I can’t tell you the amount of times I have heard Mums all over Australia say that it costs so much more to be additive free: “it is so expensive to eat healthy!’ Parents tell me all the time that they want to move to additive free but have a belief that it is too expensive.

I would love to break the myth that it costs more to be additive free

I will show you, with a few small tweaks to 6 common household ingredients, how it will:

– cost the same (or close to);
– take very little extra time;
– reduce the number of additives being consumed daily

We are conditioned to think that health food is expensive

Don’t get me wrong, it definitely can be…it all depends on your choices….

You don’t have to buy organic to be additive free.

You don’t even have to buy superfoods to be additive free.

You can make some simple basic switches to significantly reduce the additive intake for your kids.

I will show you how small tweaks can make a big difference.

I will NOT making any comment on the nutritional aspects of these choices. I am not a nutritionist or a dietician. I am sharing the patterns that I a see from my mentoring work with Australian families.

I am highlighting that by making 6 simple swaps for better choices you can:

– reduce up to nearly 40 additives from entering your child’s diet on a daily basis
– Invest only a little extra time; and
– keep the cost the same.

Let’s take a look at how…

I have taken a sample of some of the most common ingredients I see regularly when mentoring clients. I have compared the total cost per serve and in total across the 6 products (as a mini basket). You will also find the number of ingredients, the number of additives (in total) and the worst additives to avoid in these products and the potential symptoms that could result. All these switches (except for one – look in health food stores) are able to be sourced from the major supermarkets.

BREAKFAST:

With a simple switch (this is just one example) you can up the nutritional value (without all the synthetic vitamins and minerals) and reduce the cost. You can find out more about another simple switch for Weetbix here.

YOGHURTS:

By buying yoghurt in larger quantities and using reusable containers, you can make savings and reduce the single use packaging. You can check out our previous yoghurt review here

COOKIES / BISCUITS:

I know that grabbing a multi pack of Tiny Teddy cookies is convenient. But most people don’t realise that the convenience can come at a cost. With the colouring (caramel) and flavours alone, these can cause allergic and hypersensitive reactions and behavioural issues in children. These symptoms on average last 2-3 days. For only 30 mins, a batch of cookies can be baked (10 mins prep, 20 mins bake) and the nasties avoided. It is a great activity to do with the kids, they learn so much. In time, they can be baking them for you! I love watching the boys independent in the kitchen, cooking their favourite snacks for the week or whenever they feel in the mood to bake.

BREAD:

I know most parents think they are doing the right thing by choosing a wholemeal bread. However, my first deciding factor is to find a bread without additives. It is hard to do….most will have synthetic vitamins added. The common supermarket breads will usually contain many emulsifiers and synthetic vitamins and minerals.

We know that emulsifiers can impact our gut health (check out our blog on this here). I look for a bread the has the simplest ingredients. Yes…in this example, a good quality bread, without all the ultra processing does come at an extra cost. I manage the extra cost by reducing the amount of bread that we consume on a weekly basis. Knowing that these ingredients are beneficial for our longer term gut health.

SPREAD:

The famous Australian spread….if you haven’t read my previous blog on the reasons I am not a fan of the Aussie favourite, you can find the blog here. Every Mite whilst it is more expensive, you can’t compare the two products. Every Mite contains: Certified Organic Black Sesame Seeds, Certified Organic Coconut Amino Sauce, Himalayan Rock Salt, and Certified Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with the “Mother”. At $0.33 a serve, it is still

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE:

Spaghetti bolognese must be one of the most popular dinners in Australia a favourite for all. There are lot of different ingredients that are included in a bolognese. However, the tomato sauce base is usually common across the board. With this simple switch you can avoid yeast extract, citric acid and thickeners and the symptoms that can accompany these ingredients. You can find out more about yeast extract here.

With a few simple switches you can remove nearly 40 additives that are being consumed on a daily basis!!

The above analysis shows that you can switch for higher quality ingredients, pack in extra nutrition AND keep the cost the same. The analysis also highlights that CONVENIENCE comes at a cost. The cost is your children’s health (if it’s not showing immediately, it could be impacting their long term health).

Each family needs to determine: is the convenience worth it? Is it worth the cost to our health our children’s health.

Want to learn more?

Here at Additive Free Kids, I want to help empower each consumer to vote with their dollar every day. To help you, I have created the AFK PANTRY RESETcoaching course. You can find out more here and join the waitlist for the next round. As part of the course, I fast track your family favourite meals – all the hard work done for you!

Frankie Bell is the Managing Director of Additive Free Kids, a food coach, mentor and is one of Australia’s leading activists against additives in foods.  

Frankie is a mum to 5 boys and has personal experience working through the damaging effects of additives to resolve the multiple health issues and behavioural problems in her own children.  It became Frankie’s purpose to help other families achieve the same improvements for their families. 

These changes can be overwhelming, especially for time poor parents, Frankie has done all the hard work for families to ensure they have access to additive free food, anytime, anywhere.    Additive Free Kids specialises in assisting families to live healthy lives free from additives.  See how you can work together with Frankie here