Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Laura Lea

Episode Date: February 18, 2020

Today, Kaitlyn hangs out with certified Holistic Chef and food writer Laura Lea! The pair talk all about both Laura's first cookbook "Balanced" as well as her upcoming one, "Simply." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Lots of wine. Get ready to shake things up. Here's Caitlin. Today on this podcast, I decided it's 20-20. Might as well talk about what we're eating. That's what everybody's doing, right? I have a certified holistic chef, recipe developer, and writer who creates delicious food right here in Nashville, Tennessee.

Her first cookbook, the Laura Lee balanced cookbook, is full of everyday recipes for the at-home cook. And her second cookbook, Simply Laura Lee, comes out later this year and is filled with even more ways to enjoy food no matter your. your diet and skill level in the kitchen. That's important. And if you're not already following her on the gram, it's at Laura Lee balanced,

and you should do so immediately, but please beware. It may cause hunger. It does. Please welcome my guest, Laura Lee. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for having me. We're nice and cozy in my house and with the dogs,

and I was telling you, I took them to play before coming here, to, you know, tuck her them out before. they have to sit here for the podcast. And you asked what dog park I went to. And I'm like, you know what? I go to this football field. So the other day, I took them to a dog park.

And they both play really well with other dogs. Every owner thinks their dog plays really well with other dogs. But I took them both to this dog park. And they're playing and they're having a great time. And ramen can hang with the best of them. Like he can hang with any tough dog, aggressive, like he can just hang. And I threw the ball in this like feisty little black. dog comes and just tackles ramen and starts getting very aggressive and ramen what he does

if he's scared is he just lays on his back with his like but his like fangs out and his his hair stands up and I saw him do that and I was like oh my gosh hey hey and I'm like trying to move the dog but it was very aggressive on top of him like making like bruises and I was like oh god and the dog no dog owner to be found and then I go and I'm like okay I'm going to let this go like ramen it was so sad he went and like laid down and he like didn't want to play anymore but then he got up and was over it and then i threw the ball for pino and the same dog i see him charging for pino across the whole field and i was like oh shit and he did the exact same thing to pino attacked him and i'm looking around like where's this dog owner so i look over and there's this

guy just sitting at a picnic table like in a back corner on his phone and i lost my shit i was like hey. And he was like, looks at me. I'm like, are these your, is this your dog? And he was like, yeah. And I was like, this is a dog park. You need to watch what your dogs do. And he just attacked both of my dogs. And he told me to calm down. Oh, no. You don't tell me to calm down. He did not. Never in the history of being told to calm down, have I ever calmed down. Has a person. No. So he, he told me to calm down. And I just went, are you kidding me? And I was like, I was like, you need to keep, I actually black out. I don't remember exactly what I said. I lost it on him telling him he needs to watch his dog and that if his dog is being aggressive, like, don't just sit on your phone in a corner. Like, make sure you're, anyways, I got fired up. I got in a dog fight at the dog park.

And I don't know. I just feel like people always have shitty experiences at dog parks. Well, also, like, that's actually really dangerous. Yeah. Not. It was really dangerous. Like, I was like, somebody could have got hurt. And you know who really could have got hurt is that dog owner.

because I would have thrown down. Exactly. He was the first to go. Yeah, absolutely. People underestimate my twig arms, but you know what? I have noodle arms too. Yeah, noodle arms. Don't underestimate the noodle arms.

There's more fight in them than you would think. Yeah, exactly. So I wanted to start back at the beginning because even though you're known for cooking and your recipes, you originally had a different career path in mind, right? Like you went to University of Virginia. Yep. Graduated with a degree in English literature. So what did you want to do at the time?

So my whole life trajectory was to be a lawyer. Okay. And when I was in high school, I did like mock trial. Yeah. Wait, cheers, by the way. Okay, so I forget I totally interrupted you for one. No, no, no. That was a good interruption.

So when I was in high school, I did mock trial, which is where you're, you know, like litigating these fake murder cases. So it's super entertaining and fun. And so I fell in love with that. And I was like, great, I'll be a lawyer. So then did everything I needed to do to kind of like stay on that path. in college. And then after Virginia, there's kind of like a mass exodus up to the city. Everybody just goes up there. Yeah. And so I was like, okay, I'm going to go to New York. I'll paralegal for a little

while, apply to law school, and then go to law school somewhere in the city. And that's like life plan. So I moved in 2008. I worked there for three weeks. And after three weeks, I was like I was standing on a street corner bawling my eyes. I know. Like, this is so not for me. I mean, At the time, it was, I mean, it was 2008. I was working in corporate law. There was nothing happening. It was, I mean, everyone was jumping ship. And so I would have these associates coming up to me, like, whispering, like, don't do it.

Like, run away. Yeah. Yeah. And so I knew. I think I just had a gut instinct about it, too. So I knew I didn't want to do that, but that was my whole life plan kind of, like, out the window. Well, I was going to say, how scary and brave of you to follow your heart instead of what you were, thought you were. thought you were supposed to do. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. Yeah. I mean, it took another

four years to kind of like get there. But yes, I definitely, I would say the first step was not going to law school because that still would have been a good. I mean, I'm not street smart. Like, I'm just not. I was good at school. School was a comfort zone for me, but like real life stuff, not so much. So for me, yeah, just just not continuing, you know, my education, a place where I knew I would excel and then what. Yeah. So I stayed in New York for four years, just doing that. kind of work and was just, I mean, you know, it was rough. I was pretty miserable and it took that whole time to finally get to kind of get into some of the food stuff. All right, let's talk about LaCroix sparkling water delivers refreshment, flavor, and sparkle with an innocent twist of zero

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kitchen, you know, maybe if there was dessert. But I really wasn't that into it. I think it was more sort of like subconsciously in the back of my mind. I associated cooking with, comfort and family and community and all that stuff. So I think that's what resurfaced so many years later when I was in, I mean, I was in a really rough place after four years in New York being that miserable. And being miserable came from what you were doing. It came from, yeah, I think it came from not knowing that it wasn't what I wanted to do, but I didn't know yet. I felt, I guess, like, misaligned is a good way to think of it. And I had no control. So I had horrible anxiety. I've always been

pretty anxiety prone. And so, I mean, I was going to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack and spending thousands of dollars each ER visit. You know, they would do an EKG. Tell me I'm fine. And people really weren't talking about mental health that much. Right.

Because that, you said 2008? Yeah. Because 2008, I'm trying to think back as to where I was in life because I agree. I remember thinking I had heart problems too. From anxiety. And I guess that's That's wise because people weren't really talking about it back then. So how did you find out that's what that was, just by people talking about it, just by more people having conversation about anxiety?

You know, I don't even think I heard anyone saying that word for years, you know, for a while. I did, I think what happened was, so I was, this is, you know, about four years in. I was so bored and I had a lot of free time. And I had been partying really aggressively up until that point. And I decided to take a step back from that, what is the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again. Yeah. So I finally stopped.

And so I was by myself on the weekends. All my friends were out. And I would go to bookstores. And I just sort of naturally gravitated towards the kind of wellnessy section, which was small and pretty like out there at the time. Right. But I found a woman named Kimberly Snyder who nobody knows. I mean, a lot of people, I think she still has some people paying.

attention to what she's doing, but she was one of the pioneers in this whole wellness world who was making recipes and talking about mental health. And she, I remember her saying that it was all connected. And that was, I mean, to me, it was totally mind blowing. Wow. Okay. So you've done some, like, to say that you weren't happy in a very good career and to make a change. And to say you were partying a lot and having anxiety and then to just make a change. Like, those are two very difficult things that people could do in life that you, that you did. do you have any advice for people if they are struggling with those kinds of things and how you came to change your ways? Yeah, absolutely. I think that's such a great question. You know, I'm definitely

not, I'm not an extremist by any means. I'm not going to tell someone to just, if they're not happy in their job, to just, like, quit and, you know, join the circus or whatever it is that they want to do. But I do think that you shouldn't let go of it. I think side hustles are incredible. I think finding something that you're interested in, and if you don't know, what you're interested in exploring a lot of different stuff when you do have free time is a great way to get started. And we're now living in an age where you can really like cultivate whatever sort of amount that you want in your life of whatever it is you're interested in. Just start doing something. I think for me it was as simple as when I wasn't working. When I realized I loved cooking

and that it was super therapeutic for me, I just used the free time that I had. And I did that for almost a year where I got proficient enough, I read enough, I thought enough about it to where I decided to make it a career. But, you know, I think some people can just like dive right in guns blazing. That was not me. I don't think that is a lot of people. I think it's right. I think most people are not like that. I think most people don't want that kind of, that kind of change and overwhelm. Because sometimes you have to know who you are. I mean, some people do work better when they have a boss in structure. So yeah. But looking back, I mean, I really, It sounds cheesy, but I did sort of have, I had a couple kind of, like, street corner moments.

The first was when I first moved and was crying and realized I didn't want to do that. The second was I did have a revelation, and this was at 27. Of course it was. I always talk about 27. Yeah. It's such, it's a pivotal year. It's a weird year. Yeah, exactly.

I think you and I are the same age from 34. Yes. So 27, and I just thought, I've just been given way too much not to do something. I mean, at that point. what was the worst that could happen? I had this incredible education. I had enough experience to get a job. It just really seemed like a waste to not go for it at that point in my life, you know? Good for you. All right. I'm excited to have this next sponsor on the podcast. They're a brand everyone's been a fan of for a long time. I know everyone looks forward to receiving their premium

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Use coupon code Vine for $10 off your first box at www. At www.fifitfund.com. That's coupon code Vine for $10 off your first box. I think a lot of people, of course, focus on the physical results from eating a healthier diet, but you realized that your mind was a lot healthier when you were eating well. So can you kind of tell me about that and how eating better almost helped your mood and anxiety? Sure. Yeah. It's nuts. Well, I would say, so there's like the actual stuff. There's the micronutrient stuff, the fiber, healthy fats are incredible for your brain. your brain just loves fat especially for women we want ourselves to have this nice layer of fat around them but from you know high quality sources so and we want our blood sugar to be balanced so that

means making sure you're not eating a ton of refined sweets and when you are eating things that are carbohydrate rich that you're pairing them with with a fat or protein so there was definitely some of that stuff that was you know this the whole foods um the whole food's mentality but I think what I realize more than anything, particularly for women, is that it's about your mindset and your perspective about food, almost more than anything. I know. And it's so hard because some people have a tough relationship with food. And so I used to talk to my girlfriend, Aaron Trelor, who is the founder of Rob Beauty

talks. And she was also my health and wellness coach. And we always talked about relationships with food because I have been. been really lucky in that sense where I just I've always had a good relationship with food where I I realize how good it makes me feel to eat good things but what is my problem is when I get stressed I lose my appetite which is also not healthy but I do agree I think it's just like what you put in your body it's even just being sitting down and before you eat a sandwich is actually just like like taking three deep breaths and eating the sandwich and like tasting everything that's

in your mouth that sounds crazy to some people probably not to you but it does sound crazy to people because they're like oh that's going to make me lose weight and it's like well it's not really about that it's honestly like the stress of your body and and what you're putting into your into your body it's totally it's i obviously sound like i don't know what i'm talking about so you can do a better job but it is wild that concept that it really is um just about being aware of sitting down and taking breaths while you eat and realize what you're eating and not having stress around it. You get, but you can explain it better. No, no.

I actually think you explained it perfectly. And that's exactly what I would say to somebody in my first book. I have a whole section about the environment and the atmosphere in which you eat. And it does sound woo-woo, but it's not. All it is is taking your body out of fight or flight. So if you're in a situation where you feel like you're being attacked, the last thing you're going to do is feel hungry, you know, which is essentially what you're saying. saying for you, when you're stressed out, your body slips into fight or fight probably

pretty quickly, which mine does too, which is why I'm pretty prone to anxiety. Right. And so you're just out of that nervous system state. And so as a result, you really can't digest food. And if you, I have a, there's sort of an analogy that a friend of mine helps, when helps use with her clients when she's teaching called The Tale of Two Cookies. And it's essentially that it's not about what is in the cookie itself. It's exactly what you said, which it's how you eat that cookie.

What's your experience of it? Your body is going to actually absorb and digest that completely differently. If you can be in the present, enjoy it, not attach emotion to it, not make it part of some, you know, on the wagon, off the wagon, all of that mindset and language, then somebody who is already thinking about how they're going to work it off or whatever. I just think it's so wild because it's such a simple concept that. it's so hard for a lot of people to do. And even myself, who I, you know, I just, I worked in a restaurant for over 10 years. And so I think I was always just rushing to just shovel food in my mouth at any chance that I could get. And once I got out of the restaurant industry, I realized I eat so quickly.

I feel like I'm like, like I don't even breathe. I just, I inhale. And I'm like on the phone and I'm, you know, and once Aaron brought it to my attention, I realized how bad that was and how. often I was doing it and now I try so hard to just like appreciate that I've you know the the food that I have the food that I've cooked like take it in and it really does make a difference oh my gosh it makes such a difference but it's so it's so hard to do we're just I mean it's not like built into our culture in any way it's interesting so you worked at a restaurant you said for 10 years that was it

the same place different two different ones yeah it's interesting because the the restaurant industry is in some ways the place where we see the worst eating behavior because you when you are I mean I worked in a couple restaurants before I did what I'm doing now and it is just you talk about fight or flight I mean you don't eat you don't drink water you don't sit down people don't take care of themselves at all it's such a hard industry to be in and some people are trying to change the game and that and create new company culture but it's definitely it's definitely kind of ironic that we should look at having that start from the top down because it's going to create that kind of that kind of behavior, you know?

I know. I was so unhealthy in the restaurant years. Yeah. Oh, me too. Yeah, yeah. I mean, like, it's almost impossible. I mean, the thing is, if you are behind, whether you're serving or you know, a prep cook or whatever, and you're running around for however long your shift is, I mean, it could be anywhere

from four to ten hours, the only thing you want is alcohol after. that, at least in my experience, and that's what most of the people, you know, behind the in the kitchen, it's like you just, you're so heightened the entire time that as soon as you're off, your body, you know, all you want is a release of some kind. Right. Yeah, exactly. That's so true as well. All right. So Mr. Chris Harrison was telling me about this crazy party Hulu through in Beverly Hills with all the biggest reality TV stars from like every show. And now I have to watch the commercials to see what happened like everyone else. I don't usually get FOMO, but in this case, I have extreme FOMO here. Luckily for you, Hulu has the reality TV that you love. So start your free trial

today at Hulu.com. You said in your cookbook, you talk about like the relationships with food. Did you say that? Yep. And is that in the one that you already have out or the one that's coming out in April? So both actually. Oh, okay. Great. So the first book I talk a lot about like the actual environment, which is the kind of stuff you were saying, you know, sit down. If you are working and try to set work aside if you can eat with somebody and have just like kind of a slow conversation that's really nice all of that kind of environmental stuff really important even as cheesy as it sounds even putting on to music or anything that's just going to create a mental shift but in this book i actually got more specific about tips for mindful eating really what that can look like and just

some like action items that you can take to experience food completely differently that's amazing Off the Vine with Caitlin Bristow. All right, The Dish with Trish hosted by Trisha Paitis is a new podcast here at Podcast 1, but she has had some amazing guests. Both Shane Dawson and Jeffrey Starr have stopped by to talk with Trisha about everything from relationships to gossip to feuds.

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like pretty much what you just said? But I feel like people might be lacking resources like time, money. I think people think you need time and money to eat well. Yeah. So, you know, I would say if we're talking like Birds Eye View, yes, there is some privilege in eating well. to an extent, but I would actually, I listened to your podcast from yesterday and you were talking about basically small changes. And I think that's one of the most important and we don't,

we're not, we're living in a society where we want big change. We want to see things really dramatically. The best thing that you can do is pick one small improvement. Do that consistently for a few weeks and then add something on and add something on and have an abundance mindset about it as opposed to a deprivation mindset. Right. So depending on the person, it could be a million different things, you know, but it can just be adding in one more vegetable every day or taking away like one sweet thing every three days.

I mean, it can be really, really teeny tiny. Yeah, you're right. I think so many people think, especially in the eating world that they want results like now. And I always say, and I always have this mindset of like, if I start now, how quickly does a year go by. I mean, I can't. I am, it's, I'm alarmed. If you start now making a small change today, think of how big of a difference that'll make in a year and how fast that will go. Yeah. Yeah, you have to have a long-term mindset about it. I mean, it's just, it's not going to be a merit. I mean, it's not going to be a sprint. It's a marathon. And if you, anyone who, I mean, that's why diets don't

work, you know. Exactly. Diets never work. It's just, it's about what you're putting into your body every day and how it makes you feel. Right. And, and allowing yourself to indulge. once in a while too. Do you cook every meal for yourself every day? I mean, I do for the most part. I do for the most part cook most of my meals. Especially when I'm writing a book, I really try to make all my food just because I should use it to test and that kind of thing. But I do love to go out to eat as well. Okay, I wanted to ask you about that. Yeah. But what like in your day, what does breakfast, lunch, and dinner look like for you? So, I mean, it really does vary. which I know is a super obnoxious answer.

