Comfort Food

There are lots of meals (especially dinner!) that kids just don't eat. And this can be frustrating and even alarming for parents—but most often, it's completely normal. We're chatting with Jennifer Berry, OT, a feeding therapist and owner of Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics, about what can help and what might be making the situation worse.  Send us your questions! @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. Visit comfortfoodpodcast.com for show notes. 

“Healthy” is a word that gets used and overused on recipes, food packaging, and in diet and wellness marketing. It’s also a word that many of us strive for—but what do we really mean when we use the term? And how is our belief about what “healthy” really means impacting our relationships with food and how we feed our kids? We have Maryann Jacobsen, RD, author of FEARLESS FEEDING here to help us sort it all out.  More resources in our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

We're welcoming Amy back from maternity leave with an episode focused on her expertise — feeding toddlers! This episode covers what to do with little ones' food obsessions, fickle appetites, and non-existent table manners... and Amy helps Virginia figure out how to persuade her 15-month-old to actually use a high chair.  Have a question or a family mealtime challenge? Email us at comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. Visit our shownotes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

Comfort Food is about to go on a short hiatus while Amy has that baby. So for this week's very special episode, we're rebroadcasting a fun interview she did with Stacie Billis and Meghan Splawn of Didn't I Just Feed You?. Then we're bringing 6-year-old Linden on to give us some insider perspective on what kids really think about dinner.  We'll be back with weekly episodes in March. Until then, continue the conversation with us on Twitter or Instagram: We're @yummytoddlerfood and @v_solesmith.

Join the parent conversation at any birthday party and you might come away thinking that sugar is more addictive than crack. But how much of this is fact — and how much is fueled by our culture’s food anxieties? We ask eating disorder and addiction expert Lisa DuBreuil to sort through the science with us, and talk about how to take a saner approach to the sweet stuff in your house. Show notes available at comfortfoodpodcast.com; email us at comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com.

There’s a lot of pressure to make family dinners work—and a lot of guilt-inducing headlines preaching that we can avoid everything from drug abuse to failing grades by making them a priority. But what if we can make them work due to schedules or early bedtimes? Or when we just want to share a grown up meal and conversation with our partner at the end of the day? Are we dooming our kids? (Hint: No!)  Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com and send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com.

It’s January! Which means we’re getting bombarded with “new year, new body” messages. But what if you just… didn’t start a diet this year? What if you did an anti-diet instead? We’re talking to Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN, an anti-diet dietitian and host of the Food Psych Podcast about why January is such a tough month for our relationship with food, and how you can protect yourself from the onslaught of toxic diet culture messaging. Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

Tis the season... for a house full of guests, a fridge full of food, kids hopped up on present stress and even Virginia is making menu plans because holiday hosting is no joke. If you're stressing over how to get big holiday dinners on the table, or what to do when your kids only eat rolls (spoiler: They will only eat rolls), we've got you covered with 8 strategies for simplifying and enjoying this most magical time of the year.  For more resources, visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

Baking or cooking with children sounds great...but is more often sticky counters, broken eggs, and bored littles wondering when they can do the fun frosting part. This week, Samantha Barnes, founder of Radish Kids shares her best strategies for having fun in the kitchen with kids of any age. Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. Leave us a review before the end of December to be entered to win a copy of The Eating Instinct!

You've heard us mention Division of Responsibility a million times by now. But while DOR can be pretty life-changing, it's not always simple to put into practice—and it's easy to get stumped along the way, as your kid ages or goes through phases of picky eating or food fixation. We've got Katja Rowell, MD, standing by this episode to answer all of your DOR-related questions.  Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. (And leave us a review by 12/31/18, to win a free copy of Virginia's new book!

Virginia's new book, THE EATING INSTINCT: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America, is finally here! So today, we're chatting all about how it came to be — and Virginia discusses easy ways parents can protect our children's eating instincts. Plus we've got a pregnancy food update from Amy! Get our show notes: comfortfoodpodcast.com. PS. Leave an iTunes review for us by December 31, 2018 and you'll automatically be entered to win a free copy of THE EATING INSTINCT!

Baby led weaning and purees are both perfectly acceptable ways to introduce a baby to solid foods. But this topic gets crazy heated among moms! We’ll talk through why so many folks believe there's just one right way to approach this milestone and whether you can combine the methods (spoiler: We sure did!). And we’ll get into some basics of BLW with our guest Megan McNamee of Feeding Littles. Check out our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com and email us at comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com.

Amy loves to meal plan (and posts amazing menus every week @yummyfamilyfood!). Virginia is… more of a meal planning rebel. Is it helpful to spend your weekends pinning recipes and chopping vegetables—or does that just create more pressure around family meals? We talk with KJ Dell’Antonia, author of How To Be A Happier Parent about how to take the stress out of the kitchen and find a meal planning and prepping style that works for you. Check out our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

Our biggest gripe about family dinners? When all of the cooking/chopping/planning/prepping/cleaning falls to just one family member—because all too often, it’s all on mom. This week, Amy and Virginia talk to a very special guest (Virginia’s husband Dan!) about why this problem persists and go over five strategies that Virginia and Dan use to share the mealtime load at their house (even though Dan’s cooking game is mostly breakfast-sandwich-based). Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

Virginia's baby Beatrix just turned one! And she's sharing their journey from spoon-feeding mushy banana to self-feeding all the foods. We also discuss why the decision of when to start solids with your baby can feel so fraught. And Megan McNamee, MPH, RDN, CLT of Feeding Littles joins the conversation to share some tips.  Don't forget to visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. And email us your starting solids stories or questions at comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com.