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Healthy Heart Community

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Healthy Heart day was a community effort on Feburary 29th. We are lucky enough to have Kaz and Ariana from The Collective Training as part of our centre whanau, and they were invited in to take our tamariki through their own PT session. Kaz put the tamariki through their paces with the aid of Kaiako Neil, as they worked through different exercises to strengthen their muscles and get their heart rates up. Tamariki really enjoyed working out, and even carried on after the session was done. 

Kaz enjoyed his time with the tamariki and noted that he heard similar comments from them, as they do from their adult members, such as "My knees hurt" and "I'm getting so sweaty". Physically active play is such an important part of a tamariki's learning and development. Activities like these provide an opportunity for tamariki to develop their large muscles, strength and co-ordination. To develop flexibility and hand-eye coordination. 

To be confident in controlling their bodies, and understand that physical activity is fun and can release tension. Nutrition is also important to keeping our hearts healthy. This is something our wonderful cook Jen understands, and as a special treat for this day she whipped up the Healthy Heart Beetroot Muffins. You can find the recipe at the bottom of this post if you would like to make these at home. Other activities that day included dancing, face painting and creating healthy heart artwork. 

The tamariki were also excited to arrive to a centre decorated in red balloons, red streamers and red hearts, and dress in their red clothing. Event days like this are a great opportunity to invite members of our community in to contribute and share their wealth of knowledge. They are also an opportunity to showcase the various talents of our kaiako who love sharing their passions with the tamariki. And above all a great chance to have a bit of extra special fun! 


Healthy Heart Beetroot Muffins

Ingredients: 

  • 2 Eggs 
  • 3 tbsp Oil 
  • ¼ cup Plain yoghurt 
  • ¼ cup Milk 
  • 2 tbsp Brown sugar 
  • 1 cup Grated beetroot 
  • 1 1⁄3 cups Wholemeal flour 
  • 2 tsp Baking powder 
  • ¼ tsp Ground cinnamon 

Method: 

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C 
  2. Mix the eggs, oil, yoghurt, milk, sugar and beetroot together in a bowl 
  3. Blend with a stick blender until smooth 
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a different bowl and mix to combine 
  5. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined 
  6. Spoon mixture into a greased mini muffin tray 
  7. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through 
  8. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the tray and cooling completely on a wire rack.

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