Joy With Food

16: The Real Work Winter Food is Doing for Your Body

In this episode, you'll hear why winter can feel challenging around food — and why it’s also the most nourishing season when we stop fighting it and start working with it instead.  
The wisdom and magic of this season can be felt so deeply in your body if you let it. 
This conversation is about aligning your food, rhythms, and expectations with the season you’re actually in — so food feels easier, your body settles, and joy becomes more accessible.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why life (and food) feels harder when we try to live the same way year-round
The cultural mismatch of winter
What it means to be cyclical beings — and how winter supports the body’s need for rest and integration
Why rest does not mean collapse, zoning out, or being sedentary
Melatonin as one of winter’s most healing hormones — and why protecting it matters
How winter foods naturally support digestion, blood sugar, energy, and mood
The energetics of winter foods and how they hold you when you're holding so much
What I've been making in my kitchen this season-- all the details and fun food ideas!
Resources:
📚 Seasonal Cookbook List (free): Access here
🍽 Joyful Family Meal Workshop: Access workshop here
🍲 Rooted & Nourished Winter Food Guide: Access full guide here

15: Taking Care of Your Future Self

As we move into a new year, it’s easy to feel pressure to fix, optimize, or reinvent ourselves, especially around food and motherhood.
This offers a different invitation.
Taking Care of Your Future Self is a conversation about devotion instead of discipline, listening instead of fixing, and why tending to ourselves with food is one of the most powerful ways mothers can create steadiness in their homes.
Rather than resolutions or overhauls, this episode explores how the most meaningful change begins with small, consistent acts of care — rooted in biology, ancestry, and the rhythms women have always lived by.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
Why taking care of your future self matters so deeply for mothers
How food becomes easier when it’s approached as care, not a problem to solve
The difference between fixing yourself and listening to what you need
Why the basics work — and always have
How tending to yourself now shapes the future for you and your children
If food has felt heavy, tangled, or like one more battle to fight, this episode offers a steadier, kinder way forward.
Resources:
Book a private coaching session:👉 https://calendly.com/deenabarselah/coaching-consult
Learn more about Joyful Family Meal:👉 https://deenabarselah.com/mealtime

The Sugar Episode

Sugar isn’t just a food issue — it’s an emotional, physiological, cultural, and relational one. If it feels heavy or confusing in your home, you’re not alone, and you’re not doing anything wrong.
In this episode, I walk you through five core themes that explain why sugar feels so hard for so many families — and a kinder, more holistic way to approach it for the long haul.
You’ll hear:
✨ Why sugar struggles aren’t really about willpower or “being good” — they’re about nervous system wiring and familiarity.✨ How a mother’s own history with sugar and sweets influences the emotional atmosphere at home (with compassion, not blame).✨ What sugar cravings are actually communicating and how to respond with curiosity and clear next steps.✨ The three most common ways sugar gets tied to rewards, soothing, and connection — and gentle ways to begin uncoupling those patterns.✨ How to move away from restriction and into an additive, supportive approach that makes everyone in the home feel so much better!
 
You’ll walk away understanding:
🌿 Why sugar is not “the problem to solve” — and what’s really asking for your attention.🌿 The key themes that make sugar feel calmer, steadier, and less charged in your home.🌿 How to support your kids (and yourself) in building a positive, confident relationship with sugar over time — without needing to be perfect.
This episode is a compassionate reset for anyone who’s tired of feeling like sugar is a battle. When you shift the lens, everything softens.
 
🔗 Links & next steps:
Book a free consult with me!
Join my email community for more support around food & motherhood.
Share this episode with a friend who’s struggling with sugar in her home!

Do this to reduce mental load

In this episode of Joy With Food, I’m sharing the “Decide Once” principle — a simple but powerful way to reduce decision fatigue, lighten the mental load, and create more room for joy (especially in the kitchen).
You’ll hear real-life examples both inside and outside of food, why this matters so much for mothers, and how to create Decide Once rhythms that actually feel supportive — not rigid.
We’re not meant to live on a hamster wheel of endless to-dos. 🌀 We’re here to savor this precious life — the meals, the moments, the connection.
Additional Resources for Support:
🌸 Join the Decide Once community
🍽️ Explore The Joyful Family Meal workshop
📞 Set up a free coaching consultation 

Avoiding Burnout in Family Food

In this episode, I share what’s really behind food burnout — and it’s deeper than decision fatigue or meal planning.
We explore how masculine and feminine energies show up in your kitchen and your body, and how a consistent imbalance between the two can quietly drain your joy.
I talk about what happens when fear drives us to control food more tightly, and how to shift from rigidity to a more grounded, confident structure that actually supports you and your family.
You’ll hear about the cultural conditioning that keeps mothers overdoing, what a healthy masculine and feminine look like in everyday family rhythms, and simple ways to begin finding your own balance again.
If food feels like one more job, instead of a place of connection, this conversation will help you reconnect with ease, presence, and the joy that brought you to the table in the first place.
Resources:
Schedule a free coaching consult here.
Access the Joyful Family Meal Workshop here.
 

Moms & Midday Meals: A Must

If you tend to skip lunch, grab coffee or a bar instead of a meal, or suddenly realize you’re starving hours after you should’ve eaten… this episode is for you. 
As mothers, we put so much care and attention into what our kids eat—carefully packing their lunches, thinking through their snacks, making sure they have balanced meals. But what about us? Why do we so often neglect our own nourishment while prioritizing theirs?
In this episode, we’re diving into why lunch is the most essential meal of the day for moms—not just for energy and nutrition, but for our overall well-being. We’ll explore:✅ Circadian biology and why midday is the optimal time for digestion and energy.✅ The disconnect between how much we focus on kids’ meals vs. our own—and what that means.✅ How skipping lunch leads to blood sugar crashes, exhaustion, and low patience by dinnertime.✅ Simple, realistic ways to make lunch non-negotiable—without adding more to your plate.✅ The powerful message we send our kids when they see us caring for ourselves too.
By the end of this episode, you’ll have a new perspective on why your lunch matters—and how prioritizing it can transform the way you feel (and the way your whole family experiences meals).
Tune in now and start making your own nourishment just as important as theirs.
Links & Resources:
🍽️ The Joyful Family Meal Workshop – Bring more ease, connection, and joy to your family meals this season!
💬 Set Up a Private Coaching Consult – Need personalized support? Let’s chat!
 
 

How to get out of a food rut and bring the energy of spring into your kitchen

Does food feel the same season after season?  Spring is a season of renewal, and it's the perfect time to refresh our kitchens, our meals, and ourselves.
In this episode, we explore how to embrace the energy of spring through food, color, and small shifts that invite lightness and growth into your life. From honoring the subtle transitions of spring to savoring seasonal foods like bitter greens and vibrant vegetables, we’ll talk about simple ways to connect with the season's essence and nourish your body and family.
It’s not about overhauling your routine, but about finding new ways to bloom with ease and intention this season.
Links & Resources:🍽️ The Joyful Family Meal Workshop – Bring more ease, connection, and joy to your family meals this season!💬 Set Up a Private Coaching Consult – Need personalized support? Let’s chat!🌱 Hamama Sprouting Trays – Grow fresh, nutrient-packed sprouts right in your kitchen!
🥗 Krista Parr’s Spring Recipe Club – Seasonal, nourishing recipes to inspire your meals! Use code Deena10 for $10 off.

Life and food in difficult times

This is a personal update on how I've been feeling lately, noticing shifts in eating behaviors, and using food as source of support.  
I talk through:
Personal life update
Cravings
How we listen to our bodies
The one question to can ask yourself 
Practical ways to support yourself with food in difficult times
A book recommendation
Resources Mentioned:
🌟 Let's Talk About Sugar Workshop
🫶 Schedule your free coaching consult 

Cooking tutorial from Zeke (my 9 year old son)

This is a great episode to play for the kids!  
In this episode, my son goes through the ingredients you need and the step-by-step for how to make deviled eggs, a personal favorite of his these days.  He shares how he got inspired to make them in the first place and how much he loves being in the kitchen.  
Kids in the Kitchen, my program that walks you through inviting your kids into the kitchen in a way that feels good to everyone, is coming soon!  Add your name to the waitlist and to get a discount as soon as enrollment opens.  

Don't stop eating food you love!

If you find yourself cutting out foods from your diet that you love because family members don't share that love, this episode is for you!  I go into three really important reasons why this really doesn't help anyone.  And this is especially important if you have a picky eater in your family!  
It's time to shift that narrative that we're here to serve our families and that we can put our enjoyment on the back burner.   Your joy matters.  ❤️