Good Morning! As always I like to say “I hope this finds you well” …. because I do….in my own little world I imagine people sitting down taking time out from “the real world” to enjoy my blogs, cuppa in hand, peaceful smile on your face and being truly happy and healthy (inside and out).
So…school is back (my big girls only went back today)….which means no more PJ days and back into a routine and school lunches again! As you may (or may not!) know, in my family of 6, I am the only one with food allergies however we all eat additve free. I have had to eat this way for years now due to my allergies and I thought the rest of the family ate ‘pretty good’ too. Due to behaviour issues and the fact I didn’t like the idea of putting chemicals into my husbands and kids bodies, we started eating completley additive free in June last year with the help and encouragment of Tanya from Additive Free Pantry….I honestly can say I could not have done this with so much confidence and ease without her guide (and guidance!)
I am honoured to have Tanya as a guest on my blog today….I know you will enjoy hearing from this Mum of 3 and “Additive Guru” (I had to add that in here because I know she giggles when she hears that!)
Tanya
They say ‘When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. This is true for me. My teacher came in the form of a book about 5 years ago. I remember the day so very clearly. I was at a friends house chatting over a cuppa while our kids played outside. For some reason I asked my friend if she still had that list of things that her daughter could not eat as she had an irritable bowel issue.
My friend got her book, showed me the additive table and that was it…I was hooked.
We looked up what the kids were eating and I was disgusted that we had additives in our food like that here in Australia. I had heard of food additives before as my mum was always saying..”Tanya, that 282 in bread is no good for the kids behaviour” (Fletcher, my youngest at the time was the BEST at chucking a tantrum..EVER!) Now I entertained the idea my mother might be right, though she was a huge “natural” fan, so I thought she expects me to feed the kids mungbeans and cardboard….oh how wrong was I?
Tanya and her family!
I started my journey that day. I cleared out the foods with any harmful ingredients and then started reading books. I was dumb founded that these were allowed within Australian foods. Why, how and what was the benefit for the consumer? The more I read the more this fire in my belly grew. I remember sitting on my couch after reading the chapter on MSG and staring at the lounge room wall thinking…something needs to be done. People need to know that this is happening. I really thought I was doing a great job feeding my kids healthy foods that were providing them with all that they needed to grow up strong and fit. Bumbah! What I discovered was, I was feeding my kids foods that were marketed well. That was my aha moment right there.
Tanya is such a loving Mum!
I felt guilty as well. I use to think, Wow, Tanya your eldest is 14 and you have only just discovered what she had been really eating. I wondered how I could have been so naive. So if anyone out there has felt the same…you are not alone. Mother guilt likes to show it’s ugly face to each and everyone of us if we let it.
I decided I had to much to do and that there was no time left to waste on guilt. Also I remember one smart cookie saying …“You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge” and “When you know better, you do better”, Simple and true. So kick that guilt to the kerb, we haven’t got time to waste on her today!
Over the years I have come across my fair share of challenges. Eating out, friends BBQ’s, kids sleepovers and Birthday Parties. I approached these with open eyes and great communication. If I can suggest one thing to you and give you some of my best advice…. Never feel that you need to compromise the health and wellbeing of your children or family to fit into someone else’s ideal.
The 3 men in Tanyas life!
It has never concerned me that someone may not like it that we eat additive free. It just is. My choice for my children…simple. It is like any choice that we make for ourselves. Sometimes there are consequences and sometimes people are not going to be as open as you.I just know that no matter what anyone says…..my children are worth the effort. I choose their health EVERY TIME over pi$$ing someone off.(my bad, I got a little fired up).
She may get fired up when it comes to additives but what a fun personality she has! Check out the Christmas gift she got for hubby!
So guys, remember there is so much support out there. When you (the student) are ready, then the teacher (internet, facebook, awesome blogs) will appear.
I want to thank my awesome friend, Collette White from Cut out the Crap for asking me to share a little on my journey with food additives. What I love about this woman is that she is so passionate, honest and real. Collette is a great mum, dedicated to creating recipes from scratch and living the life she loves. My life is blessed for having had met her and for her truly supportive friendship. For that I Thank you, Collette.xx
When starting out it may seem a little overwhelming to say the least. Fear not people, just follow my blog and facebook pages as recipes, ideas and product reviews are what I love to do. Stay connected with like minded people and have a positive approach and remember - If I can do it, then so can you.!
Here is a recipe for you that is a favourite for everyone in our house….
How good does this look!!??
Chocolate Chickpea Cake
What you need!
1 x 100gram block of dark chocolate (I used Just Organics from Aldi)
2 tablespoons chia seeds
4 eggs
2 x 400 gram cans of chick peas, drained
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (raw, rapadura, coconut)
What to do!
- Preheat oven to 180c.
- Line a cake tin with baking paper. I sometimes use a square tin and make it into a slice (it fits in the lunchbox so much easier).
- Melt chocolate.
- Place all ingredients into a processor and blend for about 30 seconds until mixture is smooth.
- Place in tin and bake for about 30 minutes or until the cake is cooked through when tested with a toothpick.
- Allow to cool.
- Dust with icing sugar if you like.
Enjoy!
Note: Remember to up the sugar content if your kids are use to something really sweet. This can always be reduced once you have them hooked. You could use any sweetener of your choice really…just not that artificial stuff or else!
I find brown sugar is sweeter too, so use that if need be.I would suggest icing it as this will make it sweeter at first too. I do this when I have time or I am making it as a Birthday Cake or something like that.
Change the dark chocolate to milk if that gets the kids eating it.
I will also add a 2 tablespoons of Berry Choc Chunk from Superfoods for Kidz to up the goodness. I have made this with only 3 eggs and it has come out fine too (don’t you hate it when you start a recipe and see you are one egg short?).
I have frozen this before, without the icing. If you are using dried chickpeas instead of tinned, I would reduce the amount as 400g of tinned chickpeas will have a high content of water.
Finally why not try it as a muffin or cupcake too.
This is the kind of information Tanya shares….check it out…2 lunchboxes…1 with 44 additives and one with NONE!
A MASSIVE thank you to Tanya for telling us a bit about her journey and sharing this recipe. Tanya is now involved heavily in the world of ‘Additive Free’ as a public speaker and she has even released a guide called “The Additive Free Shopping Guide” —- look up her pages, head over and click LIKE and say HI and stay connected with her!
Tanya’s Additive Free Shopping Guide available through her website
TANYA FROM ADDITIVE FREE PANTRY
Website and Blog www.additivefreepantry.com
Additive Free Pantry – Facebook
As I read over Tanya’s blog and her first comment on “When the student is ready, the Teacher will appear” ….. I have JUST realised that on my journey of Additive Free eating for my family, Tanya was my Teacher…. and I couldn’t possibly ever thank her enough!
Have a beautiful day!
Take Care of You,
Collette x
www.facebook.com/cutoutthecrap
Guest Blog and FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE from "Tanya" - Additive Free Pantry!
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