Healthy Family Project

It's hard to ignore the rising costs of food, gas, and basic household items. Families are feeling the burden of inflation especially when it comes to grocery bills. Jackie Vega joined us to share tons of money-saving tips, dinner hacks, how to repurpose leftovers and tips for shopping your pantry.

As a dietitian, Jackie works with tons of clients who are looking to add more nutritious meals to their rotations while having to keep budget top of mind. She's helped hundreds of families find that sweet spot that allows them to stay within their monthly allotted budget for food without sacrificing nutrious ingredients.

The tips shared during this episode can go a long to maximizing your monthly budget while still enjoying your family's favorite dinners and ingredients. Jackie shared a lot of hacks that also cut down on food waste, ultimately saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint.

Jackie and Amanda also shared some key fridge organization tips. While a stocked refrigerator might look nice and seem ideal, it's so easy to forget about leftovers or neglect your produce bin and end up with lots of food waste. With a few tweaks to your shopping habits, easy adjustments to your menu and making saving a team effort, there's lots you can do to make the most of your grocery haul and cut your grocery bill.

About Our Guest, Jackie Vega

Jackie is a registered dietitian, ACE-certified personal trainer, wife, and mom of two. She is the founder of the Wellness Solution where she offers guidance to her clients on all things health and fitness.

Jackie recently launched the Busy Moms Kitchen podcast where she invites you into her kitchen to listen in on conversations about life as busy moms, reaching health and fitness goals and other things that only you and your girlfriends will understand.

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 2:51 Get to know Sarah!
• 2:25 welcome back, Jackie!
• 4:57 how to save on your grocery bill
• 7:57 Jackie's top 3 ideas for cutting food costs
• 16:50 Refrigerator organization tips
• 19:21 How to maximize your budget
• 21:26 how to make saving a family effort
• 23:27 how to think in bulk
• 26:02 Meal planning
• 28:26 themed dinner nights
• 33:16 loyalty programs

Relevant Links

• Listen to Jackie's Podcast – The Busy Mom's Kitchen
• Follow Jackie on Instagram & Facebook
• 35 Healthy Pantry Staple Recipes
• Free Printable Meal Planner
• Grocery Shopping Tips to Save Money on Fresh Produce
• 5 Tips for Grocery Shopping on a Budget
• 7 Tips to Reduce Food Waste & Save Money

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 27: Grocery Shopping on a Budget
• Episode 72: How to Create a No Stress Dinner Plan
• Episode 18: How Families can Reduce Food Waste

On this episode of the Healthy Family Project Podcast, we're joined by Sarah Hester to discuss easy ways to use fruits and veggies and how we can eat more of them. Sarah is passionate about making produce accessible and enjoyable for everyone and she shares tons of tips to make healthy eating easy and doable even with busy schedules and selective eating.

About Our Guest, Sarah Hester MS, RD

Sarah is a Registered Dietitian based in North Carolina. She is currently employed by a wholesale fresh produce distributor where she works with local farmers and helps to manage their direct to consumer delivery programs. She also provides insight into their non-profit that works to not only make fresh produce accessible in their community, but also offers programming on how to grow and cook with fruits and veggies! Her passion as an RD is to make fruits and vegetables accessible and enjoyable for everyone!

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 2:51 Get to know Sarah!
• 7:27 How can we stick to our goals of eating more fruits and veggies?
• 18:20 How to plan ahead for healthy eating
• 21:00 Tips to eat fruits & veggies outside of your home
• 22:30 How to make veggies more enjoyable
• 24:31 Ideas to make the most out of condiments
• 35:00 How to use dips to eat more fruits & veggies
• 46:18 Charcuterie and snack boards
• 47:22 Sarah's go-to busy weeknight dinner

Relevant Links

• Download our FREE ebook packed with Internationally-Inspired Recipes
• Check out our Produce Tips page
• Veggie Side Dishes for a Picky Eater
• Hidden Veggie Recipe - Mac & Cheese Muffins
• 10 Healthy Dinners When You Don't Feel Like Cooking
• 5-Ingredient Tzatziki Dip
• 5 Easy Greek Yogurt Fruit Dips
• Homemade Ranch Hummus Dip
• Roasted Tomato Hummus

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 72: How to Create a No Stress Dinner Plan
• Episode 45: Conquering Family Mealtime Struggles
• Episode 21: Meal Planning & Cooking with Kids

