Changing my son to a blended diet was the best decision we have ever made for him. The hardest part wasn’t making the decision. It was making it with so little support.

When I first asked our dietitian about moving Mason onto a blended diet, the answer was a firm “no”. There was no discussion, no guidance, just no…

That was 8 years ago.

Today, many dietitians actively advocate for blended diets and work incredibly hard to support families who choose this path. There is far more awareness, more research and more acceptance than there was when we first began our journey.

But despite that progress, there is still work to do.

Since publishing my blended diet recipe book, I’ve received messages from parents across the UK and beyond. Some are desperate to start but don’t know where to begin. Others have been given permission to try a blended diet but little practical guidance on how to make it work safely and confidently.

There are still families falling through the gaps.

Even when a family’s healthcare team supports a blended diet, that support doesn’t always extend into hospitals, schools or respite settings. Families deserve consistency, not a patchwork of different policies that create unnecessary, and stressful, barriers.

For my son, moving to a blended diet transformed our lives. We saw improvements in his growth, comfort, digestion and bowel function. Almost overnight he looked healthier with more colour in his complexion. We were no longer living from one episode of vomiting to the next.

For me, the benefits of a blended diet go beyond nutrition.

When so much of your child’s complex care is guided by appointments, medications and procedures, preparing their meals becomes something deeply personal. I get to choose the ingredients, cook his food and nourish him in a way that feels natural.

It’s one of the few ways I still get to simply be Mum.

I was initially nervous about how dietitians might receive my book. My intention was never to replace professional advice, but to complement it with the lived experience of a parent. Thankfully, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, and many dietitians are now recommending it to the families they support.

I wanted to create the resource I wish we’d had when we started. One that answered the practical questions parents ask every day. What can I blend? How do I make it nutritionally balanced? How do I increase calories? What do I do when my child is constipated? How do I batch prepare safely?

There are excellent clinical resources available, but I felt there was space on the shelf for something different.

A parent-led resource.

One built on lived experience, practical ideas and the reassurance that another family has walked this path before you.

Because parents don’t just need permission to try a blended diet. They need the confidence, support and practical guidance to make it work.

When I had the idea to write a little recipe book specifically for blended diets, I naively thought it would take a month, two at most. I had a few ideas for recipes and ingredients that I wanted to share with others but as I sat down to compile my ideas I knew that it would turn into something much bigger. So instead of sharing a few recipes I decided to create the book I desperately needed back when I was new to this way of feeding. 

Whilst caring for Mason, who is severely disabled and unable to attend school,  I spent every spare minute getting to grips with software I hadn't seen for the last 10 years, tweaking recipes and making them look attractive and accessible on a page. It took six months longer than planned, and with zero publishing experience, guidance or budget I managed to create a resource that I am incredibly proud of. 

One recent reviewer commented that she was disappointed that the cover was created with the help of AI. 

I knew using AI had the potential to be controversial, and I understand why it divides opinion. But commissioning an illustrator simply wasn't financially realistic.  And trust me it wasn't a 'one click' process, I spent longer editing that feeding syringe into 'my' hand than I did choosing my wedding dress. 

If using AI for the cover meant I could afford to publish a book that has already helped families like mine, I'd make that exact same decision again.

And I'm actually very fond of the finished image - it doesn't look exactly like us, but it captures the spirit of our family. The cover might be artificial, but the story inside it certainly isn't.