Hi, we're Edgars & Liga - the team behind FoodyWise and parents to four amazing kids who've taught us that healthy eating doesn't have to mean boring eating.
What started as a personal quest to improve our family's health has evolved into a mission: proving that sugar-free family cooking can be absolutely delicious and completely doable.
We're a family of six from Latvia - a small country in Eastern Europe where we grow much of our own food in nutrient-rich soil. While we might lack exotic ingredients and endure long winters, we've discovered that the best family recipes often come from simple, wholesome ingredients and a lot of love.
Why We Went Sugar-Free (And Why We'll Never Go Back)
After years of experimenting with various diets - vegan, vegetarian, fruitarian, and ketogenic - we realized that reducing sugar was the game-changer our family needed. Not just for weight management, but for:
- Stable energy levels throughout the day (no more 3 PM crashes!)
- Better focus for both kids and adults
- Improved mood stability - less sugar meant fewer meltdowns
- Better sleep patterns for the whole family
- Reduced cravings and more intuitive eating
But here's what we learned the hard way: many "sugar-free" recipes available online are either unreliable, taste terrible, or require impossible-to-find ingredients.
The Reality Check That Changed Everything
When we first tried going sugar-free with four kids, it was chaos. Public recipes promised "just like the real thing," but delivered disappointing results. Simply replacing sugar with an alternative sweetener didn't yield the expected results - it resulted in rubbery disappointments with questionable texture and taste.
However, relentless experimentation helped us establish our own recipe collection, which we could build upon to ensure we have options to choose from for different situations and occasions without having to reach for sugary food. Furthermore, many of our sugar-free recipes actually tasted better than the originals, and it opened our eyes to what was possible.
That's when we knew: families deserve sugar-free recipes that actually work, taste amazing, and don't require a culinary degree to execute.
What You Can Expect
Tested Recipes Only: There's NO recipe on our blog that hasn't been tested by our family. We never share untested recipes just for the sake of jumping on a trend.
Family-Friendly Recipes: We rarely cook separate meals for our kids, simply because we seldom have enough time! So, we have to make sure kids will actually eat what we cook. Of course, not all kids are the same, and tastes differ, but we can confidently say that our kids have approved our recipes, and we're hoping yours will too!
Mostly European Kitchen: As an Eastern European family, we primarily focus on products and ingredients readily available in our region, as well as European recipes, such as these Danish pastries, apple sheet cake, or our absolute favorite, sourdough rye bread. However, we believe that the majority of ingredients are known and available in nearly any country.
Alternatives Without Refined Sugar: Like anyone who's decided to give up refined sugar, we've experienced (and sometimes, though rarely, still experience) sugar cravings and desires for "mainstream" food. We, therefore, share our sugar-free versions of well-known recipes, like hot cross buns, sandwich bread, and even mayonnaise. Living a sugar-free life doesn't mean giving up your favorite foods!
Recipes Featuring Honey: We need to make this clear from the very start, because there are different interpretations of a sugar-free diet. There are times when honey is treated equally to refined sugar due to health-related restrictions or because the sugar-addicted body reacts to honey similarly to regular sugar. In our family, we don't have any health-related contraindications for using honey, so we incorporate it into our recipes. But don't run away just yet if you happen to be on the other team - we do our best to suggest alternative sugar-free sweeteners whenever possible, so read our recipes carefully.
Keto & Low-Carb Recipes: Although we don't strictly follow a low-carb diet, these recipes remain on our menu as a legacy of our family's keto period. If you're looking for inspiration for your keto-friendly meals, check out our keto recipe collection.
Step-by-Step Directions: To ensure you get the same results as we did!
Connect With Our Family
📱 Instagram: @foodywise - Follow to keep track of new recipes and updates
📸 Food Photography: Follow Liga's photography journey on IG [@liga.vasila.photo]
A Personal Note
We all deserve to be healthy - without sacrificing the joy and satisfaction that food brings to our families.
If you're a parent trying to improve your family's health while keeping everyone happy at the dinner table, you're in the right place. We've been where you are, and we're here to help.
With love (and lots of taste-testing),
Edgars & Liga
The FoodyWise Family