Additive Free Made Easy – Additive Free Lifestyle: Recent Episodes

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We are always on the lookout for additive-free products and brands and love to support these companies who are striving to make the food and products industry better. We especially love to support Australian companies who are doing great things in this space. Thanks to these companies we have accumulated some handy discount codes just for you to make your additive-free shopping just that little bit easier. And hey, who doesn’t love a cheeky little discount thrown in 😉.

So, here they all are in one handy place, be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to it again and again as we will keep this updated with any new ones that come along too.

Happy Shopping!

Disclaimer: Some of these are affiliate links whereby we get a small commission, but rest assured we would never recommend a company or product to you that we did not believe in and use ourselves. We are endeavouring to get discount codes for the companies where a discount code isn’t detailed. So stay tuned as we will update it periodically.

Part & ParcelPart & Parcel is a great Aussie online grocery store that stocks really good quality products. They even have pets covered with additive-free treats! Consider redirecting your grocery budget to Part & Parcel, which in turn supports a growing small Melbourne-based business.

Discount Code: ADDITIVE-FREE
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HEREEco CheeksAn Australian-owned company producing unbleached and 100% bamboo toilet paper, tissues and paper towel. There is nothing, yes nothing, in the loo paper or paper towel that can damage your immune system or interfere with your endocrine system! Other ‘safe’ brands whiten their loo paper with a method called ECF (elemental chlorine free) but the pulp is still bleached with chlorine dioxide (a derivative of chlorine).

Discount Code: AFL10
Discount Amount: 10% off first order only

SHOP HEREDr Planet SoapAustralian-owned company producing quality vegan and palm oil free castile soap. Dr Planet Soap is a natural, effective liquid soap that can be used on the body, and all areas of the home.

Discount Code: ADDITIVEFREE
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HEREEveryOrganicsEveryMite, the flagship product of EveryOrganics, was born out of a need for a little boy with food intolerances to have a Vegemite-like spread he could happily eat without the nasties. Staying true to its values, EveryOrganics uses a percentage of its profits to give back to the community.

Discount Code: AFL01
Discount Amount: 20% off

SHOP HEREFound-SpaceOh, how we love our saunas! We get in them every chance we get. Found-Space is an Australian-owned company that produces top-quality infrared saunas. They are a health technology company that recreates home spaces to better serve health and well-being by providing items for the home and education that helps you to live a long and healthy life.

Discount Code: JOANDTRACEY10
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HEREVitaliaAustralia’s leading sustainable shop for all your health, DIY and aromatherapy supplies. This is a lovely family-owned business providing not only all your DIY supplies but so much more.

Discount Code: SISTERS
Discount Amount: up to 10% off

SHOP HERENatural Good LifeAn Australian-owned online store that is your one-stop online shop for a healthier family and life. Stocking DIY cleaning products, raw ingredients, resources, and everything you need to create your very own non-toxic eco-friendly home.

Discount Code: ADDITIVEFREE10
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HERETrainadeHydration is a TGA listed product that supports rehydration for those who have experienced the loss of body fluid through sweating, vomiting, or diarrhoea. An additive-free electrolyte that tastes amazing!

Discount Code: ADDITIVEFREELIFE
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HEREUlu HyeBased out of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Ulu Hye is one of the first companies to create their very own nut milk bases. The Mylk Bases come in a recyclable, reusable glass jar and when added to water and blended, they create up to 10 litres of fresh, creamy plant-based milk.

Discount Code: ADDITIVEFREE15
Discount Amount: 15% off

SHOP HEREChanging HabitsAn Australian company owned by Cyndi O’Meara which produces quality additive-free pantry supplies with a commitment to leading with health over profit.

Discount Code: additivefreelifestyle
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HEREQuantum CacaoQuantum Cacao’s chocolatey elixirs are packed full of nutritious ingredients, enhancing the flavours and maximising the goodness in each cup… Not too sweet, not too bitter, just right. Support a small Tassie business when looking for your next delicious cacao powder.

Discount Code: ADDITIVEFREE
Discount Amount: 10% off

SHOP HERE{SIMPLE as that}{SIMPLE as that} is all about skin health and promoting natural beauty, simply. They are an Australian-owned and manufactured brand that makes products from scratch using as few ingredients as possible. For all your skin and sunscreen needs.

Discount Code: ADDITIVEFREE20
Discount Amount: 20% off

SHOP HEREWaters Co AustraliaWaters Co Australia produce high-quality water filtration systems that remove fluoride, chlorine, and all sorts of other nasties found in tap water.

Discount Code: ADDFREELIFE7
Discount Amount: 7% off

SHOP HERESorry we don’t have a code for the below brands, however, we love them (and we’re on the hunt for a code) so wanted to share them with you x

Roar CordialRoar Living is an Australian company, manufacturing 100% Natural Cordials. They support Australian farmers, the environment, the community and a natural way of living. These cordials are so delicious and completely additive-free.

SHOP HERE123 Nourish MeAn Australian-owned company making organic and natural products tested on real kids with no dodgy, hidden ingredients.

SHOP HERESolidteknicsSolidteknics was founded in 2014 by mechanical engineer and keen cook Mark J. Henry. Tired of the disposable, synthetic-coated pans piling up in our landfills, Mark envisioned a whole new era in cookware. One that was better for our health, and our planet. Mark has created a line of cookware that is a seamless one-piece pan, wrought from a single sheet of iron. Free from toxins, heavy metals, and synthetic coatings, and durable enough to last for centuries. It’s no secret we love our Solidteknics pans and have lots of them. These will be the best investment you can do in your kitchen that will last for lifetimes.

SHOP HEREJuJuJuJu reusable period care products are manufactured by Freedom Products. Freedom Products is a privately owned, socially responsible, and environmentally conscious company based in Sydney, Australia. Through each of their products, they aim to provide individuals with a healthier, more sustainable, and cost-effective alternative to disposable period products.

SHOP HERESinchiesAn Australian-owned company creating reusable food pouches and ziplock bags which are all free from BPA, phthalates, and PVC. The perfect addition to school lunchboxes.

SHOP HEREWe hope that helps you shop a little more additive-free and save you some money.

If you think of any other companies to support that you think we should approach, then feel free to drop your suggestions in the comments section.

Happy Shopping!

Much love,
Jo and Tracey x

The post Discount Codes & Affiliate Links appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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We have created a Winter Wellness Guide eBook to help you do all you can to stay in good health during the colder months.

We don’t know about you but it sure gets freezing cold where we live in Tasmania. So, we’ve incorporated all our hints, tips, and tricks that we use during winter to stay well.

This free guide is jam-packed with 25 pages of:

✔️ 18 food recipes
✔️ Info about what additives to avoid and a few brand recommendations
✔️ DIY recipes
✔️ 18 diffuser blend recipes
✔️ PLUS hints, tips, and lots more

All designed to compliment an additive-free lifestyle.

You can grab your copy via the button below.

Much love,
Jo & Tracey x

DOWNLOAD HEREThe post Winter Wellness Guide appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Need some additive-free Easter recipe inspiration? Here’s 15 of our fave recipes we love to cook when we all get together over the Easter weekend.

Hot Cross Buns It can’t be Easter without hot cross buns right? A quick glance at the ingredient’s list of supermarket bought hot cross buns and you will find a whole heap of additives. They’re really not hard to make and they will taste so much better when you know exactly what’s in them.

MAKE THIS RECIPEIndian Pumpkin Soup A simple winter warming recipe that is great for lunches and dinners alike with no MSG or flavours like store-bought and it’s on the table in under half an hour.

MAKE THIS RECIPEEasy Quiche This is one of our go-to recipes that we make all the time and it is a great entertaining recipe too. You can literally put whatever you want into a quiche, it’s so versatile. Plus it’s tasty no matter the weather.

MAKE THIS RECIPEHerb Crusted Salmon Wait until you try this herb crusted salmon, seriously, just wait!!! A blender or thermomix is all you need to make the crumb and then a frying pan or BBQ and you’re good to go.

MAKE THIS RECIPESalmon Patties with Homemade Tartare Salmon patties are a classic family fave and a great way to get good omega fatty acids into our bodies. They’re also a quick Good Friday dinner for those who abstain from red meat on this day.

MAKE THIS RECIPELemon and Garlic Roasted Drumsticks These chicken drumsticks are full of flavour and super easy to make. Serve with the pumpkin and halloumi salad for a mouth-watering meal.

MAKE THIS RECIPESlow-Cooked Mexican Pulled Pork This can be easily prepared the day before it’s needed and kept in the fridge until the next day and served either hot or cold.

MAKE THIS RECIPESeasoned Lamb Cutlets with Mashed Potato and Veg You can cook these either in a frying pan or on the BBQ, whatever cooking station you have free on the day.

MAKE THIS RECIPECottage Pie Another easy recipe that can be made the day before if needed.

MAKE THIS RECIPESweet Potato Chips These make the perfect side dish to any of the mains in this recipe round-up.

MAKE THIS RECIPEPumpkin and Halloumi Salad A crowd favourite as a side dish or on its own. It is super easy to make, and you can make up a batch in advance, then enjoy with your Easter feast.

MAKE THIS RECIPECitrus Chicken Salad This salad is a little different in it’s flavour combination, however, the flavours actually work well together, we don’t know how but they just do!

MAKE THIS RECIPEPotato Salad It is so easy to make, you can double the recipe if needed (in fact you can make as much as you like really). Perfect for family gatherings. Add some shredded chicken instead of diced bacon for a twist.

MAKE THIS RECIPEApple Crumble This is a true family favourite. It also freezes really well, so you could make it in advance if needed. You could also easily double this recipe making it perfect for an Easter Feast for feeding a crowd.

MAKE THIS RECIPELemon Tarts This is actually a combination of two of our favourite recipes – Lemon Butter and Sweet Vanilla Pastry. You can make mini tarts as shown in the photo, or one large tart for a dinner party, either way, this recipe will be a show stopper.

MAKE THIS RECIPEWe hope you have a wonderful Easter, no matter what that looks like for you.

For more recipe ideas, then feel free to browse around our website or check out our everyday additive-free cookbooks for sale here.

If you give these recipes a try, let us know. Leave a comment below or take a pic and tag us in it over on Facebook or Instagram. We love to see all your cooking posts.

Enjoy!

Much love,

Jo and Tracey x

The post Easter Feast Recipe Round-Up appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Whilst all the recipes on our website and in our cookbooks are additive-free, we wanted to do a round-up of our top 10 most popular additive-free recipes. If you haven’t given some of these a try, then jump on the bandwagon and join thousands of other families who have and keep coming back to these recipes over and over again.

Spinach Wraps Did you know that store-bought spinach wraps only have spinach seasoning in them? So how are green? From the artificial blue and yellow food dyes (colours 133 and 102) that are added in the ingredients. Not to mention there are multiple preservatives in there too. It really is easy to make your own and they’re completely additive-free.

MAKE THIS RECIPEEveryMite and Cheese Scrolls You know that famous black, salty, breakfast spread? Well you might be surprised to know that it contains types glutamate yeast and barley malt extracts as well as nasty caramel colour 150C. We prefer EveryMite instead which, whilst it doesn’t taste exactly the same, is a much healthier additive-free option and makes these scrolls taste delicious.

MAKE THIS RECIPEBanana Bread Ain’t no preservatives, artificial or natural flavours in this baby! Just 7 real food ingredients and it tastes delicious. It’s also a beautiful way to use old over ripe bananas too.

MAKE THIS RECIPEVegetable Stock Paste This will replace your veggie stock cubes or veggie stock which can be laden with MSG. Instead this recipes uses up old wilting veggies and also all the bits you would normally discard like carrot tops, broccoli and cauliflower leaves and stalks, etc. You can even dehydrate the paste and turn it into a stock powder.

MAKE THIS RECIPEBBQ Spice Mix This additive-free spice mix is so yummy and versatile on so many things and it’s free from glutamates and artificial flavours.

MAKE THIS RECIPESlow-Cooked Lamb Curry A hearty winter warming recipe that is economical using lamb shoulder, and is far less complicated than a lot of other curry recipes.

MAKE THIS RECIPEThai Beef Salad This is a must have whenever we go out for dinner. But why not have it at home when you know for sure what is in it. You could also turn this into a simple vegetarian dish by leaving out the meat.

MAKE THIS RECIPEZucchini Fritters These are a great way to get some good veg into you and your family. They’re perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner and can be mixed up with whatever veg you have lying around.

MAKE THIS RECIPECauli Waffles This is another versatile recipe that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Our kids love them and we’re sure you will too.

MAKE THIS RECIPESweet Potato Lentil Boats This recipe was created purely from a need to use up leftovers, being lentil bolognese and we stumbled upon a winner winner vegetarian dinner!

MAKE THIS RECIPESlow-Cooked Curried Sausages A curried sausage recipe is a staple if everyone’s household right? This one doesn’t disappoint because it is made with preservative-free sausages and tastes delish.

MAKE THIS RECIPEOven Fried Chicken This has been one of the most popular recipes on our website for years now. The flour with it’s not-so-secret herbs and spices is very reminiscent of a fast food chain that we all know but without all the additives. So give it a try, we’re sure you will love it!

MAKE THIS RECIPETandoori Lamb Kebabs Kebabs can be so versatile. You could have these for lunch, dinner or a snack, take them to an outing or just at home for no occasion other than they are amazing! They can be totally adapted to include whatever meat or veg your fussy eaters may want.

MAKE THIS RECIPESlow-Cooked Roast Chicken Have you ever looked at the ingredients on those supermarket rotisserie hot chickens? There’s over 50 ingredients with a multitude of additives including MSG, flavours, colours and more. We know these can be convenient to buy, however, when this recipe is so simple, it literally takes a minute or two to put it all in the slow cooker, there’s really no need to buy the additive laden version.

MAKE THIS RECIPEPeppermint Bliss Balls Using 100% pure food-grade peppermint essential oil and preservative-free desiccated coconut, these make the perfect school lunchbox treat or for that afternoon pick-me-up.

MAKE THIS RECIPEANZAC Biscuits We used to have a packet of the supermarket version of these for masterclasses to show people the additives in them. The packet we had didn’t go mouldy until about 3 years after we bought them. They still looked fresh as a daisy in their packaging for years! Do we really want to be eating something that takes that long to go bad? Give this additive-free recipe a try which is quick and simple to make.

MAKE THIS RECIPEAunty Betty Plain Biscuits These are the ultimate easy biscuit recipe. They make 5 dozen biscuits! That’s enough for now and enough to have in the freezer when you need them. They can also easily be turned into chocolate, choc-chip or jam drop biscuits. Very yummy and very versatile.

MAKE THIS RECIPEEasy Lemon Slice This Lemon Slice is super tasty! There are only a few simple steps to create it and it will freeze really well (iced and all) – do it, you will love it! It’s great for school lunches being nut free, but it’s perfect to take for a morning tea, playgroup or just with a nice cuppa relaxing with a good book!

MAKE THIS RECIPECoconut Cake We LOVE cake and this coconut cake we believe is one of the best. It’s perfect with a cuppa for afternoon tea, it freezes well and is great for school lunches. Just be sure to get preservative-free coconut. You can easily source this from the supermarket these days.

MAKE THIS RECIPEChocolate Ice-Cream Have you always been hesitant to make your own ice-cream? We can assure there’s no need to be, it is actually really easy. Store-bought ice-cream can be laden with really nasty additives like preservatives, annatto 160b, caramel colours, artificial colours, flavours, carrageenan and more.

MAKE THIS RECIPEFor more information on additives, have a look around our website as you will find plenty blog posts and podcast episodes about them as well as checking out our signature eCourse, Additive-Free Made Easy where we teach you all about additives, what they do to our bodies, how to avoid them and simple supermarket swaps.

If you give these recipes a try, let us know. Leave a comment below or take a pic and tag us in it over on Facebook or Instagram. We love to see all your cooking posts.

Enjoy!

Much love,

Jo and Tracey x

The post Top 20 Additive-Free Recipes appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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There are so many sunscreens out there on the market it’s hard to know which ones to choose and with some popular sunscreen brands recently (late 2021) being recalled due to benzene being detected in them, it’s important now more than ever to choose ones that are good for your body and not containing carcinogenic ingredients such as benzene, like the ones recalled.

When purchasing sunscreen, be wary of products that don’t list their full ingredients or only list the ‘active’ ingredients (unless you know and trust that they’re a natural/no synthetics brand). There will be plenty of other ingredients in there that they haven’t listed, but they simply aren’t required by our slack labelling laws to list them.

Some we found only list the preservatives in the ingredients and nothing else.

Our advice… steer clear of these! Unless we know and trust that it is a natural brand that wouldn’t put synthetics into their formula, or we know exactly what is in it, we don’t let it get anywhere near our skin where it will be absorbed into our blood stream.

In commercial branded sunscreens you are likely to find ingredients that can cause a whole array of health and environmental issues, such as:

❌ Endocrine/Hormone disruptors

❌ Delays puberty in males

❌ Skin and eye irritant

❌ Hives

❌ Dermatitis

❌ Headaches

❌ Tremors

❌ Allergic reactions

❌ Asthma

❌ Toxic to marine life with long lasting effects

The thing to consider with sunscreen is that it’s not just the side effects to you, the consumer, but also what effects it is going to have on our marine life given that we wear these sunscreens on our bodies in water sources that we share with marine life. We certainly don’t want to be harming our precious environment.

So here’s some natural options that you can get online, health food stores and even some chemists.

We get that it’s not as easy as buying them from the supermarket, but it is definitely worth it for your body and the environment.

Which natural sunscreen brand do you like? Tell us in the comments so we can spread the natural sunscreen word this summer

INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane (Avobenzone)

This ingredient is the most commonly ultraviolet filter ingredient in sunscreen.

It has been listed on PubChem as: ‘May cause long lasting harmful effects to aquatic life’. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) list it as cancer concerning due to ‘Damage to DNA due to Parasol 1789 with exposure to UVA light.

4-Methylbenzylidene CamphorThis ingredient is used in sunscreen for its ability to protect the skin against UVB radiation.

The EWG lists this as:

👉🏻 a human endocrine disruptor

👉🏻 affects development of male reproductive functions and organs

👉🏻 impaired reproductive development in males and females, via a study conducted on rats.

OctocryleneThis ingredient is used in sunscreen as a photosensitiser.

According to PubMed this chemical appears to be a strong allergen leading to contact dermatitis in children. Scientists in the US have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have products for sale containing this ingredient due to it having the potential to contain benzophenone which is a suspected carcinogen that can also interfere with key hormones and reproductive organs.

Phenoxyethanol

This ingredient is used in sunscreen as a preservative.

The EWG lists this ingredient as:

👉🏻 having the potential to cause adverse effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems

👉🏻 being linked to allergic contact urticaria and dermatitis

👉🏻 being classified as toxic or harmful.

Hydroxybenzoates (aka parabens)

This class of ingredients are used in sunscreen as preservatives.

According to the EWG: ‘Parabens can act like the hormone estrogen in the body and disrupt the normal function of hormone systems affecting male and female reproductive system functioning, reproductive development, fertility and birth outcomes. Parabens can also interfere with the production of hormones.’

Homosalate

This ingredient is used in sunscreen as a chemical UV filter.

The EWG lists this ingredient as:

👉🏻 expected to be toxic or harmful to non-reproductive organs

👉🏻 suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative.

SUNSCREENS WE RECOMMEND Simple As That Ingredients
This is our fave brand of sunscreen not only are the ingredients good, but it glides on smoothly, isn’t thick and greasy and is non-toxic to the environment. They have many different versions of their sunscreen as well as other skin health and natural beauty products. They are also Australian made and owned, organic, fair trade and vegan. They simply tick all the boxes for us. You can purchase some for yourself via the button below and if you use our code additivefree20 you’ll get 20% off.

SHOP HERESunButter Skincare SunButter stock a range of reef safe products that are safe for the skin and environment. They are also Australian made and owned. The company has a strong ethos grounded in a need to protect the environment not just from harsh UV filtering chemicals but also reducing waste by not using plastic that ends up in landfill. They are also a part of a carbon offset program through Greenfleet where they are reducing their carbon footprint with trees planted in Australia and New Zealand. Whilst SunButter products are not certified organic, all the ingredients are sustainably sourced and palm oil free. We should note that we have not personally tried SunButter as yet, however we have had many people recommend this product to us.

SHOP HERE123 Nourish Me 123 Nourish Me’s Hello Sunshine sunscreen has been a long time staple in our households. It is Australian made and owned, totally natural and safe for the whole family to use. The only downside to this sunscreen is that it is quite thick to apply and absorb into the skin and can tend to be just a little greasy. However, it works well in terms of protection and a product we definitely recommend, along with many other 123 Nourish Me products.

SHOP HEREMooGoo Clear Zinc Sunscreen This is not a bad sunscreen, but it’s not the best as there are quite a few emulsifiers in there, however it is by far a better option than what you are likely to get with commercial products. So if this is all you can get your hands on, then this is a good option. MooGoo are Australian made and have a 100% money back guarantee.

SHOP HEREEcoTan Natural Sunscreen EcoTan are known for using organic and/or natural ingredients and this product in their range is no exception. It is reef and water friendly as well as environmentally friendly and made in sugar cane packaging. It’s simple and effect and rubs in clear! They are another company who has also partnered with Greenfleet to reduce/offset their carbon footprint.

SHOP HEREAvocado Zinc Sunscreen This is Australian made in Perth and preservative free, fragrance free, chemical actives free, vegan, cruelty free, reef friendly and packaged in recyclable tubes made from recycled materials. It is non thick or greasy, easily absorbed and rubs on clear.

SHOP HEREWotnot Natural Sunscreen This is a popular Australian made brand that are not tested on animals, organic ingredients and vegan friendly, reef friendly, packed from recyclable materials and 100% recyclable. It is also preservative free, fragrance free, chemical actives free, vegan, cruelty free, reef friendly and packaged in recyclable tubes made from recycled materials. It is non thick or greasy, easily absorbed, rubs on clear and doesn’t stain clothes.

SHOP HEREIf you have any other natural brands that you have come across and would like us to review them, then comment below and we will see if they are up to our additive-free standards and can be added to this list.

Much love,

Jo & Tracey x

The post Our Top Clean Sunscreens appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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We get asked all the time what are our best tips to incorporate living additive-free into your everyday lifestyle.

Living additive-free doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming… really!

Just a few simple steps, like these, and you will be well on your way.

1. Turn packets over and read ingredient labels Never trust the fronts of packets. Marketing is an art form and companies have become very, very good at tricky and deceptive labelling… it’s even got a name – green washing.

As an example, you might see words like ‘no added MSG’ or ‘no artificial colours’ on the front of food packets.

Or when looking at skin or haircare the bottles might be ‘earthy and natural’ tones, giving the impression they are trustworthy and safe.

But when you flip the box and start reading, it tells a different story.

The food may not have artificial colours but it’s probably filled with preservatives, and the ‘earthy and natural’ items are likely filled with artificial fragrances, colours and more.

It’s always worth checking!

2. Join a like-minded community Finding your tribe is such an empowering thing.

When we started living this way we were told we were crazy, crackpot, hippy-dippy weirdos… we still get told this from time to time 🤣.

But when we found our people (people like you) it changed everything. Knowing you are not alone and having somewhere to ask questions without fear of being judged or ridiculed, well, it’s pretty darn amazing!

We have an open Facebook group that anyone is welcome to join, but if we are not your people (which is totally ok by the way) then find someone who will respect your choices to remove additives, preservatives and chemicals from your home and won’t judge you for the choices that you make.

Love and kindness all the way!

3. Start out slow, one thing at a time Take one day, one week, one bottle, one packet at a time.

Maybe you start with food, then after a bit, you add in some DIY, or maybe it’s the other way around.

When one thing runs out search for a better option, make that simple swap you have seen in a previous post of ours, or even better DIY it yourself.

Start with one thing and progress from there.

We have dozens of free recipes right here on our website, we also have a podcast show, heaps of blog posts, our cookbooks, and of course, our various paid courses:

• Additive-Free Made Easy
• Gluten-Free Made Easy
• DIY Made Easy

4. Don’t expect to know it all right away Don’t rush into it, you will not know everything, nor should you put that pressure on yourself.

It has taken years for the both of us to gain the knowledge that we have.

This has involved many, many hours reading medical jargon, listening to wellness experts, attending seminars, doing online courses and basically absorbing as much information as we can about the topic.

It wasn’t an easy path to learn all the information we did, and we are still learning, every day.

It takes a lot of time and energy to stay current. So give yourself a break, no one is expecting you to be an expert overnight.

5. Get cooking and/or DIY your own We know, we know….not everyone wants to cook it all from scratch or DIY everything… and we can promise you, neither do we.

You do not need to do it all, but you do kinda need to do some cooking and some DIY (hate to tell ya).

But don’t let this overwhelm you, remember step number three, start out slow!!!

DIY is very, very easy, the easiest, and probably quickest, thing you will do to create massive change. Most cleaning recipes take literally 30 seconds to make and we can promise that they work, it is all we use.

Pop on over and check out our DIY course – DIY Made Easy, or search in our recipes for all our free recipes, including all our food ones.

Let us know in the comments box what have been the biggest challenges you have had to overcome to create your very own additive-free lifestyle? Did you find it easy? What was the best tip you put into action to transition over to additive-free?

Now that you’ve read this blog, why not have a browse around our website here as there’s lots of information to get you started as well as some yummy recipes too.

Much love,

Jo & Tracey x

The post Top 5 Tips To Living Additive-Free appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Chocolate is good for any time of the year (are we right, or are we right?!) but what we don’t love with our chocolate is a whole bunch of additives.

So, with valentine’s day coming up let’s do a chocolate review so that you can give the best options this year.

We’ve highlighted in bold the additives we try (try being the operative word) to avoid wherever possible.

BEST TO AVOID Cadbury Favourites Ingredients
Sugar, Cocoa butter, Milk Solids, Cocoa Mass, Full Cream Milk, Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar, Sweetened Condensed Milk (Milk, Sugar), Vegetable Fat, Wheat Flour, Popping Candy (Contains Milk), Golden Syrup, Emulsifiers (Sunflower Lecithin, Soy Lecithin, 492, 476, 471), Cocoa Powder, Thickener ((1401) From Wheat), Pineapple, Acidity Regulators (330, 331), Strawberries, Apples, Colours (100, 141, 160a, 163, 171), Salt, Flavours, Vegetable Gum (414), Glazing Agent (Vegetable Oil, 901, 903), Raising Agent (500), Enzyme (Invertase), Cornstarch.

Ferrero Collection Ingredients
Ferrero Rocher
Milk Chocolate (30%) (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Skim Milk Powder, Anhydrous Milkfat, Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soy), Flavouring: Vanillin), Hazelnuts (28.5%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm*), Wheat Flour, Whey Powder, Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder, Emulsifier (Lecithins) (Soy), Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Flavouring (Vanillin).

Confetteria Raffaello
Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Desiccated Coconut (23.5%), Sugar, Whole Almond (8%), Skim Milk Powder, Whey Powder, Wheat Flour, Tapioca Starch, Flavourings*, Emulsifier (Lecithins) (Soy), Salt, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate).

Ferrero Rondnoir
Dark Chocolate (40.5%) (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soy), Flavouring: Vanillin), Sugar, Vegetable Fat (Palm*), Wheat Flour, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder, Whey Powder, Skim Milk Powder, Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soy), Flavouring: Vanillin), Wheat Starch, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower), Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soy), Glazing Agent (Gum Arabic), Whey Proteins, Cocoa Mass, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt, Flavouring: Vanillin.

*Sustainable and segregated certified palm oil.

Cadbury Roses Ingredients
Sugar, Milk Solids, Glucose Syrup, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Vegetable Fat, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Invert Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Malt Extract (From Barley), Humectant (422), Caramelised Hazelnuts (Contains Dextrose (From Wheat)), Golden Syrup, Rice Crisps, Emulsifiers (Soy Lecithin, 471, 476, 492, Sunflower Lecithin), Hazelnuts, Salt, Hydrolysed Milk Protein, Maltodextrin, Freeze-Dried Raspberries, Flavours, Vegetable Gum (440), Acidity Regulators (331, 330, 341), Raising Agents (500), Colours (141, 160c, 150d), Mineral Salt (450), Vegetable Oil, Glazing Agents (904, 901), Peanuts.

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Ingredients
Sugar, Vegetable Fats, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Whole Milk Powder, Skim Milk Powder, Lactose, Milk Fat, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Barley Malt Extract, Flavourings.

BETTER OPTIONS Pana Organic Truffles Ingredients
Mylk Truffles
Coconut Sugar, Cacao (Min 26%; Cacao Butter, Cacao Mass, Cacao Powder), Prebiotic Tapioca Fibre, Coconut Oil, Coconut Milk Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Carob, Natural Vanilla Flavour.

Mylk Caramel Truffles
Coconut Sugar, Cacao (Min 20%; Cacao Butter, Cacao Mass, Cacao Powder), Prebiotic Tapioca Fibre, Coconut Oil, Coconut Milk Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Carob, Salt, Natural Vanilla Flavour, Natural Caramel Flavour.

*Ingredients certified organic.

Organic Times Boxed Chocolates Ingredients
Dark Chocolate HazelnutsDark Chocolate (67%) (Rapadura Whole Cane Sugar, Cristallino Cane Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Soya Lecithin), Hazelnuts (33%), Glazing Agent.

Dark Chocolate MacadamiasDark Chocolate (65%) (Rapadura Whole Cane Sugar, Cristallino Cane Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Soya Lecithin), Macadamia Nuts (35%), Glazing Agent.

Dark Chocolate Almonds
Dark Chocolate (65%) (Rapadura Whole Cane Sugar, Cristallino Cane Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Soya Lecithin), Almonds (35%), Glazing Agent.
​
*Ingredients certified organic. No use of GMOs. As you can see the Pana Organic and Organic Times are far better options with less additives and more real ingredients.

Of course, you can always skip the chocolates and opt for something different, such as:

❤️ A lovely picnic at the park or beach

❤️ A day trip out in nature

❤️ A cozy movie night

The choices are endless.

Did you know we teach you all about additives and preservatives in our signature course, Additive-Free Made Easy?

You will learn what additives can do to your body, how to avoid them, simple supermarket swaps and so much more. Join the waitlist for our next round so that you don’t miss out.

💕 Happy Valentines Day 💕

Much love,

Jo & Tracey x

The post Best Chocolates To Give For Valentine’s Day appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Last Sunday (21 November 2021) we had a pre-Christmas lunch with our family as a few of us will be traveling and won’t be here on Christmas Day. We kept it super casual and fuss-free, and it was perfect. Since it was lunch we didn’t bother with any elaborate platters (as there was enough food about to be consumed), so all we had was just had a bowl of Bhuja original mix (which didn’t really get eaten as I think everyone was saving themselves for the smorgasbord about to happen).

• We gathered around 11 am, opened presents, and ate around 12 pm.

For lunch, we had a pretty traditional roast turkey, roast chicken, a range of vegetables, and steamed trout (see – simple, but delicious).

Here’s a breakdown of what we had:

MAIN MEAL 🦃 Roast turkey with stuffingIngredients

1 roast turkey

Stuffing recipe:
About 6-8 slices of crusty bread (freeze crusts)
1 large brown onion, diced
1 heaped tablespoon dried mixed herbs
1 heaped tablespoon chicken bone broth powder
1 large tablespoon butter

Optional: Once blended, stir in a handful of chopped walnuts and dried cranberries

Method
1. Place everything into a blender and puree until fine.

1. Insert stuffing into the turkey cavity and cook as per package instructions.

This serving platter is our 99-year-old Nan’s, apparently, she used to serve Christmas dinner on it when our Mum was a little girl ❤️.

🍗 Roast chickenIngredients
1/2 brown onion, peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 large chicken
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon mixed herbs

drizzle olive oil

Method
1. Place the onion and garlic clove into the middle of the cavity.

1. Place chicken on a roasting tray and cover the skin with herbs and spices. Drizzle the top with olive oil.

2. Roast in the oven at 200ºC for 30 mins then turn it down to 180ºC until cooked. This will depend on how large your chicken is. We allowed 2 hours for ours.

Notes: You can flavour your chicken with anything you like. Flavours that work well, either together or mixed and matched are: lemon zest, fresh garlic, sliced onion, marjoram, mixed herbs, garlic powder, and paprika.

🍠 Roast potatoes, sweet potato, and pumpkin
Use as many roast veggies as you need. Peel and chop them up into roasting-sized chunks and par-boil the potatoes until just tender (but not cooked).
Place them into a roasting/baking tray and cover with olive oil. Sprinkle herbs and spices (of choice) over them all.
Bake at 180ºC for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until golden and cooked through.

🌽 Boiled peas, beans, carrots, and corn
No need for a recipe for those 😉

🧀 Cauliflower bakeIngredients

1 whole cauliflower
1 x batch white sauce

1 cup freshly grated cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.

2. Dice cauliflower into chunks and place it into an oven-safe dish.

3. Cover with white sauce and top with grated cheese.

4. Bake for 45 minutes.

Note: If the top begins to cook too much cover it with some foil, or turn the temp down and cook for a bit longer.

🦃 Homemade turkey gravyIngredientsJuices from the cooked turkey

4 tablespoons plain flour (GF works well)

4 tablespoons chicken bone broth powder

2 cup cold water

Approx 2 cups water (use the water from boiled veggies for extra flavour), plus a little extra cold water

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Add all the juices and any little bits of meat that have stuck to the roasting tray to a frying pan along with 1 cup water and turn onto medium-high heat.

2. In a separate jug mix together the flour, bone broth powder, and 1/2 cup cold water to form a runny paste.

3. Pour the paste into the pan and stir continuously until it starts to thicken, then turn the temperature down to very low. As it gets thicker add boiling veggie water until you get the consistency you desire.

🐟 Steamed troutIngredients1 lemon, sliced

3-4 teaspoons butter

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried or one handful fresh dill

Salt/pepper

Method

1. Layout some foil and baking paper onto an oven tray. Ensure there is enough to wrap around the fish.

2. Place 1/2 the sliced lemon and 3-4 teaspoons of butter onto the baking paper. Lay the trout on top.

3. Add the remaining sliced lemon along the inside of the fish, along with a few grindings of salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle the trout with garlic powder, dill and a little extra salt and pepper.

5. Wrap the fish up, ensure it is all covered. Cook on approx 150 – 170ºC. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your fish. Our fish (pictured) was 3 pounds and we cooked it for 45 minutes.

DESSERT 🧁 Mini pavlovas

Notes: We made individual pavlovas so each person could build-their-own. It’s a really great way to do it, especially when there are allergies or food intolerances.

The toppings on offer we had were:

👉🏻 Whipped cream

👉🏻 Fruit salad

👉🏻 Strawberries

👉🏻 Coal River Farm chocolate honeycomb broken into pieces

We used this recipe.

🎄 Christmas pudding (our grandmother’s recipe)

Ingredients

1/2 packet mixed fruit (preservative-free)

1/2 packet dates, chopped fine

2 cups plain flour + extra for muslin cloth coating

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter + extra for muslin cloth coating

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon bicarb soda

25ml butter rum essence (not totally additive-free)

Method

1. Mix fruit and dry ingredients (not bi-carb) together in a large bowl.

2. Heat the milk and butter together in a pot until nearly boiling, then pour into bowl with dry ingredients. Stir together.

3. Add bicarb and butter rum essence to the bowl and mix until well combined. The mixture will be quite wet and that’s ok.

4. Damp a large piece of calico cloth (approx 50 x 50cm) and spread it with butter and a sprinkling of flour to stop it from sticking to the pudding. Flour well or line with damp baking paper.

5. Place cloth inside a large bowl with the cloth overhanging the sides of the bowl. Have this floured side up (you’re about to tip the pudding mixture in).

6. Pour the batter into the bowl (on top of the baking paper if using) and then scrunch the top together. Tie in string so it’s tight and no water can get through.

7. Using a large pot (bigger than the pudding) place a plate in the bottom to stop the pudding from touching the bottom. Place pudding in, then fill with water so the pudding is submerged. Boil on low for 2 and half hours.

8. Remove pudding and let it cool down to room temperature. Keep in cloth until ready to eat.

🎄 Vanilla Custard

Ingredients

500 grams milk

60 grams raw sugar

30 grams cornflour

2 eggs

Thermal Method

1. Add sugar and cornflour to mixing jug and blitz for 10 seconds/speed 9.

2. Add all remaining ingredients to mixing jug and cook for 7 minutes/90°C/speed 4.

Traditional Method

1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until a smooth, thick consistency. Stir constantly.

DRINKS We kept it really simple when it came to beverages:

Water

Roar raspberry cordial

Lemonade (Schweppes contains the least additives)

Beer (which the boys drank)

It wasn’t a perfectly additive-free Christmas lunch (thanks to the rum and lemonade), but as we say, sometimes you just #dontstressit

We hope this has given you some ideas for your Christmas food.

Have an amazing day and a very merry Christmas to you all.

Much love,

Jo & Tracey x

The post Our (almost) Additive-Free Christmas Lunch appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Fragranced products aren’t as heavily regulated in Australia as food or pharmaceutical products. Manufacturers can put the words ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’ on a list of ingredients rather than the specific chemicals used. This makes it more difficult for people to identify the substances they know may affect them.

The above is a direct quote from the following article:

Perfume stinks: how fragrances can affect your health

The article further goes onto state that:

About 1 in 3 people report having health problems when exposed to fragranced products. Those problems include asthma attacks, hay fever, headache, migraine, dizziness, breathing problems, rashes, congestion, nausea and seizures.

According to research by the University of Melbourne, some people have even lost work days or a job because of illness caused by fragranced goods such as air fresheners, cleaning supplies, laundry products and personal care items.

If you’ve clicked on the article you will see that it is on healthdirect which is an Australian government website. The article details the toxic nature of fragrances and even gives tips to live a fragrance-free life. This is all well and good, but the problem we have with this is the government is the overarching body that regulates fragrances in the first place.

So, on the one hand, they are letting these fragrances out into the public arena, but on the other hand, they are telling you how bad they are and how to avoid them… conflicting much? 🤷🏼‍♀️ At the bottom of the article it details where to seek help with this issue and plays a classic game of football and handballs finding a solution to the problem to you. It even goes so far as to detail that if you have a workplace issue with fragrance and your employer is not addressing the situation, then you can report them to WorkSafe.

And people wonder why we don’t trust the government to keep us safe!

We really do think it’s great that they have published such an article on a government webstie, we just wish it equated to them then walking the walk and regulating the industry a whole lot better, where the consumer’s health was the first priority. Because if consumer health was the first priority, then these toxic fragrances would be banned! It would then force companies to clean up their ingredients.

Education is key, we get that, but passing the buck when the government could actually do something to correct what is a known problem just leaves us feeling frustrated.

Stink!

So, in light of education let’s take that a little further.

Let’s throwback to the time we interviewed Jon Whelan who created and directed the Netflix movie Stink!

This was such an eye-opener! After losing his beloved wife to cancer, Jon then becomes the sole parent to their two beautiful daughters. In an attempt to buy a nice gift for his daughters that they would love, he bought them some pyjamas from a fave online store of theirs, but when they arrived he noticed a strange smell coming from them. They were fragranced!

Why on earth do pyjamas need to be scented?

Perplexed by this very unnecessary notion Jon went on a journey to find out what the ingredients were in those fragranced pyjamas. You would think this would be a simple call to the manufacturer to get the answer, unfortunately, it wasn’t. What then transpired led him down a rabbit hole of potentially toxic secrets of the chemical industry.

It honestly blew our minds how deep this went. If you haven’t seen the movie, we highly recommend you do and then have a listen to this podcast episode for an even greater deep dive into something that simply should not be happening!

Listen in via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify and for the comprehensive show notes head here: https://additivefreelifestyle.com/podcast161/

Just the tip of the iceberg

Unfortunately, fragrance is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what to look out for in your cleaning and personal care products. There are plenty more to look out for which is easy enough to do if you know what you’re looking for.

So, let’s again throwback to a previous podcast episode where we interviewed Krissy Ballinger about all the main nasty ingredients to look out for and what they do to your body. Listen in via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify and for the comprehensive show notes head here: https://additivefreelifestyle.com/podcast102/

Tracey & Jo xx

The post This Is Why We Don’t Trust The Government To Keep Us Safe appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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It’s finally here!

You guys have been asking for this for a long time so here it is… our review on Nuttelex. Not only have we reviewed the original Nuttelex, but all 8 products in the Nuttelex range.

Quite honestly, it has taken us a while to do this because we knew this would probably break a few hearts and we didn’t really have options to swap it out for, but after scouring the dark corners of the interwebs we have come up with options that you can swap it over to because we know you guys love simple swaps!

Simply click on the link below and you will be able to have the fact sheet sent straight to your inbox.

SEND ME THE FACT SHEETMuch love,Jo & Tracey x

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Because I am going to chronicle my thyroid journey ongoing for you guys, I should make sure I date each section and edition…

3 July 2021

Thyroid and health – these two things go hand in hand with each other!!

I have had a battle with my thyroid for the past 30 years! It has been underactive, overactive, Graves disease, obliterated with a radioactive iodine treatment, and then back to underactive…

This has affected my health in so many ways. Over the years I have felt so extremely lethargic and tired. I have been overweight and underweight (both of which have come with health issues). My hair is super thin, my eyebrows are even thinner. Brittle nails, dry and oily skin, inflammation in the body, resulting in muscle aches and stiffness, constipation, super sensitive to cold, menstrual issues… and did I mention fatigue!

But did it have to be this way? Did I have to go through all of this? Could I have changed things in my lifestyle to fix issues before they arose?

Who knows really? We can’t go back in time, but what I do know (if I could go back in time), knowing all the things I know now – about environmental toxins (both in and around our house), processed food, exercise, mindset, and self-care, I would change so many things and make very different decisions.

1. The first thing I would do is find an integrative general practitioner who was willing to treat the root cause and teach me ways to improve my health on a deeper level than just prescribe me pharmaceuticals.
2. I would research for myself! I would read more about hormones. I would listen to podcasts from various health professionals outside the ‘mainstream’, like holistic nutritionists, naturopaths, osteopaths, and/or chiropractors.
3. I would respect my body and treat it better. I would fuel it with organic food as a form of medicine. I would start an anti-inflammatory diet asap. Not one doctor during the past 30 years ever spoke to me about diet – NOT ONE!
4. I would learn how to use essential oils to lower the environmental toxins around my house. This is massive! Artificially fragranced items are highly toxic to our bodies, our hormones and our thyroid – think perfume, body wash, hair care, deodorants, washing powder – anything fragranced!
5. I would take supplements without any hesitation. I would use plant medicines (aka essential oils) with support from my GP.

Had I done all those things, had I lived pro-active in my health, had I chosen a different path 30 years ago, would I still be where I am now? I don’t think I would be!

So my question to you is – what are you waiting for? You have the tools, you have the information, we are here to help guide you through removing additives from your food and toxins from your house… so let us help!

We are not saying it will solve everything, but it is a step in the right direction and it can’t hurt anything. I know, without any hesitation, that if I was still living the way I did before, I would be sicker than I am right now. In fact, I had a health professional tell me that recently – the only thing keeping me going was because of the lifestyle I now live. So again, let us help. Register for Additive-Free Made Easy and start making changes for the future you, today! Much love,

Tracey x

Thyroid journey continued… 12 July 2021 I had a follow-up appointment at my doctor’s on Tuesday 6 July 2021 to discuss just how my thyroid was going. I have been taking the Thyroid supplements for around a month now, I am still on zero prescription medications, I have been following my own protocol (for the most part) as detailed above, and I am happy to report… I am feeling a LOT better! One thing that came up in my appointment was adrenal stress. He was very concerned that I am putting a lot of stress on my adrenals which is restricting my thyroid’s ability to improve. What do our adrenals do? Our adrenals produce adrenaline and manage our fight or flight response, they are also responsible for producing hormones that help to regulate blood pressure, blood sugar, immune response, digestion, and more. Suffice to say, they are pretty darn important. So, if you are constantly stressed (worried, anxious, nervous, etc) and your adrenals are in overdrive your body will be continuously be producing and flooding your body with cortisol (aka the stress hormone). Your body will then be ignoring anything it deems unnecessary in order to overcome the stress in front of you. This means it is ignoring your digestive system, immune system, and thyroid hormone production (just to name a few)!! This is what your body does when it is in parasympathetic mode. A mode that it is vital for your body to be in. However, your body cannot be in fight or flight and in parasympathetic mode at the same time. It can only do one or the other, therefore if you are constantly in flight or fight, everything else it needs to do to function is left by the wayside. So, what do we do about this? Luckily for me, I am already reducing environmental stressors such as food additives, preservatives, gluten, chemical cleaners, and body products, so my overall toxic load is incredibly low. This was the very first thing he asked me about – diet and lifestyle. Side note: Massive happy dance for a Doctor whose first instinct is to ask about diet and lifestyle 💃 ! The second thing he suggested for me was making sure I was supplementing my body with Vitamins C and D, Zinc, Selenium, and a few other herbs I can’t pronounce. These all help support adrenal-thyroid health and are a major part of my treatment plan. The third thing I need to get on top of is sleep – basically, I need more quality sleep. So here’s what I’ll do: 1. Wear my blue blocker glasses (I love Baxter Blue – use code: AFLIFESTYLE for 15% off) all day and night. 2. Take the doTERRA Adaptiv softgels nightly. 3. Diffuse calming essential oils for at least a few hours before bed. For me, it will be a mix of lavender, frankincense, and bergamot. 4. Add a drop of roman chamomile to my nighttime moisturiser. 5. Apply copaiba and clary sage to the soles of my feet as I slide into bed.

I need to continue getting in the sauna, enjoying a bath, regular exercise and generally taking care of myself, but I know there are still things I can and will improve as time goes on. I have to get repeat blood tests in a few weeks, but even then, my treatment plan may not change, it all comes down to how I am feeling. If I am feeling great and my symptoms are not causing me any issues he won’t recommend prescription meds and I’ll just stick to what I am doing. Fingers crossed for that 🤞🏻 ! Gosh, it feels good to be working with a Doctor that respects my lifestyle and works with me, not against me. It really is a total game-changer!! Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to taking medications if the need arises, but I am doing a range of things to stop that happening in the first place and it feels amazing! To learn more about additives and preservatives and general ways to lower your toxic load, head over to our website and register for Additive-Free Made Easy. Change your lifestyle, change your health! I will continue to keep you updated as my journey continues. Tracey x

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EMAIL ME THE LETTERZooper Doopers or Quelch’s are firm favourites when it comes to school class celebrations. Now, probably not for you since you’re reading this blog… but for the majority of schools around the country, these are what’s encouraged to be handed out if you want your child to host a class celebration, for let’s say, their birthday.

We also know they’re handed out for fundraising, sports days, hot weather days and even ‘clean out the canteen’ days.

So with 30+ students in a classroom, plus all the other days these are handed out, that’s a lot of consumption!!

If you’d like to make a difference and help your school choose a healthier alternative, download this letter, edit it to suit you and your family, then send it in to your school principal or relevant person in charge.

It might seem scary, but in reality, it’s not as bad as you think. Just think about the number of lives you can change!

Most tuckshops have ‘party buckets’ which parents can buy. Normally this consists of a bucket of Zooper Doopers or Quelch’s and the tuckshop staff take it up to the classroom. Parents purchase it online via their tuckshop App and all is good to go.

