Learning to be

As I move closer to 40, my relationship with food feels like it’s shifting — and so does the way I think about feeding my children. I’m less interested in rules and quick fixes, and more focused on what actually supports our bodies day to day.

Lately that has meant thinking about nourishment in a much more practical way — making sure I’m including protein in every meal, paying attention to fibre, and choosing foods that help me feel steady rather than depleted. It feels less about control and more about care.

That same mindset has started to shape how I feed my children too. I find it both challenging and enjoyable to be more intentional about nutrient-dense foods. I’ve begun reading ingredients more carefully and becoming clearer about what I don’t want to put into my body, or into theirs. I’m also very aware of ultra-processed foods and am trying, where I can, to reduce how much we consume.

The reality, though, is that eating well often costs more — and my youngest son in particular is a very fussy eater. If left to his own devices, he would happily eat beige carbs all day, every day. One boundary I’ve set is simply not buying certain foods I don’t think are good for him, even if that means fewer easy options.

That decision has come with its own challenge: his already limited list of “safe” foods has shrunk even further. To gently widen it again, we’ve started something called Try Something New Wednesdays — complete with a jingle. Every Wednesday, the boys know they’ll be trying something different. There’s no pressure to finish it; they just have to try it.

So far we’ve tested everything from butternut squash and chickpea curry to cottage cheese pizza and homemade crumble. Some things are an immediate no, others surprise us. And even though there are sometimes tears, they genuinely seem to look forward to Wednesdays and guessing what they’ll be trying next.

This week it’s dragon fruit.