BRIGHTLY coloured cakes, sickly treats, and a crowd of screaming children running around in celebration of another youngster’s birthday – anyone with children knows the scene.
However, two local mums, self-confessed “food Nazis” who had enough of hyperactive children and food filled with toxic chemicals, decided to change the well-known scene by writing a simple-to-follow cookbook, Additive Free Kids’ Parties.
Mother-of-two, Padbury resident Rachel Davies Burrows, said the pair wanted to show parents how easy it was to make additive-free food.
“At the end of the day, you’ll have kids that aren’t eating carcinogenic chemicals and you’re going to have a party that’s really relaxed,” she said.
Wanneroo resident Tegan Benfell was familiar with hyperactive children, with her eldest Amelia (4) diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) and prescribed dexamphetamine. Not wanting to medicate her, Mrs Benfell quickly changed her daughter’s diet after she identified her symptoms with those described by Judy Eady’s Additive Alert.
“I thought, ‘hello this is what could be Amelia’s problem’,” she said. Though she admits it was “incredibly hard” at the beginning, with a four-month-old baby and an ADHD child, the Wanneroo resident said it took just two weeks to notice a difference.
The biggest surprise for the pair after researching was those nasty toxicants were not just in bright coloured foods, like chips and lollies, but were also in frozen meals, bread and pastries.
“It’s not just party food that contains these awful chemicals, it’s everything from tinned tomatoes, to pastry, to normal bread,” Mrs Davies Burrows said.
After their research showed there were more than 650 additives at a standard party, they wanted to make other parents aware of the chemicals and make it easier by creating a simple-to-follow cookbook.
Launched in April, the response has been so “overwhelming” from parents that Mrs Benfell is already working on her next book, additive free family meals. Anyone wanting to purchase the book can do so online at, www.additivefreekids.com.au.