Dr Julie - PhD

Dr Julie - PhD NZ's leading baby & toddler nutrition expert. A multi-time published author, speaker and creator of Dr Julie's Kitchen an innovative and ground up food brand.

💚👶NZs Top Baby & Toddler Nutrition Expert
👩‍🏫 Women's Hormone Specialist
👩‍🍳 Dr Julie's Kitchen
🎙DJs Coffee Chats - Dark Horse Coffee
🏋‍♀️🏃‍♀️ Go Good (Code = DRJULIE)
📚 Badger Publishing NZ In 2015 I completed my PhD in children's independent mobility - it took four years of some of the hardest work I have ever done and I gave birth to my two older boys during these four years. Little did I know

this was just the start of an incredible journey. When I am not in the kitchen or hidden away writing I am wrangling my three boys (drinking coffee is a given). Published books:

2017 - The Nourished Baby
2018 - The Nourished Toddler
2019 - Baby & Toddler Cookbook
2020 - My First Vegetables (children's book)
2021 - Feed the Tribe (cookbook)
2022 - The Nourished Bump & DJK Fruit Spread Cookbook

Plus five other ebooks:
2016 - Healthy Easy Dinners for Busy Mums
2017 - Breastfeeding Guide
2018 - Slow Cooked
2020- Get Started
2023 - Sugar Reduction Guide

See website for all goodness and also check out Dr Julie's Kitchen

xx Dr J

26/05/2026

Over the last 10 years I’ve spoken to:

💙 halls filled with hundreds of parents
💙 intimate coffee groups in living rooms
💙 and virtual events from the comfort of your own sofa (hello COVID!)

And honestly? The message has always stayed the same.

Feeding children does not need to feel perfect to matter.

Tomorrow morning I’m running my Starting Solids Virtual Event — a relaxed, practical session focused on:

✨ where to start
✨ reducing overwhelm
✨ responsive feeding
✨ building positive food habits
✨ and helping food feel calmer long term

Whether you’re right at the beginning with your first baby or navigating food struggles later on, these principles truly stick for years to come.

Pop on your comfies, bring a cup of tea and join me from your couch 💙

Replay included for those who can’t make it LIVE ✨

26/05/2026

Starting solids… or struggling with your child’s food journey? 🥣

3 tried-and-true strategies I have seen work time and time again over the last 10 years:

1️⃣ Repeated exposure matters more than pressure.
- Children often need MANY exposures to foods before accepting them. Not bribery. Not forcing. Not “just one bite”. Calm, repeated exposure over time.

2️⃣ Start as you intend to carry on.
- If possible, avoid falling into the habit of offering 2, 3, 4 or 5 different meals. Babies are capable of learning family meals and flexible eating patterns from the beginning.

3️⃣ Whole foods over “baby food” products.
- Babies do not need baby rice and highly processed toddler snacks to learn to eat. Real food is enough. Soft veggies, protein, good fats, family meals — simple wins.

Starting solids is about so much more than the first few months of food. It helps shape confidence, exposure, family food culture and long-term habits 💙

My Starting Solids Virtual Event is tomorrow and Toddler Food next Thursday if you’d love practical, realistic guidance (without the overwhelm 🫠)

Recorded replay included ✨

24/05/2026

After a launch night that didn't go quite to plan...we still made it and your guide is here!

This guide turned into exactly what I hoped it would be:
✨ realistic winter nourishment
✨ easy family meal ideas
✨ budget-friendly support
✨ low-pressure routines
✨ comfort without perfection

PLUS because Thursday night’s LIVE had some tech hiccups, I’ve added an EXTRA bonus private virtual event TONIGHT so we can properly reset together heading into the week 💙

We’ll chat through the guide, talk simple winter rhythms and even meal prep the High Protein Chocolate Chip Muffins together LIVE 🍫

AND because I appreciate you all so much…

The pre-order price is still live for TONIGHT ONLY 👀

This is your sign to make winter feel a little easier 🩷

Link to the event comes with the guide!

19/05/2026

When I was first separated, and no one knew yet, I remember saying to my therapist:

“I feel like I’m at the bottom of a long, dark well. No one can hear me, there’s no help coming, no rope… and I have 3 sons to somehow get out too.”

I told her I had no idea how to do it.

Everything I had worked for felt ripped away, including years of study (a PhD with 2 kids) building my career, publishing multiple books, and the life I thought I would have.

She asked me:

“What would you say to your boys if they were in the same position?”

And without thinking, I said:

“You just have to start. One small movement at a time.”

That’s what training became for me.

Not just exercise, but a way of learning how to rebuild from the rubble. How to show up for myself again. One painful, slow, clunky rep at a time.

I actually still don’t love sharing training videos. But I do it because I know what it feels like to believe something is impossible.

And if one woman watches this and decides to start, in whatever area of her life feels hard right now, then it’s worth it 🥹❤️‍🩹

This is also a big part of what I’ll be talking about in my upcoming Winter Reset Guide and virtual event. Not perfection, just rebuilding through small, consistent steps 🙏

17/05/2026

There’s so much noise in nutrition, especially for women.

And honestly? A lot of the advice people are still holding onto is outdated, over-simplified, or completely disconnected from real life.

A few things I wish more women understood:

🤍 Fat does not “make you fat.” Healthy fats are incredibly important for hormones, satiety, energy, brain health, and helping you actually feel satisfied after meals.

🤍 Constant restriction isn’t the only path to health or weight loss. For many women, especially those already stressed and exhausted, chronic under-eating can make things harder, not easier.

🤍 You don’t “need” grains to be healthy. Some people thrive with them, some feel better with less. Nutrition is rarely one-size-fits-all.

Nutrition should support your life, not make it feel harder 🩷

A lot of this is exactly what I’ll be diving deeper into in my upcoming Winter Reset Guide 👀

Pre-order for just $10 until this Thursday and get access to the free virtual event to set you through it all with ease 🙏

15/05/2026

I don’t know who needs to hear this tonight… but the hard work you put into your children’s food when they are babies and toddlers truly does pay off in the long run 🙏

Nutrition is an ultra marathon — not a one dinner sprint.

It’s the small things done consistently over time that matter most:
🥣 repeated exposure
🥕 simple nourishment
🤍 continuing to offer without pressure

And honestly? That’s exactly what I’ll be diving deeper into in my upcoming virtual events over the next few weeks — from Starting Solids right through to Toddler Food.

Because food doesn’t need to be perfect to support our kids well ✨

11/05/2026

I genuinely don’t think I was prepared for how much people (and their kids 👀) would love this one.

The messages coming in about children suddenly demolishing roast veggies, potatoes and dinners with my Golden Roast seasoning have been so good 😂💛

This little beauty is part of my “Dinner Hero Trio” for a reason:
✨ easy flavour
✨ simple ingredients
✨ makes dinner feel less hard

And honestly… if it helps get more veggies into kids without a battle, I’m here for it 🤗

Perfect on:
🥔 roast potatoes
🥕 veggies
🍗 chicken
🍟 air fryer chips

…and basically anything that needs a winter comfort upgrade!

Part of our DJK range — available now 🙏

11/05/2026

Just a reminder we head further into winter… I’ve got you 🙏

This year I’ve created a full Winter Support Series designed to help make food and family life feel a little easier through the colder months.

Including:

❄️ Virtual events for:
🥣 Starting Solids
🍽 Toddler Food
🤍 Winter Wellness

📘 A brand new Winter Reset Guide (+ event)
🍲 And of course, the full winter range — available now

Simple, nourishing support for real life — because winter doesn’t need to feel perfect to feel supported.

Everything is linked in my bio 🩵

09/05/2026

Mother’s Day can feel loaded for many of us.

This year I feel the double grief of having no mother and also no one “doing” Happy Mother’s Day for me either.

But strangely… I don’t need it in the same way anymore.

Because this morning, sitting in the peace of my home with my three boys after our little dinner out last night, I realised something:

I know in my bones what I did.
I broke the cycle.

Not perfectly. Not without grief. Not without losing people and versions of life I thought I’d have forever.

But my boys wake up in peace now. In calm. In safety.

And that matters more than anything 🥹

So this one is for the other women in my shoes today ❤️‍🩹

The cycle breakers. The rebuilders. The mothers carrying both grief and deep gratitude at the same time.

Your life might look different now. But different does not mean failed.

Sometimes it means healed.

As GD says, “the truest and most beautiful life never promises to be an easy one” ✨

So from one cycle breaker to another — Happy Mother’s (Warriors) Day ❤️‍🩹

Your strength, courage and love will change bloodlines and generations to come.

And that is nothing short of incredible 🥹🙏

07/05/2026

Food rejection can feel really hard over winter 🥹

Appetites change. Routines shift. Kids often lean toward beige foods, snacks, and familiar comfort foods.

And when that happens, it’s easy to feel like: 👉 “what’s the point?”

But this is actually when repeated exposure matters most.

Not pressure. Not forcing. Not perfectly balanced meals every day.

Just continuing to gently offer nourishment in ways that feel manageable for your family.

Because our job as parents isn’t to control how much our children eat…

It’s to continue creating opportunities for nourishment over time.

This is one of the reasons I focus so much on:
🥖 savoury loaves
🍲 slow cooker meals
🥣 warm breakfasts
🧁 easy snack options

Not because they’re perfect — but because they help keep nutrition ticking along realistically through the colder months.

P.S lots of virtual events coming up for extra help from the comfort of your living room and of course all DJK winter products out now!

06/05/2026

One of the biggest mistakes I see with kids and veggies over winter?

Relying on dinner to do all the heavy lifting 🫠

When energy is low and routines are busy, it’s often much easier to build veggies into the foods kids are already happy to eat throughout the day.

Things like:
🥖 savoury loaves
🥣 soups
🧁 muffins
🍝 sauces
Because repeated exposure matters — and small amounts consistently still count.

This is actually one of the reasons I created my Winter Ninja Savoury Loaf (pictured in video)

It’s:
🥬 packed with veggie goodness
🌿 easy to throw together
🚫 free from common allergens
🎒 lunchbox friendly

And honestly… just makes winter feel a little easier 🙏

P.S Also check out my full support talk series including toddler food for extra help...from the comfort of your living room!

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