Real Food. Real Conversations.

So what's the hype on drinking water anyway? Listen to find out not only why it's so important we do it, but tips for us who struggle.

It's amazing how something so simple like drinking water can be such a challenge for so many of us. However it is one of the most simple ways to help with so many body issues!

My guest today, Meg Carber, is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Nourished & Strong Nutrition Counseling in Huntersville NC and online.

Her and her team use a non-diet approach to help clients reach their health and performance goals.

You can find her @megcarberrdn on Instagram/Facebook/Pinterest and email her at [email protected]

The Importance of Drinking Water

Drinking water is such a simple goal, most don't drink enough. Me included!

Our bodies are 60% water. Without enough we feel things like headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability and we function slowly.

Crazy enough, our brain shrinks when we don't drink water to compensate for not having enough! It's a large organ that needs a lot of water to function so when it doesn't get enough, it starts to compensate.

What happens to your body when you drink water?

Drinking enough water helps with so many things. All of our processes are more efficient and function smoother.

When we are properly hydrated our body is at it's peak and everything functions at it's best. But when we don't have enough water, our systems start to halt.

Here are things that happen when we are properly hydrated:

Brain function- our brain is mostly water and needs it to help us focus, be productive, give us energyDigestion- keeps things moving and regular so that we aren't constipatedLiver function and being able to detoxifyKidneys excrete urine properlyJoints stay cushy and hydrated to prevent aches, pains and injuriesOur blood pressure stays regularOur heart rate is regulatedTemperature regulationOverall homeostasis of cells

How is Drinking water Connected to Losing Weight

We hear a lot about the connection with drinking water and losing weight. So how are they related?

While it's important to drink enough water for our bodies to function well, when you use water as a food replacement in order to try and lose weight, you are creating a further disconnect between you and your body.

You are ignoring hunger and pushing it off by drinking. This does help hydration but it does not help your nutrition.

But water can be used in healthy ways to help with satiating your body. Since it takes 10-15 minutes for your brain to know you are full, it can be helpful to drink some water after you eat a healthy portion of food to allow your brain to catch up.

If you're still hungry after that, then you know you are truly hungry, but more often than not, your brain is able to get the message that you've eaten enough and helps prevent overeating.

Different Types of Water

First off, this is for sure a privileged topic in and of itself. So many struggle to get any water in this world, while others fall victim to the marketing of the "healthiest" type of water.

The biggest one is alkaline water. It claims to help the body neutralize ph. Homeostasis (the state of happy cells) needs a nice neutral ph and alkaline water claims to help achieve that.

Overall, there are no studies to back up these claims. Our body knows how to regulate itself. So if you can afford to spend extra money on fancy water, and you enjoy the taste, then go for it. But don't fall victim to claims that are not supported by evidence.

Can you drink too much water?

Over drinking water isn't a common issue, but not drinking enough is. Starting with half your body weight in ounces is a general rule of thumb, but really everyone is different.

You're going to need more if you exercise or live in dry climate, so it really does depend on a lot.

Meg says start with 75 ounces a day, even a 1-3 % lack of hydration can show symptoms of dehydration!

Having a healthy food relationship is number one in my book. But this can sometimes impact the diet you choose to follow.

While I love the idea of guiding kids towards foods that help them grow and nourish their body, I also cringe when I see people talk about food a certain way.

Different Diets

There are so many kids of diets out there. I can't even keep track anymore! From no meat, to no fat to no carbs. We pretty much have it covered.

As adults, we can choose what we prefer to eat, and what we feel is best for us. But what happens when we bring that into the home and around our kids?

While I do believe we need to be role models for our children, and guide them along the path that we feel is best, I also feel that part of raising a strong healthy child in both body and mind needs room for them to make their own choices.

Healthy food relationship

Having a healthy relationship with food is my number one goal with my boys. It wasn't always this way, I used to believe that I had to choose for them since I was the parent.

I fell into the "well you wouldn't let them play with a knife would you?" camp. Of course I wouldn't! And food must be the same because eating a piece of candy will certainly kill them right?

And same goes with dairy, meat, processed food....all of those things the food world tells us we must stay away from 100% of the time or we are ruining everything from our body to the enviroment.

And then, I took a step back and thought about the big picture. And my vision changed.

Guiding Kids Around Food

When we changed our diet, we were very intentional at not worrying about every little detail all the time. We decided to eat mostly plant-based meals, but to balance out our underlying anxiety we had to let go at times.

Our kids were babies when we made the switch. So they didn't really know anything different and they didn't have a lot of opinions or experience with food on their own.

As they grew and went to school, they became curious about foods we didn't often eat. As I saw their curiosity grow, something inside me told me it wasn't right to block them from it.

I had to learn to let go of control because I wanted my kids to find their own way with food, like they find their own way with other parts of life.

I still continue to teach them about healthy foods, and how unhealthy foods were fine sometimes too. And we talk a lot about how each food makes us feel.

I let them explore non plant-based foods and let them make their own decisions with what to try and what not to try. While they know that at home we eat mostly plant-based for health reasons that started with dad, they also know that they have freedom to explore.

I don't want them to feel like they are doing something wrong, or are bad kids when it comes to food. I have done a lot of reading about food relationships and I definitely pick having my kids have a great relationship with food over my own feelings on what I think is best for them to eat.

This isn't to say I don't say no sometimes, or encourage them to pick nutritious choices.

Is it safe for a child to be vegan?

First, it's important to know that what I choose to do with my family isn't what's right for everyone. This is simply how I feel works best for the personalities in our family.

You can absolutely live a full vegan life and be healthy and safe. Both kids and adults can thrive. But I do believe it isn't right for everyone, including us.

Both the personalities of my husband and I, and those of our kids, don't do well with an all or nothing mentality. We need some gray, some wiggle room, in order to thrive.

Our mental health tends to suffer when we have too many parameters. Even with food. Actually, especially with food.

Knowing how this affects us as adults, we want to make sure we don't let it affect our kids mental health. So it is an easy decision with allowing them to explore foods as they become curious...

Have you been blessed by picky eaters? Do you often wonder if it's revenge? Listen in as we tackle all things kids, food and mealtime!

Kids are fun because they are so easy to feed...said no one ever. At some point in your parenthood, you will tackle struggles with food. Even with the best eaters, and here's why!

Melanie is a stay at home twin mom to 4 kids. She is no stranger to chaos and overwhelm. Her meal planning system and ability to recognize that everyone meal plans differently helps her find solutions for busy, stressed out moms.

You can find her on Instagram and her Etsy shop where she sells solutions for busy moms!

Who is a Picky Eater?

We hear this term a ton, but what does it really mean? Overall, I think that the picky eater label is put on any child that doesn't just eat what is given to them. And much of the time, this doesn't happen.

While this term is generally associated with kids, I think that to some extent, we all have food preferences. So why do we get so stressed out when our kids have them?

The wide spectrum with kids and food

In general, the term picky eater is used when a kid refuses food often, especially new foods, and tends to want to eat the same thing over and over. Adults can be labeled picky as well.

But is there a magic number that crosses the picky eating threshold? The range tends to spread wide, and it's hard to pin point where exactly that is. It also is associated with age, peaking with toddlers and preschool age children, but older kids can be labeled as picky eaters too.

At some point, we need to accept that some thing are just food preferences and not refused to simply be a brat.

Reasons Kids are Picky Eaters

When you are in the depths of feeding your young kids, you get to a point where you think they are simply trying to kill you with their antics. But the truth is, they aren't.

While there is no universal reason for picky eating, the list of causes goes on:

Lack of offering a variety of foodIssues with texturePersonalitySocial influenceParents trying to control meals

The first thing to remember is that it is totally normal for kids to be choosy with food. And showing anxiety over it, and trying to control the situation will just make it worse.

Can you stop your child from being picky?

Unless your child is so picky that they develop nutritional issues (rare but it happens), then freaking out is not warranted.

Most of the time, your child's food preferences aren't necessarily about the food itself, but instead it can be a control issue that starts with being picky about the food.

Kids don't control much in their life. We as parents make so many decisions for them. But food, and eating itself, is something they can actually control because we cannot force them to eat.

As kids grow, they are learning how to control their bodies and world around them. Part of that is eating. We as parents decided when they eat, what they eat, how often they eat, etc.

We have pressure around us to "do it right" and kids can sense this. They quickly realize that eating is important. Which is the trigger for a power struggle.

So learning to step out of that power struggle is the key to helping your picky eater.

