In this episode, you get to hear from Lindsay Livingston, a Registered Dietitian (RD) and mother to 3 beautiful children. She started a food blog back in 2010, completed schooling to become an RD, and eventually shifted her focus to being with her children full time. Lindsay currently uses her blog and her Instagram page as a way to teach parents that healthy eating does NOT have to be complicated or expensive. She shares tips and tricks for surviving life with 3 littles, cooking with kids, food prep, and more!
Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products, child development courses, and The Harkla Sensory Club.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
In this episode, you get to hear from Lindsay Livingston, a Registered Dietitian (RD) and mother to 3 beautiful children. She started a food blog back in 2010, completed schooling to become an RD, and eventually shifted her focus to being with her children full time. Lindsay currently uses her blog and her Instagram page as a way to teach parents that healthy eating does NOT have to be complicated or expensive. She shares tips and tricks for surviving life with 3 littles, cooking with kids, food prep, and more!
Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products, child development courses, and The Harkla Sensory Club.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Welcome to the Sensory Project Show with Rachel and Jessica. We're here to share all things sensory, occupational therapy, parenting, self care, and overall health and wellness from a therapists perspective, providing raw, honest, fun ideas and strategies for parents and families to implement into daily life. Thank you so much for joining us. Today's episode is sponsored by Harkla, a company that makes high quality products for everyday use. This includes sensory and therapy equipment, and products as well as supplements. The owners Casey and Amelia are local to Boise which makes this even cooler for us since they're local to us.
Jessica:Harkla is a company on a mission. They donate 1% of each month's sales to the University of Washington Autism Center, which funds cutting edge research and sponsored scholarships for children with autism to attend a summer camp.
Rachel:Stay tuned to hear more later in the episode as well as to get a special discount.
Jessica:Okay, let's get started.
Rachel:Hey, guys, welcome back to another episode of the Sensory Project Show with Rachel and Jessica, this is episode 128.
Jessica:And if you are new here, welcome. Make sure you listen to some older episodes too. But if you're one of our groupies, we're really excited to bring you an interview with Lindsey. She is a registered dietitian, but more importantly, she is a mom and a food blogger.
Rachel:Yeah, food blogger. Yeah.
Jessica:Yeah.
Rachel:And she also talks a lot about her journey with sensory processing challenges with her kiddos. And she just has a lot of really great advice and takeaways and quotes and I mean, I was just I love hearing these different opinions and different success stories. And it's just it was awesome.
Jessica:Yep. Let's just jump right into it.
Rachel:All right. Hi, Lindsay. How are you today?
Lindsay:Good. How are you?
Rachel:We're doing good.
Jessica:We're excited for you to be here and before we start talking about what you do and who you are, we're going to ask you our five secret questions.
Lindsay:Okay.
Jessica:Rachel is gonna go first, because this is her question.
Rachel:Okay. Would you rather eat green beans or carrots for the rest of your life?
Lindsay:Probably carrot. I love green beans, but I've been making my stomach hurt lately. Oh, yeah. I doesn't help my blog name.
Jessica:You're gonna have to change it.
Lindsay:I do love both, but I probably pick carrots in the current scenario.
Rachel:Okay, there you go.
Jessica:Good call. Okay, so Rachel's making me ask this question, because I thought of it. But you have three kiddos, right?
Lindsay:Yep.
Jessica:Which of your kids is your favorite?
Lindsay:Oh, my god.
Rachel:I told you that was a terrible question.
Lindsay:That's hard. I can't pick a favorite. I can tell you, I have one that definitely requires the most patience. That is one of my current struggles actually trying to extend my patience beyond one shot, requiring all of it. I have one who is at a terrible age for just getting into everything and so that often makes the other two more favorite. And I have one who is a threenager, can often make the other two a favorite over her. So I can't just pick one favorite overall.
Jessica:It basically depends on the day then.
Lindsay:On the minute pretty much.
Jessica:Great.
