Meet Grace MacKenzie

"When Poppy was born I quickly discovered she suffered some pretty serious allergies including dairy, soya, eggs and wheat. From the start I was forced to get creative and come up with as many substitutions as possible to make sure she was still getting all the right nutrients despite her requirements. I think because I was already studying nutrition I was at a slight advantage but it was still a really stressful time for me and it was a real challenge learning how to accommodate her needs. For me, being a role model is an important part of teaching my daughter about healthy eating behaviours and I try to make sure that we eat together every mealtime."

"Poppy’s now nearly two years old and I would say we are well and truly in a routine with meal times and I’ve got a great selection of alternatives prepared so that she feels like she’s having the same things as everyone else but they won’t upset her. Poppy is a bit young to be fussy at the moment but I can totally see how kids can become choosy. My approach is to try and get her to eat what’s on her plate and if she doesn’t then I don’t force her but I don’t offer her anything else until the next meal time. I also don’t give her snacks or sweets. In my opinion, it’s my responsibility as Poppy’s parent to make sure she’s fed an appropriate diet. If she does get hungry in between meals I would tend to offer her dried fruit, breadsticks or some cereal."

"Instead of tomato based pasta sauce I have found roasting butternut squash and pureeing it works really well and is nice for a change."

"Poppy’s favourites include any kind of soup, my homemade fish cakes and mince and potatoes."

"My advice to parents is to try and make sure they don’t pressurise kids into eating things. I think it’s important that meal times are enjoyable and not stressful for them. Kids love your attention which is why sitting down and eating together can really help encourage them to enjoy food. I’ve seen success through my approach so far and love to share my tips with friends whose kids are slightly more choosy eaters and since they’ve stopped giving in to their demands for sweet treats and snacks they’ve seen a real improvement in them eating all their meals."

"I make everything from scratch now as I have to be absolutely certain of every ingredient in what I’m feeding my daughter. Her allergies are so severe I can’t give her anything from jars or tins and even pre-prepared baby food is out of the question. However, I’ve also found that doing this actually saves me time and money as I can make big batches and divide it into portions to freeze for later on. Poppy’s favourites include any kind of soup, my homemade fish cakes and mince and potatoes."