Protein chips, fiber-fortified popcorn, the Midwest "meat and potatoes" trap — those are just some of the topics we discussed with Laura Birkel, a registered dietitian at Emplify Health.

Birkel is also 23 weeks pregnant, so we had to ask her what a dietitian does with those weird food cravings.

Other topics discussed on the show included a rapid-fire segment on how good or bad these items are for you: coffee, milk, wine, soda, probiotics, and cooking oils.

We also dug into the difference between whole foods and ultra-processed items, like why those frozen french fries aren't the same as the potatoes from your garden.

Birkell also shared some strategies — not just with our own diets — but how to help get a loved one to eat better. I shared with her a story on how my dad loves corn, biscuits, and potatoes, thinking these things are healthy since he did grow them in the garden (well, not the biscuits). 

Lastly, we talked AI and meal tracking apps and how those can be utilized to help people with their diets without becoming overly self-critical.