Raising Intuitive Eaters [feat. Kacie Barnes, MCN, RDN]

Up to this point, we have talked plenty about how you can become an intuitive eater and find food freedom, but we haven’t talked much about how to instill food freedom in the lives of your little ones. How do we raise intuitive eaters? Well, I am joined today by registered dietitian and nutritionist Kacie Barnes to answer that very question!

Kacie is a mom of two which, as she shares, is a big reason why she does what she does. It’s gratifying to her knowing that she can make someone’s parenting journey easier because she knows how difficult that journey can be.

It’s so crucial that, as parents, we find a good balance between raising intuitive eaters while also ensuring that our kids are getting proper nutrition. Kacie talks about how she approaches her own children and goes about talking to them about nutrition. She stresses age appropriateness and how that plays a part, and she also emphasizes how important that it is to teach food neutrality and not be judgmental about how much we see our kids eat. We should, after all, allow them their own learning experiences.

Kacie and I also touch upon emotional eating and whether or not kids ever deal with it (here’s a hint – they do!), and she gives insight and opinions on whether or not it’s a good idea to sneak vegetables into our kids’ meals. We enthuse over the endless possibilities of making vegetables fun and food in general fun and share our opinions on whether or not food should ever be used as extrinsic motivation. Kacie also addresses some frequently asked questions about kids and intuitive eating and provides a couple of actionable tips regarding how you can instill food freedom within your children’s lives today!

Kacie offers so much great information in this episode! In fact, whenever anyone asks me about kids’ nutrition, I always and will always point them to Kacie because she is such a wealth of information on the topic! I hope that you will enjoy listening to our conversation, and as always, I love hearing from you, so screenshot the episode and let me know that you have listened to it! I would also love it if you would share with me what you took away from this episode and what was especially helpful for you!

Time Stamps

[1:21] – Colleen introduces us to the topic and the guest of this episode – how to raise intuitive eaters with registered dietitian and nutritionist Kacie Barnes.

[2:28] – We learn a little bit of background information on Kacie such as why she chose this as her career.

[6:37] – Kacie explains how what she does ties into the space of food freedom.

[9:58] – Colleen reflects on how educating our children about intuitive eating starts with parents and modeling the right kind of behavior.

[12:47] – Kacie elaborates on how she helps her children understand what they’re feeling.

[17:56] – Kacie talks about how she balances raising intuitive eaters while also ensuring that her children are getting proper nutrition.

[22:45] – Colleen discusses structure and how it isn’t always a bad thing because it can strengthen hunger cues.

[24:56] – Kacie exemplifies what she would do in the event that her child is a very picky eater.

[28:34] – Colleen and Kacie discuss emotional eating amongst kids.

[32:22] – Kacie provides her takes on sneaking veggies into children’s meals and withholding dessert until they eat their vegetables.

[37:29] – Colleen and Kacie share stories that reveal why learning experiences are important.

[45:04] – Kacie shares insight on whether or not giving food as rewards is acceptable.

[48:10] – We receive two actionable tips that can be acted upon today in order to help our kids become intuitive eaters.

Links and Resources

Colleen Christensen Nutrition – Website

The SociEATy – Website

Colleen’s Instagram Page

The SociEATy’s Instagram Page

The SociEATy – Become a MemberKacie’s Instagram Page

Kacie’s Website

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