MasterChef mum says what you put in your child's lunchbox shows how much you love them

Speaking to ABC1, Jules made no bones about the fact she sees the food we give our children as a direct reflection of how much we love them.

"As a parent we nurture them through those first few years with breastfeeding and organic pureed foods and then suddenly they get to a certain point and we are throwing packets of chips and lollies at them," she said.

"When you make a kid lunch the first thing it says when someone opens that lunch box is that someone loves me.

"When you put treats in - not packets - but things you put effort into it says to a child someone cares."

Well, if we didn't start off with mum guilt this morning - we're certainly feeling it now ?

Jules's Instagram is sprinkled with pics of delicious-looking homemade snacks and meals - like these amazing choc chip and popping candy cookies (we wouldn't know where to start, would you?)

And while initially, we were a bit sceptical about Jules's comments - assuming she has unlimited time on her hands - discovering she's had 32 foster kids in her care, plus her own, has made us pipe down a bit.

On the other hand, we also reckon that just because there's clearly a big connection between food and love for people like Jules, that's not necessarily the same for all of us.

We're not all the greatest of cooks, or even enjoy cooking, but we will spend hours reading or drawing or playing with our kids.

And if your kids have eaten - even a meal that took 10 minutes rather than 3 hours to make - your job in that department's done, right?

What do you think?

Do you think it's important to show your love for your child through what you cook them? Or is food just food? Tell us in the comments below or over on Facebook

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