Bonny is not only an amazing mother, but if you open her pantry, you will understand how passionate she is about health and nutrition. There is every variety of nut and flour you can imagine. Everything is fresh and homemade, she makes her own sauces, nut milk, bread you name it!
Researching health and diet information can be daunting and confusing, especially due to the huge amount of conflicting information that is available. It was through discovering that her children had various food allergies and intolerances that Bonny became passionate about nutrition and wholefoods, and has consequently started studying nutrition.
A more modern approach to nutrition based on the importance of food to help individuals support their bodies natural vitality by changing their habits. Bonny would love to help others overcome their own health challenges and live their lives to the fullest by influencing people to make better lifestyle choices. She is currently taking the Changing Habits Online Nutrition Course.
Here is a little more about this inspiring mum!
Balancing between work, studying, motherhood and your marriage:
I was lucky enough that I was able to stay at home full time for 3 years after the birth of my second son. These days, there are more things to juggle with study and part time work added to the mix, however the boys are now at an age that does allow me some extra time. As my course is self paced (with a 2 year limit), initially I found it tricky to allocate my time effectively and was not prioritising time to study. There is always another kids activity, another meal to cook, load of washing to put on etc … A couple of months into my course, I started using a default diary template to allocate my time during the week. This has been an excellent tool that has helped me to balance all aspects of my life, as I am ensuring that I put time aside for the kids, study, household chores, myself, as well as time with my husband. I find that a good way to have quality time with the kids while also getting things done is to include them in the activity – both of my boys love getting their hands dirty in the kitchen and get a kick out of helping mummy out with the chores (depending on the mood of course!) Time with our partners often comes last on the list, but we personally find that we run a lot more smoothly as a family unit if we take time out to reconnect as a couple to at least once or twice a month.
How life has changed since becoming a mum:
Before having my boys who are now 5 and 3, I was quite career orientated and imagined myself only taking a short time out of the workforce to have children. However, by the time I had taken my second lot of maternity leave, my focus had changed significantly and I found that it felt quite natural for me to be at home with them full time. I would have to say though, the biggest life change since having kids would have to be the amount of time I spend in the kitchen! Having kids has entirely changed the way I view the way we eat and nourish our bodies. I’ve also had to learn to relax about having my house clean and tidy 100% of the time, as two boys are like a tornado at times and I would have lost my mind by now if I hadn’t been able to come to terms with it. It has also changed the way I view the world – from the way we treat our planet, down to the importance I place on material things.
On routine:
I am a bit of a stickler for routine, as I find that my kids are happier and more settled when they know what to expect. It is also very important that I have a routine for myself, as I don’t have a strict time schedule within which to get things done. I try to make sure that the kids have at least one day a week where we don’t have a routine and much of a schedule to stick to, and my husband is less concerned with routine so we balance each other out on the days we have all together.
Fussy eating:
Fussy eating is a tricky one that I know many parents struggle with. Both of my own boys have gone through periods when they were fussier than other times, so I understand the urge to either; try to make them eat something that they don’t want; or give in and give them something less than ideal just so that they get some nourishment. However I try to remain fairly consistent in my approach, which is that I will never force them to eat something that they don’t want/like, but I do require that they at least taste the food. Forcing children to eat things that they really don’t want can create issues with food, and also makes meal times very stressful. Also, I feel that it is important to keep offering things as sometimes something that they didn’t want last week can become something that they are happy to eat this week. Sometimes my kids may only finish two of the items on their plate, but as long as they have had a ‘taste’ of the other items I am ok with that. The general rule is that they must have something green, and something with protein. I’m also very careful not to make a second meal if the first one is not in favour. I feel comfortable that by engaging them in the meal choices, and providing things that I know they enjoy (at least at times) that they will eat if they are hungry enough. We also talk a lot about what the different properties of the food are, and what they are doing for our bodies. These days they both usually polish off everything on the plate.
I know that there are some children who have more serious food aversions, and I believe that more than likely this would come back to an underlying health/gut issue that would need to be addressed before the fussy eating will resolve.
The importance of children’s nutrition:
Children’s nutrition is extremely important in setting them up for a healthy and disease free life, particularly in the first 10 years. There is a direct causal relationship between childhood diet and adult diseases. It is also critical that our kids eat enough nutrient dense foods to support their growing bodies. Processed foods and sugar cause inflammation in their little bodies – which of course we want to avoid!
It is also important to setup our children with healthy eating habits for life, which is why I try to involve my children in every part of the process, from shopping, preparing, serving and eating. One day I would love to get them more involved in gardening too, as herbs are as far as my not so green thumb has taken us so far 😉
How to organize your pantry:
Organisation is key to being able to prepare health food at home. I keep labelled canisters of dry foods in my pantry, and always have a shopping list that I add to whenever I notice that I am running low on a particular item. I like to buy things like organic nuts, seeds and grains in bulk in order to save time and money. I then freeze the majority and just take out what I need for a week or two in advance. This means that I pretty much always have things on hand when I need them J
Your favourite recipe at the moment:
Hmmm it’s hard to pick! My favourite new recipe would have to be the super easy gluten free wraps that I have been making for the kids lunch boxes – I love them because they are delicious but very simple and also allergen friendly with no gluten, dairy, eggs or nuts.