Nothing for the parent to do but to buy it, so easy.

Most parents (we assume) would know that these aren’t a health food and say to themselves “one won’t matter”. But once you know the potential side effects of the ingredients in Zooper Doopers and Quelch’s such as them being heavily linked to behavioural issues, respiratory issues (asthma attacks) and even some colours being carcinogenic (having the potential to cause cancer) you quickly change your mind.

Plus, then you realise that it’s not just one when you start to add up everyone’s birthdays and fundraising days listed above. One every now and then, turns into one every week (or even more!).

We have covered all the nasty info about Zooper Doopers and Quelch in separate blog posts which you can check out here:

?? Zooper Doopers

?? Quelch

So we’re on a mission to ditch these toxic foods from classrooms and tuckshops and we know you are too because you write in and ask how to make a difference all the time!

This is why we’ve put together this letter, to help you make a difference within your school community.

It might seem a bit scary, but seriously, what’s the worse that can happen? They say no? At least you’ve tried!

Please feel free to make it personal and reword what you like. We’ve tried to keep it as generic as we can, but of course please add your own personal touch.

Good luck! Write in and let us know how you go.

All the love,

Jo & Tracey x

EMAIL ME THE LETTER The post Ditching the Zooper Doopers or Quelch’s – letter for you to send into your school appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Bet we have your attention now, don’t we?!

One of the first things we both did when we started living additive-free was to suss out ways to stick to our very strict, family budgets. We both have two children, a mortgage, school fees, bills and expenses, just like everyone else… at times things have been super tight financially, so we get it… it can be hard to stick to living additive-free when things seem so expensive all the time.

These are our top ten tips for living additive-free:

1. DIY

Making our own cleaning products saved us a fortune and still does. It also saves the environment and your health from the impacts of some pretty nasty ingredients. We both DIY all our own cleaning items, from toilet cleaner, bench spray, shower scrubs… right down to dishwashing liquid. As it stands right now, companies don’t have to list the ingredients on cleaning products. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you may see the active ingredients listed on the bottle, but not a full list of ingredients. This means we have no way of knowing what harsh chemicals lurk inside. We do know for a lot of them they come with a whole bunch of warnings on the label. Take for example the warnings on this popular brand of mould household spray cleaner:

Do not mix with acids, ammonia or other household products, especially toilet cleaners. Ensure adequate ventilation when using vapour may be harmful. Corrosive. May produce severe burns. Attacks skin and eyes. Avoid contact with skin and eyes. Do not spray product towards eyes or face. Wear protective gloves and eye protection when using. Wash bonds immediately after contact with this product. Do not mix with hot water.

So, in a nutshell, this is telling you to wear not just gloves, but a proper ventilation face mask and adequate eye protection… how many people are doing this?? My guess is zero! Why risk it? It is so easy, quick, and cheap to make your own. Check out this post and video where I made 10 DIY products in 10 minutes.

2. Meal Plan

Write out your meals for the week/fortnight or even month. From this, write out your shopping list… and stick to it! Try to not impulse buy when shopping and choose meals that you can bulk cook and then freeze. We know a great cookbook if you need a recommendation!

3. Meat Free Nights

Try and plan a few vegetarian nights each week. Reducing your meat intake will reduce your overall grocery bill. It is also great for your body to have a few days rest from trying to digest meat. Our Lentil Bolognese is ah-mazing!

4. Farmers Market

Buying in bulk is something we have always done and will continue to do. Shop in bulk via a co-op, farmers market, or your local wholefoods store. Shopping in bulk generally saves you money, and it also saves you time. The less time you spend at the supermarket the less money you will spend on impulse buying.

5. Pack Your Own Lunch

Yes, you! Pack your lunch when you pack the kids. Buying your lunch is mega expensive, so make yourself some salads, soups, savoury muffins, or whatever it is you like to eat, and pack your lunch the night before like you do the kids.

6. Make Your Own

Give it a try, it is easier than it looks. Sauces, jams, chutneys, and relishes are all very easy to make. Making these when the fruits or berries are in season is the perfect time to do it. Also, jam can be made from frozen berries, so there are really no excuses.

7. Freeze It There isn’t much that we have found that doesn’t freeze ok. Peeled garlic, diced onions, old bananas, crusts from stale bread, yoghurt that is almost out of date, cream, butter, sauces… and so much more. Not everything will look amazing once defrosted, but they are generally ok to use in cooking once defrosted. I use plain yoghurt and cream in my curries. Butter freezes and then defrosts totally ok to use as normal. Turn frozen bread crusts into breadcrumbs. Homemade sauces all defrost perfectly. Chopped garlic and onions are perfect for cooking with, just throw them into your recipe while frozen, they’ll defrost quickly. Bananas are great for adding to smoothies or making some nice-cream. Just peel and dice them up, then freeze in an airtight container.

We also freeze cakes and biscuits that are already iced. We freeze leftovers all the time. We freeze excess cooked rice or pasta. We figure there is no harm in freezing it first, before tossing it into the bin. Most of the time we have success.

8. Grow Your Own

It really is easier than you think to grow a few things at home. Rosemary, parsley, mint, thyme and most other herbs are super easy and take up hardly any room at all. Lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes, brown or red onions and garlic all pretty much grow themselves. Also, give zucchini and pumpkins a try. These have been amazing in our house. You will need a little extra room for these, but if you have it, plant some next year, it is worth it.

A great page to follow for understanding what to plant at what time of year is Gardening Australia. Also, try and source your seeds or seedlings from a reputable source. If possible, try and get heirloom seeds.

9. Be Prepared This is about having things ready to eat, eg – peel and cut up enough potatoes or carrots for a few nights. Store the uncooked ones, covered in water, in the fridge (this also works for sweet potato and carrots). Something I love to do is cook a few trays of sweet potato and pumpkins each week. All you have to do is peel and dice them, drizzle over some olive oil, then bake in the oven until golden (approx. 170ºC). Allow them to cool down, then store in an airtight container, in the fridge. When ready to eat, add some to a bit of baby spinach, a small handful of cashews and some pre-cooked chicken. This is a super-fast, yet filling lunch. Or cook a double batch of biscuits, or two cakes at once. The more prepared you are the less likely you’ll be to stop and grab something impulsive on the way home.

10. Use a Great Resource

Of course, I am going to plug our cookbook, Everday Additive-Free here, but in all seriousness, having access to a resource like that is priceless. It will help you meal plan, you’ll learn about additives, there are hints and tips to freezing or cooking double… PLUS there are so many recipe options, you’ll never get bored.

I hope that gives you some inspiration to help you save money and helps you to realise that living additive-free really isn’t more expensive, in fact with a little prep it can save you $$$.

Much love Tracey x The post Save Money Living Additive-Free appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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We thought we knew the difference between flavours and natural flavours. In fact, we had already written a blog post on this topic, we just needed a few little bits of extra info as part of our investigations. We figured we’d call Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to clarify a few things and that would be it… we’d press publish and this article would be done, simple! Little did we know that that phone call to FSANZ turned everything we thought we knew on its head!

Yep, turns out that there is more to this than meets the eye!

In fact, the truth is even scarier than what we originally thought. So are you ready to go down the rabbit hole with us? We promise you’ll want to stick around until the end. So, 3… 2… 1… Let’s go!

FLAVOUR The word ‘flavour’ (or some derivative of) seems to be everywhere on food packaging these days. But do you really know what it means? The reality is you don’t go to the supermarket and wander around looking for the aisle that stocks ‘flavour’ because ‘flavour’ doesn’t actually exist. It’s a collective term that the dictionary defines as a ‘substance or extract that provides a particular taste’. So, how can an ingredient label list ‘artificial flavour’, ‘flavour’ or ‘natural flavour’ as an ingredient when it’s not actually a tangible thing?

What are Flavours?

If you live in the US they are defined as being processed from unnatural/artificial substances such as petroleum and coal tar and used to enhance the flavour of food. In fact, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) defines them as:

Flavors are complex mixtures that sometimes comprise more than 100 chemicals. In addition to flavors themselves, these mixtures contain chemicals that have other functions. Solvents, emulsifiers, flavor modifiers and preservatives often make up 80 to 90 percent of the mixture. 1

What are Natural Flavours?

Surely given the name says ‘natural’ we’re onto a winner now aren’t we????? Oh, how we would love to say yes! Honestly, we would love nothing more than that.

Again, if you live in the US, natural flavours can be either a combination of the ‘flavours’ (from above) mixed with some animal/natural plant materials or they could be 100% natural.

Senior Scientist at EWG, Dr David Andrews Ph.D., notes:

The main difference between a natural and artificial flavor is the origin of the flavor chemicals. Natural flavors must be derived from plant or animal material. Artificial flavors are synthesized in the lab. The actual chemicals in these two kinds of flavors may be exactly the same: the chemical structures of the individual molecules may be indistinguishable…

From a food manufacturer’s perspective, the difference between a natural and artificial flavor often comes down to cost and consumer preference. A natural flavor almost always costs much more than an artificial flavor. Still, food makers are often willing to pay because they know that some consumers prefer “natural” flavors.

Interestingly, the chemical mixtures that comprise artificial flavors are often simpler than “natural” flavors. The reason: artificial flavors contain fewer chemicals than natural ones, which can be mixtures of several hundred chemicals. 2

How does that relate to Australia and New Zealand?

The short answer is, it doesn’t! Whilst we do get a lot of packaged food from overseas, including the US, our food standards fall under Foods Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). As such, our legislation, the Food Standards Code (the Code) does not differentiate between artificial flavours or natural flavours.

Permitted flavour substances are listed in the Code under the class name, Flavour (or Flavours if there is more than one ingredient). When listing a flavour(s) in the Code, according to our source at FSANZ, they do not look at where the ingredients in that flavour(s) is/are derived from.

Just to reiterate the point, the terms ‘artificial flavour(s)’ and ‘natural flavour(s)’ are not legislated or legally recognised under Australian and New Zealand legislation, meaning they can be used interchangeably.

Do you see what we’re saying here?… food packaging that appears to be a healthier option because it has ‘natural flavours’ may not necessarily be the case. It can just all be clever marketing speak. The term ‘natural flavours’ in Australia means nothing… literally! FSANZ only looks at those ingredients as ‘flavours’.

What’s to stop a company from promoting their artificial flavour as natural?

Technically, as it stands right now in Australia and New Zealand, not a great deal.

There are a few extra measures to consider when it comes to food packaging. Companies are more aware that us, their consumers, are way savvier now when it comes to understanding ingredient labels. They know we are watching what they are doing and we are not fooled as easily. Secondly, and most importantly as the FSANZ website details:

In addition to the Food Standards Code, all representations made about food are subject to fair trading laws and food laws in Australia and New Zealand which prohibit false, misleading or deceptive representations (for further information see Truth in labelling, weights and measures and legibility).

This second point obviously relies on companies being held accountable and being brought before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) if they breach these fair trading laws. To give you an example of the truth in the labelling, according to FSANZ:

Foods must be labelled with an accurate name or description that indicates the true nature of the food, for example ’Strawberry Yoghurt’ should contain strawberries. If it were to contain strawberry flavouring rather than real strawberries, the label should indicate that it is strawberry flavoured yoghurt.

Whilst this goes some way to being a safeguard it doesn’t safeguard against the word ‘flavour’ and this seems to be where the waters start to get muddy. So let’s dive even further, shall we?

What are flavours?

We’ve been told that natural flavours and artificial flavours are the same things in Australia and New Zealand. So, what exactly are flavour(s) then?

The Code defines them as:

flavouring substance means a substance that is used as a food additive to perform the technological purpose of a flavouring in accordance with this Code.

The reality is they can be anything… they can be created to mimic the flavour of existing foods. For example, instead of using real fruit as an ingredient, Flavourists (or Food Chemists as they are also known) will create a synthetic flavour to mimic the taste of that fruit. Why would they do this instead of just using the fruit? Well, it’s cheaper for the manufacturer to produce, and allows the ingredient to be more shelf-stable given it can consist of a multitude of ingredients that are man-made and not naturally derived.

Currently, companies are permitted to use flavouring substances from multiple lists of publications which are essentially like flavour recipe books. They are often big thick books that list a bunch of ingredients that make up a flavouring substance. HERE is an example of what a smaller version of a flavour recipe book looks like in case you’re curious to see. Companies can use these flavouring substances to make up their own unique flavours. An example that was given to us was a high profile soft drink company used multiple flavouring substances from different publications to create their own signature flavour profile which is their own trade secret and intellectual property.

As long as companies are using flavours from the publications of permitted flavouring substances, then they can use whatever they want in their ‘flavour’ without having to list it in the ingredients label on the food packaging.

Companies literally have HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS of permitted flavouring substances at their disposal that they can use in their products. There is no limit on the number of ingredients they can use in their ‘flavours’ in any one product.

This is what blew our minds, we had no idea that there were so many permitted substances to choose from… and… we had no idea that in the Code they don’t look at where the ingredients are derived from, as long as they are from one of those flavour books, they are permitted for use.

So basically, it falls back to us, the consumer, to be aware of all of this and report to the ACCC if we suspect that companies are using the words ‘natural flavours’ when in actual fact there is nothing natural about them.

You can contact the company and ask them what their flavour(s) consists of, but they’re not obligated to tell you. We have done this more times than we can count and whilst some have been honest and told us what it is, most will simply say it’s their confidential intellectual property or trade secret that they do not wish to reveal for fear of being copied by other companies.

The truth, we believe, more lies in the fact that it’s a loophole in the system that allows companies to hide ingredients without the consumers knowing. We’re not saying that this is always the case, but it does beg the question.

Clever marketing!

It’s a shame that we have no idea what we’re eating and being misled by purchasing products listing ‘natural flavour’ thinking it’s the better choice. But then again, it could be? Who knows? Because we have no idea what is in it, therefore no idea what we’re eating!!

We reiterate again that natural flavour(s) could be a collective bunch of ingredients with one or two natural ingredients plus a whole bunch of synthetic ingredients. Or it could simply be a vanilla bean, or it could be all synthetic ingredients … we have no idea!? And because we don’t know what they are, we have no way of knowing what they’re doing to our bodies both in the short term or long term.

Yes, we may be totally sceptical but after having delved into this rabbit hole… err… sorry, food industry for as long as we have now, we’ve seen our fair share of loopholes, tricks and stunts.

What to look out for

Let’s go back to the yoghurt for example. If a strawberry yoghurt label says ‘strawberry flavoured yoghurt’ then there doesn’t have to be any real strawberries in it. It can just contain ‘strawberry flavour’ made by a Food Chemist. However, if the ingredient label looks like this one from the Siggi’s Strawberry Yoghurt, then you can tell it’s using real strawberries and not just ‘flavouring’:

Skim milk, cream, milk solids, strawberry (5%), cane sugar, pectin, live yoghurt cultures (live Active Cultures: S. thermophilus, L. delbrueck-ii subsp. bulgaricus, B. lactis, L. acidophilus).

Another example is maple syrup. Maple Flavoured Syrup is not the real deal. Here’s what the ingredients are for Green’s Maple Flavoured Syrup:

Sugar, Water, Glucose Syrup (From Wheat, Contains Sulphites), Salt, Natural Flavour, Colour [Caramel (150D)], Preservatives (202, 211).

Whereas pure maple syrup, such as the ingredients for the Woolworths 100% Canadian Maple Syrup is:

Canadian Maple Syrup.

Vanilla Flavouring, again… not the real deal:

Water, Imitation Vanilla Flavours, Colour: (150d), Preservative (202), Food Acid (330).

Whereas Vanilla Extract, a much purer choice:

Extract of Pure Madagascan Vanilla Beans [Water, Alcohol (35% vol.), Vanilla Bean Extractives].

Not all companies who list ‘natural flavours’ are bad

We have come to know, love and trust many brands over our years of living additive-free. We pick up the phone or get on our emails and ask what their ingredients mean if we aren’t sure. We ask what their ‘natural flavours’ are, or we ask them if their ‘natural flavours’ are a compound of ingredients.

We’re sure there are plenty of companies out there who list natural flavours with integrity and purity of ingredients. Unfortunately, this labelling system is so muddied now it’s failing under the weight of those who are unscrupulously using it to their advantage.

Companies who are transparent either in their labelling or whether you contact them and they tell you the truth, are good in our book. But it’s up to us, as the consumer, to be discerning and to look after ourselves and not to expect food companies to prioritise our health.

What can you do now?

We get that we’ve probably freaked you out… it freaked us out!

But don’t despair, here’s a list of things you can do:

1. Contact the food company/manufacturer and ask them to provide you with a list of exactly what their flavour(s) consists of. If they refuse to tell you, request they formally register your objection. If they don’t want to tell you it could simply be that they don’t want their secret ‘flavour’ revealed or it could be that they have something to hide… who knows?
2. Decide whether you trust that brand or not based on other products they manufacture. Do they have a reputation for purity with their ingredients? Do they have a reputation for transparency with the majority of their products?
3. If you are unsure of ingredients on a packet, then go with your gut and put it back on the shelf.
4. Look for an alternative brand to purchase with cleaner ingredients instead.
5. Decide whether you want to allow this food into your 80/20 rule.

You may be thinking that this seems useless and a waste of time because how can one person make a difference. Don’t forget that every single person adds up and every little bit counts. Companies will never know unless they are told and if they are told the same thing enough times, they will start to listen. They will definitely listen if their profit margins take a hit!

Don’t let them continue to disempower you. Your health matters and we all deserve to know what we’re eating!

Here are some brands that we trust because of their transparency on ingredients labels and when we have contacted them directly:

1. Nutra Organics
2. Changing Habits
3. Raw Cordial
4. Whole Kids
5. Gevity RX
6. Googys
7. Hopper
8. EveryMite

Jo and Tracey x

References:

1, 2: https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/content/natural-vs-artificial-flavors/

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Processed meats, like ham and bacon, are a hot topic for us, cause … well, it’s yum! But these types of meats predominantly use nitrates/nitrites as their main preservative.

This is an incredibly harsh preservative that once in your bloodstream, has the potential to be highly carcinogenic. You can also add to the potential list of side effects shortness of breath, asthma, lack of energy, dizziness, headaches, rapid pulse, nausea, vomiting, hyperactivity, behavioural issues and is prohibited in foods for infants and young children. Sounds nasty huh?!

Let’s be clear though, nitrates/nitrites can naturally occur in fruits and vegetables, this is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about the synthetically created version that is added to processed meats to extend shelf life and to make them look vibrant in colour.

So, is there an alternative you can buy so you don’t have to give it up altogether?

These days smallgood manufacturers are starting to get on board with our needs and provide products that are low, or sometimes totally free, from nitrates/nitrites, but as always, we still need to be super careful and not rely on what’s written on the front of the packet.

WATCH OUT FOR…

On the front of the packet it says:

✅ 100% natural ingredients

✅ no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives

✅ no added nitrites

✅ gluten free

✅ 97% fat free

All the right buzz words you want to see on the front of a packet, yeah? But then you turn it over and have a read of the ingredients. shows 2 x Yeast Extracts and Flavour!

Yeast Extract

This is a form of glutamate and those who are sensitive to MSG react in the same way to yeast extract as they do to MSG.

FlavourWhat is flavour? You don’t go to the supermarket and purchase ‘flavour’. The problem with flavour is that it’s a proprietary term companies use to bundle ingredients together without having to disclose them to us. This means that we never know what we are really eating. Yep, it’s sneaky! There could be any number of additives in there or it could be completely fine, we just don’t know and that’s what bothers us, there’s no transparency.

So, from what was seemingly great on the front of the packet reveals a very different story once the packet is turned over.

A BETTER CHOICE

IngredientsPork (90%), Water, Salt, Potato Starch, Cane Sugar, Vegetable Extract, Vegetable Fibre, Fruit Extract Naturally Wood Smoked.

You can source this from your local Woolworths supermarket and buying it in a leg ham portion like this instead of the sliced ham packet version means there are fewer ingredients which is a good thing, plus it is a lot more economical as well.

The only things we are a little wary of in the ingredients lists are the extracts and vegetable fibre as it’s not totally transparent as to how these are extracted/processed. Having said that, it is a far better choice than the one above, in our opinion anyway. We often slice this up and freeze it in portions so that you have ham on hand whenever you need it.

THE BEST CHOICE

Talk to your local butcher or go to your local farmer’s market and see if they make nitrate/nitrite-free ham and bacon. This is what we have done here in Hobart and we have been able to source beautiful, top quality produce. Now that we have found our preferred butchers we go to them regularly and they supply us with additive and preservative free ham, sausages, silverside and bacon. And the best part is we are supporting local businesses and farmers, right here in Tassie.

We’re not going to lie, it is a little more expensive, but this is a trade-off we are willing to make. We have shifted our mindset for these types of foods to be every-now-and-then, treat foods, not all-the-time foods. At the end of the day, our health is not worth the risk.

Jo & Tracey x

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we delve into the topic of nitrates and nitrites and the link between processed meats and cancer.

Sausages in bread, ham and cheese toasties, bacon and eggs on a Sunday morning … they’re all staples in a household these days. Unfortunately, deli meats are likely to have nitrates or nitrites in them.

What are Nitrates and Nitrites?

They’re commonly known as the same thing, but that’s really not true. They are actually made up of different molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. The chemical difference between nitrites and nitrates is how many oxygen atoms each compound contains. Nitrites have two oxygen atoms and one nitrogen, whereas nitrates have three oxygen atoms. It is possible for nitrates to turn into nitrites by losing an oxygen atom, and the reverse can happen as well.

Today we will most likely talk about nitrates as they’re a lot more commonly used.

Where are they found?

Nitrates naturally occur in a lot of fruit and vegetables such as celery, beetroot and tomatoes which our bodies actually need. Our bodies break them down and process them correctly because they are in wholefood form. So, if you can tolerate eating whole foods such as celery, beetroot and tomatoes then your body can process and break down naturally occurring nitrates.

However, the preservative nitrate is chemically made to mimic the natural version of it. But when things are synthetically made our bodies can’t recognise them in the same way, process them in the same way or break them down in the same way. It’s chemically added to our foods to stop bacteria growing so that foods have a longer shelf-life. It’s also added in to give meats their pink colour, making it more pleasing to the eye.

It’s found in processed meats such as ham, salami, bacon, sausages, lunch meats, hot dogs etc. Most of which you will find in the delicatessen or in the chilled packaged food section of your supermarket. Here’s a tip though, you can ask to see the ingredients list for products in the deli as they’re written on the back of the price tag. So, don’t be scared to ask for them, because by law they’re required to give them to you.

What’s so bad about them?

Once this preservative is in your bloodstream it can be highly carcinogenic. It can be known to cause major problems with your liver and pancreas (amongst other organs).

They’re also linked to shortness of breath, lack of energy, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting and sometimes tingling to the hand’s, mouth and feet.

Pretty nasty huh?!

Let’s get sciency…

Nitrites have been known as a toxic ingredient since the 1970s. The US Department of Agriculture tried to ban it, but it was vetoed because food manufacturers complained there was no alternative they could use instead. Therefore, even as far back as the 1970s, it’s been known that Nitrites are not great for us to be consuming. Totally scary and disappointing!

It wasn’t until 2007 that the science world started to take notice when the World Cancer Research Fund conducted a study and found that eating just one sausage a day increased your risk of bowel cancer. This equates to roughly one sausage or three pieces of bacon (with the preservatives in it) increasing your risk of cancer by 20%!

In 2010 there was a lot of media hype around bacon and whether it was cancer causing due to the ingredients in it. The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer declared that ingested nitrites and nitrates are probable human carcinogens. Not only that, but they are just as bad as smoking to our health. Just think about that for a moment!

The Harvard School of Public Health found that eating processed meats increased the risk of heart disease by a whopping 42% and the risk of type 2 diabetes by 19%!

