I'm interested in what your mornings look like. Do you jump out of bed after the first sound of the alarm clock? Or maybe like me you fight an already lost battle against yourself, and with difficulty you stick your leg out from the duvet? And then? Quiet coffee, yummy breakfast, or maybe a daily steeplechase with the finish in front of the school entrance? And what are your dreams? Easy morning, maybe a bit later than usual, fragrant coffee, breakfast served and then tidied away by somebody nice? Morning without rushing and daily nerves... Most busy parents probably have similar dreams.

If you work or live in the city centre of Warsaw, at least some of your dreams could come true. The restaurant Aioli on Świętokrzyska Street helps with this. During one frosty morning we took advantage of its interesting offer. When we stood in front of the restaurant just before it opened, my son put his nose near to the door and said dreamily, "Mum, how beautiful it smells here. So sweet and coffee like."

The restaurant serves breakfast every day from 9am to 12am. Most dishes can fill up even a very hungry gourmand. Everybody can find something yummy for themselves. On the menu we found a very British breakfast: SAUSAGE & EGGS. It consisted of small sausages, bacon, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes with basil, pesto, baked beans, butter and aioli dip. This breakfast was especially appreciated by my very hungry son. My daughter was delighted because she got pizza with mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, spinach and egg. I was glad I also decided to go for BREKKIE PIZZA. It was extremely tasty.

Successive research has proved that sugar is damaging. And no matter how hard we deny the reality, it is obvious that excess sugar leads to the body's acidification, causes tooth decay, harms the heart and immune system and leads to obesity. On the other hand sugar is important for the taste, durability and texture of many products. Having got used to sweets and bombarded by so much information about sugar's harmfulness we stand before the dilemma: "sugar or no sugar?"

Do we really want to fully cut ourselves off from sweetness? I don't. I like sweets and my family does too, so I decided to look for products thanks to which the wolf would be full and the sheep alive. The dietitian Maria Śledziowska from EKOlogika on Opaczewska street in Warsaw was very helpful. Thanks to her I learnt that we may reduce the harmful effects of sugar by exchanging it for different sweet products. The way out of the situation is sugar substitutes. During the workshop at EKOlogika I discovered a plentiful group of such products. I found out about their properties, consistencies and how we may use them. I knew some of them before. Who hasn't heard of honey, stevia and xylitol? However, many products from this group were new for me.

Especially interesting for me was information about the glycemic index and the calorific value of sweet products and which of them can be used for baking. For example, I discovered that stevia can be used for baking below 180C. Above this temperature it loses its sweetness. Erythritol leaves a cold feeling in the mouth and cannot be used to sweeten hot tea, but it is perfect for refreshing lemonade in the summer. If we use it to bake biscuit cake, we can lower its calorific value by 25%.

Overwhelmed by bad autumn weather, we looked for some hot sun with a bit of energizing shade and came to a small tapas bar called Sol y Sombra on Grzybowska Street 2 in Warsaw. For four years in this place fans of Spain have found atmosphere from Spanish bars where they may spend time with friends, eat iconic snacks and drink excellent Spanish wine.
The origin of tapas is connected with the Andalusians, who when drinking wine covered the glass with a slice of dry sausage to protect it against flies. With time they started to serve thin slices of bread with various fixings. Today tapas is different: ranging from very simple but excellent olives to more complicated dishes. It is prepared with many ingredients: vegetables, meat, seafood and eggs and is served hot or cold in a small bowl, often with cocktail sticks to make eating easier. In the next bar, drinking another glass of wine, manoeuvring with a knife and fork is as uncomfortable as it is dangerous.
Tapas is not only tasty food. First of all it is free time to spend with friends, an atmosphere of carelessness and play, the memory of a tropical day and the promise of a hot night. If you haven't experienced this in Spain, you can find a casual, sunny atmosphere, nice staff and excellent food in Sol y Sombra.

I'm sure that a lot of parents were under pressure: "mum, buy me a soft drink". Shop shelves groan with drinks that tempt us with colourful and enticing labels. Some of them also have stickers to attract children's attention. You just need one peek at a list of ingredients as long as the periodic table and you don't want to buy them. Unfortunately, normal mineral water isn't attractive both in terms of taste and packaging. Adults are more sensible so more often choose water, but children are more difficult to convince.

My children mostly drink water, juice and green and fruit tea, but sometimes I am faced with the above difficult choice.

For children aged 5-6 educators and teachers have more authority than parents, so I decided to look for outside support. I was rescued from my trouble by a nearby shop with healthy and ecological food "EKOlogika" Opaczewska Street 43. In this ordinary but amazing place they organize training workshops for children and adults about products and eating habits, and they also have evenings with books and meetings with businessmen from the Ochota district as well as other events.

When outside it is grey and sad we hold dear the places where it is warm, nice and sweet. As well as our unbeatable sofa in the living room where we may count on a warm blanket and a cup of hot tea, we have a couple of favourite places with a happy atmosphere. Recently, Croque Madame on Nowy Świat Street 41 has joined this group.

We found our way there by chance on a windy Saturday evening. We were welcomed by nice and smiling waitresses. Though the Café décor may not appeal to everyone, the display case with dainties would cater to every taste. The meringue torte with raspberries or blackcurrants, the cheesecake with white chocolate, the cheese tart with figs, and the fresh (despite the late hour) buns delight with their appearance and overindulge the palates. Fragrant coffee caught our noses and conjured fancy pictures of milky foam, but because it was late we decided on tea.

The weather outside was depressing, so to lift our mood we ordered boiling hot winter tea. We were enchanted with the way it was served. Flavoursome black tea with oranges and seasonings waited for us in cups enveloped in teacup cosies. Next to them warming up there were small jugs with raspberry juice and fresh fruits. All of this brought to mind a small work of art. We have never had such beautiful and imaginatively served tea.