Beyond The Clinic

030 Making money as a cookery book author: An Interview with Paula Hallam of Plant Based Kids

• Sarah Almond Bushell / Paula Hallam • Season 1 • Episode 30

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Hi everyone! I’m Sarah Almond Bushell, and welcome along to another episode of Beyond the Clinic. Today, I’m sitting down with my friend and colleague, Paula Hallam, a pediatric dietitian with an incredible journey. She’s made the shift from the NHS to freelancing, all while focusing on the world of plant-based nutrition for kids. We’re diving into her story, the challenges she faced, and how she’s helping families confidently navigate plant-based diets for their little ones."

Episode Summary:
This episode delves into the career evolution of Paula Hallam, a pediatric dietitian who transitioned from NHS work to freelancing, with a strong focus on plant-based nutrition for children. Host Sarah Almond Bushell explores Paula’s motivations for making this leap, including her family’s influence, her daughter’s choice to go vegetarian, and her desire for flexibility. Paula discusses her unique journey of establishing “Plant-Based Kids” and how she identified the need for child-specific guidance in plant-based diets. Listeners will also hear about the challenges Paula faced in self-publishing her book, Plant Power Little People, and how she has worked to market it independently. Paula’s tips on leveraging social media and building an engaged community shed light on effective ways to share expertise and connect with like-minded parents.

Key Takeaways:

  • Career Flexibility: Paula’s switch to freelancing demonstrates how dietitians can balance career demands with family needs, showing the advantages of creating a flexible work model.
  • Finding a Niche: Paula’s focus on plant-based nutrition for kids fills a gap in family-centered resources, meeting a growing interest in sustainable diets.
  • Publishing & Persistence: Paula’s journey in securing a hybrid publishing deal underscores the value of persistence and strategic choices in the face of traditional publishing challenges.
  • Audience Engagement: By connecting with parents and influencers on social media, Paula has successfully grown her brand, “Plant-Based Kids,” and established herself as an expert in child-friendly plant-based nutrition.
  • Practical Nutrition Tips: Paula shares valuable insights into making plant-based nutrition accessible, safe, and enjoyable for children.

Paula Hallam's Website: https://plantbased-kids.com/

Paula's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plantbasedkids.uk/ 

Paula's book: ht

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[00:00:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: Welcome along everybody. I am so excited to be interviewing my friend and my colleague Paula Hallam today. Paula is a dietitian just like me. She works in paediatrics as well and she's also a published author of a cookery book and we're going to be diving into her journey as a dietitian and how she makes her living as a freelance dietitian because I know we all come to this with a slightly different journey.

[00:00:28] Sarah Almond Bushell: Before I dive in, let me just welcome Paula. Thank you so much for coming, Paula. Do you want to just introduce yourself and let everybody know a little bit about you? 

[00:00:36] Paula Hallam: Yeah, sure. Hi. Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for asking me on Sarah. I'm really happy to be here. So hi everyone. I'm Paula, pediatric dietitian, as Sarah said been pediatric dietitian for a very long time, over 20 years, qualified way back in the late nineties.

[00:00:54] Paula Hallam: And yeah, I have moved towards more freelance practice and moved into the sort of plant based space, but previous to that worked in the NHS. for 18 years in various different pediatric roles, clinical roles, inherited allergies, disease food allergies. That's that sort of thing.

[00:01:11] Paula Hallam: There's specialties and yeah. And then moved out a couple of years ago into more freelance work. Practice. And yeah, I'm still learning about that. 

[00:01:21] Sarah Almond Bushell: Awesome. Awesome. So actually let's start there. So what was it that made you decide to take the leap and quit the NHS and go into freelance work?

[00:01:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: What was your vision at the time? 

[00:01:33] Paula Hallam: Yeah, sure. I think like a lot of dietitians I don't know if I'm making assumptions, but I think a lot of dietitians start off doing a little bit of freelance on the side. So I was working part time in the NHS I was working in food allergies at the time and I just thought, okay, I'm going to try and do some some freelance on the side to maybe make my practice and my home life a little bit more a bit more freedom, a bit more flexible with my time and things like that.

[00:02:01] Paula Hallam: So I started just On the side doing a little bit but quickly realize that, that it's when you're trying to just do a little bit on the side, it doesn't really work that that well. And it's, you really need to be quite, committed and focused. To it.

[00:02:16] Paula Hallam: And so it wasn't until a couple of years into doing that mixture of sort of part time NHS and some freelance practice on the side that I thought, okay, I'm going to take the leap. And through a few, like family circumstances and stuff I wanted to be at home more for Although they were growing up, I was finding that they actually needed me a lot more, particularly in the afternoons and stuff like that.

[00:02:40] Paula Hallam: I'm sure you, we've got similar age kids, so I'm sure you find the same thing. And yeah they're just, although the NHS was brilliant when they were younger, because I worked with them. Part time, I worked three days a week and then I could be with them two days a week. Once I started school and growing up and all sorts of different activities and things in the afternoon I just wanted to be there more in the afternoon.

[00:02:59] Paula Hallam: So I wanted to have just a little bit more control of my time, yeah. 

[00:03:03] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. I can so relate to that. So my children, I know they're similar ages to yours and it wasn't that sort of independence when they wanted to either walk home from school on their own or hang out with their friends and do things.

[00:03:16] Sarah Almond Bushell: And it just didn't feel right to me to be stuck in a clinic, five miles across town where I couldn't get out. And as much as the NHS was really flexible, it wasn't flexible enough to Allow me to work just in school hours. So yeah, can totally relate to the story. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:03:35] Sarah Almond Bushell: And so we met back in 2018, wasn't it? When we both did the SOS feeding therapy training. Yes, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I remember back then you were working in a completely different speciality to your niche now. So tell us a little bit about how you're how you started out, what you're working at in then and how you transitioned over to more plant based nutrition.

[00:04:01] Paula Hallam: Yeah, sure. So yeah, I think back then I was working in a mixture of sort of food allergies and also like a feeding clinic and stuff which is so interesting. And both those areas are absolutely fascinating. But I think it was through my own family and the experiences I was having with my own family, my youngest daughter, who's now 15, but when she was about 10, she came to me and said she wanted to be vegetarian.

[00:04:25] Paula Hallam: So I was like, okay, fine. Let's do this. No, no problem with that. So I started reading started looking at things and very quickly, about, vegan nutrition, vegetarian nutrition, plant based, very quickly realized that there wasn't much. for families. So there wasn't much information about children's nutritional requirements and how to meet those.

[00:04:44] Paula Hallam: There were so many lovely recipes and things like that around and inspiration and stuff, but not really much in the way of, okay, how does this relate to children? And how can families eat the same thing but, still meet the requirements of nutritional requirements of children?

[00:05:00] Paula Hallam: And through, through that and through cooking at home for us. I realized, okay, there's not much out there for families. Let me let me go into this a bit more. And I set up my Instagram page, plant based kids, so EK and started posting some things on there, but I still had my other business, tiny tots nutrition, I still had.

[00:05:20] Paula Hallam: So I was keeping those sort of both going and the tiny tots was more focused on food allergies and And children with feeding problems that type of thing and try to keep those going both those going for a while And then I remember having a conversation with you actually Sarah and it got to a point where I was like, right I can't focus on two things.

[00:05:38] Paula Hallam: It's just, this is just not going to work. As, as much as I did love the other area, I really wanted to grow this new area in, in, in plant based nutrition for children. And I just felt such a personal passion for it and a real connection to that. And so I thought, I really, feel like I want to go into this in a lot more detail and help a lot more families.

[00:06:01] Paula Hallam: I was getting so many questions from families so many families confused is it okay to bring up my children like this? What should I be focusing on? All those sort of questions. And I thought, this is, yeah, this is an area where I'm really passionate about and people need, that help and support as well.

[00:06:17] Paula Hallam: Yeah, 

[00:06:17] Sarah Almond Bushell: absolutely. So you actually had a market of people coming to you wanting that information so you knew it was a viable option to turn it into a business. Yeah, definitely. Brilliant. So you said that your daughter was 10 when she wanted to be vegetarian and she's 15 now. So when did you decide to go all in on plant based kids?

[00:06:37] Paula Hallam: Yeah. I think it was back in 2021. 2021, I started the my, the platform on Instagram, and then I think 2022 I realized I need to go all in now with this and I really need to focus, really want to focus on this, and I can't do some two things. At both at the same time and it was a really difficult decision actually, because I, had worked in clinical dietetics for so long and that was really all I knew and moving into this, into the sort of plant based space is a bit more public health which is brilliant because obviously you can help more people and impact more people but it felt a little bit.

