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Vegetarian Diets

Nutrition Experts Podcast Episode 34 Vegetarian Diets for Kids with Jessica Spiro

December 24, 2018 by matheaford Leave a Comment

Jessica Spiro, RD is a plant-based registered dietitian based in San Diego, California. In addition to having her own practice where she specializes in vegan and vegetarian nutrition for families, Jessica also has a blog and makes regular appearances on the San Diego local morning TV news. Jessica’s goal with her business is to help parents raise plant-based kids with confidence!

www.jessicaspirord.com

Mathea Ford: [00:00:27] Hi there! It’s Mathea. Welcome back to the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast featuring nutrition experts who are leading the way using food starts today right now with our next guest. It’s great to have Jessica Spiro on the show today. Jessica welcome to Nutrition Experts.

Jessica Spiro: [00:00:44] Thank you so much for having me on your show.

Mathea Ford: [00:00:46] I’m excited to have you on the show and share your expertise with my tribe. So, Jessica let’s start out with letting you tell my listeners a little more about you and what you do.

Jessica Spiro: [00:00:57] Yes. So, I’m a registered dietitian I’m based in San Diego and I specialize in the organ and vegetarian nutrition for kids. So, plant based diets for children. And I decided to go into this specific area because of my own personal experience. So I had a daughter two years ago and she was basically mostly vegetarian since probably I was 12 years old. And then when she started eating I found out she was allergic to milk and eggs. So, I started to research more and more about diets mainly because I was trying to look up recipes and also make sure that she was getting her adequate nutrition and calcium and all of that. And I was one learning more about veganism and the ethical aspects of that really resonated with me. And in addition I also found that there was a big gap in information. So there’s really not much information pertaining to specific nutritional needs for vegan children in particular. And so I felt that being a Registered Dietitian and also having my own personal experience trying to look for that information I decided to go into that area.

Mathea Ford: [00:02:12] You talked to… You said mentioned the ethical aspects of vegetarian vegan foods. What would be some examples of that?

Jessica Spiro: [00:02:21] So, in terms of you know a plant based diet. Plant based diet is really where you’re incorporating more fruits and vegetable, you’re eating predominantly plant based sources of proteins etc. Veganism is it encompasses the ethical aspects including you know just your everyday living including you know not buying leather products and things like that. So, vegans omit any type of animal products. So, dairy, eggs, you know things like honey for example. Their specific nutrient needs that you know we need to pay extra attention to especially if we’re raising vegan children.

Mathea Ford: [00:03:01] So, the ethical side is really just not using animal products? Is that what you’re saying?

Jessica Spiro: [00:03:06] Yes!

Mathea Ford: [00:03:07] Okay. So, would you say that children that you work with seem to find that extra value or they’re inspired by that or is it something that is different for kids?

Jessica Spiro: [00:03:19] You know interestingly enough I thought it was going to be a lot of parents coming to me because they decided to go vegan and wanted to get their family on board. But actually it’s been a lot of times that I’ll have moms reach out to me because their child wants to go vegan. They were impacted by a story that they heard and so their families want to support them and their believe somewhat of course make sure that they’re providing them adequate nutrition.

Mathea Ford: [00:03:48] What age typically are you working with kids when they’re kind of making these choices?

Jessica Spiro: [00:03:54] If parents aren’t already raising them from a young age it’s usually pre-teen teenagers that I find I don’t know. That’s like you know the statistics of course but that’s just generally what I’ve seen in my practice.

Mathea Ford: [00:04:07] So, let’s talk for a minute because you specialize in plant based nutrition for kids. Can you talk about what is Plant Based Nutrition? Is it the same as a vegetarian diet? And as a vegetarian the same as vegan? Or is plant based nutrition… Which one is how are they different?

Jessica Spiro: [00:04:26] Yes. So plant based there is no legal definition for plant based. But most people assume it to mean a diet where the majority of your nutrition is coming from plants. So, you know I love the type the label plant based but really it’s actually what dietitians have been recommending since for forever really where we should be eating more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains. And perhaps a little too you know or maybe less on the you know processed meats things like that. So, eating more fruits and vegetables and more grains is probably you know at the epicenter of the diets. And then veganism takes it another step because it encompasses more of the ethical aspects that I was talked about before. So you know vegans don’t necessarily have to be plant based so there is a vegan alternatives to almost every type of food. And it doesn’t of course doesn’t necessarily mean it is healthy. So, you know you can do vegan nuggets for example you can do vegan macaroni and cheese. So, veganism is about the the ethical component. The animal welfare as well as environmental impact of our eating habits and plant based is more focused on the diet and the health aspects of it. And of course people can be both. You know a combination and vegetarianism there’s different components of vegetarian. So vegetarians typically eats. Lacto-Ovo eats milk and eggs and Pescaterian include fish in their diets. And then of course there’s varying degrees and of each people might not be all vegan they might be mostly vegan or you know things like that so. But those are pretty much the definitions.

Mathea Ford: [00:06:12] So, plant based doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not eating meat. It just means that the majority of your food 80-90 percent is plant based and you may have some meat products or other chicken that type of stuff every now and then?

Jessica Spiro: [00:06:26] Exactly!

Mathea Ford: [00:06:28] Okay. What type of meat substitutes do vegans usually eat or you know to get. I’m guessing protein and other components that we typically get out of meat?

Jessica Spiro: [00:06:39] So in terms of like if you look at the vegan alternatives that you can buy sort of more processed versions that they’re going to typically be soy that’s the most common one that you’ll see. But in terms of finding vegan replacements to protein so. Well, first you know all plant foods do have protein. You know whole grains have protein and pasta has protein. All those foods do have varying degrees of protein but typically a protein replacement on your plate for example would look like more like beans for example tofu, even nuts and seeds. So a lot of people make and I did this at home to a I make my own vegan cheese using soaked cashews, a little bit of nutritional yeast and so there’s ways that you can kind of give that cheesiness without necessarily having to buy one at the grocery store an alternative. So, typically the replacements are going to be those proteins and those types are legumes and nuts seeds things like that.

Mathea Ford: [00:07:42] So, I’ve heard of nutritional yeast but I have no idea what it is or how you would use it or how it enhances food. So can you talk about nutritional yeast?

Jessica Spiro: [00:07:51] Nutritional yeast has a little bit of a cheesy flavor so it’s a really great way to add a little bit of that flavor to foods especially when you’re trying to get things more palatable for children but it’s also a fortified source of B12 which we know in a vegan diets it’s the number one nutrient that vegans need to supplement in their diet because you cannot get B12 in your diet other than through meat or meat products or animal products rather.

Mathea Ford: [00:08:26] So, what exactly is nutritional yeast? Is it like a yeast or?

Jessica Spiro: [00:08:30] Yes exactly! It comes in flake form. So and a lot of people don’t really like this. So it’s a divide it’s almost like cilantro. I find that 50 percent of people really like it and 50 percent of people can’t stand it. So I hear a lot about it of course in vegan diet but it’s not a necessity. You don’t have to be vegan. You don’t necessarily have to have nutritional yeast but it’s just an easy way to add a little bit of that that cheesy flavor to sauces and things like that.

Mathea Ford: [00:08:56] Interesting. So, you just put it in kind of a little bit and…

Jessica Spiro: [00:09:00] Yeah! You mix it in sauces. Some people just top it. Just do sprinkle some on the tapping a pasta or any other kinds of dip. You can really just… There’s if you go online there’s tons of recipes that where you can you can use it. And again it’s a really great way to make sure you’re fortifying your diet with B12.

Mathea Ford: [00:09:20] What are the risks for kids being raised on a plant based diet or a vegetarian diet? Are there certain nutrients they need to supplement? Are there certain things that they do differently versus an adult?

Jessica Spiro: [00:09:32] There’s definitely a lot of benefits of eating a plant based diet. People that follow plant based diet have lower incidences of cancer, heart disease and lower BMI is overall so. But there are some concerns. There are some nutritional nutrients that vegans do need to pay attention to. B12 as I mentioned is the number one because it can’t met with the diet. So, actually interestingly enough B12 is a bacteria. In the past we we got it through our diet because we didn’t have no clean water, we ate food maybe from the ground. And thank goodness we now have clean water so we cannot get it through our diets that means we do have to have it fortified. Animals get it through eating you know from the ground or wherever. So, that’s when we in turn get it from the animals so people that follow a vegan diet do need to supplement. And this is really key for children especially so. Especially if you’re starting them off on a vegan diet at young ages can B12 stores last in our bodies are about five to seven years so someone to an adult who may have gone bigger vegan later on in life. It’s really important not to have a kind of a casual attitude about B12. B12 Deficiency does exist and people who follow vegan diet and so it’s really important to supplement and for children who might not have had developed those stores deficiency can happen very quickly and those deficiency can lead to issues with your nerves, cognitive function etc. It’s an incredibly important nutrient to get in your diet. You can get it through fortified foods. So, cereals, plant based milks not all of them so you definitely check the labels but they’ll typically have B12. They’ll be fortified with B12. That’s not a reliable source because you know with children especially it’s hard you know they don’t always eat their full bowl of oatmeal they don’t always drink that glass of milk, might go to have a drink in the whole day. So, it’s important to supplement and I recommend people you know work with their doctor, dietitian to find out you know how much do supplements or you can go to the you know look up where the dietary references to the idea arise for those nutrients and make sure you’re supplementing.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:52] So, are there any other nutrients you’d ever worry about iron or vitamin D or anything like that?

Jessica Spiro: [00:11:58] Yes. So iron and vitamin D are nutrients that really we should know that vegetarians, vegans and people to follow you know just regular omni diets as they call them. They are all iron is a nutrients that we can typically be lacking in all of our diets. So, vegans they’re not getting the heme iron so it’s recommended heme iron that’s found in beef for example is considered to be better absorbed than non heme iron found in beans. So, it is generally recommended to have about double the iron and that’s pretty easy to get in a vegan diet. It’s well planned. So a cup of beans for example is going to have about six to seven milligrams of iron and that’s actually almost double the amount that you’re going to find in a three ounce serving of beef. So, you can get a lot of iron through the diet if you make sure to have beans in your food. Also tofu also has iron. So those are some easy ways to get iron in the diet. And as for vitamin D we know as a sunshine vitamin is a hormone that you know now that we want to make sure that we have proper sunscreen or if you’re living in colder climates of course we can all be deficient in vitamin D. It’s fortified in milk – in cows milk. So that’s how most kids are getting their vitamin D. So, likewise it’s also fortified in a lot of plant milks as well. So that’s some ways that you can you can get vitamin D make sure that you’re getting adequate amounts.

Mathea Ford: [00:13:40] Okay. Great! I know that the AND American Nutrition Dietetics group and they have a position statement on the appropriateness of a vegan or vegetarian diet and they say it’s appropriate for all ages. So, what reasons do you parents you mentioned that parents often bring their kids because they’ve the kids have decided they want to be vegan but what reasons do parents have for wanting to do like a plant based diet with their kids?

Jessica Spiro: [00:14:11] So, yes. I’m glad you mentioned the Academy of Nutrition Dietetics their statement their position statement on begin vegetarian diets. They said that it’s safe for all stages of life from infancy pregnancy breastfeeding. Of course they added you know added a key element to that physician statement as well planned. So, a well planned vegan and a vegetarian diet are safe and they’re not.. And they said they’re not it’s not only safe and adequate it also help has a lot of health benefits as well in reducing the occurrence of chronic diseases. So in terms of parents deciding to go more plant based you hear about a lot more. There’s a lot more research that’s coming out on plant based diet. So, you know I’d love to reference the particular study or group of studies that they did on the Seventh Day Adventist. It’s a really one of the most cited studies for people that follow vegan and vegetarian or plant based diet. And it’s actually one of the largest studies looking into the health benefits of plant based diets. And basically that there’s a large concentration of Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California where people follow healthy vegan and vegetarian diet for religious reasons. It was funded by the National Cancer Institute and the last one had over 90. They looked at over ninety five thousand people and over a period of time. And what they found was there was significant health benefits of following those diets including for example a 70 percent reduction in lung cancer even compared to nonsmokers eating the standard American diet. They also found that the Adventists who eat legumes at least a couple of times a week had about a 30 to 40 percent reduction in colon cancer. And women also had reduced rates of ovarian cancer. So, we’re getting a lot more research and a lot more understanding of the health benefits of following a plant based diet so typical standard American diet is maybe one we think of where it’s heavy on the meats and you know there’s more processed foods so incorporating more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains that has so many health benefits and we’re really seeing the research coming out supporting that particular diet.

Mathea Ford: [00:16:29] Well, and Oreos are vegetarian right?

Jessica Spiro: [00:16:31] Exactly! That’s why the plant based is a really nice term because it makes sure it also incorporates that health aspect to make sure that it’s not just the substitution of for example Dino chicken nuggets to your vegan chicken nuggets they’re both going to be processed foods that of course as parents are busy it’s not bad to include on occasion but being a staple in the diet. When to look at incorporating more whole foods.

Mathea Ford: [00:17:00] So, can you talk a little more about the word the term that you used of well planned?

