The Peaceful Plate: Ending Food Panic After Hormone-Driven Breast Cancer

When you’re only imagining what food is doing TO you, it’s impossible to enjoy what you eat. Or feel satisfied by what you eat. Or eat anything without panic, anxiety and guilt. Of course, after breast cancer treatment it’s smart to pay more attention to the food you eat and the health of your overall diet, but it’s NOT smart (nor helpful!) to obsess over every bite. I don’t want you to be afraid...

New year, new you? Not so fast, my fellow survivor. Setting yourself up for success vs failure in 2025 is what I’m here to help you do. My years of experience in the fields of nutrition, fitness, wellness and healthy lifestyles have shown me time and again that tight-fisted, deprivation-based new year resolutions don’t work! In today’s episode I share the three guidelines for setting a new year GO...

Regardless of whether or not you celebrate any holidays in December, you can’t ignore that this is a time of giving, gifting, and granting wishes. And in the spirit of this season, my holiday wish for you is that you’ll find and cultivate nutritional resilience. This may be the first time you’ve ever considered resilience and nutrition to have any relevance to each other, so be sure to tune in tod...

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people to make comments about your food. If this has happened to you and you want to understand why people do that, why it makes you feel so “icky”, and what you can do about it, this is the episode for you! Learn the two most common types of comments and four solid ways to handle all the food commenters in your life.  Click here to apply to my Peaceful Plate p...

Do you know a food pusher? Argghhh, food pushers can be tough to deal with because they seem to push all of your “food issue” buttons. If you have a food pusher in your life, or even if you have one you engage with only on occasion, it pays to have realistic, healthy strategies for dealing with the situation. During the holiday’s and especially after your breast cancer experience, food pushers ten...

Today is the 10-year milestone of my lumpectomy surgery following my October 27, 2014 breast cancer diagnosis. Honestly? I can’t believe this is where I am, because at the time I couldn’t imagine looking ahead that far; I could only get through the day-to-day of my breast cancer experience. But I’ve come a long way, and in today’s episode I recount that day for you and share five lessons I’ve lear...

Thanksgiving can bring up lots of food anxiety, especially if this is the first one since you’ve finished treatment. If you’re wondering how in the world you’ll ever be able to navigate that bountiful Thanksgiving table (and dessert buffet) without having a nervous breakdown, this episode is for you! Tune in to learn how to counter three common thoughts you may be having about Thanksgiving, and ge...

Inflexible eating tends to be black and white eating, with no room for error, joy or peace. Who wants to eat like that? Not you, my fellow survivor, not you. In this episode I address three types of “inflexible” eating and how they lead to unhealthy eating behaviors, and share my “food collage” concept to help you understand your own eating patterns. If you’re ready to kick inflexible eating to th...

I know you’re looking for the “best” diet to eat after finishing treatment, and it can be frustrating when you can’t find the exact food to eat that will make you less panicked about your nutrition. In today’s episode I share why you can’t find the diet you’re looking for, and teach you three science-backed diet changes that absolutely support your breast and overall best health. Grab your noteboo...

If you’re freaking out about maintaining your healthy after-breast cancer eating habits during the upcoming holiday season, this episode is for you! Today I’m sharing one of my favorite tips for keeping your nutrition goals front and center in the coming months as you navigate your family’s traditional holiday cookies, cakes, candy and more. I promise you this; enjoying special holiday foods doesn...

Do you know what it means to “give yourself grace”? While there are plenty of definitions, here’s one that I love; “ do unto yourself as you do unto others” . Can you speak kindly to yourself, set boundaries, celebrate your wins and stop striving for perfection? Those are a few examples of offering yourself the same grace you would someone else, and when it comes to eating after breast cancer, I’m...

I now how safe it feels to use strict food rules and guidelines to navigate your daily eating after hormone-driven breast cancer, but listen up. . .you’re not doing yourself any favors! There’s one smart approach to your post-treatment diet that ensures you eat with peace and stop panicking that you’re not “doing your nutrition right”. Tune in and learn exactly what that approach is, and how it wi...

Do you suffer from pantry panic? Does that panic feel heightened right now? During this month of October when there’s so much focus on breast cancer, every, single area of your “food life” may feel like it’s screaming at you. . .from ideas about what foods to stock in your pantry to what foods to put on your plate. I’m spending this month on the podcast highlighting the best ways to “control” your...

During the month of October are you a bit more obsessed with or focused on your food? I thought so! An emphasis on all things breast cancer and all that relentless pink can trigger diet anxiety and panic. In today’s episode I explore how the way you think about food can be either liberating or debilitating. Tune in to learn whether you’re camp liberation or debilitation, and how you can take contr...

We are staring down the month of October, aka Breast Cancer Awareness Month . I like to think that as breast cancer survivors we’re all very aware, and you probably agree with me on that point. What I don’t like to think about is the barrage - much of which is ridiculous - of pink EVERYTHING you’ll be marketed over the next 31 days. And the overwhelming (suffocating?) focus on breast cancer? It ca...

Do you have a sweet tooth? If you answered YES, does that sweet tooth make you anxious? If all the things you read and hear about “sugar and cancer” are freaking you out, this episode is for you! The topic of added sugar and breast cancer is complex, which is part of the reason the issue can feel so maddening and confusing. Tune in to this episode and learn six sugar facts you need to know, PLUS,...

Does that title shock you? Good! I wanted to get your attention and entice you to tune in to learn whether or not there’s truth to the missive, “It doesn’t matter whether or not you eat more fruit and veggies. It doesn’t matter at all what you eat!”  Perhaps you’ve heard that from your oncologist or another person on your after-breast cancer team? Today I compare and contrast fruit and veggie guid...

Do you punish yourself when you don’t do the “right” thing for your after-breast cancer health and nutrition? Of course you do! But I’m here to tell you, it’s not helpful. I know you know that, but you also don’t know how to stop. In today’s episode I share my number one tip for kicking your habit of doing food penance. Click here to apply to my Peaceful Plate program! Get my FREE guide The Five F...

Althought there’s absolutely a connection between fiber and breast cancer recurrence risk, fiber is sort of an unsexy topic in the world of after-breast cancer nutrition. For being such an important component in an optimized breast cancer diet, fiber doesn’t get much attention, nor focus! If you’ve overlooked (or are unaware of) the super-important role of fiber in your after-breast cancer diet, b...

I know you thought you ate well before your breast cancer, but now? You’re just not sure. When you don’t trust yourself, your feel like you’re getting your food “wrong” or that you’re eating all the things you think you “shouldn’t”, you’re second-guessing your food. Tune in and learn why the way you “think” you should manage your food isn’t working, and two ways to make food choices you feel good,...

Argghhhh, how many times have you gone away for a weekend or extended trip only to return feeling like you’d “blown away” all of your efforts to eat for a balanced, healthy post-treatment diet? Likely more times than you want to admit. Never fear! In today’s episode I share three tips (and a mindset shift) to help you eat with peace, not panic while enjoying your time away. Click here to apply to...

If you’ve ever felt nervous, worried or panicked about your post-treatment diet, you’re on what I call the food fear continuum. The sneaky thing about this continuum is that it seems to help you (in so many ways!), while in reality it’s a destructive concept that holds you hostage in your food fear and prevents you from eating with peace. If that sounds like you, what can you do? Tune in to learn...

If you’re ready to lean into a plant-based diet, but concerned you won’t be able to get enough protein, this episode is for you! Plant-based diets can absolutely meet all of your protein needs (hint: plant-based doesn’t mean vegan) and in today’s episode I share “what” foods and “how” it works to give you an idea of how simple this can be. Click here to apply to my Peaceful Plate program! Get my F...

If you’re confused about plant-based diets (and most survivors are!), you won’t want to miss this episode where I explain the seven types of plant-based eating. “Plant-based diet” is a term and recommendation you probably hear often, perhaps even from your own treatment team. “Eat a plant-based diet” they’ll say, without any clear explanation of what that means for YOU, nor guidelines on how to im...

Ever wonder how your diet expectations became so lofty? Feel frustrated when you don’t live up to those “lofty” diet expectations? I thought so. In today’s episode you’ll learn what dietary expectations are, why you create them, and how they can serve you in a positive way. We’ll also dive into their dark side to discover what happens when eating after breast cancer becomes a desperate exercise in...