Bellas ad Bellum podcast

Our special and extremely knowledgeable guest for this episode is our good friend Erin, from Empowered Nutrition. Erin is a registered Dietitian and Nutritionist with a passion for women's health. She is former Active Duty Air Force, spouse to an Air Force flight surgeon, mom of three, leads her own private practice and is part of a functional medicine clinic near her family's duty station! Erin is working on her Ph.D. in Clinical Nutrition, hosts her own podcast, Empowered Nutrition (which we borrowed for the title of our episode!) and manages her private practice through her site Erin Skinner Nutrition. Erin started as a human performance specialist in the USAF and after a life-changing personal health experience, dove deep into academics, course work and the subjects of digestive, metabolic and hormonal health. In this episode, Erin talks to us about the military health care system, the state of medicine and health in the US and how busy women can prioritize their health in this environment. This is a must-listen episode! We loved talking to Erin, and you'll love hearing her compassionate and pragmatic thoughts on an extremely important topic.

Military life often lends itself to clutter – we keep a lot of things “just in case” we get stationed somewhere we’ll need them. Or we have trouble letting go of all the military memorabilia we pick up after each tour. Maybe family members who can’t spend time with us due to distance make up for it with (maybe excessive) gift-giving, and we struggle with guilt when those gifts just aren’t our thing. In this episode, we talk to Stephanie, a professional minimalist who helps military families identify the purpose their possessions serve, and down-size those things that aren’t working towards that purpose. Stephanie walks us through her process and lots of incredible, practical tips. She really digs deep into the roots of why we keep things, why we can’t let them go, and how we should think about our possessions in an often chaotic, unpredictable military life. Check out our website, wwww.bellasadbellum.com for more information about this and previous episodes. And we love listener feedback! Contact us at [email protected] or via Facebook Messenger, Instagram or Twitter direct message, @bellasadbellum.

Summer is just around the corner! Actually, it’s kind of already here – no school, less work, warmer weather. Quarantine life may have brought us the first two a little early and while some of us aren’t sure how we’re going to survive our kids much longer, some of us are loving all the social isolation. Bring on the summer book list!! In this episode, Bernadette and Julie share book recommendations in five categories: leadership, self-improvement, historical/non-fiction, fiction/fun and children’s books, as well as share what they’re reading now, and what they’re reading next. Listen in for some great ideas to fill your summer reading hours! If you have your own recommendations you’d like to share, or want to chime in on any of our recommendations, jump on our social media sites and tag us in a post, conversation or comment! If you’re an “avid reader” like Julie and want to be a featured guest contributor on our website, consider writing a book review for one of your own book recommendations. Contact us at [email protected] or via Facebook Messenger, Instagram or Twitter direct message, @bellasadbellum.

Just a tad late for Mother’s Day, but in honor of nonetheless, episode 13, a great talk with a very special guest – Julie’s mom, Debra. As a spouse of a military member and a mom to a military gal, Debra shares her perspective on guiding young people as they consider the option of joining military service, and her perspective on supporting your military member spouse. Listen in for a viewpoint you probably haven’t considered: your mom’s! Then, call your mom for Mother’s Day and thank her for supporting you in your decisions and tell her you realize she may have sacrificed some of herself to do so.

We have another installment of our Segments format in Episode 12! In this episode, co-hosts Bernadette and Julie share a lot of laughs talking about the latest on Huawei in our BELLE-INTEL segment, a couple of exercise apps for A Few of Our Favorite Things, and an inspiring and encouraging story about a lady London marathoner in our Bellasaurus Rex segment. This is a shorter episode, so perfect for some encouragement during your lunch break, or some entertainment during your commute. We are really hoping to hear from some listeners with submissions for Tales from the Front, Listener Feedback or our Ask Us Anything segments, for future segment episodes! Send us questions, stories or share encouragement and we can 100% guarantee you’ll make it into our next segment episode! Contact us at [email protected] or via Facebook Messenger, Instagram or Twitter direct message, @bellasadbellum.