Veggies & Virtue

Latest Episodes:

112. Should you let your kid order for themselves? How to handle raising a healthy eater at restaurants Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Whether you find yourself going into spring break or just asking a question that I first covered this time last year, today's episode is going to help you know how to raise a healthy eater amidst eating out at restaurants as well as when routines are "off" during seasons like spring break.

You will walk away knowing both my advice and experiences as a dietitian mom of three, so that you can rest assured that time away travelling doesn't have to ruin your child's diet. Instead, tune in as we cover tips for how to feed your family easier and healthier, even when at a restaurant or on a vacation.

SHOWNOTES:

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.

111. Does Your Child Not Eat a Lot of Vegetables? Try this instead... Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

As parents, we can worry when our kids don't eat a lot of vegetables.

Between the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, we feel that our kids aren't getting what they need if not from that food group.

Thankfully, there are things we as parents can do to raise healthier eaters. And no, I don't mean bribe, force, or coerce our kids to eat more veggies!

Instead, as parents we ought to rest assured that fruit offers a lot of the same nutrients vegetables do. So, keep expanding on the variety of fruits your child eats and enjoys, while they learn to like a wider range of vegetables - including with this fruit of the month!

For March, we are talking about all things mango. Mangoes are a particular favorite with my three kids and have endless ways to be enjoyed. Tune in to learn how to pick out, cut up, and offer mango to your kids as an easy and healthy snack or side item.

SHOWNOTES:

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.

110. Easy Family Dinner Ideas: Meal Planning for Busy Moms [March edition] Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

As New Years resolutions fade and the busyness of springtime is in full swing, we need to be intentional about how we get family meals on the table each night.

That's why, in this episode, we breakdown the objective definition of "easy" when it comes to easy family dinner ideas. Because whether you are a busy mom with several kids in extra-curriculars or you are a postpartum mom with an infant on your hip and toddler at your ankles, we all need easy dinner ideas!

In this episode, I walk you through:

The act of time-blocking when meal planning
Assigning a number to what your capacity is to pull off healthy dinner ideas
How to work backwards from time to idea (instead of the more common opposite approach)
Why you need to give yourself permission for "off" nights that don't require a lot of energy
Utilizing your seasonal meal plan amidst any month's schedule or demands

SHOWNOTES:

If you would like access to my one-week of quick & easy dinner ideas, click here.
Need some one-on-one support? Sign up to work with me here.
Have a quick question? Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.
Searching for a feeding framework that works? Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.

109. Creating Connection Amidst the Chaos: An easy trick to being more intentional as a busy mom Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

A friend and fellow mom of three recently told me about a takeaway that she had as a major aha from the book, Memory Making Moms. And although I still haven't read the book myself, I appreciate that this was an easy trick I could quickly and easily implement in attempts to be more intentional with my time as a busy mom.

And because some of the non-feeding stuff of motherhood seems to really resonate with you, like the Valentine's love notes featured in episode 100, I wanted to take a minute to stop and share this idea with you...as I am so thankful my girlfriend did with me!

SHOWNOTES:

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.

108. How long should it take a child to eat? Strategies for helping slow eaters Feb 27, 2023

Show notes

Do you ever feel like your kid just doddles or is distracted at the table? Or, in attempts to get some added one on one time with you, they take way too long to wrap up a meal? Or, maybe you are tired of telling your child to hurry up and eat and the tone that sets at the table.

There are so many reasons kids can take a long time to eat. Thankfully, there are also a lot of productive strategies parents can implement. That's why, in this episode, we will talk about:

How long is too long for a meal to go on?
Factors that may be contributing to extra-long mealtimes
The verbal and visual cues that do and don't help a child "eat faster"

SHOWNOTES:

Does your child barely stay seated long enough to eat? Listen to this past episode here.
Need a visual cue for the table, like a sand timer? You can check out some of my favorites 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.

107. Looking to add variety AND boost vitamin C in your kids’ diets? Try this. Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

Want to branch out and add some variety to your child's list of love it foods? Of course, you do! We ALL do!

We are all looking for easy wins, and yet, I know firsthand how intimidating it can be to offer our kids new foods. That's why our monthly series featuring one fruit or one vegetable (listen to episode 103) is going to give you the know how you need.

In this episode, we are going to:

Highlight kiwis as the fruit of the month for February
Talk about how to pick out a good kiwi at the store and why you would even want to
Go over low-effort yet very-effective ideas for how to offer it to your kids
Walk through the learning to like it process with a fury yet fun new food, like kiwi
Encourage and equip YOU, mama, that you can do this...one fruit at a time, one month at a time, one mindset shift at a time.

SHOWNOTES:

Check out my favorite book of smoothie recipes here.
Order my friend Dani's awesome book with 101 Descriptive Words for Foods here.
Stock up on some kids safe knives 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.

106. Does my kid need a multivitamin? A dietitian’s thought process before purchasing gummies. Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

We all want our kids to have healthy diets and strong immune systems. But it can be confusing to know, do the often sugary, sticky gummies really help with this?

Hear how I answer this mom's question from one of our live community calls within Mealtimes Made Easy. Because although the specific nutritional needs of each child are unique to what they eat (or don't), there are some general things you can do as a parent to see if investing in additional supplementation might be merited, and if so, what vitamins even make sense to offer.

For more info on the links shared on today's episode:

Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.

105. Kid Can’t Poop? Come shop for these constipation smoothie ingredients with me. Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

There are somethings that seem so normal and natural to me that I know other moms may scratch their heads about.

One of which is, how to manage a child's constipation. The other is, where to find health foods like kefir, chia seeds, and coconut oil in the store.

That's why, after working through this privately with a client recently, I thought I would do an episode on the show to have you come shop with me. We walk through what to think about when grocery shopping for more specialty food items, as well as where you can find these (and for the best price!).

So, whether you are looking to help get things going in your home (figuratively or literally!), the three ingredients we shop for today are nourishing, natural staples for any family.

SHOWNOTES:

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.

104. Best Ways to Store Frozen Food: How to boost nutrition and minimize food waste with freezing Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

There is often a perception that frozen food is not as healthy as fresh. However, whether packed at its peak and frozen by a food manufacturer or in attempts to minimize both food waste and rising grocery costs, frozen foods can be a real asset to a busy family’s overall diet. With plenty of tips and tricks to optimize taste, texture, and a food’s overall nutrition, we are going to go over:

Misconceptions about frozen foods
Considerations for what your goals are with freezing more food
What container types keep frozen food tasting the best and to have the best nutrition
Some of my favorite foods to freeze

SHOWNOTES:

Join my email community here.

Leave me a voice message to be answered on the podcast here.

Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.

Work with me 1:1 here.

103. Does your kid need to eat more veggies? Try this [February edition] Feb 08, 2023

Show notes

Moms often ask me, How do I get my child to eat more vegetables?! And while there are 101 ways that I can answer that question as a dietitian, I think the most effective model is to equip you with the skills to shop for, strategies to offer, and systems to include vegetables for your family.

To simplify the grandiose goal of getting kids to learn to like vegetables, we will focus on one fruit and one vegetable each month during the year of 2023, starting with Cabbage for the month of February. Emphasizing seasonality for produce you might have the easiest and most economical access to, we will talk about:

How to pick a good head of cabbage
How to store cabbage
How to offer cabbage to your kids
How to expose your child to cabbage (even if they won't eat it yet!)
How to enjoy cabbage (as a catalyst to learning to like cabbage lots of ways!)

This is by no means an all-inclusive list and doesn't even begin to touch on all the ways to enjoy cabbage. But, I know that it will inspire you, encourage you, and hopefully, prompt you to take action exposing your family to a new veggie each month.

SHOWNOTES:

Episode 34: How to keep the tone at mealtimes comfortable and yet still push our child out of their comfort zone
Join my email community here.
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Find out more about Mealtimes Made Easy Method here.
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