Hello there- thanks for visiting!

My name is Tara. I live in Noosa, Queensland, Australia and I am a mother, teacher and blogger.

For the past couple of years I have perhaps been just like you, fumbling my way through this new lifestyle. I only embraced a grain and sugar-free ‘diet’ (as I have been underweight I dislike using the term diet) in early 2013 and am still learning what I can (or can’t) eat. It is a journey, as you may know by now.

I follow many Grain-free/Paleo/Wellness blogs where people have embraced a Paleo/Primal diet to simply improve their already satisfactory health. If this is you, I envy you! For me, this way of eating was something that I felt I had to try as I was really sick. At the time I felt that I had no choice but to resort to trying yet another food elimination plan- even though I felt that I had tried simply everything, and nothing had worked.

I have always considered myself to be a fairly healthy eater. I was loosely ‘Gluten free’ (still eating spelt, plus small cheats) as well as lactose-free. But when I look back now, I am very aware of my excessive consumption of packet chips/crisps (oops!) and the limited number of vegetables that I consumed compared with now. My local fruit and vege shop owners know me by name these days!

This blog is designed to give you, the reader, a snapshot of what one might eat in a Grain-free, sugar-free day, hopefully answering the question that I myself asked: “What on earth am I going to eat??”. It will hopefully give you some inspiration and ideas on what new foods or recipes you could try.

So- what ‘box’ do I actually fit into (Paleo, Primal, GAPS, SCD? *A few months ago, I had no idea what these acronyms meant!)? Well, my primary ‘box’ is GAPS . After 6 years of ill health I tried another (yes, another….) GP, who put me on the GAPS diet in order to ‘heal and seal my gut lining’. I followed the Introduction diet closely for 2 months- with what will-power I still do not know- before moving onto the full GAPS diet. Since then, it has been all “trial- error-trial-error-error-trial-ERROR!!!!”, as I slowly learn what foods I am ready/ not yet ready for. Which dishearteningly means ‘one step forward, two steps back’ most of the time. In addition, I keep battling many sub-ailments along the way, most of which I do not wish to share publicly. Apologies! If you are in a similar boat to me, you may be experiencing them too.

So what is my short answer? A: I am a little bit, Paleo/Primal, a little SCD, and mostly GAPS. I’m also a little OCD, but that’s another story….!

Don’t forget to find your ‘Sunshine’ in this grain-free life.

Tara x