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 2:48 Get to know Laura!
• 12:15 How to transform mealtime
• 13:44 Family communication tips
• 16:30 How to delegate to your kids
• 19:46 Tips to start short-order cooking
• 29:11 How to incorporate new flavors
• 37:00 Meal Plans
• 44:22 Laura's easy staple weeknight recipe

Relevant Links

• Check out Laura's Website
• Follow @LauraSFuentes & @MOMables on Instagram
• How to Stop Short-Order Cooking for Your Family
• Laura's Baked Chicken Thigh Recipe
• 23 Quick & Easy Sheet Pan Dinners
• Meal Planning Tips + FREE Grocery List Printable
• 50 Easy Dinners Ready in 30 Minutes or Less

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 72: How to Create a No Stress Dinner Plan
• Episode 45: Conquering Family Mealtime Struggles
• Episode 21: Meal Planning & Cooking with Kids

On this episode of the Healthy Family Project Podcast, we're joined by Laura Fuentes, creator of MOMables, to discuss short order cooking and steps families can take to avoid it and make mealtime stress-free. We covered how to set boundaries and improve family communication, how to ease into meal planning, and tons of kitchen hacks to save time and make cooking less overwhelming.

As busy parents, we're often pulled in a million directions between work, school, extracurricular activities, driving kids around, on top of all of our daily tasks. Time and time again, we hear from parents who find themselves feeling stressed spending way too much time in the kitchen cooking different meals for their selective eaters while trying to meal prep and pack lunches for the week.

We're here to discuss how parents can cut back on the constant short order cooking and transform mealtime to balance their kids' food preferences without defaulting into cooking 3+ meals every night. Spoiler alert: it's totally possible and throughout the episode, you'll hear lots of tips and strategies to make mealtime work for your family in a way that reduces stress, kitchen clean up and time spent cooking.

About Our Guest, Laura Fuentes

Laura Fuentes is the creator of MOMables, where she's helped thousands of families improve their health and wellness by establishing healthier eating habits as a family with her Family KickStart Program and Weekly Meal Plans.

She's the Author of 5 Cookbooks, a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, spokesperson, makes regular television appearances like on TODAY and Good Morning America, has competed on Food Network and won! Her 100K + YouTube subscribers make her an "official YouTuber" according to her 10-year-old that is.

Laura is bilingual, born and raised in Spain, and currently lives outside of New Orleans with her husband and 3 kids. In her spare time, Laura reads, sleeps, and works out. What she loves most is taking her family on travel adventures.

On this episode of the Healthy Family Project Podcast, we're joined by Alyssa Greenstein, registered dietitian and Senior Manager of Nutrition Affairs Communications with Florida Dairy Farmers. This episode is all about how families can make small changes and adopt manageable habits that will lead to overall healthier eating. Alyssa shares how to prioritize breakfast, the importance of writing down what we eat, and dairy nutrition benefits.

Ringing in a new year always gets us excited to set new goals, rethink our habits, and reset after the holiday season when our routines take a pause. Big or small, goals can always be broken down into smaller steps that feel more attainable and realistic. If you're looking to eat healthier in the new year, this podcast episode is for you!

We love inviting registered dietitians on the podcast as they are experts in the field of nutrition and dietetics. Alyssa has been a registered dietitian for over 20 years and was awarded Florida Dietitian of the year. I loved picking her brain for manageable steps families can incorporate to make healthy eating easy especially when all of us are so pressed for time.

Alyssa shared lots of small changes that lead to big results when it comes to adding more nutrient-packed foods into the rotation. A little planning and creativity can go a long way to encourage our younger and sometimes more selective eaters to try new foods. Plus, getting the whole family on board ensures accountability and opens the door to trying new things together.

About Our Guest, Alyssa Greenstein

Alyssa is passionate about all things food. Alyssa provides timely and scientifically sound nutrition information to the media, medical professionals, dietitians, educators, students, consumers and others concerned about fostering a healthier society.

Alyssa's especially enjoys being in the kitchen cooking and showcasing recipe tips and hacks for foods that are both healthy and delicious. Alyssa emphasizes the importance of 3-4 servings of nutrient-rich dairy every day which reinforces that dairy is good for the community and good for the planet. Alyssa has contributed to and has authored several articles and blogs sharing her expertise and topics including sustainable food systems, dairy's role in the diet, child nutrition, chronic disease and nutrition and wellness.

