Food For Kids

FFK104: Why school food matters even if your child doesn't eat them

Today’s episode is about school food and it’s a topic which is very close to Joanne's heart because she worked in school food for a number of years and knows first hand how incredibly important it is. There have been a lot of changes to school food over the years, and this episode walks through the history of school dinners and some of the negative and positive changes. The government has put out some proposals in 2026 for further changes and the episode talks through how to have your say about them. It also explains why school dinners matter even if your child takes a packed lunch and how we can all help to improve them. Every child is different and many children have difficulties with eating which make accommodations necessary but this episode looks at how school dinners matter even if your child takes a packed lunch and how we can all help to improve them for our children. Links in this episode: Research examples about the nutritional balance of school meals and packed lunches: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10271449/ [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10271449/] https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e029688 [https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e029688] https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-science/news/article/4522/children-s-packed-lunches-lack-nutritional-quality [https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-science/news/article/4522/children-s-packed-lunches-lack-nutritional-quality] Article on the cost of living effect on packed lunch quality: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/kids-food-guarantee-update-packed-lunches-may-2024 [https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/kids-food-guarantee-update-packed-lunches-may-2024] Longitudinal study on the effect of school meals on reduction in fussiness: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.70063 [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.70063] Food for Life programme: https://www.foodforlife.org.uk/ [https://www.foodforlife.org.uk/] Government proposals for changes: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/supporting_documents/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework-government-consultation-large-print-verpdf [https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/supporting_documents/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework-government-consultation-large-print-verpdf] Dietitian Charlotte Stirling Reed's blog explaining the proposals: https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2026/04/new-uk-school-food-standards/ [https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2026/04/new-uk-school-food-standards/ ] Have your say on the proposals: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/consultation/intro/ [https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/consultation/intro/] Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

FFK103: How to store and use up lettuce and salad leaves, and some recipes

This episode is part of a monthly series where Joanne runs through some ideas to reduce food waste and save money by storing foods well and using them up effectively. This episode is about lettuces and salad leaves so there are some ideas about how to store alliums to make them last longer, and stop them going off. This includes how to store them in the kitchen, how to freeze them and how to dry them. And then there are a few good ideas on how to use up leftover lettuce and salad leaves - either surplus from a recipe or coming out of the garden. The episode includes our monthly Q&A with Kate Hall from The Full Freezer on how to freeze lettuce and salad leaves and different ways to use them. Links in this episode: Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on lettuce: https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CeozokxIwP6/ [https://www.instagram.com/canifreezeit/reel/CeozokxIwP6/] Kate’s Can I Freeze It? Video on spinach: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEJVs7OgHbh/ [https://www.instagram.com/p/CEJVs7OgHbh/] Kate's website: https://www.thefullfreezer.com [https://www.thefullfreezer.com] Dehydrating greens for powder: https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/homemade-green-powder/ [https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/homemade-green-powder/] Links to recipe suggestions mentioned in the episode are in the shownotes at https://www.thefoodies.org/ffk103/ [ https:/www.thefoodies.org/ffk103/] Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

FFK102: Nutrition for teen athletes and sporty children, with Ellie King

Hello and welcome to the food for kids podcast, I’m Joanne from the foodies. Today’s episode is for the parents who have sporty kids in their house and want to know if they should be doing something special with their food to help them. You can’t scroll for more than a minute on social media now without seeing someone telling you to eat more protein, eat more fibre, eat your way to your exercise goals. Some of it is based in some nutritional science, lots of it is taken out of context and only really intended for professional athletes or serious weight trainers. And some of it is just plain inaccurate. But even if you manage to navigate which advice to listen to as an adult who does a lot of sport, how does any of it apply to child or teen athletes? Do you need to do anything different with food if your child is just sporty but not unusually so? If they’re in a serious team? If they train every day? Or if they perform at a high level? It’s easy to worry about whether you could be helping them more with their sport if you just knew what to do with their food. Because there is so much inappropriate information out there, I wanted some one properly qualified to answer this, with expertise in both sport nutrition and children’s nutrition. I invited Ellie King on to answer your questions. Ellie is a Registered Paediatric Dietitian, as well as an accredited Sports Nutritionist, and the founder of Fuel + Thrive Nutrition. Drawing from her background as a competitive swimmer, she helps adolescent athletes and sports families build practical, performance-focused nutrition habits that support health, wellbeing, and sporting success. Ellie combines her clinical expertise with that specialist sports nutrition knowledge and experience, to translate evidence-based nutrition into practical strategies that help young athletes thrive both in sport and in the rest of their life. Links in this episode: Ellie's website: https://sites.google.com/fuelandthrivenutrition.co.uk/unlockyourpotential/home [https://sites.google.com/fuelandthrivenutrition.co.uk/unlockyourpotential/home ] Ellie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuelandthrivenutrition/ [https://www.instagram.com/fuelandthrivenutrition/] Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

FFK101: How to get my child to eat pulses or legumes - beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas.

Today’s episode is part of our series of how to get kids to eat more of something, and today it’s the turn of pulses or legumes, so beans, lentils and peas. I don’t think I need to explain in too much detail why it’s great to help kids to like legumes. So you want to have more pulses in your family’s food, but how to get your child to accept them? As with our other epsiodes on this, we’re not actually aiming to get our kids to do anything. We are finding ways to give children opportunities to build familiarity with a food and try it when they feel comfortable, or building foods into or alongside familiar foods so they feel comfortable to eat. In this episode Joanne gives some suggestions of dishes where the beans or lentils are obvious to see and taste, and some where they are mixed or blended in so their texture might be easier to cope with for some children. But as usual even when we are mixing things in together, the idea is not to hide them and pretend they are not there, if asked you can always tell the truth or allow them to help to prep them. Hiding and sneaking only builds distrust. But there is nothing wrong with blending or mixing things in to make foods easier to approach and just be honest if asked. The episode gives lots of ways to get more beans, lentils and peas into your family’s food. And there are lots of recipes in the shownotes. Links in this episode: Why beans are so good for us: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/TFF_Beans%20Facts_DIGITAL_0.pdf [https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/TFF_Beans%20Facts_DIGITAL_0.pdf] Food Foundation Bang In Some Beans campaign: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/bang-in-some-beans [https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/bang-in-some-beans] Recipe ideas in the shownotes at: https://thefoodies.org/ffk101 [https://thefoodies.org/ffk101] Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

FFK100: Five May seasonal meals, easy and family friendly

In this episode of the Food for Kids podcast, Joanne shares simple, family-friendly meal ideas using seasonal produce available in May. 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 all the recipe ideas are in the shownotes at https://thefoodies.org/ffk100 [https://thefoodies.org/ffk100] Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat