And that’s not the only thing that changed for Ryan.
Ryan says Gousto’s new Bluey-inspired range of meal boxes helps cut through the chaos of dinnertime, engaging the little ones in what they’re eating – particularly as they’re superfans of the CBeebies show. “Involving [Fred] in the preparation of meals is what helps him feel safer about trying a variety of food,” Ryan explains – and some of the meals she’ll dress up for adults later, for example adding pine nuts to a cheesy asparagus and tomato orzo dish: “It means we don’t have to make dinner three separate times and dirty every pot in the kitchen.”
“I have a husband now, so it’s not just all up to me. My husband is such a softy and he will feed Fred pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner, because that’s what Fred wants, but I really have to dig my heels in and be like, no, that’s not appropriate.At some point, we need to offer him other sources of nutrition and branch him out.” When it was just Ryan andViolet, she says:“We were eating out a lot, or I was getting takeaway a lot, and I wasn’t proud of that. It didn’t make me feel confident that my daughter was getting the right kind of nutrition, that I was getting the right kind of nutrition. Our choices were really limited. “Especially around 2019, when my husband came into our lives and my daughter started to get bigger and be able to cook herself, I really wanted to prioritise family mealtimes.” Initially, the two younger kids were eating around five,Violet would eat on her own when she got back from school and social commitments, and Ryan and Kootstra would finally have dinner around 9:30pm,“Which is a really unacceptable time to eat unless you are European.” Ryan worried that Violet was missing out on “really useful, essential conversation that accidentally comes out around the dinner table”, so now the schedule has changed a bit, particularly as the family uses Gousto recipe boxes.They’re now “making dinner just the once – when Violet is home, she sits down with her brother and sister and eats at five. When she’s not home, we have dinner already ready, so we’ll sit with her for a bit before we do bedtime, bathtime, and then we’ve eaten ourselves.
Ultimately, her advice for parents is simple: keep as calm as possible.
“We’re all doing our best, especially when you’re juggling children and your relationship and your time for self-care and work. I am not under any delusions that my job is a job – I know people have it a lot harder than I do.”
Particularly around feeding kids, all you can do is your best.
“But if it doesn’t go your way, don’t stress – because I have put my kids to bed without dinner. Not by choice, but just because they wouldn’t eat something. I’ve offered them a few snacks and they still drink milk and they still keep growing. “So worst-case scenario, toddlers seem to be able to exist on a pack of raisins a day – don’t stress if they’re not eating, because that will make them more stressed. I think it’s great to offer a variety of healthful, delicious options.Then if they don’t want it, if you have a meltdown – they’re definitely not going to want it the next time. “My only advice to parents is to stay as calm as you can, as often as you can.” Gousto ambassador, comedian and Bluey-superfan, Katherine Ryan, is celebrating the launch of Gousto’s Bluey’s Family Dinner range in partnership with BBC Studios
“I think in the modern world, we lose sight of how important it is to have a traditional family dinnertime.”
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