Meet brownies and ice creams that are good for you

What if your brownie could deliver three healthy serves of vegetables? Or your ice cream could help boost your daily fruit and veggie intake?

These sweet treats aren’t usually associated with healthy eating, but researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) have found a way to turn them into "nutrient-packed powerhouses" designed to help thousands of Australians battling a painful and debilitating condition.

Almost half a million older Australians suffer from slow healing venous wound ulcers, a condition known as 'Leaky Legs', which is a persistent weeping of lymphatic fluid through the skin.

The condition is associated with a depletion of nutrients and places individuals at risk of malnutrition including protein deficiency.

Recovery can be helped by good nutrition, so encouraging older people to get enough nourishment and protein is key to speeding up the healing process.

Scientists from ECU's Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute (NHIRI) have teamed up with Australia’s largest not-for-profit provider of in-home aged care, Silverchain, to start trials with weekly food box deliveries.

This way they can eat “supercharged” and delicious whole foods, not supplements or ultra-processed extracts. For example, one average sized chocolate brownie contains three serves of vegetables,” ECU senior lecturer and head of the Future Foods and Digital Gastronomy lab Dr Liezhou Zhong said.

The team uses cutting-edge food science, combined with the expertise of professional chefs, to incorporate fruit and vegetables into the tasty treats.

“We want to make it easier for people to have a healthy diet," Dr Zhong said. "So we developed our ‘future foods’ ice cream and brownies by packing more fruit and vegetables into a regular serving size, but also a high-protein content, to promote good health and support healing.”

Other "delicious and appealing options" on the menu, such as lime cheesecake gelato, vegetable soups and muffins, have been carefully developed and selected to align with food preferences of the participants.

"If patients experience the benefits first-hand, this may be an easy and practicable way to improve their overall diet quality in the long term, which is essential for wound healing, reducing hospital readmissions and keeping people healthier at home," ECU’s Professor Josh Lewis said. .

The project is a collaboration between ECU’s NHIRI, Silverchain, Curtin University, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Royal Perth Hospital and is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Image: BookyBuggy

Brown Brothers reveals new al fresco dining area

 

The Brown family has always been big on hospitality - and now it has a new offering at its headquarters in Milawa, north-east Victoria. 

The Arbour is a new all-season outdoor dining space in the lovely gardens surrounding the Brown Brothers cellar door.

It is described as a "casual take on King Valley dining bringing together Mediterranean-inspired share plates, seasonal local produce and Brown Brothers wines in a relaxed garden setting".

Visitors are encouraged to come for barista-made coffee and something sweet, to settle in for lunch and shared plates, or to linger over a glass of wine paired with something from the wood-fired oven.
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The Arbour is open seven days a week, with bookings and walk-ins welcome.

Cambodia and Vietnam open new border crossing

Cambodia and Vietnam are strengthening links in a bid to boost both tourism and trade. 

The two south-east Asian nations this month opened a new international land border crossing, news hub Travel Mole reports. 

The Khanh Binh-Chrey Thom international border gate links An Giang province in southern Vietnam with Cambodia’s Kandal province, providing another gateway for travellers and commercial traffic between the neighbouring countries.

The crossing is expected to simplify journeys for residents and international visitors while supporting logistics, commercial exchanges and cooperation between border communities.

It could also make it easier for travellers to combine visits to Cambodia and Vietnam within a single trip.

The opening comes as Cambodia is in conflict with another neighbour, Thailand, after border skirmishes.

The Khanh Binh-Chrey Thom opening follows the inauguration of the Muen Chey-Tan Nam international border gate on December 8, 2025, linking Cambodia’s Prey Veng province with Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province.

Image: vietnam.vn

Shardonnay anyone? Brits keen on wine names for their kids

Wine-loving Brits remain keen on giving their children vinous-related names - but their spelling is not always spot on. 

An analysis by trade newsletter the drinks business found that Margaux is now the most popular wine-related name for a baby, having overtaken Chardonnay, which grew in popularity after a character of that name starred when Footballers’ Wives aired on TV in 2002.

db analysed three decades of birth registrations in England and Wales looking for names borrowed from a grape, a region, a style of wine or the label of a famous bottle. 

Where parents had spelt the same name in different ways, they pooled the variations and counted them as one name, so the six spellings of Chardonnay and the three of Sherry each appear only once in the rankings. 

Margaux comes out on top with 922 registrations, every one of them a girl. The name barely registered in the late 1990s, when it was given to four babies in 1996, but it climbed steadily through the 2010s and reached a high of 102 in 2024 before easing to 88 last year.

It is also the French spelling of Margot, of course, so db says it is impossible to say how many parents had the Médoc commune or its first-growth wine in mind.

 
Chardonnay, in second place with 631 registrations across its six spellings, came in as Chardonay, Shardonnay, Chardonnai and other bizarre spellings. 

Sherry was third with across Sherry, Sherrie and Sherri, followed by Shiraz, Tawny, Cristal, Syrah, Tuscany, Petrus and Champagne. 

There were also three unfortunate boys named Dionysus after the Greek God of Wine. That's cruel. 

Lufthansa Group spreads its wings

The fast-growing Lufthansa Group is to add another airline to its collection. 

The Portuguese government this week selected Lufthansa’s offer in the privatisation process for TAP Air Portugal.

With the intended initial acquisition of a minority stake, Lufthansa Group is pursuing a clear strategic agenda: to support TAP Air Portugal’s growth while preserving its national identity and to sustainably strengthen Portugal’s connectivity, Lufthansa said in a statement. 

Lufthansa Group airlines are: Lufthansa (Germany), Austrian Airlines (Austria), Brussels Airlines (Belgium), Swiss International Air Lines (Switzerland) and ITA Airways (Italy).

“TAP Air Portugal is a strong and profitable airline, our long-standing partner in Star Alliance and internationally successful as a leading carrier on South Atlantic routes," says Carsten Spohr, chairman of the executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. 

"It is known for its outstanding employees and has a compelling business model. 

"With today’s decision, the Portuguese government has paved the way for TAP Air Portugal to continue this success story together with Lufthansa Group. 

"At the same time, this allows us to consistently pursue our internationalisation strategy and sustainably strengthen our position in the South Atlantic market. Our company has enjoyed a close and trusted partnership with Portugal for many years. 

"For decades, we have invested in the country, created and secured highly skilled jobs, and connected Portugal with Europe and the world. We look forward to a shared future with TAP Air Portugal and to continuing our constructive cooperation with the government in Lisbon.”

Lufthansa Group has offered a purchase price of €1.025 billion for a 44.9% stake. This amount could increase to up to €1.2 billion for the acquisition of a 49.9%. 

Lufthansa Group airlines currently offer 353 weekly flights to six destinations in Portugal. 

Geelong hotel takes a stand for mental health

It is good to see a hotel taking action to benefit the community. 

Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong by IHG has partnered with Deakin University for a project called Help Change the Future of Mental Health Research. 

Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong will donate $1 per guest night over three years from October 1, contributing to a PhD scholarship at Deakin University focused on studying schizophrenia and related mental health disorders.

The contributions will fund the Franze Family PhD Scholarship in Mental Health Research, supporting an emerging researcher at Deakin IMPACT to identify and repurpose existing medicines as potential treatments for schizophrenia and related disorders.

Deakin IMPACT is one of Australia's leading mental and physical health research institutes, with more than 400 researchers developing innovative diagnostics, treatments and therapies.

Hotel general manager Kruno Velican said initiative is a way to extend the hotel's positive impact beyond guests' stays, noting that individual contributions of $1, multiplied across thousands of guest nights, could collectively fund meaningful research.

“Hotels are ultimately about people," Velican says. "We welcome people through our doors every day, look after them for a night or two, and hopefully make their lives just a little better while they are with us. 

"I kept asking myself: could we make that impact last beyond their stay? This partnership is our answer. For the next three years, every room we sell will contribute to research that may one day change someone's life. One dollar isn't a lot on its own. But one dollar, multiplied by every guest, every room and every night, becomes something powerful.

“Schizophrenia and mental health don't affect only one person. These disorders touch families, relationships, and entire communities. Behind every diagnosis is a human being, and around that person are people who love them and hope for a better future. We cannot conduct the research. We cannot discover the treatment. But we can help someone who can."

More on Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong at the hotel’s website.