Today I answer a question from a mum who feels guilty that her younger baby is not getting a good exposure and variety to food at mealtimes because of her toddler's fussy eating. I totally sympathise, because this is exactly the experience I'm having with my younger child. I offer some tips to help expand her toddler's exposure to food in a safe and fun way, as well as suggesting ways to maintain a good variety of food for the baby without having to spend much more time cooking multiple...

TRIGGER WARNING: In this episode of Raising Healthy Mothers we discuss eating disorders and disordered eating patterns. This may be upsetting or triggering for you if this is in your or your family's recent history. If you are not ready to listen to a discussion on eating disorders then please do not listen to this episode.   What do you do as a parent when your child stops eating in the way you have come to expect? What do you do if you suspect an eating disorder but your child won't talk...

In today's episode, I bare my soul on my experience on gentle parenting after nearly six years of being a mum. I explore the wonderful aspects of this approach but also the immense pressure it can place on mums.   I discuss... The core principles of gentle parenting that drew me in the first place The one mind-blowing fact about brain development that changed my whole perspective on behaviour The unrealistic expectations gentle parenting can create for mothers and the pressures...

When I was pregnant with my first baby I was determined to do business 'right'. I wanted to set things up so that I could take a year's maternity and have something to come back to. I had no idea what I was doing, and in the end didn't set things up the way I thought.   So when Amy Crumpton of Social Cactus Coaching started posting about her later-in-life decision to start a family and pivoted to coach women to set their businesses up for maternity leave, I knew I needed to talk to her.   ...

Gut health is at the heart of overall well-being, playing a crucial role in supporting our immune system, mental health, and resilience to stress. The gut is often called the “second brain” because of its powerful impact on mental health as well as immunity.   But there's so much more to the gut than taking a probiotic supplement! In this episode I walk you through the key elements of the digestive system that have an impact on your gut microbiome, starting with the brain.   I discuss... ...

A couple of years ago I found myself sobbing into my husband's shoulder saying 'I'm so SICK of cooking dinner every day!' It was SUCH a wake up call. Because that wasn't me. Cooking is my language of love. Cooking is how I relax. Cooking is my creative outlet. And cooking good food for my family was always my greatest mission in life. But given a fussy eater, and a few years later I was exhausted. I suddenly realised that it had been a LONG time since I'd cooked for me. For my pleasure....

Is it ever possible to stick to a resolution and actually change for the better? If you're anythign like me, you're seeing the start of the new school year as a way to finally knuckle down and change some habits that aren't serving you. But we've been here before haven't we? Broken New Year resolutions and promises of change are no match for our lack of willpower! What if there was another way? Over summer I read Katy Milkman's brilliant book How to Change and it's compeltely changed my...

It's the final episode in this season of Raising Healthy Mothers. I am looking forward to a much-needed break over summer ANDDDD I'm excited to meet a new baby nephew! My sister is having her third child, and for the first time I am able to support her as a mother myself! Although I did my best when her first two were born, I truly had NO IDEA exactly how much support she needed. But now, as a qualified nutritional therapist specialising in motherhood AND mother myself – I have a much better...

Does the idea of having therapy scare you?   I've always struggled with the concept. As a very private person with people pleasing tendencies, admitting I need help feels like failure.   And then the worry of finding the right therapy with the right person and knowing whether I'm going to get what I need out of it. Feels. So. Exhausting.   But I've always known that most of that is a personal prejudice and that in fact I would probably massively benefit from having therapy. As would...

How long should you breastfeed for? What happens when your baby is eating solids? And how do you prepare to return to work if you don't want to stop breastfeeding? In this episode of Raising Healthy Mothers I talk to Sally Rickard, IBCLC, who specialises in helping families maintain a breastfeeding relationship as they transition back to work or study. We discuss... What an IBCLC means and how their unique training makes them the gold standard in breastfeeding support Why breastfeeding...

For most of my mid-to-late 20s I followed a fairly strict Paleo diet. In many ways, it worked for me. I looked and felt my best.   But things changed drastically for me when I became a mother.   Suddenly I didn't have TIME to cook all the food from scratch. Suddenly I had a fussy toddler who refused most of the food I believed was best for him. Suddenly my body wasn't the most important thing to worry about.   And what happened instead is a much more balanced approach to food.   So...

Is good gut health the key to feeling more energised and healthier?   This week on Raising Healthy Mothers I dive into why gut health is the foundation to more energy and good health, especially in motherhood. I discuss... How stress and sleep impact your digestion Why mindful eating is key for a happy gut What to look for in your poo The 5R programme for good gut health The importance of how and where you eat as well as what you eat What to eat for good gut function What to consider...

Ever wondered if you're wearing the correct bra size? Have your boobs changed since becoming a mother but you can't face going to get properly fitted? And have you started to avoid the mirror because you struggle with how your body has changed? This is the episode for you. This week I talk to Chantelle Garood, an expert lingerie fitter who shares her journey into the lingerie business and how she gained the confidence to start a mid-size body positive Instagram account supporting women to...

What does a nutritional therapist actually do? If you think we sit around reading food diaries and telling you off for eating cake, think again.   In fact I celebrate cake in the diet!   In today's episode of Raising Healthy Mothers, I'm doing something a bit different and lifting the lid on how I support the mums who come to me for help with their exhaustion and what a typical week looks like for me.   I go in-depth about my collaborative, personalised approach to motherhood...

How adventurous are you with veg? Would you know what to do if you got a kohlrabi in your veg box? And what do you do with the REST of the celery once you're sick of dipping it in hummus? This week's guest on Raising Healthy Mothers is writer, food educator and chef Ceri Jones, whose cookbook It Starts with Veg has just been published. In this episode we discuss... Why she wrote a vegetable-focused book Her journey from Paleo to celebrating plants, via holistic culinary school The...

How fulfilling are your days? Do you feel like you run around like a headless chicken, rushing from one thing to another, never feeling like you actually finish anything? The further I get into motherhood the more I notice my mind becoming scattered and my life becoming less organised. And the net result is rarely feeling like I've 'finished', that I can really sit down and feel truly relaxed. There's always more things! That's why I invited today's guest onto the podcast. Louisa Daubney is...

This week I am running a workshop on sleep for mums called Get Better Sleep and so I thought I would give you a little sneak peek into what I will talk about at the start of the workshop. I will get a bit technical and science-y here so bear with me – I think it's important to understand how incredible our bodies are when it comes to creating sleep – with the hope that once we understand it, we can appreciate it, and start giving it the attention it needs to actually work properly! In this...

One of the things I've always struggled with is getting to grips with mindfulness. The concept makes sense to me - when you practice being in the moment you are able to be more present in your everyday life.   But the reality is I struggle to make time for those 10 minutes of practice!   So it was a huge lightbulb moment when today's guest on Raising Healthy Mothers helped me to understand that mindfulness happens whenever you spend some time - any amount of time! - being completely...

Welcome to season 11 of Raising Healthy Mothers!   This episode was recorded on Monday 6 May, which was International No Diet Day, and I wanted to mark the day by telling you exactly why I NEVER tell my clients to count their calories.   In this episode I lay out 5 reasons I stopped counting calories, and what I tell my clients to focus on instead, even if weight loss is their goal.   I reveal the 2 biggest factors in your difficulty to lose weight, neither of which have anything to do...

Welcome to my special series Rediscovering You, a 7-day special running in conjunction with Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. It's our final day together in this special and we're finishing this week with my favourite little to-do because it's something that will give you a mindful boost while you're doing it, and it will take you through well beyond just the one day because it can be used at any moment when you need a pick me up.   In the free workbook I offer some examples of...

Welcome to my special series Rediscovering You, a 7-day special running in conjunction with Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. It's Day 6 and we are lightening things up a bit by finding a project to sink your teeth into. A hobby, some decluttering or a project that gets you in the flow and pulls you out of your head, clears your mental load a bit. Doing that thing you've always want to do or keep putting off. Download your free workbook to accompany this special series - journal...

Welcome to my special series Rediscovering You, a 7-day special running in conjunction with Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. Today on Day 5 we are learning the importance of loving your body and embracing it with kindness – for our benefit and that of our children Download your free workbook to accompany this special series - journal prompts, scripts and daily emails with tips and actions to support your journey towards rediscovering you: www.tashadcruz.com/rediscover Connect...

Welcome to my special series Rediscovering You, a 7-day special running in conjunction with Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. Today on Day 4 we are finding out how what you eat affects your mood and energy, why mothers often end up struggling with food, and what to eat to keep your mood steady and give you the energy you need as a mother. Download your free workbook to accompany this special series - journal prompts, scripts and daily emails with tips and actions to support your...

Welcome to my special series Rediscovering You, a 7-day special running in conjunction with Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. Today on Day 3 we are diving into self-care. This is such a tricky concept for so many of us, and I think one of the biggest problems is we lose sight of what self-care truly means to us. So in this episode I offer an interpretation of what self-care could mean to you, and give you an opportunity to decide what, how and when you will schedule in your...