Jessica Spiro: [00:17:06] So, well planned diet we want to include variety in a plant based diet. So for example zinc is a nutrient where another nutrient where we want to make sure we’re getting on a vegan diet because it is lower levels in plant based foods. So if you’re including a variety of foods it’s going to be much easier to make sure you’re meeting your nutrient needs. You don’t want to just think about if you’re starting to go plant based or go vegan, you want to make sure you’re not just taking away certain foods you don’t want to just take away milk and just take away meat and not consider how you’re going to make up for those nutrients. So for example calcium is incredibly important for growing children. Children as young as toddlers they need about 700 milligrams and when you get into teens they’re going to need almost as much or they’re going to need actually as much or even more calcium or they can have more of the calcium requirements than many adults. So, of course they you know toddlers are going to eat a lot less.

Jessica Spiro: [00:18:05] So, just relying on broccoli for your calcium source for example isn’t going to be sufficient enough so a couple of broccoli has about 60 milligrams of calcium. Want to make sure that we’re getting good sources of calcium into our children’s diets. Get that again from tofu or fortified soy milk. It’s going to be a great way. So it’s definitely not study hard to do it but you just want to take those nutrients into consideration and make sure you’re planning your children’s diet appropriately.

Mathea Ford: [00:18:36] So, as a vegetarian. Are people still worried about the whole complete versus incomplete protein? Or do they need to worry about mixing red beans and rice for example? Or is there another way that you go about looking at the sources of of nutrients?

Jessica Spiro: [00:18:53] That’s a great question. So luckily they found that you don’t need to pair those. Specifically, so basically you know proteins are made up of essential amino amino acids essential, not essential. And basically we want to so that came about that if a particular food is low and one of those essential amino acids like or one of the amino acids like methionine and that you want to you know do beans and rice together to make sure that it forms the complete protein but you actually don’t have to do that at the same meal they did bunks that I believe what I had heard that it came about in a book and then 50s I’m not quite certain on this but and then it’s sort of became a standard recommendation for vegetarian diet but luckily they’ve gone back on that and found there really wasn’t evidence to support that you don’t have to include you don’t have to pair them but you know what? I think that by the making sure planning of a meal it kind of just happens naturally so typically you’re going to be doing beans with some type of grain because you know you’re not really just going to be eating a bowl of beans anyway. So, I think it sort of happens naturally but you don’t have to do it at a specific meal.

Mathea Ford: [00:20:02] I think it’s good to know that. Yeah like you said you can mix proteins but you don’t. That’s not part of the whole plan you have to do. Why do you find that kids are usually like enthusiastic or interested in starting the style?

Jessica Spiro: [00:20:18] I think it depends for a variety of reasons but the one that I see most often is the ethical aspect of it. It’s the animal welfare I think you know people learn about. A little bit more about factory farming and I find that you know for some reason at that age you know like I was talking before that adolescent age I do hear a lot more. I have a lot more families coming to me just telling me that their children have decided to go that route. It’s funny because that was my story too. That’s how I became vegetarian when I was 13. So that’s really the main reason. And then for families like maybe the parents have decided to go more plant based or even perhaps they saw this is obviously more common now with with the influx of documentaries that have come out of a lot of families coming to me and wanting to go that route and I think that the most important thing is a lot of people want to just change overnight and I think that you know if you’re an individual that might work. But I think especially when you’re involving your families it’s important to do it maybe more gradually. So, focusing more on what foods that you can add or what dishes that you can add to your diet as opposed to what you’re just gonna be taking out so that’s kind of how I ended up going to more vegan route was adding in slowly into my diet you know with my daughter when I found out she’s allergic to eggs and milk. She was about 7-8 months old so I was in a rush to make these changes. So, I did it slowly and found there’s so many different recipes that are really delicious. It was actually funny because I remember that before I was mostly vegan that you know anytime a recipe turns battle I would do is just throw a bunch of cheese on it and instantly it was good. So I had to learn some strategies to cooking more plant based. I think that it does take time so I think that people need to be you know kind with themselves and you know especially when they’re thinking about kindness to the animals and the environment so we also have kindness towards ourselves and you know maybe doing things gradually like I said and getting the kids involved in the process like cooking and picking out ingredients. You know getting kids to eat plant based or even fruits and veg or maybe not fruits and vegetables has been you know a struggle of parents for a very long time. So, I think oftentimes when I’m working with parents you know if they’re very concerned about the nutritional aspect. Oftentimes, I’m focusing especially on my young children on preventing picky eating and helping them work with their children to eat more variety. So, it’s really of course great to have this well planned vegan diet but it was a vegetarian diet or any kind of diet for that matter that’s healthy. But if they won’t eat it then you know it doesn’t matter. So, it’s just you know it’s a process with kids regardless of their diet to eat more vegetables and eat more whole grains. So, oftentimes in a session or know appointments with clients I’m referring a lot to the Ellyn Satter website and talk about a lot about the division of responsibilty and which is if people aren’t familiar with it it’s basically you know parents deciding what foods to offer, when and where and children decide how much. So it helps make meal times a lot less stressful. You know you want to make sure you’re giving something to your tribe they’re going to eat and then allow allowing them to get more exposed to different types of vegetables and whole grains. And it’s a process. So you know I think that that’s where sometimes a supplement for can come in handy. But of course you know like I said when I say talk to your doctor, dietitian because it’s well we want to make sure we’re focusing on getting adequate nutrition. We also want to build a healthy relationship to food. We also want to take the stress out of meal times because any parent knows it’s just it can be a challenge to get your child to eat particular foods like I said again no matter what type of diet you’re following.

Mathea Ford: [00:24:32] Yeah! That makes a lot of sense. So, you didn’t we haven’t said anything about like organic or non GMO. Is there anything of that that goes into the plant based or vegetarian diet or are they two completely different topics?

Jessica Spiro: [00:24:47] So, I think that they are that is really a choice that I think it’s up to the family. I don’t think that there’s sufficient evidence on either side to make a wide claim on whether to include more organic or not include organic. The goal is really to include more fruits and vegetables organic or not so organic food can be especially in particular seasons or in particular areas can be so much more expensive and you don’t want to not eat fruits and vegetables because it’s not organic. So, I try as much as possible to not go into that of course I get asked about that. So I really emphasize that benefits of eating fruits and vegetables that are non organic are going to… There’s just not sufficient evidence for avoiding non organic foods so. And same thing with GMOs. So, I know actually this is something where I do see frequently in the vegan community because a lot of people are concerned about soy because most times so it can be genetically modified. So, I tried to help dispel some of the myths about GMOs. And of course we’re still learning more about it so it’s hard to make a you know a recommendation based on the current research. So you know I think it’s a personal choice you can easily avoid GMO soy by choosing organic soy or tofu. But I think that that’s really a personal and family decision. But I do try to help dispel some of the myths and or not even assert some of the myths but some of the fear around those foods are those or you know topics.

