Food tips for the holiday season

How did you go with christmas?  Did you eat all the food!  What did you eat?

We pretty much stuck to our LCHF lifestyle and shared it with my parents who came for the day.

It is the second christmas we have done this way and it is much easier than people think.

I have found over the past two years that the best thing when it comes to food is to keep it simple.  A hard less to learn as I waste heaps of money on recipe books I flip though, ooh and aah then never use.  If I were one for new year resolutions I think I would have to make one pledging never to buy another recipe book LOL

The holiday season is renown for entertaining and it doesn't have to be difficult or high carb.

I have shared some of my tips for the season below and hope you find them helpful

1. The thing with most foods is that they are unnecessarily sweetened.  Seriously, you can go without many sweeteners in things.

Make a custard from scratch and use high fat ingredients it really doesn't need sugar,  I use Quirky Jo's custard recipe and never put in the sugar and it is awesome!  As with most grain free cake recipes too.  This is my current fave from Traditional Cooking School but OMG!  3/4 of honey!  They've gotta be kidding right!  What I do is instead of using the honey I use stevia sweetened (avalanche) hot choc mix as the cocoa portion of the recipe and stevia sweetened choc chips.  This keeps the cake sweet enough without being totally over the top.

2. Go for savoury over sweet.  This is especially good if you are entertaining people who aren't into eating how you do.  Assuming they aren't vegan then go to town with the cheese platter.   Make some dips (don't buy expensive full of crappy seed oil dips), mash a couple of avocados with some chilli, garlic, lemon juice and seasoning, or whisk some herbs into cream cheese.  Seed crackers are awesome or make some seed bread for cheese and dips. Both tasty and LCHF/paleo.  Remember filling up on high fat will leave you satisfied for a lot longer than filling up on carbs.

3. Planning ahead is the third tip.  If you are caught short you will be able to stick to what you believe in and stay healthy.  I find if I am short of time then I am more likely to bad poorer choices food wise so I like to know that I have stuff I want to eat available. I have a well stocked pantry with nuts, seeds etc, I stock my freezer with good quality meats. And look for mark downs at the supermarket, cheese lasts quite a while, cream and butter can both be frozen too.  If you are in Launceston I recommend Casalinga or Conmurra Meats.  The latter deliver weekly to your door, grow and butcher their own grassfed meat and is really well priced.  At Davies Grand Central you can find a great range of LCHF products too.  Last year I wrote the Launceston Shopping Guide for LCHF 

4. Go seasonal.  Berries. Need I say more really LOL  Tis the season and all that.  I love summer berries.  We don't do much in the way of fruit (read:don't eat it really) for 10 months of the year but come summer we love berries.  The kids will occasionally have mango, watermelon and cherries too but I tend to stick to berries and occasional cherries.  We are blessed with some great local PYO (pick your own) farms or you can pop down to Laun Harvest Market and grab some.  We were very lucky to win a berry box from Paleo Providore that was delivered two days before christmas so we chowed on berries for christmas.  I also freeze berries for smoothies, cool treats and cakes.

At the end of the day it is about enough the company of others. 

 It doesn't have to be a banquet, a few good foods that are filling is the way to go rather than masses of rubbish.  And, don't beat yourself up if you have something not on a list.  

This is a way of life, it isn't a competition or a test so you can't fail or cheat.

Tasmanian guide to buying LCHF friendly produce

One of the hardest things I have found with changing our lifestyle has been finding user friendly cafes and shops.  

There is a lot of footwork and internet stalking initially, to find what you want.  

The latter made even more difficult because, lets face it Tasmanian businesses just don't seem to get the internet thing.  They either don't have a website or the website they sent up in 2006 hasn't been touched since then.

So, to help other folk out I have come up with a document.  And, well, being a virgo this is what I do LOL

Because this WOE (way of eating) is relatively new to us Tasmanians the demand on businesses hasn't be high for the products we want.

However, I am not one to shy away from asking.  I figure the worst they can do is say no, and really that doesn't do them any favours does it!

I have been pleasantly surprised with most responses and am pleased to say that most places that I ask for a specific request either agree straight up or at the very least agree to consider my request. 

