Hello!
I’m Bettina Elias Siegel, a former lawyer, writer, and mom of two.
From 2010 to 2020, I wrote a popular WordPress blog about kids and food called The Lunch Tray, which I converted into a Substack newsletter from 2021-2022. My writing about kids and food has also appeared in places like the New York Times, Civil Eats, Heated, and the Houston Chronicle.
I’ve also written a book, Kid Food: The Challenge of Feeding Children in a Highly Processed World, which the New York Times called “a blueprint for how to raise healthy eaters in a fast-food culture,” Real Simple named one of the best books of the year, and Marion Nestle described as “so good, so well written, and so important that nothing I can say can do it justice.” (More info here, and glowing reader reviews here.)
I still care deeply about children's health and remain concerned—as everyone should be—that two-thirds of their diet consists of the ultra-processed foods now clearly linked with disease and poor health. So I anticipate that I'll continue to write and comment about these issues going forward.
But for now, I’m on a bit of a writing hiatus, exploring new ideas and new topics, and eventually I plan to use this platform as my general author newsletter. And if it’s not your thing once I get it going, you can of course opt out at any time! :-)
Thanks for your interest!
—Bettina Elias Siegel
