The Peaceful Plate: Ending Food Panic After Hormone-Driven Breast Cancer

Trying to decide what to eat after breast cancer can be an exercise in frustration, fear and futility. . .as in, “Does the type of food I eat even matter?”. The answer to that is yes, your food choices absolutely do matter, but perhaps not in the way you typically think about. In today’s episode (the third in my Bloom Series!) I teach you a different approach to fueling your body. Rather than focusing on individual foods or nutrients, I want you to start looking at the big picture, aka, your dietary pattern. Not sure how to do that? I’ve got you covered!

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• Why focusing on individual foods isn’t recommended

• How to reframe the way you view your diet

• How a balanced, varied, nourishing diet benefits your breast and overall health

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  Click here to apply to The Peaceful Plate nutrition and mindset coaching program for breast cancer survivors!

  
  

  Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

  
  

When was the last time you examined the food environment where you spend every, single day? Your kitchen, your mind (yes, that’s an environment) and even the online environment you spend so many hours. Are they helpful or harmful to your goal of eating with peace and enjoying your food again? Maybe you've not thought about that? In today’s episode I share exactly what you need to create an unshakeable food environment for blooming after breast cancer. 

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• The three types of environments that shape your food relationship

• What you can do to take charge of your food environment

• Practical tips for keeping food judgement at bay  

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Click here to get on the Peaceful Plate wait list!  

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

What stops you from feeling strong, fearless and resilient in your approach to food, diet and nutrition after breast cancer? I’d like to offer that it’s the food conditions in which you’re trying to cultivate that approach - you’re lacking certain elements! Welcome to my spring BLOOM series, where in this first episode we explore the critical missing pieces to putting down roots and thriving in your quest to eat with peace and enjoy your food again. 

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• Why it’s important to create optimal food conditions as a foundation for a healthy post-treatment approach to nutrition  

• Three things that support your quest to bloom as you navigate meals and snacks

• A balanced strategy for creating optimal food conditions to end food worry

Click here to get on the Peaceful Plate wait list!  

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

If ever there were a topic that doesn’t get nearly enough attention it’s this: what happens to your relationship with food after treatment. Yes, there’s plenty of conversation about what to eat and what to avoid after breast cancer. But crucially, there’s much less about the guilt, fear and second-guessing about food that can slip in and take over your daily life. There’s guilt about what you ate before diagnosis. Fear about what you eat now. In this episode, I unpack why this happens, how fear of recurrence is often behind that thinking, and why the restrictive eating you’re engaging in won’t deliver the peace of mind you crave.

After today’s episode you’ll understand:

• Why an altered relationship with food after treatment is common, and completely understandable

• How restriction doesn’t equal control

• Why the right kind of support matters

Click here to get on the Peaceful Plate wait list!  

Click here for my FREE guide The Five Foods Survivors Should Eat!

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

If you’ve ever spiraled after reading, “There’s estrogen in food, be sure to avoid it at all costs,” this episode is for you. After spending time in a private breast cancer Facebook group recently, I was reminded how quickly breast cancer nutrition misinformation spreads. I know, I know. . .the members are just trying to ‘help’ each other out. Good intentions? Absolutely. Accurate science? Not necessarily. In this episode, I break down the difference between estrogen and phytoestrogens, explain why they are not interchangeable, and share what current research actually says about phytoestrogens in foods you may be (unnecessarily) avoiding. 

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• Why phytoestrogens aren’t the same as human estrogen

• Why current research doesn’t support avoiding phytoestrogen-containing plant foods after hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

• Why personal nutrition anecdotes don’t substitute for nutrition science

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Click here to get on the Peaceful Plate wait list!  

Click here for my FREE guide The Five Foods Survivors Should Eat!

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

BLOG POST - Phytoestrogen Fears: PART 1

BLOG POST - Phytoestrogen Fears: PART 2

How many times have you white-knuckled your way through a strict, rule-driven, hyper-vigilant, inflexible meal in the hopes it would make you feel “safe”? Regardless of how convincing that voice in your head sounds, you know the one, “You must be vigilant with your diet or you’ll bring back your cancer!”, it doesn’t work that way. And yet, so many survivors believe that the more miserable the diet, the more effective it must be. In this episode, I’m talking about the types of breast cancer diets that practically guarantee miser, and why “not really living” is not the goal of survivorship. If your current approach to eating feels heavy, rigid, or joyless, this episode is your reminder that there is another way.

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• Suffering doesn’t equal safety

• Rigidity drains joy

• Empowerment > deprivation

Click here to get my FREE guide The Five Foods Survivors Should Eat!

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

In a recent workout class my partner was struggling to do all of the exercises. Turns out, he has a condition that’s significantly impacted by diet. Unfortunately, he’d received inaccurate nutrition advice and was feeling the effects. The advice wasn’t malicious. It was just unqualified. Breast cancer survivors deal with this all the time. You may not experience physical symptoms from inaccurate nutrition advice, but you do feel the mental stress of wondering, “Am I doing this right, can I trust this information or is there a better approach for me?” In this episode, I’m talking about why credible guidance matters!

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• Not all nutrition advice is created equal

• Lack of symptoms doesn’t mean lack of impact

• How credible guidance brings peace of mind

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Click here to get my FREE guide The Five Foods Survivors Should Eat!

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

You know that moment. You’re hungry. You open the fridge. You stare. Maybe shuffle a few containers around like the answer is hiding behind the almond milk. Then you close the door… and walk away. Not because there’s no food. But because deciding what to eat has become exhausting. Before breast cancer, if you were hungry, you ate. Maybe you thought about whether something was “healthy.” Maybe you wondered if it was “fattening.” But you didn’t stand there wondering if your lunch choice has a breast cancer connection. Now? You can’t imagine opening your refrigerator, taking out food and sitting down to enjoy it without overthinking or ruminating for hours about your decision. You just don’t know what to eat! If this sounds like you, I’m so glad you’re here!

After today’s episode you’ll understand: 

• What “I don’t know what to eat” truly means 

• Three things to look for when you’re indecisive about food

• What to put on your plate when you’re just not sure

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Click here to get my FREE guide The Five Foods Survivors Should Eat!

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it hundreds of times and I won’t STOP saying it; put more plants on your plate! Science continues to show the benefit of a plant-forward diet for breast cancer survivors, as well as anyone looking to reduce their risk of heart disease. This month we’re exploring foods for both heart and breast health, and in today’s episode I show you how strong the overlap is on dietary recommendations from two leading organizations focused on using food for health; the American Heart Association and The American Institute for Cancer Research. And of course, I can’t let the month pass without a mention of the recently released Dietary Guidelines! 

After today’s episode you’ll understand:

• Which foods deserve a spot on your Peaceful Plate

• How staying up-to-date on nutrition recommendations can prevent nutrition overwhelm and confusion

• The common thread between credible nutrition guidelines

Click here to get a copy of 76 Foods for Healthy Hearts

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian

Can you imagine living your life without feeling any emotion at all? Me neither! But what happens when you manage all those strong emotions (especially the negative one’s) with food? Is that a helpful thing or a not so helpful thing? If you’ve ever wondered about the effect your emotional eating habit has on your health, especially your breast health, this is the episode for you. 

After today’s episode you’ll understand:

• The connection between emotion and food

• The real reason you crave high-calorie comfort foods

• What your eating pattern reveals about emotional eating habits

Click here to get your copy of 76 Foods for Healthy Hearts

Follow me on Instagram @hormone.breastcancer.dietitian