She graduated with a BS in Food and Nutrition from Florida State University and was awarded Florida Dietitian of the Year, Mentor of the Year and is past President, and past Member at Large of the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Alyssa holds specialty certifications in adult, childhood and adolescent weight management and has been the Senior Manager of Nutrition Affairs Communications with Florida Dairy Farmers for over 12 years. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family of five and her golden retriever and golden doodle.

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 2:29 Meet Alyssa
• 4:46 Easy breakfast ideas for busy families
• 12:15 Why you should write down what you eat
• 17:42 What you need to know about the nutritional benefits of dairy
• 26:10 Tips for putting together your grocery list
• 31:50 Easy weeknight dinner idea: "trash soup"

Relevant Links

• Check out Florida Milk's website for recipes & nutrition tips
• 5 Healthy New Year's Resolutions for Your Family
• 40 Grab & Go Breakfast Ideas
• Meal Planning Tips + FREE Grocery List Printable
• 28 Healthy Recipes to Start the New Year
• 12 Healthy Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 72: How to Create a No Stress Dinner Plan
• Episode 36: Dietitian-Approved Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips
• Episode 21: Meal Planning & Cooking with Kids

On this episode of the Healthy Family Project Podcast, we're joined by child psychologist Dr. Stephanie Smith. This episode is all about talking to teens about mental health, teen mental health and what parents need to know to navigate the teen years with their kids. Dr. Stephanie shares amazing advice for deciphering teen behavior, ways to keep family communication open and honest, and how to determine when professional help is necessary.

The teen years are hard. Outgrowing childhood but not quite an adult just yet, this period of time comes with lots of changes for teens and parents. As a parent, it feels like overnight, your little one who turned to you for everything is all of a sudden an angsty teen. As a mom with a preteen and teen, this episode on talking to teens about mental health is near and dear to my heart.

Especially given the events children and teens have had to face since the pandemic started, it's more important than ever to prioritize mental health and keep an eye out for changes in moods and behaviors that can signal to a larger problem.

Dr. Stephanie Smith has been a regular contributor to the blog and guest on the podcast for years. She joined us for this episode to share her expertise in child psychology and help parents navigate teen mental health struggles. Dr. Stephanie emphasizes the importance of keeping strong lines of communication, even as our teens pull away and want to become more independent. Tune in to the episode to hear more about behaviors to look out for, tips concerning privacy, and resources to turn to if a teen is in need of counseling.

About Our Guest, Dr. Stephanie Smith

Dr. Stephanie Smith is a mother, clinical psychologist and author of Dr. Stephanie. In her practice, she works with moms, dads, teens and tweens. Dr. Smith uses humor, compassion and common sense to help people make positive changes in their lives. She especially enjoys working with parents to assist them in strengthening their families from the inside out.

On her blog, she writes about technology, parenting, friendship, and pop culture – all with a mental health twist. In addition, Dr. Smith is an official blogger for the American Psychological Association's blog, Your Mind, Your Body.

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 2:08 Welcome back, Dr. Stephanie!
• 4:05 Tips for deciphering teen behavior
• 7:21 Rules for respecting privacy
• 12:35 How to determine if professional help is needed
• 16:00 School Counseling
• 17:37 Affordable Mental Health Resources
• 27:20 How can families be supportive when there's a mental health struggle
• 31:54 Advice to parents who fault themselves
• 36:02 How to gauge if counseling is working

Relevant Links

• Ask the Psychologist: Holidays, Family, & Stress
• Mental Health Resources for Parents of Adolescents
• Helping Teenagers Cope with Covid-19
• Mental Health Literacy: Parenting Your Teen
• Check out Dr. Stephanie's website
• Get in contact with Dr. Stephanie

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 70: How to Raise an Adult
• Episode 42: Meditation Benefits for Kids
• Episode 35: Helping Kids Make Good Choices
• Episode 25: Easing Test Anxiety in Kids & Teens

We're bringing you a super special episode of the Healthy Family Project Podcast in honor of Giving Tuesday. We're joined by a panel of moms to talk about the importance of giving back and how we can set positive examples for our kids. We swapped lots of great ideas for volunteering opportunities including virtual options.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The mission is simple: to inspire people to do good. The organization's website touts thousands of giving back opportunities including a map to find local giving back opportunities ideas for individuals, small businesses, schools, and families.

To celebrate and promote this amazing initiative, we gathered a panel of moms to discuss how they talk to their kids about giving back, how to teach little ones the importance of gratitude, and ideas for volunteering opportunities that are family-friendly.

Whether it's donating your time, money, household items, or expertise, the possibilities are endless when it comes to giving back. Big or small, every action is important and can make a huge difference!

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 0:50 Meet our amazing panel!
• 2:24 How do you teach your kids the importance of giving back?
• 8:12 How to find local volunteer opportunities?
• 11:33 Out of the box giving back ideas
• 21:55 Virtual volunteering

Relevant Links

• GivingTuesday.org
• What Is Giving Tuesday and 20+ Ways To Get Involved
• 12 Gifts That Give Back for the Holiday Season
• Society of St. Andrew
• Learn more about our cause marketing campaigns
• Feeding America
• Our Military Kids

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 70: How to Raise an Adult
• Episode 59: Creating New Holiday Traditions
• Episode 35: Helping Kids Make Good Choices

Healthy Family Project Facebook Group

Join our Healthy Family Project Facebook group! This group will serve as a safe space for parents and caregivers to talk all about raising a healthy family – from dealing with a picky eater and tips to get more fruits and veggies onto plates to exercising as a family and mental health. We welcome all of you to join in!

Listener Survey!

Thank you so much for supporting the Healthy Family Project Podcast! We'd love it if you could take 5 minutes to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content for future episodes. Take the survey here.

Healthy Family Project Podcast

Conversations covering hot topics in the world of health, food and family with a dose of fun. Helping families ease their way into a new fresh and healthy world.

Be on the lookout for new bi-weekly episodes and don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting site. If you like an episode, make sure to leave a rating and comment.

If you are interested in being a guest on the Healthy Family Project podcast, contact [email protected] with your topic idea for consideration.

This episode of the Healthy Family Project podcast is all about how to create no-stress meal plans. We sat down with our registered dietitian, Sally Kuzemchak, to hear all about her new meal planner and get tips on how busy families can take small steps to plan hassle-free meals. Sally breaks down how to make meal planning sustainable when time feels so limited and how to get the kids on board.

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 3:01 What inspired the No Stress Dinner Plan?
• 3:54 What does the dinner plan include?
• 7:08 First thing to consider when planning out stress-free dinners
• 14:50 How to get kids on board with the dinner plan?
• 17:16 How to make time for meal planning when you have a busy schedule?
• 18:50 Detour dinners

Relevant Links

• Check out Sally's No-Stress Dinner Planner
• Follow Sally on Facebook & Instagram
• Free Meal Planning Printables
• 10 Beginner's Tips to Meal Planning Like a Pro
• 21 Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes for Fall
• 6 Tips for Freezer Meal Success
• 5 Tips for Better Meal Planning

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 63: How to Meal Plan
• Episode 23: Make-Ahead Meal Ideas
• Episode 9: Quick & Easy Dinner Hacks

About Our Guest, Sally Kuzemchak

Sally is a registered dietitian, author, and mom of two boys. She blogs at RealMomNutrition.com, a "no-judgement zone" for feeding families. She is the author of two books, The 101 Healthiest Foods For Kids, a guidebook to the best whole foods for kids, and Cooking Light Dinnertime Survival Guide, a cookbook for busy families.

An award-winning reporter and writer, Sally serves as a Contributing Editor for Parents magazine and a blogger for WebMD. Her writing has been published in magazines including Prevention, Health, Family Circle, Eating Well, Fitness, and Shape.

Sally received her master's degree in dietetics from The Ohio State University and resides in Columbus, OH with her family.

In the midst of kids, homework and after-school activities, life can get really busy and finding time to meal prep and stick to a perfect meal plan can seem daunting. We're excited to welcome back Sally Kuzemchak, our amazing registered dietitian to get all the details on her new meal planner.

As a mom of two boys, Sally understands the struggles of fellow parents and wanted to create a resource that would allow families to plan dinner with no stress or guilt. Her meal planner emphasizes the fact that we all get busy, things don't always go as planned, and it's important to have staple "detour meals" to turn to when life happens. She reminds us that cereal for dinner is acceptable. Because sometimes that's all we can handle, right parents?!

I know that I struggle with being consistent with meal planning. One week I am great and I seem to have it all figured out, then the next week the kids are asking about dinner and I don't think I even had lunch yet. Those weeks happen! That's life! That's 100% normal, and thankfully Sally understands that. And that's why we love this podcast episode and hope that you will too 🙂

Sally shared tons of tips on how to ease into meal planning and how to get the kids on board with your weekly menu.

