Natures Own Antidotes

Nature has always drawn my attention from a small child, how it hurts & heals.  Think of the stinging nettle & a nearby companion plant the dock leaf - well at least in England.  If you get stung there, there is always a dock leaf (Rumex) at hand to spit on & rub in to relieve the itching.  However when my kids get stung here, no such luck, I usually hope I have some pawpaw lotion in my bag.

Having just had a bout of something, viral or food reaction which ended up with my immune system compromised, I still want to heal naturally.  It could have been an accumulation of salicylates or just 'that time of year' that hit me, but I felt awful with a sore throat & chesty cough.  I went hard with chicken broths, raw garlic, colloidal silver & zinc supplement.  The raw garlic was I think the most effective in loosening the congestion.  I also gargled bicarb of soda & salt for the sore throat to reduce inflammation.  I used to always take honey & lemon, but since being sugar-free was never sure that Rice Malt Syrup has the same mucus thinning properties as honey, & I now clearly react to lemons.  In fact I'd had a herbal tea the day before the onset which I realised after had lemon in & my lips began to tingle & blister.


So what are the ones I want to have?  & Why?  Which can I use the plant as-is versus which would it be easier to have a ready-made tincture in store - or which better to just buy versus my gardening effort (or lack of green-finger in some instances).

1. Garlic :  Infection fighter, immune booster , natural antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasitic - all round superherb!
2. Lemons :  Cleansing, antibacterial, constipation relief
3. Ginger :  Immune booster, anti-inflamatory & pain relief, loosens congestion, anti-nausea aid, prevent motion sickness, aids digestion
4. Lavender :  Anti-inflamatory, calming - good for stress relief/insomnia/headaches, lice prevention, soothes inflammation, insect repellent
5. Chamomile :  Relaxant / antispasmodic, cooling, Anti-histamine, promotes digestion
6. Aloe Vera :  Digestive disorders, soothing - burns, cuts & abrasions, assists skin healing
7. Echinacea :  Lymph mover, immune booster & wards off colds
8. Peppermint :  Eases intestinal cramps, cools irritation & relieves itching
9. Thyme :  Cough relief, insect repellent to cabbage
10. Rosemary :  Lice prevention, circulation improver, ease muscle stiffness
11. Sage :  Insect repellent, mild antiseptic, relieves inflammation

I already have lemons, aloe vera, peppermint, rosemary & thyme doing well in the garden, but now need more effort on the garlic - its yet to do anything.  We get through so much garlic, I wonder if I could grow enough however.  I will endeavour to get some lavender & sage in there.  Chamomile & echinacea will be best in tincture or tea form.

How Time Flies!

Wow, where did the last 5 months go?  Life seems to have just taken over & I suddenly find myself looking back & wondering what actually happened.  Having got over Easter, it feels like it wasn't even that long since Christmas was upon us.  We have had a lot of house guests during this period, in which my son started school, & my daughter kindergarten, which have been the most time precious milestones but very trying forming routine amidst the excitement & interrupted norms.  Food-wise there have been challenges & changes, not to mention complete abandonment when the pressure tank hit to just keep family peace (though proved restricted diet still necessary when symptoms reoccurred).

Starting school was a major change in many ways, fear, an-trepidation (on my part), excitement & thirst for adventure (on Mr.5's) plus new meal times to accommodate, not to mention our own intolerances & avoidances to adhere to plus others allergies to consider.  The teacher has been very open-minded regards his intolerances & considerate to notify me of food events forthcoming, however the surprise birthdays haven't always been forewarned.  The latter however have been handled so maturely by him, accepting that a friend may be providing sugary or coloured food that might affect his behaviour or tummy & confidently says "No, thank-you".  I have then given him an alternative treat (home-baked) or small toy/stickers etc once home.  His teacher was quite accepting of me providing a magazine article which highlighted food intolerances & behavioural associations, which assisted with her understanding.

Kinder was also a change, although we had been there previously, however its a new teacher & new child this time around.  Plus with shortened hours & increased allergies at the centre, their food time has been cropped to just a shared fruit-platter ilo providing their own lunch box.  This makes for easier exit from home when time poor & all you have to provide is a singe piece of fruit once a week instead of making the whole pack-up each session.  The teacher has been totally onboard with intolerances having a child in her other group who is seriously anaphylactic & allergic to many foods.  Avoiding bananas & preservatives (for Miss.3) is quite tame in comparison.  She had also forewarned that birthday treats should be non-food if possible to consider others, then as a group we determined this would be the case & do simple gifts like a balloon, stickers, pencil etc.  As the terms have progressed though this seems to have been forgotten by some & I often turn up for pick-up with her holding out a serviette with some sweet treat in-hand & a quizzical "Am I allowed for this?" desire.   As we are usually heading home to lunch or dinner, I can avert her until after that, but she rarely forgets it & I find myself having to provide an alternate "treat", but she is not as satiated as Mr.5 with non-sugar replacements, especially if not pink & colourful!

We remained Failsafe for the the first couple of months of the year, but kept trying to re-introduce salicylates, & had started introducing supplements to improve mineral deficiencies - namely magnesium, iron, probiotics, & sun exposure for vitamin D.  We also approached Cranial Osteopathy as another path to ease any underlying issues for the tic & anxiety, whilst also being recommended a naturopath & bio-meridian testing route to soothe the gut, at the same time as increasing real foods to naturally increase minerals & vitamins.  Healing the gut & soothing the sympathetic nervous system have been our priority.  Both are improving gradually.  The tic has abated, even with increased salicylates, but anxiety has reoccurred on & off, some of that could be more circumstantial due to new experiences.

The naturopath has recommended some other dietary exclusions for 8 weeks, but also allowances to increase many fruits & vegetables, & healthy oils (olive & coconut) that were previously excluded.  Currently the restrictions are Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, all Sugars (except Stevia) & Moulds/Yeasts. Baked goods are hard to achieve meantime, but the newly allowed fruits do provide some enjoyable alternatives, especially as pears were the only choice a while back.  During the summer we had a glut of them as the tree in the garden really served us well.  The kids loved being able to pick one straight from the tree for a sweet snack.

The garden itself has been a wonderful learning experience for the kids (& myself).  In the raised beds we planted spuds, beans, carrots, leeks & choko, plus a handful of herbs.   In pots we had chilli's & a dwarf lemon tree.  In the beds I attempted to companion plant as best as possible to give them a good chance.  They all did fairly well considering I'm total novice. The leeks were pretty feeble from seed though & I had better results with those from shop bought ones I regrew from its base roots.  Next time I will leave a longer stem.  Both the lemon & choko were affected by the weather extremes - choko the heat & lemon the storms, both survived but neither fruited, am hopeful they may come to something this spring.  The only creepy crawlies that gave me any grief were caterpillars, I tried crushed eggshells as a natural deterrent but that didn't work for them.  I now have added garlic, potato onions & brussels sprouts (from seed) as a winter crop.

I have been reading voraciously again about foods, health & gardening alongside some lighter material like rockstar biographies.  The most insightful one though was Grain Brain, certainly food for thought & something I keep mindful of, given that some of my grandparents have suffered the ills that Dr.Perlmutter attributes wheat/grain to such as Alzheimers & Parkinsons.  Wheat Belly was also top of the book list.    Afterward I had a good try at baking sourdough bread with gluten-free grains, in an attempt to give us options... & save money, given some loafs are around $8.  I had so many failures - bricks that thudded straight to the base of the bin, I decided that hand & my knackered old food processor were not tools of choice for this task.  My culture survived well & was really good for buckwheat pizza dough which didn't seem to need as much effort in kneading.  I really do want to try making gluten-free breads again, but have convinced myself that a Thermomix is my only friend & now working out how I go about getting one! I finally went to a demo last week, although I have been lusting after one for about 6 months.  We still remain additive-free so with the lack of processed/convenience foods I'm spending more & more time in the kitchen that I truly believe I would gain some time savings, not to mention long-term financial as readily available alternative ingredients are not cheap.  Party season is also upon us & the speed at which it would allow me to come up with 'treats' would be beneficial along with reduced washing-up of multiple appliances, crockery & utensils.  So watch this space....

For todays party I made Zoo Poo, or as it was at a Farm, maybe I should call it Moo Poo, but essentially an alternative for chocolate rum-balls.  The centre ingredient is banana, avocado, carob & nut spread.  The outer - melted coconut oil, carob, stevia & desicated coconut.  I froze in two stages to set.


They substituted very well for the cake pops the others received - especially as mine got 3 each.  The other provision was Ant bread in lieu of Fairy bread.  I soaked some chia & poppy seeds in mashed banana & used as a spread on some soft spelt sourdough bread.  Had I known the host was using pink sprinkles only I would have added a berry or 2 to the mix to achieve a similar colour... & add more fruity flavour.

I plan to blog more frequently now we are over the most hectic part of the year & worst of the changes.  Kids are way more resilient to change than us mothers I believe! Glad to be back :)

New Year Changes One Little Step at a Time

New years resolutions are passe, goals for life are the future.  Since going sugar free over 18months ago I've not resolved to quit anything but change life choices for the better.  Each day I learn something new often that's from my children.  Having them has been the most significant change & growth in myself.  When I reflect upon the last year I see significant growth in myself in health & knowlege, thankfully not in girth (for the second year in many I did not gain any weight).

Change for the better.  Having worked in implementing change for most of my career, I believe the best way to manage it is baby steps.  Not necessarily for myself as I love change, but most are fearful & won't embrace unless spoonfed.  So for anyone thinking they can't cope with behavioural issues from self or kids or suffering ills then consider that food might have an impact - start with eliminating one thing at a time.  So start with just eliminating artificial numbers or sugar.

So for me I would like to try some new things this year; sourdough baking, healing to increase food tolerances, & test running a Thermomix would be good! (just to make life a little easier with cooking from scratch).  Along with my own experiences, the kids will be starting kinder & school respectively, so that will be more knowledge for me along the way aiding their journeys into the new.  I love seeing them grow & am always looking for them to get the best out of opportunities, hence wanting them to be free of the effects certain additives or foods can cause them to not enjoy life to the full.

Its increasingly hard for others to accept that there are effects from natural foods, even when living with it on a daily basis for a few weeks.  People expect reactions to be instantaneous like allergic reactions. With intolerances, they can take days (or weeks) to appear.  Its only after months of diarising I have been able to prove repeat symptoms or trigger.  I'm also mindful of every food that passes our lips or chemicals we encounter.

The holidays were a 'good' time to continue learning about effects of food, using it as an opportunity to further challenge certain food groups & foods.  When I say 'good' yes we had a good time, but tongue in cheek some effects were not good in company of guests or tired parents.  Salicylates are a no-no for myself & son, & amines in moderation for my daughter.  I seem to be able to tolerate some salicylate or symptoms are not so visible, but long-term this is such a hard group to avoid as it contains so many otherwise healthy vegetables, nuts & oils.  Hence wanting to see if there are ways to re-introduce certain foods with assistance.

Preservatives however are something I do not want to reintroduce & because of them I have not actually eaten bread now for 6 months as all packet gluten-free bread contains them & other unsavoury ingredients among the list of foods we are avoiding.  The kids are restricted with one bread from the bakery thats preservative free & so far seem to be ok on wheat, though long-term I would like them to eat less wheat.  I've tried gluten-free packet bread mixes before with varying success but never had the guts to try making a loaf from just basic ingredients.

Over the Christmas holidays I was shown how to make sourdough bread (with rye culture & wheat flour - both of which I'm intolerant to) & came home full of vigour to start my own culture with a gluten free alternative... which I did.  However my baking attempts since have been failures.  I'm on a learning curve though & todays loaf was finally edible (Quinoa & White Rice Flour).  I bought various gluten free flours today to further my experiments.

