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The Intersection of Anxiety, Eating Disorders, and IBS

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By: Jessica Long

Guest Post Writer

Trigger Warning: Mention of eating disorder behaviors.

If you’re a medical professional in the eating disorder field or you yourself have struggled with an eating disorder, the following statement might not surprise you: 

There is a significant overlap between anxiety, eating disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders (namely, IBS). 

Let’s dig into the research

To illuminate this, let’s dig into the research for a bit. 

DeJong et al.1 found that over 68% of patients with bulimia enrolled in an outpatient facility had IBS. Likewise, Boyd et al.2 discovered that 98% of patients admitted to an eating disorder unit had at least one functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID), with IBS being the most prevalent (in 52% of patients). Interestingly, anxiety was a strong predictor of IBS status.2 Patients with IBS have higher levels of both anxiety and depression,3 and research suggests this connection might have a genetic component.4

Although the current research cannot definitively tell us which comes first (the anxiety, the eating disorder, or the IBS), in 89 patients with both an eating disorder and IBS, the eating disorder came prior to the IBS in 78 cases.5 Most gastrointestinal symptoms significantly decrease following termination of the eating disorder behaviors (i.e. restoring normal eating habits and patterns).6 

However, you don’t have to have an eating disorder to experience adverse gastrointestinal symptoms; disordered eating behaviors (like laxative abuse, skipping meals, or restricting certain food groups) can dramatically impact our digestion, for the worse. Those with IBS are more likely to engage in unhealthy food behaviors, like not eating despite being hungry.7

So, how do we move towards a healthy relationship with food, one that might impact our digestion, for the better?

Here are 3 tips!

1. Decrease stress around food. Since we know there’s a connection between anxiety and IBS, it’s important to make our mealtimes as stress-free as possible. One way we can do this is by viewing food as neutral, rather than as “bad” or “good”. Unfortunately, for those with IBS, many well-intentioned medical providers, family members, and even friends have recommended different diets, supplements, or lifestyle changes, all of which are steeped in diet culture and actually increase food preoccupation, anxiety over food choices, and increased stress before and after meals. 

2. Eat regularly. Our digestive systems work at their best when we give them regular meals and snacks. Skipping meals, which often leads to a restrict-binge-restrict cycle, is quite stressful for our digestion, and for those with IBS, we don’t want to cause any additional distress.

3. Use gentle nutrition strategies. Are there certain behaviors that can decrease IBS symptoms? Absolutely! Adding soluble fiber (like seeds, peas, beans, lentils, and some fruits and vegetables like apples and strawberries) can help alleviate diarrhea, while insoluble fiber (like wheat bran, whole grains, and certain vegetables like potatoes and carrots) can help with constipation. Some find that incorporating a probiotic into their daily routine can ease their IBS symptoms. Avoiding foods like diet sodas, sugar free gum, and other sugar substitutes, which are known to aggravate symptoms, might also help.

Need more support? Connect to a HAES-informed dietitian in your area, who can help you navigate your symptoms in a way that’s both empowering and sustainable!

Jessica Long is a graduate student at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. She is an avid reader of research, and her interests include eating disorders, intuitive eating, and approaching medical nutrition therapy (MNT) from a weight-neutral lens. She is especially intrigued by the intersection of diabetes and weight neutral care, having experience working with patients with diabetes in a primary care setting. She is currently spearheading a research project investigating intuitive eating in minority undergraduate populations. Jessica can be reached via email at jlong@email.meredith.edu or on Instagram at @jessicalongrd.  

References:

1. DeJong H, Perkins S, Grover M, Schmidt U. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in outpatients with bulimia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord. 2011;44:661-664.

2. Boyd C, Abraham S, Kellow J. Psychological features are important predictors of functional gastrointestinal disorders in patients with eating disorders. Scand J Gastroenterol 2005;40:929–935

3. Fond G, Loundou A, Hamdani N, et al. Anxiety and depression comorbidities in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2014;264:651-660.

4. Bengtson M, Aamodt G, Vatn MH, Harris JR. Co-occurrence of IBS and symptoms of anxiety or depression, among Norwegian twins, is influenced by both heredity and intrauterine growth. BMC gastroenterol. 2015;15:9.

5. Perkins SJ, Keville S, Schmidt U, Chalder T. Eating disorders and irritable bowel syndrome: is there a link? J Psychosom Res. 2005 Aug;59(2):57-64.

6. Norris ML, Harrison ME, Isserlin L, Robinson A, Feder S, Sampson M. Gastrointestinal complications associated with anorexia nervosa: A systematic review. Int J Eat Disord. 2016;49:216-237.

7. Reed‐Knight B, Squires M, Chitkara DK, Tilburg MAL. Adolescents with irritable bowel syndrome report increased eating‐associated symptoms, changes in dietary composition, and altered eating behaviors: a pilot comparison study to healthy adolescents. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2016;28:1915-1920.

Carmelitas – A Simple, Delicious Dessert

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Carmelitas - a simple, delicious dessert

The 4th of July

What are your July 4th traditions?  Our 4th of July doesn’t have any food traditions (this is highly unusual for me because I love food traditions!). Though it does make me think of corn on the cob, fried chicken (or burgers and hot dogs on the grill), deviled eggs and watermelon. If I was making a special meal for the 4th, I’d include some or all of these foods for sure! I’m guessing these were foods we had on the 4th of July when I was a kid. And for dessert, I’d likely make these Carmelitas.

We’ve been going to Chautauqua, NY for 10 of the past 11 years and 9 of those years we’ve been there for the 4th of July. We’re there this year too! A big part of our tradition is the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Pops Independence Day Celebration in the Amphitheater, which includes the audience popping paper bags in time to the cannon shots in the 1812 Overture! Then, it’s just a short walk to the lake to watch the fireworks around Chautauqua Lake. When the girls were younger, they participated in the Children’s 4th of July Parade for all the Chautauqua Children’s School kids. Here’s a photo of Ellie in the Children’s School Parade back in 2012.

Chautauqua Children’s School Independence Day Parade 2012
July 2014, Chautauqua, NY

A Simple Family-Favorite Recipe

Since the 4th of July is just around the corner and you might be looking for something to take to a get-together, I thought now would be a good time to share this recipe for Carmelitas. It’s hard to beat this combo of caramel, chocolate, oats and brown sugar! Carmelitas are DELISH and simple to make! It’s one of my most requested recipes and one of my family’s favorites.

My mother-in-law gave me the recipe many years ago. She found it in an issue of Child Magazine which was published from 1986 -2007. I’ve made a few changes to the recipe over the years.

Offer Sweets

We believe in offering sweets to children. Offering sweets on a regular basis is fun (because they taste great) and it helps children learn to use their internal cues and self regulate. Over the years, I’ve seen so many children from homes where sweets either weren’t allowed or kids were told sweets are bad or unhealthy — a treat one can only have sometimes. These messages are confusing to children and can make them feel badly for liking them.

It can help to offer sweets with meals.  This idea is from Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility (DOR) in feeding.  The child decides what, how much and if they eat what’s offered. The sweet is on level playing field – it’s not better or worse and they don’t have to eat a certain food or finish their meal to get dessert.  It’s just part of the meal. Here’s a previous post where Anna delves deeper into the subject of dessert.

Carmelitas – The simple steps

Carmelitas - a simple, delicious dessert
Gather together the ingredients.
Unwrap the caramels (a great activity for kids of most ages). Mine always enjoy eating a few of the caramels while they unwrap them. Place in a microwave-safe bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of milk. Melt the butter and set aside. Mix together the oats, flour, dark brown sugar, salt, baking soda.
Add the melted butter to the oat, flour and brown sugar mixture. Divide the mixture in half and press half into the bottom of a prepared 9 x 13 pan. Place in an oven preheated to 350 F and bake 8-10 minutes.
Melt the caramel in the microwave, stopping to stir every 1-2 minutes until melted. Don’t let it bubble or it will get too hard during baking.
Drizzle the melted caramel over the baked oat mixture. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips over.
Carmelitas - A simple, delicious dessert
Crumble the second half of the oat mixture evenly over the chocolate chips. Return the pan to the oven and bake 7-10 minutes or until the top begins to brown a bit. Allow to cool for a couple of hours. Cut into small squares and enjoy! (You can also cool for about 30 minutes and then put them in the refrigerator for about an hour. This will allow the caramel to firm up more. I recommend this method if you’re taking these to a picnic on a warm day.)
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Carmelitas – A Simple Dessert

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not steel cut oats)

¾ cup dark brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (semisweet works fine too)

1 bag Kraft caramels, unwrapped and melted with

2–3 tablespoons of milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or lightly butter the pan.
  2. Unwrap the individual caramels and place them in a microwave safe bowl along with about 2 tablespoons of milk.  Set aside until ready to melt.
  3. Cut the butter into pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl.  Melt and then allow to cool slightly.
  4. Place the flour, oats, dark brown sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium-size mixing bowl and mix to combine.  Add the melted butter and mix until the ingredients come together.
  5. Divide the mixture in half and put half of it in the prepared 9 x 11-inch pan.  Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. It will be a thin layer. Place in the oven and bake for 8 – 10 minutes.
  6. While the first layer of the oat mixture is baking, place the caramels and milk you set aside earlier in the microwave and microwave 1-2 minutes at a time until melted.  Stirring after each minute or two with a heatproof spatula. You don’t want the caramel to boil or it will get too hard to eat when baked.
  7. Remove the pan with the first layer of oats from the oven.  
  8. Carefully pour the melted caramel over the baked oat mixture.  Then sprinkle on the 1 cup of chocolate chips. And last crumble the rest of the oat mixture evenly over the chocolate chips and caramel.
  9. Place in the oven and bake another 7-10 minutes or until the oat mixture begins to brown.
  10. Allow to cool for a few hours before cutting.  OR you can allow to cool about 30 minutes and then place the pan in the refrigerator for about an hour.  This makes the caramel more firm. I recommend this cooling option if you’re going to a picnic and it’s hot outside.
  11. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Cut into small squares and serve.  

Notes

I use a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, but the original recipe calls for a 9 x 11 inch baking pan which also works.

Feeding Teens: Slowly Taking Down The Scaffolding

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I’m often asked about how to approach food with preteens and teens. Teenagers developmentally need more freedom and independence and being too rigid in feeding can lead to a teen feeling restricted. Restrictive feeding has been shown to interfere with a child being able to use hunger and fullness cues to guide their eating.  

On the other hand, our current food culture doesn’t always support teens listening to hunger and fullness. As a parent, sometimes it can feel like people and businesses are always offering food to our children and not in a way that promotes balanced eating. A teen doesn’t yet have the abstract thinking it takes to be totally in charge of their own food, nor the experience.  It doesn’t make sense to give teens full reigns of their eating. While we don’t want to feed a teen the same as we would a 3-year-old, we also don’t want to totally hand over the responsibilty of food to a teenager.

Kids Learn from Structure

If you follow our writing, you know we use Satter’s Division of Responsibility in Feeding (DOR) as a foundation of the work we do.  This gives parents the jobs of “What, When and Where,” when it comes to food, and the child’s jobs of “If and How much.” You can read more about DOR in my previous post. However, as children become older, the goal is for them to gain more skills and independence around eating. Just like any self-care task, we start with more structure and, over time, give them more of the responsibility. 

Bedtime Routines

I like to compare how we parent with feeding to how we parent with bedtime. Just like we can’t make our child eat certain food, we can’t make a child fall asleep.  What we can do is provide them with routine or structure that helps them fall asleep. The parents are involved more with bedtime when children are young and then as the child grows up, the child may have more and more of the responsibility of going to bed. The long term goal is for a child to feel comfortable with their own bedtime routine as an older teen to adult.