Rachel:Oh, man. Okay, what is your favorite outdoor activity?
Lindsay:Outdoor? We do a daily mile and that's probably my favorite thing to do now. We're we started last summer, we tried to get 100 miles in the summer and we did and we've kept it up with the exception of a little bit of time in the middle of winter. But especially with my husband working from home now we're able to go out as a family pretty much every morning and do just a mile around our neighborhood and one of the best parts of the day for sure.
Jessica:I love that. Do you guys walk or bike?
Lindsay:We walk. I push my youngest in the stroller usually and then my other two, either bike or scooter.
Jessica:Nice.
Rachel:That's so fun. I know I've been following you on Instagram for a while. I love that you share that every day. It's like get out and get your walk.
Lindsay:I know, sometimes I forget to share and I'm like do people really care about this? There are always new people coming in and I might not know.
Jessica:People totally care. It's weird. Okay, this is a good one. How many times can you hop on one leg before you lose your balance?
Lindsay:Ah
Jessica:You might have to try it and see.
Lindsay:If I can get in a rhythm. I'm pretty good. I've actually been doing a fair amount of this as my oldest has been practicing hopping. He like he'll push his brother in the stroller and his was randomly start hopping, like on one leg while he's pushing the stroller on our walk, and he can go pretty far. So we've had some contests to see who can go farther. But I also don't have great balance in general. So if I, if I get off kilter, it doesn't last very long.
Jessica:That's fair.
Rachel:All right. Last question. What is your sensory
Lindsay:Sensor quirk? I can't stand listening to people chew. quirk? I think that's actually a thing like to have a name. I don't know what it is. But it is a thought for years and I just can't, I can't handle it. It drives me insane.
Jessica:I think we had somebody else talk about that before too.
Rachel:It's more common than you'd think.
Lindsay:I have to almost leave the room sometimes. I cannot handle it.
Rachel:Wow.
Jessica:Sometimes I think about that, too, because we've talked about it before. And so like, I'll be sitting there eating next to somebody and I'm like, I wonder if I'm chewing really loud. Hopefully, they'll tell me if I am.
Rachel:All right. Well, let's talk about what you do, how you do it, why you do it, when you do it. Tell us all the things about you.
Lindsay:Yeah, so I am a mom of three. We live just outside Columbus, Ohio and I'm a registered dietitian, and a blogger. So I, I started my blog 10 years ago. 10 years in August and so I was, I had graduated with my first college degree. I have a degree in psychology, and then actually went back to school to become a dietitian. So I started at kind of when I was in school, just as a way to keep track of what I was making my husband and I for dinner. I'm sharing it a lot on Facebook and my family and my husband said, you should just make a blog and keep it all in one spot and they get easier. So have a lot of years where I shared like five new recipes a week and didn't know anything about blogging or photography or anything when I started. And then I blogged through my internship. And when I became an RD, I worked part time for another dietitian doing social media management and some client work for her and then did my blog also. And then I started having my kids and kind of transitioned into that mom role. And the blog kind of evolved from just food and to some kids, baby stuff and kids stuff and parenting tips, along with recipes. And so that's kind of where we're at now. I watch my kids full time and then I blog in the early morning, nap time, evening hours in between.
Jessica:So then I have a question when you were working as a registered dietician, did you work with specific clients?
Lindsay:No. I had a very brief period, right when I passed my exam where I thought I wanted to see clients and I did some online client counseling. And then I just realized that the people that were coming to you were just people who wanted like a specific calorie diet and like, tell me exactly what to eat. And kind of over the years, my food philosophy and dietitian philosophy in general has evolved a lot. And I just realized that that isn't what I wanted to do. And so I took on a more general approach and preventative approach and just started using my blog to focus on healthy recipes and healthy snacks and kind of educating moms and parents in avoiding calorie counting plans.
