April 28, 2024 • 24 mins
Send Katie a Message with Your Questions/Thoughts! :)
There’s no getting around it– mealtime is often the most stressful time for many families. The weight that we feel as primary caregivers to make sure our kids have all the nutrition they need and to even get them to eat what we serve at all can be really frustrating...
In today’s episode, we’re going to unpack several ways to support ourselves in preparing simple and healthy meals for our families, as well as how to intentionally involve our kids in the process!
Whether you're fully plant-based or simply looking to incorporate more veggies into your family's diet, you'll discover tips for involving children in the kitchen and fostering a love for wholesome foods from an early age.
Hi, I’m Katie – a mama, coach & podcaster focused on supporting eco-minded mamas to live sustainably: saving thousands of dollars and living a life that is in alignment with their core values so they can care for their families and their environment! I’m here today with Julia, mama of 2 and plant-based recipe creator over at the Power Plant blog! Let’s get into it…
Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
- Power Plant Blog
- Power Plant Instagram
- HAPPENING INSIDE THE ECO-MINDED MAMA COLLECTIVE: unpacking a sustainable master plan for meal prep -- from planning to grocery shopping to batch prepping food, we'll go through challenges together, save money, brainstorm problems & solutions, celebrate wins, and take part in our monthly giveaway! Hope to see you on the inside! 💖
P.S. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode and follow us on Instagram & TikTok @ecomindedmama to stay connected! ✨
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Katie Kurpanek (00:00):
Okay mamas there is no getting around it.
(00:02):
Mealtime is often the moststressful time for many
families, every mom that Italked to, at least in my own
circles, says the same thing,the way that we feel as often
the primary caregivers to makesure that our kids have all the
nutrition that they need, or toeven get them to eat the food
that we serve in the firstplace. That can be so
(00:23):
frustrating. So in today'sepisode, we're going to unpack
several ways to supportourselves in preparing simple
and healthy meals and snacks forour families, as well as how to
intentionally involve our kidsin that process. I'm Katie, I'm
a mom of a coach and a podcasterfocused on supporting eco minded
mamas to live sustainably,saving 1000s of dollars and
living a life that is inalignment with their core values
(00:45):
as they care for their familiesand the earth. I'm here today
with Julia, a mama of two andplant based recipe creator over
at the power plant blog. Solet's get into it. Julia, will
you share a bit about yourselfand your story with us first,
how did you get into all ofthis? Hi, Katie.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (01:04):
So I really got into this when I had
my kids. I was a I was anomnivore before that, and then a
vegetarian for a bit. And I cameacross this book. I don't know
some of you might have heard ofthe China Study. Yeah, yeah,
quite an intense book. I'm notgoing to talk too much about it.
You can read it if you're fine.
Find the time. But it should. Itjust shocked me beyond words
(01:26):
where they kind of learn aboutdiet and what we did what we get
into our body with with meat anddairy. And I basically more or
less from one day to the nextdecided that this is not what I
wanted to kind of have in mylife anymore. And at this point,
my kids were probably about one,I've got twins, so very, at the
same age. So yeah, it was asteep learning curve, for sure,
(01:48):
because I got some quiteupset you harsh critics is maybe
a bit exaggerated. But peopledefinitely made this decision
with skepticism.
You know, some said, Oh, it'sone thing if you do that for
yourself, it's not safe forchildren and so on and so forth.
I'm sure some of you will havehave come across this as well.
(02:09):
So I made it my mission to learneverything there is to know
about the plant based kind oflifestyle and diet and what to
look out for. But to make surethat we get and and I just
really just really became likemy number one passion. Also, you
know, as much as I love animals,and it was an ethical decision
(02:29):
as well obviously, I would notuse my children as guinea pigs.
So I do things properly. Andsomehow I found that there
weren't an awful lot of recipesout there that I thought were
like, nutritiously as sound andas varied as I'd wanted them to
be. So I started to create myown and eventually I thought you
(02:51):
know what, I could just postthem so almost to create my very
own online recipe library formyself in a way. And then it
just became quite popular and Ireally enjoyed it and one thing
led to the next and here we are.
I love that I and I've never hadmeat in their lives or the area
and they're doing absolutelyfine. Yeah, here we are. Yeah,
Katie Kurpanek (03:14):
that's amazing.
I think that's so great. Andyeah, your your recipes online,
I'll have all the resourceslinked below. But the the
recipes online, your Instagram,you at least currently are
always sharing like your lunchboxes for your kids every day.
And it's just amazing to me, thevariety that your kids eat,
because how old are your twinsagain? You You said you started
(03:35):
this when they were one. But howold are they? Well,
Julia, Power Plant Blog (03:39):
they're nine now.
Katie Kurpanek (03:40):
They're nine.
Okay, yeah, so eight solid yearsof this nine. And that's amazing
that to me at that age, they areeating the rainbow. You know,
you hear that phrase likethey're eating all the colors.
It's so amazing to me. And Ireally want to pick your brain
because even parents who mightbe listening to this podcast and
are not really interested inbeing like fully plant based or
(04:03):
vegan or anything, they, theycould probably relate to the
struggle of just getting theirkids to eat vegetables at all,
like any colors. So I'd love topick your brain. How did you get
your kids like involved in thisprocess with you like even being
on board with what you'reserving them?
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (04:25):
I think obviously it helps when
you start from such a young agebecause they simply don't know
any different now. But then Ialso get lots of comments on
Instagram on my lunch boxes, forexample. People are really sweet
and lovely. But a lot of peoplesay Oh, you're so lucky that
your children eat this. And italways makes me laugh a little
bit because it was far fromeasy. It still is far from easy.
(04:46):
You know, like any child likespage food, crisps and or chips
in the States or any sort ofnugget thing whether or not it's
meeting it or not based food isvery popular with children. and
to get them to eat spinach andkale and all these kinds of
things, it's not it's not a walkin the park, that there's
absolutely no way around it ifthey learned from a very early
(05:12):
age, to just try these thingsand to get used to the flavors,
and also to be told, obviously,this gets a bit easier with age,
you can tell them a bit moreabout it, you can tell them what
it does to the body, etc. It'shard when that when they're
three years old and just pickyand wanting to throw things on
the floor. But I do believe thatif you incorporate something
(05:34):
over and over again, even ifthey really despise it to start
with, they will eventually justthink you know what it keeps
appearing on my plate, it's,it's just something she does
something we have, it becomes alittle bit of like a home
comfort, it's like a flavor thatyou know, and it's just
something that happens in yourhouse. Sure, you have some
(05:55):
memories of your childhood, likecertain foods that you maybe
didn't love, but they just keptappearing on your plate. And
eventually you just get on withit, don't you, you know, and if
you're hungry, everything tastesgood. So I think the more
variety you can include from anearly age, even if it's small
quantities, but just loads,loads of varieties, different
(06:16):
different plants, whole grains,nuts, legumes, seeds, you know,
all these things, obviously,from the appropriate age, I used
to pure everything when theywere small I was I was finding
that easier. Some people gostraight to, to finger foods,
but with twins, it was just abit of a mess. But then you can
pure anything, though and makeit tasty, and they'll eat it.
(06:38):
And then suddenly, when theyactually see it as an actual
vegetable, they start to bepicky. So you know, it's no one
said it was gonna be easy, but Ithink it's worth it. And I think
it's it really pays off down theline. And it sets certain food
patterns for life. I believethat also kids who know how to
eat, I would say properly, youknow, like from scratch cooked
(07:02):
from scratch, actual real foodrather than Ultra processed
things and, and ready meals andstuff like that. I think they
will always have a tendency,even if they go through a bit of
a face during teenage yearswhere they go to McDonald's or
whatsoever, they will probablyfind their way back. And then
maybe that's wishful thinking.
But I do think that if you knowit from a young age, you will
(07:24):
probably keep it up in one wayor another for for your life.
That's what I hope for anyway.
Yeah.
Katie Kurpanek (07:35):
And I think that what stands out to me about what
you said is, and this issomething that resonates based
on all of the experts, like youknow, nutritional experts and
pediatricians and everyone thatI've been trying to learn from
as a mom, because I do have athree year old right now.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (07:50):
It's a hard age, three years old.
Katie Kurpanek (07:53):
It's hard he is all of a sudden in this super
picky phase. And yeah, it wasn'talways that way. But I think
what you said about exposure,that's the key from what I keep
hearing at least just like, Ilove how you worded it that it's
about, you know, this is justsomething mom does, this is just
something that we do in ourhome, this, you know, kale or
(08:16):
whatever it is just keepsshowing up on my plate. Because
over and over and over. If it'sthere, even if they're not, you
know, eating it, and our job isto not force them to eat
anything. But if it's thereeventually I mean, I talked to
this one. What was she she wassome sort of a feeding
therapists like a swallowingspecialist or something. She
(08:39):
said that her daughter, like,would not touch asparagus
absolutely hated asparagus. Andthen all of a sudden, one day
when she was six years old, shejust picked up a piece of
asparagus because it was stillon her plate consistently. And
she just started eating it as ifshe had always been eating it.
Like it can
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (08:55):
be frustrating as a mom as well,
because you feel that you'repushing and push as in, you have
to work so hard. And thensuddenly, they make it so easy.
You know, it can change from oneday to the next as well. It's
got so much to do with theirmental develop development as
well. I think a lot of therefusal three years, for
example, is this sort of powergame, isn't it, they're trying
(09:18):
to gain some independence andnot eating what you're told to
eat is like, the perfect momentto, to kind of you know, have a
little strop and try and fightmummy a bit. It's very
unpleasant for us,unfortunately, but I think we
all have to get through it. AndI do also think maybe it's a bit
old fashioned, but every now andagain it kind of pays off to
(09:39):
just put your foot down a littlebit. Yeah. You know, they try
and it doesn't change with ageto be to be honest. It's just
other things. It's that constantkind of finding the balance
between being super strict, butalso obviously being
understanding and you know, I dosort of give Mike It's two or
(10:00):
three things that they canchoose that they refuse to eat.
One of my sons will not touch abanana over his dead body never
has done. And I'm not forcinghim to eat a banana. I think
it's bananas and avocados forhim.
Katie Kurpanek (10:15):
I still maybe like a texture thing or
something. Yeah, think it is.
Julia, Power Plant Blogge (10:19):
Yeah.
But as a as a tennis player, asI said, How can you? How can you
even think about a tennis careerwithout eating bananas? But I
think you know, we have to cutthem some slack and give them
some little little bit offreedom where they can, where
they feel like they have a bitof authority, I suppose, or
freedom to choose what theywant. But I can be a bit strict
(10:42):
as well, that's for sure. I justanything will taste good.
Basically, that's how I wasbrought up. And that's one of
the things that I think,essentially, I believe that's,
that is true, right? We've allbeen there. Oh, yeah.
Katie Kurpanek (11:00):
Well, that kind of, you know, goes into my next
question that I had for you,which was, how do you approach
and you've touched on this alittle bit now. But how do you
approach introducing new andpotentially suspicious foods to
your children like they now atthe age that they are, there's
probably not a lot of foods thatare new to them? Because you've
been doing this for, you know,eight plus years? But maybe when
(11:23):
they were younger? Did you haveany strategies that you found
effective, or ways that youtalked about the foods that
you're putting on their platewhen they feel very, like
skeptical about it first?
Julia, Power Plant Blogge (11:37):
Yeah, it's not easy, but I think some
things you can cheat a littlebit. And for example, I used to
make a lot of mash out ofabsolutely everything, you know,
you can put cauliflower butterbeans, you can make all colored
mash. Now you can make theseorange mashes that are made of
red lentils and sweet potatoesand carrots and butternut
squash, and you can put whateverin there. So there's, but then
(12:00):
obviously, you're hiding thingsa little bit, which isn't
necessarily what you want to do,because you want them to know
what they're eating and actuallylike it because of what it is,
right. But when they're small, Ialways felt like this is quite a
good way to kind of get them toget used to the taste. And then
you can say you did actuallyhave butternut squash yesterday
and you enjoyed it. So why notyou try it roasted today.
(12:22):
Another thing I've always doneis like if I have any greens,
you know sort of spinach or kaleor or Swiss chard or anything, I
just lightly fry it or or steamit. And then sometimes I blend
it together with pesto, you canbe like it's doable vegan pesto.
Yeah, I mean, simply just sortof pimp your pesto. That's what
(12:43):
I call it. And you can get quitea lot of greens into into some
pesto. Yeah, some people maymake the just like a green sauce
sauce, you can mix it with yourpastor. But for me, I think if I
mix it with with pesto, thenthey'll have it has the source
is always a great generally agreat way. I mean, you can put
(13:05):
so many different vegetablesinto a tomato sauce, as long as
they're quite small, and you frythem a bit and season them
nicely at some lentils or somesoya beans. And they'll they'll
eat a or in a lasagna, samething. So you know, you can
cheat your way around it alittle bit. But eventually, I
think it's also helpful to justjust tell them and say, Look,
(13:28):
this is this new thing I canmake. What was it? romanesco you
know, that sort of greenlooking? Broccoli slash
cauliflower thing? Oh, yeah.
Yeah. It's really beautiful.
It's a very beautiful vegetablevegetable. And the boys were
like, What is this? I've notseen this. This looks weird. I
said, look at it. Look howbeautiful it is, like absolutely
(13:49):
a piece of art. And we had agood look there and they chopped
it and then we sort of cooked ittogether and and then they were
interested to try it out to makea bit of a bit of a thing out of
it. And still, they can stillgive you the whole now not don't
like it don't want it don't wantto look at it. Yeah, it's you
(14:12):
know, there's no straightforwardway. But I find that explaining
things helps. Yeah, yeah. Andyou send them with it and say
this is your plate and you haveto eat it now. Oh, yeah. It's
Katie Kurpanek (14:27):
like when you do that, and you're kind of digging
your heels in. I think it justcauses them to dig their heels
in even more and then it becomesthis power struggle which is
benefiting nobody. But But yeah,I mean, I totally agree that I
think getting your kids involvedin the process of shopping or
preparing or cooking the foodbaking the food however you can,
(14:51):
at least in my experience hastotally upped the chance
increases the chance that youwill we'll at least be open to
trying it because he wasinvolved in the process. So what
are some of the ways that thatyou often have your kids, you
know, involved? I mean, they'reolder now. So they could
probably be very involved in thecooking process. But could you
(15:13):
give like maybe a little recapof your journey through that?
How did you involve them whenthey were younger? And How
involved are they now increating the food that they eat,
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (15:24):
I would say I never involved in
quite as much as I should havedone just mainly because of the
incredible mass they create.
Especially when they're younger,and it was just sometimes a bit
overwhelming, I'm sure you know,the feeling. Now that they're
older, they're a bit lessbothered. But I always had them
in the kitchen, we had thissetup where they were eating in
the kitchen, and therefore theywould, they would watch me, and
(15:46):
you know, I would give themmaybe like a peeler and let them
peel a few things or stir somethings when they were bigger.
They do enjoy that very much, Ishould definitely do it more
often, quite often, I think usas moms, we just think let's
just get it done that at the atthe minimum time, time is of the
essence. And as soon as you getthe kids involved, as I'm sure
you know, you're looking at aslightly bigger operation,
(16:09):
right. But I think it's the bestway to include them, for anyone
who has the patience, get themin the kitchen, and let him you
know, let them help. I alwayslet them help unpack the shop,
they get very excited when weget our veg box delivered on a
Tuesday, they just stay out is ateam's for me at the age of
(16:32):
nine, they go to the front door,and they check if it has
arrived. And when it you know,like beautiful apples, I can't
wait to eat one of those. Andit's really lovely. I mean, that
might pass but at the moment,the veg box is like a big thing.
But yeah, I mean, the more theyare involved and the more they
understand that, you know browncharacters, basically a
(16:54):
character has just been takenout of the of the soil, and
that's where it grows ratherthan on a supermarket shelf.
That will help help themunderstand where the food comes
from, and appreciate it. And Iact just just to make that sort
of like a natural sort ofprocess that you you, you wash
vegetables and you peel them andyou chop them. And it takes some
(17:16):
time and a bit of commitment.
But that's just something thathappens. Or you eat now like
this whole idea of foodpreparation rather than just
pushing start button on themicrowave. Right? I think that's
what was most or is mostimportant to me. I'm sure I
(17:37):
could improve on in many ways.
But they understand that whenmom's cooking, you know, that's
what's happening, basically,
Katie Kurpanek (17:45):
yeah, it's so important. I mean, you're
modeling for them, the valuethat you place on their food and
where it comes from, and themore hands on that they are, you
know, pulling that brown carrotout of the bag, it's covered in
soil, they have to go wash itoff. That's, that's amazing. And
not everybody has thatexperience. But I think if they
can be involved in any way injust you know, washing the
(18:09):
produce or chopping it. I thinkthat it's important to get hands
on with our food and understandwhere it comes from, especially
at a young age. And on yourwebsite and your Instagram, you
have absolutely gorgeousrecipes. There's so many that
are on my list that I want totry. And I think as we bring
this episode in for a close, Iwould love if you could just
(18:30):
share with some parents likewhat are some of your top tips
or your go to recipes forcreating these, like, wholesome,
you know, whole food basedsnacks or meals, you know, if
it's something that's especiallyappealing to children, like
maybe a good way to get in theseveggies, or maybe it's just
(18:52):
something that's really simpleto prepare together, what would
be a couple of yourrecommendations.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (18:58):
For small children, I mean, my kids
up to the age of about five,they pretty much lived on
something I sort of inventedthat I called oat bar, which is
basically I made a puree ofwhatever vegetables I had many
root vegetables and somelentils, mix it with oats, and
then spread it on a baking trayand bake it and I learned
obviously I sort of knew thatbut I learned quickly that oats
(19:21):
bind very well and they turnalmost anything into into like a
solid half solid kind of barkind of thing is when you buy
all the snacks that they mainlyconsist of either it's data
nuts, or it's something out basenow I started making these oat
bars mainly savory because Ifeel like there's so many sweet
(19:42):
options. And actually, it tastesright you know, obviously when
they're very small, you don'tadd much salt but later on you
can season it a bit more. It'sactually totally fine. It's like
a little meal on the go. Youcould get a ton of vegetables in
your child this way. And theoats which is great, and you can
make it sweet Eat, we can makeit with apple puree or mango
puree or banana mash bananabutter cinnamon, you can add
(20:06):
some nuts to it if you want,like the list is endless.
Another thing I often do forsports competitions that they're
both very much into sport islike I blend nuts and dried
fruit, you can literally buy amix that's ready, just you know,
like a nut and fruit mix thatyou like and just chuck it in
(20:26):
the blender. And he'll turn intoa paste and you just roll it
into little bowls, and you'redone.
Katie Kurpanek (20:33):
It's a great idea.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (20:34):
It's so simple, and it will save you
some money as well. And you cankind of just change the ratio
slightly because most of thestore bought ones at least here
in the UK, they're very heavy onthe dried fruit side, which is
not wrong, but it's very, verysweet. Whereas you know, the
ones you make yourself, you canadd some more nuts and as long
(20:54):
as it sticks, you can, you canget away with anything, you can
add some cocoa powder, make it abit chocolatey, or some almond
essence and make it a bit sortof like Marty parney kind of
thing. So I do that quite a lot.
I do sometimes just boiledpotatoes and carrots and maybe
some broccoli all in the samepan at once. And just put that
in a Tupperware and they can eatthat as finger food basically,
(21:16):
it's actually not as hard eitheror not as time consuming as
people think you just have to Ithink planning is key. Planning
is key and have some thingsfrozen in the freezer, I always
have some cooked beans andcooked grains, you know some you
have to soak overnight and thencook for a couple of hours. And
(21:37):
not everyone thinks about it thenight before. So you just make a
whole big pan and then put a fewtype of ways in the freezer.
Ready to go. That's the mostmost of labor intense part or
time consuming part. I think thegrains and the beans obviously
you can you can buy them readycooked as well. That's fine. But
and yeah, just just just enjoy,try to find some pleasure in the
(22:00):
cook in the process of cookingand oh, we're all busy. But I
find you know, you can listen toa podcast or you can it's a bit
of a meditative kind of momentin a busy life where people run
around. It's just focusing onone thing, it can be quite
creative. Think it's actuallyreally quite therapeutic.
Katie Kurpanek (22:22):
Yeah, I totally agree. I love the time that I
mean, if I'm involving my threeyear old, like you said, it gets
very messy. It's much more handson. Yes. Exactly. It's more like
guidance focused. But there is ahuge benefit that comes from
that experience. And then on theother hand, if he's not with me,
(22:43):
that's still beneficial, becausethen I do get that sort of
therapeutic time. I lovelistening to podcasts while I'm
prepping food. So yeah, thiswhole idea of of planning and
meal prep. I mean, that'sanother episode in itself. But
I'm excited because you havejoined The Eco-Minded Mama
Collective recently. And sothere's more information on that
(23:04):
linked in the show notes. Butthat's basically our online
membership program. We have acommunity of mamas coming
together and supporting eachother, to live this out to live
all of these things out all ofthe parts of living sustainably.
And what does that mean? Whatcan it look like from person to
person. So we are very heavilygoing to unpack this idea of
(23:26):
meal prepping and planning inthe next unit that we're about
to begin. So if anyone isinterested in joining that I'll
have that linked below. And thenI'll also have all of Julia's
information linked below, youshould definitely check out her
blog and her Instagram, even ifit's just to see on her
Instagram, her daily lunchboxphotos like these great ideas of
(23:49):
the variety that you can beserving your kids. Julia, thank
you so much for taking time toshare your expertise with us. I
am so so glad that you're hereand that you are creating what
you're creating because it givesmoms like me so much more
inspiration to just trysomething new, even if it's just
once a week and that's all Ihave time for is to branch out
and try something new like that.
It's inspiring and motivating.
(24:11):
So thank you.
Julia, Power Plant Blogg (24:13):
Thanks so much for having me.
Okay mamas there is no getting around it.
(00:02):
Mealtime is often the moststressful time for many
families, every mom that Italked to, at least in my own
circles, says the same thing,the way that we feel as often
the primary caregivers to makesure that our kids have all the
nutrition that they need, or toeven get them to eat the food
that we serve in the firstplace. That can be so
(00:23):
frustrating. So in today'sepisode, we're going to unpack
several ways to supportourselves in preparing simple
and healthy meals and snacks forour families, as well as how to
intentionally involve our kidsin that process. I'm Katie, I'm
a mom of a coach and a podcasterfocused on supporting eco minded
mamas to live sustainably,saving 1000s of dollars and
living a life that is inalignment with their core values
(00:45):
as they care for their familiesand the earth. I'm here today
with Julia, a mama of two andplant based recipe creator over
at the power plant blog. Solet's get into it. Julia, will
you share a bit about yourselfand your story with us first,
how did you get into all ofthis? Hi, Katie.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (01:04):
So I really got into this when I had
my kids. I was a I was anomnivore before that, and then a
vegetarian for a bit. And I cameacross this book. I don't know
some of you might have heard ofthe China Study. Yeah, yeah,
quite an intense book. I'm notgoing to talk too much about it.
You can read it if you're fine.
Find the time. But it should. Itjust shocked me beyond words
(01:26):
where they kind of learn aboutdiet and what we did what we get
into our body with with meat anddairy. And I basically more or
less from one day to the nextdecided that this is not what I
wanted to kind of have in mylife anymore. And at this point,
my kids were probably about one,I've got twins, so very, at the
same age. So yeah, it was asteep learning curve, for sure,
(01:48):
because I got some quiteupset you harsh critics is maybe
a bit exaggerated. But peopledefinitely made this decision
with skepticism.
You know, some said, Oh, it'sone thing if you do that for
yourself, it's not safe forchildren and so on and so forth.
I'm sure some of you will havehave come across this as well.
(02:09):
So I made it my mission to learneverything there is to know
about the plant based kind oflifestyle and diet and what to
look out for. But to make surethat we get and and I just
really just really became likemy number one passion. Also, you
know, as much as I love animals,and it was an ethical decision
(02:29):
as well obviously, I would notuse my children as guinea pigs.
So I do things properly. Andsomehow I found that there
weren't an awful lot of recipesout there that I thought were
like, nutritiously as sound andas varied as I'd wanted them to
be. So I started to create myown and eventually I thought you
(02:51):
know what, I could just postthem so almost to create my very
own online recipe library formyself in a way. And then it
just became quite popular and Ireally enjoyed it and one thing
led to the next and here we are.
I love that I and I've never hadmeat in their lives or the area
and they're doing absolutelyfine. Yeah, here we are. Yeah,
Katie Kurpanek (03:14):
that's amazing.
I think that's so great. Andyeah, your your recipes online,
I'll have all the resourceslinked below. But the the
recipes online, your Instagram,you at least currently are
always sharing like your lunchboxes for your kids every day.
And it's just amazing to me, thevariety that your kids eat,
because how old are your twinsagain? You You said you started
(03:35):
this when they were one. But howold are they? Well,
Julia, Power Plant Blog (03:39):
they're nine now.
Katie Kurpanek (03:40):
They're nine.
Okay, yeah, so eight solid yearsof this nine. And that's amazing
that to me at that age, they areeating the rainbow. You know,
you hear that phrase likethey're eating all the colors.
It's so amazing to me. And Ireally want to pick your brain
because even parents who mightbe listening to this podcast and
are not really interested inbeing like fully plant based or
(04:03):
vegan or anything, they, theycould probably relate to the
struggle of just getting theirkids to eat vegetables at all,
like any colors. So I'd love topick your brain. How did you get
your kids like involved in thisprocess with you like even being
on board with what you'reserving them?
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (04:25):
I think obviously it helps when
you start from such a young agebecause they simply don't know
any different now. But then Ialso get lots of comments on
Instagram on my lunch boxes, forexample. People are really sweet
and lovely. But a lot of peoplesay Oh, you're so lucky that
your children eat this. And italways makes me laugh a little
bit because it was far fromeasy. It still is far from easy.
(04:46):
You know, like any child likespage food, crisps and or chips
in the States or any sort ofnugget thing whether or not it's
meeting it or not based food isvery popular with children. and
to get them to eat spinach andkale and all these kinds of
things, it's not it's not a walkin the park, that there's
absolutely no way around it ifthey learned from a very early
(05:12):
age, to just try these thingsand to get used to the flavors,
and also to be told, obviously,this gets a bit easier with age,
you can tell them a bit moreabout it, you can tell them what
it does to the body, etc. It'shard when that when they're
three years old and just pickyand wanting to throw things on
the floor. But I do believe thatif you incorporate something
(05:34):
over and over again, even ifthey really despise it to start
with, they will eventually justthink you know what it keeps
appearing on my plate, it's,it's just something she does
something we have, it becomes alittle bit of like a home
comfort, it's like a flavor thatyou know, and it's just
something that happens in yourhouse. Sure, you have some
(05:55):
memories of your childhood, likecertain foods that you maybe
didn't love, but they just keptappearing on your plate. And
eventually you just get on withit, don't you, you know, and if
you're hungry, everything tastesgood. So I think the more
variety you can include from anearly age, even if it's small
quantities, but just loads,loads of varieties, different
(06:16):
different plants, whole grains,nuts, legumes, seeds, you know,
all these things, obviously,from the appropriate age, I used
to pure everything when theywere small I was I was finding
that easier. Some people gostraight to, to finger foods,
but with twins, it was just abit of a mess. But then you can
pure anything, though and makeit tasty, and they'll eat it.
(06:38):
And then suddenly, when theyactually see it as an actual
vegetable, they start to bepicky. So you know, it's no one
said it was gonna be easy, but Ithink it's worth it. And I think
it's it really pays off down theline. And it sets certain food
patterns for life. I believethat also kids who know how to
eat, I would say properly, youknow, like from scratch cooked
(07:02):
from scratch, actual real foodrather than Ultra processed
things and, and ready meals andstuff like that. I think they
will always have a tendency,even if they go through a bit of
a face during teenage yearswhere they go to McDonald's or
whatsoever, they will probablyfind their way back. And then
maybe that's wishful thinking.
But I do think that if you knowit from a young age, you will
(07:24):
probably keep it up in one wayor another for for your life.
That's what I hope for anyway.
Yeah.
Katie Kurpanek (07:35):
And I think that what stands out to me about what
you said is, and this issomething that resonates based
on all of the experts, like youknow, nutritional experts and
pediatricians and everyone thatI've been trying to learn from
as a mom, because I do have athree year old right now.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (07:50):
It's a hard age, three years old.
Katie Kurpanek (07:53):
It's hard he is all of a sudden in this super
picky phase. And yeah, it wasn'talways that way. But I think
what you said about exposure,that's the key from what I keep
hearing at least just like, Ilove how you worded it that it's
about, you know, this is justsomething mom does, this is just
something that we do in ourhome, this, you know, kale or
(08:16):
whatever it is just keepsshowing up on my plate. Because
over and over and over. If it'sthere, even if they're not, you
know, eating it, and our job isto not force them to eat
anything. But if it's thereeventually I mean, I talked to
this one. What was she she wassome sort of a feeding
therapists like a swallowingspecialist or something. She
(08:39):
said that her daughter, like,would not touch asparagus
absolutely hated asparagus. Andthen all of a sudden, one day
when she was six years old, shejust picked up a piece of
asparagus because it was stillon her plate consistently. And
she just started eating it as ifshe had always been eating it.
Like it can
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (08:55):
be frustrating as a mom as well,
because you feel that you'repushing and push as in, you have
to work so hard. And thensuddenly, they make it so easy.
You know, it can change from oneday to the next as well. It's
got so much to do with theirmental develop development as
well. I think a lot of therefusal three years, for
example, is this sort of powergame, isn't it, they're trying
(09:18):
to gain some independence andnot eating what you're told to
eat is like, the perfect momentto, to kind of you know, have a
little strop and try and fightmummy a bit. It's very
unpleasant for us,unfortunately, but I think we
all have to get through it. AndI do also think maybe it's a bit
old fashioned, but every now andagain it kind of pays off to
(09:39):
just put your foot down a littlebit. Yeah. You know, they try
and it doesn't change with ageto be to be honest. It's just
other things. It's that constantkind of finding the balance
between being super strict, butalso obviously being
understanding and you know, I dosort of give Mike It's two or
(10:00):
three things that they canchoose that they refuse to eat.
One of my sons will not touch abanana over his dead body never
has done. And I'm not forcinghim to eat a banana. I think
it's bananas and avocados forhim.
Katie Kurpanek (10:15):
I still maybe like a texture thing or
something. Yeah, think it is.
Julia, Power Plant Blogge (10:19):
Yeah.
But as a as a tennis player, asI said, How can you? How can you
even think about a tennis careerwithout eating bananas? But I
think you know, we have to cutthem some slack and give them
some little little bit offreedom where they can, where
they feel like they have a bitof authority, I suppose, or
freedom to choose what theywant. But I can be a bit strict
(10:42):
as well, that's for sure. I justanything will taste good.
Basically, that's how I wasbrought up. And that's one of
the things that I think,essentially, I believe that's,
that is true, right? We've allbeen there. Oh, yeah.
Katie Kurpanek (11:00):
Well, that kind of, you know, goes into my next
question that I had for you,which was, how do you approach
and you've touched on this alittle bit now. But how do you
approach introducing new andpotentially suspicious foods to
your children like they now atthe age that they are, there's
probably not a lot of foods thatare new to them? Because you've
been doing this for, you know,eight plus years? But maybe when
(11:23):
they were younger? Did you haveany strategies that you found
effective, or ways that youtalked about the foods that
you're putting on their platewhen they feel very, like
skeptical about it first?
Julia, Power Plant Blogge (11:37):
Yeah, it's not easy, but I think some
things you can cheat a littlebit. And for example, I used to
make a lot of mash out ofabsolutely everything, you know,
you can put cauliflower butterbeans, you can make all colored
mash. Now you can make theseorange mashes that are made of
red lentils and sweet potatoesand carrots and butternut
squash, and you can put whateverin there. So there's, but then
(12:00):
obviously, you're hiding thingsa little bit, which isn't
necessarily what you want to do,because you want them to know
what they're eating and actuallylike it because of what it is,
right. But when they're small, Ialways felt like this is quite a
good way to kind of get them toget used to the taste. And then
you can say you did actuallyhave butternut squash yesterday
and you enjoyed it. So why notyou try it roasted today.
(12:22):
Another thing I've always doneis like if I have any greens,
you know sort of spinach or kaleor or Swiss chard or anything, I
just lightly fry it or or steamit. And then sometimes I blend
it together with pesto, you canbe like it's doable vegan pesto.
Yeah, I mean, simply just sortof pimp your pesto. That's what
(12:43):
I call it. And you can get quitea lot of greens into into some
pesto. Yeah, some people maymake the just like a green sauce
sauce, you can mix it with yourpastor. But for me, I think if I
mix it with with pesto, thenthey'll have it has the source
is always a great generally agreat way. I mean, you can put
(13:05):
so many different vegetablesinto a tomato sauce, as long as
they're quite small, and you frythem a bit and season them
nicely at some lentils or somesoya beans. And they'll they'll
eat a or in a lasagna, samething. So you know, you can
cheat your way around it alittle bit. But eventually, I
think it's also helpful to justjust tell them and say, Look,
(13:28):
this is this new thing I canmake. What was it? romanesco you
know, that sort of greenlooking? Broccoli slash
cauliflower thing? Oh, yeah.
Yeah. It's really beautiful.
It's a very beautiful vegetablevegetable. And the boys were
like, What is this? I've notseen this. This looks weird. I
said, look at it. Look howbeautiful it is, like absolutely
(13:49):
a piece of art. And we had agood look there and they chopped
it and then we sort of cooked ittogether and and then they were
interested to try it out to makea bit of a bit of a thing out of
it. And still, they can stillgive you the whole now not don't
like it don't want it don't wantto look at it. Yeah, it's you
(14:12):
know, there's no straightforwardway. But I find that explaining
things helps. Yeah, yeah. Andyou send them with it and say
this is your plate and you haveto eat it now. Oh, yeah. It's
Katie Kurpanek (14:27):
like when you do that, and you're kind of digging
your heels in. I think it justcauses them to dig their heels
in even more and then it becomesthis power struggle which is
benefiting nobody. But But yeah,I mean, I totally agree that I
think getting your kids involvedin the process of shopping or
preparing or cooking the foodbaking the food however you can,
(14:51):
at least in my experience hastotally upped the chance
increases the chance that youwill we'll at least be open to
trying it because he wasinvolved in the process. So what
are some of the ways that thatyou often have your kids, you
know, involved? I mean, they'reolder now. So they could
probably be very involved in thecooking process. But could you
(15:13):
give like maybe a little recapof your journey through that?
How did you involve them whenthey were younger? And How
involved are they now increating the food that they eat,
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (15:24):
I would say I never involved in
quite as much as I should havedone just mainly because of the
incredible mass they create.
Especially when they're younger,and it was just sometimes a bit
overwhelming, I'm sure you know,the feeling. Now that they're
older, they're a bit lessbothered. But I always had them
in the kitchen, we had thissetup where they were eating in
the kitchen, and therefore theywould, they would watch me, and
(15:46):
you know, I would give themmaybe like a peeler and let them
peel a few things or stir somethings when they were bigger.
They do enjoy that very much, Ishould definitely do it more
often, quite often, I think usas moms, we just think let's
just get it done that at the atthe minimum time, time is of the
essence. And as soon as you getthe kids involved, as I'm sure
you know, you're looking at aslightly bigger operation,
(16:09):
right. But I think it's the bestway to include them, for anyone
who has the patience, get themin the kitchen, and let him you
know, let them help. I alwayslet them help unpack the shop,
they get very excited when weget our veg box delivered on a
Tuesday, they just stay out is ateam's for me at the age of
(16:32):
nine, they go to the front door,and they check if it has
arrived. And when it you know,like beautiful apples, I can't
wait to eat one of those. Andit's really lovely. I mean, that
might pass but at the moment,the veg box is like a big thing.
But yeah, I mean, the more theyare involved and the more they
understand that, you know browncharacters, basically a
(16:54):
character has just been takenout of the of the soil, and
that's where it grows ratherthan on a supermarket shelf.
That will help help themunderstand where the food comes
from, and appreciate it. And Iact just just to make that sort
of like a natural sort ofprocess that you you, you wash
vegetables and you peel them andyou chop them. And it takes some
(17:16):
time and a bit of commitment.
But that's just something thathappens. Or you eat now like
this whole idea of foodpreparation rather than just
pushing start button on themicrowave. Right? I think that's
what was most or is mostimportant to me. I'm sure I
(17:37):
could improve on in many ways.
But they understand that whenmom's cooking, you know, that's
what's happening, basically,
Katie Kurpanek (17:45):
yeah, it's so important. I mean, you're
modeling for them, the valuethat you place on their food and
where it comes from, and themore hands on that they are, you
know, pulling that brown carrotout of the bag, it's covered in
soil, they have to go wash itoff. That's, that's amazing. And
not everybody has thatexperience. But I think if they
can be involved in any way injust you know, washing the
(18:09):
produce or chopping it. I thinkthat it's important to get hands
on with our food and understandwhere it comes from, especially
at a young age. And on yourwebsite and your Instagram, you
have absolutely gorgeousrecipes. There's so many that
are on my list that I want totry. And I think as we bring
this episode in for a close, Iwould love if you could just
(18:30):
share with some parents likewhat are some of your top tips
or your go to recipes forcreating these, like, wholesome,
you know, whole food basedsnacks or meals, you know, if
it's something that's especiallyappealing to children, like
maybe a good way to get in theseveggies, or maybe it's just
(18:52):
something that's really simpleto prepare together, what would
be a couple of yourrecommendations.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (18:58):
For small children, I mean, my kids
up to the age of about five,they pretty much lived on
something I sort of inventedthat I called oat bar, which is
basically I made a puree ofwhatever vegetables I had many
root vegetables and somelentils, mix it with oats, and
then spread it on a baking trayand bake it and I learned
obviously I sort of knew thatbut I learned quickly that oats
(19:21):
bind very well and they turnalmost anything into into like a
solid half solid kind of barkind of thing is when you buy
all the snacks that they mainlyconsist of either it's data
nuts, or it's something out basenow I started making these oat
bars mainly savory because Ifeel like there's so many sweet
(19:42):
options. And actually, it tastesright you know, obviously when
they're very small, you don'tadd much salt but later on you
can season it a bit more. It'sactually totally fine. It's like
a little meal on the go. Youcould get a ton of vegetables in
your child this way. And theoats which is great, and you can
make it sweet Eat, we can makeit with apple puree or mango
puree or banana mash bananabutter cinnamon, you can add
(20:06):
some nuts to it if you want,like the list is endless.
Another thing I often do forsports competitions that they're
both very much into sport islike I blend nuts and dried
fruit, you can literally buy amix that's ready, just you know,
like a nut and fruit mix thatyou like and just chuck it in
(20:26):
the blender. And he'll turn intoa paste and you just roll it
into little bowls, and you'redone.
Katie Kurpanek (20:33):
It's a great idea.
Julia, Power Plant Blogger (20:34):
It's so simple, and it will save you
some money as well. And you cankind of just change the ratio
slightly because most of thestore bought ones at least here
in the UK, they're very heavy onthe dried fruit side, which is
not wrong, but it's very, verysweet. Whereas you know, the
ones you make yourself, you canadd some more nuts and as long
(20:54):
as it sticks, you can, you canget away with anything, you can
add some cocoa powder, make it abit chocolatey, or some almond
essence and make it a bit sortof like Marty parney kind of
thing. So I do that quite a lot.
I do sometimes just boiledpotatoes and carrots and maybe
some broccoli all in the samepan at once. And just put that
in a Tupperware and they can eatthat as finger food basically,
(21:16):
it's actually not as hard eitheror not as time consuming as
people think you just have to Ithink planning is key. Planning
is key and have some thingsfrozen in the freezer, I always
have some cooked beans andcooked grains, you know some you
have to soak overnight and thencook for a couple of hours. And
(21:37):
not everyone thinks about it thenight before. So you just make a
whole big pan and then put a fewtype of ways in the freezer.
Ready to go. That's the mostmost of labor intense part or
time consuming part. I think thegrains and the beans obviously
you can you can buy them readycooked as well. That's fine. But
and yeah, just just just enjoy,try to find some pleasure in the
(22:00):
cook in the process of cookingand oh, we're all busy. But I
find you know, you can listen toa podcast or you can it's a bit
of a meditative kind of momentin a busy life where people run
around. It's just focusing onone thing, it can be quite
creative. Think it's actuallyreally quite therapeutic.
Katie Kurpanek (22:22):
Yeah, I totally agree. I love the time that I
mean, if I'm involving my threeyear old, like you said, it gets
very messy. It's much more handson. Yes. Exactly. It's more like
guidance focused. But there is ahuge benefit that comes from
that experience. And then on theother hand, if he's not with me,
(22:43):
that's still beneficial, becausethen I do get that sort of
therapeutic time. I lovelistening to podcasts while I'm
prepping food. So yeah, thiswhole idea of of planning and
meal prep. I mean, that'sanother episode in itself. But
I'm excited because you havejoined The Eco-Minded Mama
Collective recently. And sothere's more information on that
(23:04):
linked in the show notes. Butthat's basically our online
membership program. We have acommunity of mamas coming
together and supporting eachother, to live this out to live
all of these things out all ofthe parts of living sustainably.
And what does that mean? Whatcan it look like from person to
person. So we are very heavilygoing to unpack this idea of
(23:26):
meal prepping and planning inthe next unit that we're about
to begin. So if anyone isinterested in joining that I'll
have that linked below. And thenI'll also have all of Julia's
information linked below, youshould definitely check out her
blog and her Instagram, even ifit's just to see on her
Instagram, her daily lunchboxphotos like these great ideas of
(23:49):
the variety that you can beserving your kids. Julia, thank
you so much for taking time toshare your expertise with us. I
am so so glad that you're hereand that you are creating what
you're creating because it givesmoms like me so much more
inspiration to just trysomething new, even if it's just
once a week and that's all Ihave time for is to branch out
and try something new like that.
It's inspiring and motivating.
(24:11):
So thank you.
Julia, Power Plant Blogg (24:13):
Thanks so much for having me.
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