About

Feed: Some people love cooking, some hate it. And many of us experience times where making a meal feels like a chore or we simply don’t have the energy to create a meal that fits our values or ideals of a “healthy” feed. Sometimes just getting food on the table is a win. And that’s totally ok, meals don’t have to be fancy. Sometimes simple is good.

• Leftover Roast beef cooked with frozen veggies, sesame oil, ginger and garlic and served with rice.
• When you have the oven on for other things, pop in a few whole potatoes and cook them until they are cooked and the skin is crispy. Allow to cool, spoon out the potato and refill with whatever, beans, mince, fish you have on hand. Mash the potatoes and spoon on the top.
• Pan fried silverbeet with garlic, red onion and topped with cherry tomatoes. Scrambled eggs on sourdough.

Nourish: Nutrition is more than just single nutrients leading to health (or lack of health!). Our bodies and lives are much more complicated than that. When we think of nourishing our body, we need to think about all aspects of our health including our emotional, mental and social health. That includes enjoying foods in a social context and eating foods that make us feel good as well as teaching kiddies to enjoy food and learn eating competence.

Feast: Enjoying celebration and traditional foods and sharing meals with our loved ones is a vital part of our over-all well being and adds to our enjoyment of food – and life!

• Sliced cucumber with cream cheese and smoked salmon on the top

My name is Elise Penning, I am a:

Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

I am a mum of 3 (two teens and a tween) and I know first hand, how hard it is to try and balance everything: kids, job, study, life! … and getting food on the table can be a daily miracle.

We live in a world of nutrition insanity: a zillion conflicting food rules, uber marketed “super foods” and nutrition gurus spouting nutrition b.s. And there is a lot of pressure on us to be some sort of culinary genius. BUT! Getting good food on the table, that the kids will actually eat, doesn’t have to cost the earth and doesn’t need to be difficult.

I have a few key nutrition philosophies.

There is no one size fits all approach.  Some of us thrive on a vegan diet, others low carb, others on something else altogether. The general rule of thumb for all is : aim to eat 50% plants (fruits, vege and legumes) how you sort the rest of it, is just detail.

Our weight does not equal health. We live in a culture that tells us every day, in so many ways, that being fat is bad, unhealthy and unattractive. But just because this is a cultural ‘norm’ doesn’t make it true or right. There is a lot of evidence to show that our weight does not equal health, and our health behaviours’ are WAY more important. Focusing on moving our body in a way we enjoy, not smoking, not drinking too much and eating 5+ a day will have huge benefits to our health in the long run, regardless of our body size. Size diversity is a thing and it’s wonderful.

When we talk nutrition we need to look at the big picture. Our physical and nutrition health is important, but it’s only one small part of the picture. We need to also consider our culture, traditional foods, enjoying foods in a social context, our mental, emotional and spiritual health. We need to consider our food budget, our food environment (what food do we have easy access to?), our cooking skills, time, likes and dislikes, allergies and intolerances, family dynamics, how we enjoy eating, how we want to eat and how we actually eat.