Episode 276 Transcript
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[00:00:00] You are listening to episode 276 of the Peaceful Mind Podcast.
Welcome to the Peaceful Mind Podcast, a place for creating the peace of mind. You need to be the best mom you are created by God to be. If you wanna bring more balance, more joy, and more peace to your motherhood, this is the place for you. I'm your host, certified life coach at Catholic Mom Danielle Thienel.
In the name of the father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Let's get started. Hello everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm so excited that you're here because we are continuing on my expert series, and today I have Dr. Tiffany Watson with me and we are gonna talk about how we can make meal planning and nutrition simple and effective [00:01:00] for busy families.
So welcome Dr. Tiff. Thank you so much. I'm excited to chat today and just hopefully give your listeners some good resources. I appreciate the invite. Yes. Can you tell us a little bit of your background so we get an idea about who you're sure. Sure. Absolutely. So I started this journey about 20 years ago.
Initially worked more in the corporate wellness world, so I was working with leaders and executives and staffs on just building a culture of wellness for their companies. And that. Slowly morphed into more of a private practice. So now I work one-on-one with individuals and also with families on building strategies for nutrition performance just optimizing their lifestyle, whatever their health goals might be.
But more specifically just around how do I build some good nutrition habits and behaviors and strategies for myself. [00:02:00] So that's the business side of things. And I'm here in Nashville, so we are neighbors, which is Yes, I love that. Which, so I love that because I'm always, you know, most of my clients, maybe like yours, are around the, the country.
And so whenever we get a chance to meet in person, so I hope to do that with you sometime soon. Absolutely. Did you have any, is there a, is there a personal kind of focus on why nutrition, why you, yourself? Was there any struggles there before or? Sure. Well, I grew up an athlete, so I was a competitive soccer player for most of my young life in high school and college.
And just always was very active. But growing up in the south, you know, we didn't really have a lot of focus on healthy eating. My mom was your traditional like homemade buttermilk, biscuits and fried chicken and all the things, but I was so active that I didn't really have to worry about it, you know, at the time.
And then you get into college and then you stop playing competitive sports, and then you get older. And I really [00:03:00] struggled with an eating disorder for a long time because that same competitiveness, the perfectionism, the need to achieve all the things that had served me as an athlete. And then I didn't have that anymore.
I really struggled with compulsive exercise and restrictive eating. And I've really battled through that in my life and has really led me to wanna help people form a more healthy relationship with how they fuel their body and understanding what it needs to thrive and what our kids need to see from just how we model that for them.
So yeah, there was a lot of struggle that came. To this point in my life. And that pain has become my purpose. Yeah. Is the way I like to say that. Well, thank you for sharing that. And we're all gonna benefit from that purpose now. So my listeners you know, obviously I wanna focus on busy moms. I do know that this comes up when I'm helping clients with time management, right.
And we have several, when you have several children and all [00:04:00] the activities that are going on. I do hear a lot that there is that challenge with meal planning and maybe you know, they're just focusing on is this nutritious enough? But, so what would you tell say to them about what do you think that the biggest nutrition challenges are for busy families today?
What do you find? What I hear a lot. Number one, obviously time becomes a barrier. You know, they have the best of intentions of getting to the grocery and meal prepping or throwing something in the crock pot, but then morning routines get off and they forget to put the chicken in the crock pot. And then that all just kind of derails everyone.
I think picky eaters is a challenge. I have a lot of moms and dads that say, I make the meal, but then nobody wants to eat it. And then I just get put out that I'm continuing to put in all this energy and then nobody's wanting to eat the meals, so I have to make something else. So I really try to work with them [00:05:00] on, okay, how do we create some involvement with the family.
I've had some families that'll put a bunch of meals in a hat and every kiddo gets to pick a meal for the week, or everybody gets to choose one meal every Saturday, you know, and they rotate through. So I think when you get your kids involved, I. It breaks down that barrier of like, Hey, this is what you're eating and there's no choices.
So I think like anything, we all like to feel like we have a little control right over what we're eating. So I think that is helpful for some of my families of just making it more of like a conversation and, Hey, let's meal meal prep on Sundays and everybody gets to choose something is usually really helpful.
That's, so that is a very good tip there. I want like as a coach and, and you well know that we want to be able to go internally to see what's going on, right? The mindset part of it. Uncovering what you're, as a mom, what you're really [00:06:00] believing. May not be exactly, you know, the truth of when you're thinking about how you're preparing things or the type of food you're giving.
So if we went from just thinking about the mindset, what do you find is the most limiting belief that moms have about healthy eating and specifically meal planning? I think there's just a lot of families that get stressed out about the quality all the time. And I do think it's important. I mean, I think we need to focus on fruits and veggies and we need to get clean protein choices instead of processed proteins all the time.
Like these pre-made protein shakes or lunch meats on a regular basis or, you know, just the things that are lower quality. But I think when you're first starting out. If you're just eating at home and you're putting some color on the plate and there's some balance, and then maybe you have to do something that's more convenient and less quality, like give [00:07:00] yourself a break. Find the low hanging fruit instead of trying to go all the way to the other side of, you know, all organic and no dyes and no, you know, I think you get caught in the weeds a little bit when you just try to go from to all or nothing mindset.
So I think just finding the middle ground of like, okay, I'm doing these things. At least I'm cooking and we're not eating out every night. Like that's a good first step. Yes. I'm so glad you said that. One of my tools in my mom toolbox that I teach my client is actually called middle ground.
There you go. So that's the kind of tool you wanna pull out, right? ..And I think what you're kind of alluding to is like what my next question is how can moms release perfectionism around nutrition? Right. That's it, right? I mean, you, there's always room to improve, but when you're not doing anything at the beginning, you're not getting to the grocery.
You're constantly relying on Uber Eats or fast food or quick and easy. It's like, okay, can I just prep two or three [00:08:00] meals that we can have and have leftovers a couple of nights? You know, find just the first step. Or maybe it's not even meals, maybe it's just we're gonna do better snacks. We're gonna do better breakfasts.
You know, something that just finds your footing a little bit, and then you can build on it. Instead of going and thinking you're gonna have all these crazy complicated recipes and you're gonna cook every night and you're gonna meal prep on Sundays for two hours with your Tupperware containers, like that's like next level.
Graduate yourself up. I think is the best strategy. Yeah. And one of the things, when I hear you say that, I just wanna remind moms of, especially as I find, I think about those early days of stress for me with the kids being young and at home, and then the activities and everything. But, you know, and now I'm in a different stage.
My kids are older, but. I, I want to remind moms that like, it is just for a season, right? You wanna, like, maybe you will have to figure out something [00:09:00] that is, you know, be less perfectionist about it for a time. And then there will be a time when you will have more bandwidth or something or get a routine down.
And then before you know it, then you are involving the kids more or they're more independent. So I just wanted to fit that in there, the reminder of those that it's not going to be that way that you know, hard and challenging all the time. Just finding. Maybe some compromises. Like for example, I had a young lady come up to me after class.
I'm teaching a health and wellness class at Belmont. And so a lot of those kids are in dorms or they're on meal plans or they don't have time, they're working full time or they're working and going to class. And so she came up and she said, what do you like? How do you make better choices when you don't have the resources necessarily?
And they have a Chick-fil-A on campus and she goes, I feel like all I do is just go to Chick-fil-A. And I said, well. Could you go and get the nuggets, but then go home and make some veggies and some microwave brown rice [00:10:00] with it, or have a sweet potato and some, you know, and she's like, oh, well that's a good idea.
Because I'd always just struggled to make the protein because I don't have a kitchen, but I could microwave like a steamer veggie and, and a sweet potato. I said, so with the, even with families, like can you just pick up something and then put stuff with it? So then maybe you're not feeling like, okay, I, I didn't have time to prep everything, but at least I'm making sure that there's some balance to what we're doing.
Yeah. I love it. So let's just say there's a mom who is it's not, meal planning is not a source of stress. What is that mom believing and thinking? Does that make sense? I want, I still wanna be on the mindset, right? When, when we, when we talk about this isn't, this isn't gonna be the mindset when you think, oh my goodness, I have to make this meal perfect all the time.
But what is the mom who's, she's not stressed and meal planning comes easy for [00:11:00] her. What are her main thoughts? I mean, I think for her it's like you said, it's just lowering expectations and setting goals that are maybe more realistic or also just recognizing, like you said, is like this is not forever.
So, you know, my kids might, they might change their schedule next week, or they might decide to play a different sport, or they might have start dating somebody and they're not home all the time. And I think it's just like being present and just taking it one day at a time probably reduces a lot of that anxiety.
I think it's when we, again, when we start playing out the what if, the what, you know, I should be doing this or why is so and so able to do this and I'm not comparison steals our joy. Right? So I would imagine that mom that's just living in her present and living in her situation is probably. Just settled into what she's able to do and is managing that [00:12:00] without creating this comparison of, I should be, it should look like this, or Why can't I be like that?
And so that maybe is helping her settle into that a little bit easier. And you me just mentioned being more realistic, so just prac in just practical questions here. What does a realistic nutritious meal plan look like for a busy family? I think, again, I go back to my comment about just picking two or three areas that you feel like you can improve.
