from somewhere in my imagination

Sugar, Salt, Fat and All That

Last year when I attended the Adelaide Kellogg’s Bloggers Brunch there was much discussion surrounding the sugar, salt and, to a lesser degree, fat content of processed cereals.  I kind of felt like maybe I wasn’t being diligent enough because I don’t tend to check these things on the packets.

But, then I had a long think about why I don’t.

For as long as I have had kids I have always made a significant effort to feed my kids good food.  All of my little people are healthy and energetic.

By good I mean plenty of fresh food and as little as possible in the way of processed food.  Over the last 12-18 months I’ve been kicking it up a notch, introducing more organic and wholefoods and limiting refined foods.  By good I also mean a wide variety of foods and a shared family mealtime.

It also doesn’t mean that I sit in the corner and rock if the kids eat things here and there that don’t quite fit in my good food category, or I have to use a tin of something here and there in my cooking.  I’d probably be in the corner rocking if I didn’t, let’s be realistic.

I love good food and I love being able to develop that in my children too.  Although, kids being kids they still find it hard to stretch beyond a basic sandwich in their lunchboxes!  We spend time together cooking, talking about food, visiting the market and perusing cookbooks and food magazines.

Since we moved to the city I have been taking great delight in kicking things up a notch.  We have been eating more whole foods.  Somehow I’ve managed to turn my whole family, including my husband, into lovers of brown rice, chick peas and lentils.  I cook them from dried now that it’s an option rather than buy them in a tin.

More of our meat comes from the butcher and fruit and vegies from the market or F&V shop.  We haven’t lived in town with a F&V shop in the last 12 years.  I make local and organic selections whenever possible in preference to imported and non-organic. 

Cereals come in bulk from my favourite wholefoods store where I can get them with as little as possible added during the processing phase.  They have the most amazing porridge with cranberries and cinnamon with no added sugar or salt.  It is divine.

I love it.  The kids love it.  I haven’t bought a box or bag of pre-packaged snacks since we moved (in the past shapes and muesli bars were the only things I would regularly); they aren’t in the pantry now so the kids don’t ask for them. 

For snacks we eat fruit, brown rice crackers + vegies with homemade dips or cheese, greek or natural yoghurt  with fruit and home baked snacks and treats.  Nothing new, but I’ve been focusing on staying consistent and staying away from the shop bought processed stuff.  You can find a selection of ideas here and here.

The change from run of the mill peanut butter to a 100% peanut no-added-anything option has been telling.  At first the kids found it unpalatable but now it’s the norm and the brand we used to buy tastes like eating sugar coated peanuts.  Gross.

To be honest I haven’t been cooking much that’s new or complicated lately, I’ve just been enjoying cooking the same things using fresher, higher quality ingredients than I have typically had access to previously.

I realise that processed foods are often cheap options when compared with the fresh options.  That really makes me cross because it shouldn’t be that way.  Some of the ways that I combat this are:

• Buying what is in season, it’s always cheaper. 
• Better still if you have the option to get it from the source at local farmers markets. 
• I don’t fix my menu plans for the week in stone.  I’ll often go to the market and buy my fruit and veg before I decide what we are having for the week.
• Where meat is concerned I choose to buy the best I can, buying free range or organic whenever I can, but I buy less.
• In reality an adult portion of meat should only be 100-150g so if you need less than 500g of meat is heaps to make dinner for a family of two adults and two kids.
• Buying meat from a butcher gives you more control over how much you buy rather than having to work around the portions they prepackage in the supermarket.  You might pay a bit more per kg but you aren’t buying extra that you don’t actually need so it balances out.
• Buy in bulk, you are eliminating all that extra packaging and cost.  Invest the money you save in good storage containers for your pantry though J
• Bake in bulk too.  I make double batches of cookie dough, roll the second in baking paper, stash it in the freezer and hope Steven doesn’t find it.  When I make museli bars I make a second dry mix and store it in the pantry.  The little things like this can make all the difference.

So, there in a nutshell, is why I don’t stress about the Sugar, Fat and Salt content of our diet.  I keep it fresh and whole and cook from scratch as much as possible. I buy as little processed and pre-packaged food as possible and I make sure the kids know the difference between everyday food and treat food.  We all know what proper good food tastes like and it means that the little guy knows when the pasta needs some pepper to give it a lift.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you keep the sugar and salt content of your families’ diet in check.  Do you read all the packaging?  Can you taste the difference when you eat something overloaded with sugar and salt compared to the unprocessed equivalent? What are your best tips for managing your families’ intake?

