69 | Welcome Back to Holistically Well!

Dr. Kayla: if you've been around for a while, you know that I took the entire month of August off from recording. And honestly, I needed it. We spent quite literally the entire month moving. Now we weren't moving far, but we were moving across town from our rental into our new home build that we have been dreaming about and planning for for really the last five years. This move is what brought us back from Columbus. To our rural small town in kind of the middle of nowhere, Ohio, but it's where both my husband and I grew up and it was always our dream to build. And we have been doing that process ever since we moved back. And so it really was a year of prepping and planning and then a year of building. And now we get to finally move in, which feels very surreal. We officially moved the weekend after school started. And so my daughter also started school in the month of August. She's waiting to first grade. So as you know, if you're a parent with school-aged kids, August just brings all of the things for back to school and coming into a new routine, which lined up with our move. we've been able to do it slowly. but between packing up the rental, unpacking at the new house, settling into our new home now and figuring where everything goes and starting that new back to school routine, not to mention just simply parenting and living life with four little ones, August has been so full. And so to arrive freshly into September, ready to go with a new podcast release. Feels just refreshing and good. And you may notice I am still in the same office setting. I'm in my clinic office recording. Eventually, I do want to shift my podcast recordings to our home office. We have a beautiful home office studio, if you will, with just dark green walls. It's very moody, very cozy. However, we have Hard floors and that's not something I thought about. I was like, this will be perfect. I release in September again. I can be in my new office. But it is very echoey in there right now because I don't have enough soft things in there. We need to get a nice big rug, get some cushiony chairs to be able to sit in. And so that will be forthcoming. So keep your eye on the videos. I'm sure I'll let you know when I'm in the new space, but it'll be fun to kind of set up a little recording section in our new office. As we figure out how where we want everything to go and how we are using this space. So, with that being said, it feels really exciting to be settling into our new home as a family of six and also to be starting this new school year. And that's something I wanted to talk about on today's show: starting the new school year well. Because not only does September feel like a fresh start as we enter more of those burr months and the coziness of fall and the slowing down in that regard, but it also brings on new routines, new schedules, school supplies, all the new activities that come along with a new school year. And for a lot of moms, that can lead to feeling like you're Perfectly organized or relaxed summer vibes got rewired overnight, and you may feel a little bit overwhelmed. So let's talk about how to approach this season a little bit differently and what a healthy start to the school year could actually look like. So for me, number one, it's stocking the home with fresh, healthy foods. And I am very excited, especially to do that this year with. Some more space to do so. And so when we lived in Columbus, we were 10 minutes from a Costco. And about every other week on a Sunday after church, we would go to Costco as a family. And yes, it's busy on Sundays, but they have samples out. And when you know what you want and you know where it's located in the store, it's not overwhelming and it is easy. And so feeling very ambitious about a little less than two weeks ago, I brought all four kids by myself on a Sunday. To Costco. we were going to Columbus anyways for a birthday party for my niece. And so Costco was nearby. I said we should just go. And my husband was volunteering elsewhere. So he wasn't able to join us. And so myself and the four kids went. And it's so funny being in the city, out and about with a baby strapped to your chest and the other three littles around. the looks and the smiles that we got. But it was honestly a lot of fun. And I recorded a reel about it as we went through because I am asked often by patients and by listeners what my go-tos are for stocking our own home and our own pantry. And so I actually recorded it for you in a reel and wrote it all out for you of what our most recent haul looked like. And so if you DM me the word Costco on Instagram, I will send you our list of all of our go-tos. And so that's first and foremost, right? Is stocking your home well with fresh, healthy foods. Now, to give you the Cliff Nose version without reading the whole list off to you, it's looking like organic fruits and vegetables when we're eating the skin. So anytime we are eating the skin, if the skin is softer, like a raspberry or strawberry or a grape or carrots, it's in the earth. We're eating the skin. The skin, I am buying organic. If it's something that we're peeling the skin off, for instance, an avocado or a banana, I'm buying conventional. I'm saving a little bit of money there. I love getting good quality meats. I will buy organic chicken breasts from Costco. I also like local farmers, local to us. There's a lot of great options for buying like whole bird pasture-raised chickens. I get our eggs and our milk from local farmers to us. So I do a mix. I don't get everything at Costco. I buy locally when able and when appropriate. But I also have staples that I like to get on those at this point once-a-month trips to Costco. Whereas before, like I said, when I was in the city, we would be going every other week. And so I did get more the bulk of what we were consuming in our household from there. I also love to get healthy snack options from Summer Like Costco that are pre-packaged for my daughter to bring to school because they do have snack time daily. And while sometimes I'll pack her apple slices or a zucchini muffin that we made at home, it is so nice for her to have pre-packaged snacks in her locker that I know that she can pull from and that she's getting a good healthy option that is mom-approved by me. So we also stock up on some of those from Costco, whether it's beef sticks or That's it bars. The pure fruit bars are solely S-O-L-E-Y. They have really good fruit jerky bars that my daughter loves. other options that are family favorites are the Scout Organic bars, and those are like dates in them. So just literally at home, I have a snack drawer and I just throw any of those prepackaged things in. And while again, it's not my ideal, I prefer, you know, fresh, homemade. When possible, as a busy mom who is out of the home two days a week treating patients, we do need packaged goods that are again mom approved. And so Costco is a great place to get that. Thrive Market's another place that I will shop from for those. And we have a snack drawer in our house that has those healthy snack options that my kids grab when we're going on the go. So if I'm taking my younger kids out running errands with me for the day, or if we're gonna go meet some friends at the park. And I don't have something pre-prepared to bring as a snack or bringing those packaged options or my daughter's bringing them to school. So it just helps when you're set up for success, right? So do a big grocery shopping haul this weekend. If you haven't already, go to your nearest Costco or get a Thrive Market membership because they will deliver to your home and you can have good healthy options on hand. So we talked about snacks. Breakfast is another extremely important one, prioritizing protein. So Right now, my daughter loves toast. So we're getting fresh sourdough toast from a local baker also a family friend. We use grass-fed butter on it. So she's getting healthy fat, but then she needs a protein. And her favorites are chicken sausage, like breakfast sausage, or bacon. And so I have each of those on that Costco list. I like buying them there. Amy Lou is a great brand. And then I can't think of the bacon brand that I get off the top of my head, but they have a really good option. At Costco, that I'll get the large option of, and then cut out the individual. There's like four packets of bacon within the packet you get there. And we'll just use those throughout the week. And so she's getting a protein with that carb and healthy fat option that is her go-to favorite right now. And as a mom with kids, they are changing their thoughts and their opinions all the time on what they like, right? Soon I'm sure she'll be liking eggs again. And then maybe I can whip up a big thing of that. But right now it's not what they're liking or what they're wanting to eat. And that's okay. So how can I make toast the healthiest option that it can be while also still making sure that they're getting good protein and something that is filling to create stable blood sugar levels throughout the day? think something we see a lot lately is children struggling with attention and behavior. And we can see it in the news a lot as, you know. that there's more ADHD diagnoses than in the past. And why is this? And well, I think there's a lot of factors here. And this could be totally unpacked in a different episode. I think something I want to really hone in on for the moms listening is that your children need food that is stabilizing their blood sugar. Think of how you feel if you haven't eaten all day or if you just have a piece of toast with butter on it and that's it. Our blood sugar will crash. And the same is true for our children. And while, yes, Children are very resilient. They also need to be set up for success as best as possible. And so when you give them a good breakfast with protein, their behavior just may start to surprise you. And don't just lean on only one day, you know, see that consistency over time. But I really encourage you to make sure they're having good, healthy protein with their breakfast. And then ideally, We're packing their lunch if possible. Do I pack every single day? No, I don't. First day of school, didn't pack. They were having Johnny Pops with lunch. That's exciting. And my daughter would have been sad if the other kids were having Johnny Pops that were dye free and she wasn't. And so, you know, I I let her have the school lunch that day. We also were moving. And so it was like, I'm I'm not going to make sure I'm packing lunch while we're in the midst of moving, right? So Giving yourself grace where grace is needed. Whenever I had my fourth child, and my husband went back to work and my daughter went back to school after New Year's Eve, it was like, I am gonna let her eat the school lunch for a few days. It's not the end of the world. So giving yourself grace where grace is needed, but also Taking on that responsibility as a mother to nourish our children well when it's in our home always, but when it's outside of the home when we're able, right? So like the snacks that I'm packing her, controlling what I can control there, and packing healthy lunches most of the time. I would say it's a handful of days a month that she's usually buying the school lunch, unless we have something crazy going on in our life, like moving or like introducing a new baby into the world. Then I may not be packing as often, and that's okay. All right. So those would be the other big recommendations for starting the school year off well, healthy snack that they're bringing to school, having protein with breakfast, and then controlling the controllables when it comes to lunch. If you can pack, great, give yourself grace where grace is needed if you cannot. All right. So with today's episode, I also want to give you a little update on. What you can expect from Holistically Well Moving Forward. As some of you know, if you follow along on my newsletter, The Well Weekly, I recently made a change behind the scenes with the podcast. I've officially left Boone Media Productions and am now working with another solopreneur who is a mother to edit the podcast. This just felt like such a natural shift for me as I connected with this mom when. I was a guest on another show on another podcast and we just really connected and hit it off. And so instead of having a whole media group that I am working with, having just one other mom one-to-one to work on to bring this education and this information to you just felt so right. And I'm really excited about this change because it's also allowing me to make the podcast more streamlined and intentional in the way that I'm communicating with you both Through the podcast, but also in my blog and in my email newsletter. And so she's just a really exciting member to have on board with the Holistically Well team. And I am excited for her to help me bring all of this to you. Now, with this in mind, I am bringing back the format that I knew and that I loved when I first started Holistically Well, which is one solo episode with me, followed by a guest episode. And we will alternate. Throughout the month. So it'll be a solo episode and then a guest episode every single Tuesday, we are dropping this and releasing it to you. And next week I have an incredible guest episode for you that I cannot wait for you to tune in on. So if you're not already subscribed please be sure and do so. These conversations will dive into not only what I'm seeing clinically on my solo episodes, but also. Walking through the different seasons of motherhood and education on women's health with experts in varied fields, whether it be nutrition, hormone therapy, movement, pelvic floor, physical therapy, preconception, pregnancy, postpartum. Like we are diving into so much goodness here. And I cannot wait to share these upcoming guest episodes with you. So with that, let's dive into a wonderful, healthy school year with our children. I am so excited to be alongside of you every week, every Tuesday, dropping in with a new solo or guest episode. Hit subscribe if you haven't already. Leave a comment or a review for a show letting me know what speaks to you the most, what you want to learn more about, and we'll be coming to you with more great conversations next week.