Welcome back to the inspired
living with auto-immunity podcast.
I'm your host, Julie Michaelson.
And today I'm joined by Amanda
Nowosadzki author of the clean Southern
cuisine, cookbook, and founder of
the queen Southern cuisine blog.
Today, we're talking about
clean Southern cooking and so
much more that will serve you.
No matter your culinary heritage,
whether you're following an AIP, keto
gluten-free, or just plain mindful diet.
Amanda shows us how to include
treats and foods that bring us
joy while fueling our health.
Amanda welcome to the podcast.
Julie, thank you so much for having me.
I'm so happy to be here with you today.
I am thrilled.
I love what you're doing
and you answer a protest.
I get all the time which is, you
know, it's too hard or I missed so I
want to just jump right in because.
We were just chatting off-mic and
found out that we're kind of neighbors.
And I was teasing that you're this
lovely Southern Belle living in
Colorado, but you are also unique
in, you know, not everybody is, is
cooking, clean Southern cuisine.
So how did you fall into this world?
What motivated you to start
finding a cleaner way to cook?
Absolutely.
You know, it was really a happy accident.
And it was about a decade ago.
I was on.
The verge of a landmark birthday, and
Julie, as silly as this now seems I was
going to be turning 30 and I thought,
okay, I want to shed a few extra pounds.
And the paleo diet was very invoked
then, you know, that was really one
of the premier diets at the time.
So I'd heard quite a few friends
talking about it and I thought.
I'm going to try this paleo thing, right.
To shed these few extra pounds.
So I get on the paleo diet and my
goal was to lose pounds, which I did.
But what I didn't expect was
that these health issues that
I've been struggling with.
Would just disappear.
So a few weeks in, I had this major
light bulb moment where I realized
that the tendonitis that I've been
struggling with in my wrist for like
a year and a half it was unbearable.
Right.
I couldn't chop, there were
days I'd have to take off from
work because I couldn't tie.
I mean, it was really extreme.
So I've been to a chiropractor.
I've been to an orthopedic surgeon.
I've been to everybody and it just
didn't feel like a pill or a cream
was like the end all be all answer.
I wasn't even 30.
Right.
So I'm thinking what the heck,
I don't want to be on a pill or
cream for the rest of my life.
Same with my IBS or
irritable bowel syndrome.
Right.
I was diagnosed with that and I just
always thought, okay, I kind of have
this crazy stomach and something
I'm going to have to live with.
Well, lickety split a few weeks
into eating, sort of the paleo
diet where I'd removed gluten
and dairy and grains and legumes.
Wow.
I had this light bulb moment where I
realized that all of those symptoms had
subsided and it really blew my mind.
You know, being from south Louisiana,
organic whole food was really not a focus.
Probably not easy to come by
and let, let it focus, you know?
Yeah.
It, you know, it's not, it's,
it's not a it's not of great
importance for many people.
They're, let's face it.
Right.
What's what's of great importance is
that the food is delicious and that
it's a part of our heritage, right.
There's really a huge aspect
of culinary heritage there.
You know, I learned to make gumbo at my
mom's hip at the age of probably six.
I probably learned how to make
a roux, the base for a gumbo.
Right?
So it's really this cultural and
this culinary inheritance how healthy
it is a little bit less important.
Right.
So it was really, you know, I'm
on the verge of this birthday.
I lose these pounds.
I start realizing that I just
have less inflammation in my body.
I've been paying a personal
trainer, an ungodly amount of money
to work out for probably a year.
And.
All of a sudden, you know, when I had
this light bulb moment, I realized, wait,
all of my work is finally showing up
because this inflammation is leaving me.
And I was really able to narrow
it down, Julie, to like the
main culprit being gluten.
Wow.
That may be pretty sad because
I realized, well, there it goes,
gumbo, there goes crawfish pie.
There goes biscuits, there, go all
these things that are such a part
of me and that I want to enjoy on a
regular or at least an occasional basis.
Right.
So, you know, it really became
a selfish quest, I guess I'd say
because I, you know, Googled for
gluten-free or paleo Southern recipes.
They just didn't meet my standards,
being from south Louisiana.
So I I really began to revamp some
generations, old family recipes.
Right.
And then I'd be began to create new
ones because I wanted to eat them.
Right.
I knew like I don't want to
live my life without these.
And it wasn't until further in.
That somebody said to me, it was
my sister-in-law who specializes in
Hashimoto's thyroiditis actually.
look at that.
Yeah.
She said to me, you know what,
Amanda, I think I was waxing poetic
about, I don't know, gluten-free
gumbo and how it could be amazing.
And you could feel it to the occasion.
And they'd never know the difference,
which I actually did do that by the
way, in testing for my cookbook.
And she said, Amanda, I think he needs
to write a cookbook and it wasn't until
that moment that I thought, like, you know
what, there's a lot of other people out
there who could probably use this as well.
And that's what really.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that was the impetus.
First starting clean Southern cuisine,
the cookbook, and you know, the blog
by the same name because, you know,
I guess it's it was my own mess that
really fueled me to To create these
recipes that I could still enjoy.
Right.
I wasn't willing to cut them
out of my life completely.
I knew that wouldn't be realistic.
And it was really from that selfish
place that I started to create them.
But then very quickly became passionate
and realized how many other people are
suffering from an auto-immune disease.
Are diabetic, have some sort of chronic
issue that they're trying to manage,
or maybe just wake up in the morning
aching and don't realize why, right.
Right.
Think that's normal.
Yeah.
And Julie, I think we do get to that
place where we just begin to accept
those things as normal, you know,
which is why we're here so
that people won't do that.
They'll say, yeah.
And I think it's a ton about awareness
because if someone had spoken to me
before that time that I had that light
bulb moment, I would have thought
they were crazy, or I would have just
dismissed it because you know, my crazy
stomach, my IBS was just a part of me.
It was like, okay, you eat
this food or this rich food.
You know, you know, the
consequences, right.
Or your knees are a little
achy when you wake up.
Well, I mean, come on, I wasn't 30 yet.
That's not normal.
Right.
But again, we accepted
it wasn't for, you
Yeah.
know, I I'm.
So with you, we have so many
fun overlaps and crossovers.
First finding out where neighbors
I to found out about my celiac
actually as a happy accident.
And I went gluten-free to support my
son when he was diagnosed and same
thing, I was on 10 prescriptions
that weren't helping, but it was
like, oh, I feel a little better.
Gluten-free my joints don't hurt as much
my, you know and so, so that was awesome.
What you're doing is such a contribution.
I, and I, and.
You know, your heritage is so
richly seeped steeped in food.
But what I know from working with all
the different clients, I work with
really all over the world, all, all of
our heritages are, are steeped in food.
It is such a part of our
families and our social circles.
And you know, every it's just interwoven
into our celebrations, everything and.
I did not to the level of you, I
should have you tweak some of my stuff.
I grew up on the east coast and
a Jewish family, and so, and I
feel like almost all of those.
Well, at least here, culturally,
I feel like flour is a basic.
You know, everybody has some
kind of a dumpling or some
soup with something in it.
And for me, my shining glory, I loved
that you were like, you could give it to
a Cajun and they would, they don't know.
I made, I think it was two years ago.
I made matzah ball soup.
I made, I made grain-free paleo.
Matzah ball soup and served it
outside of my fellow, served it
to friends who were also Jewish.
So I had grown up with it.
They had no idea.
It was grain-free.
The matzah balls were light
and fluffy and delicious.
I didn't come up with that recipe.
I actually, there is a, an
incredible paleo cook who you
may or may not know or know.
And who lives also is a neighbor of ours.
And so she does a lot of she's Jewish and
does a lot of Jewish recipes and pink,
like so it is, it's such a contribution
because we all do have these stories.
And so it, I.
But I did grow up.
My family was in the restaurant business.
But I, I'm not a brilliant cook or chef or
I'm a, I'm a recipe follower more than a
recipe maker when I'm cooking for others.
And when I cook for just us, you
know, I, I cook clean and easy.
But.
I have spent over the past 15 years,
you know, we it's tweaking the family
recipes, the noodle kugel, the, you know,
people are like grain-free noodle kugel.
Yeah.
You can do it.
Grain-free dairy-free payment
and it's not tastes free.
It's all flavor free.
And so, but I would say
when you think Southern.
People would say, well, no way,
like just don't even bother.
So it is such a contribution and I'm
so excited to be able to, to share your
cookbook with not only our listeners, but
really with my clients that are Southern
and those recipes really speak to them.
Thank you, Julie.
And you're so right.
I think everybody's connected
to their culinary heritage.
And I think the other thing is,
you know many of us travel places
and have like this unforgettable
unforgettable meal, right.
And a lot of people have traveled to new
Orleans or to the Louisiana Gulf coast.
And they've had this thing that
they want to talk to me about
when they find out I'm from.
So I find that, you know, there's
such a connection that makes that
cuisine, the Cajun and the Creole
cuisine, especially that influence on
Southern food, known the world over.
And so I've realized that you know, not
only southerners have been interested
in this, but so many other people
who just have either had a quick.
With new Orleans or with Louisiana
cuisine, or who've gone there for
an extended period of time or who
knows somebody you know, that are
from the area and make this one
thing they just can't get enough of.
So thank you.
Thank you.
It's.
No.
Thank you.
Really.
It's so exciting.
And I, and I love so when I went
gluten-free I say 15 years ago, I'm
thinking about how old my son is.
It was probably longer than that.
It's again, options, you know,
there weren't great cookbooks
and there weren't great products.
And we're going to, I don't want to
jump ahead, but I have to, there weren't
great flour alternatives there weren't.
I mean, it was just, it was a
struggle and, and it was very easy
actually for me to then go paleo
because it was like, well, the other
stuff didn't taste good anyway, so.
Totally.
Just avoiding it.
But I want to circle back to
this idea of clean, right?
Because I, if I could tell you
how many times people show up and,
and, and our, my first meeting
with them, they'll say I eat clean.
What does that mean to you?
Tell me about it.
You know, and I'm like, oh boy, we have
very different definitions of clean.
So when you say clean Southern cuisine,
what, what are you bringing to us?
What, what are your criteria for.
Absolutely.
So for me, it's always going to be
gluten-free because as I mentioned
for myself, I identified that gluten
was a major culprit and I'm sure you
probably have seen in your practice
and in food sensitivity testing that
it is for so many of us celiac or not.
Right.
Oh, absolutely.
It's the one I, and I, I
do have a, there's a short
list of foods that I think.
Everybody if interested, it does best
to avoid, but I say, and especially
working with the auto-immune community,
that is, I'll say we all should have.
And I use food testing and I, you know,
we, we use all of it an elimination
diets, and everyone needs to figure
out for themselves, but without a
doubt, and my listeners are probably
rolling eyes cause they know what's
coming because I say it all the time.
The one thing.
Across the board, everybody with
auto-immunity or auto-immune in
your family or chronic inflammation
should avoid is gluten period.
It's just simple.
You know, it's, it's the it's the sad
truth, but it's made less sad by, you
know, people like myself and yourself
who really strive to find or to create.
Things that, you know, you don't
know the different, it's actually
some delicious, you don't miss it.
That is possible.
If anybody's listening to this
thinking like that's just not possible.
It is.
I promise I was, I had a very
healthy dose of Southern skepticism
about gluten free before I actually
came to it and realized it.
But for me, clean Southern cuisine and
clean is going to be free of gluten
and free of of other inflammatory and.
And whenever possible,
we're going to try to go.
non-GMO, we're going to try to
do organic whenever possible.
And also we're going to try to make
these things as nutrient dense as
possible while, and here's the caveat
for the big caveat for me in testing,
all of these recipes and rigorously
was that they needed to maintain
a traditional taste and texture.
And I mentioned feeding my
gluten-free gumbo to a Cajun
neighbor, which was actually.
You had to be nervous.
It was, it was a good test, you know?
And you know, I got his honest
reaction and he was, you know, he just
thought, well, this is great gumbo.
This tastes like your mom's Dumbo.
Right.
Which is the recipe.
I modified it from.
He never would have known.
And those moments are the ones that are
like a triumph for, you know, anybody
who's a recipe writer, but also what can
show the listeners and demonstrate to
the listeners that it's not hopeless.
You're not going to feel deprived.
And like you're never satiated, you
know, there's actually a ton of hope
when you find the right resources.
So that's clean for me.
I love that.
I, and there is a ton of hope, which
is why the podcast is inspired living.
I mean, we, I, I just love,
and I love all the I love.
So I have to say as somebody
who's not a southerner.
I smiled on the inside when
you said nutrient dense.
Cause that's another thing I
don't necessarily think of when
I think of Southern cuisine.
So I love that you're bringing that in.
So you're not just avoiding, which is
all about how to optimize house people.
It's not all about avoiding the bad stuff.
It's also about making sure
we're getting the good stuff.
Absolutely.
It's focusing on these ingredients
that we really learn about as we
start to experiment with them.
Or I've got a quick start guide
in the beginning of the cookbook
that really goes through pantry
items and refrigerator items.
And then I try to educate you
a little bit throughout on
what each brings to the table.
For instance.
There is a cookie in my book and it's
called I dream of chocolate cookies
because Julie, I do drink with chocolate.
If I'm being honest, most particular
cookies use a raw cacao powder
versus a regular cocoa powder.
Right.
And as you know, And maybe as some
people know, but some people don't, a
lot of those nutrients and cocoa powder
that you put in brownies or baked
goods are completely roasted out of it.
Whereas if you're enjoying raw cacao
powder, well, then you're getting a
ton of magnesium and you're getting
all of these phenomenal nutrients from
it that you would not get otherwise.
Right.
So I figured, Hey, if it's easy
to layer in a little nutrition and
we can still maintain that great.
You know, traditional taste and
texture, we can still free feed
it to our, you know, American
standard diet, friends, et cetera.
Well then why the heck?
Wouldn't we right?
I love that.
And I love that you said, you know,
feeding into, to our sad friends.
You didn't say it.
I'll say it.
That's my, I joke like that's my, my test
that that's exactly how I test stuff is I
know my, my house is the hub for my friend
group and this particular friend group.
It doesn't, they don't all eat as clean.
There's kind of a variety.
And some like terrible,
I mean, really bad.
And so I, I always, I like to host
and I could, because I liked to be
in charge of the food, you know,
and that's exactly how I test it.
And, and I will, when I hand, before
I hand it off to a client or somebody
I'll be like, no, I know, you know,
that plate was empty at the party.
So I know, you know, anybody would
like this and that's the key.
It shouldn't be.
I'm guilty of, I've
been grain-free so long.
I didn't have crackers
and I wasn't somebody.
I honestly, it's what
you get used to as well.
So I wasn't someone who
missed bread or crack.
I wasn't trying all the bad things that
are out there that they sell that tastes
like cardboard because I just didn't care.
I was happy with my protein, fat and
veggies, but And I just lost my train of
thought as to where I was going with that.
Wow.
No worries at all.
So gone anyway.
So w I, I want to ask you this because
a lot of our listeners are possibly,
you know, doing an AIP elimination or
They, you know, everybody has kind of a
different level of what works for them.
I tell people all the time, once we
go through, when I'm working with
somebody one-on-one and we, you know, do
their food sensitivity and we do their
elimination phase, I'm an AIP coach.
I don't put everybody through AIP.
I lead, you know,
individualize, everything we do.
But I always say the.
Best option is the most, very
diet that suits your body.
Mine.
Is really restrictive.
And so I would say the, and
that usually is my answer.
I would hope you could eat more food
than I can and feel well, like really?
And so, you know, not everybody's
fully, grain-free dairies another
one and we grew up, my family was
in the dairy business, but it's
pretty inflammatory for everybody.
But so if somebody is beyond gluten.
This is my long-winded way of asking.
Will, will they be able to find recipes in
the cookbook or ideas that they can use?
They will, Julie.
The cookbook is not other than
being gluten-free, there's nothing
else across the board that applies.
In other words, the rest of it is not all
AIP or Quito or dairy-free, but most of
the recipes have modifications, right?
Some of them are going to be all of that.
Some of them are going to be key to.
The et cetera appropriate
for almost any body.
Others are really going to
have special modifications.
Like if you enjoy and have raw dairy
in your life, you have the option
to add some cheese to this biscuit,
some raw cheddar to this biscuit.
Okay.
Or you know, to make the.
my mouth water a little bit.
This gets, I mean, you, you
called it earlier with the, with
the flowered, with the bread.
You know there's also going to be
notations about to make something
AIP friendly, substitute, you know, a
flax egg for a nag or what have you.
There's lots of substitutes.
So so yeah, the answer is.
I didn't want to take it all in
one direction of AIP or Quito,
et cetera, because I wanted it
to be accessible to more people.
And you know, you just mentioned
the IP elimination, you know,
hopefully the goal is I'm sure in
your practice and for most people is
not to stay in that AIP elimination
phase, because that would be tough.
Right.
And I know for myself, if I weren't able
to have like these special occasion foods
that I would call like sweets or treats
like biscuits, or, you know, a fabulous
cookie, if I weren't able to do that
ever, I would probably fail miserably.
So it's not that
Yeah.
it's not that you have to, you
know, incorporate these into
your diet every week or that I'm
even suggesting that I'm not.
But you know, when you sit down to
the holiday table one of the things
that's most look forward to, I think
in any culture is going to be some
sort of bready item, like a biscuit
or a roll, or, you know, a fabulous
you know, bread from scratch.
Right.
So it's just, it's good
to have these resources.
Even if they're not going to be
a part of your everyday life.
Or they're not going to be a part
of your AIP elimination phase, or
maybe your AIP everyday diet that
as you mentioned, you know, find the
thing that works best for your body.
But you're eating the most,
very diet that you can.
I love that because I think it's also
so important for us each to figure out
what works for our individual selves.
And I love it that functional medicine
practitioners, like you can really help.
To dig down into that with food
sensitivity testing, et cetera.
And I mean, that's gosh, I mean,
knowledge is power, isn't it?
A knowledge is also power to really enjoy
and incorporate some delicious things.
When you've got that
knowledge at your fingertips.
Absolutely.
I call those the sum
of my sometimes foods.
So I, I have foods that I know they're
a little bit inflammatory for me.
And I allow myself to have
them thoughtfully on occasion.
And for me, it's not even
breads and it's tomatoes.
Oh, yes.
You know, I nightshades,
I grew up in New Jersey.
I'm a Jersey girl.
I love tomatoes.
I just they don't seem to love me, but.
I, if I eat tomatoes and that's how I
would define the, sometimes food is, and
I'm a little, when I say sometimes, I
mean like a handful of times a year, like
I am for me, but that's because I am who
I am and I do what I do for a living.
And so I know if eating tomatoes two
days in a row, if I can feel it, that
means that even when I eat them once
and can't feel it, it's doing something.
So I limit that.
But I totally agree with you and I,
this has been a confession time for me.
It's, it's been.
A process for me, I joke I'm a kinder,
gentler coach than I used to be.
I used to be very much like, just
do it and why do you need a biscuit?
And why do you need it?
You know?
And now I get it.
I'm like, well, you know what, everybody
has a different level of need, a variety
of treat of, you know, or what is a treat.
You know, maybe not everybody can really
think of the strawberry as a treat.
It's okay.
And so it is so important to have those
go tos so that they don't just throw
the towel in and say, well, forget it.
This is too hard.
Absolutely when I couldn't agree more,
you know I love him that you say you
were a tougher coach at some point,
because I got to, you know, when,
when you're really into it you can
almost have a level of sensitivity
to like, okay, well I'm doing it.
It's working for me.
I'm thriving.
I'm seeing all of these benefits.
Why can't you understand?
Right.
But when you're on the
outside of that, and you have.
Experienced the benefit.
I feel like it's especially
hard to really just jump all in.
It takes a level of, I
guess, trust or risk.
Right.
And just yeah.
Throwing yourself at it and realizing
like, okay, everybody's saying it's going
to be worth it, I guess will be worth it.
Yes, absolutely.
And part of it too, to be totally,
probably more honest than you were hoping
for is it is such a pattern because I
see it with my clients now all the time.
I was coaching at the time, how I
was living and I was living extremely
restricted because I went from
so sick to so well that I didn't
trust my body to be able to handle.
I didn't, I didn't want to risk it.
Absolutely.
so I actually teas, you know, at
that phase that you were just talking
about when we're getting ready to
jump into an elimination and people.
Panic.
I don't know if I can do this.
I don't, is it really gonna work?
And I joke I have a couple of clients.
It's funny whether it makes sense
they're they're accountants and that
they were literally, I think the only
clients I've had that have started,
you know, I never give an eczema.
I say at least 30 days for
the elimination, that's it.
And we talk about why and how
we'll know and all of that.
And they start counting.
Day one, they take, there's
a like, and I'm like, you're
counting to what we don't know yet.
Like what stopped counting.
But I always have to convince people
in the beginning when they're in that
phase, like, you don't believe me
now, but I am going to have to really
encourage you to do your reintroductions.
Right.
Because people don't
want to rock the boat.
Totally.
but it's where you learn.
When, what treats can you have?
Can you put cheese on your biscuit?
People you want to know that right?
Yeah, exactly.
Can you, yeah, I know because
that elimination phase is powerful
and then the reintroduction
phase is also powerful, right?
For the reasons you just mentioned.
And it's those light bulb
moments where when you eliminate.
Suddenly start noticing a symptom
or two that's no longer there, or
you just feel so much dang better.
Overall.
I get it.
You know, if you've tried that you
sometimes get to that point where you're
like, it is not worth it, you know,
whether it, and you can decide for you,
whether it's never, or whether it's, you
know, you said like your some foods a
few times a year, I've got those as well.
And I love the sometimes food term, epic.
That's great.
We have a never ever at a, this one's
in and this is sometimes just sometimes.
Yeah.
So you, we danced around the flower topic.
Let's talk flower.
I have never talked flower
on the podcast so far.
Yeah.
And I know.
dangerous territory.
personal experience.
It's a, it is, people
are funny about flour.
So I agree that this transition away
from wheat flour is like this big
ugly, hairy, scary thing for people.
And nothing's ever going to taste
right again, or texture is a big deal.
So educate us.
Yeah, totally.
So as you mentioned, you know, a couple
of years back, even gluten-free flours and
one-to-one alternatives, they just sucked.
Let's be blunt, right?
Until, until more recently,
it just wasn't worth it.
But what I wanted to do was to
create a one-to-one substitute
that didn't have to be stored.
A for cost and be just so we have
control over the ingredients because as
you and I were just talking about, some
people may be able to tolerate certain
ingredients or may be able to tolerate
some sort of binder or gum for others.
That's going to be off limits completely.
Right.
So this really kind of gives you
the control over the ingredients.
And that is actually
available free on my website.
I'm sure we can link it and show notes or
It is going to absolutely
be linked in the show notes.
This is Amanda's beautiful gift
to the, to everybody listening.
Oh, thank you.
Well, and you know, again, this won't
be for those AIP elimination times,
or, you know, maybe your everyday AIP
this'll be for those special occasions.
So if you're thinking like, oh my
gosh, I'm never going to eat my
grandma's chocolate cake recipe again.
Okay.
Well, this is where we get to debunk that.
And this is where you can get my,
my one-to-one flower guide as well.
A quick start guide that just talks
to you about binders and helps you to
rework that recipe so that it really
has a similar taste and texture, or
the very same as the original, right.
That nostalgia or that
connection that comes with it.
And that gift also includes
a few of my favorite recipes.
One of them is a biscuit.
That can be made completely
without any theory.
No butter, no milk.
It's even egg-free.
So I know this can be a big trigger
for a lot of people and a lot of
gluten-free biscuits and breads,
well, they involve eggs, right?
Because they're missing other things,
but these biscuits are the ones
that you could literally bring.
Julia, you could serve them
to your group of friends.
Everything.
yeah, it fits every category,
vegan sound, et cetera, et cetera.
So that's included in the gift as well.
I really wanted people to
have a go-to let's say you're
going to our social gathering.
You have special dietary needs.
Other people there might
have different ones.
This is kind of that thing you can
bring and everybody's going to be happy.
I've tested it at several holiday
gatherings, so I could vouch for that.
amazing.
Yeah, but it is true.
That flower is a big one.
Right.
And I think it's important to note,
like you said, you've put, you've never
discussed flour on this podcast before.
It's probably because you don't
go out and encourage, you know,
your clients to make it a huge
part of their regular consumption.
Right.
true.
And I, I love that you brought
that up because even people that
are doing an AIP elimination.
You there, you can make AIP compliant,
elimination, phase compliant, baked goods.
It's you're still, shouldn't
be eating them every day.
Like if it's still a treat and that's
the hard for people to wrap their
head around, you know, we, we need to
redefine treats, I think, as, as adults.
And, and it certainly.
It's a process, right.
As we grow and learn and realize
what our bodies really need.
And, and like you said, what you're
doing is allowing people to have
that trait, have that connection,
have that, those memories, you know,
your baby's gonna have those memories
of the yummies around the table.
Right.
And, and but they're, they're going
to be a much healthier option.
absolutely.
Yeah.
And then there'll be, there'll
be less inflammatory they'll
hopefully be more dense, et cetera.
Right.
If we're going to have it, if we
know better, we can do better.
Right.
So if we're able to get educated on
some of these ingredients, it might
not be the perfect thing that we eat
all the time to your point, but is it
something we can enjoy on occasion?
Absolutely.
So, yeah.
it.
And I love that you
take it down to the gum.
That may sound weird.
We're not talking about dentistry here
Yes.
because, because I do extensive food
sensitivity panels with all of my clients.
I have been truly amazed at how many are
highly sensitive to some of those gums.
100%.
we're talking about guar gum xantham gum.
If people are like, what the
heck are they even talking about?
Exactly
There's a variety of them and
they're commonly added, you know,
if you go buy a jug of milk, there
aren't any gums added, right.
Cows milk.
But if you go buy almond milk,
they're very well maybe, or
coconut milk or whatever other
alternative you might be looking for.
And so.
Getting to see those test results in
front of me all the time with like, oh,
and watch for this and watch for that.
I love that you really get down to
that level because that's the detail.
Like you just, you've blown my
mind where somebody gets lost.
Right.
It's like, okay, well it's
hitting all these other things,
but then it's got, oh shoot.
I can't have xantham gum.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's, you know that's something
I've struggled with as well,
because I've noticed that I can be
slightly sensitive to certain guns.
And when I realized that it was
like, okay, well then what else
can I use in place of, or can it
just be eliminated in this recipe?
Right.
And you know, you can still
make phenomenal gluten-free
goods without xantham gum.
Now let's say that you that's one of
your, sometimes ingredients may be like,
you're going to have it once or twice
or three times a year, because it just
really enhances the texture of something.
Great.
You know, you're equipped with that
knowledge and then you'll be equipped
with my little table that tells you
exactly how much gum to add, to achieve
the perfect, you know, whether it's a
pizza crust or a cookie or a cake, you
know, those take different amounts.
So basically I've taken out all
of the chemistry of it for you.
I never liked chemistry
in school, but I do like
Now you got
So
Well, and they say, I mean,
it is, you need chemistry
in the kitchen, you just do.
So I love that.
That's amazing.
I have so many things I want to ask you.
I'm like, oh my God.
Where can, and I'm, I want to make sure
I know the, the gift will be in the show.
Knows where can people get the book?
Absolutely.
It's on Amazon.
So if you Amazon, Google, as I say,
if you Amazon search claim Southern
cuisine, it should come right up.
And yeah, it's prime shipping.
Doesn't get more convenient than that.
know, it is, it is absolutely wonderful.
I'm telling you guys get, get the book.
Mine is on the way here or
else I would have, this would
have been a three hour episode.
Cause I would have all the
questions about all the recipes.
But I.
Super excited to play with it.
And, and not being a Southern girl.
I know my standards aren't that high,
but knowing that the recipes are
so high standard, I would, I would
even invite my Southern friends.
So
Oh,
it'll, it'll be fun.
that's high praise.
Thank you.
So if someone's feeling overwhelmed
by just this idea of clean eating,
where do you recommend these.
You know, Julie, I think it's
not necessarily an action.
The longer I do this, the more I realize
this it's something we touched on
earlier, where they start is actually
just one, one thing that they need
to remember and remind themselves
off, which is it will be worth it.
I love
Right.
It will be worth it.
It might be tough.
We're not saying it's
going to be super easy.
There may be a learning curve.
In fact, there probably will be
a learning curve for most, most
people, but it will be worth it.
And that's, I think what we all have to
start at just to realize like, dang, I
am going to have to clean out my pantry.
I remember my resistance,
you know, when I.
Decided to start the paleo diet
before my 30th birthday, it was
like, I don't want to throw a waste.
All of these ingredients,
the sugar, et cetera.
There was really this
hesitancy around it for me.
And I wish somebody had told me that.
Right.
Like it will be worth it for
more reasons than you probably
could even fathom right now.
So yes.
that.
Absolutely.
And I love the that's been another
evolution in, in my coaching is we
always would work with mindset now.
It's like mindset first.
Like we need, we need to get in
the right place at and approach it.
As I know you were.
Going paleo, probably thinking short
term in your mind, you know, lose weight.
But, but we're talking about, yes.
It takes time.
It takes energy.
It's a process.
But it's your life, so that's worth it.
Yeah, there's almost no better
gift that you can give to yourself.
I guess there are plenty of gifts you
can give to yourself, mentally gratitude
practices, all these things that I think
affect our health, but you know, for me,
especially growing up in the south and
I'm sure it's the same for people that
grew up in plenty of other places where.
Maybe the focus wasn't on healthy
food, but it was like really good food.
You know, there's a, there's this thing.
You just have to realize that
eventually it will be worth it.
And you'll get over that that skepticism,
you know, like eventually you'll be able
to leave that behind because you'll see
that there can be a balance and that
it will be absolutely worth your time.
And it'll be.
Yeah, just one of the best things
you could do for yourself, because,
and I think the magic lies in the
things that you didn't expect.
Like, for me, it wasn't
the magic actually.
Wasn't in the weight loss
that I started the diet for.
It was that in my wrist
and a constantly anymore.
And I wasn't having all of
these digestive symptoms.
And then I realized, oh my gosh,
like my ankles and knees don't
hurt when I wake up anymore.
Right.
That's I think the magic really.
In those, those unexpected
moments where you for yourself
can finally make that connection.
So,
I love that.
That's amazing.
And when you were telling your
story, it always blows me away
when you added in the IBS.
I just had this conversation
with somebody that I had gotten.
Shocker my whole life as well, just
did my oldest who was the first in
the family to be diagnosed with celiac
from infancy, probably through age
three, had T horrible, like violent.
And it poor baby.
And it was I've sorry, we do the
best we can with what we know.
Right.
So medicated, he had so many specialists
and, and, and was poor thing, you
know, get to so overmedicated to
try to get him to keep food down.
Nobody ever asked me.
When he was an infant and I
was nursing, what I was eating.
And as he, when he was a toddler,
nobody asked what he was eating.
When, you know, I'm guessing when you
had IBS, nobody thought to ask you, like,
could it be food-related do you, you
know, have you ever tried X, Y, Z and so
that seems so obvious in hindsight that
that may be something people do expect,
but like you said, whether it's the aches
and the pains, energy, better brain fog
Yes.
literally your skin clearing you name it.
I can't think of something
that you may not have.
As a quote unquote symptom
that may not improve.
I mean, it's the, sky's the limit.
It's true.
And you know, I remember my sister-in-law,
who'd been onto the paleo diet circuit
for a while telling me before I started,
you should write down your symptoms.
And I was, I actually, I
literally thought duly.
I was like, what is she talking symptoms?
Like, I didn't have any symptoms.
I'm not sick.
Yeah.
you are, you just don't realize it.
When we normalize it.
Yeah.
This is my normal, this is like, what
happens to me when I eat this food or this
is just the way I feel you've just learned
to live with it, which is which is so sad.
So, and, you know, you
touched on something.
With the, with the IBS piece and, you
know I think a lot of us, and I don't
know if you're included and kind of
believe that's somewhat of a blanket
term that's given, but you know, never
of, it's the fibromyalgia of the gut.
absolutely.
And, you know,
We don't know.
We'll just call it this.
just put it under that category.
Yeah.
Fell there.
So, I mean, I was never once
asked about food by a conventional
medicine practitioner.
Right.
And like you said, there's a lot
more knowledge out there now and
just awareness around the connection.
But I think that's where the beauty of
functional medicine comes in as well.
And I'm not knocking conventional
medicine because it's saved my life.
Right.
I say that all the time, I'm like,
God forbid I need emergency surgery.
I am going to a Western
trained surgeon, parent.
Like I am not going for acupuncture,
Yeah.
or, or to my functional
medicine physician.
Absolutely.
You know, I had appendicitis last year and
I found myself just so utterly grateful
for the people that were able to take
my appendix out and, you know, literally
prevent, prevent me from losing my life.
Right.
The other side of that.
Those people and it's not their fault.
Just don't have the resources.
The time the system is
not set up in a way yeah.
The training that allows them to do
what you do and to dig into the food
aspect of it, the food sensitivities,
which are so gravely important.
And I think the longer I do this, the
more I realize that, you know, so I've,
I've really benefited from both sides
from conventional and from functional.
So.
I, I tend to think of traditional
allopathic, Western medicine,
as it is exactly what it was
originally designed for acute care.
Madison, and, and they're not there yet
to get under that diagnosis and figure out
what's causing the problem to begin with.
Right.
It's diagnose and treat the symptom.
And so I I'm with you.
I mean, it's, I look forward to the day
when it's just medicine and when the two.
Come together.
But hitting on things like food
and nutrition and movement and
sleep and toxins, and now all, all
the goodies, stress management.
These that's a piece, I think they're
finally starting to notice, maybe asking.
People, you know, how, how their stress
level is or what they're doing about it.
But yeah, there there's no, I had
surgery two years ago as well, and
was so grateful for my, my GP who
has been my doc for years and years
and my surgeon and all of that.
So I always thank you for bringing it up.
I'm usually the one to clarify.
I'm not, there's no good, bad, right?
Wrong.
Yeah.
But for anything chronic, then
I'll just ask question why
Yeah.
and follow that road.
Like see what, see where you go.
Yes.
And if you don't get a why, the
knows that you need to go and
look outside of that resource.
Right.
But it's not their fault.
Maybe it's systemically flawed if you
will, in my opinion, because even.
Some of those doctors are not allowed
or trained to sit there with you
because of the way the insurance
works and, you know it's, it's really
not it's, it's not their fault.
Some of them are just kind
of confined by the system.
I don't know if you would agree.
Oh, I think they're, I think they're
extremely confined by the system.
And there there's, there's
no way in 15 minutes.
They can, and again, it
goes back to the training.
That's not what they're,
that's not how they're trained.
They're trained to name, what's
wrong, you know, diagnose it.
And I had a doctor on the podcast
who had said when she was practicing
Western medicine, she genuinely.
Felt like she wasn't doing her
patients a service if she didn't
give them a diagnosis and a
prescription when they came in.
And, and so, and you know, we all,
we're all learning and doing the
best we can and I am with you.
I'm, you know, I, I.
My babies were delivered
by Western train dock.
And and I'm using Western as I I'm
to we're talking about allopathic
medicine, because a lot of functional
medicine practitioners are MDs
dos, Western trained that have.
Converted, if you will.
And so I, I do believe, I don't
know that it'll be in my lifetime,
but I believe very slowly.
We're at the beginning of the road of
all of that merging to, as I said, where
it's just Madison, where we get back
to, there was a time when people knew,
you know, what you put in your body
and how you treat your body matters.
Absolutely.
Gosh, Julie fingers.
Every part of my body is crossed that we
can get back to that sooner than later.
agree where we're hopefully
going in the right direction.
I think the more we have these
conversations and the more each of us.
Figures these things out.
I always it's the ripple effect.
I know for me, I get such joy when
my clients get better, but then
knowing, you know, that now their
kids are growing up completely
differently than they would have.
And they're talking to friends and
they're, and this is how we're doing it.
We're going to move the needle.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's that?
It's that raising that awareness,
even if it seems grassroots sometimes.
Yes, absolutely.
So what you kind of, you already gave
us one, but I guess this is going to
be an opportunity to either repeat
it or come or give us another one.
I always like to close with that one
step that listeners can take starting
today to start to improve their health.
Absolutely.
You know other than the one
that's my favorite, which
is that it will be worth it.
I'd say the next step is
just take the time to.
Put a little bit more thought into it.
So if you're in the grocery store and
you're feeling overwhelmed, you know,
take the time just to turn over that
package and look at the ingredients.
Right?
That's a, that's a big one because
I know that you're not always going
to want to pick up my cookbook
and make something that evening.
Right.
I know you're going to be in the grocery
store pinched for time sometimes.
And I think one thing that you can just
really do to start to raise the awareness
for yourself is flip it over, flip it
to the side and look at the ingredients.
Because again, it sounds so cliche,
but knowledge is power and you just,
until you start to figure these
things out you know, then you're
going to be right where you're at.
So just take the time for yourself.
Do it for yourself.
My husband always says
self-care is not selfish.
And I think that's so wise.
I love your husband already.
Well, well chosen.
Good job.
It's so true.
I, I that's an as a, as soon to be parents
that's you guys should hang that in
your house because it's, it is so true.
Oxygen mask on you first.
Oh, gosh.
Yeah, you might need to remind us of that.
Once we got underway with
this parental journey,
Oh, for sure.
When you think about self care,
that is a form of self care.
You know, self care doesn't have
to be going to the spa, right?
It can literally be being in the
grocery store and taking the time
for yourself to flip that package
over and start to understand
what you're putting in your body.
So I think that would be my number two.
Oh, my gosh, amazing, amazing advice.
And that alone will change your life
too, because, I mean, I think I've shared
this before on the podcast, because
it was my shining moment as a mother.
Was my daughter called me one day.
She was probably a senior in high school,
maybe a junior and the kids had hit
the grocery store for lunchtime and,
you know, to grab snacks for lunch.
And she called and literally
said, you've ruined my life.
And I said, well, that's
good to know what did I do?
And she said, I found this.
I don't even know what it was, you know,
at this store that I really wanted.
And then I read the ingredients and I
couldn't possibly put it in my mouth now.
And I was like, Mike drop.
I am done on this earth.
go.
She doesn't, she has no idea.
I tell that story all the time,
but, you know, she thought she
was calling to complain and she
literally made my day and that was,
you know, six years ago, probably.
So, yeah.
So read those ingredients.
Yes.
So before we wrap up, we will have all
the links in the show notes, but for those
that listen on the go and aren't going to
take the time to look at the show notes.
What's the, where's the best
place for listeners to find.
Sure.
If, if folks like to connect
through social media, they can
find me on Instagram or Facebook.
My handles @cleansouthern, and
they can also find me on my
website: CleanSouthernCuisine.com.
But I think that, you know, some
people struggle with cuisine.
So spelling is not one of
my strong suits either.
So social media @CleanSouthern
is really simple to remember,
and I look forward to connecting.
Wonderful.
Amanda, thank you so much.
You have shared some amazing tips with
us today, and I know I am inspired.
I am sure listeners are as.
Well, thank you, Julie.
And your work inspires me as well.
So thank you so much for having me.
My pleasure.
For everyone listening, remember you
can get the show notes and transcripts
by visiting inspiredliving.show.
I hope you had a great time and
enjoyed this episode as much as I did.
I will see all next week.