Tatum xx

Loving Life - A Walk On the Sand

Since we moved we haven’t had many opportunities to really take advantage of the beach…and it’s just up the end of the street.  I run along the esplanades at least a couple of times a week so see plenty of it.  The kids had a full season of nippers so we spent some time down there on Saturday afternoons, but there were often other places we needed to be or things to be done.

With Steven away onsite a couple of nights most weeks, me working three days a week and weekends filled with T-Ball, swimming lessons, cooking, running, cleaning and spending time with family and friends our days and nights fill up pretty quickly.  Somehow we have been living in our new house for 4 months already.

Crazy.  I’m going to turn around and blink and Steven and I will be back from NYC already.

We had the most glorious weather here in Adelaide over the weekend.  28ish both days with a breeze that kept the temperature pretty much perfect under the bluest of skies.  Steven and I got our Saturday afternoon jobs done and agreed to rendezvous at 4pm.

We served up ice creams with ice magic and sprinkles then toddled off down the street towards the beach.

I walked in the water for a bit of recovery on my right foot, which had gotten pretty sore from the wrong new running shoes...thankfully I have rectified that!  J walked with me most of the time, she ended up pretty well wet from head to toe and was somehow surprised by it!

Love that I managed to capture his footprints before the water washed them away.

It was perfect.

The kids enjoyed being kids, jumping off the sand mounds.  This included a rather spectacular face plant by J who stood up in tears, dramatically spat out all the sand in her mouth and immediately clambered back up to jump down again.

As nice as it might have been to indulge in some fish and chips, my body just isn't wired for deep fried food any more, so it was home for a snapper on the BBQ with a quinoa, carrot & chickpea salad.

Our move back to the city has been headspinningly hectic but oh so worth it.  I have changed a lot of my priorities, I'm working three days a week and we are taking advantage of the sports and other extra curricular activities that haven't been at our disposal until now. 

I have had a huge personal focus on my fitness and working towards that 2012 Marathon goal...my first half marathon milestone is just around the corner now, I got massive butterflies when I filled in the registration last Wednesday!  I love the changes that have come from my hard work so far.

I have been wondering about my blog...use it or loose it...but I love it too much.  I love the sharing and I want to continue to write and build my community.

Earlier in the week and sat and made a list of all the types of things I want to share, I see a bit of a shift from where things have been.  Hopefully you'll like where I'm heading, I'm looking forward to sharing some of my personal changes with you especially.

I'm loving life.

Hope that you are having a lovely week.

Tatum xx

In Need of a Fun Injection? #funinjection

I am.

The Week 8 exhaustion is setting in.  The kids are tired.  I'm tired of making lunches and breaking up squabbles over silly little things.  Unfortunately it's only Week 7.

We are still settling into the big changes, each week is a little different to the last.  Some weeks are steps forward, others are steps back. 

I'm feeling a touch responsible for the collective kiddie exhaustion, I do the wake up call at 6.30 three mornings a week and right now the sun hasn't even started to peek at that time.  I am really enjoying my job but I am pining for my kidlets a bit.  I need to be more aware of making the most of the afternoons we spend together...that can be tough when they are tired.

It's not just me that's in need of a fun injection the kids are too.

So, I'm pledging to inject an extra bit of fun into every day.  To take 5 minutes here and there and be silly instead of sensible.  I'm going to drag Steven in on the act too...kicking and screaming if I have to.  That man has been way to sensible lately.

If it's something I think twice about doing I'm going to make the effort to do it anyway.

I took a baby step today and made watermelon stars for 'brain food'...I didn't have time really, but I did it anyway.  Thankyou Pinterest for some late night inspiration.

Tomorrow I've got some special Lemon Meringue cupcakes for their lunchboxes.  I think homemade pizza and family singstar/move/guitarhero might be just the ticket for Friday night.  Saturday night we are heading to the Australian Swimming Championships. 

The weather is supposed to be perfect on Sunday so a stroll along the beach and a perhaps a picnic would just be perfect.  I think there will be a day next week that is perfect for fairy bread sandwiches (like the ones I packed on valentines day) and a little after school treasure hunt in the garden just for a bit of fun. 

I'm not sure how much fun Tuesday will be, I have a 5.45am flight...I really can't see any fun side to that...but I'm sure I can find something :)

I'm going to be more unplanned and spontaneous (much like this idea), smile more, make art after dinner, laugh lots, eat dessert before dinner...those sorts of things :)

In between there will be the 'sensible' stuff like school, work, washing, cleaning and grocery shopping but all in all I'm going to be focusing on injecting more fun into our days.

Are you feeling in need of a fun injection too?  Why not join me for the next week injecting a little more fun into your days?  I'll be sharing photos from the week on my facebook page and tweeting with the #funinjection hashtag, I'd love for you to join me and share the extra bits of fun you inject into the week ahead.

Tatum xx