'Carried Away' - Melody Moon

*as published in Issue 7 Rattling Reviews Magazine

Carried Away is the second CD by Melody Moon, following 'Little Hopes'. Once again Melody woo's her audience with her soulful voice, relaxed disposition and moving tone.

There are no words that clearly describe the wonderful, serene and heavenly feelings this Australian Alternative Folk singer/songwriter leaves you with or the places she takes you. Melody Moon has a voice that floats around your aura placing you in a surreal moment of relaxation and pleasure. Two words that constantly come to my mind are floaty and dreamy. As her CD spins around I take in every word and sway to every beat in a dreamy, floaty, relaxed, hypnotized state. I  imagine lying on a cloud listening and loving, being 'carried away' to Melody's world of nature, happy thoughts and bouncy beautiful belongings. This album has rightfully been named.

Melody Moon has a sweet distinctive voice. Accompanied with the sounds of guitar, cello, ukelele, glockenspiel, trumpet, double bass and drums she fills your heart with love and respect for nature, life and those around you. To be in a room with Melody Moon is to feel her honest presence and her heartfelt love for life. Melody Moon is a blissful breath of fresh air in an industry that often gets 'carried away' with the hype and hysteria of  teenage cult and fan based following.

Beautifully presented, the cover art to 'Carried Away' compliments the album. It places you in the floaty, relaxed mood that is within found its sound. With its natural colour tone and use of nature it shows the true personality of this artist that will soon be in demand at all local venues and festivals. Melody Moon is currently captivating her audience as she tours Australia, leaving all touched to the core of their soul.

For further details on Melody Moon, tour dates and to purchase her two CD's visit www.melodymoon.com.au

Review: Jennifer Deaves

five:am

*as published in issue 7 Sept 2012 Rattling Reviews Magazine

Rattling Reviews Magazine 

 

Organically Teasing and Tantalizing the Tastebuds

Waking up at five am is not for everyone but with the five:am organic yoghurt range mornings are surely made easier.

Surfer and long time yogi David Prior was inspired to create a product that allowed him to have a clear ecological conscience during one of his early morning moments of clarity. Thus was born five:am – the new purely organic yoghurt range that preserves the environment through every aspect of the production process.

“It’s just as much about what’s not in our food as what’s in it – there are no hormones, antibiotics, herbicides or pesticides used in our yoghurts. Better yet, five:am allows indulgence without regret as part of a healthy, active lifestyle,” says the chief yoghurt dude.

The range boasts six delicious flavours including vanilla bean, Greek style and low-fat mango prepared to perfection within the uncompromising confines of a natural manufacturing process.

The yoghurteers behind the latest organic offering have refined their yoghurt technique to create yoghurts free from gluten, gelatine, preservatives and starches with no artificial colours, flavours, stabilisers or sweeteners.

Proudly Australian owned and operated, five:am uses only the best natural and organic ingredients, sourced locally from fourth generation West Gippsland farmers Peter and Wendy Wallace.

Not surprisingly, the Wallace’s daily routine starts around 5AM also, as they prepare to milk the 160 Friesian cows that roam freely around the farm, helping themselves to minerals found at the “breakfast bar” on the sprawling property. The cows are so much a part of the family that each has its own name.

This self-serve philosophy is one of the key differences between milk (and ultimately yoghurt) provided from organic farms.

“Cows know what they need. They’ll go and select herbs and minerals that have the nutrients they need to ensure themselves and their milk are healthy,” says master milk maiden Wendy Wallace.

“For us, organic farming is about remembering how our grandfathers generation farmed, rather than implementing new technology. It’s about getting back to nature, understanding how it works and how to work for it.”

“The milk our cows produce each day has the same cream component as conventional milk minus the toxins, meaning they don’t end up in people’s cereal bowls. Yoghurt lovers will notice the difference in the richness and freshness straight away” she explains.

Prior agrees, noting, “not all yoghurts are created equal. The power of pure, organic yoghurt is to indulge without regret.”


OMG! I am in coffee heaven, where my first reactions when I tried the five:am coffee bean organic yoghurt. Soft on my palette yet aromatically tantalizing the yoghurt danced on my tongue as the coffee flavour hit the spot. What a way to start the day or brighten it mid way with a natural high, without the guilt. Five:am Coffee Bean organic yoghurt provides the smell of a fresh cup of coffee, teasing your nose follicles as you eat. I found the individual serving of 170g just enough to satisfy the stomach and leave me with the feeling of 'aaah! That was good'.

With my five:am coffee bean experience sitting freshly on my mind I felt a need to explore the full range on offer. Not to be disappointed I soon went from flavour to flavour. From Strawberry to Vanilla Bean, Honey + Cinnamon and Natural, I found them all to be soft on the palette with just the right amount of flavour. Five:am organic yoghurt was enjoyed by my whole family. With the new squeezy range now in stores even the little ones can get their taste buds tantalized. My five year old kept coming back for more and more, to the stage that I had have to limit the amount she can have a day.

So what did some of our Rattling Reviews team have to say about five:am.

“ A smooth, light and tasty texture. Being lactose intolerant I don't eat a lot of yoghurt but the five:am coffee bean yoghurt left me cursing my intolerance, wanting to be able to experience the guilt free indulgence time and time again” - Samantha Lo

“I am a regular yoghurt eater, usually making my own. I thought five:am was very smooth and creamy. I liked the vanilla bean and natural best. The strawberry was nice as was the Honey + Cinnamon but I wouldn't eat the coffee bean because I am not a coffee drinker. I look forward to trying the natural yogurt in some recipes.”- Joan McNamara


“I am not a yoghurt eater so was not keen to try five:am. To my surprise I quiet enjoyed the taste and texture, with the vanilla bean and natural being the best.  Five:am have changed my  ideas about yoghurt.  I can confidently say I would be satisfied eating five:am one on a regular basis.” - Terry McNamara


Flavours and sizing ranges from the 700gram tubs (RRP$6.49) of Vanilla Bean, Honey + Cinnamon, Natural and Greek style through to the delicious 170gram Low Fat Strawberry, Honey + Cinnamon, Low Fat Mango, Low Fat Blueberry, Vanilla Bean and Coffee Bean (RRP$2.29). All packaging is 100 per cent recyclable.

A visit to the five:am website leads to another experience that takes you on the journey from the concept to the yoghurt birth.  We found the website to be bright and bubbly whilst being  factual, funny and informative. Our visit left us feeling very welcome and confident in the product we were buying. By the time we left  we felt that we had personally grown to know both the owner and company and that our choice to buy organic, and five:am, was one that would not only benefit us health wise but benefit   our  whole family and the environment as well. As stated on the website “ Healthy people, healthy planet”

Another bonus to the website was the recipe tab. Here one can find tasty ideas that cover all meals of the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. All recipes use natural wholesome ingredients that can easily be purchased at the grocery store.

Making five:am part of your daily ritual is making a healthy organic choice that not only benefits body and mind but keeps your taste buds dancing the day away.



five:am is available for purchase exclusively at Woolworths, Safeway and Thomas Dux grocers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

For more information visit www.fiveam.com.au, join them on facebook www.facebook.com/fiveamyoghurt or follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/fiveamyoghurt

article: Jennifer Deaves
          

photos: Sharyn Cairns, Andrew Maccoll and Martyn Miller

Podee BPA Baby Bottle

*as published in Rattling Reviews Magazine

Reducing colic and ear infections in babies

The day you have been dreaming of has arrived. Your bundle of joy is in your arms and you are finally home to start your life together.  All goes well for a while until the colic sets in, the screaming begins and you, as a mum, feel helpless. Any mum who has experienced a baby with colic, or ear infections, knows only too well how miserable it makes bubs, and mum. It is a trying time for both. One that finds you searching the internet and trying any remedy on offer, just so you can have a nights sleep.

The Podee BPA Baby Bottle may be the answer to your prayers. The Podee allows you to feed baby in an upright position, reducing colic and reflux by preventing air from entering. Pediatricians also recommend feeding your baby in an upright position to prevent ear infections. The Podee BPA Baby Bottle is a hands free system that is ideal for the parent of multiple babies or of a child with special needs.

We trial ran the twin pack of Podee Baby Bottles which we found to be of a good size ( 240mls each ) and well made. The plastic has a smooth feel to it and is shaped to fit nicely in the hand. Being able to be used as a held ( will not relieve colic ) or hands free bottle leads itself to versatility. With the bottles meeting all safety standards and being lead free, PVC free and BPA free you are guaranteed you are using a product that will leave your baby safe and happy.


Our team of review mothers where divided in their feelings about this bottle. They loved the idea and  colic free device but wondered if it could lead to the loss of bonding and contact with the child if taken advantage of. Feeding is one of the joyous times between child and mum. There is the cuddles, eye contact, talking and caressing. Although a great tool that is definitely needed on the bottle market, relieving the debilitating pain of colic, could it be overused by those who do not need it for medical reasons but see it as freedom for themselves?  This, of course, is not something that individuals or the bottle manufacturers can  control and does not reflect on the Podee Bottle itself but is something our reviewers, as mothers, hoped would not happen.

The bottle system was given to each  individual reviewer with the instruction paper and they were asked to put the hands free feeding system together. All struggled at first but agreed that once they had done it once it would be a breeze there after. Some stated they felt all the parts and tubing would be annoying to have to carry around if going out for the day it was a unanimous agreement that for the sake of the comfort of their child this would not stop them from buying the system, mum's will always put health and welfare of their child first.

The Podee Baby Bottle Twin pack consists of two plastic baby bottles, 2 adapters, 2 disks, 2 nipples, 2 cap rings, 2 6.5” plastic tubes, 2 11.5” plastic tubes, 2 nipple covers and 1 tube cleaning brush. It is a complete kit that once sterilized has you ready for a comfortable upright feed where ever you are. We found it easy to use, in the car, at a friends, in the pram and even whilst shopping. Used with the long tube it is ideal for the young baby and can continue to be used when the child is a toddler using the shorter tube for colic relief or if the child is now colic free as a normal feeding bottle. 

Overall we were impressed with this system and can see the huge relief it will provide to many families. We found it easy to use once assembled, with no extra sucking effort required by the child to get the liquid to the teat through the extra tubing. We found it suitable for water, juice, breast milk and formula. Packaged and presented in a box as a complete kit it would make the ideal gift. It can be purchased at a cost of $34 from  www.blamethebaby.com.au .

Also available:

Podee medicator - a great little attachment to pop onto the end of a medication syringe so that your little one can easily take their medicine through a standard teat instead of trying to suck it in off a syringe. No more drips and no more tears.

Podee bottle insulator and holder - suitable for any standard sized baby bottle! Quality insulator with a gorgeous teddy to keep your baby happy and peaceful.