Ep 060: Super Foods, Super Kids - Nutrition for Healthy Brains, Bodies, and Behavior

Parents are asking a fair question: is what's on the school tray really food? In this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz and guest Shari Gilford, NTP (Full Table Nutrition) open the lunchbox and get practical about raising healthier kids—at school and at home.

The conversation swings from frustrations to solutions. Listeners will hear why many "kids' foods" are hyper-processed, hyper-palatable, and nutrient-void—and how families can pivot to real, brain-fueling meals without perfectionism or overwhelm.

Shari Gilford is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who helps children and families build nutrition habits for lifelong health. Through Full Table Nutrition, she educates and inspires families to enjoy fresh, whole foods and be nourished for life. Diagnosed with hereditary kidney disease at age 11, she understands how poor health can disrupt childhood—and why preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes (a leading cause of kidney disease) matters. Her mission is to help transform the health of an entire generation.

In this episode, expect:

• Clear, compassionate guidance on sugar, dyes, and ultra-processed "food-like products," including why kids average ~17 teaspoons of added sugar/day, how that relates to focus, mood, and classroom behavior, and why protein-first breakfasts change the school day.

• Practical lunchbox wins: muffin frittatas; meatball "muffins"; leftover taco meat with crunchy chips; tuna or salmon salad for omega-3 brain power; beef sticks; hard-boiled eggs; colorful produce that packs and keeps.

• Picky-eater strategies that actually work: involve kids in choosing veggies (beet or grated carrot salads, jicama "dippers"), taste-training away from constant sweetness, and fun "compare & prepare" nights to find favorite veggie textures.

• Smart swaps & step-downs: the sugar-cube visual (4 g = 1 cube), gradual transitions from sweetened to unsweetened peanut butter and yogurt, and moving from juice to whole fruit.

• A simple at-home experiment kids love: three days of protein-strong breakfasts vs. one high-sugar morning—then track energy, mood, focus, and "battery level."

• Parent empowerment: how to teach kids the "why," build a two-week rotation of packable meals, and make real food doable on busy school mornings.

This conversation is hopeful and hands-on—less about guilt, more about doing the next right thing with real food that steadies minds, builds bodies, and sets kids up to thrive.

Resources & Related Episodes:

• Episode 35: Childhood Obesity

• Shari's Web Page For Recipe Book Recommendations

• Shari's Book Recommendation: Getting to Yum: The 7 Secrets of Raising Eager Eaters by Karen Le Billon

When looking for quality recipes, I always check to see if they use whole, nutrient-dense, properly prepared foods: quality proteins (grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, wild-caught fish), traditional fats (butter, coconut oil, olive oil, tallow), and a colorful variety of vegetables, with limited natural sweeteners and no refined/processed ingredients. Be sure to cook with saturated fats and add the olive oil later! 

NOTE: To date, NTA/Jamie are neither affiliated nor receiving compensation of any kind for this or any other product or service featured on The Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast. We simply love connecting good people with other goodness.

 

FROM SHARI: 

Enrollment is now open for Super Fuel for Super Kids, Shari's online nutrition course for kids ages 5 to 11! This action-packed learning experience for the entire family is filled with interactive activities, experiments, recipes, and challenges. Your kids will learn 12 Super Fuel Habits and earn points to receive prizes. Registration closes on September 27th to allow time for the Super Fuel Action Package (extra goodies to make the course even more fun) to travel to your mailb