The Kettle with Meagan Francis

Should women over 40 shun carbs, practice intermittent fasting, or max out our protein? What are "hormone-balancing foods," is "metabolic flexibility" really a thing, and are insulin spikes as scary as they sound? And why does it suddenly feel so complicated to simply put food on our plates once we hit midlife? In this episode I talk with Dr. Jenn Salib Huber, a registered dietician, naturopathic doctor, and intuitive eating advocate who educates midlife women on supporting their health and hormones with non-restrictive eating, about just why our midlife food mentality can get so messy - and how to untangle it all. I also share what I've discovered about my own approach to food and diet mentality after taking a few months completely "off" of counting calories, tracking macros, or restricting my eating. 

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Comfortable and fashion-forward, Vionics are stylish self-care for your feet. Shop their collection of boots and booties for fall, like the Regan (pictured at left) and be sure to use code REINVENT15 for 15% off your order at VionicShoes.com.

Happy mornings start with healthy sleep routines. Teach your body and mind to fall asleep easily and wake up peacefully with the Restore 2, featuring soothing sounds for sleeping and waking, plus gentle light patterns that stimulate your body’s natural rhythms. Get 15% off the Hatch Restore 2!

Make eating well easy! Prep a week’s worth of healthy meals in just 1-2 hours a week with PrepDish. Menus, shopping lists, and detailed prep and cooking instructions for a variety of eating styles. Head to http://prepdish.com/mor to try your first two weeks, FREE.

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. Check out my skincare routine featuring OSEA products, (the Seaglow Resurfacing Scrub is a new fave!) and get 10% off your first order by using the code REINVENT at OSEAMalibu.com.

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From getting married (on a raft!) to helping open a bookstore, running an AirBNB to digging into my family history, it's been a busy summer for this 40something mom. Listen for a quick update on what's been happening in Meagan's world plus a sneak peek at what you'll hear in Season 6 of the Mother of Reinvention podcast!

Check out the REINVENT Retreat, happening this October 20-22 in Southwest Michigan and online. Head to ReinventRetreat.com for more info and register with code REINVENT15 for 15% off through August 31!

One big happy blended family :) You'll find lots of other wedding pics over at my Instagram!

Thanks to MOR's Season 6 partners:

 

Comfortable and fashion-forward, Vionics are stylish self-care for your feet. Check out my favorite summer styles, and use code REINVENT

for free shipping at VionicShoes.com.

 

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. Get 10% off your first order by using the code REINVENT at checkout.

Make eating well easy. Prep a week's worth of healthy meals in just 1-2 hours a week with PrepDish. Head to http://prepdish.com/mor to try your first two weeks, FREE.

Loving the show? Let me know. Email me at [email protected]!

 

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Being a “boy mom” is one thing. What about when you’re trying to guide, mentor, and mother nearly-grown MEN? In this episode I catch up with parenting author and mother to four young men, Jennifer Fink, to discuss what we get wrong about boys and how misunderstanding young men can hinder their growth as humans, plus our shifting relationships with our sons as they move into their teen years – and beyond.

Episode Links:

• Visit Jennifer’s website
• Read Jennifer’s new book, Building Boys: Raising Great Guys in a World That Misunderstands Men
• Check out Jennifer’s recent article in the Washington Post: We’re Missing A Major Mental Health Crisis: Teen Boys Are Struggling, Too
• Join the Building Boys Facebook group

Thanks to this season’s partners:

Comfortable and fashion-forward,Vionics are stylish self-care for your feet. Check out my favorite styles, and use code REINVENT for free shipping at VionicShoes.com.

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. Get 10% off your first order by using the code REINVENT at checkout.

Loving the show? Let me know.

• Email [email protected]!
• Find me on Substack.
• Hit me up on IG at @meaganfrancis!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

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If you were getting married all over again, what would you change about your wedding? And, what are the best and most challenging things about midlife marriage? As my wedding day draws near, I posed those questions to eight writer/podcaster friends, and their answers are full of insight, wisdom, and humor – along with a few can’t-miss tips. Enjoy this heartwarming, hopeful, and VERY special episode!

About This Episode’s Guests

Asha Dornfest

• Asha’s website
• Check out Asha’s blog and community, Parent of Adults
• Follow Asha on Instagram

Karen Walrond

• Karen’s website
• Follow Karen on Instagram
• Listen to Karen on the following Mother of Reinvention episodes: The Joy Of Sending Your Kid To College and The Accidental Activist – How Regular People Can Make Change For Good
• Pre-order Karen’s book Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell

Christine Koh

• Listen. to Christine’s podcast, Edit Your Life
• Follow Christine on Instagram
• Check out Christine’s Substack, There’s Always A Story
• Listen to Christine on this episode of MOR: Reinventing With Intention With Christine Koh: Mother of Reinvention, Episode 7

Amy Suardi

• Amy’s website 
• Follow Amy on Instagram
• Amy hosts a weekly Co-Create Circle at the REINVENT Community!

Sarah Powers

• Find Sarah at The Mom Hour
• Follow Sarah on Instagram
• Listen to Mother of Reinvention episodes featuring Sarah Powers: That life-changing moment when you do something completely different and Meagan Turns 45! Here’s What’s Next

Nancy Davis Kho

• Nancy’s website 
• Follow Nancy on Instagram
• Listen to Nancy on Mother of Reinvention: Rewiring Your Brain Using Gratitude
• Check out Nancy’s book, The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude At A Time

Amy Allen Clark

• Listen to Amy’s podcast, Book Gang
• Visit Amy’s website
• Follow Amy on Instagram
• Listen to Amy on Mother of Reinvention: Leaning (Back) In To What You Love with Amy Clark of the Mom Advice Book Club

Rachel Macy Stafford

• Rachel’s website
• Follow Rachel on Instagram
• Read Rachel’s new book: Soul Shift: The Weary Human’s Guide To Getting Unstuck and Reclaiming Your Path To Joy
• Listen to Rachel on Mother of Reinvention: Living authentically in midlife

Thanks to this season’s partners:

 

Comfortable and fashion-forward, Vionics are stylish self-care for your feet. Check out my favorite styles, and use code REINVENT for free shipping at VionicShoes.com.

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. Find out more about the products I love best, check out the limited-time Free Gift With Purchase event and save 10% on your first order by using code REINVENT at checkout.

Loving the show? Let me know.

• Email [email protected]!
• Join my email list!
• Hit me up on IG at @meaganfrancis!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s easy to romanticize the “simple life” (I’m guilty of it pretty much daily) but what happens when the simple, sustainable, satisfying life you set out to create turns into…something else entirely? Australian author and sustainability advocate Anna Featherstone experienced exactly this while she and her husband were running a “small” farm that, along the way, ballooned into a full-time-and-then-some endeavor…while they were also raising three young kids.

Realizing it was time for a change, the family pivoted and now live in a much simpler way while Anna focuses on writing books and helping authors self-publish. Listen to the episode to hear more about what drives Anna’s passion for sustainability, community, and creativity, and how she’s channeling those passions now that her farm-girl identity is (temporarily, perhaps?) on hold.

Episode Links:

• Visit Anna’s website and learn more about her books, including Honey Farm Dreaming: A Memoir About Sustainability, Small Farming, And The Not-So-Simple Life (available free right now via Kindle Unlimited!)
• Find Anna on Facebook and Instagram

Thanks to this season’s partners:

Comfortable and fashion-forward, Vionics are stylish self-care for your feet. Check out my favorite styles, and use code REINVENT for free shipping at VionicShoes.com.

 

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. The new Undaria Collagen Body Lotion has earned a permanent spot on my nightstand. Get 10% off your first order by using the code REINVENT at checkout.

Loving the show? Let me know.

• Email [email protected]!
• Join my email list!
• Hit me up on IG at @meaganfrancis.
• Find me on Reinvented, my new Substack blog!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What does it mean to live “authentically” in midlife? I chat with Rachel Macy Stafford, author of the new book Soul Shift: The Weary Human’s Guide to Getting Unstuck, about the roles we tend to layer onto our identities starting when we’re young, and how the middle of life is the perfect time to start shedding those layers so we can live more lightly. Plus we discuss parenting teens through a pandemic, our shared history as mom bloggers, the pressures of social media and more.

