Family Favourite: Easy One-Pot Jambalaya

Oddly enough, I came across this post in my drafts folder – it was one I started writing three years ago and I recently rediscovered this family favourite recipe. This easy jambalaya used to be on regular rotation on our family dinner menu and then we suddenly stopped making it. On reflection, I think this coincided with the time we got food poisoning from chorizo (from a different dish) and we both went off it for a couple of years!

I have been making this jambalaya for so long, I have no idea where the original recipe came from. Over the years, it’s evolved as I’ve made various tweaks, amendments and additions, and will probably continue to.

We love to serve ours with a fried egg on top (in fact, I consider this mandatory), and it’s one of our favourite comfort food meals. If you have children, be sure to read the tips at the end for making it more family-friendly.  Continue reading →

#MeToo (#AllWomen?)

I’ve been reading about Harvey Weinstein and the subsequent #metoo movement with great interest, in awe of the women bravely stepping forward, including a number of my own friends. I had decided not to participate in the #metoo campaign myself. I’m fortunate that I’ve never been seriously physically assaulted, and I didn’t want to deflect any attention away from the women sharing their own stories and horrifying accounts of sexual assault.

Then it struck me as a little absurd, that I would think that my own experiences were inconsequential and not also connected to a broader, problematic culture that results in girls and women being hurt – physically, sexually, emotionally and mentally. And as I thought about this further, I got annoyed at myself, and then annoyed with a society that leads us to believe that our personal experiences are just a normal and to-be-expected part of being female… And now here I am, with another ranty blog post. Continue reading →

The health and wellness bubble of privilege

I cannot say how relieved I am that winter is finally over. This one was particularly shit, and saw me get the flu twice, a chest infection, and then, a couple of weeks ago, end up in hospital with pneumonia. The kids didn’t come through unscathed either, with a resurgence of asthma and chest infections. As I’ve spent most of the last fortnight lying in bed recovering, I’ve considered throwing the towel in on this blog, and Instagram, largely because for me, feeling unwell = feeling down = low motivation = what’s the point?

But then an online post which suggested that people who complain that healthy eating is expensive just have their priorities wrong got me fired up again and reminded me why I started this in the first place: because I love food, and I also have things to say about food (and other stuff). I must be feeling better, because the urge to rant has returned.

This period of illness brought to a head something that has irked me about the health and wellness sector over the last few years, in particular a couple of ‘key messages’ that I see and hear regularly:

1. That food is medicine and prevents illness
2. That healthy eating isn’t expensive – it’s just a matter of personal choice and responsibility; and people just need to get their priorities in order!

Continue reading →