Episode 78: An Interview with Amy Whiteford from Healthy Little Foodies

Episode 78: An Interview with Amy Whiteford from Healthy Little Foodies

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Amy from Healthy Little Foodies—a recipe creator, food scientist and mum whose practical, flavour-packed ideas have helped millions of families feed their kids with more confidence. I first discovered Amy years ago and was instantly struck by how doable, nutritious and genuinely child-friendly her recipes were. So I wanted to sit her down, pick her brains, and uncover the thinking behind her incredible approach to children’s nutrition.

We talk about how her global upbringing shaped her love of food, why feeding children feels harder than ever, and the simple routines that keep meals calm, predictable and enjoyable—even with a picky eater or a fussy eater in the mix. Amy also shares why patience in the kitchen matters more than any technique, what she wishes every parent understood about feeding, and the story behind her most unexpectedly successful recipe of all time.

If you’re looking for grounded, real-world guidance from someone who understands nutritious foods, quick easy food, and the realities of children’s nutrition, this conversation will absolutely support you.

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

Highlights:

Raising Healthy Little Foodies with Amy (00:00.158)
Raising Adventurous Eaters with Amy from Healthy Little Foodies (02:27.246)
Why There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Feeding Kids (04:42.986)
Put Your Child at the Center: A Better Way to Feed Kids (07:05.122)
Feeding Kids in the Age of Information Overload (09:21.27)
Cutting Through the Food Noise with Amy from Healthy Little Foodies (11:37.358)
Planting Food Seeds: Raising Confident Eaters Over Time (13:59.384)
Why Messy Cooking Builds Better Eaters (16:25.164)
Messy Kitchens, Confident Eaters (18:46.536)
Adapting to Kids’ Taste Buds (21:07.894)
Secret Ingredients Parents Swear By (23:24.462)
The Secret to Getting Kids to Eat Their Veg (25:52.59)
Raising Healthy Eaters in a Junk Food World (28:08.526)
Aisles of Temptation: Raising Healthy Eaters Today (30:26.38)
Raising Healthy Kids in a Fast-Food World (32:52.382)
Snack Smart, Eat Smart (34:42.304)
Healthy Little Foodies: Real Meals, Real Kids, Real Life (37:06.478)
Healthy Little Foodies (39:21.258)

Show notes

READ TRANSCRIPT

Show Notes

The early influences
How travel, family and exposure to diverse cuisines shaped Amy’s approach to food.

Why feeding kids feels harder today
The impact of social media, advertising and overwhelm on parents’ confidence.

The power of routine for fussy eaters
Why predictable mealtimes matter for appetite, calm and better eating.

Patience in the kitchen
How involving kids—even when messy—builds skills, confidence and long-term acceptance of nutritious foods.

The recipe that surprised everyone
The savoury muffin that became her most-visited recipe worldwide.

Join my Private Group! https://nourishwithkarina.com/privategroup

Healthy Recipes for Kids: https://nourishwithkarina.com/healthy-recipes-for-kids

The Three-Week Feeding Kids Reset https://nourishwithkarina.com/3weeks

Healthy Snack Supermarket Guide https://nourishwithkarina.com/3weeks

Healthy Kids Snacks & Lunchbox Planner https://nourishwithkarina.com/planner

Raising Healthy Little Foodies with Amy (00:00.158)
You're listening to the Easy Feed podcast episode number 78, an interview with Amy from Healthy Little Foodie. 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. has told a bachelor of food science.

She is a recipe creator. She holds a certificate in childhood nutrition. She is the recipe developer, photographer and voice behind Healthy Little Foodies. Originally from Scotland, she's currently living in Sydney, Australia, whilst raising two Healthy Little Foodies herself. You can find out more information about Amy at her website, healthylittlefoodies.com. So I wanted to interview Amy. wanted to pick her brains. I wanted to find out her secrets. So without further ado, let's dive into the podcast.

I am super excited today to have Amy from Healthy Little Foodies on the Easy Feed podcast. I first stumbled across Amy online years ago now, and I was so impressed with her recipes. They were delicious, so practical for parents that I really wanted to get her on to share her with all my listeners and to get more people moving to Healthy Little Foodies for their food inspiration for feeding their kids. Thanks for having me, Karina. I'm delighted to be on the podcast. Thank you.

So please tell me, where did this all begin for you? How did you get interested in food? Like what was it for you that, you know, made you think, yes, I want to get into food and making food and sharing recipes with the world. I think I've always enjoyed food. I grew up with a foodie mum who always made lots of different meals, had lots of dinner parties. I also spent a lot of time with my grandparents who loved to bake and cook and both me and my siblings just loved that.

But we also got to travel a lot and I think that was probably the biggest influence on how much we loved our food. We went to France, Italy, Hong Kong, Thailand for the whole summer because both my parents were teachers and we had lots of relatives that lived abroad. So it was really lucky to go and spend time there. And if you're there for six weeks, you get to see so much more and you go into the supermarkets, the cafes, the

Raising Adventurous Eaters with Amy from Healthy Little Foodies (02:27.246)
bakeries in the morning and you get to see so much. I think just as a young kid that to me it was all the different smells, the textures, the tastes just appealed to me. I never really thought I'd do a job in food until I was applying for university courses. I enjoyed science at school and I chose sciences at a higher level. And so when I was looking to apply for jobs, I was just trying to see what subjects would fit in well. I knew I didn't want to

study of street science. when I came across food science and nutrition, was like, this, this sounds like what I want to do. I applied for that and really enjoyed it. know, really resonated with me what you said about, I mean, I didn't get to spend six weeks in France, but whenever we travel, we like to spend as much time as we can in one place rather than spending two days here and two days there because...

You start to really immerse yourself and you can go to the supermarkets and you can start to live a bit more like the locals and you can see things that you wouldn't necessarily see if you were just flying through, you know, with a couple of nights stay. that's, my goodness, that's amazing that you got to spend all of that time. Yeah, we were very lucky to have relatives abroad as well. Very lucky. So good. And such different cuisines as well.

So what is your favourite cuisine? I'm interested. Um, probably Thai. Yeah. Thai or Indian or Mexican. like lots of, I love spice, chilli, anything with chillies. Yeah. My eldest isn't as keen, like not to the level that I would have chilli, but yeah, they all like the spice. So good. And that's a big.

That's a big thing. It's really what they're familiar with is what they'll tend to gravitate to, I think as adults. So yeah. And look, I grew up in an Italian home, basically like my mum's side's all from Northern Italy. And so I've grown up loving Italian food and that would be my food of choice. It's just, yeah, I guess it's what I know and what I love. And my kids love Italian food as well. But I do love other cuisines as well.

Why There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Feeding Kids (04:42.986)
And I'm really loving the Japanese style. went to Japan earlier in the year and I really loved the food over there as well. So, I mean, look, I love all food, probably a bit like you. yeah. We just bought from Japan as well. really? The boys loved it. Yeah. The food in Japan is so good. Yeah. And it really caters to all tastes and well, I guess not all tastes because it's very Asian. you know, we have different dietary, you know,

needs in our family and everyone loved it. Everyone loved eating it. mean, my daughter's vegetarian and it was a little more challenging to find vegetarian options. And you had to do your homework a little bit more. And my son, kind of need lactose reduced. And so that was a bit of a challenge trying to find low lactose milk in the supermarkets. But apart from that, like, you know, I felt that it was such good food. So, yeah, wonderful.

Well, as a food scientist and recipe creator, what is one thing that you wish every parent understood about feeding kids that some people don't? I just think that people need to understand that every child is different. And so what works for one child is not going to work for the other. And I think we're just bombarded with all this information. And I just think that if we...

understood that everyone is different and you know someone might just a child might just eat well by handing them the food others might need lots of exposure others might need to cook with you and go shopping with you a meal plan with you others might need to um have a lot more intervention and i think we have to step back and not blame ourselves and just

and go back to basics and just relax when we're feeding kids. I mean, what worked really well for me was a routine. My kids thrived on routines. So they knew when their food was going to be served, they had their three meals and their two snacks and they knew roughly at what time they were always not starving, but they were hungry when they came into meals. So they ate well because of that. So I found just having a simple routine and

Put Your Child at the Center: A Better Way to Feed Kids (07:05.122)
just treating my kids the way that they are rather than how the next door neighbor or friends kids were worked really well for me. So really just putting your own child at the center of everything. absolutely love that. And I think it's a nice reminder, I should say, when we see so much online about do this to get your fussy eater to eat or do this to get your child to eat.

What works for one family won't necessarily work for the other and so important to understand your child and put strategies in place that work for your child. And I love that. And a feeding routine is so crucial as well, because it just gives them comfort. Kids thrive on routine. And I remember I needed to get my kids into a better routine when they were younger. And when I did, it was incredible the difference it made.

Yeah, and definitely helps with snacking too, doesn't it? If they're snacking right up until dinner time. Oh yeah, definitely. And I know myself, if I've had the day of snacking, I don't even feel like the meal myself. So I always thought of that. was like, well, if I'm feeling like that, they're going to feel like that. And I know it's really difficult. You're out shopping or you're in the car and snacks are just an easy way to babysit, occupy kids when you're out and about and keep them quiet. And I think

It then is a vicious cycle. You're using all these snacks to keep them quiet or entertain them in certain ways. And then when it gets to meal time, they're not always hungry. So I always find just stricter routines work for my kids. think for me, I had to learn confidence with feeding. I feel like sometimes parents, myself included, lack, well lacked, I lacked the confidence to be firm. And, and sometimes

then the children have more say and power that they probably should. Yeah. So sounds like you had the confidence to say, no, this is the routine. And, and they responded to that and then therefore ate better because they had a bit of an appetite to eat. So yeah, I think that's really important. Why do you think feeding kids is so hard? And I feel like, I don't know if it's harder now than ever or maybe because I'm a parent now, but why do you think feeding kids is so hard?

Feeding Kids in the Age of Information Overload (09:21.27)
I think, as you mentioned, it's just we're overwhelmed with it. We've got so much advice at our fingertips. We just scroll on our phone and you see so much more information and the internet's not regulated. So you're paralysed with, this real? Who should I trust? Who should I be listening to? And you don't know what's credible. People are getting paid to say things. You don't know their intentions. So I think...

with all this information and being paralyzed, it undermines your confidence. I think when you feed someone with worry, kids can pick up on that as well. They can pick up on the fear, which then makes feeding even harder, I think. So thinker is that all this social media, but also all the advertising to kids and the explosion of all this packaged food that's marketed to kids.

I remember doing a study when I was at university, that was way back in the nineties, about marketing to kids then. But now it's just with us 24 seven. I never had such a problem when my kids were younger, but in the last couple of years, was it a couple of years ago that prime came out? My boys were like, we need the prime, we need the prime. And that was all advertising. And you yourself know that this is not what you want to be giving them.

Yep. know, that energy drink. Advertising. You're right. That energy drink, I reckon had probably the best marketing plan ever with the influences they use and they created like scarcity and urgency and they had all their kids totally hyped for it. was crazy. I remember my friend saying that her kids...

I think it was Valentine's day. And so she treated her kids on Valentine's day. So it must've been maybe Valentine's day, 2024, I reckon. And so she treated her kids, said, okay, today you can take my credit card. I'll pull up outside the 7-Eleven or wherever. Cause it was only a few places that you could actually buy the Prime. Yeah, was hard to get. Yeah. Again, it was scarcity. so, but it was $20 a bottle back then. And she said.

Cutting Through the Food Noise with Amy from Healthy Little Foodies (11:37.358)
Her, she's got three kids. And so she said to her son here, the elders, you go in, grab three bottles. And then we're done. Happy Valentine's day. And she said, she checked her credit card later on and it was $60, like from that 7-Eleven. And she almost died. She was not planning on spending 60 bucks on three, three prime drinks, but yeah, the marketing is insane, especially. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that don't get me started on that drink. It's got one of the sweeteners that is a really.

bad sweetener in it. anyway, I'm glad that the, even taste nice. No, it's disgusting. I'm glad the craze has gone there. you're right. don't even like it. Yeah, I know. Right. It's, it was all just wanted to be seen with it. And people were buying just the bottles to fill it up so they could go to school with their prime bottles. I want my 11 year old son to be 10 back then he goes.

I just have the bottles for my bedroom. I'm like, my gosh. Yeah, they're all lined up on their own. He's even got a little key ring that was a prime. We were all living the same dream back then, weren't we? that's funny. Okay. So back to you, your talent in the kitchen. If you could teach parents just one skill in the kitchen that would have the biggest impact on how they're today, what would it be?

Okay, I think it would be patience. I know that sounds strange as a skill in the kitchen, but it would be patience to be able to take your children into the kitchen to help. And when I say help, they're not helping. And that's why you need the patience because it's going to take you longer. It's going to make more mess. You're going to fall. You're going to get frustrated with them. But I do think getting kids involved in the kitchen is just...

got so many benefits to life, not just with what they're going to eat and their, you know, want to eat and try different things, but also for their academic skills as well. So I do think it's really good to bring your kids into the kitchen and you do need patience for that. I think kids who chop and like simple tasks, chopping, tearing up herbs, pushing buttons, my, we used to like pushing buttons on the food processor, spiralizing things like that.

Planting Food Seeds: Raising Confident Eaters Over Time (13:59.384)
They're just touching the food, they're tasting as they go along and they're becoming more familiar with different foods. And I think when they've helped with the process of making things, they're more inclined to try the foods that they've been involved with as well. I know it takes so much time for years and years, but as they get older, they've learned all the skills. Now my 14 and 11 year old are really good in the kitchen. So it was painful to begin with and I was trying to record these videos as well.

Um, but it's definitely paid off now. So yeah, I do think it's the biggest, is it a skill? Patience? More than any other kind of skill in the kitchen. It's definitely would be that for having an effect, I think on how your kids eat. love that. And I wouldn't have guessed that you would have said that, but I think that is so true. It takes me back to when my daughter was probably three and there would be oats all over the floor. There would be

flour everywhere, there would be way too much sugar that went into a recipe sometimes. But you know, fast forward down, she cooks cakes from scratch. She's cooking her own vegetarian meals. And as you say, you invest the time early and it pays off. And even though back then she may not have eaten exactly how I wanted it to. You're planting seeds that do grow, don't they? They grow over time. And I think I'm trying to do the same thing with my son.

And he is interested. probably just haven't put enough effort in with him, but he certainly does have the interest in cooking things, but yeah, probably just need to spend a bit more time with him because now I'm thinking, you know, look at how good your kids are cooking, I think we just need to spend the time. Yeah, it does take time. I mean, luckily my job involved that. And so when they were little, they were at home with me. So they would see me and they would be.

work with me doing all the recipe development and things like that. So it was easier for me because it was just part of my daily life. I know we're all strapped for time and slowing everything down by bringing your children in is probably the last thing that you want to do. But I really do think it helps if you've got a small, even at the weekends or some part of the day that you can bring them into the kitchen.

Why Messy Cooking Builds Better Eaters (16:25.164)
I think it's not only making the time, but it's also tolerating the mess. So it's the patience, the time and the mess because they do create a big mess, but it does plant seeds, doesn't it? And makes a big difference in the long run, empowers them. So have they been your greatest recipe testers? Have they influenced what's gone up onto social media and what hasn't? yeah, they've tested, tasted everything.

But because they're not that fussy, they seem to like everything. there's been a couple that were like, no, and we all agreed. But we've had to do things several times before we can get them right. yeah, if they don't like them, wouldn't. You wouldn't put them out. What's been your biggest... Not if they hate them, no.

What's been your biggest flop? Trying some of these viral recipes, like trying to make breads out of things. just, yeah, like not getting the textures right and the flavors. Yeah. Bizarre and yeah. Yeah. I tried to make this. What's your biggest one? This green, like a green goddess dressing. Another one was, I tried to blend up cannellini beans, butter beans into like a dip. That was a fail, but this green goddess dressing.

I just could not care. It was disgusting. It was so, and they ended up with so much of it. no. There's people swearing by that one. followed anyone else's recipe. think I was trying to make up my own. Now that's where the problem went. Well, that's where it went wrong, I should say, because, yeah, it was a fail, but that's okay. Like that's how we learn and that's how we get better recipes. Right. Which one surprised you the most? Which one?

weren't you sure about, but ended up being one of your most popular recipes of all time? Well, it's funny you say that because the one that's most popular was one that both boys liked it. They thought it was okay, but they're not wanting me to make it all the time. It was vegetable savory muffins. They have been my most popular recipe for about five, six years now. And by far on my site, this is the biggest one that people come to.

Messy Kitchens, Confident Eaters (18:46.536)
And I do get a lot of messages saying that people use them in their lunchboxes. I think they're convenient that way, little toddlers, they make mini ones for them for snacks out and about. So yeah, that's been the most popular, but both boys were like, yeah, it's all right, mum, their favorite, but they take, so I'm that one's done so well. So it just shows that every child is different. Yes, correct. Back to that philosophy. No, I love that. So is it pureed vegetables with

flour and cheese? that? The veggies aren't pure. There's, God, it's been so long since I made them. There's peas and yeah, there's, so there is chunks of vegetables in grated carrots and great zucchini, think. that. So it's kind of like a zucchini slice muffin. Yeah, lots of, yeah, just different, but yeah, and it is muffin-y. So I think kids love that texture of a muffin.

It is a way of getting a different flavor. Whereas my kids were like, that's not how a muffin should taste. Like the savory thing, I think, threw them a bit on the muffin. I like that though, because it mixes it up a bit. And then you don't have to worry about sugar because you're just not putting any sugar in there. It's more, that's probably something that I haven't really done as much. I think if I, if I think muffin, I think more sugar, like apple cinnamon, banana. I don't have salt in the recipe because I deemed it for.

babies and things, but when I put salt in the recipe, my boys like them. So I have got a note on the website saying for older kids that you could add salt and it just brings out the flavors more. This not having salt for the babies, just makes it taste quite bland. But it's great that you've got recipes that cater for both. And I think it's a really important point because as kids get older, their taste buds do evolve and they do.

get their friends packet of, know, tiny titties or barbecue shapes or whatever. And they do want those saltier, sweeter foods. I've noticed that with my kids as I've gone from being, you know, littleies, toddler, their age to primary school kids to my daughter now starting high school. They want those more sugary, more salty foods. And so for them to continue to eat the healthy foods, I've had to add a bit of extra sugar.

Adapting to Kids’ Taste Buds (21:07.894)
Or maybe add a bit of extra salt to increase the acceptance of these foods. They're still eating these foods overall, the rubbish in the supermarket. think that's a really important point because our kids taste buds do evolve and we have to adapt. Like we can't expect them to eat, as you say, like the no salt muffins because maybe they don't taste as good, but they're good for babies. So do you.

When you see a recipe that you want to cook, do you modify it or do you make it as per the recipe says? Like, you, I guess, hold yourself back from modifying it, making it bit more healthy or modifying it to suit your family? Or do you just follow it? If I'm making something for the website, I always modify it to be low in salt, sugar, because of the target audience. At home, I don't know if I've...

fully ever a hundred percent stick to if my husband is making something, he will stick to the recipe to a hundred percent. And if we're missing a tiny thing, I'll say that'd be fine. Just miss that. no. It says it in the, you would not deviate from a recipe. Whereas I would chuck things in. don't measure. Well, I use measurements if I'm writing a recipe, but if I'm just making it for the family, just by feel and taste. Yep. Yep.

So yeah, modify all the he cook for you very often? Not very often, no. The barbecue, the barbecue is his favorite. We got a new barbecue the other day. Literally it's the first time we've bought a barbecue in about 20 years, but it's really sparked my husband's, I guess, interest. And we've brought it up onto like our back area. So it's much easier to cook. It's not like down, you know, in this corner of the backyard. So.

Yeah. I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that that means we have lots more barbecues this summer and I'm not cooking as much. I mean, I prefer the salad. long as you don't have to do all the... Yeah. That's the thing you get. They just cook it. But actually he's quite good at following recipes like marinating chicken up for the day and just shoving it on the barbecue at night. So I try and say maybe one weekend day you could cook because you just... It's tiring, isn't it? Just do it all the time. Yeah.

Secret Ingredients Parents Swear By (23:24.462)
It's like relentless. feel like, yeah, it's, yeah, it falls on our shoulders 99 % of the time. So tell me, what are the three most underrated ingredients that parents should know about? Like what are the secret ingredients that you have up your sleeve that you will just slip into recipes that add nutrition or that make food taste delicious that is good for kids? I think, like, I do think frozen fruit and veg is so underrated because

Specially prepared, the frozen veg is all chopped for you, it's washed for you, it's cleaned for you, everything's done for you. So it's quick to add into stir fries or you can get the riced veggies that you could put into sauces and things and you've got even like chopped onions now. So there's, if you are on a time restraint, you've got everything and I just find special for slow cooker meals or fast stir fries that frozen veg is.

So underrated because nothing goes to waste. It's usually cheaper and it's always fresh. So that would be my number one. You'll find that there's a lot of lentil recipes on my website, mainly red lentils. think red split lentils because it's the most popular in Scotland. So that's what I've grown up with. So I use them a lot and I love how the red lentils are soft for babies and toddlers. I've used, you know, we've got lentil bakes and

Lentil pancakes and lentil bolognaises and lasagnas on the website, lentil pasta sauce and things like that. So I've used them a lot. again, they're shelf-sable. They don't go to waste. So if you don't get around to using them, it's still good. And you can make the sauces up, freeze them for convenience on your busier nights. We have a lot of Greek style yogurt.

I know that's not underrated. I always think that everyone talks about how great the yogurt is, but we use it a lot. My son will come home from school and chop up fruit and have it with just the plain yogurt. We use it to make dips and sauce and in salad dressings. They love it if I put yogurt in the salad dress and then they eat so much more of the veggies if it's covered in a creamy yogurty sauce. So I use that a lot.

The Secret to Getting Kids to Eat Their Veg (25:52.59)
Greek yogurts could eat as well. maybe spices and herbs. Spices and herbs, yeah. And they're super nutritious as well, and they make it taste good. I think sometimes people are worried to use them for babies, but unless you're adding, you know, chilli powder, like they're really, they're good. And you look at all the pouch baby food and always has lots of herbs and things like that to flavor it instead of salt. I love the idea of using yogurt as a dressing to increase.

them eating vegetables increase the consumption. So they might have one asparagus without the yogurt dip. And if you put more on it, they might eat more or broccoli or whatever the vegetable is. love using yogurts and sauces and you know, dipping whatever you want to dip it in to increase their acceptance. And I think that's a great way to try and get kids to eat more vegetables or using olive oil and lemon and you know, those nice natural flavor enhancers and healthy flavor enhancers, I should say.

not the stuff that you see in the supermarket. Yeah, definitely. So good. And just the way you cook the vegetables can change the way that they're accepted. By adding olive oil and roasting them can make them sweeter and more like my kids love it that way then with a yogurt dressing on top rather than just steamed veg is maybe not as popular in our house. So yeah, the yogurt dressings and adding olive oil or butter or

salt now that they're older and things just to enhance their flavors really help. Yeah. And that's where your food science knowledge comes in, doesn't it? Culinary nutrition. I was at a conference recently and it was so interesting how they, you know, acidic like lemon juice to release flavors or to compliment flavors. it's a whole new world of, you know, well, it's not a new world. It's been there, but it's super interesting to me to look at how these flavors combine and

You know, for our kids, just simply using good quality olive oil or whatever's affordable, you know, putting olive oil or lemon juice or an avocado dip or a yogurt dip, just to enhance the flavor and get kids eating, you know, enjoying, should say more vegetables rather than, you know, like a soggy steamed broccoli that's sitting on its own, that's like plopped onto the plate. So your children are a similar age to mine. Are you at all concerned about the...

Raising Healthy Eaters in a Junk Food World (28:08.526)
type of foods that our children are eating or exposed to in the supermarket shelves. We've talked a bit about food marketing and advertising to our kids, but do you think that we as parents should be worried or do you think there is concern or that anything needs to change in terms of our future generation of children and how we're looking after them and how they're going to be eating moving forwards? What are your thoughts on that? I think it's so hard because

I have been extremely lucky with both my boys, they've always been good eaters. But I would say now is the hardest time I've had really because just the independence now has been in the second year of high school and he needs to a couple of buses to get home. In that second stop before the next bus, of course, it's McDonald's, there's Woolies, there's all the food joints and he goes with his friends all the time and I'm

always getting at like that I don't want to make it too negative so I'm trying to say remember if you're doing your sports you should be filling your body with but it's not just the amount of rubbish that he's eating with his friends like they go to Woolies I know he's buying bags of lollies like I can just figure it out by his bank transactions I'm like I've worked so hard and you are such a good eater and not a fussy eater but you're just drawn to this

whether it's with friends, advertising, or just because they taste good, you know, so I'm finding that really difficult just now. But I do remember when I went off to university, being away from home, I grew up in a smaller town, so there was no access to anything like McDonald's or anything like that when I was in high school. But when I went to university, I

did exactly the same. bought rubbish for my first year and I'm sitting in classes learning about nutrition and food science and then all of us were going out and buying. And I think after a small amount of time of doing that, I grew out of it and went back to eating better. And I'm just hoping that that he does as well. But it is so hard for everyone because it's everywhere.

Aisles of Temptation: Raising Healthy Eaters Today (30:26.38)
Like everywhere we go, we walked down aisles of temptation and marketing to us. And even the food that's meant to be healthy to us, falsely advertising how great they are. It's just so difficult to interpret and choose. And temptation, think is the biggest thing. But yeah, definitely finding it harder now. But I do think, like I have Google alerts up.

for processed food and everything. I've got Google alert come up with when articles come up on that. And there is so many more articles now talking about it and how people are very anti all the foods. So I wonder if we're going to start maybe seeing a shift back to simplicity. I don't know. hope so. Convenient foods are always going to grow. don't Well, I think you're right. I think they're at an age where

They're invincible and everything, you know, they're just going to eat what they want. If they've got the money and the lollies there or the chocolates there or the maccas there, they're going to eat it because they're invincible. tastes good. And maybe that's a maturity thing in their mind. But I think also, I reckon your children, those seeds have been beautifully planted and they will come back to healthy eating once they get through this stage. And I'm hoping that the same happens in my children. Because, you know, I think they'll. Yeah.

Yes, you do. I try and put it onto the money. I'm like, do you know how much this is costing you? Like I try and instead of, what's going on? This is not good for your body at all. I try and say, if you want to save up for such and such, you cannot be spending more money than you're earning going to fast food joints and buying all this stuff. And he's like, I'm going to start only putting

this amount of money into my spend money a week. I don't know. he says a lot of things. reckon when it's on a card versus actual cash, I don't seem to realize that there's actually money. Do you know what mean? You just tap and it, I don't know, in terms of the psychology of how much money is literally going down the drain. think it might be different if they actually had coins, but not who has coins these days, right?

Raising Healthy Kids in a Fast-Food World (32:52.382)
I think it's an age and a stage thing and I just hope that they come back to what they were familiar with growing up. And I think they will. I think it's just a stage, but I do agree. And you want to be social and you want them to be able to hang around with their friends and not feel like they're different in any way. there's all that side of it as well. Totally. Yeah, it is. And sometimes the healthier food, like my son was like, can I get an acai the other day?

All his mates were doing it. So I was like, sure, but you know, they're like $12, $15 versus a slushy $3.

the healthy foods actually more expensive, which is annoying that, it's hard. Yeah, you walk down the supermarket aisles and it's just full of rubbish. I do agree with you, the more awareness and the more it's discussed, hopefully we are moving. It's really about the parents educating the kids and it's just those, you know, continuous subtle messages, but you know, it's also managing it because

I think we need to acknowledge that kids are going to eat this stuff. It's just about how much they're going to eat. Luckily it's not affected his appetite at home. Like he'll come home and still eat a full meal, at least he's then eating good food then. And it'll be when he starts eating that and then no longer wants to eat. The good food. The good food. Yeah. Of course he's a 14 year old boy who wants to bulk up and that's all the new thing that he's wanting to do.

Yeah, times are changing. I'm not ready for this. I've got one last question for you. What is one recipe on your website, Healthy Little Foodies, that you wish every parent would make this week? Because it's a fantastic recipe. I mean, we've heard about your veggie, say free muffins, and I'm definitely going to be checking them out.

Snack Smart, Eat Smart (34:42.304)
And what's, what's another one? They give us another one that's a really big win for nutrition, for sanity, makes you feel good that your kids are getting some goodness into them, but they still like it. Well, my kids' favorite and one of my favorites because of how easy it is, it's baked chicken fajitas. And what I like about it is it takes me 10 minutes to prep it in the morning. I put it all onto a large baking, put it in the fridge and then the oven does all the work.

when you're busy coming home from sports and stuff like that. The boys love it because they just love eating fajitas, tacos, anything like that. They love their Mexican style food and they like that family meal style of choosing their toppings, their guac and their cheese and their yogurt toppings and things like that. So I think it's a good meal for being a good interactive meal, a good meal for children.

like feeling like they're in control because they plate it up themselves and a good meal for the parents because it's so easy and quick. I've actually got in the fridge for tonight. do you? That's so good. So what do you prep in the morning? Like what would I do tomorrow morning to prep for these? So just chop the onions, the, tap skin onions and the, chicken and then just in the spices.

and just let it sit, chopped it all up, sliced up the chicken and let it all sit in the pan, bakery for the day. And then it's just a case of putting it in the oven. I can also make up the guac, but the boys usually do that and grate some cheese and things like that. So amazing. Well, no, I don't know. There's a lot more that doesn't go so well. The food side's okay. There's a lot of other sides. Not so good.

We're all the work in progress, right? So tell me Amy, how can they find you and find out more about you and have the little foodies? Okay. So my website is www.healthylittlefoodies.com and there's an about page and a start here page that you can find out more about the site and the page. And then my social media is Healthy Little Foodies for Instagram and Facebook.

Healthy Little Foodies: Real Meals, Real Kids, Real Life (37:06.478)
TikTok as well, but I have not been on there for a long time. and Pinterest is H little foodies. Yeah. Just wasn't enough for healthy little foodies, but the rest are all healthy little foodies. So easy to find. And you have a lot of recipes online and on your website, like huge amount of amazing recipes, right? A couple, a few hundred. Hundreds, hundreds of free.

great recipe. So basically you just pick your category and what you feel like making or what you your children to eat more of. I'm definitely going to check out the fajitas and also the muff. I'm going to check out more of the recipes, but I'm going to look for those veggie muffins as well. so there's a section now I've started to add. not the older recipes don't have it all yet, but I've started to add a section for babies just because that's the question I get asked most. When can my

what age is the soup of urine. So for the recipes, it breaks down how you would maybe remove a portion for your baby and how best to serve it. So if you've got a six month old onwards, but also got a toddler and you want to make one meal for the whole family, there's just little notes on how to remove for smaller ones and how to serve it on that. So that's on the newer recipes. I am trying to go back and putting it on all.

wow. It's just that that's what's asked most. Yeah. How do I adapt this to? I think that's fantastic. And it means that parents just have to cook one meal because at the end of the day, that's what we want, right? Just to cook one meal and then adapt it to suit all ages. So that's brilliant. well, thank you for your time and effort doing that. No problem. It's just that is what gets asked most. So I've just started doing it. I don't even know if people notice it, but I haven't been asked as much so.

Probably is. Well, I'm definitely going to check it out and I'm sure everyone who's listening to this podcast episode will. And I just want to say a huge thank you for your time, for your thoughts, for your expertise, for sharing so many wonderful recipes and for speaking with me today. Thank you. It's been great fun. Thank you.

Healthy Little Foodies (39:21.258)
I will wrap it up there. hope that's been a good one for you. If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review. It really helps the podcast to get out to more parents so we can help more and more parents. And if I can help one more parent every week to take the stress out of feeding their kids and give them some quick and easy wins, then I'm achieving what I wanted to with this podcast. So thanks for being here and I hope you have a great week. Bye for now.