In a world where fast food and convenience meals often dominate family dinners, Jolene Cox and her daughter Lily are revolutionising how kids connect with food.
Through their innovative cooking classes and engaging online content, this dynamic duo are not just teaching children how to cook but instilling in them a love for nutritious, homemade meals that are easy to make.
It all started with a blog Jolene set up in 2015.
“This was a time when blogs weren’t what they are now,” she says. “I was at the mother and toddler groups with Lily, sharing recipes with the other parents. I would write them out for them and they were going home to cook them, saying that they were delicious, and that my one curry in a hurry had revolutionised their midweek meals.”
Jolene wanted to put all the recipes together for the parents in the group for easy access.
“I thought of the name, regretting it now, ‘One Yummy Mummy’ – I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere, I was thinking of parents and food. The blog took off and grew from there.”
Jolene received the Irish Quality Food award and a book deal in 2018 for Family Food Made Easy.
“It did very well. We had a Facebook group with 10,000 members, where parents were sharing their recipes,” she says.
Jolene started working with brands and her online presence grew substantially – she now has over 130k followers on Instagram.
In 2021, the duo brought out their second book, Family Kitchen and are currently working on an exciting new children’s cookbook that is due out next year.
“It’s going to be a cookbook that is by kids for kids. It’s going to be a different cookbook because we’ve been cooking with the kids since lockdown in 2020 when Lily was only six,” says Jolene.
A love for cooking
Lily started getting involved in the kitchen when she was as young as three. She has always loved experimenting and trying new recipes.
“I remember when I was seven, I made my birthday cake all on my own. I made the cake, then the icing and put the sprinkles on top, I was so proud of myself,” Lily says.
Mother and daughter duo Jolene and Lily Cox. \ Claire Nash
For Jolene, it was slightly different as growing up her mother wouldn’t have been the best cook. “She won’t mind me saying that,” says Jolene.
At 19, she left home which was a small village called Newtownbutler in Fermanagh and moved to Dublin, where she spent three years working as a live-in nanny for a family in Clontarf.
“I went into Nolan’s shop where I saw strings of garlic for the first time. It was like somebody beamed me from the moon because that was exotic to me. I hadn’t seen it before,” she recalls.
When Jolene was given a budget every week to cook for the kids, she took it on and loved creating new ways of cooking and developing different recipes.
At 23, she started working in a Montessori and then when Lily was born, she was a childminder, teaching the kids how to make their after-school snacks. Once the book deal came along in 2018, One Yummy Mummy became her full-time job.
“I feel like it gives parents and children independence and confidence which is so important. Sometimes, it’s not even about the cooking, it’s about the feeling children get when they sit down and eat what they’ve made themselves,” she says.
During the lockdown when the schools were closed, Jolene and Lily were trying to think of ways to spend their time.
They came up with the idea of Zoom cooking classes every Wednesday from 1pm to 2pm. These quickly became popular with more children learning how to cook with simple ingredients and steps.
When school started back, Jolene felt she was really onto something because the classes were accessible and affordable for anyone to join in.
“I always say to parents, if their children can just learn five easy recipes, they’re going to be set up for life. It’s giving kids a choice. You have the choice to order a pizza, or you have the choice to make one,” says Jolene.
For her, it’s important to break down the complications with cooking, as recipes can often be too complex and there is a lot of messing about.
“I always think, if it’s going to be longer than 40 minutes, you’re not going to cook it, because you’re busy,” says Jolene.
Jolene and Lily came up with the idea of Zoom cooking classes during lockdown. \ Claire Nash
Now at the age of 10, Lily is leading the cooking classes, where 100 members of the One Yummy Mummy club tune in live every Tuesday and learn how to make different recipes.
“If something goes wrong or falls on the floor, that is fine. Children will make mistakes in the kitchen and it’s all part of the fun,” says Jolene.
“I am teaching people how to cook,” adds Lily. “I am teaching them life skills so that when they are older and in college, then they won’t be stuck eating Pot Noodles or ready-made stuff.”
Life can be busy, especially when you are sharing so much of your lifestyle online. For Jolene, it is important to take a step back from work and take a break. She and Lily enjoy doing things outside of the kitchen and recently came back from a week in Sligo.
“You have that chance to breathe, the wi-fi isn’t great and you’re off the grid. I try to not post too much when we are out doing stuff together, I try and put the phone away,” she says.
Back to school
As the final few weeks of summer roll around, Jolene is like every other parent getting ready for the back-to-school routine.
Lunchboxes can be a challenge to get organised as parents are running out the door. Her advice is to do as much prep as you can the night before.
“When it comes to sandwiches, some things won’t keep, like tomatoes, but if it is tuna and sweetcorn or something like that, you can make them the night before. Even placing the fruit into the lunchbox will help.
In 2021, the duo brought out their second book, Family Kitchen. \ Claire Nash
"Choose a carbohydrate – you can have a little pasta salad, you can make a sandwich. We do little ‘roly poly’ sandwiches that are great for younger children – you cut the crusts off the bread and spread out the ingredients before rolling the bread up into a roll shape.”
Even though parents usually make the lunchboxes to save time, Jolene says it’s important to let children help when they are small. This will lead them to make their own.
“I think you have to bring it back to the child and what they want. Sometimes we make a lunchbox for the teacher, to have a look,” she says.
Stand up to the bullies
Lily is going into 5th class, in Scoil Aoife, Citywest and has her new shoes ready to go. However, school isn’t always easy and Lily had a tough year last year.
She wants to give children worried about going back to school the following advice.
“If you’re not looking forward to going back to school, because you have gotten bullied, the best thing to do is to try and focus on your work,” says Lily.
“You don’t want to sidetrack that and focus on the bullies. Tell your mam or the teacher about it and ask them to call their parents and get it sorted out. The faster you get it sorted out, the better.”
As Lily loves the start of the school year, she is looking forward to the fresh beginning.
“I am a perfectionist and want to do everything the best I can. I’m going to pay attention because I want to get into a good college.”
Lily's favorite school lunch is hot stir fry. \ Claire Nash
“My favourite meal to cook is pasta carbonara. It’s a classic and I love it.
“We boil the pasta, and as that’s boiling, we make the sauce for it. To do this, we grate Parmesan and cheddar. Then we put in the egg and we mix that all around.
"When the pasta is cooked, we put it bit by bit into the sauce and whisk it quickly, so the eggs don’t cook. We add a bit of the pasta sauce to make it a bit looser. You just sprinkle it with cheese and put some parsley on it as well.”
Lily has recently mastered the trick of cracking an egg with one hand.
For lunch, she loves to bring a stir-fry hot lunch in a flask.
This is also handy for parents as they can send in leftovers. Just heat the flask up and put in whatever hot food you want.
The One Yummy Mummy cooking club starts at €9.99 monthly. You can also join for three months or yearly. For more information, visit oneyummymummy.com
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In a world where fast food and convenience meals often dominate family dinners, Jolene Cox and her daughter Lily are revolutionising how kids connect with food.
Through their innovative cooking classes and engaging online content, this dynamic duo are not just teaching children how to cook but instilling in them a love for nutritious, homemade meals that are easy to make.
It all started with a blog Jolene set up in 2015.
“This was a time when blogs weren’t what they are now,” she says. “I was at the mother and toddler groups with Lily, sharing recipes with the other parents. I would write them out for them and they were going home to cook them, saying that they were delicious, and that my one curry in a hurry had revolutionised their midweek meals.”
Jolene wanted to put all the recipes together for the parents in the group for easy access.
“I thought of the name, regretting it now, ‘One Yummy Mummy’ – I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere, I was thinking of parents and food. The blog took off and grew from there.”
Jolene received the Irish Quality Food award and a book deal in 2018 for Family Food Made Easy.
“It did very well. We had a Facebook group with 10,000 members, where parents were sharing their recipes,” she says.
Jolene started working with brands and her online presence grew substantially – she now has over 130k followers on Instagram.
In 2021, the duo brought out their second book, Family Kitchen and are currently working on an exciting new children’s cookbook that is due out next year.
“It’s going to be a cookbook that is by kids for kids. It’s going to be a different cookbook because we’ve been cooking with the kids since lockdown in 2020 when Lily was only six,” says Jolene.
A love for cooking
Lily started getting involved in the kitchen when she was as young as three. She has always loved experimenting and trying new recipes.
“I remember when I was seven, I made my birthday cake all on my own. I made the cake, then the icing and put the sprinkles on top, I was so proud of myself,” Lily says.
Mother and daughter duo Jolene and Lily Cox. \ Claire Nash
For Jolene, it was slightly different as growing up her mother wouldn’t have been the best cook. “She won’t mind me saying that,” says Jolene.
At 19, she left home which was a small village called Newtownbutler in Fermanagh and moved to Dublin, where she spent three years working as a live-in nanny for a family in Clontarf.
“I went into Nolan’s shop where I saw strings of garlic for the first time. It was like somebody beamed me from the moon because that was exotic to me. I hadn’t seen it before,” she recalls.
When Jolene was given a budget every week to cook for the kids, she took it on and loved creating new ways of cooking and developing different recipes.
