Recap: The healthy way to feed your kids | Rhiannon Lambert and Dr. Federica Amati

Summary

ZOE Science & Nutrition Podcast Recap: The Healthy Way to Feed Your Kids Host: Jonathan Wolf
Guests: Rhiannon Lambert (Nutritionist), Dr. Federica Amati (Nutrition Scientist)
Release Date: August 19, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of ZOE Recap focuses on one of the most pressing challenges modern parents face: how to nurture healthy eating habits in children amidst an onslaught of junk food advertising, ultra-processed convenience foods, and misinformation prevalent on social media. Nutrition experts Rhiannon Lambert and Dr. Federica Amati discuss the impact of these external influences and offer practical, compassionate strategies for fostering a positive relationship with food at home and helping kids make healthier choices, all without shame or unrealistic expectations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Junk Food Environment and Advertising

• Advertising’s Relentless Influence ([00:44])

  • Children are bombarded by unhealthy food advertising. UK children, for example, see up to 15 billion junk food ads a year.
  • Dr. Amati: “We’re not protecting our kids… they’re exposed to these adverts, they’re exposed to a lot of ultra processed foods and frankly, junk food.” ([01:34])
  • The U.S. may face even higher numbers, and policy measures to address this problem are lacking.

• Supermarket & Product Design ([02:03])

  • Products marketed towards kids (think colorful packaging, cartoon characters) are engineered to be irresistible and misleadingly branded as healthy options.

• Misinformation Epidemic on Social Media ([02:41])

  • Rhiannon Lambert: “Less than 2% of nutrition information on TikTok, for example, is accurate.” ([02:42])
  • Many parents turn to social media for advice, but the sheer amount of inaccurate content makes it a hazardous source.

2. Ultra-Processed Food: The Grim Reality

• A Startling Statistic ([02:58])

  • Dr. Amati: “When we look at children, we see that it’s up to 72% [of calories from ultra-processed foods]…It’s the very young infant, so like under the age of 2, 3, and then teens who are bringing these numbers up.”
  • These foods dominate supermarket shelves and sneak into “weaning” and “healthy” snack products.

• Broader Social Factors

  • Modern patterns—two working parents, poor time resources, shifting roles—mean even educated nutritionists struggle to find time for home cooking ([04:21]).

3. Home Strategies: Building a Positive Food Environment

• Control the Home Environment ([05:51])

  • Dr. Amati encourages being a “health architect” at home, focusing on what is brought into the house and keeping healthy options accessible.
  • “Make their home the best possible food environment that it can be. But that includes a healthy relationship with food. This does not mean banning all ultra processed foods…”

• Avoid Demonization & Fear ([07:36])

  • Both experts warn against creating food anxiety and rigid restrictions. Dr. Amati cites influencers who create “fear amongst children,” which backfires and leads to disordered eating: “That is a very fast track to disordered eating.” ([06:39])

• The Power of Addition, Not Subtraction ([07:36])

  • Rhiannon: “This is more about adding in more good things rather than demonizing the idea of any amount…”

• Teaching Kids About ‘Belly Bugs’ and Gut Health ([07:43], [08:06])

  • Making nutrition tangible through simple explanations about microbiome and energy—for example, “What feeds the belly bugs?” or “This ice cream has given me energy and it tastes good.”
  • Empowers children to understand moderation and the diversity of food roles, e.g., “The most important food is there for their belly bugs, their muscles, their growth, their happiness.” ([08:06])

• Make Healthy Foods Easy to Reach ([08:48])

  • Keep fresh fruits, nuts, yogurt, eggs, and other whole foods accessible at children’s eye level.
  • Rhiannon highlights the psychological pull of a “treat cupboard” and how habitual treats can be retrained by simply not bringing them home, or gradually swapping in healthier options.

