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Monday, April 29, 2013

Allergy friendly "cake"





My gorgeous sister in law made this cake for my birthday this year so that Lachlan could enjoy the celebration when we went out to dinner last night.

Base is a cut watermelon, covered in two flavours of Co Yo (coconut yoghurt in passionfruit and natural flavours, this is a soy free vegan yoghurt which tastes out of this world!) and then decorated with fruit of choice (here Gold & green kiwi fruit, raspberries and strawberries).

Was a hit with everyone who attended the dinner and not a piece left! Could you blame them?? 

A huge thanks to Kylie my Sister in law for making this - best cake ever! 











Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Superfoods for Kidz Competition - 2,500 milestone


Superfoods for Kidz' is the newest range of products from Nutra Organics, an Australian family run business helping women and their families lead healthy, energetic and fulfilling lives.

The wonderful Vanessa from Superfoods for Kidz has kindly provided the following as part of our milestone giveaway. 

Not only are these products made with organic fruits & veggies (which I LOVE) they taste amazing and have so many uses, from smoothies, slices, muffins to even straight out of the tub! 

It's a great way to ensure your kids are getting part of their RDI of fruits and veggies especially if you have a reluctant eater or child with texture/sensory issues, as lets face it it gets stressful as a Mum when a child isn't eating well and getting a large variety of essential vitamins and minerals into children can be difficult so this is a great way to supplement their diet as it can take up to 10 times (and sometimes more) for a child to try something new and develop a  taste for it. (The cute little character on the packaging also appeals greatly to the biggest veggie/fruit hater too!)


There will be 2 prizes drawn as follows

1 x Berry Choc Chunk powder http://www.superfoodsforkidz.com.au/products/berry-choc-chunk  for product information  






1 x C Berry Blast powder -  




To enter

Like Superfoods For Kidz on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/superfoodsforkidz

Go to their website and view their great range - http://www.superfoodsforkidz.com.au/


Come back to this FTGB blog comp post and comment what your favourite Superfood for Kidz product is and what you would make with it if you won it.


Competition will be drawn 30 April, 2013 and winners will be announced on the blog. 

Competition only available to Australian residents.

Be sure to check out the great range of powders, protein bars and other great high quality products at http://www.superfoodsforkidz.com.au/ or all good health food stores. 


THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED AND THE WINNERS ARE AS FOLLOWS

BERRY CHOC CHUNK - CLAIRE MORRISSY

BERRY BLAST - CLARE O'BRYAN

Please PM us on the Feeding Two Growing Boys Facebook page your postal details so we can get your prizes to you :) Happy cooking! 



Vegie Smugglers Competition - 2,500 liker milestone



Now based on the amount of emails I get on my page and being a Mum myself, I know how hard it can be to get kids to eat fruit & veggies. 

It takes persistence, patience and in some cases some pretty clever vegie hiding to get them into the kids!

This is where bringing in Mrs Vegie Smuggler herself, Wendy Blume comes in handy! 

Wendy has kindly put up 1 x Ebook bundle for our prize week to celebrate our 2,500 milestone that FTGB reached this week.

The e-bundle features the following titles.

 10 Quickbakes plus 10 Sandwich spreads (released last week)
 The Complete lunchbox planner
 Weekly meal plans
 Craft for non-crafty parents  (all e-books).







We tried the beetroot and carrot spread this week from the newly released Quickbakes & Spreads book and it was a winner here! 

To enter

Like Vegie Smugglers on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vegiesmugglers


Go to Wendy's website and view her range of books and planners - http://www.wendyblume.com.au/vegiesmugglers.html

Come back to this FTGB blog comp post and comment what your best veggie smuggling tip is!

Competition will be drawn 30 April, 2013 and winners will be announced on the blog. 

This competition is open to all FTGB’s likers as the prize is in electronic form.

Make sure you checkout all of Wendy's books available from her website.

Good luck!


THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED AND THE 

WINNER IS 

KERRY SOLOMON, Congratulations!

Please PM the Feeding Two Growing Boys facebook page your email address so we can get your Ebook bundle pack sent to your email address! 

4MyEarth Competition - 2,500 liker milestone



I'm excited to announce the first of the milestone give-aways and FTGB's first ever give-away! 

I am very lucky to have the support of some wonderful entrepreneur mums who support what I do on Feeding Two Growing Boys and have kindly put up products to give away to you the readers to say thank you for reading and contributing to the awesome community FTGB has become.

I am all about promoting Australian owned businesses and prefer to work with those that are run by passionate and dedicated Mum's & Dads who are out to support their families. 


We love our 4MyEarth products in our house. 

4MyEarth make a great range of eco-friendly, non toxic, reusable food packaging products, from the great food covers, to the super cute lunch wraps/pockets there is something for everyone at Rebecca's on-line store.

We have had many comments whilst out and about using her products and Rebecca has kindly offered the following for our competition week.

The Prize: 

1 x extra small food cover pack (2 covers in total) - Mix of Text logo and Flower print (as pictured), a great way to rid the nasty toxic Clingwrap from your fridge and keep foods fresh.



1 x Cotton Scarf in pink – these are super soft very light and extremely comfy, gorgeous scarf is perfect for all seasons and versatile for both formal and casual wear. Made by local craftspeople in Nepal through fair trade practices that help ensure traditional crafts are kept alive.





How to enter

Like 4MyEarth on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/4MyEarth


Go to their website and view their range - http://www.4myearth.com.au/store/

Come back to this FTGB blog comp post and comment as to what your favourite 4MyEarth product is.

Competition will be drawn 30 April, 2013 and winners will be announced on the blog. 

Competition only available to Australian residents.

Good luck and don't forget to check out the great on-line range of 4MyEarth products.


THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED AND THE WINNER IS 

NATALIE HARDY, Congratulations!

Please PM the Feeding Two Growing Boys your postal details so we can get your prize out to you.

Friday, April 19, 2013

How far we have come


Today is a bitter-sweet day, my baby boy turns 3. Part of me is super excited for the next chapter from toddler to preschooler and watching him continue to learn and grow, but there is a huge part of me that feels robbed of the last 3 years. It’s been a long stressful road full of fear, doubt, grief, self blame and stress and for a large portion felt like I was just living in survival mode.

I still have days like this but thankfully  not very often now that Lachlan is well on his way on his gut healing journey, but the whole process of dealing with a child with special needs is both mentally and physically draining regardless of their medical condition. It places strains on your marriage, relationships with other children and the way you conduct your day to day life to accommodate that child’s extra needs.

I've had people say “be thankful he is healthy” and “this is all you have to deal with” which to me personally is a kick in the guts. Yes my son isn't dealing with cancer or a heart condition requiring surgery but his condition is still life threatening (anaphylactic allergies) and if his eczema was to ever become so infected it could land him in hospital with a severe infection as so many children who suffer eczema do. And this is without even touching on the challenges faced with every day outings and social gatherings for an anaphylactic person, I could be here for hours. 

The sleep deprivation for both (mother and child) from a constantly uncomfortable child is torture. You expect to lose sleep with a baby/toddler but with eczema it’s a vicious cycle, an overtired baby/toddler means more and more scratching which leads to broken and inflamed skin which if not properly cared for equals infections and more scratching equals no sleep for Mum or bub.

Then there is the constant daily cleaning and washing, vacuuming and dusting to keep the house free from all the dry dead skin that severe eczema suffers shed, and my goodness shed they do! Add the stress of constantly monitoring every morsel that goes into your child's body (and that every single thing he eats is made by yourself as you cannot risk cross contamination nor does anything pre prepared meet his dietary requirements) , keeping food diaries and tracking flare ups and never once forgetting the digestive enzymes and supplements he needs to support his gut healing process. This in itself feels like a full time job and can be very overwhelming.

When I was compiling the pictures to do this blog post it bought back so many memories. To be totally honest with you all I haven’t been able to look his baby pictures from the really bad times till now... they have always reduced me to tears.

But through the many ups and downs this little man although tired, cranky, itchy and sometimes in pain has shown that he is one tough little cookie and that he isn't going to let eczema beat him.  

So I owe it to him to remain positive and strong and look back at all the happy and positive times we have had over the 3 years.  To look at him now you would never have known this is the journey he has been on.


