The meltdown that reminded me how powerful food is

Something felt… off.

For the last couple of weeks, I’d noticed things slowly creeping in - more packaged snacks, fewer veggie-loaded meals, the kind of “easy” dinners that taste great in the moment but leave everyone a little cranky after.

And by Saturday morning? It showed.

Parker, my usually energetic, lovie little guy, was melting down over everything. Like full-on, unhinged tantrum mode. I could feel my own fuse getting shorter. My nervous system was tapped.
And honestly? I knew exactly what was going on.

We’d gotten off track. Not in some giant, wild way - just little choices here and there that added up:
🧃 Extra sugary snacks
🥯 Quick carbs without much protein
🥫 Hidden sodium bombs in “healthy-ish” convenience food
And the biggest one: less of the real, grounding foods that actually support our nervous systems.

It’s sneaky how quickly that happens. Especially during summer, when the rhythm is off and we are constantly on the go and hot or overstimulated.

But that morning, I made a shift.

I loaded our lunch with veggies and clean protein. Added extra hydration. Made the kind of plate I teach my mamas how to throw together in our Strong Mama Summer Shred group - and sat down to eat it - together.

And I’m not exaggerating when I say the vibe completely shifted within an hour. He was calmer. I was calmer. We both had more energy and way less tension.

Here’s the thing I needed to remember (maybe you do too):

🍽️ Food can inflame or calm the body.
🧠 It can dysregulate or ground the nervous system.
❤️ It can set us up for meltdowns… or for resilience.

So I did what I always tell my mamas to do - I reset - in a simple, manageable way.

I kept grocery pickup simple. I leaned on my anti-inflammatory basics. I didn’t overhaul everything, but I did make a decision to shift the direction we were heading.

And if you want to do the same?

📎 Grab my free Anti-Inflammatory Foods Guide - it’s what I used to build my grocery order this week.
👉 Download it here and save it to your phone to reference when you’re making meals on the fly.

You’re not stuck. You’re one plate away from a shift.
Let food support you, mama. Your nervous system (and your kiddo's) will thank you.