Nourish as a Clinical Intervention: Plant-Forward Feeding, Family Systems, and the Pediatric Long Game

In this episode of Routes of Healing, Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa sits down with pediatrician, parent coach, and award-winning author Dr. Reshma Shah to explore what it actually takes to translate nutrition science into family life without ideology, shame, or unrealistic expectations.

Dr. Shah shares her full-circle path into plant-forward pediatrics, why most physicians receive minimal nutrition training, and what she learned working with families in under-resourced settings: patients want these conversations when they’re approached with practicality and respect.

Together, they discuss how coaching can restore what modern clinical care often cannot fund time, context, and implementation support, especially when families are navigating new diagnoses, feeding challenges, and the emotional tone of the dinner table.

If you’re a clinician, parent, or health leader looking for evidence-based, psychologically realistic strategies that work in real households, this conversation is for you.

If you’re inspired by our exploration on Routes of Healing, subscribe to receive new episodes weekly.

1. Why most physicians finish training with little nutrition education
2. The “big tent” approach to plant-based eating for children
3. Nutrient deficiencies happen in omnivorous kids too—why all diets require attention
4. “Add-in before take-away”: the behavior change strategy that lasts
5. Writing a book as a discipline in nuance, evidence, and trust-building
6. Coaching vs. clinical care: restoring time, narrative, and implementation support
7. The dinner table intervention that comes before changing the food
8. “Caring without catering”: a boundary-based feeding philosophy
9. Farmers markets as a practical system (not an aesthetic)

00:00 — Welcome + introduction to Dr. Reshma Shah

02:01 — How Dr. Shah came to plant-forward pediatrics

04:20 — Bringing nutrition into patient care in under-resourced communities

07:10 — Why residents and students are deeply hungry for nutrition training

10:12 — How Dr. Shah built nutrition expertise without a formal pathway

13:22 — Why the book is titled Nourish

14:34 — The collaborative process of writing the book

20:30 — Trust, nuance, and resisting clickbait certainty

21:39 — Can kids thrive on plant-based diets? The “big tent” answer

25:32 — Why Dr. Shah shifted into coaching

30:54 — The “last patient before lunch” and what time makes possible

36:38 — Empathy, access, and the limits of the clinical model

40:41 — Where to access Dr. Shah’s resources and education

46:31 — Making dinner a place kids want to come to

51:58 — Farmers markets and how they shape real cooking habits

53:52 — Conferences, community, and why ACLM matters

56:10 — Live virtual soup workshop overview

57:21 — Closing + how to stay connected

Dr. Reshma Shah

Pediatrician • Parent Coach •...