Episode Links:

• Visit Rachel’s website and learn more about her books, including Soul Shift: The Weary Human’s Guide To Getting Unstuck
• Find Rachel on Facebook and Instagram
• Listen to my 2017 podcast conversation with Rachel on The Mom Hour

Thanks to this season’s partners:

Comfortable and fashion-forward,

Vionics arestylish self-care for your feet.

Check out my favorite styles, and use code REINVENT

for free shipping at VionicShoes.com.

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. I use the Hyaluronic Sea Serum and Advanced Protection Cream every day! Get 10% off your first order by using the code REINVENT at checkout.

Loving the show? Let me know.

• Email [email protected]!
• Join my email list!
• Hit me up on IG at @meaganfrancis!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Midlife women have a lot on our plates. Should nurturing friendships take a backseat when we’re busy? Not according to Laura Tremaine, author of The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs. In this candid conversation, Meagan and Laura discuss why the work of friendship is worth doing, plus Laura shares her five friendship philosophies. You’ll leave this conversation feeling inspired to send the text, like the photo, and say “yes” to the next invitation.

Episode Links:

• Laura’s Podcast: 10 Things To Tell You
• Find Laura on Instagram
• The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs
• Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First.

A note about book links: purchases made through the Bookshop.org links above directly support my family’s business, Paper Mill Books.

Thanks to our partners:

With incredible comfort, Vionics are stylish self-care for your feet. Check out my favorite styles, and use code REINVENT for free shipping at VionicShoes.com.

Personal training to help you reach your fitness goals anytime, anywhere. I’ve been training with fitness since January and my workouts have never been so consistent! Head to TryFuture.com/reinvent to save $130 .

OSEA is my go-to skincare brand, made with clean, botanically-sourced ingredients. I use the Hyaluronic Sea Serum and Advanced Protection Cream every day! Get 10% off your first order by using the code REINVENT at checkout.

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"Owning an bookstore is literally my dream." Since announcing our plans to start our own indie book shop with our partners in northern Michigan, my sister Kathreen and I have heard those words many times. But if you're not accustomed to thinking of yourself as a business owner, making the leap from a 9-5 job (and the accompanying paycheck) can seem like too big and risky a change to ever seriously consider. In this episode Kathreen and I discuss our plans through the lens of her background as a state employee, and why she ultimately decided to say "yes."

The full, unedited version of my conversation with Kathreen is available exclusively to members of REINVENT Midlife. The full, unedited version of my conversation with Kathreen is available exclusively to members of REINVENT Midlife.  You can also visit our online shop to support us. And please follow Paper Mill Books on Instagram to keep up with our progress.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities with the Mother of Reinvention podcast? Email [email protected].

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

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Strained mother-daughter relationships. Second-chance romances. Overcoming childhood trauma. And, finding your true self in midlife. What do these things have in common? They're all themes in Kristen Mei Chase's debut novel, A Thousand Miles to Graceland, as well as in her actual life.

Listen in as Kristen and I discuss midlife mom-daughter relationships, parenting teenagers, dating, divorce, finishing fiction projects, and more in this candid and inspiring conversation.

The full, unedited version of my conversation with Kristen is available exclusively to members of REINVENT Midlife. 

Interested in sponsorship opportunities with the Mother of Reinvention podcast? Email [email protected].

Find Kristen on Instagram: @thatkristenagain or on her website.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

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“You’re enough.” “You’re amazing.” “You’re beautiful, just as you are.” Also: “Employ a growth mindset!” “Do better.” And, “This is your year to slay!”

Everywhere we look, we see conflicting messages: you’re wonderful and deserving of acceptance just as you are, but – pssst – honestly, you could do a lot better. And at no time is that message louder than midlife, when it’s easy to feel like you’ve missed opportunities to make the absolute most of your life. In this episode I talk with Kate Hanley, creator and host of the How To Be A Better Person Podcast, about how you can both accept yourself AND seek growth, and why the question of “self-acceptance or self-improvement?” doesn’t have to be either/or, but both/and.

Also check out my interview on Kate’s podcast: Stop Waiting For An Empty Nest!

The full, unedited version of my conversation with Kate is available exclusively to members of REINVENT Midlife. Get 20% off an annual membership here: http://meaganfrancis.com/bonus.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities with the Mother of Reinvention podcast? Email [email protected].

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/mother-of-reinvention-with-meagan-francis/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy