Hi there! My name is Lauren, I’m the cook and photographer behind Eat & Thrive Kitchen. I’m an Accredited Practising Dietitian living in Queensland, Australia and am passionate about everything food!
About Eat & Thrive Kitchen
Eat & Thrive Kitchen is my passion project, combining my love of food and cooking, creativity, and knowledge to share recipe ideas and simplified nutrition tips and information.
My philosophy is that eating well should be a joyful experience, rather than a daunting task. I’m a firm believer that eating well doesn’t have to be bland and boring, and that you can make nutritious food that is fresh, clever, and tasty! As such, the recipes on this blog are developed using my nutrition knowledge.
What you will find on this blog:
- Emphasis on wholefoods including fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and lean proteins,
- Clever new ideas and fresh takes on favourites to help you eat well,
- Fresh meals from scratch that don’t compromise on flavour,
- A non-diet approach to food (focusing more on nourishing our bodies rather than weight loss/body shapes or image!),
- Simple and easy to understand articles with tips, information and myth busting based on scientific evidence.
What you won’t find on this blog are recipes based on fad or overly restrictive diets, deep fried or refined sugar heavy foods. I like to experiment with my recipes (including combinations that may seem a bit strange or out there) and I do not follow trends or rules with food or diet culture.
What is a Dietitian?
Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) are health professionals that work in the fields of food and nutrition. APDs are considered experts in food and nutrition science, who have completed either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree to understand the science of food, how nutrition affects the body and how to treat a range of health conditions.
To learn more about dietitians or what the difference is between a dietitian and a nutritionist, check out this article Dietitian or Nutritionist on Dietitians Australia.
Education & Credentials
- Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics (Honours), Griffith University
- Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD), member of Dietitians Australia
My Food Journey
My love of food and cooking started during my early childhood. I grew up in Sydney as part of a large Italian family, so I was fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing cooks! Additonally, I was also exposed to a lot of different foods from a variety of different cultures.
I first started learning how to cook during home economics classes in high school, which rapidly became my favourite subject! Then came the boom of cooking shows which pushed me to challenge myself further by cooking more advanced dishes. Every time I visited my extended family I would offer to cook something from Masterchef!
My life was turned upside down during my early 20s when my doctor told me to follow a Low FODMAP diet. This presented a challenge, as now I had to create my own recipes (since garlic and onion are in absolutely everything!). Instead of focusing on doing coursework for my degree (Business and IT at the time), I found myself drawn to learning more about nutrition, particularly for IBS and food intolerances. This naturally lead me to switch my degree to Nutrition and Dietetics and become a dietitian.