125. Talking about Food Choices During the Holidays Without Judgment
Struggling with dietary choices and communication during the holiday season? In this insightful episode of the Language Alchemy Podcast, host Alejandra Siroka is joined by Thais Harris, a board-certified holistic nutritionist, for a deep dive into managing food choices and conversations about diet in festive gatherings. Thais emphasizes self-love and understanding personal dietary needs, advocating for starting the day with a protein-rich meal and staying well-hydrated. She also shares a valuable breath technique before social events to remain grounded and focused on personal health goals.
As the discussion unfolds, Thais offers advice on setting boundaries and skillfully communicating dietary changes to family members. She stresses the importance of being clear about one's health commitments, seeking support, and explaining the reasons behind dietary choices to encourage understanding from loved ones. Each family dynamic is unique, and Thais notes the importance of tailoring the conversation to individual relationships.
The conversation then explores holistic nutrition and its comprehensive approach that interconnects body, mind, and spirit. Thais speaks about optimizing the body's innate healing abilities and addressing the root causes of health issues. She highlights the significance of gratitude and mindfulness in our relationship with food, acknowledging the deep cultural and emotional connections we share through culinary traditions.
Addressing the challenges hosts face, Thais provides practical suggestions for accommodating diverse dietary needs, advocating for clear communication about menu items and inviting guests to contribute dishes that meet their preferences, fostering an inclusive environment.
Thais shares three mindset shifts to nurture self-love and better health, accessible through her free guide. She also offers six tips for enjoying the holidays in a balanced and healthy manner. This episode, rich in practical advice and heartfelt insights, emphasizes the importance of self-care, clear communication, and empathy in navigating the culinary aspects of holiday celebrations.
Quotes:
• "Thais cultivates self-love as the guiding principle in making dietary and lifestyle changes to rediscover radiant health, transforming the relationship with our body, mind, and food." (02:27 | Alejandra Siroka)
• "Something that you'll need to do pretty soon, if you haven't already, is to be able to talk about food. Why? Because this is the time of year when we get together with family, with friends, with co-workers to celebrate the end-of-year festivities. And in these gatherings, food plays an important role. (1:41 | Alejandra Siroka)
• “I help women love themselves into their ideal body. It is not a thin body. It is not a tall body. There's no common trait that any one person is going to have with another. What personally for them is ideal is that body that can hold them where they can do all the things they love and really be present in their lives.” (19:42 | Thais Harris)
• “When we can spend most of our time really investing in good quality food and cooking for ourselves and our loved ones, trusting there will be 20% of the time that maybe we go to a friend's house and there may be some ingredients or oils and something they prepared that we wouldn't necessarily choose, but that we can literally look at that meal and think, this will nourish me. Because at that moment, it is about the social connection. It is about all of the other things that make up, you know, a healthy, happy life. And that is because we are supporting our body so strongly, the other 80% of the time, trusting that we'll be able to digest and process whatever's coming our way. (25:58 | Thais Harris)
• “When we're hosting, it can be really hard to try and accommodate everyone, so I think to be very clear about here's what I'm making, this is why this is important, but I invite you to bring something that will nourish you if you don't eat any of these ingredients or some of these ingredients. (32:38 | Thais Harris)
"What a beautiful idea to invite people to bring and to say, this is what I'm going to cook. And if there's anything else you eat, please bring it. It's welcome here.” (34:17 | Alejandra Siroka)
Links
Connect with Thais Harris:
To visit Thais' website, go to: www.nourishtogether.com
Guide: 3 Mindset Shifts to Love Yourself Into Better Health: www.self-love.nourishtogether.com
Thais' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourish.together
Thais' Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NourishTogether/
To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com
To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
To find out about 1:1 transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
To find out about couple transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
To schedule a reduced-rate coaching consultation with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
To follow Alejandra on instagram follow @languagealchemy
Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
