Moira Tobin - Duck's Back - move.grow.cook & Thermomix

25/04/2026

Our Anzac Day is different to yours.

This memory pops up every year, written by my sister….

~~

On Thursday, April 25 1968, I woke early with my 5 siblings to go to mass at Saint Johns in Mitcham, as we did on ANZAC Day.

My brother and I bounced happily into mum and dad’s bedroom to say good morning. Dad was on the floor, not in bed. I thought he was playing.

At that moment, our lives changed forever.

Dad had suffered a heart attack.

He died hours later.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Dad was 41 years and 2 months old. He was a non smoker, non drinker, hard arse squash player, fit as a fiddle.

Sometimes life is just not fair.

I remember being told that “daddy had gone to heaven.”
But no one told me it was forever.

Our remarkable, beautiful mother lost her husband and was left a single mother to raise 6 children aged between 14 and 3.

What an incredible woman she was.

I wake this morning, 58 years on. WE feel so sad.

I wish I could turn the clock back.

I send much love and many hugs to my 5 siblings

Lest we forget 🙏🏼

20/04/2026

Often I pause before posting thinking photos are not perfect or styled....

In a world where there is confusion about what is real or not I have decided that being not picture perfect is a good thing.

Let’s celebrate average and being (un) real.

For many years I’ve been buying my kids an ‘experience’ rather than gifts for Christmas

On Sunday we redeemed our On-A-Boat voucher and as a family of 9 we had a little tour along the Yarra River.

I have always wanted to visit Herring Island. I even considered it as a venue for my 21st birthday. So happy to finally tick the little tour off my ‘must do’ list.

I asked the kids to eat breakfast at home and to BYO their own water bottle. I’d bring snacks for our little adventure.

This is what a zero waste picnic looks like.

I supplied crockery and cutlery from my kitchen.

I did use disposable napkins….they were all odd ones that I’ve collected from planes or cafes and I just want them used.

The menu consisted of:

Croissants (purchased in a cardboard box - not enough time to make)
Chia puddings
Medjool dates
Freshly made peanut butter
Granola
Kasoundi
Rocket/parsley pesto
Blueberries
Yoghurt
Honey (locally sourced)
Cheese (cheddar and brie)
Sliced tomatoes from the garden

All goodies were packed in recycled jars and obvs the Thermie had a workout prior to departure.

There are no tables on the boat…just a tiny space to place my bread board.

Yes it was cluttered but it worked.

Dishes and cutlery went in the dishwasher when I returned home.
Croissant box is now in my recycling bin.
Napkins are in my compost bin.

Oh and we had planned to go out for coffee afterwards BUT the local cafes only had take-away cups and this zero waste momma wasn’t about to support any business that trashes our planet. We all went to our respective homes and made one instead. Saving me about $60.

We had fun.

Weather was perfect.

Loving that we are creating memories, not waste.

Moira x

15/04/2026

I’ve had a bit of a topsy-turvy few weeks…..

Last year, after being a Thermomix Consultant for 13 years, I took a giant leap and raised my hand to become a Team Leader. I said I’d trial it for six months and then reassess.

After almost ten months, I have done just that.

I have needed to spend some time on my own.

Over the past few days I have chatted with close friends and confidants and whilst walking have listened to inspiring podcasts.

And I have also spent time listening to my own intuition.

In doing this I have come to the conclusion (for many reasons) that the Team Leading role wasn’t filling my cup.

The hundreds of ‘open tabs’ and that ‘must do’ list each night have interrupted my sleep and I was feeling so totally stretched.

I’m still a mum of four and help my husband with his business. My volunteer work is very important to me.

I sometimes need a clone.

So, it’s now official.

Over the next two weeks I’ll transition away from being a Team Leader and will be stepping back to my happy place of ‘just’ being a Thermomix Consultant.

I have just 8 more sales and I will be introducing you to my 1,000th Thermomix customer!

Yes, I really do love and am committed to growing my Thermomix business and sharing my move.grow.cook message.

Living simply.

I feel like I’ve been missing in action in this space. I’m so happy that I’ll soon be back to (hopefully) inspire you all to live with less

As always, thank you for your support,

Create your great week.

Moira x

15/04/2026

My latest little project/s.

The Girl Who Saved The Frogs gifted me a little hand made scourer. I have used it when I take a bath (which isn’t that often) so it is still in a very good condition. 🐸

It got me thinking about making my own so I can also gift to family and friends.

As kids we were never allowed to watch tv unless we had ‘something in our hands’ as mum would say.

And, it wasn’t a digital appliance!

At an early age we were taught how to knit, do tapestry and sew our own clothes.

These days, when I am a passenger in a car or if I’m on a zoom meeting I can make one of these scourers in approximately one hour. They are ‘rough’ on my hands so I won’t be making every day.

How I do love them. 💜

When they are past their use-by date I’ll pop them in my compost so they can be reincarnated as living soil!

No micro-plastic remnants in our food or drains.

One step closer towards zero waste.

Kelly, thank you for the inspo and pretty please can you keep your Thermomix busy and start making your delicious soaps again?

Moira x

13/04/2026

When the largest content creator in the Philippines visits your home to make a reel with you simply have to take the opportunity and introduce her to the Thermomix!

Darcy asked to use my kitchen for two hours. New respect for content creators…seconds of footage took over half a day to film. I was exhausted just watching.

We loved hosting you …hoping you, Camille and your family enjoyed visiting Australia. 🙏🏼 I know we will meet again. Moira x

04/04/2026

Boing boing…

Hoppy Easter

Sticking with my annual challenge.

One way raise to raise your heart rate on a Sunday morning. Lordy.

Before you laugh at me, just try it. 65 steps almost straight up.

I’ll keep doing it until I can’t.

This is me at 61.

27/03/2026

My name is Moira.
I didn’t choose this name.
But, did it choose me?
In Greek Mythology Moira literally translates to ‘Goddess of Fate’.

It happened again.

Today I had plans.
They changed unexpectedly.
I was feeling overwhelmed with life.
My cure?
Get outside.
It is solved with walking.

Within minutes, I spotted them.

For more than 3 years a group of us have quietly been hand weeding sites along Gardiners Creek - re-planting indigenous grasses and shrubs.

Boroondara Council recently acknowledged our work and installed a sign saying “Revegetation Area. Help This Site Grow. Please keep off”.

For the first time living in Ashburton I can hear (and see) wrens.
For the first time in 20 years I have heard frogs at this exact site.
Kookaburras visit.
We have spotted blue ladybirds.

This morning Melbourne Water contractors (ironically called Platypus Environmental Services*) ignored our Council signs.

Their ‘tiny’ small sign (from one direction only) said Environmental Works In Progress.

You may have thought they were doing something good in yOUR neighbourhood.

But no.

We had torrential rains last night and more rains are expected this weekend.

You can see in the video below how much the water level rose along Gardiners Creek last night.

Today Platypus Environmental Services contractors were spraying the Herbicide GARLON along the embankments of Gardiners Creek.

Please Google GARLON and Safety Data Sheet.

It clearly states ACUTE AQUATIC TOXICITY CATEGORY 1.

Google ACUTE AQUATIC TOXICITY CATEGORY 1 and this is the overview:

Acute aquatic toxicity - Category 1 (often H400: "Very toxic to aquatic life") is the most severe GHS classification for short-term environmental hazards. It signifies that a substance causes acute, lethal injury to aquatic organisms (fish, crustaceans, algae) at very low concentrations

The Safety Data Sheet for GARLON clearly states:

Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.

The Safety Data Sheet clearly states:

Environmental precautions: Prevent from entering into soil, ditches, sewers, waterways and/or groundwater. See Section 12, Ecological Information. Spills or discharge to natural waterways is likely to kill aquatic organisms.

We chatted with the Platypus Environmental Services ‘contractor’ and asked if he knew anything about wind speeds and the recommended guidelines? The LAW.

He didn’t.

The Safety Data Sheet clearly states: when using GARLON herbicide you are not to spray when wind speeds exceed 15kms per hour.

As they were spraying I recorded winds at 22.2kms per hour.

On the 27th of March 2027 I cannot believe I still have to write about how yOUR community is being poisoned.