Healthy Family Project Facebook Group

Join our Healthy Family Project Facebook group! This group will serve as a safe space for parents and caregivers to talk all about raising a healthy family – from dealing with a picky eater and tips to get more fruits and veggies onto plates to exercising as a family and mental health. We welcome all of you to join in!

Listener Survey!

Thank you so much for supporting the Healthy Family Project Podcast! We'd love it if you could take 5 minutes to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content for future episodes. Take the survey here.

Healthy Family Project Podcast

Conversations covering hot topics in the world of health, food and family with a dose of fun. Helping families ease their way into a new fresh and healthy world.

Be on the lookout for new bi-weekly episodes and don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting site. If you like an episode, make sure to leave a rating and comment.

If you are interested in being a guest on the Healthy Family Project podcast, contact [email protected] with your topic idea for consideration.

Check out the full Episode 71 show notes on our website!

This episode of the Healthy Family Project podcast is all about tips for families with a diabetic child. We're joined by Tampa blogger, Marisa Langford, to hear about her family's journey with diabetes and how they made important dietary and lifestyle choices to eat more balanced meals and prioritize physical activity. Marisa shared early signs of diabetes, advice for parents with newly diagnosed children, and her approach for balanced eating and encouraging her daughter to enjoy healthy foods.

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 3:19 Meet Marisa!
• 4:45 Early signs of diabetes
• 8:45 Advice for parents with newly diagnosed children
• 10:18 How Marisa's family approached balanced eating
• 12:22 The benefits of getting kids in the kitchen
• 22:03 Family gardening
• 27:33 Marisa's partnership with GoGo squeeZ

There's nothing easy or simple about finding out your child has diabetes. In this episode, we sat down with Marisa Langford and heard about her family's journey with diabetes and the dietary and lifestyle changes they adopted following the diagnosis.

Marisa's youngest daughter, Shelby, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 8. This started a parenting and life-long educational journey that centered around healthy eating. This process can be very nerve-wracking for families and Marisa shares great tips to navigate the early stages, how to not get immediately overwhelmed with all the medical jargon, and how to practice moderation when it comes to food.

Over the 3 years that Marisa's family has lived with this diagnosis, they've learned a lot of nutrition and have been able to pass on these learnings to their kids in a palatable way while empowering Shelby to get in the kitchen.

Relevant Links

• Check out Marisa's blog
• Follow Marisa on Instagram & Facebook
• Get 70+ ideas to Power Your Lunchbox
• The Ultimate Guide to Packing Healthy Lunchboxes
• Tips for Packing Healthy School Lunches
• Food Rx: Creating a Balanced Family Meal
• 3 Healthy Snack Boards for Kids
• Gardening Tips for Beginners
• GoGo squeeZ

About Our Guest, Marisa Langford

Marisa Langford is the founder of the Tampa Mama Blog, a blog dedicated to sharing the best places for kids and families around the city. She also writes about motherhood, family travel, and how to manage a household of 6. She is a working Mom of four, carefully juggling a full time career in experiential marketing, leading Girl Scouts and all the chaos that goes along with a family of 6. She has a daughter who is a Type 1 Diabetic and 3 children with rare medical conditions.

Marisa is a speaker, influencer, and passionate about all things mom. She partners with brands that share her passion for healthy living, on the go fun and family togetherness.

Marisa has been published by Huffington Post, Where Traveler, Parents.com, the Today Show Parenting Blog, Trekaroo, Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine, and many others. She contributes to a variety of online publications and also appears monthly on Great Day Tampa Bay on WTSP New Channel 10.

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 43: Helping Kids Make Good Choices
• Episode 34: Lunchbox Packing Mistake to Avoid
• Episode 18: How Families Can Reduce Food Waste

Healthy Family Project Facebook Group

Join our Healthy Family Project Facebook group! This group will serve as a safe space for parents and caregivers to talk all about raising a healthy family - from dealing with a picky eater and tips to get more fruits and veggies onto plates to exercising as a family and mental health. We welcome all of you to join in!

Listener Survey!

Thank you so much for supporting the Healthy Family Project Podcast! We'd love it if you could take 5 minutes to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content for future episodes. Take the survey here.

Healthy Family Project Podcast

Conversations covering hot topics in the world of health, food and family with a dose of fun. Helping families ease their way into a new fresh and healthy world.

Be on the lookout for new bi-weekly episodes and don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting site. If you like an episode, make sure to leave a rating and comment.

