The Wellness Scoop - Should We Count Calories? Pesticides & Tips for Winter

Episode Date: November 20, 2025

This week we’re diving into your biggest wellness questions, from whether calorie counting really works to how concerned we should be about pesticides in oats and hummus. We explore where the idea of calorie counting came from, why it became so popular, and what modern science actually says about energy, metabolism and nourishment. We also unpack the facts on glyphosates, what they are, where they show up, and how to reduce exposure without cutting out healthy foods like oats and chickpeas. Plus, we share easy ways to hit 30 plants a week, the truth about canned beans, and whether pickled vegetables count as fermented. Finally, we share your brilliant winter wellbeing tips, from romanticising the darker months to making candlelit yoga and nourishing soups part of your routine. Hear more from Giles on calories in our ‘Why Calories Don’t Count’ episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Wellness Goop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And as always we're your host, I'm Miller Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. And today we are diving into some big topics as chosen by you. I love our listening question episodes now. That's such a highlight. Honestly, everybody listening, we are so grateful because I feel like we're actually getting to hear what you want from us, which is really, really key. And then we get to interview great people and discuss

things that we wouldn't normally do. A hundred percent. And I'm also really enjoying how you guys are sending in your recommendations for us to share with the community as well. And we have such a nice one here today from Kristen, who has sent in her tips for winter. Kristen said, I live in Canada, so I need to lean into winter. I'm currently working on the idea of changing perspective and romanticizing your life. For example, if you're trying to include a Mediterranean diet in your life, pretend you're in a different Mediterranean country each night or once a week and cook a dish room there

darker days plus a candlelight yoga session to look forward to or meet out with a friend for a gym class but go for a hot chocolate afterwards essentially instead of dreading the cold dark winter season lean into it romanticise it and book fun things in the diary or they won't happen 100% that's really lovely I need to get better at visualising things I think

but I do so agree with her actually that like when it's dark when it's miserable and you're like again. Actually, like making an effort, sit down for supper with your flatmate, your partner, maybe invite a girlfriend over whatever, light some candles, make something, could be something simple, but just like lay the table with a nice place mat or like a little candle. Yeah, as I said, cute candle. I have got a candle hack, Ella. For people that don't have any, I put on the TV on YouTube, I discovered last Christmas, I saw everybody doing it online. They've probably been doing it for years and I'm just behind. But you can put a log fire on YouTube

that crackles on your TV and I've been doing it for pumpkin season and now I'll do it for Christmas too. I love it. I've just found things like in the morning when it's cold and getting out bed

just putting on some good music like get the vibes going makes all that difference so I love that Kristen one for me as a recommendation I actually have so many this week and I also have a question for our community

I was working on something and it was such a reminder something I was reading it speaks what Kristen was saying which is to savour little moments and almost if you're finding that difficult at the moment write them down and I feel like gratitude list and things like that can sound a bit cheesy but actually if you are finding the world a little overwhelming or going through a tough period or there's difficult things going on

where you don't love the run up to Christmas for example actually just taking the time to either really try and savour the moment like to go and do something and be like oh this coffee tastes so good and really like zone into it into your senses or I don't know I went on a walk yesterday with our dogs and it was just a really beautiful sunrise and I had Taylor Swift's new album pumping it at my ears. Of course she did. Yes. I was like this is just great. Like this is just a great moment and it was a simple moment but it's amazing like how it feels to your nervous system to your body to like actually sit in those good moments and take them in and savor them and write them down if that's helpful. I think music obviously being an ex soprano myself but music just can

lift everything. That's a really good shout out about the type of music you want to play. It could be classic FM in the morning if that's what zones you in or it could be something more upbeat, you know, whatever musical theatre, anything that makes you feel happy. And you can't help but move or sing along. One of my daughters is going through a bit of a like, how do I fit in with my new friends kind of phase at school. And we have been listening to Katie Perry Raw and Taylor Swift shake it off at like, you can do this. You're a champion. Like, shake off the bad vibes. And it is amazing the difference that it makes. Music was a real solace for me at school. I equally didn't feel I fit into any friendship

group at one point. This is towards the air much later on in school. And the singing was my absolute lifeline. It's I immersed myself in music. Not to sound like a billy no mates. I literally didn't have one particular strong, strong group. I was just kind of there. Yeah, no, I know that feeling. I've definitely been a billion no mates at a point in. Yeah. And I think I think music really helps. That was a really, really lovely wreck. So Ella, I know you've got a few others to add today, big ones. Yeah, I'll space them out over the next week.

