For some children, lunchtime is short, loud, distracting, socially exciting, or sensory-overwhelming. Adding pressure to finish food, eat foods in a certain order, or take “just one more bite” can make an already complicated part of the school day even harder.

That’s why TLB Nutrition Therapy created two free School Lunch Notes that parents and caregivers can send to school with their child.

At TLB Nutrition Therapy, body respect can show up through food, movement, and body image. With food, it may mean eating consistently, avoiding restriction or compensation, honoring hunger when possible, and choosing foods that provide energy and satisfaction. With movement, it means shifting away from exercise as punishment and toward movement that feels supportive, while recognizing the importance of rest and recovery.

Our Nuances of Intuitive Eating handout explores some of these differences. For example, not everyone experiences reliable physical hunger cues. Honoring hunger might mean using logical hunger and eating according to time. Fullness cues may also be difficult to identify, making meal timing or portion guidance helpful. And satisfaction doesn't always mean food needs to be pleasurable—sometimes eating simply meets a physical need.

Our Introduction to Intuitive Eating handout walks through all ten principles, including rejecting the diet mentality, honoring hunger, making peace with food, challenging the food police, discovering satisfaction, respecting your body, exploring enjoyable movement, and practicing gentle nutrition. It also addresses common misconceptions, including the idea that intuitive eating means eating whatever you want all the time or that it is a weight-loss approach.

TLB Nutrition Therapy’s Nutrition & Wellness During Pregnancy: Provider Edition encourages gentle adjustments rather than a complete nutrition “reset.” Pregnancy is not the time for dieting, restriction, or pressure to “eat clean.” Instead, the handout emphasizes regular meals and snacks, enjoyment, satisfaction, flexibility, and prioritizing foods that are tolerable when nausea, fatigue, smell sensitivities, or food aversions make eating more difficult.

At TLB Nutrition Therapy, we encourage a more flexible approach. Pregnancy doesn't necessarily require completely changing the way you eat overnight. Our Nutrition & Wellness During Pregnancy handout emphasizes regular meals and snacks, satisfaction, flexibility, and making small, gentle changes when needed. Hunger, fullness, cravings, food aversions, nausea, and fatigue can all change throughout pregnancy, so sometimes the priority really is finding foods you can tolerate and getting yourself fed.

In Part 2 of our Family Feeding series, we focus on redefining success at the table. Our Family Feeding handout emphasizes that individualized care matters more than following textbook feeding rules. Creating a calm, lower-pressure environment can support regulation and curiosity around food—even if that means dimming the lights, playing gentle music, slowing down the meal, or having a floor picnic with a sensory-sensitive child.

At TLB Nutrition Therapy, we believe “good enough” meals count. Nutrition is built over days, weeks, and months—not determined by one dinner. Consistently feeding your family matters far more than creating a perfectly balanced or picture-worthy meal every night.

At TLB Nutrition Therapy, we talk about both physical hunger and logical hunger. Physical hunger can show up in many ways, including stomach growling, difficulty concentrating, low energy, headaches, irritability, or simply thinking more about food. Logical hunger uses outside information—such as how long it has been since you last ate—to recognize when your body needs nourishment even if you aren't physically feeling hungry.

Our Levels of Recovery handout outlines five flexible stages, ranging from High Structure, High Support to Sustained Recovery. Along the way, individuals may rely on meal plans, schedules, body cues, or support systems in different ways. The framework also recognizes that some neurodivergent individuals may continue to benefit from lifelong routines and structure—and that this is not a sign of failure, but simply an individualized path to recovery.

Our Life Tiers Worksheet provides a structured way to reflect on each phase of life while considering questions such as what was happening during that time, how you felt about yourself, and what your relationship with food, body, and movement looked like. The goal isn't to judge your past—it's to better understand it so you can move forward with greater self-compassion.

The handout includes strategies such as using time instead of hunger cues to remember meals, creating a short list of go-to foods, keeping low-effort meals available, using visual reminders, planning for low-capacity days, and reducing all-or-nothing thinking. It also emphasizes that repeated foods, convenience foods, and sensory preferences are valid tools—not failures.

Our ARFID handout explains what ARFID is, common signs and symptoms, myths surrounding the diagnosis, and practical nutrition considerations. It emphasizes the importance of honoring safe foods, building consistent eating routines, approaching food exposures with consent, and working with a multidisciplinary treatment team. Recovery isn't about forcing foods—it's about reducing anxiety, expanding flexibility, and helping people feel more confident around food over time.

Our Supporting Your Child with ARFID handout provides practical strategies for making mealtimes feel calmer and more successful. It encourages families to reduce pressure, support sensory preferences, validate children's experiences, and build a collaborative care team that may include a dietitian, occupational therapist, therapist, physician, and other providers. Recovery is a gradual process, and small steps truly matter.

Our Macronutrients handout series explains what carbohydrates, protein, and fat do in the body, where they are found in everyday foods, and why all three deserve a place on your plate. Rather than eliminating foods or following restrictive rules, we encourage building meals that include a variety of nutrients to support both physical and emotional health.

Our Macronutrients handout series explains what carbohydrates, protein, and fat do in the body, where they are found in everyday foods, and why all three deserve a place on your plate. Rather than eliminating foods or following restrictive rules, we encourage building meals that include a variety of nutrients to support both physical and emotional health.

Our Macronutrients handout series explains what carbohydrates, protein, and fat do in the body, where they are found in everyday foods, and why all three deserve a place on your plate. Rather than eliminating foods or following restrictive rules, we encourage building meals that include a variety of nutrients to support both physical and emotional health.

Our Eating Disorders handout provides an overview of common eating disorder diagnoses, warning signs, and practical next steps for seeking support. It also highlights an important reminder: you don't have to wait until things get worse to ask for help. Recovery is possible, and compassionate, evidence-based care can make a meaningful difference at any stage of the journey.

Our General Nutrition Basics handout focuses on building sustainable habits instead of following strict rules. Rather than striving for perfection, we encourage balanced meals that include carbohydrates, protein, fat, and colorful fruits and vegetables, consistent eating throughout the day, regular snacks, hydration, and gentle variety over time. Nutrition is about supporting your body—not controlling it.

Our Disordered Eating handout outlines common signs, explains why these behaviors matter, and offers practical next steps toward healing. Recovery isn't reserved for those who are "sick enough." If thoughts about food, body image, or exercise are taking up significant mental space or affecting your daily life, you deserve support.