Food For Kids

The Foodies

The Food for Kids Podcast is the quick, practical solution for anyone who wants to make feeding kids easier and less stressful. If you’re at your wits' end trying to juggle kids’ food alongside everything else in your busy life, this is your podcast for practical, fun, and easy-to-digest info on raising healthy, happy, confident eaters. With bitesize episodes of around 5-10 minutes twice a week, it’s perfect for the school run, your daily commute, or whenever you’re looking for practical tips and fresh ideas to make food for your kids just a little bit easier and more enjoyable. Expect a variety of topics, including family-friendly recipes, tips for picky eaters and special diets, ideas for eating more seasonal fruits and vegetables, money saving tips, school food inspiration and much more! Hosted by Joanne Roach, creator of The Foodies Books, which have sold more than 40,000 copies across U.K homes, schools and childcare settings. Joanne has been helping kids to grow, cook and eat vegetables and fruit for over 20 years and is passionate about making food affordable, practical, sustainable – and most of all – enjoyable for real working families and busy educators who don’t have the time, budget or energy to keep up with the latest trends. Each week, we’ll feature a short interviews talking about one topic or answering one question. And there will be one short solo episode with tips and ideas for practical family food. The interviews will be with dietitians, food industry experts as well as educators who are doing amazing things in schools and childcare settings. You’ll hear real-life examples of how families and schools are fostering positive relationships with food and making mealtime a fun and stress-free experience. We also keep you updated with food in the news, so you’ll always be in the know about the latest trends and findings related to kids’ nutrition. Most importantly you'll get a short bite of something uplifting and advice you can actually use. You’re probably already bombarded with information that makes you feel guilty, overwhelmed and helpless in the face of a food environment that seems to be working against you. The idea of this podcast is to focus on practical, positive, relatable and realistic ideas that you can absorb in short bursts and then put into practice in your own time. Subscribe to download the tiny bites of food inspiration, delete the ones which don’t apply to you, and see what nuggets you can add to your family or school table. Happy eating!

  1. Jun 8

    Is this fussy eating "normal" or does my child need help? With Emma Shafqat. What happens if you visit a dietitian and practical strategies for all families with a fussy eater. Food For Kids Podcast. (2026)

    In this interview with ​Emma Shafqat from Dietitian With A Difference, we are talking about how to know if your child’s fussiness is just a ​"normal" level of developmental hesitancy around new foods, or whether you should consider asking for advice from a professional. I think a lot of us worry that we’re either making a mountain out of a molehill, or on the other hand, writing off actual eating issues as “just a stage”. ​Emma is very helpful in this interview in flagging up what to look for and when to ask for help. She also helps us to understand where your child is coming from when they refuse a food and gives suggestions on how to make mealtimes less stressful. Emma Shafqat is a qualified paediatric dietitian and focuses primarily on fussy eating and allergy issues and has the handle @fussyeating.dietitian on social media. Since graduating with a first class honours degree in Dietetics and Nutrition, she has been working as a dietitian for over 10 years. She has worked for the NHS, in special needs schools and privately, focusing on children’s health, and is also a SOS Paediatric Feeding Therapist Emma helps children and their families overcome a broad range of dietary issues. She has a huge online following where she runs great free workshops, and has a popular fussy eaters group programme as well as one-to-one work. Emma's website - ​https://dietitianwithadifference.co.uk/ ​Emma's Instagram -​ https://www.instagram.com/dietitian.withadifference/ ​Emma's programme - https://dietitianwithadifference.co.uk/creating-confident-eaters-programme/ Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

    13 min
  2. Jun 4

    How to freeze ingredients if batch cooking isn't your thing, with Kate Hall. Freeze unused or leftover ingredients for easy meal prep, save money and food waste. Food For Kids Podcast (2026)

    In this interview with Kate Hall of The Full Freezer, we explore how to use your freezer to store individual ingredients rather than whole batch cooked meals to make family life easier. Kate was a batch cooker before she had her second child, but found herself buying food to cook for the freezer and then failing to find time and wasting food while also buying convenience foods to make up the difference. Kate's solution was to find ways to freeze ingredients that might be about to go to waste, as well as leftover bits and pieces, to provide building blocks for meals later down the line. Kate teaches her system "The Full Freezer Method" through books and online challenges and has now been interviewed many times in national media, although this was one of her earliest interviews back when I first prepared to launch the podcast. This interview goes over the principles of her method and is a great listen if you are often beating yourself up for letting good ingredients - and good intentions - go to waste. Learn how to hit a "pause button" on a half tin of tomatoes or a few spoons of pesto and stop feeling guilty about wasting food. Kate's website - https://www.thefullfreezer.com/ Kate's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thefullfreezer Kate's Can I Freeze It? page for individual ingredients Kate's children's books: https://www.thefullfreezer.com/the-books Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

    18 min
  3. May 25

    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://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e029688 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 Longitudinal study on the effect of school meals on reduction in fussiness: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.70063 Food for Life programme: 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 Dietitian Charlotte Stirling Reed's blog explaining the proposals: 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/ Music "Happy Days" by Simon Folwar via Uppbeat

    20 min

About

The Food for Kids Podcast is the quick, practical solution for anyone who wants to make feeding kids easier and less stressful. If you’re at your wits' end trying to juggle kids’ food alongside everything else in your busy life, this is your podcast for practical, fun, and easy-to-digest info on raising healthy, happy, confident eaters. With bitesize episodes of around 5-10 minutes twice a week, it’s perfect for the school run, your daily commute, or whenever you’re looking for practical tips and fresh ideas to make food for your kids just a little bit easier and more enjoyable. Expect a variety of topics, including family-friendly recipes, tips for picky eaters and special diets, ideas for eating more seasonal fruits and vegetables, money saving tips, school food inspiration and much more! Hosted by Joanne Roach, creator of The Foodies Books, which have sold more than 40,000 copies across U.K homes, schools and childcare settings. Joanne has been helping kids to grow, cook and eat vegetables and fruit for over 20 years and is passionate about making food affordable, practical, sustainable – and most of all – enjoyable for real working families and busy educators who don’t have the time, budget or energy to keep up with the latest trends. Each week, we’ll feature a short interviews talking about one topic or answering one question. And there will be one short solo episode with tips and ideas for practical family food. The interviews will be with dietitians, food industry experts as well as educators who are doing amazing things in schools and childcare settings. You’ll hear real-life examples of how families and schools are fostering positive relationships with food and making mealtime a fun and stress-free experience. We also keep you updated with food in the news, so you’ll always be in the know about the latest trends and findings related to kids’ nutrition. Most importantly you'll get a short bite of something uplifting and advice you can actually use. You’re probably already bombarded with information that makes you feel guilty, overwhelmed and helpless in the face of a food environment that seems to be working against you. The idea of this podcast is to focus on practical, positive, relatable and realistic ideas that you can absorb in short bursts and then put into practice in your own time. Subscribe to download the tiny bites of food inspiration, delete the ones which don’t apply to you, and see what nuggets you can add to your family or school table. Happy eating!