As the leader of 3147 Love Our Street (organising monthly community clean-ups for physical rubbish) I’m even more horrified at the INVISIBLE LITTER that is contaminating yOUR community.

More needs to be done.
WE can do better.

We can can do better.

Moira.

PS. NO. BS. Platypus Environmental Services began operating in 2008, specialising in river restoration to enhance platypus habitat. Platypus provides services across the full life cycle of natural resource and river restoration program works. Combining our people capability and resource capacity we specialise in delivering a diverse range of high-quality environmental services, undertaking all aspects from pre-planning, permits and consulting to delivery, maintenance and post-project assessments and reporting. (DIRECTLY QUOTED FROM THEIR WEBSITE)

MMelbourne Water@platypusenvironmentalservices
CCity of BoroondaraYYarra Riverkeeper Association

27/03/2026

Everyone is talking about the COST OF LIVING.

Can we please reflect for a moment on the COST OF DYING.

My surname is TOBIN…I might have some insight. 😂

Today I visited a supermarket just to take photos of the ingredients in Hot Cross Buns.

Please take a look at the pics below.

Limited edition Doritos inspired cheesy jalapeño hot cross buns?

Insert swear words here! 🤮 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

On Monday night at 7.30 please join Amanda, Bec and I on Zoom for a fun and educational session on making Hot Cross Buns in your Thermomix.

There are heaps of recipes to choose from on Cookidoo but we are sticking to the basics and making this one: https://cookidoo.com.au/recipes/recipe/en-AU/r69093

You are welcome to grab the ingredients and cook along with us!

Here’s the zoom link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/xGN7N-9kQNagPN4k9E5VJg

Happy weekend.
Moira x

26/03/2026

🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Join us and I this Saturday for the .camberwell Open Day (12 Camberwell Road). We will be there to talk all things health and fitness and as a former PT we all know it begins with food. That’s where we can help with the Thermomix !

Can’t wait to meet you.

🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

25/03/2026

When I grow up I really don't want to be a social media influencer.

This is how my Saturday was spent.

Last week Darcy received a call from the largest content creator in the Philippines, Abi Marquez wondering if he would like to collab on a shoot.

He said yes.

You can see he is just slightly excited.

Darcy (aka The Steak Lad) asked to use my kitchen between 1-3pm.

When he arrived before 9am I may have lost it a bit and, he didn't leave until 7pm!

I had lots of work planned and a virtual Thermomix demo booked (thank you Caroline for understanding/putting up with ALL the madness!).

It was fun watching to see how these videos are created - it really is such an enormous amount effort. Don't know how they do it tbh.

However, I think the end result looks absolutely fabulous. Take a look by clicking on the link below.

And of course I had to demonstrate the Thermomix to
Abi Marquez. We made a dessert...she likes treats. 🥰🍦

Was fabulous meeting you Abi (and Camilla). Totally loved your energy and professionalism. Well done Darcy.

Moira x

In today’s video, I was fortunate enough to cook a Steak with one of the most recognised content creators in the world, 👸The only catch was tha...

13/03/2026

For existing Thermomix owners I know you also want a discounted second bowl.

Your turn begins in April so start preparing now.

Host your own PTTS (personal Thermomix training session - some call it a demo) and invite a few friends.

You plus two (guests) is a qualifying demo.

Your place or mine.
Face to face or virtual.

Should anyone purchase a TM7, bonus!
The price of your second bowl for you will be $229.

If there is no purchase a TM7, bonus!
The price of your second bowl will be $329.

The reaction when I say to people can be noooooo, I couldn’t do that my friends are not interested. Once a customer said to me "you can come over but I don’t want any brochures, no sales pitches …it’s just for me to learn more". I behaved. From memory I left her place with two new clients, maybe three.

I WILL NEVER SELL THE THERMOMIX. THERE IS NEVER ANY OBLIGATION.

I will however share the knowledge about living simply, growing food and cooking preservative free meals. Simple changes to become an ingredients kitchen rather than purchasing products that replicate food.

Let’s chat.

My mobile number is very easy to remember.
ZERO
FOUR
ONE
EIGHT
TEN
ELEVEN
SIXTY-SEVEN

Create your great weekend.
Moira x