Tag Archives: Seashells On The Palm

Health & Wellness

Cooking for my family | Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Soup Supercharged |Using my Greenheart Organic Vegetables

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Did I mention how much I love Greenheart Organic Farms who are based in the UAE already?  This week I thought to share with a receipe that I use with the children using butternut squash and pumpkin!  It’s the LONG weekend so here are ways to get inspired to cook with the kids.  We have blended the concept from two well-known cookbooks, Gwyneth Paltrow’s My Father’s Daugher, and Honestly Healthy by Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson.  My son, Luca, is crazy about cooking so although he isn’t a fan of this soup, it is a way of making him like appreciate the ingredients and enjoy his ‘own cooking.’

The health benefits of these supercharged ingredients in this pot of soup are countless from high levels of Vitamin A in pumpkin, pumpkin can also reduce cancer risk, fresh turmeric can help with inflammation, butternut squash delivers ample dose of dietary fibre, has significant amounts of potassium and vitamin B6.

Ingredients

2 onions chopped

2 Cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of garam masala (or curry powder)

Half a large butternut squash chopped

Half a pumpkin chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 red chilli de-seeded

Fresh Turmeric

2 pints of organic vegetable stock

Coconut oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Sprinkle with chia seeds before serving

Instructions

Sweat the onions in the coconut oil, then add the garlic, garam masala powder, fresh turmeric, carrot and chilli and fry until fragrant.  Then throw in the butternut squash and pumpkin and ensure that all the spices are mixed in well, and when they start to soften gently pour in the vegetable stock to ensure all the root vegetables are covered.  Then add salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, and cool for 15 minutes.  Then simply blend, and left overs can be frozen.

If you are cooking for children 6 months – 1 year, this can be mixed with brown rice, with no salt or chilli added.

Greenheart Organic Farms Opening Hours: 11:30am – 5pm except Fridays

For more information visit the website www.greenheartuae.com

Travel

Dubai City Stays | Four Seasons DIFC | Seashellonthepalm Travel Review

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When the Four Seasons Hotel in DIFC first opened a couple of weeks ago, we couldn’t resist booking a room for our 8th wedding anniversary.  We wanted a fun and atmospheric hotel, different to the holiday resort properties in Dubai.  With the buzzing arrival of many first class restaurants as well as old favourites like Cipriani, Zuma, La Luz, La Petit Maison all on the hotel’s doorsteps, the property was even more appealling to us.

Upon arrival, the immediate visual is that the boutique city property is unique to the usual Four Seasons portfolio in terms of design but service and quality remain typically Four Seasons.  The  property blends in with it’s modern and striking DIFC landscape and the design of the rooms has a much more modern feel to traditional Four Seasons rooms, with a sense of masculinity for the astute business traveller.  This is the perfect hotel for city travellers or couples for work and pleasure and only 5 minutes from the Dubai Mall.  The compactly designed hotel is extremely functional for meetings, and it allows for quick walks back to the room with no long corridors that are common features in Dubai’s luxury hotels.

The restaurant serving the hotel, the Firebird, i犀利士
s a luxuriously fun American diner.  The qualities and finishings are of a super luxurious level, with the concept of quick breakfasts, lunch and dinners served, and booths set up for serious business meetings in a unique setting.  Food and service is exceptional, and if you are in the area, it is worth trying the Firebird diner if you are in the area for a meeting.

The Four Seasons has several lounges and bars both on the lower floors, and more importantly the amazing rooftop bar.  Luna Sky Bar is now the new hip bar filled to the bream with city workers reminding guests of any major city in the world like NYC, London or Singapore with stunning views of the Burj Khalifa with highly skilled bar staff.

The pool’s brilliant design should bring a smile to even the most cynical traveller’s face which ever way you look at it.  It is unique to say the least with amusing views.  The pool was a clever concept for a compact rooftop garden, and a great place to get away and catch a Dubai tan for visitors, and luckily there are no taller office blocks overlooking the pool for privacy purposes.  Spa is incredible with organic products from South Africa, and incredibly experienced therapists.

Worth a trip.  Worth an escape from the kids.  Highly recommended.

Four Seasons Hotel DIFC | Building 9, Level GF Gate Village | Phone +971 4 506 0000 

For more information check their website www.fourseasons.com

 Photos by Edwina Viel

Health & Wellness

Top tips for packing organic snacks for the holidays | Some super snacks to pack for the family | Greenheart Organic Farms

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It’s the Easter holidays! We have been crazily packing all week, and we are still not done. Most importantly, I have also made a trip to Greenheart Organic Farms this week to pick up some dry foods snack items to take on holiday with us. I love organic and superfoods but having it whilst we travel is not always possible so a mini dry supply will do. In any case, we are heading to the beautiful clean mountains of Europe so we don’t have to worry too much as food quality and freshness is just out of this world. However, room fridge bars are still full of temptations, and I need to stock up on brilliant for the children and me.

#1 LoveRaw Bars

We are packing for the plane journey for the kids and ourselves the new LoveRaw Bars – 100% Organic Superfood Energy Bar made and packed at LoveRaw in Cambridgeshire, UK. The company started back in 2013 when Rimi, the creator of LoveRaw quit her intensive investment banking job to rebuild her health. A new concept was born on her kitchen table in the UK, and the bars were initially stocked at Whole Foods London, and they have now gone global. These organic bars are gluten free, dairy free, wheat free, and soy free. Some of the bars are also good sources of Magnesium and Omega 3+6, and there is no added sugar and low GI.

Flavours include:Cacao & Spirulina Organic Bar, Coconut & Chia Organic Bar, Cacao & Maca Organic Bar, Rosehip & Lemon Organic Bar and each one costs AED14.50.

Ingredient benefits

RAW CACAO is 100% pure and unprocessed. It’s full of natural antioxidants, particularly polyphenols (found in berries & oranges) and flavanols (found in red grapes and green tea). Raw Cacao can neutralise harmful free radicals in your body and promote overall health. It’s also a great mood enhancer!

SPIRULINA is an algae that is often recognised as the world’s most nutritionally rich superfood. It is composed 65% of protein and amino acids. Due to a high concentration of chlorophyll, spirulina is a great detoxifier

MACA is commonly known as the ‘Peruvian Ginseng’. Maca is potent in B-Vitamins and also provides Vitamins C & E.

CHIA is packed full of omega 3 fatty acids. These fats are important for brain & skin development. Chia is also high in antioxidants which have been shown to fight free radicals that contribute to the ageing process. An all round winner

ROSEHIP is a great source of Vitamin C, containing more than 60% than most citrus fruits. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant which acts by targeting free radicals that are harmful to your body. Rosehip is also high in Vitamins E & K which quicken the healing process for skin irritations and bruises.

LEMON has been traditionally used for centuries for its strong antibacterial, antiviral and liver cleansing properties. It is also used by many cultures for boosting immunity and aiding weight loss. Lemon oil is also naturally high in Vitamin C.

#2 Organic Sun Dried Mulberries

Other healthy treats that we are taking along include The Organic Sun Dried Mulberries from Sun & Seed. The Mulberry Tree is one of the oldest cultivated plants on Earth. The white Turkish mulberry are high in iron, calcium, fibre and Vitamin C and rich in anti-oxidants.

#3 Organic Sun Dried Inca Berries

Organic Sun Dried Inca Berries from the reputable brand Sun & Seed, are also known as Cape Gooseberries, Peruvian Groundcherries or ‘Golden Berries’. They have the same texture as dried cherries with a tangy flavour, and they can normally be added to a variety of foods but on this occasion they make a great snack for the children and me (probably a little too tangy for Daddy!). This super fruit from Peru are filled with high levels of phosphorous, potassium and protein.

#4 Pukka Herbal Tea Sachets

Finally for beverages we are bringing a few sachets of Pukka herbal tea to have in the room. Warm tea with snow outdoors. Couldn’t think of a better way to relax. Ideally I am dreaming of sitting by the warm fire with a cup of tea and a good book, but the reality will be slightly different with 4 kids. The cup of tea will do for now.

Most of these items can be delivered to your home, otherwise pop down to the shop and do a quick grab.

www.greenheartuae.com

Children's Education

Curiosity Lab Dubai | Self-admitted science geek, former jet engineer for Rolls Royce, creates the most amazing teaching science laboratory in our home.

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My kids have just had the best afternoon filled with novelty, science experiments and wonder. Moheb Nabeel is a genius and that is no exaggeration.  He is the creator of Curiosity Lab, but he is formerly a jet engine engineer who worked for Rolls Royce in the UK.  He got his dream job and then he came back to Dubai where he grew up having attended Cambridge High School & Dubai College before heading overseas for University.  His other dream was to teach kids about science; he is seriously over qualified but the self-admitted geek says he realised teaching was a passion, and he started last year to pursue it.  The KHDA have also asked him to speak at several workshops to inspire teachers classrooms at affordable costs.   He is so enthusiastic about science that he spent 6 months working out how he would break down science into modules for children so that they would love it and enjoy it.  Most of all, Moheb  has a true passion and a thirst of knowledge, and his enthusiam rubs off on the children.

Moheb didn’t shy away from introducing to the children (7 years, 5 years and 3 years), to the physics concept of Force (naturally my sons’ both shouted out Star Wars), and he introduced Sir Isaac Newton to them.  I was surprised that my children understood from his explainations what the concept of Force was as this was not introduced to me until my later years of school.

If I had to give my children a dream teacher to teach science, Moheb is it.  He ticks all the boxes, and for younger children there is no paper based work.

We have decided to bring Moheb home to teach our kids once a week.  He charges AED125 per child (5 years and up), and would ask for a group of 4 – 6 children to be in the class.

For more details contact: Moheb Nabeel at Curiosity Lab

Facebook page or call 050 407 9007

Book soon as he has very little time spare because of his overwhelming popularity with parents and kids.