what our children are really eating : additives in food

I have been getting a lot of messages asking about low additive / preservative free eating as I have mentioned a few times that we strive to follow this kind of 'diet'. I wrote this article for a university assignment, and all the information is research I have collected over the last few years. {The sources, if you want to do some of your own reading, are listed at the end} so I thought perhaps I'd share it with you.

We started really paying attention to what we fed our children even before Noah was born - we looked into it for behavioural issues with my stepchildren and found cutting out a lot of nasties made a difference.
So naturally when Noah was born we continued with it, but I found he was even more sensitive when we'd 'slip up'. If I let him have an apple juice he would literally go a little crazy - he reacts strongly to the colour and preservative in most store-bought apple juices and of course a host of other products too. His reactions would be anywhere from extreme moodiness to hyperactivity {way over and above 'normal' kid grumpiness}.
Chloe's reactions show in her skin, her eczema flares up when she has been exposed to too many nasties in food or body products.

As time has gone on {I have been scrutinising what we eat for 6+ years now} it does get so much easier. I have become less reliant on reading labels at the supermarket because we rely less and less on processed and packaged food and make most of our foods from scratch. I am still eliminating things and replacing with safer alternatives, organic products or home made alternatives {like making our own ice cream {it's hard to find a vanilla ice cream that doesn't have something nasty in it!} chocolate syrup concentrate, taco seasoning, and our own milo as well, all of which I can share with you soon}. I bake for school lunches and snacks from scratch at home. Never use bought sauce packets or mixes. I don't buy kids custards, muesli bars, flavoured chips or milks etc. I will occasionally make coloured waffles or biscuits here at home, and I am ok with them eating this because I made them from scratch and as their diet is so low in additives, I'm ok with them eating a green waffle at Christmas.

I hope you find this article to be of some use. I have been wary of posting stuff like this before as I remember what it felt like when I was first told that perhaps what I was feeding my stepchildren was affecting their behaviour. I would always pride myself on the home cooked meals I was feeding them and I guess I felt a bit offended at first that someone would suggest what I was feeding them wasn't that great. I am SO GLAD this was pointed out to me though. It is such an eye opening topic, and I am glad that our children eat a much healthier diet because of it.

I also understand how daunting it is! It is absolutely overwhelming. The numbers and the names - there are so many of them. {my general rule now is that if there are too many chemical sounding names or too many numbers on a packet - it does not go in my trolley!} Hubby has been a little hard to 'convert' but he is totally on board when it comes to the kids, just not really himself.

So start with learning how to read the ingredient panel and about the ingredients that are listed in our foods. Then have a look at the foods you have in your pantry and fridge - chances are if you find something absolutely laden with bad stuff - there is a safer alternative you can buy at the supermarket OR it may be quite easy to make this yourself :o} It's a learning curve! But it's totally worth it. I promise.

I am no expert, and I also know that there is still so many things I could improve food wise for my kiddos to provide them with even healthier food. I am also not saying that cutting out additives and chemicals is the answer to all behavioural issues or asthma / skin problems. But my experience here with my children is that it can help. And never the less, I feel good about feeding them a range of healthy, chemical free foods as I just know that is better for their/our bodies regardless of whether it helps behaviour etc.

This is just an intro to additives in food. If the article seems a little 'strong' - remember I wrote it for an assignment, {just copied and pasted} and it is supposed to be a convincing argument :o}

Food Standards Australia says we need food additives to ensure our food is safe and meets the needs of consumers. However, some of these additives are a cause for concern. In today's society, more than 350 food additives are permitted for use in Australia (2008, Choice.com.au) Out of those, about 50 of them are known to be harmful and even carcinogenic and many are banned in other countries (2009, Fedup.com.au). Some additives in our food have been linked to cancer, hyperactivity and behavioural issues in children as well as asthma and other health issues. Additives include but are not limited to: colours, flavour enhancers, preservatives, antioxidants and artificial sweeteners.

Below is a short video from Fed Up with Food Additives author and food advocate Sue Dengate.

Looking at the photo above courtesy of Choice Australia, it is easy to see that additives are in so many different kinds of foods available to Australian consumers today. Biscuits, cereals, flavoured milk, yoghurts, breads, potato chips, meats and drinks are just a few examples of products on our supermarket shelves that more often than not contain a number of additives.

Additives are found in almost all food products. While there are over 350 additives permitted in processed foods in Australia, not every single one of them is harmful. Below is a list of some of the most common or most harmful additives used in Australia and their associated risks. They are listed with their number and their name.

