Don't come at me for borderline cussing with the title here. Instead, tune in literally and figuratively to an analogy that perfectly illustrates what it can often feel like when navigating the landmines of unpredictable yet endless candy in October. I know for many moms, this isn't something we feel confident nor natural doing. How are we to raise kids with healthy relationships to food when we, as moms, haven't healed our own? Yikes. A heavy question and yet one that I am continuing to see...

It is that time of year when moms everywhere begin wondering (or worrying!) about how to handle the upcoming season of endless candy and added sugar. It can feel like a real nightmare, and yet, it doesn't have to be. Because as we discuss in this episode, you might feel like you have no vision or plan for how a "healthy" Halloween season should look. Is it an oxymoron we can't get around? An area of our life where we do a funny dance trying to dodge a sugar-filled land mind here or there? Or...

Is it okay to sneak healthy things into our kid's food? Whether it be in healthy muffins or a meatball, I know firsthand how tempting it is. We feel like our best option is often to sneak healthy foods in the foods our kids do willingly eat, all in the name of "getting" our kids to eat the foods that they otherwise won't. But is this best practice? Or does this backfire? Fellow moms may feel it is innocent enough and the benefits of sneaking healthy foods outweigh the cons of getting...

Do you feel defeated trying to get your kids to eat more vegetables? I hear from client after client, "I want my child to have a more colorful diet."And yet, beige wins the day for a lot of kids. So while there are a lot of nourishing beige and brown foods to give us all the fall feels, today's episode is going to boost the vibes as we enter into autumn with 5 easy ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables. Whether you want to use these tips and tricks at breakfast, lunch, or snack, you...

Are you worried about your child not getting enough protein? If you, like many parents I speak with, feel like your child exists on carbs alone, this episode is going to give you some simple suggestions for ways to boost protein in the meals and snacks you are likely already offering. I share 8 ideas to boost protein without relying on meat or sandwiches. Instead, I share eight kid-friendly ways to boost protein in meals and snacks, using the examples of protein-rich options in Muffin Club...

Do you ever wonder what some of the best staples are to have in a kid-friendly kitchen?   With the ease of getting just about anything delivered on our doorstep in a matter of two days, it can be hard to really discern what we need from what we want. Outside of patience and maybe item #6, I don't think there is anything you must have in order to make your kitchen more kid-friendly.   But, if helping your children get hands on with more foods to add variety and improve picky eating is...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...