Ottawa · In person and virtual

Feeding help for babies, kids and teens in Ottawa

Little bites, big growth.

I'm Kristina Dunkley, a Registered Dietitian. I help families with picky eating, starting solids, growth concerns and medical nutrition. Visits take place in person at Central Park Medical Clinic, or virtually by video anywhere in Ontario.

Book a visit See fees and packages

Evidence-based carePlans built around your family's foodsIn person or virtualReceipts for extended health insurance

Kristina DunkleyMScFN, RD

Areas of care

What I help with

Picky eating and food aversions

Calm, step-by-step strategies to widen your child's range of foods.

Starting solids

Readiness, iron-rich first foods, textures and early allergen introduction.

Growth and healthy weight

Weight-neutral, family-centred care for faltering growth or rapid weight gain.

Tube feeding

Formula plans and blenderized tube feeds, coordinated with your child's care team.

Pregnancy and infant feeding

Nutrition before and after birth, breastfeeding and bottle-feeding support.

Medical nutrition

Type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, IBD, food allergies and other conditions.

Your first visit

How it works

Book your visit

Choose a visit, in person or virtual, and an open time online. You can also call 437-225-1321.

Your assessment

We review growth, health history, a typical day of eating and what mealtimes look like at home.

Your plan

You leave with two or three clear goals to start right away, plus handouts and follow-up as needed.

Little bites, big growth.

Every small step at the table counts: a new food tasted, a calmer mealtime, one more iron-rich snack. Over time, they add up to healthy growth.

Free every month

Family cooking workshops with a chef

Join Kristina and a partner chef once a month at Central Park Medical Clinic for a free, hands-on workshop. Cook together, taste new foods and take recipes home.

Reserve a spot

New

Chef-prepared meals that match your plan

A Solid Starter Pack for babies starting solids, and weekly breakfasts and lunches built from your child's Littlebites care plan.

See meal packages

In the Littlebites kitchen

Simple recipes the whole family can share

Original recipes with tips for babies, toddlers and older children.

SimmerChickpea and tomato pasta sauce

ChopRainbow veggie muffins

BakeBanana oat breakfast bars

Select a scene to open its recipe, or browse all recipes in Resources.

Meet your dietitian

Kristina Dunkley, MScFN, RD

Kristina is a Registered Dietitian who earned her Master of Science in Foods and Nutrition at Western University, where she completed graduate research and an integrated accredited dietetic practicum with placements across Ontario.

Her pediatric work focuses on what makes mealtimes hard: feeding difficulties, picky eating and food aversions, starting solids, healthy growth, and tube feeding, including blenderized tube feeds. She also supports families during pregnancy and the early months of breastfeeding and bottle feeding.

Alongside Littlebites, Kristina is a Registered Dietitian with The Ottawa Hospital, the Smiths Falls Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic and long-term care. She provides oncology nutrition care with the Ottawa Cancer Foundation and the Ottawa Cancer and Lymphatics Centre, and sees clients with JM Nutrition. This range of hospital, primary care and community work shapes care that is evidence-based and built around each family's culture and cuisine.

EducationMScFN, Western University

RegistrationCollege of Dietitians of Ontario

HospitalThe Ottawa Hospital

Primary careSmiths Falls Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic

OncologyOttawa Cancer Foundation and Ottawa Cancer and Lymphatics Centre

Long-term careRegistered Dietitian, long-term care

SpeakingACB Organ Health Summit, UHN

Research

Published research

Development of probiotic vegetable juice using Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1

Dunkley, K. E., and Hekmat, S. (2020). Nutrition and Food Science, 50(5), 955 to 968.

This study tested whether the probiotic strain L. rhamnosus GR-1 survives and grows in four carrot-based juices through fermentation and a month of refrigerated storage. Tasters preferred the carrot-beet and plain carrot juices, which supports vegetable juices as a dairy-free way to deliver probiotics.

Read the article

In the media

Media and interviews

Saveur · October 2024 · Kristina quoted

Be Kind to Your Gut Now, and the Older You Will Thank You

How a healthy gut microbiome and lifelong eating habits shape how we age, from fibre to more protein as muscle declines.

Read on saveur.com CBC News Ottawa · Article

Cost of infant formula contributing to food insecurity, new report finds

Read on cbc.ca CBC News Ottawa · Video

Food banks, dietitians say infant formula out of reach for some Ottawa families

Watch on cbc.ca

For families

Guides for every age

Practical guidance from Canada's Food Guide, Health Canada and the Canadian Paediatric Society, with the strength of evidence shown for every tip.

Grade A Strong evidence: systematic reviews, randomized trials or national guidelinesGrade B Good evidence: cohort or controlled studies, or expert consensus guidelines

Fees

Fees and packages

Visits are offered in person at 942 Merivale Rd. or virtually by video for families in Ontario. The fees are the same for both. Many extended health plans cover Registered Dietitian services, and you receive an official receipt after every visit.

Menus planned by Kristina and cooked by our partner chef, so the food at home matches the plan from your visit. Available to families seeing Littlebites for a visit or package.

For babies starting solids

Chef-Prepared Solid Starter Pack

$129

Two weeks of first foods for babies about 6 months old who are ready for solids, with textures that progress from mashed to lumpy to soft finger foods.

20 frozen portions: 10 iron-rich, 6 vegetable and fruit, 4 soft finger foods
An allergen starter set with peanut, egg, milk, wheat, soy and sesame, each offered on its own day
Textures that move from mashed to lumpy to soft pieces over the two weeks
No added salt or sugar, and no honey
The First Bites handout, a 14-day feeding log and reheating guide

With the First Bites package: $399, a $25 saving

Matched to your care plan

Chef-Prepared Breakfasts and Lunches

From $109 per week

Five breakfasts and five lunches a week, built from your child's Littlebites care plan: textures, allergies, family foods and the goals we set together.

Ages 1 to 8$109 per week · 4 weeks $399

Ages 9 to 18$139 per week · 4 weeks $509

Each meal follows the Canada's Food Guide plate: vegetables and fruit, whole grains and protein foods
Menus adjusted at each follow-up visit as goals change
Labels list ingredients, allergens and reheating steps, plus carbohydrate grams for children with diabetes
Weekly pickup at Central Park Medical Clinic, 942 Merivale Rd.

Food safety

Meals arrive chilled or frozen. Thaw in the fridge, reheat until steaming hot, then cool before serving to young children. Throw out food your baby has eaten from.

Allergies

Tell us every allergy and food to avoid when you order. Meals are prepared in a kitchen that also handles common allergens.

Good to know

Food is not usually covered by extended health plans. Prices are before any applicable taxes.

For health professionals

Refer a patient

I accept referrals from pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals. Families can also refer themselves. Visits are available in person at Merivale or virtually anywhere in Ontario.

Complete a referral

Use the online referral on this page, or the printed Littlebites referral form available at the Merivale clinic.

Send it securely

Hand the paper form to Kristina at 942 Merivale Rd., or email it to littlebitespeds@gmail.com as an encrypted or password-protected file.

I contact the family

I reach out to the family to book a first visit and send you a summary after the assessment, with the family's consent.

Common reasons for referral

Picky eating, food aversions or a limited range of foods
Starting solids or texture progression
Faltering growth, slow weight gain or rapid weight gain
Tube feeding, including blended tube feeds
Iron deficiency or other nutrient concerns
Type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, IBD or food allergies
Pregnancy, breastfeeding or infant formula questions

Helpful to include

Recent weights, lengths or heights, and growth chart if available
Relevant diagnoses, medications and allergies
Recent lab results, such as ferritin or hemoglobin
Other providers involved, such as speech-language pathology or occupational therapy
Confirmation that the family agrees to the referral

Not for urgent concerns. Signs of dehydration, rapid weight loss, choking with breathing difficulty, or suspected eating disorder with medical instability need same-day medical care through the child's physician, CHEO or the nearest emergency department.

littlebitespeds@gmail.com

Visit

Visit in person at Merivale, or meet online

Address

942 Merivale Rd., Ottawa, ON

Get directions

Phone

437-225-1321

littlebitespeds@gmail.com

Virtual visits

By video, for families living in Ontario

Free chef workshops

Once a month at Central Park Medical Clinic

Reserve a spot

Hours

Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Book a visit Clinic website Refer a patient Family survey

Questions parents ask

Do I need a referral?

A referral is not usually needed for private dietitian care. Some insurance plans ask for one, so check your plan. Your pediatrician or the clinic's reception team can help.

Is dietitian care covered by OHIP?

Private dietitian visits are not covered by OHIP. Many extended health plans do cover them, and you receive an official receipt after each visit to submit to your insurer.

What happens at the first visit?

I review your child's growth, medical history, a typical day of eating and your family's routines. You leave with two or three clear goals and practical ideas to try at home.

Do you offer virtual visits?

Yes. Virtual visits by video are available for families living in Ontario and cost the same as in-person visits. They work well for follow-ups, starting solids, picky eating and many medical nutrition concerns. If your child needs to be weighed and measured, I may suggest an in-person first visit or ask you to share recent measurements from your pediatrician.

Should my child come to the appointment?

Yes, in most cases. Seeing your baby or young child eat helps me understand what is happening at meals. Visits with older children and teens can also be done alone, without a parent in the room.

Will you put my child on a diet?

No. My approach is weight-neutral. We focus on healthy growth, good nourishment, a positive relationship with food and habits the whole family can share.

Can you work with our cultural foods?

Yes. I build plans around the foods your family already enjoys, including Caribbean, West African, South Asian, East Asian, Latin American and plant-based cuisines.

Feeding help for babies, kids and teens in Ottawa

What I help with

Picky eating and food aversions

Starting solids

Growth and healthy weight

Tube feeding

Pregnancy and infant feeding

Medical nutrition

How it works

Book your visit

Your assessment

Your plan

Family cooking workshops with a chef

Chef-prepared meals that match your plan

Simple recipes the whole family can share

Not sure if a visit is right for your child?

Kristina Dunkley, MScFN, RD

Published research

Development of probiotic vegetable juice using Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1

Media and interviews

Be Kind to Your Gut Now, and the Older You Will Thank You

Cost of infant formula contributing to food insecurity, new report finds

Food banks, dietitians say infant formula out of reach for some Ottawa families

Guides for every age

Monthly family cooking workshops with a chef

Topics through the year

Reserve a spot

Articles, recipes and handouts

Fees and packages

Compare the cost

Chef-Prepared Solid Starter Pack

Chef-Prepared Breakfasts and Lunches

Food safety

Allergies

Good to know

Request an order

Insurance

Payment

Cancelling or rescheduling

Package terms

Book a visit

Refer a patient

Complete a referral

Send it securely

I contact the family

Common reasons for referral

Helpful to include

Referral details

Help shape Littlebites

Visit in person at Merivale, or meet online

Questions parents ask