Tips to Help Mealtimes Get Easier

Since picky eating tends to center around power struggles, focusing on that is a good start to helping mealtimes be less stressful. Here is a list of all of our strategies that may work (or not because you know, kids):

Allow your kids to help pick out food to buyHave kids help prepare mealsOffer a variety of choices with mealsTalk about the different aspects of foods from color to textureServe the same meals to everyone in the family so they see everyone trying and eating togetherHave mealtime be a happy environment (if there is stress, kids can begin associating stress to food)Keep the emotion out of eating, even the positive emotion (meaning don't celebrate when they try...

I didn't want to believe anxiety and meditation had a close relationship. Sitting still was not my thing, but desperation changes you.

I used to laugh when people told me I should try meditating. It seemed like such a hippy thing to do, definitely not for someone that thrived on cardio and boot camps and was always on the move.

But as I piled on all the things in life, and kept turning to more hard core movement to "help" the building anxiety, I started to realize that I needed something different.

Are Meditation and Anxiety Related?

Meditation is essentially a practice of mindfulness, practicing being in the moment instead of thinking of all the things that can or may happen.

One characteristic of anxiety is focusing on things that may or can happen instead of focusing on the here and now.

So being able to practice letting go of all the "what if's" can greatly help your anxiety. Essentially, mediation is one great practice you can do to help reduce anxiety.

When you are able to focus on what is happening in the current moment, your brain isn't worried about the future. Which helps calm your thoughts and any impending anxiety.

Types of Mediation

Meditation is a practice where you focus your mind for a period of time. This can be done in many different ways. Here are a few I have tried and liked.

Mindfulness meditation is one of the most common forms and one of the easiest to start with. It's when you sit quietly and pay attention to your thoughts.

You don't judge them or start to think about them, you simple let them pass by while you focus on feelings and sensations in your body.

Transcendental meditation is also pretty popular. This is when you repeat a mantra, or series of words, over and over. This can help with ultimate inner relaxation and to get your mindset in the right place.

Guided meditation is the type that you find in many of the apps or online support sites. A teacher will guide you through the practice, which makes it a great place to start for beginners.

Movement meditation is essentially what you think of as yoga. But it can be other things like simple taking a walk in nature. Your mind is focused on the movement and letting it guide you.

How do you meditate properly?

There is no rule as to what is the right way to meditate. You need to find what works for you, but keeping the focus on the here and now and not allowing your mind to actively be involved in thoughts that pass through.

Mediation can even be as simple as starting with brushing your teeth while focusing on brushing your teeth. Starting with small steps to get your mind used to focusing on one thing will help.

Mediation for beginners

When I started, I thought it was bogus. I never thought I could do it. But I followed a great piece of advice, which is start small and start with what you like.

Which is why I started with yoga. Yoga allowed my body to move, while helping focus on how I was moving. From there my brain practiced being in the here and now with something I enjoyed, movement.

While movement was also my issue as I was always on the go, I was still able to use that in a way to help me.

So if you enjoy something like gardening, start there. Focus on what you are doing in the garden and then slowly try other ways to meditate.

How long should you meditate for?

There is no hard fast rule when it comes to time. Start small if your brain has a hard time quieting down. I started with as little as 5 minutes when it came to the sitting down and focusing meditation.

Once you are able to that reasonably well, because you may never be 100%, then slowly add more time.

For me, 15-20 minutes a day is an ideal time. Enough to get my mind quiet and focused, but not so long that I start to worry (hello anxiety) about all the other things going on.

Can meditation reduce anxiety?

Absolutely. When I started to meditate it was a game changer for my anxie...

While many of us live each day without much of it, sleep is important for our everyday functioning and our overall health. It does so much!

I am talking with Karen Shopoff Rooff, a certified women's health coach with more than a decade of experience empowering professional women to build a realistic healthy lifestyle, about all things sleep!

Karen's blog, Well Balanced Women, and health & wellness ecourses combine easy-to-understand science with realistic tips to educate body-wise women, particularly in the transition times of pregnancy and perimenopause.

She is a nationally-known public speaker on women’s health, fitness, and wellness topics. Coach Karen's busy life as an entrepreneur, wife, and mom of three kids shows that you can have balance without having it all together.

Make sure to download her FREE meditation guide so you can get one step closer to restful sleep!

The Importance of Sleep

Many of us run on fumes, the idea os sleep happening one day. We think we can chug along, even if it may not be our idea of amazing, but the reality is that our brains are suffering.

Sleep helps us recharge for the next day. It's when our body is repairing itself to be fit and ready for a new day.

