Christmas Wrap Up

So its Xmas eve & the turkey is getting fat... well actually thawing to be truthful.  Today is mostly a cooking day as all pressies are bought & wrapped, food shopping all done & drinks chilling.

I'll make a few sugar-free deserts for the kids & I, which I'm sure others will enjoy.  We have an abundance of bananas, so will make some ice-cream & some muffins for sure.

Having just returned from camping with friends & their children I'm so proud of my kids for sticking to  sugar-free & failsafe diet so well.  There were a handful of marshmallows toasted on the camp fire, but only white ones & just one shortbread each - so that was it for sugar.  I remained sugar-free & didn't cave to the group pressure or even chocolate left open on the bench.  I just don't feel tempted these days, I'm so happy to eat foods I know will be good for me.  Staying on a farm we got to eat farm bacon (without nitrates) & fresh picked veggies.  I was even shown how to make sourdough bread & have come home & started my own culture... so watch this space for further disastrous bread attempts!! Clearly not my forte but no one could call me a quitter.

We were on a subsequent Amines & new Nitrates challenge which from sons perspectives would be be a pass, but after getting home & reaching day 4 once again my daughter clearly failed - I would say Amines only at this stage.  Its the 3rd Amines challenge we have done & each time she has gotten defiant, stroppy & unable to control her bladder - wet bed & couple of accidents in day time.  I appear to be ok on Amines, as any symptoms I got were from the salicylates in wine or sulphates :( (I wasn't technically challenging myself this week)

... Well Xmas Day is over for another year & a lot of fun was had by all.  The kids were made up with all their gifts & my super happy little man was just amazed at the whole event & so grateful, not one tear or wrong doing all day.  Madam on the other hand was a tad testy but enjoyed things when they were going her way.  Before they went to bed Xmas eve they left food out for Santa & his reindeers & it was magical to see their faces in the morning when just crumbs & carrot tops were left.  Mr.5 did question why we were leaving sugar biscuits out & a mince pie - which I explained away with that you don't get a tummy like Santa's unless you eat sugar.  He said he didn't want to get a tummy like that (I hope Santa was listening).  But given Mrs.Claus actually did all the hard yakka this year it might have been fairer to leave some sugar-free treats instead!!

Sugar-free sweet treats that I made for the big day were some Banana-Choc Muffins, Cheesecake & a Christmas Fruit Cake/Loaf.  A tradition for my family has always been to have shortbread in the morning & as I'd gone for the convenience of shop bought sugar ones for camping the kids had 2 each of those & I sampled one. In the grand scheme of things I would say 1 commercial biscuit for the year was acceptable.  Had I bought enough butter I could have made some myself with dextrose.

The Christmas cake turned out pretty good flavour-wise & substituted pudding for the 3 of us. It didn't rise quite as well as I'd hoped but texture-wise was dense & pudding-like.  The others actually didn't even eat their commercial pudding that they were insistent on buying.  But I can imagine that will get devoured after the cricket & beers tonight.  We had ours with fresh cream & was tasty enough to go back for a second helping & will be polished off again today.  I will post the recipe on my facebook page later.  It was one I conjured up to be sugar-free & semi-failsafe by bastardising a Christmas cake recipe from Sweet Poison Cook Book & a banana loaf recipe of mine.  It omitted spices, so no salicylates, & alcohol, so the kids could eat it.  Most of the sweetness comes from the banana, pear & swede (YES swede) so just a little dextrose & RMS is required.  In hindsight I should have added baking powder to assist rise.

All in all I would say we have had success in remaining sugar-free & failsafe over the lead-up & festivities.  Had we not been dealing with challenges & strict failsafe during this time I would have been more stalwart on sugar too for the kids but somethings gotta give when time is precious.   Below I'll list a few things we have done to limit sugar & take focus away from food, to share & record for next year.

1. Use an advent calendar in which you can put small novelties instead of chocolates.  I put in handmade hair ties, Trashies, erasers, costume jewellery & Christmas tree decorations.  Next year I might breakdown a Lego kit to be built each day for my son which I saw a friend had done & looked more exciting.
2. Provide kinder teachers with a small bag of alternative treats (marshmallows & caramels for Failsafe) to swap for candy canes given with cards (that I wasn't able to get to myself first & remove!).  This was to limit additives (colours), but in future I would provide stickers, pencils, small toys in lieu of food to avoid sugar.  
3. Provide/bake own Xmas party food.  This included Reindeer Gingerless Breads, Shortbread Stars/Trees & Carob cupcakes in green & red wrappers, with white dextrose icing. 
4. Give craft activities to do at Xmas parties to limit eating time e.g. Making reindeer food (decorate boxes, fill with oats & glitter), decorate a card, wooden tree ornament or christmas hat

Mostly though I'm happy to say this Christmas I did not go with gluttony.  I tried to limit what we bought, however the other half insisted on some "normal" Christmas food for him & visitors, which meant there was more than we really needed.  I did not however go to bed with an aching belly & exercised restraint myself when it came to indulging.  I ate extra food a little later in the evening than a normal day as drinking but I would hope the scales don't show that when I do my next weigh in.  I had bought a new pair of summer shorts just last week to replace the ones I bought last year - they are fitting very comfortably - happy to say they are the exact same brand & style, but a size less!  I'm probably only a couple of kilos less, but there's definitely been no gain in weight over the year.  

Due to Failsafe & Amines in particular I was conscious I didn't want too much excess food to be left over & devoured in the week proceeding.  Even with the smallest Turkey there's loads left.  So I've frozen some of it to prevent build up & same with muffins I made a full batch of.  The excess bananas from a double-up purchase, I've sliced up & frozen for use as ice-cream/cooking.  I will however be limiting Miss.3's intake of all that given her reaction. 

