Today I've been re-reading this book
I was introduced to it a couple of years ago at a Thermomix demonstration. Until that point I had been a bit clueless about many of the additives in our food. But it was a real eye opener!! Whilst some additives are fine there are many that are really harmful and yet for some reason are allowed in Australian manufacturing (even though other countries have banned them). I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone with children (you can purchase a copy of it here).
Having said that, I remember when I first read it I was so completely overwhelmed and almost wished I hadn't (ignorance is such bliss!) But I started out a bit at a time and soon realised that first of all, we actually were already avoiding many additive ridden foods and secondly, that there were often alternative brands that you could swap to.
Of course, upon purchasing my Thermomix I was able to start cooking more of our food quickly and easily from scratch using fresh ingredients. However, whilst I'm not a complete additive Nazi (I do allow some of the naughty ones in after having reduced so much) I do find it useful from time to time to get this book back out and have a re read. I'm always amazed by how many bad products have snuck back into my kitchen as a consequence of busyness or just laziness in reading labels. So today I'm looking back through my cupboards and fridge, getting rid of any not so good products and writing a list of which things I need to find alternatives for next time I go shopping.
Oh and in keeping with reminding myself to eat foods that sound like foods in their ingredients list rather than chemical formulas, I made this yummy choc chip slice, pinched from Bron over at Taylor Made (her's looks nicer than mine but mine is still better than anything out of a packet).
One final thing that I just wanted to add for anyone considering adjusting their family's eating to be more additive free, my kids, without fail, every single time, always prefer my home made version of absolutely anything that I can buy pre-made in the shops!! Now that makes a Mum feel good :o)
