Additive free and LOVING it!

Happy Friday! 

DAY 5 of "Additive Free" here for our household and *insert gasp* SHOCK HORROR...NO 'meltdowns' from Miss 'almost 8' - now friends of mine will know it's generally a daily thing....so as much as 5 days might not seem long to some.....its a GIANT step in the right direction for us!  

Believe it or not this "additive free" change is (slightly) scary for me! More than anything though it is EXCITING! I am doing what I feel is right for MY family and before you ask, YES we already eat VERY healthy, there was room for improvement though. Everynight we eat Gluten, Dairy and Preservative Free due to MY allergies, and I REFUSE to cook 2 different meals of a night. I limit my kids to one serving of wheat per day, even though they don't have allergies, simply because I feel it's better for them not to have too much. I expect my kids to eat what I serve them and feel that I am realistic with these expectations.....I'm not going to go and serve something with mouth burning Chilli in it and expect them to eat it.....broccoli, zucchini, carrot etc.....ah, yep, I expect them to eat it! I have been this way with them since they first started eating and my hard work has paid off - it's not "just luck" as some like to tell me! Miss 'almost 8' every night tells me she doesn't like broccoli and every night I tell her "oh well, its good for you, please eat it" ....and she does. 

However, its the snacks where I was going so completely wrong...unless I was cooking them myself of course! I have recently bought 2 little "guides" and I am in love with them (I know I have mentioned one only the other day)....no kidding I have been carrying them from room to room so I can read them when I get a spare 10 seconds! The first one is the "Additive-Free shopping guide" www.additivefreepantry.com

It has over 800 products listed that are OK! AND its broken down into woolies, coles, aldi and general....it can't get easier than that!

The second "guide" is "The Chemical Maze" www.chemicalmaze.com which I love the warning on the back of it *This book contains information that could change your life* This is NOT for the light hearted! It has all the numbers listed so you can see exactly what it is and what it can do to your body.....I was HORRIFIED to find some "chips" that I paid a small fortune for, for the twins, from the HEALTH FOOD SECTION have one of the main ingredients as MSG (nicely hidden!) and another # that should not be fed to children under 12months!!!!! WHAT!!!! Am in meant to be comfortable with that because they are 17months??!!

Both these guides have helped me change my pantry (or really 2 shelves of "snacks"!) I have had a huge clean out and it feels & looks wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised that the main ingredients I use I was getting right! Phew! ha ha! It's simply now retraining the "sometimes" food for the kids.

I have had some comments from people that think this is "over the top" and I will now be "an inconvenience to catch up with" and I accept this is their opinion, but as I say to everyone, MY family MY choice and they have the same rights. I do hope though that they learn even little bits at a time from me and start to realize the benefits for themselves and their families. I don't believe that I am better than them for doing this....it's all different journeys we are on. 

One thing for sure is my kids are NOT missing out! They were super excited to be able to munch away on Original CC's the other day and stuffed themselves with Blueberry Muffins from "Cut out the Crap for Kids" www.cutoutthecrap.com.au for afternoon tea.....I have discussed with them why we are doing this and even they are excited! They have a love of food like never before......the other day Miss almost 10 and 8 asked me if I would grate carrot and apple for them to make a "salad" for afternoon tea......one happy Mumma here!

Grated carrot and apple - yep they ate the lot!

Master 17months devouring a pear!

Making a healthy and filling Milkshake for the kids when they come home from school

Banana and Blueberry Smoothie

1 cup rice milk

1 banana

12 frozen blueberries

1 tblspn agave nectar

sprinkle of cinnamon

Put all in a blender and mix for 30 seconds!

one happy girl :-)

I am so grateful for these guides & I believe in everything they teach...... Completley Additive free Day 5 and I can see the benefits already....how INSPIRING is that!!?? I look forward to seeing what the weeks bring....

Take Care Of You,

Coll x