Colours:

"Southampton Six" {Colours 102, 104, 110, 122, 124, 129} in Europe, products with these six colours are required to display the following message: "Warning, may have an adverse effect on activity and attention of children". They are all linked to hyperactivity, skin rashes or allergies, asthma, eczema. Some are suspected carcinogens and some are linked to kidney tumours and chromosomal damage. In Europe and the UK, products containing any of the "Southampton Six" must be labelled with the following warning
133 brilliant blue - Suspected carcinogen, linked to hyperactivity. Asthmatics should avoid this additive.
150 (150a,b,c,d) - Linked to gastro intestinal problems and hypersensitivity.
160b annatto - often labeled as "Natural colour 160b" - Linked to hypersensitivity, allergic reactions, skin irritations, behaviour and learning problems.

Watch out for these in: Soft drinks, cordials, lollies, cakes, ice creams and other highly processed foods. Though "Natural colour 160b annatto is common in many dairy and juice products.

Preservatives: 

210-216 - Benzoates - linked to hyperactivity, nettle rash, behavioural problems. Asthmatics should avoid these additives. 220-228 Sulphites - Asthmatics should avoid these additives. Linked to gastric irritation/damage, hyperactivity, behavioural problems, nettle rash and swelling. 220 Sulphur dioxide in particular is a possible mutagen and can be fatal in asthmatics.
249-252 Nitrates and Nitrites - Linked to behavioual problems, asthma and breathing difficulties, headaches, dizziness, hyperactivity, kidney inflammation and are possible carcinogens. All are prohibited in foods for infants and young children.

Watch out for these in: processed meats, wine, breads and dried fruits.

Antioxidants:

310-312 Propyl, Octyl and Dodecyl gallate- Linked to gastric and skin irritations. Asthmatics and aspirin sensitive people and pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid these additives. Prohibited in foods for infants and young children.
319-321 tBHQ, BHA and BHT - Linked to cancer and birth defects, skin irritation and dermatitis. Can cause nausea, vomiting, delirium and collapse. 320 BHA and 321 BHT are prohibited in foods for infants and young children. 319 tBHQ is fatal in a dose of just 5g.

Watch out for these in: instant and highly processed foods, salad dressings, margarine and spreads

Flavour enhancers:

620-635 - This whole range of flavour enhancers includes the famous 621 or Monosodium Glutamate or  MSG, but there are many others included here that should be avoided as there are links to asthma, hyperactivity, depression or mood swings, headaches, abdominal discomfort, restlessness and nausea, convulsions. 627 and 631 are prohibited in foods for infants and young children.

Watch out for these in: sauces, potato chips, flavoured noodles, packet soups and other savoury foods.

Artificial Sweeteners:

951 - Aspartame {Nutrasweet, Equal}- Linked to many health problems including cancer, asthma, nausea, depression, hyperactiviy and seizures.
954 Saccharin - This is a known carcinogen especially linked to bladder and reproductive cancers.
955 Sucralose - Linked to neurological and immunological disorders.
Watch out for these in: diet softdrinks and other 'low sugar' or 'sugar free' food products.

There are many more harmful additives that should be avoided. Above are just some of the most common. FedUp.com.au run by Sue Dengate has a printable PDF document outlining in full the additives that should be avoided, especially in foods for children or asthmatics. Unfortunately, it will become evident that these harmful additives are in many of the foods we feed our children. Some of our most iconic Australian foods contain harmful additives. Vegemite contains preservative 220 in the colouring used {160c} but in an amount that no longer requires labelling under Australian Food label laws and the 'chocolate' coating on Tim Tams contains 4 colours considered to be carcinogens or cause hyperactivity in children and are banned or restricted in other countries {Colours 110, 129, 133 and 150} (2009, Fedup.com.au).

As previously mentioned, not all additives are harmful. This is why it is important to know your numbers (and names!). Simply looking at the ingredient list and counting the additives you see is not enough information to make an informed choice. Some brands may have a few more additives in their product but they may be considered safe or harmless while another brand may only have one additive but it is on the list of those to avoid.

Wouldn't it be great if companies made it easy for us to know what we were buying and feeding our children by being upfront and honest on their food labels?

{image}

If Food Products were Honestly Labeled

Unfortunately, reading food labels can be a bit of an effort - it's a minefield out there with so many products, so many names and so many numbers. It's important to know both the name and number of the additives you wish to avoid, as companies can use one or the other (and sometimes both) on their food labels.

It can be quite daunting at first, but there are changes that we can make. Be more aware of the ingredients in the products you are buying. Oftentimes a switch of brands can lessen the number of harmful additives in your family's diet. Print out the Additives to Avoid list and bring it with you when you shop. Start slowly and give yourself time to phase out the products you have at home that contain harmful additives and gradually replace them with safer alternatives. Knowledge is power and we can make a difference if we just face the music and become informed and choose better products for our children.

Read more about additive and their associated risks in these excellent Australian sources that also have books available.
Fed Up with Food Additives - Sue Dengate
Additive Alert - Julie Eady

Feeding our children a low additive diet or a diet free of harmful additives is not impossible. Oftentimes it's just about choosing one brand over another or making something at home from scratch instead. Even cutting out just a few additives here and there could have a profound impact on the health, wellbeing or behaviour of your child.

Adams, M. (2006). Honest Food Labels (comic) [Image]. Retrieved 01 April, 2012 from http://www.naturalnews.com/020148.html

Dengate, S. (2011). All Additives Factsheet. Retrieved 20 March, 2012 from http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/additivesall.htm

Fed Up (nd) Food Intolerance Network. Retrieved 20 March, 2012 from http://fedup.com.au/

Fed Up With Food Additives (2011). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved 27 March, 2012 from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:t3g00vOFyAQJ:www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/questions3.htm+vegemite+additive+risk&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

Food Standards Australia (2012). Food Additives. Retrieved March 30, 2012 from http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/additives/

Fox, M. (2007). Food additives linked to hyperactivity in kids. Retrieved 24 March, 2012 from http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/09/06/2025678.htm

Fusara, D. (2011). Beware of the "Southhampton Six". Retrieved 27 March, 2012 from http://ddwilliamson.com/beware-of-the-southhampton-six/

 Mercola, J. (2012). Is this FDA-approved sweetener causing brain damage? Retrieved 27 March, 2012 from http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Safety/chemical/sweetener_0324120739.html

Monica (2011). Making the best food choices for your kids. Retrieved March 7, 2012 from http://www.wholekids.com.au/feed/newsfeed/72 .

When was the chocolate chip cookie invented? (n.d.) [Image]. Retrieved 23 March, 2012 from http://answers.yourdictionary.com/answers/food-cooking/when-chocolate-chip-cookie-invented.html

(2010). The artificial food colouring and hyperactivity link. Retrieved 30 March, 2012 from http://www.kidspot.com.au/familyhealth/family-health-healthy-living-the-artificial-food-colouring-and-hyperactivity-link+3545+190+article.htm

{TAGS: #additives, #children, #diet, #risk, #food, #hyperactivity, #behaviour, #preservatives, #sweeteners, #colours}

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License.

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{Space Theme} : intro + books

We like to do things by themes here. Just like at school. I find it flows better and the kiddos get really into it. It gives them time to focus on the theme and soak it all in, and we can tie a range of things together. We have done a few already this year, we spent quite a while doing our Ocean theme, which we tied in with Australia Day and learning about our lucky country. We have also done Valentine's and Easter themes as well as a little bit of Autumn, Lorax week and some Anzac Day activities too.

Right now though, it is all about space at our house!

Noah and I made these paper mache planets for his Birthday party and we hung them back up last week to decorate.

I rounded up some space themed books we already had

and added a few new ones to the bunch. {bought from book depository}

I have been displaying books using a magazine holder stand from Typo. {$9.95}. I am finding this perfect for our themed books as we normally don't have more than this {well, except for Christmas and Easter books .... }

I also downloaded this NASA app {free!} to use during our space theme and this cute little story {also free!} called Oobie's space adventure. 

And we will be watching an episode on space that I found on iTunes for $2.99. I really didn't feel like buying a full DVD I've never seen for $30+ in case it wasn't that good! $3 I can handle :o} We will probably also watch Wall E or some other space related movie on DVD that we already own together on movie night.

I have also downloaded some great astronaut printables from here for the kids to do. I laminated some so we can use them again and again.

So get ready for some space theme posts popping up over the next couple of weeks! We have lots of fun stuff planned.

Maybe you'd like to join us too?!

x

a little delightful's 2nd birthday! + a cake 2 the rescue giveaway!! {closed}

Yay! It's {a little delightful}'s Second Birthday Today!

Two years ago today I thought I'd start a blog. I explained why a little bit here. This was my happy place :o}

It still is a very happy place for me.
Though life has changed so much in the past 2 years.
 My 20 day old baby is now a 2 year old, running around like a pork chop every day. She makes me laugh and keeps me on my toes with her 2 year old antics. She's tough and she's loud and that is the opposite of me. I couldn't be more proud of her. My then 3 year old little boy is now 5, and is the sweetest boy. He pushes my buttons sometimes but he is amazing and teaches me something new about motherhood all the time. He is caring, thoughtful and so funny. I am so proud of him.

Hubby and I have only gotten stronger and I am so proud of us. It has never been a breeze, even when our relationship was new and we were just dating. I just knew he was the one for me. I can't tell you how grateful I am that we stuck through all those hard times. I know I am so lucky to have him.

--

So here we are, 2 years of blogging - I honestly never thought I'd come this far. But it has been so fun to come here and share snippets of our life. I have met some absolutely beautiful women through blogging and have connected with so many more. The Australian blogosphere is nothing short of an amazing pool of wonderful women, I really feel a bit out of my depth most times!

To my readers, Thank You for being here, for coming along for the ride. For each and every one of your lovely comments. For your words of support during hard times. Your emails, your questions, your photos. Thanks for being part of this little community.

As you will know if you've been here for a while - I don't often do giveaways or product reviews. But for the next few weeks - get ready for LOTS of giveaways in celebration of turning TWO!
I have some awesome companies on board and I can't wait to get this party started.

Are you ready?

What is a Birthday Party without Cake? 

The fantastic Baker Girls from Cake 2 the Rescue are generously kicking off {a little delightful}'s birthday giveaways with an awesome Cake 2 the Rescue Kit. 

Aren't these awesome?

You get EVERYTHING you need to bake the cake in the box, delivered straight to your door. 

A Cake Rescue Kit typically includes the following: Disposable baking tray, silver cake board, silver cake slice, rolling pin, candles, recipe card and instructions, and ALL cake making and decorating ingredients. No more running around to 5 different stores {which I may or may not have made hubby do for me in the past} or searching so many different online shops for everything to make an awesome finished cake! The Baker Girls pack your box with everything you need and send it to you. 

Check out some of these:

I so could have used the rocket one for Noah's 5th birthday!

Thanks to the Baker Girls at Cake 2 The Rescue, ONE winner will receive a Cake Rescue Kit {including postage} of their choice!
To enter, you must answer 1 question - Which Cake 2 the Rescue kit is your favourite?
Please make sure you enter through the Raffelcopter widget below for your entry to count!
For extra entries, 'Like' Cake 2 the Rescue and a little delightful's facebook page if you haven't already.
Entries close on the 2nd of June 2012 at midnight EST.
Winner will be announced on the blog the following day and they will have 3 days to contact me to claim their prize otherwise it will be redrawn.
Open to Australian Residents only.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you all for being here. I never thought I'd be here 2 years ago and have enjoyed so much of this blogging journey. I have learnt so much, I have gotten to know some of you through your comments on here and on facebook, and through your emails and photos that you so graciously share with me.

Thank you so much!

Make sure to check back often over the next few weeks as more giveaways go live on the blog :o}

xxxx

{recipe} flourless fudgy brownies

Brownies remind me of growing up - they were my 'bring-a-plate' dish when we'd have pot lucks at school. I would always use the Betty Crocker boxed brownies and would make them myself.

Now I make these from scratch and I think they are even more delicious. This is our favourite recipe. It is easy and quick to make and tastes oh so good. How could it not? With equal parts of dark chocolate and butter - it is seriously rich and very much a 'once in a while' treat.

... if you're going to have a brownie - you might as well have an absolutely decadent one, right?

{recipe}
(adapted from Nigella Lawson's Flourless Chocolate Brownies - Nigella Express, pg 51)
Ingredients:
225g dark chocolate {70% cocoa solids}
225g butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150g almond  meal
icing sugar for dusting
{you can add chopped nuts if you like - or chocolate chips - up to 100g}

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170c.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a heavy based saucepan.
3. Take the pan off the heat and mix in the vanilla and sugar and allow it to cool a little.
4. Beat the eggs into the pan with the chocolate mix. Then add the almond meal and if using, chopped nuts or chocolate chips.
5. Pour into a 24cm square or equivalent pan lined with baking paper.
6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. The top should have set but the mix will still be gooey. Let it cool a little before cutting otherwise it will just crumble.
7. Once cut, dust with icing sugar. Enjoy! {ps, I think they taste even better if you can wait until tomorrow!}

Nigella serves hers with a hot chocolate sauce made with dark chocolate and cream. But we had ours with banana smoothies. 

{craft} autumn leaf contact paper placemats

We have been having fun with the beautiful autumn leaves my kiddos have been collecting.

Every time we see some they each bring some home and add them to our leaf collection box.

To make the place mats, I got some contact paper and cut out a large rectangle. I peeled the backing off of half and taped it down to the table to make it easier to stick the leaves etc onto the contact paper.

I just let the kids enjoy sticking leaves on for a while. We also used some little green ones for something different. 

Taping the contact paper down made this much much easier to do, especially as the kiddos tend to put their whole hand on the contact paper when sticking things - this meant that the contact paper was more likely to stay down.

And when they were done, I slowly folded the contact paper onto itself while slowly pulling off the backing paper - trying to be careful not to get too many huge bubbles in the process.

As you can see, it's not perfect. There are large bubbles all over but it really doesn't matter.

You could probably do this with a laminator but I wanted them to be placemats for the kids so I wanted them bigger than A4 size and I don't have any A3 sized laminating pouches. 

 You could even use them as window decorations - look how neat this looks!

When we were all done, Noah was quite excited that we had new placemats that they had made, and decided to set the table. Cute!

Have you been doing any autumny crafts? We have a couple more on our list and then we are moving onto a space theme :o} I hope you join us!

x

chloe's 2nd birthday :: tea party for two

A couple of weeks ago, my sweet little girl turned T-W-O. 

I can't quite believe how fast we've arrived at this age. It really doesn't seem that long ago that she was this dark haired teeny baby. And now her hair has gone so light and she's walking around and talking, hiding, making mess, being cranky, laughing hysterically, helping me bake, helping me 'clean', having tea parties, giving the best hugs, playing with puzzles and torturing her big brother. 

We decided to just go with a small family birthday for Chloe. And since we only have one other family member here, small means tiny! One of my oldest friends also came to celebrate with us on the day. 

Even though it was going to be a very small party, I still felt like going with a bit of a theme so I went with an afternoon high tea theme and found a lot of inspiration on Pinterest. {you can see a bunch of very cute stuff I've pinned here}. 

I did need to stick to a budget and I challenged myself to buy nothing new for the table etc {except for a tea pot and some tea cups because we didn't have any}. I found a Maxwell and Williams tea pot for $19.95 and bought some tea cups at Ikea. The rest we already owned.

I made tissue paper pom poms after seeing how gorgeous they were at my Sister in law's wedding. She made them herself and pointed me in the direction of Martha Stewart's tutorial. They were pretty easy except un-ruffling them took a bit of practice and was much more time consuming than I thought. It was worth it in the end though! I just used tissue paper I already had but did have to buy florist wire {from Spotlight}. Though I think string would have worked ok.

So the night before I just spread a pretty tea towel down as the 'tablecloth', hung the tissue paper pom poms and then placed her gifts on the table ready for her in the morning. Super easy. I used some tissue paper and some doilies from the craft cupboard to decorate the plain paper and also used a recycled bottle and jar with some artificial flowers from her room for the table decorations.

In the morning our sweet Chloe was very surprised to see the little table set up and she really enjoyed opening her gifts. This is such a beautiful age and she really seemed to get that this day was all about her.

The kids then just played with the gifts while hubby and I made a special birthday breakfast. These gifts were a hit, Chloe absolutely loved them. The wooden mixer set is a Le Toy Van {it came with a wooden 2 tiered plate but we hadn't assembled it yet!} and the tea set is shatter proof melamine from HABA. We also gave her an art smock and a wooden rainbow puzzle. 

After lunch I set up their little tea party table. I kept it pretty simple!

I bought these cute little tea cups and saucers from Ikea for $3.95 each. The little tea pot is mine from when I was little and had a tea pot collection. It's the only one left it seems!

I then gave them Chloe's new little melamine tea pot filled with room temp vanilla tea for them to pour and enjoy {without me having to worry about them breaking my very old little tea pot haha}. They had little snacks of mini quiche, cupcakes, chicken and mayo sandwiches, chocolate tarts, scones with jam and cream and mini cheesecakes to enjoy. 

I loved this, they had so much fun and I think sat there for 45 minutes just drinking, eating and giggling. We watched and took photos and I had also set up the same stuff {but with hot tea} on the dining table for the 4 adults.

And then we did cake!

If you follow a little delightful's facebook page you may have seen me post my ruffle icing fail photo. I had really wanted to do up the cake like this, but it just wasn't working for me. I baked two small 10cm cakes and placed this in a large tea cup I bought for $6.95 from Bed Bath and Table. 

So I started the icing all over again and just went with simple and decided to use some left over fabric from Chloe's embroidery hoop wall art to make a small bunting for the cake. In the end I loved it!

So there it is, Chloe's pretty easy 2nd Birthday Tea Party. The very best thing of all was that she had a great time... and I actually got to see her have a great time! :o}

x