Nourished Living LLC

🥳Happy Birthday to Bethany!🥳
💙KOTG wishes you the best!💙
Nourished Living LLC

Still time to register for Henry Ford Hospital's Nutrition Symposium, where I will be speaking on Food Allergies and Sensitivities:

2023 Nutrition Symposium - Henry Ford Health - Continuing Education (CE) Henry Ford Health, 2023 Nutrition Symposium, 10/27/2023 7:30:00 AM - 10/27/2023 3:30:00 PM, Please join us on Friday October 27th for the 2023 Nutrition Symposium! The event is being held virtually and in person at Henry Ford Hospital E&R 2096 from 7:30am to 3:30pm. This symposium...

It’s back to school time, which for most triggers a range of emotions. 📚🧠One topic not commonly discussed is how to handle when your child makes negative comments about their bodies. Let’s face it – adolescence is hard! 🫨Kids’ bodies are rapidly changing and growing, and that can feel strange, embarrassing, and confusing. Back-to-school clothing shopping, trying out for athletics, emphasize on getting “bigger” as we get older are all examples of things that can heighten the feeling of self-consciousness. 3 months of summer break often leads to noticeable changes for themselves and for their peers. Oof!🫣

What are some things you can say when your child expresses anxiety over their bodies?
⭐️ All bodies are good bodies.
⭐️ Your body does lots of great things for you, like play the sports you love.
⭐️ Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and that’s cool.
⭐️ People can eat the same way and exercise the same way but won’t look the same way.
⭐️ Everyone has things they don’t like about their bodies – you are not alone.
⭐️ Body fat is important to help you grow.
⭐️ Even if you don’t like something about your body, your body deserves your love and respect.
⭐️ Let’s focus on something you like about your body instead.
⭐️ Bodies are ever changing, rearranging! That can feel tough, but it is normal.
⭐️ Your friends don’t care what you look like – they like you for who you are.
⭐️ There is never a need to apologize for your body.
⭐️ Could you say that in a way that shows value towards your body?
⭐️ I love the things that make you uniquely you.

Most importantly, model positive self-talk about your own body. If this feels uncomfortable for you, you can empathize with how it must feel for your child!
Give it a try: What is something you love about your body?🥰🥰🥰

🌟 Your Friday reminder that there is more to life than gaining and losing the same 10lb over and over again until you leave this earth.🌟

Maybe it’s time to focus on non-scale wins:
❓Do you have more energy?
❓Are you sleeping better at night?
❓Are you using the bathroom regularly?
❓Did you add nutritious food to your meal?
❓Are your labs improved?
❓Is your exercise stamina better?
❓Did you catch yourself thinking something kind about yourself? (I sure as heck hope so!)

What is a non-scale win you’ve had recently? 👏🏼

🍽️ We eat for many reasons, not just to nourish ourselves. Food intake is heavily influenced by culture and social factors. While we want to mostly eat to honor our hunger, these are valid and good reasons to eat as well! 🥰 Here is a dietitian’s permission to enjoy meals guilt free at events over your 4th of July weekend. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

‼️And remember, the less nutritious food you choose to include does not cancel out all the other nutritious foods you eat over the weekend‼️

What is one food you’re really looking forward to this holiday weekend? 🌭 🍉 🌽

Hi There! 👋🏼 My name is Bethany, owner and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, supporting the Metro-Detroit area and beyond.

⭐️I want to help!⭐️
I know you’re ready for change but just are not finding the answers. I understand how overwhelming the vast amount of information that exists out there can be. Take a deep breath and let’s tackle it together. 🤍

⭐️I know the struggle!⭐️
A little more about me. I love reading, playing volleyball, moving my body on the tennis court, and lifting weights. I enjoy dining out with family and friends. I am also an amateur potter, filling my cupboards with w***y mugs! I’m married to my college sweetheart (Go Flyers). Together we have 3 boys, twins + a bonus baby….Yes! I have my hands full! They’re busy boys, but loads of fun. Even as a Registered Dietitian, I personally know the struggles of feeding refusal and multiple food allergies in my own children, as well as the stress of disease management in my own extended family. It can be all consuming and compassion can too often feel out of reach. I also know you have good reasons for your habits and believe you when you say you're trying! 🫂

⭐️I am your cheerleader!⭐️
I specialize in Medical Nutrition Therapy for health improvement and disease management. My personal experiences coupled with my education and hospital work makes me a compassionate dietitian who is able to take the scientific research and teach you to apply it easily to your lifestyle. Are you looking for someone to support you during your journey? Look no further; I am your biggest cheerleader! Work with me and I will provide the accountability and knowledge for you to be an active participant in your health journey.