If you are interested in being a guest on the Healthy Family Project podcast, contact [email protected] with your topic idea for consideration.

Check out the full Episode 70 show notes on our website!

To say that parenting is hard would be the understatement of the year. It's a delicate balance of keeping your children safe, providing their essential needs, helping them navigate transitional periods, and providing them the tools to help them blossom into adulthood.

Several years ago, Julie observed the long-term effects of overparenting while working at a university. This inspired her to publish her best-selling book, How to Raise an Adult. During our conversation, we got lots of great insights for Julie to help us break those parenting habits that make children become overdependent on us and less likely to develop agency.

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 2:36 Welcome, Julie!
• 3:52 What was your inspiration for writing How to Raise an Adult?
• 6:52 Advice for parents who want to avoid being helicopter parents
• 12:20 4 Step Method to Getting Kids to do things for themselves
• 15:26 Tips to help parents let go during transitional phases
• 22:40 Opportunities for teaching moments
• 25:30 Advice for the college arm race
• 30:43 Relationship between overparenting and the negative impact on confidence
• 34:03 Inspiration for Julie's new book
• 42:29 What does a healthy family mean to you?

About Our Guest, Julie Lythcott-Haims

Julie Lythcott-Haims is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult and Real American. She holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard Law School, and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She resides in the Bay Area with her partner, their two itinerant young adults, and her mother.

Relevant Links

• Follow Julie on Instagram and Facebook
• Check out Julie's books
• Fiske Guide to Colleges

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 69: Tips for Better Sleep for Your Family
• Episode 60: Teaching Kids to Prepare Healthy Snacks
• Episode 35: Helping Kids Make Good Choices

Check out the full Episode 69 show notes on our website!

This episode of the Healthy Family Project podcast is all easy steps we can take to get better sleep. We're joined by Jackie Vegar, registered dietitian and author at The Wellness Solution. Jackie shares foods and supplements to improve sleep, tips fo changing nighttime routines, and how lack of sleep affects our hormones.

What We Cover:

Want to skip straight to a hot topic? See timestamps below. But of course, we recommend listening all the way through to get all the great tips and tricks!

• 4:08 Welcome back, Jackie!
• 7:20 Why are teens always so tired?
• 11:50 How lack of sleep affects hormones
• 12:50 Change nighttime routines
• 16:15 Foods to keep on hand for energy & for bedtime
• 23:07 How does Magnesium help with sleep?
• 25ish Supplements that help with sleep
• 31:20 Foods high in B vitamins
• 35:40 Benefits of drinking tea before bed
• 39:40 Bedtime snacks

About Our Guest, Jackie Vega

Jackie is a registered dietitian, ACE-certified personal trainer, wife, and mom of two. She is the founder of the Wellness Solution where she offers guidance to her clients on all things health and fitness.

Jackie recently launched the Busy Moms Kitchen podcast where she invites you into her kitchen to listen in on conversations about life as busy moms, reaching health and fitness goals and other things that only you and your girlfriends will understand.

Relevant Links

• Listen to Jackie's Podcast - The Busy Mom's Kitchen
• Follow Jackie on Instagram & Facebook
• Food Rx: Foods That Help Reduce Anxiety
• Is Caffeine Safe for Kids?
• What You Need to Know about Probiotics for Kids
• Better Sleep, Clean Home & a Healthier You
• 10 Proven Tips To Make Your Sleep-Deprived Teen Sleep Better

Other Podcast Episodes to Check Out:

• Episode 58: Realistic Self-Care for Families
• Episode 64: Tips to Declutter Your Home
• Episode 6: Mindful Eating for Your Family

Healthy Family Project Facebook Group

Join our Healthy Family Project Facebook group! This group will serve as a safe space for parents and caregivers to talk all about raising a healthy family - from dealing with a picky eater and tips to get more fruits and veggies onto plates to exercising as a family and mental health. We welcome all of you to join in!

Listener Survey!

Thank you so much for supporting the Healthy Family Project Podcast! We'd love if you could take 5 minutes to let us know how we can bring you the best possible content future episodes. Take the survey here.

Healthy Family Project Podcast

Conversations covering hot topics in the world of health, food and family with a dose of fun. Helping families ease their way into a new fresh and healthy world.

Be on the lookout for new bi-weekly episodes and don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting site. If you like an episode, make sure to leave a rating and comment.

If you are interested in being a guest on the Healthy Family Project podcast, contact [email protected] with your topic idea for consideration.