202 Holidays, Feasts, and Family with Leanne Ely

It’s coming soon—one of the most important meals of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, along with the other opportunities for feasting with friends and family. Today’s show is all about making the most of your holiday feasting celebrations.

Leanne Ely is the founder of SavingDinner.com. Their goal is to bring families closer together by enjoying healthy and easy-to-prepare meals. Leanne shares tips about handling the potential emotional land mines that come up around food and family. We’re even delving into the questions that exist about the historical significance of Thanksgiving—and whether we should even be celebrating this day. We all know that we bond with others over our feasts and celebrations, and Leanne shares with us her resources for Paleo, traditional, and healthy holiday recipes galore.

Music Credit: My good friend Lindsay Katt – https://lindsaykatt.bandcamp.com/track/stick-by-me

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Show Highlights:

Why we need to look at food as a self-care practice, because of the intimacy and comfort around our food experiences
How food became Leanne’s career and a centerpiece of life
How Leanne’s life was affected by the influence of her parents and their love of ethnic foods and exotic spices
The diet culture, Leanne’s mom, and how her attitude toward food was impacted
The fine line between body acceptance and rationalizing where we are
Our journey with health and food and why we need to become nutritional experts about what fits for us
Why we fall into mindless eating and lose control
The path we know: an “uncomfortable comfort
Leanne’s Take Back Your Body group and course, and how it began 3 years ago
Why we have to accept what our bodies tell us
Why Leanne cut out all sugar, dairy, and grains and went into a complete mindfulness focus
Today’s moralistic attitude about food
Leanne’s food feast traditions for Thanksgiving—make it a non-judgmental place where everyone can eat what they want
How to handle your food preferences and limitations with family dinners
Alex’s “Friends-giving” meal
Re-examining Thanksgiving in light of sensitivity to the plight of Native Americans
Why ritual is a foundational human need
The opportunities to stimulate our “feel good” feelings with every meal we share with others
Gratitude and savoring
Recommendations for redefining and healing relationships with the holidays: you may have to be selective about who is at your table
Leanne’s resources and recipes for healthy holiday meals
Final thoughts about pronouncing grace, thankfulness, and gratitude on your family meals