33: Family Food with Maddie Race

"Kids are the biggest imitators, be someone great to imitate"

Maddie is a true Italian- if she isn't in the kitchen you'll probably find her watching a cooking show, reading a cooking book or talking to somebody about food. Food is undoubtedly one of her greatest passions. Maddie went through the tragedy of losing her mum to cancer at just 13 years old and since this heartbreaking and transformational time in her life, she has a strong focus on non-material things. She also recently lost all of her possessions to a house fire, however nothing could ever put out her "burning" desire to teach people how to cook. Maddie launched her cooking business "Kids Say Yum" and sought nutritional training to help educate her clients in maintaining healthy food habits.

One of the driving forces behind Maddie's passion is the belief that food is the one thing that connects everybody together regardless of race or religion. She views meal times as a way to bring families together and shares with us ideas on how to strengthen and prioritise this valuable time spent together. We also discuss ways to create a "culture" around meal time and why it's important to embed this practice into your children's life early on.

As with most parents, there's often a struggle to find ways in which to get children to "eat their greens". Maddie's approach is to make meal time fun by teaching her kids the origin of the food or making funny faces out of the food. Generally, Maddie looks at ways to build curiosity and connection with food.

Links and resources

Websites: www.maddierace.com.au and www.kidssayyum.com.au

Facebook: Maddie Race Health & Wellness (includes smoothie challenges and more)

Instagram: Maddie Race Health & Wellness