Episode 59. How Nova kicked stressful toddler mealtimes to the kerb

Episode 59. How Nova kicked stressful toddler mealtimes to the kerb

Feeding kids can be one of the most frustrating parts of parenting—especially when they refuse everything you put on their plate. In this episode, I sit down with Nova, a wonderful mum and member of Nourishing Kids, who shares her experiences with her fussy eater.

Nova shares her experience, the struggles, and the breakthroughs that have transformed how she approaches feeding. If you're feeling overwhelmed with fussy eating, this episode will give you hope, practical strategies, and plenty of laughs—especially with the unexpected role of her cat, Mr. Ted.

Links
https://nourishwithkarina.com/feedingbabies
https://nourishwithkarina.com/membership

Highlights:

Feeding Wins and Laughs: Nova's Story of Transformation (00:00.238)
Parenting Wins, Laughs & Cheese for the Cat – Nova’s Story (02:20.718)
The Baby Who Never Loved Food – And the Bear Who Helped Her (04:42.506)
Feeding Battles, Frustration, and Finding Support: A Mother's Honest Story (06:56.686)
Why Won’t She Eat? When Mealtimes Become Meltdowns (09:15.662)
I Tried Everything—Until I Found the Support That Changed Everything (11:35.758)
We Stopped Focusing on the Food—and Everything Changed (13:58.038)
We Let Go of the Mealtime Battles—and Found Joy at the Table (16:23.242)
From Mealtime Meltdowns to Mr. Cheese: How We Transformed Food Battles Into Family Joy (18:41.902)
From Dinner Battles to Mr. Cheese: How One Family Found Joy, Support, and Sanity with Nourishing Kids (20:52.374)
From Dinner Meltdowns to Mr. Cheese: One Family’s Journey from Mealtime Stress to Connection and Joy with Nourishing Kids (23:11.308)
From Dinner Meltdowns to Mr. Cheese: One Family’s Journey from Mealtime Stress to Connection and Confidence with Nourishing Kids (25:32.354)
From Mealtime Stress to Family Success: A Real Parent’s Journey with Nourishing Kids” (27:57.262)
From Overwhelmed to Empowered: How Nourishing Kids Transformed Our Mealtimes (30:16.992)
Feeding with Love, Not Pressure: Nova’s Nourishing Kids Journey (32:33.91)

Show notes

READ TRANSCRIPT

Show Notes

What we cover in this episode:

From stress to success – How Nova shifted her mindset around mealtimes and created a pressure-free environment.
The Mr. Ted affect – The hilarious way her cat played a part in everything
The power of community – How connecting with other parents gave her the confidence to keep going.
Game-changing strategies – The key things she learned in Nourishing Kids that turned things around.

If you have ever felt lost, frustrated, or ready to give up on getting your child to eat well, this episode is for you.

Doors are Currently Open to Join Nourishing Kids!!! Limited time Only https://nourishwithkarina.com/nourishingkids

Feeding Wins and Laughs: Nova's Story of Transformation (00:00.238)
This sounds exactly what I needed and I didn't know something like this existed. You're listening to the Easy Feed Podcast, episode number 59. Hi there, I'm Karina Savage and with over 20 years experience feeding children, including my own, I've learnt all the secrets that busy mums need to get their children eating better and actually enjoying healthy foods. So a huge welcome to the Easy Feed Podcast.

I'm so excited. I am chatting with one of the beautiful mums inside nourishing kids who has really made me laugh over the recent months and the past year since we've gotten to know each other because there's been such transformation and so many wins with her daughter, which we'll get into later. It's been so heartwarming to see and the interaction and the change in

Her confidence that I've observed over the time we've spent together has been nothing short of phenomenal. So I wanted to bring Nova onto the podcast today to chat about everything about feeding kids. So a big welcome to you, Nova. you. Thanks, Karina. It's lovely to be here. I'm so happy to have you on and it's quite novel for me because normally people are just listening to my voice. So it's actually probably quite refreshing to have.

How's the bear listening to it? It's a novel for me too. I've never done anything like this. Amazing. that's so good. It's wonderful that, yeah, we're doing this. I'm really happy to do this with you. So welcome, a big welcome to you. I want to start by saying, tell me a bit about yourself. Tell me a bit about your family. Okay. So my husband and I, we grew up in Sydney. We live in the Eastern suburbs. We've got one daughter who is currently three years old where

Family of animal lovers and I'm a teacher. My husband works in construction. He is an excellent cook and he does most of the family dinners, which is very lucky for me. That's lucky. Yeah. We like to eat healthy and always been very conscious of establishing good eating habits from the very beginning with our little one. However, I think she's had other ideas and she's thrown us a real curve ball and that's what

Parenting Wins, Laughs & Cheese for the Cat – Nova’s Story (02:20.718)
led me to join Nourishing Kids. it's been so nice to meet you. yeah, so tell us what's the funniest or messiest moment that you've had with your daughter to date? So we have a cat called Mr. Ted, and my daughter absolutely adores Mr. Ted, like we all do. And she asked one day if he could have some treats. They're called Temptations. I told her, okay, sure. Like here's the packet.

He was allowed two temptations and she agreed. Yes, that's plenty. Okay, mommy. And I said, great. And she said, go away, mommy, go away. And I thought, okay, I'll just go and continue with what I was doing. So I turned my back, turned back around. don't know, maybe five minutes later, if that, and find Mr. Ted covered in these treats. They're tiny. They're little tiny, I don't know, like chicken flavored biscuit type treats. And she had taken them all out.

And she had, not only had she like fed him a lot, but she'd also like, my cat had eaten too many obviously. And he was, I don't know, like lying on the floor with his, like he's a very large cat too, if you can imagine him, stomach spilling out onto the floorboards. okay? He was okay. was fine. don't know. He's he's very, coped very well. think to be honest, I think he was loving it. And she had put treats all over the floor, but she'd also put them like down his fur. Like she'd trying to balance them or something like.

a trail of them like across his stomach. And he was just, he's so old and fat, but he just was lying there and he was just being fed these treats. And she was like, I know, I was a little bit shocked when I turned back around and she said, mommy, Mr. Ted's very hungry today. likes the treats. He likes the treats. And then she said, Mr. Ted likes the cheese too. I'm thinking.

the cheese. And I remember I'd given her cheese as part of breakfast, because that's one of her safe foods. So she'd obviously fed him cheese when I wasn't looking. And mommy Mr. Ted likes wheat bix as well. So I'm assuming he had a taste of her wheat bix. And honestly, like Mr. Ted was certainly, I think he was living his best life, to be honest, because he loves food. And I think she thought it was great and fun. And I was just thinking, holy God. my goodness.

The Baby Who Never Loved Food – And the Bear Who Helped Her (04:42.506)
And he survived for you to tell the tale. He survived. And he's always going up to her now, like looking for food and because he knows that she will give him food, often her food, she doesn't really like something she's, or she uses him as an excuse. used to use him a lot as an excuse to escape eating and the table. That's right. remember on some of our nourishing kids calls, Mr. Ted's made.

an appearance on many conversations. Do you remember? I do. Yeah. I'm talking about a strategy that involved Mr. Ted's helping your daughter to eat. That was so funny. Yeah. Yes. You have given me some giggles. Other than that's not really too many messy moments with food because she's never really liked food. That's been my battle. She's never really cared for it. my goodness. What has been your biggest...

struggle or frustration that you have faced when it's come to feeding your daughter. she started solids at six months, she, as I said, she never really showed interest. never cared. She never was that baby that was trying to grab my fork or trying to pick up food that we were eating. Like I bought recipe books that people recommended, like an Annabelle Carmel recipe book. And then another really well known one thinking I'll try all these.

great recipes and I was really like proactive in trying to make everything from scratch. And I was just like trying absolutely everything to get it interested in like excited about tasting food. yeah, she just never took to anything really. Like I obviously started off with the veggies, like the avocado mash and things like that before I moved on to the sweeter foods. But yeah, nothing was working. And I just started to get a bit.

