Whether your kids are craving something sweet, savory, or a grab-and-go snack, I’ve rounded up some of the BEST after-school snack ideas for kids of all ages that are simple, delicious, and made with nutrient-dense ingredients. These are snacks you’ll feel good about giving them!

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8 After-School Snack Ideas (healthy & easy!) 👇🏻

🥕 Big Veggie Plate

Love doing a veggie plate after school and having it out on the counter until dinnertime so they can snack on veggies! I swear by this hack for getting my toddler to eat veggies. I’ll do cucumber, carrots, celery, tomatoes, olives, and anything else I have on hand.

🍫 Chickpea Brownies

I have a batch of my chickpea brownies ready at almost all times and my toddler loves them for a treat (and I love sneaking in some chickpeas into his diet!). The recipe is in my first cookbook, HealthyGirl Kitchen Cookbook, on page 246.

🐜 Ants on a Log

A cute little snack that’s easy to throw together! Celery sticks stuffed with your nut butter of choice and topped with raisins, dried cranberries, or even a few mini chocolate chips.

🍎 Apple & PB Sandwiches

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to after-school snacks. A classic apple & PB combo definitely gets the job done, but for easier snacking, I like making “sandwiches” by slicing the apples into thin slices and sandwiching nut butter (and often hemp or flax seeds) in between.

🥣 Homemade Raspberry Chocolate Granola Bars

Another go-to snack recipe I re-make all the time is my homemade raspberry chocolate granola bars. I hardly ever buy store-bought granola bars… I make my own instead and my toddler loves ‘em!

🍓 Yogurt Parfaits

We also love doing mini yogurt parfaits with protein coconut yogurt, granola, seeds, berries… non-toxic dye-free sprinkles are a fun little addition too 🤭

🧁 Mini Muffins

Mini muffins are perfect for snacking… I’ll make a batch of mini vegan blueberry muffins or healthy chocolate chip muffins and they’re great as a grab-and-go option.

🍌 Frozen Yogurt Banana Bites

Chop up bananas, coat them in your favorite non-dairy yogurt, sprinkle with sprinkles or nuts, and then add them to the freezer and you’ve got mini frozen-yogurt banana bites for a healthy sweet treat!

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30-Day Family Meal Plan for September

The Blue Zones are geographic regions in the world where people live significantly longer, healthier lives with the greatest concentration of centenarians (people living to 100+ years old!).

1. Ikaria, Greece

2. Sardinia, Italy

3. Okinawa, Japan

4. Loma Linda, California

5. Nicoya, Costa Rica

In the US, we think of breakfast to be cereals, waffles, oatmeal, pancakes, toast, processed meats… basically all sugar and processed food. Well, the Blue Zones got it right in that their breakfasts look NOTHING like what a conventional American breakfast is.

Add these foods to your breakfast to promote longevity, have healthy digestion, and better skin health, immune health, and more. You will reap the benefits of a whole-foods, fiber-rich, colorful diet.

September 30-Day Dinner Calendar

How to Eat Like a Centenarian for Breakfast

🪸 Seaweed

I know I know—hear me out. You’re probably thinking… seaweed?! For breakfast?! Are ya kidding me? But in many Asian cultures, seaweed is actually naturally incorporated into every meal, including breakfast.

An easy way to integrate seaweed into your breakfast is by switching to a savory meal like a baked frittata or savory oatmeal. Even soup makes for a fantastic longevity-focused breakfast!!!

🫘 Beans & Tofu

Beans and tofu are one of the best longevity foods to incorporate into your diet. Of the five “Blue Zones” in the world, all of the diets include beans.

Try my tofu chickpea frittata to sneak in both tofu and beans into your breakfast—it literally tastes like a cozy egg casserole but way healthier.

🥣 Whole Grains

Another foundation of the Blue Zones diet is whole grains. This doesn’t mean pancakes, waffles, and bleached, stripped flour. Instead, opt to incorporate whole-grain sources like oats, brown rice, quinoa, and ancient grains into your diet.

We love getting organic local sourdough (made from freshly milled wheat). For a store-bought option, we love the Ezekiel sprouted whole-grain bread (find it in the frozen section).

🫐 Berries

It’s no secret that fruit is healthy, but berries are a true “superfood.” They’re the best way to start you day and something we should all be incorporating daily. Fresh, organic berries like blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries are nutrient-powerhouses.

Berries are packed with fiber and antioxidants, and they’re super easy to add into your breakfast. Throw them into a smoothie (like this berry collagen booster smoothie) or on top of your bowl of overnight oats.

🥜 Nuts & Seeds

One of the best ways to boost your daily protein + healthy fat intake throughout the day is by adding in a couple tablespoons of nuts or seeds with each meal.

With breakfast, I’ll add hemp, chia, or flax seeds to my oats. You can also add any nuts or seeds into smoothies or you can make chia pudding!

🍠 Sweet Potato

Last but not least, sweet potatoes were identified in the Blue Zones as a phenomenal longevity-boosting superfood, specifically in Okinawa, Japan with purple sweet potatoes.

I’d suggest making a big batch of roasted, diced purple sweet potatoes at the start of the week and then you can easily eat them throughout the week with your savory breakfast!

• Cozy Recipes for September 🍂🍜

  • One Pan Creamy Thai Curry Chickpeas

  • Dairy Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup

  • One Pot Pumpkin Orzo

  • Pumpkin Tortellini Salad

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This is honestly a life motto for busy moms to live by. Pasta is a fool-proof, no brainer meal. Every mom needs at least a handful of solid go-to pasta recipes in her back pocket.

I always keep my pantry stocked with pasta essentials so that I can throw together a complete meal in just one pot (my favorite pasta brands are linked below! 👇🏻).

IT'S HERE! September Meal Plan 🗓️

Whether it be my Hidden-Veggie Mac & No Cheese, Healthier One Pot Spaghetti-Os, or One Pan Tuscan Pasta… I rounded up 20+ unique & easy pasta recipes we love and eat over and over again.

Full Roundup

Full Roundup

Healthiest Pasta Options

✅ From Italy

✅ No Glyphosate

✅ Whole-Grains & Simple Ingredients (nothing funky at all—pasta ingredients should almost always be flour, water & salt)

• Rummo — an accessible Italian pasta available at a lot of grocery stores

• Giadzy — artisanal Italian pasta made from organic semolina flour (they also make a gluten-free version)

• Monograno Felicetti — a high-end artisanal pasta made from a special durum wheat variety & very high quality

• Di Martino — a true Italian pasta

• Sfoglini — organic durum semolina pasta in fun shapes (love the radiators)

• Bionaturae — sourdough pasta

• Boostcous — gluten-free, high-fiber protein couscous

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Want more recipes??? 🥬🩷 I wrote two best-selling cookbooks, HealthyGirl Kitchen and Life Changing Salads! Check them out here:

Life Changing Salads

HealthyGirl Kitchen Cookbook

EXCITING NEWS!

The September Family Dinner Plan just launched—30 days of family-friendly cozy dinner recipes so you don’t have to decide what’s for dinner!

Join today as a paid subscriber & gain access to the newest meal plan along with a bank of 100+ school-safe kid lunch ideas, exclusive guest articles (like this most recent one from an integrative GI doctor!) and more!

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🍠 Lean Into September Produce

Going back to the 2026 Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen Guidelines, let’s recap what produce is coming into season in September and what we should buy organic vs. what can be bought conventional—because let’s be honest, organic produce is EXPENSIVE.

September Produce to Look Out For:

• Apples — dirty dozen

• Pears — dirty dozen

• Figs — not tested

• Berries — dirty dozen

• Tomatoes — middle of the list so they didn’t make it into the clean fifteen or dirty dozen

• Bell peppers — dirty dozen

• Zuchinni & summer squash — middle of the list so they didn’t make it into the clean fifteen or dirty dozen

• Carrots — clean fifteen

• Beets — not tested

• Potatoes & sweet potatoes — dirty dozen

• Spinach & kale — dirty dozen

You may see some of these items popping up at you farmer’s market this month so if you do, grab them and make something yummy.

🕯️Non-Tox Candles for Ambience

I feel like as soon as September hits, I’m suddenly craving a candle in every room (but without the harsh fragrances). Like sometimes you want the ambience of a cozy candle without the artificial and overpowering scents.

I love this non-toxic unscented beeswax candle. The packaging is aesthetically pleasing and it gives that cozy warm glow you’re craving without any offensive, overpowering smell.

💅🏻 Shifting Your Mani Pedi

There’s no better time to shift over your manicure to fall colors. I feel like as soon as September 1st hits, I immediately want a chic, dark red nail… shades I’m loving lately ⬇️⬇️

📚 Cozy Fall Reads

I also feel like September is the perfect time to really get back into reading. If you’ve been off your game or maybe summer got the best of you with kids at home and you took a pause on reading, now is the best time to jump back in truly. There are so many cozy books perfect for fall. A few we’re loving at the HealthyGirl Kitchen HQ:

• The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand (boarding school setting & such fall vibes!)

• The Secret History by Donna Tart (academia psychological thriller—such a page-turner)

• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (a story of women’s survival during the Great Depression & Dust Bowl in Texas)

🍝 Invest in a Dream Cooker

My favorite kitchen appliance that I use most throughout the fall & winter season is my Our Place Dream Cooker. I’m not really an appliance girl and I feel like less is more when it comes to the kitchen. But I do love something that makes my life easier, and the Dream Cooker does exactly that.

Busy moms know, we NEED the best hacks to get dinner on the table as fast as possible. That’s why I love the Dream Cooker because you can throw everything in and have dinner ready in like 15 minutes!

🫂 Comforting Recipes

September is when I also start leaning in extra to more comforting, easy dishes like pasta bakes, casseroles, and one pan meals. A few of my current favorites are:

• One Pan Pesto Mediterranean Gnocchi Bake 🌿

• No-Boil Creamy Pasta Bake 🍝

• Viral One Pan Baked Dumplings 🥟

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  • Healthy Summer Rolls

  • Toddler Evening Routine

  • Sweet Potato Mac & No Cheese

  • Healthy Goddess Orzo Salad

30-Day Family Meal Plan for September

We recently sat down with Dr. Mccutchen to discuss all things digestive health… from colonoscopies and colonics to uncomfortable bloating and gut health myths. Get ready to dive into ALL things gut health! 🤎👇🏻

Find Dr. Mccutchen on Instagram

Get Dr. Mccutchen's Book Here

Q: There’s a lot of noise around food and nutrition. What are the best and worst foods you can eat for digestive health?

I love this question. We are obviously very evidence-based in traditional healthcare, but we certainly know that food is medicine. One of the things that I tell my patients is to stay on the outside of the grocery store and walk the perimeter. Stay close to mother nature so mother nature stays close to you. Whole foods are going to be your best friend, right?

What the evidence is showing us is that the best foods, based on multiple studies in terms of decreasing risk of chronic illness, are going to be high-fiber foods. But, also important, is having fermented foods. We used to just say, have lots of fiber in the diet. But there was a study at Stanford and they compared, over a 10 week period, high fiber foods and fermented foods, which were true fermented foods. And actually, for microbial diversity, fermentation really seemed to matter.

So what I tell people is, if we want to translate this into something very practical, then we rely on that American Gut Project, which basically said, if you eat 30 different plants a week, you can accomplish that goal. The magic number is 30. So try to get those 30 different plants a week, and you’ll have increased microbial diversity. Focus on high fiber, fermented foods and a colorful plate, as a general recommendation.

As for the worst foods, processed foods are going to be really bad. There is a recent Nurse’s Health Study that looked at over 30,000 nurses. They found that there was a 45% increased risk of having early onset colon adenomas or polyps, precancerous lesions, in those under 50, if they had more ultra-processed foods and smoked meats. This includes nitrate lunch meats and hot dogs, which seem to be the worst. So that’s probably something that we really need to pay close attention to… ultra-processed food and processed meats.

Q: Let’s talk about colonoscopies. What would you say to someone who is afraid of getting a colonoscopy and are there alternatives in terms of screening?

Yeah, I think it really depends on who we are talking to. So I want to just take a step back and define that because if I have somebody that’s of screening age (which is 45), they have family history whereby we would go early and they’re not having any symptoms, that is what we consider average risk. And in those patients, we do have options. So, colonoscopy is the gold standard. Why? Because it is the only test where we can take out what we know leads to most cancer ahead of time, which is polyps. The rest of the testing, although we have alternative testing, cannot take out polyps. So in my mind, why would I wait and keep on trying to see if I have cancer versus getting a colonoscopy and preventing cancer with the option to remove polyps if present? When I explain it like that, people typically get on board. The colonoscopy is a comfortable exam. You are asleep during the procedure. I do want you to understand the potential complications. You are put to sleep so people with heart conditions should be aware, sedation complications are a possibility, but overall the complication rate is very low. The studies show risk of perforation or poking a hole during a colonoscopy is four per ten thousand. So overall, it’s a very safe test.

People will do all kinds of stuff–they’ll get colonics blindly, get all kinds of stuff injected into their face near nerves, and never seem to have a problem with plastic surgery, and yet a colonoscopy is something that could actually save your life. I know people are fearful and there’s a stigma around it but again, it’s a very comfortable exam.

The other tests that are out there are stool-based tests. Some have high false positive rates, like the Cologuard. But there are alternatives. Ultimately, people should go for the best test and the one that lets them sleep well at night.

Now, if we’re talking about a young person (below the age of 45), that’s a whole different story. If I’m going to go in on a younger person, that always means I have a good reason to. That means that my best test is going to be a colonoscopy. Typical symptoms we see (associated with early onset colorectal cancer in young people) are rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, any changes in bowel habits, unintentional weight loss, or if they have signs of iron deficiency anemia. Those are all reasons for me to go in with a colonoscopy. And at that point, it’s not a preventative measure, it’s diagnostic and there is no other alternative.

Q: Bloating is one of the most common digestive complaints women talk about, especially in our audience. What are some common causes of chronic bloating that people may be overlooking?

So, we try to define the term ‘bloating’ a little bit better. Bloating occurs when people feel like they have abdominal distension (can occur either with or without meals) and it’s very uncomfortable for people. A lot of people will describe it as feeling 9 months pregnant. There are a couple different causes.

Bloating can be caused by something as simple as eating too fast or living with a lot of stress and not properly resting and digesting to receive the food. It could also be something as simple as constipation or a movement problem. It could be a functional problem, where there’s a disorder of the brain-gut axis and they have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

There are other things that could be more serious that we worry about when we hear about somebody having bloating, and the differential is very broad. So, it could be a dietary intolerance or food allergy like celiac, which is a gluten allergy (high incidence of this–1 in 100 people). Another common cause we don’t think about enough is H. pylori bacterial overgrowth. H. pylori is the most common bacterial pathogen in the world, and it naturally lives in the stomach. The problem with that bacteria is that high levels are linked with increased risk of stomach cancer. It is considered by the World Health Organization a class one carcinogen.

Another cause that we’re seeing is small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). That’s where some of the bacterial strains in our gut overgrow and can cause bloat. Other causes that are more ominous would be pancreatic cancer and other types of cancer that can cause somebody to have abdominal symptoms perceived as bloating.

We try to drill it down when a patient comes in with bloating. So, we have a pragmatic approach in our workup, and we ask simple questions like, is this related to food intake? Or is it not? Do they have any alarming symptoms? Are they losing weight? Once you start to nail those down, we may incorporate a trial diet like the FODMAP diet, which can decrease some of the gas production.

Q: What are some gut health myths or trends that you wish people would stop believing or doing?

I wish that people would stop trying “colon cleanses” without a doctor overseeing. As a doctor, we have seen these colon cleanses cause liver injury and inflammation in the colon. These “cleanses” are not regulated and can cause life-threatening injury. There are natural ways to do a colon cleanse when working with a doctor, if that’s what someone is interested in doing. But, I think it’s important to clarify that the body does a really good job of taking care of itself, so that’s really not necessary.

Another common myth I hear is people that confuse a colonic with a colonoscopy, so they’re willing to do a colonic but not a colonoscopy. So it can delay whatever they’re trying to treat. Colonics use strong water pressure and put it in your rectum, all done from somebody that does not have a medical license. There have been perforations and infections associated with this… so colonics are not cool or safe.

I also wish people would stop taking all these different supplements that are claiming to “cure” your gut or “decrease cancer.” A good example is soursop bitters. I recently did a video on this. The soursop plant, which is sort of a food staple in the Caribbean and in African and Latin American homes, and like many fruits, the fruit has benefits. The plant has these leaves that people make tea with. And sure, it has antioxidant properties and in my mice models in the petri dish, what they found is that it potentially had anti-cancer activity. But, somebody put that information out and ran with it, and they started creating concentrated soursop bitters. This product is not regulated and has been linked with nerve toxicity, where people are getting Parkinson’s-type symptoms. So dosing and using regulated products is really important.

Cocaine is found outside, mushrooms are grown in the wild, and some of them are toxic. Just because something is “naturally grown” outside doesn’t make it safe. People need to understand therapeutic ranges before blindly taking these supplements.

The other thing that people don’t think about with supplements is risk of drug interactions. Everything we put in our body has a potential chemical reaction. So that’s important to consider.

And then lastly, I wish people would stop being extreme. A good example of that is fibermaxing. I know the intent is such a good intent. The problem with fibermaxing is no one tells you what to do along with it. So first of all, most of us majorly under-consume fiber, so your body will be very bloated if you just suddenly increase your dietary fiber. It’s also important to drink enough water. There are certain conditions where people actually should not rapidly increase their fiber, like Crohn’s disease. So while I like the concept, people being on the extremes of anything is definitely a problem.

At the end of the day, people just need to listen to their body. Don’t follow trends without working with a true healthcare team and know what you’re trying to accomplish.

More Exclusive Guest Interviews…

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Every Sunday at 7:00AM EST, HealthyMom Club paid subscribers receive two lunchbox ideas plus recipes and product links. Catch up on other recent exclusive content here:

Lunch Archives: 100+ Kid Lunch Ideas

This week I’m sharing two of my favorite lunches and one of my favorite HACKS for getting my toddler to eat more veggies.

Bento Box Lunch Ideas 🥪🥒🫶🏻

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I’ve nailed the perfect summer roll combination with plenty of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and of course, a DELICIOUS dipping sauce.

This is a go-to lunch for me (I make it at least once a week!) because it’s filling but light. The tofu adds protein without weighing you down all afternoon.

Meals like this that are high-volume but lower in calorie (due to lots of veggies) are perfect for staying lean, building muscle, having good energy levels, and reducing inflammation. These also happen to be completely vegan and gluten-free.

September Family Meal Plan

The Best Healthy Summer Rolls 🌈🥕🥬

Get the Full Recipe Here

Ingredients:

• Large rice paper wrappers

• Collard greens

• Seaweed sheets

• Green leaf lettuce

• Sauteed tofu filets

• Bell pepper, sliced

• Mango, sliced

• Cucumber, sliced

• Avocado

• Fresh cilantro

I like to cut the veggies into thin matchsticks so I can easily pack them into the summer rolls (and it makes eating easier + less messy).

Every good summer roll recipe needs a drool-worthy dipping sauce, so I made my sesame-soy dipping sauce.

Get the Full Recipe Here

These make eating the rainbow 100x easier. You can add in any veggies you have on hand. Some other ideas I love are broccoli sprouts, microgreens, carrot sticks, sliced beets, par-boiled asparagus, and purple cabbage.

• More Light & Filling Lunch Recipes 🍴

  • Caesar Salad Spring Rolls

  • Green Girl Chopped Crunch Salad

  • Thai Tofu Chopped Salad with Peanut Dressing

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30-Day Family Meal Plan for September

If you’re planning to breastfeed or you’re already in the thick of what-feels-like endless nursing sessions, you know that having everything you need in arm’s reach is essential. Between water, snacks, burp cloths, nipple cream, your phone, maybe the TV remote, and allll the other things you somehow need every time you sit down to nurse, getting up can feel like a whole production.

Enter: the nursing cart. The perfect place to keep all of your nursing essentials organized, accessible, and ready to go. And while you definitely don’t need a cart to breastfeed, having one stocked with the things you reach for most can make those long days (and nights) easier. You can make it entirely your own. Here are some items I recommend keeping on your nursing cart to make those feeding sessions as comfortable as possible.

September Family Meal Plan

How to Build a STOCKED Nursing Cart 🫶🏻🤰🏻

The Setup

First, you need to start with a tiered nursing cart with plenty of room for storage, ideally on wheels so it’s easy to move around. Fill the cart with cute storage baskets for easy organization. I also love to add a mini cordless lamp on the top for some dim lighting—this is a gamechanger for when it’s the middle of the night and you don’t want to turn on overhead lights.

Top Tier: Nursing Essentials

On top, stock all of your nursing/pumping essentials. For yourself, think about things like lanolin nipple cream, nursing pads, and silverettes. You also might want to include your pump if pumping or any other supplies you’d reach for like a comfy muslin breastfeeding cover.

Middle Tier: Baby Essentials

For the middle tier, stock the cart with all of the baby essentials. Think about nursing essentials but also diaper essentials and other items:

• Non-toxic baby wipes (I also love the Coterie Wipes)

• Clean diapers

• BPA-free pacifiers

• Diaper rash cream

• A couple books

• Muslin cotton burp cloths

• Other items like a swaddle, baby nail filer, etc.

Bottom Tier: Mom’s Essentials

On the bottom tier, you need to include ALL of your mom essentials!!! You never know when you’ll get nap-trapped or need an emergency snack when hunger strikes while breastfeeding. Here are a few ideas of items to include on your own shelf but obviously customize it to your needs:

• Healthy lactation-supporting snacks:

  • Homemade 3-Ingredient Oat Bites

  • Homemade Nut & Seed Protein Bars

  • Other easy pre-packaged, single-serve clean snacks like edamame beans, oat & fruit energy bars, Simple Mills sweet thins and trail mix bars.

• Hand cream

• A notebook & pen or book

• Stainless steel water bottle with your favorite electrolytes

• A claw clip

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September Family Meal Plan

I’ve created a printable 30-day calendar complete with easy, customizable dinner ideas for each day to feed your family.

Meals are kid-friendly, healthy, affordable, gluten-free optional, and customizable. Recipes are always included.

Print the free PDF-download so you can hang it on the fridge and use it when grocery shopping.

Happy (stress-free) cooking!

September Family Meal Plan 🍎🍲🍽️

To download and/or print this calendar:

Read more

I truly swear by having a simple and delicious lunch meal prepped and ready to go. These are 3 of our most popular meal prep salads for moms that are simple, balanced, and delicious enough that you’ll look forward to it all week!

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Adzuki Bean Sweet Potato Farro Salad

Adzuki Farro Salad Recipe

This is the perfect early fall meal prep—you’re going to be OBSESSED with my adzuki bean salad. It’s hearty and satisfying, filled with complex carbs, fiber, and protein from the roasted sweet potato, farro, adzuki beans, edamame, crunchy veggies, and creamy peanut dressing.

Caesar Kale Pasta Salad

Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe

If you love caesar salad but need it to be actually filling & satisfying, try making my caesar kale pasta salad. It’s meal prep friendly (kale won’t get soggy!) and hearty enough for lunch with the whole-grain pasta and grilled tofu.

Roasted Vegetable Mediterranean Gnocchi Salad

Mediterranean Gnocchi Recipe

This is the lunch I meal prep when I want something to really look forward to because it’s SO satisfying! Plus, one serving has 20+ grams of fiber which is more than HALF of your daily intake! It’s hearty, delicious, and flavorful.

• Recently on Socials 📸

  • Healthy Summer Rolls

  • Toddler Evening Routine

  • Sweet Potato Mac & No Cheese

  • Healthy Goddess Orzo Salad

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I asked ChatGPT: if you wanted to make someone addicted to sugar, tell me exactly what you would encourage them to do. Here’s what it said.

• Eat sugary, highly palatable foods frequently and throughout the day.

• Drink your sugar (soda, coffee, energy drinks), since they are easy to consume without feeling very full.

• Keep sweets constantly available and make them part of your daily routine.

• Use sugar as a reward or emotional coping mechanism.

• Pair sweets with specific activities, like watching TV or scrolling before bed, so those cues begin triggering cravings.

• Restrict sugar heavily, then binge on it, reinforcing the cycle of deprivation and overeating.

There are actually studies to support the claim that sugar is addictive. Some studies have shown sugar can be as addictive (to the brain) as cocaine. Here’s why.

When you eat sugar, reward pathways are activated... in a similar way they respond to drugs, exercise, sex, caffeine, social media, money, shopping, and video games. Your body releases a chemical called dopamine, which signals to your body to crave sugar. This begins a feedback loop, convincing your brain you need sugar in order to release those hormones. It truly becomes an addictive cycle—that CANNOT be controlled with run of the mill self-control!

This should make women feel so much better. As a health coach, I hear from women so often who feel they struggle with a willpower issue when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight. Well, here’s the good news. It has nothing to do with self-control and willpower. When food is literally created to be addictive, your brain and internal body systems become addicted in a way that cannot be controlled by your conscious mind.

Sense you might have a minor sugar addiction???? Here are some simple steps + habits you can implement to kick your sugar addiction and start feeling better almost instantly.

Wait, Why Is This Important Again?

The thing about sugar, especially forms of highly refined sugar that can be found in almost everything these days like cane sugar, brown sugar, and high fructose corn syrup, is that it’s incredibly inflammatory. It causes many unwanted side effects as a result of the inflammation ranging from puffiness and bloating to weight gain, acne, hormonal imbalances, migraines, SIBO, and so many other inflammatory conditions.

The more we can minimize and avoid it in our daily lives, the better we will feel both physically and mentally.

4 Steps to Kick Sugar to the Can

1. Remove Sneaky & Hidden Sources

Outside of dessert and intentional sweet treats, one of the biggest things we’ve gotten wrong about health and sugar is the sneaky, hidden sources we don’t even realize we’re consuming. THIS is what adds up! It’s not the squares of chocolate or the homemade chocolate chip cookie after dinner... it’s all of the other small sources all throughout the day. Here are a few super popular ones just to get you thinking:

• Ketchup

• Store-bought dressings (especially sweeter ones)

• Coffee creamer

• Granola bars, granola, & cereal

2. Replace With Refined Sugar Free Alternatives

Instead of feeling like you have to go full-on cold turkey when it comes to removing sugar, try to make healthier swaps. In baking or your morning coffee, opt for unrefined sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, and agave. Don’t forget about fruit as a natural sweetener as well! Dates and banana are my favorites.

3. Focus on Timing Your Treats (balanced blood sugar = reduced cravings)

Something that’s really important but not talked about as often is the timing of your treats and meal structure. One of the number one ways to be on the sugar-cravings hamster wheel is to put yourself on a blood sugar rollercoaster. If you are constantly spiking your blood sugar all day to super high levels and then experiencing crashes, your body is going to crave sugar ALL DAY. Focus, instead, on making as balanced meals as you possibly can and then if you want to enjoy a sweet treat, aim to eat it after meals. The key to minimizing sugar cravings is balancing blood sugar.

4. Moderation & Balance is Key

At the end of the day, one of the worst things you can do for your brain (and in turn, your relationship with food) is restrict and hyperfocus on your diet. Make healthy choices as much as possible and focus on eating a balanced, well-rounded diet that follows an 80/20 lifestyle.

A Few Favorite Healthier Sweet Treats (no refined sugar!!!)

1. Vegan Chocolate Protein Pudding 🍫🍓

2. Gluten-Free Cinnamon Bun Banana Bread 🍌🍞

3. 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Raisin Bites (pro-tip: add chocolate chips for a sweeter treat!!) 🥣🍪

Every Sunday at 7:00AM EST, HealthyMom Club paid subscribers receive two lunchbox ideas plus recipes and product links—in addition to our monthly family meal plans, exclusive awesome guest articles, and more!

My toddler LOVED these lunches this week!!! Pizza bagels & taquitos—such fun (but secretly healthy) meals.

August Family Dinner Calendar (PDF)

Lunch Ideas for the Week🍕🫐🌮

Read more

My goal is to make healthy choices easier and more accessible to everyone—whether that be the food you buy, the restaurants you eat at, the water you drink, or the body care and household products you use… I believe we all have the power to make better choices when and where possible!!!

These are some things to consider when picking out a bottle of water (when you’ve got options for example at the airport, grocery store, or gas station).

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Bottled Water Rankings💧♻️

What to Look For

Like with anything when it comes to the food and drink space, what’s most important is knowing what to look for and what to avoid.

Here are the GOOD things you want to look for:

• If available, plastic-free. Any bottled glass is amazing (but hard to find on the go!). You can also look for aluminum bottles.

• Spring water or mineral water—it’s going to be more natural, mineral-rich, and taste way better.

• BPA-free—avoid plastic that contains harmful, endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA.

Best Options

Some of the best options include Mountain Valley, Evian, Icelandic, and Saratoga Springs. These brands source natural, mineral-rich spring water which tastes better, is cleaner, and has beneficial minerals.

Mid-Range Options

Some middle-ground options that are better than some and are more widely available in stores are Smartwater, Core Hydration, Voss, and LifeWTR.

Worst Options

The worst options tend to be Pure Life, Dasani, Aquafina, and Deer Park. Obviously, they won’t kill you and it’s not a big deal every once in a while, but they rank lowest due to concerns of high microplastic contents, being purified tap water, coming from a municipal source (city water), chemical-ridden plastic bottles and low-quality filtration systems.

Source: Top 50 Bottled Water Brands Ranked (2026)

More on Non-Toxic Living…

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Today we’re going to be talking all things complex carbohydrates—why we need them, when we need them most, and the best kinds.

The 30-Day September Family Meal Plan launches next week, along with our exclusive guest article of the month where we chat all things GUT HEALTH with an incredible board-certified gastroenterologist!

Join now as a paid subscriber for $6/month so you don’t miss out!

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The Importance of Carbs

When I started eating plant-based over a decade ago, my hormonal acne cleared, my digestion improved, I got rid of my chronic heartburn and I lost 20 pounds. All from eating a diet rich in whole-food complex carbohydrates.

Women have been made out to fear carbs, but that’s simply not the case. Here’s why.

Carbohydrates are our body’s (and brain’s) primary and preferred energy source. The brain relies almost completely on glucose for fuel. So if nothing else, you absolutely need carbohydrates for cognitive health.

Beyond that, whole-food sources of carbohydrates are filled with powerful combinations of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber that can be difficult to find elsewhere in the diet.

I also think it’s important to note that consuming enough carbs helps with satiety, hunger, and cravings. As counterintuitive as that may sound, use lunchtime as an example. Let’s say you choose the socially acceptable “healthier” option at lunch…. a salad with protein. No carbohydrates. Do you ever notice when, after eating a meal like this, you always crave something sweet? Or maybe a coffee? That’s your body trying to tell you something—it needs carbs!

Incorporating enough carbohydrates at every meal is a gamechanger for reducing cravings and increasing satiety. You’ll stay fuller for longer and you’ll think about food less.

Timing & Consistency Matters

It’s important to think about the timing of your carbs and how you can strategically consume them throughout your day. Naturally, carbohydrates turn into glucose in the body and will raise your blood sugar—a normal, healthy response. You don’t want your blood sugar to be raised all the time though. That can lead to serious health issues (and leaves you feeling like crap!).

That’s why it’s important to time your carbs correctly and consistently throughout the day! Here are a few tips:

• Don’t restrict carbs all day and then feast at night. Your cravings for carbs at night (chips, popcorn, candy, snacky foods) are your body’s way of telling you it may not have gotten enough throughout the day. You don’t want to eat a carbohydrate rich meal or snack right before bed because it will greatly impact sleep quality and blood sugar regulation throughout the night.

