HI Friends,

Elizabeth here. I was so excited to have a chance to chat with Anna Mackay for our latest Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast Episode. In this episode, we offer supportive, non-diet guidance for students transitioning to college life or boarding school. Our conversation draws from both personal and clinical experience working with teens about to leave home.

Transitioning from home to college (or boarding school) is a major life transition. And navigating food is a big part of that. How can students navigate dining halls, class schedules, and making sure they’re meeting their nutritional needs?

In our latest podcast episode, I’m joined by Anna Mackay, our 3rd host, to dive into simple, easy meal planning strategies designed specifically for college students on a meal plan. We chat about

* How students can maintain regular meals amidst their new lives as college students

* Easy snack ideas to keep in their dorm rooms

* Simple meals students can cook in a dorm kitchen

* How to confidently handle diet culture messages they’ll inevitably encounter

Tune in to get practical advice that supports a realistic and flexible approach to nutrition for students living away from home.

Transcript

Elizabeth: Hi, Anna. I'm here with Anna Mackay. If you're a longtime listener of ours, you know that Anna was really the person who started the Sunny Side Up Nutrition podcast as part of a project when she was in grad school. She's a certified personal trainer and recently earned her RD degree in Australia. So I'm so excited to have you here, Anna.

Elizabeth: We never record together anymore because Anna's been very, very busy and lives truly on the other side of the world from us, so it's hard to coordinate. We're excited that she's back here on the East Coast for a little bit.

Anna: Yeah, that 14-hour time difference really complicates podcast scheduling. Today we’re talking about teens, kids, and young adults who are moving away from home and might need support navigating nutrition and meal planning. This episode focuses primarily on those using a meal plan—college students and, less commonly, kids at boarding school. I have two kids in boarding school, so this is definitely relevant to me. We'll explore how parents can support kids who rely on a meal plan for most of their meals and snacks.

Anna: So, Elizabeth, what do you think are some of the biggest food-related challenges these students face when living away from home for the first time?

Elizabeth: It's a major transition, and I think we forget that sometimes. We often assume they'll automatically know how to navigate dining halls. One big challenge is managing their schedules and making sure they eat regularly—it's hard to catch up if they skip meals. Many students are still growing, especially younger teens in boarding school. Another issue is missing familiar foods from home, which makes it hard to find things they like. Scheduling also plays a role—sometimes students need to eat when they aren’t hungry just because that’s when they have time. And at home, parents typically handle the shopping and cooking, so students may be unprepared for that shift. Thankfully, a dining hall can ease that transition.

Elizabeth: Also, sleep often gets disrupted, which impacts eating habits too.

Anna: That's a really good point. And the food familiarity is something we might overlook—it’s not just about the food itself but the whole environment. Students go from the comfort of eating at home to a bustling dining hall, which can be overwhelming, especially if they’re sensitive to noise or smells.

Elizabeth: Yes, and if a student has a hard time with that, they can often work with the university to arrange accommodations.

Anna: What suggestions do you have for students when it comes to class schedules and planning meals and snacks?

Elizabeth: When we talk about meal planning as non-diet dietitians, we mean flexible planning that sets people up for success—not rigid or prescriptive plans aimed at eating less or being "super healthy." I suggest looking at the student’s class schedule and identifying times and places they can eat. If there are multiple dining options, figure out which ones they'll use. If they can’t get to a dining hall, maybe they bring a sandwich, fruit, and chips. It’s also important to think about weekends, when dining hall hours might be different. If the hall doesn’t open until noon, early risers need something on hand. Parents can casually ask about this, like, "What’s your schedule like? Where do you think you’ll eat lunch or dinner?"

Elizabeth: I also always remind students to have snacks available for late-night studying. Many are up until midnight or later, and if dinner was at 5:30, that’s a long time to go without eating.

Anna: That’s a great point. What’s your advice for students who want to plan meals and snacks without becoming rigid?

Elizabeth: Remind them the plan is just a guide—it's meant to reduce decision fatigue, not dictate everything. Having things noted in a phone or calendar can help. But if they don’t follow it exactly, that’s OK. Plans can and should change.

Anna: What staples can they keep in their rooms for quick meals and snacks?

Elizabeth: Ask them what they want to keep stocked before they move in. Mac and cheese cups, ramen, snack bars, dry cereal, peanut butter, crackers, nuts, dried fruit, and yogurt are great options. If they have a fridge, even more is possible—cheese, fruit, hummus packs, etc. Just be mindful of any roommate allergies.

Anna: Totally. I love those little Sabra hummus packs with pretzels. And classic granola bars—those Nature Valley ones in the green wrapper are great with peanut butter.

Elizabeth: Yes! Peanut butter is an easy staple.

Anna: What about small meals students can prepare themselves?

Elizabeth: Quesadillas with canned beans and pre-cooked chicken, grilled cheese, boxed mac and cheese with frozen peas, toaster waffles, bagels, scrambled eggs, toast with fruit—all simple and doable. With a shared kitchen or microwave, they can also heat up frozen ravioli and toss it with sauce.

Anna: Some students might not know how to do that. Should parents help with that ahead of time?

Elizabeth: Absolutely. It’s helpful if kids leave home knowing how to cook a few basics, but if they don’t, that’s not a failure. They can call home or look up cooking videos online. My kids still call me with questions, and that’s totally normal.

Anna: Cooking is a lifelong learning process—there’s always something new to learn.

Elizabeth: Definitely. That’s what makes it so rewarding.

Anna: Let’s shift to the diet culture messaging students are bombarded with—on TikTok, Instagram, and even in the dining halls where calories are posted. What advice do you have for students and their parents?

Elizabeth: Nearly all dining halls post calorie counts now, but I encourage students to ignore them. They’re often inaccurate and distract from more important cues like hunger and satisfaction. Focus on what you’re hungry for and what feels good in your body.

Anna: That applies to diet content on social media too. Just tune it out.

Elizabeth: Exactly. And regarding comments about weight gain—it’s normal for bodies to change during transitions. Gaining weight is not a moral failing. It doesn’t make someone less worthy.

Anna: Students may not hear comments directed at them, but diet talk is still common. What should they say or do?

Elizabeth: First, it’s OK if you don’t say anything. You can change the subject, say you’d rather not talk about dieting, or explain your perspective kindly. "We have different views—can we talk about something else?" can be effective. If said non-judgmentally, people are usually more receptive.

Anna: My niece is confident, but I imagine she’d be more comfortable changing the subject, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s a great strategy.

Elizabeth: Definitely. It works.

Anna: What can students do if they’re struggling with food or body image? And what can parents say if they notice something’s off?

Elizabeth: Point them toward resources—student health centers and counseling centers often have great support. I recommend walking them by those offices during orientation and making sure they know how to schedule appointments. They might roll their eyes, but it ensures they know where to go if needed.

Anna: What’s one thing you wish every student heading into a dining hall knew?

Elizabeth: That sleep and regular meals are foundational. Think ahead about your schedule and plan some easy go-to meals and snacks for when you don’t want to think about it. Put those ideas in your notes app or somewhere handy.

Anna: It’s not about perfect meals—it’s about feeding yourself consistently.

Elizabeth: Exactly.

Anna: Before we go, want to share what foods you’re enjoying lately?

Elizabeth: Ice cream and pie—especially coconut cream and strawberry rhubarb. We visited a favorite pie shop on vacation recently, and it was amazing.

Anna: Americans really do pies well. I’m currently loving pavlova—especially with berries and lemon curd. There are so many creative versions in Australia now, and I haven’t had a bad one yet.

Elizabeth: Pavlova is so satisfying to make, too. I love it.

Anna: I made it once and found it so much work—but maybe I just need better kitchen tools!

Elizabeth: A good mixer helps. Definitely one of the first things to invest in.

Anna: Thanks so much for this conversation, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Thank you, Anna. I loved talking with you.

Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

* Pinney Davenport Nutrition, PLLC

* Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy

* Sunny Side Up Nutrition

Hi Friends,

In our latest podcast episode, we’re doing something we don’t often do. We’re actually talking about nutrition. We’re dietitians after all and we do enjoy the science of nutrition, but we also know that the child nutrition information out there can be overwhelming and stressful for parents.

So, we’re all about keeping nutrition information simple.

If you’ve ever found yourself worrying (or wondering) whether or not your child is getting enough of the nutrients they need, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we chat about:

* A simple formula for putting together meals and snacks that will include the nutrients your child needs.

* What to do if your child won’t eat any fruits or vegetables

* Why parents don’t need to give children nutrition information

* The importance of empowering kids around food

Mentioned in this episode

* Our membership: Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding

* Blog post: The Berry’s Journey: Learning Where Food Comes From

* Instagram post by The Curious Nutritionist

* Pinney Davenport Nutrition, PLLC

* Lutz Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy

Warmly,Elizabeth & Anna

What do you worry about when it comes to your child’s nutrition?

Transcript

Episode 103: Nutrition Made Simple

Elizabeth: Hi, Anna.

Anna: Hi, Elizabeth. It's good to see you.

Elizabeth: Good to see you, too. I'm excited to talk about nutrition today. We're dietitians—let’s actually talk about nutrition for once!

Anna: I know, imagine that! So often we’re talking about parenting and how to approach food, but today we're going to dive a little deeper into nutrition. But our goal is to keep it simple.

Elizabeth: Exactly. And as a reminder to our listeners, what we’ve been doing in our latest episodes is highlighting topics from each of the 12 modules in our membership, Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding. We’re giving people a sneak peek and hopefully sharing some helpful info along the way.

Anna: Yes! There’s so much nutrition information out there for parents—so much parenting advice about nutrition. What do you think are the pros and cons of focusing on the nutritional content of food when preparing meals?

Elizabeth: I’ll agree that there’s just an overwhelming amount of information. And we create content for parents, right? But ours is designed to challenge a lot of that confusing, or honestly, often incorrect info. We want to help parents feel less stressed, not more.

Anna: Totally. That’s what we do with Sunny Side Up and in our practices. So, for the pros: focusing on nutrition can help kids get the nutrients they need. I hesitate to use the word “balanced,” but yes, balanced meals that meet their needs.

Elizabeth: Right, but not balanced in a diet culture sense—just well-rounded. The downside is that it can feel overwhelming for parents. Worrying about every meal, every snack, every bite—too much of one thing, not enough of another—it creates a lot of stress.

And kids pick up on that stress, which affects the feeding dynamic. I remember when my kids were babies, I stressed over giving them only organic food and making as much of it myself as I could, especially with my first. I got over that with my second.

Anna: Exactly. So yes, it’s good to be mindful of nutrition, but not to the point where it causes stress or anxiety. Totally agree. So let’s talk strategies—how can we simplify nutrition in a way that’s empowering instead of fear-based?

Elizabeth: What we teach in our membership and what we teach clients is to build meals with three simple components: a protein, a carbohydrate, and a produce. That’s it. Keep it simple. An example could be eggs, toast with butter, and fruit. Or BBQ chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. This is directly from our meal and snack formula in the membership.

Anna: Yes, and once you offer those components, your job is done. It’s not your job to make sure it all goes into your child’s body. Over time, kids will get what they need. And of course, there are exceptions—like ARFID or other issues—and that’s when individual support from a dietitian can help.

Elizabeth: But for most families, zooming out and thinking about nutrition over the course of a week—rather than each meal—is a game changer. Like one day they eat a ton of broccoli, and then they don’t touch another veggie for three days. That’s totally normal. Nutrients are found in a wide range of foods, not just one.

Anna: The nutrients in broccoli are in lots of other foods

Elizabeth: Yes! Like Vitamin C —it’s in fruit, veggies, and even some grains. That’s the complexity of nutrition we’re trying to simplify and decrease stress.

Anna: We also use a snack formula: two items—usually a protein or dairy, and a carb or produce. Examples: cheese and crackers, yogurt and fruit, cookies and milk.

Elizabeth: And we often say, think of snacks as mini meals. That mindset really helps parents simplify things.

Anna: If you’re offering meals with 3 components and snacks with 2, think of how many opportunities your child has to be exposed to different foods in a week, even if they don’t eat them every time.

Elizabeth: Right. Exposure is key. If a child doesn’t eat any veggies but does eat fruit, they’re still getting a lot of those nutrients. Just keep offering and modeling.

Anna: If a parents says, “but what if my child eats no fruits or vegetables?”

Elizabeth: If that’s truly the case, than offer a multivitamin. To the parent whose child eats fruits and not vegetables, I would say there are a lot of the same nutrients in fruits and vegetables. And to keep offering the vegetables. And look for low-pressure exposures. Like the blog post you wrote about berry picking. Take them to the farmer’s market, let them help wash greens, unpack groceries, or taste samples. No pressure—just presence.

Elizabeth: My younger daughter didn’t eat green beans for years. Now she does. It takes time, and that’s normal. Some kids need professional support, but many just need time.

Anna: Absolutely. We often see kids labeled as “picky” who naturally grow out of it as they hit middle school or high school.

Elizabeth: Let’s shift gears. When we talk about nutrition, it’s easy to fall into labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” “healthy” or “unhealthy.” And now we’ve got euphemisms like “red light/green light” foods. Why do we avoid that?

Anna: Because it’s confusing to kids and moralizes food. And every family defines “healthy” differently. Plus, kids are concrete thinkers. Even teens can get stuck in all-or-nothing thinking.

Elizabeth: Yes! A kid hears “cake is bad” and wonders why you’re serving it. “Am I bad for liking this?” It’s not helpful—it creates shame and confusion.

Anna: And even “nutrient education” can be unhelpful if it’s not developmentally appropriate. I remember being terrified as a kid that if I didn’t eat carrots, my eyesight would suffer. That’s not empowerment. That’s fear.

Elizabeth: Exactly. The best way to teach kids is by modeling—offering a variety of foods consistently over time. They learn through what we do, not what we say.

Anna: And when kids hit the independence stage—high school, college—they’ll explore food in their own way. You can still model, offer, and support, but they’ll find their own path.

Elizabeth: That brings us to a great post I saw recently—something like: “Empower, don’t shame. Teach, don’t terrify.” That’s it.

Anna: Yes! I think it was from The Curious Nutritionist. We’ll link to it. It perfectly captures our philosophy.

Elizabeth: Empowering kids around food is eating disorder prevention. It’s helping them trust their bodies and navigate the world confidently.

Anna: That word—empower—is everything. If a child feels secure and confident around food, they’ll be able to handle any situation. No fear, no shame.

Elizabeth: It’s what we want for the parents, too, to feel confident and calm. And if today’s episode was just a taste, pun intended, there’s more in our membership. The Nutrition Made Simple module goes deeper with the goal of empowering—not overwhelming—you.

Anna: So good to chat, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Same here, Anna. Until next time!

Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Marsha Dunn Klein, a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and expert in the field of feeding children. They discuss how pressure and other factors such as the sensory aspects of eating affect our children's relationship and connection to food. They explore strategies parents and caregivers can use to feel supported in their efforts to feed their children, and ways to help children feel safe and regulated at mealtimes.

Links: 

• Get Permission Institute
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Marsha Dunn Klein is a pediatric occupational therapist with over 53 years of experience.  She has been a clinician, an author, an inventor and an educator.  She co-authored the first pediatric feeding book, PreFeedingSkills in 1986 with Suzanne Evans Morris.  They revised that book in 2000 and also co-authored Mealtime Participation Guide and Homemade Blended Formula Handbook. She co-authored Feeding and Nutrition for the child with Special Needs with Tracy Delaney. Her most current book is Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes: Practical and Compassionate Strategies for Mealtime Peace. Marsha designed the TeetherHeart and Duospoon, both available through Special Supplies.  (Use code marsha20 for a 20% discount).  Marsha co-founded the Get Permission Institute as an online teaching platform  with courses for professionals and parents.  Check out "Dear Parent", a free class for parents of picky eaters! Currently Marsha presents nationally and internationally on feeding challenges with children. She loves to cook, eat and travel, all the while, celebrating food!

In the fourth episode of our 5-part series on raising competent eaters we talk about:

• Fueling young athletes, from beginner to elite
• Fostering a healthy relationship with movement
• Importance of adequacy and consistency
• Sports coaches handing out nutrition advice - is it appropriate?
• How rigid meal planning can backfire
• Red flags to watch out for in young athletes and non-athletes

Links:

Opal Food & Body

Sunny Side Up Nutrition

Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy

Pinney Davenport Nutrition

In the third episode of our 5-part series on raising competent eaters we talk about:

• How negative body talk impacts children
• Strategies to neutralize negative body talk
• Body hate vs. body acceptance vs. body positivity
• How parents can manage potentially harmful body talk in pediatric visits or nurses offices
• Growth charts, BMI & why its not helpful for kids to be warned about weight
• How parents engaging in dieting or restrictive eating behaviors can negatively impact children.

Links:

• Full Bloom Podcast
• Katja Rowell, M.D.
• Letter to your child’s doctor
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition

In the second episode of our 5-part series on raising competent eaters we talk about:

• Raising a competent eater vs. an intuitive eater
• What happens when parents micromanage their child's food
• The concept of nutritional ‘scaffolding’
• Red flags to look out for, particularly for pre-teens & teens
• Problematic terminology such as “healthy food vs. junk” or “red light vs. green light” foods

Links:

1. Intuitive Eating
2. Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility
3. Sunny Side Up Nutrition
4. Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
5. Pinney Davenport Nutrition

In the first episode of our 5-part series on raising competent eaters we talk about the ways in which our food environment growing up affects the way we feed our children; diet culture and how it influences the way we eat and feed our families; Ellyn Satter’s ‘Division of Responsibility’; what happens when we pressure children to eat certain foods at mealtime; age-appropriate eating and food exposure.

Links:

• Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
  
  

Introducing the Sunny Side Up Nutrition podcast, a series of informative, but light-hearted conversations about nutrition, movement & body image as they relate to kids (toddler to teen).

Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Jenna Werner, a Registered Dietitian (RD), who runs a virtual ​​nutrition coaching practice. They discuss the diet culture-fueled experiences people often face during the holidays, and tips for navigating these moments. They also explore some advice specifically for parents to help navigate scenarios such as feeling guilty about the foods we eat instead of focusing on enjoying them, and how to handle other adults who make negative comments about food and weight within earshot of children.

Links: 

• Happy Strong Healthy RD
• What the Actual Fork Podcast
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

About Jenna: I am a food-loving, diet-hating, Registered Dietitian, online nutrition coach and mama. Happy Strong Healthy™ is not your average virtual nutrition coaching practice. It’s built on the foundation that nutrition should not be a source of stress in your life. Food should make you feel good. Eating should be fun. And learning how to nourish your body with a “forever” mindset should be on your to-do list. My life’s purpose is to help you quit dieting and fall in love with the way food makes you feel. Other than my 15 years of experience as a Registered Dietitian, I’m qualified to help you because I was you. I obsessed over “wellness”  and tried every diet. I worked out for hours on end. I hated my body. Until I learned to eat to nourish my body, not to make myself smaller. And to love myself in that process. It’s possible for you too. That’s why we’re here — to help you become your happiest, healthiest, and strongest self!

Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Sammy Previte, a Registered Dietitian (RD), Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Certified Personal Trainer, and the Founder of Find Food Freedom®. Find Food Freedom® is a virtual private practice where Sammy and her team are dedicated to their mission of helping humans make peace with food and their body. 

They discuss why Halloween can feel so stressful to parents, some of the common pitfalls, and share some advice for parents as they navigate Halloween this year.

Links: 

• Find Food Freedom
• What the Actual Fork Podcast
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Sammy Previte is a Registered Dietitian (RD), Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Certified Personal Trainer, and the Founder of Find Food Freedom®. She is also lover of all things media, hosting the Find Food Freedom® Podcast, co-hosting of the What The Actual Fork™ Podcast. and featuring in many segments including CBS Mornings & The Drew Barrymore Show! She earned her Bachelor’s of Science at Penn State University and then went to Adagio Health in Pittsburgh, PA to earn her RD credential. After completing traditional schooling, she went on to gain additional certifications in Intuitive Eating & Body Image which is where she found her true passion and Find Food Freedom® was born. Find Food Freedom® is a virtual private practice made up of a team of Intuitive Eating Professionals dedicated to their mission of helping humans make peace with food and their body. Find Food Freedom® is a fierce team of women who are committed to bettering the lives of everyone they reach. The Find Food Freedom® team:

• Believes that food was made to provide our bodies with nourishment and pleasure.
• Treats each client with individualized care based on their specific needs.
• Does not support the $72 billion diet industry.
• Is rooted in Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size (HAES).
• Believes that all humans deserve fair, unbiased health care regardless of the size of their body.

Anna M. and Elizabeth chat with Dr. Mary Himmelstein a professor and researcher in psychological sciences at Kent State University. Mary is the director of the SWAG Lab, a social and health psychology lab where she examines biopsychosocial mechanisms which influence health and disease processes, and conducts research broadly on identity, stress, and coping processes in weight stigma and masculinity. 

They discuss:

• Weight stigma and the different ways people can experience it.
• How negative body-related feelings affect our perspectives and the way we move through the world, and how this also affects the way we parent.
• The kinds of conversations parents should be having with their children about weight stigma and masculinity, and some helpful ways to frame the way we talk about body size and social identities.
• Research findings from the SWAG Lab work on masculinity, social identities and barriers to health.

Links: 

• About Dr. Himmelstein
• Dr. Himmelstein’s SWAG Lab
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Dr. Mary Himmelstein earned her PhD in social psychology and intradisciplinary health psychology from Rutgers, New Brunswick in 2016.  She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University. She has published over 50 peer reviewed papers primarily on weight stigma or masculinity as they relate to health.

Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Gwen Kostal, a Registered Dietitian who helps teachers and educators teach about food safely in the classroom. When Gwen first started out as a dietitian, she was trained to contribute to diet culture, encourage weight loss, recommend restrictions, and talk to kids about how to choose the “best” foods. When she realised that this is not appropriate or helpful for kids Gwen set up Dietitians 4 Teachers to help teachers find meaningful language and lessons that link to the curriculum and make life easier while making the classroom safer. 

They discuss:

• Examples of diet culture in schools and the harm it can cause.
• Strategies to approach teachers to discuss concerns about diet culture in education.
• Some resources for teachers to get diet culture out of schools.
• Changes that need to be made to nutrition curricula to eliminate diet culture messaging.
• How parents can support teachers in getting diet culture out of the classroom.

Links: 

• Dietitians4Teachers website
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Gwen is a dietitian with diverse experience working on different teams and with many different clients and families over the years and with expertise and training in quality improvement, change, and engagement. Nutrition allowed Gwen to find that the most impactful work we can do is listen to understand and move forward together. To the families and clients and staff that I have worked with, you are without a doubt, the greatest teachers I have ever had. Gwen is also a parent, who has experienced true partnerships with educators throughout our family’s school experiences. Change and improvement science are often the missing pieces in great ideas. Gwen is driven towards shared understanding, and problem-solving, and remains a research enthusiast at heart.

Anna M. chats with Dr. Georgie Buckley, a dietitian and postdoctoral researcher who currently works as an eating disorder and body image consultant. Georgie is also a queer, neurodivergent woman, and a trauma survivor with a history of an eating disorder.

They discuss:

• The nature of disordered eating and body image issues are among pre-teen, teen and collegiate athletes.
• The things that need to happen not just to raise more awareness, but shake things up so prevention becomes a core tenet of all youth and school sports programs.
• How youth sports has evolved into a system where kids tend to be pushed to specialize earlier than in previous decades, and the impact this can have on a young athlete’s mental and physical health.
• Ways for a parent or caregiver to handle a situation where a pre-teen or teenager expresses anxiety about their body, their weight, or their food intake.

Links: 

• Georgie’s Website
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

About Georgie: I have a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Nutrition, a Master of Dietetic Practice and a PhD in psychology. I.e. I'm a very proud education lover who spent many many years in Universities and can contextualize the experiences we have through academic literature...not to mention critique the massive gaps research can offer the most marginalized of us. My PhD explored disordered eating in current and former athletes, whilst critiquing the systems and cultures that cause and maintain disruptions to our food and body relationship.

I have worked in and alongside prestigious international universities, major sporting organizations and inclusive clinical eating disorder settings. My favorite places to work are the ones that value the individual and their experiences, ones that understand how inequity happens, and ones that value an individual for who they are at their core - their chaos and messiness included. This is what I bring to my consulting work.

For me, I am so lucky and grateful to have recovered from my own eating disorder and body image concern experiences. I have also learnt to accept my own brain and body and appreciate nothing more than joyful experiences with food and gentle movement. I competed at a top national level in athletics for over 10 years and will always have a special interest in protecting those who are vulnerable and marginalized in sporting environments. 

Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Diana Rice, a registered dietitian who works with both children and adults to put positive family feeding dynamics into practice, and heal food-related issues brought on by medical conditions or years of chronic dieting.

They discuss:

• Why packing school lunches can feel like such a chore to parents.
• The problem with Bento boxes/insta-ready lunches.
• Managing packing lunches day-to-day, week-by-week.
• Recommendations for packing lunches for picky eaters.
• When kids can start packing their own lunches, or at least help packing lunches.

Links: 

• Diana Rice Tiny Seed Nutrition
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

About Diana: she is the founder of Tiny Seed Family Nutrition. Family feeding is my passion, but people are often surprised to find out that I care a lot more about how your family feels about food than exactly what you’re eating! Don’t get me wrong, as a dietitian and as a parent myself, I absolutely believe that all children (and adults!) deserve and will benefit from great nutrition. I hope to help you achieve that. But without the foundation of a healthy relationship with food, gentle nutrition is a lot harder to put into practice.As parents and caregivers, our own relationships with food and our bodies will influence our children’s approach to these things more than any other factor. Because of this, Tiny Seed Family Nutrition works with both children and adults to put positive family feeding dynamics into practice and heal food-related issues brought on by medical conditions or years of chronic dieting.

Anna M. and Elizabeth chat with Amy Palanjian, a recipe developer, content creator, cookbook author and mom to three kids. Amy is the creator of Yummy Toddler Food, the go-to resource for busy parents to create meals families swear by.

They discuss:

• How the Yummy Toddler Food blog and social media came about.
• What it’s been like for Amy to navigate the kids Wellness landscape, where many influencers attempt to “healthify” everything, or make posts containing dire warnings about toxic this or that.
• Advice for parents to let go of some of the pressure around feeding kids.
• The concept of responsive feeding and safety in the context of feeding kids.
• Some strategies to make meal time less stressful.

Links: 

• Yummy Toddler Food
• Dinnertime SOS Cookbook on Amazon
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Amy Palanjian is the creator of Yummy Toddler Food, the go-to resource for busy parents to create meals families swear by. Her expertise was honed over a decade of experience working in print and digital media as the lifestyle director of FamilyFun magazine, a food editor with Better Homes & Gardens, and deputy editor of ReadyMade magazine. Amy lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

Anna L. and Elizabeth chat with Aerin Atinsky and Alexa Moses, two of the founders and directors of Dear Me, an affiliate program of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders. 

They discuss:

• Why eating disorder rates have skyrocketed over the last several years, especially in the case of teens.
• What a teen or young adult can do if they are worried about a friend's eating behaviors, or know that their friend has an eating disorder. 
• How to handle a situation where someone’s friend is talking about restricting certain foods or going on a diet.
• What parents need to hear if they are worried about their teen - either their eating or negative comments they’ve made about their body.

Links: 

• Dear Me Program Website
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

About Dear Me: At Dear Me, we have identified the epidemic of struggles with body image, disordered eating, and eating disorders facing our youth today. Dear Me’s vision is to change the mindset of generations to come by working to counteract the cause of these struggles. By starting from a young age, we take preventative measures to educate and support children who have experienced or have seen others experience struggles with body image, disordered eating, and eating disorders. We integrate programming into school curricula so we can support and educate students through non-isolating environments they won’t feel singled out. Ultimately, we are for the youth by the youth with an education covering these topics in as many schools as possible across the world. By setting up various chapters of Dear Me using student voices, Dear Me serves as an international community of discourse, help, and support. Ultimately, Dear Me is a program that will provide education and support that will change the culture of eating disorders and body image today.

Anna, Anna and Elizabeth chat about meal planning, ways to alleviate pressure around meal times, strategies to get meals on the table (especially if you are not into meal planning), and easy meals to add to your need-dinner-in-less-than-20-minutes list that require very little preparation and even less planning! Sometimes brekkie for dinner is the perfect solution.

Links: 

• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Hi Friends,

In our latest episode, Anna and I get into a topic that brings up a lot of emotions for parents: How to navigate sweets with kids?

We talk about into:

* Why sugar has been demonized in our culture.

* Diet culture and beliefs about sugar and “good parenting.”

* What sugar is and why our bodies need it.

* Myths about sugar.

* The link between restriction and kids’ interest in sweets.

* Realistic advice on how to create structure around sweets.

* How we talk about sweets matters.

Anna and I also share personal examples from our own homes — plus our favorite sweets right now!

Mentioned in this episode:

* Let’s Talk About Sugar(blog post)

* Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding Membership

* Ellen Satter’s Division of Responsibility

* Leann Birch Research

* Pinney Davenport Nutrition

* Lutz, Alexander & Associates, Nutrition Therapy

We’d love to hear from you!

Have a question about sweets or a myth you want us to bust?

You can listen to the Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast Transcript

Elizabeth:Hi, Anna. It's great to see you.

Anna:Hi, Elizabeth. I'm so excited to see you and talk about this topic.

Elizabeth:Yeah! Today we’re diving into a topic that brings up a lot of feelings for parents: sugar.

We often get questions like:Should I limit sweets?How do I navigate sweets in my house?What do I do if my kids are asking for dessert all the time?

If that’s you—you’re not alone. Let’s jump in and chat about sweets and how to navigate them.

Anna:Great! Sounds good to me.

Elizabeth: So why do you think sugar has become such a villain, especially when it comes to parenting and feeding kids?

Anna:I think as a society, we like to put things into categories—good or bad—and the nuance gets lost. That’s gotten even more heightened with social media and how we consume information.

It’s easier to say, “These foods have lots of nutrition” and “These foods don’t, so they must be bad.” But the truth is, food is way more complicated.

Putting foods in these categories isn’t scientifically accurate, and it doesn’t reflect how we feel about food, who we eat with, our culture—there’s so much more to health than just nutrients.

Elizabeth::I couldn’t agree more. Social media really impacts how people think about food. Quick soundbites don’t leave room for nuance, and people click on sensational posts, not on ones that say, “Well, it’s complicated…”

Anna:Exactly.

Elizabeth:How would you say diet culture has shaped our beliefs about sugar and what it means to be a “good parent”?

Anna:Diet culture touches every part of our society—including parenting. There’s this idea that to be a “good parent” your child should eat certain foods, not eat others, and be a certain size.

But what I’d love the message to be is: as parents, we can strive to help our kids eat all kinds of foods, enjoy celebrations, and navigate different situations.

Elizabeth:Yes! It’s sad that it’s become so black and white when food is wonderful and fun—and sweets taste awesome. Sugar is necessary! Let’s talk about what sugar really is from a nutrition science perspective.

Anna:Great. We have a blog post on the science of sugar we can link to!

There are three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Sugar is a type of carbohydrate. Our brains and muscles run on glucose, which comes from carbohydrates.