Mathea Ford: [00:26:22] Yeah. I think you make an excellent point. It’s more value more important to get the fruits and vegetables vs. like you said if you can afford the organic to just not eat them. That’s not as healthy as eating the one that may be non or may not be organic but still is a fruit and vegetable that you’re getting in your diet.

Jessica Spiro: [00:26:43] Exactly! And you know I’m actually very happy to see that there’s a lot of dietitians now specializing in this area for Vegan Nutrition and plant based nutrition because it’s a growing growing area for dietitians and I think it’s really needed. Like I said when I was trying to find it was vegetarian. And then more vegan because of my daughter’s allergies and I was just really surprised by how little information there was out there so I’m so glad there’s more dietitians entering this area because I think that a lot of people that make for example an ethical choice to go vegan they’re turning to perhaps more you know some of those quote unquote nutrition experts that may not have degrees and you’ll see a lot I feel like I see a lot more myths in these circles. I’m a part of a lot of different online communities for vegan parenting and sort of just kind of listen in and see what you know people are saying. And so I think that not having information out there so I’m just really glad that there’s more dietitians entering this arena of plant based nutrition so that people on parents can get the correct and credible information.

Mathea Ford: [00:27:54] So, thinking about the kids that you work with what are some foods that kids really like that almost surprises you that you’re like “I didn’t think kids would like that?”

Jessica Spiro: [00:28:06] Beans. I’m Really surprised how many children do really like beans. And it really makes sense me even from a young age. Beans are really soft so it’s easy to eat. Then you can just do so many things with beans. You can make veggie burgers, you know you can just do such a wide variety of things. I mean this is a dessert but it’s still finding like black bean brownies. Different recipes that you can make with beans but I’m surprised how well kids take to take the different legumes.

Mathea Ford: [00:28:34] Yeah! My kids really like because they are not vegan ham and bean soup. But I was a little surprised by that too because I was like “really?”.

Jessica Spiro: [00:28:43] Yeah. I know kids are actually very surprising sometimes with the foods they like.

Mathea Ford: [00:28:48] What would be your words of advice to how to use this information we’ve talked about in their day to day life?

Jessica Spiro: [00:28:54] The key thing is really that know parents, most parents really want to do what’s best for the children. I think that a lot of parents you know are because there’s doctors, dietitians we’re maybe not trained so much weight on the Vegan Nutrition so because maybe if we don’t have the knowledge for it we get concerned about it. So I think it’s met with sometimes with resistance or people feel like it’s not with resistance in the medical community so I think it’s really important to listen to parents and then just help meet them where they are. So, I think that where it when the Academy of Nutrition Dietetics came out with a position statement I think that that was really helpful and I think that that was gave all things a lot of dietitians a much more confidence in working with vegan families to know that it is an appropriate diet. I think with children of course and and rightfully so we get very concerned because we want to make sure that they’re getting proper nutrition. So, I think knowing that’s a like a set of well planned vegan or vegetarian diet is adequate. Not only adequate but it does have a lot of benefits but it’s important to be educated make sure that they’re getting getting their adequate nutrition.

Mathea Ford: [00:30:09] So, really just not assuming that it’s not a good thing for kids but really trying to find out how we can support that decision.

Jessica Spiro: [00:30:19] Exactly!

Mathea Ford: [00:30:20] Great! So, Jessica, my question I ask everybody is what is your favorite food?

Jessica Spiro: [00:30:26] So, I know I talk a lot about beans. There’s many other plant based proteins out there but I do love lentils. I just. They’re easy to make. They don’t have to do any soaking. And my daughter loves them so I would say lentils are my favorite, my favorite food.

Mathea Ford: [00:30:43] All right! I didn’t know you didn’t have to soak beans.

Jessica Spiro: [00:30:47] Yes, lentils are that one of the only ones you don’t have. We do not have to soak you just took at 20 minutes and then good.

Mathea Ford: [00:30:53] That’s a good tip there. Okay. Jessica, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. It was a pleasure to have you on the show. I know my listeners have learned a lot about the different aspects of vegetarianism, vegans especially for kids. So, if listeners want to connect with you what’s the best way to do that?

Jessica Spiro: [00:31:11] So, my website is JessicaSpiroRD.comnd then I’m also on Instagram, Facebook. @JessicaSpiroRD.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:20] Great! So, guys this has been another great episode of the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast that is all about learning more so you can do more with nutrition in your life.

 

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Nutrition Experts Podcast Episode 22 News Edition, Nutrition Counseling, Halloween Candy, CBD and Vegetarian Diets with Janet Brancato

October 1, 2018 by matheaford Leave a Comment

Janet Brancato is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters degree in Nutrition from New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.  She did her undergraduate studies and received a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from Montclair State University, NJ.

She is experienced in the field of Nutrition for over 20 years, teaching groups, and counseling individuals on diet modifications and lifestyle changes to promote health.  She is experienced with kids, teens, and adults. Her specialty is weight management but she also works with various medical challenges.

The past 15 years she has worked at a local hospital in NJ as an outpatient dietitian and community health speaker.

Janet decided to expand her scope of practice and created Nutopia, LLC a virtual private practice about 5 years ago. She can meet with clients using telehealth technology from the comfort of their home or office.

The motto for her business is “Simplified & Personalized” taking the information and breaking it down into manageable goals and giving clients a personal experience. She motivates and supports clients in between visits.

Janet is also a food blogger, you can check it out on her website www.mynutopia.com.

Follow her on social media:

Facebook – @Nutopia, LLC
Twitter/IG – @janetmsrd

 

Mathea Ford: [00:00:27] Hi there! It’s Mathea. Welcome back to the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast featuring nutrition experts who are leading the way using foods starts today right now with our next guest. It’s great to have Janet Brancato on the show today. Janet, we’re back with our news episode of the Nutrition Expert Podcast. How are you doing today?

Janet Brancato: [00:00:49] I’m doing great! It’s so great to be back with you Mathea. I am so looking forward to discussing some really great topics today.

Mathea Ford: [00:00:57] Yes! So, we found some interesting things that we thought were in the news. If you haven’t listened to a news episode yet, we are talking about things that are basically coming up in the news media or other areas that we think need a little more explanation or maybe people that didn’t pay attention to or just even give our opinions on them. So, we have a couple good topics. I wanted to start with talking about nutrition counseling vs. nutrition coaching and I don’t want to say either of them is bad but I just think it’s important to talk about the difference because as a registered dietitian/nutritionist I think it can be sometimes confusing as to what our role is in health care or even sorting with patients. So, did you have any thoughts on nutrition counseling versus nutrition nutrition coaching?

