{Am I getting closer to my answer? Maybe?}

Some of you have read here before about my long battle with health. I know people suffer through much worse. I am NOT trivializing that at all!
BUT 17 years of doctors, specialists, therapies, tests and the occasional hospital visit for good measure - all ending with dead ends gets to a person.

My problem is with extreme bloating / stomach cramps and has gotten worse over the time. I have recently now put my maternity jeans and yoga pants on full wardrobe rotation. And when your youngest kid is 3.5 yrs old it just sucks!

I saw a naturopath, and after a blood test turned out that I am positive for candidiasis. We all have yeast in our gut, but this condition is an overgrowth of this.

I am now testing a strict diet that aims to 'starve the beast' as its known.
The tough part isn't giving up the processed food and refined sugars. That comes fairly naturally (pun not intended lol). It's the fruits and 'sweet vegetables' like pumpkin, sweet potato, potato and carrots that are proving hard to give up.

Its nice to have some 'maybe' good news to share. I dont know if this is the answer, however, in the meantime I am making herbal tea, lemon water, lean meat and veggies my friends.

However, if you pop in for a cuppa, don't worry, I won't serve you a broccoli ;)

Lauren x

{The Tasting Plate Concept}

Making a healthy lifestyle change can be difficult to maintain. One thing that I have learned is that when trying to cut down on sugars and bad fats, you may need to challenge what traditionally may be eaten at a certain meal time.
For many, breakfast must come out of a box or pop out of a toaster and loaded with buttery & sugary condiments. Many of us also view morning tea snacks as a coffee and a highly processed cupcake that we call a "muffin" to make us feel better or a pastry type treat.

One way that I have found keeps it interesting in our house, is introducing the tasting plate idea into a few meals.

I have often served a breakfast plate with a little yoghurt, half a banana and a slice of whole wheat Vegemite toast. I find that my boys love eating a 'tasting plate', as it is inherently is full if variety.


Today for morning tea/ brunch. I made up two plates with a glass of sparkling lime water. One each for me and my youngest son.
On it I had:
Carrot sticks, pear slices, a fig, small handful of cashews, 2 dates and a small container of natural yoghurt with apple purée and cinnamon.
Mr Cheeky (3yrs) ate everything I did, except for the cashews - but he did try them. I don't have to worry of he doesn't like one component as the whole thing is healthy and it's about trying different things and building good eating habits.
I also find that when you eat this way, you enjoy it more and savor each part. Maybe the Japanese are onto something with their bento style meals ;)

Q: Have you or your kids ever eaten 'tasting plate/ bento style'?

Lauren x

{Keeping it Real and [mostly] Neat}

I spoke yesterday, about the pressures of parenting in today's society and the differences between now and when our parents were raised.
There are definitely pressures on us, some thrust upon us by friends or strangers but mostly the expectations put on us are by our own worst enemy - ourselves!
Life is never perfect, and lets be honest, not many of us have the time to have the whole house clean and spotless, a healthy balanced meal on the table, a workout done and any time for ourselves every day!

Lets face it, how many of us look and talk like this beautiful 50's pinup girl for domesticity? Not me!
But here are a few tips that help me keep it real and neat and tidy amidst the (sometimes) crazy everyday-ness of life. I have about a 90% success rate, so this isn't about perfection, but progress.

1. Each morning I make an effort to make our bed. Even though my husband laughs at the 11 pillows on our bed, we both feel like it creates a relaxed sanctuary feel and a soothing place to be. It doesn't need to cost a lot to dress up your bed. I updated our linen a year ago in sales at target and Kmart. Even if the en suite has stuff everywhere, it just helps me to feel that I am on top of the housework when our bedroom is tidy. Plus, it's setting an example to my kids whose beds I expect to be made also. Train them young, train them well I say.

2. I try to finish each day with a clean kitchen. This is the room that I start my next day in, so I find that if this isn't done, my next day starts "behind the eight ball".

3. During the day I use my baskets which I have spoken about before {see more here} and this helps with some of the clutter as the day goes on. 

 

4. Each night, I try to do at least one or two hings that will help set me up to win the next day. This usually means packing lunches and having it in the fridge ready for the next day. It could be however (and sometimes as well as lunches if I'm extra organised) anything that takes some pressure out of your tomorrow:
- hanging out some washing 
- ironing a shirt 
- stacking the dishwasher 
- putting dinner in the slow cooker bowl and then into the fridge ready for next evening
- putting a load of washing on to wash while you sleep.   
I have even occasionally started putting the boys cereal in their bowls covered by a napkin ready for the next morning. My 6 year old goes to the fridge where I put a milk jug (smaller and easier to pour) in the fridge, then they serve themselves. Great for their independence and my sometimes my sanity on school mornings. WIN-WIN!

5. It's okay to have a 'dump zone' for small things. It must have a limit though. A place where you keep an overflow of 'stuff' can be handy as long as you get back to it later. If people are expected over and I don't have time to clean the whole house, I usually use under my stairs or the laundry. Make sure you get to it later or it will not become the exception and the rule instead.

Q: What are your tricks? What are your go to daily tasks that make it easier to keep on top of housework? 

Lauren x

{Motherhood, Tibetan Monks and Toddler Nose Picking}

I read an article recently about the varying differences between the time when our grandparents raised our parents and now {read it here}.
It got me thinking about the pressure on parents these days. This week, parents everywhere are labeling uniforms, battling contact when covering books, packing lunch boxes that are full of no nut, healthy, organic, treats grown by Tibetan Monks all whilst shining shoes and on the phone booking them into swimming, netball, soccer, clarinet lessons and extra German classes.
Slight exaggeration.
You get my point.




So many of us are trying to do the right thing by our kids, but is anyone happy? What ever happened to letting kids be kids? Preschools are even expected to report academic assessments these days. Quite frankly if my 3 year old didn't pick his nose too much, ate something resembling the bottom half of the food pyramid, laughed and played with his cars in the dirt (yes, dirt, it still exists!) I am very happy!
If we happen to draw something resembling a person or count to 20 it's an added bonus in my eyes.
So much of our society is yearning to return back to the days of a simple life. Vintage is all the rage and retro is huge! I love my gadgets and some of the conveniences of modern world, don't get me wrong. I wonder, however, if part of this shift is because of the values that we held onto back then. Are we all just wanting to take the pressure off?
Do you feel the pressure of getting it all right with your kids? Where does the pressure come from? Do you feel like the expectations of motherhood have changed?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Here are some funny thoughts on motherhood that made me laugh :)








Lauren x

{Sugar Free 'Truffles}

A new and beautiful friend dropped these around to me and they hit the spot when you are banning sugar from the house. Thanks Sarah!
I asked her what she put in it and have played around with the amounts of ingredients so I can replicate them at home. And I have made many batches.

My 3 year old is "clock-lat" (chocolate) obsessed. These are the perfect treat for him to curb the sweet tooth. He actually really loves dates too (as they are giant "tarnees" / sultanas) so he loves these a lot!


Batch makes 36 bite sized 'truffles':::

Ingredients:
2 cups of pitted dates (the softer they are the better)
1 cup of macadamia nuts (can use cashews, almonds or a combination of any of these 3)
1/3 cup coconut (I prefer using the noisy coconut flakes pictured, but dedicated would also work)
1 heaped teaspoon of Cacao powder (or cocoa if you have that)
2 tsp of coconut oil (melt the pot/ jar of solid coconut butter for a minute in simmering water first)
Extra coconut for coating


Method:
1. Place everything in your food processor and blitz together.
2. If too dry, add a little more coconut oil. If too wet add more dates.
3. Using your hands roll bite sized balls and roll in some extra coconut.
4. Chill before serving with a good cuppa!


Lauren x