BeeKay Nutrition
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Blog
  • Contact
Select Page
Greek Yogurt Blueberry Hemp Bites

Greek Yogurt Blueberry Hemp Bites

by BrachaKopstick | Jun 12, 2018 | Child & Adolescent Health, Nourished Eating, Snacks

Greek yogurt blueberry hemp bites are your summer’s essential energy boosting snack. Quick to make and fun to eat, they’re  loaded with probiotics, antioxidants, fibre, and  omega 3 & 6 fats.   Snacking is always essential, but summer’s...
Make the most of your snack break

Make the most of your snack break

by BrachaKopstick | Mar 15, 2018 | Child & Adolescent Health, Nourished Eating, Snacks

Snacks are an important part of everyone’s eating regimen. With their smaller appetites, and active days, kids need snacks to meet their nutrient needs over the course of the day. Adults, too, need snacks to get us through the day. With busy schedules and long...
Chewy Granola Bars

Chewy Granola Bars

by BrachaKopstick | Jan 29, 2018 | Child & Adolescent Health, Nourished Eating, Snacks

Granola bars are the ultimate energy-boosting snack, and these are so simple to make because they don’t even need any baking!    These are great for traveling, because they’re portable, are protein and fibre-full (AKA the stuff that makes and keeps us...
Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

by BrachaKopstick | Dec 15, 2017 | Breakfast, FODMAP friendly, Nourished Eating, Snacks

Quinoa berry cookies make a great make-ahead breakfast. They’re quick to make, and freeze well, so all you gotta do is pop a couple in the oven in the AM, and enjoy a whole grain, fruity, delicious brekkie! I considered making these like a pancake, but I am not...
Apple Cinnamon Muffin-tops

Apple Cinnamon Muffin-tops

by BrachaKopstick | Nov 8, 2017 | Breakfast, Child & Adolescent Health, Dessert, Nourished Eating, Snacks

Apple and cinnamon is one of my favorite autumn flavour combinations. Apples are in season, and they just scream for cinnamon!  In my family, muffin tops are a hot-commodity, so when making these cookies, I tried for a fluffy muffin consistency. The secret is to...
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies

by BrachaKopstick | Aug 31, 2017 | Breakfast, Child & Adolescent Health, Nourished Eating, Snacks

Oatmeal chocolate chip blondies are the perfect back to school snacks; they’re tasty, filling, and nut free! Canned chickpeas provide loads of health benefits including high fiber, plant-based protein, low glycemic index, plus they’re an inexpensive recipe...
« Older Entries
Next Entries »

About Me

Hi, I'm Bracha! I'm a registered dietitian helping families just like yours. I want to help you make eating, and feeding your family an enjoyable experience. This is your place for quick and simple recipes with minimal ingredients and instructions easy enough for kids to make. You'll also find tips and tricks for raising and nurturing adventurous eaters. I'm so glad you're here :)

Search by category

  • Breakfast
  • Child & Adolescent Health
  • Dessert
  • Dinner
  • Drinks
  • FODMAP friendly
  • Lunch
  • Nourished Eating
  • Sides
  • Snacks
  • Soup

Recent Posts

  • Crispy Seedy Crackers
  • Period Cravings: why they come & how to deal with them
  • Raising Adolescents to Have a Good Relationship with Food

Older Posts

adolescent.nutritionist

Bracha Kopstick RD
Double tap ♥️ for eating until satisfied! I r Double tap ♥️ for eating until satisfied! I recently had a conversation with an adolescent client who believed that if he was hungry so close to a meal, it simply meant he was bored or needed another activity to distract himself. I explained that it's very likely he didn't actually eat enough to satisfy himself, and his hunger was a sign he still needed to eat. Because in general, a meal or snack should be satisfying and filling for two to four hours depending on its size. If you or your adolescent is feeling hungry that close to a meal it's likely a sign you haven't eaten enough! Here are some things to do to help everyone eat enough to meet their hunger levels: 🌟 Allow everyone to serve themselves (avoid or limit pre-plating) 🌟 Let everyone take doubles or more if there's available 🌟 Normalize eating in response to body signals rather than outside cues like am empty plate If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Hands up 🙌 for being a confident mom! A mom s Hands up 🙌 for being a confident mom! A mom sent me a DM this week, confused about her adolescent daughter's eating habits. Mom has a fully stocked pantry with all the snacks, because she recognizes the importance of allowing food and not feeling restricted. But at the same time, she's worried about how much her adolescent i's eating! This is a really common situation as you start embracing food freedom but haven't made the full jump over. So here's two things you can do to help you feel confident with your adolescent's eating habits. 1. Remove the judgement and shame around eating. Don't call these snacks "junk", don't show frustration when your adolescent eats it, don't threaten to stop buying the food (or buy them begrudgingly). 2. Serve & eat these foods often and together. Make these "snacks" part of a meal and normalize them as accepted food. When food is fully accepted and allowed to be eaten, adolescents can feel freer to eat other food, try more variety, and eat more in-tune with their body's needs. If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Comment below with your simple go-to family meal 👇 I was talking to a mom today about the benefits of eating family meals. She replied that she "doesn't like to cook". This is common sentiment from parents; either they don't like to cook, they don't feel confident in the kitchen, or their kids' food preferences make it too stressful to bother. (Does that sound like you??) I want you to change the way you think of family meals; they don't need to look like a Thanksgiving spread! A family meal is literally 1 child and 1 adult eating food together. It can be a simple scrambled eggs & toast, take-out, or quick freezer meal. A successful family meal is about connecting with each other and having an enjoyable experience around food. The food itself doesn't matter. If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
What's your favorite packaged snack food? Comment What's your favorite packaged snack food? Comment below 👇 I frequently encourage my clients to create "mini meals" that have multiple foods to encourage a balanced diet and ensure adolescents are able to fully nourish themselves. I find it helpful to have ready-to-go food ideas to accomplish this for a few reasons: 1. kids are often drawn to packaged and easily accessible foods 2. parents don't have to be super involved or busy with making multiple meals a day, and kids can learn meal preparation skills 3. they taste good! Many snacks are easy sources of carbohydrates (like cookies, chips, cereal, snack bars) and it can be harder to get other nutrients from snacks- like protein, fibre, and fat. Here are some of my favorite packaged snack ideas to combine for a snack mini meal with more variety in taste, texture, and nutrients. This is not sponsored, I want to make this really helpful, and seeing packaging can make it easier to shop! What's missing from this list? If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body, schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Double tap ♥️ for helping adolescents learn to Double tap ♥️ for helping adolescents learn to accept new food! A mom DMed me yesterday about her 12 year old who doesn't eat any vegetables and mom is looking for ways to help her enjoy and eat more variety of vegetables. It can be frustrating serving a ton of variety at meals and then seeing your adolescent filling up on the carb option. Remember though, that it's their body, and they know what feels good and fills them up. However, it's also necessary to teach kids how to eat and enjoy a wider variety of food, so here's some tips for how to go about that. 1. Look at the food they typically will eat, is there any fruit or vegetable they like? 2. serve that food often! Not every meal, but have it on frequent rotation 3. Build on those accepted foods with similar ones. She likes roasted sweet potatoes? try roasted squash! Blueberries are okay? What about other berries? 4. Introduce your adolescent to food away from the dinner table. Bring them grocery shopping, have her prepare a recipe, let him watch a cooking show. Making new food introductions force-free and enjoyable can go a long way towards acceptance, though it can take time for a hesitant eater to try new food. Creating a pressure free zone and trusting your adolescent to eat according to their body's needs helps them build trust in themselves and develop a good relationship with food and their body. If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body, schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Do you have a family pizza 🍕 tradition? Tell me Do you have a family pizza 🍕 tradition? Tell me about it below 👇 Growing up, my family had pizza every Thursday night. It was a whole project deciding on the toppings so everyone would be happy, and then the excitement of picking it up and then of course the enjoyment from eating it all together. Now I talk to a lot of parents and adolescents who may or may not eat pizza, but believe it's not a "good" food choice, and try to limit how they much eat, or feel bad about eating pizza. Pizza is a great food choice! 🌟Nutritionally it provides carbohydrates, fat, protein & calcium (plus fibre if there are vegetable toppings) 🌟It creates an easy family meal with little stress 🌟And it fosters enjoyable family time and satisfaction from eating tasty and nourishing food. Eating pizza, or any food, should not create feelings of guilt or shame, or spur restriction or recrimination. Food is not good or bad. Food nourishes us in many different ways and they're all valid reasons to eat. If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Double tap ♥️ for raising adolescents on the p Double tap ♥️ for raising adolescents on the path of life-long health! I'm sure you can relate to the years of poor eating and negative self-esteem that started from really young. You know what's it like to be always thinking about food, worried about your body, thinking everyone's looking at you and talking about you. But at the same time, it's hard seeing your child struggling with fitting in, dealing with weight stigma (from others or themselves), or being worried about their health. What can you do to help your adolescent without setting them up for lifelong problems? I encourage you to look at the root cause of their pain. Rather than addressing their request to get healthier or lose weight, look at WHY they want that and look for better and longer-lasting solutions. Set up your adolescent for good health, a strong sense of identity and confidence, and a good relationship with food. If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
What's your tips to adolescents dealing with stres What's your tips to adolescents dealing with stress? Tell me below 👇 Stress eating is a big topic recently, because we're all experiencing it! Adolescents always have stress going on in their lives, but now it's even more. And with so many of the ways they deal with stress no longer accessible, stress (and emotional) eating are likely one of few options available for kids. And that's totally normal and okay! Food is comforting. 🤗 It's something familiar and dependable 🥰 Eating releases "feel good" hormones (for example, serotonin increases with carb intake) 😊️ How can you deal with your adolescent stress-eating? 🌟Normalize it with your adolescent without shaming excess eating or limiting their access to food 🌟Help them brainstorm more ideas that can help relax or distract during times of stress. 🌟Sometimes what looks like eating from stress or boredom is truly physical hunger! Encouraging regular eating can ensure adolescents are eating enough, and can better tune into their hunger & fullness levels. This will help them recognize when they're eating for reasons other than physical hunger. If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body, schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Show some love 💜 for your amazing body! Two s Show some love 💜 for your amazing body! Two separate clients recently told me that when they feel hunger they chew gum or drink water to avoid having to eat. I explained that hunger is a sign the body needs nourishment, and while water will "fill" the stomach for a short amount of time, it's not giving the body the energy it needs. Same with gum. We're now working on honouring those hunger signs by eating food at regular times, and especially when they feel hunger. Tweens and teens need to know that when they feel hungry, it's a sign their body is starting to lose energy and needs food to function. Hunger is a natural feeling, and it's a real gift that we can feel hungry. It's not something to fear, ignore, or trick our bodies out of feeling. Is this something your adolescent struggles with? If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Do you prefer hot chocolate or cold? Share below 👇 with your favorite toppings! A mom asked me recently about what to do for her tween who refuses milk unless it's chocolate milk. Milk (whether dairy or plant-based) is a good way to add nutrition and nourishment to adolescents' meals & snacks. Adding chocolate to that doesn't affect the nutritional benefits, and adds to the enjoyment and satisfaction. If all her child wants to drink is chocolate milk, that's okay! Food (and drink) should be enjoyable and taste good. And when served with other food, kids can intuitively balance excess sugar intake. If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Double tap for supporting a diet-free childhood 🙌 I've received many DMs from moms asking about weight loss for their child to prevent their being bullied. I've spoken with tweens and teens who believe they will be happier when they reach a magical weight. And of course the media will have us believe weight loss will always make someone healthier. Weight loss is not a cure or solution for any of this. Building up adolescent's self-esteem and self-confidence is helpful, and the path to happiness and better health behaviours that *actually* have lasting benefits. And don't tell me weight loss builds up confidence- you don't build kids up by making them less. You do it by acknowledging accomplishments and skills that are not body related. By highlighting successes and empathizing with disappointments and brainstorming how to overcome them. These are the skills adolescents need. Not calorie counting, scale obsession, or portion control. If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Which side will you be in 2021? This time of year Which side will you be in 2021? This time of year there is SO. MUCH. HEALTH. NOISE. Everyone has an opinion and they're not afraid to share it. LOUDLY! Here's the thing, just because everyone eats, doesn't mean they're a nutrition expert. And even if they have made changes in their own life that has improved their health, that doesn't mean it's right for you or your child or meets your needs. If you're really truly looking to make meaningful and lasting change, you need it to be tailor made for you! Mute the influencers, the celebrities, (the family and friends 🙊) and confusion. Get confident this year raising adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body! I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
When did you first start making resolutions? Is yo When did you first start making resolutions? Is your adolescent planning to make a new year's resolution this year? Tell me below 👇 A mom called me recently because her teen wants to start a "non-diet weight-loss" program this new year, and she's worried. The marketing around these programs are phenomenal and so enticing. If your tweens and teens are on social media, they're probably seeing ads for these programs. (And the aps are often free and easy to download 🙈) These programs depend on rule-based eating, putting food into categories of better and worse, and ultimately, caloric restriction. All this takes tweens and teens farther away from their inherent needs and recognizing their body's signals, and instead are dependent on outside cues. If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Tis the season for diet ads and "new year, new you Tis the season for diet ads and "new year, new you" madness, and your adolescents know it. They hear and see all the advertisements, and it can be so easy to get sucked in. 🙈 How can you answer your tween or teen who wants to start a diet or "improve my health" this year? 1. with compassion. The diet industry isn't a $72 BILLION dollar industry for nothing. They know how to target us and our insecurities. It's not your child's fault for wanting this 2. with curiosity. Ask you t(w)een; What do you hope to gain from a diet? How would your life change? Where did you hear about this and what's fueling this idea? 3. with facts. Growing adolescents need nourishment which diets don't provide. Bodies change in size and shape all the time and all bodies are good bodies that don't need outside influence to be worthy of love and care. If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body, schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Hands up for celebrating your body signs and cues Hands up for celebrating your body signs and cues 🙌 When there's a lot of good tasting and special occasion foods, it's very likely your tween and teen will eat a lot- possibly more than you're comfortable seeing. Or more than they're physically comfortable with. This is a learning opportunity for you both! For you to learn to trust your adolescent For your adolescent to learn to trust his/her/their body. As @thethicknutritionist said in her post today "Fullness is the goal!" Feeling full is the point of eating, and a sign of nourishment. Sometimes we eat past the point of fullness. That's typical during a holiday when there's more special food available. Don't shame your child for feeling uncomfortably full. This is a learning opportunity for them to better tune in next time to more subtle signs of fullness. Remind them that this feeling will pass. And they'll need to eat again. Feeling overfull isn't a reason to skip future meals. Your body is amazing and deserves to be nourished! If you're ready to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body- for the long-term! schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Are you holiday baking ? Tell me about it below 👇 In my opinion, cookies are *always* more than cookies. Every time I try a new recipe I compare it to my Grandma's chocolate chips cookies; gingerbread cookies bring me back to elementary school, choosing the one with the most candy, and then sharing with my friends. Holiday baking is even more-so more than the food being made. It's culture and tradition, it's memories, it's connection, it's celebration. Baking with your adolescents, and EATING YOUR CREATIONS TOGETHER, models that all food is morally neutral and can be eaten and enjoyed. And this is critical for raising kids with a good relationship with food. If you're struggling to raise adolescents with a good relationship with food and their body, schedule a discovery call today (link in bio). I work with adolescents and/or with parents of adolescents to develop a positive relationship with food & body. Get confident with your messaging around food to help nourish eating behaviour free of guilt and shame 💖
Follow on Instagram

BeeKay Nutrition

bracha@beekaynutrition.com

Pages

  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Services
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Blog
  • Contact