I don't know, just becomes a bit disheartening after a while when you're trying recipe after recipe and just not, doesn't eat any, wasn't eating much. think she was eating like maybe two or three like meals. Like, per day. but not really. She wasn't really enjoying it. wasn't like, I remember talking to someone and they said, babies love like holding like a lamb cutlet or like a

Feeding Battles, Frustration, and Finding Support: A Mother's Honest Story (06:56.686)
drumstick, cook it in the oven with herbs and spices and oils and make it really delicious and then just give her it and she'll just gnaw on it and get all the juices. I'm thinking, oh, great. amazing. I'll do that. And she just wouldn't even pick it up. She was like, no, I don't care for this. And I was like, it's delicious. And I was just, I was, I just tried everything and nothing was working. It's so annoying too, when you go to spend all the time finding the recipes and then you go.

spend all the time in the supermarket buying all the ingredients and then you spend the time making it in the kitchen. And then you come to the meal almost exhausted from all of that. then they're like, nah, I don't want that. That's disgusting. that age, like she wasn't talking, but she would just, it would just sit there on the high chair or she just drop it on the floor. And that's when I invested in a catchy, like those little trays because everything was in the catchy. And I was like, this is great because it me like mopping the floor like three times a day.

Yeah. So what impact did that have on you, on your stress levels, on your confidence as a parent, on your family? How did this affect you? both my husband and I were really stressed and I was quite anxious about mealtimes and I was worried about her having like iron deficiencies. And I just thought, how is she going to learn to enjoy food? I just thought she'd never would. I don't, I just think I thought like it was just.

Yeah. I didn't know where to go, what to do. I spoke to so many friends, but their kids all seemed to like food and it was hard to relate to them. And I tried what they did and it didn't work for me. And that's when I found you. But I just thought, oh yeah, maybe it's just cause she's under the age of a year and maybe she hasn't got enough teeth. So I was finding all these reasons to just make an excuse for her just being really fussy.

So was like, oh, when she's got all her teeth, she'll be able to eat properly. Or when she's a bit older, she might like the food more. But yeah, I was pretty snappy at meal times with my husband as well, cause I was just agitated that it wasn't working and we were very stressed. No, and certainly I'm sure a lot of people listening will, it will resonate. And I certainly understand how you feel because I was there too when my daughter was really little as well. it's just, I think you just feel really.

Why Won’t She Eat? When Mealtimes Become Meltdowns (09:15.662)
overwhelmed, frustrated and lost because other people seem to be doing a great job of feeding their kids. Why doesn't my child eat that way? What am I doing wrong? And I think that certainly made me feel like a failure. It can be really confidence shattering. Yeah, I think so. So what made you decide to join Nourishing Kids then? Was there a moment when you thought, yep, this is what I'm going to do? I think when my daughter got a bit older, it started to get even worse. Like it wasn't just refusing the food. was.

Like she wasn't even coming to the table. She was having a tension and meltdown every single night when we asked her to come and sit with us. When I should often be watching a bit of TV at that time, because I'd be preparing or my husband would be preparing. just say you can have 20 minutes of TV. And then when we asked her to turn the TV off and come to the table, it was just like world war three. was just, it was like a tension for a good 20 minutes. And often I'd be trying to eat my food and she'd be screaming on the floor, kicking the floor, just.

I'm not eating it and I'm not coming to the table. And yeah, it just got to the point where like meal times became even harder because of that. you were like, we've got to do something. did you have any hesitations before joining and if you did, what made you take that leap? So I guess if people are listening and they're like, I've sound, I resonate with exactly what you're saying over and now there were there any hesitations before joining the Russian kids? thought at first that maybe it just might change.

And I thought, look, I'll just wait a bit longer. I don't want to maybe, cause I spoke to a few friends who knew pediatric dieticians and they said, I can check with my friend. I thought, no, don't worry. Like maybe it's not that bad. Like I didn't want to bother or take up time if it wasn't something that really needed attention. That makes sense. And I thought maybe it's just normal. Cause everyone said, it's normal. Kids are all fussy. And I'm thinking.

Yeah, but there's fussy and then there's my daughter and that's beyond just standard fussy. Yeah. I get it. Like I'd say, so what does your kid eat for dinner? like they'll have maybe two veggies or three veggies and they'll have a bit of meat and rice and then that'll be it. And I'm thinking my daughter doesn't eat any veggies, no meat, no rice, no the like, it's, was like, okay. It's a desert.

I Tried Everything—Until I Found the Support That Changed Everything (11:35.758)
And you're like, now I'm to try and get my daughter to the table. I remember when you first joined having those conversations about the fact that she wouldn't even come to the table to eat with you. Yeah. Okay. So that was the turning point. You're like, I'm going to do this. to be honest, when I was doing Google searches, cause I was like, maybe there's something out there that I don't just go to someone in an office and see them once. And that's it. Cause I was like, this is ongoing. felt like I needed.

something that's going to be ongoing. Like it's not going to be fixed in like a consultation, but one consultation. And I found, yeah, I, you came up one of the first searches and I thought, that looks interesting. And I remember reading through it with my husband and I was like, my gosh, this sounds so good. And he was like, read it out. And I was like, this is, get all this stuff and it's like a membership for a year. And I said, my gosh, I think we have to join this. And he said, I'm all for it. If you think it's the right thing. And I just thought,

This sounds exactly what I needed and I didn't know something like this existed. So when I, it sounded too good to be true. And I was like, this for real? Cause I was thinking, maybe it's one of those sign up and you just get like a whole heap of PDF files and that's it. And there's no connection with people or like touching base. And, but yeah, this has exceeded all my expectations.

I didn't pay no bit to say that by the way. There is no transaction here. a chat. Oh, that's very kind of you. Thank you. Because yeah, it's been so heartwarming for me to see. And you've put in the work, right? You haven't just joined and sat back and watched a few videos and that's been it. You've attended the live calls and some people don't have the time to attend all the live calls. Totally fine. And you can move through it at your own pace, but you've also.

sought help and we've connected lots and chatted lots and it's been so wonderful to see every time we chat, you then try something and it works mostly or something didn't work. So then we go, let's try this approach and credit to you too for putting in the effort and making it happen. So it's been a team effort. There's no iron wind, don't they say? Yeah. So what's your biggest like shift or breakthrough that's occurred for you since joining Nourishing Kids?

We Stopped Focusing on the Food—and Everything Changed (13:58.038)
Our biggest shift definitely would be the way that we approach meal times now. It's family time. That's how we look at it. We try to make it happy. There's no pressure for our daughter to eat. There's a lot less emphasis on food, consumption, and more just about connection. We talk about our day. We talk about what we might do the next day. The food's there. And I just don't, I try really hard. It's, I do have to.

pullbacks on times, because it is instinctual, think, as a mom to be like, try this, try that, have a bit more of this. Are you sure you're finished? You sure you're full? But I just pull back and I just remember what I've learned from you and from the program about don't put the emphasis on the food, just on having that happy time. And that has been the biggest breakthrough. And that is honestly, it's given us, it's like a 360 degree turn with her attitude to food. Yeah. It's so amazing. I've thought something so simple.

Yeah, you know, it's counterintuitive against what you want, right? Cause you know what you know. I think it is counterintuitive because you think that if you talk about it or encourage them, then they're going to eat it. it's like the opposite in a way. it's setting up that meal time for success. And you've certainly done a great job of doing that. So that's amazing. And I remember our last call, you were talking about all these new foods that she's now trying, which has blown you away. I've noticed that since that sort of.

shift in our mentality around how we approach dinner time. She'll be more inclined to pick up the lettuce and even if she chews on it and she spits it out, she's actually putting food to her mouth and she's playing with it. She never played with food. And I always thought that was strange because like babies play with food and toddlers play with it. She never cared to play with it. But now she'll sometimes say, is it okay if I put my cucumber stick in my water? And I just say, yeah, that's fine. Yeah, it's all right. Yeah, I just let her have

fun and we'd be a bit silly too, like with Mr. Cheese. love that. That was what the fun is called. Sorry, go on. Yeah. So it's just about taking the pressure off, as you said, and just trying to, yeah, for us, it's just having fun at the table with her. Yeah. That quality time, which is, I think you're right, what was really missing before, but what you've now created, which is so special. It's so wonderful.

We Let Go of the Mealtime Battles—and Found Joy at the Table (16:23.242)
OK, I just want to take a little pause now to tell you about something very exciting. It doesn't happen very often, but it is happening now as we speak this week. So Monday, the 17th of March till Friday, my nourishing kids doors are open. So listen up if you are an overwhelmed parent who is sick and tired of the fetal...

So listen up if you are an overwhelmed parent who is sick and tired of the feeding battles, who is sick and tired of worrying about whether their child's getting enough nutrition, sick and tired of their child having the white diet, feeling overwhelmed with what food is good to buy for their child in the supermarket. If you are just done with mealtimes and feeding and you just want a clear, healthy plan, then listen up. Nourishing Kids is perfect.

for you. It is designed especially for busy, overwhelmed parents who just need a break, who just need their kids to eat the healthy foods that they offer them and not have the battles and arguments. Setting up a healthy feeding plan is the most effective way to get your child eating healthier and for you to have a little break and for you to feel more confident and happy at meal times, for you to have feeding freedom. And let's face it, we all wouldn't mind a little more freedom in our lives.

So I'm here to reduce your food burden and give you some freedom back around feeding your kids. And at the same time, get your child eating healthier. So check it out. As I said, it's only open this week. Head to the link in the show notes. And I would be very, very happy to welcome you inside nourishing kids. We will wrap our arms around you. me. And you will never feel worried or alone again feeding your child. All right, let's get back to it.

Cause actually it reminded me like before we didn't used to sit at the table or that often. Cause she was little and she'd eat before us and I used to just make her the food and then she'd sit at her little table or she'd sit in her high chair and I'd sit next to her or near her. But it wasn't the same kind of vibe as what we have now. Like now it's a really exciting time for her. Like she really looks forward to it. She rounds us all up to come to the table.

From Mealtime Meltdowns to Mr. Cheese: How We Transformed Food Battles Into Family Joy (18:41.902)
She gets around the house and she's, daddy, get to the table. said dinner's ready and teddy. She's even, of course the cat gets an invite and then she's like, where's Mr. Cheese maker coming tonight? And there was a Mr. Cheese is on his way. He's coming tomorrow night. what about, has Mr. Pasta made an appearance lately?

there was Mr. Pasta, wasn't there? No, Cheese is stuck. is stuck because cheesy is probably her favourite food. And I don't know what, yeah. So Mr. Cheese. That was a ripper. loved that cold. All right. So can you share a specific moment with me when you're sitting at the table and you went, wow, this is actually working. I think it's just.

the, when I just say, let's all have dinner now. And she just goes and turns the TV off herself. And she just happily, it's incredible. just goes like, okay, TV off. I'm just like, or she pauses it if she's watching something and then she just comes and sits at the table. don't even have to, I don't even sometimes don't even have to ask. I just put her food down and she sees that the there's food on the table and she just comes herself sits down and then she goes, okay, everyone, let's talk about my day. Oh my gosh. That's so funny. Yeah.

Let's talk about my day. We made it a real thing. We want to sit together because we want to talk about your day. That's how we set it for months and months, even when she was like, I don't want to sit, but I want to know about your day. So now it's automatic. Let's talk about my day. She's very egotistical, very typical of a three year old. Did she ask about your day? No, No. And then when, if my husband and I talk about our days, she'll go, okay, enough now. Let's talk about my day. Ask me about my day.

It's all about me. All right. Look, let's take the win and we can always work on the conversation later. That's right. my gosh. That's quite cute. That is very cute. Does Mr. Ted get asked about his day? Does he get a gig or not? It's all about her day. Yeah. my gosh. You may have already answered a little bit of this question, but I wanted to ask you beyond just what your daughter is now eating, how has being inside nourishing kids changed things for you as a parent?

From Dinner Battles to Mr. Cheese: How One Family Found Joy, Support, and Sanity with Nourishing Kids (20:52.374)
I think the big thing is you don't feel that you're facing these challenges alone. There's a community of other moms and dads that are going through the same battles. We share our wins, we share difficulties, and I think that gives you a lot of hope and the support is what everyone really wants. I think the connection that I've made through the Facebook group and through the calls has been valued really.

That's amazing. That's wonderful. It warms my heart to hear that. And that's why I've set it up because I want it to be more than just a program online. want it to be that full support. So what is something that you didn't expect to gain from Nourishing Kids that has been a game changer for you? Definitely the fortnightly Zoom course. That's amazing. When I initially looked at the program, I thought there's no way it's going to be that good. I just thought that's...

That's that level of support. Incredible. It's so helpful. think it was monthly at first and then it's become fortnightly. it's so good to just be able to ask a question pretty much any time, like round the clock on the Facebook group. And someone will always answer or give a perspective and then have those check-ins, those fortnightly check-ins where you can get that personalized support and feedback. That, yeah, that's been incredible for me.

Yeah. So you felt like your hands been held a little bit along the way. Yeah. Or a lot. Which is good. I'm glad. I needed you to tell me like months ago when I was going through a really hard stage with my daughter, she wasn't eating a lot of her safe food. You might remember she wasn't eating the pasta. wasn't, I like, it's just veggie my toes. Like what am I doing? She wasn't coming to the table. And you said, take the pressure off. Just give yourself, this is your life. You're allowed to just let her sit on the couch and have a bit. You just.

were a bit more flexible and I just felt like I needed to hear that. And I did that. within a couple of weeks, she was back to the table and things had just changed. It was like when I started to, not, wouldn't say careless, it's the wrong word, but just, guess, the approach and just be a bit more understanding of her end of myself. You can only do so much. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a, you raised it.

From Dinner Meltdowns to Mr. Cheese: One Family’s Journey from Mealtime Stress to Connection and Joy with Nourishing Kids (23:11.308)
A good point there. And I think at that time we probably went through what she was eating the rest of the day as well. And I think sometimes we can play so much pressure on dinner and what happens at dinner, but it's hang on a minute. Let's look at the rest of the day, at the rest of the week. And yeah, at some point we need to say, let's have a month off dinner, stop the pressure at dinner. We obviously had changed my approach based on what the mum tells me. But I think in your situation, that was the perfect approach to take. And obviously it worked really well because.

It was what she needed, it was what you needed. And then there was recovery and a pretty quick bounce back to what is now fantastic meal time. yeah, it's good that we can connect and have that conversation. Cause I don't, you can't get that just from a program. You can't get that from a chat group. But I think the conversation makes it a lot easier. definitely. Yeah.

that's good to hear. if you had one piece of advice to parents who are struggling with meal times right now, listening in going, my gosh, this is exactly where I'm at now. I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel like I'm going around, around in circles. I'm trying everything. Nothing's working. What would your advice be? Joy nourishing kids. Don't wait. Just joy because you won't regret it.

I'm not by her to say that. That's what I would tell someone. I have mentioned your program to a couple of people who have expressed similar sort of concerns to what I had. I guess other aside from that, my one of my pieces of advice would be to just try to stress less about these things. I know it's easier said than done, but the worry can really be so consuming and it can.

rub off onto your child and then it can really snowball. And then, like I do still worry at times, but I do try to rein it in. And I try to, like I was saying before, focus on just making meal times fun and connecting as a family. Just try that and then have all the food out. And then I feel like over time, your child, if they're happy and they're enjoying what meal times look like.

From Dinner Meltdowns to Mr. Cheese: One Family’s Journey from Mealtime Stress to Connection and Confidence with Nourishing Kids (25:32.354)
they will be more inclined to try new food and to just explore things that are around. Yeah. I couldn't have said it better myself. And I think as well, the other thing, I was really hesitant to try any kind of vitamins. I know we have a lot of talk on the groups about vitamins and supplements and things like that. Or if you feel that your child is lacking nutrients because they have a limited intake of food. Obviously you have to speak to a medical professional first, but

to just not be afraid to give them a multivitamin or I think there's like a probiotic that you got me onto and inner health plus kids, because that also helps you relax a bit and takes the stress off a little because you're like, they're getting something and that's not perfect. Ideally we want to really balance that, but if you're trying everything and it's just not happening, there's always that as well. as another option. think it's a good stop gap whilst you're battling through the fussy eating phase.

when you identify that, and this is what we often talk about in calls, one of you will pop on and we'll have a chat and we'll go through what they're eating. And if I feel that there is a sort of a gap, it's okay. Let's plug that gap for now, whilst we are getting them to expand their intake. And then yeah, you're right. That would alleviate the worry. So we do talk a lot about iron deficiency and iron supplements, and we do talk about multivitamins. And I know we've talked about amigas in the past as well.

probiotics, but I think it needs to be a very specific type of supplement for a specific cause. That's right. And for a period of time, but yeah, absolutely. It can help relieve the worry and also can help increase their intake and prevent this deficiency in that short term whilst we're increasing the intake. And I guess that comes back to being able to have the conversation about it, Yeah, that's right. A hundred percent. But it's definitely good for, as you're saying, to fill a gap.

while you're working on increasing their intake. And I feel that there's so much iron deficiency around, but it's something that can really impact growth and development and energy levels. Being able to supplement correctly really can give you peace of mind. I've seen that a lot. So yeah, I think that's a good point you raised there. And I think as well, if your child, cause my daughter, she never lost weight or anything like that. Like she always.

From Mealtime Stress to Family Success: A Real Parent’s Journey with Nourishing Kids” (27:57.262)
Her weight was increasing at the appropriate rate. She was meeting all her milestones. She was growing well. And so that also was a bit of relief. And that was like for myself to just say, hang on a second. Like she's okay. Like she's eating. She's not eating a huge range, but she's eating a of this, bit of that over the whole day, over a whole week. Food diary, that's the one. So I actually filled that in at the very beginning because I thought maybe I'll send that to you. I never did, but I could.

I filled it in. I could have, but I filled it in for myself. I think I looked at it I went, you know what? She's actually getting quite a good balance over when I look at a week, even though meat's never been a strong point. Meat wasn't ever great, but I was thinking the sort of vitamins that she's missing out from veggies and meat, she's getting in fruit and she's getting in other, trying to give her them in other ways. So then you do the food diary sometimes it's also can alleviate a little bit of stress. Yep. Absolutely. that's why, yeah, we do talk about.

doing that sort of summary with the food groups and then obviously I can go through the food diaries and the calls as well if needed. But yeah, I know that you raise a good point there. In terms of amounts of food that she needs, have you found that helpful by looking at the tutorials and the guides on how much protein she needs or how much fiber she needs? Have you found that helpful? definitely. It's helpful. Cause I'm sorry, I think as parents, we think that they need more than what they actually do need when we're

putting their dinner plate together or packing their lunchbox, we tend to overfill things. I was thinking that they need so much of this and so much of that, but they actually don't need as much as we think. So it's good to have the guidelines. And what about the label reading, the shopping, the supermarket, the snacks? How have you found that module in Sidenourishing Kids? I'm keen to know because it's a very hot topic and whenever I post something on social media,

It blows up in terms of everyone wants to know the snacks in the supermarket that are additive free or low sugar or low salt. My food reviews do really well because people need that information in a world where there's so much junk on our supermarket shelf. I'm interested to know how you found learning about that inside Nourishing Kids. Yeah. So before I joined Nourishing Kids, I would say my knowledge was okay.

From Overwhelmed to Empowered: How Nourishing Kids Transformed Our Mealtimes (30:16.992)
It was like added sugar I looked for and how many ingredients, because I know everyone says the least number, the better, but I didn't know much more beyond that. So I just know when I didn't buy her baby food prepackaged, I made it all, but I did buy her a couple of the pear and prune pouches that you can get. And I made sure I bought the ones that had no added sugar. And then I looked and made sure they didn't have.

But to see what the ingredients were and they two ingredients, pear and prune. But now since listening to your calls and reading your handouts, I'm looking far more at additives and colors and things like that too. And also you're saying sometimes the labels don't just say sugar, but they'll use other words that can be a little bit misleading and it still means sugar. think one of them was like puree or something or reconstituted or concentrated. And so now I'm looking at the back for those things as well. So I feel like.

much better at reading labels and I'm always reading food labels. do sometimes apologize to, because I've lengthened people's supermarket shop. No, in a good way. Like it's really good to know. And it's actually shocking sometimes as well, because you think something's healthy and then it turns out to be shocking because they've got some numbers in there that just link to hyperactivity and all sorts of things. you just, yeah, the average person I don't think knows that.

Look, it's so hard. It's so hard to know. And it's hard to know what's good and what's not good or what's allowed and what's not allowed. No, actually, I think a lot of foods that I should say additives that are allowed still potentially not great for our kids. And actually inside Nourishing Kids, I'm doing a masterclass on food additives in a couple of weeks. And that's going to be a new great discussion. And we're going to be talking about all of the additives. So.

We'll talk about the colours that are currently banned in other countries, but not here. We'll talk about preservatives, but we'll also go into sweeteners and all sorts of preservatives, sulfates, sulfites, benzites. And yeah, it is a mine for, we've got the cheat sheets already in Narration Kids, but I'll be going into it in more detail. So hopefully that further helps and you become even more of a supermarket labour reading guru.

Feeding with Love, Not Pressure: Nova’s Nourishing Kids Journey (32:33.91)
Yeah, no, look forward to that. Mr. Ted's welcome as well, of course, and Mr. Cheese. And sometimes your daughter pops onto the calls. It's so beautiful. She's so gorgeous. thank you. Gorgeous little thing. it's been an absolute pleasure chatting with you, Nova. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences, your thoughts, your views. And yeah, it's been wonderful chatting with you. So really appreciate your time.

Thanks, Karina. Thanks for having me. Well, that wraps up another episode of the Easy Feed. I must say I loved interviewing Nova. She's such a treasure. She's such a wonderful mom. She's such a wonderful mom to have inside nourishing kids. And I hope it was a good insight into, you know, her battles, her struggles. And I hope it was a good insight into her battles and her struggles.

how she has transformed her feeding approach, which has been life-changing, not only for her daughter in her eating habits, but for Nova and her husband as well. So thanks for listening. Don't forget to check out the show notes and head to Nourishing Kids. This is the only week that you can join. So don't be hasty there, and I look forward to chatting to you again soon. Bye for now.