Food Additives

I discovered something interesting today doing the grocery shopping. Now we don't do major grocery shopping very often, perhaps once every 6 weeks or so, so it is always a doozie. We stock up as much as possible in one big shop, then just pick up fresh food items weekly until the next big shop.

We are trying as much as possible to go organic and additive/preservative free. So for all of our tinned and jarred goods we read labels.  Guess which branch is consistently free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. Go on, guess.

Coles Home Brand.

Bet you didn't see that coming. We were sure surprised. Tinned tomatos - the ONLY brand on the shelf without additives is Coles. Tinned legumes. Coles. Baked beans. Coles. The list goes on. I was stunned. But it makes it easier for future shopping trips. Just go for the Coles brand. :)

In other news we went to a fancy ball last night. I had to go out and buy an evening dress, and I even wore make up! here are a couple of pics.

xox

Thinking About Eating

Last night I was feeling pretty crappy. Earlier I had been feeling great, full of energy, body feeling great. But by last night it had all changed. So I started to think about what I had eaten all day. Some very interesting things came up.

For breakfast I had pancakes from a packet. They tasted a bit bland, but the honey I had on them was great. I spent the morning feeling quite lethargic. I just figured it was because I had not slept well. In reality it was probably related to the pancakes.

For lunch we had fresh bread rolls (additive free) and some home made dahl (also additive free) with lentils and chickpeas. In the afternoon I really perked up. Lots of energy, body feeling great.

For dinner we had pizza from the pizza shop. Undoubtedly full of crap. I ended up bloated and gassy and got tired real quick.

Putting it all together it is pretty clear. The quality of the food I eat directly impacts me, not only how my body feels physically, but also how I am mentally and psychologically.

To most people this is probably a bit of a "duh" moment. But for me it is kind of a revelation as I have never thought about food in this way before. To me food has always been about immediate taste and gratification. But if I change my thinking about food to look at the bigger picture, everything is different. If I think about how I am going to feel in the hours after eating, it will change the choices I make.

Especially considering that I am now studying. I need to have energy and mental alertness. Today for example. I plan on getting about 5 or 6 hours of study in. So I need to make sure my energy levels are up. That means eating a good breakfast, and a good lunch, to get me through the day. If I eat the crap I would normally eat I will not have an effective and productive study session.

Now, more than ever, I need to be thinking about what I am eating. I am working 45-50 hours a week. I am meant to be studying 12-15 hours a week. I am on the planning committee for our next Camp. Plus I have a husband I like to spend time with and other interests that I do not wish to give up. If I want to be able to fit everything into my life I need to have energy. So I need to fuel my body properly.

This is going to take thought and planning. And there will probably be a lot of trial and error, and many mistakes along the way. But both Ross and I are committed to changing how we eat.

Looks like the pizza shop is about to lose some business...

xox

Sewing, Food, and Stuff

That is Kimba. No particular reason, just that she looks gorgeous in this pic. :)

Yesterday morning I was wondering what to do with my free day. So many options.  I decided to clear my study desk off...

And turn it into my sewing table. :)

I spent the morning sewing with Friends DVD's playing on the laptop next me. I managed to get the blocks for another quilt for me and Ross finished. I just need to buy the fabric for the sashings now, so that will be next month before it is finished. Then I will have 2 tops finished and just need to quilt them. I am hoping they will be done before the end of winter as they are for snuggling on the couch, but there is a pretty big time factor involved, and with my studies I am not sure if they will be done to use this year.

I also got some filler blocks done for a group quilt I am putting together. This is going to be for a gift, so I will not be able to post any pics until it has been given and received. :)

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing exactly what I had planned. Absolutely nothing. :) It was awesome.

This morning we decided to have pancakes for breakfast. I cheated and used this.

Only because we still had it in the cupboard. Although this says "No Artificial Flavours or Colours" on the container, it does have preservatives including an anti-caking agent (which is nasty stuff) so I will not be buying it again. From now on pancakes will need to be made from scratch.

I was planning on having it them with Maple Syrup, but it had gone off, so I had some lovely organic honey instead.

Yummmmmooooooo. Now I am waiting for Mum to come over to teach me how to make my own bread. I can not wait!

xox

More Thinking About Eating

The more I think about eating without Additives as much as possible the more I feel this is the right thing for me to try. So the first thing I need to do is look at what I eat now to see what can stay and what needs to go.

The obvious things are the junk food and take away, the Diet Coke, the caffeine etc. No brainers there.

So what else is there to eat?

Well, turns out my usually breakfast is fine. Oats with rice milk. The rice milk I use is organic and contains no nasties at all. I sometimes add honey. I do not currently have organic honey which is usually additive-free. But I will finish the containers I have (1 at home 1 at work) before buying more.

So what sorts of things do I eat?

Tofu – organic tofu contains small amounts of Mineral salts 509 and 511 which are Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride. These are not considered to be dangerous and unlikely to cause reactions. (Fed Up With Food Additives website). Not sure about that. I love tofu and use it in place of meat quite a bit. Needs some thought.

Eggs – completely natural

Soy “bacon style rashers” – these contain some chemicals but nothing listed as a number. Perhaps small quantities only. Need to think on it.

Pasta – nothing wrong with pasta

Pasta Sauce – imagine my surprise to find my favourite brand of pasta sauce – Dolmio – is additive-free. Yay!

Stir-fries – nothing wrong with the veggies I use – need to examine the different sauces.

Bread. Oh how I love my bread. Full of preservatives though. Need to find an alternative (or learn to use my bread maker)

Cheese - hard to say what is in it. There are no additives listed however it contains “cultures”. Need to find out what exactly this is.

Dijonaise – my fave salad dressing and sandwich spread. It has about 9 of those nasty numbered additives. Buggar. That one is out (although to be honest I only have it about once a month). But still….

Legumes – I mostly cook these from dry, so they are completely fine. If I get canned I get organic and they do not contain additives.

Well… This is okay. It is a learning experience really. My biggest issues to start with are going to be the caffeine and Diet Coke, and the junk foods. So these are what I am going to work on first.

I have also started a journal I call “Food Feelings”. This is not my feelings about food, rather how each food/meal makes me feel. Got some very interesting reactions already. Amazing what your body tells you if you actually shut up and listen to it…

I would love to hear other peoples views on all this.

xox