Now as ever in the post-Christmas wind-up its how to get creative with turkey & ham!  This morning we had Egg & Ham pies for brekkie.  For lunch cold turkey, potato & ham salad (with homemade garlic mayo - yum!!)  Tonight we had Spring Rolls from the Friendly Food recipe, but with turkey instead of veal.  They were a big winner, will be making that recipe again, but try chicken or add other veggies. 

So wrapping up this post, I trust you have all had a happy christmas time & wish you all a very merry new year.  Meanwhile if you have any suggestions for creative turkey recipes please comment below to share. 

Spread it!

There seems to be a steep rise in momentum on the Saturated Fat vs Sugar debate as the cause of obesity & increase of chronic diseases.  Whatever the reason, lets keep that train rolling.

I'm on the Sugar is evil side of the track & love my butter thickly spread!

A couple of recently aired doco's on Australian TV have most likely perpetuated the broadening to the greater general public & rise in interest.  The first is "The Men Who Made us Fat" a BBC series from the UK.  The second is ABC's Catalyst "Heart of the Matter Part 1 - Dietary Villains".  Both visualise & reinforce the reading matter I've been gripped by for almost 2 years now & advocate avoiding sugar & seed oils in favour of saturated fat, who until now has been widely dubbed the heart attacker.

Governments worldwide & the Heart Foundation villify Saturated Fat still as they have for many years, having ignored John Yudkins Sugar warnings & taken Ancel Keys flawed Fat theory as gospel. Generations have been eating Low Fat, Omega 6 rich, fructose sweetened & highly manufactured "foods" - creating an obesity epidemic & a haven for chronic diseases to exist.

If this makes your blood curl then get on board & sign the petition from Get a Fresh Start/The Big Fat Truth :

Heart Foundation: Stop giving advice and promoting food that causes heart disease!

If you simply just want to know more about this & eat healthier for life yourself then a good start is to read Sweet Poison, followed by Toxic Oil.  Both layout the information for the layperson, simplifying a lot of the scientific jargon.

We can't change the last 40 years, but lets change the next 40 years

40 is quite a significant number, for myself as that birthday looms & also for the 40 years of damage we have all been doing to our bodies.  Just watching The Men that Made us Fat - 1974 seemed a year of major change in the way my nation ate.  So consequently I knew nothing different, until I discovered Sweet Poison.  I grew up on those British ads like "a finger of Fudge is just enough" & "Milky Way, the snack to eat between meals", no wonder I was misled to believe it was ok to just have a bit of a sweet treat.  But its the addiction to sugar & our bodies inability to say no to more & more fructose that makes us fat (& sick).  And thanks to an abundance of the sweet stuff in our society & the food industries desire to get rich - we got fat.

The doco points the trigger finger to Earl Butz.  I ask - "Did this man make our Butz big?"

It appears he certainly made a BIG impact on the way Americans & consequently their foods spread into the worlds everyday food.  His slogan "Get Big or Get Out" to Farmers, should have simply just been "Get Big" to the rest of us.

A subsequent key turning point for the US & the other countries that followed suit was the 'Ancel Keys vs John Yudkin' debate of 'Fat vs Sugar' as the cause for weight gain.  The former over-ruled & discredited the British scientist... who had his finger on the pulse way ahead of his time.

We could wish if only that had been different maybe this obesity epidemic & subsequent "new" resulting illnesses would not be so endemic in our new world.  History is what it is however, so for the sake of our own health & that of our children lets not ignore Yudkin once more.  "Pure, White & Deadly" is an insightful read, add to your booklist this year.  Then lets look forward to the next 40 years being healthier & conscious.

Many will choose to continue the path they are on & many think that fat is only external & a measure of gut girth.  Whats clearly shown in the documentary that is worth for ALL to note is "internal fat".... fat that sits around your vital organs.  You can't see it, but if you've been eating sugar pure or hidden for most of your life you can bet its there.  I for one plan to continue reversing those effects... & preventing this happening to my children.  So all you potential TOFI^ wake up & smell the Coffee - straight black decaf probably safest for now!

On a lighter note - heres a yummy Fructose-free & Failsafe dish that I conjured up for lunch today:

ChiQuinoa Dish

Rinse 1 large cup of quinoa, cook in boiling water.  Meanwhile finely chop about 1-2 inch of leek, & crush a garlic clove.  Sauté both in butter until soft.  Add some finely chopped cooked chicken* & 1/2 cup of vegetable stock**.  Mix together well.  Add the drained quinoa, some chopped parley & toss together.  Serve warm.

This made a filling lunch for myself & 2 kidlets. You could also serve as a side dish.

Simple ingredients & very yummy.

*    I keep cooked roast chicken meat sliced up & frozen in ziplock bags for sandwiches.
     It makes Failsafe that little bit more convenient.
**  I boil up Failsafe veggies to make stock & freeze to use in other meals.
^   TOFI - Thin Outside, Fat Inside.

Save our children, and lead them not into temptation

Having just attended what must be the 7th party of the last 2 months, with yet another on the horizon I'm staggered by how much sugar is offered, let alone consumed, along with other foods that could affect sensitive/food intolerant kids.  I'm convinced most people are blissfully unaware what the fuel they are filling their kids with is doing to their developing little bodies.  Else surely they would not been filling them with such poor quality fuel, yet still expecting high performance results.  I see parents getting frustrated with their childrens behaviour & lack of skill or development compared to peers yet not linking the two.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm still on a journey of discovery myself & was squarely in this camp over a year ago.  Nor do I think food is the answer to everything & that environmental & hereditary factors do have a part to play.  But with the little in-roads I have made on this adventure I see improvements in my own health, my childrens behaviour, skills & health to believe I am on track & do not want to go 'home'.  'Home' was a place where sugar was comfort food, it was in abundance as it was also hidden... I was addicted, I realised that when I found myself pulling up the kitchen bar stool to reach the top shelf to nibble on the cooking chocolate to get my fix.  My kids were probably born addicted & I fuelled their addiction when they turned their button noses up at meat & veggies, by sweetening it with fruit!  I knew that the chocolate & gluten-free biscuits I consumed were no good for them, & didn't allow chocolate until their 2nd Easters but they certainly filled their booties on packets of raisins, honey sweetened muesli bars & kids veggie yogurts.  With education I realise these were all sugar in disguise.  They don't have them now & they don't miss them. Their taste buds have adjusted.