When people talk about sugar, they usually mean simple carbohydrates—1 or 2 glucose molecules linked together. These digest faster than complex carbohydrates (starches), which are lots of glucose molecules linked together.

Elizabeth:Exactly. Simple carbs give quick energy—which we need! And at the end of the day, all carbs break down into glucose.

Elizabeth:What’s a myth you hear most often?

Anna:That sugar makes kids hyper. The research doesn’t support that!

Kids might get quick energy from sugar alone, but it doesn’t cause hyperactivity. Often it’s the excitement of the setting—like a party—that’s at play.

Elizabeth:Right. And when sugar is eaten with protein or fat—like in cake or ice cream—it digests more slowly.

Anna:Another myth is that sugar has no nutritional value.

Elizabeth:Yes! Sugar gives us energy. And it’s usually in foods that contain other nutrients, like fruit (fiber, vitamins, minerals). Let’s touch on sugar “addiction.”

Anna:We need food to survive. We don’t say people are addicted to oxygen, right?

When people restrict sugar, it tastes especially good when they finally have it. That’s our body’s survival mechanism.

Anna:Yes. And brain scans showing activity when we eat sugar just show that food is rewarding—which it has to be, because we need it!

Elizabeth:Let’s talk about restriction and how it increases kids’ interest in sweets.

Anna:Restriction can mean not allowing sweets in the house or even commenting negatively when they’re eaten. Psychological restriction counts too—like, “You can’t have dessert until you eat your broccoli.”

And even things like putting just two tiny candies in a lunchbox can be a form of restriction that sends a message of scarcity.

Elizabeth:Exactly. We know from research that restriction makes kids want those foods more, and they may eat past fullness when they do get access.

Anna:Right. Instead, we can offer sweets in a structured way. For example:

* A small sweet in lunches

* A sweet after dinner most nights

* Occasionally offering sweets as a snack and letting kids eat until they’re full

The key is to help sweets be just one part of what they eat—not the forbidden prize.

Elizabeth:Why do we avoid demonizing language about sugar?

Anna:It confuses kids: If this is so bad, why does my parent give it to me?

It also can create shame. Kids think, I like this—am I bad for liking it?

Elizabeth:If a parent’s child is constantly asking for sweets, what’s one thing they could try today?

Anna:Offer sweets proactively—before your child asks. Maybe serve a small dessert with dinner. It helps shift away from the battle and reassures your child that sweets are available.

Elizabeth:And let your kids see you enjoying sweets too. That modeling matters!

So before we wrap up: what’s your favorite sweet right now?

Anna:Chocolate-covered cherries from Trader Joe’s—and I recently discovered seven-layer bars at Whole Foods! I also love baking pies in summer.

Elizabeth:Ice cream—especially Tillamook Malted Moo.

If you’d like to dive deeper into this topic and join a community focused on raising kids with a healthy relationship with food, check out our Sunny Side Up membership.

Thanks for listening!

Resources Mentioned:

* Let’s Talk About Sugar(blog post)

* Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding Membership

* Ellen Satter’s Division of Responsibility

* Leann Birch Research

* Pinney Davenport Nutrition

* Lutz, Alexander & Associates, Nutrition Therapy

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Dr. Lisa Folden, a licensed physical therapist, NASM certified behavior change specialist and Anti-diet Health & Body Image Coach.

They discuss:

• The importance of positive messaging around bodies and the process of self-acceptance.
• The dangers of dieting, the impact diet messaging can have on kids, and what diet culture takes away from us.
• Her role as a weight inclusive physical therapist helping individuals gain strength, improve flexibility, improve bone density, and safely participate in joyful movement.
• The harm we often do to our bodies in the name of health.
• The benefits of shifting focus from weight loss to self-acceptance.
• The first steps mothers can take to shift their focus from dieting to begin accepting their bodies.

Links: 

• Dr. Lisa Folden
• Healthy PhiT Physical Therapy and Wellness Consultants
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Dr. Lisa N. Folden is a North Carolina licensed physical therapist, NASM certified behavior change specialist and Anti-diet Health & Body Image Coach. She also owns Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants in Charlotte, NC. 

As a body positive women’s health expert and health at every size (HAES®️) ambassador, Dr. Folden assists women seeking healthier lifestyles. Her weight-neutral approach encourages intuitive eating, body acceptance and breaking up with toxic diet culture. 

Dr. Lisa is a mom of three, published author and speaker who understands the complex needs of the modern busy woman and mom. Therefore, her goal is to see as many people as possible living their best lives without worrying about their weight!

A regular contributor to articles on topics related to physical therapy, health, wellness, self-care, motherhood, body image and fat-friendly healthcare, Dr. Folden has had the distinct honor of being featured in Oprah Magazine, Shape Magazine, Livestrong, Bustle and several other publications. Additionally, she is a member of the National Association of Black Physical Therapists, the Association of Size Diversity & Health, The KNOW Women and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Anna M. and Anna L. chat with Emily Arkin, a Washington, D.C.-based registered dietitian nutritionist. Emily owns the group practice RD Emily & Team and specializes in eating disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and Health At Every Size®-aligned medical nutrition therapy.

They discuss:

• Probiotics -- what are they and when they can be helpful (if at all).
• 💩-related complaints -- what can cause these issues, and when someone should be concerned.
• What a parent can do and say if their child expresses feelings of gastrointestinal pain, and when they should seek help.
• The intersection of gastrointestinal issues and eating disorders -- the kinds of gastro issues that co-occur with eating disorders and the best way to manage if an adolescent is in recovery from, or still struggling with an eating disorder.

Links: 

• RD Emily & Team
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Emily Arkin, MS, RD, LD is a Washington, D.C.-based registered dietitian nutritionist.  She owns the group practice Rd Emily & Team and specializes in eating disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and Health At Every Size®-aligned medical nutrition therapy.  Emily has worked at IOP/PHP levels of care for eating disorder treatment. She’s also part of Dietitians in Gluten and Gastrointestinal Disorders (DIGID), under which she contributes to the “Disordered Eating” working group that develops MNT resources for GI dietitians who encounter eating disorders in their practice. Emily cares deeply about helping clients rediscover joy in food and improve their health through a non-diet approach.

Anna, Anna and Elizabeth discuss how a proliferation of problematic and sometimes outright false nutrition information on social media makes it increasingly difficult for parents and teens to discern good nutrition information from bad.

We discuss: 

• The problem with popular accounts that claim they’re anti-diet, weight inclusive, and aligned with Responsive Feeding, but a closer look reveals that their content is not actually aligned with these principals. 
• How brief sound bites such as those on Tik Tok and IG Reels aren’t sufficient to provide feeding advice.
• The problem with messages suggesting that some foods are better than others, and the negative impact this can have on parents and kids.
• How encouraging parents to talk to children about food in ways that are not age appropriate only serves to confuse kids.

Links: 

• Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith
• The Kid’s Standing in Clean Eating’s Shadow by Laura Thomas
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Anna and Elizabeth chat with Leslie Jordan Garcia, a multi-certified anti-diet eating disorder recovery and wellness practitioner.

They discuss:

• The challenges that parents face when feeding their families such as differing needs and weight stigma from health professionals.
• The specific obstacles parents with a history of an eating disorder or disordered eating face when feeding their family.
• Advice for simplifying mealtime when parents are juggling the different needs of family members.
• Some concrete steps that might help feeding your family less stressful.

Links: 

• Leslie Jordan Garcia
• Leslie On Instagram
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Leslie Jordan Garcia, MBA, MPH, Certified Eating Disorder Recovery Specialist, is a multi-certified ED recovery and wellness professional who works with individuals and organizations to unlearn ineffective thought and behavior patterns, unleash their potential, and live with unlimited joy starting with what goes into your belly. She holds dual master’s degrees in business administration and public health, with a career across healthcare, education, and non-profit sectors. She feels fortunate to combine her expertise with the additional lived experience at the intersections of binge eating disorder recovery and life in a larger body. 

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Catherine Lea, a longtime food educator in public schools, and creator of Stir The Pot Kitchen, an online space where kids learn cooking skills.

They discuss:

• Positive ways to teach children about food.
• The benefits of cooking and learning about food preparation for kids.
• Some barriers for parents involving their children in food preparation. 
• Some easy ways to get preschool-age and elementary-age children involved in the kitchen, and some age appropriate tasks for them.

Links: 

• Stir the Pot Kitchen
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Catherine Lea is a longtime food educator in public schools, and has spent years in various roles in the food industry. Catherine has a Masters Degree in Food Studies from New York University, and is a lifelong student of our food system. Stir The Pot Kitchen is a welcoming online space where kids have fun, learn cooking skills, explore new flavors, and build a positive relationship to food.

 Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Christy Harrison, a journalist, registered dietitian, and certified intuitive eating counselor. Christy is the author of a new book, coming in April 2023, The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses and Find Your True Well-Being.

They discuss:

• The definition of wellness culture, how it differs from diet culture, and how the two are connected. 
• The rise of wellness culture and what led to food and exercise becoming a large part of the tenets of wellness culture.
• How wellness culture is an entry to disordered eating, and the ways in which this can affect new parents.
• How wellness culture impacts kids and teens.
• Advice for listeners to protect themselves and their kids and teens from wellness culture.

Links: 

• Christy Harrison
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CEDS is a journalist, registered dietitian, and certified intuitive eating counselor. She’s the author of The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses and Find Your True Well-Being (coming in April 2023) and Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating. Christy is also the coauthor, with psychotherapist Judith Matz, of The Making Peace with Food Card Deck.

Christy is the producer and host of two podcasts, Rethinking Wellness and Food Psych, which have helped tens of thousands of listeners around the world think critically about diet and wellness culture and develop more peaceful relationships with food. 

In addition to her media work, Christy offers online courses and private intuitive eating coaching to help people all over the world make peace with food and their bodies. 

Christy began her career in 2003 as a writer and editor covering food, nutrition, and health, and she’s written for publications including The New York Times, SELF, BuzzFeed, WIRED, Refinery29, Gourmet, Slate, The Food Network, and many others. Her work has been covered in numerous outlets including The Washington Post, Health, and TODAY. Learn more about Christy and her work at christyharrison.com.

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport chat with Virginia Sole-Smith, a journalist and author of the recently published book Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, that investigates how the “war on childhood obesity” has caused kids of all ages to absorb a daily onslaught of body shame from peers, school, diet culture, and parents themselves — and offers research-based strategies to help parents name and navigate the anti-fat bias that infiltrates our schools, doctor’s offices and family dinner tables.

They discuss:

• What prompted Virginia to write her book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. 
• Where the idea that parents are responsible for their child’s weight comes from, and how it is harmful, especially to nonwhite populations.
• How weight bias impacts kids and parents, and how parents can advocate for their children at appointments. 
• How the impact of dads’ relationships with food and exercise is seldom discussed and seldom researched.
• The prevalence of diet culture in school, sports, and other activities, and ways  parents can advocate for their kids when they experience anti-fat bias and diet culture in these environments.
• Some things parents can do to make their home a safe space from diet culture, particularly for those to whom challenging diet culture and anti-fat bias is new.

Links: 

• Virginia Sole-Smith
• Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

As a journalist, Virginia Sole-Smith has reported from kitchen tables and grocery stores, graduated from beauty school, and gone swimming in a mermaid’s tail. Virginia’s latest book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, investigates how the “war on childhood obesity” has caused kids of all ages to absorb a daily onslaught of body shame from peers, school, diet culture, and parents themselves — and offers research-based strategies to help parents name and navigate the anti-fat bias that infiltrates our schools, doctor’s offices and family dinner tables. Virginia began her career in women’s magazines, alternatively challenging beauty standards and gender norms, and upholding diet culture through her health, nutrition and fitness reporting. Motherhood inspired a reckoning of harm caused, and led to her first book, The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America, in which Virginia explored how we can reconnect to our bodies, and our own innate understanding of how to eat, in a culture that’s constantly giving us so many mixed messages about both those things. Virginia is a frequent contributor to the New York Times. Her work also appears in the New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, and many other publications. She writes the newsletter Burnt Toast, where she explores fatphobia, diet culture, parenting and health, and also hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast. Virginia lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two daughters, a cat, a dog, and way too many houseplants.

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Emiko Davies, an award-winning Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author based in Italy.

They discuss:

• Emiko’s experience growing up in an anti-diet household.
• Ways to navigate cooking for a family when one (or more) member of the family is a picky eater.
• Some low-pressure, fun food exposures that can be helpful for kids who are picky eaters.
• The importance of having at least one ‘safe’ food at meals when a picky eater is at the table.
• How encouraging and cheering when eating can lead to feelings of shame for kids if they don’t eat the food on their plate.
• Ways to support children in bodies of all sizes. 
• Meals Emiko typically cooks for her family.

Links: 

• Emiko Davies
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Emiko Davies is an award-winning Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author based in Italy. Growing up in a diplomatic family, she spent most of her life living in countries other than her own, from China to the USA. After graduating from art school, she ended up in Florence, Italy, in 2005 to study art restoration and fell in love with a Tuscan sommelier. They have recently renovated a new home in a charming hilltop village between Florence and Pisa and will open their own space for sharing food and natural wine experiences in San Miniato in April 2023.

Emiko has written five cookbooks, Florentine: The True Cuisine of Florence (March 2016 and a new edition in November 2020), Acquacotta (March 2017 and a new edition in February 2023), Tortellini at Midnight (March 2019), Torta della Nonna (March 2021), Cinnamon & Salt (April 2022), published by Hardie Grant. In October 2023 her sixth book, Gohan, which is about the Japanese cuisine of her upbringing, will be published by Smith Street Books.

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Ginny Jones, the founder of More-Love.org, and a parent coach who helps parents of kids with body image issues, eating issues, and eating disorders.

They discuss:

• How parents can support children in larger bodies. 
• The impact on children of public health programs and initiatives such as school nutrition curriculum, posters, media focusing on weight, and messaging in doctor’s offices, that are inherently weight-biased.
• Advice for parents of larger bodied children who might be concerned about their child’s weight and eating.
• Ways to navigate comments from other parents, family members, or healthcare professionals who judge parenting through a weight-biased lens. 
• Things a parent can do or say if their child expresses concern about their body, or asks if they’re fat.
• How parents and caregivers can promote weight inclusivity and body positivity in their homes.

Links: 

• More Love Website
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Ginny Jones is the founder of More-Love.org and a parent coach who helps parents of kids with body image issues, eating issues, and eating disorders. Ginny recovered from a longtime eating disorder and has spent the past decade immersed in research related to child psychology, neurobiology, parenting, and eating disorders. Her unique approach to supporting parents is based on lived experience, research, training, and interviews with hundreds of professionals, people who have/had eating disorders, and parents. Her mission in life is to empower parents to help their children avoid and recover from disordered eating and negative body image.

Anna Lutz and Anna Mackay have a conversation with Nicole Cruz, a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorder recovery, intuitive eating, and family nutrition.

They discuss:

• Age-appropriate nutrition education, and how to talk to kids about “health”.
• Strategies to deal with adults (eg. teachers, pediatricians, nurses, coaches, family members) who speak about food in an unhelpful way in front of your kids.
• Managing situations where a child seems interested in eating only a small selection of foods, refuses to eat vegetables or fruit, or outright rejects a prepared meal.
• Whether sugar is really as worrisome as diet culture makes it out to be.
• When a parent might want to consider reaching out for professional support for their child.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Nicole Cruz
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Nicole Cruz is an anti-diet registered dietitian, specializing in eating disorder recovery, intuitive eating, and family nutrition. Nicole studied Nutrition and Dietetics at California State University, Northridge where she received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She has worked in various eating disorder and substance abuse treatment facilities and now works solely in her private practice. Nicole is devoted to helping others overcome their struggles with food and body image issues to live a more fulfilling life.

Hi friends,

If restocking your pantry feels overwhelming, or it’s something you just don’t like doing, you’re not alone.

In our latest podcast episode, Anna and I chat about what it means to stock your pantry in a way that supports you and your family, without the pressure for a picture perfect pantry.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

We chat about:

* Why restocking your pantry matters (and how it helps reduce stress).

* A few of our favorite convenience foods.

* What to do if you only have five minutes today to think about restocking your pantry.

Plus, we share the idea behind our No Recipe Required ebook and how it can help you simplify feeding your family.

We hope you find one helpful nugget in this week’s episode and that it leaves you feeling a little less pressure to do it all perfectly.

We’d love for you to share some of your favorite pantry or freezer staples in the comment section below.

In the episode we also mention:

* Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding Membership

* Pinney Davenport Nutrition (DC Area)

* Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy (Raleigh, NC)

Transcript

Episode 101: Stocking Your Pantry

Elizabeth:Hi, Elizabeth. I'm so excited to talk with you today.

Anna:Yes, I’m excited to talk to you! Let’s jump in.

Today we’re talking about stocking your pantry—something that can feel either fun or kind of boring, depending on your perspective. We’re going to make it fun! I think for a lot of people it can feel overwhelming, like, “Whoa, stocking my pantry?! That feels like a big task.” Why do you think this is such an important topic?

Elizabeth:I agree—it can feel like a lot, and maybe even a little boring. But like you said, we’ll make it fun! I think the overwhelm comes from all the suggestions out there—so many different people telling you different things. Whose advice are you supposed to follow?

And then there’s the idea that stocking your pantry means spending thousands of dollars on matching containers and making it all look perfect. I’m a little envious of those pantries! I’ve even started trying to do that before getting sidetracked, asking myself, “Wait, why am I spending all this money?”

It’s absolutely fine if you like having a super-organized pantry and you’re able to keep it that way. But a lot of people just don’t know where to begin. They hear “stock your pantry” and wonder, “Do I need to go out and buy everything on some giant list?”

That’s not what we’re talking about. We're here to share suggestions that can help simplify your pantry—and reduce the overwhelm.

Anna:Exactly. And today, we’ll share a few ideas for how to stock your pantry. I also want to mention that in our Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding membership, we offer tools and templates that can help with this process. So if you’re listening and feeling overwhelmed or want more support, those resources are there for you.

Elizabeth:Yes! We’ve got our favorite frozen and convenience foods lists in there—really everything we use to stock our own pantries. Not to overwhelm, but to offer inspiration.

Another thing to remember is that keeping your pantry stocked can help reduce chaos. Fewer last-minute grocery trips!

Anna:Right. If you listened to our last episode, this is part of supporting yourself—building in a little structure so you’re not constantly wondering, “Do I have this ingredient?” The food is right there.

Elizabeth:Exactly. And when we think about stocking the pantry, something we always think about is having the ingredients on hand for your go-to meals.

We talked about that in our last episode, but could you give everyone a quick refresher, Anna?

Anna:Sure. A go-to meal is really anything that makes your life easier. Something you can put together quickly with ingredients you usually have on hand—maybe in 15 minutes, maybe 30, depending on your household. There’s no right or wrong here.

Elizabeth:Yes! Personally, I keep a running list in the Notes app on my phone. When I run out of something, I add it to the list right away. Before we had phones, I used post-its or scrap paper… but I always lost them!

Now, I look at my go-to meals list, decide what I want to make that week, and check what ingredients I need. I go through my fridge, freezer, and pantry and see what’s missing. I usually still forget something, but maybe only one thing.

Anna:You talked about that in our last episode, too. I think I’m a little less organized than you. I’ll take a few minutes to scan my pantry, fridge, and freezer. We’ve suggested before that once you have your list of go-to meals, you can create a pantry ingredients list from that. It’s a quick way to check whether you’ve got the basics before you head to the store.

But there are different levels of organization, and it’s about figuring out what works for you.

Elizabeth:Totally. And the simplest thing really is just taking a moment during meal planning to look through what you already have. Sometimes I think I have something and skip checking, then later realize I don’t.

Anna:Been there!

So, can you walk us through your steps for keeping your kitchen stocked—maybe a recap?

Elizabeth:Sure! It’s mostly just that I add things to my Notes app whenever I run out. That way, when I’m making my grocery list or placing an order, I can just check that one list.

Anna:We use a small whiteboard inside our pantry for that. My husband and I both write on it, but I have to remember to look at it! Your system is more streamlined.

Elizabeth:Yeah, my kids are 17 and 21, so they both have phones. I tell everyone to either tell me what we’re out of or text it to me so I can add it to my Notes app. It really helps to have one place to look.

Anna:That’s so smart. It’s always that mental checklist—“What am I forgetting?”—and this simplifies it.

You’re a big fan of convenience foods, and I’d love to hear about your go-to items. What makes cooking easier at your house?

Elizabeth:Definitely Rao’s Marinara. We buy it in a three-pack from Costco. Chad, my husband, keeps our Costco list. We use Rao’s for your spinach lasagna, pasta nights, pizzas—so many things!

We also love the Just Bare chicken nuggets. Before that, we were really into the Trader Joe’s Mandarin Chicken.

Frozen waffles, frozen dumplings, boxed mac and cheese—those are weekend lunch staples or quick dinners for the kids. And I love store-bought pesto for tossing with pasta and peas.