[00:07:17] Paula Hallam: foreign to me. It's moving out of a sort of slightly more clinical and I guess more structured, in environments. So it's, yeah, I would say 22 I was all in. And yeah, from there it has really helped because if you're focused on one thing, you can really you really, you've got your energies in that area.

[00:07:37] Paula Hallam: And you can, you can really focus on that and brainstorm a lot, around that area. 

[00:07:43] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's one of the beauties of having a niche that you can become the expert because that's all you focus on. You specialize in that and all of your content, whether it's your social media posts or your websites or even your book, it's all on the same thing.

[00:07:58] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:07:59] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah. So talk to us about the book. So we're only talking, it's only 2024 now, so we're only talking what two and a half years ago or so. How did you go from starting the Instagram and getting a bit of traction and knowing you were going to go all in on this area to get the book deal? 

[00:08:15] Paula Hallam: Yeah, it is, yeah, it is quite amazing actually the time when you think about that.

[00:08:22] Paula Hallam: Yeah. I think it's with the Instagram channel, I had played around and cooking at home. I always playing around with, different foods, recipes, testing them on my family, obviously, and some friends as well. And then just started thinking, again, from all the research I did when I was looking into things for my daughter, I was like, that there really isn't that much.

[00:08:45] Paula Hallam: out there that's focused on children. And I really think there's a gap there. And this is something that I really want to write about. I'm constantly talking about it. And my husband said to me just write it down. You need to get this down some way. So yeah, so I started thinking, okay, yeah, I want to do a book.

[00:09:02] Paula Hallam: I want to do a book. And that was the sort of idea in the later It was late 2022 and then started thinking or started speaking to other people who'd wrote books. Started trying to approach some publishers and stuff. It's really hard. I quickly realized, I knew nothing about the sort of publishing world, had never published anything before, aside from, academic.

[00:09:26] Paula Hallam: I got papers but it was a totally different world. And so I started looking into the different types of publishers that you get. So right from, the traditional publishers through to self publishing and then in between, you've got the sort of hybrid publishing. So just started trying to learn about all these different these different ways of publishing and I approached a few traditional publishers and I did get turned down.

[00:09:51] Paula Hallam: So I don't want people to think that like I contacted one person and that was it. I, got lucky straight away. It was pretty hard. And then I started thinking, oh, okay, this, I'm not sure this is a viable option. What the traditional publishers were telling me was, I don't have big enough platform.

[00:10:07] Paula Hallam: I need to have, more followers, bigger platform to, to actually be published. So I felt a bit disheartened at first but I thought, I just carried on, I thought this is a good idea. Surely someone out there is, can help. And then I found a quite a small publisher.

[00:10:24] Paula Hallam: North. They're based in Sheffield. And they are what you call a hybrid publisher. So you pay a certain amount for their services in terms of the editing, the design photography, there's like different packages they have, and then you get more of the profits at the end. So it's a different way of structuring things.

[00:10:42] Paula Hallam: So traditional publishers usually give a certain amount upfront and then they take. Obviously it depends on, on, on the contract and the deal and everything, but they take a lot of the most of the profits at the end. So yeah, so I started thinking and looking at this and talking to this publisher and realizing that this was a way that I could get my book out there.

[00:11:05] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:11:06] Sarah Almond Bushell: Awesome. And with this hybrid route, do you have more control over what goes in the book as well? The reason I ask that is because I recently had a, had Bloomsbury contact me to write a book proposal and when I submitted the proposal, it took them ages to come back to me and eventually they came back and they said love the idea, but actually we want you to change this and this.

[00:11:28] Sarah Almond Bushell: And when I looked at it, it was like that's not the book I was writing in the first place. And so I okay. Walk away because Yeah, interesting. Yeah, mine was on like feeding problems and extreme fussy eating and they were like that's very niche. Can you just make it more broad about happy, healthy eaters?

[00:11:43] Sarah Almond Bushell: And I thought I could, but that wasn't where I was going. Yeah, sure. I wanted so much control. So did it mean that you had more control over what actually went into your book? 

[00:11:53] Paula Hallam: I think so. Obviously I haven't had the experience of working with a traditional publisher to compare, but they did not influence what I put in the book at really at all, aside from an editor saying, Oh, you've repeated yourself or you know this. isn't grammatically correct or, things like that. But it did. So that was brilliant. I felt like I did have control of the content, what I wanted to put in there. The thing that they did steer me and it actually, it helped was The word count and not making it too long. And we had to keep within, we did extend the pages, I think twice, but eventually we had, we came to okay, we can't make this any, any longer.

