Writer’s Workshop: Getting Back on Schedule

An ice bucket

It’s back to school this week. The kids enter their 3rd term of the school year and it’s going to be a more busy term as the supplementary classes in school starts. The alarm clocks have to be set and school bags have to be packed. I’m glad that the kids are back in school as it gives me time to catch up with the backlog of work which I had accumulated due to the holidays.

Here are some tips on how I get the kids back on (school) schedule.

1) We still keep part of the daily schedule even on holiday.

I don’t believe that the sequence that we have been following through during school term should be tossed out of the window once the holidays arrive. The daily schedule however would be trimmed or adjusted to add in more fun and outdoor activities.

2) Finish all holiday homework before leaving on vacations.

This June holiday we brought the kids overseas. I insisted that all holiday homework which they had to get done be completed within the first week of holidays before we were off to enjoy ourselves. The kids too were to write journals on the places which they visited during their overseas trips.

3) Slowly ease the kids back into the study routine.

To get the kids back into the studying mode we started doing academic revision during the 4th week of the school holidays. It was time to get back to the books and revise/recall what they had learned the previous term. I also removed all their late night privileges and they were made to go to bed based on their regular school night timing. This gave their bodies enough time to get back to sleeping earlier and waking up early.

July 4, 2013

Easy Peasy Soup and Smoothie with a Philips Jamie Oliver Blender

Dominique Advertorials, Parenting and Kids Jamie Oliver Blender, Philips

Red peppers

The kids love drinking soup and smoothies. I am always on a look out for new recipes to try out at home from the recipe books which I have in my cupboard. With a Philips Jamie Oliver blender it has made making the kid’s favourite soup and smoothie a breeze.

Sliced red peppers being saute in a saucepan

Red pepper soup is one of the soups that we serve regularly at home. It is quite easy to make and there isn’t too many ingredients that are needed. You only need the following
– 2 onions finely chopped
– 2 tablespoons groundnut or olive oil
– 1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
– 3 red peppers, de-seeded and roughly chopped
– 2 courgettes, roughly chopped
– 900 ml vegetable stock or water
– sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper.

After the vegetables are tendered you just need to pour it into the Jamie Oliver blender to blend. The ultra sharp titanium serrated blade took only about 5 minutes to fully blend the soup in the 2 litre glass jar.

I love the big capacity of this blender as I only need to blend the soup once and there is enough to serve the 5 of us.

blending the soup

Red Pepper soup

With the time saved from blending the soup we had time to make the kids some chocolate smoothie. It only took 5 minutes and only 3 ingredients are needed- chocolate sauce, yoghurt and ice.

The ingredients for the chocolate smoothie

Making the smoothie

It is really easy to blend up a healthy soup and tasty drink for the kids with the Philips Jamie Oliver blender. It’s a tool which I certainly recommend for all kitchens.

Keep life simple with the PHILIPS | Jamie Oliver range which includes a food processor (S$268), blender (S$128) and handblender (S$108).

Available at leading electronics and departmental stores.

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