Meet Gabrielle Jondet

"Having worked in the hospitality and food industry for over 20 years, food has always played a huge role in my life. After becoming a mother, my approach to food changed because when you become a parent, it’s a real journey in terms of learning how to feed your kids well and you’re always making sure that they are getting the right nutrition. As you get older, healthy eating really starts to make an impact on your overall health."

"I’ve encountered periods of ‘selective eating’, and I have found that managing this is learning to adapt to your kids’ food preferences, to make rational compromises and to pick your battles. Cooking healthy and nutritious food for a child who then refuses to eat it can be incredibly frustrating, but focusing on the positives when they occur and continuing to try new options is essential to building good practices. As I started to make meals for my kids, I realised that there were no shortcuts when it comes to food. As a mum, I am responsible for my kids’ health so I wanted to make sure that they are getting as many vitamins, minerals and healthy foods into their diet as they possibly can. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some compromises, but like all parents, we try our best."

"Try to incorporate veg into every meal, not just dinner. I used to assume that my kids would eat most of their vegetable potions at the dinner meal, but if the meal wasn’t a success, I felt they were missing out altogether. So I try to incorporate veg into every meal, including breakfast. For example, she will grate courgette and carrot into pancakes. Pancakes are easy to make, cheap and most kids love pancakes. Plus, it’s an easy way to get your kids eating veg at another time of the day other than dinner time."

"When it comes to snack time, I like to give the kids fruit and veg throughout the week. I also give them oatcakes and cheese, slices of cucumber and carrots. The kids also love having frozen fruit icicles which are a fun way for kids to get a portion of fruit."

"My chocolate courgette cake. Using almond meal and half of the sugar of a normal cake recipe, I grate courgette into this recipe along with chocolate. My daughters love chocolate so this recipe allows for me to make them something sweet while also getting a portion of veg. And because it’s made with almond meal, you can use 50% less sugar in this recipe."