This is similar to feeding. When a child is young, you decide when meals and snacks are served and what is offered and, over time, this structure gradually changes. It’s important to start to give a teen more responsibility in feeding to help them develop independence long term. Preteens and teens spend more time away from family and may start having their own money and access to food.  Also, we want to help our children develop the skills to feed themselves so that they are self–sufficient in their eating as an older teen or adult. Children learn by adults assisting them with scaffolding (read more in my previous post) and then slowly decreasing that support or structure.  Young children need a lot of scaffolding and then, as they get older, they need less and less scaffolding until they are old enough to be totally in charge of their food. 

Photo by Snapwire

Slowly Decrease Structure

Think about the Division of Responsibility as a baseline. As our children grow up we need to start to take away some of that structure and give them more of the responsibility in eating. We may continue to decide the “when” and “what” at certain meals, but give them some of this responsibility at times. It’s a very gradual shift over time.

As parents, we want to avoid falling into a pattern of flip flopping between being permissive and then, as a reaction, authoritarian. With a teen, this may look like allowing them to be in charge of their breakfast and lunch meals, but when we get worried their meals aren’t balanced then we react with telling them they must eat all of their vegetables at dinner or they won’t get any dessert. There are some strategies we can use to facilitate this decrease in structure without falling in to an all or nothing way of parenting. 

Tips for Feeding Preteens and Teens: 

  • Focus on what you are going to provide, rather than what you want to prevent. Parents often talk to me about the amount of processed snack food their teenager eats.  Rather than restricting them from eating certain foods in the afternoon, prepare a balanced afternoon snack for them. “I’ve made a plate of apples and peanut butter for snack.” or “Do you want to add yogurt or nuts to have with your snack?”
  • Engage them in meal prep. You may ask them to make their breakfast, but then assist them in putting together a balanced meal. “What would you like to have with your eggs and toast, apples or grapes?”
  • If they reach for an afternoon snack – suggest an item to balance it out. “How about you have a glass of milk with your cookies?”
  • Continue with house rules that provide structure – sit down while eating; turn off screens while eating; don’t take food to their rooms. “Looks like you are having a snack, let’s sit down at the table.”
  • Talk with them about their eating plans when they are not with you. When your child is not with you, you don’t have a say in what they eat and don’t eat. You can support them by talking through their plans for the day. “What do you think you’ll have for afternoon snack while you’re out?” or “What will you do for dinner before dance class?” or “Let’s pack a snack since you’re not coming jome before practice.”

More than anything, remember that modeling is much more effective than teaching or telling your child how or what to eat. They may not accept the above ideas or suggestions, but you are modeling for them what it looks like to feed yourself well. You also model for them every time you put together a balanced meal or take time to sit down for a snack for yourself. It’s hard to take away the scaffolding, but when you do, you model trust in your child and their wise body.

Crisp Veggie Salad For Summer

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Summer is just around the corner

Pools open this weekend! And there will certainly be Memorial Day picnics to attend.  Maybe you’re headed to the beach this weekend or the pool or a Memorial Day picnic? If so, this Crisp Veggie Salad is refreshing and easy to make ahead!  

Easy crisp veggie salad for summer

Make a big batch

I sometimes make a big batch of this one. It’s worth making because it keeps all week. I love having fresh, crisp veggies around that I can serve with a number of different meals. Especially, in the summer, when it’s so hot out you don’t want to use the oven or stove.

Crisp Summer Veggie Salad

This salad can work well for kids, because, if you use a dressing they like, they’re more likely to be open to trying the salad. Also, they can eat around the veggies they don’t like. Full disclosure: I’ve made this salad for years and my kids still don’t eat it; even though they love mustard vinaigrette (as our regular readers know, it’s a staple in our house) and they eat carrots and cucumbers regularly. I just keep making the salad. Maybe they’ll try it sometime and maybe not.

Make it with any crisp veggies you like

This salad can be made from any combination of veggies you like. Try making it with raw green beans, raw asparagus (cut off the tips and discard them), raw sugar snap peas, sliced radishes and toasted sliced almonds.

No recipe needed

Ingredients for easy crisp veggie salad

You can simply chop up as many raw veggies as you’d like. But if you’d like a recipe, here it is: Cut up ½ a head of cauliflower into small, bite-size florets. Peel and cut up a cucumber (or 2). Peel and cut up 3-4 large carrots. Invite your kids to help peel the carrots and cukes. Then rinse and slice 5 radishes. I often add some arugula or watercress too. Toss with about 1/2 cup of the mustard vinaigrette and some salt and pepper to taste. You can always add more vinaigrette.

To Make the Mustard Vinaigrette whisk together 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2/3 cup canola oil and salt and pepper to taste.

4 ways to serve crisp veggie salad

Easy crisp veggie salad over farro
  1. As a veggie side
  2. As a main dish summer salad on a bed of cooked farro (one of my personal favorite grains) and topped with toasted, unsalted nuts.  Any kind of nuts you like will work. Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds will work well, too. If you only have salted nuts, you may want to use a little less salt when making the salad.
  3. Another main dish summer salad: over mixed greens and topped with tuna
  4. Toss with cooked pasta for a yummy pasta salad

Speaking of summer did you read Anna’s recent post?

Being just on the verge of summer has me thinking about summer camp and Anna’s recent post. Ellie, our 11-year-old is going to sleep away camp for the first time this summer. I think I’m more nervous than she is! One of my concerns is what if she ends up in a cabin with kids and counselors who are focused on diets and diet talk. I know she has a lot of language and beliefs from home that will help her navigate this. But, it’s hard for a kid or teen (and many adults) when everyone around you is talking about the need to lose weight or what foods they’re eating and what they’re not. So, I sent the camp director the free training resource Anna shared in her last post! Who are you sharing the resource with? It’s important we get diet culture out of summer camp (along with all the other places it pops up).

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Crisp Summer Veggie Salad

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

Easy and versatile veggie salad.

