Casey-Lee is a mother who inspires us. She makes getting toddlers to eat healthy look easy, and she’s the epitome of being ‘sweet enough without the sugar.’ She is a mother to her beautiful two year old daughter Gracie and the founder of health hub Live Love Nourish.
We first found Live Love Nourish on Instagram last year, drawn in by her colourful, detailed photography. Before long we realised that each picture was a representation of not just a delicious looking recipe, but a meal that was sugar-free, gluten-free and extremely healthy.
Casey-Lee is a nutritionist and naturopath, based in Brisbane. She has dedicated her career to helping others live a healthy wholesome life, through her brand and blog Live Love Nourish.
Live Love Nourish is a hub of recipes, advice, inspiration and the 8 week nutrition program. Casey-Lee is the queen of catering for dietary needs and fussy children, all of her recipes are sugar, gluten, dairy and preservative free and are absolutely delicious.
We wanted to chat to Casey-Lee about raising her beautiful daughter Gracie and what they like to make in the kitchen. Read below, and you’ll understand why she’s such an inspiration.
How old is Gracie? She is so adorable!
My little bundle of joy Gracie has turned 2!
Did you become more health conscious when you became a mother?
I have always been health conscious but when I became a mother, it became even more of a priority as naturally you want to look after their health as best you can and also to take care of yourself to be the best role model you can for them.
Did you always envision yourself as a mother? What is something that surprised you about raising your daughter?
Absolutely. Motherhood is definitely something I felt a natural connection to. Raising my daughter has shown me how deeply you really can love someone.
What is something that Gracie has taught you?
Gracie teaches me so much, every single day. She has taught me patience, gratitude, to prioritise the important things in life, to laugh more often, to make more time to play, to adventure and dream and of course she has taught me how to be very creative in the kitchen to make healthy toddler food.
Does Gracie help you with ideas of what to make for her in the kitchen?
She sure does. She loves shapes and colours and usually makes requests for foods we can have fun with.
Does she enjoy cooking as much as you?
Absolutely. She is very enthusiastic to help with meal preparation. She particularly loves picking herbs from our garden to add to meals, tossing (literally) salads, washing veggies, whisking eggs and mixing.
What kind of herbs do you grow?
My herb garden has chillies, basil, mint, oregano, rosemary at the moment. So proud that my toddler can actually name of a few of these already.
What’s your go to mid week dinner? Do you make different meals for Gracie?
Our mid-week go-to is usually fish and salad or greens or an omelet. We try to make Gracie the same meals as us. She actually prefers to eat off our plates instead of her own.
Do you prepare any meals in advance? Or usually enjoy cooking to eat that day?
I do a bit of both. I usually prep a few meals or ingredients such as a pot of quinoa, make pesto, some freezer-friendly snacks such as banana muffins etc on a Sunday. I find doing a little meal prep on the weekend definitely helps throughout the week especially with a toddler. We try to keep meals that we cook and eat that day very simple.
Do you have any family recipes that have been passed on to you?
I have a copy of my grandmother’s handwritten recipe book, which I love to have for inspiration. Her book reminds me that the best recipes are the ones made from the heart as she did. My mum also taught me to cook a family favourite when I was growing up of a tuna pie which I still make today with a few tweaks to now make it gluten and dairy free. Turns out that the tuna pie is actually a popular recipe on my website. I love recipes with a story behind them.
I remember we featured that recipe in last years Sugar Free September Ebook – it was a hit amongst the participants! What other activities do you and Gracie enjoy doing together?
Gracie loves to go walking, which we do most days together, she loves helping in our herb garden, she has a lot of fun at the markets and helping to choose our produce and doing craft together.
What is something you Mother taught you, that you want to teach on to Gracie?
My mum forever told me to follow your heart and live true to yourself and this is something I definitely want to show Gracie as well.
See what we’re talking about; Nutritious & Delicious Recipes by Live Love Nourish
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Learn more; About Casey-Lee
Check it out; The Live Love Nourish 8-Week Nutrition Program