[00:12:36] Paula Hallam: So there were certain compromises in terms of, okay, maybe I should take that section out or things like that. But in general, the actual content and the sort of the premise of the book and the message and everything that I wanted to get across, I felt that, yeah, that I did have. Control over, over that.

[00:12:52] Paula Hallam: So yeah, so that was that was brilliant. Yeah, 

[00:12:55] Sarah Almond Bushell: that's awesome. Yeah. So it's your message that you're getting across to your people. Yeah, 

[00:13:01] Paula Hallam: exactly. Sorry to jump in. One thing I did just remember, I did feel a little bit nervous about was that obviously they, from the publisher's point of view, they weren't gonna, there was no like peer reviewing or scientific sort of checking what I was saying or anything.

[00:13:19] Paula Hallam: They were purely checking it from readability. How does this read? Is it doesn't because some parts they said were to read a little bit like a textbook and not for a parent who is going to be reading it. So they really helped me with the tone of how it was sounding.

[00:13:34] Paula Hallam: But I did get some some pediatric dietician colleagues and friends to, to read it because I just thought, is this okay? Like I'm not being crazy or what I'm saying and anything. So yeah, just, I think that however you do that, whether it's through your publisher, whether it's through some, peers, get, getting some other people to look at it and just validate and help you with the, with that is, yeah is really important as well.

[00:14:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, I agree. And I think, for us, particularly as healthcare professionals, also, we've all got this little bit of almost imposter syndrome where we're just thinking, oh my God, am I really right when I've said that? Yeah, 

[00:14:11] Paula Hallam: exactly. 

[00:14:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: Or am I, for me, sometimes it's am I still up to date enough?

[00:14:16] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:14:16] Paula Hallam: I think this is right. I've definitely, I've referenced it. I've looked up all the references. I've read all the stuff, but yeah, you still doubt yourself a little bit. So yeah getting some other people to look at it was just extremely helpful just to, yeah just to make sure that and you feel a responsibility as well because, you're getting, This is going to be out in the public domain.

[00:14:35] Paula Hallam: It's a bit nerve wracking thinking that, people are going to be reading this, they're going to be referencing it, looking at it. So yeah, you feel quite a responsibility to make sure that it is right. 

[00:14:45] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. Fantastic. So let's talk about marketing as this is very much what I talk about a lot in, in, on this podcast and in the business with your with your publisher being the hybrid model, do they do any marketing for you or are you responsible for that side of things?

[00:15:02] Paula Hallam: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. They did help definitely. And I think this is one of the things that I was, Really nervous about, and I'm, it's, what I've realized is it's an ongoing process. Obviously there's the launch, the, like the pre-order and then the launch and stuff, which you do obviously hope to sell lots of books at that time.

[00:15:19] Paula Hallam: Yeah. But obviously it's an ongoing process and I'm, I've definitely learned that it's an ongoing kind of marketing process. Yeah. But yeah, they did help. They did help quite a lot and that was something I spoke to them about in the beginning because I said, I'm obviously, I need. and stuff, but I'm fairly confident with the like, the content and stuff that I've got here.

[00:15:40] Paula Hallam: The marketing the promotion of it afterwards, that's, not my area at, at all. And yeah, they did help with it a lot. They did help with that. All the contacts that publishers have in terms of press and magazines, paper, newspapers, all sorts of things, they, they have lots of contacts.

[00:15:57] Paula Hallam: I did my own, some of my own as well, but it definitely helped having someone who has, yeah, has got contacts. And so that helped me get into some magazines, writing things for them. And yeah, that's, they definitely helped with that. 

[00:16:11] Sarah Almond Bushell: Brilliant. That's great. And what sort of marketing do you do now to keep sales coming in on a regular basis?

[00:16:17] Sarah Almond Bushell: What does that look like? Yeah, sure. 

[00:16:19] Paula Hallam: So I do quite a lot, it's all online. So I do a lot of, I try to do a lot of online stuff. Instagram lives. Speaking to other people in, or, and people who have similar audiences. So maybe mums or influencers, things like that, trying to go on some podcasts and having little promotions.

[00:16:38] Paula Hallam: So I've tried to. run lots of mini promotions. So the other day was a couple of weeks ago was one year since my book was first pre on pre order. So October last year, it was first available on pre order. So I had a, Oh, okay. It's been one year, one year celebration. And then I had a discount code, things like that.

[00:16:56] Paula Hallam: Just. Just running those alongside and then alongside, content, I try not to make a repost about the book, because obviously that's a bit much, but, reminding myself that, people, even though it's been a year, might not have seen this, you, we always told that only like 2 percent of the audience sees your stuff on social media.

[00:17:15] Paula Hallam: Repeating it. Telling people about it. Doing recipes from my book. When other people share things with me that they've made, that's just amazing. Sharing recipes that other parents have made or little comments that they've sent me about, how helpful the book has been and things like that.

[00:17:31] Paula Hallam: Which makes it, obviously all worthwhile, but it does help that I can share those messages with people. 

[00:17:38] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, brilliant. So lots of visibility stuff, lots of stuff at the top of the funnel on social media, trying to get in front of new audiences and new existing followers. Do you have a book funnel set up as well for people who know you on that journey of being nurtured before they become a client or a book purchaser?

[00:17:55] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yes. 

[00:17:56] Paula Hallam: Yeah, sure. So I also mentioned obviously on my email list as well. So that's something that I've committed to this year. I've had the email list for a while, but I've, before it was a bit ad hoc and I wasn't really speaking to people on that a lot. So now this year, I've really committed to every week sending some sending a newsletter, but it's more like a, it's more like a.

[00:18:18] Paula Hallam: Smaller piece of content out to people to just try and keep that that touch point. I'm actually working on a funnel at the moment. I haven't actually got something totally set up at the moment, but it's interesting because the people who contact me who want extra support to one to one, almost always they have bought my book first.

[00:18:37] Paula Hallam: It's that, that they're seeing. Yeah, the same first having a look at it and thinking and then thinking, okay, I'd like some more one to one support. Yeah. Some extra advice on, on, on my particular child. But yeah I'm working on a funnel at the moment. Just like the sort of been the bane of my life the last few months that I'm determined to, to get it set up.

[00:19:00] Paula Hallam: And yeah I've had someone helping me with the tech and stuff. Cause I find that extremely daunting. So yeah, so I've got I've got some free training that I've put together. And then I'm going to put that. into my final. So hopefully I'll have more structure and, more consistent clients.

[00:19:19] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:19:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's absolutely key because you're right. A book makes a fantastic lead magnet and obviously it's much bigger than most people's lead magnets. There's a lot of time into that, but because It delivers evidence right at the start of your expertise, people like you, they trust you, all of that's packaged up.

[00:19:39] Sarah Almond Bushell: You can, you take advantage of that to, filter them through to then going on to buy something a bit more expensive from you. Whether that's your one to one or whether you've got programs or whatever, it's a really nice entry point to a funnel. So really pleased to hear that's in the pipeline.

[00:19:54] Paula Hallam: Yeah, no, definitely. It's something that I've been thinking about for a long time and I've put off because I felt so daunted by the whole process. But actually, yeah, just getting someone to help me with a little bit with the behind the scenes, the tech has made me realize that this is doable.

[00:20:11] Paula Hallam: I can, that I can put this together. Yeah. I'm going to do it. 

[00:20:14] Sarah Almond Bushell: Definitely. Oh, well done. That's excellent. Cool. 

[00:20:17] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:20:17] Sarah Almond Bushell: So I like to end these episodes with a quick fire round of questions. Just five questions. Is that all right if I go through with? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Great. So I'd love to know what's the best bit of your working day.

[00:20:31] Paula Hallam: Ah I think talking to parents because it's just, that is what, motivates me. That's what energizes me hearing hearing what they're going through, helping them knowing that you can really make an impact on, in people's lives and in family's lives. So I think that really another part of the day, which is not related to work at all is taking the dogs for a walk, being able to do that.

[00:20:57] Paula Hallam: Get outside in the park, just down the road. So yeah, so being able to see people, help them impact their lives in a really positive way and then being able to do the things that, that I enjoy as well. Exercising, getting out, taking dogs for a walk. 

[00:21:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, definitely. And that's like the ultimate work life balance, isn't it?

[00:21:16] Sarah Almond Bushell: It's the stuff that you get from work, that sort of job satisfaction, plus being able to do it in your own time. So you've got the freedom because you can, because you're your own boss. Yeah exactly. Fantastic. Question two, why do you do what you do? for having 

[00:21:30] Paula Hallam: chilled us this, 

[00:21:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: haven't you?

