Intuitive Eating Holiday Edition: Preparing for Healthy Holidays

The holiday season can bring all kinds of emotions and excitement, and for some, a lot of feelings around food. It can be a season of FUN, CHAOS, STRESS, EXCITEMENT, FAMILY, FOOD, and much more.

Eating behaviors often stem from how we feel so, all of the above adjectives can affect our decisions about food. The goal should be to ENJOY eating but ALSO to be MINDFUL in an effort to take care of your health, your family and to feel your best. Below are some tips for navigating social outings alone or with kids.

1) ENJOY IT and LET GO of GUILT: The holiday grub should be enjoyed and part of what makes this season fun. Let go of guilt this holiday season. Family traditions often involve food and this should be a time to indulge, celebrate, and enjoy eating. Yes, you should fully ENJOY and appreciate a full fat/full sugar dessert if you want it! This can be VERY hard, especially for those with a history of dieting and feelings of guilt around eating. A few weeks of indulging is not going negatively affect your health, I promise.

But, also, remember, if you are practicing intuitive eating and focusing on not having rules around food and eating, dessert is available YEAR ROUND, not just during the holidays. A change in mindset goes a long way in helping to change behavior. When we have the all or nothing mindset in terms of food, we tend to over consume, preparing ourselves to ‘never’ eat dessert again.

One of the exercises I do with my clients when we work on intuitive eating is to have them put their ‘trigger’ foods (i.e. foods they ‘cannot’ have around or else they’ll eat a whole container/box, etc.) in their homes. This exercise is hard and feels scary for many but, if they stick to it, the outcome is always rewarding. Yes, initially, they might binge, but eventually, knowing they can eat those foods whenever they want, makes them desire their ‘trigger’ foods less. Try it! Eventually you won’t have ANY trigger foods, at least that’s the goal.

2) EAT WHAT YOU LOVE: Rather than opting for a ‘healthier’ dessert, go for what you love. Often when we try to replace the real deal with a ‘healthier’ version, we tend to eat the ‘healthy’ option in addition to what we are truly wanting or craving. Or, people tend to overeat the ‘healthy’ desserts defeating the purpose in the first place and leaving them less satisfied than if they would have just consumed what they really wanted.

3) PLAN AHEAD: Unfortunately, for many, this is a season of chaos and stress, even if there’s fun and enjoyment mixed in.

As a mom of 3, hostess of several family holiday meals, helper with school parties, mother with a kid who has a December birthday (of course we always host that party at our house because that makes sense…), the primary gift buyer for all the relatives, etc., it is a time of complete chaos and stress for us. I’m NOT complaining—we are incredibly blessed by all the things causing us ‘stress’. I know others may not be as fortunate and stress around the holidays can stem from many other, not so great situations. Regardless, planning ahead with meals and snacks can help with mindful eating throughout the holidays.

In the midst of a stressful day without meal planning, grabbing last minute meals, skipping meals only to overeat later, or pulling into the closest drive through seems to make sense. None of those things are ‘bad’ but, day in and day out, we may not feel our best by feeding ourselves the foods we typically want when we put off eating, feel stressed, or get overly hungry. People often choose foods higher in calories, fat, and/or sugar when in ‘stress’ mode. It can be difficult to listen to internal hunger and fullness cues when stressed so, in situations like this, intuitive eating might mean planning ahead to prepare for hunger later.

4) EAT BEFORE GOING [to a holiday party]: Yep, you read that right. This can be a balanced snack (i.e. contains healthy carbs and protein and/or fat) or a full on meal if you're hungry. Generally it's best not to walk into a room full of goodies when you're super hungry and you'll be distracted socializing and, therefore, less likely as in tune with hunger and fullness/satisfaction cues than if you were sitting down to a meal undistracted.

Intuitive eating CAN mean eating when you don't feel hungry as in this instance...preparing yourself to not be over hungry at holiday events.

Try to get in some PROTEIN and healthy FATS— protein helps stabilize blood sugar and often the foods we eat at holiday events contain a lot of sugar. When looking at the big picture and planning to get sugar/carbs when out, we get more balanced nutrition by filling up on protein and fat outside the holiday scene. This is also intuitive eating—preparing yourself in advance for what’s to come so you can feel your best.

This goes for kids too. I try to feed my kids before birthday parties and other outings year round so they fill up on a healthy snack or a meal before digging into dessert. Also, I then feel completely fine with them eating (mostly) whatever they want when we are out, knowing their bodies have been nourished and they'll likely stop eating dessert when they're satisfied. They do tend to KEEP eating it when they're entering into the scene hungry. This is because they're looking for satisfaction from hunger which dessert typically doesn't provide.

5) BE MINDFUL: Ask yourself if you're still enjoying the food as you eat it. It’s easy to stand around a table eating and socializing without even considering whether or not you’re actually enjoying the food.

6) SLEEP AND REST: Being overtired or unrested can affect metabolism, decisions about food, and make you feel bad overall. Although a good night’s sleep is never guaranteed for parents of littles and many others, try to plan to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night in an effort to best serve yourself and your family throughout the holidays.

7) BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE: Last but definitely NOT least, exercising is a great way to relieve stress and will give you more energy during the holidays. Also, endorphins! If you keep moving during the holiday season, you will feel mentally, emotionally, and physically better!

I hope this list helps you relax, have fun, and enjoy yourself during this season. Happy holidays!

Navigating Picky Eating

This is a HUGE topic that cannot be fully addressed in a single blog post, similar to most nutrition topics. I get asked about picky eating ALL. THE. TIME. And, guess what, I currently live with a recovering picky eater, a picky eater who, after two years, is starting to make a turn, and a kiddo who will eat anything. I’m sure that last kid mentioned will go through more than one picky eating phases over the next few years though!

Picky eating can be related to SOOO many different things. It can be tied to previous or current emotions, motor development, issues with different food textures, wanting to be in control, feeling too much pressure to eat, etc. The list truly goes on and on and on…

In this post, I am ONLY addressing very general picky eating. If you have a child who seems picky and these tips don’t work (or even if they do), it might be worth it to seek out a professional for help with feeding.

Here are my general tips for preventing and handling little picky eaters:

1) Have a feeding schedule. A lot of parents do this naturally but if you don’t, try to have set meal and snack times so children know what to expect. This can and should be flexible. The goal is to create a sense of security around knowing they’ll be fed. With that in mind, if a child is hungry before meal or snack time, use your intuition on what to do—use mindfulness and encourage intuitive eating. Children go through growth spurts all the time. And, like adults, some days they’ll be hungrier than others. It’s our job to honor that. Feed your hungry child when he or she is hungry. You can offer a healthy snack to tide them over until meal time. Or, offer lunch 30 minutes or an hour early.

2) Honor food preferences but don’t cater to them. Don’t be a short-order cook. Offer some foods you know your child likes AND encourage them to try some new foods.

3) Don’t react emotionally when your child rejects food. If you react emotionally, your child could end up with negative connotations around meal time. This also places pressure on them which we want to avoid when it comes to feeding.

4) Put food out just before you think they’ll be hungry, don’t wait til they’re super hungry and asking for all the things - the parent who’s with them the most seems to do this often but, in our house, even if I remind my husband that they’ll need a snack at whatever time, I’ll get home and everyone is fussy and no one knows why. Hmmm…

5) Practice Responsive Feeding. Try to recognize your child’s cues for hunger and fullness and respond appropriately by feeding them or not feeding them. If they’re old enough, talk to them about what hunger and fullness feels like. Essentially, this is practicing intuitive eating alongside them.

6) Enjoy food together. Have your children help make dinner, plan meals together, let them pick out new foods to try from the grocery store.

Halloween and ALL. THE. CANDY.

So many parents dread the after effects of Halloween. There is just SO MUCH CANDY!!! All the artificial coloring, sugar, processed food. Ick! So, what’s a parent to do with everything that comes home Halloween night!? We can’t have our kids indulging in all of this candy daily until it runs out but, with older(ish) kids, throwing it away doesn’t seem to be a great option either. At least not in my house! : / Momma would be punished for days!

Some parents trade candy for money. I.e. they pay their kids to give them their candy and either send that candy elsewhere or throw it away. Others let their kids pick out a new toy in exchange for their candy. I love those ideas. But, in our house, this would likely lead to buyers remorse once the novelty of the toy wore off. At which point, crazy little humans would start asking for their candy back. Manipulative little stinkers! Ha! Who can blame them though! Candy really does taste soooo good. Not gonna lie, Mom and Dad Low reap some of the sugary benefits of Halloween after the kids go to bed :).

But, by about November 3rd, I’m so ready for that candy to be out. of. my. house. So, what do we do?? We don’t make a big deal of the candy. I let my kids indulge while they’re trick or treating. Usually, they each eat about 3-4 fun size pieces and then maybe 1-2 pieces when we get home.

We play it cool. One night of sugar/coloring/processed foods isn’t going to hurt anyone. Then, once kids are asleep, the hubs and I indulge. Haha! seriously, it’s awesome! We have to take from the littler kids who won’t notice what’s missing though. We then put their halloween buckets high in a closed cabinet and hope they won't ask for too many pieces.

November 1st, candy is always requested and usually 2-3 pieces are given to the kids and happily consumed. In the next few days, I start throwing away little by little. And, simultaneously, kids start forgetting it’s there. After a while, they totally forget or there’s so little left from mom tossing it without them knowing. If they don’t ask for it for about a week, I toss the rest. If they keep asking, I just keep tossing it bit by bit and they get 1-2 pieces/day until it runs out.

As I’m typing this, I’m feeling a little guilty about the fact that I’m throwing away their candy without them knowing but, in the end, it is a win win for us. They don’t eat WAY too much candy but still get A LOT in my opinion. And, they don’t miss out on the candy experience of halloween.

I have one kid in particular who can’t seem to part with anything —even trash. So, in our house, this is what works and what I feel like is in the best interest of the kids and adults. With my two other children, I could probably talk to them about sharing the candy with others and sending some of it elsewhere but, it works best to follow the same protocol for all 3 kids. So, do what works for you. But, if you have a strong-willed, persistent hoarder type in your house, try our method and see how it goes ;).

Most of all, enjoy this holiday season with friends and family, and, don’t miss out on all the treats that come with it!

Kids and Intuitive Eating

About to enjoy some steel city pops!

Did you know kids are naturally intuitive eaters? Unfortunately, despite any parent’s effort to shelter their children from today’s diet culture, children will at some point, be exposed to dieting, either inside or outside the home. And, sadly, this is happening at younger and younger ages.

A lot of parents understandably think they’re doing what’s best for their kids by having a paleo or keto or (insert ANY diet that’s not for medical reasons) home. However, although framed as healthy eating, these too are diets. Any way of eating that directly or indirectly labels foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is dieting. Food is not good or bad. Food is neutral. The best thing parents can do for their children when it comes to nutrition, food and eating, is to have a non-diet household and mindset. And, be an example of an intuitive eater! Your children are watching and imitating YOU.

So, what if my child is a picky eater and refuses to eat foods that I consider healthy? This is a question I get ALL the time. And, a constant struggle even in my home!

I will be blogging specifically about picky eaters soon but the biggest advice I can give is this:

1. Do not pressure your kids to eat. Try to encourage intuitive eating—help them recognize when they’re hungry/full/satisfied. Kids do this naturally but overtime, often because of how society portrays food, this changes. Talk about how it feels to be hungry (grumbling tummy, irritability, fatigue, etc.) and to be full and satisfied.

2. Talk to your kids about how foods make you feel, without presenting food in a negative light. Afterall, you want your kids to choose to eat vegetables because they want them (maybe because they know they have vitamins and nutrients that will help them grow, etc) NOT because mom is making me eat it. You ALSO want your teenager to be able to enjoy (and have no guilt associated with) that cake made from scratch that your best friend brought over.  

3. Remember food is not good or bad. Food is neutral.

4. Try not to stress about what your child is eating. Kids pick up on this and it will likely make the situation even worse. It can help to think about their nutrient intake over the course of the week rather than per meal or per day.

Every child, parent, and situation is different and, no matter how much advice I write up, there is not a one-size fits all blanket approach to feeding children (or adults).

Feel free to email me with questions! Or, contact me to set up a 15 minute FREE discovery call to answer any questions you may have and set up a time to meet.

Helping Mom make food

Got their popsicles!

Pumpkin Everything

Pumpkin Pie Muffins (Recipe below)

It took one day to go from summer to fall in Austin! I LOVE pumpkin everything but, somehow it’s mid October and I have not been able to jump on the pumpkin bandwagon yet! It has just been too hot and not at all feeling like fall in Austin, until this morning. No pumpkin spice latte, no pumpkin soup, no pumpkin overnight oats, no pumpkin muffins…

Until today! Today, I’m flipping the switch! Rallying the kids to ‘help’ me make our pumpkin muffins, besides, I always love a good excuse to teach them about all about food, nutrients, and the benefits of and differences between various foods. One thing we talk about a lot is how foods make us feel. The answer is usually different for everyone and we get a lot of laughs hearing the 2 year old’s answers :).

So, what are some of the nutrients in and health benefits of pumpkin? They’re rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, including:

• Potassium which positively affects blood pressure

• Beta carotene → Vitamin A, beneficial for eye health, immune support, may lower risk of some cancers

• Vitamin E, an antioxidant, immune support, skin health

• Vitamin C, immune support

• Magnesium, riboflavin, B6, thiamin, niacin, folate

• Iron

• And SO much more!

In short, consuming pumpkin supports immunity, heart health, eye and skin health, blood pressure, blood sugar levels (due to it’s high fiber and low sugar content), and more.

It has even been known to help with asthma. Therefore, I’ll be putting pumpkin in EVERYTHING my 4 year old eats this winter! : / She’s my picky eater though so I’ll have to be sneaky. Stay tuned on that! ;)

After all this thinking about pumpkin, I actually am starting to crave it now! Off to make these muffins and maybe also some butternut squash soup. Yum!

Pumpkin Pie Muffin Recipe

• 1 ½ c blanched almond flour

• ¼ c + 1Tbsp gluten free all purpose baking flour

• 1 ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• ½ tsp baking soda

• 3 Tbsp pure coconut milk (full fat, not the milk substitute)

• 2 large eggs

• ⅓ c pure maple syrup

• 3/4 c pumpkin puree

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• ¼ c dark chocolate chips

• ¼ c roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

  • Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Separately, combine wet ingredients. Mix dry and wet together and then fold in pumpkin seeds and chocolate chips. Fill lined muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 25-28 minutes