Taylored Nutrition

07/25/2025

Week Three: “Clean Eating” & Other Dirty Lies 🚿🍽️
Alright, class welcome back to Food Rules & Other BS We Were Taught, where we respectfully (ok, not always) take a blowtorch to diet culture and roast it like a marshmallow at a girl scout bonfire.

This week? Oh, baby, we’re coming for “clean eating.”

Yeah. That phrase your coworker says right before judging your sandwich. That label on the $12 juice that tastes like lawn clippings. That thing you tried to do for three days before waking up spoon-deep in Nutella and shame.

Spoiler alert: Food doesn’t have a moral compass. You're not a better person for eating quinoa, and you're not a trash goblin for loving pizza rolls.

Let’s get this straight:
🧼 Food isn’t dirty.
🧼 You’re not toxic.
🧼 And if a salad makes you feel superior to others? Congrats—you’ve got kale and a god complex.

This week, we’re breaking down:

Where the "clean eating" trend came from (hint: Instagram and Goop),

Why it’s sneaky diet culture in a wellness hoodie,

And how to eat a freakin’ cookie without spiraling into existential dread.

Because real health? It includes satisfaction. It includes flexibility. It includes carbs that weren’t “blessed” by a wellness influencer in Bali.

So let’s laugh, rage a little, and maybe throw out that $18 bag of chickpea puffs that taste like sadness.

✨ If you’ve ever whispered “I’m being so bad” while eating pasta… honey, it’s time we talk.

Until next time, remember:
You’re not a walking Whole30.
You don’t need to earn your food.
And you're allowed to eat a sandwich without needing to confess it to your therapist.

Have a FABULOUS weekend, you beautiful, emotionally stable carb-lovers.
Eat what you love. Hydrate. And please, for the love of fiber, stop pretending cauliflower is pizza.

See you next week. We’re not done yet. 🔥

07/18/2025

🚨 LEMONADE EMERGENCY! 🚨
There’s a super sweet entrepreneur at the Evelyth School RIGHT NOW with the best homemade lemonade in town – and she only has 20 minutes left before she packs up!

👟 Swing by Evelyth School and help her SELL OUT before she goes home! Let’s show her how a community supports its young dreamers! 💪

📍 Evelyth School
🕐 Only 20 minutes left – hurry!

07/17/2025

🚨PAUSE ON THE FOOD RULES RANT WE NEED TO TALK KETO & MENTAL HEALTH 🧠🥑

Okay, folks, I’m hitting the pause button on my weekly series “Food Rules & Other BS We Were Taught” (back next week, swear on my oat milk latte ☕) because this article? 👇
Yeah. It’s kind of a big deal.

👉 Read: https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/04/keto-diet-ketogenic-therapy-mental-illness-bipolar.html

Here’s the tea:
Stanford’s Dr. Shebani Sethi is out here doing real-deal science showing how a ketogenic diet might improve both metabolic health and symptoms in people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression.
Translation: The connection between what’s on your plate and what’s happening in your brain? It’s real. It’s growing. And it’s not just a “maybe your blood sugar’s low” kind of thing.

🧠 Mental illness + metabolic dysfunction = a nasty little duo.
Turns out over 40% of folks with serious mental illness also have metabolic syndrome. And anti-psychotic meds? Yeah, they can seriously mess with weight and blood sugar. But this pilot study found that after just 4 months on a medically guided keto plan, patients had fewer psych symptoms and improved their metabolic health.

A few thoughts (and snark) from your favorite food & feelings nerd:

🔍 Critique time!

This isn’t your cousin’s crash keto diet with bacon grease and Pinterest macros. This is clinical, guided, and used as an adjunct to therapy, not a magic bullet.

Also? Let’s not forget: Access to this kind of treatment isn’t equal. Not everyone can afford a Stanford-trained psychiatrist with a keto meal plan. Let’s keep pushing for inclusion and access in mental health nutrition.

But big picture? This is HUGE. People are finally waking up to what we dietitians have known: Mental health lives in your whole body, not just your head. And food is a tool, not a villain. (Looking at you, 90s SnackWell cookies.)

💥 So yeah, I’m fired up. Not “keto solves everything” fired up. But “damn, this could really help some people” fired up.

Back next week with your regularly scheduled takedown of diet culture B.S. Until then, take care of your body, your mind, and for the love of serotonin, don’t fear carbs unless your psychiatrist says so.

XO

As ketogenic therapy gains momentum in treating neuropsychiatric disorders, we asked Stanford Medicine's expert Shebani Sethi for the key takeaways.

07/08/2025

📣 FOOD RULES & OTHER BS WE WERE TAUGHT: WEEK TWO
🧠 BS Rule: “Carbs Are the Enemy.”

Ah yes, the villain of every 2000s diet commercial and your aunt Linda’s Facebook posts: carbohydrates.

Because obviously, bread is out here plotting your downfall like it's the Regina George of your pantry. 🙄

Reality check:
Carbs are not out to destroy your life. They are not hiding in your closet waiting to give you muffin top trauma. They’re literally your body’s preferred source of energy.
Like, your brain runs on carbs. Without them? You're basically a phone on 1% with 18 tabs open.

Let’s break it down:
👉 Bread? Not evil.
👉 Pasta? Not a crime.
👉 Potatoes? A damn gift.
👉 Bagels? Round joy circles.

The only “bad” carbs are the ones that come with a side of shame, guilt, and Susan from Pilates whispering, “I don’t eat white flour.” (Cool Susan, I don’t eat guilt for breakfast.)

Also, fun fact: diets that demonize carbs usually sneakily sell you expensive “keto” cookies made of sadness and coconut flour.

So let’s reframe:
✔ Carbs give you energy.
✔ Carbs taste amazing.
✔ Carbs help regulate mood (serotonin, baby!).
✔ You’re allowed to have toast without repenting like you just sinned at a bakery altar.

What to do instead of fearing carbs?
✨ Eat the damn bagel.
✨ Notice how it feels to eat without guilt.
✨ Remind yourself you're a grown adult and choosing rice does not make you weak.
✨ Laugh in the face of cauliflower crust (unless you genuinely like it…then carry on, sweet cauliflower freak).

Come back next week for another myth diet culture tried to sell us like it was on QVC in 2004.

Until then:
🍝 Praise the pasta.
🙅‍♀️ Block the carb slander.
💃 Eat like you’re free, because you are.

07/02/2025

📣 FOOD RULES & OTHER BS WE WERE TAUGHT: WEEK ONE
🧠 BS Rule: “You’re Not Really Hungry You’re Just Bored.”

Ah yes, the classic gaslight-your-own-stomach diet advice.
Because apparently, your body; a complex, intelligent system that kept humans alive for 200,000 years suddenly forgot what hunger is. 🙃

NEWSFLASH: Boredom hunger is still hunger. Emotional eating is still eating. And eating? Still... legal.

Here’s the real deal:
👉 Sometimes you're hungry because you're hungry.
👉 Sometimes you're hungry because you're bored, sad, anxious, happy, celebrating, lonely, or you just remembered Oreos exist.
👉 And ALL of that is valid.

You are not a broken robot because you eat when you’re not physically starving. You’re a human with emotions, and food has always been emotional. Even cavemen probably shared mammoth meat over a fire and trauma bonded about saber-tooth tigers.

Instead of asking, “Am I really hungry?” try asking:
✔ “What do I need right now?”
✔ “Would food feel supportive or soothing?”
✔ “Can I offer myself kindness, not judgment?”
✔ “Did I just scroll past three reels of gooey cinnamon rolls?” (visual hunger is real too, babe)

✨ Permission to eat? Granted.
✨ Permission to feel? Also granted.
✨ Permission to be bored and snack anyway? You already know.

Come back next week for another lie diet culture told us. Until then:
🥖 Eat the bread.
🙃 Question the nonsense.
💥 Punch guilt in the face (metaphorically, unless guilt is personified by your old Weight Watchers leader, in which case, let’s talk).

06/27/2025

🎉 Friday Vibes + A New Series Alert! 🍕🧠

It’s Friday, which means I’m legally allowed to eat cheese and cry in peace. (Just kidding—I do that every day. I'm a dietitian, not a robot.)

💥 Next week, I’m kicking off a NEW series that’s been brewing in my brain between therapy sessions and late-night TikTok scrolls:

🥳 “Food Rules & Other BS We Were Taught”
That’s right, diet culture, Grandma’s weird food rules, your 8th grade health class, and that one fitness influencer who thinks bread is evil? We’re coming for all of it.

We’ve already tackled Eating Disorders, and you joined me for a deep dive into Culture, Food & Identity, both amazing convos with real-life meaning and no side of shame.

But now? We’re getting spicy. 🌶️
We’ll laugh, maybe cry (I’ll cry, you can sip tea), and unlearn some of the hot nonsense we’ve picked up over the years.

✨ If you've ever said “I was good today so I can have dessert” or “I can’t eat after 7PM or I’ll spontaneously combust,” this one's for you.

So grab your snacks (no, not celery unless you LIKE it), and tune in next week for this unapologetically honest, evidence-based, BS-busting series.
Let’s eat AND be emotionally stable. What a concept.

Send a message to learn more

06/23/2025

🥵🌍 Identity, Culture, Food… and Melting Like Cheese Tomorrow

Welp, folks we’ve officially wrapped up the Culture, Food & Identity series! 🙌
We laughed, we cried, we got emotional over our grandma’s stew and that one time someone said rice isn’t a “real meal.” 😒🍚
If you joined in, THANK YOU. You made this series rich, real, and delicious.

Now, speaking of hot topics… tomorrow is going to be 100+ degrees. As in: step outside and question your life choices hot. ☀️🔥

So let’s keep this short and sweaty:

🥵 DON’T cook tomorrow. Seriously. Your stove doesn’t need that kind of negativity.
🥤 Hydrate like someone’s offering free rent if you hit your water goals. Water, coconut water, maybe a margarita (I’m a dietitian, not a narc).
🥗 Cool foods > Hot meals — Think fruit, yogurt, salad, takeout. Especially takeout.
🍕 Because let’s be honest, cooking in this heat should be considered a form of emotional trauma.

Moral of the story: food connects us to our roots, but tomorrow it’s connecting us to the AC unit and a sushi delivery guy named Kyle.

Stay safe, stay cool, and stay culturally fed — without passing out in front of your oven. 😅

06/17/2025

🌀 WEEKLY WORD WEEK 3: “Neutralize”
(As in: what diet culture tries to do to flavor, culture, and your grandma’s entire spice cabinet.)

Let’s talk about what happens when nutrition advice gets stripped of nuance, history, and, well… taste.

Somewhere along the way, “healthy” started to mean bland, beige, and broccoli. And anything outside that? Too oily. Too salty. Too spicy. Too ethnic. Too much.

But here’s the thing:
Culture isn’t a nutrition concern.
Flavor isn’t a health hazard.
And “neutral” shouldn’t be the gold standard for what ends up on your plate.

🍽 This week, we’re unpacking the idea of food neutrality—not in the sense of “all foods can fit” (which, yes, they can)—but in how nutrition messaging has historically erased culture in the name of “balance.”

We’re diving into:
✔ Why cultural dishes don’t need to be “cleaned up” to be considered healthy
✔ How “neutral” foods are often held up as the default (hello, chicken breast and quinoa 👋)
✔ The quiet ways class, race, and colonization still influence mainstream nutrition advice
✔ And how honoring your roots might be the most nourishing choice of all

💬 What’s one dish from your culture that deserves a seat at the wellness table exactly as it is?

Send a message to learn more

06/09/2025

Weekly Words: Week 2
💥 Let's talk about fat, baby.

Not that kind (we're done using “fat” like it's a four-letter word, remember?).
I’m talking about the cooking fats your grandma swore by:
🥥 Coconut oil
🧈 Ghee
🍳 Lard
🌽 Bacon grease in a coffee can under the sink that she reused with zero apologies.

Diet culture has tried to convince us that unless it comes in a cold-pressed, triple-filtered, artisanally wept over bottle, it’s bad for you.
But here’s the truth:
Traditional fats aren’t dirty—they’re delicious. And they’ve got a legacy.

🛑 So let’s stop pretending your culture needs avocado oil to be valid.
🧈 Ghee is not just "clarified butter from Whole Foods." It's been part of Ayurvedic cooking for centuries.
🥥 Coconut oil didn’t start as a keto trend—it’s been a kitchen staple across South and Southeast Asia forever.
🐷 And lard? You might not need it, but your grandma’s tamales definitely did.

💡 What’s really wild is how quickly diet culture will demonize something… until it gets rebranded and sold back to us in glass jars for $19.99.
Looking at you, bone broth. 👀

Let’s be real:
✅ Cultural cooking methods are just as legitimate as whatever’s trending on TikTok.
✅ You can respect tradition and health at the same time.
✅ And the idea that oils and fats are “clean” or “dirty”? That’s marketing. Not science.

🤔 So this week, ask yourself:
Are you avoiding an ingredient because of its nutritional value… or because someone made you feel ashamed of where it came from?

Your grandma didn’t measure oil with a tablespoon. She measured it with vibes. And honestly? We could all learn something from that.

🧡 So here’s your reminder:
You don’t have to sacrifice cultural authenticity on the altar of “clean eating.”
You can cook with love, memory, and yes—flavor.

Drop a 🧈 in the comments if your family's cooking deserves more respect and fewer diet rewrites.

06/03/2025

🍚 Week 1: Why Rice Is Not the Enemy (Even If Your Fitness App Says Otherwise)
Welcome to Week 1 of our Culture, Food & Identity series—where we gently (but firmly) sn**ch the mic away from diet culture and give it back to your ancestors.

Let’s start with a food that’s been wrongly dragged through the wellness mud:
🌾 RICE.

White rice. Brown rice. Jasmine, basmati, sticky, yellow, coconut, wild (which, fun fact, isn’t technically rice—but we’ll let her stay at the party).
You name it—someone’s probably tried to convince you it’s bad for you.

👀 “White rice spikes your blood sugar.”
👀 “Brown rice is better because… fiber or something.”
👀 “Have you tried cauliflower rice?”

Let’s be clear: your culture doesn’t need cauliflower substitutions.
No one’s grandmother ever made cauliflower arroz con leche, and for good reason.

🧠 So What’s the Truth?
✅ Rice is a carbohydrate—and your body needs carbs. Especially your brain.
✅ It’s a staple in literally billions of people’s diets around the world.
✅ It’s filling, affordable, adaptable, and emotionally significant.
✅ White rice is not “less than” brown rice—it’s just different. Brown has more fiber; white is easier to digest. BOTH are valid.

🧡 When we demonize rice, we’re often demonizing cultural eating patterns—from Latin America to Asia to the Middle East and beyond.

And honestly? That smells a little like colonization with a side of quinoa.

✨ So here’s your gentle reminder:
You don’t need to earn your rice.
You don’t need to defend it.
And you definitely don’t need to swap it for grated white vegetables pretending to be rice.

Let rice be rice. And let culture be celebrated—not "healthified."

06/02/2025

✨ From EDs to Empanadas: Let’s Talk Food, Culture & Identity
🚨 Attention, friends, followers, and fabulous foodies:

We’ve just wrapped up a deep, eye-opening series on eating disorders and if you stuck with me through all of that, you now officially know more than most wellness influencers on TikTok. Congrats!! You’ve earned your imaginary diploma in “Not Toxic Nutrition.” (Frame it next to that sourdough starter you never used.)

🌀 Now… it’s time to pivot. Not into a handstand—this isn’t yoga class—but into something just as vital:
🍛 Culture, Food & Identity.

Because healing your relationship with food isn’t just about ditching the calorie tracker. It’s also about unlearning the shame and stereotypes around the foods that raised us.

📅 Introducing: Weekly Words
Each week, we’ll take a closer look at how diet culture has messed with our perception of cultural foods—and how we can take it back.

We’ll cover things like:

Why rice isn’t the enemy (no, not even white rice)

Why traditional dishes are valid as they are

How colonization and classism have shaped what’s seen as “healthy” vs. “unhealthy”

And why grandma’s cooking isn’t up for nutritional debate

🎯 This Week’s Word: Rice
Week 1: “Why Rice Is Not the Enemy (Even If Your Fitness App Says Otherwise)”
We’re unpacking the myths around one of the world’s most cherished staples—and reminding you that cauliflower rice was never invited to the cookout anyway.

Because food isn’t just fuel—it’s family, it’s history, it’s culture. And no one should have to trade that in for a wellness trend.

So grab a plate (preferably not a portion-controlled one), and let’s dig in.
👊🍲 Because culture belongs on your plate—not under your guilt.

👉 Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Weekly Word deep dive, where we get real about rice, respect, and reclaiming your roots.

Send a message to learn more

05/29/2025

🧠🍫 WEEK 6: Emotional Eating. Because Feelings Taste Like Chocolate 🍫🧠

Hey friends! It’s Week 6 of our journey to food freedom, and today we’re tackling emotional eating, aka the Olympic sport of stress-snacking, heartbreak-Häagen-Dazs, and PMS-fueled peanut butter spooning. (Don’t lie. We all have that peanut butter spoon.)

Here’s the deal: Emotional eating is not a personal failure. It’s a very human response to discomfort. Our brains are wired to seek comfort, and let’s be honest—Netflix and a pint of ice cream hits different when your boss just told you to “circle back” for the 17th time this week.

But here’s the twist: while food can soothe emotions, it doesn’t solve them. That leftover cake can’t fix your ex. (If it could, I’d be married to a sheet cake right now.)

💡 Did you know? Emotional eating is often your brain’s SOS signal. It’s trying to say:
“I’m overwhelmed!”
“I’m lonely!”
“I watched Marley & Me again and now I need nachos!”

✅ This week, try asking yourself:
🔸 “Am I actually hungry, or am I just stressed/tired/bored/hormonal?”
🔸 “What am I really needing right now: comfort, rest, distraction?”
🔸 “Would I still want this snack if it was broccoli?” (If yes, congrats, you're actually hungry.)

🍽️ Reminder: Emotional eating isn’t the enemy. It’s a coping tool, and like any tool, it just needs some gentle upgrading. You’re not “bad” for eating your feelings—just maybe overdue for a new toolkit.

Drop a 🧁 if you’ve been there. Let’s normalize the convo and start unpacking the real stuff—together. 💬💛