Peas and Love

10/02/2023

Instead of labeling food as bad, naughty, unhealthy or good, clean and nutritious, educate your kids about their own hunger and fullness cues. Remind them to tune in to their tummy.

Teach them to describe symptoms of hunger, fullness and overfullness. Make it fun by asking: “What does your tummy say?” or “Is your tummy full or half full?”. Talk about it when they say they want a snack, when they want another portion or want to leave the table.

The best way to teach kids how to read their cues is by showing them how you do it. Use every opportunity to say things like “I’m feeling a bit dizzy, I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m very hungry now.” or “I’m not going to have any more pasta because my tummy is full now and if I have another spoonful, I won’t feel well”.
With your help they will learn to respond to internal cues for hunger and fullness. It’s very important lesson to learn.

19/01/2023

Working on the slides for tonight workshop at
At least I know what I'm not going to be taking about....

Just kidding, all the slides are ready and I cant wait to meet the parents.

06/01/2023

Food for thought:
- Do your kids know when they can expect snacks or do they get snacks as and when they want them?

- Does your kids’ appetite get spoiled because they tend to graze throughout the day?

- Do you use snacks as tools for managing your kids’ behaviour?

Food is often used as a way of keeping children entertained, keeping them quiet or keeping them “out of trouble”. If it happens occasionally, than It’s absolutely fine but used to often, this strategy might backfire.
It’s very easy to get into a habit of distracting your toddler with a biscuit or keeping him occupied when you’ve got an important phone call to make. We’ve all been there but if you feel that you use food to manage your child’s behaviour too often, try to find alternative strategies. Snacking too often can affect their appetite at mealtimes.

06/01/2023

https://www.peasnlove.co.uk/blog/dont-stop-offering-new-foods

22/12/2022

https://www.peasnlove.co.uk/blog/blog-post-title-two-8jn9z

18/12/2022

For many parents every meal feels like a power struggle no one ever wins.

Do you try to negotiate with your child who won’t try new foods? Are you desperate to get them to eat something - anything - outside their handful of foods they regularly rotate through?
A green vegetable would be nice, but that may feel so far-fetched and out of reach.

I have some encouragement for you and want to give you simple advice to help you better navigate these situations. Because when you know where you’re going, when you have a clear plan, it's easier to manage all those daily challenges.

My next blog post is about exposure to new foods and why it matters. Link is in the comments.

Have a lovely Sunday

Viola
Peas and Love

16/12/2022

I'm often asked for book recommendations for kids. I believe that our children need body affirming books more than those about which food is bad and might make them fat...

Here is a fabulous list of publications about body image. I wholeheartedly recommend them all.

They make perfect Christmas presents!

Happy reading.

https://laurathomas.substack.com/p/body-affirming-books-for-older-kids?fbclid=PAAaaIlpOl9OknsrLWmZ9qlpZR6G2BQR9REwDa5feFVu01NwBiYYqrJxUSISY

Age 8-12 (ish!)

16/12/2022

My 9 year old now eats foods that in the past I would never have imagined she would. Falafels are a good example here. There was something about the texture I think that put her off falafels, meat balls and veggie burgers for years. To be honest it did upset me as I love my falafels and found them such a handy, nutritious and delicious food. I never even tried to convince her to take a bite though. Over and over again she saw me enjoying them, saw them in front of her on the table, picnic blanket or in my wrap. She wasn’t exposed to them 10 or 15 times.... It took about 5 years of seeing them at least once a week.... Shortly after her 9th birthday she casually helped herself to a falafel during our lovely summer picnic in the park and has liked them ever
Here are a few examples of exposure that doesn't include tasting a food:

since. You might laugh but it was a big victory for me: proof that what I was doing did eventually pay off.

05/11/2022

Hello and happy weekend!

Just thought I would let you know I've just finished a new blog post on my website.

The topic is controversial so let me know if you agree. Do you praise kids for eaating "well"?

Link to blog in comments.

Viola

28/10/2022

This is brilliant news. Our kids need to see that not everyone is skinny. Fast girls also need their representation in cartoons or books. Well done Disney.

After being criticized for creating female characters with unnaturally tiny figures, Disney is dabbling in the so-called 'body positivity' movement with its new animated film, 'Reflect', which is centred around a full-figured ballet dancer who suffers from body dysmorphia.

29/09/2022

As a mum I did my best to help my daughter build a healthy relationship with food. I made lots of mistakes, failed her and myself many times and cried out of frustration and guilt.

Out of my own experience and years of studying (not only nutrition, but also psychology of eating), came my online programme which covers everything you need to raise a confident, independent and healthy eater (see the link in comments).

I’ve put together a list of steps that helped us as a family. Hope you find them helpful too:

Step 1:

I made sure our mealtimes were stress-free and my daughter felt her decisions were respected.

Step 2:

I started serving meals family style so that everyone could serve themselves how much they wanted of what looked good to them. I also experimented with deconstructing meals and it really worked for us.

Step 3:

I learnt to trust my child’s appetite even if she ate very little or skipped meals. It took me ages but once I stopped controlling her portion sizes, we were able to enjoy mealtimes again.

Step 4:

I implemented a meal and snack schedule. We managed to cut down on grazing and improve her appetite for bigger, more nutritious meals.

Step 5:

I stopped using any pressure to make her eat food she didn’t want to eat. By pressure I mean any tricks you can think of, including bribing, rewarding, entertaining etc.

Step 6:

I started concentrating on the long term goal which was to raise an adventurous but also independent eater who eats in response to her hunger cues.

Step 7:

I started serving mini meals instead of less nutritious snacks like crackers and juice.

Step 8:

I did my best to neutralise dessert. I didn’t want my daughter to associate sweets with reward or something she has to deserve. I know that this kind of association can trigger emotional eating in the future.

Step 9:

As a nutritionist I know that what our children eat has a great impact on their health. Once I’ve managed to relax about my daughter’s portion size I was able to focus on boosting her nutrition by adding more fiber to the family food, keeping an eye on her milk intake and incorporating more vegetables. I tried to serve fruit and vegetables with every meal, even if I knew she wouldn’t always eat them.

These were the big steps that made the most difference for us. It took us all some time to change our mindset around eating but it was worth it! My daughter is now a happy, confident eater and I’m a much more relaxed mum.

I hope you found it helpful!

Stay in touch and let me know if you decide to try any of these strategies and the results you see.

In the meantime, you can always book a free telephone or video consultation with me here: https://www.peasnlove.co.uk/book-free-consultation

Peas and Love

Viola

24/02/2022

Brighton and Hove folks, do you know Brighton & Hove Food Partnership? It's a non-profit organisation helping people learn to cook, grow their own food and waste less.

They organise lots of different cookery classes from Essential Pastry Skills to Flavours of Uzbekistan.

Last night I went to the sushi making session and this is what I made!

Loved the place and the people who run it.

Wholeheartedly recommend it. Lots of the classes are suitable for kids!!!

Happy cooking x

Viola