“Mum, ever since you came back from Australia you have been feeding us weird food…. I’m not sure i like it.”

This was my sons’ comment to me the other day. The child who suffers from Coeliacs Disease. The one who will benefit most from our diet overhaul and the one who is resisting! For those that have not read any of my other posts i will recap….. A couple of months ago i visited a friend in Australia where a chanced upon a book called ‘i quit sugar’, written by her fiancés sister. The more i read, the more i realised that even though my family were adhering to a Gluten Free diet, where i cooked most meals from scratch, i had compensated for the things they were missing out on by providing them with sugary treats and encouraging them to snack on a lot of dried fruit. All ok in moderation…… but the sugar levels (esp fructose) were stacking up and the effect were showing! So why are these natural fruits sugars bad i hear you ask? Not sure… would have been my answer a few weeks ago but now i can tell you – Click to for an explanation – What is Fructose? About 6 weeks ago i removed sugar from my diet completely, which left me grumpy, tired and irritable. I think i have come out the other side. It has been hard going but definitely worth it. I no longer suffer stomach bloating, my skin is clearer and i do not get that mid afternoon energy crash and fogginess. I have taken a much more moderate approach with the kids. My cooking at home is Gluten and Sugar free but i am not strict when visiting other peoples houses or at parties etc. That would be far too much hard work for me and upsetting for the kids! I’m all for keeping things simple!

So, picture my day. Saturday morning 6.30am. Already been woken by each of my children during the night. Sun just rising and the kids already bickering. Settle them in front of TV and sneak back to bed for an hour. Two cups of coffee down, an early morning yoga class and i’m ready to tackle the day. Grey and stormy outside and a house full of kids…. definitely a day for cooking and plenty of tiny taste testers on hand! Still focusing on breakfast recipes. High protein, low sugar, for a good start to the day. Also been thinking about breakfast options for ‘on the go’. If you are anything like us, morning is a rush and breakfast doesn’t always get the time it deserves. My daughter isn’t really ready to eat for a while after she gets up and often ends up snacking in the car on the way to preschool. I want to improve on the ‘fall back’ peanut butter sandwich! With the Granola a success, i have moved on to thinking about Granola Bars and now that the mornings are getting colder, something warm inside their tummies first thing really helps, so a – quick cooked breakfast – seems like a good idea. Cooking whilst surrounded by four wild kids and with a couple of ‘little helpers’ was not an easy task. It came with some success but was unfortunately matched by a level of failure! Lets start with the good – Ham n Eggs – Breakfast Muffin. Recipe in next post. Btw – managed to make a few meals and treats this weekend that my son approved of. Not sure if his tastes are changing and he is not craving the sugar as much of if my ‘Sugar Free’ cooking skills are improving?! Been meaning to mention photography and images – This is the element of my blog that is causing me some anguish. Have absolutely no understanding of my camera and how to take a ‘good shot’. The ideas are there but finding it hard to get results. Am trying to learn fast. Watching youtube videos and reading round the subject of product photography, so bear with me…. please. Images will improve. Promise. x