• Incremental Change & Compassion ([09:08])

  • “You could try half, half,” suggests Rhiannon, for picky eaters (e.g., half white, half brown bread).
  • “It's going to take a little bit of tough love. But…if there's nothing to grab…they will then start eating because you've brought it.” ([09:48])

4. Education, Empowerment, and Mealtime Rituals

• Microbiome as Motivation ([09:48])

  • Jonathan: “This understanding about their microbiome…has been by far the most transformational…It's a bit like having a dog or something, right? Like I've got to feed it.”
  • Framing nutrition as a fun, personal responsibility rather than a parental imposition makes it more relatable.

• Family Meals & Choice ([10:52])

  • Regular family meals—even once a week—create opportunities for kids to make choices, try new foods, and develop autonomy at the table:
    Dr. Amati: “Giving children the choice to pick what they want to put on their plate...just see what happens.”
  • Reframes parental role: “Our job is to provide the best food environment we can, and their job is to exercise their freedom to choose what to eat. But if we're creating a healthy food environment, then the choices they have are healthier. As simple as that.” ([13:10])

• No ‘Cold Turkey’ Needed ([12:16])

  • Moderation and gradual transitions work better, e.g. “We're gonna have this particular brand, your favorite one, maybe once every week instead of having it in the house every day...slowly, you are...empowering parents and giving them confidence.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Advertising:

  “That is literally the example of advertising working its magic. Right. So the problem is, is that we're not protecting our kids...”
  — Dr. Federica Amati ([01:34])

• On Social Media Misinformation:

  “Less than 2% of nutrition information on TikTok, for example, is accurate.”
  — Rhiannon Lambert ([02:42])

• On Processed Food Reliance:

  “We're living in a world right now where children are more used to opening a pouch or a packet of crisps than they are peeling a banana.”
  — Dr. Federica Amati ([03:46])

• On Home Food Environment:

  “If we could be our own health architects... make their home the best possible food environment that it can be. But that includes a healthy relationship with food.”
  — Dr. Federica Amati ([05:51])

• On Not Demonizing Foods:

  “This does not mean that you'll catch me making my own homemade butter and banning all ultra processed foods in my own. That is not healthy.”
  — Dr. Federica Amati ([06:39])

• Children and Food Roles:

  “They do understand if you explain it to them with love and you don't demonize food and say it's bad, they understand.”
  — Dr. Federica Amati ([08:06])

• On Changing Habits:

  “It's going to take a little bit of tough love. But equally, if there's nothing to grab, that chocolate bar…isn't in the drawer and it's replaced with a healthier…cereal bar version. That's one switch that you've made.”
  — Rhiannon Lambert ([09:08])

• On Parental Empowerment:

  “Our job is to provide the best food environment we can, and their job is to exercise their freedom to choose what to eat. But if we're creating a healthy food environment, then the choices they have are healthier. As simple as that.”
  — Dr. Federica Amati ([13:10])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Discussing Junk Food Advertising – [00:44 – 01:34]
• Social Media Misinformation – [02:03 – 02:44]
• Ultra-Processed Foods Stats – [02:58 – 04:21]
• Home as 'Health Architecture' and Avoiding Food Fear – [05:51 – 07:36]
• Teaching Children about Nutrition Positively – [07:40 – 09:08]
• Changing Habitual Treats and Making Gradual Swaps – [09:08 – 09:48]
• Microbiome Motivation & Table Autonomy – [09:48 – 11:11]
• The Value of Family Meals and Choice – [10:52 – 13:10]

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Takeaway Advice

• Parents should strive to control their home food environment without fostering fear or shame around food.
• Focus on adding nutritious options, keeping treats limited but available in moderation, and framing nutrition as a way to “feed your belly bugs” and grow strong.
• Avoid all-or-nothing thinking or strict bans—small, consistent changes and education about why food matters are key.
• Empower children by allowing reasonable choices at the table and involving them in prep and decision-making when possible.

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This episode is a gentle, realistic, and science-backed guide for parents—offering hope, empathy, and actionable steps for gradually improving the way children eat in a challenging world.

Transcript

[Jonathan Wolf]

Hello and welcome to Zoe Recap, where each week we find the best bits from one of our podcast episodes to help you improve your health. Today we're tackling the challenge of feeding our children. Getting kids to eat a balanced meal can often feel like an uphill battle, especially when they're surrounded by eye catching marketing campaigns that aim to lure them into unhealthy habits. So how can busy parents help their children build a better relationship with food? In this episode, nutrition experts Rhiannon Lambert and Dr. Federica Amarti share straightforward strategies to guide your children away from processed foods and towards a lifelong love of healthy eating.

What's the problem with children's food?

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

The first thing is that there is this relentless food advertising aimed at children that is of unhealthy foods. So there was a report that was recently published by Biteback 2030, who are this charity trying to help reduce the amount of adverts aimed at children for unhealthy foods. And they found that on average, UK children are exposed to 15 billion junk food adverts per year.

[Jonathan Wolf]

And the US is presumably even higher.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

Yes. And so the US, we haven't got the number, but it's presumably even higher. And the issue here is that we are surrounded by foods that we know don't support children's health, so it's much easier to access those. But they're also being heavily advertised and anyone who has kids, if you watch TV with adverts in it, so they will want the thing. My kids the other day happened to find a channel that had an advert for a chicken roasting pot.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

Oh, gosh.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

And they were like, mummy, can we have one of those? That is literally the example of advertising working its magic. Right. So the problem is, is that we're not protecting our kids in the UK and the us and so they're exposed to these adverts, they're exposed to a lot of ultra processed foods and frankly, junk food. And it's actually a really precious time in life as we'll get into where we can have a massive impact on their health and wellbeing and happiness with their daily food choices. So it's just not set up for us to succeed at the moment.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

I mean, it's also where parents are going to for the information because we're bombarded by this media storm of packaged goods, really, that are appealing, they're visual, they're bright, they're colorful. It's everything a child would want. Why would they not want something with a cartoon image? And I know there's some legislation now that's cracking down on that sort of display and how you display foods to children. But let's be honest, I think There's a stat 24% of adults now go to social media for health advice. They're going for their kids advice, how to build lunchboxes, how to tackle everything. And less than 2% of nutrition information on TikTok, for example, is accurate.

[Jonathan Wolf]

Less than 2%.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

Less than 2%.

[Jonathan Wolf]

That's rather terrifying.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

It is, isn't it?

[Jonathan Wolf]

And talk a little bit about ultra.

Processed food within this, because I think that's one of the things that we've touched on on a lot of podcasts here about this sort of general growth in ultra processed food. But we've always been talking about adults. What's been happening?

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

Well, unfortunately the numbers are a bit worse for children. So we know that over half of calories in the UK and the US come from ultra processed foods. It's really crept up. It's roughly about 65% for most adults now. And when we look at children, we see that it's up to 72%. And what's really quite scary is that it's the very young infant, so like under the age of 2, 3, and then teens who are bringing these numbers up. So it's a really scary statistic. But it's also not hard to see why when you go to the supermarket and the children's food aisles, the shelves are stacked with these ultra processed prepackaged snacks and foods that, as Rhiannon said, they're marketed as being ideal for weaning, ideal for learning how to feed yourself, like, contains a piece of kale, whatever. The way they advertise actually makes them sound like they've been designed to help parents on the weaning journey with their children to create like a healthy relationship with food. But they are actually just ultra processed foods that have been nicely packaged for convenience. We're living in a world right now where children are more used to opening a pouch or a packet of crisps than they are peeling a banana. That's where we are. And it's been really recent that this flood of ultra processed foods has arrived for children. It's been in the past five to 10 years. And we absolutely need to reverse that.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

And there's a lot of nuance to add to even that conversation. Because if you look at the gender divide of roles in the household, if you look at the way that the workforce has changed childcare support systems, the time, you know, parents are time poor, I've got a two year old, a four year old. I'm a nutritionist and sometimes I struggle to find the time. And if I'm the educated person that struggles, how is somebody that does not have access to what is nutritionally correct doesn't have the time? They're struggling, they're trying to work all hours because women are expected now. There's a huge, huge conversation and an almost overwhelming system that's in place now that isn't helping people make better choices.

[Jonathan Wolf]

I suspect both of you have very well trained children who are used to eating really good diet and have been through this. And lots of people will be listening. And I feel it's a bit similar to the situation where with my son a few years ago who'd been fed an excellent diet of ultra processed food for a decade and then I started to realize actually this food thing apparently is really important. And not only that, but I think I was thinking about the fact that actually even five years ago I wasn't really thinking about ultra processed food. So that's sort of been quite recently in the Zoe journey. And so if someone's listening to this and say, well, that's fine, but like my children basically are used to only these packet of food. They're used to like white bread with a piece of processed meat. That's the only thing they're willing to eat. And if I give them any of this, they're just, just gonna starve and they won't be able to function at school. So I can't do this. Are there solutions?

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

I think this is a good place to say that it's different with different age groups. You're totally right, Jonathan. So I think it's. I've worked with teenagers as well and it's trickier when it's been a longer time and also when obviously teenagers have way more autonomy than children who are younger. So how do we help this change? I think Rhiannon's example of starting with one thing at a time is really good, but I like to take a different approach in the home. So the way I think about it is if we could be our own health architects, right? We can't really do anything quickly about our food environment. The UK and the US both need to have massive overhaul of policy of political will. There's a lot to do and that will take time, but let's keep doing it. In the meantime. What we do have control over is what we bring into our homes. At a very simple level. Children at some point will spend time in the home before School after school, on the weekends, in the evenings. So I always encourage people to make their home the best possible food environment that it can be. But that includes a healthy relationship with food. So this does not mean that you'll catch me making my own homemade butter and banning all ultra processed foods in my own. That is not healthy. The other side of this coin is that I've seen some influencers online really create fear amongst children. You know, you will never eat that because it contains X, Y, Z. And there's one influencer who actually gets his child involved in the videos to say why she doesn't buy. I mean, it's awful, to be honest. That is a very fast track to disordered eating. We have to create a healthy food environment in the home, including understanding the difference between certain foods and why we eat some foods more often and why we eat some less often.

[Jonathan Wolf]

This is more about adding in more good things rather than demonizing the idea.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

Of any amount saying, what feeds the belly bugs? That's.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

Yes, my kids love it.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

You know, they'll say as well, it's, yeah, there's such a good book. So they literally, they'll know, mummy, I'm going to have my chicken and that's gonna make me strong, my muscles are gonna be strong. And then they'll like eat, I don't know, I'll give them some ice cream and they'll be like, this ice cream has given me energy and it tastes good, you know, so it's.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

But they know no more than maybe one or one a day or whatever. Cause they know it's a lot of sugar because you've told them, you've told.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

Them that for the food, the most important food is there for their belly bugs, their muscles, their growth, their happiness. Children understand from a very young age what food can do for them. So for example, my youngest does love chocolate in a way. It's hilarious. Cause my eldest doesn't touch it. And so I was like, wow, I've really got away with that. And then the second one arrived and she was literally like, chocolate. So she will sometimes say to me first thing in the morning, mummy, can I have some chocolate? I'm like, darling, no. What do we need to have first? She's like, breakfast first. And she's only four. Right. They do understand if you explain it to them with love and you don't demonize food and say it's bad, they understand. But build that home environment where the majority of the food, especially at eye level, children will open the fridge.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

Teenagers definitely Teenagers will see everything.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

They will open cupboards, they will open drawers. What is the easiest food to find in your home? Is it nuts and seeds? Is it fresh fruit? Is it a fruit bowl? Is it yogurt, is it eggs? Or do you have. I've seen drawers of stuff.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

The treat cupboards. Yeah, there's always a treat drawer. It's a huge psychological thing.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

It's really odd.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

People grew up with it. Every Friday night was their takeaway night, or every Saturday. These habitual habits. You have to reshape your home to combat those habitual habits. And you could try half, half. Like, if you've got a particularly difficult child that will only have that white bread sandwich, one side is the brown bread, one side is the white bread. This is what you're getting today. This is what I've made. Just look at the white side when you eat it. And do you know what? It's going to take a little bit of tough love. But equally, like you say, if there's nothing to grab, that chocolate bar they always have isn't in the drawer and it's replaced with a healthier. Well, still high in sugar, but cereal bar version. That's one switch that you've made. They will then start eating because you've brought it.

[Jonathan Wolf]

My personal experience has been it's this understanding about their microbiome that has been by far the most transformational. And that's true, you know, for both my kids. So my son is very grown up. He's, you know, he really controls what his diet is. He's got much more interested in his own physique. He's now bigger than me. Like he's going to the gym. And so I think he is now much more interested in food in a way that it supports him getting stronger and all the rest of it. What's interesting is that, you know, both he and my little girl have really bought into this idea that I need to eat this food that is for my good bucks. And I think that is something that is totally different from the way that I thought about food as a child. Cause it has this idea that it's like, it's not just like what my parents are bothering me about, it's this idea. I've got all of these little things inside me and it's a bit like having a dog or something, right? Like I've got to feed it. That's been by far the sort of strongest argument for eating things that sort of matches up and that they seem to buy into rather than just it's yet another thing where your parents are forcing you to do something and you just want to resist.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

And I think that when we think about mealtimes. Jonathan. So creating that space to share a family meal, I know that. But now it's much rarer. So when we look at research of how often people share family meals, it's like slightly falling off a cliff.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

I can't do it during the week. You know, there's no way with my husband's job, my job, and my family dynamic, we can do it in the week. So we have to. We make time at the weekend.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

So it's nice to create that time. If it's once a week, that's still better than nothing. But in that family meal setting, giving children the choice to pick what they want to put on their plate. So actually just saying, like, here's some vegetables, here's some chicken or some. Whatever meat you're having, or fish. So my household is a big salmon household. They love salmon, my kids. So do I. So put it out and let them serve themselves and just see what happens. Because quite often what they do is dictated by us. You're wearing this, you're going to school, you're seeing this friend today. This is. You know, they don't have much choice in life, and so often their want for independence comes through their choices with their food. You know, I work with people, and they'll say, oh, my child would never eat broccoli, or they would never eat sweet corn, or, I've never seen them eat a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce before. But then you put them in a setting where they're sharing a meal with their friends, they've got a choice of what to eat, and they have a variety of foods to choose from, and they're eating everything, and you pimp them up, right.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

Like pizzas, if you put them on the table, you can add extra toppings to a pizza.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

So creating food together is wonderful. That's next layer. Yeah.

[Rhiannon Lambert]

I think if you've listed chocolate is a good example. But crisps or potato chips or, you know, however you address it, you cannot say to a child, we're just not gonna have those again. You know, some. The psychology, like you said, of those particular items. But there are lesser of two evils in those camps. When you look at the ingredient lists on the back, and actually you should say, right, well, we're gonna have this particular brand, your favorite one, maybe once every week instead of having it in the house every day. So you don't need to go cold turkey and Be like, I'm never gonna have this in the house ever again. Just be strategic. It's the weekend. You can have this, but actually, for the rest of the week, this isn't gonna be in our cupboards. Now, this week, this is the option instead. And slowly, you are the. I think it's really empowering parents and giving them confidence, you know, really holding their hand and just saying, like you just said, put it down on the table. Yeah, they will come back because they will be hungry.

[Dr. Federica Amarti]

I mean, our job is to provide the best food environment we can, and their job is to exercise their freedom to choose what to eat. But if we're creating a healthy food environment, then the choices they have are healthier. As simple as that.

[Jonathan Wolf]

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[Dr. Federica Amarti]

Sam.