Plateful Parenting

Episode 50 of Plateful Parenting is a special one. When Christine and Chanel started this podcast, they simply wanted to create the conversations they wished had existed when parenting through eating disorders, anxiety, body image struggles, and food-related challenges felt overwhelming and isolating. Fifty episodes later, those conversations have done more than support listeners — they've changed the hosts, too. In this reflective milestone episode, Christine and Chanel step back to talk about what 50 conversations with clinicians, experts, and parents have taught them about navigating the hardest seasons of parenting. Because whether you're supporting a child through an eating disorder, ARFID, anxiety, body image struggles, or simply raising a sensitive child in a very loud world — hard seasons happen in every family. In this episode, they explore: ✨ What Christine and Chanel get wrong in the beginning  ✨ What makes parenting a challenge when struggling with a dysregulated nervous system ✨ The surprising power of connection over correction ✨ Why consistency matters more than getting the "perfect" parenting script ✨ How rupture and repair strengthen relationships with kids ✨ The hard truths parents rarely hear about recovery and family stress ✨ Why progress is rarely linear — and what to expect along the way ✨ The grief parents often carry when a child is struggling ✨ What gives families hope: resilience, brain healing, and repair Christine also shares something many parents feel but rarely say out loud — the deep isolation that can come with supporting a struggling child. One of the biggest lessons from these 50 conversations? Parents need support too. Because recovery and healing don't happen in isolation — they happen in relationships, in community, and in environments where parents feel steady enough to lead through the hard moments. Christine and Chanel also share a glimpse of what's ahead for Plateful Parenting: new ways to support families through community, practical tools, and guided parent support. They close the episode with gratitude for the listeners who have shared their stories and helped build a space where hard conversations can happen with honesty and compassion. As Christine reminds parents in the closing moments: Hard seasons don't define your family. How you show up in them does. And if you're in one of those seasons right now — you're not alone. 🔗 Plateful Parenting 🌐 Website: https://platefulparenting.com 📸 Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plateful.parenting.podcast/# Follow your hosts: Christine — https://www.instagram.com/christineheller621/# Chanel — https://www.instagram.com/chanel.kenner.nutrition

In Episode 49, Christine and Chanel unpack something many parents are faced with: the powerful role of health and wellness marketing in shaping how kids think about food, bodies, and safety. From viral social media claims to emotionally charged commercials and influencer sound bites, today's nutrition messaging is often designed to feel urgent, simple, and morally clear. But for kids—especially those vulnerable to eating disorders—these messages can land very differently than intended. With Christine bringing the parent lens and Chanel the clinical RD perspective, this episode helps families think critically without becoming more anxious or reactive. Together, they explore: ✨ Why modern wellness marketing is so persuasive right now ✨ How fear-based language ("toxins," "poison," "clean") impacts developing brains ✨ The difference between helpful health education and oversimplified marketing ✨ What happens when kids hear rigid food rules framed as "wellness" ✨ Why a child can sound health-conscious while becoming medically unstable ✨ The influence of celebrity messaging and authority bias ✨ Practical ways parents can respond when kids repeat scary food claims ✨ Red flags that food anxiety or rigidity may be increasing ✨ What actually supports health, regulation, and recovery in growing kids Throughout the conversation, Christine and Chanel return to one grounding reminder: You don't need to win the internet. You need to protect your child's relationship with food and their body. This episode is especially helpful for parents feeling overwhelmed by loud, conflicting nutrition messages in today's media landscape. 🔗 Plateful Parenting Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plateful.parenting.podcast/# Christine: https://www.instagram.com/christineheller621/# Chanel: https://www.instagram.com/chanel.kenner.nutrition

In Episode 48, Chanel and Christine sit down with dietitian Lauren Dorman, MS, RD, CDE to talk about what parents are really navigating when food feels hard: stress, regulation, emotional wellbeing—and the messages kids absorb every day at school. Lauren's work centers on Nine to Nourished, a framework that expands "nutrition" beyond food rules and checklists, and instead focuses on whole-child nourishment—especially in environments where diet culture can show up quietly (and constantly). She also shares what she's seeing in school settings right now, how "healthy choices" messaging can backfire, and what supportive, non-shaming nourishment education actually looks like. Together, they explore: ✨ Why "nourishment" is bigger than food—and how it connects to emotional health ✨ How Nine to Nourished moves families away from diet-centric thinking ✨ What diet culture looks like in schools (even when intentions are good) ✨ How school-based food rules can impact anxious, sensitive, or struggling kids ✨ What it looks like when schools "do it right"—supporting regulation, safety, and connection ✨ How parents can help kids process mixed messages between school and home ✨ Small, practical shifts that reduce stress around food and emotions at home ✨ Phrases to retire—and better language that supports whole-child wellbeing If you've ever felt caught between what your child hears at school and what you're trying to build at home, this episode will leave you feeling clearer, calmer, and more equipped. 🔗 Guest Resources  About + services: https://www.laurendormanrd.com Schools work + STRONG Student Shift: https://www.laurendormanrd.com/schools Article (Brainz Magazine): https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/transforming-health-and-nutrition-education-in-schools-the-strong-student-shift Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dont_diet_dietitian/ Nine to Nourished Guidebook (free download link on site): available via the "Download your FREE Nine to Nourished Guidebook" section on her homepage 🔗 Plateful Parenting Website: https://platefulparenting.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plateful.parenting.podcast/# Follow your hosts: Christine — https://www.instagram.com/christineheller621/# Chanel — https://www.instagram.com/chanel.kenner.nutrition

In Episode 47, Christine and Chanel dive into one of the most emotionally charged—and incredibly common—realities families face during eating disorder treatment: what happens when parents (or co-parents) don't agree on what the child needs, what "serious" looks like, or how to move forward. This episode is honest, grounded, and deeply validating—especially for the parent who feels like they're carrying the weight of appointments, decisions, advocacy, and fear… while also trying to keep the home calm for a child who's already struggling. Together, Christine and Chanel explore: ✨ Why disagreements are so common in ED recovery—and why they can feel so isolating ✨ The difference between "my child is choosing this" vs. understanding EDs as a mental health condition ✨ How control, power struggles, and family dynamics can show up in treatment decisions ✨ Why stereotypes about what an eating disorder "looks like" delay care for so many kids ✨ The role of weight stigma and internalized beliefs in parental resistance to treatment ✨ What to do when one parent is doing most of the work (appointments, follow-through, meal support) ✨ How to use your child's clinician as a neutral "middle ground" when parents can't agree ✨ Why therapy (individual + family) and peer support can be game-changers for parents ✨ Christine's lived perspective: what she wishes she'd done differently—especially around communication and asking for help This episode is for any parent who has thought: "Am I overreacting?" "Why won't my partner take this seriously?" "Why does it feel like I'm doing this alone?" You're not alone—and you're not imagining how hard this is. 🔗 Plateful Parenting Website: https://platefulparenting.com Instagram: Plateful Parenting Podcast Follow your hosts: Christine — Christine Heller Chanel — Chanel Kenner Nutrition

In Episode 46, Christine and Chanel dive into the cultural noise of "New Year, New You" and why this pressure-filled mindset doesn't support real well-being—especially for parents raising kids in recovery or trying to model a healthy relationship with food, movement, and self-worth. Instead, they offer a grounded, uplifting alternative: New Year, Same Me — with more intention, gentleness, and gratitude. Through personal stories, humor, and evidence-based insight, they unpack: ✨ Why extreme resolutions don't last—and what actually does ✨ How perfectionism, "willpower," and all-or-nothing thinking set us up to fail ✨ The power of small, achievable behaviors over sweeping overhauls ✨ Why adding supportive habits works better than restriction ✨ How the language we use ("I need to fix myself") affects our kids' self-worth ✨ Reframing movement as joy, strength, and connection—not punishment ✨ Honoring what went well last year to build momentum into the new one ✨ Choosing compassion, curiosity, and self-expansion over shrinking yourself Christine and Chanel share their own intentions for the year—from strengthening communication with teens to leaning deeper into creative passions and community. Their message is clear: You don't need to reinvent yourself. You just need to treat the existing you with more compassion. A grounding, hopeful episode perfect for anyone overwhelmed by January pressure. 🔗 Plateful Parenting Website: https://platefulparenting.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plateful.parenting.podcast/# Follow your hosts: Christine — https://www.instagram.com/christineheller621/# Chanel — https://www.instagram.com/chanel.kenner.nutrition

In Episode 45, Christine sits down for a deeply personal and moving conversation with Jane Lee — community leader, advocate, and proud Korean American — to explore how culture, identity, and family dynamics shape our earliest experiences with food and body image. Jane shares powerful reflections from her childhood as a Korean immigrant growing up in the Midwest, navigating the contrast between traditional Korean food culture and American diet messaging, and how comments about her size, appetite, and appearance influenced her relationship with her body throughout adolescence and adulthood. Together, they explore: ✨ How cultural norms shape body ideals and expectations for girls and women ✨ The "food is love" dynamic in immigrant households — and how it can both comfort and harm ✨ Why words matter, and how family comments can impact self-worth for decades ✨ Dieting, comparison, and the pressure to fit a cultural mold ✨ The impact of moving between cultures with different beauty standards ✨ How Jane healed through journaling, reflection, and community work ✨ The role of caregiving, grief, and identity in shaping how we show up in the world ✨ What she would tell her younger self — and what she hopes the next generation hears instead This conversation is rich, heartfelt, and full of wisdom for anyone who has ever felt "different," struggled to belong, or carried the weight of cultural expectations around body and beauty. 🔗 Plateful Parenting Website: https://platefulparenting.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/platefulparenting  

In Episode 44, Christine and Chanel sit down with Alex Caspero, RD of Plant-Based Juniors — one of the most trusted, evidence-based resources for parents who want to raise plant-forward kids without shame, rigidity, or overwhelm. Alex brings a deeply practical, accessible, non-dogmatic approach to feeding kids more plants — and this conversation is packed with tools for calm mealtimes, picky eating, body neutrality, and supporting kids in eating disorder recovery. We explore: ✨ What "predominantly plant-based" really means (hint: it doesn't mean vegan or restrictive) ✨ How to create calm, positive mealtime environments — even with anxious or selective eaters ✨ Why language like "clean," "bad," or "toxic" undermines kids' long-term relationship with food ✨ The PB3 Plate framework and how families can use it daily ✨ Simple, realistic ways to add more plants without pressure or perfectionism ✨ Budget-friendly plant-rich options for busy parents ✨ Biggest myths about raising plant-forward kids (protein, iron, and whether they'll "get enough") ✨ Navigating family dynamics, cultural foods, and siblings with different preferences ✨ How to build confidence as a parent in a world full of food fear and conflicting advice This episode is full of reassurance, nuance, and real-world strategies to help families move toward plant-rich eating in a joyful, flexible, and developmentally safe way. 🔗 Guest Resources — Plant-Based Juniors Website: https://plantbasedjuniors.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plantbasedjuniors Books & Guides: https://plantbasedjuniors.com/books PB3 Plate Framework: https://plantbasedjuniors.com/pb3 Courses & Resources for Parents: https://plantbasedjuniors.com/resources 🔗 Plateful Parenting Website: https://platefulparenting.com Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/plateful.parenting.podcast/

In Episode 43, Christine and Chanel sit down with Dr. Alexis Conason—clinical psychologist, eating disorder specialist, and author of The Diet-Free Revolution—for a powerful, compassionate conversation about breaking generational cycles of food and body shame. Together, we explore: ✨ How to raise kids with body trust while you're still healing your own ✨ What to say when your teen says, "I feel fat" ✨ How to manage parent anxiety when a child says they're "full" after just a few bites ✨ Mindful eating vs. intuitive eating—what's the real difference? ✨ The influence of peers, social media, and school culture on kids' body image ✨ Why mindfulness is one of the most effective tools for parents ✨ Small, immediately actionable shifts to create a less shame-based home This episode is validating, clear, and grounding—packed with real-life examples and guidance that helps parents reconnect to themselves while supporting their kids. 🔗 Guest Resources Dr. Alexis Conason, Psy.D. Website: https://drconason.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theantidietplan Book — The Diet-Free Revolution Mindful Eating Starter Kit Three-Minute Meditation Conason Therapy Services 🔗 Plateful Parenting Website: https://platefulparenting.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plateful.parenting.podcast Follow hosts: Christine — @christineheller_ Chanel — @chanel.kenner.nutrition

🎙 Episode 42 — GLP-1s, Body Autonomy & the Intuitive Eating Legacy with Evelyn Tribole In this powerful follow-up conversation, Chanel is joined once again by Intuitive Eating co-founder and trailblazer Evelyn Tribole. Together, they unpack the current wave of GLP-1 medications—including Ozempic and Wegovy—and explore how these drugs intersect with body image, nutrition culture, and the core tenets of intuitive eating. This episode isn't just a hot take on a trend. It's a deep dive into bodily autonomy, health equity, and what it means to reclaim trust in your body in a world that continues to commodify thinness. Evelyn shares her evolving thoughts on the cultural climate, the pressures RDs are under, and why it's time for more compassion, curiosity, and nuanced conversation. ✨ Whether you're a parent, practitioner, or just trying to make peace with food and your body—this episode offers clarity, heart, and a much-needed exhale. In this episode, we explore: 🔹 Why the GLP-1 boom is more than just a trend—and what it's missing 🔹 How to hold nuance when clients are prescribed these meds 🔹 The emotional fallout of weight-focused healthcare 🔹 Why body trust is radical—and essential 🔹 How Evelyn sees the future of Intuitive Eating evolving 🎧 Listen now on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts Spotify 🖥 Visit our site: platefulparenting.com 📚 Learn more about Evelyn and her work: evelyntribole.com 📖 The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating: intuitiveeating.org 👋 Connect with Us: Instagram: @plateful.parenting.podcast Email: [email protected] 🎧 Subscribe, rate, and share this episode with a friend who's navigating body image, feeding kids, or the wellness‑culture maze. 🙏 Thanks for doing this work with us.

Season 2, Episode 6 of The Plateful Parenting Podcast With Christine Heller & Chanel Kenner, RD Guest: Dawn Smith-Theodore, LMFT | Author of Mother, Men & Me and Tutu Thin In this powerful continuation of our conversation with therapist, author, and former professional dancer Dawn Smith-Theodore, we explore how generational patterns, perfectionism, and secrecy shape our children's relationships with food, body, and identity. Dawn opens up about her new memoir Mother, Men & Me: A Memoir of Anxiety, Anorexia, and Affairs—and the courage it took to revisit her past in order to break cycles of control and shame. From the ballet studio to the therapy room, Dawn's story offers a profound look at what recovery looks like across a lifetime—and what it means to parent with compassion even when you're still healing yourself. 🩰 In this episode: Family secrets, body image, and inherited anxiety How Dawn's lived experience as a dancer informs her therapy work today The early cues parents can look for when perfectionism turns harmful Body image pressures in dance, sports, and social media culture Practical tools from Tutu Thin for raising confident, body-aware kids How writing and storytelling can bring healing and closure Whether you're a parent navigating your child's body image struggles—or confronting your own—this conversation is a reminder that it's never too late to rewrite your family story. 🧠 Resources Mentioned: 📘 Mother, Men & Me by Dawn Smith-Theodore 📗 Tutu Thin: A Guide to Dancing Without an Eating Disorder 🌐 DawnSmithTheodore.com National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) More Than a Body – Lexie & Lindsay Kite 👋 Connect with Us: Follow the podcast: @plateful.parenting.podcast Follow Chanel: @chanel.kenner.nutrition Email us your story: [email protected] 🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 💬 Share this episode to help break the silence—and the cycle.