Even after all these scary revelations, nitrates and nitrites are still widely and commonly used! ? The government and industries have not deemed our health important enough to eradicate these hideous preservatives.

Is there any good news?

Yes!! As we have said, we don’t go without. We love bacon, we just choose nitrate/nitrite/preservative-free bacon. Our local butcher makes preservative and gluten-free sausages, all we had to do was ask him. Usually, butchers will make preservative sausages into 5kg lots. So, if your butcher won’t separate them into 1kg lots and sell them to others and they want you to purchase the whole 5kgs, which in all honesty is not as much as you think it would be, then you can simply freeze them. Or what Jo does is cook a large batch of them and freeze the cooked sausages. Her kids will quite often take a frozen sausage in their lunchbox to school and by lunchtime, it’s defrosted, and they love eating them cold.

The things we struggle to buy are salami and those types of processed meats. But we don’t go without completely, we will still eat them every now and then, just not on a regular basis.

If you can’t find low or no nitrate-free devon, ham, salami, chicken loaf etc. (have a hunt around because they can be found) then you could have shredded chicken or cold nitrate-free sausages instead. Or as Tracey’s kids like, simply a salad sandwich without meat.

Let us know

If you have some great alternatives to deli meats that you love to eat in salads, sandwiches or lunches then hit us up. Comment below or comment in our Facebook Chat Group. Let’s all share so we can inspire each other.

Want to know more?

Then you need to come and join us in our signature e-course Additive-Free Made Easy which is now open for early-bird purchase. Our next round starts soon on 16 March. It will also never be at this low price again so register before early bird ends on 8 March to secure your spot.

You will learn information like this and soooo much more. What additives to avoid and why, scientific studies behind it, what they’re linked to, then how you can easily start living an additive-free lifestyle.

Register here: https://additivefreelifestyle.com/afme

Jo and Tracey x

Podcast Review

We would love for you to leave a review PRETTY PLEASE of this podcast >>> here

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It’s come to our attention of late that a lot of schools are stocking the Berri Quelch brand of ice pops now and, honestly, you’d be forgiven for thinking they are a better alternative to Zooper Doopers. Check out what’s written on the front of the packet:

• images of fruit
• 99% real fruit juice
• no artificial flavours
• 5-star health rating
• no added sugar

It’s got all the right buzz words you want to see on the front of a packet, yeah?

SPOILER ALERT: Sorry to say, but in our opinion, these are not a better choice over Zooper Doopers (blog post HERE).

When you turn the packet over here’s what you’ll find in the ingredients:

Reconstituted Fruit Juices (Apple (93.2%), Grape (3.2%), Pear (1%), Orange (0.5%), Pineapple (0.5%), Passionfruit (0.3%), Mango(0.2%), Blackcurrant (0.1%), Colours (102, 110, 150d, 163), Flavours, Thickener (466), Preservatives (202, 211, 223), Food Acid (Citirc Acid).

So, what does all that mean? Let’s break it down: Reconstituted Fruit Juices

In order to get reconstituted fruit juice:

1. The juice is squeezed from fruit via the usual juicing process.
2. This juice then has as much water as possible removed from it under high heat.
3. The juice concentrate is what remains (which is basically the fruit sugar syrup).
4. This makes it shelf-stable to be transported to suppliers.
5. When ready to be used, water is then added back to the juice concentrate and voila… you have reconstituted fruit juice!

Companies often do it this way because it is cheaper given that it makes the juice shelf-stable for transportation.

Unfortunately, and I’m sure it comes as no surprise, that reconstituted fruit juice does not contain the same nutritional benefit as freshly squeezed fruit juice. The heating and reconstitution process destroys the beneficial enzymes in the juice for sufficient food metabolism and our immune systems. The beneficial vitamin C found in fresh fruit is also significantly depleted.

Flavours

Hmmm, what exactly is this? According to the EWG ‘how a food tastes is largely determined by the volatile chemicals in the food. Chemicals that give food a specific smell are extremely important because smell makes up 80 to 90 percent of the sense of taste. In processed food, this mixture of chemicals is called “flavour.”’ (2)

What are these ‘chemicals’? We simply don’t know, and companies aren’t bound to reveal that to us either!

We contacted Berri Quelch to find out what ingredients ‘Flavours’ were made up from and here was their response:

Our flavours are formulated to give a food product a unique flavour and to maintain flavour consistency between different product batches or after recipe changes. Flavours are regulated under the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.2.4 – Labelling of Ingredients. This standard requires the presence of flavours to be included in the ingredient list as ‘flavouring’ or ‘flavour’. They are not likely to be allergen causing and they are usually present in very tiny quantities, legally we are not required to specify the type of flavour other than their presence as “flavours”, flavours are usually ‘commercial-in-confidence’ as they form part of the recipe and stop our competitors copying our product recipe.

Wherever possible we use natural flavours. If product ingredients state they containing flavour or natural flavour, they would be not halal suitable as we use alcohol as a carrier for the flavours and our finished product contains less than 0.05% alcohol. We hope this information helps.

So, just to make it very clear – you have no idea (other than a teeny bit of alcohol) of what you are eating in these ice-pops!

Colours 102, 110, 150d and 163

Artificial colours are often tested on animals and are made by combining various aromatic hydrocarbons like toluene, xylene and benzene, which are obtained from the distillation of bituminous coal. Coal tars are also made from petroleum distillates.

To put it simply – artificial food colours are chemically produced and derived from petroleum, a crude oil product. Think gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt and tar.

(“sounds tasty…NOT!”)

The Southampton University conducted a study on six artificial food colourings 102, 104, 110, 122, 124 and 129. It was concluded that when these colours are mixed with sodium benzoate (210-2180), a common preservative and one which is found in these ice-pops, it caused direct behavioural changes in children.

As a result of this, it has become mandatory in Europe for a warning label to be included on the packaging of all food that contains these artificial food colourings. The warning label states that the consumption of the product “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”. No such warning label applies in Australia or New Zealand.

But let’s break this down further:

Colour 102 (Tartrazine – Yellow)

Potential effects when in food:

• Hyperactivity
• Thyroid issues
• Aggression
• Headache/migraine
• Asthmatics should avoid
• Insomnia
• Itching/rash
• Hay fever like symptoms

Colour 110 (Sunset Yellow)

Potential effects when in food:

• Suspected carcinogen
• Allergies
• Hyperactivity
• Digestive issues
• Skin rashes

Colour 150d (Caramel IV – Dark Brown to Black)

Potential effects when in food:

• Asthmatics should avoid
• Digestive issues
• Prohibited in foods for infants
• Corn allergy sufferers should avoid

Colour 163 (Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose)

Whilst this colour’s risk level is generally rated as safe for most people. It is prepared from wood pulp or cotton linters and chemically modified.

It is used as a stabiliser/thickener. However, the potential effects when in food are:

• Excess consumption can cause bloating, constipation and diarrhoea
• Prohibited in foods for infants

Preservatives 201, 211 and 223

Preservatives are used in food to extend the shelf life of a product. But at what cost to our health? We spoke earlier about the reaction preservative 211 (sodium benzoate) has with artificial colours but what about just on their own. Let’s take a look:

Potassium Sorbate – 201

Sorbates occur naturally in some fruits – true, so why are we worried about it? Well, it is the fact that it is synthesised and no longer in its natural form that concerns us. When food is 100% natural it contains a range of things – fibre, proteins, vitamins etc and our bodies can distinguish the difference between fake and real. The human body is good at processing real food, it is not so great at processing fake ingredients.

Potassium sorbate is a widely used preservative. It is added to food to inhibit the growth of moulds and yeasts that can cause foods to spoil. It is highly soluble, very cheap and easily produced making it a popular choice for many food companies.

Potential effects when in food:

• Allergic reactions
• Hay fever like symptoms
• Asthmatics should avoid
• Headache
• Hyperactivity
• Prohibited in food for infants
• Skin irritation
• Digestive issues

Sodium Benzoate – 211

Benzoates occur naturally in lots of berries, vegetables, pepper, herbs, spices, peppermint and honey, but just like above, it is the synthetic versions that are of concern to us.

Sodium benzoate is a synthetic chemical produced when benzoic acid is combined with sodium hydroxide.

Potential effects when in food:

• May damage DNA cells
• Asthmatics should avoid
• Headache
• Hyperactivity
• Prohibited in food for infants
• Skin irritation
• Digestive issues

What is even more horrifying is that when sodium benzoate is mixed with citric acid, as it is in the ingredients for this product, it has the potential to create the chemical compound benzene, which is a known carcinogen. In our opinion, these two ingredients need to stop being put together just to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Sodium Metabisulphite – 223

Sodium Metabisulphite is used as a food preservative and disinfectant. When it is dissolved in cold water it forms sulphur dioxide gas, which is why it should be avoided by asthmatics or anyone with respiratory issues. It is used to inhibit the growth of mould and bacteria on all surfaces it comes into contact with.

Potential effects when in food:

• Asthmatics should avoid
• Hay fever like symptoms
• Harmful to aquatic organisms
• Prohibited for food in infants
• Damage to the immune system
• Skin irritation
• Digestive issues

Citric Acid

For the most part, this is fine. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) classifies this as ‘not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful’ and a ‘low human health priority’ (1).

How can you avoid this?

There are other brands on the market which are derived from natural sources (such as Proud & Punch). But we advise to always keep an eye out for the ingredient’s panels because companies can change their ingredients without us knowing.

Better still, make your own. It’s so easy to buy ice-pop moulds or ice-cream moulds and blend up some fruit with water and freeze them. Treat foods don’t have to be hard at all!

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about all sorts of additives and preservatives and what they all mean, check out our signature e-program Additive-Free Made Easy and register for our next round. So far, we have helped thousands of families to switch to an additive-free lifestyle simply and easily. We cannot stress enough how important it is to learn the information you need to know to become your own ingredient inspector. This knowledge is so empowering and will set you up for a lifetime of better choices that your health and the health of your loved ones will thank you for.

Don’t shoot the messenger

Sorry guys, I’m sure you were hoping for a better outcome with the Quelch brand.

Jo & Tracey x

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we take a look back and reminisce on the year that was.

We thought we would take a look back on the year that was. We have had a pretty full-on year this year especially with our mum battling cancer and it has given us a perspective we perhaps may not have had before.

There was a time where we have wished away certain things in our lives such as wishing the kids were older so we could shower in peace or not have to wipe backsides anymore or drive the kids here, there and everywhere. But you know what? That’s the juicy stuff! Now that Tracey has older daughters who don’t need her for those things anymore, she realises how precious those years were. So, don’t ever take that stuff for granted because before you know it, it’s all gone.

Our Mum

On 21 December 2018, our beautiful Mum was diagnosed with Leukaemia and our whole lives were devastated. For the next 6 months, we were right there with mum as she battled this wretched disease that was waging war on her body. There were times throughout this year that we thought we were going to lose her it was that touch and go, but she fought it so bravely and thankfully she is in remission. Thank you so much to all of you who have reached out to us asking how our Mum is, the outpouring of support we have received during this awful time has really touched our hearts and overwhelmed us with all the love that we are so grateful for.

Our book, Everyday Additive-Free

During Mum’s cancer battle we were writing our book, Everyday Additive-Free. Yeah ok, we don’t do things in halves, we get it! We honestly wrote this book whilst sitting beside mum in her hospital bed on the cancer ward. This is exactly what mum wanted us to do. This was the deal we had with mum, we would get this book released and she had to still be with us when it was released! It was tough, so much blood, sweat and tears went into this book, but we are so incredibly proud of it and know that it will help so many families live additive-free.

So, let’s throw a few stats your way….

Instagram

We have grown to over 20,000 followers now over on the gram. This blows our mind given we haven’t been on Instagram all that long so thank you to each and every one of you who follow us over there. We do have lots of fun, especially with our stories where we’re always mucking around and sharing all sorts of juicy info.

Facebook

We have over 65,000 followers which is just nuts! Facebook is where it all started for us and we have such a loyal following and we love you guys. You have stuck with us through thick and thin and especially when we lost our whole website which was so incredibly traumatic. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for being our backbone of support.

Oils with Additive-Free Lifestyle Facebook Group

We now have over 20,000 oily peeps in this group who are upping their knowledge game and learning and sharing how they use their oils. It’s an open group so if you want up your game too then feel free to join, we’d love to have you in there –> Oils with Additive-Free Lifestyle

Additive-Free Lifestyle Chat Group

We now have over 10,000 people in this group. This is also an open group that’s set up for people to come together as a like-minded community to take and learn all things additive-free. Whether you’re new or well versed in the additive-free lifestyle, this is the group that we share lots of additive-free info in as well as a great community where you can ask all sorts of info to help you with this lifestyle. If you want in, then feel free to join –> Additive-Free Lifestyle Chat Group.

Additive-Free Made Easy

We had over 530 new members go through our signature e-course Additive-Free Made Easy this year! We are so proud and thrilled that many people’s and family’s lives are now changed having learnt information that has changed their lives for the rest of their lives. The ripple effect it has on those around them is amazing! It gives us goosebumps just thinking about it. We’ve got another round coming up in March 2020 so if you want to get on the waitlist for that then, register –> Additive-Free Made Easy.

Additive-Free Lifestyle Website

We have had over 1 million page views on our website! WHAT THE?!?!?!?! That’s just in 1 year. It’s actually over 1.1 million views. Ok, mind blown! But so incredibly humbling to think that our little website created by little old us has been viewed that many times. We can’t even believe how this is even possible. We are so truly grateful.

To break that down further, 182,000 of those views are from new visitors which means that nearly 1 million views are from returning followers who are revisiting our website. This lights us up knowing that we are creating content that keeps you coming back because this is what we want to do. Make sure we are giving you what you want and more.

Additive-Free Lifestyle Shop

Yes, on a sadder note we closed our online store in June this year and we know so many of you loved it. On the flip side of this, it freed us up to bring more education to all of you, freed our headspaces up so we can create even more exciting content for you all about education about additives and preservatives.

It also allows us to be able to get more hands-on with our education and get into schools and provide education programs face to face which is what we have been wanting to do for so long now.

Most Viewed Blog Post for 2019

Drumroll please …. Zooper Doopers … more like Zooper Bloopers! Was our most viewed blog post for 2019, with over 10,000 views.

This blog post resonated and shocked so many of you. It has been one of our goals for a long time now to have Zooper Doopers removed from schools as a go-to ice block during summertime. There are other options that could be used instead that won’t have the potential to detrimentally affect our children.

Basic Icing Recipe

With over 12,000 views, our Basic Icing recipe was our most viewed recipe on our website which really surprised us.

The Whole Circle Podcast Show

Our most clicked on podcast episode to our website this year was Episode 170 – Progesterone Deficiency with Naomi Judge.

However, our most downloaded episode of all time was also with Naomi Judge which was Episode 3 – Let’s Talk Zinc and Magnesium with Naomi Judge.

It sure seems the topics our Naturopath Naomi Judge talks about are popular!

It also tells us that you guys want to learn more about your body which we’re happy to accommodate that going forward.

Another really popular episode this year was Episode 162 – The Impact of Wheat on our Health with Cyndi O’Meara. Cyndi talked a lot about glyphosate and how it is impacting our bodies as well as a lot of other awesome info and some practical tips on how you can get involved in taking a stand against the use of glyphosate in your local area. All the details are in our show notes –> here.

Lifestyle Wellness Event

We held our very first wellness event this year in Hobart which we were so excited about. We had been wanting to host something like this for years but had just never had a chance to organise it and to be honest we were a little daunted by it. But this year we just did it! It was amazing and we even had people fly in from around Australia to attend which amazed us. It was a really wonderful day and everyone who attended learnt heaps and left feeling inspired.

We will be doing it again next year so make sure you save the date when we share it early next year, we’d love to see as many people there as possible. Hobart’s a great place to come over for a weekend away. It’s such a beautiful city so you won’t be disappointed to make a trip of it.

The Lifestyle Wellness Event is an all-day event which is fully catered for on top of the awesome education that you get as well.

#notbragging

Ok, guys, this is not a bragging episode at all! It’s about reflecting back on the year that was and something we would love for you to do as well. We all get so caught up in moments that we forget to take stock of what we have achieved or the moments that we have experienced, whether good or bad over a 12-month period and this is what we are doing with this episode. We invite you to do the same. Reflect, take stock and bring in a new year with fresh eyes and curious nature of what you can create for yourself in 2020. Tag us in #additivefreelifestlye on social media all your memories or moments of reflection for 2019. We’d love to see them and share them on our own social media.

Stay Tuned for 2020

We have got so much coming up in 2020 that we are so excited about. We are kicking off with a tour in February so check out all our events and grab your tickets –> here. Just to give you a little idea, here are some of the places we are travelling to in a month:

➕Townsville

➕Mackay

➕Rockhampton

➕Burnie

➕Strahan

➕Ballarat

➕Minlaton

➕Golden Grove

➕Maroona Region

➕Adelaide

➕Mildura

➕Woolgoolga

➕Grafton

➕Sunshine Coast

➕Hobart

➕Wynnum

➕Brisbane

Sorry guys, there’s no Western Australia this time because Jo was there last year and there’s only so many places we can make in a month. Hopefully next time we can make it there. We are splitting up and doing these events separately because there’s just no way we could make it to that many places together. We can’t wait to meet you face to face.

Tracey’s Big Personal and Business Goal for 2020

She would love for her hubby to quit his job and come to work with her in their business with them. It’s been a dream of hers for a long time now and next year is the year to make it happen.

Jo’s Big Personal Goal for 2020

She would love to learn photography. She has no idea how she is going to fit it in, but it’s been something she has wanted to do for a while now.

Jo’s Big Business Goals for 2020

She wants to continue to inspire people, especially to live an additive-free lifestyle and she also wants to achieve the doTERRA rank of Presidential Diamond.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We hope you have a wonderful festive season and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year. Feel free to tag us in your reflections or dreams over on social media as we would love to see them #additivefreelifestyle

Go and live your best life! We can’t wait to connect with you again in 2020

Much love

Jo and Tracey x

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Store-bought hand wash and hand sanitisers are quite frankly a chemical sh*t storm!

We’re talking serious nasties like:

TriclosanFound in some toothpaste and anti-bacterial hand washes, this chemical was first registered as a pesticide in the 60’s! It’s found to be behind a lot of antibiotic resistance and superbugs. After it reached the headlines on the news last year, many companies started to take this chemical out of their toothpaste and liquid hand soap ranges.

SLS and SLESSodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is what makes bubbles, usually in shampoos, dish liquid and liquid soaps. You’ll find these two nasties in up to 90% of personal care items. There is a high risk that in the manufacturing process, these two chemicals are contaminated with other chemicals known to be human carcinogens (cancerous).

ParabensThese are synthetic preservatives that come in different forms and are found absolutely everywhere. Many companies are recognizing ongoing consumer concerns, and are now reformulating their product as a paraben-free range. While this is a fantastic industry shift, you need to be careful that they’re not replacing parabens with another harmful preservative such as phenoxyethanol. Current studies show that phenoxyethanol is irritating to the skin, hormone-disrupting and cell-mutating.

Parabens are also known to disrupt hormones, especially in younger aged people and lead to cancer when used over a long period of time. Look out for the word paraben on the ingredients list, and if in doubt, bring out your phone and Google any ingredient you don’t recognize while at the store.

Fragrance | Parfum | Perfume

These words are collective terms that can be made up of hundreds of chemicals in products. Manufacturers are under no obligation to tell their consumers, exactly what those chemicals are. It’s their little trade secret. Instead choose scented products that you know are naturally sourced, including pure essential oils.

AlcoholIt is added as a preservative in hand sanitisers as well as being a chemical compound that allows the liquid to dissolve and evaporate quickly. The problem with alcohol, in our opinion, is that it is damaging to our gut microbiome as well as being incredibly dehydrating to our skin. The last thing we want when we are trying to protect our health and our gut health from whatever nasty pathogens are going around is to damage our microbiome with alcohol, it’s counterproductive.

So, here’s how you can easily avoid all this ⬆️ and make your own non-toxic hand wash and hand sanitiser, in minutes, that actually works and is good for you AND the environment.

Hand Wash

Ingredients

2 tbsp. liquid castile soap

1 tbsp. fractionated coconut oil

20 drops essential oils

Filtered or distilled water

Foaming pump bottle (dark glass or amber PET1 or 2 plastic)

Method

1. Pour castile soap and fractionated coconut oil into bottle.
2. Add essential oils and give it a swish around to emulsify the oils and soap.
3. Top up the bottle with water, making sure to not fill all the way to the top so that the pump/lid can fit back in the bottle without spilling over.
4. Screw the pump/lid back into place.
5. Shake to emulsify all ingredients.
6. Now it’s ready to use. Just make sure to give it a shake every so often to re-emulsify the contents.

Essential oil options:

On Guard and Litsea

Wild Orange and Peppermint

Wild Orange and Lemon

On Guard

Lavender and Wild Orange

Patchouli and Lime

Balance and Citrus Bliss

Hand Sanitiser

Liquid Spray Version

Ingredients

30ml empty spritzer bottle (dark glass or amber PET1 or 2 plastic)

Witch hazel (organic alcohol-free)

20 drops doTERRA On Guard essential oil

Method

1. Add ingredients to bottle.
2. Shake before each use.

Tips:You could add 1/2 witch hazel and 1/2 filtered or distilled water to the bottle but witch hazel works well and evaporates the liquid quicker.

You could also add a little squirt of fractionated coconut oil to the bottle which will help emulsify the essential oils with the liquid a bit better and nourish your hands at the same time.

This recipe is for adult usage. If you are wanting young children to use it ie. grade 1, 2 or 3 school-aged kids then you may want to halve the number of essential oil drops. Work within the ratio guidelines as shown in this image.

Gel Version

Ingredients

3/4 fill bottle with aloe vera gel

1 tbsp witch hazel extract

10-20 drops On Guard essential oil

30ml squirt/pump bottle (dark glass or amber PET1 or PET2 plastic)

Method

1. Combine the aloe vera gel and witch hazel together, in the bottle.
2. Add On Guard essential oil.
3. Shake until well combined.

Things To Note

You can source castile soap, aloe vera gel and vitamin E oil from your local health food store or online from Oils for Life Australia

As for the foaming pump bottle and travel-sized squirt/pump bottle, see if you already have some lying around at home that you can empty, clean out and repurpose. Every little bit of plastic we save from going into landfill is a really good thing. Just make sure with plastic that it states either PET1 or PET2 on the bottom of the bottle as this will mean it is safe to use with essential oils.

As for the essential oils, we only use and recommend doTERRA Essential Oils because we know they are of the purest quality. If you want to get some for yourself, then you can head to our website for all the details and to order.

DIY is a personal choice and one we feel very confident in. It is, however, important for you to do your own research when it comes to the effectiveness of the hand sanitiser. We are confident and trust that the ingredients we use will fulfil their duties, and we would rather use this over a commercial product any day of the week.

DIY doesn’t have to be hard, a few minutes of effort can save you and your family a lifetime of exposure to nasty chemicals.

Much love,

Jo and Tracey x

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we talk all about our upcoming trip to Guatemala.

We not going to lie, we’re nervous about what this trip has in store for us. But having spent a portion of our childhoods living in Papua New Guinea, we are hoping that we will have some, even if minor, experience with travelling to, and staying in, a third world country.

Why are we going to Guatemala?

We are going there as part of a doTERRA humanitarian trip through doTERRA’s Healing Hands Foundation. When you are building a business with doTERRA and have achieved certain leadership ranks, you are entitled to a few little perks. One of them is that we were able to put our names down to participate in a humanitarian trip. This year we were lucky enough to be able to go to Guatemala.

