Welcome to Real Food.Simple! A bit about me…

Born and raised in Adelaide, Australia, my earliest memories including baking with my Grandma and growing fresh fruit and vegetables in our suburban backyard. A lot has changed since the 1980s, our backyards are smaller (or we have no backyard!) and few people grow fresh fruit, vegetables or herbs.

In my early 20’s I started to develop regular ‘tummy aches’, bloating and bowel irregularities.  It wasn’t until I was 30 that I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC). I was told that I just needed to take medication every time I had a flare up with no mention of long term effects. The only mention of dietary changes was limiting lactose. Almost 2 years later I felt like I was getting worse. I rarely went out and had to delay going back to work after having my son (who by this time was over 2) as my flare ups were making me unwell and constantly tired.  I couldn’t even enjoy a couple of hours out with my son and husband. It was after mentioning my health to my son’s new GP that she mentioned the FODMAP diet.

And so it commenced. At first, I struggled, especially when it came to eating out. We were living in Singapore at the time and options with no onion and garlic, and FODMAP friendly, were limited!

Around the same time I was embarking on my FODMAP journey it became apparent that certain foods were also starting to affect our son. When our son’s dietician recommended the FODMAP diet for him, well, the list of foods that both he and I could not eat was mind boggling. So, our family went back to food basics.

Our families food journey has led us to value the freshest food and ingredients as well as creating family friendly ‘tummy friendly’ foods! It has certainly helped our son’s and my ‘tummies’ and of course, our families overall health.

As a passionate foodie, I hope that the recipes and information that you will find on Real Food.Simple will help to inspire you to get back to basics, and cook from scratch – just like our Grandparent’s used to!

It is important to note that I am not a medical professional as such any dietary changes that you make for yourself or your family (especially children) please be sure to consult a qualified doctor, nutritionist or dietician.

A special mention goes to Grant Chalmers (my partner in crime, I mean my husband 😉) who is the talented photographer (often with a child hanging onto his leg while taking a photo with his Nikon).