• Frontload carbs, if possible. On the flipside, it’s actually really beneficial to frontload carbs at the start of your day, when your body is going to need and use them most. Don’t be afraid to have a healthy carb source at breakfast and lunch.

• If you’re exercising, especially any form of cardio or weightlifting, you will probably want to incorporate a carb-heavy snack or even meal before that session. This gives your body and muscles readily available energy to USE throughout your workout—helping you to perform better and recover faster.

My Favorite Sources

When thinking about carbohydrates, the exact type of carbohydrate really matters. I’m not talking about simple sugars or refined carbs like white bread, white pasta, and similar cookies/cakes/ultra-processed foods.

Definitely opt for incorporate WHOLE FOOD sources into your diet—with every meal. These are some of my favorites that I incorporate regularly into balanced meals:

• Whole-grain pastas

• Legumes (chickpeas, lentils, black beans)

• Sweet potato & white potato

• Quinoa

• White or brown rice

• Oats

• Fruit — don’t fear fruit!

• Whole-grain bread — I like Ezekiel Sprouted Bread and local sourdough.

• Other starchy vegetables — think carrots, squash, beets, corn, and peas.

At the end of the day, balanced is always better. When you’re thinking about the optimal “diet” or making healthy choices, balanced is always the way to go. Cutting out food groups or restricting food is never a healthy, long-term solution. Plus, when you cut out healthy, delicious carbohydrates, you rob yourself of the opportunity to eat so many different vibrant, nutrient-dense foods!

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  • Sweet Potato Mac & No Cheese

  • Healthy Goddess Orzo Salad

  • Summer Elote Pasta Salad

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This 20-minute, one pan pesto mediterranean gnocchi dinner is everything you need from a dinner recipe.

✔️ Family-Friendly (it’s a pasta dish after all!!!)

✔️ Balanced (with vegetables, complex carbs, and fiber)

✔️ One Pan (super minimal clean-up)

✔️ Ready in < 30 Minutes

Save this recipe for later and add it to your meal plan for the week!

One Pan Pesto Mediterranean Gnocchi 🍅🫒

Get the full recipe

Ingredients

• Gnocchi, use gluten-free if needed

• Red bell peppers, diced

• Red onion, chopped

• Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• Cherry tomatoes

• Italian seasoning

• Kalamata olives, pitted

• Greek green olives, pitted

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Olive brine

• Salt & pepper

• Vegan pesto, optional

Full recipe, instructions, tips & more

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• Recently on Socials 📸

  • Sweet Potato Mac & No Cheese 🧀

  • Healthy Goddess Orzo Salad 🍓

  • Beauty Smoothie 🍊

  • Summer Elote Pasta Salad 🌽

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As our kids go back to school and routines are flip-flopped again, it’s truly the perfect time of year to reset, settle into fresh routines, and build healthy habits we can stick to for the new school year. A new school year marks a FRESH start—for both busy moms and dads and kids alike!

These are a few ideas of ways you can get back into an optimal school-year routine this fall—with some practical self-care!

Get the August Family Meal Plan, 90+ kid lunch ideas & exclusive guest articles by joining as a paid subscriber for just $6 🩷

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Routine Bed & Wake Up Times

Try to jump into a really consistent bedtime & wakeup routine—both for yourself and your kids. I feel like we prioritize the sleep routines of kids so much but often completely neglect our own.

I’m someone that really prioritizes & values good quality sleep. Sleeping enough is essential for energy, inflammation, and stress management. Prioritize it this year! I have a few sleep resources for you to look through:

How I Got My Toddler to Sleep 12 Hrs

How I Get The Best High-Quality Sleep

Breakfast Routines

Implement a healthy balanced breakfast routine first thing. Busy moms seem to love a prepped breakfast—and I get it because same! You can do tofu frittata veggie bakes, chia pudding, protein overnight oats, baked oats (savory or sweet!), or even DINNER LEFTOVERS from the night before. We don’t need to overcomplicate things! But it’s so, so important to start your day with a balanced breakfast with complex carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and fiber. This balanced meal is going to keep you satisfied, energized, and your cravings completely at bay throughout the day.

A few of my favorite meal preps:

• Berry Baked Oatmeal

• Brownie Protein Overnight Oats

• Chickpea Tofu Frittata Bake

• Blended Raspberry Chia Pudding

• Seedy Bread

Make Your Morning Bev A RITUAL

Instead of literally prying your eyes open and heading straight to the coffee pot for an immediate shot of caffeine straight to your veins first thing, try making it a ritualistic part of your morning that you can truly enjoy. Let it be a moment that you actually let yourself slow down and savor something.

Maybe you save your coffee for the moment you get home from dropping the kids off at school and spend 10 minutes making a delicious latte and sipping it outside.

Replace your first-thing morning cup with tea, broth, or warm lemon water to help wake up digestion and naturally energize you.

Focus on Immune Health

In terms of a family health focus + back to school time, we are all focusing on immune health and making sure we’re getting the proper rest and nutrition to stay healthy. If you have kids in school, then you know all too well that germs and sickness are INEVITABLE. All we can do is support our bodies as much as possible!

Some of my immunity favorites from Vimergy:

• Micro-C Powder

• Immunity Nutridense Drops

• Liquid Total Immune Blend

Declutter Spaces

You might have a bit more free time/schedule flexibility to devote to cleaning and organization. Use the start of the school year to work on closet cleanouts, playroom organization, and resets. Do a big donation drop off (especially from everything you’ve accumulated over the summer with everyone at home!)—it’ll feel SO cleansing and it’s the best way to start the year.

Every Sunday at 7:00AM EST, HealthyMom Club paid subscribers receive two lunchbox ideas plus recipes and product links—in addition to our monthly family meal plans, exclusive awesome guest articles, and more!

This week, I’m sharing one of the ideas for free as a sneak peek! 🩷 Sometimes the hardest part about packing lunches (similar to cooking dinner) is deciding what to make!

August Family Dinner Calendar (PDF)

Our Favorite Back to School Lunches 🍓🥪🍑

Read more

This includes 13 grams of added cane sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils, enriched flours, soybean oil, and artificial preservatives. Hmmm, no thank you… I think I’ll pass on feeding this to my toddler.

You can easily batch-prep a ton of homemade uncrustables and freeze them, just like you would buy them frozen! I also like this method because you can easily make them nut-free and customize them to your kids’ preferences.

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DIY Healthier Uncrustables 🍓🍇

Everything You Need

• Uncrustable Sandwich Cutters — $7.99

• Soft, whole-grain bread — sourdough doesn’t work well for these as it’s too firm so opt for a clean-ingredient, soft, whole-grain sandwich bread

• Nut-butter of choice — use organic sunbutter to keep them nut-free

• Jam — organic, no added sugar jam in any variety (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry)

• Honey — for nut butter & honey sandwiches

• Optional additions: sprinkle of ground flax or chia seeds for healthy fats & fiber

How to Assemble

1. Make the sandwich as normal. Add plenty of nut or seed butter and jam or honey and sandwich the two slices of bread together.

2. Use the uncrustable sandwich cutters to cut out the sandwich and press the edges together super easily—works just like a cookie cutter.

3. Wrap the sandwiches in foil or parchment paper. If freezing, wrap them individually and store in a freezer-safe container. You can throw them into your kids’ lunchboxes frozen in the morning and they’ll be thawed by lunchtime. Otherwise, you can just make them morning-of when packing lunch.

More Like This…

Available Now: August Meal Plan

My Beauty Smoothie is literally skincare in a cup. Filled with antioxidant-rich, colorful fruits plus Vimergy’s Micro-C and L-Lysine for vegan collagen, keratin, and elastin production—these are essential beauty proteins. This combo helps to promote:

• skin elasticity

• hair growth & volume

• strong and shiny nails

Beauty Smoothie 🥭✨🫜

get the full recipe

Ingredients

Antioxidant Boost (the pink part)

• 1/2 cup dragon fruit, frozen

• 1 small beet, washed and cut

• Coconut water to blend

Glowing Skin Collagen Booster (the yellow part)

• 1/2 cup mango, frozen

• 1/2 cup pineapple, frozen

• 1 Vimergy L-Lysine, empty contents of 1 capsule into blender

• 1 scoop Vimergy Micro-C Powder

• 1 clementine, peeled

• 1 scoop plant-based vanilla protein powder

• Coconut water or coconut milk to blend

Optional: coconut yogurt to swirl in the cup

get the full recipe

This Substack was created in partnership with Vimergy.

learn more about vimergy

Whether you’ve gone dinner cooking on the stove, kids bringing home dirty sports uniforms and equipment, or little pets running around, it’s hard to keep your home smelling clean & fresh at all times. HARD!

Sharing my secrets of a couple things I swear by to keep my house smelling clean (and this is coming from someone who cooks for a living!)…

My Odor-Free Secrets

Azuna Pods—Every Room

It was time for an Azuna refill so here’s a little demo on how easy it is to change out your Azuna pods!!! Once most of the gel has been absorbed & is brown, I use a paper towel so easily wipe out the remaining gel.

Then, I use my gel refill and fill the pod right back up. Twist the lid back on and then place it anywhere in your home to keep it smelling fresh!

Kitchen Hack: I LOVE keeping an Azuna pod in the fridge! Keeps your fridge smelling fresh at all times.

my fridge reset routine

get 25% off Azuna Pods

NO Shoes

Our home is a no-shoes home. What’s on shoes needs to be kept OUTSIDE! We take off our shoes at the front door immediately and they stay there until we leave again!

It might seem impossible at first, but wearing shoes in the house is just a habit (that can easily be broken). Once you stop wearing them in the house for awhile, you won’t even think about it anymore—it’ll be second nature.

And I promise your home will be SO MUCH cleaner for it.

Avoid Synthetic Fragrances

Contrary to popular belief, if you want your home to smell fresh at all times, I personally avoid using strong candles and room sprays throughout my home. A little candle here and there is one thing, but adding harsh, synthetic, chemical-based fragrances to your space is one way to overwhelm the scent and make things worse.

I prefer to use natural odor eliminators for clean, fresh scent rather than adding harsh chemicals on top of everything.

Always Put Away Leftovers—IMMEDIATELY

Don’t leave leftover food sitting out! Right after you cook, dish up leftovers into glass containers and put your food in the fridge.

Even chopped veggies! If you chopped an onion and only used half, don’t leave the other half sitting on the counter for 2 hours. Bag it up and put it in the fridge immediately!

Store Everything in the Fridge

This might be an unpopular opinion but coming from someone who lives in an extremely humid climate (Florida), we store ALL of our produce in the fridge—including potatoes and tomatoes.

Some of these foods are typically kept at room temp, but in Florida, they go bad so much faster because of the humidity (and can quickly smell up your kitchen). I prefer to keep them all in the fridge!

• NEW RECIPES on the Blog 🍴

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