Vegetarian Diets

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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