Scale

Ingredients

1/2 head of cauliflower cut into small, bite-size pieces

3 medium carrots peeled and diced (or chopped)

1*seedless cucumber peeled and diced (or chopped)

4–6 radishes washed and thinly sliced

3/4 cup watercress leaves washed and removed from stems (or arugula)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Instructions

Cut up 1/2 head of cauliflower into small, bite-size pieces.

Peel the carrots and then slice each in half lengthwise.  Then dice (or chop) the carrots.

Peel the cucumber and then slice in half lengthwise.  Then dice or chop it.

Wash the radishes and then cut each in half.  Set on the cutting board sliced side down and slice them. The slices will look a bit like half moons.

Rinse the watercress.  Remove the leaves from the stems.  

Place all the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste and 1/2 cup mustard vinaigrette.  You can always add more if needed. 

Notes

*If you buy cucumbers with seeds in them you can simply scrape out the seeds with a spoon after you peel the cucumber and slice it in half lengthwise.

**I typically make this with a whole head of cauliflower and then double the rest of the ingredients.  

****Recipe adapted from Crisp Vegetable Salad in Simple Pleasures by Alfred Portale

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Mustard Vinaigrette

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Scale

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2/3 cup canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, canola oil and salt and pepper until emulsified.  

Diet-Free Camp Culture

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Last July, I sat down to write a blog post late at night after I picked up my daughter from two weeks away at summer camp.  I had planned to write a post about easy summer no-cook meals. But I was having trouble getting my words on to paper. I opened a new document and started writing what I really wanted to write. I wrote a letter to my daughter’s camp counselor. After I picked her up earlier that day, Miriam had told me her counselor was on a diet and “counting her steps” in preparation for a post-camp trip to the Caribbean. Miriam’s camp is in the mountains and the days are filled with swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, sports and running up an down the hills of camp.

I hated to think that a diet interfered with anyone’s mind and body experiencing the joys of camp. Although I was certainly not surprised, it made me sad that diet culture had affected my 12-year-old’s camp experience. I also know that this is the norm in our culture and certainly the camp or the counselor hadn’t done anything intentionally wrong. 

Summer camp

My post An Open Letter to My Daughter’s Camp Counselor was shared online over the summer. It seemed to hit home for a lot of parents.

Camp Culture

I was a camp person. I went to summer camp for 8 summers as a child. And then I was a camp counselor for several years in high school and college. Summer camp is such a special place. It’s a place removed from the “real world,” without technology. It’s free of many of the social rules children experience all year. And camp is a place where acceptance and kindness are expected. Summer camp focuses on character development, facing fears, gaining independence and trying new things. When you are at camp, you are immersed in a new culture – Camp Culture. Camp Culture includes singing silly songs, giving lots of hugs, encouraging others, care packages, wearing bathing suits half the day, writing letters with pen and paper and looking up to the counselors.

Older teenagers and young adults, the counselors, are put in charge of the daily life of younger children. There are no parents there to make a child wear matching clothes. No one double checks that they brush their teeth well. The children, while cared for and safe, have a special kind of freedom with their young counselors in charge of daily life. The children look up to their counselors and want to be just like them. They hear them if they are talking about losing weight or dieting. Diet culture needs to not be a part of Camp Culture. 

Camp Staff Training

As summer approaches and college semesters come to a close, camp staff members around the country will soon gather to get ready for summer camp and the hundreds of thousands of children who will be in their care. The counselors will have extensive staff training to learn about the values of camp and the importance of being a good role model for the campers. The staff training will consist of safety procedures, leadership development, team building, songs, dining hall rules, and schedules. It’s my hope that camp directors will consider including information about the harm of diets and diet talk in their staff training. Because diets are so commonplace, information about dieting is not included as an important part of training those who spend time with our children. However, keeping diet culture out of the activities our children are involved in absolutely fits with the values of many of these activities.

Free Staff Training Lesson

We wanted to offer a short staff resource that can be included in summer staff training in the coming weeks. Camp Directors! Download our staff training lesson, Diet Free Camp Culture, for your staff training.  Download our free staff training lesson here.

Parents and Camp Directors

Parents, would you share this with your child’s camp? I think the best way to make a change is through the voice of parents.  Camp Directors, if you use this as part of your training or maybe decide not to, I’d love to receive your feedback on how this message can reach camps better and more clearly. 

Download our staff training lesson for your staff training.  

Easy Weeknight Tofu Veggie Stir-Fry

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Easy weeknight tofu veggie stir-fry

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll know this shows up on my weekly meal plan often. I’ve been making this easy, weeknight tofu veggie stir-fry a lot recently so I thought I’d share it with you. When I was growing up, stir-fry was in our meal line up, too, and I always loved it. There’s something so satisfying about quickly cooked, crisp veggies in a quick sauce over warm, tender rice. YUM!

Make a big batch so you have leftovers

Lately I’ve been making a BIG batch of stir-fry along with a big batch of rice. I serve the leftovers for dinner a second night or lunch a number of times during the week depending on how much is leftover. It works well reheated and in a thermos for lunches.

No recipe needed

Easy weeknight tofu veggie stir-fry

One of the nice things about stir-fry is you can use any combination of veggies and protein you’d like. You don’t really even need a recipe. I tend to use carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, sugar snap peas, edamame and bok choy (or baby bok choy), along with those canned baby corn. You can buy cut broccoli and sliced mushrooms, as well as chopped ginger. So, this dish really doesn’t take long to make. Then, all you have to do is peel and cut the carrots and mix the ingredients for the sauce.

I go through phases where I use skirt steak in my stir-fry. Shrimp or chicken works well too! But these days we’re trending tofu. I used to just drain press the tofu for about 30 minutes, cut it into cubes and add it to the veggies and sauce. But, I much prefer it this way because the texture is nice and firm and there’s some additional flavor to the tofu with the soy sauce and olive oil.  (I got the idea for baked tofu here).

I tend to change up what kind of rice I serve it over.  Sometimes, I serve this over rice cooked in coconut milk. Sometimes, it’s white rice and sometimes it’s brown rice.  Most of the time I use Lundberg rice and cook it in a pan on the stove.

Don’t give up

Dishes like this stir-fry can work well with young ones and more selective eaters because you (or they) can separate out the items, if having everything together is overwhelming.

When my oldest child (now 15) was young, she didn’t care for many of the ingredients in my stir fry. She’d eat the carrots, broccoli, rice and whatever protein was in the combo. Lately though, she’s been eating the dish as is. She recently told me how much she loves mushrooms and noted that she used to hate them.  I’ve been cooking stir-fry (veggie sauté) for a LOOOOONG time. I share this because it’s a good example of the importance of continuing to offer foods even when children won’t eat them.

Easy weeknight tofu veggie stirfry

The order I use to get tofu veggie stir-fry on the table

  • Pre heat the oven
  • Put rice on to cook
  • Drain and press the tofu
  • While the tofu is draining, gather together your ingredients for the rest of the stir-fry.
  • Make the sauce
  • Chop the ginger
  • Rinse and chop the veggies (or open the bags and containers of pre-sliced and pre-cut veggies)
  • Cube the tofu, toss it with the soy sauce, cornstarch and oil
  • Bake the tofu
  • Stir-fry the veggies!
  • Add the baked tofu to the stir-fry
  • Serve over cooked rice
  • Enjoy!

If you’re looking for more quick and easy recipes check out previous “go-to” meals posts here and here.

Let us know if you make the easy, weeknight tofu, veggie stir-fry. We’d love to hear from you!

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Weeknight Tofu Veggie Stir-Fry

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

The amounts here can be adjusted to your taste and needs.  This makes a big batch.

Scale

Ingredients

1 container, extra firm tofu, baked (recipe below)

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS minced, fresh ginger

4-6 carrots peeled and sliced

1 large bunch of broccoli, rinsed and cut into small florets (slice the stem too and add it)

1 8 ounce container sliced mushrooms

2 cups (or 1 small bag) sugar snap peas

1 1/2 cups thawed, shelled edamame

1 bunch bok choy or 2–3 bunches baby bok choy, chopped and rinsed

1 can of baby corn, drained

Sauce

3 TBS Hoisoin sauce

3 TBS. rice vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Mix together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and water and set aside.
  2. Add the olive oil and ginger to a 5 quart sauté pan.  Turn heat to medium – high.
  3. Once the ginger begins to sizzle, add the mushrooms and carrots and cook while stirring for a couple of minutes.  
  4. Next add the broccoli and snap peas. Cook while stirring for another few minutes until they begin to turn bright green.
  5. This is where I add the sauce.  
  6. Then add the thawed edamame, bok choy and baby corn and continue to cook for a few more minutes.
  7. Last, add the baked tofu. Remove from heat.
  8. Serve over cooked rice.

Notes

Feel free to cook the veggies longer if you like them more tender.

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Baked Tofu

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

Tossing extra firm tofu with cornstarch, soy sauce and olive oil and baking it creates a tofu with a nice flavor and firm, almost crisp texture.

Scale

Ingredients

1 box extra firm tofu, drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Remove the tofu from the packaging
  2. You’ll need 2 paper towels each folded in half lengthwise.  Place one on a plate, then place the tofu on top of the paper towel.  Place the second paper towel on top of the tofu. Then place a pan on top of that to squeeze out the moisture.
  3. Let sit for 10 – 30 minutes.
  4. Remove the tofu from under the pan and discard the paper towels.
  5. Cut into cubes and toss with olive oil, soy sauce and cornstarch.  
  6. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  
  7. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from over and add to the stir-fry.

 

Grasshoppers & Ways to Support Your Picky Eater

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A few weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting Marsha Dunn Klein. Marsha is an Occupational Therapist, with Mealtime Notions, with over 40 years experience working with children with severe feeding issues and their families.  I have read about Marsha’s work for most of my career. So, for me, meeting her was like meeting a celebrity.

Marsha Dunn Klein shared with me this video about eating grasshoppers. Yes! You read that right, grasshoppers! The video is a story about Marsha’s experience in eating something new. It gives a great example of how someone can take small steps towards trying something new. There’s a lot of gray area between not eating something and taking a big bite of a new food.

Responsive Feeding

Marsha’s work as an OT is aligned with Responsive Feeding, an approach to feeding that focuses on the hunger and fullness cues of a child. It’s also a philosophy of some professionals, including myself, in treating children and adolescents with feeding and eating issues.  Responsive Feeding is in contrast to the methods of Behavioral Feeding Programs, that involve defined protocols for “training” or “retraining” children how to eat. Responsive feeding is based on the idea that feeding is a conversation between a caregiver and a child. If we ignore what the child is telling us with their eating (or not eating), we will end up pressuring or forcing the child to eat. We know pressure doesn’t help a child learn to eat well in the long run. Or, in constrast, we may end up being too permissive and not helping out child develop their eating skills.

Child Development and Feeding

I’ve been thinking about Marsha’s grasshopper story in the last few weeks. I’m in the midst of writing a developmentally appropriate nutrition curriculum for preschool and elementary schools with my colleague, Katherine Zavodni, RD. Through this work, I’ve been learning more about child development. I’ve learned about Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotzky, a Soviet psychologist, defined The Zone of Proximal Development to be the “distance between the most difficult task a child can do alone and the most difficult task the child can do with help.”  Children can learn on the outer edge of their Zone of Proximal Development with “scaffolding” or assistance from teachers, peers or parents.

Vivian thinking about what shrimp taste like.

Authoritarian vs. Permissive Feeding: Finding the Middle Ground

We know being authoritarian with feeding, putting pressure on children to eat a certain amount or certain foods, doesn’t help children expand their variety, and often backfires. An example of this is telling a child that they “must clean their plate.” The opposite of an authoritarian feeding style, as described by Ellyn Satter, is a permissive one. A permissive feeding style may be short order cooking or allowing a child to eat anytime, anywhere. It’s common, when a parent is concerned about their child’s eating, that they go back and forth between these two approaches. Although it’s a natural reaction to being worried about a child’s eating, engaging in these two feeding styles doesn’t support the child in progressing in their eating. As parents, it’s important to provide the structure, or “scaffolding,” so that the child can expand their eating skills.

Structure or “Scaffolding” to Support Your Child

Here are some examples of how a parent provides structure or as Vygotsky would call it “scaffolding” with food:

  • Establishing timing of meals and snacks so that the child arrives at meal and snack times hungry, but not starving.  
  • Deciding what is offered at meals and snacks, and not short order cooking.
  • Offering avenues to try new foods – a familiar sauce or dip for the child to have with a less familiar food.
  • Providing a child an opportunity to explore a food in different ways. This may include smelling it, licking it, kissing it, rubbing it on their lips and allowing them to spit it out, if they choose. If this isn’t accepted meal time behavior, you could experiment at a non-eating time.
  • Decreasing anxiety at meal time by allowing a child to serve their own plate and having a familiar food on the table.
  • Serving combination meals, like a taco bowl or salad, “deconstructed” so that the child can try the meal with he ingredients of their choosing.
Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad Bar
  • Not always serving the item “made to order.” For example, a child may prefer cheese quesadillas, but one night you may decide to put black beans or some chicken in everyone’s quesadilla. Or making a pizza for the whole family and having the child “pick off” what they choose not to eat.
  • When out to eat, asking a child to pick something unique to the restaurant, rather than defaulting to the kids menu of acceptable foods. For example, picking a Chinese dish at a Chinese restaurant, rather than mac ‘n cheese.
  • Asking a child to help you prepare an unfamiliar food.
  • Preparing an unfamiliar food in a familiar way. For example, serving breaded fish sticks, as a bridge to eating fish in other ways.
Fish Sticks – easy and looks familiar

“The Ask”- What Can Your Child Handle?

When I talked with Marsha a few weeks ago, I heard her say several times that “the ask” needed to not be too big.  “The ask” would be really big for me if someone asked me to have a grasshopper taco, but I could have a taco with a small piece of grasshopper inside. That’s a smaller “ask.” There is a way to support and “ask” our children to try new things and this must look different for each child so it doesn’t feel like pressure.  Permissive feeding may be not ever asking and authoritarian feeding may be having a “big ask” with lots of pressure.

“The ask” may not be saying “Will you please eat the hamburger?” The ask may be having the child tolerate the hamburger on the table or plate. Or, “the ask” may be suggesting without pressure, they have a very small piece of burger in their bun and see what that’s like. Or, suggesting or modeling for the child to take the hamburger out of the bun and dipping it in ketchup (if ketchup is familiar and accepted).  When we say not to pressure a child, it doesn’t mean not to support the child in their eating. The structure and “scaffolding” is very important for the child to be able to learn on the outer edge of their Proximal Zone of Development.

Look for Marsha Dunn Klein’s book that she is currently working on titled Anxious Eaters.

Meal Prep: Without a Side of Diet Culture – Part 2

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By: Jessica Long, Nutrition Masters Student

Guest Post Writer

As promised in my previous post, I’m sharing my favorite meals for anyone with a busy schedule! On days or weeks where you have more prep time available, opt for the ‘make ahead’ recipes. For nights where you need to whip something up quick, look for the ‘time crunch’ recipes. You’ll find ideas for breakfasts and dinners, as I almost always use leftovers for lunches.

In seasons of extreme busyness and a demanding schedule, I find that it can be easier to miss certain hunger and satiety cues, leaving me ravenous or with a headache. This is why it’s SO important to try to plan ahead and fuel ourselves properly when we are “go go go”; tackling a long to-do list is so much easier on a satisfied stomach!

To that end, I try to incorporate protein + fat + carbohydrate + fiber in most meals in order for them to be both satisfying and nourishing. However, there is great flexibility in this! We never want to create rigidity in our meal planning, and every single body has different needs and different combinations that best nourish it.

BREAKFAST

Make Ahead

  • French toast bake: Whenever artisan bread from my grocery store’s bakery is on sale, I grab an extra loaf or two (enough to fill an 8×8 inch baking pan). I whisk 3 eggs, ~2/3 C milk, a splash of vanilla, sprinkle of cinnamon, and a few teaspoonfuls of sugar. Arrange bread in greased 8×8, pour milk mixture on top, and top with a handful of walnuts. I put foil on top, then pop in my fridge overnight. I’ll throw it in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 F (or until it’s to your liking!) while I get ready for the day. I love to drizzle maple syrup on top and add scrambled eggs on the side for some extra protein.
  • Muffins: My favorite blueberry muffin recipe can be found HERE.
  • Pancakes are one of my favorite things to whip up on a Sunday afternoon and reheat each day during the week. My go-to recipe for years can be found HERE. They’re made even better by adding blueberries or chocolate chips.

Time Crunch

  • Oatmeal: Combine 1/2 C rolled oats, 1/2 C of whole milk, and 1/2 apple (diced) in a bowl and pop in the microwave for 2 minutes. Top with brown sugar and nuts! Try swapping banana for the apple or adding chocolate chips!
  • Egg scramble: Scramble eggs with whatever you have on hand and pair with PB&J toast. My favorite combination is eggs + cheese + sausage.
  • Yogurt parfait: Top whole milk yogurt with granola (or your favorite cereal!), fruit, and nuts.

DINNER

Make Ahead

  • Baked potato bar: I love to put 5-6 potatoes in the oven to bake while I study on a Sunday. I’m partial to russets, but pick your favorite kind! Possible toppings include cheese, avocado, sour cream, sautéd spinach, ground beef, or bacon. With the potatoes already prepped, browning the beef and sautéing the spinach makes for a speedy weeknight dinner.
  • Chicken fajitas: Place 1.5-2 lbs raw chicken tenders (I cut chicken breasts into tenderloins to save money!), 3 sliced peppers, 1 sliced onion, 1/2 C olive oil, and a packet of fajita seasoning into a gallon baggie. Place in fridge for up to 3 hours. Pour into a 9×13 pan. Cook at 400 F for 20 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through. Serve in warm tortillas or on top of brown rice! The leftovers make an excellent burrito filling.  
  • White chicken chili. Everyone’s family has their go-to recipe for white chicken chili. This is my mom’s tried and true recipe: in a crockpot, combine 2-3 chicken breasts, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of great northern beans, 1 can of corn, 1 envelope taco seasoning, 1 can chicken broth, and 1 can of green chilies. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. (I’ve forgotten to add cream of chicken soup and green chilies at times, and it’s still good!). Before serving, stir in 1/2 C of sour cream.

Time Crunch

  • Pizza: I highly suggest Trader Joe’s pizza dough; it is reasonably priced and freezes well. My favorite recipe for quick pizza dough can be found HERE. My favorite toppings are olive oil, garlic, mozzarella, and ricotta.
  • Pork chops: Thinly sliced pork chops are an affordable cut of meat, and they cook up very quickly in a cast iron skillet. Pair with red potatoes (roasted at 400 F for 20 minutes after tossing in olive oil + spices of your choosing) and a vegetable.
  • 5 ingredient green curry: I have used red curry paste instead of green, and the recipe is absolutely delicious. If you aren’t a tofu fan, add a can of chickpeas near the end of cooking. Recipe is HERE.

Jessica Long is a graduate student at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. She is an avid reader of research, and her interests include eating disorders, intuitive eating, and approaching medical nutrition therapy (MNT) from a weight-neutral lens. She is especially intrigued by the intersection of diabetes and weight neutral care, having experience working with patients with diabetes in a primary care setting. She is currently spearheading a research project investigating intuitive eating in minority undergraduate populations. Jessica can be reached via email at jlong@email.meredith.edu or on Instagram at @jessicalongrd.  

10 Easy, Everyday Sides

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This post contains affiliate links.

Getting dinner on the table can feel like a race. You’re juggling getting home from work, trying to protect bed times, helping with homework, and, maybe, getting kids to and from activities. All these moving pieces can feel overwhelming. I have some standby sides I rely on that are simple to make AND they taste great. They make getting dinner on the table a little easier.  I love to cook.  But my motto for weeknight meals (and most weekend meals) is — Keep It Simple!

A little meal prep can also help make getting dinner on the table easier. I really enjoyed Jessica’s guest post on meal prep! Click here to read the post if you missed it.  It got me thinking about the meal prep I do. (I hardboiled a bunch of eggs right after reading Jessica’s post!). My meal prep has looked different over the years and it looks different each week.  I go through phases where I’ll make a big fruit salad on the weekend, hard boil a bunch of eggs, roast a bunch of veggies, and make a big batch of rice or farro or quinoa. And, I go through phases where I don’t do any meal prep. A few items I meal prep on a regular basis these days are mustard vinaigrette and homemade taco seasoning. Keeping these around makes getting dinner ready easier.

Whether I’m in meal prep mode or not, here are some of the fruit and veggie sides I rely on (I’ll share my quick and easy carbohydrate sides to pair with these sides in a post soon):

1. Sautéed shredded brussels sprouts

Trader Joe’s typically has bags of shredded brussels sprouts.  All you have to do is add some olive oil to a saute pan, turn the heat to medium and empty the bag of brussels sprouts into the pan.  Add some salt and pepper and sauteé for about 5 minutes or until they’re bright green.

You can watch our video on how to cook them here.

2. Green beans (fresh or frozen) with butter and Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt.

This dish takes me right back to my childhood and being at my grandparent’s house.  My grandmother was an incredible cook and this was one of the veggie sides she served with dinners.

Fill a medium saucepan half full with water. Add enough salt to make the water taste salty (about 1 tablespoon) and bring the water to a boil.  Add the green beans, place a lid on the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the beans from the water using tongs (or carefully empty the contents of the pan into a strainer over the sink).  Toss with butter and Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt.  

10 easy everyday sides


3. Cucumber and avocado with mustard vinaigrette (or Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt)

Another one from my grandmother. She used to serve this in the summer with cucumbers fresh from her garden.  To this day, the combination is one of my favorites. It’s also great on a sandwich with a few slices of goat gouda, a little Dijon mustard and some lettuce.

Peel and slice a cucumber.  Cut up an avocado and toss with mustard vinaigrette OR season with Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt.  

4. Braised Asparagus

Don’t let the term braised turn you away! This is actually very easy to make.

Rinse the asparagus and snap off the ends (great job for a child). Place a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the asparagus spears, season with salt and pepper and sauteé for about 5 minutes or until a few of them begin to brown.

Then turn the heat down to medium low and cook for about 15 more minutes or until the spears have begun to soften a bit.  Remove from the pan and serve.

Anna roasts asparagus which works well, too – here’s her post: Easy, Convenient, Go-To Fruit and Vegetable Sides.  The benefit to roasting it is that you can make everything in the oven and even try to fit your entire meal on one sheet pan. If you’re roasting something like chicken thighs and little new potatoes, you can add the asparagus to the sheet pan at the halfway mark to prevent it from getting overcooked.

*Recipe adapted from Braised Asparagus in At Home in Provence by Patricia Wells

10 easy everyday sides

5. Roasted Cauliflower

It’s one of my favorites.  And it’s one of those foods my children don’t like (at least not yet). It’s easy to get stuck in the rut of cooking what we know our children will eat. It occurred to me when I was writing this post that I haven’t made roasted cauliflower in awhile. So, guess what I’m going to cook soon!?  Keep offering foods even if your children refuse to try them. They’re likely to try it. If you stop offering a certain food, there’s no opportunity to try it.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut the cauliflower into florets. (Or you can follow the same steps for roasting and use Trader Joe’s frozen cauliflower florets pictured here). Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a ½ sheet pan like this one here and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower has begun to brown.  Remove from the oven and serve.

10 easy everyday sides

6. Marinated chard (or any dark leafy green)

Strip the leaves from the stems (a great job for kids!).  Cut or tear the leaves into about 2 inch pieces. Rinse the leaves under cold water.  Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the chard (or other leafy green leaves) to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper, turn the heat down to medium low and cook for 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Different types of greens will take different amounts of time to cook.  The leaves will look bright green and slightly wilted when cooked.

When they’re done, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a chopped clove of garlic, and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  The recipe also calls for a pinch of red pepper flakes which I don’t use.

*Recipe adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

10 easy, everyday sides

7. Roasted cherry tomatoes with basil or pesto

It doesn’t get much easier than this.  Preheat your oven to 425 F. Toss the rinsed cherry or grape tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a ½ sheet pan.  If you like you can add a few whole cloves of garlic on the pan with them. Place them in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes or until they have begun to burst. Once they come out of the oven add 1 tablespoon of pesto and stir. Or add chopped basil instead of pesto.

8. Broccoli with butter, salt and pepper

Even though this one is obvious, I included it because it’s so easy and we are a houseful of broccoli lovers, so it’s something I make a lot.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the broccoli into florets (or buy pre cut florets) and add to the boiling water. Place a lid on the pan! If you forgot this step, your whole house will smell like broccoli! Cook for about 5 minutes (a few minutes longer if you like broccoli cooked more tender).  Carefully remove the broccoli from the water using a slotted spoon. Toss with a bit of butter and salt and pepper.

10 easy, everyday sides

9. Sautéed baby bok choy with lemon or soy sauce

This one truly takes less than 10 minutes, at most, to make.  

Cut each bunch of bok choy in half and then cut the end off.  Separate the leaves and rinse under cold water. Heat about a teaspoon or 2 of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add the baby bok choy leaves along with some salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until the leaves are bright green and have begun to wilt.  Squeeze fresh lemon juice over them and serve. Or, you can drizzle them with a little soy sauce.

10 easy, everyday sides

10. Sugar Snap Peas

These are super quick. They’re also good cold (add them to a salad or eat them on their own) or reheated — if there are leftovers.

Rinse under cold water. Then remove the ends and strings from the sugar snap peas. Place a medium sauté pan over medium high heat. Add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Next, add the sugar snap peas and some salt and pepper.  Sauté for 3-5 minutes or until they’re bright green.

As we often remind everyone, meals don’t have to be complicated to be nourishing!

What are your favorite quick and easy fruit and veggie sides?  We’d love to hear from you!

Meal Prep: Without a Side of Diet Culture

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By: Jessica Long, Nutrition Masters Student

Guest Post Writer

As a graduate student, my days are spent reading, writing, and working on my research, and my nights are spent in class or catching up on an ever growing to-do list. As you can imagine, finding time to shop, cook, and prepare meals is a challenge, and I’m certainly not alone in that struggle. Whether a student, young professional, or a parent, we all face difficulties in balancing our schedules and giving our bodies the fuel they need to keep up with everything on our plates (pun intended!).

Meal Prep and Diet Culture

It should come as no surprise that the hashtag ‘mealprep’ has nearly 10 million tags on Instagram. However, one peek into the photos associated with #mealprep and my mind begins to spin. Sure, some of the photos are beautiful, but many of the captions and recommendations are brimming with diet culture. For instance, lots of “eat this, not that,” low carb meal prep guides, and calorie counts next to Tupperware filled with grilled chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower rice. Although it might seem that diet culture has a tight grip on meal prep, there are many reasons to plan and prepare your meals that have nothing to do with weight or weight loss…

  • Save time.
  • Save money.
  • Satisfy hunger.

For many with busy schedules (myself included!), spending copious amounts of time in the kitchen might not be a top priority, and that’s perfectly OKAY! My focus is on simple, quick meals that are both nourishing and satisfying.

Here are my #mealprep tips, without the side of diet culture:

  • Make a master list of your favorite easy meals (Look for a Part 2 post for my “go-to” meals). Anna and Elizabeth wrote about their “go-to” meals at each of their houses: here and here.
  • Take an inventory of your fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what you have on hand.
  • Sit down and make a grocery list. There are lots of free templates out there to choose from!
  • Leftovers are your friend. I rarely purchase food solely for lunches, and I try to use leftovers from one meal as the base for another meal.
  • The freezer section is also your friend; I try to keep my freezer stocked with pizza dough, ice cream, and frozen fruits and vegetables. Check out Elizabeth’s guest post on The Benefits of Adding Frozen Foods to Your Meal and Snack Line Up.
  • If you have the opportunity, take an hour or two to prep items for the week.

Here are some of my “go-to’s” when I have an hour or two to spare…

  • Hard boil half a dozen eggs for an on-the-go snack, to top a salad, or to make an open-faced sandwich.
  • Make a grain to keep around; I suggest farro or quinoa in a time crunch or brown rice when you have more than 30 minutes!
  • Wash and cut up produce. I recently bought several 32 oz. deli containers and I use them to store fruit for snacks and vegetables for recipes during the week.
  • Make a batch of granola. Not only is it cheaper, but you can tailor it to your liking! I’m known by my classmates for bringing a tupperware with granola, yogurt, berries, and nuts.
  • If the recipe allows, brown any meat ahead of time. I like to cook sausage to add to eggs at breakfast and to top pizza.

I’ll share with you my “go-to” meals in a future post!

Jessica Long is a graduate student at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. She is an avid reader of research, and her interests include eating disorders, intuitive eating, and approaching medical nutrition therapy (MNT) from a weight-neutral lens. She is especially intrigued by the intersection of diabetes and weight neutral care, having experience working with patients with diabetes in a primary care setting. She is currently spearheading a research project investigating intuitive eating in minority undergraduate populations. Jessica can be reached via email at jlong@email.meredith.edu or on Instagram at @jessicalongrd.