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/thehappytummydietitian

Music "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-ease

Maeve's website: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/

Maeve's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieteticallyspeaking

Music "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-ease

Maeve's website: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/

Maeve's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieteticallyspeaking

Article 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-cheese

Protein packed sauce alternative: https://sarahsvegankitchen.com/recipes/white-bean-cheese

Main 3 - https://www.frugalandthriving.com.au/reduce-waste-with-this-kid-friendly-clear-the-crisper-curry

Dessert – 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/pricing

Ailsa's FREE Ultimate Guide To Weaning Ebook: https://littlenutrition.kit.com/1cc84d30e0

Ailsa's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlenutritionwithailsa/

LEAP study (re early peanut exposure for allergy prevention): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1414850

The VeChi studies:

1. 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.
2. 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-ease

Maeve's article about navigating Christmas: https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/navigating-family-dynamics-with-food-during-christmas/

Maeve's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dieteticallyspeaking

Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat.