Happy Zac

Monday night lockdown dinner

Happiness is the small things good friends do when times are tough 😘

Day 2 of quarantine after Zac woke with a really high temp yesterday morning. Thankfully he’s full of beans today. This kefir, mango, orange, ginger and turmeric smoothie tastes amazing and is full of goodness and gut health

Busy day preparing samples for my pitch at Oxfordshire Soup tomorrow 🤞

Oxfordshire Soup

Happy Zac

Upping the diversity of ingredients and veg content of this lasagne with layers of blitzed broccoli and spinach, as well as a middle layer of aubergine.

Here are all my purchases for Black Friday, supporting independent businesses, the family’s gut health and my skin - no ‘stuff’ here!

A busy day cooking up a storm in the kitchen today, beet and fennel ferment, broccoli stars and seed pesto.
@ Oxford, Oxfordshire

I find the easiest way to include a diverse, gut friendly diet is by keeping the fridge / cupboard stocked with a weekly delivery of fresh, organic veg and fruit. Did you know that an organic egg can provide 1/3 more nutrients than a standard egg?
My little sous chef helped me with these mini quiches yesterday and by adding in kefir to the egg I was able to give an extra probiotic boost to them too.

Zac insisting on eating broccoli and it’s not even 7am 😁 Natural veg has always been the lead in his diet so his palette has been well trained.
It was a different story last night though. Generally speaking he has no refined sugar in his diet. At nursery yesterday they baked sweet cupcakes, which he ate with his dinner. The meltdown after the sugar crash was terrifying and so out of character he ended up hiccup crying in my arms, his eyes searching for answers, so unused to the effect of sugar on his little body. Next time there’s baking at nursery Mummy will have to take one for the team I think!

Having diversity in our diet is crucial to having a healthy gut microbiome. Next time you go shopping aim to shop a rainbow of colours from the fruit and veg section along with different grains and pulses.

With the increase in mass production since the 1900's 75% of crop diversity has been lost. Added to that, as creatures of habit we tend to end up eating the same meals multiple times a week. The more you can shake things up and introduce different foods and colours into your diet the wider range of good gut bugs you will be nourishing, resulting in balanced gut health.

When starting your baby on solid foods plant-based foods are the best. 🥦🥬🥑
Green leafy vegetables, bananas, sweet potatoes are just some of the foods that contain dietary fiber which are prebiotics for your children’s gut bacteria. 💁‍♂️💁‍♂️
The good bacteria digest the fiber into beneficial fragments called short-chain fatty acids, or SCEAs. These have anti-inflammatory and immune-building functions and they’re fuel for the intestinal lining, all helping to build strong gut health.😀😀

An unhealthy gut is not just a simple tummy ache; it can cause lifelong problems like obesity, diabetes and depression, for kids and adults.
One of my Gut Friendly recipes is sweet potato and courgette cod cakes.
Sweet potatoes contain fibre and antioxidants that promote the growth of good gut bacteria.
Although Cod is lower in omega-3s than fatty fish but cod is both a nutritious and flavoursome fish loaded with lean protein, vitamins, and minerals.

No Halloween costume here, just a new winter hat from NZ that Zac’s pretty pleases with 🎩

So pretty... and so deadly. More treasures from our arboretum walk on Sunday. Ever since we went fairy trailing in the summer Zac looks for fairy doors every where we go. Pretty sure there were some fairies living here 🧚‍♀️

Is there anything more perfectly imperfect than the leaves changing colour? Although I’m more of a summer girl it was pure joy walking through the arboretum collecting the fallen leaves with Zac, with the odd puddle jumping stop here and there. And loving our wreath to brighten up the kitchen.

Oh yes, I can so relate! You?

I spent yesterday feeling a little angry and powerless about a particular cartoon by a well-known Australian cartoonist.

Today I realised I might be angry, but I’m not powerless. This is my response.

Find me at www.instagram.com/common_wild

Over proved?! Just a tad 😢 I knew I wouldn’t have time to bake it during the day so popped it in the fridge but it still went crazy. Probably won’t be the best loaf ever!

Although I wanted Zac's birthday cake to be refined sugar free, I still wanted it to be a bit of a treat. You can get the full recipe from the Happy Zac Group. For a little extra flavour I added some yacon, which is a wonderful, natural
sugar replacement that has very low GI and the added benefit of being prebiotic. The feedback on the tase was great!

Quickest way for a mood boost? Give all those lovely tummy bugs a gut healthy meal.

Maybe not the prettiest of photos but this bircher muesli is packed full of pre and probiotics. It's a really handy and quick recipe to prepare in advance if your mornings are a bit hectic or if you want to pack it up for the little ones to take to nursery / school (or, god forbid, you actually dare to feed yourself!). You can join the group here if you'd like the full recipe: bit.ly/HappyZac

A busy day in the kitchen and all gut friendly goodies

Two years ago when Zac entered the world I never anticipated how fanatical I would become about his diet when he started weaning, and specifically focusing on his gut health. When I was in my third trimester I started drinking kefir daily (fermented goats milk) and Zac has been having it every day since he was 6 months old.

I am convinced that this has had a huge beneficial impact on his behaviour, immune system and general temperament. In addition to the kefir I aim to provide him as much diversity as I can in the meals I cook for him to feed all those wonderful gut bugs that keep him well and happy.

After lots of invention tests (some more successful than others!) I am now developing a range of toddler food to encourage good gut health, with no refined sugar.

The first three years is a crucial time in a child's life to build a strong and diverse microbiome to set them up for life.

If you're interested in learning more about gut health, finding recipes the whole family can enjoy, and potentially being my guinea pigs when I send out free food samples for testing please come and join the Happy Zac Group.

If you can think of any friends with toddlers who you think might also be interested I would love it if you could share with them please.

Thanks!

Erin x

Developing a toddler food range to keep little ones happy and healthy while giving parents a convenient option that enhances toddler's health.