Oh, and Lundberg shelf-stable precooked rice is a big favorite. Also, frozen tortellini, pre-chopped broccoli, bagged salad, microwave green beans…

Anna:Yes! And single-serve hummus, little egg bites from Costco or Trader Joe’s, and toaster oven snacks like pizza bites. Cereal too—convenience foods aren’t just dinner-specific!

Elizabeth:Exactly. It’s okay—actually, it’s necessary—to use convenience foods. Life is full. Cooking from scratch every night just isn’t realistic for most people.

Anna:Yes! And we’d love to hear from listeners—what are your favorite convenience foods? Email us or leave a comment on this Substack post.

Elizabeth:Yes, please share! I also wanted to mention our No Recipe Required e-book that’s on our website. Can you tell everyone how that came to be and how it ties into pantry stocking?

Anna:Sure! We wanted to offer more than just a list—we created a book that walks people through our absolute easiest meals. You don’t need a recipe—just simple instructions.

It’s a reminder that not everything has to be made from scratch. We’re bombarded with messages telling us we should be baking our own crackers and growing our own veggies. And hey, if I had space, I’d totally have chickens! But that’s not realistic for everyone.

So this book offers real-life meal ideas—simple, doable, low-pressure.

Elizabeth:And the meals in it are mostly things you can make with a well-stocked pantry. Think: spaghetti and meatballs with broccoli. Pasta, jarred sauce, frozen meatballs, and a veggie—done.

It doesn’t have to be a gourmet salad. It can be sliced cucumbers in a bowl.

We want to model for our kids the kind of cooking they can do when they’re on their own.

Anna:Yes! Okay, I’m putting you on the spot again. Let’s say someone just listened to this episode and they have five minutes. What’s one thing they can do today to support their pantry?

Elizabeth:If they’ve made their go-to meals list, they could write down the ingredients needed for each one. Or simply peek in their pantry and see what they’re out of.

Anna:Yes, and sometimes the idea of shopping for a whole week feels overwhelming. You can just grab a few things. You don’t need a full grocery trip—just get what you need to feel more supported today.

Elizabeth:Totally. It takes some experimenting, but finding a system that works for you is the goal.

Anna:Exactly. We hope you’re leaving today with one small idea that feels helpful!

Elizabeth:Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you in a couple of weeks.

Tigger Warning: Discussion of weight loss, fad diets, and suicide. 

Anna Mackay and Elizabeth Davenport chat with Michael Ulloa, a personal trainer working to shift the conversation around exercise, and breaking down barriers to health & fitness, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

They discuss:

• Whether personal trainers and kids sports coaches are qualified to provide nutritional or dietary advice.
• What makes someone qualified to provide dietary advice.
• The risks of using social media as a resource for dietary advice, and how social media can sometimes be helpful (Michael’s IG account is amazing!)
• Key things to look for when hiring a personal trainer and red flags that might be a clue for steering clear of a coach or trainer.
• Some of the most common myths created by the wellness industry.
• Strategies people can use to avoid wellness traps.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Michael Ulloa
• Michael’s Instagram Account
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Michael Ulloa is a REPS Certified Personal Trainer and, following further Nutritional study, including courses certified by the Association for Nutrition (AfN), works as a Performance Nutritionist. With a background in Occupational Therapy, Michael takes a holistic approach to client care. He ensures that every aspect of clients' lives are considered when designing their exercise and nutrition programmes. Michael has worked with clients in over fifteen different countries and has hosted multiple workshops across Edinburgh. He is a speaker, podcaster, content creator and fitness writer, having contributed to major publications, such as Men’s Health Magazine. 

Anna Lutz sat down with Katja Rowell, M.D., a family doctor, author, and responsive childhood feeding specialist to talk about the new AAP guidelines.

They discuss: 

• What pediatric clinical practice guidelines are and why the AAP releases them periodically.
• The details of the recently released clinical practice guidelines for pediatricians and family doctors.
• The deep flaws in the data and information used to formulate these guidelines.
• How using weight or body size as a barometer for health means that healthcare providers often miss what else may be going on for a patient. 
• Advice for pediatricians or family doctors to practice through a weight-neutral lens.
• The ways in which dietary restriction for children in order to get a particular weight outcome is harmful, almost always backfires, and has a negative lifelong impact.
• Advice for parents to navigate kids' pediatric well visits.

Katja Rowell M.D. is a family doctor, author, and responsive childhood feeding specialist. Described as “academic, but warm and down to earth,” she is a popular speaker and blogger and has appeared in numerous publications. Katja has developed an expertise in anxious and avoidant eating (including ARFID), food preoccupation, and supporting foster and adopted children. Katja is on the SPOON medical advisory board and founder of The Feeding Doctor. Her books include: Helping Your Child with Extremely Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion, and Feeding Disorders, and Love Me, Feed Me. Learn more about Katja at theFeedingDoctor.com

Links: 

• Katja Rowell: The Feeding Doctor
• Regan Chastain’s Weight and Healthcare Substack
• Aubrey Gordon’s “You Just Need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People”
• Sunny Side Up + Katja Rowell’s Letter to Pediatrician
• Resources from Ginny Jones
• Responsive Feeding Pro
• More resources from Sunny Side Up Nutrition website!
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Anna Mackay and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Karen Shrosbery (known as Kip), a Journalism Trainer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s International Development Unit mentoring women in Asia and the Pacific. Kip currently lives in Dili, Timor Leste and is Anna M’s neighbor.

They discuss:

• The culture shock of adapting to a new way of life in another country; how different food, a different language, and adapting to all sorts of different rhythms in daily life can be tough, but also incredibly enriching.
• How poor sanitation, unclean water supply, and improper food handling affects health, especially in the rainy season.
• What it’s like shopping for food, both in supermarkets and the open-air markets, and ways to deal with the lack of availability of familiar foods.
• The differences in how special holidays are celebrated when you do not have access to the food items you might traditionally serve.
• Strategies to help alleviate the various stresses of adapting to a new way of life, especially for kids. Being flexible and finding routines that work for your family is key!
  

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Kip Shrosbery (known as Kip) is a longtime journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation specializing in International Development. She has worked for the BBC and ABC all over the world winning several major international awards and has spent the latter part of her career as a journalism  trainer mentoring women in Asia-Pacific. She has been living in Timor Leste for over a year.

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Rose Langston, MS, OTR/L, an occupational therapist and clinic manager at Pediatric Possibilities in Raleigh, NC. They discuss:

• The role of occupational therapy (OT) when working with families and children with feeding concerns.
• Some common reasons people go to an OT in regards to eating or feeding. 
• The definition of nervous system regulation and how that plays into feeding concerns and treatment.
• What an OT might do with a child, or recommend to a family, to help with a child’s nervous system regulation.
• The things that are often misunderstood about feeding problems with children and what Rose wishes parents or other professionals understood.
• Common parenting pitfalls when it comes to feeding a selective eater at home, and some suggestions of what parents can do to avoid these pitfalls.
  

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Rose Langston at Pediatric Possibilities
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Rose Langston graduated with her master’s degree from Grand Valley State University in Michigan in 2009. She moved to Raleigh specifically to join the team at Pediatric Possibilities and fulfill her dream of specializing in sensory integration therapy in a clinic that shared her love for kids, passion for ongoing learning, and desire to provide effective therapy in a playful and respectful environment. Throughout her 12 years working in pediatrics, she has had the privilege to receive advanced training in sensory, motor, and feeding areas with the experts in each specialty; but of course has learned just as much from the kids themselves. She lives with her husband and boxer-mix rescue dog, and loves to be outdoors in her free time.

ICYMI! Since the holidays are still in full swing, for our last episode of season 3 we decided to rebroadcast this one featuring Anna, Anna and Elizabeth talking about ways to navigate food around the holiday’s, and boundary setting in situations where there is negative talk about food and bodies.

We discuss:

• Factors that contribute to an increase in diet talk, and food and body shaming during the holidays.
• Strategies to navigate this negative messaging.
• Ways to navigate sweets and “party food”.
• Tips for parents of selective eaters.
• Strategies to help parents navigate particularly stressful moments during the holiday season.
• Our favorite holiday foods!

Stay tuned for more great content like this in Season 4!

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Rachel Manor, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics.

They discuss:

• How diet culture shows up in sports.
• The most important things for parents to understand about kids & teens who are involved in sport (hint: it has a lot to do with eating enough).
• Barriers to adequate fueling specifically for athletes.
• Why athletes are at a higher risk for developing disordered eating behaviors and/or eating disorders
• Things coaches, parents, and trainers can do to support athletes in a protective way.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Rachel Manor
• Accounts Rachel Mentioned:
  • Leslie Schilling
  • Spring Forward Girls
  • Student Athlete Nutrition
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Rachel Manor is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics with Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy. Rachel holds a BS in Life Science from the University of Portland in Portland, OR, where she was also a varsity athlete on the women’s basketball team. Rachel served as a sports dietitian at the University of Oregon for nearly two years and at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for over eight years. She has supported national championship teams, and spearheaded weight-inclusive and Intuitive Eating education, while working toward removing diet culture from sport culture and optimizing performance. 

Anna, Anna and Elizabeth chat about navigating food around the holiday’s, and ways to set boundaries around negative talk about food and bodies.

We discuss:

• Factors that contribute to an increase in diet talk, and food and body shaming during the holidays.
• Strategies to navigate this negative messaging.
• Ways to navigate sweets and “party food”.
• Tips for parents of selective eaters.
• Strategies to help parents navigate particularly stressful moments during the holiday season.
• Our favorite holiday foods!

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Dacy Gillespie, an online personal stylist who helps women uncover their authentic style.

They discuss:

• The challenges of clothes shopping.
• The pressures faced by children and teens to looks and dress a certain way
• What parents can say to reject unhelpful messages that come up while shopping and trying on clothes (hint: avoid the term “flattering”).
• Some tips for parents to reduce overwhelm when shopping with tweens and teens.
• The ways in which moms often don’t put their own needs first, and how this plays out with clothing.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Mindful Closet
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Dacy Gillespie provides style help to women who’ve always felt uncomfortable in their clothes and who want to uncover their authentic style. She helps clients process and release the societal constructs they’ve been operating under through online personal styling services. Dacy uses the principles of intuitive eating and Health At Every Size® in her work.

Anna Mackay and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Aaron Flores, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who specializes in male body image.

