Originally from Scotland, I am currently living in Sydney, Australia and loving it. Running Healthy Little Foodies is now my job, which I try to fit around the busy life of being a Mum.
My Qualifications
I have always had an interest in food and I have a BSc (Hons) degree in Food Science and Marketing.
My degree involved me studying food science, food microbiology, nutrition, the psychology of eating and drinking, sensory science, food law and many other food-related subjects, all of which have shaped my knowledge and understanding of food.
My studies, along with my experience working in the food industry has made me very aware of the clever marketing tricks that manufacturers and retailers use to encourage both kids and adults to buy food. These days, food is often picked depending on the attraction and temptation of the label on the front of the food packaging. For kids, this might be a cartoon character and for adults, this may be misleading claims (healthy, light, 99%fat free etc)
I also have a postgraduate in teaching, and my time spent as a primary school teacher has made me realise that children learn in different ways and no two children are the same.
Some children are easily able to grasp a math concept just by listening to a teacher explain it, other need to be taught several times, some children need concrete materials to help them understand and some learn best when they are asked to research and “teach’ their findings.
Just like in the classroom, our children are very different when it comes to eating. Some children will happily eat whatever is served in front of them, others may need more exposure, some need to have more involvement (via shopping, cooking, planting, menu planning etc) and others need a sense of control (having a choice of 2 to 3 options).
Finally, in the five years, I have been running “Healthy Little Foodies” I have spoken to a vast amount of parents and have a good understanding on how difficult and stressful feeding kids can be. Which lead to me working with Lara to create these funky recipe storybooks.
