Veggies & Virtue

Latest Episodes:

142. Is there such a thing as ”healthy hotdogs?” Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

Are you one of the many moms asking me, "Is there such a thing as a healthy hotdog?"

Because whether you just found yourself standing in front of the summer sausages at the store stocking up for 4th of July barbecues or are looking for guidance on how to approach processed meats, like hot dogs, within your home (and elsewhere!), this episode is going to give you the advice you have been asking for.

Although hot dogs are among the foods that I exercise more caution around offering - both as a choking hazard and from a health perspective, my hope is that you will walk away knowing which ones the best ones are to buy, how often is "okay" to offer them, and what to do if your child is obsessed with them as an easy protein option.

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.

141. 4 Things to Look for in the Perfect Watermelon Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Want tried and true tricks to picking the perfect watermelon?

Get the four key things you ought to look for in this episode! I translate the infographic that gets over a million views a month on my pinterest into audio that you can pop in your ear next time you are at the store and standing in front of a barrel of watermelons.

Because whether you are wanting a refreshing snack amidst the heat of summer or looking to pick the perfect watermelon for your next backyard barbecue, this episode is going to save you time, money, and the frustration of bringing home a waste of a watermelon.

This episode is a must-have in your feeding toolbelt for summer!

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.

140. 6 Questions to Ask Yourself at the Start of Summer Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Today is the official start of summer, and while your summer bucket list may be full of fun adventures with your family or maybe you feel the chaos of having kids home all summer, we all recognize that the season is yet again changing.

So, whether your real life “summer” coincides with the one on the calendar or not, I want to take today’s episode to address the seasonal shift we are entering into. Because, as I covered in the seasonal shift episodes for fall (episode 64), winter (episode 88), and spring (episode 114), there is a season for everything. So, let's try to sync our summer (figuratively or literally) with the rhythms and routines that are going to serve our families and ourselves in the best ways possible.

We can do so starting with the 6 questions outlined in this episode that you ought to ask yourself at the start of summer.

If you find yourself ready to act for 1-on-1 support and are in a season to do so, make sure to get on my calendar for a free 30-minute call. We can chat through what you would like to find more ease and order in when it comes to feeding your family and develop a personalized plan so that on the other side of summer, you feel like these weeks and months were well-spent building the strategies, systems, and skills that will serve you in each season moving forward.

139. 3 Organizational Projects to Tackle with Kids at Home this Summer: An Interview with Lauren White from The Intentional Edit Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

I am excited to have today's guest, Lauren White of The Intentional Edit Podcast, back on the show to be talking about all things summer organization.

Lauren White is a mom, former teacher turned business owner and professional home organizer, and simplicity enthusiast! She is passionate about being organized, efficient and helping families find simplicity.

She is the host of The Intentional Edit Podcast, a top 25 ranked podcast.

The Intentional Edit Podcast includes decluttering and purging strategies to eliminate the clutter in your home, get your kids on board with organizing, and so much more!

Lauren’s mission is to help busy, overwhelmed moms find solutions that bring simplicity to their home and life, which result in less stress and more time spent doing favorite activities with their most cherished friends and family.

I know our conversation about organizational projects to tackle over summer is going to give you a manageable way to tackle different areas of your home in the coming months.

Be sure to follow The Intentional Edit Podcast for more helpful tips from Lauren!

138. 4 Food-Related Things To Do After Vacation is Over: Recovering from Vacation without Repeating These Phrases from Diet Culture Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Do you struggle with how to resume normalcy around what, when, and where you and your kids eat after returning home from a summer vacation?

Depending on your own relationship with food, maybe you find it hard to face the two extremes of being in "vacay mode" with endless trips to the ice cream store and your kids' diet being void of a vegetable to coming back home and trying to regain some semblance of structure and balance in the foods being offered.

Kids will often favor the former but as parents, we know - life isn't an endless vacation. The laundry must get done, the groceries must be shopped for, and the meals must be made.

So how do we tactically and practically reset as we return from vacation without perpetuating a perspective that we "cheated" while away or need to "be good" upon getting home?

How do we set up our home feeding environment so that they can bounce back without anything even really needing to be said to resume normalcy?

How do we handle our roles and responsibilities with feeding from the fun, careless feeling of being away to the responsible, routine nature of the day to day at home?

This episode will walk you through the 4 food-related things to do after your vacation is over. Save the episode for reference with future summer travel!

SHOWNOTES:

137. Removing mom guilt + redefining convenience foods [part 4] May 31, 2023

Show notes

Motherhood demands convenience!

So why do so many of us feel guilt or shame around reaching for those cute and crinkly packages, that offer a reliable crutch and a consistent product we know our kids will eat (without a fuss)?

Because, convenience foods are most often associated with those foods found in convenient stores, like chips, cookies, candy, and other highly processed options. Now, why these are easy to grab, they can make it increasingly difficult to help create healthy habits with when not used properly.

That's why, in this episode, we are highlighting how to redefine convenience foods as busy moms. By simply adjusting our expectations and becoming more intentional about what snack foods meet our criteria for convenience, we can begin to find more functional ways to fuel our kids without demanding time and energy we may not have.

SHOWNOTES:

136. Get Your Kids to Try New Snack Foods [Part 3] May 29, 2023

Show notes

In episodes one and two from this four-part series, we talked about:

Consistency and how not incorporating variety in the small things can add up to aversions elsewhere in the diet of picky eaters (part one; episode 134)
Crutches and how we can stunt our family's growth and/or our child's development when we lean too much on a given love it food (part two, episode 135)

Now, as we dive into the third C that can perpetuate picky eating and poor nutrition, we get into the Crinkly & Cute nature of pre-packaged foods.

As a busy mom of three myself, I know that having foods ready to go is key to being successful at snack time. However, just as the consistency of these packaged foods can create challenges and over-offering them can create an unhealthy crutch, we need to tune into the risks that come with cute and crinkly packages as well.

Because beyond the nutrition that is often the assumed evil in snack foods, I see the marketing to our kids with such snack foods making an even bigger issue.

Tune in to the episode for some easy to implement action steps you can take immediately for healthier summer snacking.

SHOWNOTES:

Want to get on the waitlist for Mealtimes Made Easy Method? Sign up here for more info when registration opens in June.
Check out the YouTube video of this episode here.
Get your FREE cheatsheet to 72 of my favorite healthy kids snack foods here.
Ready to take the next step in improving your family's meals and snacks? Schedule a free 30-minute strategy session with me here.

135. Is Your Child’s Safe Food Too Much of a Crutch? [Part 2] May 24, 2023

Show notes

Listen in for part 2 in this four part series on how your child's snacks may be perpetuating picky eating and poor nutrition and what you as the parent can do about it.

This episode dives into those foods that we may find ourselves using as a crutch. It is normal and natural to find ourselves doing so, but we can't rely on these staples the same way forever.

Doing so can perpetuate not only ongoing problems with our child's picky eating, but also prolong poor nutrition by crowding out other, more nutrient-dense options.

So whether you find yourself in a season of survival mode as a mom or are recognizing, it is time to get unstuck and to start developing strength around your child's snacking, this episode will give you some exercises you can begin working through.

SHOWNOTES:

Check out the YouTube video of this episode here.
Head here for a FREE cheatsheet to 72 of my favorite healthy kids snack foods.
Ready to take the next step in improving your family's meals and snacks? Schedule a free 30-minute strategy session with me here.

134. Are Your Child’s Snacks Perpetuating Picky Eating? Four Things to Think About May 22, 2023

Show notes

In this four-part series, I am going to spell out four of the most common mistakes I see with snacking and its ties to picky eating.

We so often know these issues are happening but can't identify exactly what can be done about them to improve our child's picky eating and add variety to their diet.

That's why, I am going to go over 1) what is happening AND 2) what you can do about it so that your child's snacks no longer perpetuate picky eating starting with part 1. We will talk about how consistency in the type of love it food offered creates a sense of comfort that, when left too long, can create problems. Thankfully, there are five simple swaps you can make to your child's preferred snack foods to add variety, expand their list of accepted snacks, and add variety to the foods they enjoy.

SHOWNOTES:

Check out the YouTube video of this episode here.
Head here for a FREE cheatsheet to 72 of my favorite healthy kids snack foods.
Order your set of my digital downloads or physical decks of Combination Cards here.
Ready to take the next step in improving your family's meals and snacks? Schedule a free 30-minute strategy session with me here.

133. 7 Snacking Myths that are Making You Feel Stuck: And where your belief system is full of BS May 17, 2023

Show notes

Do you feel like your child is snack-obsessed?

Does the idea of less structure and a different routine this summer make you wonder how you will ever put an end to the requests for another snack?

Do you wrestle with getting your kids to eat a well-balanced meal because all they ever want are the pre-packaged snack foods from the pantry?

These are common struggles! But as we dive into many episodes about healthy snacking for kids, it is important for us to first highlight some of our false beliefs around what the issue is so that we can begin to get down to the real problem and more importantly, what to do about it.

So make sure you are following the Veggies & Virtue podcast to find out when new episodes are added, and check out the links below for all the resources mentioned in today's episode.

SHOWNOTES:

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected