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Once again a fortnight seems to have passed so fast. We’re slowly easing into autumn down in New Zealand. It’s still quite hot during the day, but we’re all enjoying the cooler nights. Daylight savings also finishes this week. Most people don’t enjoy the darker evenings but I’m looking forward to the kids going to sleep a bit earlier. How life changes when you have kids. Spike and I had another agility competition last weekend and we managed to win a ribbon! The highlight of our week - or maybe year!

Plant-based Recipe

Our most popular recipe ever on Nourished Elephant is The Happy Pear’s Chickpea curry, and it's a tasty addition to the dinner menu as the weather cools down. Although it contains simple ingredients this curry is bursting with nourishment. Chickpeas are incredibly high in fibre and are great for digestive function. They are also full of antioxidants and phytonutrients, as well as vitamins and minerals such as folate, iron, and zinc. And of course, they are a great source of protein! The ingredients are as follows, click here for the complete recipe.

red onion
clove of garlic
ginger
red chilli
curry powder, ground coriander, paprika
tinned chopped tomatoes
tinned coconut milk
tinned of chickpeas
salt & pepper
fresh coriander
lime & avocado

Orchard Update

Our autumn/winter fruit is mostly growing well in the orchard. We have a very small persimmon tree with three pieces of fruit on it. I’m thinking I may have to cut my losses and pick them as the tree isn’t looking great and probably needs the energy to keep growing itself. Our citrus trees are laden with fruit this year, the biggest crop we’ve ever had. It’s been a few years since we planted them and we’re not even sure what the trees are, but looking forward to some fresh mandarins and oranges. My favourite fruit are feijoas and this year we only have about six on our trees which is disappointing. Last year the local possums won the feijoa war, I’m hoping this year I get at least one! The crafty possums simply ripped my nets apart last autumn so this year we’re trying sensor lights to try and deter them. Feijoas are a great source of vitamin C, folate, potassium and manganese.

Sustainability Tip

A product that I’ve found useful for both kids that doesn’t get much coverage is reusable wipes. Although store brought wipes are inexpensive and mostly biodegradable I’ve found reusable ones much easier to use. We brought ours from a New Zealand company called Cheeky Wipes and have used the same set for Jensen and Jamie. We have a set with green edging for bottoms and a set with orange edging for faces and hands. You could easily make your own sets with small colour coded flannels.

We keep the ones for bottoms in a small bucket of water with a few drops of tea tree oil that is changed 1-2 times a week, and once used they go in the nappy bucket to be washed. In our nappy bag, I have a small wet bag with a few dry wipes in it and a small bottle of water. The great thing about the reusable wipes is you only really need one, as they are much more absorbent and there’s far less chance of getting poop on your fingers!

For face wipes, we store them dry and wet them with water when needed. When we’re out and about I have another small wet bag and fill it with one or two wet wipes. At the end of the day, they go into a small bucket with a net bag and get washed with the rest of our normal washing. The reusable wipes are probably the most value I’ve got out of a product as they have lasted for two kids and still going strong after seven years!

Thanks for reading, we appreciate your time and enjoy being able to share our plant-based tips and lifestyle with you.

Stay safe and eat some plants!

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Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or health professional. I have completed a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and have done in-depth research about plant-based living. The information I trust is mostly sourced from medical professionals that are leading the way in this plant-based revolution. Check out my recommended page for more info.