Only this week I put the challenge out to Conmurra Farm where I buy my meat to see if they would do some paleo sausages.  I asked that they be just meat, fat and seasoning with no filler at all.  They gladly took this on board and sent me a kilo of pork and a kilo of beef with my order to try out!  

And a great price of under $10 per kilo!

You can't get better service than that!

Also, if you are a first time buyer thru the link above you get a discount!

Obviously I can't buy all my food through Conmurra.  

Below is a run down of where I get most of my bits and bobs for the week:

Wholesome House - Mowbray

David and Lee are awesome!  They stock most of what I need and if they don't then they will do their utmost to source it and get it in for you.   

They stock all Ashgrove products, organic seasonal fruit/veg, MCT oil, coconut oil, ACV in bulk, bulk nuts/nutmeal/nut butter, herbs/spices loose, ghee, eggs, sauerkraut plus much more!  

They also have a great range of water filters, which is really important to keeping healthy.  I have a reverse osmosis filter that I bought from them and truly it is the best thing I have spent money on and has paid for itself in no time! 

If you don't filter your water I highly recommend researching the benefits and consider doing it. 

I also try and do my veg shopping at Harvest Market most Saturdays. There are two great stalls there that sell chemical free veg.  They are really reasonably priced and you are supporting local independent businesses at the same time.

I also buy my coffee at Harvest from Ritual Coffee.  Another local small business.  His coffee is great tasting and good quality so well worth the $$$

Steve & Grace's greengrocer out at Youngtown have avocados super cheap most of the time. I got some for 65c each this week!  And, the greengrocer in Mowbray often has cauliflower cheap too.

But to do the leg work for you

I have created a guide to buying LCHF/paleo.  

This is downloadable and printable for you to use.

Obviously it doesn't list every business in Tasmania.  It has many Launceston businesses who were contacted and a few in other areas around the state.

It also doesn't list every item.  I think most people know where to buy eggs or almond meal from.  The products included are the ones I see most people asking about on websites, forums and FB groups.  

If you have a product you find tricky to buy or you know of a business that stocks loads of good stuff then please leave a comment and I can add it to the list.  

I would love to be able to include more businesses out side of Launceston.

Launceston LCHF Buyers Guide

Do you know what you are eating?

My kids are avid label readers.  

I have taught them to do this because I want them to make informed choices about their food and to know what they are eating.

In doing so we come across some unbelievable stuff.  

It really amazes me the lengths companies will go to increase their revenue by decreasing quality.  Stuff 'food' full of fillers, thickeners and other crap to make the produce go further.  Get more packets out of one item.

I tend to steer clear of prepackaged foods as a rule.  I do buy yoghurt occasionally and my kids get a pack of rice crackers sometimes when we are are out but generally I have cut back to very little from the supermarket shelves.

This item caught my eye the other day.  

On the front it said Sliced Chicken Breast.  

Now, like me I suspect you would expect that to be a chicken breast that had been thinly sliced.  

I have to admit even I was surprised when I turned the packet over and found an extensive ingredients list.

I mean, seriously! 

WHY???

The saddest thing about this is that the majority of people DON'T turn they packet over and check the ingredients. 

They rely on the manufacturer having their best interests at heart.  This is so far from the truth.  They don't give a shit about your health.

Some of them talk the talk but at the end of the day they are there to make money.

They plaster the front of their packets with whatever will sell,

LOW FAT

GLUTEN FREE

NATURAL FLAVOURS

HIGH FIBRE

ADDED VITAMINS

None of this means the actual product is healthy.

You see it in the cereal aisle and one of my pet hates is the rows of muesli bars and similar that are targeted at children's lunch boxes.  Have you seen how much sugar are in all of those things!

The latest celebrity to get on the 'no sugar' bandwagon is Jamie Oliver.  He has recently called for a sugar tax, stating that sugar is evil.   Yet, when you have a look on the ingredients of ALL his woolworths, ready made meals they contain substantial amounts of sugar.

Again, people will choose his products because he is a loved and trusted celebrity who obviously cares about what people eat!

DON'T TRUST!!

Read labels!

Whether you are LCHF, paleo, primal, vegan, vegetarian you need to know what you are putting into your body!

even better

Buy wholefoods and make your own!