Comfort Food

Maybe you're packing your first preschool lunchbox. Or logging on to top up your elementary schooler's lunch account. Or trying to figure out what your toddler ate at daycare all day… sending your kids out to eat their midday meal in the world can be tricky! We're talking about how to navigate this new facet of your child's relationship with food, and what to do about all the new food messages they'll bring home from school.

PS. Don't forget to check out our show notes page with links to all the recipes, articles and other resources discussed in this episode.

Holy pregnancy hunger! Amy is expecting baby number three (and eating all of the pretzels), so this episode is all about how eating changes when you're pregnant because of cravings, aversions and weight anxieties. We look at how diet culture shows up in pregnancy apps and even at your prenatal check-ups, and talk about how to get away from the (unattainable) "perfect" pregnancy paradox and listen to what your body — and your baby! — needs most.

PS. Don't forget to check out our show notes for all the links, recipes and products discussed during the episode.

You know how nobody has ever eaten exactly one half cup of ice cream and felt satisfied in their life? Yeah. That. Diet culture and government guidelines are full of rules about the so-called right amount to eat of every food.... but they rarely match up with how much we — and our kids! — actually need to eat. So is portion control ever useful? And if not, what should you do instead? We talk about how to encourage kids to listen to their bodies, and offer tips for how mamas can ditch the guilt and practice intuitive eating as well.

Don't forget to visit this episode's show notes page for all the links and resources discussed here — including a breakdown of how much your kiddo really needs to eat in a day.

A new study on kids and sugar consumption has triggered a flurry of handwringing — and mom shaming. But are American toddlers really living on Snickers' bars alone? And is banning sugar from your kids' diets a good idea (or even possible)? Amy and Virginia look at the data behind the hype in order to bust some common myths about sugar highs and childhood obesity. And we discuss why kids need to eat treats (yes, really!) in order to have a healthy relationship with food — and adults do too.

Check out this episode's show notes page for links to the studies and recipes discussed today... plus Amy's favorite lunchbox!

You know how you can be up for hours in the morning, your kids will be on their second breakfast or third snack and somehow, you still haven't had a bite? (And you've had to warm up your coffee 17 times?) Well, in Episode #3 of Comfort Food, we reveal our new Mama Manifesto: #FeedYourselfFirst! We talk about why this seemingly simple thing can be so hard to pull off. (Hint: It's not you, it's sexism). And we brainstorm our best strategies to help moms prioritize their own needs at mealtimes — yes, even if it means everyone else in your family just has to wait a minute.

Check out this episode's show notes page for links to Amy's favorite smoothie recipe and the reusable pouch that is changing Virginia's life, plus much more.

Little kids are notorious for not wanting to eat things that are green (or often yellow or red...). So in episode 2 of Comfort Food, we ask: How much pressure is too much pressure when it comes to getting kids to eat their veggies? And is it possible to entice them to eat their fill without relying on sneaking veggies into everything they eat? What do you do if you have a picky eater? As you'll hear in the episode, we have slightly different takes on this issue — and whether it's ever okay for pancakes to be green.

Check out this episode's show notes page for Amy's favorite kid-approved veggie-full recipes, plus links to the stats and facts we talk about in this episode.

Welcome to Comfort Food: The podcast about the joys (and meltdowns!) of feeding our families and ourselves. In Episode 1, we tackle a giant issue: How can we stop obsessing about what we eat? We discuss why diet culture, picky eating kids, and perfection pressure leave most of us overly fixated on every bite our kids eat... and every bite we think we shouldn't be eating. And we offer real-life strategies for relaxing a bit to help reduce mealtime drama and increase enjoyment — like the one simple thing you can do today, to feel better about how you eat.

You'll also get to know your hosts: Amy Palanjian, creator of the blog Yummy Toddler Food and Virginia Sole-Smith, author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America.

And don't forget to check out this episode's show notes page for more resources and links to everything we talked about today!