Rachel:Awesome. I am curious. I mean, I always thought that nutrition was so interesting and it's it's fun, how just hearing how you got started, why you got started, and then how it changes because I'm currently going through that whole like life change right now. Like, oh, I was sharing all of this information and now everything is geared towards my child, you know, and I just think it's cool, and I think people enjoy following that journey and I'm sure you've helped some people.
Lindsay:Yeah, it's been a journey for sure and I honestly, I taught preschool for a little while after I first graduated And that's kind of what drove me back to nutrition and seeing all the kids in my preschool class and the foods they were settling for snack time and stuff. And so I initially thought that I really wanted to focus on community nutrition and child nutrition and then it definitely just kind of evolved over time. And I realized that I could use my blog as another platform to reach more people. And then, you know, then I had kids, and then it definitely shifted back to feeding kids and picky toddlers and cooking with my kids and all that. So it's definitely an evolution that's kind of changed, along with my stage of life that I've been in.
Jessica:Yeah. So then, let's talk more about cooking with kids. What ages are your kids again?
Lindsay:Yeah, so they are almost by the end of the year, there'll be six, four, and two. So they're my older two have birthdays at the end of this month and then in December, my youngest turned two.
Jessica:Okay. So I'm guessing that they each play a different role in the kitchen, just based on their ages.
Lindsay:And they do. But I did start them all pretty young. So they were all maybe around 16 months when I started with them in the kitchen. So now my oldest who's almost six can, I mean, essentially cook a full meal by himself. So it has, you know, their role definitely evolved. But yeah, I think a lot of people are surprised when they hear how young I put them in the kitchen. But that's one of the things I've enjoyed kind of using, especially using, my Instagram for over the past couple years, is just giving people don't visual videos of showing them, showing them exactly what kids can do at such a young age if you just let them do it. So it's been fun to kind of put together lists, and videos to show people that you know, when your kid is 16-18 months, they can for sure be stirring and dumping. and you know, turning a food processor on and off or you know, even washing dishes and then how then I can show you know, with my three or four year old how that progresses to like scooping muffin batter into muffin tins and actually starting to like, measure her own stuff. And then with my oldest, you know, he's in kindergarten now. So he's working on learning to read, recognizing numbers and all that. So we can get in some letter, and number of practice and some writing practice. And there's definitely like things you can add with every age as a as a kind of master skills. And there seems to always be a new thing you can work in to keep challenging them and keep them learning stuff.
Jessica:Yeah. So then you said your six year old can basically cook a meal by himself. I'm curious what type of meal he would cook.
Lindsay:Yeah, so it's not it's not anything super fancy. But actually that since we started trying to have him cook a meal a week. So Monday's are kind of his cooking day. So we write we practice our writing. So we write out the menu and I have him pick like a main dish and then dessert, and then usually some sort of appetizer or side. And so he's done like tacos and the other day we made enchiladas. And then sometimes we'll follow recipes like from my blog. So we've made like peanut noodles in the instant pot. He loves picking the dessert. So we've made cookies, ice cream cake, cupcake and then for appetizers he can do like a little veggie veggie and hummus tray. He can make macaroni and cheese. He's done egg. So you know it's not like gourmet meals, but it's like the kind of meals that we are eating anyways. Just simple, basic meals. So it's been good.
Rachel:I bet that boosts his confidence so much being able to have that independence to cook a meal, prepare it for the whole family, and to see everyone's reaction when you guys get to try it.
Lindsay:He does, Yeah, and he is he's a very big into being on camera. So he loves pretending that he has a cooking show. He calls himself chef Chase and he knows that like you know that I put the videos on Instagram sometimes and so he's you know he has fans, and so we always want to like record a cooking video for his fans. And I've had some people say like their kids aren't just not interested in cooking and that's actually when my tip is having them pretend that they're on a show, because a lot of times that gives kids more excited about it. So I'll just turn on my camera and just kind of let it roll and then sometimes a lot of editing to get it into a more concise video. But something about having the camera on him is really good for him and his pride level and confidence. For sure.
Jessica:He should probably you should probably help him start a cooking show on YouTube.
Lindsay:I've had a lot of people say that. The hardest part is he can't. He does it on his terms. So I can't be like, Okay, let's do this now. and if he's not in the mood, and it's like a total flop, oh, put that pressure on him, but have all the videos saved. And I feel like if he ever gets in, like a really good groove, and I can always like, upload a little section of like, look how I started.
Jessica:Yeah,.
Lindsay:Back to my first cooking adventures or whatever. Yeah.
Jessica:Ilove it.
Rachel:That's so fun. So one thing that we love about following you on Instagram is you share a ton of sensory activities that you do with that your kiddos. So let's talk a little bit about that. How'd you get started with that?
Lindsay:Yeah, so its been kind of a journey. I was actually looking back kind of before this to do like a quick recap of everything that I've written down and basically, my oldest is my, my sensory seeking, kiddo. And when he was just about to turn three, we sent him to private preschool and it was just a total disaster. He had all sorts of behavior issues. He was like, sent home from school a few times, and I just kind of felt like something was maybe wrong. So we had him evaluated by our district preschool, and he ended up being put on an IEP for behavior and speech. He started with that preschool and he did really great. And then summer came and like all the progress he has made with kind of the school routine just went away. And it was kind of like a miserable, big, struggling summer, where we struggled a lot with hitting and kicking and throwing toys. And then he went back to school, four year old and almost all his kids in class were like a full year older than him. And that was really good for him. And he was doing great at school. He was having like no behavior issues at school, but we were still kind of really struggling at home, especially with hitting and kicking that kind of stuff. And we tried a bunch of things and that kind of was just trial and error. But I kind of started realize on my own that when we started doing what I now know is heavy work where he would get a lot of physical activity doing you know, pushing a heavy ball or crashing into our giant beanbag or whatever, like his behavior in your would get better. And I still wasn't really sure what was going on. He was constantly chewing on things, just constant movement, and he was just loud. Like all just so so loud and I listened to I, at that point, heard about sensory type stuff and I listened to a podcast from Don't Mom Alone that was about sensory processing issues. And they said something like, did you have to understand your sensory seeking kid, imagine living life underwater. Suddenly, like fidgeting, and because they're seeking out those sensations, but everything is just like so muted to them. And I feel like that just it was like a light bulb and offerings. I started researching and reading and I read The Out Of Sync Child. You know, they were describing a sensory seeking kid and someone who was constantly just constantly touching and bumpy and stuff and chewing on things and hanging upside down and just being so so so loud and it was like it was just written about him. And then I looked into one of your guys's podcasts, and you were talking about how they're seeking that sensory input because they're just trying to make themselves feel normal and how the thing where we teach kids to ride and tie their shoes and stuff. They have to learn how to what behavior they can do to make themselves feel better in an appropriate way. So that's kind of what we really started working on, I really started working. We switched over to a private OT because he wasn't went off of it for behavior at school because he was fine at school, it was just at home that we were struggling. So we started, he goes to OT once a week, and we basically just talk a lot about, you know, how's your engine running, and do you need to do something to kind of bring yourself back down, and then we have a whole jar of ideas he can go and pick a few things that you think will make him feel better. Then we kind of try to talk about how he's feeling before and after, and whether that helped him feel better. And and that's kind of where we are now a lot of just managing trying to get into Hollywood, before having kids and trying to do schoolwork and stuff. And then also just working, working with him on recognizing his behavior, his body, how he feels, and then working with them and just see what would make him feel better.
Rachel:Do you notice a difference in how his body is after doing heavy work?
Lindsay:Oh, for sure. Yeah.
Rachel:That's awesome. And you know, it definitely varies day to day. Some days, you only need a little, some days is a lot Some days it's like 5pm and I've gone through every single thing I know and he's still, like, nowhere near, like, settled. But most days like, yes, you can. I can definitely tell like once we once he's reached his threshold, it's just like a whole different kid, like much calmer, much less fidgety just, yeah. Oh, all the things are better.
Jessica:I think that's such an interesting point that you bring up though, that every day is different and some days he needs more input. and some days he needs less. And I think that's true for all of us. You know, we all have great days, we all have bad days. And sometimes it we forget that kids have that happen to them as well.
Lindsay:Yeah, it's, it's been a learning experience for me to just try to figure out those days myself and it took me a long time to learn to be proactive versus just reactive. So I found myself waiting until the super tough days, and then playing catch up, versus trying to get out in front of it and then just realizing like, Okay, this might be a day where we don't need much. Let's just do it and get it out of the way versus just letting it all build up and then like, never be able to catch up and regulate.
Rachel:I just have to say, Can we quote that? I just love. I love that you said that. We have to be proactive versus reactive for sensory needs. Like I've never thought of, of using those terms with sensory needs. But it's totally 100% accurate.
Jessica:Yeah.
Lindsay:it's definitely been a game changer for me and it took me a long time to figure it out and I think our battle might not have dragged on as long as it did, if I figured that out sooner. Because I was just felt like I'm just constantly playing catch up, and only only focusing on it when things were really bad, versus just realizing that it's gonna be an everyday thing. And you just have to determine what that day needs.
Jessica:Totally.
Rachel:I think every parent of a sensory kiddo can benefit from that right there.
Jessica:That approach? Yeah.
Rachel:Absolutely. Thank you, gosh, these interviews are so great. We just like hearing someone's like different opinion on the same topic. It really just makes a world of difference.
Lindsay:Yeah.
Jessica:And so then, how did learning about sensory affect what you do with your other two children?
Lindsay:Yeah, so that's kind of a struggle. My current struggle, like I talked about a little bit at the beginning. So he requires a lot of my patience and focus and energy just to kind of get through each day with him and I'm finding that as it's leaving, not much patience for my other two. And especially now that we started kindergarten with him, and there just seems to be a lot more on my plate when it comes to him than the other two. So that's kind of something I'm currently working on with my others two. I've seen like, with my youngest, I've seen a few signs of similar sensory type things that like I saw with Chase, but did, you know didn't know enough to recognize. So, that's something I'm just kind of keeping an eye on with him and I'm not sure whether they'll progress the same way or whether they're, you know, more minor. And like my daughter, she doesn't really have the sensory things so much that I've seen,. At least not the same as him and so with her, I think it's just just a matter of finding time during the day or the weekend or whatever, where I can kind of direct all my energy at her. Like my full level of patience, and without the added stress of my other one being around. So like, tonight, my husband is taking my oldest out to a movie. The youngest will go to bed, and then I'll have a few hours to just like, bond with her and focus on her. and I think that's going to kind of become even more important for her and just me working really hard to find those pockets of time that I can just focus on the younger two without all the additional stuff that goes along with my oldest son. So that's kind of a current thing that I'm working through, but I guess the first step is recognizing that it is an issue and then just now I'm at the point where I'm testing things out and trying to find like the best way to handle it with those two.
Jessica:yeah, because they want your attention too. and so getting that one on one time is huge.
Rachel:Let's take a quick break and talk about the sponsor for today's episode Harkla. Like we said earlier, they make high quality products, things like sensory swings, weighted blankets, lap pads, compression sheets, body socks, all the things you guys know we love.
Jessica:So we had the chance to try out a few of their products like one of their swings and weighted blankets, and they are definitely top shelf you guys. Their products are great and yeah, you can go buy a sensory swing on Amazon, but when you purchase it from Harkla, you know where your money is going.
Rachel:If you're a therapist looking for new products, if you're a parent and you need some new equipment for your kiddo, whoever you are, you guys have to check these guys out. ASAP.
