If it has to do with kids and nutrition, I can help...

Childhood nutrition is my passion. Helping parents, professionals, businesses and organizations impact the future health of children is my purpose.

Welcome! Let me introduce myself!

I’m Jill Castle, a pediatric nutritionist and registered dietitian based outside of Boston, Massachusetts. I’m mom to four grown kids, and have had a 30+ year career in pediatric nutrition.

Let me tell you a little bit about it…

I graduated from Indiana University (Bloomington) with a Nutrition Science degree and moved to Boston, MA to begin my internship at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Upon completion, I graduated top of my class and won the coveted Louise Hatch award.  

During my internship, I discovered pediatric nutrition and knew I wanted to work with children. Fortunately, MGH needed a pediatric dietitian and I had just graduated. They hired me!

I worked with hospitalized children of all ages and went on to get my Master’s degree in nutrition (pediatrics focus). Eventually, I moved over to Children’s Hospital Boston.

There, I worked as a nutrition support dietitian, managing intravenous nutrition for kids undergoing bone marrow transplantation, gastro-intestinal diseases, cardiac surgery, and intensive care.

I learned a lot about nutrition management of the chronically ill, hospitalized child during this time.

From Pediatric Dietitian to Becoming a Mom

When my husband and I started our family, I felt confident about nutrition and how to feed our family.

Little did I know!

As a first time mom, I was not immune to the stress, questions, and humbling experiences that parenthood serves us all.

I struggled quite a bit with feeding my first daughter.

Sure, I gave her healthy food, but she was less than interested. I worried she didn’t eat enough. Meanwhile, our parent-child dynamic was deteriorating. Feeding her was stressful.

I’m pretty sure she wasn’t excited to come to the highchair for meals, either.

As a result, she was underweight at one and anemic by 18 months.

I was discouraged and embarrassed. And lost.

I had to dig…deeply.

My nutrition training didn’t prepare me for the realities of feeding children. My hospital experiences didn’t afford me the confidence to answer the simplest of questions: How do I get my daughter to eat?

This was a turning point in my career. And in motherhood.

A Fresh Framework for Childhood Nutrition

I knew my training fell short and wasn’t enough for me, let alone today’s parents and the challenges they face.

There had to be a better way.

So I set out to find it.

My daughter and I muddled through that period and we both recovered (watch my TEDx talk and get all the details).

She gained weight and replenished her iron status.

And I began the process of redefining childhood nutrition. My knowledge of food, nutrients and medical conditions merged with feeding styles and practices, and child developmental milestones.

I started using a more comprehensive, integrated approach to nourishing the whole child, inside and out.

You can see this framework on my nutrition education website for parents called The Nourished Child®.

The Nourished Child® is the first and only nutrition education website for parents who want to learn about nourishing and nurturing their child’s health at any age through food, feeding and an eye on child development.

From Stay-at-Home Mom to Pediatric Nutritionist and Entrepreneur

Our family grew and I became a stay-at-home mom, taking 9 years off from working as a pediatric dietitian to focus on raising our four kids.

I learned a lot about the day-to-day grind of cooking, snacks, meals, eating, feeding, and all the stuff that goes into raising kids.

In 2008, I went back to work as a pediatric dietitian in private practice. In fact, my pediatric nutrition private practice was one of the first practices in the country devoted exclusively to children and their families.

I was new to running a business, but I was determined to learn.

And I did.

My private practice afforded me many business growth opportunities. I started a blog, which led to my first co-authored book, Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School.

That book led to many speaking events. Eventually, another book was born, Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete.

I started speaking more, and consulting opportunities appeared. The ball was rolling and I was growing my business by leaps and bounds.

I added new revenue streams and a team to help me run my business.

To date, I’ve written 5 books about child nutrition. My 6th book, Size Wise, will be available in early 2024.

I’ve spoken to TEDx, parent organizations, national associations, universities, employee wellness groups, and international teams covering a variety of childhood nutrition topics.

I’ve ventured into food industry consulting, advising start-ups and other child-focused businesses in product creation and marketing endeavors.