We are going over there to see where doTERRA source’s cardamom from. We are also going to be helping build a trade centre so that the locals can gain employment through that facility. We’ve been told to bring along work boots, gloves and all the Ice Blue we can carry! Haha

Our husbands are also coming with us which is so exciting!

doTERRA’s humanitarian efforts

This is one of the sides of doTERRA that drew us into the company almost more than the actual products.

doTERRA is constantly giving back whether it’s to our own community here in Hobart after devastating bushfires or many third world impoverished countries they source their produce from such as Nepal, Kenya, Haiti, Guatemala to name a few.

They give black on a global scale.

Long haul travelling additive-free

Whenever we go on long haul flights, we always want to take our own food because we want to get over the jetlag quickly and arrive feeling good and unfortunately, aeroplane food just won’t do this for us given it can be additive-laden.

Having said that though, this is a massive trip to get to Guatemala that will take around 40 hours from the time we leave Hobart to the time we eventually arrive in Sika’abe which is a little village in Guatemala.

On the plane, we will take lots of fruit and veggies which have a high-water content. Flying is incredibly dehydrating to our bodies so taking fruit with a high-water content gets extra hydration into us. We’re talking things like:

Carrot, snow peas, capsicum, watermelon, berries, oranges, apples etc.

Packaged food wise we will also be taking additive-free food bars such as the Berry Choc Chunk and Collagen bars from Nutra Organics.

We have been told that the village we’re staying in has clean water so we will be able to eat lots of fruit and veggies and not have to worry about our food whilst we are there.

We’re also taking probiotics to boost our gut health as well as grabbing some bone broth powder sachets from Nutra Organics so that we can make up bone broth drinks on the plane as well as whilst in the village in case we’re eating food that doesn’t agree with us.

We’ll also be taking protein powder sachets with us too so that we can get some much-needed protein into us after days of hard manual labour.

Because we’re taking food onto the plane with us, we will freeze a bottle of water as this will act as an ice-cooler to keep the food nice and cool in the carry-on luggage. However, double-check with the airline on the size you need though because you may be restricted for anything over 100ml.

Taking food on planes

The other thing to note is that you can take any food you like onto an aeroplane, it’s just that you cannot take it off the plane with you. So, if you’re prepared to leave some food behind or you know you will eat it all, then take what you want on the plane because it’s only at your destination that whatever leftover food you have needs to be left onboard.

Exercise

Tracey has been increasing her exercising in the lead up to their trip away to build her fitness up. Long haul travelling can be quite sedentary sitting on planes for long periods of time. So, the fittest they can be is a good thing because it will not only help with travelling but will also help when they reach their destination and start building the trade centre.

Bus Trip

So, that 40 hours of travelling also includes a 10-hour bus trip to take us from Guatemala City to Sika’abe. We don’t imagine this will be a lovely air-conditioned coach with a toilet haha. doTERRA even suggested we pack as much Ginger essential oil as possible to help us with queasy tummies. Oh boy!

What essential oils are we taking?

Tea Tree

For all those cuts, scrapes and bites we are likely to get.

Ice Blue

For all the sore muscles! There will be lots we’re sure.

Copaiba

For all the sleep support we can get.

Travel diffuser

Yes, we will have power so we can plug the diffuser in and get it cranking all day with Lemon Eucalyptus and Citronella to keep all the nasties and bugs at bay in our room.

TerraArmour and Arborvitae

For all the bug bites.

Helichrysum

For all the first aid support we need.

OnGuard

To keep our health supported and all those nasty germs away. Ah, aeroplane toilets…. need we say more?!

How are we going to manage jetlag?

When we both went to America last year, neither we nor our families suffered jetlag which was fabulous.

Jo’s strategy last year was to make herself stay awake until about 8.30 pm local time before going to sleep. She also spent time with her shoes off, grounding herself to the earth and being in the sun, especially when it was setting to help her body acclimatise to the new time zone she was in.

After doing all this, when she woke up the next day, she was absolutely fine and fully acclimatised.

When Tracey went to America they didn’t get into LAX until 6.30 am so they had a long time to try and stay awake. They didn’t get much sleep on the plane, so they were exhausted.

The biggest tip Tracey received to get your circadian rhythm back in sync was to not wear your sunglasses for the first day and do some exercise as soon as possible as this helps to produce melatonin in your body which you will need for good sleep later on.

So, when they got off the plane at 6.30 am they just got straight into the day. Of course, by the end of the day they were exhausted, but they stayed awake all day and went to sleep at the normal time that night so by the next day their bodies were in sync with the time zone they were in.

Airport food

If you’ve run out of food, especially for your travel home, then, of course, you have to eat what’s available to you and if that’s airport food, then so be it. We have done this many times. All we do is try and make the best food choice we can with what’s available to us. Go for less packaged foods, foods that look like they have been made fresh. Packaged foods with fewer ingredients. Fresh fruit if you can get it.

Noise-cancelling headphones

These have been game-changers for us! We love our Bose noise-cancelling headphones. They sure weren’t cheap (you can get them for around $400), but they have honestly been the best investment.

Jo has a fear of flying but she doesn’t want to let that stop her from doing anything so she takes her headphones on the plane with he, turns up whatever she is listening to and it cancels out all the plane noise that would normally make her fearful.

For Tracey, they are great to help her fall asleep. She will often put a podcast show or meditation on and this will help her fall asleep because it drowns out all the plane noise.

Oh, and this is not sponsored by Bose at all, we just love their headphones! Haha

Accessory tips

We also like to take neck pillows, a large scarf to use as a blanket, eye mask, our oils… pretty much everything you can think of and we are set to fly! haha

Hopefully, those little hints and tips have helped you for any long haul travelling you may have coming up.

We’re excited to share with you all that we get up to in Guatemala. We will then be staying 3 nights in Mexico City on the way home as a little mini-break and time to process all that we have participated in on doTERRA’s Co-Impact Sourcing trip.

See you on the flip side!

Jo and Tracey x

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we give you the inside scoop about what’s in our long-anticipated book, Everyday Additive-Free as well as a chapter sneak peek.

This book has been in the making for years!

You guys have been asking us to bring out a cookbook and well this year, we decided the time was right.

Little did we know how MASSIVE writing a cookbook would be. We thought we had an idea, but being on the other side now, we realise we HAD NO CLUE! Haha

Not your average cookbook!

Yes, this book is a cookbook, but we’ve added a twist which we think you’re going to love.

We don’t just have over 150 recipes plus variations; we also give you heaps of information about additives and preservatives which is going to set you up to live additive-free.

There is also stats and personal stories to give you a broad spectrum of why it’s beneficial to live an additive-free lifestyle.

Let’s break it down…

In the book, you’re going to get

✅ Over 150 recipes plus heaps of variations

✅ Beautiful colour photos of every single recipe

✅ Both thermal cooking appliance and traditional methods

✅ Family friend recipes

✅ Allergy-friendly options

✅ Simple recipes that are tasty and budget-conscious

✅ Exclusive scientific information and statistics about additives and preservatives and their effect on your health

✅ Personal stories of how we came to live an additive-free lifestyle

So, do you want to see a sneak peek of page 1 from the book? Ok, you twisted our arm! haha

Chapter Sneak Peek of Page 1

Hidden Dangers

Consider this statistic: 1 in 20 Australian children have ADHD and it is more common in boys than girls. (1)

We’d like you to take your mind back to when you were a child growing up. Think about your primary school years, think about the social settings and the classrooms, family events and bbq’s. Now think about how many children you remember displayed signs of major behavioural issues or hyperactivity tendencies, allergies or breathing issues? What about defiance disorders or depression?

How many children can YOU recall having issues like we see in children regularly today? If you are like us, the answer is hardly any.

Sure, there were some behaviourally challenged kids, or kids who went under the radar. We also agree that testing and awareness of a range of illnesses has improved, so we see and hear more people diagnosed. We are not trying to say that these issues didn’t exist back then… but the data is there. These illnesses and behavioural issues were not as prevalent as they are today.

So enough is enough! We need to question why!

When we think back to our school days, we can remember maybe two or three children in the entire school who suffered from allergies or showed tendencies of hyperactivity and/or behavioural issues. Fast forward 30 years to today and it is not uncommon to find 3 (or more) kids in classrooms who deal with such issues.

In the past few decades, research has shown a considerable increase in a plethora of health and behavioural conditions. It’s becoming clearer that multiple environmental and biological factors contribute to our health, but for some reason so many people have chosen to ignore this.

As of publication of this book there is zero mention of diet or lifestyle on the Royal Children’s Hospital webpage within the suggested treatments for ADHD. They mention building social skills and sticking to routines (which are all fantastic suggestions and things we practice on a daily basis in our own homes). Counselling is mentioned alongside working with your child’s learning environment, but the main treatment suggested, in big bold letters, is Stimulant Medication.

When did the system let us down so badly that we are offered such harsh medications, with some very serious side effects, before it’s even suggested to look at diet and/or gut health? Shouldn’t we be advised to try everything before such drastic actions? We aren’t against modern medicine, not in the slightest, but what we’d love to see are less scripts being handed out with a more holistic approach being tried first. Looking to see if there is a root cause or underlying issue. Just like was the case for Jo’s family (along with many others who have completed Additive-Free Made Easy).

For our own health, and for the well-being of our children, we must consider the connection between food and gut health, if for no other reason than because what we eat is one aspect of life that we can control. Beyond that, we’ve seen for ourselves the dramatic difference being aware of what we’re eating has made in our own lives and in the lives of our families.

(1) https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_ADHD/

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is sooooooo much more!

Hints and Tips

All throughout the recipes, you will see little notes with a whole heap of hints and tips around what ingredients to look out for or what might be found in the supermarket, all designed to help you to eat as additive-free as possible.

Thank you

We know you guys have been following along on our journey for such a long time now and if it wasn’t for you, we would never have impacted as many lives as we have.

We cannot thank you enough for all your love and support. You have inspired us to continue even when we felt too exhausted.

Ok yes, the above image is cheesy, but it’s our way of sending you a big virtual thank you kiss! ❤️

We’re so excited

We honestly can’t believe that the book has now been released. It has taken so much blood (oh the paper cuts), sweat and lots of tears to get to this point.

We’re so proud of it and we hope you love it as much as we do.

Get your own copy

If you want to get a copy for yourself to start or complement your additive-free lifestyle, then head to our website to order it.

https://additivefreelifestyle.com/book/

Tag us

Once you have gotten yourself a copy, we’d love you to tag us in social media because we would really love to hear from you, plus we love seeing those kinds of notifications pop up.

@additivefreelifestyle or #additivefreelifestyle

Jo & Tracey x

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we talk to Nikki Cassar about how to create an additive-free school canteen.

In our eyes, Nikki is a superstar! She saw that the canteen at her children’s school wasn’t additive-free which meant that she just couldn’t allow her kids to eat food from there.

Fast forward to when a position became available to work in the school canteen and she was all in! In her interview, she stipulated that she would only take on the role if the school allowed her to make the canteen completely additive-free! ??????

Needless to say, she got the position and she has gone onto overhaul the whole school canteen to be fully additive-free!

Seriously… how AWESOME is she?!

In addition to this, the canteen is not just additive-free, they also use organic or chemical-free produce wherever possible which they source from a farm 15 minutes away from the school as well as they use their own school garden for produce or source locally where they can. They use very little plastic. The cleaners of the school have even commented on how little rubbish there now is in the playground!

They have plenty of variety and have different foods to serve every day, which means the kids are trying different foods all the time.

Truly AMAZING!

Change like this doesn’t happen overnight.

How did the change come about?

The canteen at Grahamstown Public School was a P&C run canteen. This changed to then being a school run canteen which opened up a position to work in the canteen, which is the position that Nikki applied for.

When the canteen was P&C run it was a ‘heat and serve’ canteen which meant that the food choices were mostly additive and preservative-laden.

When it changed over to school run and Nikki took over the running of it, she changed the food to homemade food that is made from scratch every single day.

What started Nikki’s journey of living additive-free?

She had always been health conscious in relation to what she was feeding her kids, but it wasn’t until her son developed eczema with constant flare-ups that she researched additives and preservatives and decided to remove them all from their diets.

They had always shopped in the health food aisle at the supermarket as they thought they were good food choices, not knowing that in actual fact a lot of the foods in that aisle are full of additives.

Through this research Nikki then completed our Additive-Free Made Easy e-course and dived deep into it all and how additive and preservative-laden foods can contribute to all sorts of health and behavioural issues.

Now that they have been additive-free for some time, if her kids go somewhere and eat additive filled foods, even if she is not with them, she can tell within an hour because their behaviour changes. They become irritable, cranky and behaviourally they are quite challenging. So now she makes everything from scratch and avoids additives and preservatives wherever she can.

It was a big transition for their family, but they have seen the benefits and she is now excited to educate other families on how to live additive-free and the massive benefits for living this way.

What was the school’s reaction to Nikki wanting to overhaul the canteen?

The school was excited but nervous. They were unsure how the parents or teachers would react. A massive change like this can spark fear of the unknown.

Thankfully it has been embraced and they are seeing so many benefits.

Waste is down a fact of which the cleaners absolutely love because it makes their job easier and is great for the environment too.

Kids are also now eating fruits and vegetables when they normally wouldn’t have and adding extra nutrition and variety into their diets.

When Jo was still living in Queensland and her school canteen was P&C run, they did some fundraising to get a Thermomix into the canteen. There was so much negative feedback around this, people were saying it was a waste of money. But the reason was so that they could cook a lot more from scratch and create an additive-free canteen too.

Was the school supportive of the change?

The school principal was incredibly supportive. For her it was not about creating a profitable canteen it was about providing a service to the kids whereby they were getting good nutritious food that was going to fuel their bodies to learn.

Having that support from the top made the transition so much easier for Nikki.

Now they’re maintaining a canteen that is either breaking even or making a profit which they then use to put back into the canteen with extra staff.

They also have parent helpers who come in and volunteer their time. They have found that these parent helpers have been so keen for the change to happen that they are more than willing to volunteer their time because they know their kids are getting good additive-free meals.

The school canteen has become so popular, parents are even asking if they can do takeaway boxes so the kids can take that food to their after-school activities and continue to have a nutritious snack.

Did Nikki encounter any objections from parents?

For the most part, everyone was really good and embraced it. She had the odd parent here and there that would come up to the canteen and demand to know why they wouldn’t serve strawberry milk to their child. To which Nikki would reply that it is an additive-free canteen and that during school hours those types of food will not be served to their child at all. They are free to feed those foods to their child out of school hours but being additive-free is how the canteen is now run.

She received an email in their second week running the new style canteen from a mum who was in tears of joy as she was writing the email because her son could finally have a lunch order from school, and he was in Year 6!

When Nikki took over the canteen there was a picture on the wall of one of the Year 1 students with a note that said something along the lines of ‘do not serve food to this child’. She had no idea why that was or what the purpose for him being on the wall was until the child’s mother came to see them in the canteen saying that she had noticed all the changes in the menu. It turns out this mum had completed our e-course, Additive-Free Made Easy and she refused to let her son eat the food from the canteen that they once served. This mum stated to Nikki that she had seen the canteen was purporting to be additive-free so she quizzed her about what her son could actually eat. Nikki’s response was simple…. Everything, it’s all additive-free!

It was one of the most joyous occasions for Nikki to be able to rip that boy’s picture down from the wall and be able to serve him food.

Kids in the kitchen

The Year 6 kids come into the kitchen at recess and lunchtime to help prepare or cook the food because they are fairly confident at using a Thermomix which is great.

The kids love being in their as much as the staff do. They find that if they don’t actually have anything for the kids to do in the canteen, the kids will ask if they can simply do the dishes. Seriously… how good is that?!

What difference have the teachers noticed in the children?

Mainly the teachers have noticed a difference in behaviour given the food doesn’t have additives.

It has also brought the school together as a community because they all sit together to eat.

They try and have their hand in everything when it comes to food at the school, whether it’s the canteen or other activities that have a food component.

The teachers also eat at the canteen now, especially those teachers who refused to order from the canteen before the overhaul. They now regularly order food from the canteen as well as they also buy the food to take home to their own families.

Because they have a school garden, the kids are also learning about plant to plate. The kids plant the produce, nurture it, watch it grow, harvest it and then assist in using the produce to cook in food.

Food transparency

⬆️ Here is their additive-free school canteen menu.

⬆️ Here is what a typical lunchbox would look like.

⬆️ Here is their school canteen kitchen (we love all the Thermomix’s. Would make their life so much easier).

They don’t hide the recipes of the foods they are serving in the canteen. The school canteen has a Facebook page which Nikki regularly posts to and will often post links for the recipes of the food they serve so that parents can try cooking it at home to see if their kids will eat it at home too.

Facebook Page

If you want to check out what they have to offer, head on over to their Facebook page at Black Swan Café Canteen.

NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy

This is the system Nikki’s school has to comply with. Foods are classified as ‘everyday’ or ‘occasional’.

There is an essential shopping list which you can buy from as these are classed as ‘everyday’ foods. But if you take those foods and then turn them into something else, ie. organic raw sugar, flour, milk and eggs and turn that into banana bread then it automatically becomes an ‘occasional’ food.

They’ve had to push back against this policy at times to change this so that nutritious foods they are cooking can be reclassified as everyday foods and not occasional foods.

Their menu is categorised as 88% everyday items and 12% occasional items.

For more information about this, you can check it out >>> here.

Additive-Free Lifestyle Chat Group

Nikki is also a member of our chat group and puts up posts now and then about what food she is serving in the canteen so if you want to also check that out, then join our Additive-Free Lifestyle Chat Group.

Additive-Free Made Easy

If you want to register your interest to participate in the next round of our 4-week 3-course, Additive-Free Made Easy then register >>> here.

We are totally inspired by Nikki and the amazing work she is doing shaping our future generation of children to eat additive-free.

We totally take our hats off to her!

Nikki you’re amazing!

Podcast Review

We would love for you to leave a review of this podcast >>> here

The post Podcast 169 – How to Create an Additive-Free School Canteen appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we talk to health and wellness guru, David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe.

We are so excited to talk to David this week. In our eyes, he is the guru of the health and wellness world. His wealth of knowledge is staggering, and we are thrilled to be able to have a chat and learn so much from him.

Who is David Wolfe?

Having presented over 2700 live events, David Wolfe is one of the world’s leading orators. His passion is health and well-being.

David says: “Now is the best time ever to experience the best health ever. We are the luckiest, most fortunate, most abundant people alive. Let’s start really living.”

David’s Bestselling Books:

The Sunfood Diet Success System

Eating for Beauty

Naked Chocolate

Amazing Grace

Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future

Chaga: King of the Medicinal Mushrooms

David has also appeared in numerous breakthrough films and documentaries (over 100 of them), including:

Food Matters

Hungry for Change

Discover the Gift

The Raw Natural

Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 days

The Frequency of Genius

The Serpent & the Sun

Semisweet: Life in Chocolate

Had David always grown up living a holistic lifestyle?

Not at all. His parents are medical Doctors who were all about taking medicine. From when David was about 7 years old, he started to realise that there was something wrong with this way of living. He likes to now call it ‘pharmaceutical scientism’ which he refers to it as being science turned into some kind of religion.

So essentially, he rebelled against his parents’ methodologies and way of living.

David believes that we don’t need all this ‘scientism’, all we need is our herbs, superfoods, lots of earth, air, fire and water and being connected to the planet and then you will realise that you don’t need all the other stuff we’ve been conditioned to think we need.

What is David’s latest book, The Beauty Diet, all about?

The beauty bible for a new generation: In this invaluable natural guide, internationally acclaimed nutrition and natural beauty expert David Wolfe offers proven strategies designed to improve appearance, vitality, and health from the inside out.

Each year, women absorb five pounds of toxins using common beauty products. Wolfe, one of America’s foremost nutrition experts, argues that you shouldn’t have to trade good health for exceptional beauty. There are safe, effective, and, most importantly, natural ways to enjoy glowing skin and gorgeous hair. In The Beauty Diet, he offers these solutions for cleansing and nourishing the body, slowing the ageing process, and transforming your health from the inside out so that your beauty radiates like never before.

Grounded in science and based on a foundation of rejuvenation and the enjoyment of life, The Beauty Diet is a guide to unleashing the potential for beauty within you. Wolfe explains how the human body chemically reacts to various elements of nutrition, physical activity, and sleep – information you can use to look and feel better instantly.

Natural, toxin-free beauty is not only the best way to achieve lasting beauty; it is the only way. Under Wolfe’s guidance, learn the simple dietary and lifestyle changes, like implementing organic superfoods and detoxifying through proper mineralization – balancing your acid and alkaline levels – that have lasting results. Featuring simple, clean recipes for delicious meals and smart tips for using natural resources such as cryotherapy, activated charcoal, probiotics, and more, The Beauty Diet is the ultimate resource for the healthiest route to radiant beauty.

You can grab a copy of his latest book from all good book stores as well as via his website.

How do you eat for beauty?

The things to look out for are:

1. Remove processed foods from your diet.
2. Remove sugar from your diet, especially added sugar.
3. Eat pesticide-free or spray-free foods. Those sprays cause a burden on our systems.

There is strong science in the last 40 years around epigenetics. This means that certain toxins will activate certain genes that we don’t want to be activated. We want positive epigenetics activated such as Vitamin D3 from the sun which activates probably the highest amount of the most epigenetic factors associated with health and beauty. At least 3000 to 4000 genes are switched on by the sun and Vitamin D3. The same can be said for many of the great plant foods of the world.

The key to eating for beauty is to have plenty of plants in your diet. The fibre you get from plants is essential to a healthy body. The fibre helps things move through our intestines and keep us regular.

If new to all this, what’s the biggest toxin we should remove from our lifestyle first up?

Glyphosate

It is a herbicide and it’s also an antimicrobial which means it kills off the friendly bacteria in our gut.

It’s also the active ingredient in Roundup and is on all genetically modified foods such as wheat, corn and soy. The reason why those are genetically modified is so that they don’t react to the herbicide.

There is real accumulating evidence showing that a massive amount of our health problems since the late 1970s is a direct correlation with glyphosate in our environment and food supply.

Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup and glyphosate have recently had a landmark judgment against them in America, where the jury was so incensed by what Monsanto was doing they not only awarded a $55 million settlement, they also awarded $1 billion dollars per plaintiff ($2 billion in total) on top of the $55 million to the plaintiff couple who are dying from cancer due to glyphosate toxicity.

Organic eating

Eating a whole food organic diet can lead you to be smarter, happier and have a better disposition and attitude overall. There’s a high correlation to the effect that sugar has on mood, especially the crashes you get after eating sugary foods.

Tracey was so shocked to be able to easily buy good quality organic food when she travelled over to the U.S. last year. It became very clear to her that Australia needs to lift its game because getting access to the same good quality organic foods is not as easy for us over here.

Detoxing your body

When you detox your body by either fasting, cleansing, juicing, organic foods, eating lighter, drinking more or your food than eating it via a liquid diet and drink more water it becomes self-evident because you feel better, your head is clearer, you have more energy, you have more fun and your sex life is better.

David just did a 40-day cleanse and a 12-day water fast and he feels 20 years younger! People are telling him he also looks 20 years younger. He always eats organic, raw and superfoods and even with eating the clean way he does, he massively benefited from detoxing his body via the cleanse and water fast.

He did this cleanse and water fast with actor, Woody Harrelson. He and David have been really close friends for over 20 years now and Woody has found that the reason he has been so successful in his career is because he works incredibly hard. To work incredibly hard, he needs the stamina and energy which is what he gets from eating very clean foods and cleansing and fasting.

Overcoming stress

Stress is the No. 1 killer! Sure, the toxicity in our bodies will shorten our lifespan but the stress will get us in the end. For example, heart attacks are at the highest rate of occurrence on a Monday morning before 12pm.

There is an acidity relationship between heart attack and strokes that we need to address. Your body can deal with stress better, if you eat better. David knows this firsthand, he is constantly battling trolls on the internet, the fight against Monsanto and unbelievable slander that was cast against him and his family including death threats was stressful beyond belief.

His Iridologist once said to him that he has stress rings, but despite that, he was still incredibly healthy. You may live a stressful life, but your body can deal with it better if your alkaline. This means you need to eat salads, vegetables, drink vegetable juice, eat more plants than animals, eat raw foods. This means you will also live longer.

Forest Bathing – what is it?

It has to do with going into the forest, getting naked and jumping into original waters and just being with the earth. Even if it’s cold. Getting into cold water is really good for you, it tightens up your skin, removes inflammation, clears your mind, is amazing for hair health and it immediately revitalises you with energy.

Get back to nature

This is something we need to do more of. It can be as simple as walking out into your backyard, standing in the sun for a bit to absorb in the Vitamin D and stand barefoot on the grass to connect you back to the earth. We don’t seem to do enough of this.

Go for a hike in the bush or a swim in a natural spring.

The benefits to our health from doing these things are massive. Nature will make you stronger.

The strongest memories we have are going camping with our parents when we were kids or camping with our own kids. It got us back to nature and connected to the earth and each other.

Where can you find David?

Website: https://www.davidwolfe.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidAvocadoWolfe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidavocadowolfe/

Podcast Review

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The post Podcast 167 – The Beauty Diet with David Wolfe appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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This week we are featuring a guest blog post written by our staff member, Sherilyn. Sherilyn is a mum of two boys (nearly 13 and 11) who are both on the Autism Spectrum. Both her sons have very high sensory issues when it comes to food (both seeking and avoiding sensory input), and her youngest son heavily struggles with severe anxiety around food, to the point where he will mostly only eat hard and crunchy textured foods and foods that he knows where they have come from because he gets very brand specific. So we thought who better to talk about this topic than Sherilyn who is all over it!

Hey guys, I am so excited to bring you this week’s post given I have lived and breathed this issue for over a decade now, but I think it’s a topic that we can all relate to in one way or another. So let’s dive in!

We’ve all been there… you make a delicious meal that you’ve slaved over in the kitchen for hours and you’re so proud to share this plate of love with your family only for the kids to totally refuse it.

But then along the way you stumble upon a food that your child laps up and wants over and over again, and of course you feed it to them because #winning they are finally eating and enjoying something. And then the tables turn and they refuse to eat it again ?

Cooking for fussy kids can be an excruciating experience for everyone involved. But are they just being fussy or is something else at play?

Consider this… for children, eating is a wholly sensory experience. We know that as adults we eat with our eyes first before anything goes into our mouths. Kids are exactly the same except with a heightened perception of what they think they will like or won’t like, even if they have never tasted it.

A child will analyse food for its shape, colour, taste, texture and temperature first and if anything seems not right, then it can quite often be a no-go zone. Or maybe you’ve got a child who is not only sensory sensitive to food but is also brand-specific about foods too and won’t try other brands in case they’re ‘different’ #thestruggleisreal

So let’s delve into it to give you a better understanding of what may be going on.

Food fatigue (technically called ‘food jags’)

What exactly are they?

Food Jags are when a child eats the same food, made the same way, over and over.

So what’s the problem with that?

The reality is that kids will get sick of these foods and will most likely start refusing to eat them.

How do you know if it’s happening?

Your child can:

✚ Cough

✚ Gag

✚ Turn their head away

✚ Push the food away

✚ Put their hands over their mouths so no food can get in

✚ Lash out at parents

✚ Wriggle around to get away from the food

✚ Completely shut down to the world around them

✚ Refuse to eat

This essentially is a flight or fight response. If your child displays any of the above, then don’t expect them to eat those foods. Just like adults, kids aren’t going to like all foods offered to them. It’s up to us to figure out our child’s tastes and preferences when it comes to food and work from there.

Emotions and Food

For most kids up to the developmental age of 2 1/2, their response to food is a reflex. Negativity around food simply hasn’t been developed by that age.

However, at around 2 1/2 kids start to worry about food. For example, if a certain food made them feel bad the last time they ate it, they worry that it may make them feel bad again. Anxiety can then develop and when a child (or adult) is anxious, the blood rushes away from their stomachs and flows to their brain, heart and lungs which, in turn, then diminishes their appetite. And as we all know, if we don’t feel hungry then we don’t eat, so in these instances, mealtimes can be over before they’ve even started.

Some advice from one mum to another…

✚ Offer new foods every second day so that there is a break in between allowing for and variety in the foods being eaten.

✚ If your child eats a restricted diet of 10 foods or less, then change the shape, colour, taste, texture or temperature. Just be careful to make the change big enough so that your child will notice, but small enough that your child will still eat the food anyway.

✚ If your child becomes brand specific, try as much as possible to remove foods from their packaging without your child seeing and mix up brands where possible. This will ensure that your child will no longer recognise what brand of food it is.

✚ Build trust with your child when it comes to food so that if things change your child will be comfortable with that.

✚ Take the focus off eating and instead focus on fun, play and tolerance of even just allowing that specific food to be on your child’s plate.

✚ Be the example of what you want your child to eat. Children often model their parents so if they see you eating a variety of healthy foods then they are more likely to try them too.

✚ If your child simply won’t eat a certain food, then be ok with them just touching or smelling it instead, this will allow them to build a tolerance level for that specific food.

✚ Kids need to know that it is ok to say no to foods and that they won’t get in trouble for it.

✚ Use positive language around food and talk about food at the dinner table. Talk about how it smells, tastes, feels and looks.

✚ Be patient. We get that it can be frustrating when your child won’t eat, but by looking at the root cause of why they won’t, then you will have a better understanding.

By doing all these things you will help to alleviate your child’s anxiety around mealtimes, thus creating an environment where your child may be more likely to give foods a try.

Additive-Free foods

As parents, we all do the best we can to give our kids a balanced diet. I believe that wherever possible it is best to feed kids an additive-free diet so that you can be assured that their behaviours, moods and health aren’t being affected by the chemicals in processed foods.

Additives and preservatives can play a massive part so it’s always best to be as well informed as possible so that you can recognise if your child’s behaviours are being affected by additives and preservatives.

If you want to learn more about what chemicals are in your foods, how they affect you and how you can avoid them, then I recommend you register your interest or join the next round of Jo and Tracey’s e-course, Additive-Free Made Easy where you will learn all this information and more. I did this course a few years ago now and it was utterly mind-blowing ?. Whilst it definitely took time to implement the changes and simple swaps with my boys, it has been totally worth it because now I am empowered to know what foods to avoid and what I can switch things out to and in the process, their health has benefited for it as has mine and my husband’s health. Knowledge really is power!

Register here >>> https://additivefreelifestyle.com/afme

Sherilyn ❤️

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we talk about where to start to live additive-free.

We get asked a lot about how to start living additive-free because people can be overwhelmed at the mere thought of trying to change their lifestyle, especially when you have to think about it for not only yourself but your family as well.

We’ve covered many times in previous podcast episodes how to manage family, expectations, negative comments etc. when it comes to living additive-free, but we haven’t specifically covered EXACTLY how to start living additive-free. So here goes…

What is your why for living additive-free?

For Jo, it was to help her daughter Eva who was going through all sorts of health and behavioural issues because of additives in food that she was eating.

For Tracey, after she had seen Jo go through the changes in her family because they were living additive-free, Tracey realised that there were also health concerns in her family that were linking back to food.

Finding your why is incredibly important. Your why is what will sustain you through the process of shifting to living additive-free and will be your driving force to maintain it, even if people around you think it’s a load of rubbish.

Your why will also help you to know where to start in switching to additive-free. For example, if skin issues are your why then looking at what products you are putting on your body or washing your clothes in may be your starting point.

Or maybe your children have behavioural issues and you want to clean up their diets as well as your diet to live a healthier lifestyle.

Look at what’s in your pantry and fridge

To take the overwhelm out of feeling you need to switch everything out or ditch everything all at once then try starting with one food group, ie. breakfast or dinner or snacks or packaged foods.

For example, let’s say you have Taco Tuesday every Tuesday and you cook your meat in a Mexican packet seasoning base. Why not look at switching that packet mix to a cleaner version. Try googling taco or Mexican seasoning additive-free and a whole bunch of recipes will come up (even ours, we have a Mexican spice mix on our website – just sayin’ ?).

Just start swapping things out one item at a time. If you change one item per week, then after 1 year you will have made 52 changes which is awesome!

Make sure you read ingredient listings on the back of packets

Don’t go by what it says on the front of the packet, the front is designed to grab your attention and draw you into buying it straight away regardless of what the ingredients listing is.

Turn the packet over and read the ingredient panel. If you see ingredients that just don’t make sense to you or you can’t even pronounce the ingredients or you see numbers everywhere, then put it back on the shelf and look for another brand that has ingredients that you understand.

How do you know what to buy?

As stated above, look for ingredient panels that list real food ingredients or words you understand. If you can’t find that then you will be able to make it yourself.

Truth bomb… to live completely additive-free you will have to cook or make everything from scratch using real ingredients. It’s really not as hard as it sounds, and it’s so much cheaper too, we promise!

Go back to simple clean eating, like fruit, vegetables, real meat. Swap the foods out with the real food.

So, if you regularly purchase packaged coated chicken or fish etc. then buy the actual real chicken and fish and coat it yourself in freshly made breadcrumbs.

Where to start for lunchboxes?

Leftovers are great in lunchboxes. When you make a homemade meal, double or triple the recipe so that you have extra for lunchboxes.

Get a good thermos, heat it up and take it to work or school so it’s ready to go for lunch.

If you or your kids prefer sandwiches, then start with swapping out your spreads for better options. Swap margarine for 100% butter, swap Vegemite (which is filled with MSG) to EveryMite (purchase >>> here), swap peanut butter spreads for a 100% natural peanut butter spread. If getting jam just make sure the ingredients are sugar and fruit (FYI – making your own jam is super simple and we have plenty of recipes on our website) or have salad sandwiches.

But what if you have ham or processed meats on sandwiches every day? Processed meats are full of nitrates so just don’t eat them. Yep, a big call, but you can totally do it. You can get low-nitrate processed meats at some butchers, you’ll just need to ring around and find one.

If you prefer chicken then make your own shredded chicken (again we have a recipe on our website >>> here) or Skinnymixers has a recipe for Chicken Loaf on her website which you can get >>> here.

There are plenty of recipes out there for sandwich ideas or lunch ideas that you can batch cook and freeze so that you don’t have to cook them all the time, and then you can just grab and go.

Now that we’ve got sandwiches sorted, what about the treats like biscuits? Again, check your ingredient panels and go for the ones that list real ingredients such as water, flour, sugar, milk, vanilla etc. Get as close to that as possible. Failing getting a packet of biscuits you are comfortable with, then again, make your own. We have so many biscuit recipes on our website.

It honestly doesn’t have to be hard; it will only be as hard as you make it.

Where can you learn more?

You can head on over to our website because we have so much free content and if you join our email list you get a FREE shopping guide (get it >>> here), so you know what to look out for next time you head to the supermarket.

Website: Additive-Free Lifestyle

We give away so much free content and downloadables in our emails too, so if you’re not on our email list then you may want to get on it and if you’re already on our email list then make sure you read the emails because you may be missing out on a heap of free stuff.

We have done a whole heap of additive-free themed podcast episodes so check all them out on your podcast app or via our website.

Learn it all in our e-course, Additive-Free Made Easy

If you want to delve into specific additives and preservatives so you know what to look out for and what to swap out, then head on over to Additive-Free Made Easy so you can register your interest for our next round which is coming very soon. It’s a 4-week online course that you can do at your own pace and will set you on the right path to living an additive-free lifestyle!

Podcast Review

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The post Podcast 164 – How To Start Living Additive-Free appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Here’s the truth, before going additive-free I (Jo) was addicted to diet coke. When I was trying to quit, I used to justify it by allowing myself ‘only one glass a day’. Oh man, I used to time my fix and think about it all day until that one glass was down.

Then I quit. For good! Kombucha really helped me and I’m so thankful it came into our life.

How do you pronounce it?

Kom-boo-cha.

Where is it from?

Whilst the exact origins aren’t exactly known, it is believed to have originated from China around 2,000 years ago. It is known as the ‘Tea of Immortality’.

What is Kombucha?

It is a fermented drink which is made up of black tea and sugar that creates probiotics. The bacteria and yeast which comes from the Scoby (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) then commences the fermentation process. Don’t worry it’s actually not a sweet sugary drink, The SCOBY eats up the sugar as part of the fermentation process to create a drink that is acid-rich.

What are the benefits of Kombucha?

It is incredibly beneficial to your heart, brain and your gut. The main benefits are:

✚ Boosts immunity

✚ Fights inflammation in the body

✚ A powerful source of antioxidants

✚ Supports a healthy gut

✚ Supports a healthy digestive system

✚ Powerful antibacterial agent

✚ Great for the cardiovascular system

✚ Supports healthy liver function

Is it expensive?

It is if you buy the pre-made bottles from the supermarket or local store. The cost savings come when you make it yourself. You can make it for a fraction of what it would cost you to buy pre-made and it’s really easy to make.

Your biggest initial outlay is getting a good quality ceramic jar. In our experience (Jo has been brewing Kombucha for years), the ceramic jars produce the best quality and tasting Kombucha as well as an everlasting brew. We love the Durand brand for the ceramic jars which you can get from >> here. Search online for your local stockist.

If you are just starting out and don’t want to outlay for a ceramic jar until you know you will drink it regularly, then we recommend sourcing a large glass jar with a pouring tap such as what you would use for punch. Just be careful of the tap, as cheap plastic and kombucha don’t like each other, you could kill the SCOBY.

The only other cost is for the tea, we recommend using good quality organic black tea or a half/half combination of black tea and green tea. You can get organic teas from the supermarket. You will also need white or raw sugar, we like to use raw sugar given that it is less processed.

You will also need to source a SCOBY. If you know someone who makes Kombucha then we’re sure they will gladly give you a SCOBY because new SCOBY’s are grown each brew, so you often end up with lots to give away.

If you don’t know anyone who brews Kombucha, then take a look on your local Buy, Swap and Sell pages because you’ll often find people trying to offload their excess SCOBY’s on there.

Failing all that we have seen SCOBY’s for sale at health food shops, so you could check your local one.

Make sure when you get your SCOBY that it comes in a bed of pre-brewed Kombucha liquid as this will be your starter liquid.

How often and how much should you drink it?

To get the most benefit, it is recommended that you drink it daily. In terms of how much, everybody is different and you can have too much of a good thing. We are comfortable having one glass of Kombucha a day. Jo has a larger glass that her children because kids don’t need much of it to get the benefits. Start of slowing and work your way up, otherwise you’ll get a tummy ache and diarrhoea.

A great way to kick your soft drink habit

It’s no secret that soft drinks aren’t good for us, especially when they contain Aspartame (check out our blog post about that >> here), artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and a whole heap of sugar.

As stated above, I found the best way to kick my habit was to replace my daily soft drink fix with Kombucha. Because Kombucha is a fizzy drink due to the fermentation, it gives you that fizzy hit that you get from soft drinks, but without all the harmful additives and preservatives. It’s a fizzy drink that is actually good for you!

What if you don’t like the taste?

You can drink Kombucha either after the first ferment, or you can ferment it a second time by adding cut-up fruits of your choice to the bottled Kombucha. When you add in fruits it will ferment for the second time by eating up all the sugars from the fruit which will create even more fizz, as well as beautiful natural flavours. The beauty with making your own is you get to experiment and find flavours that you love.

Some of Jo’s favourite combinations are:

✚ Lemon or lime juice and fresh ginger

✚ Mixed berry

✚ Blueberries and cinnamon

✚ Lemon, Lime and Mint

✚ Apple

✚ Apple and cinnamon

✚ Passionfruit

We also like to drink it without any fruit and use our food-grade doTERRA essential oils to flavour it. Delish! To flavour with doTERRA essential oils, add one drop to your empty glass and fill up with Kombucha. Only favour at the time of drinking.

How can you make it?

To learn how to make it, grab the downloadable recipe:

SEND ME THE RECIPEIf you are a visual learner then Jo has done some video tutorials on how to make Kombucha, taking you through each step of the process (you’ll still need the downloadable recipe though). You can check that out >>> here.

Don’t be scared

Honestly, it’s so easy to make and is packed full of health benefits so why not give it a go today.

Jo x

The post What Is Kombucha And Why Is It Good For Us? appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Since we did our blog post about Zooper Doopers, discussion about store-bought ice-blocks has gone a little crazy.

Lots of you have been contacting us asking if the Sugar Free-zies brand is a better alternative given that they’re reasonably priced and readily available in supermarkets.

You know we have pretty strict standards here at Additive-Free Lifestyle in terms of what we would recommend as an additive-free option, but we also subscribe to the #dontstressit motto.

What are Sugar Free-zies made of?

Well if you go by the front of the packet, you will think that there is zero sugar and nothing artificial in them. But we know not to go by the front of the packet. So, let’s break down what is on the back listed on the ingredient panel:

Water, Natural Sweeteners (Erythritol, Maltitol, Stevia Extract), Citric Acid, Natural Flavours (Cola, Raspberry, Lemonade, Tropical, Lemon-Lime), Apple Extract, Black Carrot Extract, Paprika Extract, Natural Colours (Carthamus)*

Natural Sweeteners

The three listed in the ingredients breakdown above, Erythritol, Maltitol and Stevia Extract are all natural sweeteners given that they are derived from natural substances such as plants and fruits.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and is used as a low-calorie sweetener in lots of low-sugar, sugar-free and carb-free foods. Most commonly, Erythritol is man-made from GMO corn starch which means it is heavily processed. Check out this article from Dr Axe about Erythritol. Is it as bad as refined sugar? Well given that they are both heavily processed, the jury is still out on that one.

Maltitol is also a sugar alcohol found naturally in some fruits and vegetables and used as a low-calorie sweetener in lots of low-sugar, sugar-free and carb-free foods. However, given that it is a carbohydrate, diabetics should exercise caution ingesting it as it has a glycaemic index and will still have an effect on blood glucose. Check out this article regarding Maltitol.

Stevia extract is derived and processed from the Stevia plant. Is around 200 times sweeter than sugar and is used as a low-calorie sweetener in lots of low-sugar, sugar-free and carb-free foods. Organic Stevia is the better option because it is non-GMO and made from organically grown Stevia. For more information on Stevia check out this article from Dr Axe.

As sweeteners go, these 3 above are better options than Aspartame which is nasty (check out our latest blog post about Aspartame), but like anything sweet, it should always be consumed in moderation.

Citric Acid is used instead of preservatives to keep the products stable and with a longer shelf life. It’s a commonly used ingredient in processed foods and is a much cleaner option when it comes to artificial additives. We’re ok with this one.

Natural Flavours (Cola, Raspberry, Lemonade, Tropical, Lemon-Lime) are where we are quite unsure. We went straight to Sugar Free-zies for an answer regarding this and we were told:

All of our flavours (raspberry, cola, lemonade, tropical and lime) are all natural and are developed from a range of plants (specifically created to assimilate the flavour they represent)- they are not juices.

We proceeded with caution regarding this because, by their own admission, they’re using plants to replicate the flavours instead of using real fruit juices. When we requested further clarification regarding these flavours and how they are processed (considering they contain zero of the real ingredients, such as a raspberry) the response received was:

Not synthetic- derived from plants.

Based on all this, we cannot give you a definitive answer about whether these natural flavours are good or bad, because we simply don’t have all the facts. Natural flavours is often a term that is used to make a product sound good, but not all natural substances are good for us. A prime example of this is Annatto (160b).

As the company won’t enlighten us with the way these ‘flavours’ are formulated, we simply don’t know what these flavours are derived from so in our experience it’s best to proceed with caution.

Apple Extract, Black Carrot Extract, Paprika Extract, Natural Colours (Carthamus) are all used to give the ice blocks their separate colours.

So, what’s the verdict?

Whilst it is hard to give a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down about these given we don’t have all the facts, one thing we do know for sure is that we feel they are a better option than Zooper Doopers. This doesn’t make them the best choice on the market, however, they’re certainly not the worst.

What’s good about Sugar Free-zies?

They are striving to be a better alternative and are Australian made and owned. They are determined to remove 500 tons of sugar from Australians via their Project 500 initiative.

By their own admission, they have also told us:

We are looking towards using more environmentally friendly packaging in the future…

What’s the best ice-blocks to buy?

We would counter this and say that given it’s so simple to make your own, why wouldn’t you?!

Just puree up some fruit and water and put into reusable ice block pouches and not only do you know exactly what is in it, but you’re reducing plastic wastage too because you’re using reusable pouches.

Or if you want to go a bit fancy, then why not give our Mango Pops recipe a go. It really is simple, promise!

Sounds like a win/win to us.

Jo & Tracey x

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Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger!

If you’re an avid soft drink lover then you’re not going to like this post, but it’s vitally important that you are aware of it so you can make your own informed decision.

What is Aspartame?

In a nutshell, it is a synthetically created sugar substitute used in food and most commonly found in diet soft drinks. Yes, this is how they can claim soft drinks are sugar-free because they are sweetened with aspartame instead, which is technically not sugar. You will also find it in artificial sweetener products such as Equal. It is roughly 200 times sweeter than sugar, so only a small amount is required, but this doesn’t make it good for us.

Why is it a problem?

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition conducted a study of over 125,000 people whereby it was discovered a link between the daily intake of aspartame and the development of leukaemia and lymphoma. Check out the study >>> here.

Let’s break it down

According to the Daily Health Post, they’ve broken down the results of that study as follows:

Consuming only one 375ml can of diet soft drink per day increased the risk of lymphoma and myeloma (cancer of blood plasma), the incidence increasing in correlation with aspartame intake. The risk was much higher in men (it hasn’t been identified why that is the case).

There is an elevated risk of lymphoma with higher consumption of non-diet soda in men than women.

Annual consumption of aspartame in the United States is estimated at 5000-5500 tons and the most common product in which it is used is diet soft drink.

Aspartame (especially in liquids) breaks down into aspartic acid, methanol, and phenylalanine; when ingested, methanol turns into formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

Previous studies that didn’t support a link between aspartame and cancer were limited in time and scope. This study included a large sample size and scientifically-viable time period and tested subjects at intervals throughout the study.

Subjects’ measured aspartame intake included that added from packets (e.g., NutraSweet and Equal) and contributed to the weighting of the results.

Subjects with a higher intake of diet soft drink had a higher body mass index and animal protein intake and were less likely to smoke. (This is highly significant: it is known that aspartame contributes to obesity and metabolic syndrome; the result noted here corroborates that finding. Additionally, this group of diet soft drinkers didn’t smoke cigarettes, discounting smoking as a contributing factor to the development of cancer in the study.)

So, based on all that hard truth, of course it makes us wonder what the long-term effects of aspartame will be on us 20 years from now when this current generation who consumes it the most will be at middle age?

It’s pretty scary to think about if you ask us!

Check out Daily Health Post’s article >>> here.

Are you a non-diet soft drinker?

Sorry to say but the news is bad for these drinks too. They are incredibly sugar laden. A 600ml bottle of soft drink contains about 16 teaspoons of sugar. As we all know, excessive sugar intake can lead to obesity and obesity then leads to a number of other potential health risks.

In America, soft drinks are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup and are linked to cancer, heart disease, obesity and dementia.

For more info about high-fructose corn syrup, check this article out >>> here.

How do you avoid it?

If you don’t want to drink aspartame or high-fructose corn syrup, then we suggest it may be time to give away flavoured soft drinks altogether.

Also, don’t use artificial sweeteners in your cuppa, use raw sugar or less refined sugars like rapadura, panela and coconut. Raw honey or pure maple syrup are also great options to sweeten drinks.

If you still crave fizzy, then why not consider drinking soda water or mineral water that you can flavour yourself with freshly squeezed juice or Roar Cordial (a wonderful additive-free cordial brand).

You could also make your own kombucha which is not only fizzy but it is so very good for your gut microbiome! We’ve done a whole bunch of posts about kombucha but if you want to learn how to make your own, then check out this video series that Jo has done giving you all the lowdown:

Step 1: How to Make Kombucha

Step 2: Bottling and Fruiting – Step 2

Step 3: Burping and Refrigerating

Step 4: Flavouring and Drinking

Step 5: Q&A – Everything Answered

Step 6: The Whole Circle

There are plenty of options at your disposal to swap soft drinks out for, and your health with thank you in spades for it.

Jo and Tracey

x

The post Aspartame: Why You Should Ditch the Soft Drinks and Avoid This Nasty Additive appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast Jo shares all about how she lost her additive-free mojo and what she’s done to get her groove back.

Oh, my goodness, just as well we have a 7-day additive-free challenge coming up because boy oh boy had the Ling family fallen off the additive-free wagon!

Guess what? It happens! Even we’re not perfect. Sometimes life gets in the way and we can justify not adhering to a certain lifestyle because we’re too busy. Oh, that word ‘busy’…it’s a word we can use to excuse so many things in life when in actual fact even though Jo was busy, she still had time to be living additive-free, she just wasn’t making it a priority.

But that’s life guys, warts and all. Life gets in the way and sometimes you lose focus on what’s important to you, it’s all part of being human.

Life got in the way

As you may or may not know, our mum is chronically ill at the moment battling cancer. A diagnosis that has shaken our family to the core and one that has, for obvious reasons, required us to shift our focus onto supporting our mum as best as we can.

Then the Christmas holidays hit, and you know what it’s like, we all indulge a little too much and it was busy (there’s that word again) at that time because we were launching another round of Additive-Free Made Easy. So, both Jo and Shane slacked off a little bit with their food choices and she never really got back into it.

What does being slack with living additive-free look like?

They didn’t go so far as travelling through drive-throughs (no judgment to anyone else who does), they didn’t buy artificial fragrance or anything like that, but it was little things like:

• Allowing the kids to have a kinder surprise
• Buying food from the Bunnings café like jelly slices or caramel slices
• Buying the kids’ sweets/chips/biscuit as rewards for being good at swimming
• Scrolls or pizzas from Baker’s Delight

Yes, they’re not major slips up, just relaxed more than they normally would. But it all has a cumulative effect and to what end? Slowly this stuff starts creeping back in and before you know it all bets are off and additive-free living has totally gone out the window. Something that Jo could never ever let happen.

Quite frankly though at that time, Jo just couldn’t be bothered. It wasn’t that she couldn’t be bothered to prioritise her family’s health as much as she couldn’t be bothered arguing with her children. The inevitable arguments that would ensue from refusing to buy the scroll or the pizza or the kinder surprise. She just didn’t have the brain space at the time to pick those battles.

What was the tipping point?

Jo, Shane and their two kids went away on a cruise and they were completely relaxed with food, which happens when you’re on holidays.

They had a 24 hour soft serve ice-cream bar on the cruise and Jo allowed her kids one a day, which doesn’t sound bad but add that on top of all the other buffet food that wasn’t additive-free and by day 3 Jo felt shocking and bloated and Jacob’s asthma had started to flare up too. Day 4 and Eva had a terrible cold and Shane’s dermatitis had flared up as well as he felt bloated too. Jo got a cold sore too! The health concerns just kept adding up!

When they made it back to port in Sydney, Jacob’s asthma had flared up so bad that Jo had to take him to a GP in Sydney. They hadn’t been to a GP in about 2 years. It just hadn’t been necessary for them to do so.

At the end of the cruise they got home, and they all felt terrible. They didn’t feel relaxed at all, they felt like they needed a holiday to get over the holiday.

This was the point that Jo knew she had to draw the line in the sand and get back onto the additive-free wagon again. Living like they were was not sustainable and was detrimental to their health.

Thankfully for a lot of the health issues detailed above Jo had her essential oils to help support their bodies whilst they were fighting and in distress.

How hard was it to get back on track?

Saturday came around and it was time to go do all the kids sporting activities as well as the grocery shopping that Jo does on a Saturday.

They get to the butchers which just so happens to have a Baker’s Delight store next door and Eva asks for a scroll…oh boy…here comes the argument.

Jo tried to reason with her that they were back eating healthy again and she needed to choose an additive-free option. This was met with no, she wanted the scroll. Back and forth they went and in the end, Jo had her 9-year-old daughter throwing a 2-year-old tantrum.

Jo had bought a gluten-free muffin from the café next door which was a better choice, so she gave some for Eva to try. Nope, she didn’t like it! Jo remained cool, calm and collected and simply stated that she either had the muffin or she waited until they got home in about an hour and she could eat then. Eva was not happy about this but those were her choices. Once they were in the car, Jo offered the muffin again which Eva refused. About 10 minutes after this Eva picked up the muffin and said ‘oh mum, this is actually really yummy!’ Ahhh kids!

What’s the secret to living additive-free?

Being organised! Jo had slackened off on this. If she was organised, she would have pre-made some food that she would have taken with her for Eva to eat.

She usually uses Meals Made Easy (our meal planning program) to help her have food at the ready so she can avoid situations like the one above.

Thankfully she is back into that now and boy does it make life easier to be organised and prepped. She honestly doesn’t know why or how she lived without using Meals Made Easy.

Seriously guys, it takes the effort out of the kitchen. Jump into it >>> here

Get everyone back on board

The key to getting back in sync for living additive-free was that Jo and Shane were on the same page and they discussed with the kids how they were going back to living their proper additive-free lifestyle. This was key because when you’re dealing with tantrums from kids you need to know that no matter what your partner is going to be just as strong and refuse just like you.

Even if the kids are at the grandparents, get them back on board too. This is what Jo had to do.

It’s easy to lose your way

Over the years we have seen so many people saying how they have lost their way or their mojo living additive-free, so if this is you, then remember our motto #dontstressit

The beauty is you can reignite your passion and easily jump back on the wagon.

You don’t have to make it hard, just start by going back to switching up your brands for better options and gradually reintegrate it back into your life.

A lot of our previous Additive-Free Made Easy students will join our 7-day challenges or take advantage of the discount code they get for being previous alumni and re-do our Additive-Free Made Easy course again.

So, fear not! Jump back on board with Jo and get back into the additive-free lifestyle again.

Free 7-Day Additive-Free Challenge

? Beginning 27th May we are once again running our FREE 7-Day Additive-Free Challenge

What’s it all about:

➕ Learn what harmful chemicals to look out for when food shopping

➕ Get manageable daily tasks

➕ A daily dose of inspiration and tips!

➕ Recipes the whole family will love

➕ Meet like-minded people in our private FB community

➕ BONUS: Free Live Webinar Masterclass at the end of the Challenge

Start living a life of wellness and join the challenge >>> here

Interested in doing our course Additive-Free Made Easy? Then head on over to register your interest for the next round >>> here

Links and Resources

• To join our additive-free challenge register here
• To register your interest for our next round of Additive-Free Made Easy here
• We would love for you to leave a review of this podcast here

The post Podcast 160 – When You Lose Your Additive-Free Mojo Like Jo Did appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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We get asked all the time what are the easiest swaps you can make to start living additive-free without it being overwhelming. We completely understand this because when we started living additive-free it was overwhelming for us too.

Living additive-free will only ever be as complicated as you make it, so if you simplify it then it will be a piece of additive-free cake (haha)!

With that in mind, here are some really simple swaps you can make to get started today:

Margarine Vs Butter

Margarine contains vegetable oils that are highly processed. These oils are extracted from plants using either a chemical solvent or oil mill. They are often then purified, refined and even sometimes chemically altered. Margarine may also contain artificial food colours as well as annatto (160b) and preservatives. You can simply swap this out for butter which should only contain cream, water and possibly salt.

Peanut Butter

There are lots of great brands in the supermarket that are now made with 100% peanut butter. We prefer the organic ranges that just contain 100% peanuts and nothing else as peanuts can be heavily sprayed with pesticides. 100% peanuts is a must and try to avoid ones that contain vegetables oils and sugar.

Chips/Crisps

Always go for plain chips over flavoured chips. Flavoured chips often contain flavour enhancers like 621 (MSG), or Yeast Extract (MSG), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (MSG) etc.

Ingredients should say: Potatoes, oil, salt (also be careful the oil isn’t palm oil, because we like Orangutans).

Ice-Cream

A lot of ice-creams on the market that we have found contain annatto (160b) as well as colours and flavours. There are a few plain vanilla ice-creams that don’t contain annatto (160b) so we would recommend getting these ones. Or better still, make your own, we have plenty of ice-cream recipes on our website and you can purchase ice-cream moulds >>> here. That way you know exactly what is in it.

100’s and 1000’s

100’s and 1000’s are basically a chemical sh!t storm, #sorrynotsorry. They are filled with artificial food colours that are linked to many, many issues like cancer, hyperactivity, skin rashes and more. Instead choose artificial free 100’s & 1000’s that are made using all-natural food colours like beetroots, carrots and paprika. We like the Hooper brand which you can check out here.

Food Colours

Artificial food dyes are also linked to many issues such as behavioural issues, headaches, skin rashes and more. Again, try and choose all-natural food colours like the Hopper all-natural food colours made from vegetable juices. We like the Hooper brand which you can check out here.

Flavoured Rice Cakes

Generally, the plain variety of rice cakes are additive-free, whilst the flavoured versions often contain yeast extract, which is a form of MSG. MSG is linked to behavioural issues, asthma, depression, sleeplessness, nausea, migraines and more. Clearly, something our bodies just don’t need.

Grated Cheese

Ever wondered what that white powder is on the grated cheese? Well, that’s anti-caking agent, which is an aluminium-based agent that our bodies just don’t need. It’s there so your grated cheese doesn’t stick together. A better choice is to buy block cheese and grate it yourself.

Maple Syrup

Be careful when buying maple syrup. Maple ‘flavoured’ syrups contain colour (150d), natural flavours (who knows what they are) and preservatives as well as other ingredients. Whereas pure maple syrup only contains 100% pure maple syrup.

Popcorn

Purchase a bag of air-popped popcorn over microwave popcorn. It won’t contain all the nasties microwave popcorn has and it’ll have much less sugar and fat. Even better, pop it yourself. It’ll take you approx. 5 minutes and it’s MUCH cheaper!

Shredded Chicken and Deli Meats

Deli meats are heavily processed and most likely contain nitrates or nitrites and possibly artificial food colours. Supermarkets are now stocking nitrate-free small goods in the dairy case section where they stock the packaged deli meats, so check them out as they are a better alternative.

For shredded chicken, making your own is really easy, and yummy!! Here’s the recipe.

Rice Crackers

Flavoured rice crackers may contain 621, 627, 631, 635 (MSG), yeast extract which as mentioned above is a form of MSG as well as an anti-caking agent. The plain ones or multigrain ones contain no MSG or yeast extract and are a much better option.

Tomato Paste

This is a great example of always making sure you read the ingredients. The Leggos tomato paste in the plastic tube contains preservatives, the glass jar one has no preservatives. Always read the ingredients – always!

Deli Chickens

Deli chickens often contain flavour enhancers like MSG, you are much better to roast your own. Here’s a recipe you may like.

Dried Fruit

Dried fruit will most likely be full of sulphur dioxide. If you suffer from any form of respiratory issues you should avoid this preservative. It can be fatal to asthmatics and should be avoided at all costs. For example, dried apricots should not be bright orange, they should be brown and ugly looking – they taste better too.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Then register your interest for the next round of our signature e-course, Additive-Free Made Easy. We usually kick it off with a free 7-day additive-free challenge.

This FREE challenge is for you if you want to eat healthier, reduce harmful additives, and make some easy shopping swaps. And it’s fun! Are you in?

• Learn what harmful chemicals to look out for when food shopping
• Get manageable daily tasks
• A daily dose of inspiration and tips!
• Recipes the whole family will love
• Meet like-minded people in our private FB community
• BONUS: Free Live Webinar Masterclass at the end of the Challenge

Simply head on over to >>> HERE to register your interest for the next round and challenge.

Much love

Jo & Tracey x

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we talk to Dr Glenn Livingston, Psychologist about binge eating.

Who is Dr Glenn Livingston?

Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. is a veteran psychologist and was the long-time CEO of a multi-million-dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry.

Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Dr Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own patients and a self-funded research program with more than 40,000 participants. Most important, however, was his own personal journey out of obesity and food prison to a normal, healthy weight and a much more light-hearted relationship with food.

Dr Livingston is also a best-selling author of Never Binge Again – Reprogram Yourself to Think Link a Permanently Thin Person™.

He also comes from a family of 17 therapists! Wow! Yes, that’s right he has 17 members of his family who are all psychotherapists in one form or another.

You can check him out as well as downloading a FREE copy of his book here.

Specialist Area

Dr Livingston now specialises in working with people with eating troubles.

He does this in a coaching framework instead of a treatment framework because some of the things he does are a little unorthodox and not necessarily in line with the practices of his profession.

However, there is now research out there supporting his methods of practice.

Personal History

Dr Livingston had very serious troubles with food himself which is how he came to specialise in this area.

When Dr Livingston was a child of around 16-17 years of age, he figured out that if he worked out around 2-3 hours a day he could eat whatever he wanted ie. 6,000 – 7,000 calories a day consisting of whole pizzas, boxes of muffins, chocolate bars etc.

He loved it and did not think this was a problem. He would spend a lot of time eating, recovering from the food he had just eaten, and a lot of time exercising, but he was 17 so he figured it didn’t matter.

When he was about 22 or 23 years old, he got married and had responsibilities as well as patients he needed to commute 2 hours each way to see, which means that he just couldn’t work out that much anymore. He could barely fit in 2 hours of exercise a week, let alone a day like he used to.

However, he couldn’t stop eating the way he had been. It was like the foods he had been eating had a life of their own. Therefore, he was eating constantly and obsessing about it.

At one point, he found himself sitting in a session with a suicidal patient and thinking when he could get a pizza. This was the turning point for him, he knew that this was not right, and it bothered him because it was incredibly important to him to be a great Psychologist. He found the mental obsession he had with food was worse than all the weight he gained.

Being from a family of Psychologists he realised this was a serious problem, but he thought it stemmed from a void in his heart, something that he was missing. He figured that if he could heal what was going on in his heart and figure out what was ailing him psychologically, then he wouldn’t have the food cravings.

He went to all the best Doctors, Psychologist, Psychiatrists, Overeaters Anonymous for years and he even took medication. He basically tried everything he could think of. It was a very soulful journey for him, where he learnt a lot about himself that had a big impact on who he is today. He doesn’t regret it, it was worthwhile taking the journey, but it didn’t fix the food problem.

It was a constant cycle of two steps forward and ten steps back.

Flipping the paradigm about food

There were three things that happened that flipped the paradigm about food for Dr Livingston.

Number 1

At this particular point in time, he didn’t have children, he wasn’t commuting for work but his wife at the time was travelling a lot for business. He had a second career consulting for very large fortune 500 companies.

He started to realise that these companies were spending billions of dollars to engineer hyperpalatable food-like ingredients. They were designed to hit our bliss point without giving us the nutrition to feel satisfied. There was a part of Dr Livingston that knew this wasn’t right. He was thinking that that’s why those foods he couldn’t stop eating had a life of their own or why he was looking for answers at the bottom of a container. It wasn’t necessarily because his mother didn’t love him enough when he was little, it’s that these foods really did have a life of their own.

Number 2

Dr Livingston was reading a book called Rational Recovery by Jack Trimpey, who mostly works with drug and alcohol addictions. In the book Jack pointed out that the seat of addiction is caused by the lizard brain which is at the base of your skull and which is the most primitive part of our being.

That part of our being doesn’t really know love. Lizards doesn’t know love when they see something in the environment, all they know is to whether to eat it, mate with it or kill it.

Therefore, they don’t have concern for tribe, family, spirituality, music, art, creativity, contributions to society and there’s certainly no long-term strategic plan like diet or weight loss. It’s just eat, mate or kill.

So why was Dr Livingston trying to love himself thin if the part of him that was addicted didn’t know love?

Study of 40,000 participants

From there Dr Livingston conducted his own study of 40,000 people. He asked those people what foods they struggled with and what was going on in their lives.

What came out of this study were three really interesting things.

1. People who struggled with chocolate tended to be lonely or broken hearted.
2. People who struggled with crunchy, salty foods tended to be stressed at work.
3. People who struggled with starchy soft things ie. breads and pasta tended to be stressed at home.

Even knowing this it didn’t solve the problem Dr Livingston had with food.

When he found out that people who struggled with chocolate tended to be lonely and broken hearted, he asked his mother given chocolate was his food struggle. At the time he wasn’t happy in his marriage, but he figured that couldn’t be the whole reason. So, he asked his mother what happened in his upbringing that set off the pattern whereby he would go to chocolate when he would feel lonely or broken hearted. His mother had this horrified look on her face and started to apologise.

Dr Livingston’s mother told him that when he was a 1-year-old, his grandfather (his mother’s father) had just gotten out of prison. His mother had adored her father for most of her life and had oriented most of her life around him, but he was guilty for the crime he was sent to prison for. Because of this her life fell apart and she was very depressed and anxious a lot of the time and would just sit and stare at the wall.

At the same time her husband, Dr Livingston’s father, was a Captain in the Army and they were talking about sending him to Vietnam (this was in 1965). This terrified her at the thought of being a single mother with another child on the way. She just didn’t have the wherewithal to love, hug or feed Dr Livingston the right things.

There was one instance where Dr Livingston went to his mother for something and she redirected him to the bottle of chocolate syrup on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator which he then grabbed, consumed a lot of then went into a sugar coma because of. This then happened regularly and started his struggle with chocolate.

From this, his problem got worse, not better. He did forgive his mother though and learnt a lot about the two of them in the process.

However, his problem got worse because there was this little voice in his head telling him that it was ok to keep consuming chocolate because his mum had left a big chocolate sized hole in his heart. This was how he justified his continued eating of chocolate.

What he recognised from that and from seeing the substances that the companies he was consulting for were engineering, was that you cannot really love yourself out of this. You have to learn to control your urges and behaviours and dominate those sensations like you do for all your other bodily functions.

How did he overcome this?

He called his lizard brain his ‘pig’. He drew a really clear line in the sand that differentiates healthy from unhealthy eating. For example, he would only ever cheat chocolate on a Saturday or Sunday again and would never eat it on a weekday. If he hears any little voice in his head that suggests he should have chocolate on a Wednesday and justifies it with a bunch of excuses, that would be his ‘pig’ squealing at him. So internally he would say that he doesn’t want that, his pig does, and he doesn’t eat pig slop (the chocolate representing pig slop) and he doesn’t let farm animals dictate what he does.

As ridiculous and primitive as that sounds, it would wake him up at the moment of impulse and give him a few extra microseconds to remember who he was, what his plans were and why he made them.

He didn’t always make the right choice, but what happened was that he recognised that he wasn’t powerless and that he could take back control of the process. His upper brain could control his lower lizard/pig brain.

He kept a journal for eight years about him versus his pig and all the crazy things that it said and how he learned to recognise it and disempower it.

Somewhere around 2014-2015 he was a minor partner in a publishing company and the CEO said they needed a book so that they could demonstrate that they know what they’re doing in an effort to get some bigger clients to jump on board with them. Dr Livingston said that he had written this crazy journal and the CEO wanted to see it, which he loved. He then asked him if he could make it into a book which Dr Livingston did and Never Binge Again was born!

Food Recovery

One of Dr Livingston’s mentors always said to him that he should never have to recover from a meal. So, if he felt like he had to recover from a meal then he should take a step back and adjust what he was eating.

Once he had gotten a handle on his struggles with food, this mantra really shaped the food choices he would make going forward.

How do you stop your body from binge eating?

As Dr Livingston had eluded to earlier, he would allow himself one day to indulge in his favoured chocolate. But how do you only have a small portion of your preferred food without eating the whole lot, ie. a whole block of chocolate or a whole bag of chips?

The easiest way is none is better than some. In the end Dr Livingston came to the conclusion that he just couldn’t have chocolate and as a result of him making that decision he has not had chocolate in years because he knew that he just couldn’t have a small amount, he would end up binging on it, even if only for one day a week. It wasn’t easy but he learned to live without it.

Having said that, people are entitled to maximise their freedom and if they want to take the risk and try it, then it’s best if you spell out to yourself where the boundaries lie.

What is your end goal? If you work this out, then it helps you to make clear decisions beforehand. For example, in Dr Livingston’s case he would allow himself to eat 4oz of 85% chocolate on a Saturday or Sunday, but not both days. This way you know exactly the boundaries you have stick to.

There are a lot of studies on willpower that suggest that willpower is a fatigable muscle and there are only so many good decisions you can make during the course of a day. So, if you have already set the boundaries on your eating, then that eliminates having to make decisions in your already challenged food area or rely on willpower to get through it.

Bear in mind that this doesn’t always work, especially if you have severe food addictions. Dr Livingston finds that the main food addictions centre around sugar, alcohol and flour.

Character trumps willpower

The psychology behind the what, where and how we eat is really interesting.

Dr Livingston didn’t realise that when he was making rules such as, he wouldn’t have chocolate during the week, he was really making a decision to become the person who doesn’t eat chocolate on a weekday.

When you overload your digestive system with food that doesn’t belong there, the body perceives that as an emergency, it diverts blood and resources to getting that through your system and it loses the ability to conduct your emotions at the same level. So, it can be said that there is an anaesthetic effect with food, more commonly known as eating food for comfort.

But there is another reason that people are eating, if you believe you’re only eating for comfort then your internal pig can justify that over consumption of food based on your emotions because that’s what you’re feeding.

However, we also overeat to get high from food. We typically don’t overeat on broccoli or healthy foods; we mainly overeat on junk food which can give us a synthetic high from industrially processed food.

We tend to not think of this need for a high because we can’t justify it to ourselves as easily as we can eating to soothe emotions.

The distinction is clear but not well-known.

Commit with perfection but forgive yourself with dignity

This is what Dr Livingston recommends people do. When it comes to food and food ‘drugs’, if you want to regulate this, if you commit to anything less than perfection then you are unlikely to succeed because it leaves you open to justify not giving it 100% commitment, which is what your internal pig wants you to do.

However, if you are setting out to succeed at your goal then you need to visualise it and visualise the outcome so that you can stay focused on the prize. This allows you to purge your mind of doubt and distraction. If you miss your target, then you simply recommit and go again full steam ahead. It’s ok to feel guilt and shame at falling off the wagon, because this will be your driving force to do better next time because you will have learned from your previous mistakes.

If you are constantly in a negative mindset and beating yourself up for not succeeding, then know that this is your internal pig getting to you.

This is why you need to commit with perfection and forgive yourself with dignity to have the greatest success of not letting your internal pig getting the better of you.

Turning shame into anger

We’re programmed to feel guilty if we overeat, put on weight or are obese. But we really need to flip the switch on this and turn it into anger.

Yes, we may have put ourselves in that position because we put the food in our mouths, however, the foods that are going into our mouths are highly addictive because of the addictive chemicals in them and how they affect our brains and retrain our brains to want more and more.

This doesn’t excuse our own behaviour because we need to take ownership of that so that we can improve, but food companies have a lot to answer for with the addictive packaged foods they sell.

That’s why it’s so important that we set our own boundaries around food so that we don’t succumb to food addictions and binge eat.

Where you can find Dr Glenn Livingston

Head on over to his website Never Binge Again. Over there you can get a free downloadable copy of his popular book Never Binge Again as well as receiving, via email, free printable food plan start templates.

On his website, he also has free recorded sessions with people that you can listen to so that you can hear how this works in practice.

Links and Resources

• We would love for you to leave a review of this podcast here
• To register for the next round of Additive-Free Made Easy head here

The post Podcast 156 – Dr Glenn Livingston on Binge Eating appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we talk to Davin, a 13-year-old boy about how he embraced eating additive-free.

Davin has totally rocked our world! He is a 13-year-old boy who has embraced eating additive-free and, how cool is this, he even did a school report on it!

How it all began

Chantelle, Davin’s mum had seen one of our social media posts about dehydrating food. Piqued with interest she looked into it further and saw that a few of her friends had completed our signature program Additive-Free Made Easy. She then commenced her own research into this course and came across a few things that resonated with her.

When Davin was about 5-years-old, Chantelle noticed changes in his behaviour, plus he wasn’t sleeping as well as he used to. However, she couldn’t figure out what the cause was. Given the fact that Davin’s Dad had passed away around this time, she had attributed his behaviours to that and didn’t really think it had anything to do with what they were eating. Which, let’s be honest, is probably what we would all do.

Chantelle then discovered Jo’s story regarding why she started living additive-free (if you want to learn about Jo’s heartbreaking story, watch here.)

She noticed connections between Jo’s story and her own and started to think that maybe there was something more to understand.

The first thing Chantelle did was remove additive MSG (621) from their diets completely. She did this because Davin used to eat chicken flavoured rice cakes, which he loved, but at the time their supermarket stopped stocking them. Davin was devasted, but Chantelle noticed that Davin seemed happier and not as angry since he stopped eating them. This validated to her that there was something to be said for eating additive-free.

She knew at this point she needed to know more about additives and preservatives in food which is when she registered and completed our course, Additive-Free Made Easy.

How would Chantelle’s family react?

Chantelle was anxious about how the whole family would react to living additive-free, so she implemented the changes and swaps gradually over time, being particularly careful not to make a fuss or big deal about it, but communicating each step in the process to her family.

Davin completely blew Chantelle’s mind with how well he not only accepted it but totally embraced eating additive-free. He certainly took it to a whole other level!

It also gave Davin an explanation as to why he was behaving the way he was after having eaten additives and preservatives.

Davin’s school project

Davin had to pick a topic to do a school project on, which was right around the time they were finishing our Additive-Free Made Easy course, so he decided to do his school project on additives and preservatives in food and share his journey. Whilst he didn’t know a lot about it at the time, he researched and learnt what MSG does to our bodies as well as other harsh additives and preservatives.

Oh my gosh, upon hearing this our hearts totally burst with pride!

Whilst Davin’s teacher was confused about it, after hearing Davin’s explanation he was interested about living additive-free as well.

Yes, that’s right, Davin was educating his teacher!

Did his school friends give him a hard time about it?

Not at all, they have created funny banter around it trying to guess and figure out if any of their food has MSG in it and have turned it into a bit of a game.

This means that Davin is educating his friends about eating additive-free and empowering them to make the decision about whether they want to follow the same lifestyle or not.

How amazing is that?!

How did the additives and preservatives make him feel?

When Davin was eating additives and preservatives he was always agitated and on edge. But now that these have been cut out of his diet, he doesn’t have those feelings any longer. He is now much happier and feels much better within himself. He feels that doing the course and taking additives and preservatives out of their diet was absolutely worth it!

Empowering Davin with responsibility and choice

Chantelle feels that giving Davin responsibility around his diet has helped as well. This means that it is not her dictating to him what he can and cannot have, it’s about Davin now knowing the information so that he can make his own choice about what he wants to eat.

If Chantelle gives him a choice between two foods, one having not great ingredients and one being additive-free Davin will simply say ‘no Mum I don’t want to put that in my body’.

There was a time when Davin went trick or treating and Chantelle was so nervous about it and pretty much didn’t want to know what he would be consuming. Davin came back with a massive stash of additive-filled junk food. Chantelle had some additive-free chocolate at the ready in the hope they would swap their junk for that, and lo and behold Davin happily swapped them over because he simply didn’t want to eat all those additives and much preferred the additive-free chocolate anyway.

And that’s the beauty of living additive-free, in most cases, there is a simple swap you can make to get rid of the rubbish food.

Chantelle had heard Tracey and Jo say many times over that living additive-free wasn’t hard, but she had worried it would be. In actual fact, she found it really easy to embrace living additive-free and make the swaps from additive filled food to additive-free food.

Does Davin get in the kitchen and help cook?

Davin loves cooking and is always in the kitchen helping out. His favourite thing to cook is meringue’s or pavlova, no small feat that’s for sure!

He also made a chickpea and carrot salad for a recent family gathering. How awesome is Davin! He can come and cook for us anytime ?

The best way to experiment with food is just to get in and have a go. What’s the worst thing that can happen? It doesn’t taste good, which is not the end of the world.

Davin’s Chickpea and Carrot Salad with Lemon-Mustard Dressing

Salad Ingredients

2 small carrots, grated

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 Lebanese cucumber, diced

1 medium avocado, diced

1 tbsp. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

A few baby cos lettuce leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces

Dressing Ingredients

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Half a lemon, juiced

Pinch of salt

Black pepper to taste

4 tbsp. olive oil

Method:

1. Add all the salad ingredients to a bowl and gently toss until combined.
2. To make the dressing simply whisk the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper together until well combined.
3. Slowly add olive oil, whisking constantly until thick.
4. Toss the dressing through the salad until combined.
5. Serve and enjoy.

We have found Davin and Chantelle so inspirational. It is stories like this really do make our hearts completely sing!

How you can be empowered

We have our next round of Additive-Free Made Easy starting this Monday 4 March 2019.

There’s still time to register and empower yourself with the knowledge that will serve you for a lifetime.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR ADDITIVE-FREE MADE EASY

Links and Resources

• We would love for you to leave a review of this podcast here
• To register for the next round of Additive-Free Made Easy head here
• Visit our Additive Free Lifestyle Facebook Page
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join our Additive-Free Lifestyle Private chat group

The post Podcast 154 – A 13-year-old’s story on how he embraced eating additive-free appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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Mr Ikdeep Singh

President

Maybelline LLC

L’Oréal Group

10 Hudson Yards

New York, NY 10001

Dear Mr Singh,

We write to you with a heavy heart, an angry soul and utter disappointment at your Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow Palette.

It’s no secret we are on a mission to get companies to clean up their ingredients…. but seriously…. why on earth does an eyeshadow palette need to be scented?!?!?! Who seriously has life goals where they get ready for the day and think ‘gee, my eyes smell gorgeous today’?!

We would expect this eyeshadow palette has a predominant target audience towards tweens and teens, which is a major problem. Why do you think scented eyeshadow is needed, given you already have a massive slice of the cosmetics pie as it is?

Your ingredients list for both the US and Australian product is not only exhaustively long but contains a lot of ingredients which are linked to a myriad of health and environmental issues, some of which are incredibly serious. The ingredients, taken from your websites, are listed as:

US Ingredients List:

G2014755 Ingredients: Nylon-12, Talc, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Boron Nitrate, Dimethicone, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacylapidate-2, Diisostearyl Malate, Silica, Magnesium Stearate, Calcium Aluminium Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Caprylyl Glycol, Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Ethyhexyglycerin, Isostearyl Alcohol, Paraffin, Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil/Huile Minerale, Serica Powder/Silk Powder/Poudre De Soie, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sorbic Acid, Sorbitan Isostearate, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Parfum/Fragrance, [+/- May Contain: CI 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, CI 75470/Carmine, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/Iron Oxides, CI 77510/Ferric Ferrocyanide, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide Mica]

Australian Ingredients List:

G951666 Ingredients: Talc, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Magnesium Myristate, Penataerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Stearyl Dimethicone, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Nylon-12, Aluminium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Silica, Diisostearyl Malate, Caprylyl Glycol, Alumina, Dimethicone, Calcium Aluminium Borosilicate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Octadecene, Isododecane, Hexylene Glycol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Aqua/Water, Maltodextrin, Tin Oxide, Aluminium Hydroxide, [+/- May Contain: MICA, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/Iron Oxides, CI 77891Titanium Dioxide, CI 77713/Magnesium Carbonate, CI 74570/Carmine, CI 77266 [Nano]/Black 2, CI 77077/Ultramarines, CI 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, CI 77288/Chromium Oxide Greens, CI 77510/Ferric Ferrocyanide, CI 77742/Magnesium Violet, CI 42090/Blue 1 Lake]

G2014996 Ingredients: Talc, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Triethylhexanoin, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Alumina, Dehydroacetic Acid, Isododecane, Phenoxyethanol, Silica Dimethyl Silylate [Nano], Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Hexylene Glycol, Tin Oxide, Calcium Aluminium Borosilicate, Silica, Maltodextrin, [+/- May Contain: MICA, CI 77891Titanium Dioxide, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/Iron Oxides, CI 74570/Carmine, CI 19140/Yellow 5 Lake]

First of all, there is a big discrepancy of ingredients from the US version to the Australian version of the product. We understand different laws may come into play which dictates ingredients that can and cannot be used, however, one glaring thing missing off your Australian ingredient list is parfum/fragrance which is in the US listing. Surely parfum/fragrance is in the Australian version given it is citrus scented and marketed as such. So where is it or where is the citrus scent coming from? We would love for you to explain this?

Let’s pick a few of the nasties from these ingredient listings above and break it down further (information sourced from EWG – Environmental Working Group):

Alumina | Aluminium Hydroxide

Classified as expected to be harmful or toxic; classified as a medium health priority; suspected to be an environmental toxin.

Talc

Talc is a powdered native, hydrous magnesium silicate sometimes containing a small portion of aluminium silicate. Talc can be contaminated with asbestos fibres, posing risks for respiratory toxicity and cancer. Studies by the National Toxicology Panel demonstrated that cosmetic-grade talc free of asbestos is a form of magnesium silicate that also can be toxic and carcinogenic.

Dimethicone

Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful; suspected to be an environmental toxin; restricted for use in cosmetics.

Titanium Dioxide

Possible human carcinogen.

Tocopheryl Acetate

Human skin toxicant or allergen; one or more animal studies show tumour formation at high doses.

CI 19140/Yellow 5 Lake

Classified as a medium human health priority; persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humans.

CI 75470/Carmine

May cause skin, eye or lung irritation.

Ferric Ferrocyanide

Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful; suspected to be an environmental toxin.

CI 77266 (Nano)/Black 2

Possible human carcinogen, strong cancer link; classified as a high human health priority; possible human respiratory toxicant; classified as expected to be toxic or harmful.

CI 77007/Ultramarines

Restricted for use in products to be used on the lips.

CI 77288/Chromium Oxide Greens

Restricted for use in products to be used on the lips; moderate to high toxicity concern in humans; classified as expected to be toxic or harmful; suspected to be an environmental toxin; suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skin.

Fragrance | Parfum

Clearly, this is what is used to scent the product. Which really begs the question of why do you need to lace it with extra ingredients and chemicals to make it scented when your eyeshadow pallets don’t smell anyway?!

EWG classifies fragrance as:

The word “fragrance” or “parfum” on the product label represents an undisclosed mixture of various scent chemicals and ingredients used as fragrance dispersants such as diethyl phthalate. Fragrance mixes have been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system

Not only that but here’s what the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has to say about it:

Labelling of Fragrance Ingredients

If a cosmetic is marketed on a retail basis to consumers, such as in stores, on the Internet, or person-to-person, it must have a list of ingredients. In most cases, each ingredient must be listed individually. But under U.S. regulations, fragrance and flavour ingredients can be listed simply as “Fragrance” or “Flavor.”

Here’s why: FDA requires the list of ingredients under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). This law is not allowed to be used to force a company to tell “trade secrets.” Fragrance and flavour formulas are complex mixtures of many different natural and synthetic chemical ingredients, and they are the kinds of cosmetic components that are most likely to be “trade secrets.” To learn more, see the regulation on cosmetic ingredient labeling and the Federal Register notice for this regulation, which addresses “trade secrets” and the FPLA.

So, let’s break this down, not only are you allowed to add in a concoction of ingredients without having to list each individual one, but you’re also allowed to lump them altogether under the term ‘fragrance’ which means they cannot be revealed to your consumers, because the formula can be classified as a ‘trade secret’.

It’s so heart-warming to know that you, as a company, and your trade secrets are more highly regarded than the health of your consumers! In case you missed it, yes sarcasm was intended!

This means that we have a product that we apply to our eyelids, a very delicate skin area of the body, which contains potentially harmful ingredients and then we also have fragrance in there too! Skin is the biggest porous organ on our body. So, what goes on our skin goes into our body.

As we know, if you are a cosmetics wearer, you usually wear them all day long. Which means that your eyeshadow palette concoction is sitting on our eyelids all day long and being absorbed into our bodies all day long.

How bad is Fragrance?

It’s well documented that synthetic fragrance can be detrimental to your health. Fragrance has now been labelled ‘the next second-hand smoke’ and for very good reason. They have been linked to:

• Endocrine/Hormone disruption
• Headaches/Migraines
• Allergic reactions
• Respiratory issues

In 2009, the University of Maryland completed a study called ‘Fragrance in the Workplace is the New Second-Hand Smoke’ whereby it was detailed that:

The problem with fragrance products is not the scent but the properties of synthetic chemicals that they are derived from such as petroleum and tar. The United States tests less than 10% of products on the market for toxicity and almost one-third of the chemical additives used in perfume are known to be toxic (Rigsby, 1996).

Over the past 50 years, 80-90% of fragrances have been synthesized from petroleum and some of the commonly found harmful chemicals in fragrance and products include acetone, phenol, toluene, benzyl acetate, and limonene.

The chemicals used to produce the fragrance in a product are protected under trade secret laws and are not listed in the ingredients of a product. Chemical irritants in fragrance can initiate a sensitizing process within an individual’s immune system as it learns to recognize materials that later prompt a response/reaction when re-exposure occurs (Lessenger, 2001).

There are four categories of health effects due to fragrance: Respiratory, which includes allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma, reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS); Neurological, which includes headaches, migraine headaches, nausea, dizziness, and mental confusion; Skin, urticaria, irritation and sensitization; and Eye, irritation, tearing and inflammation.

Does that sound as abhorrent to you as it does to us?

WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO PRIORITISE CONSUMER’S HEALTH OVER YOUR BOTTOM LINE? Adding a scent to a product just so that you can market it in a way that is attractive to the younger generation, but that carries the risk of harming consumers, is in our view, incredibly irresponsible. It is simply not necessary!

There are plenty of companies out there using natural ingredients in their cosmetics with great success. So why not be the shining example and change your ingredients to ones that aren’t risking the health of your consumers?

We are under no illusion of the massive hit your profit and loss statements would take but imagine how good it would be for consumers and the environment if you led the charge to revolutionise the cosmetics industry.

For now, this is seemingly a dream, but we hope that change is on the horizon…

BE THE CHANGE! Yours respectfully,

Tracey Fry and Joanne Ling

Founders | CFO | CEO

The post An Open Letter to Maybelline appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.

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In this week’s episode of The Whole Circle Podcast we uncover the truth about our food with the inspiring Vani Hari from Food Babe.

We’ve totally got a fan crush interviewing Vani today! We have been wanting to interview her for a long time, so we are so excited to bring you this episode. We hope you get as much out of it as we did.

Who is Vani Hari?

Vani Hari is a revolutionary food activist, a New York Times best-selling author, and was named one of the “Most Influential People On The Internet” by Time Magazine in 2015. Vani started FoodBabe.com to spread information about what is really in the American food supply. She teaches people how to make the right purchasing decisions at the grocery store, how to live an organic lifestyle, and how to travel healthfully around the world. The success of her writing and investigative work can be seen in the way food companies react to her uncanny ability to find and expose the truth.

Vani has influenced how major food giants like Kraft, General Mills, Subway, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and Starbucks create their products, steering them towards more healthful policies. Vani’s activism has brought worldwide attention as she has been profiled in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and more. Vani has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, The Dr. Oz Show, The Doctors Show and CNN. She lives in North Carolina and is the founder of Truvani, a start-up offering real food without added chemicals, products without toxins and labels without lies.

She is totally awe-inspiring, and we are so impressed by her and her crusade! Whilst we get that she is in America and we are in Australia, the similarities between the America food industries and the Australian food industries are aligned given we have a lot of America food companies stocking our supermarket shelves with packaged products.

How it all began

Vani launched her popular website FoodBabe.com back in 2011 as a result of a lifetime of health issues which, over years of extensive research, she had figured out were caused by the foods she was eating. When she started to clean up her diet by eliminating processed foods, the change in her health was unbelievable. She looked better, lost weight and went off every single one of her prescription drugs!

As a result of this, everyone around her could see this amazing transformation so she kept getting requests to start a blog about her journey and from there FoodBabe.com was born.

Vani gained a lot of attention in the mainstream media and started to become noticed by food companies. Attention that was both good and bad! Some companies hired her to speak to their staff about what consumers were now wanting and not wanting in their foods given that the additive-free movement was gaining momentum, while other companies attached and threatened her.

The Food Babe Way – released in 2015

Once her book, The Food Babe Way, was released in 2015, it completely opened up a Pandora’s box of criticism. She was getting attacked by people who were just wanting her to go away.

Because of her food activism and book release, she was inspiring a lot of people to make different food choices and talk with their dollars and, in turn, this ruffled a lot of feathers!

This means that the food industry was losing money from market share, as well as having to change ingredients in products to regain that market share back. An example of this is Kraft.

Campaigns sparking change

American food giant, Kraft, was using yellow 5 and yellow 6 artificial food colourings in their mac and cheese in America but in the U.K. they were using beta-carotene and paprika to naturally colour the mac and cheese.

You see, in the U.K. there is a policy that if companies use artificial colours in their food products then they have to place a warning label on the packaging which states that the product may have adverse effects on activity and attention in children.

So instead of putting a warning label on their product in the U.K., Kraft changed their ingredients to use natural food colourings instead. However, they didn’t change the product ingredients anywhere else in the world #notcool.

Vani felt this was abhorrently unethical given they were aware of the health risks that those artificial food colourings posed to consumers. She believed that they should change the ingredients across the board to all consumer markets.

Vani then started a petition with a friend of hers from 100 Days of Real Food. From the overwhelming number of signatures on that petition, Vani presented it to Kraft who then eventually changed their ingredients. Millions and millions of boxes across the board had to change as a result of the campaign. Kraft then lost a lot of money as well as losing market share to another company who weren’t using food colourings.

Because Vani was hitting the bottom line of these food conglomerates, they began attacking her. They couldn’t attack her message because it was the truth, so they steered their attacks towards her personally. They made up a lot of labels for her and tried to paint her as a pseudo-scientist, a fear monger, a person who was exaggerating the claims she was making about additives in food and that, in fact, they were completely safe and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved. Basically, anything you can think of to completely discredit her!

Incorrect assumptions that consumers can make

There is this assumption that everything on the supermarket shelf is safe. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. There are vast amounts of chemicals in our food supply that companies are using, that they have invented themselves, for one sole purpose, which is to improve the bottom line of their industry and sell more product.

What they are not doing is inventing those chemicals to improve our health!

Making companies accountable

The public has largely been in the dark about this until recent years, but with the emergence of social media and our ability to share the information out into the mainstream via the internet, the word is spreading.

For example, no one really knew what was in Starbucks drinks until Vani was able to blow the lid on that by convincing a Barista to show her what ingredients were actually in the drinks, which she then revealed online. Because of that, Starbucks eventually posted the ingredients listing of what was in their drinks online for the first time in history.

Feeding You Lies – released in 2019

Companies have hidden a lot of this information from the public and as stated above, then attacked Vani via an online campaign in an attempt to discredit her.

Instead of allowing them to succeed with their campaign, she decided to call them out on it. This is how her latest book, Feeding You Lies, came about.

Feeding You Lies is about how the food industry uses independent third-party experts to convince the public that they’re not smart enough to learn about nutrition, that they don’t have the resources, that they have to trust the food industry and that we need them in order to survive. So, what this book teaches you is how you can become your own health investigator, you can learn the tactics and tricks that the food industry employs to get you to buy their products.

At the end of the book, Vani has included a three-question detox whereby you ask yourself three simple questions before you sit down for a meal which will fundamentally change the way you look at everything you’re eating. Nutrition isn’t complicated! The only people that have made it complicated are those in the food industry. It really is simple, and you can easily take that power back into your own hands.

How do you handle criticism from mums and the general public?

There is a good chance that some of those criticisms are astroturfing (which Vani talks about in Feeding You Lies). Astroturfing is a fake, grassroots movement designed to shame those who believe that people should know the truth about additives and the risks associated with them. Those who are astroturfing are really being funded by the food industry behind the scenes.

If there are a litany of comments that come out of nowhere on threads, then they are most likely astroturfing, but if it is one or two comments here or there, they could have actually been influenced by astroturfing that they may have seen in the media or online.

Seriously … this is actually a thing! What the actual?!

Flavours v natural flavours

The reason why the food industry uses natural flavours is to make food that would otherwise not taste good, tasty. For example, in order to make blueberry yoghurt, instead of actually adding enough blueberries to make it taste like blueberry yoghurt, they use blueberry natural flavour. This is most likely made using flavouring developed in a food lab. It is designed to trick your brain into thinking you’re actually consuming real blueberries.

The problem with that is when you think you’re actually consuming real blueberries; your body also sends the signal that you should also be getting nutrition as well. When you don’t get that nutrition, your body is left wondering what is going on and your taste buds are then hijacked, and your body doesn’t know what’s real what’s not. As a result, you then start to overeat, crave foods that you shouldn’t be craving and you create an addiction to certain flavours and products.

There is also artificial colours and flavours. Artificial colours and flavours can be made from coal tar, petroleum and all sorts of different chemicals. Seven of those were recently banned by the FDA because they were linked to cancer! However, companies have up to two years to remove those artificial colours from their products which mean that adults and children will be eating these banned chemicals for up to another two years!

For more information regarding this development, check out Vani’s recent blog post here. We highly recommend you read it!

In addition to this, you have natural flavours which sound good, right? Especially considering it has the word ‘natural’ in there. But when you take a deeper look at these ‘natural flavours’ and you see how these are created in a laboratory to trick your brain, you realise they can be just as bad.

We can’t stress enough how important it is, as a consumer, to know what you’re eating. So, when you see ‘natural flavour’ or ‘artificial flavour’ added to your products, you need to ask yourself if that is a product you want to be eating or you want your family eating on a normal or regular basis.

Better still, put it back on the shelf and choose real, whole and unprocessed foods to feed you and your family every single day. Your bodies will thank you for it!

The sinister lies we get fed every day

It blows our mind that these toxic chemicals not only get put into our foods but that our governments allow it to happen!

This is why Feeding You Lies is so great, it breaks down the lies we get told and it teaches you how to recognise what’s in your food and how to understand what’s going on in the food industry so that you can make the best decisions for you and your family.

If you don’t have a copy, we highly recommend you get one.

Where can you find Vani Hari?

Check out her amazing website FoodBabe.com which is an absolute wealth of information!

Whilst you’re there, sign up to her mailing list so that you can stay informed of all the latest developments as they come to hand.

And don’t forget to grab your copies of Vani’s books, Feeding You Lies and The Food Babe Way.

Thanks so much to Vani Hari for sharing her time and knowledge with us, we hope it has inspired you guys as much as it has us.

If you want to learn more about additives and preservatives as well as what our podcast has to offer, then head on over to your podcast app to subscribe to our show, The Whole Circle.

Watch the interview on our YouTube Channel

We will now be video recording our podcast shows. So head on over to watch the interview and enjoy all the nuggets of gold Vani shared.

Watch along >>> here

Links and Resources * We would love for you to leave a review of this podcast here * To check out Vani’s website go to com * To register for the next round of Additive-Free Made Easy head here * Visit our Additive Free Lifestyle Facebook Page * Follow us on Instagram * Join our Additive-Free Lifestyle Private chat group

The post Podcast 153 – Food Babe – Uncovering The Truth About Our Food appeared first on Additive Free Lifestyle.