Janet Brancato: [00:01:53] Yeah. I mean like you said sometimes people you know get mixed up with that but when I think about the counseling portion especially when it comes to nutrition counseling I think about you know making a proper assessment going, seeing what’s going on medically with somebody. Counseling session, spending time talking about their diet and maybe medical needs that they have. So, there some medical nutrition therapy going on as well whereas maybe more of a health coach might be more on the preventative side of things maybe looking more at wellness. They may talk about a little bit more than just diet. They may look at the person’s total lifestyle. Nutrition counseling does too but I know a lot of health coach talk about sleep and other lifestyle practices. Maybe spiritual practices so they kind of look at that whole person. Nutrition counseling does as well but a lot of or sometimes is a little more medically oriented with maybe past medical history or you know the medications you know. So, some of those differences is usually what I like of how I distinguish it as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:03:05] In most states, we have licensure for dietitians so you have to be licensed to do medical nutrition therapy, nutrition counseling and nutrition coaching is not necessarily regulated which is almost frustrating for me as a dietitian because I’m regulated by the states and by our organization as far as ethical guidelines and standards. And I’m not complaining about that. But it also you know it’s difficult to use some of it beyond the state that you’re in or working with other people so I think sometimes we as dietitians or able to do nutrition coaching across borders if we’re wanting to do something that’s not necessarily like we’re not necessarily look at your labs writing a note for your doctor using that type of thing but using our knowledge and our basic information to help someone to make better choices. And that reminds me of like the motivational interviewing a little bit that people do sometimes but really it is about what you’re motivated to change. So, I think that’s where health coaching can help is looking at what are you willing to do. What is the next best thing for you to try to change.

Janet Brancato: [00:04:26] Yeah exactly! Yeah. And also as an RDN, we need to follow evidence based guidelines so you know we need to keep up with continuing education credits. Like you said we need to follow research that’s been done. Evidence based guidelines. We’re giving somebody the information that they need you know supporting them with knowledgeable information as well as counseling.

Mathea Ford: [00:04:53] That’s interesting. Thinking about the outcomes based and evidence based because this man I went to our Oklahoma City Dietetic Association we had a speaker come and he was talking about obesity and weight loss and stuff but something he said towards the end was very interesting because he talked about the Placebo Effect. So we all know what the placebo effect is or if you dont. It is basically used in a scientific study. A lot of times you may you’re given either a drug or you’re giving something that is inactive but it’s called a placebo and they tell you you basically don’t know if you received the drug or the placebo which have no effect but people respond sometimes to getting the placebo just because they believe they can. He presented a study about anabolic steroids and these weightlifters believed that they were being given a steroid and they are had these incremental gains that were supported you know by research to show as significant 10 percent 20 percent increase in bench press and things. And the reality was they were given a placebo. Everybody was given a placebo and so when they were told at the end of the time after they made these gains that really you were not given the drug you did this you know basically because you believed you could you push yourself harder whatever. And they found that after a period of time that those people went back to having not the same gains because they basically didn’t have that belief anymore. And so he referred to that as Noceboing. Basically, you tell him you given placebo tell them they can do it and then you tell them “Oh! I didn’t give you a placebo, you can’t. You do it all on your own and that’s like a buzz kill or whatever.” So, he was using that in reference to talking about when you talk to your patients to basically let them and help them understand and feel like what they’re doing is normal. So, yes you didn’t lose weight this week but you can’t give up because you have the ability to do this or these things work. We know this outcomes research works. Instead of giving them an excuse of saying like I’m if they say “I’m an emotional eater” you don’t give them that basically cop out to say “Okay, you’re an emotional eater you don’t have. You’re never going to lose weight whatever.” We would never say that but in a way when they say “I’m an emotional eater” we have to basically direct them back to those things that they can do that are going to help them to help them to believe that this is possible.

Janet Brancato: [00:07:44] Yes. You have to help somebody find their motivation even have to paint that picture for them where they want to be. When I work with clients I asked them you know “what is your goal? It’s not just losing weight. Okay. What is that going to mean for you? How is that going to change your life? How are you going to feel? How is that going to affect you long term?” And you know you sort of get it out of them and paint that picture with them. It really stirs something. They start to picture themselves. You break it down into steps with them and you say “Look, this is something you can do let’s break it down the steps. It’s the small goals that you can work you know and that’s why the extra support is needed when you’re coaching or counseling somebody you know you’re that extra support. You’re that cheerleader behind and you’re helping them along the way. If you just have one visit with somebody you’re going to give them a lot of information but it’s going to be hard for them to put it into action. People need that extra support and motivation. That’s what I try to instill and provide is that support and helping them to break it down into doable tests like you said that they can feel like “wow! I did this you know and I can continue to do this!”

Mathea Ford: [00:09:00] That reminds me of the way we think about our goals a little bit sometimes. Instead of thinking “I want to lose weight to think about what am I going to” So, if I think I want to lose weight and I lose five pounds then I achieved my goal. Maybe I didn’t maybe my goal was was to lose 50 pounds but I lost five pounds and I go “Oh! I met my goal!” But if my goal is to run a marathon or to exercise five days a week or to even state that number instead of saying “I want to lose weight, I want to weigh 150 pounds.” That gives you somewhere that you’re going not somewhere that you’re moving away from. So, that can be really helpful to people. We know that we have training. We go to school, we have an internship, we have testing, we work on outcomes based. Health coaches can have some training. I’ve talked to a couple in the last couple months that were functional nutrition practitioners and it seems like that’s a pretty good program that has a lot of basis in education, facts and even some RDs that I talked an RD the other day that did that has done that certifications.

Janet Brancato: [00:10:19] The thing that I also want to mention is that nutritionist is a broad term. It’s a very general broad term. So, like you said there you want to find out what the background of that person is. Okay? You want to find out about their training and their coursework. Did they just take one class or did they have a degree in it or do they have some kind of certificate of some sort from accredited you know institution? So, you want to find out you know like I said nutritionist is broad we know a registered dietitian has a criteria. Okay? So, we have all had to go through the criteria of coursework and passing a rigorous exam and keeping up with credits where a nutritionist is more broad so you need to do a little math homework to find out. “Okay. What kind of background in training?”.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:09] Okay, so next topic. I’m not even going to do a transition. I don’t even know how to do one. I want to talk a little bit about eating more plant based. This month is vegetarian month. So, how can you eat more plant based? What is eating more plant based mean?

