Outsmart food marketing: read your labels

“I eat that high protein Milo cereal stuff.” “Well I buy him Nutri-Grain because it’s got 4 health stars.” “I just use those porridge sachet things. They’re really low in fat.” And that’s just breakfast cereals. I’ve met countless clients who are incredibly misled by food marketing. And it’s amazing to watch their eyes widenContinue reading “Outsmart food marketing: read your labels”

Breastfed babies can be fat… and perfectly healthy

I was invited to speak to my local group of Plunket nurses a few years back. I didn’t prepare anything specially for them, I simply rocked up and held a question-and-answer session. They were a fun bunch of ladies and I had a great time. But I left the session chewing my lip, worried aboutContinue reading “Breastfed babies can be fat… and perfectly healthy”

In defence of milk

“Milk please,” my preschooler directed politely. “In my red cup, with a straw,” he added with a smile. I shook the bottle of organic, non-homogenized milk, so the cream would disperse from it’s lump at the top of the bottle, then I poured it into the specified red cup. He slurped it up happily, delightingContinue reading “In defence of milk”

Lockdown getting you down? Get cooking!

I smoothed the homemade berry pie filling over the top of the New York cheesecake I had made. My chef’s knife slid carefully through the berries, dragging streaks of purple and read over the creamy lemony middle, and then crunched through the biscuit crust. I gently tugged the slice free from its cake prison, tippedContinue reading “Lockdown getting you down? Get cooking!”

Baby’s first foods

I got a message a couple days ago from a friend, asking about first foods for baby. She’d gone online and, in her eloquent words, discovered that “There’s a lot of shit out there.” I couldn’t agree more. First thing’s first: when is baby ready for solids? You’ll hear six months thrown around a lotContinue reading “Baby’s first foods”

To hide or not to hide: the vegetable question

My 3-year-old is currently going through a growth spurt. He is super tired, super hungry and super emotional all at once. I consider it training for when he’s a teenager. When I picked him up from preschool yesterday I read his little take-home slip of paper that lists what he ate that day. I wasContinue reading “To hide or not to hide: the vegetable question”

Mindful eating and hypocrisy

I dipped my spoon into my soup and slurped the creamy goodness noisily. I crunched my piece of toast, delighting at the way it broke into chunks in my mouth… And then crumbs spilled all over my keyboard and I very nearly knocked the bowl of soup over trying to clean it up. I eatContinue reading “Mindful eating and hypocrisy”

Breastfeeding is more than the milk

Recently, a mother complained on Twitter about the pressure to pump and bottle feed instead of just OG breastfeeding. I had only been on Twitter a couple days at the time and I was nervous to comment and share my own story, but I wish I had. The pump-then-bottle-feed message was pushed on me timeContinue reading “Breastfeeding is more than the milk”

The dinnertime battleground

My son was sitting at the table, ready for his dinner. We had a vase of flowers on the table that he had picked from the garden, and we had lit several candles. I placed his plate in front of him, smiling at my lovingly prepared wholesome meal that would meet all of his nutritionContinue reading “The dinnertime battleground”

My covert mission to McDonalds

It was about six o’clock in the evening when I parked my heavily branded work car several streets away from my destination… Was this too close? I looked around suspiciously, second-guessed myself, and drove another block away. It was a hot evening in one of those summers that lingers well into fall, but I forcedContinue reading “My covert mission to McDonalds”