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Growing Plates

Name: Growing Plates
Address: Diamond Creek, Melbourne, VIC, 3089, AU
Telephone: +431771015

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Growing Plates

Growing Plates is a subscription based frozen baby and toddler meal service created by a Doctor and Mum. Nillumbik Council Approved

01/11/2026

There’s a lot packed into a little age label on baby food. But “6 months+” or “8 months+” doesn’t always tell you what the food will look or feel like when you open it. 💛

Is it completely smooth? Thick and mashed? Does it contain soft lumps, small pieces of pasta or flakes of fish?

Those details can make a real difference when you’re choosing a meal for your child.

At Growing Plates, our menu is organised into three colour-coded age bands: yellow for 6–8 months, green for 8–10 months and blue for 10–12+ months. They provide a starting point for finding your way through the range. 🌱

We also want to make the texture of each meal easy to understand, so you know what to expect before it reaches the bowl.

We’re reviewing how we describe our meals alongside the age bands, with a focus on practical information parents can use.

Because “food that grows with your child” should mean more than changing the number on the label. It should help you understand the food you’re choosing.

Growing Plates
FOOD THAT GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD.

28/10/2026

When we talk about baby food, there’s often a lot of attention on flavour, convenience and whether our little ones will actually eat it. Iron deserves a place in that conversation too. 🌱

A recent Australian study examined 266 commercial baby food products collected from Melbourne retailers. The researchers identified concerns about how much iron many products provided and how consistently that information appeared on labels.

Only around one in five products was iron-fortified, and none of the main meals included in the study was fortified. That doesn’t mean a meal needs added iron to be nutritious — foods can contain iron naturally — but it does highlight why the actual nutrient content matters.

For Growing Plates, the practical question is: what does each recipe contribute in a portion a baby or toddler might realistically eat?

An ingredient list is useful, but including an iron-containing ingredient doesn’t tell us exactly how much iron ends up in the finished meal. The recipe proportions and serving size matter too.

This research reinforces the value of carefully assessing our recipes and being thoughtful about the nutrition information we share. 💛

Research should help us ask better questions about food, while keeping feeding practical for families.

Growing Plates
FOOD THAT GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD.

Research: Akbaridoust and colleagues, “Iron Content and Nutritional Quality of Commercial Complementary Baby Foods Available in Australia”, Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, August 2026. The study assessed products collected in 2024.

25/10/2026

Choosing food for your little one should feel straightforward. But between colourful packaging, nutrition claims and long ingredient lists, it can be difficult to know what you’re actually buying. 💛

Words like “natural” and “organic” tell you something about a product, but they don’t tell you everything. What ingredients make up most of the meal? What texture can you expect? Which allergens does it contain? And how should you store and prepare it?

These are the practical details that help you decide whether a meal suits your child.

At Growing Plates, we want the food itself to be the focus: familiar ingredients, savoury flavours and meals that fit into everyday family life. Think eggplant and chickpea curry, vegetable risotto, or salmon with zucchini and corn risoni. 🌱

As we grow, clear and useful product information is a priority — because parents deserve to understand what they’re serving, without needing to decode the packaging.

Growing Plates
FOOD THAT GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD.

13/10/2026

Oh, the joys of feeding a toddler 😂 You go to all that effort making lemon-leek orzo with homemade herbed chicken meatballs, introducing different flavours and textures, and she won’t even entertain a single taste. Then baked beans save the day!

And the frustrating part is that you don’t even know whether she likes it because she refused to try it!

At 20months of age, this is incredibly common. Toddlers can reject unfamiliar foods simply because they look or smell different, even when they might actually enjoy the taste.

The good news is that tonight wasn’t a wasted effort. Even seeing an unfamiliar meal on her plate is part of building familiarity. Sometimes it takes 10–20 or more exposures before a child is willing to try something.

I’d freeze some of the meatballs and orzo separately and offer them again another day, perhaps alongside something familiar, without any pressure to taste them.

10/10/2026

We’ve officially entered the stage where I can’t put my 20-mth old down OR let her out of my sight for more than five seconds! 🫠

This morning alone, she managed to make her way outside on her own, climbed onto a beanbag so she could launch herself onto the back of the couch, and decided halfway through breakfast that sitting in her high chair was overrated and standing was a much better option. 🙃

So naturally, my approach to cooking lately has been all about spending as little time at the stove as humanly possible!

This morning’s breakfast was banana and oat pancakes 🍌🥞 Quick, simple and fortunately kept her occupied in the high chair just long enough for me to cook the rest of the batch.

