Love them or loath them, you can’t fault Fonterra and its initiatives to help give every Kiwi kid the best nutritional start in life.  In 2009, they joined forces with Sanitarium and brought us the ‘Kickstart Breakfast Program’ which is helping more than 35,000 kids in 510 schools throughout the country. Now Fonterra are bringing ‘Free Milk in Schools’. Free milk was last seen in our primary schools 44 years ago but was dropped on cost grounds and because the public was starting to question the benefits of milk. Now days, the benefits cannot be overstated. Milk provides a unique combination of nutrients which as essential for a child’s growth and development – calcium for building strong bones and teeth, and the right mix of carbohydrates and protein for sustained energy, concentration and learning in the classroom. Good on you Fonterra!

After the few extra drinks over the holiday period, there has never been a better time to give your liver a bit of a break. If you’re up for a challenge in 2012, join me (and the 300 others) who have ditched the booze for Febfast. This event encourages us to say ‘no thanks’ to alcohol for the shortest month of the year, all in the name of charity. The money raised from Febfast goes towards drug and alcohol support programs for young people, so a really good cause.

Besides giving your liver a break, 29 days without alcohol should leave you with a few extra dollars in your pocket and might even help shrink your waistline. One less bottle of wine a week will save you about 4000 calories this month (that’s the same as 75 Weet-bix!)

Who said you needed lots of space for a vegetable garden and that it’s impossible when you’re living in an inner-city apartment?!…Things like this might make things a wee bit more difficult but certainly not impossible. Think outside the square….if you’re limited for space, try growing your veggies in pots or buckets.  Vegetables like lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower and courgettes can work really well grown like this and with regular water and plenty of fertiliser you’re guaranteed a bumper crop.

 Vegetables always taste much better when they’re home-grown and are a great way to get your kids involved in healthy food – let them be part of your garden project and I guarantee they will start to eat more veggies. Despite what many people think, planting veggies doesn’t take a lot of time – just ask the Hurricanes. I started a veggie growing competition with them this week and with a bucket and plant in hand, 32 veggies were planted in just a matter of minutes…….I will keep you posted on their progress……

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/4527211/Hurricanes-show-their-healthy-side

The queen of the cookbook, Alison Holst, was named a Dame Companion in the New Year’s Honours list for her services to the food industry. Dame Alison has had a profound influence on the eating habits of kiwis with the publication of many books and at the young age of 72, she is not slowing down with her 100^th book due for publication in 2011.

 She began her career lecturing at the University of Otago, before fronting her own cooking show ‘Here’s how’ in 1965 with her first cookbook following in 1966. Dame Alison is a passionate foodie that believes food does not need to be complicated to be good. She has made an art of taking ordinary food, mixing it with a few ingredients (never a long list) and turning it into something the whole family will like.  A true champion, thanks Dame Alison!

Its a fact – nearly one quarter of NZ children are overweight or obese before they’ve even started school! And the stats only head one way after that – UP….once at school, the rates of obese or overweight children increase to over 30% – so 1 in 3 NZ kids aged between 5-14 years are classified as overweight or obese making it almost abnormal to be of normal body weight – how backwards is that!

Of major concern is that not only are our children getting fatter, but they are also likely to be malnourished because of their unhealthy diet. We’ve spent too much time and money talking about it and bickering over how to solve the problem and now its time for action because the cost on the health system (thats you and me – the people who pay tax) is already HUGE and is only going to increase. The cost goes far beyond health though - there is and will continue to be a massive cost on business and the environment. But perhaps the scariest thing of all – this generation may be the first to not outlive their parents!