Jessica:Okay, we're gonna get back to the episode but stay tuned because at the end of the episode, we're gonna give you a code for a discount with these guys.
Rachel:Can I ask what you noticed in Chase when he was a little kid? Like what were some of the first things that you were noticing?
Lindsay:I think our biggest things are just the loudness and hitting, like a lot of hitting and ticking. Both with people and just like repetitive. Like he would just sit and kind of like bang his head into like the back of the couch or the wall or whatever not in like a destructive way but just like a constant like throwing your head back and forth back and forth. And then you know taking like a hockey stick or whatever or a hammer or something and he hitting a box with a hammer was like his favorite thing. Just like that repetitive thing into like the ground or whatever. and throwing, throwing toys was a big one. So the hitting, kicking, and throwing are like our first major like issues. I didn't really connect it to anything sensory and then once I started reading about it I recognized like the chewing. Probably chewing on short sleeve and stuff which he always did even from a young age I can like look back now and see a lot more but those were the ones that like stood out without doing any sort of like research
Rachel:What would you say is the biggest challenge with like what you have on your plate right now?
Lindsay:Just balancing everything. I feel like it's just balance in all areas. So with work it's just trying to balance like fitting it in versus I've had to scale back a lot. Like as I've added kids, you know ,I'm honestly like not doing as much now with my blog as I was, you know, when I only had one kid or when I had no kid and so that was kind of a big adjustment for me. But with each kid I got a little bit better at it and just kind of like accepting that this is the season I'm in and I don't need to be like trying to squeeze in 60 hours of work on top of full time parenting like it's okay to scale back and go to bed early and not use every single nap time to cram work in. And just like if they use the brain from full time parenting, which is also a full time job. So that was definitely a learning curve and then you know what we just talked about, like finding the balance between all three kids and trying to like, balance my need for extra focus on one with the needs of the other two have and not slighting them just because one happens to require a little bit more.
Jessica:It's so funny that you talk about, you know, not using nap times to crank out work, and when you say that I look at Rachel, who you know, is a new mom, and she was telling me the other day that you know, she's using Trips naptimes to work. A and I'm like, No, you can't, you put yourself in nap time.
Lindsay:I will say I was the same way after my first. I mean, I just, I barely took any time off. I was like, for the first six months, I was like this isn't hard, he just sleeps all the time. So I can just work you know, like, back pretty much normal. Because like he's sleeping thought his work when he sleeping, I work when he's not being like, and then when each kid like that is not gonna fly.
Rachel:Yeah, it's been an adjustment for sure. I do nap, though. I napped yesterday as a matter of fact.
Jessica:So I want to talk a little bit about meal planning and meal prepping because I think you know, I do it, but I only have one kid. You have three kids. So I would assume it's probably even more important to do that.
Lindsay:It is, yeah. That's kind of been that has kind of been my thing for the past like almost as I started my blog, like, probably eight years ago, I started doing it. So I think I was I have an advantage. By the time my kids came around, I already had several years. under my belt. It was almost second nature like, definitely was a habit for me. So it wasn't quite as hard for me to keep doing it with my kids around, but you know, definitely not easy to do it when they're all running around. But it's also another good reason to get your kids in the kitchen with you because they often are helping me. So you know, they love making muffins and bars and stuff. So we're doing. They're helping me but that's also helping me prepare for the week ahead because we're making three batches of muffins, and then I have them ready to go for breakfast and snack and that kind of thing. So rather than trying to find a time when none of them are around, which is rare. I tried to like get at least one or two of them to help me. My older can chop vegetables, which is you know, another part of my like, standard food prep that I do is like making a little tray of snack. So and then like my youngest can spin lettuce in the salad spinner or whatever. So it was a little bit of a balancing act, learning how to like assign them things and then still be getting things done myself. But that's where kind of my older years of practice I had with multitasking and just practicing food prep came in handy and so now I just view it as more of like helping my midweek self then. So it's easier for me to just do it every Sunday and not like stress out about it. I just like think about how much easier it makes that time when they're all screaming for a snack now now now. It is instant motivation to spend the time on the weekend. making muffins or whatever.
Jessica:Yeah, for sure.
Rachel:So you said every Sunday that's your like meal prep, routine day?
Lindsay:Yeah, most Sundays. For a long time, it was Sunday and then it kind of shifted a little bit. Recently it shifted a little bit with COVID and all that and we were grocery shopping less and you know our our like shopping total got kind of out of whack and my husband's at home. So it hasn't been like as clutch as it had been in the past. So I kind of got a little out of rhythm, but now Sunday usually works best because I know it's like prepare us for the week ahead. But you know, that's another thing I tell people that it doesn't have to
Rachel:But you notice a big difference in just like overall be Sunday like if you have a weird schedule and you work weekends like there's no reason you can't make Tuesday or Wednesday or whatever your prep day. You have to make it work for your own personal schedule. sanity to have everything prepped ahead of time.
Lindsay:Oh, for sure and for us snacks is a big one. So I don't necessarily struggle with putting dinner together most nights. So one thing I tell people is just really like, find the area where you struggle the most. So, for me, it's really hard for me to like, come up with snacks when all my kids are cranky and screaming and want food now. So if I use my prep time to prep like a bunch of things, I can stick in the freezer, and then a couple of batches and muffins, and some hard boiled eggs, then like, every twice a day, when snack time rolls around, I can quickly pull those things out without having a think about it. So that's like, my, that's the focus area of my food prep a lot of times. But if you don't have kids, and it's easier for you to just like get some cheese and crackers, but you really struggle with dinner after work, then you would probably benefit from spending your time prepping some dinner thing, you know. So I think people will see it as they the theaters is like an all or nothing where you have to prep every single thing you're going to eat or will be helpful or they have to cook dinner and they forget to think about time like snack and breakfast. That could also be helpful to go.
Jessica:Yeah, it's really just starting with one. If you've never done it before, just start with one thing, and then go from there.
Lindsay:Yeah, and I think people see those food prep pictures on Instagram of like the matching food containers. They all have chicken and rice and beans or whatever in it and they feel like if they're gonna look like that, then it's not going to be effective. But most people don't eat like that anyway. I think adapting your perception to just thinking of it as how can I spend an hour to make my weekly nights or breakfast or snack or whatever easier? Can be a lot more beneficial to you, personally.
Jessica:Yeah, absolutely.
Rachel:Yeah, we've been doing crock pot freezer meals. That's been our our go to, and it's so much easier. If I remember to take it out the night before, then I'm golden, but that's a challenge in and of itself.
Jessica:That's great.
Rachel:We obviously found you and connect with you on Instagram, but let's talk a little bit about how people can find you and just follow your journey because it's so fun to follow.
Lindsay:Yeah, that's Instagram is the big one. You know, I don't do a ton of Instagram posts, but I do a lot of stories. So if you want like day to day, like real life, that Instagram Stories is where to find me and I'm just the Lean Greenbean on Instagram. And then my blog is theleangreenbean.com. And that's where you'll find all my recipes and I have a whole section on kids stuff, kids activities, and all that. I have a Facebook page, but I don't really do much.
Jessica:That's like us.
Rachel:We have it, its there.
Jessica:Perfect. And we'll link everything in the show notes everybody can find you. Before we go, do you have any anything else that you'd like to share with our listeners? Any piece of advice from like, sensory or, you know, food related? anything else that you want to leave us with?
Lindsay:I guess thing I've been telling people lately, kid wise, is just be your kid's biggest advocate. Like if something if Yeah, they don't define you. you feel like something is off and someone is not giving you the answer that you want to hear. There's no reason why you Right. can't, you know, seek out and under opinion or keep digging. And also there's not be afraid of both the labels that come And if you do, you will like if that is something that you do, along with the sensory stuff. I feel like you know, initially when he went on an IEP for behavior, I was really like initially caught up in that labeling. Whether it was gonna follow him kind of like through his school years and looking back like getting him into that preschool program because of the IEP was like the best thing I could have done and what it like, led me to figuring out his other stuff. If we had just like, left him in that first preschool and just had to keep getting sent home for behavior issues like and then just pulled it out. Like, I'm not sure if we would have been on the same journey. So I always tell people, like, don't be afraid of those labels because they're just words and they don't necessarily, like dictate who, who or what your kid is. and that's frustrating for you, as a parent, your child is going to feel that and they're going to start labeling themselves, and it's just going to kind of rub off on them, and it's gonna negatively affect their self esteem, which we don't want that. So I'm glad you brought that up. Yep.
Rachel:Awesome. Well, do you have any questions for us?
Lindsay:I would just tell people to listen to all you guys podcast, because one that I feel was super helpful for me and that, I don't know how I came across it. But it was very eye opening and super helpful. So I'm sure you have, I haven't even listened to all of them, but I'm sure you have like tons on pretty much any topics. So check out those archives.
Rachel:All right. Well, Lindsey, thank you so much for taking time out of your crazy, busy schedule this morning.
Lindsay:Yeah, thanks for having me.
Jessica:Yeah, it was great and we'll talk to you later.
Lindsay:Okay. Thank you.
Jessica:Bye.
Rachel:All right, you guys. One last reminder, this episode was sponsored by Harkla, our newest favorite sensory product company. With less opportunity for movement in today's virtual world and with how much we love obstacle courses, this company is the perfect place to shop for equipment to set up bomb obstacle courses.
Jessica:Okay, so if you're unfamiliar with obstacle courses, let's give you an example. You can use Harkla's indoor therapy swing, and your child can swing on their stomach to gather an item such as a puzzle piece. Then climb out and jump across a pillow bridge, while in their Harkla sensory body sock and place their puzzle piece on the board. Then do a wheelbarrow walk, super simple, super fun, and so many benefits.
Rachel:So if you guys are ready to check them out, go to harkla.co/sensory sensory and you can save 10% on any of their products by using the code sensory.
Jessica:We will link this in the show notes in case it's easier for you to have it in writing and that's it. The key takeaway here you guys proactive versus reactive, like that just sticks in my head and Rachel loved it too. But really just taking those steps to just set you and your kids up for success versus always reacting to what's happening to you. And I think that's just great life advice in general.
Rachel:Absolutely. And just the fact that, you know, she implements these, well, clearly, we are a sensory podcast. So we want to talk about this and touch on this. But she implements the sensory diet activities, and she's not following a sensory diet necessarily.
Jessica:Like specifically laid out.
Rachel:She has her activity jars, and her son picks out what he feels is going to help him. But she does it every day with him, instead of just when he's struggling and they I think that is just so beneficial. That's what we tried to get people to understand and hearing her share that with us. Just it made me giddy.
Jessica:Yeah, absolutely. I will say I'm really excited to go look at all the different recipes she has. Because I'm always looking for new recipes, I get really bored with what I'm eating. So I'm really excited to go check out her blog. We'll link everything in the show notes. What else?
Rachel:We would love it if you left a review on iTunes.
Jessica:We would.
Rachel:That's how we reach more families and how more families can find us. So we have 30 seconds head on over to iTunes to do that.
Jessica:And I mean, if you think about it, she found us somehow but probably from a review or somebody telling her so just spread the word.
Rachel:There you go. All right, you guys, thanks so much for being here and we'll see you next week.
Jessica:All right, bye.
Rachel:We are so excited to work together to help create confident kids all over the world and work towards a happier, healthier life. Just a friendly reminder, this is general information related to occupational therapy, pediatrics and sensory integration. We do not know you or your child therefore, we do not know any specific things. Therefore, you should always refer back to your pediatrician and occupational therapists for more information.