I'm so happy to be back blogging. Where have I been you ask....well, I've moved 1937kms with my husband and two children away from the hustle and bustle of the Sunshine Coast to a little country town by the sea known as Cooktown.
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| Ready to move |
Cooktown is approximately 3 hours to the nearest major shopping centre (such as Woolworths) and although Cooktown is well established with plenty of facilities and services, staying sugar free here means being more organised and thinking outside the box. Especially now that my daughter has started school and I need to keep her lunchbox meals tasty, healthy, sugar free and fun.
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| Cooktown |
Living on the Sunshine Coast meant that I had a lot of choice in terms of purchasing sugar free ingredients (especially in bulk) and also cleaning products such as liquid castile soap and bi-carb soda. Being here means that I need to shop around, ask around and although I do my best to support local business, I've also had to do a lot more searching online. Living in this digital age means that there is so much competition online and alot of goods can now be posted relatively cheap or even free. If all else fails, getting a family member or friend to do some shopping for me and posting it up is also quite cheap. You can send a full fruit box for $20!
By searching online, I have been able to buy some high use items straight from the source. This cuts out the middle man meaing that it is cheaper (it's also better for the environment). My Banaban coconut oil is now bought straight from their website and I just bought 10L for 1.5c/ml including postage. It is the same price that I paid when buying it from the health food store on the Sunshine Coast. Regular blog followers would know that we use coconut oil for everything from cooking to cleaning our teeth to soothing our bites so this is must have for us and I was really excited when I saw that I could get it at this price delivered and all.
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| Mountain bread varieties |
I also buy my Mountain Bread (flat bread) straight from their website. Instead of paying $3.99/pkt in the supermarket, I am able to buy a box of 8 (or more) paying $2.70/pkt with free postage. These can be frozen and kept sealed for up to 12 months. We aren't big bread eaters, so these are used to make wraps for the kids, burritos, corn chips and they can even be used in sweet recipes. Their website has two recipe book - free!!!
Living here has also given me more time in the kitchen. Because I need to be more organised, I create a weekly meal plan including what I plan on making for my daughters lunchbox (she helps with the planning) and also other items I'd like to have a go at such as fermenting vegetables. We shop from a local butcher and we enjoy a visit to the local markets every Saturday to purchase locally grown produce.
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| Fish for fruit? |
Fortunately,fishing is pretty good here and my husband loves it. He's had some fun and success catching some local reef fish and mudcrabs since arriving, which is fantastic. Ben strongly believes in sustainable fishing and he only ever brings home enough for the family leaving the rest to swim another day. This is now going to change, slightly. I have managed to find a lovely local lady who isn't so keen on fishing, but has an abundance of fresh fruit that she is willing to trade. This is only in the beginning stages and she has already delivered a bag of fresh homegrown bananas straight from the tree and my husband will now endeavor to catch some fish for her and her family in return (a bit of pressure there). The idea of bartering really excites me. I'm already starting to think about who else might be keen on bartering, trading fruit, baked goodies, fish, fermented veges, homemade nutbars etc We don't have chickens yet, so i'm hoping to find someone who will trade some farm fresh eggs for something. Fingers crossed. I'm also wondering if it's possible to barter services as well - guitar lessons for child minding or cheese making workshops?
This blog has been short but hopefully sweet. I've got so much more to share but I'll save that for another time. I'm enjoying this change. My family and I are still going strong in terms of our 'sugar free' lifestyle. It's really changed our lives for the better and it has ignited a passion and interest in healthy eating and living.
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