Joanne Roach, Grow And Cook With Kids Email and Phone Number

I encourage children to grow, cook and enjoy eating their fruit and veg, by using stories, games and activities to connect them to where their food comes from and how the seasons work.When I say I help children, I really mean that I help parents, teachers and childcare workers, because there is an insane amount of pressure around food now, not only to feed our children perfectly, but also to educate our children about food perfectly, and it’s overwhelming.There is so much conflicting information about food for children and as a parent trying to do the right thing, it can paralyse you until you have no idea whether you’re doing anything right and all the joy is sucked out of feeding them.So I focus on one thing which is one thing we know for sure. Everyone can stand to eat more fruit and vegetables. So I focus on getting children to be accepting of fruit and veg by familiarising themselves with it. Lots of studies have confirmed that children who are allowed to play with food are less likely to be picky eaters, even that children who regularly see pictures of vegetables are more likely to eat them and less likely to be picky. We also know that depending on the age of the child and their inherent anxiety around food, it will often take between 5 and 15 exposures to a food before a child will accept it.So the things that I make are all about getting children to see fruits and vegetables, play with them, touch them, talk about them, name them, know how they grow and smell and taste. I'm not a dietitian and I leave the nutritional advice to the experts. I just make practical resources which hide the food education part in stories and play. And over time, children get to know their fruits and vegetables better.Specialties: Practicalities of gardening and cooking with young children, both in home and group settings.Providing books, videos and a range of free and paid resources for a variety of settings.