I believe that what you eat plays a huge role in health, which is why I spend a lot of time, money & energy on what my family eat.  But with 7 mouths to feed, I’ve also learnt to cut through the crap so to speak, and focus on easy ways to nourish as best I can (and still have money left over for other things)!

I completely understand how overwhelming it can be to feed a family well – along with the millions of other responsibilities we have as a Mum. And sometimes we just have to give ourselves a break and know we are doing the best we can! No one is perfect – there is no such thing remember.

Below are a few tips I’ve picked up over the years that have reduced their sugar & vegetable oil consumption, while at the same time, increased their nutrient intake. And they haven’t even noticed.

  1. Replacing margarine with butter. Margarine is made in a factory. Butter is made from cream. I buy Mainland Buttersoft spreadable – it has no added seed oils, and for cooking I buy homebrand. Look for Mainland on special and stock up!
  2. Swap to full fat milk. Skim milk lacks nutrition – especially good fats – and has more sugar.
  3. Buy plain full fat yoghurt and add your own berries/fruit. Most yoghurt, especially kids yoghurt, are loaded with added sugar. The only no added sugar pouch yoghurt for kids on the market is Tamar Valley.
  4. Swap flavoured chips for plain chips. Let’s keep it real. Kids will want to eat crisps occasionally. The addition of flavour means a huge jump in the sugar content. Plain crisps are very low on added sugar. Another good treat snack is pretzels or popcorn.
  5. Swap ice cream for berries, thickened cream & cinnamon.
  6. Ditch the juice, and encourage water or milk. Juice has just as much sugar as soft drink. Let them eat the fruit rather than drinking it. Consider the fibre in the whole fruit, and the fact that it’s one piece over the many pieces needed to make the juice!
  7. Encourage snacking on cheese, nuts, veggies & cold meats instead of sultanas, muesli bars or sugar laden snacks.
  8. Think about having nourishing eggs & bacon for breakfast over processed sugar laden & nutrient poor cereals. Smoothies, or my home made granola with berries & yoghurt are also great breakfast ideas.

I hope this was helpful.

Tracey xx