Thursday, March 22, 2012

food world




I know I've been going on a lot about food lately. To be honest, for a little while I was going through a bit of a slump in the kitchen. I'd slowed down the bread making. There was next to nothing coming in from the garden. I was buying muesli again instead of making it.

Thanks to all this rain, the garden did grow and did (finally) start producing. And with it grew my enthusiasm to get back into the kitchen. Concentrating on the most very basic things that we go through as a family of five.

I bought a small handful of fruit and veg to make up for what we didn't have. For the first time I feel like we are doing what we set out to do with this garden. Which was to be able to pick a variety of things it and bring it inside to cook. Resulting in a smaller grocery bill, as well as eating better. There is nothing like digging up your own potatoes and eating them for dinner. Who knew all the flavour we were missing out on?




I've been making yohurt weekly, which is one more thing to knock off that grocery bill. Besides, it does taste better.

I tried my hand at ricotta making this week. Admittedly, it  does use an awful lot of milk. But you can't underestimate the satisfaction in making things yourself. Unfortunately half of this was later accidentally smashed onto the floor. But no use crying over spilt milk...or in this case ricotta cheese.





We've been making Soulemama's WHO bread again (from her book). Which is a big hit here. This batch was half wholemeal spelt and half white. It turns out a lovely soft loaf perfect for lunch boxes. I leave out the sugar, as the honey makes it quite sweet already.




Speaking of sugar, I 've been off it for over a week now. For the first few days I was so tired, even needing a nanna nap in the afternoon. Then there were the late afternoon and late night sugar cravings. I could liken it to withdrawal symptoms. But so far, so good. Have you ever tried this? And if so, did you manage it long term?







I've been back on the muesli making bandwagon. I use this recipe. We've been eating it for breakfast and after school snacks. The kids like it with milk, but I like to throw a spoonful of yohurt in with mine as well.



How are things going in your food world?

16 comments:

  1. It is gratifying cooking wholesome food from scratch. I remember growing up, my parents always got that nights vegetables straight from the garden...that will be us eventually as there's nothing better :)
    Have you read Sweet Poison Tania? They are a great read highlighting just how bad sugar is for us. Rach from Tea with Lucy posted the other day about her sugar free journey to date and mentioned the plan she was following. I've been 'clean' for 6 wks now, after the withdrawals you do feel so much better...I haven't looked back but it does challenge the way you cook :)

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  2. i love the look at the bread and am very keen to give potato growing a go. it is one of the vegetables we haven't tried yet. given the kids love them so much it only makes sense to grow our own. it has been a little quiet around the baking front at home but with this rain around i am keen for some hearty weekend cooking. xo.

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  3. you know that was meant to read 'of' instead of 'at'. my nails are too long and with my morning brain racing ahead of me thinking of all the things on my to do list today. the joys of office work :)

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  4. We keep a garden planted here year round and it is the best thing I think we have ever done. I love taking a basket outside, picking whatever is in season and bring it to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. It's our version of fast food! If something isn't in season then we don't eat it. We have done this for over 20 years and have no plans to quit.
    I have been completely off sugar since the first of the year and feel so much better. At first it was hard, especially when drinking my tea or coffee, but now I don't even miss it. I did eat a fresh piece of fruit in the afternoon's to help when the slumps hit, but now I don't even have to do that. I think you will be surprised at just how great you will feel in just a few weeks! :)

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  5. 10 years ago, I went low carb (I swear I was one of the first ones!!) and successfully lost a bunch of weight. I literally had the shakes at the end of the first day without sugar.
    I did it non stop for 7 years, but I used Splenda, which I now won't touch.
    Nowadays, trying to get off the baby weight which has hung around waaaay too long (2 years!!) I am off sugar, but using a pinch of honey, maple syrup, or Stevia (I use "Stevia in the Raw" powdered stevia) when I need something sweet. Stevia works in baked goods and hot drinks. I like to mix either honey or maple syrup into yogurt.
    Here is an idea for a yummy treat: mix plain yogurt with unsweetened cocoa powder, and either honey, maple syrup (do you have that there? I don't even know! :) ), or stevia. It makes a wonderful chocolate "pudding" that we all adore.

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  6. I admire all you freesugarin's! I admit that our diets today are ladden with sugar and salt but I feel that by baking from scratch you have more control over the amounts. I've been thinking that it's all the food loading that's they problem...maybe not just sugar itself. I have been sugar free in the past and was amazed at how awfully sweet things tasted once going back to them....even today I struggle to eat Cadbury's chocolate because your tastebuds change that much that it tastes mostly of sweetness and very little of chocolate. There must be a balance here somewhere and finding it sometimes feels elusive. I do think thought that we do over indulge in treat foods baked or bought regardless...sometimes it seems like everyday is aspecial occasion as far as food is concerned....such a battle...I am sure that eating wasn't supposed to be this hard???

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  7. Being a real foodie myself I would never think you are posting too often about food. After all, most of us are required to put some food on the table at least 3 times a day, more like 5-6 times in my house ;))

    New recipes and ideas are always great!

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  8. We've got a bit of food world going on over here at the moment too with me getting stuck into meal planning and loving it! Tried going off sugar...I know I should and it is on my mind a lot at the moment.Glad to hear you are getting some produce from the garden. x

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  9. I started this last week...snap...its hard going for me, as almost all the food I put in my mouth is sugar..until I stopped and really thought about it, I just did not realise,..dumb, I know, but I am constantly aware...the kids are having a small jug of apple/blackcurrant cordial to share at night mealtime and thats it....we were all so addicted to cordial drinks...and they have been the least complaining!!! I have bought some Natvia for hot drinks, and am finding a small amount of this fixes, my 'need' for a sweet drink...I think that my weight, and mood is all to do with this as I am healthy is all other aspects...Im hoping to budge the kilos and feel great very soon...good luck to us!

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  10. All looks so good!! It is great when you can begin to start bringing crops in from the patch again isn't it? I guess there are some good things about all this rain!
    I think it makes us a little more creative with cooking too because it inspires and you have to cook seasonally!
    Good luck with the sugar, i tend to crave savoury things but i can certainly empathise!!x

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  11. Since starting the Year of Eating Nutritiously I have been right back into creating, testing & posting recipes. Messy but satisfying business!

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  12. so wholesome...and what lovely lessons for your children to learn. you are very inspiring x

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  13. Love this simple way of living!
    Thanks for sharing your day, lovely day indeed!

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  14. That bread looks really yummy!

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  15. Inspiring post. I have felt a bit the same lately, inspired to try my hand at some new skills. We too, are just enjoying the last of our summer crop. Now what to do with all those cherry tomatoes? x

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  16. My husband and I went sugar free last October. We fell off the wagon a bit over Christmas and boy did I pay for it - sooooo moody and tired!!! I must admit, I like a bit of honey with my yoghurt and I've recently bought stevia....but on the whole our day to day diet is sugar free. Hang in there Tania - you'll soon feel amazing. And if/when you introduce sugar again, you'll have a new awareness of it and will probably moderate yourself more than ever. I think that's the key...knowing and understanding what foods have sugar and how much!

    PS LOVE your blog - your photos are always beautiful.

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