(Left - Lachlan now, taken 2 weeks ago just before his 3rd birthday, 
Top Left - Lachlan prior to any signs of eczema and then the remaining 3 photos showing to some extend how infected he became (and this was following a GP's and dermatologists instructions & medications before I knew better!) 


With all this I can happily and proudly say that after years of trials, errors, diets, eliminations, blood tests  & pouring every spare moment I have had into researching and reading anything and everything I could get my hands on, both holistic and traditional, what we are doing now is working and the above left hand picture is proof of this. 

Not only is he a happier child, my stress levels are down, our house is a less stressful place to be in, my workload in skin care and upkeep of our home environment is no longer as demanding and all because he is healing from the inside -  something traditional avenues such as Dermatologists and allergists do not address in their practises. Steroids, antibiotics and lotions and potions are just band aid solutions, we need to be looking at the root of the problem and the root of the problem lies with gut health.

I am pleased to say Lachlan is almost nearly eczema free (we are working on the habitual scratching now which is a hard habit to break) but he is a thriving, happy, healthy and a very active little boy with the most beautiful placid nature that makes your heart melt. 

I could be having the worst day and he will come up to me and give me a cuddle and say "I love you Mummy" and all is good in the world. A mother/child bond is always strong but when you have gone through something like Lachlan and I have you are so much closer. 


I'm excited for today as it is a day of letting go of the harder chapters we have lived and starting the next happier and healthier chapters together. 


So, Happy 3rd Birthday Lachlan, we love you more than you will ever know and from here the sky is the limit as we have already conquered so much. 

Mummy, Daddy & Riley x

~ Kat 



Monday, April 15, 2013

Bread Free Lunch Ideas


Rice free sushi

A great & filling bread free lunch which is also grain free (buckwheat is from the rhubarb family).

You could make this with quinoa or even millet if you wish to.  

This makes approximately 4 long sushi rolls which serves 2 or can be cut up into small rolls to serve more as a finger food.

You can of course not mash everything together and add it as whole ingredients like traditional sushi is made but I like to mix it all together it’s easier for little fingers as sushi can fall apart especially when you aren't working with sushi rice and the normal seasoning's that go on the rice to hold it together.  Experiment with your child’s own favourite fillings.

You will need
2 cups of buckwheat (soaked overnight if possible or if not for at least 2 hours in warm water)
1 – 2 avocados (depending on size)
Handful of sun dried tomatoes
1 x coarsely grated carrot
1 drained can of salmon, tuna, trout etc – use in springwater or olive oil or shredded chicken for those with fish allergies
Pink salt & pepper to taste (by using Pink or Himalayan salt you are benefiting from all the great trace minerals that these salts contain). It’s normal table salt that you should avoid!
1 x packet of Nori

              Cook buckwheat in either the Thermomix as you would rice in the basket for 18 mins speed 2 – 3 or in a pot of boiling water for roughly the same amount of time. Allow to cool completely. (I normally do this the night before I need it)

      Mash up the avocado and fish together and then mix through the sundried tomatoes and carrot.

      Spread out the mixture evenly along the nori sheet leaving about 3cm at one end and start to roll away from you (you can use a bamboo mat to help if needed. Wet the end of the nori sheet with some water on your finger so that you can seal the sushi roll.

Wrap the bottom in some grease proof paper and pop it into lunch boxes or as we like our 4MyPlanet wraps/sandwich pockets as shown which are available from here http://www.4myearth.com.au/store/ in many different styles and sizes.







Find more about these eco friendly reusable funky lunch storage solutions which eliminate the nasty chemicals that come with the use of ziplock bags & cling wrap products here: http://www.4myearth.com.au/store/index.php?cPath=4
4Myearth also does great food covers too for plates/bowls which I find really handy to have to cover up leftovers or ingredients I'm pepping for later use.


If your little ones aren't keen on nori there are other ways to make bread free wraps as shown in these pictures below for inspiration. Images from Pintrest & The Urban Poser. Both are grain free and Paleo friendly.




Another great recipe for bread free lunches that are nice cold or warm are our Chicken fruit & veggie chicken patties which you can find here. These are loved by kids and adults and we are getting rave reviews about this recipe!! 




Enjoy!!!

Kat & the boys