At 23, she started working in a Montessori and then when Lily was born, she was a childminder, teaching the kids how to make their after-school snacks. Once the book deal came along in 2018, One Yummy Mummy became her full-time job.
“I feel like it gives parents and children independence and confidence which is so important. Sometimes, it’s not even about the cooking, it’s about the feeling children get when they sit down and eat what they’ve made themselves,” she says.
During the lockdown when the schools were closed, Jolene and Lily were trying to think of ways to spend their time.
They came up with the idea of Zoom cooking classes every Wednesday from 1pm to 2pm. These quickly became popular with more children learning how to cook with simple ingredients and steps.
When school started back, Jolene felt she was really onto something because the classes were accessible and affordable for anyone to join in.
“I always say to parents, if their children can just learn five easy recipes, they’re going to be set up for life. It’s giving kids a choice. You have the choice to order a pizza, or you have the choice to make one,” says Jolene.
For her, it’s important to break down the complications with cooking, as recipes can often be too complex and there is a lot of messing about.
“I always think, if it’s going to be longer than 40 minutes, you’re not going to cook it, because you’re busy,” says Jolene.
Jolene and Lily came up with the idea of Zoom cooking classes during lockdown. \ Claire Nash
Now at the age of 10, Lily is leading the cooking classes, where 100 members of the One Yummy Mummy club tune in live every Tuesday and learn how to make different recipes.
“If something goes wrong or falls on the floor, that is fine. Children will make mistakes in the kitchen and it’s all part of the fun,” says Jolene.
“I am teaching people how to cook,” adds Lily. “I am teaching them life skills so that when they are older and in college, then they won’t be stuck eating Pot Noodles or ready-made stuff.”
Life can be busy, especially when you are sharing so much of your lifestyle online. For Jolene, it is important to take a step back from work and take a break. She and Lily enjoy doing things outside of the kitchen and recently came back from a week in Sligo.
“You have that chance to breathe, the wi-fi isn’t great and you’re off the grid. I try to not post too much when we are out doing stuff together, I try and put the phone away,” she says.
Back to school
As the final few weeks of summer roll around, Jolene is like every other parent getting ready for the back-to-school routine.
Lunchboxes can be a challenge to get organised as parents are running out the door. Her advice is to do as much prep as you can the night before.
“When it comes to sandwiches, some things won’t keep, like tomatoes, but if it is tuna and sweetcorn or something like that, you can make them the night before. Even placing the fruit into the lunchbox will help.
In 2021, the duo brought out their second book, Family Kitchen. \ Claire Nash
"Choose a carbohydrate – you can have a little pasta salad, you can make a sandwich. We do little ‘roly poly’ sandwiches that are great for younger children – you cut the crusts off the bread and spread out the ingredients before rolling the bread up into a roll shape.”
Even though parents usually make the lunchboxes to save time, Jolene says it’s important to let children help when they are small. This will lead them to make their own.
“I think you have to bring it back to the child and what they want. Sometimes we make a lunchbox for the teacher, to have a look,” she says.
Stand up to the bullies
Lily is going into 5th class, in Scoil Aoife, Citywest and has her new shoes ready to go. However, school isn’t always easy and Lily had a tough year last year.
She wants to give children worried about going back to school the following advice.
“If you’re not looking forward to going back to school, because you have gotten bullied, the best thing to do is to try and focus on your work,” says Lily.
“You don’t want to sidetrack that and focus on the bullies. Tell your mam or the teacher about it and ask them to call their parents and get it sorted out. The faster you get it sorted out, the better.”
As Lily loves the start of the school year, she is looking forward to the fresh beginning.
“I am a perfectionist and want to do everything the best I can. I’m going to pay attention because I want to get into a good college.”
Lily's favorite school lunch is hot stir fry. \ Claire Nash
“My favourite meal to cook is pasta carbonara. It’s a classic and I love it.
“We boil the pasta, and as that’s boiling, we make the sauce for it. To do this, we grate Parmesan and cheddar. Then we put in the egg and we mix that all around.
"When the pasta is cooked, we put it bit by bit into the sauce and whisk it quickly, so the eggs don’t cook. We add a bit of the pasta sauce to make it a bit looser. You just sprinkle it with cheese and put some parsley on it as well.”
Lily has recently mastered the trick of cracking an egg with one hand.
For lunch, she loves to bring a stir-fry hot lunch in a flask.
This is also handy for parents as they can send in leftovers. Just heat the flask up and put in whatever hot food you want.
The One Yummy Mummy cooking club starts at €9.99 monthly. You can also join for three months or yearly. For more information, visit oneyummymummy.com
Read more
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Agri Careers: fewer students want to study ag courses – so what does the future?
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