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

Subscribe to Bettina Elias Siegel's (forthcoming) newsletter

Formerly: The Lunch Tray, discontinued in January, 2022. Eventually: Bettina Elias Siegel's free author newsletter. Stay tuned! :-)

People

Writer, mom, former lawyer. Author of "Kid Food: The Challenge of Feeding Children in a Highly Processed World" and creator of the popular Lunch Tray blog.