At yesterdays party I provided all their food - not because of sugar as I have said "sugar is for parties only", but because we are on a failsafe journey of determining food intolerances.  In doing so though I am able to provide some sugar-free replacements.  They had some chicken & cream cheese sandwiches, a packet of 'french fries', a cocoa & cashew brownie, a carob cupcake with dextrose butter icing ilo birthday cake, then marshmallows & caramels to replace the lollies in the pinata.  Not everyday food, save the sarnies, but safe from our perspective & awesome from my sugar-free point view.  I just asked my 5yo how he felt that he had different food to everyone else - he said "a bit sad", but that he knew "it was healthier than what they were eating".  So what were they eating that was so bad I had to avoid:

• First  up were party pies & sausage rolls - meat of unknown source, most probably pork, so contains Amines & most likely sulphates to preserve. The pastry would most likely have antioxidants in the oils...  also be vegetable/seed oil which I try to avoid. There was cheap tomato sauce in abundance so that also includes salicylates in tomatoes, lots of sugar & red artificial food colourings. 
• Next on offer was fairy bread - cheap white bread, most likely containing bread preservative 281 or 282, topped with 100's & 1000's of every artificial rainbow colour there is, not to mention 99% sugar.
• Bowls of coloured jelly sweets & marshmallows were laid out for all to devour at their own pace (which for some was like lightening!).  
• Bowls of crisps were also on display, these were 'Salt & Vinegar' or 'Chicken" - so artificial flavours & oils I wish to avoid.
• Then came the cake - a pink iced rainbow sponge - again colours, oils & sugar.
• Glad to say the only drink on offer to them was water.

For the adults the food selection was entirely different & served out of the party arena.  Plain rice crackers, water biscuits, hummus, cream cheese dip, carrot & celery sticks.  Funnily enough the majority of this was devoured by three pint-sizers who couldn't wait for the kids fayre, mine among them.

My aim is not to criticise what others choose, but I wish to enlighten them, this however I do not know how to do.  I feel I am being ostracised for my kookiness with food every time I discuss it, so now I just do my venue/host calls discreetly prior, take along my food substitutes, swap it quietly & feel gratified my children aren't making a fuss & accept that this is the way it is.

I've been an avid reader of Damon Gameau's blog following the journey of That Sugar Film he's making.  I was glad to see that for his last Sugar meal he chose the standard lunch/snack pack as provided to preschoolers.  I hope that when this film is released the masses will watch & see that 'hidden' sugar & perceived 'healthy' food is killing us, increasing waistlines, feeding addiction & creating unhealthy habits in our children.

The food in his pack is they typical food I see being fed to kids daily.  When I say daily this is a typical lunch pack for daycare, playgroup or kinder.... not even the obvious sugar that comes with weekly birthday parties, playdates & cafe pitstops.  The birthday parties I accept, although there are so goddam many of them, but they are special to the individual & should be celebrated.  The playdates & cafe pitstops are the killer.  To keep preschoolers entertained it is nice to go to a friends house or meet at a cafe, park, or even day trip or excursion but kids don't seem to be able to go anywhere without food being part of the deal.  Even if your own kids can hold out for a couple of hours normally between snacks/meals, once they see others they feign hunger & begin badgering for food.  I try to be prepared & take food thats suitable with us.  I do not want to miss out on socialising, so take this extra effort on board to be able to participate & offer alternatives, but do wish that our society catered for health & not death, just to make life more convenient.  

And in case anyones wondering... I'm ok with my son feeling a bit sad as I'd prefer that & he learn that its for his on good in time than being hindered by the fuel he eats & acting out accordingly, which believe me will make him feel a lot sadder in the long term if he is constantly being told off or simply in pain & discomfort.

I am finding the failsafe adventure very enlightening.  So far we have discovered that after being on elimination for 3 weeks the nervous tic disappearred.  It also leads to nice behaviour & any "naughtiness" is resolved with normal parenting, whereby I'm not exacerbated by kids continuing to act up & ignore me.  We are also having better inner health & in the case of my son he is more confident in dealing with his own business & showing independence finally.  Put us back on high Salicylates & the tic returns after 24hours & the unfavourable behaviours increase steadily.  We only lasted 4 days before I pulled the pin, given the tic was the main reason we are doing Failsafe.  During our holiday we maintained elimination then challenged a couple of standalone foods - hot chips, tomato sauce & ice-cream - all of which caused symptoms for him, thus will avoid for now & re-challenge properly when we've completed both Amines & Glutamates trials & determined a 'safe' Salicylate level.  We're on day 6 of Amines challenge & so far so good for the kids, but I think I'm feeling effects with headaches & reflux, but as I have the tail end of a head cold need to re-challenge in time.  I've been warned to watch out for the build up, so maybe when we increase amounts tomorrow as the Dietician recommended I will see issues (if any) with kids more clearly.  I am hopeful they pass as it will make meals a bit easier storing & cooking-wise for meats, but also add bananas (& ice-cream made solely from it) to our current fruit list of 1.  Better than that I can start using animal fats for cooking with again & some REAL homemade chips.  I'm salivating over the thought of a big juicy pork chop tonight.... yummmmm.

It was sugar awareness that led us down the Failsafe path & I do see the foods intrinsically linked (even though Failsafe still says its ok to have sugar) because in general to me sugar comes pre-made & packaged thereby it has all the other nasties like additives & chemicals with it.  By avoiding packaged foods & returning to a more wholesome & fresh diet we are eating better & benefiting from it.  This no-one can deny, even those most adverse to my kookiness.

