Inspiring fussy eaters to enjoy fruit and vegetables is Lucy’s passion. As author of ‘Mange Tout’, her methods have been recommended by experts from Great Ormond Street hospital.
My role as a children's feeding expert over the last five years has not only involved working with children who are particularly fussy, but has also helped families with children who have more serious eating issues. I’ve used my Mange Tout principles for children who are tube fed, suffer with neo phobia, have Down’s syndrome, are on the autistic spectrum or who have very selective eating patterns. Mange Tout's methods have helped many families where specialists haven’t always been able to get the children eating and eating healthily again.
Mange Tout can help with phases of fussy eating, selective eating and food phobias in children aged two to seven, as well as those with sensitivity to food and texture.
Hello my name is Lucy Thomas and I’m the founder and director of Mange Tout. During my 10 years as a professional nanny faced with hundreds of recipe books offering tips on healthy meals and snacks, I felt frustrated that what none of them told me was how to get children to actually eat the nutritious food that had been so lovingly prepared!
So in 2005 I created Mange Tout, a simple philosophy aimed at children aged 18 months to five getting them excited about enjoying fruit and vegetables in a fun and sociable environment without asking them to eat, try or taste anything.
As the programme grew and developed, I was approached by speech and language therapists and doctors to help children with specific food and feeding issues and my programme expanded to include private consultations.
My book, Mange Tout, teaching children to love fruit and vegetables without tears, was published by Penguin in 2007.
My methods have helped many families where specialists haven’t been able to get the children eating and eating healthily again.
I’ve been invited to speak at various events with audiences of medical practitioners and parents, been interviewed on TV and radio stations and conducted Mange Tout sessions at food fairs, events in nurseries, daycare centres and other venues all over the country.
I receive referrals from doctors and feeding specialists alike, both locally and from institutions such as Great Ormond Street Hospital.
I’m also currently a consultant for Organix and spokesperson for its Taste for Life campaign, which is based on my Mange Tout programme. The programme is now available free to all nurseries across the UK to help build the foundations for healthy eating to continue through life.
Dr Catherine Dendy, clinical psychologist and feeding specialist, formerly of Great Ormond Street Hospital, says that ‘the Mange Tout programme really works because all the techniques Lucy has developed are based on sound educational and psychological principles. My work with Mange Tout is some of the most effective and rewarding I’ve done as a feeding specialist, and I feel strongly that every child should have the opportunity to experience this fantastic programme!’
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Mange Tout - An Introduction
By Lucy Thomas
Mange Tout - The Book (173pages)
By Lucy Thomas
Mange Tout Principles and Insights
By Lucy Thomas
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