Food For Kids

In this episode of the Food for Kids podcast, Joanne shares simple, family-friendly meal ideas using seasonal produce available in April. The focus is on easy-to-make recipes that require minimal prep time, making them perfect for busy families. Joanne discusses three main meals, a dessert, and a quick snack, all utilizing fresh ingredients that are in season. She gives suggestions on adapting recipes to suit children's tastes and some swap ideas too.Links to all the recipe ideas are in the shownotes at https://thefoodies.org/ffk91 Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is going out on Easter Monday, so this is just a quick episode to wish you a lovely bank holiday and to give you a quick reminder that you don't need to be stressed or feel bad or any kind of way if your child is eating more chocolate than usual over the next few days. Links in this episode:Episode about protecting kids from other people's food talk: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk58/Episode about how to talk to children about food: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk71Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode, Joanne runs through a list of fruits and vegetables which are in season in the UK in April, and offers tips for getting children to try each of them. There is also a short list of imported foods that are currently in season.This will be useful if you want to increase your intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and want some ideas for helping to build your child's familiarity with them, whether they eat the end result or not!Links in this episode:List of foods in season in ​April - www.thefoodies.org/seasonal/​april-food-ideas/Printables of spring seasonal foods: https://thefoodiesbooks.com/product/spring-seasonal-food-printablesMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

These days you would have to live under a rock to have missed everyone trying to make you eat extra protein. There is protein added to everything. First it was just for athletes, then it was older people and menopausal women. Then it was sporty kids, and then inevitably it’s now just growing kids full stop.Meat and fish can be difficult textures for many kids and they will often go through a phase of not wanting to eat them, which can lead to worries that they are not getting enough protein. But how much protein do they actually need and how likely is it that your child is getting enough?When you’re in this phase you want reliable evidence based information so I asked Lucy Upton the Children’s Dietitian back to talk us through this topic.Lucy Upton, The Children’s Dietitian, is a leading UK paediatric Dietitian and author with over 15 years of experience. She’s dedicated to helping babies, children, and their families find joy and health through food, nutrition, and mealtimes while dispelling the overwhelming misinformation surrounding children’s feeding. Everything Lucy does is rooted in empathy, blending real-life mum experience with evidence-based advice.Links in this episode:Lucy's website: https://www.thechildrensdietitian.co.uk/Lucy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrensdietitian/Lucy's recent post about protein for kids: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTQxei5DUto/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Over the year you will have picked up that the main focus of The Foodies products and content is on building children’s exposure to food without any pressure to eat, and we have had several episodes focussing on how to do that in your own home and with your own kids.But today we are exploring what happens when we take that work into a group setting. So Joanne was very happy to speak to Jason O’Rourke who is a primary headteacher and co-founder (along with food writer Bee Wilson) of a charity called TastEd that gets food education into schools with that same low pressure exploration approach.TastEd uses the Sapere method which helps children to use all of their senses to build familiarity with a food – Sapere literally means “to know” so it’s just about getting to know a wide range of foods, in TastEd they focus primarily on fruits and vegetables. TastEd has two main rules, no one has to like the foods and no one has to try them. It is all about exploration, confidence and trust. This episode discusses why a group setting like a school can be really helpful for children to build their confidence with food.Dr Jason O’Rourke is a nationally recognised expert in food education, school food policy, and children’s health and wellbeing. He advises universities, government bodies and NGOs, serving on the UK Government’s School Food Standards Advisory Board, as a Project Partner on The School Meals Service: Past, Present and Future, and as the UK representative on the European SAPERE Board. He is a member of the All‑Party Parliamentary Group on School Food, a Food for Life Ambassador, and co‑founder of TastEd. As headteacher of Washingborough Academy, Jason has led nationally acclaimed work placing food education at the heart of school life.LInks in this episode:The TasteEd website: www.tasteeducation.comParents' downloads: https://www.tasteeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TastEd-Parent-Booklet.pdfJason's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasorourke/Jason's TastEd Co-founder - food writer Bee Wilson: https://www.beewilson.com/Washingborough Academy's Food Education work: https://www.washac.org/our-school/our-food-education/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is part of a monthly series where Joanne runs through some ideas to reduce food waste and save money by storing foods well and using them up effectively.This episode is about brassicas alliums (leeks, onions and garlic) so there some ideas about how to store alliums to make them last longer, and stop them going off. This includes how to store them in the kitchen, how to freeze them and how to dry them.And then there are a few good ideas on how to use up leftover leeks, onions and garlic - either surplus from a recipe or coming out of the garden.The episode includes our monthly Q&A with Kate Hall from The Full Freezer on how to freeze alliums and different ways to use them.Links in this episode:Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on leeks: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CTFh7bPIE1b/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on onions: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CQiWbl2gSI6/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/DHS77P_Irbp/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on garlic: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CEtP1koAKXe/Kate's website: https://www.thefullfreezer.com Video on prepping garlic paste for the freezer: https://youtu.be/EXXWRAhweAc?si=EhB2_YJVlsnN7XZfRecipe suggestions on the shownotes page at https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk86Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today's show is a real treat for anyone who finds that day-to-day bind of working out what to cook for tea tonight stressful, or for anyone who's finding shopping for food increasingly hard on a budget with everything that's going on in the world right now and the effect on prices.The show is lucky enough to have an interview with Jo from This Mum Cooks who is a super helpful food creator who shares practical ideas with her hundreds of thousands of followers online. She was kind enough to come and share some of her biggest mindset and planning tips for how to make meal planning less stressful as well as save on money and food waste. We talk about taking the overwhelm out of thinking what to cook, using reduced items strategically to reduce planning time and stop stress in the supermarket, and resetting your expectations about what you are "supposed to" provide to be more realistic and friendly to your time, energy and budget and better for your own family.Jo is a single mum of three teenagers, living in the northwest of England. Over the last four years her food work has completely changed her career, she now has 3 blossoming social media platforms and is known simply online as ‘Thismumcooks'. Jo shares money and food saving tips to try and help people eat as healthy as possible within the means available to them. She creates weekly meal plans, shares tips on how you can make your food stretch further and ensure that no food goes to waste. Simply, Jo hates money and food waste. Links in this episode:Jo's Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thismumcooksJo's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thismumcooksMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

We've had a few episodes now on this podcast that are all about helping children with their relationship with food, including episodes on how we can talk to children about food, how we can fend off harmful food talk around children from other people and how we can work towards food freedom in our own relationship with food so that we don't pass on our issues with food to our children.And it's that final piece that we are coming back to in today's episode, our own relationship with food. But today we're coming at this from a different perspective and Joanne is talking to child and family nutritionist, Julia Wolman about how our experiences of living in a world of diet culture before we have children actually primes us as new parents to find feeding our children difficult and stressful.Julia is a Registered Nutritionist with a special interest in family and child nutrition stemming from 20 years’ experience. Julia’s career began working for the NHS and local authorities in diverse communities, running healthy eating projects and training for parents, schools and nurseries. During maternity leave with her second son (now 15) Julia set up her family nutrition consultancy, and has been enjoying this work ever since. Julia has also worked as an NHS health coach as well as undertaken various charity roles alongside her parent work. Julia is particularly passionate about supporting parents to improve their own eating behaviours so that they can not only feel healthier and more energised, but also be the best role models for their kids.Links in this episode:Julia's website: https://www.juliawolman.co.ukJulia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefamilyfoodcoachJulia's post on this topic: https://www.instagram.com/p/DR26q-NjDLj/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is for anyone out there whose child really isn’t keen on fish and is looking for ways to encourage them to explore and maybe accept more fish in their diet. I have called the episode how to get my child to eat fish, because that is a question that gets searched a lot online, but I need to start the episode by putting in two caveats.Firstly, we don’t get our kids to eat anything. Pressure to eat, sneaking foods in without permission and trickery or bribery all are proven to have the opposite effect long term. What we can do is provide opportunities for our kids to safely explore or come into contact with foods they are not sure about so they can build their familiarity. So most of these ideas are going to be about ways to put fish in front of your child in non pressured ways to build up their confidence, but we have to remember that it’s ok if they don’t eat the fish, the end goal is not the bite of fish, but instead the feeling of safety and curiosity when fish is on the table.The second caveat is that no one has to eat fish. Vegetarians and vegans can have incredibly healthy well balanced diets with no fish in them, I will link in the shownotes to a couple of episodes about plant based eating and about supplements for children which goes into that in more detail. But your child can get all the nutrients they need from other foods if you’re thoughtful about it. So if your child never decides they like fish, or they have a genuine and lasting aversion, or your family doesn’t eat much of it, you don’t have to force this issue and you can make up for it in other ways. Nothing should ever be forced or pressured.But this episode assumes that you’re a household that eats fish and that you want to find some child friendly ways to give your child chances to try fish so they can join in with more fishy family meals. So on that basis here are some ideas, I will link to some recipes in the shownotes too of some of these examples but they are more to help you think about starting points so you can meet your child whereever they are at right now.Links in this episode:Food chaining episode: https://thefoodies.org/ffk75Plant based diets: https://thefoodies.org/ffk64Supplements for kids: https://thefoodies.org/ffk77Links for recipes are in the shownotes at https://thefoodies.org/ffk83Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode of the Food for Kids podcast, Joanne shares simple, family-friendly meal ideas using seasonal produce available in March. The focus is on easy-to-make recipes that require minimal prep time, making them perfect for busy families. Joanne discusses three main meals, a dessert, and a quick snack, all utilizing fresh ingredients that are in season. She gives suggestions on adapting recipes to suit children's tastes and some swap ideas too.Links to all the recipe ideas are in the shownotes at https://thefoodies.org/ffk82Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

If there was an Olympics of things that parents worry about, there would be a few contenders, but food and sleep would definitely be up there on the medals podium. And when those two things combine, there's a lot of room for self-doubt. So today's episode is an interview with Lucy Upton about children's food and sleep.We discuss whether children need to eat a big dinner at night to sleep through properly, whether foods or lack of nutrients can cause issues with sleep and how to figure out whether food is a factor in your child's sleep.Lucy Upton, The Children’s Dietitian, is a leading UK paediatric Dietitian and author with over 15 years of experience. She’s dedicated to helping babies, children, and their families find joy and health through food, nutrition, and mealtimes while dispelling the overwhelming misinformation surrounding children’s feeding. Everything Lucy does is rooted in empathy, blending real-life mum experience with evidence-based advice.Links in this episode:Lucy's website: https://www.thechildrensdietitian.co.uk/Lucy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrensdietitian/Lucy's Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@childrensdietitianMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode, Joanne runs through a list of fruits and vegetables which are in season in the UK in March, and offers tips for getting children to try each of them. There is also a short list of imported foods that are currently in season.This will be useful if you want to increase your intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and want some ideas for helping to build your child's familiarity with them, whether they eat the end result or not!Links in this episode:List of foods in season in ​March - www.thefoodies.org/seasonal/​march-food-ideas/Printables of spring seasonal foods: https://thefoodiesbooks.com/product/spring-seasonal-food-printablesGood website about foraging safely for wild garlic: https://www.thegrizzlyforager.co.uk/wild-garlic/ Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

If you're a family or an education setting that grows fruit or veg with children, then you will already be aware of many of the ways it can be helpful and magical.But if you're new to gardening or you're not sure if it's for you, this is a quick episode to give you some ideas for ways it could be helpful for the children you care for and a couple of suggestions for super low key ways to start.Links in this episode:Episode on three growing projects for kids: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk15Easy bean activity: https://www.thefoodies.org/sowing-broad-beans-with-kids/Windowsill peashoots: https://www.thefoodies.org/how-to-grow-pea-shoots/Learning through watering: https://www.thefoodies.org/ways-to-sneak-learning-into-watering-the-plants/RHS growing ideas: https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/children-young-people/family-activities/grow-itGarden Organic cards on growing lots of different foods: https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/how-to-grow/how-to-grow-cardsMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is part of a monthly series where Joanne runs through some ideas to reduce food waste and save money by storing foods well and using them up effectively.This episode is about brassicas (cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower) so there some ideas about how to store root veggies to make them last longer, and stop them going off. This includes how to store them in the kitchen, how to freeze them and how to dry them.And then there are a few good ideas on how to use up leftover cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower - either surplus from a recipe or coming out of the garden.The episode includes our monthly Q&A with Kate Hall from The Full Freezer on how to freeze brassicas and different ways to use them.Links in this episode:Blog post and video on dehydrating and making green powder: ​https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/homemade-green-powder/​​​ and ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EInrNrEzEhY​​​Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on cauliflower: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CXq1f0CoAbJ/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on kale: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CKV1T2Rn2zF/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on Brussels sprouts: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CEJVs7OgHbh/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on broccoli: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CXq60A-IESM/Kate's website: https://www.thefullfreezer.comEpisode about adding extra veg to food with suggestions for cauliflower too: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk42/Recipe suggestions on the shownotes page at https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk78/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via UppbeatKate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on cauliflower: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CXq1f0CoAbJ/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on kale: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CKV1T2Rn2zF/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on Brussels sprouts: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CEJVs7OgHbh/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on broccoli: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CXq60A-IESM/Kate's website: https://www.thefullfreezer.comEpisode about adding extra veg to food with suggestions for cauliflower too: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk42/Links to recipe suggestions mentioned in the episode are in the shownotes at https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk78/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today's episode is the second part of our two parter about vitamins and supplements for children.In the last episode we talked through the basic UK government guidelines for average families in average times, so that was the guidelines for vitamins A, C and D for babies and children, so if you haven’t listened to that one, it's highly recommend to go back and check that out as the advice is the broad government advice for everyone. But all families have phases where life doesn’t feel particularly normal or average and some families have additional issues to deal with all the time, so today we are going to look at a couple of different scenarios that you may have been mulling over when you were listening to the general guidelines in the last episode.There is so much confusing information about children's diets now, and lots of it is schilling product and not necessarily well evidenced so Joanne wanted to ask an actual dietitian who has to work within proper evidence based guidelines to untangle some of that noise for us. So this episode today is the second part of the interview with dietitian Sara Dawson.As in the last episode her advice is for general information purposes only, to give you some information about the UK recommendations, and does not replace the need to get personalised advice for your child from a GP or dietitian if you have any concerns. But hopefully these two episodes will give you a sensible starting point to cut through the online noise. Sara is a highly specialist allergy dietitian with over 11 years’ experience, who has worked at two NHS UK allergy centres of excellence: St Thomas’ Hospital in London and Southampton. She helped establish the first adult allergy dietitian service in Southampton and now specialises in supporting children with allergies, both within the NHS and privately through her company, YNRD Ltd. She has taught and marked on the Southampton Allergy MSc and taught allergy on the Dietetics MSc at King’s College London as well as carrying out allergy research. She has also worked in CAMHS with children and with eating disorders, and is passionate about children’s nutrition, accurate allergy diagnosis, safe avoidance and reintroduction where possible, and providing realistic nutrition advice that supports a healthy relationship with food. She also specialises in allergy and eczema, and in 2024 set up the first paediatric dietitian role within the dermatology dept at Southampton Children's Hospital.Links in this episode:Sara's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saradawsondietitian/Sara's website: https://www.ynrd.co.ukMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today is the first of a two-parter about vitamins and supplements for children.There's a lot of wellness information online for parents right now between ultra processed foods and gut microbiome information and allergies and deficiencies and picky eating advice. It's hard as a parent to know whether or not you're meeting your child's needs. And for sure, there is always someone trying to tell you something. And unless you have the time and skills to dig into the nutrition recommendation, you can be left thinking that maybe you're letting your child down if you don't investigate or try out some of the things you're being told you need for them.So in this episode Joanne wanted an actual dietitian who has to work within proper evidence-based guidelines to untangle some of that noise for us. So she invited dietitian Sara Dawson to come and answer a load of the questions we see getting asked online about supplements.Of course Sara's advice is for general information purposes only, to give you some information about the UK recommendations, and does not replace the need to get personalised advice for your child from a GP or dietitian if you have any concerns. But hopefully these two episodes will give you a sensible starting point to cut through the online noise. Sara is a highly specialist allergy dietitian with over 11 years’ experience, who has worked at two NHS UK allergy centres of excellence: St Thomas’ Hospital in London and Southampton. She helped establish the first adult allergy dietitian service in Southampton and now specialises in supporting children with allergies, both within the NHS and privately through her company, YNRD Ltd. She has taught and marked on the Southampton Allergy MSc and taught allergy on the Dietetics MSc at King’s College London as well as carrying out allergy research. She has also worked in CAMHS with children and with eating disorders, and is passionate about children’s nutrition, accurate allergy diagnosis, safe avoidance and reintroduction where possible, and providing realistic nutrition advice that supports a healthy relationship with food. She also specialises in allergy and eczema, and in 2024 set up the first paediatric dietitian role within the dermatology dept at Southampton Children's Hospital.Links in this episode:Sara's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saradawsondietitian/Sara's website: https://www.ynrd.co.ukSACN report if you're interested in the research: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ddd5f6cf7eb10015f57fb4/SACN-annual-report-2023.pdfMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Over the year we have had a few episodes talking about how to encourage your child to branch out a bit with their tastes, how to help picky eaters and how to help kids relax at the table with their safe foods while exposing them to new foods over time. In this episode we are going to talk about one of the tools parents can use when their child is reluctant to try things that look or feel different from their safe foods, which is a technique called food chaining.Emma Shafqat is a qualified paediatric dietitian and runs Dietitian with a Difference. She focuses primarily on fussy eating and allergy issues.Since graduating with a first class honours degree in Dietetics and Nutrition, she has been working as a Dietitian for over 9 years. She has worked for the NHS, in special needs schools and privately, focusing on children’s health. Emma helps children and their families overcome a broad range of dietary issues. She is also a SOS Paediatric Feeding Therapist and has worked with brands like Just Chill Baby Sleep and Bloss. Links in this episode:Emma's website - https://dietitianwithadifference.co.uk/Emma's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dietitian.withadifference/Emma's programme - https://dietitianwithadifference.co.uk/raisingconfidenteaters/Blog post about food chaining: https://dietitianwithadifference.co.uk/food-chaining/Food chaining masterclass: https://dietitianwithadifference.co.uk/downloads/food-chaining-masterclass/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode of the Food for Kids podcast, Joanne shares simple, family-friendly meal ideas using seasonal produce available in February. The focus is on easy-to-make recipes that require minimal prep time, making them perfect for busy families. Joanne discusses three main meals, a dessert, and a quick snack, all utilizing fresh ingredients that are in season. She gives suggestions on adapting recipes to suit children's tastes and some swap ideas too.Links to the recipes:Meal 1 – ​Cabbage wedges with tomato sauce - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtSO3K61Q​​​Meal 2 – ​Cheese and leek potato pie - ​https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/easy_cheese_leek_and_98782 ​​​​​Meal 3 - Veggie burgers:​Storecupboard bean burger - ​https://lianaskitchen.co.uk/spicy-bean-burger-recipe/#mv-creation-343-jtr ​​​Smoky roast carrot burger - ​https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/smoky_roast_carrot_00838 ​​​Plantain and bean burger - ​ https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/plantain_and_bean_74740​​​Dessert – ​Apple pinwheels - ​https://www.cookingwithmykids.co.uk/apple-pinwheels/ Bonus recipe - pizza pinwheels - ​https://thefastrecipe.com/cheese-and-tomato-pinwheels/​​​​​​Snack - Carrot cake energy balls - ​https://mykidslickthebowl.com/carrot-oat-energy-bites/​​​Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today's episode is a fairly speedy run through of 25 practical ideas for saving money on family food.Chances are you'll know a lot of them, but it never hurts to refresh your memory about something you might have stopped doing if you've got in a rut and you might pick up one or two new ideas to try. so pick and choose what you want and there'll be some links in the show notes to additional information for them too.Links in this episode:Website to find meals in your cookbooks to use things up: https://www.eatyourbooks.com/Planner with three ingredients: https://www.bigoven.com/Meal prep site: https://www.mealpreppro.com/Ways to prep components: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwpltZGCGd8Freezable sandwiches: https://thebatchlady.com/recipe/freezable-sandwiches/OLIO app for free food: https://olioapp.com/en/Too Good To Go for last minute bargains: https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-gbApproved Food: https://approvedfood.co.uk/Kate Hall's episode on freezing components: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk3Kate Hall's episode on reducing food waste: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk21Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode, Joanne runs through a list of fruits and vegetables which are in season in the UK in February, and offers tips for getting children to try each of them. There is also a short list of imported foods that are currently in season.This will be useful if you want to increase your intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and want some ideas for helping to build your child's familiarity with them, whether they eat the end result or not!Links in this episode:List of foods in season in ​February - www.thefoodies.org/seasonal/​february-food-ideas/Printables of winter seasonal foods: https://thefoodiesbooks.com/product/winter-seasonal-food-printablesMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today’s episode is an interview with Dr Anna Colton who is a leading clinical psychologist specialising in the psychology of food, eating, and emotional wellbeing in children and adolescents. She works with families on everything from fussy eating to eating disorders and body image concerns and recently published a book called How to Talk to Children About Food.We have had some episodes dealing with the way we talk to children directly about food, but one of the very interesting things in Anna’s book was the psychology around how we have to be aware of our own issues with food to make sure that we don’t pass them on, that intergenerational relationship with food that can easily be transmitted subconsciously. So Joanne spoke to Anna about that, and also some helpful ideas of what we can do if our child comes to us with issues of their own around food or body image.Dr Anna Colton is a leading clinical psychologist specialising in the psychology of food, eating, and emotional wellbeing in children and adolescents. She works with families, teens, and adults on everything from eating disorders to fussy eating and body image concerns. Her book, How to Talk to Children About Food, helps parents create a healthy food culture at home, heal their own relationship with food and break the intergenerational cycle of food and body image struggles. Her work is a powerful call to shift from crisis response to prevention.Links in this episode:Anna's website: https://www.dranna.co.uk/Anna's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drannacoltonBuy Anna's book How To Talk To Children About Food: https://geni.us/HTTTCAFMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is part of a monthly series where Joanne runs through some ideas to reduce food waste and save money by storing foods well and using them up effectively.This episode is about root vegetables so there some ideas about how to store root veggies to make them last longer, and stop them going off. This includes how to store them in the kitchen, how to freeze them and how to dry them. And then there are a few good ideas on how to use up leftover carrots, parsnips and beetroot either surplus from a recipe or coming out of the garden.The episode includes our monthly Q&A with Kate Hall from The Full Freezer on how to freeze root vegetables and different ways to use them.Links in this episode:Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on baked potatoes: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/ClrFqiVoLqm/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on roast potatoes: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CXn6pKqIz4C/Kate's Can I Freeze It? video on new potatoes: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgCqOwNo0qp Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on beetroot: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CcYeEwbqVh7/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on parsnips: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CXn1SJwIvFx/Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on chopped carrots: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXoB213IVm9/Kate’s reel on never wasting potatoes: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHVgrkGImXd/Kate's website: https://www.thefullfreezer.com Episode about adding extra veg to food with suggestions for root veg too: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk42/Links to recipe suggestions mentioned in the episode are in the shownotes at https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk70/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Do you need to be caring about your child's gut microbiome?At this time of year our feeds are filled with a lot of wellness adverts and one of the things you see a lot of adverts for is probiotic supplements, and intolerance and microbiome test kits. You might be thinking it’s hard enough just keeping everyone at the table happy and fed with the food you’re putting on the plate, so should you now be listening to these adverts and podcasts and news articles and worrying about your child’s gut microbiome? And if so, how on earth do you do anything about it?So to help us out on today’s episode I am talking to Lucy Jackman who is a Specialist Paediatric gastroenterology Dietitian at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Lucy deals with all kinds of complex tummy and bowel issues but she also posts really helpful information about general principles that parents can use to help keep little guts healthy.Lucy is a Specialist Paediatric gastroenterology Dietitian at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where she leads the dietetic service for complex gastrointestinal (GI) allergy and motility disorders. She is also the Lead Dietitian for the NHS England-commissioned service for the diagnosis of paediatric intestinal pseudo-obstruction (PIPO).With extensive experience in managing children with eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID), motility disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Lucy is a key member of the British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (BSPGHAN) EoE working group. She has contributed to national and international guidelines and has authored multiple publications on EoE, EGID, pseudo-obstruction, and paediatric motility disorders.Lucy is passionate about advancing clinical care through research and education, ensuring that dietetic interventions play a central role in optimising outcomes for children with complex GI conditions.Links in this episode:Lucy's website: https://www.thehappytummydietitian.com/Lucy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehappytummydietitianMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is full of suggestions for small ways that you can pack in a little extra goodness to foods that you already eat.Over the last week we talked to Maeve Hanan about why we shouldn’t hyperfixate on the label or category that one individual food or one meal fits into, but instead we should zoom out to the overall picture of the variety and benefits of the foods we are eating across a week or a month of meals. And coming up we have an episode with a gastroenterology dietitian who will also talk about why diversity is good for our guts.So between the two we are fitting in some ideas for how to increase that diversity and get some more wholefoods, fibre and nutrients into the kinds of meals that our children already accept. That way we can accept that in modern life we are going to eat some processed foods sometimes, but find small and practical ways to pack in lots of things our bodies need alongside or in between those foods to increase our diversity of plants and whole foods without becoming narrow or obsessive.Joanne runs through some ideas of what to add to meals and snacks and some easy swaps to boost too. This will just be a list of some ideas to scribble on to a maybe list.Links in this episode:Vegan parmesan style topping: https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-vegan-parmesan-cheese/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today’s episode is the second of our two parter talking about ultra processed foods. If you haven’t listened to the first part, I would urge you to go back and listen to that as some of the information in that will help you to understand today’s discussion more. Today we are going to talk about whether being more relaxed about some processed foods in the diet can actually help with being more consistent, and whether we should set goals about processed foods in our resolutions or not. Maeve Hanan is a Registered Dietitian who specialises in disordered eating and food freedom. She’s the founder of DieteticallySpeaking.com, a platform offering evidence-based information, practical tools, courses, and one-to-one support to help people build a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food. Maeve advocates for a compassionate, weight-inclusive approach to nutrition, and is passionate about cutting through the online nutrition BS by sharing clear, evidence-based and practical messages.LInks in this episode:Maeve's masterclass: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/product/eating-with-easeMaeve's website: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/Maeve's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieteticallyspeakingMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

Today’s episode is the first of a two parter talking about ultra processed foods. I wanted to have some information about this topic at this time of year because there is so much food talk around, and so much resolutions and setting food goals and for parents there is the added weight of being responsible for your child’s health as well as their long term relationship with food.One of the things that will often come up on lists of food goals, especially for parents, is to eat less processed foods. Over the last couple of years the conversation about ultra processed foods, or UPFS, has been impossible to escape. There seems to be a new press release, documentary or book every week about UPFs and how bad they are. But then you will also see dietitians and food campaigners pointing out that not all processed foods are bad. And you might have a child who is very attached to some processed foods, or a busy household where those foods are very helpful. So how on earth do we know what to believe?A lot of the wonderful children’s dietitian’s that I work with and follow have produced some great content about this and how the focus on UPFs is not only unhelpful but can be potentially harmful. One of those, Maeve Hanan, who is a dietitian we met on episode 60 talking about food freedom, recently produced an excellent article and multi part video series, going through lots of different aspects of UPFs, including what the research says, how to understand it if you’re not a scientist, how to decipher what influencers are saying about them, and what you need to know for your family shopping list. So I asked her to come on and talk to parents who are worried about this. In today’s episode we are going to cover what UPFs are and what the research says about them. Then in the second episode next time we are talking about whether and how they can fit in to a healthy overall diet pattern and how to set goals about family eating overall.Maeve Hanan is a Registered Dietitian who specialises in disordered eating and food freedom. She’s the founder of DieteticallySpeaking.com, a platform offering evidence-based information, practical tools, courses, and one-to-one support to help people build a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food. Maeve advocates for a compassionate, weight-inclusive approach to nutrition, and is passionate about cutting through the online nutrition BS by sharing clear, evidence-based and practical messages.LInks in this episode:Maeve's masterclass: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/product/eating-with-easeMaeve's website: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/Maeve's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieteticallyspeakingArticle about ultra processed foods: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/unpacking-ultra-processed-foods/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode of the Food for Kids podcast, Joanne shares simple, family-friendly meal ideas using seasonal produce available in January. The focus is on easy-to-make recipes that require minimal prep time, making them perfect for busy families. Joanne discusses three main meals, a dessert, and a quick snack, all utilizing fresh ingredients that are in season. She gives suggestions on adapting recipes to suit children's tastes and some swap ideas too.Links to the recipes:Meal 1 – Root veg crumble: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAinsleyHarriott/photos/ainsleyrecipe-vegetarianreciperoot-vegetable-and-nut-crumblethis-is-a-great-dish/459959764138333/Meal 2 – Cauli mac and cheese: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cauliflower-macaroni-cheeseProtein packed sauce alternative: https://sarahsvegankitchen.com/recipes/white-bean-cheeseMain 3 - https://www.frugalandthriving.com.au/reduce-waste-with-this-kid-friendly-clear-the-crisper-curryDessert – orange yoghurt cake: https://vegehomecooking.com/orange-yogurt-cake/Snack – rhubarb cookies: https://www.thefoodies.org/rhubarb-cookies/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In today's episode I'm talking to Ailsa McHardy of Little Nutrition about the guidelines for weaning a baby in a plant based family.In January information about plant based diets are everywhere and I wanted to ask Ailsa what the current best advice is for parents who want to raise their children with less or no animal products.Ailsa is an expert Paediatric Dietitian with 15 years of experience across NHS, academic and private settings. She is the founder of Little Nutrition, a freelance children's nutrition consultancy which supports families with weaning, fussy eating, food allergies and tummy symptoms. Ailsa has 2 little ones of her own and brings lots of real-life experience to her practice.Links in this episode:Ailsa's weaning support programme: https://www.littlenutrition.co.uk/packages/pricingAilsa's FREE Ultimate Guide To Weaning Ebook: https://littlenutrition.kit.com/1cc84d30e0Ailsa's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlenutritionwithailsa/LEAP study (re early peanut exposure for allergy prevention): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1414850The VeChi studies:Weder S, Hoffmann M, Becker K, Alexy U, Keller M. Energy, Macronutrient Intake, and Anthropometrics of Vegetarian, Vegan, and Omnivorous Children (1–3 Years) in Germany (VeChi Diet Study). Nutrients. 2019 Apr 12;11(4):832.Alexy U, Fischer M, Weder S, Längler A, Michalsen A, Sputtek A, Keller M. Nutrient Intake and Status of German Children and Adolescents Consuming Vegetarian, Vegan or Omnivore Diets: Results of the VeChi Youth Study. Nutrients. 2021;13(5):1707. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051707.Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode, Joanne runs through a list of fruits and vegetables which are in season in the UK in January, and offers tips for getting children to try each of them. There is also a short list of imported foods that are currently in season.This will be useful if you want to increase your intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and want some ideas for helping to build your child's familiarity with them, whether they eat the end result or not!Links in this episode:Rhubarb cookies recipe: https://www.thefoodies.org/rhubarb-cookies/List of foods in season in ​January- www.thefoodies.org/seasonal/​january-food-ideas/Printables of winter seasonal foods: https://thefoodiesbooks.com/product/winter-seasonal-food-printables Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

The podcast has been running for seven months now. So as we come to the end of the year,we wanted to bring you seven messages from those seven months that might make you feel more confident about your child's eating as we head into the new year.So coming up are seven short clips from some of our guests and I hope after you hear them you'll feel reassured that you're doing a good job. And we hope it gets you fired up to keep going on your journey to help your child develop a good relationship with food. So let's get to those seven messages.Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

A short message to wish you a happy Christmas or other happy holidays, whatever your family is doing, I hope it involves some happy eating!Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This is the last episode before Christmas and chances are that the bit of your brain that you reserve for interesting food things is overwhelmed with holiday prep. So today's episode aims to bring you something that might help you to enjoy this holiday season a little bit more, enjoy sharing food and fun with your loved ones, and give your children a different kind of gift, the gift of a household where food is relaxed and joyful at celebration times.For today’s episode Joanne is interviewing Maeve Hanan, a dietitian who runs a company called Dietetically Speaking and helps parents to have a better relationship with food so they can break generational cycles of disordered eating and unhelpful food messages. She helps parents to feed their family in a sustainable balanced way in a way that is nutritious but will promote a healthy relationship with food for their kids as well.Maeve Hanan is a Registered Dietitian who specialises in disordered eating and food freedom. She’s the founder of DieteticallySpeaking.com, a platform offering evidence-based information, practical tools, courses, and one-to-one support to help people build a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food. Maeve advocates for a compassionate, weight-inclusive approach to nutrition, and is passionate about cutting through the online nutrition BS by sharing clear, evidence-based and practical messages (via her website, newsletter and instagram page via @dieteticallyspeaking).Links in this episode:Maeve's website: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/Maeve's masterclass in January to help you reduce food noise and stress: : https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/product/eating-with-easeMaeve's article about navigating Christmas: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/navigating-family-dynamics-with-food-during-christmas/Maeve's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieteticallyspeakingMusic "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat.

This episode is part of a monthly series where Joanne runs through some ideas to reduce food waste and save money by storing foods well and using them up effectively.This episode is about Christmas and other holiday foods so is focused on planning ahead to make sure you have space and containers to store foods before you need them, advice on safely storing leftovers after the celebration meals, and ways to use up common Christmas leftovers.Links in this episode - the links for freezer tips and individual recipe ideas are all at the full shownotes at: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk59Other episodes mentioned in this one:Episode 6 with Jenna Brown about safely using leftovers, https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk6Episode 5 about making space for celebration foods in our kitchen: https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk49/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat.

Today’s episode is slightly different but very timely because I am talking to Bracha Kopstick about how to protect your older children from harmful food and diet talk during the holidays. Bracha works with tweens and teens to improve their relationship with food and their own bodies in a weight neutral way.Our families are not islands and we live in a culture of so many negative conversations about food and weight. So this episode is about how to insulate our children from the comments of other people especially at a time of year when food is the centre of so many of the get togethers.  Bracha recently put out a brilliant post and guide about exactly this so she seemed the perfect person to ask.Bracha Kopstick is a Registered Dietitian specializing in adolescent nutrition, practicing with a weight-neutral approach to health. She helps children to young-adults develop healthy eating habits and a good relationship with food and body to nourish their growth and development. Through supportive and collaborative counselling, Bracha educates adolescents to feel confident and comfortable eating well, free of shame and guilt. Links in this episode:Bracha's website: https://www.beekaynutrition.comBracha's free downloadable holiday conversation guide: https://mailchi.mp/beekaynutrition/holiday-conversation-guideBracha's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adolescent.nutritionist/Some helpful posts on this topic:https://www.instagram.com/p/DRSmT71ARKZ/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/DIRb7hUxMEQ/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

On this episode Joanne is talking to Liz Priest who is a qualified midwife and health visitor and runs a support service for parents called Infant and Wisdom. There’s so much information and judgement around about food and eating, and we get very anxious about whether we are feeding our children “right”. And if our children don’t eat exactly the way we think they’re supposed to it can make us feel incredibly vulnerable.Liz talks about how to approach weaning if you're feeling anxious, how to trust your own judgement a bit more, how to reach out for help, and lots of useful tips about how to wean without fear.Liz is the founder of Infant & Wisdom — a qualified midwife, health visitor, and mum to four amazing boys. Liz has developed this unique and holistic service by blending evidence-based experience with real-life parenting insight. Support aims to empower and address the barriers to enjoying parenthood. Parenting isn’t easy and Infant and Wisdom can enable families to feel confident, calm, and supported from bump to beyond. Liz aims to help parents thrive in parenthood, not just survive it.Links in this podcast:Liz's website: www.infantandwisdom.co.ukLiz's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infantandwisdomMusic "Happy Days" by SImon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode of the Food for Kids podcast, Joanne shares simple, family-friendly meal ideas using seasonal produce available in December. The focus is on easy-to-make recipes that require minimal prep time, making them perfect for busy families. Joanne discusses three main meals, a dessert, and a quick snack, all utilizing fresh ingredients that are in season. They're all dead quick and easy to save energy for all the cooking at the end of the month.She gives suggestions on adapting recipes to suit children's tastes and some swap ideas too.Links to the recipes:Meal 1 - pasta and greens – https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a30377647/sprout-and-ham-spaghetti/ or https://hungryhealthyhappy.com/cabbage-pasta/Meal 2 - supermarket christmas veg bag soup with cheese toasties – https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/root_vegetable_soup_14910Main 3 - easy cheesy potato pie – https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2021/10/easy-cheesy-potato-pie-recipe/Dessert – apple pancakes and icecream - https://thetoastykitchen.com/cinnamon-applesauce-pancakes/    Snack – snowman crackers - https://simplifylivelove.com/festive-5-minute-snowman-crackers-14-quick-christmas-appetizer-ideas/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is designed to give you some information to help you explore the colours of fruits and vegetables with kids and to encourage them to try to eat lots of different colours. The idea of eating a rainbow has been around for a long time and you probably know that each colour brings something different to your table and your health. But do you know which ones have which benefits? For each of the rainbow food colours, I am going to tell you what the properties are that are associated with that food colour, and the ways that we know they are helpful to our health as well as a fun fact for kids to explore those foods. Links in this episode:Fun web article with good summaries: https://simplyveg.vegpower.org.uk/eat-the-rainbow-2/ Short video for preschoolers: https://youtu.be/L1StpMfMwXY?si=wwzEtBzoIB-dVvpNBritish Heart Foundation article for adults: https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/5-a-day/colourful-foodsArticle about antioxidants and free radicals: https://robhobson.co.uk/nutritious-delicious/whats-the-deal-with-free-radicals-and-antioxidants/Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

In this episode, Joanne runs through a list of fruits and vegetables which are in season in the UK in December, and offers tips for getting children to try each of them. There is also a short list of imported foods that are currently in season.This will be useful if you want to increase your intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and want some ideas for helping to build your child's familiarity with them, whether they eat the end result or not!Links in this episode:List of foods in season in ​December- www.thefoodies.org/seasonal/​december-food-ideas/Episode 49 all about prepping veggies ahead for holiday foods - www.thefoodies.org/ffk49 Printables of winter seasonal foods: https://thefoodiesbooks.com/product/winter-seasonal-food-printables Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

At this time of year we are all thinking about getting together with family over the holidays and sometimes thinking about what our children might or might not eat. But for some families there are additional things to take into account when their family comes from a mixed cultural heritage and need to balance different food traditions too.Today’s episode is an interview with Rachel Mujanovic who is a Paediatric Clinical Lead Dietitian in the NHS, she comes from a family with Caribbean heritage, her partner’s family are from Bosnia, and they live here in the UK so they are definitely one of those families who are balancing lots of different cultural influences on their family dinner table. Alongside her NHS clinical expertise Rachel also specialises in helping families to help their children enjoy cultural foods to honour and explore their family’s place in the world.In this interview we explore not only how to build your own family's cultural foods into your child's life but also how to help them to be adventurous and explore foods from other cultures too so this is helpful for going on holiday, broadening your child's palate and helping children to understand how people live and eat all over the world as well as in the kitchens of their family and friends.Rachel has been a paediatric dietitian for nearly 10 years and is currently a Paediatric Clinical Lead Dietitian in the NHS. Fussy eating, tube feeding, Cystic Fibrosis and allergy are just a few areas that she has worked in over the years. Rachel is passionate about helping families navigate feeding their children and has a particular interest in empowering families to share and enjoy their own or other cultural foods with their children.Links in this episode:Rachel's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidsdietitianrachel My World Kitchen: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/my-world-kitchen Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

This episode is part of a monthly series where Joanne runs through some ideas to reduce food waste and save money by storing foods well and using them up effectively.This episode is about apples and pears so there some ideas about how to store apples and pears to make them last longer, and stop them going off.  This includes how to store them in the kitchen, how to freeze them and how to dry them. The episode includes our monthly Q&A with Kate Hall from The Full Freezer on how to freeze apples and pears and different ways to use them.Links in this episode: Kate's "Can I Freeze It?" video on apples: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CVV4Y3MIPhQ/Kate's "Can I Freeze It?" video on apple juice: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/Cn61DzSIky5/Kate's video on never wasting apples: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHfo_Q0oNiZ/ Links to the recipe ideas are in the shownotes at: https://https://thefoodies.org/ffk52 Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat