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Hosted by Dr. Val Civelli, White Coat Black Sheep explores physiology, functional medicine, and the medical questions most people are told not to ask.
This is where evidence meets curiosity, where dogma gets uncomfortable, and where real world medicine takes priority over headlines.
From understanding your lab work to debunking hormone myths, medication misconceptions, and optimization strategies, this podcast helps you understand what is actually happening inside your body.
If you care about health and think there might be a better way to practice medicine, you’re in the right place.
Hi. Thank you so much for joining me today, Cindy, in the studio.
Thank you.
Tell me, how are you? Who are you? What do you do?
And thank you so much for coming in and spending your afternoon with me.
Oh, of course. Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here.
Yeah.
I feel like your energy is so high and beautiful.
I'm excited for this conversation.
I love that. You're giving me chills.
Oh.
We're off to a good start.
We're just cruising.
Yeah. So my name is Cindy. I'm a private chef.
I'm the owner of Zen Arching Cocina.
I have wellness drinks and sauces that are kind of just like my signature
mocktails, my signature sauces.
Just blew my mind in one sentence. That sounds like exactly what I need.
I love that.
Okay, I have to know more.
Yeah. So I've been a chef for
a little over 10 years now, which is so crazy.
Yeah.
So crazy.
Who's counting these years?
I know. I'm like, "Where did the time go?"
Yeah. Glad we don't look like it.
Yeah, same. I'm like, "Am I aging well?" Because-
20.
Exactly. Exactly. But yeah, I started,
I dove deep into food in China. So I lived in Dongguan, in Beijing,
and that's where I really dove deep into food.
I love this.
Yeah. I got hired as the private chef for professional athletes,
particularly basketball players that were kind of stationed there.
Mm-hmm.
They
had signed contracts with playing in China, and so they wanted to eat some good
food. They found out about what I was doing.
Not a lot of good food. Right?
There's a lot of good food in China, but for an athlete, a lot of the Chinese food
was filled with oils, and they were living at a hotel, and so it just
didn't really work out with their body fat percentage that they needed to be at,
and-
Oh, fun
... yeah, it was really interesting because actually, I moved there with my
ex-boyfriend, who was the athletic trainer for the basketball team.
Okay.
So he's the one that came home one day, and he was like, "Hey, my athletes, they
kind of know what you're doing. They're seeing what I'm eating and what we're meal
prepping, and so-"
Yeah
... "they're asking if you would cook for them." And initially-
Love that
... I was like, "No."
That sounds like a horrible job, like adopting a pack of wolves.
Yes. I was like-
Initially is what I would think.
What?
Initially, that's what I would think, but it wasn't.
Yeah. Well, I was also so busy because when I first moved to China, I was teaching
English.
Oh, wow.
So I was teaching English, and then on the side, I did private tutoring.
I wrote for a magazine because with my previous job, I did
PR and marketing, and so I was writing for a magazine, and I was just so booked.
Yeah.
Thankfully. But he came home, and he was trying to throw another job at me, so I
was like, "Um, no. We meal prep, and I cook for fun.
What do you mean?" And so then we really sat down and had a meeting
and full on, and he was like, "I'll help you, and so we'll do this together."
So girl, that's how we dove in. That was my master class at-
Oh, I love that
... private cooking.
Wow. Okay.
It was insane.
So how did it go, just jumping in, starting that? Was there a learning curve to it?
Did you feel like you were just good at-
Yes
... yeah. Okay.
Well, yes and yes. Yeah.
Okay, good.
I've been naturally good at it.
Yeah.
Not to sound cocky, but I've been naturally good at it.
No, it's your gift in life.
A gift. Yes.
Yes.
And I didn't know it, and I also wasn't surrendering to it.
I get that.
Until it was just in my face, and then I said
yes.
That's awesome.
And then I just took it full on, and I learned as I went, and it was not
easy at all because I was in a different country.
I didn't have a car, so to go get-
And still cooking.
Yes. When I think about these things now, I was like, "Yeah, you have to be insane
to take things on like this." Yeah, because I remember lugging bags of
just groceries. I'm trying to feed basketball players, six feet up.
Everything that they were eating-
Gigantic men
... was through me. Yes. Dropping off every two days, I think, for
them. And I would have to get in a cab, then get all my groceries in a
backpack, all my arms, full on, and I would just have to lug them up to my
apartment and cook in this tiny little kitchen.
When I tell you, I've got thrown full on.
Yeah. It was insane. It was insane, but I just-
Okay. Facts
... I've just kept going and figuring it out and learning as I go, and the
learning never stops. But-
Yeah. No, that's life.
Yeah.
In a sense, I do enjoy that, but then sometimes, yeah, you bite off more than you
can chew, and you don't know until you're really in it-
Yeah
... and you're like, "Okay.
Yeah.
Okay. Okay."
Yeah.
"Okay."
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I was like, "Oof."
Yeah.
Yeah. But then that's how things just kind of evolved.
Was it a recipe that you like, or are you kind of like, when it feels
right, this is the right flavor, macros?
How did you approach the food, the planning, the menu, the-
Plan for them
... yeah
... in particular?
So yeah, I had full on creative
control-
Yeah
... of it, which was nice, but also that was the hard part.
But since I was telling you, my ex and I teamed up to do it together.
Mm-hmm.
He would give me all of their information, so it was very much customized, so he
would tell me, like, "This person needs to lose weight."
It'd be worse for me.
"This person needs to gain weight."
Oh, boy. Okay.
"And so he needs more protein. He needs more of this." So then I would create the
menu. We would talk it out. He would tell me, "That's great.
Sounds good." And then full on just cook it from there.
Did you feel like he was a micromanager, or like
it was more helpful to have somebody-
It was definitely helpful
... that you're in a relationship with also winging it? Okay, good.
Oh, yeah. He was very helpful.
Could go a different way.
Yeah. Oh, no, 1000%.
Thank you, bro.
Yeah, I'm like, get out of my kitchen.
Yeah.
Too many chefs.
Yeah.
No. It was very helpful.
Okay. Love that.
Because then I feel like we could look at all angles with everything, with
pricing to he would even deliver. We didn't have a car.
Oh.
And he worked with them.
My gosh.
So sometimes I would literally just pack him up, and he would drop off everything,
put them through their workout, everything, so yeah.
In China. No big deal.
In China.
It should be fine. We'll be fine.
Yeah. But it's so interesting how things just get lined up for you, and God is so
good.
When it's meant to be.
But 1000% because we got placed in this little town in China,
and only a few blocks away from where we lived, there was basically these stores
where you can buy everything for restaurant production.
Everything from-
Wow
... pans to packaging for meal prepping, bottles, literally everything.
What are the odds that-
That's perfect
... two streets down, everything was there.
Wow.
So then I started just learning about all the packaging and everything too, and how
you can buy in bulk and all of that.
Yeah.
So yeah.
Interesting. Yeah, no, even the meal prep, the planning, the timing-
Mm-hmm
... the how long to cook stuff, how long does it last.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
You're going to find this funny. Just this week-
Yeah
... I am really forcing myself to go back to the core, because
eating out, I feel like it's just not it.
I cannot reach my goals, my own health goals-
Mm-hmm
... with eating out. Even if I'm really making these smart consumer
choices, like no sauce-
Yeah
... grilled chicken or whatever, salmon, with just as much as you can customize at
a restaurant-
Yeah
... as just a regular customer.
Mm-hmm.
So anyway, I go to the grocery store. Stressful.
Yeah.
That's to me, that's stress number one.
Okay.
Okay? And I'm like, "Excuse me. Excuse me.
I'm a woman on a mission-
Yeah
... driving this cart. It feels dangerous already." And I'm just not
proud of the state that I'm already in.
Oh, this is so funny. Okay.
So I feel like, you feel slightly, I felt irritated.
You probably are fine, but I felt not the best version of me.
Mm.
So-
You're like, "This is uncomfortable.
I'm going to leave."
Yes.
I get it.
Yeah. I feel uncomfortable-
I get it
... outside of myself, and I'm like, "Gosh, there's so many vegetable choices.
There's so many meat choices."
Oh, yeah. It can be overwhelming.
So then I'm like, "Okay, stop. This is not rocket science.
I can just make a simple meal." I used to do it all the time-
Uh-huh
... but I've been out of practice. So I have a random mixture of squash, sweet
potatoes, basmati rice, chicken,
salmon. I bought just way too much, okay?
Uh-huh.
No plan, and way too much.
So then, after a long workday-
I have so many notes already.
Yeah, please. No, it was a disaster. I never want to feel like I did this week.
Oh my God.
So okay, fast-forward to me cooking the meal.
Mm-hmm.
So all of this, I was like, "Okay, meal prep.
People meal prep."
Yeah.
"Meal prep. How hard could this be?"
Uh-huh.
Oh my God, okay, so I used every single dish in my house, pan, and-
Oh my God
... spoon. It was like-
Yeah
... a child cooked. And I didn't used to be like this.
Mm-hmm.
I used to have a really, I don't know, methodical-
Yeah.
Anyway.
Mm-hmm.
So not only did my house smell super aromatic, I couldn't stand it for the next
two to three days. But I was like, "How do people deal with odor?" Just that far
removed right now. And my boyfriend, fiancé-
Everything was just triggering
... he's triggered.
Yeah.
He's like: "Do you want me to help you?" Kept trying to help because he could see-
Uh
... like it's not going well. I'm not-
Yeah
... timing things right.
Mm.
Like the veggies are-
Mm
... going to be soggy. The sweet potatoes are going to be undercooked.
Yeah.
And I'm like, "Just leave me. Let me struggle."
Yeah.
"I will never get better at this." "You have to just leave me."
Yeah.
Anyway. It tasted good.
Oh my God. Yeah, I was going to ask, so how was-
What was it?
... everything when it came home?
It was hodgepodge. I was just like, "Listen, I don't know what I made."
Like, "I don't know what happened.
I blacked out."
"It's healthy. You can eat it, and it will fuel-"
Oh my God
... "your body."
Oh my God. Okay, so
what-
I'm still thinking about it
Oh my God, you're like, "This is stressing me out all over again."
Oh, no.
Traumatized. You're like, "Never doing this again."
Yeah, but I acknowledge I'm not good at it.
I feel like you could be good at it. You could be good at it, but-
Thanks, Melissa
...
I feel like this is therapeutic already.
So you have to go in with a game plan-
Yeah
... always. And I tell people this, and I share it on social media all the time,
too. It's like, do not ever go to the grocery store without a game plan.
No.
That is just setting yourself up for failure.
Yeah.
You are going to get stressed out. You are going to get overwhelmed.
Okay.
Plus, you have to be strategic about it on where you're going to target certain
things-
Okay
... at the grocery store to be efficient, too.
Because you don't want to be like, "I just spent two hours at the grocery store."
Yeah.
"And I was reading labels, and I was doing this and that."
Yeah, that's me.
So for starters, can we simplify it, and can we eat whole foods more than anything
and just focus on getting some protein, some fiber, and-
That's all I wanted
... like getting anti-inflammatory, so you feel good?
That's all that I wanted. Yes.
You know? That's it.
That.
That's it. So, and then you just build around that.
Okay.
So even if I'm cooking just for myself and trying to meal prep just for myself,
I just go into focusing on those things, knowing my body does need the protein, it
needs the fiber.
Yeah.
I don't want to feel bloated.
No.
I want to feel good.
Yes.
And what do I want to have in my mornings?
I love to have lots of fruits in my morning, and protein.
I like that, too.
So it's like, "Okay, let me make some egg bites and put those in the oven." And so,
I just structure it that way.
Okay.
My notes on my phone is my BFF. That's where I create my menus, and I go through
everything there. And then it's like, if I could do two to three meals that I kind
of develop the menu for, where I'm like, "Oh, it's going to be salmon in the oven,"
or sweet potato bowls.
Oh.
And I'll stuff those, work around that.
And then I know that when I'm picking out my groceries, when I'm in there,
I'm grabbing all my veggies automatically looking at my menu.
That is so wise.
And then go into your eggs and your dairy and your meats.
Yeah.
And then we stay away as much as possible from the center of the grocery store
that's going to have your junk.
Okay.
That's my main thought process.
Yes.
If I need to get some canned stuff, then I will, of course.
I think I-- no, I had one jar of black beans.
Okay.
But even that, I spent way too much time assessing are these like...
I don't know if that was even a good choice, a jarred black beans.
But they were organic-
It's okay
... so that caught me, but anyway.
It's okay.
Yeah.
I think that we don't want to get too overwhelmed by
labels-
Yes
... or being like, "Oh my God, should I cook the beans from scratch, or should I
just buy the can?"
That is my battle right now in my head, yes.
Babe, do your best, and if you know- ...
you're not going to cook them from scratch, I rather you just get them canned than
not do it at all.
You're so right.
Do you know?
Yeah.
Can we just be more gentle on ourselves?
I need to sleep now. I know. I think I-
You know?
Yeah.
And then when you get in the kitchen, so that was your groceries, right?
Awful.
Your menu.
Yeah.
And then once you do get in there, you do want to be a little strategic, like what
needs to go in the oven?
That's-
Pop that in the oven first
... yes.
Whatever you need to be cooking on the actual stove-
Yes
... get to that. And then do your veggies or salads or whatever.
That's fine-
Last
... yeah, last, and your dressings or whatever last.
That helps.
That way everything is just a little bit more fresh, and then you can multitask.
Okay.
Because you also don't want to rush things.
No.
People sometimes don't really understand that cooking cannot be a rushed process.
You will ruin it all if you try-
Yes
... to cut corners.
My squash, awful. It was basically burnt on the outside, and the inside was-
Yeah
... it was bad.
Yeah. Because you might want to just put it in the oven. You have to flip it.
You've got to check up on it.
Yeah.
It's like a little baby. You've got to just-
You know? Everything takes-
I forgot the baby. I forgot about the baby, didn't feed the baby, actually.
Died on me.
It's ridiculous. I literally-
Oh my God
... used to be good at it. But no, you're right. I need to get back.
You can get good.
Yeah.
You can get good and get back to taking care of yourself and feeling good.
And that is-
Yeah
... actually a part of cooking that's really fulfilling when you're like, "Ooh, I
just made this for myself." Because-
It is fulfilling
... like you said, eating out is enjoyable sometimes, but when you're doing it way
too much, it does not feel good.
I'm over it. It's almost a stress. So-
It's like, "What am I going to eat?"
But then they're all... Yeah.
You know?
So it is stressful to also do it yourself.
I would rather just learn how to do it again.
Yeah. And you can.
Maybe I need a day. Can I?
And now we just met.
Okay, please.
So whatever. You want to go to the grocery store together?
Yes.
Or have a little-
I was hoping you'd ask
... cooking session?
I don't want to beg, but yes.
Be like, "Actually-"
Okay.
"... bring it up."
Please help.
Yes.
Oh my gosh. If you have nothing else to do. Yeah, no, I do.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, and then-
But-
I mean, sharing that too, because patients ask me that a lot.
Mm-hmm.
And on one hand, I don't let it consume me.
Mm-hmm.
But I'm being totally real right now.
Mm-hmm.
I'm a little also like, I have some other things I'm thinking of, so whenever
you're hungry-
Mm-hmm
... it's too late. It's too late for you.
You need to already have had this planned to be sold.
At that point.
Yeah.
Yeah, don't ever go hungry to the grocery store either.
And you have to have a little snack.
If you're cooking-
Yeah
... you have to have a little drinky drink or a little snack.
Yes, you do.
You know?
You do.
I don't know. For me, it's always a good little coffee.
Oh, that's good.
Keep me going. I love my... A little espresso and me, we can tackle the world.
A little matcha, like-
Okay.
I'm going to be good.
Always join you in the kitchen.
We should do a little something in the kitchen.
Yes.
Can we bring some microphones? Make it really fun.
Yeah. I feel like-
Get all up in sound
... everybody needs this, truly.
Mm-hmm.
Ugh.
1,000%. We're living in a world where Uber Eats is way too accessible.
It's just not-
Like-
... the total answer.
No.
It's just not.
No. Our era is just so microwave heavy.
I know.
Everything needs to be quick. Everything needs to be a quick fix.
Yeah.
I'm sure you get that from-
Yes
... people, too.
Yes.
And it's not. It's going to take time.
Things like that, they do. And there's something very in the wellness
light when it comes to just it's good to put brakes on yourself, because everything
is just so fast.
Yeah.
I don't need one more thing to be efficient.
Mm-hmm.
I actually need to be less efficient-
Yes
... so my mind can slow down and just-
Mm-hmm
... yeah, just be.
Yeah. I think that
definitely comes with wisdom, and you learn that the more you just take away-
Yeah
... take things off and-
Yes
... simplify The better things are.
Be less.
Be less.
Seriously.
Be less.
Because that make you more.
Yeah.
Yeah.
One thousand percent, but that's the hard part.
Mm-hmm.
I think that-
Mm-hmm
... the stillness, the slowness, that's the hard part.
And that's why it's like when you do get in the kitchen, it's like, "Oh, my God."
"That's supposed to be going faster."
Hell's Kitchen.
Yeah.
It's actually Hell's Kitchen.
Yeah, but it's like-
Well-
I mean, because if you get used to just going through a drive-thru when it's like
everything's just fast like that-
Yeah
... then you're going to think that real food actually is processed that way, and
it's not. So-
Does that make you cringe?
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, like, because there's so much wrong with that, you know?
Everything is wrong with that.
But we normalize it.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And hey,
I'm very much a consumer of that sometimes, too.
Yeah.
It's funny actually because I was watching this girl actually say the other day,
like, "Oh, I hate when men ask me," like, "Oh, you're a chef?" Like when
they find out you're a chef, it's like, "Oh, when can you cook for me?"
Oh.
Or things like that. And she responded saying, like, "Boy, I don't even cook for
myself." And I was like, that is so true because that is the last thing you want to
do sometimes.
It's not romantic.
No.
This is what you do for a job.
I'm like, "I don't have any ingredients." The leftover chopped up ingredients,
that's what I'm eating. What are you going to feed me?
Like-
That is so you.
Yeah. Yeah.
I can see it. There's, like, a carrot here.
And I'm like, "At least I got some, I guess, fiber?" I'm like, "What did I eat,
actually? I don't think I ate anything today."
Oh, my gosh.
Like, I fed everybody. Everybody's fed. I'm like the nourishing cocina.
Everybody's nourished.
Who thinks to feed-
Right
... the chef?
Yeah.
Interesting.
Who do you need to think about?
You guys.
Feed the chef.
Feed the chef.
Yeah. Make sure they eat.
She's like, "Hold the kiss," because it's always like, "Kiss the chef." Like, no,
feed the chef. She's hungry.
Yeah. She's probably hungry after all that.
Give her one or two.
Yes. Give her a little drink.
Yeah.
Oh, man.
One thousand percent. One thousand percent.
So, what does it look like right now?
Because you're obviously not in China-
Mm-mm
... right now, right?
Mm-mm.
So,
are you living, working here?
Yeah.
Are you mostly based here in California?
Yeah. So, I'm a Bakersfield local. I live here now.
Love it.
I was raised in LA, but I live here now.
My family's here, and I travel a lot for work, but it's still mainly in
California right now.
Okay.
So yeah, I do a lot of wellness retreats, and those are typically in the desert.
Oh, my gosh.
Mm-hmm.
What's your favorite one so far? I am obsessed with wellness retreats-
Oh, my gosh
... and just wellness anything-
Wellness is my-
... in this industry
... passion. I'm sure.
So-
There's so many fun things in wellness all the time.
Yeah.
So no, it's really cool. I'm very grateful that I get to be a part of them.
It's beautiful.
They're so beautiful. The first one I ever did was in Bali, and I loved it.
And then I did-
Goals.
Girl, yeah. It was a dream, not going to lie.
And then I did another one in Thailand where like-
I love Thailand so much.
Ugh.
Tell me about it, please.
Yeah. I did... Well, I've been to Thailand a few times, more towards like the south
and the beachy areas and islands. But then I went on a solo trip to Chiang Mai,
where I had a few friends there, actually. They were living there.
But because it was a solo thing, I did like, this is crazy, so I did a cooking
class one day. Then the next day I did, actually, for three days, I did a three-day
silent meditation retreat with Buddhist-
So, but nobody talked?
Nobody talked.
This whole time?
Full on silent, yeah, for three days.
Did you like it?
Yeah.
I think that'd be great.
It was actually a really crazy experience because I was like, "Who's going to chat
me
up? Who's going to chat me up?" Three days of me not talking.
I'm like, "Could this be possible?
Hmm."
Yeah, I was like, "Oh, I actually do it."
Did you get to say what you wanted to say?
Yeah, but it's interesting because your mind really takes so long to fully
surrender in quiet.
Huh.
That I think by the third day is when my mind actually started being like, "Oh,
okay. We're quiet. We're chilling. This is fine.
We're good." So I was like, "Actually, I could go longer.
I could actually go longer."
Wow. Would you recommend it?
One thousand percent. One thousand percent.
I'm going to go.
I think that coming out of it is really cool because it actually makes you more
intentional with the way you speak also.
Wow. Ooh, that's good.
Like you're like, "I didn't even need to say anything right now." You just learn
how to just
take it in-
Wow
... and just, yeah, it's really crazy.
You really learn, because it's so quiet that you don't talk at all.
Like as in, in your room with your little roommates that you have while you're
there, you do not speak nothing.
Yeah.
They didn't let you have a journal, right?
Yeah.
Your phone, nothing. Like you're just-
You can't even journal.
So, like even showering or eating, it's very like ASMR.
Huh.
Like it's like you hear every single sound because everything is quiet.
Huh.
So-
Just like...
Yeah. Everything. Like footsteps, everything.
Like when you're chewing, like everything.
Huh.
So it's a very like-
I love that
... interesting, very cool experience. But yeah.
So then during that Chiang Mai trip is when I also did a yoga
retreat right after that.
So, it was a really cool trip, but that's like I got to see kind of like there was
a lady there that was there with her whole, like her husband and her baby, and she
was the one running the whole culinary part of the retreat.
And I was like, "She is incredible.
I want to be her."
That's so cool.
That is so cool, like you get to just travel and bring your baby along and like- I
was like, "That is so cool. I want to do that."
That's amazing.
And then came to the US-
And you can't fight
... and then I started doing that, so.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
So, do you offer those here?
The culinary retreat? Or-
Oh, sorry, no
... like, I'm sorry.
I was still on the silent one.
Oh, oh.
Okay.
Do I offer silent retreats? I do not. I do not.
I'm sure.
I've only participated in them. I've never created one or-
Oh, that's very creative.
Yeah. Yeah. It's very-
Huh
... interesting. It's very interesting.
My wheels are turning.
Although, I mean, I do feel like, I mean, the ones that I cook at, the retreats
that I do, like
chatty is fun. Like talking to people is so much fun, you know?
And laughing and-
Yeah. Yeah.
It's like different purpose, I guess.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I guess it depends on the purpose of who's hosting it and how they
want to do it. So-
Yeah.
Yeah.
Huh.
They're all really fun, but I guess, I don't know, my favorite one here, there's
so many cool houses that I get to go into, and cool kitchens, and people that I
get to meet- ... that I'm like, wow, like
everybody-
Yeah
... kind of just comes together and gets to know each other during these retreats.
It's really nice to see like also like-
It's beautiful.
Yeah. Also, the ones that are all women, those are very special because I feel like
they build a lot of sisterhood.
I love that.
Yeah. And then I really love that a lot of the women there are just badass
women who are moms, who are just
taking care of everybody, and I get to just pamper and take care of them, and they
don't have to worry about cooking or doing anything-
That's beautiful
... for at least a few days and just they leave inspired by some of the things that
they eat. It's really nice.
Ugh. I want to go to all of these right now.
Just come. I'll let you know.
They're like-
The next one.
... tell me how to get into these. It just sounds like-
Yeah
... everything that I need and what a lot of, definitely my clients would
benefit from.
Yeah. Yeah. They're very cool. Everybody ends up leaving very
replenished.
Who can say that?
Yeah.
Who can say that they feel like their cup is filled-
Yeah
... and they're replenished?
Yeah.
No one's saying that.
You need a lot of things to fill your cup.
You do.
It's not just a little face mask or a little nap.
Yeah.
It's so much more.
A good workout helps, matcha helps.
Yeah.
A good healthy meal, taking care of yourself. Love it.
Yeah.
But yeah. It's a lot more than that, like filling your soul.
A thousand percent
... connecting with people.
Sometimes I feel like just even getting out of your environment just helps.
Yes.
It's hard.
You're like, "Oh, this is me again."
Yes.
You're away from everybody or anybody that knows you or thinks they know you, and
then you can-
Yes
... fully be yourself, and it's just cool to be reminded of who you are.
Yes. It gives you such a great perspective and just a deeper connection with
yourself.
Yeah.
Going to Pensacola, Florida, so I'm from there, born and raised there.
Mm-hmm.
So I live here now. I trained here. I would say I've really set up my life
here, but it doesn't mean that I'm only here.
I believe
everything is just a flight away.
A thousand percent.
Right?
I love that. Well, I always tell people too, you're not a tree.
You're not planted anywhere.
You're not planted.
You have wings, babe. Go wherever you want.
You have wings.
That's what this life is for.
It's aircraft. You just take them-
Literally
... anywhere.
Book a flight.
Book a flight. But I guess that's scary to a lot of people, and I didn't realize
that it is brave. It's brave that you lived in China.
It's brave that-
Yeah
... you just jumped into the unknown, and you moved away, took this job that you
were not an expert at yet, but you were like, "I already do this. I can do this.
I can figure it out."
Mm-hmm.
And you just did it.
Yeah. I think that's where confidence really comes from.
That's how you build confidence. You just do things you don't even know you are
capable of doing.
Yeah.
I also think that when you are pushed
to your end, you get to see miracles happen-
Yeah, you really do
... because it's beyond you.
Yeah.
It's more than you. You can't depend on just yourself.
Right. Yeah.
It's not just you.
Right. I agree.
That's why I think you have to let God move you.
Yeah.
And I think when you know that it's not just you, it makes things easier, and
you're going to be scared. Babe, cry, be scared, do it anyway. You know?
Work through it.
Keep it going.
Keep going.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
A lot of scary things happen in life, but then you have stories, and then you talk
about them, and then people will be like, "Oh, that's cool." And you're like, "Oh,
my God." You're like, "Really?" You're like, "Was it cool?
Because that was the scariest part of my life. I almost died. But I did it.
I made it, so-"
You did it.
You know?
Yeah.
So yeah. I'm sure you get it. You've done hard things, and like-
Yeah
So.
Yeah. There's definitely a lot of moments that were a leap of faith.
Yeah.
To where I didn't know the how.
Yeah.
How am I going to afford it? How am I going to-
Yeah
... overcome this situation? Is this meant for me? Why don't I have a clear answer?
Yeah.
And it's almost like, well, what are you waiting for?
What kind of answer do you want? You want a writing on the wall?
That would be creepy. I don't want to see a crayon write on the wall.
Right.
So the reality is you just have to step into it, and the way I always
make those decisions, I have to be in it, and it has to-
Yeah
... either feel right or wrong. If it's wrong, then I quit.
It's that simple to me now.
You just take another turn.
You take another turn. You're like, "Nope."
That's it.
"Dead end. This way."
And it's never over.
It's not over, yeah.
So, and make mistakes.
Yes. I'm not afraid to make a mistake.
Be so good with making mistakes and trying things.
Yes, because then you actually become good.
Yeah.
You become the expert.
Yeah.
Who knew?
And that's the part, it's like you don't discover what you're really good at until
you try different things, and then you're like, "Ooh, I'm actually impressing
myself there. That's nice. I can do that?"
Yeah.
Yeah. It's very much, I feel like it's in our reach, but you don't know, and
so you-
Yeah
... grab it. Just grab it.
Yeah. Yeah. But you don't think that it's reachable.
Whatever is the goal, that feels bigger than you.
Mm-hmm.
I didn't think I could become a doctor.
I didn't think I could go and do the different
things that were my challenge.
Yeah.
I didn't feel like I was smart enough or good enough, or no one in my family has
done it, so why do I think I could do it?
Right. Being the pioneer at something sometimes-
Yes
... is very difficult because it's almost more mindset.
Totally mindset.
Because do you still feel weird when you hear doctor, like the title
doctor-
No
... with your name? Or do you like, it's so normal?
I'm like, "Hell yeah."
Yeah, exactly. I own that. I know.
Yeah.
I have the same thing with, oh, hearing chef.
Like, "Oh, that's me."
It's really cool.
But it's like, "Oh, yeah." "Yeah. That's what I do." Because you do it so much,
and then it's just normal.
Yeah. It's your identity, and it's no longer weird because you became that.
Yeah. But at first it does. It's you're like, "Oh."
It's like, "Wait, who? Oh, yeah."
"Oh, that is me."
Yeah.
Yep.
That's
just fascinating to even think about, right?
That you're like, it sounded so far away, and like-
Yeah
... just such a big thing.
What's that word for it?
Like a mismatch between how you see yourself. Oh, imposter syndrome.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Sometimes I still have that as far as the regular day to day,
but I guess I'm years enough in to where-
Right
... I have different-
You're like, "I am that girl."
Yeah. I feel very much like a doctor.
You're like, "Oh, yes. I worked very hard for this, actually."
Yeah. So now-
Yeah
... today's problem is whatever my next challenge is, so
getting better at public speaking and just accepting that I am the expert in
certain topics, and it-
Right
... and it doesn't mean that you know everything on it, but-
Right
... I'm willing to share what I do know about it.
That part.
Yeah, and that part I enjoy.
I think that sometimes sharing skills or just sharing what you know sometimes-
Yeah
... can be a little scary because you do think they're going to have these
expectations of you knowing it all.
I don't know it all.
And it's like we don't all know it all.
Yeah, and if I'm wrong-
Nobody does
... call me out.
Yeah.
I want to fix it.
Yeah. I'll learn with you right now.
Yeah.
Let's get together on it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or if I'm the doctor looking something up with you, it's okay.
It's a humbling moment for me, too. Let's do that.
Right.
So yeah, just-
The expectations
... staying humble, managing expectations.
Yeah.
Work with what you have, do your best.
A thousand percent. We're all just trying to do our best here.
Yeah.
It's, yeah, I like that when you grow up and you get to realize that we're all just
figuring it out-
Yeah
... and doing our best.
Like, what do you mean?
It becomes kind of funny when you think of these big titles or people that you used
to be like, "What?"
Yeah. They're humans.
They're also just figuring it out.
Yeah.
You know?
Yep.
So yeah. It's kind of a relief, huh?
Yeah, definitely. Was there any terrible, terrible
dinners that, not because of you, but because of a guest maybe, that was like
people, managing the people, because as a chef, you're a master of food.
You are good at it. You know how to plan the meal and all of that stuff, the
execution of it, great. But there's always the personality, that one
person that you're just like, "I'm not sure how I want to behave right now as a
human and a professional, but you're really bad."
Oh, like them as a human?
Yeah.
Just being hard to work with or something?
Yeah.
Hmm.
You're like, "Give me the drum."
Yeah.
Basically. Basically give me the tamp because I just, because managing people
is-
Yeah
... very challenging.
Yeah.
And there's definitely some bad patients out there. You guys know who you are.
And it just is like, it's a lack of gratitude is really the root-
Mm-hmm
... of what I would describe the people I've experienced.
Yeah, I get it. I
would say that,
okay,
the athletes, some of them were difficult to work with just because they act like
little divas.
There it is.
That part.
This is what I'm looking for. Go on.
Mm-hmm. I was waiting for you to do that. I was waiting for you to do that.
Mm-hmm. Turn my order around.
What did you get in there?
While you're thinking, matcha.
Almond milk-
She has terrible penmanship
... vanilla.
Yeah. Almond milk, sugar-free vanilla, extra matcha.
Oh, yeah.
So I do-
I get extra matcha every time.
Okay. I just love the powerful flavor.
I like my matcha very green, almost like a green juice.
Yeah. Is this the proper color?
I mean, the milk might have watered it down.
Watered it down. Yeah.
But-
It started more army green.
Love that. I love that. The army green is good. That's good. For sure.
I do the Caffe Eastman coconut milk-
Oh, delicious
... with extra matcha.
Oh. Or Soma-
Her Soma Matcha lately out here in Bakersfield, go support her. She's so good.
Okay, will. SMA-
Really good
... Soma.
Yes.
Okay.
Yeah, so good. Really green matcha.
Oof, yes.
But anyway, back to the tea.
Yeah, I think
those type of clients are a little bit more difficult with just the
expectations that they have and the type of treatment they want to have, but then
they also don't treat you a certain way, so-
Yeah
... they're a little bit difficult to work with.
Yeah.
But I don't know. Now I'm in a space where I work with more girlies and I work with
like-
Oh, the best
... it's the best. I do bachelorette dinners, and I do brunches for
girls, and a lot of retreats, and like-
Ugh
... I do get some male clients, of course, but they're also so great, where I'm
like-
I love it
... I really am very fortunate. I'm very, very blessed.
All my clients are very
just-
Grateful
... grateful.
Ugh.
And
sometimes they teach me a lot on even the way they behave and carry
themselves, and I'm like, "Wow," they like-
Like so classy.
Yes. Because they're so classy, so supportive, so grateful, so
gentle, so graceful. If there's anything that goes wrong, like with timing or
anything, they're just like, "You're timing's fine."
Aw, that's lovely.
They're just, they're really just enjoying their time and enjoying the whole
experience, so I can't complain. I cannot.
I'm like, I really am-
The best gig
... trying to have,
the only thing I can think of was those little scenarios, you know?
I love that.
I'm trying to think of athletes, but yeah.
Fortunately, also managing expectations is important, I feel like-
Yes
... on the other end of things.
Yeah.
So, I work very closely whenever I am preparing a menu, I work very
closely with the client, so there's a lot of back and forth.
Spec sheets.
Yes, a lot of back and forth.
Preferences.
And like drafts on the menu, allergies, everything that I take in, and then I send
it to them. They basically give me the green light, they approve, and then we go
from there. So they already know kind of like,
what they're going to eat and-
That's awesome
... there's no extra surprises. Sometimes-
Yeah
... I throw a little surprise in there for them, just to make it a whole
experience.
Just a fun surprise.
So it's fun. Yes.
That's-
Yeah
... awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah. Do people typically give you a budget and the spec sheets, and then they're
like, "Okay, just go and do what you do"?
No. So usually-
How would I hire you? Asking for a friend.
Yeah, you're like asking for a friend.
Okay, so if you were to book a dinner for me, for example, and you're like, "Hey,
I'm celebrating my birthday,"
I ask you about how many guests you're going to be having, and then we go from
there. So I give you pricing on per guest.
Oh, that makes sense. Yeah.
And I usually just have, the way I've designed it, is that I usually do
brunches or dinners that are about six curated dishes.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
So it's from your appetizer to your dessert.
Hoo, girl.
Yeah.
That is-
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Yeah. So I take you through-
So it's a little bit-
... a small food journey-
I love this
... during your brunch or your dinner. But, yeah.
And so I would then ask, like, "Oh, is there..." Like if it's your birthday-
Mm-hmm
... like, "What's your favorite thing you eat?
What's your go-to thing that you love to have on vacation?" Or, "What's like..." I
just want to get to know you and your favorite things so then I can develop the
menu. And then of course I get your specs on your allergies and things like that.
Okay.
So then I create, and then I send it to you, and then if you tell me you love it,
like I've had girls that are like, "I absolutely love pistachio date cake." So then
I'm like, "Babe, you're going to have pistachio date cake, but it's going to be my
version, so hopefully you love it." And then I just create, you know?
And like, yeah. Yeah.
That is awesome. And very, yeah, that's a great example of pistachio.
I would never think of those things going together, but it sounds very creamy and
delicious and-
Yeah. Yeah. I kind of just, I get like, I break down every little part that would
go into it, but basically,
I also would want you to just be like, "I don't even have to think about it."
Yeah.
Like you're doing it.
That's me.
You know what I mean?
I'm that client. It's hard, yes.
So it's like I want you to feel taken care of like from the moment that we start-
Yes
... even with having that conversation on planning. You know?
So I'm like, "Just tell me about-
I love that
... the guests. Tell me kind of like what you envision and what you want to see-
Yeah
... and what you want to eat."
Yes.
Like if steak is your go-to thing for a celebratory moment-
Yeah
... then let's do steak. And so then I just kind of create-
Ugh
... from there. You know?
Awesome.
But yeah, I usually just have a set price per person just because it's a set menu,
and then we're just developing, and then that goes into everything that goes behind
the scenes, from sourcing the ingredients to traveling and packing up, loading.
Ooh, so you-
Like all that
... would go anywhere still. We could still book a dinner, and you would
just make it happen no matter where in the world.
Pretty much, yeah.
Yes.
Yeah.
I love this.
Yeah.
I feel like I'm equivalent in medicine. There's not a boundary.
Yeah.
Like we're just, if we can fly there-
Yeah
... I'll see you there.
I'm like, I'll see you there.
Yeah.
And then it's like,
depending on where it is, I'm like, I might need to get there a few days before-
Yeah
... just to source the ingredients there-
Yes
... so I can plan those things. Like if I'm not able to derive with them-
Right
... then I have to just get them there.
Right.
But yeah.
Yeah.
I can do it anywhere.
It's really creative. People don't understand you probably because they don't, I-
Mm-hmm
... feel like there's trouble understanding me-
Yes
... because I think like that.
Yes.
Like what do you mean?
Yeah. I, yeah. It's like-
It's concierge
... like you said, it's like I'm the first one in my family to be a chef.
I'm like, a lot of it, I do feel very misunderstood a lot of the time.
I bet.
You know? But it's also-
I understand you.
Thank you. Thank you. But you know, I'm okay with that.
I've like learned-
Me too
... to be so okay-
Yeah
... with not
expecting to be understood-
You're so right
... by everybody.
Yeah. Yeah. It's okay.
Yeah.
Yeah. And I enjoy the adventure of it, too.
Mm-hmm.
So I don't know, that just feeds my soul.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I do, I love when I'm like, oh, I get to work and play.
Yeah.
You know?
That's how I feel about it.
So it's like I know I'm going to grind.
I'm going to
make sure everybody's taken care of.
Yeah.
And then I'll have a little bit of play time, so if I get to go to a spa day
afterwards, you know what I mean?
Yes.
Or enjoy like, usually a lot of these retreat properties are amazing, so they have
a lot of cool features.
Oh my gosh.
And I enjoy them after too. You know?
Do you have a favorite? Like a top, I don't know, top one to three places?
Mm.
Also asking for a friend. It's me.
Yeah. Oh my God, so Bobby Berk, which is the interior designer on,
what is that show? Um,
my mind's blanking out.
Bravo?
No, it's on HBO, I think.
"Q***r Eye." "Q***r Eye."
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay. He has amazing properties in Palm Desert.
Oh.
Oh my God, yeah. And they're designed gorgeous.
That's so accessible. It's very close.
Mm-hmm.
It's not that far.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Yeah. So I think his first property was probably one of my favorites.
He has bars in different places of the house,
so I was able to play around with just so many elements of the whole property.
Oh.
So for that retreat, for example, it was a women's running club that was getting
together, and so I would do lunches by the barbecue one day, or I would say like,
"Meet me at the pool bar one day for your mocktail," and then the other day we'd
have sunset mocktails at a
rooftop. It was just like-
Oh
... the property's just gorgeous and it has all those things, so it's just really
beautiful to host and to like-
Create different elements that almost, for me, make me feel like I'm setting up a
cafe or a bar or a restaurant in-
I love that
... different places of the house, that's really enjoyable.
Yeah. So it's not public, that this is not public.
You can, yeah.
Oh, okay.
You definitely, yeah.
Okay, because I'm going to-
We have a new one-
... invite myself
... like in Bali
... if that-
Oh my God
... is not public.
Yeah.
That'd be funny.
Yeah.
So I'm a friend.
Of a friend.
Yeah, and you can definitely book these properties.
I think they're on Airbnb, and I think on different websites, too.
But I'll send you a link.
Okay.
They're fabulous.
Send this out. Yeah, please.
I'll send you a link. They're fantastic.
I love dreamy. I feel like there's different styles. Some people are minimalist.
Some people are whatever. I love dreamy.
Mm-hmm.
I want it to feel like this can't possibly be real.
Yeah.
Who built this?
Yeah.
Same.
Like Bali.
Yeah.
Right?
Oh my God, yes.
Just whimsical.
I love when things are built in the most random place, too-
Yes
... and you're like, "Oh, this view is insane."
Yes.
So yeah. I appreciate all of those.
That's like the internet to me. Is this real life?
Oh my God, yeah.
Yeah.
I love
just watching real estate or-
Me, too
... interior design shows.
Yeah.
It's like I appreciate all of those things, so yeah.
Right.
It's fun.
Just beautiful scenery.
Mm-hmm.
And just what people put together with textures and-
Oh my God, yes
... lighting.
Yes. Yeah, it's very fun.
Different materials. Even people that make trash look beautiful.
I'm like, "Stop."
Yeah.
That is just-
So creative
... beautiful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
To think, I would've never thought about that.
I would never.
You need it.
Yeah.
That's so cool.
Yeah, I respect it.
Mm-hmm. And everybody has their thing.
Yeah.
You made that out of trash. Like, "I made this out of these little potatoes I just
bought."
So same.
Same.
Same, same, but not the same.
My dinner versus your dinner. Same.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
Is there any recommendations that you can make for food sourcing?
Because I know you mentioned it a few times for sourcing.
Mm-hmm.
It is a skill-
Mm-hmm
... being able to pick out good versus bad, versus like this is low quality,
just-
Mm-hmm
... quality of food, fruits, all of those things.
Like where to shop or-
Like when you're, okay, so say you're in the fruit section.
You're like, "Okay, so I know that my body needs fiber," because you're really
taking it back to what am I choosing and the why I'm choosing it.
Yeah.
Not because the colors. The colors matter-
Mm-hmm
... but really it's also like I need a balanced bout of nutrition, right?
So you're really putting all of those things together-
Mm-hmm
... to complete a meal.
Mm-hmm.
So like macros, micros, what are your-
Yeah. So I don't go too heavily into macros, micros, all of those little things
because I believe as long as you're eating whole foods and you're not putting a
bunch of junk, you're going to be good at meeting all of those things.
So normally if I'm picking out fruit and veggies, one,
yes, I'll have a structure of my menu and kind of what I want to cook, but also I
kind of let it tell me what I need because most of the time in the grocery store or
a farmers market, it's going to have seasonal things.
Oh, okay. Yeah.
So if we're in citrus season, I'm like, boom, citrus salad with a little burrata, a
little olive oil dressing, pistachios on top.
Yes. That sounds great.
You know? I will just let it kind of inspire me-
Yeah
... based on what's available to me instead of being so forceful and being so
strict on what I already created. Does that make sense?
Yeah. It's easy to get locked into a list or-
Mm-hmm
... but really if you're thinking, you have a different eye for it.
Yeah.
You really do.
Yeah. Thank you. That definitely develops-
Yeah
... as you're doing it a lot.
But like I said, yeah, if it's like stone fruit season or something, it's like-
What would that mean?
Stone fruits are going to be your nectarines and your peaches.
Okay.
And so it's like those little plums, the little stones in-
Oh, okay
... in your fruits.
Yes.
That's stone fruit. Yeah.
Okay.
So you can create so much from desserts to salads.
I forget about plums and-
Yeah.
Okay.
So I get excited to be like, "Oh my God, it's actually stone fruit season.
Oh my God, my breakfast is going to be literally cottage cheese and peaches."
This is what I was hoping for.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
You know, like-
Yeah
... I just kind of let it tell me. I'm a big watermelon girl, so summertime, ooh,
baby, hit me with some watermelon. I love watermelon.
Squeeze some lime and then some passion fruit drizzled on top, and you are
literally eating-
I know one thing I could do this
... like sour patch candy.
That's amazing.
I literally had that last night for dessert.
Passion fruit, watermelon, passion fruit-
Yeah
... drizzle.
So squeeze some lime on top of your watermelon.
Okay.
Then drizzle some of your passion fruit on top.
Okay.
So passion fruit sometimes is a little hard to find around here in China.
I would buy them everywhere all the time.
Everywhere.
But they're a little hard to find, or they might be a little overpriced.
So things like that, you can find them at a freezer section or something.
Oh, so frozen's fine.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
This is really, this is what we need-
1,000%.
Yes, please. This is everything.
1,000%.
Take care of it.
There's some things that you're just going to be like, okay, if I'm using fig
spread.
Is that good?
I love fig spread.
Okay.
Yes.
Is it in a jar?
Usually in a jar.
Okay.
Where the jellies are at, you can find it there.
Sounds amazing.
You can make great sandwiches with those.
Yes.
Yeah, I recently made sirloin steak sliders for my client, and-
Wow.
... I did a fig spread on one side of it.
So you get a little bit of savory, sweet.
Can you imagine the rest of this week's meals by me?
I can, actually. You're like-
You know what I'm saying? So they're going to be like, "What?"
He's like, "What are you doing? Ooh, this actually tastes good."
What, did you train with a chef?
Yeah. You're like, "Actually, yes."
Yes.
Actually.
Yeah.
What kind of brioche are we getting?
Is it on a, what kind of buttery bread or-
You could do a brioche. I love a brioche for burgers and anything with meats.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Brioche is really nice.
Okay. Small slider.
Mm-hmm.
Is there a favorite place that we buy these from?
You can order it online.
I'm building my-
Like fig spread
... grocery list.
Fig spread, I'm a big Amazon girl.
Oh, okay. That's fine.
For a jelly-
Yeah
... Amazon it.
Okay.
It's at your house in one to two days. It's perfect.
It's perfect, unless you want to get it DoorDash or I don't know.
Yeah.
Get your groceries delivered. But with things like that, it's like-
Don't stress about it-
Don't stress
... just get it on Amazon. It's good.
Yeah.
Okay.
Of course look for something that's going to be the cleanest.
Yeah.
But when it comes to jellies, for example, if you were to make a jelly from
scratch, it's going to require a lot of sugar.
So most of the jellies in the store are going to be a lot of sugar, too.
So what you want to watch for there is going to be your extra oils or
preservatives.
Okay.
So as long as it's very minimal in that to none-
Okay
... perfect.
Okay.
But other than that-
I have to follow you on social media.
If you ever just are-
Yeah
... bored, please just post a few jellies, jams, or spread.
1,000%. I post a blend of day in the life
as a girly chef-
Yeah
... coming with me for doing my skincare to grocery shopping, to prepping, to
cooking for my client, to-
Oh, yeah
... going to different locations, to grocery, anything.
Yeah.
Recipes, kind of do a little blend of it all.
I love that.
So yeah. Definitely.
At some point, food has become complicated, and I think-
Mm-hmm
... it comes down to all the inflammation.
Mm-hmm.
And definitely as you say, the hormones shift, the microbiome shift, the
environment-
Environment, yeah
... the trigger, stress-
Yeah
... poor sleep, all of that. Your body-
Yeah
... reacts more to things. Super common, 40s, 50s.
Yeah.
Everyone's kind of dealing with it, so then you-
1,000%
... do the elimination diet, and then you just stay there.
Yeah.
Then you're scared to step out-
I get it
... side of that.
I know. They make it so scary.
Yeah.
They make it so scary, and from a girl that, I mean, I've had my moments where I
feel so defeated-
Yeah
... myself.
Yes.
Because I deal with my own personal hormone issues and bloating, like-
Yes
... constant.
It's awful.
And so there's days where I'm like, "Do I have PCOS? Do I have Hashimoto's?
Do I have like..." Oh my God, I watched a TikTok. I have all of that.
I'm checking my thyroid.
For sure.
I'm like, "Do I have that?"
Yeah.
There's a lot that gets thrown-
Yeah
... at you, and-
Yeah
... especially with wellness, and sometimes I think with everything right now,
especially for women, I always like to tell people,
"Please remind yourself that you do not have to buy everything that is being..."
And nothing is wrong with you.
Yeah.
Nothing's wrong with you, or there might be something wrong with you, but don't let
people tell you that there's something wrong with you all the time because they're
trying to sell you something.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
So we have to really catch it-
Yeah
... every time, because when you start digging deeper into things, even in the
food industry, it's like something can be labeled organic-
Yes
... or labeled gluten-free, and then it's actually not.
It's not.
They just slapped that label on there.
It's so true.
So it gets all overcomplicated.
Yeah. So you really just have to try it-
Yeah
... see how your body responds, and then-
Do your best, and if you-
Yeah
... need to cut certain things
off for a bit, then also do your best with that and cut it off.
Yeah.
But it
can be a little too stressful-
Yeah
... and I think we're doing the opposite of what we're trying to do.
Yeah.
Instead of being healthy and treating ourselves right, we're actually creating more
stress on our bodies that are-
We are
... actually going to affect-
Yes
... our bodies even more.
That's exactly right.
And I don't know if you know, as a doctor you probably do, but when you are eating,
the less stressed you are, the more you're able to digest your food properly.
Yes. And actually-
So it's really interesting
... I talked to a scientist about it the other day, and she was explaining to me
one step further the specific bacteria bifida that's involved-
Mm-hmm
... with that.
Mm.
And so it comes down to keeping them alive and supporting that colony.
Ooh.
And they die easily. And she was telling me if
you take a flight, they're kind of vulnerable to altitude changes.
Mm-hmm.
So it's just interesting. There's a lot that we don't know.
There's a lot.
So we're kind of making leaps when we are doing full elimination, because we don't
know what's causing what.
Right.
And then you're making your world small, your food source is small-
Mm-hmm
... and making it stressful-
Yeah
... worsening your digestion-
Mm-hmm
... with the stress.
Mm-hmm.
All that just don't.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's-
Keep it simple
... better to just live a little.
Yeah.
And I think it's balance, too.
It is.
If you are going to have some ice cream, well, don't do it every day.
But if you are going to have some ice cream, then it's like you chose to do it.
Yeah.
Enjoy it. Do not sit up there and be guilty with every bite that you're
taking. Do you know what I mean?
Crying through it.
"I'm eating so bad. Why am I doing this?
And I've never got this..." Like girl, you better just enjoy it.
Yeah.
Enjoy it, because-
Yeah
... also, if you're not doing it every day-
Right
... it's not going to kill you.
Right.
It's not going to kill you. Actually, train your body not to be guilted by a
little-
No, you're exactly right
... something like that.
Yeah, because if you isolate yourself too much, then your microbiome does not-
Mm-hmm
... recognize other things.
Mm-hmm.
Your body will hyper overdrive, attack other things because it's been without it
for so long.
Yeah, exactly.
So yeah. There's a lot that we're still learning, but-
Mm-hmm
... there's a lot that is very low hanging fruit that's simple changes.
Literally.
Yeah.
Yeah. I think, again, we try to get sold on different diets and different things
and-
Too extreme.
Yeah.
Too extreme.
You don't need to do that.
Yeah.
You also learn that when you travel.
Mm-hmm.
Just get to see what other people are eating and...
One of my favorite books was "The Blue Zones Project" or-
Oh, yeah
... well, they're establishing it now, but "The Blue Zones" book-
Yeah
... itself was so fascinating. That was one of my favorite books.
I've never read it.
Oh my God, you have to. It's so good.
Okay, I will.
But they go deep into studying, I think it's centennials, people that
live longer than 100.
Yep. Yep.
And it's talking about the different places in the world, and they go through
basically what they're eating and how they're living, and it's super fascinating
because it's very simple.
Yeah.
And these people are having a glass of wine. They're not dying.
Interesting.
They're living longer.
I didn't know that.
Yeah.
Ooh.
But
you get to learn that it's more lifestyle stuff.
Stress management?
Yeah. In Okinawa, that's one of the places in Japan-
I'm going to just de-stress
... yeah.
You get to find out that what they're doing is they're in community a lot.
They have friends that they play games with every night, and then they're with
their grandkids a lot. They're also farming and growing their own food, so they're
touching soil, and they're earthing.
Grounding.
We call it grounding and earthing here.
Which I do believe in.
They're just doing that on a daily basis-
Yeah
... and living that way and cooking their food. And they are eating rice.
Yeah.
Over here we're like, "No, it's carbs."
Gluten free and it's carbs. Exactly.
Double veggie clears with my meat. Exactly.
Yeah.
So you get to learn that it's little bits and pieces of everything, and it's not
so-
Hmm
... strict with the cutting off.
You're so right. That's a good reminder, and I definitely want to check out that
book.
Yeah. It's really good.
They're doing something right. If you're living to 100-something in a healthy way-
Yeah
... not just like a broken down
80s to 90s to 100-
Yeah
... not good way.
Yeah.
Which I see those patients.
Yeah.
And it's terrifying.
Yeah, it is.
So-
I think we get to learn a lot about how we're doing life here.
It's not good.
It's not good.
It's not good. It really led me to this microphone because-
Mm-hmm
... I just want to figure out a better option.
If it's our food, it can't be just that.
Mm-hmm.
It's got to be the stress management, the lack of sleep, the
overstimulation-
Mm-hmm
... this lack of recovery here.
Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot
here-
Mm-hmm
... because I think a lot goes into play with that-
Mm-hmm
... because I think it's
like when I cook at wellness retreats, I'm like,
"Everybody should experience this.
This is amazing." But a lot of those things that are very self-care forward here
for us
are almost out of reach for a lot of people.
They are.
So then-
That's a good point
... we go into play with the economy, too, and-
Yeah
... how people are working either multiple jobs or like-
Always been me
... or it's a dual income household where it's like food in itself is a
full-time job and takes a lot.
Yeah.
So how are your kids eating properly?
If mom has to be working and gone, then it's like you do need help.
Yeah.
You do need help, and you need-
Yeah
... a village, and so-
Yeah
... you need resources for this, too, because that requires money.
And-
Yep
... all of those things I think play a role in affecting all of that, because then
there goes stress, the time to sleep.
It's hard to keep up with an intense skincare routine at night.
And then you want to figure out what you're sleeping on.
Do anything good, whatever you're doing.
It's everything I'm eating and drinking, literally.
Don't look at this guy.
No, I tell people all the time, too, I'm like, "My skincare is actually so simple."
Really?
It's so simple.
What?
Yeah. There's days where I just slap
-
Let's hear it
... Aquaphor on my face and call it a night.
Why is it so smooth? There's no pores.
It's everything I eat.
Are you airbrushed?
That's like the best compliment.
You look airbrushed.
That's the best compliment. Well, shout out to my sister.
She knows how to do makeup, and she's taught me some techniques.
Job says.
Yeah. Makeup for sure, but I do have pretty good skin from where I came from.
I had horrible acne at one point in my life.
You would never know.
Oh my God. When I tell you, it was hard to even sleep on my cheek like this, on my
side-
Oh
... because it hurt so bad because my pimples were so big.
That's how my chin feels right now.
No, I'm done. Now I'm like, "That's nothing."
For real.
That is nothing. Oh my God, mine were, I think, hormonal, and they were just on my
cheeks.
The cheeks, though.
It was so bad. It was really painful and just really hard all around to live with
that.
Yeah. Yeah.
Because those are the type of pimples where if you put makeup, you still don't feel
happy. You could still see it-
Yeah
... through my makeup. There's nothing I can actually do about it.
No, but honestly, it's just all the-
Did you change that at a certain age? Maybe diet, or?
That's kind of how I developed my functional drinks, through my-
Oh
... issue with acne, actually.
Okay, let's hear it.
Oh, yeah.
That is very aligned with what-
Yeah
... I can offer to people.
Oh my God. Okay. So,
yeah, when I was dealing with horrible acne, I want to say that was around COVID
time or pre-COVID, so like 2020-
Mm-hmm
... 19.
And so it was adult acne, and so I just started playing around with a lot of
different drinks in the morning. So I just started calling it my morning ritual-
Mm-hmm
... where I would change it up from just straight celery juice, which is amazing
for you, just celery juice. So I would rotate with those things, and then teas,
and then I started just doing more research, and I was like, "Okay, well, this
issue is hormonal, but also, I'm stressing out about it." And then-
It makes it worse.
Yeah. So then I just started making drinks for
everything that was happening. So
I created my coma la flor, which is a hibiscus drink made with lemon balm and
passionflower that are amazing for your nervous system.
So those are the things that help you relax.
I also learned that the more stressed out I was, the more bloated I was.
Yeah.
So I would hold a lot of my stress in my belly because I-
Yes
... wasn't really breathing properly.
Yes.
So-
Isn't that crazy?
I know.
It's insane.
So you need the magnesium, and you need those things that help you just calm.
Yes.
Calm yourself down.
Yeah.
So that's my drink for that. And then I needed to clean my liver, because if you
don't clean your liver-
Yeah
... that is the main-
Number one
... thing that triggers so many other diseases within-
Yes
... your body.
Yeah.
So I was like, "I need to clean my liver." So I developed the chlorophyll dandelion
drink that is also made-
Love it
... with aloe vera and lime juice, and it tastes like a lemonade, but it's green-
So good
... and it's so powerful. Yeah. So then that one was for cleansing the liver in
particular. And then chlorophyll's just amazing because it cleanses you, and you
even smell good. It takes away-
So much good with it
... so much.
I'm reading about it currently.
It's amazing.
I am a fan.
So I just blended powerhouses together.
And so then the third drink is a tamarind, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper drink.
So tasty. It froths up-
It's amazing
... when you shake it. So when you make mocktails with it, it pours so nicely.
It's beautiful.
And it's very cozy, and it's really amazing for your digestion and your hormones.
And so those are all the things I needed to work on.
So I just created them that way, and then my skin was clearing up, and people
started asking me-
Oh, my gosh
... "What are you doing? What are you putting on your skin? What's happening?
How can I get my skin like that?"
It's from the inside.
I was like, "Ugh." I've literally spent so much money on makeup and topical things
and skincare. I was like-
To cover. Yeah
... nothing's really working.
Yes.
Yes, you can do those things, too, but not until I was like, "No, let me really
make sure I'm taking in-"
Yes.
So yeah. That's my drink line.
How would I get your cocktails, mocktails?
Oh, yeah.
Because just for the listeners or viewers, this is a shiner.
Okay, that's why I'm sitting on this side of the table. I will own it.
So I'm going to try the cocktail, mocktail.
Oh, my God. Yeah.
This is unacceptable in adulthood. What am I, a teenager?
But they, I feel like they randomly just pop up in the most inconvenient times.
Who is this?
But it's like-
I didn't invite you.
But so what does this tell us, actually? Because it's in the chin.
Cystic acne, it's hormonal. It means I'm a DHT converter right now with my
testosterone.
Ooh.
I'm not a fan. It's a stress form-
Oh
... of testosterone.
At least that tells you a lot.
It tells me everything. And it could be correlated with PCOS, which I do have.
Mm. Okay.
So I need to watch the cycle and just make sure-
Mm-hmm
... it doesn't get too off track.
Mm-hmm.
Also, hair loss can happen with it.
So-
Mm-hmm
... male pattern balding loves to follow this lovely little guy.
So-
Mm.
No, I'm fixing this immediately.
I know that. Oh my God. At least you know.
You're so informed on it, so you know exactly what you need to do.
Yeah, your cocktails, mocktails.
Yeah, you're like, "I need those."
How do I get them?
And then I just need you to chill. You know what I need you to do? To chill.
I need the wellness retreats in Bali.
Yeah.
The silent retreats.
You're like, "I need to get away." That's what happens.
Where are we going?
You're like, "Mom, I need some me time," and that's it.
Yeah.
No, yeah, 1,000%. I think the hibiscus one would be amazing for you because it'll
calm your nervous system. And I love to pour that one up in the evening so it feels
like I'm having a glass of wine.
Oh, that's awesome. I love that. Yeah.
That's also how I designed them that way, because I-
Yes
... wanted people to feel like you're not taking this torturous shot in the morning
that you just need to get away from-
Get through
... and just get it over with.
Yeah.
I want you to really enjoy taking care of yourself and like-
Who thinks of that? That's beautiful
... enjoy it. Yeah, I'm like, "Pour yourself a little glass of something in the
morning while you're doing your makeup or while you're getting ready."
Yeah.
Kind of romanticize it.
Yes.
So-
I want to look forward to it.
Yeah. So the chlorophyll one, I love having that one in the morning, and I love to
just have a little slice of lime in it, with a lot of ice so it just feels like I'm
having almost a mojito-
Right
... or something.
Yeah.
A lot of it is mindset, too.
Yeah.
So if you just prepare it a certain way-
Yeah
... your body just thinks, like, "Ooh, I'm on vacation. I'm having...
This is great." But you're consuming-
Can we do these?
... all the good things.
I want to try all of them.
1,000%.
I want to do a whole experience, and then-
Yeah
... after that I can just follow the plan-
Yeah
... and fix this guy.
Yeah, 1,000%. So yeah, I sell my mocktails.
You can order them through DM right now.
My website-
Okay
... is being renovated, but I ship locally, internationally, and then, I mean,
nationally. And then you can also book my mocktail bar.
I do mocktail bars at a lot of cute-
Oh, I love this
... wellness events, so those are really cute. Yeah.
I have an event. May I book you?
Yeah, of course.
It's coming up. I'll have to give you the dates.
But that-
Yeah
... oh, I'm so excited.
Yeah, they pair really well if you're trying to do a wellness event.
Yes.
I do a lot of Pilates events, and just anything like that.
Honestly, they're really nice and fun.
Let's do it.
Yeah.
Okay, so if somebody wants to reach out to you-
Mm-hmm
... what is your Instagram, or how would they reach you?
Yeah. So The Nourishing Cocina on everything, TikTok, Instagram, and then
thenourishingcocina@gmail if you ever want to reach out and book something through
email as well.
I do. I'm going to be booking.
Yeah. Yeah, 1,000%. Let's do it.
Thank you so much for stepping into the studio.
I know it's late-
Of course
... but this was so fun.
It's nice.
I learned a lot.
Yeah, this was really fun. We have so much to talk about.
I know.
I feel like we can be in here yapping all day.
Oh, all right. Thank you guys for listening. Until next time, Dr.
Supeli, White Coat Luxury.