What our customers say about us
We are so pleased to have found Jacqueline and her team. We had been really struggling to understand what was wrong with our little boy in terms of his eating and was desperate to find a way to help him. We’ve had sessions with Jacqueline and her team, both at home and in a group setting and both have worked incredibly well. We’ve been really surprised how much progress our son has made already. Using some of the techniques they have shown us he has increased his repertoire of foods that he’s now happy to eat on a regular basis, as well as becoming more accepting of having other foods around him. This is the most progress we’ve seen him make. We also found the group setting very helpful and supportive where we were able to connect with other parents and children who also have similar challenges. Thank you so much to Jacqueline and her team for all their help and support – this really has been a game changer for us, although appreciate that progress is going to be slow but it’s such a relief to have now found a way forward.
Thanks again for all your support
The weekly zoom sessions we had with Jacqueline has helped my 10 year old son enormously with his attitude towards food. Jacqueline worked with him in a calm, understanding and knowledgeable way. She was able to suggest foods and recipes that worked well with other reluctant eaters and also worked well with my son. She had some great tips to help my son with various food challenges he faces and as a direct result of his sessions with Jacqueline he has now added many new foods that he can now happily eat. Jacqueline also worked with him to go on a week long residential trip with all his meals away from home. This was a massive achievement as we feared he would not be able to go because of his food issues but instead he went and had an amazing time. Thank you so much Jacqueline!
Thank you again Jacqueline,
Best Wishes,
My son attended a 12 week food school with Jacqueline and her team. My son then aged 4 had a very restricted diet and as a family we felt we had tried all we could to address this. To start with T was anxious and suspicious and not at all keen to interact with the food. However he soon forgot this was about him eating the food and instead found it somewhere safe and fun to go play. He did not realise that before long he was licking and touching food that he had refused before. Jacqueline gave us homework and ideas to try at home and I realised that the bigger the issue I made this, the more he refused. T still has a limited diet, but he eats some vegetables, one type of fruit, and most meats, something he was far from achieving before. He loves the family meal and we are all stressing much less about what he eats. I would definitely recommend Jacqueline and food school, she is clearly passionate and experienced about the subject and clearly wants to help kids with this problem.
I was very thankful to find Magnificent Munchers when we felt we were completely stuck in a rut with my son’s eating. The team are kind and understanding of all aspects of the complexities of feeding behaviours.
Their advice has been invaluable and we have made several changes that over time are bringing about change in my son’s relationship with food.
Magnificent Munchers have helped us to see a light at the end of this long
tunnel!
Jacqueline was very good at talking to us and explaining things
It got to the point where my child would only eat one brand of yoghurt and cracker biscuits for every meal, I was unable to break this habit and it felt like I had tried everything. He was all sinew and bone with no reserves of energy to help him bounce back after illness. We had fallen into a trap of only giving him what he would eat (so he would eat something) and we would not have to waste more food). My son has sensory difficulties around texture, the look, feel and smell of food, oral motor difficulties and was overwhelmed by mealtimes. Even now he finds the kitchen very challenging. Taking part in Jacqueline’s feeding group removed some of the pressure to eat that he felt when at home. Jacqueline made it fun and accessible for all. I was able to see him engage with food and then go and try the games and ideas out at home. Since taking part in the feeding group he has made huge steps of progress and will now look, touch and try new foods offered. His repertoire of accepted foods is still increasing! To achieve success has taken time and patience, going at his speed (not mine). It has involved our whole family. I can honestly say it has been a very positive and rewarding experience. Thank you!
Thanks for your invitation to share my experience of your sessions
Dan looked forward to your sessions, which had exactly the right level of challenge. His diet has improved in two very important areas. Firstly, he now has three fruits and four vegetables in his diet. Secondly, he is open to a wide range of meat and fish, served in a variety of ways. Your approach to food chaining has finally helped Dan to understand that plain cod, or cod crumbed in polenta, or cod crumbed in panko, is basically the same as Birds Eye-branded fish fingers. This has made him much more flexible and has made it easier to eat out and travel.
We went to Brighton recently and it was just amazing to be able to have fish and chips on the beach, rather than always preparing dinner back in an Airbnb. Dan also enjoyed having dinner at a friend’s birthday party this week. It was just pizza, but he trusted someone else to make it for him, and it even had garlic oil. This is life-changing stuff.
We had an appointment with Dan’s allergist last week, who was delighted by his progress.
Our son, aged 8, had a very limited diet consisting mainly of fish fingers (cooked ‘just right’), spaghetti hoops, cheese on toast, scrambled egg (again, cooked ‘just right’), eggy bread, porridge, Weetabix, bananas, yogurt and madeira cake. He had a total phobia of trying anything new and would refuse food, preferring to go hungry if there was an option he didn’t like. He would worry about situations where food was involved (e.g. birthday parties) and would rarely eat out at a restaurant (unless we took him some snacks in a lunch box of fed him before we went). We got in touch with Jacqueline at the beginning of January this year to get support for our son’s eating issues. Each session Jacqueline provided consisted of lots of playing with food, smelling, touching, talking and learning about it. Jacqueline carefully chose a selection of food each week that was similar in colour or texture to foods our son ate. The sessions were as much about supporting our son as they were supporting us as a family (meal times were often stressful). Gradually, our son became more comfortable putting food in his mouth – initially this was licked, sucked, then chewed and spat out, then chewed and often swallowed! Our son has now tried, chewed and swallowed a variety of new foods. We have come to the end of our sessions with Jacqueline and are now integrating these foods into our family meals as much as possible. Our son’s whole approach to food is gradually changing. He is more confident to give new foods a taste and has even said that he likes the flavour of some of them (something I never thought he would say!). Jacqueline has been brilliant! My son has loved every session with her and she has always been at the end of an email or phone call to give advice or reassurance when needed. We can’t thank her enough.”
L is definitely more tolerant of smells and new foods and we can now use
restaurants without L feeling overwhelmed
My son’s confidence has increased. He has smelled, touched and tasted new foods that he wouldn’t try before. He is less anxious around foods and now has more fun with food. He is still learning about new foods.
A’s made a lot of progress and I think the course is just fantastic. Really can’t rate it highly enough (Food School, 11 week programme) or recommend it enough to anyone in a similar situation.
I just wanted to say a big thankyou to you and your team for helping Lucas and I enjoy new ways and techniques for playing with food and encouraging Lucas to touch, smell and taste new foods.
It’s been an incredible journey watching him feel so anxious at the first session and then really starting to relax in the remaining sessions.
To see him eating Kale, parsnip crisps, homemade chicken nuggets, salmon fishballs, whitebait, cheese and drinking smoothies has been truly amazing and now I have the understanding and knowledge it has to keep taking our food journey further.
I can’t thankyou enough for helping us and for all your guidence and knowledge.
I told Lucas it’s his last food class today and he was so upset, he said “but Mummy I love food school”. I asked him why and he said “because we get to eat yummy food” how amazing is that?
He also says the homemade chicken nuggets are even better than MacDonalds ones
For more testimonials and examples of successful change in eating patterns, please contact Jacqueline Parkinson on 07591 733420 or email her at jacqueline@magnificentmunchers.com
We look forward to hearing from you.