Stop Starving Your Brain: Food, Flexibility & Burnout Recovery with Dr. Franklin

The Nervous System Eats First: Autism Spectrum, Menopause & Beyond

🎧 Episode 8: Beyond the Bowl — How Flexibility, Flavor & Feeling Your Way Through Food Can Reset Your Brain

Host: Dr. Stacey Denise

Guest: Dr. Nina Cherie Franklin

Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeart Radio

Episode Summary:

What if the way you build a salad could help rebuild your nervous system?

In this soulful and science-woven episode, Dr. Stacey Denise sits down with clinical nutritionist and That Salad Lady founder Dr. Nina Cherie Franklin to explore what nourishment really means in midlife—especially for women navigating brain fog, shutdown cycles, emotional fatigue, and sensory overwhelm.

Together, they move beyond diets, detoxes, and default wellness rules into a rhythm-based, symptom-informed approach to eating—one rooted in clarity, flexibility, and truth.

Dr. Franklin shares the origin story behind her Build Your Bowl framework and how her new book (The Build Your Bowl Salad Cookbook) is helping women across the country stop numbing with food and start feeding their energy, intuition, and emotional regulation with care.

Primary keywords: nutrition, food stories, OCD, empowerment, salad making, emotional eating, intermittent fasting, women's health, brain fog, nourishment, nutrition, mindful eating, intermittent fasting, food pairing, weight loss, nourishment, diet, health, wellness, food trends

Inside This Episode You will Learn:

• Why clean eating isn’t always clear or calming
• The link between food sensitivities, stress, and shutdown
• Flexitarian nourishment for neurodivergent and midlife women
• Rituals to soften food guilt and reclaim intuitive structure
• A live “Build Your Bowl” reflection for mood and energy
• Our signature Nourish or Numb? segment with surprising food truths
• 
  

TIMESTAMPS

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to Nourishment
04:18 The Lived Experience: Why Food Stories Matter
09:44 Understanding OCD and Food Addiction
13:51 Food for the tired brain
20:03 The Art of Salad Making: A Personal Journey
27:09 Understanding Emotional Eating
28:30 Rythm, Ritual & Flexibility
29:08 Breaking Free from Food Guilt
31:07 The Balance of Enjoyment and Nutrition
33:25 How to keep mind clear, bones and muscles intact
35:32 Personalizing Your Diet
37:59 The Journey of Dietary Choices
38:13 Ritual for burnout
43:11 Nourishment and Intermittent Fasting
46:10 The Importance of Food Pairing
50:46 Mindful Eating Practices
55:21 Intentional Eating and Food Choices
56:42 Simple Steps to Start Mindful Eating
59:16 Nourish or Numb

LINKS & TOOLS
Take the free quiz: What kind of menopause burnout are you? → https://drstaceydenise.com/take-the-quiz
Join the newsletter (monthly micro-practices + sensory tools) → https://drstaceydenise.com/blog/
Join the waitlist for the upcoming masterclass → https://drstaceydenise.com/waitlist/

RESOURCES
Website: https://thatsaladlady.com/
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/ThatSaladLady
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/that.salad.lady/

DISCLAIMER: The content shared on this channel is for educational purposes only and not intended to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Always consult your healthcare provider.