Veggies & Virtue

Latest Episodes:

152. How to start an at home garden: 3 easy steps to get you set up Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

I hear from a lot of you that you want to start a garden at home, but you are intimidated to even start. Even if your kids are easy to please and just want time outside as the weather cools off, you are likely wondering about where to have an at-home garden, what cold-weather crops will grow the best, and how much added time and energy an at-home garden is going to require from you.

This episode is going to outline the simple steps needed to get started with your own at home garden for this fall, including:

When to get cold-weather veggies planted by for a fall garden
Where to put a pot or planter box to tend to as a family
What fool-proof cold weather crops to begin with

SHOWNOTES:

151. Back to School Reset: Freezer Edition Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

Feeling the hustle and mental heaviness of all there is to manage with back to school?

Between early mornings out the door, packing lunches day after day, and attempting to get dinner on the table amidst everyone's busy schedules, it is a lot.

That's why, in this week's episode, we are going to hone in on how the freezer can make your back to school routine easier, effortless, and more efficient.

With simple strategies for utilizing ready-made meals, extending the life of items you already have on hand, and multiplying your efforts as a mom (without needing any extra energy!), this episode is going to give you some hours to your life back and your freezer a more front and center spot to your back-to-school survival strategy.

Plus, as the third and final episode in this back to school reset series, we are also about to kick off a 6-week series to add veggies to kids' lunchboxes. To find easy, kid-friendly ways to add vegetables to school lunches, you just need to sign up for the upcoming round of Muffin Club. With your registration (it's free!), I will send you six weeks' worth of healthy, veggie-packed muffin ideas you can toss in a lunchbox or send as a school snack.

Get easy, dietitian-approved recipes to add veggies to lunch boxes with tasty, kid-friendly muffin recipes. Sign up here!

150. Back to School Reset: Fridge Edition Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

Have you ever seen those color-coded fridges and swooned over how beautiful they look?

Of course, we probably all have.

But the second our eyes aren’t taking over due to the aesthetics of it all, the logical side of our brain usually steps in to actually see all the reasons that just doesn’t make sense for the everyday mom.

What we crave in those fridges may be the foods, but I believe it is more the sense of order we are all after.

We want to open our fridge, and instead of being filled with stress as we stare at the same foods every week, we want to feel that sense of inspiration that is going to get us to pack lunches day after day after day.

That’s why, in this week’s back to school reset: refrigerator edition, I want you to consider the areas your family needs for back to school and how much autonomy you ought to account for.

Then, after you have cleaned out your fridge and get ready to fill it back up, you will have a clearer picture of how to put things back together using my 4F’s for organizing the fridge. These will make those clear acrylic containers we see something that actually helps you to clear the mental clutter we face when it comes to the meals and snacks.

SHOWNOTES:

See fridge reset reel here.
Shop favorites for Kitchen Resets on my Amazon shop here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.
Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.

149. Back to School Reset: Pantry Edition Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Your kids backpacks have been bought. Their new pencils have been sharpened. Their new shoes have likely been tied once or twice. And their lunchbox may have already been packed, sent, rinsed, and repeated.

But have you circled back since sending your child(ren) off to school to look not only at what they will need while there, but what you and your family need at home to be set up for the school year?

In today’s episode, we go over 5 simple action steps to reset your pantry for back to school. This is going to take that area of the house that likely didn’t get a first day of school photo and turn it into an area that works like a well-oiled machine as the school weeks go on.

This episode is quick and easy to implement. Your first step is to simply listen in! Then, once you do (or have), take 10 minutes to do the steps discussed. Tag me on social @veggiesandvirtue when you have worked through these five steps to a pantry reset so I can tell you, Great Job, Mama!

And if you want even more accountability and support, sign up for a free Back to School Reset strategy call with me. Here we will elevate the action steps you took to create a pantry and kitchen that truly streamlines your mental and physical clutter in a way that multiplies your efforts each and every day, Monday through Sunday.

SHOWNOTES:

Find my favorite lunch packing supplies here.
Sign up for a free, 30-minute family feeding strategy call here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.
Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.
Get my weekly newsletter here.

148. Easy Lunchbox Notes: 5 Effortless Ways to Send Encouragement to School Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

Are your heart-strings being tugged on a bit extra with all of this Back to School prep?

I get it!

Because whether it is adjusting to the new norms of a school year or sending your children off to school (maybe for the first time!), this is a big transition for everyone.

So let's talk about not just what to pack in that brand new bento for a first day of school photo, but instead how we can tuck in a little note of encouragement...with little to no extra effort on your part!

As a dietitian mom who's been packing lunches for 8+ years now, I have these ideals that I will 1) have the capacity to come up with something sweet to say everyday and 2) remember to actually send said note in their lunches. But the reality is, I need something that is sustainable and affordable.

That's why, on today's episode, I share 5 effortless ways to send lunchbox notes to school with your littles.

We recently purchased the first four, and number five is a free bonus that is so fun -- especially if you want something for proof of concept before you buy anything else.

Here are the lunchbox notes referenced in today's episode:

SHOWNOTES:

Find items mentioned on my Amazon storefront here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.

147. 5 Things to Lower the Stress of Back to School Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

Worried about how meals and snacks are going to go as your kids get back to school?

Let's lower the stress you have and your child may experience as back to school approaches with these five simple steps.

These are easy-to-implement prep steps that will familiarize you and your child with what challenges might otherwise arise once school is underway. Except, instead of wondering whether or not those BIG back to school emotions are at all related to hanger and having the "right" balance of foods, you can rest assured that you have thought through some of the things that cause the most challenges early on in the year.

Things like your child's likely new meal and snack schedule, and how long they are going between breakfast, lunch, snacks, and getting home (plus when their appetite tends to pique). Or, how to optimize the time they do get to eat so that they're as efficient as little people can be when it comes to eating their lunches. And, how you can work through some real-life role playing so they have a sense of what amount of time they get to eat amidst all the new and exciting distractions of school.

Even if we can't avoid all of the surprises that the start to the school year brings, I know that these five steps will help you and your little one(s) skip some of the hiccups that happen most.

SHOWNOTES:

Get my FREE Lunch Packing Printable here.
Find items mentioned on my Amazon storefront here.
Use community-only discounts from some of my favorite small businesses here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.

146. The 5 Best Lunch Packing Items for Back to School Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

School supplies lists are being mailed out, and most families are seeing sale after sale pop up on the things that you may "need" for the upcoming school year.

So, on today's episode, I share with you the 5 best things to buy for lunch packing specifically.

Sure, there are a lot of novelty items out there (these are my favorites!), but you don't need those.

The five items I go over in today's episode are what I would consider the essential, however. You can find out more of the pros and cons specific to item one here and here.

So, tune in, then take a look at this link for more info, sales, and examples of my favorite lunch packing items for kids!

SHOWNOTES:

Get my FREE Lunch Packing Printable here.
Find items mentioned on my Amazon storefront here.
Score community-only discounts from some of my favorite small businesses here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.

145. Healthy Snack Ideas for Summer: 5 Ways to Pack Better Pool Snacks Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

Are you running out of ideas for what snacks to take to the pool?

Well, whether your summer is still in full swing or you are wrapping up to get ready for back to school, you will see how this episode offers you five simple strategies to healthy kids snacks.

Because whether you want something that will satisfy your kids requests for snacks all afternoon at the pool or you are hoping to find some healthy snack ideas to send with your child to school, the ideas offered in this episode are going to give you transferrable ideas you can use at the pool and later for school!

SHOWNOTES:

Get my free Level Up Snack Guide here.
Order your own Combination Cards in print or PDF.
Find items mentioned on my Amazon storefront here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.
Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.

144. My Top Sanity-Saving Tip for Healthier Kids Snacks this Summer Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

Do you have somewhere specific you reach every time your child asks for something to eat?

Chances are, whether you send your kids to get their own snacks or you are there administrating the activity and offering, you and your child know how to operate on autopilot when it comes to snack.

If your autopilot approach to snacking is helping offer more healthy options, then you may have already mastered setting up a snacking system that supports your family's feeding goals.

However, if you are frustrated by your kid only wanting snack foods and struggling to get them to eat more easy, nourishing options, then this episode is going to be a big help.

Because, so often, we assume that simply offering healthy snack options to our kids is the answer. When in reality, this requires a major behavior change.

If you or them reach into the same package in the pantry every time they say they want a snack, it is going to require something new of you to go to the fridge instead for a healthier snack option.

That's why, with so many families struggling to reign in summer snacking, we are going to talk about how you can set up a kid-friendly snack drawer in your fridge. This could also be done to promote variety coming from the pantry, but you will hear through the advice and insights given how this works to reduce your mental energy of coming up with new snack ideas, promote age-appropriate autonomy, and to neutralize the food options between fresh produce, crinkly snack crackers, and a perishable source of protein, like yogurt or boiled eggs.

Be sure to tag @veggiesandvirtue on social using #vvsnackdrawer whenever you create this sanity-saving, health-promoting snack drawer in your own home!

SHOWNOTES:

Find items mentioned on my Amazon storefront here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.
Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.
Join my email community here.

143. Should You Force Your Child to Take a Bite of a New Food? Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

Do you have a picky eater who isn't willing to touch or taste anything new? Do you feel sad seeing how many fun eating opportunities your child misses out on because they refuse to explore the foods being offered? Do you teeter between requiring no thank you bites and surrendering in utter defeat at another dinner that went to waste? If you answered yes to any of these, today's episode is going to give you an easy-to-follow analogy that you can apply to your family's feeding environment right away.

Just as I know between raising three kids to know how to swim, their timelines of how quickly they catch on can vary widely. However, my approaches to supporting water safety, or in this case, a healthy relationship with foods, doesn't have to.

So come take a swim. You will walk away from this episode feeling refresh with a renewed perspective on common questions like, should you force your child to take a bite or try something new? Or how many times will it take for them to learn to like a new food?

SHOWNOTES:

Find items mentioned on my Amazon storefront here.
Score community-only discounts from some of my favorite small businesses here.
Sign up to work with me 1:1 here.
Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.
Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.
Join my email community here.

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