Back to Baking Again

Got home from our weeks holiday to discover a power outage which meant 2 thawed fridge/freezers... & failure to record my soaps!  The latter I can catch up on via internet. The former was more frustrating as lost so much food & in particular some of my baking.  So its been all systems go in my kitchen again getting back to baking... & basics... been on Failsafe Elimination for 10 days trying to clear out some of the holiday food challenges... & subsequent symptoms.

Now the travel & birthdays are well & truly over, I'm baking with a vengeance.  So following this Failsafe Elimination since we returned from holidays means thats there been a lot of back to basics cooking, & with birthdays over the convenience go-to's which included sugar are O-U-T OUT!  For the first couple of weeks of Failsafe I relented a little on the sugar for the kids so I could grab a couple of packet items to help time-wise.  Now those are off limits & they are back to dextrose & RMS only added sweeteners.  The limited access to those two commodities in the UK left me a little rusty as I was hesitant to bake anything than my trusty oat bars or shortbread whilst there, but since back in Australia & even when away in Port Douglas I used RMS to make Oat Bars & Anzacs.  I have also adapted an old veggie muffin recipe & a cheesecake to be Failsafe, plus made some cup cakes for party replacements.  I've also experimented with natural food colourings for the birthday cake, & made it sugar-free.

I finally received my copy of Friendly Food so I'll be adapting by trial & error some sugar-free versions of any sweet dishes in there too.

I'm happy to see that Sweet Poison is now available in a UK version, which should mean on future visits glucose only sweeteners should be more readily available, well if the great British public take note of what David Gillespie has to say & stores come on board as they have in Australia.

Here is my Oat Bar recipe I'd like to share with you :

2 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup GF SR Flour
1/2 tsp Guar Gum
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Poppy Seeds
2 tsp Psyllium Husk
60g Butter (Unsalted)
2 tbsp Rice Malt Syrup
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Mix together dry ingredients (except bicarb).  In a pan melt butter, add RMS, bring to boil, turn off, add bicarb, mix well till fizzes up.  Quickly add foam to to dry ingredients & mix well. Spread into a buttered baking tray. Press flat. Bake for 15min at 150C. 

Score when remove from the oven into bars. Leave in tray until cooled, then snap & store.  I find they last a couple of days in the cupboard or much longer if I freeze & the kids have no complaints eating them cold!

Party Cake Creations in a Fructose Free & Failsafe World

[Pre-Post - One of those I didn't get to finish in my busy month of August]

As party season looms for my kids (Mums group birthdays) I need to get prepped not only with some low fructose foods for my own kids functions but to take to others parties that are failsafe & replace foods that won't be suitable for Elimination or the short-term.  Thankfully in one regard we are on holiday for a week during the core month, thus avoiding a birthday extravaganza for Mr4's 5th & only return a day before Miss2's 3rd... for which she is currently requesting a mermaid cake... I have to keep on my toes as this is likely to change again, last week it was a princess, the week before a fairy & last month Dora.  I won't invest in any specific cake moulds just yet!  If I'm prepared enough I should be able to keep it simple, bake a basic cake to freeze & decorate the day we return.

The decoration though is really just the icing on the cake so to speak!  The main concern is getting the ingredients right so it doesn't contain sugar, wheat or any non-failsafe ingredients.  I've begun perusing some of the Failsafe blogs for recipe ideas & hints on colouring with natural dyes.  The hardest part about a cake for my son is finding something failsafe on holidays, as I'm unlikely to access access to full kitchen facilities in our apartment.  I may have to forgo sugar in which case, or failsafe - I don't know which is worse at this stage?!!
A sugar high & long-term effects (plus repeating withdrawal) or irritated kids & returning symptoms?? 

We are going to a wedding that week also & I've already decided that I will use it as a challenge so we don't have to put in loads of food requests to the happy couple, wheat being the only one for myself & I'll avoid desert. The fall-out we'll deal with during the week.... hoping that fresh air, beach & swimming pool may assist in tiring the kids & keeping them happy.  

[Retrospective post of holiday & birthday foods]

So how did we fair?  We attended a couple of kids birthday parties in August whilst doing elimination. I spoke to the hosts & their venues prior with regards to their catered foods & in both cases decided none were suitable & provided my own. I made each of my kids the same special pack which was colourful & decorative.  When lolly "treats" were handed out, I made sure I had suitable alternatives to switch. 

For the holiday & my sons birthday we self-catered mostly & although not a holiday in some peoples eyes I enjoyed providing for my family & some reasonable behaviour & limited symptoms. We did treat the week as a bit of a "challenge" as we ate out a few evenings, including the wedding.  But because the week was mostly failsafe "challenges" stood out.  Those were tomato sauce, hot chips, ice-cream & more than 2 salicylates a day which all seemed to trigger unfavourable symptoms in Mr.4/5.  I struggled to find a failsafe birthday cake & definitely no sugarless one was available so as he didn't ask about it I got away with it. We did allow ice-cream that night, but paid for it with a bit of irritability & sleeplessness. 

Miss 2/3 was not going to let me forget about her cake though.  On the eve of her birthday she did predictably specify a design change & requested Dora - "too late" was my firm response as I had already baked the 2 tiers, acquired the decoration & designed a whole party themed on mermaids!!  As neither kid is showing reaction to wheat at this stage I used "normal" flour for a change, but used dextrose ilo sugar & carob for one colour section  & a natural spirulina colour for the other.  The latter was potentially not failsafe & decided mine would not eat that section. I used butter icing for 2 reasons: 1) it gave the rough effect I was after for rock & sea, 2) I could substitute icing sugar easily with dextrose.  I used a legless Barbie for the decoration, no not drunk!  I made her a mermaid tail (which could be re-used by my daughters new Barbie in play.  Then just some plastic sea-creatures to keep her company. This all saved a lot of effort compared to previous years attempts with rolled icing &  lollies to decorate... & a whole lot healthier!  None of the kids picked it was sugar-free - all dived in for the plastic toys though, thinking they were edible (much to my sons annoyance given his generous loan of them).  I did however use a blue sugar sprinkle over the top for water droplet effect, in future I'd shop ahead or try dying some dextrose or something. (I dusted this off the pieces I cut for my two).

I'm glad to say that I wasn't prepared enough to bake the cake prior to the holiday & freeze... because I would have been very disappointed as our damn power went out & both freezers were off for the week soiling a whole lot of food! Not a welcome return :(

I did however bake it a day before the party & freeze overnight, so when I iced it would be easier & the chill helped create that rugged finish as the butter icing set quickly.

All other party fayre was failsafe & only one item was sugar (a marshmallow as part of the tea-cups). I made chicken bites, teacups (dextrose shortbreads, marshmallows, carob/dextrose sprinkle), Philadelphia sandwiches,  a cheese cake & provided plain kettle crisps. Simple but sufficient. My party bags have never contained sweets, except one year I put in a chocolate ladybug, so that was the easy part. 

Label Literacy

Label Literacy. I'm learning something new & its from little letters written on the back of packets, every packet!

I was becoming very aware numerically before in Australia then in UK I had to get familiar with the names of additives. The resulting effects are my main concern & its helpful I've found a phone app (Additive Alert) that I can enter either number or chemical name into.  

In England I picked up a packet of Hula Hoops (crisps), an old childhood favourite (as you could wear them on your fingers before eating). However the last listed ingredient is Potassium Chloride (508)... which can cause a handful of ills, but most scarily says must not be given to children!!  These would be school lunchbox staples in the UK.

Once you become label literate - Beware: you will question everything in a packet.

When we were in the UK I couldn't be as bold to assume that our staple basic breakfast options would be sugar-free there just because they are here.  

Good job I wasn't - as standard Weetabix was 4.4g/100g whereas Shredded Wheat was 0.7g, a much better option - 100% Wheat (ok for kids at present).  Rice Bubbles here are 9g, their UK equivalent are 9.7g so marginally more.  This is more than 5g, my usual cut-off so I always opt for just puffed rice from the health food section instead.  Porridge Oats were just 1g.

Now we are home from our holidays we have started FAILSAFE Elimination diet in ernest.  This has necessitated me to be very label literate, I'm discovering new things all the time & limiting our food options as I do.  Following foodie forums has led to queries & therefore further interrogation by myself.   Being sugar-free one of the key alternative ingredients I use in baking is Dextrose (glucose in powderform).  One of the forums I follow posted a site which sells Dextrose, sulphate-free... I didn't know it wasn't... so is this an upsell on their behalf or is the Dextrose I use not sulphate-free?  For strict Failsafe it would need to be.  I contacted the manufacturers & they wrote back that their Certificate of Analysis for the Dextrose states that the Sulphur Dioxide Residual is less than 0.01 grams/kg. Therefore I would assume trace or negligible.  It is not listed as an ingredient, nor is its numeric equivalent 220. The only ingredient is 100% Dextrose Monohydrate.  Its not like we eat huge amounts of this stuff, I use less than a cupful in a whole batch of baked goods which are eaten over a few days, not daily treats.  But to question what we are ingesting is wise.

We have been recommended to follow FAILSAFE strictly, which means eating additive free & only items that are LOW in salicylates, amines & glutamates.  Even with a clear list from the dietician supplied from the RPAH Allergy Department, shopping is a minefield & so much more time consuming than being simply sugar-free.  I now need to read labels in detail to avoid a multitude of nasties & its not as easy as just shopping the supermarket perimeter & fresh foods, as at present pears are the only fruit we are allowed whilst on elimination, along with limited veg, plus most supermarket meats apparently can include preservatives  or are older (vac packed).   It necessitates daily visits to the Butcher for the freshest cuts & regular supermarket trips to keep full stock of the pantry staples to create meals with ingredients I have never used in these ways before.  I do not particularly enjoy shopping with preschoolers at the best of times, let alone more frequently or when I'm under pressure to buy specific foods without distraction.  The diet benefits have obviously not kicked in just yet as I really lost my cool yesterday as the irritations of the experience built up.  We're at day 8 today & the lightbulb moment has not yet happened.  I know it takes most people around 2 weeks before they see changes.  I also know I could be making some mistakes on the shopping given my distractions & I will endeavour to be more prepared before I hit the shops again.

The good news is the main meals I have created each day have been readily accepted by the 4yo, even with the vegetables he's never really tried before in. The 2yo, well she's 2 & eating is no longer her forte.  Thats said she's eaten better this week than I expected, given I've taken away some of her favourite "go to" foods.  

Itchy Bum Syndrome

Now not wanting to get crude here, but considering our dog has an itchy bum syndrome & is prescribed psyllium husk be added to her food, I'm a firm believer that the effects I can visually see from her would be benefiting us too from eating this fibre.  I often add it to baked goods in small amounts.

Now I have never been one to accept I have IBS or had it diagnosed, but do have recognised food intolerances... namely wheat by a lengthy diet elimination process (blood tests excluded coeliac), thus avoid like the plague.  My son is certainly aggravated by certain foods & has tummy aches among other symptoms so by pursuing a failsafe diet we hope to discover what.

I'm sure anyone with diagnosed IBS finds it debilitating & from my perspective I chose to get to the bottom of it, instead of bandaid with medicine like Immodium.  I know people that live on this medication.  I am never one to take something, without know what the cause is... I'm a problem solver first before a solution provider.

Coming back to visit UK & family I am seeing firsthand again those relatives that choose to medicate or live with symptoms as opposed to changing diet to avoid irritating foods. Gluten/Wheat-free is certainly not catered well for in England as it is in Australia - I feel lucky that I can easily find options in the supermarkets & cafe's back there, where as I am struggling here.  The flight was one of the worst places & I will certainly be providing some of my own snacks for the return 24 hour leg.