You got this!! ✨

This New Year, I encourage you to think about health in different, more gentle terms. 🤍

What if, instead of focusing on RESTRICTION:
❌"I can't eat pasta"
..we focused on ADDITION:
➕ "I'm going to add chickpea noodles for more protein, because that helps hold my hunger"
➕ "I'm going to add chopped veggies to my dish for more fiber, nutrients, & to help fill me up"
➕ "I'm going to add a distraction free eating environment to help me mindfully enjoy my pasta and honor my fullness"

Language regarding food matters! And let's be honest, a narrative without pasta is one I certainly don't want to subscribe to! 🍝 🤤

❤️

Nourished Living Personal Session Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Bethany Matus, offers a tailored nutrition counseling session for yourself, your child's or corporate needs. Bethany specializes in Medical Nutrition Therapy for health improvement and disease management. She believes in working with the rest of your healthcare tea...

Tonight wraps up another 6 week cooking session with Kids On The Go !! We ended with making Halloween dirt cups 🎃 From following directions, to hand strength building, to tasting different textures, and more - dirt cups are a great recipe for kids to make! 👻 Not to mention spookily delicious🧟

Wrapped up another great Spring cooking program last night with Kids On The Go .👩‍🍳 Did you know that cooking is a great activity for kiddos 🌟(not to mention sensory, muscle strengthening, food explorative, and confidence building activity!) 🌟

We had so much fun this time around doing food labs with each recipe. 🧪🧑‍🔬 Some of the experiments included:

🍴having a dance party to churn our own butter with mason jars, marbles and whipping cream
🍴using vinegar and baking powder to inflate a balloon
🍴making an edible candle from cheese and using the natural oil found in a pecan to light it

Check out the Facebook live post on Kids On The Go's page to learn how we made these delicious sweet potato lentil balls last night ❤️

Scratching your head because your kiddo is refusing a food you know they want to eat or would enjoy? 🤔 Sometimes sensory input can get in the way. ⚠️

For example, Everett doesn't like his hands feeling messy. He really wanted to eat this cookie s'more (because ummm yum, who wouldn't? 🤤), but was becoming upset at the melty chocolate & marshmallow feeling on his hands. 🤚 A fork may seem silly, but it's just what he needed to enjoy his snack. 🍽

Offering your kiddo alternatives can help keep the peace at mealtimes and lower defensiveness around foods. 🎉
Here's a few easy ways to teach your kids strategies to cope with sensory overload at meal time:
🌟 Encourage your kiddos to use utensils,
🌟Offer a wet wipe so they can wipe their hands frequently,
🌟Change the food texture by adding oats/granola/breadcrumbs or thinning out with liquids
🌟Switch up the visual with cookie cutters or by chopping up foods to make them less overwhelming

Looking for more feeding help? Schedule a free discovery call today: www.nourishedlivingllc.com

If you're not enjoying breakfast this much, you're doing it wrong 😅

Enjoyed chatting with VoyageMichigan about what makes Nourished Living special. Click the link and give it a read

Exploring Life & Business with Bethany Matus of Nourished Living - Voyage Michigan Magazine Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Matus. Hi Bethany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today? I am a proud Michigander, raising my twin boys + bonus baby boy with my husband, Alex, in the Mitten. Yes! I have my […]

Hi all - I have limited access to messages, emails, chats & food journals due to a family emergency. I ask for some grace during this time and will get back with you as soon as I am able. Thank you for understanding ❤️

"Family style" serving for the win! 🧆Each food is put in bowl or platter and passed around the table. Allow your babe to serve the amount of each option onto their plate.🍴

When a child is served too much on their plate, they can easily be overwhelmed thinking they have to eat it all....and may lose their appetite for eating! Even if they put only a small taste on their plate, they can always ask for more! 😉

Kiddos (well all humans, really) love autonomy over self. Offering foods family style allows kids to execute decision making at mealtimes, which goes a long way in reducing defensiveness around food. 🤩 As the caregiver, you get to offer foods you want to provide for your family, and your family gets to listen to their bodies and choose what they want to eat for their sources of nourishment. 😋Without pressure, they're more likely to try something new! 🎉

Mealtimes are way less stressful without having to coax, pressure, argue or negotiate - cue happy tears all around! 🥲

When encouraging keeping all foods neutral, a common question I hear is, "But what about birthday cake?!". 🎂

In our culture, we tend to follow the rule that celebratory desserts like birthday cake 🍰 or dessert on holidays should come after the meal. But there's no law (I promise 😉) that stipulates singing & serving birthday cake has to happen after the meal. 🤯

In our family, we opt to sing before we eat our meal, cut the cake, & serve all foods together. It definitely doesn't take away from the specialness of celebrating our loved one but does help us prevent glorifying dessert, as well as from overeating on special occasions.

What are you thoughts about ditching this common food rule? Does it sound doable ✅ or like I'm having my cake, and eating it too? 😋

Health literacy is a person's ability to obtain health information from quality resources, as well as process and understand the information to make appropriate decisions about one's health.

The world of medicine is confusing, with its own jargon, hierarchy, and culture. It can be overwhelming and scary for many to navigate.

Low health literacy is more common among older adults, minority individuals, low socioeconomic populations and medically underserved people. Martin Luther King Jr Day is a good reminder, as a provider, to educate in a way that helps those who seek my services to feel confident in their nutrition related decisions and include them as part of the process, every step of the way.

Meal planning doesn't have to be overwhelming! 🙌🏻 An easy strategy to try is pick a "clean out the fridge day". Grab left over ingredients from your last shopping trip, let loose, and let your creativity help you make some new mealtime creations. 🤤 Aim for a starch, protein, & veggie to keep things balanced.

I consider this a win, win, win because
⭐️less weekly waste
⭐️more healthy meals available for the family throughout the week
⭐️less stress

Follow along on my stories today to watch this spread come to life 💕

Happy Weekend! 🥳 Our body responds differently to the nutrients we provide it based on other factors like stress levels 😖 & sleep quality 😴. For example, our body becomes more insulin resistant with a poor night's sleep. This can in turn increase our cravings for simple carbohydrates. 🍪 🍕🍦🍟

After a poor night's sleep do your best to avoid too much caffeine ☕️ , balance your plate with complex carbs, protein, and veggies to avoid energy dips 🥕, take a nap if you have time 🛌 , or use gentle movement to stimulate the brain 🧘‍♀️.

Let this be another great reminder to listen to your body, even when it tells you it needs to rest. Hope you have a fabulous & restorative weekend 🤍

Let's talk tracking. Food/calorie tracking is a tool. 🔧 And like all tools, it can have a time and a place to provide a little insight...but that place should never be daily. ❌ And those who use it need to have a clear head, because it can quickly lead to obsession.

On the flip side, our bodies are also a tool that can measure how we're nourishing ourselves throughout the day. 👏🏼 The problem is, we don't trust what our bodies say - we trust what the addictive app says. (Hey, can we turn off those pesky notifications reminding you to track your lunch plz 😬)

There can be a learning curve to using new tools when we feel really comfortable with other ones. 🧰 But give yourself the time and grace because learning a new tool can open new doors (my dadism analogies on point in this post!) 🚪☀️ And that door may lead to a beautiful pathway where you spend more time enjoying the present & less time stressing about food🤩

Repeat after me: a healthy relationship with food concentrates on addition rather than restriction. 🌟

For example, I have an obsession with condiments. A meal pretty much doesn't satisfy me unless it's slathered in sauce. 🍽 Today I was really craving gourmaise (if you know, you know 🤤).

So Instead of saying, "That sauce is too high in fat." ❌
I said, "What can I add to this so that I feel both satisfied AND nourished for the afternoon?" ✅

I checked all the boxes with: a delicious, sausy sandwich on a whole grain bun + fruit & veggies. 🥪 🫐 🥕 Food SHOULD be enjoyed, after all!

Where are all my fellow sauce lovers at⁉️

Today my toddlers told me, "No! No peanut butter on my pancake!!" 🙄

So I responded with, "Ok. No problem. Thanks for letting me know." And I served it next to the pancake on a spoon, instead.

While my first instinct was to add pressure and say, "I know you like peanut butter, it's going on your pancake!", this would surely have lead to a mealtime struggle...so I improvised. 🤷🏼‍♀️ And guess what - the twins ate the peanut butter gladly. 🙌🏻

It's ok to show your children respect & allow them to exercise some control while offering the foods you want your childen to eat. ❤️ This environment is where positive associations with eating happens.

In the end, we had a laid back meal & fun conversation about the puzzles we were going to do after breakfast instead of a fight over eating peanut butter. Can I get a 🥜 in the comments for the beauty of mealtime peace?!

The diet industry will ramp up here shortly, so here are some friendly reminders as you ease back into post-holiday life:

🤍your food choices don't equal your worth🎖
🤍fruit is good, nourishing & satisfying - don't let anyone tell you differently 🍓🍒🍎🍑🍉
🤍juice cleanses are not necessary to jumpstart your 2022. Send some 💕 to your liver & kidneys, which detox you all day, everyday 👏🏼
🤍chewing food is much more satisfying than drinking your food 😋
🤍for smoothies or other liquids to be meals, they need to contain protein✅, fat✅, & carbs✅. Sorry, I'm not sorry. 🤷🏼‍♀️
🤍restriction makes higher calorie foods more rewarding. It's a-ok to decide this is the year to work on your relationship with food instead of on your "weight goals" ❤️❤️❤️

And as always, I'm here to help if you decide you need extra support 🥰