It's Time for Another WTF. Oranges From Israel? No WAY.

My kids are big foodies. My daughter once ate 16 plums in one sitting. They were small plums but she did eat all 16 and then she spent the rest of the following day sitting on the toilet. We love our food, the kids are big fruit and vegetable eaters. Lucky me.

As a result, I buy all our fruit and vegetables at our local Greengrocer. Each week I would spend an easy $80 no problems. Buying the same amount at our local Coles would cost in the vacinity of $16,000. Ok. Maybe not. But I do find their Fresh Produce quite expensive. So I do two trips a week. One to the Greengrocer and one to Coles for everything else. Get it. Got it? Good.

So I was at the Fruit and Veg shop aka. The Greengrocer. My boy loves Oranges, so I go to buy some Oranges. Oranges $2.99kg. But wait. The oranges are not local. Not from a local orchard in the south west as you would expect them to be. They are from Israel. I found myself asking WTF. Repeatedly. To myself. It went like this...

"WTF WTF WTF Israel!!!!? These oranges are from Israel? How long did it take to get them here all the way from ISRAEL. They look fresh enough but surely not. No I don't think I can do this. I cannot eat Oranges that grew on a tree so FAR AWAY. It is not right. Not right I tell you. Don't we grow Oranges in Australia? Are they not in season? Can we just do without Oranges until they are actually in season in the place where we live? Are we just such demanding consumers that they have to be imported from freaking Israel? Why are we such spoilt brats? Can't we just hear the word NO. No Oranges for you because they are not in season. I have nothing against Israel, I am sure it is a lovely place, but I will not buy their oranges. Nope. What is the carbon footprint of getting these Oranges into Australia. That's UNBELIEVABLE. What freak would knowingly buy Oranges from Israel. Obviously people do otherwise there would be no demand for them. The world is a screwed up place. The world is a screwed up place....."

My head was spinning. I was perplexed. This happens often. Mostly because I am dumb. Then I quickly absconded off to see if I could find any Nectarines that are YELLOW on the inside and not bloody WHITE. White nectarines are just bloody awful. Never sweet and they look weird and they taste like water. If you're lucky they taste like water mixed with an artificial sweetener. They try to pass them off as normal yellow nectarines. Sure they were fashionable once. But time has moved on. Now they are in plenty supply. But no one wants them. Only the discerning eye can tell the difference between the two varieties.

Ok I'm going off topic.

I thought it might just be the shop I went to. Clearly the fruit shop is smoking Crack. Maybe it's just them. But I went to Woolies yesterday. And sure enough. There was the sign:

Oranges. Place of Origin. Israel.

I screamed. No oranges for us. Until I can find some that grew here.

Am I the only person who feels this way or do I need to seek the professional assistance of a therapist who specialises in Fresh Produce?

*I am sorry if you have bought Oranges from Israel. I called you a freak. Don't take it personally.

**Now I have just realised. I blogged about Oranges. Surely this is a new low. I really do need help.

Bakers Delight $5 Voucher Winners

Random numbers generated by Random.org here are the winners: Commenter Number 2 Jane, Commenter Number 4 Jenn, Commenter Number 8 Thea, Commenter Number 7 Parental Parody, Commenter Number 5 Fussy Eaters Mum. I will be in contact with you. Thanks for entering! x

Bakers Delight. Keeping Hungry Kids Satisfied and More Time for Meeeeee!

My kids are always hungry. In fact. If you asked me what I did today, I would say that I spent most of my time staring at the fridge, twirling my hair and wondering "what can I feed them?" . Collectively, their hunger would rival the hungriest of Sumo Wrestlers. Trust me it's exhausting. Finding something healthy for them to eat that will fill their tummy's is important. Not just for nutrition, but so I can limit the number of times I hear "MUM!!!! I want to EAT...... SOMETHING!". Meh

I was thrilled when Bakers Delight asked me to host a morning tea complete with lots of yummy Bakers Delight thingies to eat. Hosting a big morning tea means no one is going to come looking for food for at least a few hours and that gets my vote. Which means I might get some time to jump on Twitter and reach out for humans who don't want me for my food. Heaven.

I grabbed some of my wonderful Mummy Friends and we headed to the park for a big play and a picnic supplied by Bakers Delight and I dished up the yummy food.

I made up some yummy egg and lettuce sandwiches for the Mums with Bakers Delight Hi-Fibre Lo-GI White bread. Which was beautiful and soft. *drool*. To make this mash up some hard boiled eggs with some good quality egg mayo and a pinch of salt. I made some yummy fairy bread for the kids.

Some cheese and bacon rolls. Nom.

Oh food! Yes. We likey!

The fairy bread was a big hit as always, but the crust? Not so much. Mum Fail.

We were meant to receive some sacks for a sack race from the good people at Bakers Delight. Unfortunately they did not arrive on time. A week later after the event, the sacks arrived. Then the next day we got another parcel of sacks. An express post parcel. Which was sent some 3 weeks earlier. Hmmm. Yeah thanks Aussie Post. You suck.

So I found myself with an abundance of sacks so we had a Sack Race at Playgroup last week and the kids had a great time.

On your marks, get set...

Go!

My assistant...They had a great time. Isn't it great being a kid?

It's not about winning, it's about HAVING A GOOD TIME! Remember that when you lose. Ok?

To finish up I have five $5 Bakers Delight vouchers to give away today. To win, just leave a comment below. These are valid until 30th June 2011. I will pick the winners via a random generator on Monday 28th March 2011. Good Luck! x

*Yes I do have Coeliac Disease but my kids don't, and this post is all about them. Ok?

Christmas Comes Twice a Year For Me.

I get a bit excited around this time of the year. I froth at the mouth and get all jittery and shake with anticipation.

It's when the Coles Gluten Free Food and Healthy Living Expo comes to town for the weekend. This also coincides with Coeliac Awareness Week.

Big deal you say. Fair nuff. But when you have Coeliac Disease and there is a room full of gluten free food to try, test and buy. Well. It's heaven. Because normally I have to issue a standard set of questions about the food I pop in my mouth. Because it can make me very sick.

We tasted some yummy things. We tasted some odd things. Mostly yummy. This year there were lots of things to buy at some great prices. Gluten free food can be expensive, and to buy them you normally have to win lotto or take up a second job as a hooker. So it was great to buy some yummy things cheap.

Here are some things I took away with me.

First up. Mamee Corn Kiks. New on the market. The Coeliac equivalent of Twisties, which are not gluten free. Of course not. These are nom with a capital N. Coles sell them for around $1.50, show price $1. Bargain. My mum bought a WHOLE BOX OF THEM. When I first told my mum about this epic find, she cried tears of joy. Ok. Not really but it was a very happy day.

Mamee Rice Chips are the Coeliac equivalent to Pringles. These are yummy. $2 each. They have flavour on them! Hallelujuh! Chips with flavour! Yum!

Pasta D'Oro is the best gluten free pasta I have found. It tastes the same as the gluten free pasta I ate when we were in Italy in 2005. It is made in Romania. It cooks nicely and can be reheated without disintegrating into slime. The local supermarket sells these 500g packs for $4.50. It was on sale at the expo for under $2. I bought 20 packets which should last the whole year. My pantry is bulging at the seams.

Maybe next year my dream will come true. Gluten Free Milo. I miss Milo. I have nightmares about the day I learned I had Coeliac Disease and could no longer indulge on Milo. It was a sad day. Nesquik is similar and very tasty and I consume swimming pools of it when I am pregnant but it doesn't fill you up like Milo does. I live in hope.

It is Gluten Free Friday on 18th March 2011. Why not try living gluten free for a day and see how we live. Or maybe just stroke us sympathetically and pray to the Nestle Gods to deliver us a gluten free Milo equivalent.

This is our collection of goodies we acquired. Yes that is my daughter underneath all that. She is not fussed, but is concerned for her mother who is now twice the size than she was when she walked in the door.

Yeah we went a bit nuts.

I did say Christmas does come twice a year!

Dear Husband....

Husband and I. We are 16 here. It is the 90's. Check out the glasses on yours truly. Don't judge me by my PINAFORE. Uggh.

Dear Husband

It was 8 years ago today we were married. Looking at the photos, we both seem so young. 3 kids have aged us considerably. You are skinny. Face shaved. Nice hair cut. Well groomed. Today you are a beefcake thanks to Rucci's Gym. You now have the 'rugged look'. You don't give yourself a close shave. Ever. Now you give yourself a hair cut with the shaver in our bathroom.

My hair is long. Skin tanned. I came THISCLOSE to burning myself to a crisp tanning up for the wedding. There are no wrinkles. A very flat tummy. I long for that flat tummy of yesterday, before three kids stretched it out. Now I kick it along the ground when I walk.

Smiles, smiles everywhere. A wonderful day. A happy day. The best wedding. Ever. A live band. The best food. So much food. 6 courses. A small wedding of 130 people by Greek-Italian standards. Starting our lives together. Moving in. Embarking on life. Renovating our house and extending it. Travelling. Kicking career goals. Having children. Staying at home to raise them.

Tick.

How blessed we are.

8 years ago today. I have known you for 20. We are 33 this year.

Happy Anniversary. x

Now go and pick up your undies off the bathroom floor.