As a mumpreneur, my focus had shifted to more immediately necessary  things – raising my family, preparing meals, after school activities and events, creating and building my business. You know how it goes. I used to love fashion, my clothes, and getting dressed for the day. When did it get so hard? Where did that girl go? I miss her.

It was time to call in the expert. Lucky for me my bestie is Dijanna Mulhearn from Wardrobe 101. She is no stranger to my frenzied texts the night before an event desperately seeking styling advice. So we struck a deal: in exchange for her fashion education, Dijanna asked me to show her the easy way to good health through food.

It struck me that if Dijanna and I were having this food/fashion struggle, then possibly you might be too. And when I asked you the question on Facebook, it your replies confirmed my suspicion. It seems to be a universal issue.

So this post is the first in a fun series exploring some easy fashion and food fixes, and allows us to remember that it’s healthy to indulge in a bit of self care and self love.

Click on the video as we set up our challenge – Dijanna shares a quick fashion tip and gets a taste of a delicious quick snack for her efforts. (We’ll work on video length and blurriness factor for the next ones!)

You can find the full recipe for Brenda’s Brekky Ball here

Dijanna’s fussy eater 7yr old not only loved Brenda’s Brekky Ball, but shared some with his mates who have sent an order through for some more 🙂

What are your fashion/food woes? We’d love to hear from you and address your stresses!

In the next installment of Food versus Fashion, Dijanna finds a little gem in my wardrobe and proceeds to show me how easy it is to create three different looks with this single piece. And I’ll make sure I supply here with an ultra-tasty, supercharged smoothie to send her on her way to face another busy day without a stop off at McDonalds!

Look out for an awesome giveaway coming up in the following weeks and we’d love it if you shared this post to help other mums in the same boat.

Bren x

Believe me, I know what it’s like in this time-poor existence, rushing to get the kids to school so that we can get to work on time, and we reach for what is convenient (or what we’re told by marketing is convenient). But with a bit of preparation and the right ingredients in your kitchen, the family could be enjoying highly nutritious morning meals, and still get out the door on time.

So many breakfast cereals are marketed as health foods. Little wonder it’s the main form of breakfast for most families. We’re far too trusting, assuming it must be good because that is what the advertisements say. According to NY Times best selling author, Dr Mercola, “The unfortunate reality is that the cereals aggressively marketed to kids have the worst nutritional quality of all cereals. An analysis, published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association found that children’s cereals have more sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, and calories per gram than cereals not marketed to kids. They also have less protein and fiber.”

Here are 5 things to think about before you reach for the boxed cereal in the supermarket. Cereal is:

1. Highly processed – to make the flakes, shapes and puffs, the grains have  to be heated up to very high temperatures and extruded at high pressures. The shapes are then sprayed with synthetic vitamins and food colours

2. Nutrient deficient – the processing destroys many valuable nutrients in grains, causes the oils to become rancid and renders certain proteins toxic

3. Difficult to digest – cereal grains contain phytic acid, a substance that binds up nutrients and makes it difficult for you body to absorb and therefore difficult to digest

4. High in sugar and carbohydrates – most of the cereals marketed to kids have 30-50% sugar content which raises blood sugar levels very quickly

5. Health issues –  all of the above points can cause bloating, constipation, IBS, allergies, infections, concentration issues and contribute to weight gain, obesity and more

Breakfast is important fuel after fasting during sleep so that our bodies can rejuvenate each night. So it’s a prime time to feed our bodies real foods, whole unprocessed foods that contain protein, fat and carbohydrates, and come from plants and animals, to give us the best start to the day.

If you want to achieve vibrant health for your whole family, try these 5 quick healthy breakfast ideas instead of boxed cereal:-

1. Bircher muesli – rolled oats mixed with nuts, seeds, coconut, soaked in milk or coconut water and yoghurt overnight. It can be made and stored in the fridge for several days

2. Smoothies – simple combinations include milk, raspberries, bananas, raw honey and yoghurt, can be whizzed up in 5 minutes

3. Eggs – scrambled/poached/fried eggs on sourdough or sprouted toast with a spread of avocado

4. French toast – sourdough bread soaked in a mix of eggs, milk and cinnamon, lightly fried in butter, served with a drizzle of Canadian maple syrup and topped with fresh fruit

5. Fruit and yoghurt parfait – create layers of yoghurt, nuts, seeds, fruit, coconut or homemade granola for a delectable breakfast treat

So why not prepare your fridge and pantry with some of these staples, to make preparing a nutritious and delicious breakfast a breeze? Download my FREE BREAKFAST EBOOK with 10 delicious recipes to make your morning’s shine. 

If you need some guidance and inspiration to change your kitchen into a real food haven, check out my programs here

Bren x