• Dietitians Unplugged Podcast
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Aaron Flores is a registered dietitian nutritionist and Certified Body Trust® provider. With over 10 years of experience, Aaron has worked with eating disorders in a variety of settings over his career including the VA Healthcare System and Center for Discovery. He currently has a private practice in Calabasas, CA. Aaron uses Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size®, and Body Trust® as the framework to help individuals develop a more compassionate, non-judgemental approach to food and their body. His work has been featured on the 10% Happier Podcast, in the New York Times, Huffington Post and Buzzfeed. Aaron is also a frequent speaker, presenting at national and international eating disorder conferences. In addition to his individual work with clients, he is also a podcaster. His two shows are Men Unscripted and, Dietitians Unplugged. 

They discuss:

• How Aaron transitioned from being a weight-centric to a weight-neutral practitioner.
• Ways that men, and people who identify as male, approach dieting and view their bodies, versus women, and people who identify as female.
• How Aaron talks to his clients about body image and the definition of masculinity.
• How trends like “clean eating”, counting macros, and intermittent fasting normalize disordered eating behaviors.
• Where the idea of being judged for a body that is perceived by others as “wrong” comes from, and why it is something that seems to really stick with a person into adulthood.
• Aaron’s new podcast, Men Unscripted, and why Aaron felt it was important to have a whole podcast dedicated to conversations with men.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Aaron Flores
• Men Unscripted Podcast

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Lauren McIlwaine, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, specializing in nutrition therapy for children, adolescents, and adults with eating disorders.

They discuss:

• Specific strategies to simplify grocery shopping.
• The challenges surrounding a trip to the grocery store.
• Reasons why it can be so frustrating, and how to make it less frustrating.
• Ways to reduce ‘decision fatigue’.
• How to ensure that your grocery shopping trips are safe and effective (for example, always stocking up on pantry, freezer and refrigerator staple items).

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Lauren McIlwaine
• Daniel Tiger Calm at the Restaurant, the "taco book" Lauren refers to
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Lauren (MSc, MPH, RD, LDN) specializes in nutrition therapy for children, adolescents, and adults with eating disorders. She also specializes in general nutrition for older adults and food allergies for all ages. Lauren received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Georgetown University, a Master of Science in Health Psychology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and a Master of Public Health in Nutrition from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She previously worked as a clinical dietitian at Veritas Collaborative where she collaborated with adolescent eating disorder patients requiring inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient services. She also has experience working in research, helping to investigate the most effective treatments for various eating disorders. She is passionate about helping families create positive relationships with food, helping individuals debunk nutrition myths, and spreading positive messages about nutrition on social media. She sees clients in the Raleigh and Durham Offices and via telehealth.

Episode 100: Reboot Your Meal Planning

We made it to 100 episodes! Wow!! We’re grateful to you all for being here and supporting our work to challenge diet culture and make family nutrition less stressful.

In our latest episode, we’re celebrating with a topic that comes up a lot—meal planning. But not the Pinterest-perfect kind (no judgement here if you love that kind of meal planning). Anna and I are talking about realistic, flexible planning that supports you instead of stresses you out.

We share our personal routines, what “go-to meals” mean in our homes, and how diet culture can sneak into the way we think about food and planning. Whether you’re a an avid list-maker or more spontaneous, there’s something in here for you.

What are your “go-to meals”?

If you’re interested in a deeper dive into all the aspects of feeding your family, from navigating sweets, meal planning, assessing your child’s growth, to supporting your picky eater, join the Sunny Side Up Nutrition Membership: Take the Frenzy Out of Feeding.

Links we mention in this episode:

* Our Feeding Framework

* Easy Black Beans and Rice

* Spinach Lasagna

* Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

* White Bean, Sausage & Kale Soup

* Black Beans, Corn, and Tomatoes —A 15 minute recipe 7 different ways

* Pinney Davenport Nutrition (DC Area)

* Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy (Raleigh, NC)

* Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

Transcript

Elizabeth: Hi, Anna. So welcome, everyone. We are here today to chat about rebooting your meal planning. So, Anna, I'm just going to jump right in with the first question slash topic.

Elizabeth: Feeding Framework Step #1 is to provide structure, not perfection. In our previous podcast episode, we talked about the feeding framework—and we'll link to it in the show notes in case you didn’t have a chance to listen. How does that connect with our meal planning philosophy? And how does diet culture interfere with meal planning?

Anna: That’s two really important questions! I think a lot of people hear “meal planning” and immediately think it has to look a certain way. Like there’s a right way to plan and a right way to follow the plan. A lot of folks also associate meal plans with dieting. But the way you and I think about meal planning is more about support. It’s a structure that helps feeding ourselves and our families feel less chaotic.

Elizabeth: Yes—exactly. I always regret it when I skip meal planning. Everything feels more chaotic.

Anna: Totally. But diet culture can really mess with how we think about meal planning. On social media, you see these perfect plans that take forever to make, or these rigid schedules where every meal is pre-determined. There’s this assumption that you have unlimited time and resources. But that’s not how we define it. Everyone’s meal plan will look different.

Elizabeth: Absolutely. I mean, almost every week I end up making something different than I planned. Life happens.

Anna: Yes! And one more thing—we share meal ideas every week in our Substack newsletter. Five lunches, five dinners, three breakfasts. The goal isn’t to be perfect or different every day. It’s to make life easier.

Elizabeth: Right, we don’t make seven different breakfasts every week! That sounds exhausting.

Anna: We also say all the time: meal planning only needs to take 10–15 minutes. Let me walk you through what I do.

Anna: I start by looking at our evening activities for the week—soccer practice, concerts, things like that. Then I plan about four dinners. I don’t usually assign them to specific nights, but I try to think ahead to busy nights and plan something easy.

Anna: Next, I make a list of the ingredients I need and then check the fridge, pantry, and freezer for staples—like milk, bread, eggs, lunch stuff. Then I place a grocery order online, usually on Sunday.

Elizabeth: My method isn’t as structured! I go to the store more often and I’m lucky to have a farmer’s market nearby. I get meat, fish, and produce there in the warmer months. I also enjoy trying new recipes, so sometimes planning takes longer because I want to cook something new.

Anna: That’s what works for you! I’ll also do a Costco or Trader Joe’s run once a month. It’s a big day when I do both. I joke that I’ve been hunting and gathering all day!

Elizabeth: I feel that. And having frozen or prepared foods from those stores makes weeknights easier. I also plan four dinners and rely on my go-to meals to fill in the rest. Speaking of which—let’s talk about go-to meals.

Anna: A go-to meal, for me, is something I usually have the ingredients for and can make in 15–20 minutes. One of mine is Black Beans and Rice—it’s super simple. We’ve made it for years. You use canned beans, cumin, salsa or tomatoes, and rice. Great for leftovers too.

Elizabeth: Yes, for me it’s similar—easy ingredients I have on hand. Everyone’s go-to meals will look different. The key is they shouldn’t stress you out.

Anna: Exactly. We also both rely on the “cook once, eat twice” idea. If I’m making a bigger dinner on Monday, I want it to be something we can use for another night or lunches. Spinach lasagna is one—great for lunchboxes. Or grilled chicken becomes BBQ chicken salad or pizza. Everyone can build their own bowl.

Elizabeth: I do something similar with black beans and corn and tomatoes. It turns into burritos, rice bowls, even a topping for chicken. We also do Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos—I double the batch and use the extras for bowls with pre-cooked rice.

Anna: Love that. Soups and pasta dishes work well too. I like anything that helps with lunches.

Elizabeth: If someone only has five minutes, what’s one thing they can do this week to feel less stressed about meal planning?

Anna: Make a list of your go-to meals. Just write them down—stream of consciousness. Then you can build from there and even make a list of pantry staples to keep on hand.

Elizabeth: Yes! I always check my go-to list when I feel stuck. Anything else we should add?

Anna: Just remember: there’s no right way to do this. You don’t have to make black beans and rice. Find what’s easy and accessible for you.

Elizabeth: So true. What are you making tonight?

Anna: Actually, we have a school dinner event. But next time I cook, it’ll probably be tacos. Always a favorite in my house.

Elizabeth: I’m making coconut rice with roasted chicken thighs, carrots, purple broccoli from the farmers market, and a peanut sesame sauce. It’s a few components, but not a ton of work. The Lundberg coconut rice is already cooked and microwaveable. (not sponsored)

Anna: That sounds amazing.

Elizabeth: Let us know what you’re cooking! You can comment on Substack, DM us on Instagram, or email us at hello@sunnysideupnutrition.com.

Both: Happy meal planning! Bye!

Anna Mackay and Anna Lutz have a conversation with Dr. Fiona Willer, an Australian advanced practice dietitian, academic, advocate, educator and organizational consultant on a mission to make the health sector a safe and inclusive place for larger-bodied people.

They discuss:

• How Fiona decided to transition from being a weight-centric to a weight-inclusive practitioner, and how that affected her choices as an academic.
• The prevalence of weight stigma and weight bias in healthcare settings, and how this affects the decisions made by healthcare practitioners when treating patients. 
• The commonly held belief that losing weight will make someone a better person somehow and the ways we can push back against this idea.
• What the research tells us with regards to weight science.
• The ways we can effectively communicate weight-inclusive messaging to healthcare practitioners.
• Strategies for parents to manage negative messaging about weight and bodies.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Fiona Willer
• Health Not Diets
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Dr Fiona Willer (AdvAPD, PhD, FHEA, GAICD) is an Australian dietitian, academic, educator, non-executive board director and health advocate with a career straddling higher education and the nonprofit and private sectors.  She is a long-standing lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Queensland University of Technology and is affiliated for research activities with the Healthy Primary Care team at Griffith University's Menzies Health Institute. Fiona's areas of expertise include the relationships between weight stigma, health consciousness, body appreciation and dietary quality, and the integration of inclusive weight-neutral lifestyle approaches (including Health at Every Size®) into healthcare practice and policy. Her business, Health, Not Diets, provides organisational consultancy and professional development resources for inclusive, weight-neutral healthcare practice and will be celebrating 10 years of advocacy in 2023. She is also proud to be the creator of the innovative Unpacking Weight Science professional development podcast. Fiona currently serves on the board of Dietitians Australia and has previously served on the boards of HAES Australia and the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) in the USA.

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Johanna Kandel, founder and CEO of the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, and McCall Dempsey, founder and director of Southern Smash. Sunny Side Up Nutrition and the Alliance teamed up to create five parent letters that can be customized and downloaded as a tool for advocacy when diet culture shows up in schools.

They discuss: 

• The pervasiveness of diet culture and how it shows up in schools. 
• Where the idea for the five letters originated.
• The contents of each letter: 
• Introductory Letter to Your Child’s Teacher
• Letter regarding School Weigh-Ins
• Letter regarding a Harmful School Assignment with Diet Culture
• Letter regarding Food Police in the School Cafeteria
• Letter requesting your Child Opt-Out of An Assignment
• Specific examples of when a parent may use these letters to advocate for diet-free schools. 
• Resources for parents available from the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Link to Letters on SSUN Website
• National Alliance for Eating Disorders
• Johanna Kandel
• McCall Dempsey
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Johanna Kandel is the immediate Past President of the Board of Directors for the Eating Disorders Coalition, member of the Academy for Eating Disorders Advisory Board, founding board member of the Eating Disorders Activist Network, and a member of the Eating Disorders Leadership Summit. She is an active participant in National Eating Disorders Awareness Month.  She has received many awards for her ongoing outreach and advocacy work, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service© and Harlequin Enterprises' More Than Words Award.  Johanna has appeared on national television programs including NBC Nightly News and The Today Show, and profiled in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Glamour Magazine. Johanna's book, Life Beyond Your Eating Disorder, was released by Harlequin Nonfiction in September of 2010. Success to Johanna means helping even one person avoid traveling down the same road she did and continuing to use her voice in the fight against eating disorders.

McCall Dempsey is a writer, speaker and founder of Southern Smash, a program of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders. McCall is an eating disorder survivor and passionate recovery advocate.

Anna Mackay and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Shreen El Masry, a body inclusive Personal Trainer and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, about the enormous pressure mothers often feel to shrink their bodies after giving birth in order to conform to unrealistic and harmful standards. Shreen is also the author of a recently published book called Be You Be Free: Your 12-Step Body Positivity Plan.

They discuss:

• How struggling with an eating disorder in her 20’s inspired Shreen to change careers and become a personal trainer and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.
• The unique brand of diet culture that targets expecting mothers, and parents in general.
• Strategies to deal with weight stigma in the doctor's office during pregnancy and postpartum health checks (hint: you do not need to be weighed!).
• How excessive exercise and dietary restriction is normalized, and even celebrated in our culture, and the ways in which this is problematic.
• Strategies for parents, particularly new mothers who are going through the postpartum period, can push back against the onslaught of diet advice and messages like “getting your pre-baby body back”.
• Advice for parents about modeling healthy behaviors as their kids grow up.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Be You Be Free Website
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Shreen El Masry is a Body Inclusive Personal Trainer and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. Shreen is the founder of the Be You Be Free community where she helps people all around the world break free from dieting and make peace with food, exercise, and their bodies so they can start living the joyous, purposeful, and fulfilled lives that they deserve. 

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Brigitte Pollio, a yoga teacher who trains both kids and school teachers, about the ways in which yoga can be used to connect body, mind and spirit, which is beneficial for everyone, but especially children. 

They discuss:

• The benefits of yoga for children.
• The link between yoga, the nervous system and self-regulation.
• How yoga can promote and preserve positive body image in kids.
• The benefit of incorporating yoga into school classrooms, and the positive effects it has on teachers. 
• Things classroom teachers need to be aware of before introducing yoga to their students.
• Ways parents can use yoga, breathing practices, and meditation at home with kids.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Alison Crossley, a Registered Dietitian, about the transition from living at home to living away at university (or college, or boarding school!), and the unique challenges faced by students when it comes to fueling themselves once they leave home.

They discuss:

• The many challenges college students face when it comes to food selection in food outlets on campus.
• Recommendations for dealing with external cues, like calorie counts on food items.
• How to manage harmful diet culture messaging like the “freshman 15”.
• How parents can support their teens as they prepare to go away to college.
• The importance for college students to eat an adequate amount of food to fuel their bodies and brains.
• The role finances play in food selection both on and off campus.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Alison on Pinney Davenport Nutrition Website
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Alison Crossley is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, and sports nutrition. Alison received her B.S. in Nutritional Sciences from Cornell University and completed her dietetic internship through Simmons College in Boston, MA. Alison has professional experience specific to treating clients with eating disorders at multiple levels of care, including partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs. As a former collegiate rower, she also draws from her personal experience when treating athletes.

Anna Mackay and Anna Lutz have a conversation with Shane Jeffrey, an Accredited Practicing Dietitian,  Accredited Sports Dietitian and Strength and Conditioning Coach, about eating disorders in the sports world, and the slippery slope that disordered eating behaviors can be for both elite level athletes, as well as recreational athletes. 

They discuss:

• Some behaviors that might alert family members, teammates, or coaches that an athlete is struggling.
• Common misconceptions around young athletes with regards to weight, body shape, fitness levels, and food intake.
• The importance of having conversations about changes in bodies, particularly as kids go through puberty.
• The unique skill set a dietitian has that makes them a valuable part of a treatment team.
• The role of parents, caregivers and family members in the treatment and recovery process.
• Tips for family members, friends, or teammates of someone struggling that might help them avoid colluding with the eating disorder.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• River Oak Health
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Shane Jeffrey is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, an Accredited Sports Dietitian and Strength and Conditioning Coach with  over 25 years experience in the field of eating disorders and is the founder and clinical director at River Oak Health, based in Brisbane, Australia. Shane is trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy- Enhanced (CBT-E), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Family Based Treatment (Maudsley Method) (FBT), Health at Every Size ® (HAES®), Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Signe Darpinian, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, about the importance of boundaries and trust when it comes to helping our children cultivate a peaceful relationship with food and body. Signe is also the co-author of No Weigh! A Teen’s Guide to Positive Body Image, Food, and Emotional Wisdom as well as the forthcoming book How to Raise Body Positive Teens: A Parent's Guide to Diet-Free Living, Exercise and Body Image.

They discuss:

• The juxtaposition between an overall increase in eating disorder awareness, and the increased normalization of disordered eating behaviors that is inherent within diet culture.
• How boundary setting is generally challenging, but especially when it comes to food.
• Emotional regulation with teens & pre-teens, and getting consent before giving advice.
• A control model versus a trust model.
• How interfering with our teens' dietary intake breaks down their natural ability to eat intuitively. 
• When parents make it clear that we trust our children to listen to their bodies it is supportive and creates a sense of safety.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Signe’s Website
• Therapy Rocks!
• No Weigh! A Teen’s Guide to Positive Body Image, Food, and Emotional Wisdom
• How to Raise Body Positive Teens: A Parent's Guide to Diet-Free Living, Exercise and Body Image
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Signe Darpinian is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, host of Therapy Rocks! a personal growth podcast, and public speaker. Signe provides tele-health therapy services in the state of California. Signe holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from San Francisco's John F. Kennedy University and a B.A. in Psychology from University of the Pacific. She is the past president of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp™) SF Bay Area Chapter. 

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Erin Bowers, a Presbyterian pastor, and Leslie Schilling, a Registered Dietitian, about diet culture in churches. They explore the ties between the culture we are raised in and how that affects the way we interpret religion.

They discuss:

• How diet culture is not congruent with Christian theology, and how privilege is often not acknowledged in the church.
• The difference between spiritual fasting and fasting with the intention of weight loss, and how fasting can so easily trigger disordered behaviors.
• How the spiritual undertone in diet culture messaging in the church is particularly harmful because it is often tied to one’s worthiness.
• Advice for making changes in your own church, and ways to navigate negative food or body related commentary while attending church, or at church functions that involve food.

Links: 

• Support the Podcast -- Virtual “Tip Jar”!
• Leslie's website
• Leslie's book: Born to Eat
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Erin Kesterson Bowers, PhD is the Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of High Point, NC, where she has served in parish ministry for the last 13 years. Prior to returning to North Carolina (her home state!) she was in New Jersey, where she earned both her MDiv and her PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Leslie Schilling, MA, RDN, CSCS, CEDRD-S, owns a Las Vegas-based coaching practice specializing in nutrition counseling for families, those of all ages with disordered eating concerns, professional athletes, and performers. In addition to running her practice, Leslie serves as the performance nutrition consultant for Cirque du Soleil® and as an expert contributor to U.S. News & World Report, sharing advice on parenting and health.

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport chat with McCall Dempsey, founder of Southern Smash, about parents who have their own history of an eating disorder and the ways in which that can make feeding a family challenging. 

They discuss:

• The unique challenges faced by someone who has recovered from an eating disorder when feeding their children.
• How being relaxed about sugar and processed foods can make feeding kids easier, and helps raise intuitive eaters.
• The power of letting your kids know that it’s ok to not be ok.
• Advice for parents who have struggled with an eating disorder and are afraid that their child will also develop an eating disorder. 

Links: 

• McCall Dempsey
• Southern Smash Program
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

McCall Dempsey is a writer, speaker and founder of Southern Smash, a program of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders. McCall is an eating disorder survivor and passionate recovery advocate. 

Anna Lutz and Elizabeth Davenport have a conversation with Mimi Cole, a mental health counselor, about her work with people who have anxiety disorders, trauma, eating disorders and OCD. They delve into topics surrounding mental health and advocacy for weight-inclusive eating disorder treatment. Mimi is also the co-author of A Body Image Workbook for Every Body: A Guide for Deconstructing Diet Culture and Learning How to Respect, Nourish, and Care for Your Whole Self.

They discuss:

• The harm caused by making assumptions about whether someone has an eating disorder based on their body size.
• How malnutrition can affect bodies at any size.
• The myriad issues with the diagnosis “Atypical Anorexia”.
• The importance of seeking out health professionals who have training in the treatment of eating disorders because medical providers typically lack this type of knowledge, which can be very harmful.
• Building a positive relationship with food & body is a constant work-in-progress, especially when we live in a society that stigmatizes larger bodies and glorifies thinness.

Links: 

• Mindful Counseling
• The Lovely Becoming, Mimi Cole on Instagram
• The Lovely Becoming Podcast
• Mimi’s Body Image Workbook
• Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast 
• Lutz, Alexander & Associates Nutrition Therapy
• Pinney Davenport Nutrition
• https://thirdwheeled.com/
• https://m8.design/
• https://www.sonics.io/

Mimi Cole is a training counselor, currently working to complete her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Mimi received her bachelor’s degrees in Child Development and Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University in 2020. After graduating, Mimi worked in a residential and outpatient eating disorder treatment center providing meal support, leading groups, and working with fellow providers to provide quality, interdisciplinary care. Mimi recently completed her practicum experience at a facility based mental health program where she worked with children ranging from ages 5 to 18. There, she primarily utilized cognitive behavioral therapy and worked with children experiencing suicidal ideation. Mimi believes that our earliest relationships in childhood influence our ability to communicate and to be in relationship with others, including ourselves. She is an advocate for weight-inclusive care and destigmatizing mental illnesses.