DIETITIAN & MOM OF 2 STEPHANIE MIDDLEBERG ON MINIMIZING THE MENTAL LOAD OF MEAL PLANNING

You're home from work. The kids are whining for more snacks. You're deciding between cooking something relatively quick, easy, nutritious, and delicious or ordering pizza. You hear a random scream and you grab your phone. We hear you, mama! Dinnertime is hard. So how does a dietitian mom of two do it?

For over a decade, Stephanie Middleberg, founder of Middleberg Nutrition, has helped thousands of expectant mothers. Her philosophy is based on the understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to nutrition, so she focuses on the individual to build confidence that food can be healthy and fun.

Stephanie's two prior best-selling books, The Big Book of Organic Baby Food and The Big Book of Organic Toddler Food have helped countless families feel at ease with the stresses of feeding their little ones.

Her third book, The Big Book of Pregnancy Nutrition, provides an in-depth guide to nourishing yourself and your baby from the first through fourth trimesters. It covers everything from prenatal vitamins and supplements to foods that alleviate heartburn and what to cook and freeze before the baby comes.

Along with her practice and books, Stephanie is a sought-after advisor to numerous food companies and health startups. She's worked with Good Morning America, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Forbes, Shape, and Health, and served as a member of both Health and Cosmopolitan's Health Advisory Boards. She currently lives with her kids Julian and Remi, and her husband, Andrew, in Brooklyn, New York.

Stephanie's stomach issues led to her creating Middleberg Nutrition.

Before creating Middleberg Nutrition, Stephanie worked in health care public relations. During this time, she found herself far more interested in the health side of the work than PR. She opened up US News & World Report's best graduate schools and settled on the Master of Public Health Program at New York University. Then her health took an unexpected turn.

"It was at the same time I developed some serious stomach issues. Going through the process to deal with that … [seeing] all the different types of doctors and doing my own research, really left me without the answers, or the remedy I needed," Stephanie tells CafeMom.

She explained that this was back in 2003, so there wasn't much talk about gut issues, food allergies, or even dietitians. Stephanie had no idea what a dietitian was until her mom went to see one for her own stomach issues. Stephanie's mom encouraged her to come and meet her dietitian.

"[When I met my mom's dietician, I] was immediately drawn to the private practice setting and was fortunate to get an internship there … ultimately, I switched my degree to get a Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition. This experience was invaluable, not only as I saw firsthand how a small business was run, but more importantly, it was exactly what I wanted," Stephanie shares.

Middleberg Nutrition opened its doors in 2010, and has grown ever since. Stephanie shared that her past PR skills and experience were invaluable to her business.

"I was able to tap friends and my network to get featured in publications from Cosmo to Vogue. That immediately set my credibility in the industry and opened all types of new doors. But it also allowed me to easily connect with people, structure complex information concisely, and communicate with my clients effectively," Stephanie tells CafeMom.

'I was literally editing it while I went into labor with my daughter!' she says of writing her second book.

Stephanie's first book The Big Book of Organic Baby Food came out in 2016. She shares that this was near and dear to her heart because she wrote it in real-time while introducing food to her son Julian. It has been a best-seller since.

"I think [The Big Book of Organic Baby Food] struck a chord with so many parents because we shared the same fears and trepidations. Then when my son became a toddler I realized that feeding babies is easy compared to opinionated three- and four-nagers! So that's where book two, The Big Book of Organic Toddler Food came from. I was literally editing it while I went into labor with my daughter!" she shares.

Fast forward to her latest book, The Big Book of Pregnancy Nutrition, which is both deeply personal to Stephanie and derived from the thousands of pregnant and postpartum moms she has worked with through the years.

"[Pregnancy is] such an exciting time but also filled with such fear and confusion … women who are so worried they are eating the wrong things and have little direction on … prenatal supplements, how to navigate common side effects like nausea, acid reflux, leg cramps, etc. My goal with this book is to instill more confidence for a joyful pregnancy. It's a very comprehensive book. It also contains over 40 recipes!" she says.

Stephanie has some meal planning hacks for weeknights: themes, a fully stocked freezer, and online shopping.

Food is obviously important to Stephanie, so she relies on weeknight themes to organize her family's dinners. Within the themes, she rotates what they are eating.

"We do takeout as well but at least there is an outline of a plan. It gives us structure and makes my mental load 10 times easier. I try to order all the meat on Sunday or Monday so our freezer is stocked. I have accounts at our local butcher and fish store and I order produce from Misfits Market and do Thrive Market for pantry items. I rely a lot on online shopping," Stephanie tells CafeMom.

She shares an example of her dinnertime weeknight themes:

Monday: Slow cooker/stew/soup night
Tuesday: Taco night
Wednesday: Chicken night: sheet pan/chicken Parmesan
Thursday: Fish night
Friday: Pizza night
Saturday: Sushi night
Sunday: Pasta night

'There is no barrier between life and work,' she says of owning a business.

Stephanie shares that one of the biggest challenges she's faced as a working mom is the ebb and flow of guilt about missing things or not being totally present when she's with her family.

"While owning your own business provides incredible flexibility, there is no barrier between life and work, and it's not like you get paid time off!" says Stephanie.

On some days, Stephanie feels like she's got this but on others, she feels like she's letting everyone down. She shares that communication is key and it's something she continues to work on every day.

"I am lucky in that I have full control of my schedule. Pre-kids, I would work 12-hour days. Now with kids, I simply have hard stops. I don't start until 9 or 10 a.m. on some days so I can do drop off and get to where I need to be and usually have a hard end on many afternoons to do pickup/afternoon activities," Stephanie tells CafeMom.

Of her support network, she says: 'The WhatsApp reminders from parents in my kids' classes are a lifeline to me.'

Stephanie shares that she recently realized how invaluable her support network is. She relies not only on her husband and nanny but her mom friends and parent-teachers. WhatsApp reminders from parents in her kids' classes are a lifeline to her.

"I live in a very social building in Brooklyn where many of the kids go to the same school … my daughter's two best friends in the building are in her K class at school so I do feel like I have backup when I need it and I need it! They are there to help with pickups, watch the kids for a few hours, or even simply meet up on the roof for some wine and vent time. The support is huge. My husband is incredibly supportive and much of what I do couldn't be done without him," Stephanie shares with CafeMom.

Self-care for Stephanie means going to work at the office.

We asked Stephanie to share her self-care practices.

"I was an athlete once upon a time, so moving my body is vital to my sanity. I've been working with the same trainer for over a decade, he helped me recover from a ruptured disc and is basically part of our family at this point. A couple of others are my weekly therapist appointments, even with a great support system, you still need someone to talk to, and acupuncture … it works wonders for me!" she shares.

Most recently, Stephanie returned to working in an office a few days a week. Before the pandemic, she was in an office full time and then transitioned to remote. This was working well with her clients so she kept it that way. But at some point it stopped working for her.

"I needed to separate from mom life/work life. Having the kids show up on Zooms was no longer cute. The majority of my clients still prefer Zoom but when I am now in the office, I am 100% more productive … [I] don't worry about kid stuff and simply feel more freedom. To me, that is the essence of self-care right now!! All the office building owners are going to love this," Stephanie tells CafeMom.

Stephanie still has a number of career and family goals she's working on.

Stephanie loves what she does and feels very fortunate to be at a place where she enjoys both her work in private practice and outside projects.

"Success for me at this stage means working with brands/companies that are really making positive changes in people's lives … filling a gap and changing the game. I hope to do more of that. There might be one more book in my future as well. I also love connecting with incredibly smart and genuine people in this profession that I can learn from," Stephanie shares with CafeMom.

Stephanie hopes to do more international travel with her family.

"My son especially loves history and is starting a bucket list of places he wants to visit. Travel with little kids used to be such a stressor that we limited it, but to be honest, they were easy and we were the problem! Now that their footprint is smaller (no more diapers, special foods, all the accessories) it is so much easier," Stephanie tells CafeMom.

As for her work/life balance, Stephanie's goal is to carve out more time at home when she's not working.

"I always feel a bit behind so I need more non-client hours built into my day so I can be more present with my family at night. It's like when you're working in a big company, your day is filled with meetings and then at 4 p.m., you can actually start doing the work … I love the feeling of walking in the door and being able to put my phone away for the night. I am very conscious about my kids not seeing me on my phone all the time. So that is a big goal of mine," Stephanie shares with CafeMom.

2024-08-28T00:58:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd