I got my first event invitation as the Editor In Chief of Tums 2 Tots last week. While I’ve been to my fair share of great events for Pregnant in Cape Town, it was somehow different to go to the Jungle Oats breakfast as a magazine owner, editor and boss lady type. I was nervous and beyond excited and felt super proud putting on my name badge. I got one of the regular Tums 2 Tots writers, Leigh Geary (of The Mom Diaries fame) to attend with me, keeping me company and “representing” my brand (HOW grown up?!).
I had the BEST time!! Jungle Oats is celebrating their 95 year anniversary this year; I find that hard to get my head around in today’s come-and-go business environment. And even though I’m not a cereal person myself (sorry!!), the Jungle Oats tiger and the “breakfast of champions” slogan are ingrained in my memories from the time I was as little as Charly, and have a deeply South African connection in my mind.
The event was held in Woodstock at the Capsicum Culinary Studio, the biggest professional chef school in South Africa. I loved the set up, the Jungle Oats displays were done gorgeously and the stunning Fabrizia from Match Creative was just lovely. There were some familiar faces that I loved seeing, including Sarah from The Mommy City, Charlotte from The Stiletto Mum, Hayley from Hayley’s Joys, and Monique from Oh Darling Days; and some lovely new faces, from Get It Joburg, Your Family, Living and Loving, Woman and Home, People magazine, My Bread and Almond Butter, Ashleigh’s Kitchen and a whole lot more I am forgetting now.
There was time to socialise and drink yummy Apple Crumble and Blueberry Granola smoothies or fresh fruit juices or coffee, and then we all headed into a great room with small island counters with 2 chairs each and a great raised cooking station up front (with large screens on either side). The stations were set beautifully, and Leigh and I had a quick debate about whether we were going to be the nerds and sit right at the front of the class (my natural instinct) or head right to the very back like the naughty kids (which we settled on).
The Jungle Oats marketing introduction was entertaining and interesting and I really liked what they had to say. As a non-sporty child who grew into an even less sporty adult, I kind of love that their new campaign is more focused on anybody achieving great things with the right preparation (and nutrition) “no matter what kind of champion you are”. I also love the #BigLife concept, where they emphasise the importance of breakfast as essential for sustained energy for mental and physical readiness with the tagline, “Have a good breakfast, you have a big life ahead of you”.
Essentially, I am now a full-fledged fan. They even introduced me to ways I can eat oats by getting the amazing Zola Nene (Twitter and Facebook) (for people who don’t have TV like me, she is the chef and food stylist on TV’s Expresso and is the most awesome personality) to share some great recipes with us, and then she even cooked them right in front of us – I can tell you first hand that every single thing tasted and smelled even better than it looked!
Zola was joined on her podium by the sweetest nutritionist, Joanna Wilson from Eat Live Play Dietitians; who tried very hard to convince us that the yummies you can make using Jungle Oats products will be fine because we would, of course, only eat them in moderation (self employed work at home mom laughs at the term moderation). In all seriousness though, it was really nice to listen to her input on the ingredients Zola used to make the incredible creations she did! And now I am going to show you pictures AND share the recipes with you (because I am awesome like that)!
They started out showing us how to make the Oats and Raisin bread that was on our counters – it was a crumbly cakey consistency and really tasty.
And then the heaven that was Zola’s Spicy Baked Eggs with Oat Flapjacks – No words for how YUM this was!
Then some great coffee and handmade Granola and cranberry buttermilk rusks – yup, drool…
And then we were all so full, and they cruelly made these Chocolate Crunch Brownies. These were quite literally the best thing I have ever tasted EVER!
AND THEN! Yes, there is more! They sent us home with this incredible goodie crate 😀 For real, it was a CRATE of goodies. Charly was almost as excited as I was when she saw it and declared constantly during the photos, “This is Charwy’s present hey mommy”. Yes baby girl, this is one present I would love for you to make yours with all the healthy wholesome energy it holds. And when I convince daddy to make those brownies, then mommy will take that present.
Thank you so much to Match Creative and @RealJungleOats for hosting such a wonderful morning and even more so for inviting me to share in it!
Anyway, that’s all for today. I have so much else I want to share and I am hoping to get time to do some of the writing this weekend. Overall, I am incredibly busy but absolutely LOVING the work I am doing.
The magazine is coming along nicely, I am working on upgrading the business directory, the shop still has lots of precious little things for sale. I am securing some incredible columnists to cover everything from food to fashion for kids for Tums 2 Tots Online, so I really hope you are following along on my journey over there. You can also follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
If you missed it, this week’s All I want for Christmas was for the men in your life! And next week is all about ALL THE BOOKS!
Sending all the love xx
4 replies on “Living the #BigLife with Jungle Oats”
What a great write up of a fun event. Agreed, it’s a positive move that Jungle Oats has included all interests besides just sport, as every child excels in their own unique way. Congrats again on acquiring Tums to Tots – busy mom doing amazing things!
Thank you so much Sarah <3 It was so lovely to see you again! Next time we must actually try catch up a bit! xx
I’m sucha huge jungle oats fan so I cannot wait to try these recipes out!
Thanks for the share
You are very welcome! I can’t really explain how DELICIOUS they were!! x