Janet Brancato: [00:11:31] Okay. So, eating more plant based and we’re finding out more and more that the plant these foods are anti-inflammatory. So, you know inflammation can be a root cause of some chronic conditions. So, anti-inflammatory sort of counters that and can help anti-aging. It can help with weight management. It’s good for your heart. It’s high in lots of nutrients, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and a lot of vegetables are lower calorie so you can actually more of those foods feel nice and full but you’re getting all these benefits so and it’s also really great for the environment. We’re also finding that it’s good for our gut bacteria which is good for overall health as well. So there’s really so much evidence about eating more plant based. It doesn’t mean you have total vegetarian but it’s leaning more towards plant based. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds seeing where you can implement them into your regular eating pattern.

Mathea Ford: [00:12:32] I think people get confused when they think about plant based because they think it means vegetarian. But what it really means is more of your plates is from plants, from nutrients and I listened to your presentation in February or something this year and I honestly can’t remember the person although I apologize but she talked about you either eat the plants that have the nutrients or you eat the animals that ate the plants that have that nutrients. So, eating plant based more plants. You’re basically just going closer to the source because cows and pigs and other animals that we eat eat plant based. So you’re just getting the nutrients that they basically processed and built in two different muscle that we then eat. So, more plant based is just going to be having a smaller portion of meat or even just using some time to not have meat on your plate.

Janet Brancato: [00:13:31] Yeah! You could fill up three quarters of your plate with some plant foods you know. Try to get in a lot of times you could do half your plate as vegetables. It could be one main vegetable like maybe a big salad or you could do maybe some broccoli in the salad or you know you can kind of break it up with different types of vegetables you could put a whole grain on your plate which could be like a brown rice or a quinoa or something like that or some beans, maybe some fruit and then either an animal source like you said a really good quality animal source that’s had a plant diet. The grass something grass fed or something that’s lean, some kind of a lean source of protein would also be good as far as a balanced plate.

Mathea Ford: [00:14:15] How do you get more vegetarian if you’re thinking about it kind of doing a little more vegetarian? How do you work to get more vegetarian meals in your diet?

Janet Brancato: [00:14:26] Well, me personally I mean I you know I tried to when even when I go food shopping I try to start at that produce section and I try to get inspired. I try to start there. Now, there’s all that color and I try to add color to my plate whether I’m having a meal or snack or say “well, how can I have some color?” You know so I try to add veggies either at every meal. Slip it into dishes that I’m making. You know sometimes we’ll have a vegetarian night where I just kind of swap out the maybe the chicken for some beans or a little tofu. You know so you could find ways of either going meatless for a night, you can do like a Meatless Monday a lot of people do that. And there’s actually a great website called meatlessmonday.com where you can find some great recipes. You could start with one day a week. Some people I know do they might do meatless per say breakfast and lunch and then they’ll have an animal source at dinner. I’ve done that or I might do one or two nights where I do meatless. So, I’m not you know I try to eat more plant based I’m not totally vegetarian. I do enjoy you know meat, chicken, fish you know. So, I don’t have a problem with eggs and dairy and all but I’m leaning more towards plant based something I do you know hope to inspire others to do you know. So, it’s so easy to do adding more veggies doesn’t all have to be fresh veggies because I know a lot of people say well they go bad easily. So, maybe some frozen you know have some frozen veggies that you could easily turn into something for dinner. Something that you could either put in the microwave or easily sautee. It doesn’t have to be very time consuming.

Mathea Ford: [00:16:08] Yeah! I’ve found that it seems to almost take just a little bit of a mindset switch. So, when I grew up meat was the center of the plate and that was how I grew up with that mentality, that thought process. And so starting to think of it as more filling, better, healthier foods but also just acknowledging that I didn’t really need the whole eight ounces or twelve ounces of steak. I really only three or four ounces of that meat and sometimes not even any meat at all but just enjoying the flavor of those vegetables and getting that variety. So, I love the idea of you know doing like a meatless meal once a week or whatever but I have really found the biggest change for me is to just say to myself “I really enjoy eating salads.” That doesn’t matter whether why I’m doing it? If I’m doing it just because I enjoy it. Does it have to be for some higher purpose but instead of thinking I have to eat meat at every meal because or somehow I’m going to be deficient. Which it’s very rare in this country. You did mention something that I do would like I would like you to talk about a lot more because there are nutrient dense foods and there are calorically dense foods. And since I know there’s a lot of people in this that are not necessarily dietitians can you talk about how nutrient dense and calorically dense. What’s the difference?

Janet Brancato: [00:17:43] It’s so nutrient dense is going to mean that you’re going to get a high amount of nutrients. So, very high in nutritional components like vitamins, minerals, fiber, other nutrients maybe those antioxidants. You’re going to get a lot for lower calorie intake. You can actually eat more of those and get more of those nutrients but naturally they’re high in nutrients. Calorically dense is meaning that the calories are a little bit richer. You know still there still could be nutrients especially if it’s like a healthy oil or fat or something like that. They’re a little more calorically dense but they still providing nutrients but you might have to eat less of those just because those calorie intake. And then you have calorically dense foods maybe more like sugary foods or sweets or things like that that are lower nutritionally but are calorically high. So, those you might have to again not do every day or watch portions of those nutrient dense foods you could eat more often, eat more higer portions of you know they tend to be less calories but they are higher in nutrient profile, those vitamins and minerals, nutrients that our body needs – essential nutrients that we need.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:01] Yeah I think sometimes people don’t realize you can eat a ton of salad for the same amount of calories as you know two or three ounces of meat or you know a doughnut or something like that.

Janet Brancato: [00:19:13] Sometimes you can’t even eat when I show people like a cup of raw veggies you know is a serving and you it’s lot to eat a cup of carrots. Let it crunch two halves and you get full you know but the calories are so low you could eat more of those you know. So you could definitely you know fill up on that versus even you know something that’s maybe more calorically dense might be like nuts. You want to eat a smaller portion but there are nutritionally there are good quality you know. So sometimes you know you have to think about that too. But yeah definitely a lot of salad and those veggies you could definitely do more of.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:50] You also mentioned that being a vegetarian is a lot more than just not eating meat. What do you see as some of the social or environmental focus that people who are vegetarian because it does seem to be more of a lifestyle choice? And when I talk to people especially dietitians who are working toward plant based diets or vegetarians. Most of the time they mentioned the social and environmental impacts that it has.

Janet Brancato: [00:20:17] It’s more environmentally friendly you know for the environment. Obviously, plants are good for our environment right? Providing oxygen and feeding our you know feeding for the environment in general. It’s so important. And then even just the processing it takes a lot to process animal sources of food you know. So, that’s sort of a big impact on our environment just caring for you know and handling you know meat production and that type of thing of where it is you know plants you know are really good for the environment. You know so we need more you know why those plant based foods. Like I said just you know in terms of the environmental cycles.

Mathea Ford: [00:20:59] Speaking of eating more veggies, I know we talked about I think we talked a little bit about farmers’ markets last month but I wanted to talk about farmers’ markets all year round and specially kind of the summer year finding farmers’ markets near you. Because I think farmers markets are a great place to start if you’re trying to be more plant focused more plant based. If you go to a farmers market you find products that are in season and then you create the rest of your meal around that. So, if tomatoes are on season and cauliflower and broccoli are in season you go and you go to the farmer’s market you buy those and you find you know you make your meal a round that. Instead Of making it around the meat, you’re making the meal around the vegetable. So, or you know fruits as well but… So, I have a resource for people if they want to find a farmer’s market near them, you can go to a localharvest.org/farmers-market so that will show farmers markets near you. But you have any tips for shopping at farmers’ markets?

Janet Brancato: [00:22:13] I love going to farmers markets. I think it’s really great for towns, for farmers. Like I said environmentally it’s great. You’re connecting with where your food sources so you get to know where your food is coming from and like you said seeking out seasonal produce in foods is really great because they’re at their peak of flavor and they’re at their peak of nutrition so they’re probably more budget friendly. You know it’s not going to take a toll on your budget as well. So, yes, so seeking out a good farmer’s market in your area they’re popping up all over. I know by me we have almost every town has one. You just want to maybe have a plan before you go. Think about maybe what you want to buy you know, how much you want to spend you know. Think a little bit about meals maybe you want to do or maybe you want to just try something new, you want to just kind of peruse through the farmer’s market first. Just kind of walk around and just sort of take in what’s there you know and what’s what looks good to you maybe even talk to the farmer or whoever is selling the products and just kind of find out a little bit about it. And you know whatever kind of strikes you mean you know try something new. That’s always good to always try to look for maybe something I can’t find in the grocery store. So you do that as well. I actually wrote a book, a blog recently about farmer’s market but more on the food safety end of things because we actually had a friend that was on vacation and became ill from something that they ate at a farmers market. Not that this is going to be a common practice but it just kind of stood out to me and I said wow I really wanted to write a little bit about maybe some tips for just kind of keep it safe. You know just making sure that you know the people that are serving you the food or if you’re buying like something Jarg you know that they’re there handling things well. Things look clean you know. There’s gloves on when they’re handling the food. So, you know just safety practices that you just want to maybe you know make sure that things will like I said clean, if anything refrigerated you know that temperature controls are there of some things being served hot or cold. Those are things to keep in mind too. Farmers’ markets are safe but you know you just want to sort of like you would any other type of restaurant or food market. Just want to make sure that things look clean are handled well. You know maybe things are covered if there’s insects around you want to make sure that things look safe as well. But farmers’ markets are wonderful. Like I said you can find so many good delicious finds, produce and other maybe some of them have bakery type items as well seasonal cheeses but you want to make sure things are pasteurized. You know that things are safe as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:25:08] Well, it’s important to note that most cities if you’re serving food do inspections. So if you don’t see some sort of food inspection sign or they usually have the rating or something you may want to be a little more cautious. But I agree with you that it’s also a great way to get to know farmers and talk to them and to say “hey if you’re trying to buy more organic” I think a great way to get maybe some more organic stuff without necessarily it’s expensive to be quote unquote certified as organic. But a lot of times if you talk to the farmer and you ask them about how they’re doing, how they’re raising their produce, how they’re you know what kind of pesticide are they using. A lot of their practices are along the lines of organic but maybe they didn’t have the money or the resources or it’s not a 100 percent organic but it’s certainly better if you’re choosing along those lines. So, I think it’s great to get the opportunity to get to know them and talk to them and find out how how do I know this is right? How do I know that avocados are right? How do I know that whatever type of thing is healthier or ready to serve and how is the best way to serve it? So I think it’s a great opportunity to talk to farmers and get to know them and a lot of times like you said they have prepared foods. They may have Jelly’s, they may have other things that they make.

Janet Brancato: [00:26:42] Yeah! And Find out about it.

Mathea Ford: [00:26:43] So, I think it’s just great when you’re thinking about eating more organic, eating more vegetarian if that’s what you want to do. We know there’s research that shows that eating more plant based is definitely healthier. So, just change your focus a little bit on that plate to being more about the side dishes so to speak. So I wanted to I on the Food Nutrition magazine this month. There was talk about Cannabis and it was a one page article written by Janice Bissex who’s going to be on my podcast and I thought it was a great article because CBD is in almost every state. And so CBD is short for I mean I’m probably mispronounces cannabinoid oil. Its something like that. That’s why what we call CBD. So, she talked about some myths and thoughts and I just wanted to talk a little bit because I think even my first impression when I saw CBD being sold. First of all, it’s being sold everywhere at like gas stations in stores and on the Internet and I happened to have a little bit of hesitance when I think there’s probably a lot of quality difference between. You don’t know necessarily that is the highest quality depending on where you’re buying it. So, I would just caution people if they’re looking for CBD to make sure they know the source because they they’ve done some testing randomly and found that you know there’s this is still a product that is not regulated or tested like a medicine because it’s considered like a supplement. So there’s no rules that if you say it’s 10 percent or 50 milligrams or whatever that that has to be there.

Janet Brancato: [00:28:40] Right! Yes. See, that’s what I had read as well that you don’t always know what the concentration is going to be and if you’re going to get what they’re saying that’s in there as far as a CBD oil so you may not get that concentration. So, knowing like you said that source because it’s not regulated you may or may not be getting all of that. So that’s that’s sort of a key thing to remember.

Mathea Ford: [00:29:04] CBD is used for a lot of different things. There’s a lot of claims people make. I don’t believe any of them have been researched. And the reason that I’m in research is because they’re part of the marijuana plant. They are not marijuana. So, CBD versus marijuana, CBD does not contain THC which is the psychoactive part but I’ve had a little bit of reading and did you know about the endo cannabinoid system? So, it’s a system that’s in our body and it’s basically like a neuro it’s a receptor in our body. And there are some in our brain and there some along our nervous system and that’s what the endocannabinoid cannabis oils or whatever connects to that cause the relief that people feel. And I was like I have never heard of this system and it’s because basically marijuana has been a drug and it’s considered a drug sold by the FDA but are not well federal government. As a lot of states approve it, I think we as dietitians have to start understanding what the effects are and what the changes can be and how it can help people because both of these medications if they’re I shouldn’t call them medication both of these products if they’re truly what they say they are do have benefits for people.

Janet Brancato: [00:30:38] Yeah! I Mean I’m not an expert in it and I’m really interested in finding out more and I want to listen to your podcast about it. But just reading a little bit about it it really does encompass. I mean if it’s does what it say it’s going with you know relieving anxiety, pain, pain management, insomnia, other saying seizure disorder, inflammatory bowel disease, muscle spasms. So, again this is what is being said as far as health benefits of CBD and even medical marijuana for chronic pain like I mentioned cancer, decreasing appetite, epilepsy. So you know we’ll have to wait and see you know sort of outcomes with that. Like you said you see I’m seeing it everywhere you know in terms of CBD because it doesn’t have the THC in it. It’s you know you can find it in oil form, there’s gummies, there’s all kinds of methods of using the CBD. But like you said it has to come from a reputable source so that really is a key component there. But it’ll be interesting to see the future of this. They are definitely you know it’s a hot topic.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:51] One of the things that I think people are confused by is a lot of times people see hemp seed oil and CBD oil and those are two different things. The hemp seed has grapes like antioxidant properties but it doesn’t necessarily have the same function of CBD. But even my first impression was that it’s dangerous or risky and CBD oil if you’re truly getting a product that is tested and produced ethically then it’s not just oil and water in a jar. Then it can be people can find some some help from it. So yeah yeah yeah I talked about it. You know that’s interesting because I think a lot of times here in Oklahoma we just became the 30th state or whatever to approve medical marijuana. And when I talk to my doctor it’s almost like there’s still a fear about it. They just don’t get educated on it. They don’t understand it.

Mathea Ford: [00:32:59] If you feel like it’s something that’s good for you. Talk to your doctor verify that it’s not going to be affecting you negatively. So I would just I guess kno medical professional, we tend to go with the outcomes based on the evidence base. In this case there’s just not the research because of the past history. What I hope in the next 10 years were like “Okay. These are all the research and the sort of things that have been shown.” You just have to make sure that it’s truly what it says. All right. So this month is October and we went from talking about CBD which can be gummies.

Janet Brancato: [00:33:36] Uhuh!

Mathea Ford: [00:33:37] Let’s talk a little bit about Halloween because Halloween is a big opportunity to just get your sugar fix. I want to talk about some ways that families and dietitians and health care professionals can help people to not necessarily go crazy on Halloween. So, you got any ideas?]

Janet Brancato: [00:33:58] First of all don’t stress about it. I mean I have a lot of clients are saying “Oh no! Halloween’s coming!” It’s only one day. Here’s a thing, maybe don’t have candy hanging around in your home. Some people buy it so early because the stores are putting it out. You know as soon as summer is over you see the Halloween candy out in the grocery stores which always makes me laugh. But people start buying and so it’s hanging around their house too long. So you know I always wait. I know personally I wait. So, right before Halloween I only try to buy a few things you don’t even have to buy all candy. You know I know a lot of people that will not provide like pencils or erasers or you know you could do non-food related giveaways. But if you want to you know have the candy maybe something that you don’t like have that in the house. That could be something that you do buy something that you’re not a fan of. So that could be something as well as I said just don’t have a lot of bags hanging around and then once the holiday is over. Get rid of it. You could donate the candy or just kind of slowly get rid of it. I used to do that with my kids just slowly empty out the bowl every day. But with your kids again you know try not to make such a big deal about them. Obviously, it’s exciting but some things that you can do to maybe control their intake might be you know making sure they eat something decent before they go out trick or treating. You don’t want them to be starving when they go trick or treating they’re going to be eating all that candy as they go so maybe try to give them a little mini meal or good snacks. And this way they’re sort of full. They’re not so hungry. And you know maybe talk to them about like you know we’re not going to eat while we’re trick or treating just you know get the candy and when you get home you know you want to check that candy make sure packages are closed and things like that so you know we want to make sure that it’s safe. So, tell them to just bring the candy home and then you can kind of sort through it with them. So that would be great as well. And then you know maybe let them select a few of their favorites to have that day. You know just like them because they’re going to want to eat their candy. You don’t want them to go crazy but you know maybe a couple of their favorites they can enjoy.

Mathea Ford: [00:36:13] Yeah! Love these ideas. In my house. Yeah, we try to pick the last very last day to get the candy and then I agree. So, sometimes I’ve taken my bags of the candy and put them in the freezer. So, it’s kind of hidden behind the vegetables. The frozen vegetables so the kids not hold for it and then they can have it some time later. But I agree with donating. A lot of times dentists sold what you donate or you know shelters whatever. Just make sure you’re checking the candy. A lot of things look like candy that aren’t candy. And make sure that the kids are brushing their teeth after eating the candy. So, they have a meal. Maybe you let them have some candy at night just make extra sure that they’re brushing their teeth instead it eating that candy kind of all throughout the day and then just not it back can cause more cavities so. But yeah you had some great tips there just trying to make sure that it’s just a little bit healthier and giving away things that are aren’t candy. And sometimes you just limit how many houses they go to. I know they want to go to tons of houses and they want to stay out for a couple of hours.

Mathea Ford: [00:37:30] But truly you if you dress up, you do all the pictures and go to houses for an hour 30 minutes or whatever. A lot of times kids are tired at that point anyway. They’re dragging. You don’t have to somehow let them have a whole pillowcase full of candy.

Janet Brancato: [00:37:50] You could set up a little time limit with them. And I think in terms of food allergy so maybe if you’re going to have candy in your home. Keep in mind that you know kids you know maybe don’t have to have nut free type of selections too. So, that would also be good. But yeah, just don’t overdo it. You know and maybe have a conversation before Halloween say “you know it’s fun, it’s enjoyable. You know let’s have a little strategy here so we’re not overdoing things” and sometimes having that little conversation with your child. You know they might be going to parties and all that so you know not just see what the plan of the day is going to be. But like you said if you give them that healthy meal before they go out and then you sort of have a conversation look “when you come back full check for your candy you could select you know two or three favorites. Enjoy it. Brush your teeth” like you said and then you know right after that I start to get rid of it in some way.

Mathea Ford: [00:38:45] Well and a lot of times you just reminded me a lot of times at schools they have Halloween parties or ball parties or whatever that kid can get candy at to say you just want to know kind of what the plan is at the school too if you have kids that go to school. Well it’s a great talk Janet. We talked about nutrition counseling, we talked about vegetarian, farmers markets, cannabis, marijuana and Halloween. This is a great talk today.

Janet Brancato: [00:39:13] Yes, a lot of fun, a lot of great topics. I really enjoyed it.

Mathea Ford: [00:39:18] Janet did I let you last time to tell us where to find you?

Janet Brancato: [00:39:21] So I think I mentioned it briefly last time. But yeah just remind everybody that my website is mynutopia.com. And I do online nutrition counseling and coaching. I have meal plans and recipes. And so you know you can find online and I also have a blog as well so I’d love to connect.

Mathea Ford: [00:39:40] All right. Thanks!

Janet Brancato: [00:39:42] Great!

Mathea Ford: [00:39:42] This great episode of the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast that is all about learning more so can do more with nutrition in your life.

 

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