A spoon full of sugar………….

Asma Majid - 22 Feb 16

Layla is 7 and bursting at the seems with energy.  Sara embarking upon her teenage years wishes to wear much more makeup than I ever did at that age because quite simply I was strictly forbidden to wear any at all!  Amidst the madness of a busy city life, school runs, dance schools, tennis lessons and the list goes on an on, I love to cook. Fortunately it’s not a chore, I’d even describe it as rather therapeutic as crazy as that may sound!  Having been passionate about health and wellness for as long as I can remember I have found myself dedicating much more time and energy in nourishing myself and my family with the right foods.  Hence the birth of my blog last summer and the launch of my new business later this year (watch this space).

Yes, I am one of those annoying people that couldn’t agree more with the current publicity demonising refined sugar, instead I stock up on alternatives which I hope will provide the girls and I with some nutritious benefits too.  To be perfectly honest, the girls embraced it well, it’s just the husband who’s not entirely convinced.  Hence the bags of Haribo which Layla might find in his brief case every now and then!

So I arranged for a friend and her two girls to come over during half term, I was going to cook lunch, the girls would play and we, the adults would catch up over a cup of tea. Avoiding the subject of fellow mums at the school because that can always lead to trouble in my view.  These get togethers also inadvertently double up as a bit of a stock take as to how well the other’s children are doing at school. It’s a very competitive school with some very competitive parents.

Anyway, the said friend’s younger daughter is 5 and has a dairy allergy.  I’m always super conscious of this and don’t cook anything which she cannot have, rather than making her a separate plate of something dull and boring.  The girls thoroughly enjoyed the rather grown up raw vegan blueberry cheesecake and what looked like a mountain of strawberries dipped in dark chocolate for dessert.  In the spirit of balance they even devoured a huge bag of sweet popcorn during a film later in the afternoon, it was half term after all!

A couple of hours later, the little one with the dairy allergy began asking her mother for some sweets, So my friend turned to me.  Feeling quite embarrassed for not having any sweets in the house I offered the child every fruit, nut and sweet dairy free morsel I could think of but all she wanted right then, right there were sweets.  I found myself apologising to the child and the mother for not being able to accommodate the request.  Don’t get me wrong, my girls will have some sweets every now and then, but they don’t need them nor do they really ask for them which is great and which is why I don’t have any in the house!  My friend promised her daughter that she could have some sweets when she got home, meanwhile the other 3 (girls) were happily doing their own thing full to the brim with food and sweet food too!

A few seconds later my jaw dropped in amusement or shock, I don’t know which, when the friend turned to me and asked for a spoon full of sugar “to calm her down?”  Surely that was going to make the child more hyperactive, surely? What about her teeth? This parent is a dentist for goodness sake!!! So, obligingly, I went off into the kitchen, followed by my friend and child, silently thanking god that I actually had some of the white stuff in the cupboard.  I returned to the living room totally speechless as the child sat back on the sofa and munched the dessert spoon full of sugar from the little bowl and the mum continued the conversation from where we had left it before her request for a spoon full of sugar!

Asma Majid

Mum of two girls, full time lawyer and passionate foodie! Currently working on a new health food business venture!

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