Comfort Food (Amy Palanjian & Virginia Sole-Smith)

Holy pregnancy hunger! Amy is expecting baby number three (and eating all of the pretzels), so this episode is all about how eating changes when you're pregnant because of cravings, aversions and weight anxieties. We look at how diet culture shows up in pregnancy apps and even at your prenatal check-ups, and talk about how to get away from the (unattainable) "perfect" pregnancy paradox and listen to what your body — and your baby! — needs most. 

PS. Don't forget to check out our show notes for all the links, recipes and products discussed during the episode. 

Dinner. It has to happen every night, no matter whether you meal planned, or went to the store, or are now staring down some hard 5pm truths about the state of your fridge. We asked Nicki Sizemore, of From Scratch Fast, to share some family-tested ideas for quick, easy dinners that you can make more or less out of thin air.

Find links to all of Nicki's recipes and other resources in our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

And send us your dinner ideas and questions: comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. Or find us on social: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood and @fromscratchfast. 

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, and email us at comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com to tell us: What's your share the load struggle when it comes to feeding your family? 

And follow us on social media: @v_solesmith @yummytoddlerfood @yummyfamilyfood. 

This week, we're teaming up with Rebecca Scritchfield's Body Kindness Podcast for a very special cross-over episode. Rebecca is a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified exercise physiologist and author of Body Kindness. She and Virginia decided to dive deep into how to handle unwelcome comments about our kids' bodies or food preferences, what to do when they first use the word "fat," and how we can model body positivity... even on days when we're not feeling totally positive about our own bodies. Listen here, then check out episode 116 of Body Kindness for the other half of this important conversation. 

Join the conversation by email (comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com) or on social media: @v_solesmith @yummytoddlerfood & @rebeccascritchfield and use the hashtag #comfortkindnessepisode. And don't forget to visit our show notes for all links and resources discussed in this episode, at comfortfoodpodcast.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 (and self-professed dedicated meal planner!) 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, and tell us about your meal planning struggles: comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. 

Eggs, sugar, red meat — we know nutrition is important, but what we’re supposed to know about nutrition seems to change, a lot. And it can be hard to keep your knowledge around food and health from interfering with how you approach family meals and feeding yourself. Today we’re talking with podcast favorite Jennifer Berry of Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics about how to decode nutrition news and how to keep what you know in perspective with your larger goals for feeding your family well. Plus an Unrelated update on bottle weaning Beatrix!

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

We talk a lot about intuitive eating and the Division of Responsibility or "responsive feeding" approach we like to take with family meals — but we know these big ideas can be tricky to put into practice. We've asked nutrition therapist Emily Fonnesback, RD, to tackle your questions. (And stay tuned for even more next week!) 

Plus, an Unrelated about why moms get stuck with the mental load while dads go to the playground. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and research referenced in this episode. Send questions or comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood & @emilyfonnesback_rd.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics

Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics offers personalized, compassionate and evidence-based solutions for picky eating and other stressful mealtime challenges by phone, video conference or in person. Get 10% off Family Mealtime Coaching when you mention “Comfort Food Podcast” at thrivewithspectrum.com.  

Even if you think you're not "dieting," much less trying to restrict your kids' eating habits, we've found that a restriction mindset (especially around certain foods) can sneak in all too easily. We'll talk about how to spot the underlying restriction in food rules, portion sizes and the assumptions and anxieties we all carry around certain food groups. We'll also explain why it's so important to keep an eye on our restrictive tendencies—and how to let them go, in order to raise kids with a healthy relationship to food. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

In which Virginia realizes that her reluctance to meal planning is really a one woman protest against yet more emotional labor — that essential work of caring and keeping our families that so disproportionately falls onto moms. We talk about why meal planning is requires so much mental load work, and ask: How can we even things out and make it work better in our homes? 

Struggling with your own meal planning mental load? Tell us your stories: comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood on social media. 

And check out our show notes for all the articles and other resources discussed in this episode at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

You may have heard the phrase “intuitive eating” (we sure say it a lot!) but maybe you aren’t sure what it means. And maybe you’ve heard it’s a good weight loss strategy. Today we’re talking with Evelyn Tribole, RDN, the original Intuitive Eating Pro, about how you can put intuitive eating into practice, what it can mean for your kids—and why it isn’t a diet.

Comments, questions? Send 'em to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith on Instagram & Twitter and @yummytoddlerfood on Instagram. And check out our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

It can be daunting to raise one or two healthy, happy eaters... so how about five?! This week, we chat with Melissa Griffiths of Bless This Mess about how she's raising her kids to honor their hunger and fullness cues, trust their bodies and love family meals... even when they don't love what's being served! We also get into her secrets for sharing the load and the snack drawer strategy that's kind of blowing Amy's mind. Plus an Unrelated discussion of the USDA's new school lunch rules and what it means for your kid's cafeteria. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood, and @blessthismessblog. 

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

You know that thing where you find yourself thinking about how your body looks, when you'd rather just be living in your body? This week, on a very special 50th EPISODE, we're chatting with Lexie Kite, PhD, a body image resilience expert and co-founder of Beauty Redefined, about why so many women experience self-objectification and the role media plays in our ability to feel good about our bodies. She's got great advice for how we can teach our daughters — and ourselves — to be more than our bodies. For starters: Buy kid pants in the boy's department! 

WANT TO GIVE US A 50TH EPISODE PRESENT? TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

With so many wellness plans, detox bootcamps, food challenges and diet “rounds” available now, it can be hard to suss out whether something will really help you improve your health long-term —  or is just a crash diet going by a new hashtag. And these plans love to target moms! Amy and Virginia explore whether diets, food restrictions or “lifestyle plans” can ever be compatible with family life. Plus, what to look out for if you’re exploring one of these newer plans—like the inevitable crash that comes after the honeymoon period, the guilt, and the ramifications that can reach the rest of your family.

Check out our show notes for links to the research and articles discussed in this episode. And find us on social media (@v_solesmith @yummytoddlerfood & @yummyfamilyfood) or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com; we'd love to hear your experiences with a wellness plan that turned out to be a diet. 

This week, we’re welcoming back fan favorite Christy Harrison, RDN, host of the wildly popular Food Psych Podcast, to talk about her new book ANTI-DIET: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being With Intuitive Eating. We’ll cover how writing the book changed her own relationship with food, and go over some of your common questions about intuitive eating and breaking up with diet culture. Plus an Unrelated on why everyone got worked up about Amy's kid eating a banana! 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

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. 

It can be super hard to feel good about your mom body because we live in a culture that wants us to have all the babies... but then look like we never had a baby. So a lot of us end up denigrating our bodies or our food choices, almost without realizing it—and for sure without realizing how much our kids are listening to us body shame, fat talk or apologize for eating. But new research shows that kids as young as 5 years old know when their moms aren't happy with their bodies—and are more likely to feel dissatisfied with their own as a result. So this week, Amy and Virginia explore why it's so easy to fall into this trap, and how you can work towards a place of body neutrality or even body positivity and change the conversations you have with your kids about weight and food. 

How do you talk about your body around your kids? We'd love to know what you're struggling with, or any tips for keeping things positive. Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com, or tag #comfortfoodpodcast on social media. (We're @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood & @yummyfamilyfood.) 

And check out our show notes for more tips and resources, at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

These days, "healthy eating" seems to mean "eat all of the protein, with some protein powder sprinkled on top." This can be super stressful for parents who worry their kids aren't big fans of meat or beans (or protein powder!). And it really messes with pregnant ladies' heads, as if eating isn't tricky enough during those months.  We cut through the marketing hype and misinformation to share some solid info on how much protein you need...and why this is actually one thing we can relax about.

Don't forget to check out our show notes for links to everything discussed in the episode (like Amy's awesome guide to protein servings for kids!).

And let us know if the protein myth has been messing with your head. Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on social media (@v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood, @yummyfamilyfood). 

This week, we're taking a break from our usual family-focused fare to chat with Caroline Dooner, author of The F*ck It Diet, a radical new book that just might help you rethink your whole relationship with dieting, food guilt, and body image angst. Don't worry; The F*ck It Diet is not a diet — it's a set of tools to help you reevaluate the role diet culture plays in your life, and at your dinner table. (And don't worry, the language on this episode is still G-rated!) 

Plus, Amy and Virginia talk about some favorite new #feedyourselffirst food rituals. Because as mamas, we can't feed everyone else, if we're not well-nourished ourselves. 

Let us know what you think of this episode! comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or on social media: @YummyToddlerFood @v_solesmith.

Our quarantine schedules and the stars have finally aligned and we're back to (mostly) recording together! This week we're just catching up on all things in our #pandemicparenting and food lives. (Yes, we're agonizing over school.) Plus an update on episode 80, with some thoughts on the role weight tracking can play in eating disorder prevention and recovery, from educator, parent coach and HAES advocate, Oona Hanson. 

Several major health organizations have just released new recommendations that kids drink only water and plain milk until age 5. But is it realistic to expect your child to turn down every juicebox and chocolate milk carton that comes their way? We get into the pros and cons of this kind of all or nothing health advice and talk about what it means (or doesn’t!) for your family. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and research referenced in this episode. Send questions or comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood  

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics

Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics offers personalized, compassionate and evidence-based solutions for picky eating and other stressful mealtime challenges by phone, video conference or in person. Get 10% off Family Mealtime Coaching when you mention “Comfort Food Podcast” at thrivewithspectrum.com.  

Little kids are notorious for not wanting to eat things that are green (or often yellow or red...). So in episode 2 of Comfort Food, we ask: How much pressure is too much pressure when it comes to getting kids to eat their veggies? And is it possible to entice them to eat their fill without relying on sneaking veggies into everything they eat? What do you do if you have a picky eater? As you'll hear in the episode, we have slightly different takes on this issue — and whether it's ever okay for pancakes to be green.

Check out this episode's show notes page for Amy's favorite kid-approved veggie-full recipes, plus links to the stats and facts we talk about in this episode. 

Why do so many of our kids only want to eat "snacks?" Why can't you leave your house without a purse full of them? We're untangling some of the confusion about snacks: Why kids need them, how they can interfere with hunger and fullness cues, and how to neutralize their power — especially when it feels like your kids are encountering them everywhere they go. 

Visit comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and resources discussed in this episode. Email your snack-related questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com, or follow us on social media: @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood.

In a lot of kitchens, dads need to be doing more to even out the mental load and division of emotional labor. Period. The end. Except...it's also true that moms make the project of feeding our families harder than it needs to be when we buy into too many unrealistic cultural expectations about meal planning, meal prepping, what we should be eating and how much work we need to put into making those meals. This week we're examining some times when we've fallen into the expectations trap and offering specific strategies for digging yourself out — by doing less, and enabling your partner to do more. 

Plus: Jennifer Berry of the Tube To Table Podcast offers a surprising take on kids using screens in restaurants! (Check out Virginia's episode on Jeni's podcast here.) 

Tell us how you're struggling with expectations around family meals by emailing comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or finding us on social media: @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood. And don't forget to visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for links to everything discussed in this episode. 

We recorded this one pre-pandemic, but it couldn't be more timely. Lindsay Powers, founder of the #NoShameParenting movement, mom of two, and author of You Can't F*ck Up Your Kids, joins us to talk about why performative parenting and pressure are the enemy, not your kid's tablet. We also cover how to take the stress out of  how you're feeding your kids, from breastfeeding to family dinner. 

This week we're chatting with Mary Ellen Phipps of Milk & Honey Nutrition about how growing up with Type 1 Diabetes has informed her approach to food and family life. Plus Virginia has a family meal planning breakthrough. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

This week we’re talking to Ashley Smith, RDN, of Veggies and Virtue, where she provides parents with age-appropriate food ideas, meal time organization strategies, evidence-based insight on feeding questions and concerns, and fun ways to get the kids into healthy eating. Ashley is also a mom to three kiddos and has one of our favorite, easy to understand, approaches to handling picky eating. Plus we're talking about our favorite NON-DIET New Year's Resolutions (and why we mostly hate resolutions)! 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

There's the American ideal of Perfect Family Dinners... and then there's what actually happens. Jenny Rosenstrach, author of three cookbooks and founding editor of the blog Dinner: A Love Story has devoted her career to helping us "fight the good fight" of feeding our families, every night. (Or most nights, if you're Virginia.) Plus a postpartum #feedyourselffirst update from Amy. 

Questions or comments? Email @comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood & @dinneralovestory. And don't forget to visit our show notes for links to our favorite Jenny Rosenstrach recipes and more at comfortfoodpodcast.com.

We all want our kids to love their bodies. But we’re also given plenty of reasons to worry about our kids’ body weight, size and shape, especially if they fall on the higher end of the growth chart. This week we’re talking to Anna Lutz, MPH, RD, of Sunny Side Up Nutrition about why diets are never the answer — and what you should do when you stop parenting weight. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and research referenced in this episode. Send questions or comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood and @sunnysideupnutritionists. 

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics

Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics offers personalized, compassionate and evidence-based solutions for picky eating and other stressful mealtime challenges by phone, video conference or in person. Get 10% off Family Mealtime Coaching when you mention “Comfort Food Podcast” at thrivewithspectrum.com.  

Mom body image is, for better or worse, a fairly universal struggle. But if you’re a mom in a larger body, there can be a lot of added layers to navigate. Today we’re chatting with Jen McLellan, author, speaker and creator of Plus Size Birth and the Plus Mommy Blog and Plus Mommy Podcast about how she helps plus size moms navigate birth, body love and motherhood. 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

M&Ms for going potty; a lollipop at the end of soccer practice; dessert for eating dinner; a pizza party prize from the PTA — these are just a few of the ways that parents and teachers use treat foods to reward kids for good behavior. Some parents bemoan the extra sugar that these treats represent — we’re more concerned about the weird message it sends kids about needing to earn their food. We’ve asked Leslie Schilling, RDN, a registered dietitian and nutrition therapist who wrote about this issue for US News & World Report to help us sort through the issues and come up with some practical ways to respond. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

You've heard us mention Division of Responsibility a million times by now. And you may have encountered this feeding philosophy, developed by renowned therapist and dietitian Ellyn Satter in mom groups or on parenting sites too. 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 —the feeding doctor and co-author of Helping Your Child With Extreme Picky Eating standing by this episode to answer all of your DOR-related questions. 

Don't forget to visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. And scroll down to leave us a review! If you do it by December 31, 2018, you'll be automatically entered to win a free copy of Virginia's new book The Eating Instinct. 

Got more DOR questions? Email us at comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood, and @yummyfamilyfood. 

Why do most men do so little at home — and especially in the kitchen? Why are women (still!) doing so much? Darcy Lockman, author of All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers and the Myth of Equal Partnership is on the podcast this week to talk about why mental load tasks like grocery list making and meal planning and prepping are still especially gendered — and what we can do, to find a better balance.

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the research and links discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

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 — from Virginia's daughter's dramatic story of feeding tube dependency and learning to eat again, to the interviews Virginia did with dozens of other folks, from all walks of life, all struggling to feel good about food. She also discusses easy strategies parents can use to protect our kids' eating instincts. Plus, Amy has a pregnancy-food update. 

Check out our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. And leave a review for us by December 31, 2018 and you'll automatically be entered to win a free copy of The Eating Instinct! (Just scroll down on your podcast player and you'll see how to do it. Then keep listening -- we'll announce the winner on our January 3rd, 2019 episode.) 

This week, we're chatting with Leah Koenig, author of The Jewish Cookbook and several other books and articles about Jewish cuisine around the world about why one country's comfort food is another's haute cuisine. She's also a mama of two with great tips for getting dinner on the table fast and building your own family food traditions.

Plus an Unrelated on girls, sports and body image. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

We know that motherhood (and just... life) can dramatically change how you feel about your body, whether you’re newly postpartum or several years in. Today we’re talking through some strategies to help you feel more body-positive and comfortable in your skin — no weight loss required (or even encouraged!). Plus an Unrelated Update on all of your feelings about chocolate milk. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

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, check out our archives for the gems you might have missed — and continue the conversation with us on Twitter or Instagram: We're @yummytoddlerfood and @v_solesmith. And send any questions you'd like us to tackle in upcoming episodes to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. 

We're talking through the logistics of stretching between grocery store trips, cooking from your pantry, and figuring out how to feel good about what you're eating when family meals look a lot different than usual. Plus Virginia's biggest pantry dinner successes and fails. 

Send questions and comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. And visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

We've decided to embrace the lack of childcare and bring the kids on the podcast! This week, almost-7-year-old Violet and 2-year-old Beatrix join Virginia to talk about their favorite foods, least favorite foods, and then a lot about butterflies and poop. You're welcome. 

Welcome to Comfort Food: The podcast about the joys (and meltdowns!) of feeding our families and ourselves. In Episode 1, we tackle a giant issue: How can we stop obsessing about what we eat? We discuss why diet culture, picky eating kids, and perfection pressure leave most of us overly fixated on every bite our kids eat... and every bite we think we shouldn't be eating. And we offer real-life strategies for relaxing a bit to help reduce mealtime drama and increase enjoyment — like the one simple thing you can do today, to feel better about how you eat. 

You'll also get to know your hosts: Amy Palanjian, creator of the blog Yummy Toddler Food and Virginia Sole-Smith, author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America. 

And don't forget to check out this episode's show notes page for more resources and links to everything we talked about today! 

Greetings from our bunkers! We put together this very special episode to talk through all of your anxieties about feeding your family—and feeding yourself—during these long weeks of isolation life. Amy and Virginia chat about grocery shopping strategies, why it's okay for the kids to eat all the mac and cheese right now, and how we can all lower the bar to reduce stress during this difficult time. 

Send your COVID food-related questions and struggles to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. And visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the United States coronavirus outbreak, so you won't hear any discussion of our current state of affairs. We hope it provides some much-needed distraction! Sending love and hope you're staying well and staying home. 

Helping the kids eat their veggies can feel like a fruitless task—it can be so hard and they’re often just not interested in food groups other than carbs and cheese. (We get it! We love carbs and cheese!) But there are some fun strategies you can use that won’t have you in the kitchen cutting carrots into flowers or arranging their lunch into rainbows. We're chatting with Ilene Godofsky Moreno, of The Colorful Kitchen for her best tips. 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

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. Find us on social (@v_solesmith @yummytoddlerfood @yummyfamilyfood) or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com to tell us how it's going with sugar at your house! 

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now! 

Dinner. It has to happen every night, no matter whether you meal planned, or are now staring down some hard 5pm truths about the state of your fridge. We asked Nicki Sizemore, of From Scratch Fast, to share some family-tested ideas for quick, easy dinners that you can make more or less out of thin air. 

Send us your dinner questions! Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. And you can read the show notes for this episode here.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins Baby

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

This week, we've got another report on how we're working, parenting and feeding our families and ourselves while in the isolation trenches. We're talking about ideas for making the same old kid meals a little more fun right now, Virginia's new Meal Prep for Lazy People strategy and the rising problem of food insecurity and what we can all do to help. 

Send questions and comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. And visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

A new study on kids and sugar consumption has triggered a flurry of handwringing — and mom shaming. But are American toddlers really living on Snickers' bars alone? And is banning sugar from your kids' diets a good idea (or even possible)? Amy and Virginia look at the data behind the hype in order to bust some common myths about sugar highs and childhood obesity. And we discuss why kids need to eat treats (yes, really!) in order to have a healthy relationship with food — and adults do too. 

Check out this episode's show notes page for links to the studies and recipes discussed today... plus Amy's favorite lunchbox! 

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 tell us whether you're on Team Puree, Team BLW or Team Whatever The Heck Works! Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on social: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood & @yummyfamilyfood. 

For this week's mini, Virginia is chatting about the process of reporting her new feature for Scientific American: What If Doctors Stopped Prescribing Weight Loss? 

We're getting into what the science really tells us about weight and health, the harm caused by weighing patients as a default medical practice, and what to do at the pediatrician's office. 

Here's a letter you can use to explain your decision to skip the weigh-in at your doctor's office. 

And here's a letter you can use to explain your decision to skip weight talk at your pediatrician's office. 

(Both via Anna Lutz, RD, who joined us for episode 44 on why kids don't need to diet!)

And here's The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity by Lindo Bacon and Sabrina Strings, which ran alongside my story in Scientific American. 

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. Plus, Amy and Virginia share a few body positive resolutions we can get behind.

Send your questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on social: @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood. And check out our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

These days, most of us have a friend or family member who can’t eat a specific food, or who is choosing not to for one reason or another, so today we’re talking about what that can mean for family meals — and our mental health. Amy shares how she figured out that gluten gives her migraines, and the impact it has had on her family, plus how talking about this challenge with her kids has helped her avoid some diet culture pitfalls. And we get into the more serious issues that can arise with real food allergies — and what we can all do to make life with these food restrictions a little easier.

PS. Don't forget to check out our show notes for all the links, recipes and products discussed during the episode. 

You know how you can be up for hours in the morning, your kids will be on their second breakfast or third snack and somehow, you still haven't had a bite? (And you've had to warm up your coffee 17 times?) Well, in Episode #3 of Comfort Food, we reveal our new Mama Manifesto: #FeedYourselfFirst! We talk about why this seemingly simple thing can be so hard to pull off. (Hint: It's not you, it's sexism). And we brainstorm our best strategies to help moms prioritize their own needs at mealtimes — yes, even if it means everyone else in your family just has to wait a minute.

Check out this episode's show notes page for links to Amy's favorite smoothie recipe and the reusable pouch that is changing Virginia's life, plus much more. 

The spooky season is upon us! And all too often, parents' biggest fear about Halloween is... what to do with all the candy. We know it can be a lot (especially if you've got multiple parties, parades and trick-or-treating ops in your town). But Halloween is also a fantastic opportunity to let your kids explore new foods, learn to handle themselves around treats, and (yes, really) enjoy some sugar. We talk about where this new candy phobia has come from, and go over our tips for making the onslaught fun and manageable for the whole family. And Amy chats with Sally of Real Mom Nutrition about her Switch Witch strategy.

Check out our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for more on Halloween candy fears, plus all of the resources discussed in this episode. 

And let us know how you handle Halloween at your house! Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood, @yummyfamilyfood. 

This week we're chatting with Crystal Karges, a registered dietitian nutritionist, maternal health specialist, certified intuitive eating counselor, international board certified lactation consultant and mom of five. Crystal specializes in helping moms nurture a peaceful relationship with food and their bodies so they can mother from a place of abundance, confidently feed their children, and truly thrive in life. Sign us up! 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Eating out can be one of the easiest ways to give yourself a break from the daily chore of feeding your family, but what to do when it just feels like a looming disaster? We talk through some common challenges, and solutions, to taking kids to restaurants.

Send us your best kids in restaurant tips! comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. And don't forget to visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com and follow us on social at @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. 

Baking (or cooking, or just inhabiting the kitchen) with your children sounds so great in theory...but the reality is often sticky counters, broken egg shells, and bored littles wondering when you're going to get to the fun frosting part already. (But you're making soup.) This week, Amy and Virginia ask Samantha Barnes, founder of Radish Kids to share her best strategies for having fun in the kitchen with kids of any age. Be sure to listen to the end for a special discount code on a Radish Kids membership of your own!

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for links to the recipes and other resources discussed in this episode. Share your best tip (or funniest fail!) for cooking with kids by email (comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com) or on social: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood, @yummyfamilyfood. 

And don't forget to leave us a review before the end of December to be entered in our giveaway for a free copy of The Eating Instinct!

Managing home school schedules, balancing work from home with a total lack of childcare, grocery store stress — parents are navigating a million new mental load challenges right now, and moms, not surprisingly, are carrying the bigger burden. This week we're talking about the schedules we've come up with to (sort of) keep work and school on track in our own families, how we're preserving an equal division of domestic responsibilities with our spouses, and why Virginia is deleting the gym teacher's emails and you can too. 

Send your COVID food and mental load-related questions and struggles to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. And visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links discussed in this episode. 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

For this week's mini episode, Virginia shares some of our favorite Black voices in the food world, especially in the "feeding kids" space, which is not nearly diverse enough. Here's the list if you'd like to explore, follow and support their work: 

• Jessica Jones and Wendy Lopez of the Food Heaven blog and podcast. (Check out Jessica's episode of Comfort Food here.)
• Jessica Wilson, MS, RD
• Christyna Johnson, RD, of Encouraging Dietitian.
• Shana Minei Spence, RDN, of The Nutrition Tea.
• Deanna Belleny Lewis MPH, RDN, on Instagram @deanna.rdn and @diversifydietetics. 
• Veronica Garnett, RD
• SLPs Of Color on Instagram and their podcast. 
• Simone of @ZaynesPlate
• Nia of @thefriendineverwanted.

For more on racism and diet culture, be sure to read Fearing The Black Body by Sabrina Strings. 

Is it possible to practice intuitive eating and have a healthier relationship with food, while also wanting to lose or maintain your weight? We’re getting into this super common — and super complicated — question with Jessica Jones, RDN, co-host of the Food Heaven podcast, who recently wrote about it for Self.com. 

Plus, an Unrelated about why you won't see how much our kids eat on Instagram.

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Every darn day we have to feed our families dinner. And on way too many of those days, it's harder than it should be. We’ve pinpointed 5 of the most common problems that come up during family dinner:

1. Time: We never have enough!
2. Kids Won’t Sit Still: Who else has a toddler who constantly plays with their food??
3. One Parent Trying to Do It All: Whomp, whomp. This one can be so hard to manage given busy schedules.
4. Expectations Are Too High: Because eating with kids is not the same as eating (and cooking) in life before kids.
5. Pickiness: Obviously this is a giant issue for so many families! We have tips you can try today to start to improve things.

And on this episode, we're talking through our solutions to all of the above—including the strategies we're road-testing in our very own homes. 

Check out our show notes for more meal prep tips and shortcut strategies, plus all of the resources discussed in this episode. 

Still struggling? Let us know what's taking the joy out of your family dinners, and we'll talk about it in an upcoming episode. Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on social: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood and @yummyfamilyfood. 

You know how nobody has ever eaten exactly one half cup of ice cream and felt satisfied in their life? Yeah. That. Diet culture and government guidelines are full of rules about the so-called right amount to eat of every food.... but they rarely match up with how much we — and our kids! — actually need to eat. So is portion control ever useful? And if not, what should you do instead? We talk about how to encourage kids to listen to their bodies, and offer tips for how mamas can ditch the guilt and practice intuitive eating as well. 

Don't forget to visit this episode's show notes page for all the links and resources discussed here — including a breakdown of how much your kiddo really needs to eat in a day. 

If you’re like most households, there is one person (and we’re guessing it’s you!) who notices when we run out of milk, thinks ahead to restock the kids’ favorite cereal, and remembers to pull chicken out of the freezer in time to defrost for dinner. We know this mental load work can really pile up — so today we’re tackling your big questions about how to broach the topic with your partner and sharing our best tips and hacks to lessen your load. 

And, because nobody can stay on top of the mental load when we’re exhausted, Amy interviews Becca from Little Z’s Sleep Solutions for her best tips on getting your kids to sleep. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

We're downloading a day early because it's almost Halloween! And all too often, parents biggest fear about Halloween is... what to do with all the candy. But Halloween is also a fantastic opportunity to let your kids explore new foods, learn to handle themselves around treats and (yes, really) enjoy some sugar. We're rebroadcasting this classic Comfort Food episode with tips for making the onslaught fun and manageable for the whole family. And, Amy chats with Sally of Real Mom Nutrition about her Switch Witch strategy. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

This week, we're talking about some recent food/parenting fails in our own homes — as well as getting into what to do when kids talk about "needing to diet." (Gah!) 

Resources for this episode: 

Jennifer Berry's Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics

Love Me, Feed Me by Katja Rowell, MD

Virginia's NYT story on the Weight Watchers app for kids.

The Full Bloom Podcast

Losing yourself in parenthood is such a common struggle, especially for moms, because the sheer logistics of caring, feeding, and scheduling our kids lives can be completely time consuming. But staying in touch with ourselves and the things we love (including watching trashy TV, connecting with our partners and eating food other than our kids' sandwich crusts) is vital to our happiness. This week we're chatting with Rachel Bertsche, author of The Kids Are In Bed, about how to find—and own!— your pockets of indulgence. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

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 or find us on social @yummytoddlerfood and @v_solesmith. 

Visit our shownotes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Bumkins makes bibs, placemats, reusable bags, diapers and more that we adore. And they've generously offered 18% off their products with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com. It's a great time of year to stock up

Maybe you’re packing your first preschool lunchbox. Or logging on to top up your elementary schooler’s lunch account. Or trying to figure out what your toddler ate at daycare all day… sending your kids out to eat their midday meal in the world can be tricky! We’re talking about how to navigate this new facet of your child’s relationship with food, and what to do about all the new food messages they’ll bring home from school.

PS. Don't forget to check out our show notes page with links to all the recipes, articles and other resources discussed in this episode. 

Whether you have a kiddo in a high weight percentile, or barely on the growth chart, chances are you’ve had at least one pediatrician visit where you left stressed out about growth curves. Today we’re discussing the limitations of the Body Mass Index, how to keep growth chart percentiles in perspective and celebrate your kid at any size. Plus we give reviews of our new favorite body positive online workouts — One Peleton and The Underbelly!

Visit comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links, articles and other resources discussed in this episode. Have you dealt with a frustrating growth chart conversation — or do you have a favorite online workout for us? Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. 

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 us your questions about family dinners (or all things feeding families and yourselves!) to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. 

“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 and many other books on family nutrition here to help us sort it all out. 

More resources in our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. 

Follow us on social media @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood, and email your questions or comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. 

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 family food questions! @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. And visit comfortfoodpodcast.com for our show notes. 

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now! 

Why do most men do so little at home — and especially in the kitchen? Why are women (still!) doing so much? Darcy Lockman, author of All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers and the Myth of Equal Partnership is on the podcast this week to talk about why mental load tasks like grocery list making and meal planning and prepping are still especially gendered — and what we can do, to find a better balance.

Send us your mental load questions! Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. And you can read the show notes for this episode here.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins Baby

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

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 tips and resources, visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. Have a holiday hosting (or general food) question? Email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood. 

Note: Comfort Food will be off for the holidays but we'll see you back here on January 3, 2019! Happy/Merry Everything, friends! 

Virginia has hit a wall with family dinner - so much prep! so much crying! so little eating! - and we're betting she's not alone. If you're struggling to get a meal onto the table at the end of a long work day, Amy is here to save your sanity (at least for a few nights!) with her go-to fast dinners. These easy meals hit all the marks for fast, nutritious, and accessible—and they’re meals that both little kids and adults will be happy to eat.

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

We've decided to embrace the lack of childcare and bring the kids on the podcast! This week, 8 year yold Linden joins Amy to talk about her favorite foods, least favorite foods, and all her best tips for parents trying to encourage kids to try new foods. 

We realized we had A LOT more to say about moms and fitness (and why you don't need to get your "pre-baby body" back!). So we're talking in more detail about how we find our exercise motivation and fit stress-free, fun workouts into our lives, while avoiding common diet culture fitspo traps.

We're also re-broadcasting the second half of Virginia's conversation on raising body positive kids — and navigating all the weird stuff people say about children, food and bodies — with Rebecca Scritchfield of the Body Kindness Podcast. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com. And get in touch! We'd love to hear your favorite online workout or other way to bring body positive movement into your life: comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. We're also on social media: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood. 

We talk a lot about intuitive eating and the Division of Responsibility or "responsive feeding" approach we like to take with family meals — but we know these big ideas can be tricky to put into practice. We've asked registered dietitian nutritionist Elizabeth Davenport of Sunny Side Up Nutrition to tackle this week's questions. 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and research referenced in this episode. Send questions or comments to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social media: @v_solesmith, @yummytoddlerfood & @sunnysideupnutritionists.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics

Thrive By Spectrum Pediatrics offers personalized, compassionate and evidence-based solutions for picky eating and other stressful mealtime challenges by phone, video conference or in person. Get 10% off Family Mealtime Coaching when you mention “Comfort Food Podcast” at thrivewithspectrum.com.  

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now! 

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 family food questions! @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. And you can read the show notes for this episode here.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins Baby

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

We're on pandemic hiatus, but rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes — that seem super useful right now! 

We know that motherhood (and just... life) can dramatically change how you feel about your body, whether you’re newly postpartum or several years in. Today we’re talking through some strategies to help you feel more body-positive and comfortable in your skin — no weight loss required (or even encouraged!).

Find us @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood on social media or email comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com. And you can read the show notes for this episode here.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins Baby

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, THE COMFORT FOOD WAY

Our new e-book takes you through 8 concepts that will form the foundation of your understanding of how to feed kids and give you a firm starting point for improving mealtimes in your house. We’re here to reassure and inspire. We’re here to remind you that you’re doing a good job. We’re here to let you know that you’re not alone in the daily challenge of feeding your family. We’re here to help.

Get your copy of Feeding Your Family The Comfort Food Way here. 

Welcome to the final episode of season 2! Whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, weaning your baby or toddler from their first milk over to a cup can be a fraught process. We’re exploring why our cultural expectations about moms, toddlers and feeding make it so much harder — and brainstorming ways to make it go more smoothly. (As Virginia gears up to bottle-wean her own toddler!) Plus, fan favorite Nicki Sizemore of From Scratch Fast is back with some family-friendly ways to cook summer veggies. 

We'll be back in mid-August with a whole new season of Comfort Food for you! In the meantime, check out our archives for episodes you may have missed, and tell us what you'd like to hear on the show: Comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or @v_solesmith & @yummytoddlerfood on Instagram. 

And don't forget to visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links, recipes and other resources discussed in this episode. 

As you might guess from our podcast name, we’re firm believers in the comforting power of food. But diet culture gives “emotional eating” a bad rap, and convinces us that anytime we eat because we’re sad, happy, tired, etc that we must be doing something “wrong.” Today we’re sorting through some common myths about emotional eating, and exploring the fundamental importance of “comfort food” for our kids, and for ourselves. 

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Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Even if you’re a somewhat reluctant meal prepper, there is one meal of the week that you probably often wish you had planned ahead for: Weekday lunches! Most of us don’t have time to cook ‘em, but we also don’t love eating a sad desk salad—or the leftover crust from our kid’s grilled cheese. We asked Talia Koren of Workweek Lunch to help us out of our Thursday lunch slump. And we talk about how meal prepping can support your intuitive eating goals. 

TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY!

We want to know more about you, and what you think of Comfort Food. Please take our quick and easy survey so we can keep making this podcast better and better. Thanks so much! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the links and recipes discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Do you worry whether you're spending the "right" amount of money on the food you buy for your family? We sure do... so we got some hard numbers on how much Americans spend on groceries and they may make you feel way better. We also talk about the cultural pressures that contribute to our anxiety about how much is too much to spend on food, and the social status issues involved in where you shop. 

And, Amy has some breaking news about her former gluten intolerance! 

Visit our show notes at comfortfoodpodcast.com for all the research and links discussed in this episode. Send questions to comfortfoodpodcast@gmail.com or find us on social: @v_solesmith and @yummytoddlerfood.

Sponsor Spotlight: Bumkins

Take 18% off your order of suction plates, reusable snack bags, bibs, baby utensils and more with the code YUMMYTODDLERFOOD at www.bumkins.com.

We're starting this episode with a sad announcement: We're taking another hiatus. (Thanks to COVID, remote schooling, 2020 in general...) But before we go, we're downloading all of our thoughts about the mental load of back to school season — especially this year, when many kids (like Amy's!) are still stuck at home, and others (like Virginia's!) are going to school in tents. 

We also discuss: 

• Our favorite lunchbox.
• Amy's exhaustive insulated lunchbag research. 
• And even more exhaustive idea lists for daycare lunches, kindergarten lunches, and disposable lunch gear. 
• Oh and the super cool sandwich sealer! 

In less good news, we mentioned programs like Pandemic EBT, which at recording time, we thought would be re-authorized, but as of writing these show notes, has not, with dire consequences.

So, you know, Vote Biden. 

We are just OVER food right now. So this week, join us to commiserate about how often children need to be fed, but why they don't like the snacks you bought, how boring it is to keep making dinner and what to do about feeding yourself right now, because we're betting it's been a minute since you did that first. 

This episode includes shout-outs to the wisdom of Dr. Rachel Millner, Dr. Katja Rowell and Nicki Sizemore of From Scratch Fast.