-old Princess Ella was in child care.

    As a journalist, there’s a fascination with watching how people react under such extreme circumstances. But I didn’t watch this as a journalist. I watched it as a mother.

    My heart bled as I saw battered bodies pulled from buildings, listened to the quivering voices of terrified eyewitnesses or caught the sheer emotion on the faces of ordinary folk walking amongst the city’s debris. Even the newsreaders voices were shaking as they tried to deliver the news. As a viewer, that cuts deep.

    What I felt most though today was a feeling of helplessness. We spend our days nurturing and protecting our little ones, so there’s a natural instinct to want to help others. But, for now, we can’t.

    It’s not the first time this year I’ve felt this – there was the Queensland floods and then Cyclone Yasi.

    All I can really do is keep my beautiful, innocent Princess Ella from being exposed to such devastation. Maybe, for now at least, that’s enough.

    My thoughts are with all those in Christchurch.

  • Lesson for Wives No. 2: Disguising vegies does not always work

    Lesson for Wives No. 2: Disguising vegies does not always work

    Olives used to be one of Princess Ella's favourites.

    INTERLINKING old posts into a new post is the task of day eight of

    31 Days to Build A Better Blog.

    Today also happens to coincide with the bloke in The Shed, Julian, posting about our li’l girl turning her nose up to all things green – except the green in her nose, of course. Preschoolers. Phuff!

    Please, leave him a comment. We’d both appreciate any tips!

    By Julian O’Brien

    IN PRINCESS Ella, we used to think we had a dream child. 

    At first, Ella would eat anything; she even used to eat olives like they were M&Ms. Then something happened and she suddenly became extremely fussy about her vegies, particularly “the green ones’’.

    She still has her favourites though. Raw carrot and mushrooms will be consumed faster than you can say “pickle me grandmother’’ and I have literally seen her devour a corn cob faster than Homer Simpson can shotgun a can of Duff Beer. She even ate the broccolini on her plate first the other day – probably because we called it “baby broccoli’’.

    So, what to do?

    Well, we disguise her veggies. We cooked zucchini in the form of both fritters and slice, combining them with some of her “favourites” such as corn, mushies and even bacon bits. It worked for a little while.

    Then Princess Kel had a good idea: what about Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni? That was OK till Ella found out you could unwrap the spinach and ricotta and just eat the pasta.

    Meat? A whole other story. Like her dad, Ella is a meat girl, preferably steak.  Recently, presentations of perfectly good rissoles and sausages have been met with “I want steak, please”. Scotch fillet, to be precise. Sheesh. Talk about expensive taste. 

    Thank goodness we only have to worry about boobie juice for Baby Holly … for the moment.

    So how do you go with your fussy eater? What tips and tricks have you uncovered?

    Want more lessons for wives? Read Lessons For Wives No. 1: Blokes don’t know the location of health shops.

  • RECIPES: Top recipes from across the blogsphere

    RECIPES: Top recipes from across the blogsphere

     

    Mummy Blogger Knows Best: The Essential Cookbook

    DAY 7 of 31 Days To Build A Better Blog

     is to write a link post (a link is the blue writing in this sentence). 

    So, here goes… 

    THE bloke in The Shed and I often have a race to see who can make it to the kitchen to cook first. 

    Seriously. 

    While we used to cook fancy, spicy or exotic dishes, the introduction of Princess Ella and Baby Holly has seen us experiment with simple, economical, but tasty kiddy-friendly meals. 

    We’re hoping to share some of these with you as the blog grows, so make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss any of the scrumptious treats to come. 

    In the meantime, here’s a virtual cookbook based on some of the best mummy blogger recipes in the Aussie blogsphere. 

    If I had to develop a bloggers cookbook, this is what it would look like. 

    MUMMY BLOGGER KNOWS BEST: The Essential Cookbook

    STARTERS

    Pumpkin Ravioli from Home Grown Mama

    I think the final photo says it all. A great recipe for when the garden is abundant with pumpkins.

    Homemade Sushi from Cooking For Oscar  

    This one’s from a mum dealing with a child with food intolerances, making this recipe a masterpiece. 

    LUNCH BOX IDEAS

    Mini Impossible Pies from Diminishing Lucy 

    A way to get something interesting and nutritious into the kids’ lunch boxes. As Diminishing Lucy describes, it’s “quiche without the pastry’’. 

    MAINS

    Chicken Stir fry with seasonal vegetables by Planning With Kids  

    There had to be a stir fry in here and this is the ultimate. 

    Zucchini Slice from Three Li’l Princesses 

    This has been our most viewed recipe to date and the most cooked item in the kitchen of late. 

    Lamb Shanks in Tomato Chilli Sauce from Writing Out Loud 

    Lamb has to be included in this cookbook, so here’s a gorgeous recipe from Megan. This one’s ideal for the slow cooker – our favourite kitchen `gadget’. 

    Spinach, Fetta and Sundried Tomato Strudel by Vegan Mamma 

    There are other recipes on Vegan Mamma’s site that are describes as “the most popular’’, but we couldn’t go past her latest recipe. 

    Pad Thai Noodles from A Dose of Dannie 

    Our household just loves Thai food. It was a real treat when we stumbled across this recipe. Delicious. 

    BAKING

    Devil’s Food Cupcakes from Cupcakes of Kensington 

    We have to include something a little naughty for the kids _ and this has to be it. 

    DESSERTS

    Best Ever Chocolate Ice Cream from Because I Said So 

    No cookbook is complete without a chocolate delight. And it’s double-y good if that happens to incorporate ice cream. 

    Peach and Raspberry Iceblocks from Hey Bambini 

    This is just a fantastic way to get fruit into little tummies, while keeping the kids cool this summer (yes, surprisingly, it gets hot in Tassie!). 

    So, what’s your favourite dish? Or is there something you think should be added to our `virtual cookbook’? Share your thoughts.

  • FEATURE: Li’l elephant takes to the dance floor

    FEATURE: Li’l elephant takes to the dance floor

    Dancing diva Ella after her first dance lesson

    PRINCESS Ella is not the most graceful of dancers.

    In fact, she inherited her dad’s flat feet, which means she struggles to grasp the concept of “dancing on toes’’ – she’s more like Babar the Elephant than Angelina Ballerina.

    However, she reached the stage where she knew all the moves on every dance-related DVD she had, so we decided it was time to start dance lessons.

    Many regular readers will have already seen the bloke in The Shed’s account of gearing up to take Ella to her very first dance lesson in The Beginning of the End.

    So what happened?

    Well, there’s always that fear that maybe she’ll just stand there, too shy to participate.

    The instructor obviously knew this to be the case for many so offered for mums to take part in the class too. Fat chance. The last time I danced in public was under the influence of a bottle of wine and Lionel Ritchie. Hmmm.

    Thankfully, my dancing wasn’t required. Ella took to the class like Victoria Beckham to dieting. It may have helped that she had a li’l friend along with her, which gave them both the confidence to stand right up the front.  She likes the spotlight (check out her diva moment in the video from two years ago).

    These are some of the golden moments from her first lesson:

    • When asked to twinkle her fingers in the air, she responded loudly with: “Look, my mummy painted my fingernails with nail polish. See?’’ The dancing had to be halted while everyone looked at her fingernails.

    • Each dancer had to choose an imaginary horse. Ella’s friend decided to bring her horse over to her mummy to “show’’ her. When the dance instructor later queried Ella’s friend as to whether she’d already chosen her horse, she replied: “yes, I left it over there near mum’s chair’’.

    • Ella’s eyes lit up when she was asked to “jump like a kangaroo’’. Earlier that morning we’d discovered a frog in the house (not something we’ve ever encountered before), to which Ella responded with “look dad, he’s jumping like a kangaroo’’. Needless to say, she was proud to show off her kangaroo skills for the second time that day.

    • Accidentally chest bumping another dancer footy style and then pretending like nothing happened. Ella barely moved; the other girl bounced and hit the floor.

    • Half the class being named Sienna and hearing an echo of:.“that’s my name, too’’.

    So, how did your little one adapt to their first dance lesson (or footy match)? What moments made you laugh?

  • RECIPE: Honey and soy chicken legs

    RECIPE: Honey and soy chicken legs

    Honey and soy chicken legs

    THERE’S nothing like a good pair of legs to get you drooling.

    OK, so they’re chicken legs, but this one’s worth drooling over.

    This has to be the easiest and cheapest recipe we cook in the O’Brien household, and just so happens to be devoured by Princess Ella.

    It also goes quite well with Zucchini Slice too.

    Ingredients:

    6-8 chicken legs

    ¼ cup of reduced salt soy sauce

    ¼ cup of runny honey

    Method:

    Put the chicken legs into a bowl with the soy and honey. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for three hours, or overnight if possible.

    Preheat the oven to 180C. Put baking paper on a tray, place the legs on the paper and cover with remaining soy and honey from the bowl. Cook for 40 minutes.

    Tip: These are best when the skin goes just that little bit charcoal-like.

    Read more recipes…