Gluten and Dairy free- yeah baby !

We made the decision to raise our baby gluten and dairy free after eliminating 90% of it from our diets (we allow ourselves the occasional slip here and there) and in doing so I got rid of many allergic reactions, stomach problems, skin problems and just feel less bloated and more energetic - not to mention have lost a few kilos. So when our 6month old son started eating solid foods I steered clear of all processed food and started him on organics veggies and frruits ( avocado and papaya at 6 months and gradually got more adventuruos and extended his diet). 

We have stuck him to a mostly organic and completely sugar, gluten, dairy FREE diet and have seen the benefits - a baby that has only had a fever twice in 15 months,  no other health problems/ skin or nappy rashes as well as a ton of neverending energy (This can also be seen as a downside to parents of toddlers who are already bouncing off the walls anyways haha). 

source:www.redorbit.com

Some health benefits I have found include: 

-A stronger immune system
- Better nutrient absorption
- Better focus and less mood swings
- Better digestion
- Less/ no allergies 

-less cravings

- lowers risk of cancers, heart disease and auto -immune diseases

Although it can be time consuming and require a little creativity on your part it is easier than it looks and with a tiny bit of forward planning it´s as easy as pie! (organic, gluten, dairy free pie,  that is! :) ) 

There are many fabulous and creative raw and paleo mums out on the bloggosphere who have inspired me and although I dont like to commit to a labelled diet - I like to take the things that suit my lifestyle and body and put them together.  

When it comes to my son, however, I am a lot more strict with his diet (I figure he already gets a lot of toxins just from his environment so for now I can at least control what he eats to help his immune system)  and include only- as much organic fruits and veggies as possible - where not possible sticking to the 'clean 15'and away from the 'dirty dozen'and only  organic chicken and small fish like sardines (unfortunately non organic) and cooking most things with organic coconut oil (possibly on of my favourite things in the world read here why). 

And although it seems like a lot more work at first ..having a 'limited'* diet makes meal choices and shopping a LOT easier! 

* I say 'limited' in iverted corners as i dont think it´s limited at all, you can have SOOOO many different exciting and healthy things- BUT in the shopping in a conventional supermarket sense- cutting out processed foods and glutens makes your shopping quicker :P


The main things that are a staple in my weekly shopping list: 

Other things that are are a must are herbs- LOTS of herbs and garlic.. and ginger! 

In the follwing blogs I will share some of my fave easy recipes that I have prepared for my son. If you have any favourite recipes ..please share them with us too! 


NOTE: 
I have to stress that before you switch your little one completely to this kind of diet you should discuss with your nutritionist and get professional advice. Following a gluten and dairy free diet means you have to be careful to replace the fibres, proteins and other vitamins you were getting from dairy and gluten especially if it was your only source for these. 




some links that may be interesting : 

http://kriscarr.com/blog/how-to-get-your-kids-to-eat-healthy-foods/ 

http://www.naturalnews.com/041295_children_arsenic_exposure_toxins.html

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/could-going-gluten-free-save-your-life

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/top-10-vegetarian-sources-of-protein

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/organic-food-vs-conventional-food-what-the-stanford-study-missed

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/dairy-free-dairy-6-reason_b_558876.html

A ROARRingly WILD 1st Birthday Party!

Recently our son had his first birthday.
We celebrated in a group of close friends and family. 
The theme was Jungle-'Let´s get wild for Leo´s 1st Birthday!'. 
I did all the decorations myself- mainly using crepe paper (for streamers and to make palm trees) , cardboard (to make the jungle animals), and cheap fabric (for the back grounds and table and lamp coverings etc) - as well as accessories such as cute animal nose printed cups and animal print plates from originales.com.br. 

Some of the dishes served like 'parrot drumsticks' and 'Jungle sushi' (top &bottom left)

Our lovely friend and chef extraordinaire,   Amy Carson, from Sweet Beet Nutrition,  very kindly offered her services for the catering and I (apart from watching in awe   ) assisted her in the making of labels and accessorising of dishes. What was the most exciting for me was that all the food was organic and gluten, dairy and sugar FREE! It was not the typical 'Brazilian kid´s party' food, and some people were a bit taken aback not to find their deep fried goodies on the table, BUT we didnt want to serve food that we wouldn´t eat ourselves and wanted to have healthy options that small kids could eat but also not compromise on taste for the adults.

The dishes were super colourful and even had cute 'jungle themed' names - chicken drumsticks (with a coriander marinade that gave them a green tinge) were called 'Parrot drumsticks', chicken skewers:'amazonian arrows', quails eggs dyed yellow with turmeric were 'lizard eggs' and there was 'jungle sushi' made from hollowed out cucumbers with various fillings just to name a few. In the sweets corner we had banana and coconut ice cream called 'cheetah paws', raw chocolate truffles called 'monkey poo' and bananas dipped in chocolate named 'panther tails'. The only thing that non organic and gluten full was the cake, which was ordered and to be honest didnt even have to be edible as it was just a pretty centre piece in itself!

If you want to have an original and fun party for your kids but don´t know where to start-  you can contact us at contato@originales.com.br  and we can help you put a fabulous party together! 

PALLETS! Make your own Bed, Table, Bar, Couch, Shelf, ...anything!!

I love Pallets in the spring time, I love Pallets in the Fall..I love  Pallets every moment, every moment of the year...I love pallets! oh why oh why do I love Pallets? ...Because they are- oh so versa-tile! (sung -slightly out of tune- to Frank Sinatra's Version of I love Paris ;) 

Well, what CAN'T you make with a pallet?...NOTHING! ok well almost nothing.

Pallets are cheap (sometimes even free- BUT be sure to spray and seal before painting to avoid bug invasions!), super versatile and are going to be my next D.I.Y project! 

Just have to decide what to make: a bed? a bed head? a table? a bar? a shoe rack? a hat rack? a tv cabinet? a couch? oh, the options are endless... 

Thats just SOME of the fabulous things you can do with pallets...and for more ideas check this site : www.1001pallets.com they have some cool projects, and there are PLENTY more ideas around on the www! 

I'll keep you posted on my pallet project ;) 
xo

Going LOCA for TAPIOCA! .... and a Tuna Tapioca Dumpling recipe..

A friend of ours, Amy,  recently invited us for a dinner, she called it the 'Jantar experimental' or experimental dinner... she is a nutritionist, and gourmet chef from California who moved to Brazil last year.Being cooked for is always great..but being cooked for by a gourmet chef (and nutrisionist:) is EVEN better!                             

She made some super delicious food with a mix of Brazilian ingredients and Thai flavours that not only was orally orgasmic but also made me realise how many cool things one can do with Tapioca!

Some of the 'Tapioca Treats' she made included fruity cocktails with tapioca pearls, tapioca dumplings, and tapioca dessert pudding with melon.                                                    All this inspired me to get creative and make my own version of tapioca dumplings as I had some tapioca in the cupboard, and some Tuna..so here's the result of my 'inspired experiment'!

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups pearl tapioca
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling: 

• 1 can of Tuna -in water, whole chunks
• Coriander, garlic and Ginger (to taste- I use lots of all three) 
• Squeze of lime/lemon juice
• Salt & pepper- to taste
• Finely chopped medium onion
• 1 cup of Cashews 
• Some chillies- if you're the spicy type, which I REALLY am!

Method: 
Rinse pearl tapioca in a fine strainer, drain and transfer to a bowl. Dissolve salt in hot water and gradually add to the tapioca, mixing well. Cover and leave for 1 hour. 

While waiting, prepare the filling- place all in food processor for just enough time for the cashews to blend a bit.

Using your fingers roll the pearl tapioca into roughly 5 cm balls with damp hands. Cover with a damp cloth. Wash and dry your hands and dust them with tapioca flour. Press thumb or finger into each ball to form a cup shape. Put in a teaspoon of TUNA mix and seal the tapioca over the filling. Mold into balls again and cover with damp cloth until ready to cook. 

Steam over boiling water until the tapioca is quite clear, roughly 20 minutes. Remove the steamer from the heat and leave for 5 minutes for the balls to dry slightly before transferring to a serving dish. Sprinkle with crushed fried garlic or crushed roasted peanuts and garnish with chili slices.

** They also tasted great the next day..I reheated them by frying them in coconut oil and it gave them a nice very slight golden crunch**

You can find lots of cool info and recipes on Amy's site- cutely named 'sweet beet nutrition'. It is packed full of cool info but also full of mouth watering and healthy Recipes!

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