Just Lie Back & Think of England...

Mmmm Marmite, Mmmm Pubs, Mmmm Curry, Hmmm Coping with our Wheat-Fructose-Free way of eating in a holiday environment & company of well-meaning relatives.  I'm fearing to even think about the newly ventured additive awareness or possibility of the Failsafe Elimination diet.  Its so exciting to be heading back to the homeland & taking the little ones to meet friends & family but it does open us up to food choice "struggles" & criticism.

I've finished reading Fed Up... & am now perusing the Failsafe Cookbook, also by Sue Dengate.  I have booked a consultation with a recommended paediatric dietician & am open to what this may bring. I have no illusion that Failsafe will be an easy way of eating, but if we can use it to determine if there are food intolerances or causes behind certain behaviours then I'm willing to give it a shot.  Afterall if I can personally give up Wheat & Fructose & mostly manage the kids foods this way then I have a head-start.  The exceptions in the vision will be parties, I just have to be stronger on playdates, kinder & day trips when its become the norm that other kids get "party" food & "treats" are food-linked as opposed to the actual trip being the treat.  The trip to England will be a good test.  Though maybe harder with people that know me well, where I don't want to offend their life choices or my own upbringing, than with strangers or people that I'm not particularly phased if they think I'm being extremist.  At the end of the day though, my kids health & my wellbeing are paramount.

.....  So we had the dietician appointment today & she has recommended that my son follows the RPAH / Failsafe Elimination Diet STRICTLY as there are so many potential causes in his current diet that could point to certain behaviours he's exhibiting.  And that was said taking into account what we currently eat is pretty healthy, with the infrequent takeaway or occasional convenience meal.  This will mean eliminating even healthy foods (inc. fruit & veg) at first to determine whether he is affected by salicylates, amines, glutamates, preservatives, colours, flavours, gluten or dairy...

The dietician realised the difficulty of starting this immediately so we plan to do it the day we get back when I'm in full control of their intake.  The aim will be to do this as a whole family, not just my son.  I certainly glean to gain some insight from it for myself & am hoping that maybe it might pinpoint things to avoid for my daughter too.  It would be unfair to expect him to be limited so much & the rest of us still feast on his favourite foods.  Also its so full-on it will be wasted time if we don't do it right, to only have to repeat later if issues persist.

Meantime I will RELAX, "Read Labels" & pack!!!  With all this buzzing in my head it will be hard to switch off but necessary I think to deal with the flight, kids & emotions of seeing everyone we've missed for so long.

Its 4 years since I've been to England & I expect much has changed, it had the previous time.  I know I will be blown away by the choices in supermarkets & convenience options.  That said last time I found just GF hard to come by, I'm hoping they are more readily available now & that I will be able to find some sugar-free options too.  I just hope Mum is ready for me to make a mess of her kitchen as I expect I will need to be cooking & baking to limit a complete month of eating out & takeaways "just because we are on holiday".  To me a week, or two, is a holiday, a month is living, you can't sustain the gluttony for that long, without the sloth-like feeling kick-in.  I've undone good work at both Christmas & Easter & its taken me until now to get back to the pre-xmas weight.  Before when I've been back, there were sweets, crisps & chocolates bars I had craved & then indulged upon.  This time I will just fill my boots on marmite stocks (hmmmm maybe not for Failsafe homecoming) & proper English Indian Curries... if thats not a confusing concept to non-Poms.  One dish I'm salivating over is a Shaslik.... I have not been able to get one similar here in Australia.  Also some good Rogan Josh, Jalfrezi, Chat & poppadums the size of dinner plates.  I understand many English curries are uniquely created for Brits, they do not even exist in India or migrate to other parts of the world.  One restaurant visit per week should satiate that desire (who said you can't sustain gluttony when on holiday??!)

So before I head off to pack, here's a few good things I've discovered on my journey this week:
> Additive Alert - free app which is great for checking ingredients whilst at the shops
> Bakers Delight will happily print out ingredients of their bread... & even better do not contain nasty preservative 281/282.  The baker was very helpful & explained they don't add any sugar/oil either
> My son happily ate celery sticks I packed for kinder (an option for the Failsafe eating)

Fed Up & Fearing Forty

I'm having some OMG moments of late... firstly with increasingly hard to cope with behaviours from my 4yo, secondly discovering "Fed Up" books by Sue Dengate & potential correlation to former.... & lastly friends OMG fears of becoming 40... For me I have no fear but essentially aspirations - to be the fittest & healthiest I can, to be happy, looking onwards & upwards to the rest of my life & continued adventures with family in tow.

Prior to having kids I thought my health was generally ok, with the exception of effects of eating wheat which I discovered 6 years ago.  So with that avoided & the arrival of kids I was all set or so I thought, but boy do they take it out of you!  My energy levels often flagged but since going fructose free I'm on an even keel.  As I approach the big 40 I want to be as healthy as I can to keep up with them & give them the best I can.  Somewhere along the way in my food investigations (& behavioural strategies) I came across Fed Up & it triggered that there maybe some answers in there to help my little one & potentially me along the way.  I'm devouring the book right now, so will get back to some bigger blogs & recipe trials later.  The opening chapters are hitting home & I've made contact with recommended dieticians in hopes I'm barking up the right tree regards potential food intolerances.  To me it makes sense, the additives & chemicals in our post 1960's world must be having effects on all of us.  I feel there will be some correlation between the Failsafe Eliminations & Toxic Oil/Sweet Poison avoidances.  I hope so else this will be one hell of a change in eating habits!!