Not sleeping enough causes many issues, like foggy brain, weight gain, anxiety, irritability, and illness. But how do we get the sleep we need?

Having a routine

Creating a routine before sleep, helps set our hormones so that our brain feels safe. It allows our brain to shut down. When we shut down, we are able to fall asleep.

Your routine can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. If you have a harder time falling asleep, you may need a longer routine. Doing it in the same order, helps our brain know sleep is coming.

These are things that can help cue your brain that it's time to calm down and go to sleep:

Turning off the lights, or dimming themNo screensA shower or bathStretching, yoga or meditationReading

Benefits of sleep

Overall, sleep makes you happy. When you are happy, you can handle things better, you are nicer and more productive

While we sleep, our body gets a break physically and mentally. And it needs that. Our muscles repair, our immune system goes to work to fight whatever germs you have, and our brain gets a break.

Our brain lives in a sea of cortisol all day, so while we sleep, it gets a break from it. This helps the hormonal regulation between insulin and cortisol, which is important for us to function well.

It also helps the regulation between leptin and ghrelin, two hormones associated with hunger and feeling full. Lack of sleep makes you want to eat junk food because it didn't get what it needed in a good night's sleep so your body craves the junk.

Not getting sleep once in a while isn't an issue. It's the chronic fatigue that starts to wear you down. Exercise, nutrition, self care...all parts of our life come together with sleep because sleep affects each of them significantly.

The brain and sleep

Sleep reduces the overall inflammation in the body, including the area around the brain. Inflammation causes plaque deposits in our brain. These are associated with things like alzheimer's and dementia.

One thing happening in our brain when we wake up is we get the largest cortisol rush of the day. Back in time, the cortisol rush was important because we were looking for danger, things like bears and being attacked.

But now we don't have these threats. So it's all about making our brain feeling safe so we can sleep through the night. Having that routine down helps this. Routine helps tell our brain, it's safe to go to sleep.

Along with putting us on alert, cortisol balances with insulin in our blood sugar regulation. So if you eat dinner early relative to when you go to bed, you are going to be on the downward trend of the insulin rollercoaster by bedtime. So when you wake up at night, that's your body's cue that it needs to eat agai...

So, what does healthy actually mean? The issue is that healthy has so many facets: physical, mental and even social all play a part.

The word healthy has been hijacked by so many things. It's been overused in marketing, media and the diet world to the point where the true meaning has been lost. Today we are getting into what I believe is the core of health.

Healthy is not a one thing and done kind of word. It encompasses a wide range of areas. And overall, it's a lot of work. It fluctuates with the times and things you go through. And that's ok.

The Meaning of Healthy

If you search online you can find some origination in what it means to be healthy. The World Health Organization actually defined the word back in 1948. They said that healthy is an overall state between physical, mental and social well being.

It isn't just the absence of disease, it's the equilibrium of all of those three areas coming together to form and overall health.

I have been saying this since I started my business. You'll often hear me saying that health means body and mind, which is why I don't preach that following a specific diet completely works for many people.

If something brings you stress, even if it's something considered necessary to be healthy, then you are losing the health of your mind. Conversely, if you are doing something that makes your mind happy, but isn't healthy for your body, you are losing the physical health aspect.

It's the point when you find a happy balance between the two, and are able to maintain that, when you are working towards ultimate health.

The role of healthy eating

So much of what we see as related to health revolves around eating. Eat Keto, Paleo, Vegan, do intermittent fasting....the list goes on with diets and diet programs.

While I am a huge advocate of eating plants, I am also an advocate of finding the balance between getting in all those whole plants and giving your body whatever else it needs.

We are all different, and something that may work amazing for one person may not work for the other. Including the vegan or plant-based diet. Yep, I said it.

I have recently had to become completely gluten-free for my own health. And with age and things my body is going through, I have found that I need some non plant-based foods to be my best me.

My husband on the other hand, the actual reason we changed our diet to being with, needs to eat mostly plants. He can add some dairy and eggs once in a while when he has a craving or we are out, but overall his health needs plants.

It's been a learning curve as we grow and change, and although I still eat mostly plant-based foods (and continue to create them), when I need something different I am finding it very easy to simply add them to our meals.

Accepting this has helped our overall mental health. Which has helped us move towards overall health. It's a continuum and not something I believe is reached and done with.

Health and exercise

Moving your body is another important part of physical health. As it is with our diet, there is so much pressure to move in a certain way.