[00:21:32] Paula Hallam: Yeah. Yeah, it's yeah, impacting people's lives, knowing that you can help people is just hugely rewarding. I think the plant based stuff particularly really, the reason I do that is because I feel so passionately that it's a win for health and well being. The health of the planet, the environment, I just think the more people we can get to eat more plants, it doesn't have to be all plants or all or nothing approach, but the more people are eating more plants the more helpful that is going to be for all of our health as well as the health of the planet.

[00:22:06] Paula Hallam: So I think there's a sort of wider wider message there as well. 

[00:22:10] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. It's like the deeper purpose behind what you do. Yeah. Yeah definitely. Yeah, great. Question three, I think I already know the answer to this one. Tech, love it or hate it? 

[00:22:23] Paula Hallam: Hate it, definitely.

[00:22:25] Paula Hallam: But totally recognize that It's necessary and that it can be so helpful and it can really be, quite powerful. And that is, and I also realized with this funnel that I'm setting up that it's not a sort of, I know it's not going to be a kind of, okay, switch it on and that's it.

[00:22:40] Paula Hallam: So if I can forget about it, I know it'll be coming back to tweaking it all the time. But I think just Knowing that I can have that set up and it means that I can be visible, I can get my free training out to people without actually physically being there all the time. And just knowing that I've got that sort of set up, I think it's going to be a huge a huge weight off my shoulders when we when I get it set up.

[00:23:04] Paula Hallam: So yeah, it keeps me motivated to get it done. to get it set up. Yeah. 

[00:23:08] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. I think it is a total necessity to anyone who uses the online space, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I think I love what it can do. I don't necessarily love learning the tech, but I love what it can do for me. Yeah.

[00:23:22] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah. 

[00:23:22] Paula Hallam: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a definite, yeah, that's the spin on it is okay. Think about what this can do for me, setting it up maybe is a bit tricky and, it's out of my comfort zone totally, but then thinking about what ultimately it can do for you. It's going to be so helpful in in the long term.

[00:23:39] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:23:40] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, definitely. Question four, how do you stay motivated? Yeah. 

[00:23:45] Paula Hallam: I think for me, this is it's one of those things. It's like exercise, when someone says, Oh, how do you keep, it's motivated to be excited.

[00:23:53] Paula Hallam: The action, the doing, actually motivates me. It's, It's one of those things you're never going to be totally ready for something. Just doing something, the action of actually doing something motivates me to to do more. And, going back to my sort of why my daughter five years ago came to me and asked me to be vegetarian, just keeping that why and she inspired me to be, become vegetarian as well.

[00:24:17] Paula Hallam: It's just keeping that. Going back to, to, to that why and that sort of keeps me motivated to keep going. The little messages that I get, from people. Some days, you're having a bit of a down day, and you're thinking, oh, I'm not sure if I can carry on doing this or whatever, and then, a little message pings up, and it's oh, my, your book has helped me so much, or, just those little messages okay.

[00:24:39] Paula Hallam: This is Worth doing. I'm gonna carry on doing this. Yeah. 

[00:24:42] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah. You're impacting people's lives. Yeah. 

[00:24:45] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:24:46] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah. Brilliant. Definitely. And last but not least, what's the one thing you know now that you wish you could tell your former self when just starting out in business? 

[00:24:56] Paula Hallam: Okay. Yeah.

[00:24:57] Paula Hallam: I think the biggest thing for me is to not overthink things. , because. It's just, can hold you back so much. And I'm not saying I never overthink things. I do. And then I have to yeah, we all do. And then I have to stop myself. Because, if something doesn't feel a bit scary, if it does feel a bit scary it's probably worth doing if something is, you're a goal that's quite big and you think, Oh my God, I'm not sure if I can do this.

[00:25:22] Paula Hallam: It feels a bit scary. It's probably worth doing. And just trying to step into that and say, okay, I'm going to do it anyhow. It feels a bit scary, but I'm going to get, do it anyhow. I'm going to give it a go. What's the worst that can happen? Okay. Doesn't work out. I'll just try again, modify things slightly and try again.

[00:25:38] Paula Hallam: So I think trying not to overthink things, just. Have a go at something and see and then you're always going to learn from that. But if you've never, if you've never given it a go you're never going to know how it might have, how it might've turned out. I was talking to myself about or saying, Oh, I'd really love to write a book.

[00:25:55] Paula Hallam: Oh, look at all these other people that have done it. And then it's okay, I need to actually just step into this and do it myself. So yeah, I think not overthinking is a big one. 

[00:26:04] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, absolutely. And, that's just taken me back to the conversation that we probably had in, 2021, whenever it was, and you were wondering what to do with tiny substitution because you had this passion and, you had got to that point where it was a struggle to try and do both.

[00:26:19] Paula Hallam: Yeah. 

[00:26:20] Sarah Almond Bushell: If you hadn't have gone all in, you wouldn't be here now with a book. 

[00:26:24] Paula Hallam: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I think it's, yeah, at the time it feels Oh my gosh, this feels like such a hugely scary thing. But then when you do something and you look back and you think, Oh, actually, I've I've done this, I've got this, and we're also, when I'm having a day when I'm feeling a bit down or something I know I can look at this and think, actually.

[00:26:41] Paula Hallam: I've done this. And yeah it's a great feeling. So yeah, don't overthink. 

[00:26:47] Sarah Almond Bushell: It's absolutely awesome. Congratulations. It's fantastic. So before we go, do you want to tell people where they can buy your book if they want to grab a copy? 

[00:26:58] Paula Hallam: Yeah, brilliant. My book is available on my website, which is plant based and a little hyphen kids.

[00:27:06] Paula Hallam: com. It's also available on Amazon UK, Amazon US. I've got all the links in terms of if there's anyone international, I've got all the international links on my Instagram profile on a little highlight. But yeah, if you go to Amazon or my website, plantbasedkids. com you will find it there and I hope you really love it.

[00:27:24] Sarah Almond Bushell: Brilliant, that's great. And it's called Plant Power Little People and it's right through from birth, essentially, right through the sort of the, what, about 10, 11? I've, 

[00:27:34] Paula Hallam: I've, it's mainly for under fives, the nutrition bit, the nutrition guide. But the recipes are for the whole family can enjoy together.

[00:27:43] Paula Hallam: They're not specifically Toddler meals or anything like that. I don't, I think everyone should be eating the same food anyhow, but I think that's another conversation. But yeah, the nutrition part is focused mainly on under fives. And the main reason for that is because Their nutritional requirements are quite different as to adults.

[00:28:01] Paula Hallam: And so I focused on that. There is a section on micronutrients, macronutrients, what are they? Where do we get them? Where are plant based sources and stuff? So that's not focused on one particular age, but then there's a few chapters that are focused on those little ones. But overall it's recipes are for the whole family.

[00:28:19] Paula Hallam: Brilliant, 

[00:28:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: yeah, and actually quite a nice resource for any paediatric dietitian, so you don't have to go hunting and pecking on the internet to look for those. Yes, 

[00:28:26] Paula Hallam: Exactly. I have had quite a few paediatric dietitians contact me, and actually one really recently, it was so sweet, she said that she had found a copy in her library, which is amazing.

[00:28:37] Paula Hallam: I didn't even know that there was one in a library, but that's amazing. And then she said she was using it quite a few times that she decided to get her own copy. So that was really sweet. So yeah if dietitians are using it, that's amazing too. 

[00:28:49] Sarah Almond Bushell: Yeah, brilliant. And I can highly recommend it. My favourite recipe is the lentil ragu.

[00:28:55] Sarah Almond Bushell: Oh, 

[00:28:56] Paula Hallam: brilliant. I love that one too. It's so versatile because you can use it, with spaghetti, like a spaghetti bowl over jack potato. You could, make a pasta bake. It's, yeah, it's really versatile. I love that one. Shepherd's pie. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:29:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: Awesome. That's brilliant.

[00:29:13] Sarah Almond Bushell: Thank you so much for your time today, Paula. I'm sure this has been really inspirational for people. Best place for people to follow you on your Instagram, 

[00:29:21] Paula Hallam: I'm guessing? Yeah, definitely. My Instagram is plantbasedkids. uk. And yeah, you can find me on there. Send me a message, send me a DM if you want to, and you can find all my links.

[00:29:32] Paula Hallam: To, to various things on my book and my website on that page as well. 

[00:29:37] Sarah Almond Bushell: Fantastic. And I'll make sure that we've got all the links in the show notes as well. 

[00:29:41] Paula Hallam: Brilliant. Brilliant. Thank you. Awesome. Thanks for your time. Oh, thanks so much for having me. Bye. Bye.

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