Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

As an adult, wife or mother, you’ve probably heard it all before. But do you actually apply these tips when you go shopping? With women it’s often about the mood they’re in, not so? If I’m in a responsible-wife-and-good-mother-mood I will compare prices and tick off all the products on my very proper shopping list. But beware when I’m in a I-am-woman-hear-me-roar-mood, then I’ll do as I please… and explain myself later *small voice*

• First things first: If you are trying to cut down and save up, Woolies is definitely not the place for you.
• Seasonal fruit and veggies are cheaper than imported fresh produce.
• Buy your fruit and veggies from a farmer’s market or a Everfresh / Fruit and Veg Store as their products are cheaper. Don’t fall for convenience – the beautifully packaged, diced vegetables are usually way more expensive than buying them loose.
• Always compare prices when buying fruit and veggies. A packet of potatoes or tomatoes might be cheaper than buying them loose or visa versa.
• Compile a proper shopping list and stick to it. By buying everything you need at once you cut out double trips to the shop. By making repeat visits to the shop you will most probably end up buying products that didn’t feature on your shopping list in the first place.
• Make sure you’ve eaten before you go shopping. It works!
• Always compare no-name brands to brand products. Sometimes the brand products are actually cheaper.
• Buy bulk wherever possible (cleaning products, tinned foods, toiletries etc.)
• Make use of Dischem to buy all your cosmetics and baby products. Their card system guarantees some money back and their prices are usually good.
• If you are a Discovery Vitality member, apply for your HealthyFood card – you can actually get money back when shopping at Pick ‘n Pay.
• Look out for specials and make use of coupons.

For some reason most men find it super hot when women save money (it makes us look clever , I guess) while women prefer being super hot with whatever it was that they’ve just spent his money on (lingerie or a new outfit, perfume, a new hairdo)!  Use this tip wisely, you can thank me later.
*wink*

Vivacious Noeleen Bridle has got so much energy that she simply needs to share it with us. A perfect picture of health, this experienced personal trainer holds intriguing secrets to a leaner, meaner you. Noeleen’s business, Strength & Mind, is all about sharing the knowledge and wisdom she has gained in her life time as an athlete, and using this as a tool in her quest to maintain health in body and most of all mind.

After having left a marriage with two children, no education and no income, Noeleen was forced to work with what she knew best – namely exercise. “My commitment to numerous forms of physical exercise in my youth gave me a good grounding in being disciplined. As I have pursued my interest in weight and fat loss I have realised just how much the mind, your past and what you have been predisposed to, are linked,” she explains.

An initial capital gave her a chance to work independently. “I am a one-woman show so I only have my time to sell, but this does give me enormous peace of mind and the chance to work hard at what I do. It really has paid off, as my clients always come back to reinforce what they have learnt and trust.” Noeleen’s philosophy is quite simply based on logic: know your body and link it to where your mind is right now.

What is unique about Strength and Mind is the fact that Noeleen is not selling a quick fix more often than not is hard to fix, but she is giving you the tools to make progress in the most important department of your life: your health.  ”My product is an everlasting one. When you embark on taking charge of yourself through your food choices, you gain inner strength and power that can never be taken away – a quick route to advancing your mind.”

Noeleen often works with people grouped according to fitness and ability, and this is where a lot of sharing and education takes place. “My interest in correcting behaviour through food choices means that loads of parents are now investing time in changing their lifestyles and also those of their children. Fatness and obesity is going to be compounded unless something is done from the time the child is born, and I am making sure that I spread my information far and wide,” says Noeleen.

The challenge Noeleen has is to make sure that she invests her spare time in sleeping. “Getting up at 3.15 am every morning requires catching up! But I feel it is my purpose to impart what I know, so my reward is that each person is forced to listen to me and will advance in his or her own time.”

Noeleen says success is relative and she simply feels successful because each day she is satisfied with what she is doing and how she goes about it. “Having a successful business is all about knowing your product,” she says. “And working within such a diverse, vibrant, energetic community – as well as knowing that each corner of our country consists of such people – makes me Proudly South African.”

So what’s the best tip a health and fitness mentor can give us? “Never ever eat light or diet products. And look after your family, friends and your body,” says Noeleen. “And remember – it’s never too late. I’ve trained a woman of 65 who ended up with only muscles.”

Now ask yourself what your personal trainer is really teaching you. Because what will sustain you daily, you will learn from Noeleen at Strength and Mind.

For more info tel 083 546 2044 or e-mail noeleen@eastcoast.co.za

Superjerm actually wrote the article below a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t publish it because I thought that the cooking bug that I contracted all those weeks ago (that he talks about below)would have disappeared by now and the lust for cooking would be null and void. But I’m proud to say, tis not the case. *Gobsmacked expression*. I’m still cooking up a hurricane and so herewith, I present to you, Superjerms personal account after the first week of my cooking bug:

I’m not sure how it happened but the Phuthu lady’s passion for cooking has been awakened……!

I doubt it’s the numerous cook books we have in our bookshelves, the recipes she posts on her websites or the take away saturation levels we’ve reached…….perhaps she thinks I am wasting away and needs to fatten me up a bit!

From someone who’s most adventurous cooking escapade was tossing a few frozen crumbed pieces of fish plus a few spuds in the oven to someone who cooks better than Nigella!

So, for the past week, I’ve had 5 course meals every night, I’ve already put on 5 kgs and am budgeting on another 5 by the end of the month! My scale whimpers when I look at it and our dishwasher groans at all the dishes it has to clean!

My diner now consists of:

Starters
Some tasty soup – pea and bacon, carrot and ginger or broccoli & lemon

Post starter
Deep fried Halloumi

Pre Main
Yummy home made fish cakes with coriander and spring onion dip

Mains
Better than Mama Lucianos home made meat balls and sauce.

Post main
Fillet with Avo on couscous and red wine jus

Pre-Dessert
More of all above

Dessert
Too packed to even eat a smartie

Every night is something new and exciting, can’t wait for tonight!

Little does he know that I’ve also had my eyes on a delicious pair of leather boots from Zoom for the past month. It’s called “cooking-for-boots”. Hee hee, just kidding.