Do you find yourself running in a million different directions all day long? Burnout is a reality for many people, especially busy women. It is terrible for our health and takes a huge toll on the quality of our lives. If you want to live a long and vibrant life, join me to learn more about the fight against burnout!

Patricia Bannan is the author of the new cookbook, From Burnout to Balance: 60+ Healing Recipes and Simple Strategies to Boost Mood, Immunity, Focus, and Sleep. Patricia joins me to share her personal experience with burnout and how she turned it into balance. She’ll tell us how the foods on our plates can have a profound impact on improving our health and happiness. Her cookbook has solutions for breakfast, main meals, salads, snacks, and desserts, including her Fudgy Avocado Walnut Brownies. Yum! I tried her Zucchini and Black Bean Chilaquiles Skillet yesterday, and I’m sharing that recipe on today’s show and on my blog. Patricia is a nationally recognized dietitian and healthy cooking expert who has done thousands of media interviews, and she is a busy mom who lives in California. 

Show Highlights:

• Get to know Patricia, an East Coast girl who loves living in the Los Angeles sunshine and has combined her loves of journalism and nutrition into her work
• How burnout is characterized by feeling energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from work and cynicism about work, and a drop in professional performance
• Why burnout is best visualized with a holistic approach to work, personal life, and personality type
• How stress and burnout are different
• Highlights of Patricia’s burnout experience a few years ago–and how she recovered by simplifying, prioritizing, and re-evaluating her life
• Why Patricia wrote a book about burnout (The facts: ⅓ of women report feeling full-blown burnout, which has only worsened due to the pandemic)
• Why Patricia structured her book as part health book and part cookbook
• Why the consequences of burnout include serious health risks and a heavy toll on longevity, relationships, and overall quality of life
• Tips for busting burnout: prioritize plants and find balance in the kitchen
• The connection between what we eat and our mood (“feel-good” foods can help!)
• How eating 30 different plants each week can help create a healthier microbiome in your gut (from the American Gut Project)
• How whole, unprocessed foods help with mood and gut health (“Whole foods make a whole person.”)
• How foods and healthy lifestyle factors can support a strong immune system
• Immune system boosters include vitamin D-rich foods like mushrooms, dairy, and seafood, along with zinc-rich foods like red meat and shellfish  
• Patricia’s recipe for Golden Carrot Spice Muffins made with flour, oat bran, baking powder, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, honey, coconut oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, grated carrots, and walnuts
• How burnout impacts our brain health and ability to focus
• Foods to improve focus include blueberries, olives/olive oil, and walnuts
• Foods for better sleep include kiwi, peanut butter, and tart cherries
• Patricia’s favorite recipe in her cookbook: Sheet Pan Salmon with Fingerling Potatoes, Asparagus, and Citrus Miso Sauce (This dish is a good source of 27 essential nutrients!)
• Patricia’s Zucchini and Black Bean Chilaquiles Skillet, a one-pot dish made with sauteed veggies, corn tortilla chips, green enchilada sauce, cheese, and toppings
• A sleepytime beverage: Patricia’s Tart Cherry Chamomile Tea with Oat Milk

Resources:

Patricia Bannan's website: https://www.patriciabannan.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NutritionGoGo 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriciabannan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patriciabannanRD

Where to find Patricia's book: https://www.patriciabannan.com/from-burnout-to-balance-book 

Connect with Liz: www.lizshealthytable.com