Health & Wellbeing News
Finch: Self-care app
The Finch app is a fun and motivating way to build better self-care habits by making self-care habits a game. You raise a cute virtual pet bird—called your “Finch”—that grows and thrives as you take care of yourself (kind of like a Tamagotchi, but directly impacted by your own self-care habits)! It can help teens, young people and adults who struggle with self-motivation, mental health difficulties, autism and ADHD take better care of themselves in a light-hearted and interactive way.
How does it work?
🐣 You start by hatching a digital bird, naming it and giving it a personality. You can dress it up and choose how it looks.
As you set self-care goals and make progress on your self-care goals, your Finch grows and unlocks new adventures, accessories and rewards. The more you complete your self-care tasks, the more micropets you hatch to tag along and grow with your Finch!
What’s it good for?
🌿You can track your mood, set your own self-care goals (e.g. brushing teeth, showering, eating), journal, create sleep routines, and use the guided mindfulness activities suggested by the app.
💰 Finch is FREE – please note there are paid plus versions with additional features, so please monitor your child’s use of the app to ensure they don’t sign-up to a subscription.
📱 Finch is available on iPhone, iPad and Android devices on the App Store and Google Play Store. Links located here.
Condensed Milk Fruit Salad Cheesecake
As with many recipe that we feature in our Newsletter, the following Fruit Salad Cheesecake comes from the web-site, Australia’s Best Recipes. To join the website go to www.bestrecipes.com.au. It is free to join and provides a wonderful and informative range of recipes, food ideas and other information for you to use at home.
With zero baking involved, make this canned fruit salad and condensed milk cheesecake ahead of time and leave it in the fridge in the cake pan until it’s time to release, slice and serve. Lovely, light and creamy, with sweet pops of fruit, you’ll be glad you made this one.
How to make a condensed milk fruit salad cheesecake: key tips
The butter and biscuit crumb combine to make the crumbly base of this cheesecake. You can use the back of a spoon to smooth it into the base of the cake pan, but I always find that the base of a straight-sided glass works wonders, and less pressure is required by your fingers.
Make sure you pop your prepared base into the fridge for about 30 minutes so that the butter hardens up and the base becomes nice and firm.
Before adding your canned fruit to the cream cheese layer of your cheesecake, be sure to drain the fruit well, or you’ll just end up with an undesirable sloppy filling. Top with the remaining cream cheese mixture and smooth the surface. The whole thing then needs to go into the fridge for at least a few hours, but preferably overnight, so that it firms up enough for you to be able to slice it.
Step 1
Lightly grease a 24cm springform cake tin with butter and line the base and sides with baking paper. In a food processor, blitz biscuits into a fine crumb. Add butter and blitz until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and use a large spoon to press into an even layer in the base. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 2
Wipe out the bowl of the food processor, then add cream cheese, condensed milk and vanilla. Process until smooth.
Step 3
Place 2 tbs boiling water in a small bowl and sprinkle over gelatine powder. Whisk with a fork until gelatine is completely dissolved. Add to cream cheese and blitz to combine. Fold through whipped cream.
Step 4
Pour half the cream cheese mixture into the prepared tin on top over the biscuit base. Drain fruit salad well and layer over the cream cheese. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture and smooth over the top. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight, to set.
Step 5
Just before serving, release the cheesecake from the tin and carefully remove baking paper and transfer to a serving plate. Slice and serve.