No. It does vary. I have now started, I try to be really, really careful about the phrase intermittent fasting. But I say that only because it's about as close as I can get to sort of describe what it is that I've been doing. Really, what I do now is pay attention to when I'm actually hungry as opposed to having breakfast first thing in the morning without even thinking. And usually I just have coffee. I put cream in my coffee. and I have that and then a few hours later like early lunchtime I usually have my first meal

which could be a leftover I mean I'm all about leftovers I love leftovers I love leftovers I do so many people don't like leftovers it's my I love leftovers I think that if you like it I am so happy to eat the same thing over and over again yeah yeah so I'll just like reheat whatever was last night or since it's my first meal the day I might feel something like brunchy so it might be something like some jazzed up oatmeal or some like I don't know I try to make healthy baked goods a lot so I'll have that with some fruit and yogurt it really it really depends but for the most part I would say I really do try with every meal and snack as well to have some combination of like fat fiber and protein I just have that kind of circulating in the back of my mind we can get some fiber

for digestion some healthy fat for like that satisfaction and then some protein just for also for keeping you full, but just to make sure, especially as women, we're, like, keeping our muscles strong and all that. What protein do you suggest for people who don't eat meat? Yeah, absolutely. It's great question. There's, so there's a lot. I mean, it's important to remember that there's protein in green vegetables as well, and

that's not, I don't say that just sort of like in a super hippie way. I mean, it actually is, and it can accumulate, and you can get a pretty good amount from it. If you like tofu or tempe, those are two forms of soy. Yeah, I love them, too. And I've done a ton of research about. soy and I actually didn't use tofu in my first book and I did in this most recent book because I actually think tofu can be really good for you in moderation like barring any you know specific caveats from your doctor I think it can be great for you and I think it's super

delicious but if you don't want soy oh and also just say tofu and tempe if you don't know what to do with them treat them like you would treat chicken just marinate it and whatever you like it's just going to take on the flavor of whatever you already like and then you know beans and grains are fantastic. I'm not, I mean, I personally am not gluten sensitive. So, and if you're not, if you don't have an intolerance or sensitivity, like every now and again using mock meats, I don't hate that for someone who's vegetarian or vegan because it's a great source of protein. And, you know, and that can be hard to get. Is this a myth that if you are vegan, it's tough to get enough protein or in everything that you eat as a vegan, would it be tough

to not? Like, do you know what I mean? that's gosh that's such a good question i will say i think some of that comes down to just like straight up bioindividuality um and i i don't really know what that looks like some people people have different theories about what exactly that means i would say overarchingly if you're thoughtful about it i think you can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet every now and again some people just their bodies just don't really like assimilate um and take that much nutrition from plant-based protein yeah so even though they're they're eating the number that they should in terms of grams,

their body is just like not really having it. But I would say if you're a thoughtful vegan and you're supplementing properly and you, I mean, if you want to be plant-based, you do have to put a little bit more thought into it. But no, not that much. All right, ladies, I want to tell you about a new brand from the co-founder of Jimmy Chu.

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if you do eat animal proteins it really that that's where quality comes into play and it's sort of non-negotiable in my opinion um if you are going to eat animal proteins or animal products then you need them to be from pasteurized animals so but a pasteurase um ghee or butter in moderation can be good for you and has some really nice omega fatty acids um avocados obviously are incredible coconut oil is incredible, nuts and seeds, and nuts and seed butters as well. If you like eggs, good quality eggs are phenomenal. And then, you know, wild caught fish, just, I mean, about as good of a thing as you can put in your body as anything else.

And then with the fasting that everybody's talking about, how come you were hesitant to say that that's what you do? Oh, my God. It makes me sweat even thinking about it. Really? Yeah, just because you have to be so careful because I don't want to be. people take things and they run with it and I think there's a lot of connotations with fasting women in general do not do as well this is a broad statement but typically don't do as well

as men so but I would bet a lot of your community as well as mine are smart pretty type A women who will say if I fast at 18 hours this day then then it's better to do it seven days a week you know because we're just like a get it to get it done kind of community yeah and I have that tendency as well, but you really don't, you don't want to do that. So the whole idea of fasting is simply to give your body a break to digest, to have proper cell die off so you can get some good cell turnover for your skin to repair, all that stuff that it can't do when it's just using a lot of its energy, even on repairing your immune system, all that stuff that it can't do when it's digesting food. What that looks like from day to day really has to do with your hunger

cues and your hunger signals. I don't want anyone pushing past a point where they start to get hungry and they're shaky and they don't have energy. Like no one should, no one should push through that. You should eat when you feel like your body really needs to eat. It's just that what we were saying, like a lot of us, we just have these built in meal times, these like societal meal times. And often we end up just eating to the, we not necessarily even too much, but too frequently and then our body just really doesn't have a chance to like digest it properly you know and so you don't think that the fasting like this is scientifically proven this is um that that those are the benefits it's not like this is a fad diet or something yeah absolutely there's a lot of science

behind fasting it's been used for very very long time it's just coming into play right i know is yeah yeah um yeah brussels sprout right right there we go yeah um so yeah fasting's been around forever people have been doing it for a really long time. There are incredible scientifically documented stories of people healing from all sorts of stuff with medically overseen fasting. It's really important to make sure you're working with some kind of a medical professional, especially if you have a condition of any kind, basically. Of course.

But if you can kind of use it in moderation just like anything else, I have seen amazing improvements in my digestion mainly is what I've seen. Yeah. I mean, we'll just leave it there. well I'm always so curious because I try and do it and I'm like I'm pretty forgiving with myself if I don't but because that's the thing I try and I used to wake up and think breakfast is the most important meal of the day so I'm going to wake up and make my egg whites and my everything and I was I like trained myself to almost be hungry when I woke up where now I do pay attention to I'm not hungry when I first wake up I'm going to wait until I am hungry if that happens to be before noon I'm not going to force myself but I try because I do want to see I like to try things to see the benefits and if it works for me then it works for me like I'd never in my life thought I would be a vegetarian or I guess I'm a pescatarian because I eat fish but I never thought in my life I would do that and now I just

see how good it makes me feel and I'm again I don't push it on other people or think that's what you should do it just for me it works so thank you for making me veggie burgers oh yeah I know I hope you like that I will I I'm very easy to please too but when somebody's a good cook I I'm impressed. Yeah. I need to get your cookbooks, too, because I love a good cookbook. But what was, oh, yeah, the fasting. So, yeah, I just, I do think everything you said is super important to listen to the,

the hunger cues of your body and to not push anything. Yeah. And to just, again, do what works for you. Yeah. Yeah. I like that. I think you're pretty intuitive eater, it sounds like, which unfortunately. Yeah, which most people aren't, unfortunately.

My mom is, I'm not really. And she's such an intuitive eater. And so. So, yeah, I mean, I think that's, that's really the best approach. I don't think I was, especially in the restaurant business. Like, I don't think I have, I just, well, then it's just, yeah. I think now I just see how good it makes me feel, certain things make me feel. I mean, I went on a bit of a disgusting kick over the last six months or I feel like, I was

just giving zero about what I put in my body and I felt it. That's me when I write my books. Yeah? Which is so, yeah, so ironic, I really don't take care of myself when I'm writing my books. Probably because you're just so, I'm just so, like, I'm so in the zone. I'm so focused. Yeah. And I, and like, when I make this food so much, I don't want it anymore at some point.

Like, all I want are, like, the muffins that I'm making. Right. Yeah. So there's a time in a place. I have a few rapid fire questions for you. Because, first of all, I want to know your favorite restaurant in Nashville. Honestly, probably City House. Oh, I love City House.

I mean, it's just like. They're pizza with the fried egg on the middle. It's everything. It's everything. It's just without fail. And it was one of the first, like, boutique restaurants that opened, you know, 10 years ago or whatever, and it's still in Germantown, right? Yeah, it's in Germantown. Yeah, people always ask, you know, there's a lot of

people who listen to the podcast that come to Nashville for bachelor at parties or whatever, just to visit because it's awesome. But everyone always asked what restaurant I should go to. So I wanted to know that. And what about your favorite place to go for a cocktail or a glass of wine? Oh, so there's a place called Never Never, Never, that just opened in my neighborhood in Wedged Houston. I am obsessed with it. Never, never. Why do I feel like I heard of that? Um, I think, I mean, I think a lot of people really like it. It's in Wedgwood, Houston. It's like super divey, but they make really good cocktails. Yeah, you would, I mean, love it. Okay. Yeah. Wait, what area? It's like no frills. But, um, so Wedwood Houston, which is where I'm living, it's like five minutes from downtown. It's totally up and coming and kind of industrial, but there's cool. Yeah, it's really fun. There's tons of stuff opening there. What's wrong with me? I've never heard of that. I mean, it's literally like popped up in the last 18 months. That's okay. Well, I'll have to check it out. Okay. So, okay. So, so.

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and with my promo code, new VAROSOP customers can take 15% off the first purchase to try it out. just go to vera shop.com use my code vine that's v-E-R-I-S-H-O-P dot com with code vine for 15% off your first purchase exclusion supply favorite recipe in both cookbooks oh my gosh uh in the first book my pizza recipe it's a quinoa lentil crust and it it smells like soap when it's raw and then it wakes up actually like a crust and um it's just pizza so i really like like that and it usually surprises people it's really filling too you dare say it's just pizza take that back that's so true especially as we just dropped the belly ham okay and then in this upcoming book i made like homemade magic bars and have you had like like the original kind of like

seven layer magic bars yeah condensed milk or whatever so i made a vegan version of those so that's probably my favorite in the sweet category and then um i don't know i'd have to think about vegetarian or savory or something but that's okay i'll go check it out uh favorite grab and go a snack uh favorite grab and go snack would probably be um so i do a little trail mix which is actually the dang saracha little chips that are it's a snack in your bag yeah so i do those and then i do the tamari roasted almonds from trader joes i mean from thrive Market. And I do, what's it? Oh, and then, have you heard of late July? Yes, I have. Of course I have. Yeah. They sent me some chips. Oh, they did? They're so delicious.

They're so good. Yeah, they're like tortilla chips. Yeah, exactly. So I'll like mix those up and eat that as like a little to go snack. Okay. Yeah. I remember I got some of those actually in my Thrive Market package and then they sent me some because I love them so much. Yeah, they're incredible. Okay, favorite guilty pleasure or drunk food. So, this is actually something I was going to reference in, like, confession. Well, let's mix it in. Yeah, let's mix it in. Okay, give me your confession. We'll tell me this one.

I actually, I'll be honest, I haven't had one in a little while, but I was the Big Mac queen, like, in college, the queen. Yeah. My college, I loved them so much that my college boyfriend literally made me for, um, uh, I, Valentine's Day when you're a trail of Big Macs leading to my actual present. Stop it. Yeah. Why did you guys break up? That's a great.

I'm still figuring. He's the one that got away. He is for sure the one that got away. Yeah, a trail of Big Macs. So, me, probably that. I would say if it's in Nashville, I'm just like a big burger pizza girl. Yeah. You know?

So the, have you had the burger at, oh, well, I guess it would not be your jam? I mean, I ate burgers a few years ago. Do you ever bring your own veggie patty? You could do that? Yeah, for sure. Shut up. Yeah. You can bring your own veggie patty to a restaurant.

I've done that before. If I knew it wasn't going to be like good quality beef. Whoa. Yeah. Or even like a fast food place. Whoa, that's a game. What? I could bring a veggie patty to McDonald's.

Yeah. You're lying to me. Throw it on there. You just changed my whole life. It's amazing. I mean, everyone will do it. No, I don't believe you. Give it.

Give it a world. I can bring a veggie patty to McDonald's. Yep. And they can make me a Big Mac with my. Yeah. Or any restaurant. Like for sure. Any restaurant, if you bring your own whatever it is.

This is a game changer. They should do it for you. My life just got a lot better. Yeah. Have you had the veggie burger at Avo? Yes, I have. Okay. I love Ava.

Yeah, I know. They do a great job. So, yeah. I would say let's just stick with Big Mac as my. Look, I have like a veggie burger. big mac case down there yeah i have big mac pajamas and really and i have um mcdonald's like bun slippers oh my god i'm a really big macdonald's fan i mean i see that i get it which is so funny because i don't eat meat and i'm just begging them to please oh i think they're getting a beyond

meatburger actually i think they are too where burger king has it but that would be i mean honestly i wouldn't have one now because of the quality of the meat but i would i would totally ring a veggie burger to have the Big Mac. What is your take on Beyond Meat? So the thing about it is Beyond Meat and then what's the other one? Shoot, I don't remember. But I mean, my thing about the Impossible. Impossible.

Exactly. I like the concept in theory. I'm not sure that I understand like the back end overhead and cost versus the cost of the meat industry because I know that it's an enormous amount of plant-based staples like corn and soy and there's some some downsides to that as well so I guess what I would say I would say if you if you want to try one of those I think that I don't think there's anything wrong with it but I would I would say if you really like meat just get something local just for something local that you're supporting a local farmer you know I agree I agree

with that. Okay, favorite thing to do when you're not cooking? Probably hiking. Oh, really? Yeah. Are there good hiking spots in Nashville? Not really. Yeah, I didn't think so. I didn't think so. Nope, not really. We have Radder Lake, which is nice. You may have something

closer to you, but Montgomery Bell State Park is my favorite thing to do. I just can't find people to go with me because it's a 12-mile hike. Yeah, you can't convince me to do that. I wouldn't even try. I wish I loved hiking but my truth is I just don't I want to be the girl that hikes and like I just love

the idea of hiking and I'm just like I can't get into it I understand it's fine yeah and each their own yeah I know I wouldn't force you favorite piece of advice you've ever received probably just do it anyway which is like kind of an annoying thing to say

but I like that yeah you know just do it if you want to just do it anyway regardless right like even if you're going to go to jail just do it anyway yeah there's no qualifiers yeah no uh favorite part about your job um getting feedback from people and just like the most amazing messages from people just continues to make it worth it that's amazing okay so everybody needs to follow you on instagram what is it again i said it at the beginning and laura lee balance and the l is lea yes it looks like la la yeah yeah it looks like la la yeah exactly But it's Laura Lee.

Yep. Balance. Yep. Okay. Amazing. And I usually, well, most of the time I give out Instagrammes at the end of my podcast to people who I love to follow her just, you know, when you scroll and you just need something good on your feed.

And so one, I give it to you. But two. My Instagrammy today is also going to one of my favorite follows. And that's, this is so funny because my old golden retriever with my ex name was Tucker. And this golden retriever's name is Tucker. But anyways, it's Tucker. It's at Tucker. Now, I don't even know how to say.

last part of it. Bud's in, I think. I hope that's how I say it. T-U-C-K-E-R-B-U-D-Z-Y-N. I gave him a shout-out on a recent podcast, but I didn't give his whole Instagram name. And I needed everyone who loves Golden's as much as I do to go look at this cuties feed because he's so cute. He actually reminds me of Pino so much. Yeah, yeah.

But he's so cute. So from memes to costumes to just being his cute self, it's just he brightens up my feet. Do you follow King Henry? of king henry's um mom jessica is my trainer no way yeah she's one of my girlfriends okay oh my god i love henry so much they're so adorable she's the nicest girl you've ever met um yeah she she trained ramen and now she's working with pino that's so awesome yeah she's really really great um and then she sometimes watches the dogs when we go away oh because they love henry

so much how can you not best dogs that are ever uh well thank you so much for coming over Thank you for having me. And talking about this. I love talking about, you know, it's fun to talk about food and cooking, but like the experience in your relationship with food and certain things that you can do that. I think people really like to see online not just recipes, but why it makes you feel good. And what you can do to, you know, make it more about the experience than just like what you're putting into your body. So I really love what you're doing. Thank you.

Thank you so much for coming out to my house and podcasting with me. And I can't wait to try your veggie burgers. Yeah. I love me. Well, you may be a whole goody bag. I'm just like, people don't understand how much I love a good goody bag. And you put thought into it and it's just so nice. So thank you.

Well, I figure, I mean, why not? Yeah, why not? And is there anything else that you wanted to talk about before we wrap this up or did we cover it all? I think that's it. Okay, awesome. Thank you for having me. Of course. Thank you so much for being here.

Thanks for listening to Off the Vine with Caitlin Briscoe. Get new episodes every Tuesday exclusively on podcast1.com, the podcast one app and subscribe on Apple Podcasts. This week's Off the Vine is sponsored by Geico. Go to Geico.com and in 15 minutes you could be saving 15% or more on car insurance. Extra money in your pocket? It may just be the most rewarding to do you do today. Hulu.

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