I am a Paediatric Nutritionist with 20 years experience. I help with gut problem eg IBS.
11/08/2022
I get to do lots of cookery demos as part of healthy eating initiatives through charities and events. On Tuesday night I as part of 'Heart of the Glens' Food Festival in Cushendall. I was making stirfried veg, (courtesy of ), homemade pesto and homemade pasta all provided free, thanks to funding provided by Northern Area Community Network
My son loves to come and help and he is very independent as you can see. Up until Tuesday night I have never known him to eat so much variety of veg in one go and certainly not in that way.
Children love to get involved. Teach them about food. Let them help prepare it. Let them play and mess with it, and with persistence and time they will learn to respect and enjoy it.
28/11/2021
A great afternoon at Galgorm Resort for my husband's birthday and we got an extra surprise when we got to see Santa.
18/11/2021
My husband send this screen shot to me and I had to laugh!!
Please like and comment if you relate to this. Even with the best intentions there are periods when most children go through this stage.
Take a deep breath........and........breathe.....it will be ok.🤪
18/11/2021
I delivered another fun cooking demo last night via zoom for the Northern Area Community Network . I made homemade tagliatelle with mushrooms and bacon in a cream cheese sauce.
08/11/2021
Fussy Eaters! Let them Feed Themselves
By letting your child self feed it will allow them to feel more in control. Children like to exert their independence and want to feed themselves, especially younger children who use it as an opportunity to play! Ensure to have child appropriate cutlery in the house. Toddlers love forks which are easier to use than spoons and are great for finger foods. Eating along with your child encourages them to develop healthy eating habits. They will see you using a knife and fork or your hands to feed yourself and they will want to copy this action.
The important thing is to try not to feed them. This can become a learned behaviour to get more attention of you! They are also not concentrating on the task of eating because you have taken that away from them! This also happens when distractions like screens or toys are given to them to encourage them to eat. They are not mindful or present of the meal.
For older children encourage knives and forks. But don't worry if they prefer their hands to eat. It's easier and quicker that way. That's a battle you can win another day! The most important thing is that their diet becomes more varied.
Have you found screens a useful tool to getting your child to eat? Do you regret starting it? Like and comment below.
02/11/2021
Fussy Eaters! Go with the flow
If your child prefers to eat finger food, then give them finger food. You can alter the family meal to meet your child's preferences. For example if you are having a roast chicken for dinner but your child prefers to eat drier/finger food then you could offer your child a chicken sandwich with the roast chicken or have chicken with roast potatoes rather than mash. All the same ingredients with the same smells and flavours but presented differently! They may prefer peas rather than baked beans.
Another example is that they may like burgers and plain pasta but not spaghetti Bolognese! Them you could make burgers or meatballs with the mince and make plain pasta with the tomato sauce on the side rather than the pasta in sauce.
It is extremely important to work with your child to solve fussy eating habits rather than against them. Your child has likes and dislikes just like we do and these will change as they get older.
Like and comment below if you have experienced this with your own child.
For more information click the link on my bio.
31/10/2021
The 3 P's of overcoming fussy eating.
Patience
Have patience with your child, if you react and show frustration towards them it may cause them to become upset and even more reluctant to try new foods.
Perseverance -
Overcoming fussy eating takes time and commitment. The more perseverance you have with your child the more likely they are to overcome fussy eating. DO NOT force feed your child.
Practice
Try practicing new healthy eating habits to encourage your child. Get your child into a routine of eating meals and snacks and slowly introduce new foods each time. It takes time to develop a taste for new or unfamiliar foods to continually offer new flavours, smells and textures.
Like and comment below if you have noticed that this has paid off in your child and tell us how you did it!
For more information clink link in my bio.
27/10/2021
Space Out Meal Times
It is extremely important that your child's eating is spaced out throughout the day.
Encouraging meal times as a family.
3 main meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner per day which includes 4 of the 5 food groups form the Eatwell guide.
Although not necessary, snacks could be offered between meals especially for younger children. These should include 3 food groups from the Eatwell guide.
Offer water or milk with meals and snacks.
Ensure at least 2 hours between meals and snacks.
To find out more click the link in my bio.
26/10/2021
2. Don't Force Feed
At some point in our child's feeding journey you will feel a temptation to force feed. We've all been there. Especially if they have not eaten all day and you KNOW they are hungry but still will not eat. Or they have been unwell and you are desperate for them to have some sort of nutrition. I feel your frustration!
However it is important that you do not try to force your child to eat anything they do not want. This will only result in them eating less. Force feeding will cause your child to have no control over their eating therefore causing under eating or over eating in the long run. It could also cause a bad experience for your child and put them off trying new foods altogether.
Think about how you would feel if you were force fed!
Children know their appetite. If they are not eating at all it is likely due to a reason - see my post on 'What causes fussy eating?' If there is a genuine reason this period will pass.....I promise.
Give them space to feed themselves
Put on nice music
Read to them
Create a positive feeding environment
Be patient!
To read more click on the link in my bio.
25/10/2021
How to Overcome Fussy Eating
Make Mealtimes Happy
The best way to encourage your child to try new foods is for them to copy you. Ensure the family is all sitting down together at meal times and ensure your child is consuming the same food as you as long as there is no salt added to their food.
Give small portions and praise your child for eating no matter how little they eat, whilst keeping meal times relaxed.
Do not leave meals until your child is overly hungry, ensure your child is eating regularly at correct meal and snack times.
Don't let meal times drag on, set a time frame for eating max 30 minutes. Show your child this time on the clock and explain that the meal time is over when the big hand gets to.....
Try not to talk about food or 'the meal' with your child whilst they are eating it. Try not to watch them or say 'eat up', 'are you going to eat that?' This can put pressure on them and intimidate them which could put them off. Talk about other things as a family and let them get on with feeding themselves.
Avoid distractions such as tablets and phones. Put music on or read to them instead.
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I thought I would tell you a little about me and my business. My name is Judith and I am a dietitian, I am married to a diary farmer and I have a 4 year old little boy. I set up my private practice 2 years ago when I reduced my employed hours, with the aim to work more flexibly around my home life.
For the last 8 years I have worked as a paediatric dietitian, where I have gained extensive experience working with babies and children with allergies and intolerances, little babies with cardiac conditions, children with type 1 diabetes and education on carbohydrate counting, coeliac disease and gastrointestinal problems. Prior to that I set up and ran an obesity programme for children and worked with adults in community.
For many years I have had an interest in helping children and adults with bowel problems. So since setting up my own private practice I have attended a number of training courses with the aim of building up my knowledge to be able to offer a wide variety of people specialist dietary advice. I have become a trained educator on the FODMAPS diet for people with IBS and I also offer the modified version of this to children who have been diagnosed with IBS. I have also completed the Monash University course on female fertility. This has let me to look into the most recent research into helping women with infertility and PCOS to change their diet to help assist with boosting their fertility. I also like to help women to look as aspects of their diet whilst going through the menopause to help reduce or ease symptoms.
I have a passion with anything food related which is probably why I went into this career. I spend a lot of my time creating meal plans and recipes for people, which I love. Recently I did a little fundraiser event where I made to order and sold home made breads, sausage rolls and soups. All breads and pastry used wholemeal flour and my husbands homemade kefir milk from the farm. I was overwhelmed by the support from this and couldn’t believe how busy I would be. This has led me to branch out and offer homemade breads, sourdough’s, soda bread, wheaten bread and speciality gluten free/free from products as part of my business - made to order. Shop bought breads although convenient contain a lot more ingredients than home made, which are designed to help preserve the product.
My ethos is everything in balance and moderation. I am not a believer of ‘diets’ or ‘dieting’ because one size does not fit all. I myself could do with losing a few pounds, but that does not make me unhealthy. Health is a balance of eating a good diet, good mental health and getting fresh air and exercise. Be mindful with what you eat and look at the most recent research. Always do what is right for you. Introducing more plants into our diet and cutting down a little on our consumption of animal products will help our health and our environment...…….and this is coming from a dairy farmers wife!
