Author: Ellen Barnes

For months, behind the scenes, our CEO Julianne Ponan has been talking to the country’s leading organisation around anaphylaxis about becoming an ambassador and today is the official announcement! From sitting at the allergy table and wishing she didn’t have allergies to becoming Ambassador of the biggest campaigning body for…

Our CEO, Julianne, has today been named as the UK Ambassador for The Teal App,  an app designed to save the lives of those who live with anaphylaxis. The Teal App launches today in the UK and it is for those living with life-threatening allergies and their loved ones.  It…

In this blog we are going to be discussing dairy allergies and lactose intolerance! Often, people use these terms interchangeably, but this is not the case! What is a dairy allergy? How is it different to lactose intolerances? What does it mean to have either of these? Read on and…

  Creative Nature Case Study:  @dairyfreenoah Introduction: My name is Deborah, Mama to Noah who is allergic to dairy, soya and egg. We have both been free-from since Noah was 3 months old, when we discovered his allergies, as he reacted through my milk. Noah was incredibly poorly, with stomach…

June is the first, real month of summer, even though for the last few weeks unusually, we’ve had lovely weather. June is the time when our gardens begin to come fully into bloom. Normally, it’s a popular month for weddings, and a time to enjoy getting out in the sunshine…

When our freedom is suddenly curtailed and we are used to going to work each day, interacting with others, we take for granted the fact we can go and do what we like when we like.   In our new situation of social distancing, and staying at home to keep…

Our diet also impacts on our health. Whilst we are having to stay at home, it is much easier to sit around for longer, or watch the TV, watch films, and become more sedentary than when we are going to work, and getting out and about as normal.   However,…

Many people walk as part of their exercise regularly. However, now it is something that is recommended we all do once a day, during lockdown to keep us healthy and fit, both mentally and physically.   An American report in 2018 concluded that walking is associated with improved mental and…

Following the government’s latest restrictions, here at Creative Nature, we are working from home where we can.  We feel it’s our social responsibility to do the right thing, to set an example even though that’s a huge ask for a food business which offers products.   Products need to be…

The Coronavirus is not something that any of us imagined, have planned for and has thrown up a variety of situations that are completely unexpected. We are suddenly finding ourselves in a very different situation to anything many of us have seen before. Life in the 21st century is fast…

We will soon be celebrating Easter, which although an important time in the Christian calendar, is also a time to be fully welcoming Spring and the joys of nature; daffodils, narcissi, tulips, and of course those cute lambs. This year it is going to be a very different Easter to…

The arrival of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) has brought with it many problems, including shortage of certain foods in our supermarkets, due to panic buying.  In turn this can mean some food banks, who are the main lifeline for many families and the elderly, find themselves in a situation where they…

 “Allergy is the most common chronic disease in Europe. Up to 20% of patients with allergies struggle daily with the fear of a possible asthma attack, anaphylactic shock, or even death from an allergic reaction.” EAACI 2016   As spring approaches tree pollens start to circulate in the air and…

How endometriosis has affected our CEO Julianne:    I have always had problems with my stomach, having had severe pancreatitis when I was just nine. Then when my first period started, I had really painful stomach cramps. These cramps got progressively worse during my teens. I thought I was just…

This week (March 2 to 8) is officially Endometriosis Week and, in fact, the whole month is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Our CEO Julianne has this condition – more on that next week.   What is endometriosis? Endometriosis is the name given to a condition where cells like the ones in…

Spending time with the family is precious, so having activities planned ensures you get the most from your weekends. You probably already have to ferry the children to the several activities they attend at weekends, such as sports, dance or drama groups, however do try to plan for physical activities…

Preparing your own meals is an important part of creating a healthy eating routine. The speed which our lifestyles seem to dictate, means that often meals are eaten ‘on the hoof’ and we end up eating at irregular times and snacking on foods that are neither particularly healthy nor nutritious.…

The word is appearing all over the place on social media and in the news. Schools are even incorporating it into their curriculum for students. The latter seem to link it to coping with stress of exams, making career choices and dealing with difficult social issues which often arise in…

A healthy diet can make a significant difference to how quickly you recover from depression or anxiety.   In fact, eating healthily seems to be just as important for maintaining your mental health as it is for preventing physical health problems.   Research suggests exercise may be as effective as antidepressants at reducing the symptoms of depression…

Spending time with family and friends is more important than we might think. Research has shown the quality and quantity of individuals' social relationships has been linked not only to mental health but also to both morbidity and mortality.   The research concluded the influence of social relationships on the…

January is often considered to be the month with the highest levels of depression following Christmas and the New Year. Is this a myth or is it true? It certainly can feel like a ‘flat’ month after the festive period. Psychiatry and Population Professor at University of Manchester, Nav Kapur,…

As the year is ending and I am reflecting on my successes this year for me personally, and for my business, I’m now planning ahead for 2020. My family helped to give me a good understanding of the importance of goal setting through an annual tradition; each New Year we…

As many of us know, Christmas time is all about celebrations, gatherings, and indulging in delicious food, but people such as Julianne, the founder of Creative Nature, really struggle at this time of year due to life threatening allergies. We have been in contact with 2 allergy sufferers to hear…

As mentioned in our previous blog, Christmas is a time for luxurious food, but what about healthy indulgence?  How can we cater for everyone, including those with serious allergies and IBS?   It seems that the worlds population is becoming more allergic to food, and the rise in allergies in…

Christmas is a time to indulge; at least that is what we tell ourselves, as we munch our way through chocolate laden Advent calendars, boxes of chocolates, crisps, shortbread, Stollen, mince pies - far to much food than is good for us!   And still to come, the traditional Christmas…

Advent is, for many people of faith, a time to prepare for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus.   For the less religious of the population, it’s a time for shopping and preparing for the festivities. A time for buying gifts, food and drink in preparation for Christmas Day…

It’s true. November seems to be full of chocolate – there’s a festival in Exeter and there are many in America from the North West Chocolate Festival to the Winter Chocolate Festival.   And of course the shops are full of it, all gearing up for the food fest treat…

Black Friday is just a week away - are you gearing up to shop manically for bargains on Black Friday ready for Christmas or are you planning your strategy for online shopping on Cyber Monday?   This year Black Friday is on 29th November with Cyber Monday following on on…

Did you know that being a vegan isn’t what it used to be? It’s not all about having a bland range of foods you can eat which all taste like cardboard or in fact, are utterly tasteless – we’re far more creative than that now.   Have you even looked…

This week was meant to be Green GB Week. A government initiative to encourage businesses and industry to embrace greener practices. It’s something we support. We are happy to put up a little green flag to say ‘here, here, here’. However it’s now been delayed until early 2020 because it’s…

September is often a time of transition as families – and indeed most of us – get back to a normal routine after a summer break.   Even if we’ve only had a week or two away ourselves, we all notice how much quieter the roads seem, how it can…

Acceptance – accepting that you have food allergies is a big step to leading a positive life. It sounds obvious, however if you have grown up like me from a very young age being ‘different’ you can kick against this and take risks as you get older because you cannot…

Have you ever seen anyone go into anaphylactic shock? Would you know what to do and how to react?   For me, the ignorance of others is my worst nightmare and my central fear around being a severely allergic person. I worry that I could have a reaction and be…

There’s actually not too much known about the relationship between mental health and wellbeing and having allergies.   For me, it’s obvious – there must be a link. When you have to plan and consider many aspects of your life in ways that others do not, this can have a…

Allergies have a huge impact when you are thinking of going on holiday overseas. In fact, for many parents of allergic children and allergic adults, it can feel much easier to just stay at home. However in doing so we deny ourselves experiences enjoyed by others.   I’ve lived in…

Allergies are expensive – having anaphylaxis is even more expensive. The parent of a child with food allergies will find that the cost of caring for an allergic child is thousands of pounds more expensive than for a child without any allergies.   Studies have been done at different times…

We love meeting you all! Shows are such a great way for us to meet and chat with you, whilst you get the opportunity to try out our awesome products before you buy (at incredible show offers!) We’ve recently done two large shows up in Birmingham, letting us venture out…