At this stage, I’m calling anything that keeps her safely entertained long enough to make breakfast a win! 😂

MumLife

10/10/2026

Last night's dinner experiment: a one-pan beef, veggie and rice bake! 🍅🥩

I thought I’d give this one-pan meal a go for a quick, fuss-free family dinner. The preparation was incredibly easy — essentially chopping a few vegetables, combining everything in a baking dish and letting the oven do the work!

The verdict? A little hit and miss! The flavours were lovely, but I found the rice didn’t cook evenly, with some grains remaining a little firm. Next time, I’d try adding some extra stock and perhaps giving everything another stir halfway through cooking.

Still, a great concept for a busy evening, packed with beef, zucchini, capsicum, corn and tomatoes, all topped with melted cheese. 🧀

Not every recipe trial goes perfectly, but that’s all part of experimenting in the kitchen!

05/10/2026

A day off from the hospital means a day in the Growing Plates kitchen! 👩🏻‍🍳🌿

Swapping scrubs for an apron today and spending some time preparing fresh batches of nutritious, wholesome meals for little growing tummies.

On today’s menu:

🍆 Gentle Turmeric, Eggplant & Chickpea Curry – A beautifully mild, comforting curry packed with plant-based protein, fibre and nourishing vegetables, with gentle spices to introduce little taste buds to new flavours.

🐟 Salmon, Zucchini & Corn Risoni – A creamy, comforting combination rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein and essential nutrients to support growing brains and bodies.

One of my favourite parts of Growing Plates is creating meals that are full of flavour, nutritionally considered and made with the same care I’d put into feeding my own little one.

A different kind of busy on my day off, but one I absolutely love.

DoctorFounded MelbourneMums

04/10/2026

🥕 VEGGIE-PACKED RISOTTO 🍄

Sometimes the simplest meals are the best! Today we’re making a delicious vegetable risotto using carrots, zucchini, celery, mushrooms and cabbage.

Risotto is a fantastic meal for babies and toddlers because it’s naturally soft, easy to adapt to different stages of eating and a great way to incorporate a variety of vegetables into one dish. It’s also perfect for using up whatever vegetables you have left in the fridge!

We love meals that can be enjoyed by the whole family, without needing to cook something separate for little ones. With a few simple adjustments to texture and seasoning, risotto can grow with your child as they become more confident with different foods.

Nutritious meals don’t need to be complicated or require a long list of ingredients. Sometimes it’s just about making the most of what you already have. 🌱

FOOD THAT GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD.

FamilyMeals

05/09/2026

🥛 When can too much milk become a problem?

A recent ABC News report highlighted three toddler deaths in Australia over the past two years in which excessive cow’s milk consumption contributed to severe iron deficiency.

It’s an important reminder that while cow’s milk can absolutely form part of a healthy toddler diet, more isn’t necessarily better.

After 12 months, toddlers have rapidly growing bodies and significant iron requirements. Too much cow’s milk can contribute to iron deficiency because it can displace iron-rich foods from the diet, is itself very low in iron, and calcium can reduce iron absorption when consumed alongside iron-rich foods.

So what can we do? 🥩🍓🥦

✨ Offer iron-rich foods regularly — think beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, lentils, beans and iron-fortified cereals.
✨ Pair plant sources of iron with vitamin C foods such as berries, kiwi, capsicum, broccoli and tomato to improve absorption.
✨ Avoid relying on milk to fill little tummies between meals.
✨ Where practical, offer larger amounts of dairy separately from iron-rich meals.
✨ Remember that fortified cereals can be a really useful source of iron for toddlers.

This isn’t about being afraid of milk. It’s about balance. Cow’s milk provides valuable protein, calcium and other nutrients — but toddlers also need enough room in their diets for iron-rich foods.

Iron deficiency can develop quietly, which is why building these habits into everyday meals matters. 💛

04/09/2026

A reminder of just how important the basics can be.

A recent Queensland coroner’s report found that severe vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) was the most likely underlying factor leading to the cardiac arrest and death of a six-year-old boy.

Scurvy is rare in Australia, but this story is a powerful reminder that vitamin C is essential for growing bodies. It plays an important role in immune function, iron absorption, wound healing, healthy skin, bones, teeth and gums, and normal growth and development.

And vitamin C doesn’t just mean oranges. There are so many easy ways to include it in little plates — mandarins, berries, kiwi fruit, capsicum, broccoli and tomatoes are all great sources.

For most children, good nutrition comes back to something simple: variety. Offering a range of colourful fruits and vegetables helps little bodies access the different vitamins and nutrients they need to grow, develop and thrive.

Address

Diamond Creek
Melbourne, VIC
3089

Telephone

+431771015

Website

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