Motherhood is a constant dance between caring for our little people, managing work, and trying to carve out moments for ourselves. Some days it feels like a juggling act, other days more like a seesaw, tipping one way or the other. And when it comes to feeding our families, the pressure can feel even bigger, especially if you’ve got a picky eater or two at the table.

In this episode, Dr Renee White chats with Sarah Pound, a nutritionist, food columnist, and mum of three who’s built a thriving online community through Wholesome by Sarah. With a passion for making healthy food simple, joyful, and achievable, Sarah shares practical tips for finding balance in motherhood, getting kids involved in the kitchen, and creating mealtimes that feel less stressful and more connected.

Whether you’re navigating fussy eating, trying to simplify weeknight dinners, or just looking for ways to make cooking a shared family experience, Sarah’s advice will leave you feeling inspired and supported.

You’ll hear about:

• How to find your balance in the daily juggle of work and motherhood
• Simple ways to get kids excited about helping in the kitchen
• Practical strategies for handling picky eaters without mealtime battles
• Why food can be a powerful way to connect as a family
• How to let go of the pressure and find more joy in feeding your family

It’s not about perfect plates or perfectly behaved eaters, it’s about building confidence, connection, and joy in the everyday moments.

Resources and Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

🌿 Follow Sarah Pound: @wholesomebysarah

📖 Explore Sarah’s recipes and books: Wholesome by Sarah

📚 Sarah’s new cookbook, Family Food, is now available from your favourite bookstore or online retailer.

If this episode leaves you feeling inspired to bring more joy and connection to your mealtimes, share it with another mum who’s navigating the same juggle. Together, we can make the kitchen a place of fun, not frustration.

[00:00:27] Dr Renee White: I'm Dr. Renee White, and this is The [00:00:30] Science of Motherhood. Hello and welcome to episode 187 of The Science of Motherhood. I'm your host, Dr. Renee White, and this episode is proudly brought to you by Fill Your Cup. Australia's most trusted doula [00:00:45] village. Now we have been nurturing mums through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for the past five years.

[00:01:18] Dr Renee White: So a doula is essentially a non-medical professional. They are someone who essentially advocates, educates and supports you [00:01:30] through pregnancy, birth, and life after birth. If you are a little bit nervous about birth, maybe it's your first time, you might not have a lot of friends and family close by. You don't have [00:01:45] that support structure, and you want someone who is really experienced and has assisted other mums and their partners through this process.

[00:02:23] Dr Renee White: Or you know, your friends and family are interstate or overseas and you're thinking, my [00:02:30] goodness, where is this village that I'm supposed to have to help me so I can rest and recover and have that really beautiful bonding experience with my baby? And so that is what a doula does. And what makes us really different here at Fill Your Cup [00:02:45] is the fact that we are essentially where science meets support.

[00:03:17] Dr Renee White: And because we are a doula village, we can provide genuine continuity of care, which we know is the gold standard here in Australia. So, you know, life happens, but your care [00:03:30] shouldn't stop. So our doula village model ensures that if your primary doula becomes unavailable, a trained replacement steps in seamlessly to provide that uninterrupted support.

[00:04:07] Dr Renee White: We are across the country. We are in Perth, Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart, Sydney, [00:04:15] Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and we are expanding this year. Okay, let's dive into today's episode. On today's episode, we have got a very [00:04:30] special guest. It is the lovely Sarah Pound. She's a nutritionist who lives in Victoria with her husband Tom and her beautiful girls, Lily, penny and Elia, and Sarah kind [00:04:45] of had this love of food very, very early on.

[00:05:16] Dr Renee White: And then, you know, 2020 came around. We all know what happened there. The hospitality industry unfortunately just went a little bit down the toilet and so Sarah had to pivot and shifted her focus [00:05:30] and she launched her new business, Wholesome by Sarah, which was essentially it is a community and platform dedicated to making healthy food simple and achievable.

[00:06:42] Dr Renee White: So if something's not in season, it's like, okay, [00:06:45] that's fine. Here, replace it with this one or that one, which is really, really good. And for all those listening, we have kind of we've, we've snuck out two of those beautiful recipes. Sarah and her [00:07:00] team have kindly offered us to give our listeners and our Instagram followers two recipes.

[00:07:28] Dr Renee White: She likes making cakes and stuff like that, [00:07:30] so keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram, those two recipes will be there for free, so you can check them out. So in today's episode, we are gonna be talking about, I guess, you [00:07:45] know, the mental load of being a mum and carrying that all, and how to do like food planning and nutrition, some strategies behind that.

[00:08:21] Dr Renee White: And she talks really candidly in this interview about how to navigate, I guess, the different personalities of children. You know, some kids love veggies, [00:08:30] some kids hate veggies, some kids love fruit, some kids hate fruit. And how to incorporate that into the daily. And I guess, you know, as I said, that mental load of managing work, life and making sure [00:08:45] that our kids have really nourishing food.

[00:09:02] Sarah Pound: I'm well, Renee. How are you?

[00:09:11] Sarah Pound: Yeah, I know. It's like that, isn't it?

[00:09:30] Sarah Pound: No, we're the same. Uh, some are on school holidays now if you get to three weeks, but no, my girl's gone school holidays this Friday. I'm like, oh gosh. I'm the same. I'm like, gear up for the chaos. It's about to begin and the just the disjointed days and weeks and trying to get [00:09:45] work done and yes, it's, it's always a bit like that before school holidays. Yeah.

[00:10:19] Dr Renee White: It's just gonna look really bougie like in my kitchen and beautiful. Yeah. Whereas I was legit flicking through going Yes, yes, yes, yes. [00:10:30] To all of those things.

[00:10:32] Dr Renee White: Uh, first of all, and I always like to kind of go back and build some context for the audience. I wanna know, how did you get into this field?

[00:10:54] Sarah Pound: Yeah, so, and feel free, I tend to babble sometimes, so if I'm talking for way too long about, you know, how I got here, [00:11:00] definitely cut me off. Loved food my whole life. So I do look back at my childhood and remember having an interest in food and wanting to be up at the bench and cooking with mum and doing all that sort of jazz.

[00:11:35] Sarah Pound: Did a whole lot of different things with, you know, cookware and cooking and different ingredients and knives and all. It was just a wonderful store and they would have [00:11:45] cooking classes there, sort of with really wonderful renowned chefs, you know, within Melbourne, but also, you know, when they could around the world.

[00:12:23] Sarah Pound: And sometimes we just forget about the simplicity of food as it is and what it's there for. And [00:12:30] it's there to fuel our bodies and our brains and get us up and, and doing everything that we do in a day. So I always found the fundamentals of nutrition and what food does, you know, once it enters our mouths, how it works in our bodies absolutely fascinating.

[00:13:07] Sarah Pound: I feel like, feel like if you, you look at social media or you know, you need to find a dietician or a nutritionist. They're sort of [00:13:15] everywhere now. Yeah. It's become like the

[00:13:18] Sarah Pound: Yeah. It's sort of, it's not that it's the cool thing to be, but it, you know, health and wellness has taken such a, a, you know, front stage over the last decade or two, so it's now easy. Back then it wasn't. So [00:13:30] applying for the masters in dietetics, I think about 400 students applied and they, and they put through four. So it was, um, yeah, it was incredibly competitive, which so didn't get in. So then took a bit of a different turn. I did my masters in primary school teaching 'cause [00:13:45] I loved teaching loved children.

[00:14:07] Sarah Pound: And then had that for 10 years, pretty much nearly 10 years and, and then that just went to my, my French went to shit during COVID. [00:14:15] So, and that's when wholesome. Yes. So that's when all my wholesome stuff, my wholesome by Sarah and my cooking and my Instagram page and filming recipes and, and all of that came through during COVID when I couldn't work when my business was shut down.

[00:14:28] Sarah Pound: Yeah. So [00:14:30] it's a, it's kind of a silver lining. Like what was a really stressful time. I'd worked so hard. With my catering business. And, um, finally got it to a position where we were doing what we, you know, had aimed to do for so many years and [00:14:45] mm-hmm. We're catering big private weddings, private property weddings all around Victoria, and then COVID hit.

[00:15:12] Sarah Pound: I've got a food product choose health related [00:15:15] within Woolies, with my Simply Health and Pantry team. So, lots of different things now that they all sort of came out of that kind of crazy COVID time,

[00:15:35] Dr Renee White: Yeah. But something beautiful has flourished. Like it's like a Phoenix moment from, you know, after, after COVID, uh, like, you know, very similar to me. I [00:15:45] was like running the, running the gauntlet as an IP attorney, and I was like, yeah, I'm climbing the ladder. Woo. Career girl. And then COVID hits, and then you're like, oh, actually, uh, queue existential [00:16:00] crisis.

[00:16:08] Sarah Pound: Yes. It, it was. And so many people, yeah, it it, that's the thing. It worked, and I mean, I always do say, because [00:16:15] you have to acknowledge the terrible experiences that some people had during COVID, you know, with with ill family members and all of that sort of horrible stuff that happened during that time.

[00:16:39] Dr Renee White: Yeah, absolutely. And so during that. Beautiful [00:16:45] kind of transition and your career and things like that. You obviously became a mum. Yes. Of three gorgeous girls. Yeah. And so, you know, I'd love to talk to you about. So many things in motherhood and [00:17:00] cooking. Oh yeah. Like, it's just, just crazy. I'm just like, how does one do this?

[00:17:13] Sarah Pound: Okay.

[00:17:25] Dr Renee White: So this is the scenario, Sarah, like I am [00:17:30] the chief chef in our house. Yeah. I do all the shopping, I do all the meal planning. My husband does not like cooking. Mm-hmm. He's therefore not good at it because he doesn't do it enough to understand. I'm a, I'm a [00:17:45] biochemist by trade and so I love a bit of bucket chemistry when it comes to cooking.

[00:18:24] Dr Renee White: It wasn't the most amazing dish, but there was [00:18:30] some, it was some jeering from the audience, shall I say, about, oh, what are we having? Is that all? Where's the potatoes? Aren't we having garlic bread? And it was just, I [00:18:45] exploded. I absolutely exploded. And I said like, I've really raised my voice and my, I put the fear of God.

[00:19:16] Sarah Pound: Yeah, totally.

[00:19:21] Sarah Pound: Oh, for sure I do that,

[00:19:31] Sarah Pound: It's so tricky. So, and I talk about picky eaters a lot. So the first thing I would say to you, uh, what's your daughter's name?

[00:19:38] Sarah Pound: Eva. So I would start to, at her age, like nearly being eight, get [00:19:45] her involved. And, and I say this at every age, but Yep. You know, to the point that soon in a few years time, she could be cooking dinner for you guys one night a week.

[00:20:06] Sarah Pound: Great.

[00:20:17] Dr Renee White: She has to have agency over this. Yep. And it was very simple and yes, I supervised. Yep. But we just made, like, she got, she wanted prawn pasta.

[00:20:29] Dr Renee White: So it was Linguine [00:20:30] Pasta. Yep. It was frozen prawns, which we cooked up in some like, you know, garlic, olive oil, shenanigans. Yep. With a bit of lemon. And then that was it.

[00:20:51] Sarah Pound: Love that

[00:20:58] Sarah Pound: Totally. Totally. [00:21:00] Yeah.

[00:21:06] Sarah Pound: Great I was about to say. Good you didn't say anything.

[00:21:14] Sarah Pound: But that's [00:21:15] exactly like, that's what I was about to say with our kids particularly. And I think our, you know, our male partners can be quite tricky 'cause they're either stuck in their ways, as you say, they might hate it. Mm-hmm. They might get home too late. So it is quite an obstacle with them whether, [00:21:30] you know, because I always say, if you can try and get them cooking, it's great, you know, role modeling, modeling for our children.

[00:22:03] Sarah Pound: So. Mm-hmm. What's really vital about all of this is that we don't lose the, the art of home cooking. And the first step with that is to get our kids involved as much as possible. And that can look really different at [00:22:15] every age. So, mm-hmm. I've got a 1-year-old, a 4-year-old, and a just turned 8-year-old.

[00:22:39] Sarah Pound: You can cook whatever you like. I can help you if you want, or I can leave you alone. And when you do leave them alone. You don't say a [00:22:45] thing and just,

[00:22:47] Sarah Pound: Suck that up. There are so many as a control, like I'm not really a control freak. Whenever my girls cook, I'm like, I zip it. And my husband has become a great cook.

[00:23:09] Sarah Pound: But they learn everyone, we know that, we say that to our own kids. You learn from your mistakes, so. Mm-hmm. [00:23:15] With your kids, it's, it's all about, and you can pretty much, um, pop this into Google or, or chat GPT, you know, age appropriate jobs for kids in the kitchen. Yeah. And it'll give you a whole list of stuff like, you know, with my, my 4-year-old really enjoys [00:23:30] cooking, and you can tell that about her, but she'll get up, she'll wash lettuce, she'll tear herbs.

[00:23:56] Sarah Pound: How am I meant to get my kids involved? It's simple stuff, taking them [00:24:00] to the supermarket, talking about veggies, you know, what veggies you want in your dinner this week, like what's in season in winter. And obviously we're very lucky we get everything sort of in supermarkets and markets at all time of the year.

[00:24:28] Sarah Pound: But you know, pick your [00:24:30] moments, pick your times and just try and get them. That would be my first bit of advice for anyone. Just get them involved in whatever way that looks like.

[00:25:02] Sarah Pound: Totally.

[00:25:18] Dr Renee White: I was jetting through there and my daughter was like, oh, mum, so and so's got these in their lunchbox and can I have one? And uh, and they were, they. [00:25:30] Fruit rollups and, and I am just a big hard no on it because it's just jam packed full of sugar. Like, I actually, I was talking to some, a friend the other day and we were talking about the fact that yes, [00:25:45] the cost of living is like insane at the moment, but one of my non-negotiables is like Whole Foods.

[00:26:15] Dr Renee White: Mm-hmm. And I ran that exercise of like, the first ingredient is the ingredient that is most abundant in this. Yeah. And then we went to another box, which had fruit [00:26:30] straps, fruit roll-ups and I said, now compare the two. And she was like, oh, this one doesn't have any sugar in it. And I was like, yes. What's in it?

[00:26:42] Sarah Pound: Yes. Yep. I love that.

[00:27:01] Sarah Pound: Totally. It's, it's so many options overwhelming.

[00:27:13] Sarah Pound: Totally and,

[00:27:15] Sarah Pound: and exactly yeah yeah. You are spot on there that it is about, you know, taking them to the shops.

[00:27:42] Sarah Pound: And as you say, it is about [00:27:45] picking up because there is so much out there and it is so overwhelming. And, you know, convenience, processed and very highly processed foods are everywhere on the shelf now. And it's really hard as a consumer to look at the shelves and know what is good for you and [00:28:00] what is not good for you and what you know, what you're buying for whatever reason.

[00:28:19] Sarah Pound: But you've gotta be careful sometimes with how much we are, we're sort of putting on our children about, oh, too much sugar. Sugar's terrible for us. Yes. And too much fat fat's bad [00:28:30] for us because I always say I don't restrict anything in my diet and you know. Mm-hmm. And I never talk with negative language.

[00:28:51] Dr Renee White: oh, oh my God, my daughter could eat it out.

[00:28:55] Dr Renee White: It looks like cheese. Yeah. You know, on the bread.

[00:29:10] Sarah Pound: It helps with whole lot of vitamin sort of digestion and all of that sort of absorption. But [00:29:15] at the same time, I sort of say if we have too much of it, it's not good for our bodies. So we just have to make sure we are managing it. So that's the other thing you can talk about with your kids is that when you are showing them, you know, and that's amazing that you're starting to do that because we're, we're not the [00:29:30] convenience and ultra processed foods are not going anywhere.

[00:29:47] Sarah Pound: But just being a little bit careful with you know, that's packed with artificial sugars. Sugars are so bad for us because a little bit of sugar for us in moderation throughout our whole week. Yeah. Not bad, but it's, [00:30:00] that's where we've just, 'cause there's that other side of, you know, educating our kids. And I think we all grew up in this era where, you know, fat was shamed and sugar is terrible, it's deadly and it makes us, you know, o overweight and we don't look good.

[00:30:43] Dr Renee White: Oh 100 [00:30:45] percent,

[00:31:01] Sarah Pound: So it is about, in my my opinion, and this is what I do with my girls, I don't limit any foods. I let them have lollies. I let them have chocolate, I'll let them, but it's just more we talk about, you know, overall in a day, overall in a week, if we are doing a sort of [00:31:15] 80 90 rule of eating those fruits and veggies and whole grains and, you know, um, lean proteins and legumes and eggs and nuts and fish and all of that most of the time, and then leaving that little bit of the, of the pie circle for your indulgence, [00:31:30] then nothing wrong with that.

[00:31:52] Sarah Pound: Love that. Exactly.

[00:31:56] Sarah Pound: Yep. Yep. I love that.

[00:32:18] Dr Renee White: My kids, she's like, they're not doing nearly as much activities at home as they would at school. I can't believe they're eating so much. And so she created these kind of two [00:32:30] boxes. One was in the pantry and one was in the fridge. Yeah. And it was like the yes boxes. And she was like, I don't care. Like stop, stop hassling me. Everything is a yes in that box, and everything is a yes in that [00:32:45] box. So if you're hungry, you just go to one of those boxes.

[00:32:49] Dr Renee White: And I was like. I was like, I don't even think I was, oh, I might have been pregnant at the time. And I was like, I'm gonna bank that idea up.

[00:32:59] Dr Renee White: I am. And [00:33:00] we have, we have yes. Snack boxes now in the fridge and on, um, our kitchen bench. And so, yeah, every time Eva comes to me, she's like, mum, i'm hungry. And I'm like, what's in the box?

[00:33:13] Dr Renee White: leave me alone. [00:33:15]

[00:33:29] Sarah Pound: That's, [00:33:30] um, mm-hmm and, and those sort of habits and learnings will stick with them as they get older. Yeah. So it's also, it gives them a bit of the empowerment of they can choose. Yes. So they can, they can look in the bowl, they can look in the container and go, oh, slice of cheese with some whole grain crackers don't really feel like that. [00:33:45]

[00:33:58] Dr Renee White: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:34:00] Dr Renee White: Okay. I want, I wanna dive a little bit deeper into fussy eaters.

[00:34:05] Dr Renee White: And like, I know some people. I know some people have an issue with that term because they're like, they're not fussy, it's just they're learning. Yeah. And [00:34:15] like that type of stuff. So we acknowledge that everyone do not at, do not at me.

[00:34:47] Dr Renee White: Yes. And you can still put things onto their high chair and they'll still have a go and then, generally, as we approach three, I learn that magic word no. Yes.

[00:34:59] Dr Renee White: [00:35:00] Yeah. And, and, um, your dog gets fatter because things end up on the ground more like us. Tell me like what is, like what is this stage? Yeah.

[00:35:18] Sarah Pound: For sure. So firstly, 'cause I talk on this a lot, so firstly it's so, so common. So when we, when we talk about fussy, it is a, yeah, as you say, we're not targeting a particular group saying [00:35:30] that they're difficult children or whatever.

[00:35:49] Sarah Pound: And they sort of stick to that for however long. Generally research shows that it is that time that you've just talked about. So approaching that three to sort of four, four and a half. But it [00:36:00] can also happen before that and it can also happen in stages after that as well. And I've even seen that with my own three daughters.

[00:36:27] Sarah Pound: Yeah. Where she hasn't wanted to venture out, she hasn't [00:36:30] wanted to try new food. She's sort of been like, I want this every night, every night. Maggi noodles. I'm like, oh my God, Lil no, not again. Um, again, I don't deprive her of it. I'll let her have it every now and then. 'cause otherwise I know she'll just want it more.

[00:36:49] Dr Renee White: Yep a hundred percent.

[00:36:57] Sarah Pound: So it's really, really common for them [00:37:00] to hit those sort of fussy eating stages and going through a very sort of bland, boring, uh, only wanting those boring foods. I always say. This is really easy for me to say, and I know it's really hard for for parents to take on, but try and relax [00:37:15] because I think what happens most of the time is everyone gets tense around mealtimes.

[00:37:35] Sarah Pound: A quick few things. I say let them have their bland, boring diet. So if you're going to introduce new foods or you're gonna serve veggies at dinner, always do it alongside side [00:37:45] something that you know they like and you know they'll eat and you just have it. You can have it. I mean, there's research to show sort of like a no bowl in the middle.

[00:38:08] Dr Renee White: nama stay Mama Nama stay.

[00:38:32] Sarah Pound: So I always say my overall message is there is no one quick fix to this because if there was, we'd all know about it and we'd all have children that would eat everything

[00:38:43] Sarah Pound: Yeah, exactly. And [00:38:45] so my answer is that it is a very long and slow game. And, and so patience and persistence plays a huge part in doing it.

[00:39:12] Sarah Pound: I understand Every situation is different. [00:39:15] If you can two or three times a week, try and eat with your kids. And when you eat with your kids, don't make it a how much are they gonna eat of their plate? And you're sitting there for, you know, holding the fork and seeing how much, talk to them about their day, talk to them about life.

[00:39:48] Sarah Pound: So how wonderful it is that it gives us energy and it fuels our bodies. It fuels our brains, you know, and again, that can be age appropriate to, you know, I talked to my 4-year-old about, it's so cool, you know, you eat your dit or have your [00:40:00] BRE in the morning and you're able to go to kinder and run around and play with your mates and you get the energy to do that from your food.

[00:40:35] Sarah Pound: So be the model in terms of eating, you know, good foods in front of your kids and talking about them in a positive way. But yeah, it, it really is a [00:40:45] long game. Keep serving up those veggies, keep serving up, you know, different, a, a really quick tip I love is that on those busy weeknights I always have chopped up most of the time.

[00:41:13] Sarah Pound: And then when you get home on those [00:41:15] crazy times where they're like, I'm starving. Throw a whole bunch of them out on a plate and pop 'em down in the living room or whatever and say, dinner will be up in 10 minutes. It's not gonna be long. If you're hungry, you can snack on your veggies or snack on what's on the plate.

[00:41:41] Sarah Pound: There is something there. And what I find is majority of [00:41:45] the time, especially when they get into that habit, they'll sort of maybe, maybe some nights they'll only have two, but maybe some nights they'll sort of have eight, and they'll be snacking away while they're playing or doing their homework or running around, whatever.

[00:42:00] Dr Renee White: Yeah. Bang, bang, done.

[00:42:12] Sarah Pound: So that's just a little one. But [00:42:15] yes, unfortunately, there's no quick fix. It's, it's sort of a long time game and we just have to be patient and we have to be persistent and we have to be sharing the right messages over time. And, uh, most of the research shows, [00:42:30] and what you will find is most kids come around and of course they're gonna hate certain veggies.

[00:42:44] Dr Renee White: [00:42:45] Yeah. I'd love your thought on like feast style meals, you know, like we do a lot of this.

[00:43:00] Sarah Pound: Yeah. Tacos. All your bits and bobs

[00:43:21] Dr Renee White: Yeah. Like more, and it was like, and it wasn't even, um like, it wasn't even a point [00:43:30] where she was like, I'm not having that. Like sometimes she would like just, oh, I'm just gonna put this on my plate. And I'm like doing that whole internal and like, holy moly she's gonna try this, this, you know, like, and I'm just like, nothing to [00:43:45] see here.

[00:43:57] Sarah Pound: Totally. Yes. Yeah. And, and [00:44:00] you're exactly right. So things like tacos, burritos, wraps, so, um, even bowls, you know, you can put out things like people love, especially, you know, rice bowls and Buddha bowls and things like that.

[00:44:25] Sarah Pound: So it's like, okay, well I'll put some rice on the table, I'll put them in the middle and then I'll chop up a few [00:44:30] different veggies or whatever. Some of them, I know that they'll definitely eat some cheese, some sauces, and let's go to the table and look to be honest, I, I always say, yeah, if you can have some predictability with kids as well, that can often help.

[00:45:11] Sarah Pound: It is a great option to do because as you just said, they'll put in, and again, [00:45:15] you need to take the pressure off and if they only want, that's what's really hard when you do that sort of style. A lot of the time, Penny, my four and a half year old has done this a lot over the last year.

[00:45:43] Sarah Pound: But often Penny would just do [00:45:45] like the chicken and cheese and she'd wrap her little wrap and I'd be sitting there going,

[00:45:51] Sarah Pound: she put some lettuce or something in a bit of lettuce, bit of tomato. I know she likes tomato at the moment. Why isn't she putting in the tomato? But you know.

[00:46:36] Dr Renee White: And then I'll put something like, I will put a stir fry together. Yeah. Noodles, meat sauce, vegetables. [00:46:45] And she will just pick those vegetables out. Yes. And she's like, I do not like all

[00:46:53] Dr Renee White: It's just like, it's a brain explosion for her. But so what I do is very similar to what you [00:47:00] mentioned earlier, like as I'm chopping the veggies, this is the other thing, she prefers the veggies raw.

[00:47:19] Sarah Pound: snack away. Yep.

[00:47:26] Sarah Pound: Yes. It's all being mixed together.

[00:47:45] Sarah Pound: And I get that, but that's with something like, so a stir fry is the perfect example where we love a stir fry in our house, but Penny will sit there and pick out all the vegetables at the moment, a year ago she was eating them all and I know she'll come back again. If I keep doing it, keep serving it up.[00:48:00]

[00:48:19] Sarah Pound: Yeah, then that's fine. So you've just gotta, again, thrown into chat GPT, I always say I think everyone's scared of using chat gpt or it's not,

[00:48:28] Sarah Pound: And it is an [00:48:30] amazing tool pop in, you know, my 4-year-old won't eat the, you know, and give it a little prompt and it'll spit out a whole, like, sort of a whole lot of things that you can be doing with your 4-year-old to try and increase their veggie intake.

[00:49:03] Sarah Pound: You know, Lil, my eldest is getting to that stage where she likes a full Greek salad. So she'll, she loves the olives, the feta, the Spanish onion, the oregano in there. Mm-hmm. And she'll, she'll love all that, but Penny's still just at [00:49:15] the cherry tomato cucumber stage. Yeah. Cool. So it'll sort of be like, as I'm making Lil, and I were making the salad together as we made that, I sort of put aside that bowl, the Penno Uhhuh, and I was like, if that's all, she has, her cherry tomatoes and her cucumber.

[00:49:46] Sarah Pound: So she's still having, you know, a formulation of what we're eating. It's just that level down because she's only four and you build it over time.

[00:50:13] Dr Renee White: They don't get to pick, but it's [00:50:15] surprise every night. Uh, for people out there who are like super busy on the go all the time, what's your advice for, I guess, prepping for the week? Like, do you have some [00:50:30] like really clear, like, this just gets me by each and every time. Like you've already suggested, like you've got all of those veggies chopped up in your fridge, ready to rock and roll.

[00:50:46] Sarah Pound: Yeah. So, um. I always say it probably depends on the time of year. So I find meal prepping in winter way easier. And look, I don't meal prep a lot. It's different now because I cook most days for work. So sometimes we'll [00:51:00] have six things for as an option in the fridge, and then the next week there'll be nothing.

[00:51:23] Sarah Pound: It's like what? Sunday's, my one day.

[00:51:28] Sarah Pound: Yeah. Hard [00:51:30] no, and that's the thing. It also only works with, so I always say if you wanna do a few things to get ready for your week, it also only might work if you've got a quiet weekend. So if you're home, yeah.

[00:51:56] Sarah Pound: Put them out for your kids quickly when they're, you know, rather than grabbing a box of shapes or [00:52:00] something to quickly fuel them 'cause they're starving. It's like at least you're gonna put out something more wholesome and nourishing for them. In winter I'm like, if you can, a soup is like a game changer because I find a soup as well.

[00:52:28] Sarah Pound: Mm-hmm. And then whether you wanna add cooked [00:52:30] chicken or, or whatever. But it's a wonderful way to use up anything you've got in your fridge or pantry that mm-hmm. Generally your fridge. So when your veggies are looking a little bit limp and you don't wanna waste food, chop 'em up and throw them into a soup.

[00:53:03] Sarah Pound: It's filling your house with beautiful smells and you've got a nourishing big pot of soup for the whole week. And I just find that, especially when I'm working from home, especially when it's freezing outside, just getting that with a nice [00:53:15] piece of whole grain or sourdough toast is just nothing better, better in winter.

[00:53:36] Sarah Pound: And then you can throw, well, you can eat them on their own as a snack, but you can throw them in with a grain. So quinoa or lentils or anything like that with some feta or goats [00:53:45] cheese or anything like that can make a really quick salad. Uh, it can also be a side on any of your dinners, so if you've got some, if you're serving it up with some meat or whatever, then that can be one of your sides.

[00:54:14] Sarah Pound: But if you buy them [00:54:15] from the supermarket, there's often other ingredients in them to preserve them. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That I always say, oh gosh, it takes 10 minutes at home. Do it at home. So if you wanna marinade your meats, glad wrap them and pop, they'll put them in a container, pop them in the fridge. They're really good for summer.

[00:54:47] Sarah Pound: I know Tuesday night's crazy busy. We're not gonna get home till six o'clock. Or, I know Thursday night's our after school fortnight and we're, I'm running around and I get home at six. Anything that you can do with those recipes, like a marinade, like a salad dressing, like [00:55:00] a, you know, roasting up something first, then they're always your good ones to pick out and try and do on that sort of Sunday if you've got a couple of hours in the afternoon or whatever.

[00:55:41] Dr Renee White: And so they was like, they were thin. And so the cooking [00:55:45] time on them was so quick.

[00:55:48] Dr Renee White: And I was just like. Oh my God, I can make wraps, I can make, you know, the bowls. I can like do this with like side of, as you say, grains and you know, veggies and whatever. And [00:56:00] I was just like, oh my God and then when I moved to Hobart, it's like, I'm like looking around, I'm looking around, I'm like, why is, why was like, why are the chicken knife is no one doing pre-marinated chicken?

[00:56:16] Sarah Pound: Yes, totally. And it does. I, yeah. Yeah,

[00:56:30] Sarah Pound: Completely. Yes.

[00:56:41] Sarah Pound: Completely. And that's something, I mean, even if you wanted to [00:56:45] prep on the weekend and do a few things to get ready, it's like, it's so easy just to get out your chicken, throw that on there.

[00:57:03] Sarah Pound: But you know, you can get these huge, thick chicken breasts that can take like 20 minutes to properly cook in a pan. And by that stage you've just ruin them because they're so dry, you know? So cut them in half and make them [00:57:15] thinner so that they do quick, you know, cook more quickly on those crazy busy weeknights.

[00:57:29] Sarah Pound: Oh, okay.

[00:57:30] Sarah Pound: I don't know if I've ever done one of these before. Who knows what's gonna come outta my mouth.

[00:57:39] Dr Renee White: They feel like they're at like Eddie McGuire hot seat or something like that. Yes, but don't, don't, don't panic. They're [00:57:45] not like,

[00:57:48] Dr Renee White: It's okay. Everyone standfast. You'll be all right. Okay. Are you ready?

[00:57:54] Dr Renee White: What is your top tip for mums?

[00:58:01] Dr Renee White: Yes. I know

[00:58:03] Dr Renee White: It's so good.

[00:58:15] Dr Renee White: Yeah. Love that. Do you have like a go-to resource for mums?

[00:58:37]

[00:58:48] Sarah Pound: Is this rapid fire That's, are we in rapid fire?

[00:58:50] Sarah Pound: Sorry, I'm going so slowly. Um, this one has stumped me because I was so emotional in all my part postpartum. It is such a full [00:59:00] on time of your life and it's so I dunno. You just change completely who you thought you were, but you're doing it in the moment while also trying to look after this little human and keep them alive.

[00:59:29] Sarah Pound: Mm-hmm.

[00:59:56] Sarah Pound: It was just those things that I used to read over, like quotes [01:00:00] or reels where you'd watch other women and you just, you didn't feel so alone.

[01:00:06] Sarah Pound: Yeah, and, and going, it's okay, like. You know, it is a very different stage of your life and it does, you know, stop you in your tracks [01:00:15] completely.

[01:00:40] Sarah Pound: So when we're all a bit fucked up and, you know,

[01:00:47] Sarah Pound: It all comes out after, you know.

[01:01:22] Sarah Pound: Totally. Or even losing yourself in that. You know, you might plan to get that one shower in. You know, you wrap your [01:01:30] bub up and you pop her down and you think, and then you just end up scrolling for half an hour. Yeah. Or doing something so fucking dumb. And then you go, oh my God, I just missed my window to shower 'cause the baby

[01:01:42] Sarah Pound: and all I did. But that's the thing, you're so [01:01:45] tired and you have no motivation to do anything because your life in that time is in the trenches. And so you just gotta hang on, get through it, keep doing what you're doing. As long as that baby's getting fed, whichever way that is, you know, you're, um, [01:02:00] you're finding some joy throughout your day and whatever that is.

[01:02:18] Dr Renee White: Agreed. Agreed. Yeah. Our last question, uh, which is a bit left of center and we borrow this one off, Brene Brown.

[01:02:27] Dr Renee White: What do you keep on your bedside table? [01:02:30]

[01:02:36] Dr Renee White: if you've got to, if got time and you got to pick one, which one would it be?

[01:02:47] Dr Renee White: Oh yes.

[01:03:00] Dr Renee White: Okay. Oh, are you a tea snob like me? He's a tea noob. Just like you, like your particular type of tea or how you had your tea made?

[01:03:17] Sarah Pound: Yes. Okay. I'm a, yes, I'm a Madura Earl Gray type of girl. Okay. And that's pretty much other earl grays. I'm like, ugh. Can't do that one.

[01:03:42] Sarah Pound: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's gonna kill me. [01:03:45] Yeah. What is it? I was gonna say as we're talking London

[01:03:57] Sarah Pound: Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:04:28] Sarah Pound: Delicious. Yeah.

[01:04:35] Sarah Pound: I can't buy this anywhere in Australia.

[01:04:41] Sarah Pound: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, tea can be such a [01:04:45] treat. I, I really always, yeah. Especially in winter, like yeah, I think it soothes the soul and it's such a nice thing to kind of keep you warm and at bedtime, hop into bed with your book that I haven't read, but we're just scrolling on my phone to be honest.

[01:05:05] Dr Renee White: you need a brain drain,

[01:05:09] Dr Renee White: Yep. Absolutely.

[01:05:13] Dr Renee White: Love that. Love that so [01:05:15] much. Tell the listeners where can we find your book?

[01:05:19] Dr Renee White: How can we find you on your social media, on your website? Tell us everything.

[01:05:33] Sarah Pound: But my second cookbook family food. And I always say it is very that, that sort of family friendly food, but it's not only designed just for families, it's, it's also for everyone. But that sort of everyday [01:05:45] healthy-ish weeknight meal on the table quickly. That comes out at the end of July. So that will be on all your main, you know, Kmart, target, Amazon, but you can pre-order now if you just head to my Instagram, it can, it will show you where you can, where you can pre-order if you would like a copy.[01:06:00]

[01:06:25] Sarah Pound: I know I always get intrigued by what people choose.

[01:06:49] Sarah Pound: Totally.

[01:06:58] Sarah Pound: Oh yes, that's a great one. And [01:07:00] really great one for kids 'cause it is all in the one bowl, one bowl. It in takes literally 10 minutes to throw it in. Then you just throw it in a loaf tin into the oven and you're done.

[01:07:12] Dr Renee White: Oh yeah,

[01:07:28] Sarah Pound: And that's actually, sorry not to, not [01:07:30] to pump my own tyres, but that's actually something I love about my next book is that I've got. In the bottom of every recipe that I can do this for. Yeah. It's called, it's a key that's called veggie booster. Yes. And so I list, basically, if you look at the core [01:07:45] recipe that I've got and you say, oh, well my, my child doesn't like zucchini, or my child doesn't like broccoli underneath it will list, you know, as many as I could.

[01:07:59] Dr Renee White: [01:08:00] I love that.

[01:08:13] Sarah Pound: Yeah. Just to be able to provide options. [01:08:15] So if you do have a picky eater or you know you're cooking for more teenagers and, and they're just really hungry and you wanna get some extra sort of Yeah. Nutrients in there, then that's a really good something to look at.

[01:08:41] Dr Renee White: Yes. And here are a few different things that you can swap in an and [01:08:45] equally like, you know, maybe something's on special at Yes. The shops. Exactly. And so we're gonna sub in and sub out. I love that COVID

[01:09:01] Sarah Pound: So that is really important to Good to note that you can sort of say, oh, you know, whatever I've used in eggplants might be expensive that week or whatever. So you look at, oh cool, I know that broccoli's cheap this week. I'll swap it out for that. So yes, it's [01:09:15] perfect. It's a good option for that too.

[01:09:26] Sarah Pound: we just have to do another one in time.

[01:09:31] Sarah Pound: And I should, I'll be better at the shoot fire questions 'cause they were like longest fucking answers.

[01:09:39] Dr Renee White: No, no. There are some people who have taken longer. Good. I can assure.

[01:09:44] Dr Renee White: So do not [01:09:45] worry about that. But yes, thank you so much for coming onto the podcast. I really appreciate it. I'm, I'm a hundred percent sure that people are gonna get some value outta this, particularly with picky eaters.

[01:10:03] Sarah Pound: No, it's good. It's good to give the personal stories. I, I, I'm pretty sure most households experience similar struggles, so it's nice again, you hear, oh, good. I'm not alone, you know, with the picky eaters or the, [01:10:15] you know.

[01:10:21] Sarah Pound: Bye

[01:10:39] Dr Renee White: You've just listened to another episode of The Science of Motherhood proudly presented [01:10:45] by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village. Head to our website, I fill your cup.com to learn more about our birth and postpartum doula offerings, where every mother we pledge to be the steady hand that guides you [01:11:00] back to yourself, ensuring you feel nurtured, informed, and empowered, so you can fully embrace the joy of motherhood with confidence.