I am about to head off with the family on a massive road trip that we have been dreaming about since I first became pregnant with my son, now six. We are driving from Brisbane to Sydney (about 11 hours) to visit with friends and my sister for two nights and then to Thredbo (another 6 hours) to ski for four days, before we do the reverse trip, this time stopping just north of Sydney to visit with dear friends whom we haven’t seen for six years! So yes, 34 hours of travelling and somehow maintaining my low fodmap, low carb, gluten free dietary requirements!! Continue reading
This is a post that I have been wanting to write for a while now as I felt it was time to give an explanation as to why I follow a low carb diet as well as a diet low in fodmaps and free of gluten. A close friend said to me early last year: “what is there left for you to eat?” Well, if you take out grains, processed foods and sugar then we are left with the simple things that people have been eating for many thousands of years – vegetables, meat, eggs, a little fruit. And lets not forget chocolate which deserves its own food group (do you remember that I make my own chocolate without sugar?). 
We are a family of pancake lovers, and really, what is not to love? The days where pancakes feature for breakfast are happy, messy and wondrously whine-free – usually on the weekend when I have a bit more time to prepare. Over the last couple of years I have experimented with different recipes and I have two low fodmap recipes that I make each week. 
If you have tried or are continuing with the low fodmap diet you will probably agree that it can be challenging as it is quite restrictive. Why then have I made my life even more difficult by also following a diet that is gluten free?
I posted this photo on Instagram and Facebook and I’ve had a few requests for the recipe! This is a recipe adapted from a lovely blog: My Clean Plate at WordPress. The reason why I like it is that it only takes a few minutes to make, is very nutritious and filling, and after it is cooked it is portable if you wanted to take it to work or eat on the go! I make this on the mornings that my family have breakfast cereal which is about two days a week (the other days I make eggs or low fodmap pancakes – recipes to come!) My littlest taste testers also likes this muffin in a mug! 
Although I now live in the city, I actually grew up in north Queensland, Australia, in an area that tourists might call the Outback but which rural Australian’s simply refer to as the Bush. Growing up in the Bush on a cattle property (or ranch for my American friends) meant that we had to be fairly self-sufficient so we grew a lot of our own fruit and vegetables and butchered our own grass-fed, free-range cattle. At some point in my childhood I became quite a hand at sausage making, and so this might help to explain why I had the crazy thought of making my own low fodmap (garlic-free, onion-free, gluten-free) and junk-free sausages. 
For relaxed weekend lunches my family enjoys pizza, and it is so easy to throw a pizza in the oven for a meal that the kids will love -fortunately they both tolerate small amounts of cheese! I have discovered an amazing stall at my local farmers market that prepares ready-to-serve pizzas on a thin, wood-fire-oven-baked pizza base. Unfortunately for me, its not low fodmap, so I needed to find an option so that I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out….
When following the low fodmap diet one of the biggest challenges I have faced is finding out about the best sugar alternatives for baking and general use. I have posted before about the toxic effects that 
OK this is a quick post about chocolate (again) to brighten the day! Last week I shared my 