The culture was so easy to establish I don't know why I was hesitant to even try... I think fearing it would become mould or poison us could have done that.  But so far I've kept it healthy looking & smelling, feeding it regularly.  Todays loaf was the first I made using the full amount of culture (200g) without adding any regular yeast & the first loaf thats not been a complete un-risen brick.  I'm using the basic recipe & method from Toxic Oil which differs from what I was shown, but given I didn't take notes & had had a few drinks I can't recall the quantities.  I do recall it was pliable whereas the ones I've made are sloppier & it doesn't say to even knead.  I'm thinking I need to make the mix more drier & attempt folding so will research further & discuss with a friend who makes sour dough regularly (though not gluten free).  The fun & frustration always comes when using non-wheat flours.

Upon a a little research I did encounter this sourdough blog & a lovely little story about a young boy asking about allergy safe foods for himself.  It touched me as I now hear both my children turning & asking me if something is ok for them to eat, or telling other adults they need to check whether it has salicylates or additives in.  It amazes other adults they are so aware & that both my 3 & 5 year old can say salicylate let alone know approximately what they are.  My children don't have allergies per-say they are intolerances, as not immediate or life threatening, but same necessity I make sure they are aware of the effects & to eventually learn to know for themselves what they are putting into their bodies - which after a trip to emergency ward each for swallowing foreign objects you'd think they'd know all about the dangers of that!

Some people think that anything in a supermarket is food & can be readily consumed, however we are finding out that there is so much artificial chemical in "foods" purely to increase shelf life or be more appealing.  I'm glad my eyes have been opened & wish to impart that same inquisition to my kids to make their own discoveries & take charge of their health & well being.  I do fall into that parent-trap of treating them like little adults at times when it comes to their understanding, but also break-down answers into small simplicities when questions or the vague looks arise.  I baby them in many ways but also want to prepare them to fend for themselves in time & by having appropriate adult conversations with them empowers them ... plus it makes them enjoyable people to converse & be with all day long.  Never one to goo-goo ga-ga, we've had full on chats (even if one-sided early on) since they were born.

Whilst baking oat bars & anzacs today, my son asked why I hadn't put nuts in the oatbars as I had the last time & only in the anzacs we made afterwards.  I explained this was because my daughters daycare centre (like his kinder) had children that were allergic to nuts & could put them at risk of their throat swelling & inability to breath.  He took this in, giving me an example of a friend who is anaphylactic & asked if they would die, so that led to discussion of epi-pens & notifying an adult if a friend was in need of help.  He then asked about what would happen to him if he had penicillin (he's heard me tell the doctor that he is allergic), so I explained the difference of a rash appearing & how it would be itchy & we'd stop taking it, so no he wouldn't die from it.  Deep deep things on that boys mind, but he takes it all in his stride.  Last week the discussion was all about drowning after he overheard a little girl discuss it with her mummy next to us on a cafe.  A year ago we didn't talk about even animals dying, they were merely asleep... though he eloquently pointed out that the path or road was a silly place to sleep as they might get trod on or run over by a car.... hmmmm.

We went for blood tests last week to determine any mineral deficiencies which could be causing or adding to our intolerances.  En-route we discussed what would happen to the blood to test it & that he would grow more back, so it was ok to give some.  What I hadn't forewarned was that a needle would be used or not to look, thankfully he was busy chatting up to the entry point... when he decided to look & let out a yelp, thankfully the needle was then in & he admitted didn't hurt, so the tears subsided immediately.  I can never look, I felt sick when I saw it going into him.  He was so brave & clearly interested in the whole process.  When we got our results this week he was equally interested in what the doctor was explaining though am sure bamboozled by all the jargon... no doubt I will get those words quizzed upon me in weeks to come as he processes.  We are low in a couple of minerals/vitamins & I will use a magnesium supplement, nutritious foods & sun to assist increasing.  We have also started a daily probiotic which I add to yogurt or fruit & have noticed benefits already.

Garden

My foray into veggie growing.... how it started step by step in pictures:
       

                                                                       

    

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.