So again, if it's, Hey, we're gonna start every morning with a really nice, balanced, nutritious breakfast. Maybe that week you just focus on having a good breakfast. And once you get in the rhythm with that, it becomes a little more automatic and then maybe you can move on to, Hey, let's try prepping a couple of dinners.
So I think for a family that is, let's say, not doing anything right now, nutritionally focused or they don't really have any [00:13:00] goals or plans, I think if you just look at, we eat 28 meals a week, let's say seven days a week, four meals a day, three meals and a snack. Like can you just get 50% of those a little bit more planned and prepped and feel like you have control over that, and then start to kind of move up the ante from there.
Okay. This episode is airing right upon before upon the summer. And at this time my moms are usually thinking about the changes in the schedule that are about to happen, right? It brings up some, some emotions. So how, what would you suggest how moms could simplify meal planning for the summer or really when somebody might be listening to this episode at a different time when whenever schedules are really less predictable.
I've used a lot of local delivery, meal delivery services [00:14:00] over the years, so I think depending on where you are, like for example, just here in Nashville, there's vibrant meals and they do a really nice job and they're pretty cost effective. Music City Fit Meals is another one, so if you're not, and I would argue it's cheaper than eating out every night.
So if your schedule is hectic and you're gonna end up going out. Instead, just maybe go ahead and be proactive and get a few meals ordered. You can keep 'em and if they don't, if you don't eat 'em, you can freeze 'em so you're not wasting the meals. And I also kind of like it because you can go on and everybody could put, pick different meals.
So then if you do run into challenges with like everybody isn't always up for the same thing. Everybody could order four or five meals from one of these delivery service options, and then you come home and everybody can kind of pick what they're up for, but you're still eating together as a family potentially.
So I think meal delivery is one option. I think the other is just being an informed consumer and knowing if we are gonna [00:15:00] have to eat out, could we find a few places that we know maybe have some healthier options on the menu? So most every restaurant you can go online and look at menus ahead of time so you can look and see, you know, do they have some veg?
Do they have some grilled protein choices? Do they have some options that the kids are gonna like and the adults are gonna like. So I think too, if you kind of know at least where in the area you're gonna be at certain times of day, like, we know we have a ball game here, we've got a tournament on, you know, the other side of town, you could kind of do your homework and look around and see are there some places around you that you could at least feel better about the choices that you're making and not end up in drive-throughs every night.
My, and as you're talking, my mind was kind of going, I was thinking about my brother right now who has a 10-year-old, and I know that like every, maybe I'm, I'm thinking it's spring or summer that they go strawberry picking. I was just thinking about what you said earlier about involving the kids.
Also what came to [00:16:00] mind is maybe, I know that my kids ate more vegetables, like their, probably their first green beans came straight out from when we decided to have our own garden and grow green beans. Oh, I love that. Yeah, it's fun. It's like, okay, like we made this, or you know, zucchini or squash tomatoes.
Yeah, absolutely. That could be fun. Okay, so do you have any go-to strategies for really quick nutritious meals on hectic days for my busy moms. You know, there are a few companies that do a pretty good job with like the pre-made frozen or even just refrigerated meals from the grocery. Like Kevin's is a brand and that he does like some different, you know, protein that's already kind of cooked in season.
So again, at least you could just heat that up and then maybe just throw some sides with it. So I think that might be an option. And then just, you know, there are better choices at some of these quote unquote fast foods. Like Panera, you can at least get like. Some soup and a [00:17:00] sandwich or a salad with chicken on it.
And you know, they have some various options there. Even like a chili or a Wendy's has chili and baked potatoes and salads. So I think you just have to go into some of these fast food chain restaurant situations with a little bit of a different lens and just realize. I can eat out, but I still have control over what I'm eating, right?
So everywhere you go, you can make a really optimal choice, or you could probably make a really less than optimal choice. So when you can't control where you're going, you can always control what you're choosing. And you mentioned this a little bit earlier, but I'm gonna circle back around. How do you recommend handling picky eaters without making separate meals?
You know, that's a tough one, but I feel like it, it's a parenting strategy at some level. I mean, I've definitely had parents and clients in the past that are like, this is our meal. And [00:18:00] you can eat it or you can choose not to eat it, you know, and just putting your foot down. Now that's gonna probably mean some controversy around meal times or drama.
But I think unless you establish that expectation of like, this is what we're making and that's why I feel like if they know that they got to choose one night and maybe their brother or sister chose that night, it's like, well, I'm eating the one that he chose and they're going to eat the one I chose tomorrow night.
I think it does like lower the bar a little bit, but you know, I think the other option is to always maybe just have like a backup. Like you can make a Turkey sandwich. Right, so you're not cooking anything. It's like you can eat this or there's lunch meat and bread and cheese in the fridge and you can make a Turkey sandwich.
