Lots of news over here at Natural HQ.

I was thrown out of a nightclub in New York for dancing, which at 36 made me feel 18. I wasn’t aware that we were in Footloose territory, but apparently some clubs have a license for dancing and others don’t.

Seems a bit cruel to play amazing music and then not let people dance. Also seems impossible to follow the rules when you are having a girls’ weekend away for the first time in a year. Mums on the loose have always been dangerous! At the back of my mind, I did wonder if we were thrown out for dancing ability (or rather, lack of it …) but let’s not go there.

Back home, I stepped straight back into the terrible threes. Little Belle played around with tantrums last year, but it seems she was just warming up for the Real Deal. Today’s foaming-at-the-mouth incident occurred after I didn’t put her socks on all the way to the very end. It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry in that scenario. I have opted for being the calming/soothing mummy, but occasionally stray into losing-my-mind territory at the end of a long day. Don’t go calling social services or anything, my temper tantrums nearly always take place by myself in the downstairs loo. No toddlers were hurt in the writing of this column.

I did worry that these little domestics would break our bond, but after waking up to Belle snuggling in next to me and whispering “I love you my mummy” I was reassured. This precious moment lasted approximately three seconds, before Chloe crashed in, wiggling her front tooth at a 90 degree angle. At exactly the same moment, one of the cats peed on the bed. Glossing over that little gem, by the time I picked Chloe up from school, the tooth was hanging on by a thread. And finally, in Brown & Co., it was evicted.

Back home, I discovered the neighbour’s cat in my kitchen, hissing at our cats and eating their food. After chasing it around the house and trying to scare it without psychologically damaging our own, the only reasonable course of action was to pour myself a large glass of wine. I stuck the children in front of the telly, calmed down the cats, swept up the mess — and cooked the kind of dinner that makes me feel like Martha Stewart.

One hour later, by the time my LH walked in through the door, everything was a little more serene. Dinner was ready to go and piping hot. What’s more it was delicious and got approval from the children. They’d been asking for tacos for ages and I wanted to try a kind of “pulled chicken” alternative to pulled pork. After a friend gave me an amazing Bermuda lime, I had whipped up a marinade for the chicken and popped it in the slow cooker that morning. All I had to do later was thicken the sauce, heat up the taco shells and prepare the “extras.”

I use chicken thighs (skinless/boneless) for this recipe because they are super soft and easy to shred when you cook them for a long time. I also try to buy organic chicken and thighs are much cheaper than chicken breast.

Thigh meat has a bad rep for being higher in saturated fat and cholesterol, but I would be more worried about the saturated fats in processed and fried foods. And in reality, if you have chicken thighs once a week, it’s no big deal.

This marinade is great because it just uses simple, clean ingredients that impart a really tasty flavour. The chilli powder adds flavour but not spice, so if you like things hot, add your choice of hot sauce.

As for cooking — a slow cooker is just about the easiest thing ever, but you can also cook it in the oven in a casserole pan. If you would prefer not to do taco shells, cook some brown rice or quinoa and use that as a base for a burrito bowl.

I’d love to know what you think of this recipe. Pop on over to the Facebook page and let me know how it worked out for you.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is the Managing Director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a Registered Dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda