In a bid to cure her daughter’s eczema, Eleanor Ozich ditched sugar and wheat and began sharing her recipes in a blog. The results have been life-changing, the passionate foodie tells Kate Whiting

ack in 2012, Eleanor Ozich was a full-time mum, who indulged her passion for food by posting her recipes and pictures for friends on Facebook.

Now, just two years on, she’s a published author with her own cook book and a second on the way, and she’s just opened a cafe called Mondays in her native New Zealand.

But, most importantly, her daughter no longer suffers from eczema, which was so severe and sore it used to keep her awake crying at night.

Ozich was simply a distraught mother searching for a cure for her child.

But in the process, she’s transformed the lives of her whole family and sparked a new, exciting career path.

“Our daughter Izabella started to develop eczema when she was about two years old, although it was not until she was about three that it began to worsen significantly,” said 25-year-old Eleanor, who also has a two-year-old son, Obi.

“After countless visits to doctors and specialists, nobody could shine a light on her condition, nor explain the impact it had on her behaviour.

“We were prescribed artificial creams, and medication, which would only ever temporarily fix the problem.”

In despair, they eventually took Bella to a naturopath, who diagnosed what she called ‘Gut and Psychology Syndrome’ (GAPS).

“It’s an imbalance of bad gut bacteria, causing toxins, which was resulting in the eczema and her extreme mood fluctuations.

“At the time, this revelation made complete sense to us, and we were completely willing to heal her gut through removing wheat, grains, sugar and anything processed from our diets,” said Eleanor.

She was so committed that she started charting her attempts to cook without using those ingredients in a blog, which she named Petite Kitchen (www.petite-kitchen.com).

“At the time, we were living in a tiny apartment with a cute little kitchen,” she notes, explaining the name.

It wasn’t always easy. “With Izabella being so young at the time, it was really hard for her to understand why we were eating a different style of diet.

“It did take a lot of hard work and determination, there were times where we felt as though we were hitting a brick wall.

“Looking back, I am so incredibly glad that we worked through it, as the positive changes we have noticed not only in her skin and behaviour, but also in our own wellbeing, are just incredible.”

Her new book, My Petite Kitchen Cookbook, features 100 mouth-watering recipes, all illustrated with her own beautiful photographs.

Izabella, now six, is a happy, content and balanced little girl.

“She is able to concentrate far better, loves learning and her skin has almost completely cleared up.

“She also has a huge passion for food, and has a great understanding of how the food she eats not only tastes delicious but is nourishing her in many wonderful ways.”