35. Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Food with Yaffi Lvova, RDN

Yaffi Lvova is an experienced Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and a proud mom of twins plus one. She earned a BA in Religious Studies and a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics from Arizona State University and went on to complete the Iowa State University dietetic internship. Yaffi is a published author of several books on feeding kids and is the creator of Toddler Test Kitchen. Yaffi supports parents through her social media, public speaking, and Nap Time Nutrition podcast and YouTube channel. In today’s episode, Yaffi shares what she has learned from working with closely kids. Kids have a simple way to approach life. They are full of vigor and energy and excitement. They also soak everything up so whatever is in their environment is internalized. By listening to this conversation, we can better understand, perhaps, why we have a certain running narrative in our head and what we can do to reverse that narrative.   [0:01-1:55] Introductions Introducing our guest speaker   [1:56 - 12:30] Starting Them Young: Establishing Healthy Food Relationships at an Early Age Breaking the chains of food fear from one generation to another The scary statistics about children and their inclination towards unhealthy dieting What’s the wrong perception about dieting that children learned from adults?    [12:31 - 19:50] Embracing a Relationship with Food Starts with Appreciation How to take the first step towards finding the joy and comfort in food rather than being afraid of it Listen to some ways you can work your own joy and set an example to your kids in establishing a healthy relationship with food   [19:51 - 35:40] Taking the Eyes Away from the Table  Understanding the impact of food pressure and how cooking together can help to address that concern Ways you can make food preparation fun for kids and yourself DOR: Division Of Responsibility Breaking down the process of eating as an intimate act    [35:41 - 45:08] The Influence that Society Has Over Children’s Eating Habits The continuous evolution of food philosophies and how we can teach adults, teachers, and school administrators to embrace changes.  How to communicate varying food and lifestyle philosophies in different settings    [45:09 - 46:20] Outro Where to find Yaffi Lvova?   Resources Mentioned: Baby Bloom YouTube Channel  Baby Bloom Website Yaffi’s Instagram Page Yaffi’s Book: Beyond a Bite @kid.food.explorers Tweetable Quotes “Society is not an alarm clock with cogs. We can be different shapes, we can be different sizes and we were meant to be.” - Yaffi Lvova   “The more we focus on our food, the less we end up being actually healthy.” - Yaffi Lvova   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode.   You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected]