From Pediatric Dietitian to Mom: How Real-Life Feeding Challenges Inspired a New Approach
The gap between textbook nutrition advice and the chaos of real family mealtimes is where many parents find themselves struggling. For Natalia, a pediatric dietitian turned entrepreneur, that gap became the foundation for Easy Bites—a comprehensive feeding solution that bridges evidence-based nutrition with the emotional and practical realities of feeding families.
Natalia's journey from healthcare professional to business founder wasn't planned. It was born out of necessity when her own feeding struggles as a new mother exposed a critical void in family nutrition support. Despite her extensive training in pediatric nutrition, she found herself overwhelmed and under-supported when it came to actually getting her two-year-old to eat—a revelation that would reshape not only her approach to feeding but her entire career trajectory.
What sets Natalia apart in the wellness space is her unique dual perspective: she understands both the clinical science behind child nutrition and the raw, unfiltered experience of being a parent at the dinner table. This combination has enabled her to create solutions that don't just tell parents what to feed their children, but actually help them navigate the how—addressing everything from picky eating and developmental stages to family logistics and feeding psychology.
In this conversation, Natalia opens up about the personal experiences that led to her entrepreneurial leap, the overwhelming challenges modern parents face at mealtime, and how motherhood fundamentally transformed her understanding of what it means to nourish a family. Her insights reveal not just the story behind a successful wellness business, but a broader conversation about supporting parents in one of their most fundamental—and frequently stressful—daily responsibilities.
1. As both a pediatric registered dietitian and a mother, you've created Easy Bites to address the real challenges families face around mealtime. What was the pivotal moment that made you realize there was a gap between evidence-based feeding advice and what parents could actually implement in their daily lives?
When my first child was two years old, she began showing signs of feeding difficulties. As a first-time mom, I felt isolated and defeated. Despite having formal training in nutrition and a solid understanding of her dietary needs, I had no idea how to actually get her to eat properly. I was following all the "right" advice on paper, but nothing was working in real life.
I reached out to everyone I knew, including healthcare providers, only to be shocked by the lack of useful support. The advice I found online or received from friends and family was often contradictory, generic, or completely dismissive of the emotional and practical challenges I was experiencing.
That was my lightbulb moment. I realized that while we had decades of evidence-based guidance on what children should eat, there was almost no support on how to feed them in a way that works for real families. The strategies that worked in clinical settings weren’t translating to everyday kitchen tables. Easy Bites was born out of that gap—a need for a bridge between science and lived experience, recognizing the emotions, logistics, and developmental needs behind every meal.
2. Your app focuses on reducing the "mental load" of feeding families - something many women can relate to deeply. How do you help parents, especially mothers who often carry this responsibility, shift from feeling overwhelmed by meal planning to feeling confident and supported in their feeding decisions?
Parents—especially mothers—often feel overwhelmed because feeding a family is a relentless task. It’s a daily job done multiple times a day, frequently without a break. Coupled with the pressure to offer a perfect variety of nutritious meals while accounting for allergies, picky eating, different developmental stages, and personal preferences, it’s no wonder many parents feel exhausted.
Take one family, for example: they have a baby just starting solids, a picky toddler who only eats beige food, and a vegetarian partner. That’s three entirely different needs to juggle every single day. Many parents end up making multiple meals, and even then, there’s no guarantee that anything will be eaten. It’s not just meal planning; it’s meal guesswork—and that often leads to burnout.
Easy Bites alleviates this cognitive burden. We gather information on what each child already accepts and build meal plans around those preferences, while also encouraging variety. Our shared meals are adaptable for the whole family, with accepted foods highlighted for picky eaters and modifications provided for babies or specific dietary needs. Parents introducing solids can follow our 30-day allergen roadmap, which integrates seamlessly with family meals and eliminates guesswork.
We also go beyond just food. We provide tailored feeding psychology insights and child development updates based on the child's age and feeding profile. This helps parents set realistic expectations and understand that challenges like picky eating or slow transitions are not failures—they’re part of normal development. By combining nutrition, psychology, and real-life logistics, we empower families to feed with confidence rather than stress.
3. You've built a team of feeding professionals who are also parents themselves. How has your personal experience as a mother informed your professional approach to pediatric nutrition, and what's one piece of advice you wish you could give to your pre-motherhood self about the realities of feeding children?
Motherhood has completely transformed my perspective. Before becoming a parent, I was already a practicing pediatric dietitian, passionate about evidence-based nutrition. However, having children of my own brought a deep understanding of what feeding looks like in real life. It’s messy, emotional, and never just about the food.
As a parent, feeding isn't a theory; it’s a lived reality. It's about trying to get dinner on the table after a long day while managing meltdowns, picky eating, and your own fatigue. It involves navigating pressure from family, judgment from strangers, and the guilt that can arise when meals don't go as planned. Becoming a mother taught me that we can’t discuss nutrition without also considering psychology, logistics, and emotional wellbeing.
That’s why the Easy Bites team is composed of feeding professionals who are also parents. We’ve been there, and we bring empathy along with our expertise.
If I could go back and tell my pre-motherhood self one thing, it would be: Let go of the idea that perfect feeding equates to perfect meals. Feeding is a relationship, not a checklist. What matters most is building trust—trust in yourself, trust in your child, and trust in the process. If I had understood that earlier, I would have spent far less time worrying and far more time connecting at the table.
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