This will be hard, I have no illusions, however as I'm never one to resort to medicine before determining cause & prefer healthy alternatives where possible, I'd rather extremely change our food first.  In my recent discoveries I'm looking at food now as fuel whilst still trying to have fun with & enjoy it.  If its fuel then we want the right fuel in our tank to get optimum performance from it.  I liken wrong fuel to putting Petrol into a Diesel Engine where it causes internal damage & sluggish performance.

So although I've been a little 'fed up' of late I'm hoping that this is the beginning of an enlightening journey for us.  I'll take the steering wheel & try to pacify the backseat driver. 

PS. In case you are wondering I have 6 months to determine what ingredients will be in my birthday cake!



Fed Up: Understanding How Food Affects Your Child and What You Can Do About it

Ff...

F... My all time favourite letter.  I used to love writing it as a kid using calligraphy, now I have an affinity to it in many aspects of my life, especially in duplicate:
 - Fructose-Free
 - Full-Fat
 - Foo Fighters (favourite band)
 - F* F* (pet name for one of my family)
 - Furry Friend (what I often call my dog)
If I was a tattoo kind of person I guess this would be something I would consider tagging myself with but as I hate needles, its hardly a concern.  So maybe just some kind of logo for this page...

For now I leave you with the fabulous Foo Fighters :)  ...... Do you have Times Like These when  people don't get the Best of You???

Chocolate Pick Me Up

Had my first chocolate yesterday for a while, not really by choice, but necessity... the kids kindly brought home something from kinder which meant we needed to 'treat' the whole family...

You can pick up some great things at kinder other than just your kids, like colourful artwork (lots of), funny anecdotes of their conversations which brighten your day, new friendships & even gossip.  But your kids pick up far more... knowledge, independence, bad behaviours, swear words, appauling table manners & dislikes to food they've never even tried because little johnny doesn't like it, but even better than those - gastroenteritis, headlice & now pinworms. Oh what a fun year its been!  So yes our 'reward' for making it this far were worming tablets - which come in the form of chocolate squares... Now if I wasn't already adverse enough to chocolate due to its fructose content the reminder of this now helps me more!!

Also yesterday Dextrose sold out in my local Big W, so when the helpful assistant asked if I wanted it because of the sugar-free books, I said hell yeah!  She then got a 10min reasoning to why they are so good, my successful weight-loss & improved health due to them.

It seems changes are afoot, people are showing this feet first with their shopping habits.  Not only has dextrose been running out of the door, but the sugar-free books are among the bestsellers & I was unable to renew Toxic Oil at the library as there's a queue for it... & I had been the first to order it in.  I'm now hooked on it anyway so I've bought my own copy, along with the new Sweet Poison Quit Plan Cookbook.  So much for saving my money until I get back from holiday... ahh well at least I can just tell more people the otherside of the world about all of them now & test out some recipes before I go to bake there too. 

Given the taste for chocolate, I fancied baking something chocolatey today (with cocoa), but with limited dextrose left I chose a recipe that used very little & halved it to make a small batch of Choc-Nana Muffins from Hungry Tums recipe book.  The kids were in heaven as I rarely make icing, but these cute mini muffins deserved the added extra.  The recipe was quick & easy, even making the icing sugar (dextrose).  As I was using mini cases I also reduced the cooking time (a lesson learned from previous downsizing of recipes!)

My Kinda Knowledge

My reading up on sugar, namely from Sweet Poison, enabled me to know the answer to a trivia question last night at the pub!  "What gland produces insulin?" - the Pancreas was my answer, my team mates however disagreed so I was overruled 2:1 & I was damn right. Thankfully they didn't have views on the Queens of the Stone Age, as that was my other correct contribution to the evening.  Next time I shall have to be more persuasive about my knowledge on bodily functions...

I do feel I've been doing a lot of reading lately & quite overwhelmed by the newfound knowledge, Toxic Oil in particular.  I do, however, remember feeling this way a year ago when I read Sweet Poison, but now most of that comes as second nature.

As ever a little knowledge raises more questions & a thirst for answers.  So I'm keen to find more sources & explanations:  mostly about sugar, more about oil, what they do to us & definitely more about homemade GF bread.  Good books, good blogs, good recipes & good breadmaker reviews!  Suggestions welcome.

Just be mindful my reading platter is pretty full already with Toxic Oil, Fat Chance, Fed Up plus The Failsafe Cookbook... & for desert Keith Richards biography!

And as I type, I'm proving out some of that newly read material, there's a trial dinner experiment going on the oven right now... cooking chips with Supafry, yes animal fat... I have never done this in my life!  I'm sure its what I grew up on, before vegetable oil became the norm, but have never used it myself.  Sure I've eaten both lard & dripping at my Nans house way back, but this is a whole new adventure.  Although I've been partial to buying oven chips from the freezer section & just whacking them in the oven at times, mostly the last few years I like to make wedges or chip shapes cut myself & have just used olive oil, occasionally seasoned with herbs & salt.  So to go the whole hog of a deep fat fryer, the smell & danger that brings to my house is off limits right now.  My normal method is to pre-nuke spuds anyway once chipped before sticking in oven, so this is what I'm trying hoping that will soften them enough to soak up the fat & give the desired flavour.  I'll venture into limiting microwave use another time... too many new things on the go right now, its hard to quit every convenience factor of the 21st century.

The Verdict:  Exterior crunch & interior softness perfect, taste...ok, but for the grown-ups in the house a little greasy.  I think akin to adjusting back to full-fat milk at first.  Maybe I just used too much fat or perhaps I could combine with olive oil to be nearer the taste we are used to.  They certainly crisped up better than with straight olive oil.  The kids took to them fine. Chips are just chips to the non-decerning palette!  The roasting pan was easy to clean & the oven didn't smoke as I feared it might, so all-in-all a successful attempt.

The Process:  Peel & slice spuds.  Rinse & microwave for 8mins.  Add 5mm slither of Supafry to roasting pan, heat in oven.  Drain spuds & add to roasting pan, turn to coat in oil.  Cook for approx 30mins at 200C or until golden (turning halfway).

Chop Pot Choc Top Treat

Nearing the end of a week where I'm flying solo, more treats were in order.  I was also in a very efficiency minded mode today trying to pack as much in as could like dog walking, food shopping, multi cooking, kid napping & house cleaning, not to mention a playdate with a top treat.

Todays experiments were the No-Knead Bread, from Toxic Oil & modified Chocolate Brownie, from Sweet Poison Quit Plan.

The latter I've tried numerous times, both in a tin & individual muffin cases.  It has to be my favourite recipe from the book, not only because its so yummy & satisfies the chocolate fix, but because its so quick (about 20min all up!).  There have been some flops along the way, but I think I've nutted out the process & today felt game enough to add some Macadamias.  I substitute with gluten-free flour, & now add the magic xanthum gum for that bit of extra of "normalcy".  If you melt the butter first its easier to mix with just a hand blender & save getting out a food processor, thus avoiding all the extra clean up - especially as my hand blender attachments all fit nicely in the dishwasher.  Its quite a stiff mix, so liquifying the butter puts less stress on the blender (mine tends to stop if it works too hard).  I now reduce the amount of cocoa to about 1/3 cup as found it too intense for my adapted palette.

The engineer in me is always trying to tweak & streamline the process - not just from a taste perspective, as I'm no chef, but more from a ease of making or remembering point of view.  So reducing equipment & simplifying measurements was the name of the game today.  My blender has the "chopping pots" for want of a better description, in 2 sizes, I used the larger one & a glass pyrex jug.  I melted the butter in the jug, poured into the "chop pot" & added the dextrose, mixed, added eggs, mixed, added flour, xanthum gum, cocoa, mixed, added whole macadamias & mixed just a very wee bit more.  "Spoonulaed" into buttered tin, baked for 12mins (then another 5 as still really gooey).  Job done.  Had I used the silicon case I could have gotten away with the suggested 12mins (muffins take no more than 10).  During the cooking time, I quickly washed up the chopping pot, blade, cup, spatula & jug I'd used.  Thinking about that now I could have meted the butter in the cup, which just necessitates a quick clean & dry before using it to measure the dry ingredients, but maybe 1 cup is also the same amount of melted butter required - will check next time!  See, ever the engineer looking for process improvements.

The equipment

The cooking

The result

The pleasure

The No-Knead Bread is still in progress as its now set aside for 12 hours.  I'll cook that in the morning & report back later.  I have high hopes as I also slow cooked a lamb casserole which I plan to have again tomorrow, but with the bread.

Pesto Prompt

Perusing the facebook posts I see I've omitted to follow-up with my homemade Pesto outcome.  My memory really is shocking at the moment!  Today I left the house in my usual mad dash, trying to wrangle a toddler or two, to make an appointment.  After said appointment, I nipped to the bank, or shop as I told my daughter to get money, as it was a hole in their wall, she interpreted that as we'd been to buy money... anyway I digress.... so I thought I have time to pop back home & walk with the dog to kinder instead of driving there & waiting in the car.  I opened the door to the smell of rather yummy, but very strong scent of Bolognese cooking on the hob.  Yes it was still sat there simmering away, reducing as I would like but had not intended at that time when not present.  Ooops!!  So had I not given pooch a thought & driven straight to kinder instead the whole house would have probably been reduced to ashes.  My memory, you'll please have to excuse, is not what it was.  Distraction has become my middle name.

So to the Basil Pesto - I followed the recipe straight from Toxic Oil.  For convenience I used pre-grated parmesan.  The recipe produced just the right amount to fit in an empty Sacla jar.  It tasted more garlicky than the shop bought one & not as oily.  It was so quick to make, much quicker than checking ingredients list whilst shopping.  The kids loved helping, but didn't even question the switch when it was served up on their pasta the next day.  The other half however said it was nicer & had great texture, I have to agree. Yummy!

Each time I've used some I just add a little more Olive Oil to cover the top.  I'm hoping it will last a week sealed in the jar if kept refrigerated.  That's about the norm for us to get through that amount.  David says it freezes well, so I will make a bigger batch next time & do that.

Affiliation Awareness

I’m so happy that I’ve quit sugar & proud of myself in being able to do so.  Part of the support in doing so comes in the knowledge sharing for me & I hope that being able to impart that helps others discover better inner health. 

The blogging process helps me share my journey & experiences, I hope you find it interesting & even fun sometimes.  I write as I feel & speak openly, for that I could apologise, but I mean no offence, so please don’t take any.

I Blog, I Facebook, I Pinterest, I Make – as part of that I like to share things I Love.  As a result I have chosen to join affiliate programs for Sarah Wilson & Book Depository to share my interest in quitting sugar & other books I enjoy.  If you are hungry for more too & support me in my adventures, then please consider clicking on hyper links & images that I share to them.  For those two sources I receive commission on sales made, not very much but it all goes into the piggy bank towards more FF GF recipe trials & experimental handicrafts for my Made ‘Em hobby shop.  Other links within my pages are simply just things I’ve discovered, like, wish to share & for which I get no commission.

Sarah Wilson quit sugar & also happens to be gluten-free so I love her recipes & follow her blog avidly.

Book Depository is a great source for all books.  They are based in UK, provide good value for money & offer free worldwide delivery.   

August 2014 update:

As part of my discovery journey into food & health we have moved away from many processed foods & to make like simpler bought a Thermomix.  I totally am in love with this clever piece of technology, from my engineering head perspective, as well as my heart & love for good food.  I'd hankered after one for a while, but once I realised the savings I would make, in monetary terms due to its milling capabilities of ingredients like rice & buckwheat to flour, & also time due to its speed & multi-functioning ability.  I knew once I had it that I would enthuse about it so the natural step was to become an independent consultant, which would also give me that chance to meet with other people interested in real food, thus create an income & business interest to get my teeth into that I am passionate about.