We're starting this episode with a sad announcement: We're taking another hiatus. (Thanks to COVID, remote schooling, 2020 in general...) But before we go, we're downloading all of our thoughts about the mental load of back to school season — especially this year, when many kids (like Amy's!) are still stuck at home, and others (like Virginia's!) are going to school in tents.  Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email [email protected].

We've decided to embrace the lack of childcare and bring the kids on the podcast! This week, almost-7-year-old Violet and 2-year-old Beatrix join Virginia to talk about their favorite foods, least favorite foods, and then a lot about butterflies and poop. You're welcome.  Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email [email protected].

This week, we're talking about some recent food/parenting fails in our own homes — as well as getting into what to do when kids talk about "needing to diet." (Gah!) 

We've decided to embrace the lack of childcare and bring the kids on the podcast! This week, 8 year yold Linden joins Amy to talk about her favorite foods, least favorite foods, and all her best tips for parents trying to encourage kids to try new foods.  Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email [email protected].

We are just OVER food right now. So this week, join us to commiserate about how often children need to be fed, but why they don't like the snacks you bought, how boring it is to keep making dinner and what to do about feeding yourself right now, because we're betting it's been a minute since you did that first.  Find us on social media @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on or email [email protected].

Our quarantine schedules and the stars have finally aligned and we're back to (mostly) recording together! This week we're just catching up on all things in our #pandemicparenting and food lives. (Yes, we're agonizing over school.) Plus an update on episode 80, with some thoughts on the role weight tracking can play in eating disorder prevention and recovery, from educator, parent coach and HAES advocate, Oona Hanson.  Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social or...

Amy shares a week's worth of real life dinners to (hopefully!) share a little cooking inspiration during these days when meal prepping can feel endless. She talks about meals from a recent week that included Homemade Pizza, Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta, Bean and Cheese Quesadillas, BBQ Baked Chicken and Rice, Burgers and Alexia Sweet Potato Fries and more. Amy also shared one tip that helps her break out of a cooking rut and feed herself first. Reach us at [email protected].

For this week's mini, Virginia is chatting about the process of reporting her new feature for Scientific American: What If Doctors Stopped Prescribing Weight Loss?  We're getting into what the science really tells us about weight and health, the harm caused by weighing patients as a default medical practice, as well as what to do at the pediatrician's office.  Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email [email protected].

This week, Amy shares her evolution on how she feeds her own kids —from waging war on Goldfish crackers and packing "better" food for her first kiddo to bring to daycare (where lunch was provided) to her current kitchen where Goldfish and applesauce pouches live happily next to bananas and homemade snacks. She's still pretty OCD about cooking (it is her job after all!), but she's coming to terms with exactly what we can and cannot control about how our kids eat. Email us at...

For this week's mini episode, Virginia shares some of our favorite Black voices in the food world, especially in the "feeding kids" space, which is not nearly diverse enough. Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email [email protected].

Life looks a little different for our families right now, but we're excited to be sharing quick episodes for your summer listening pleasure. This week, Amy shares an update on what life looks like in her house and talks through the process of weaning her one year old—and how doing so has made a dramatic impact on his food intake. She also talks through how to reduce guilt around dessert in a listener question segment. Find us on social (@v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood) or...

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now!  We know that motherhood (and just life) can dramatically change how you feel about your body, whether you’re newly postpartum or several years in. Today we’re talking through some strategies to help you feel more body-positive and comfortable in your skin — no weight loss required (or even encouraged!). Find us @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood on social or email...

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now!  Dinner. It has to happen every night, no matter whether you meal planned, or are now staring down some hard 5pm truths about the state of your fridge. We asked Nicki Sizemore, of From Scratch Fast, to share some family-tested ideas for easy dinners that you can make more or less out of thin air.  Send Qs to [email protected], and get our show notes at...

Why do most men do so little at home — and especially in the kitchen? Why are women (still!) doing so much? Darcy Lockman, author of All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers and the Myth of Equal Partnership is on the podcast this week to talk about why mental load tasks like grocery list making and meal planning and prepping are still especially gendered — and what we can do, to find a better balance. Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email [email protected].

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now!  There are lots of meals (especially dinner!) that kids just don't eat. And this can be frustrating and even alarming for parents—but most often, it's completely normal. We're chatting with Jennifer Berry, OT, a feeding therapist and owner of Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics, about what can help and what might be making the situation worse.  Visit comfortfoodpodcast.com for our show...

This week, we've got another report on how we're working, parenting and feeding our families and ourselves while in the isolation trenches. We're talking about ideas for making the same old kid meals a little more fun right now, Virginia's new Meal Prep for Lazy People strategy and the rising problem of food insecurity and what we can all do to help.  Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

We're talking through the logistics of stretching between grocery store trips, cooking from your pantry, and figuring out how to feel good about what you're eating when family meals look a lot different than usual. Plus Virginia's biggest pantry dinner successes and fails.  Send questions and comments to [email protected] or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. And visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

We recorded this one pre-pandemic, but it couldn't be more timely. Lindsay Powers, founder of the #NoShameParenting movement, mom of two, and author of You Can't F*ck Up Your Kids, joins us to talk about why performative parenting and pressure are the enemy, not your kid's tablet. We also cover how to take the stress out of  how you're feeding your kids, from breastfeeding to family dinner.  Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

Managing home school schedules, balancing WFH with a total lack of childcare, grocery store stress — parents are navigating many new mental load challenges right now, and moms, not surprisingly, are carrying the bigger burden. This week we're talking about the schedules we've come up with to (sort of) keep work and school on track in our own families, how we're preserving an equal division of domestic responsibilities with our spouses, and why Virginia is deleting the gym teacher's emails and...

Greetings from our bunkers! We put together this very special episode to talk through all of your anxieties about feeding your family—and feeding yourself—during these long weeks of isolation life. Amy and Virginia chat about grocery shopping strategies, why it's okay for the kids to eat all the mac and cheese right now, and how we can all lower the bar to reduce stress during this difficult time.  Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

Helping the kids eat their veggies can feel like a fruitless task—it can be so hard and they’re often just not interested in food groups other than carbs and cheese. (We get it! We love carbs and cheese!) But there are some fun strategies you can use that won’t have you in the kitchen cutting carrots into flowers or arranging their lunch into rainbows. We're chatting with Ilene Godofsky Moreno, of The Colorful Kitchen for her best tips.

Even if you think you're not "dieting," much less trying to restrict your kids' eating habits, we've found that a restriction mindset (especially around certain foods) can sneak in. We'll talk about how to spot the underlying restriction in food rules, portion sizes and the assumptions and anxieties we all carry around certain food groups. We'll also explain why it's so important to keep an eye on our restrictive tendencies in order to raise kids with a healthy relationship to food. 

Mom body image is, for better or worse, a fairly universal struggle. But if you’re a mom in a larger body, there can be a lot of added layers to navigate. Today we’re chatting with Jen McLellan, author, speaker and creator of Plus Size Birth and the Plus Mommy Blog and Plus Mommy Podcast about how she helps plus size moms navigate birth, body love and motherhood.  Visit comfortfoodpodcast.com for our show notes and a copy of our new e-book, FEEDING YOUR FAMILY THE COMFORT FOOD WAY.

As you might guess from our podcast name, we’re firm believers in the comforting power of food. But diet culture gives “emotional eating” a bad rap, and convinces us that anytime we eat because we’re sad, happy, tired, etc that we must be doing something “wrong.” Today we’re sorting through some common myths about emotional eating, and exploring the fundamental importance of “comfort food” for our kids, and for ourselves.