But like with eating, we are all different and there is no one way that is best for everyone. Move how you feel is best for you.

Some days you may feel like you want to push yourself more than others, some days you feel like resting. Do what works, listen to your body.

Movement not only helps your physical health, but it also helps your mental health. Especially when it's things like yoga. Yoga has helped me so much! You can listen to the episode on how yoga changed my life to learn more.

The Healthy Continuum

I don't believe any of us ever reach ultimate health. I believe that we simply move closer and closer to the end goal.

Every single day we are met with stressors. Decisions, relationships, what we eat, things we do, illness, emergencies. These all affect our overall health.

Healing your body with food is one strategy when dealing with disease. Often times, we want more than just a pill to bring us to full health.

While traditional medicine can give us many answers and help with many things, sometimes we need more. This is where food can come in, looking at all areas of life can help bring information on the bigger picture.

Juli Novotny is a mom to three beautiful kids living in Southern California. She runs the website Pure Kitchen and spends her time cooking for clients, consulting for health food start-ups, journalism, photography and recipe development for other like-minded rad companies. 

Last year she finished an intensive course in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University online. And she just launched some incredible sauces that she sells through her site. They are a must try!

Focusing on Our Health

As women, it’s in our nature to power through. We are busy taking care of everyone else, and learn to ignore our own bodies signals. But eventually, when there is something wrong, it will catch up to us.

Juli is a prime example of someone who powered through with autoimmune issues, accepting what doctors told her in that she’d have to simply deal with this her whole life. Until she made an amazing discovery.

Healing our body with food

Accepting her body that was ridden with allergies, asthma, and eczema was tough for her. Her mental health suffered and doctors gave her meds and told her to find a way to deal with it.

Being a chef and into experimenting with food, she started experimenting with raw foods because of a new cookbook she discovered that intrigued her. Not thinking anything about health, she decided to follow this raw food lifestyle for fun because the photos and recipes drew her in.

As a chef, she was always looking at opening her horizons in the food world so this was exciting. 3 days in, she noticed her autoimmune issues start to disappear. Her eczema went away and she felt exceptional.

She was shocked to say the least. Her excitement led her to become a holistic nutritionist and get a job at Whole Food, then start her journey into the world of wholesome food where she is now.

While she doesn’t know if it was allergies to food or simply the detoxing she did to clear her body, her issues never came back. She was able to slowly add in cooked foods with success, focusing on a plant-based diet, and has had no issues since.

While this isn’t the solution for everyone, and you should check in with a licensed professional before you make any changes like this, food truly healed Juli.

Food and our bodies

We are all different when it comes to food. What one person reacts to, another person can include with success.

Even what is considered healthy, like fruits and vegetables, can affect some people in a negative way. So, it’s important to make sure that you know what your body can and can’t have.

But overall, our bodies love getting all the nutrients it needs to function. So when we give it an influx of these, it’s happy. Fresh produce gives us so many amazing nutrients, so it’s no wonder that Juli was able to help her body heal by filling her body with them.

We also need to make sure we are getting everything each of us needs to thrive. Protein, carbs, and fat are important as well. We each need different amounts of these to feel our best, but our cells do need them to function.

The Stigma of Cleanses

The online world of food has taken the word cleanse and run with it. It has used it to draw people in with the promise of losing weight. Which is why it isn’t a word I love.

Our bodies are created to cleanse themselves, our liver and kidneys do a great job overall. However sometimes, when we abuse our bodies and our systems are overworked, it’s helpful to give them a little support.

This is why I advocate more for a restoration or refresh. A time for filling your body with fresh foods full of wholesome ingr...

Is a strict vegan lifestyle possible when navigating life today? Listen to find out how it can be done successfully and with a healthy outlook.

We are all different, and when it comes to our life choices, we should each be doing what is best for us. But choosing to live a vegan lifestyle can work if it's something you want to do!

Brandi Doming is the creator of the vegan blog The Vegan 8 and cookbook author of The Vegan 8 Cookbook. She went vegan to help control her husband's debilitating gout. Their lives and health improved dramatically.

Brandi loves to show that vegan food can be absolutely delicious, comforting and easy! She creates delicious vegan comfort food in a healthier way.

All her recipes are 8 ingredients or less, not counting salt, pepper or water. And she is an expert on oil-free cooking and baking and welcomes any and all eaters!

Check out her 8 Ingredient Vegan Desserts eCookbook and her hard copy The Vegan 8 Cookbook!

Reasons for Diet Choices

Some people choose to eat a certain way for health reason, some choose it for ethical reasons, and some make the decision for environmental reasons.

There are many different diets that claim to be the “healthiest” out there, but the diet choice that people choose for ethical or environmental reasons is the plant-based or vegan diet.

While Brandi started her vegan journey to help her husband’s health, she also evolved to continue that choice for ethical reasons.

What is a Vegan Lifestyle?

A vegan lifestyle is when you abstain from eating or using all animal products. This includes meat, dairy, eggs, honey and even using products that are made of down feathers, leather and wool. If something comes from an animal it isn’t part of a vegan lifestyle.

The difference between living a vegan lifestyle and simply eating plant-based or vegan food, is that you transfer those thoughts into all areas of your life. From the clothes your wear, to the car you buy, to the beauty products you use.

Foods not allowed on a vegan diet

The basis of a vegan diet, is the lacking of any animal based foods. But there are some things that people don’t realize contain animal based ingredients. Here are a list of things that are not included in a vegan diet:

MeatDairy- including milk, cheese, butter, etcEggsHoneyGelatin- in common foods like Jello and gummy candy

Food you can eat while vegan

As we talk about the food that vegans do not eat, there is plenty that they can eat. So many of the things we use in our cooking are naturally vegan. Here is a list of natural things we don’t think about that are vegan:

FruitsVeggiesPastaGrains- rice, farro, etcQuinoa

There are also many other products out there that are naturally vegan. Things like some sauces, dips, chips, snack foods, etc are vegan. They are not made with any animal based products.

There are also many that are made with vegan alternatives like vegan cheese and meat products. These days you can find almost anything vegan if that is what you choose.

Other things to think about in a vegan lifestyle

While food is a big part about being vegan, there are other things you need to keep in mind when you want to live a full vegan lifestyle. Here are a few things to consider:

Leather in things you wear like clothes and shoesLeather in your carWool in clothing, blankets, furniture etcAnimal based ingredients in beauty productsAnimal testing on anythingDown feathers in pillows

Is a Vegan Lifestyle Healthy?

The concept of healthy is different for each person. Because I believe health encompasses both body and mind, you need to take care of both in order to reach overall health.

Vegan food can be highly processed and lacking of essential nutrients. But whole food plant-based food encompasses more of a nutritious angle. So while you can live a vegan lifestyle, this doesn’t mean you are filling your body with wholesome food.

Along with that,

Forming healthy lifestyle habits leads to longterm success, while fad diets can actually hurt your progress to overall health.

While it can be easy to fall into the trap of a fast fix when it comes to our health, we can only reach true health with patience and time working on forming habits to last a lifetime.

My guest Mareya Ibrahim, also known as The Fit Foodie, is an award-winning entrepreneur, holistic nutrition coach, and podcast host helping people make shift happen for good.  

As the signature chef and meal plan designer for the million-copy bestseller, “The Daniel Plan,” her #1 new release, “Eat Like You Give A Fork, The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive” (St. Martin’s Press, 2019) is revolutionizing how people ‘undiet’ and eat to thrive with 8 core strategies. 

She is the founder of Grow Green Industries, INC. and the creator of the patented eatCleaner line of food wash and wipes. Her back-page column, "The Fit Foodie", has appeared in Edible Orange County Magazine since 2011.

Mareya is also the host of the podcast "Recipes for Your Best Life", and was a featured chef on the Food Network, eHow.com, Livestrong.com and the Emmy-nominated cooking show, Recipe Rehab. 

Text fitfoodie to 22828 to get her free 30-recipe ebook and 14 day Clean Eating Reset. You can find her at:

www.eatcleaner.com

www.instagram.com/eatcleaner

What is Healthy Living?

When it comes to living your healthiest lifestyle, you need to think about what your personal why is. We all have different reasons for why we do what we do, and food is no different.

Overall healthy living is honoring what works for you, not what works for XYZ influencer online, or what fad diet is most popular at any given time.

Extremes in food

There are so many messages out there as to what is "right" and "wrong" when it comes to eating. Many of these lie in the extreme ends of the eating spectrum.

When we follow what's popular instead of listening to our own bodies, we aren't honoring what's good for us personally. Learning to listen to ourselves and being intuitive is the key to long term health.

How to Have a Healthy Lifestyle

Following a diet you think is healthy isn't the same as living a healthy lifestyle. Your diet is only one piece of the puzzle, and actually one can argue that following a specific diet with no room for movement is the opposite of healthy.

For many people, putting extreme limits on what you can and can't eat can actually form an unhealthy relationship with food. We are all different so not everyone will have this issue, but for many it can.

Ultimate health is the feeling of homeostasis, balance. This doesn't mean that you can't enjoy things, it just means that you don't have guilt associated with it. When we attach emotions to food, we begin to form the guilt connection to what we eat.

Intuitive Eating, eating for a healthy diet

Intuitive eating is simply put, listening to your body and what it needs. This isn't to say that we eat chocolate cake all the time if that's what you are craving, if this is the case you may need to take a step back and get some support with adding more fresh foods into your diet.

But for many of us that eat balanced and don't restrict ourselves, if we pay attention our bodies tell us what it is we need.

You can actually heal your relationship with food through food. Our body likes to be nourished, and nourished means both fresh nutritious rich foods along with things like pizza and chocolate.

There is room for all things, both things we crave for our comfort and things we need to be strong and nourished.

How lifestyle affects diet

Our lifestyle can affect our diet. When we expose ourselves to the stresses of the world, like social media and politics and all things media, we put our bodies into a state of stress.

This doesn't allow us to live in a place of balance. The stress affects us chemically,

Component cooking is a great strategy for feeding a table of varying dietary needs and preferences. It is possible to make only one meal!

I am not a restaurant, is a mantra I tell myself daily. With three kids who each have opinions (I mean, how dare they LOL) it's hard to please everyone. And then throw in a variety of diet needs, the stress is high!

Different Diets at One Table

Now days it's quite common to see an eclectic group at your dinner table. Whether it's young kids you have picky palates, or a range of food issues, intolerances and allergies.

We often feel like we need to make multiple meals in order to feed everyone. The thing is you don't.

Making multiple meals

While it sounds easiest to just make many meals so that everyone is taken care of, the long term effects of this aren't good for us mentally.

It takes a lot of our energy to create one meal, let alone more than one. So it burns us out quickly. And the last thing we need is to reach burnout faster!

It also creates a bad habit with catering to each and every thing our family wants. Now allergies and other medical needs are one thing, but when it comes to preferences and tastes, creating the bad habit of always getting what you want isn't good long term.

So how do we handle all the needs our families have? Is there a way we can make it work without going crazy?

Component Cooking

Component meals are my new bestie. This is when you essentially make meal parts that can be put together to make one larger meal.

For example, you can make the following:

RiceBeansOther proteins of choiceSautéed or roasted veggiesSalsaGuacamoleLettuceSauce

Then each person can build their own tacos, burritos, bowls, etc. This works for many different things like pizza, pasta, salads, etc.

How it helps

Not only does component cooking take less time (you only really need to prep a few days a week, then use the ingredients in different ways) but it also results in less complaining and allows different dietary needs to eat the same thing.

Meals and kids

The thing with kids, is that they want some control over things. When it comes to food, it's the one area that they can choose to control by refusing to eat. We can't force a child to eat, much like we can't force them to sleep.

When you let go and put some control back into them, food becomes less of a power struggle.

Component meals are a great way to do that because essentially they can choose which of the components they want in their meal. Parents can still have parameters to make sure their kids are getting well rounded meals

I like to prep a variety of veggies and a mix of grains and proteins. We tell them kids they need one thing from each category to make it a whole some meal, but they can choose which one.

Because they feel like they are the ones choosing, it creates less of an issue. Now there will always be kids that still complain, but the key there is to make sure to have at least one thing your child likes in the bunch.

I also like to encourage the kids to try one new thing each time as well. This doesn't always work, but I don't push it and if you keep offering, one day they may take you up on it!

Meeting all diets

The great thing with component meals is that you can have something for everyone. Meat eater? Great, offer the meat in the protein group.

Plant eater only? No problem, plenty of plants. And this goes the same for gluten-free , dairy free, etc etc.

When you build your meals, it's easy for each person to make sure they are following food guidelines for medical reasons, or just simply eating what they prefer.

How to prep component meals

The first thing you need to do is figure out what things you want to make. If it's tacos, you will need to jot down all the different parts of that meal and prep those components.

If it's pizzas, think about all you need to make that. Same goes for pasta meals, salads,