So I think that would be the other strategies, like you don't want 'em to not eat, but just not where you are having to cook something else. Yeah. I think personally, my one backup with my kids was cereal, [00:19:00] but I'm not sure if I would make that same choice today. I don't know, but sometimes I would. I would be okay with it.
Okay. So what is one simple change a mom could make today to improve her family's nutrition?
I think the, the, probably the lowest hanging fruit is you've got to set yourself up for the, with the resources. So I think if there's any time you're gonna give and anything you're gonna prioritize, it's making sure you go to the grocery store. Hmm. Like you've just got to shop and have things on hand and it doesn't again, have to be the whole week, but like if you just said, I'm gonna just get a better pantry set up, or I have better snack choices, or I have more snack choices.
So I think if anything, if you've got 30 minutes, you can go to the grocery store and get a few things because you can't ever be successful if you don't have the resources to be successful. Ooh, that's good. We all needed that [00:20:00] reminder. Okay. You just mentioned the pantry. That's my next question. What pantry staples do you recommend keeping on hand for healthy last minute meals?
Because I know that that's the default of all my kids. They go when they're hungry, they go straight to the pantry. That's right. That's right. Well, I mean, I think it's little things like. You know, having oatmeal where you can, even just the instant packets where you could just add water and microwave it, but at least you're getting a whole grain and you're getting some complex carbohydrates and you're getting something that's filling, you know, you can get the little microwave brown rice cups again, where you could just add a little protein with it and some veg with it.
I think something like the high protein pasta where you can just boil water, throw some pasta in there, at least you're getting some protein, you're getting some carbs. Throw a little bit of cheese on it. Some olive oil. Oil, like at least something that you can make, like a satisfying, hearty, well-balanced [00:21:00] meal and the kiddos could probably even learn how to do that.
I'm also a big fan of breakfast for dinner, so for me it's so easy to just scramble some eggs and have some fruit and a piece of toast and like that doesn't take a lot. Me too. I love that. As a kid, when mom was like making breakfast for dinner, that was the best. Yeah, and so usually you're gonna have all of those, like you're gonna have bread to make some toast, you're gonna have some fruit, you're gonna have some eggs in the fridge.
So I feel like when there's no, when there's no other option, like just making like an omelet and you can at least get some veggies in there. You can have some fruit, you can have some, some grains, or even the microwave oatmeal with it and make yourself a easy dinner. So I love it. Dr. Tiff, do you have any resources that you would recommend for moms who want to learn more about nutrition?
Sure. Well, on my website there's some resources, just some downloads, some quizzes, and some [00:22:00] little quick kind of eBooks to just get you started. And there's also some meal plans. I've got a few family friendly meal plans on the store on my website. So if you just wanted to dip your toe and have something that's not customized to you necessarily, but at least gives you some recipes and a shopping list.
There's also just some really good websites that I like that have family friendly meals. Skinny taste.com is one. Peanut Butter and Fitness is another one. I love it. And Lily Eats and tells, so those three are kind of my go-tos for, they do a lot of one Pot Instapot family friendly.
So those three websites are really great. And. You just wanted like one-on-one info. I always offer a complimentary call also, so you can schedule that on my website which is work with dr tiff.com. Yes. And I will have that for sure in the show notes. Great. Okay, just to, to wrap up, I wanna know, do you have any final encouragement you'd like to offer to a mom who's listening who [00:23:00] feels overwhelmed by trying to feed her family Well.
I think you mentioned it earlier, and that's just to give yourself some grace and to just find some little things that make you start to feel a little more control. I think when we feel overwhelmed, it's because we feel like we're out of control or we don't have any kind of legs under us, and I think just finding little things that allow you to feel like you're doing well by your family.
I think too, just take care of yourself. I think moms so often are selfless and I think it's okay to, if you're not nourishing yourself and being a little selfish in prioritizing what you're giving to your own body, then you definitely are not gonna have the energy to do that for your family. So. Okay.
That was golden. I wanna end on that note. And if you missed it, the listeners, I want you to just like hit that back button a couple times so you can hear that. Perfect words of encouragement. Well, this was so [00:24:00] lovely. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your time and talent with my listeners.
I really appreciate it. Absolutely. I really appreciate you and what you're doing for moms. I think that's such a special target audience to be speaking to. So, all right, well thanks again Dr. Tiff. And like we mentioned, everyone there, there will be to be in contact and what we've mentioned will be in the show notes.
So be sure to check that out. And to all my listeners, thank you so much for coming along this journey with the Expert Series for me this month. And until next week, may peace be with you. Always. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of The Peaceful Mind Podcast. If you found value in today's episode, I'd be so grateful if you could subscribe and leave a review.
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