I help these businesses conceptualize their opportunities, understand the parent market, figure out how they can leverage their unique product and perspective, and navigate getting it out in the market to help more people.

I help family-focused nutrition professionals and businesses, organizations and associations serve parents through their products, services, and educational offerings.

I use my framework of childhood nutrition as a model to encourage pediatric dietitian colleagues and my business and organizational clients to connect deeply and differently with their own expertise, using their knowledge, experiences, passion and purpose to develop their own approach with their own audiences.

Currently, I coach and mentor pediatric- and family-focused nutrition professionals, helping them build their businesses, conceptualize their opportunities, and own their unique niche in my mastermind called STRIVE.

Here, they take their dreams of a profitable business and turn them into reality.

How to work with Jill Castle, Pediatric Nutritionist and Dietitian

If you want to work with me, here’s how you can do so:

• Hire me as your advisor or consultant. My nutrition expertise and parenting insights will help you ideate and launch products, programs and projects.

• Hire me as your pediatric dietitian. I help families address and overcome health and nutrition challenges like overeating, accelerated growth, and picky eating (and more!).

• Book me for a speaking event. I offer compelling events including workshops, breakout sessions, and of course, keynotes. I also offer training in my unique approach to child nutrition. Check out my topics!

• Collaborate with me on media projects or The Nourished Child® podcast.

Jill Castle Pediatric Nutritionist/Dietitian Resume:

Education:

• B.S., Nutrition Science from Indiana University, Bloomington
• M.S., Pediatric Nutrition from MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston
• Registered Dietitian Internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Licensure | Registration | Certification:

• Registered, Commission on Dietetic Registration, 1990 to present
• Licensed Dietitian, State of Massachusetts, 2023 to present
• Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist, State of Connecticut, 2013 to present

Highlighted Experience:

• Clinical Pediatric Dietitian at Massachusetts General Hospital, 1989-1994
• Nutrition Support Dietitian at Boston Children’s Hospital, 1994-1997
• Owner, Pediatric Nutrition of Green Hills in Nashville, TN, 2008-2012
• Owner, Jill Castle Nutrition LLC in Marion, MA, 2012 – present
• Expert Medical Reviewer, Parents magazine
• Consultant and Advisor, Once Upon a Farm, Brainiac Kids, Needed, Sunnie
• Writer, US News & World Report, USA Swimming, US Rowing, About.com (now Verywell.com)

Awards:

• Today’s Dietitian Top 10, 2019
• Outstanding Dietitian of the Year, Nashville, TN, 2009

P.S.S.: 10 things you don’t know about me…The FUN Stuff!

1. I’m a mid-Western girl, born and raised in Indiana.
2. I didn’t like broccoli until I was in my early 20’s. (Believe me, my parents offered it over and over.)
3. I played basketball from 5th grade through my Junior year in high school. I wanted to be a cheerleader my senior year, so I gave up basketball. Big mistake. I didn’t make the cheerleading squad. (sad face)
4. Mentally, and to this day, I’ve always considered myself an athlete. Physically, I was never more than a recreational, mediocre one. (But I still go for it!)
5. I truly believe being a good parent is a lot of thoughtful work, and probably one of the hardest (and often, thankless) jobs on the planet. But, there is no other job that is quite as powerful or rewarding.
6. I love a man who can cook (and who’s not afraid to do laundry and clean a bathroom…and a dirty diaper). Luckily, I snagged one.
7. I’m a sucker for self-improvement and self-actualization. I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand when I was 18. I’m a big fan of Brene Brown and Oprah. You could say I’m a thinker. I like to figure out why people do what they do and how to be better.
8. I’m very, very afraid of heights and speed. I generally avoid these situations. However, I zip-lined in Costa Rica and that was HUGE for me. Did I really do that?!
9.  I do my best work very early in the morning, but I love a good, long sleep. So, basically, I fight with myself to get out of bed every morning. I love that snooze button!
10. I have a super soft spot for children. I love, love, love them. Everything about them. They inspire me and make me laugh. I love to look at the world through their eyes.