So I feel like I have too many at the moment. The main thing is I feel I have a bit more time in space of my life, which is the first time of my adult life. And I'm really enjoying being really creative in the kitchen again. And I am on the sourdough bandwagon. What a cliche, right? But oh my gosh, it is so fun. So I went on this sourdough making workshop a couple of weeks. ago got a starter to take home from it which is like the live bacteria obviously we talked about

fermented foods very good for your gut health but also makes the most amazing bread and i am now like knee deep in youtube videos a thousand different blogs trying to perfect the easiest sourdough recipe and it is so fun so can you link for people that haven't been on a course a few of these tutorials or do you have any i'm going to keep going and then i'm going to give you my best ones because i feel like i need to try out loads more. I also feel like I'm eating bread, breakfast, lunch, lunch, dinner and every snack because I get so like into things and I'm so into this at the moment that I want to bake every day. They're dead microbes. They're good for you. You know, your avocado on toast, you homemade jam the next. It's all good. And then I made some pizza bases from my sour

dough, which was also so fun. I also tried water coffee and failed miserably. Yeah, I think there's a reason. I know Tim shouted it out, but I think there's a reason it's not as mainstream because I think it is more difficult. Fail, just an epic fail. So that's my question to the community. If anyone makes water kaffir, give me your tips and tricks. Please, I'll share them with you guys.

But I thought that was going to be a nice fermented food to include. It was one of my most epic fails. Honestly, I can't wait to try Ella's sourdough when we're next in the studio together. We'll bring you a loaf. You might not want it next week, actually, because you're going to an event afterwards. So tell me when you do want it. And I'll bring you a loaf. I also need an excuse.

I'm making so much bread at the moment. And I'm not just going to any. event. I'm going to Parliament. So can you imagine turning up at Parliament with a bag of sourdough? You're like a little red riding hood like there with your little basket. Like guys, I'm a serious woman, but I also have

some sourdough. Security is really good there as well, so they'd literally have to go through it all and probably give it a sniff. Have you got any wrecks for us before we go on to our listeners questions? I have a very, only if you're into this sort of music wreck, but in America on NBC and a channel

called Peacock, they had the most incredible live performance from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Aretho the whole cast of Wicked lots of different songs of the performances behind the scenes just the story of how they all got together from the director as well

it was the most incredible performance I cried my eyes out through the whole thing and there's this little cute little child that goes up on stage and does the song popular with Ariana who plays Glinda anyway I couldn't get it in the UK and discovered that I had to download a TV app called Now.

So I have paid $9.99 to watch this one program. My husband was not very happy. But it was worth it, right? For me, it was so worth it. And now I'll probably unsubscribe. As long as you remember to unsubscribe, if you have Sky, which I don't, but if you do, I think you can also access the concert.

And it was called... One Night Only, right? Or something like that. One night only, but not that song. It was one night only of Wicked. It lifted me up and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Oh my gosh. I really want to watch it because I've been watching all the kids.

I'm also pretty sure I'm going to go to the cinema just by myself to watch Wicked it. I would have said come with me because I absolutely love it. We just live a bit far away, but it is going to be... Well, I might. Yeah, come up here. There's like Billy Nomates and then there's going to the cinema by yourself on like a Thursday lunchtime to watch Wicked. And I'm a bit embarrassed to put it on the WhatsApp group of the mums that I've only just met. Okay.

Do you want to see for good? Do you want to watch Wicked with me on Wednesday? You have to book it. In fact, no, the ones you'll go and see are off peaks. You should be fine. But those are our wrecks, everybody. I think Wicked's a very uplifting performance. Shall we go for our listener questions?

Let's. Okay. Our first one comes from Caroline, who said, I just wanted to firstly say thank you for creating such an amazing podcast, which takes all the fear and extremes out being healthy. I love that that's Caroline's takeaway. You make adding healthy habits so doable, straightforward, and not at all overwhelming. Since listening to your podcasts,

I've made so many small changes, which have added so many varieties of veg and pulses to our regular family meals. That's like the ultimate win for us, isn't it? As a family, we're regularly hitting our 30 plants a week now. Woohoo. The only thing we still love is a processed snack in the evening, biscuits, chris, etc. Is this negating all the gut health benefits we're getting from our main meals?

Thanks again for all that you do. I loved that question from Caroline. I just feel like that to me encapsulates how so many people, for what of a better word, you might disagree with me, but like should live. You know, because an all-or-nothing mentality just isn't particularly viable for most people. It's really difficult to live in the world where you're like, I can only eat, you know, cooked from scratch-type food. And this feels like a really lovely approach. It actually inspired me to make a video quickly on Instagram, Caroline, from reading your comment on the extra scoop.

It put it in my head. So I made a, are you an evening snacker reel? And I totally forgot to mention this to Ella that that was part of the Instagram. inspiration. Love that. I literally looked at all the different crisps and I looked at the popcorn and different. I know Ella doesn't love popcorn, but I'm a bit of a popcorn fan. And interestingly, popcorn's fiber content is seven to nine grams per 100 grams. And baked crisps could be six grams max per 100 grams. Whereas potato flaked crisps, ones that aren't really real crisps that are made up into different varieties can only have like three grams. So there is the hierarchy of fiber. Still enjoy your enjoyed items. But perhaps some, time to try and mix it up into ones that are at least going to benefit you more. And I think a handful of nuts is just not realistic. It's not going to cut it sometimes. You do want your crisps and you want to know that baked is the better one, right?

I think that's okay to say. For sure. And I think the important thing to get the message across and the question for you, really, it's like if you're following the kind of 80-20 type premise, which I love is this idea as a guideline, right? This isn't about saying, I will never do this again. I will never do that again because it's so. unrealistic, but instead being like, look, 70 to 80% of my food, I want to ground that in like

nourishing meals, you know, to help me get my 30 plants a week, 30 grams of fiber a day, you know, boost my health. This is all really good for me. But 20, 30% of the time, I'm going to just go out with my friends. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to enjoy that glass of wine. I'm going to have that, you know, cinema tree. Like, I'm just going to enjoy it. And that's not going to do any damage. And I think that's the important thing to ascertain here. is basically like if you've put this effort into cooking things from scratch, etc., are you undoing it? So I think you really need to identify when it's working for you and when it's not. For instance, a lot of clients that I have, and I do this sometimes too.

Ella and I've mentioned we went for a phase of obsession with these sweets, these particular sweets that we just love. And I was identifying with myself that every night, perhaps, I was eating half a bag to a bag of these sweets. And I thought, okay, this probably isn't doing me a lot of good. I probably need to mix this up and then revert back to my popcorn instead of these particular sweets. But it's not going to undo or negate any of the benefits that you've already gathered in your body. You know, at each meal in studies, we call it a post-pranadrial response that's measured in blood sugar or the amount of time of gut transit or nutrient absorption. And each meal will give you those benefits pretty shortly after consuming the food.

You're not going to undo any of the vitamins and minerals you've consumed. The only time where evening snacking I find is gut health issues, eating too late or close to bed. It's a habit we all get into emotionally speaking. In the winter, I love snacking. I put the kids to bed and then I really just want to sit with my bag of sweets because we all do. But I know it's not going to undo my relationship with food in general. It's when it becomes a stress to you if you're checking in with yourself and you're identifying that this is causing you harm to your relationship with food

or you're starting to not feel so good about yourself, then perhaps that's time to mix it up. But otherwise, I think everything in moderation is totally okay, Ella. I think that's also important message we were saying on Monday as we kind of go into Christmas season. I feel like some of this messaging is particularly important. Like, you're going to a big Christmas party. You know, you might have a couple more cocktails than you normally have

and as a result more late-night snacks. Great. Like don't feel guilty about it, but it's then worth taking the time to like make a nourishing breakfast batch cook some like nice food you can have for lunch that day, things like that makes all the difference. Okay, our next question comes from Emma. And Emma says, I just want to say how much I love your podcast. Thank you, Emma. As someone who's always been interested in wellness, it's amazing to have a place to come where the topics can be discussed and to find out what is just noise. I have a

question to ask though. How do you both feel about counting calories for weight lost? After having my daughter almost six years ago, I tried and failed to lose a little weight to feel a bit more comfortable. It was a vicious cycle of cutting, feeling bad about myself and giving up. Then I had an epiphany a couple of years ago and I now have a great relationship with my body image. I love that, Emma. I used to cry looking at myself in the mirror, but now I look at myself and think, I look great. I'm amazing. I still would like to lose a little weight, though, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

I'm plant-based. I eat whole foods and consider myself quite healthy. I stay exactly the same weight, which obviously means I'm nourishing my body correctly for this weight, but I'm struggling to figure out how to lose a little. What would you recommend? It's a really good question, isn't it? And we actually had at the very start of the Wellness Scoop podcast, The Incredible Professor Charles Yo from Cambridge University on,

who has a book actually called Why Calories Don't Count. But I've got a voice note from him here where he explains, generically speaking, why weight loss is individual, but also why calories aren't always the answer. And I think it's also worth saying that it's such a longstanding myth counting calories. it dates all the way back from the early 1900s and it came from this American chemist called Wilbur Atwater, he began measuring the energy contents of foods using a calorimeter and that was where it all came from then in the 1910s, 20s, home economists, early dietitians

began using his calorie tables to guide weight management and that really got calorie counting as a kind of popular mechanism in women's magazines as a way to quote quote state slender. Got even more traction in the 60s. and 70s with the rise of packaged foods where you then have nutrition labeling. And so calorie counts on packs, the diet industry really latched onto it. So this has been something that's been kind of in our lexicon for over a century now. So it's pretty entrenched. But I think what Giles is going to say about it might unpick quite a lot of what's been entrenched over that time. 100%. Here we go. I just don't happen to think that focusing on calories for weight loss is the best

thing to focus on. Look, I'm not antiphysics. I understand that 100 calories of chips is half the portion of 200 calories of chips. But so is 100 grams of chips, half the portion of 200 grams of chips. And no one is trying to compare 200 grams of chips to 200 grams of carrots. And I think that's my problem. Calories are one-dimensional, right? They tell you about the amount of food that is there, but only within a specific type of food, right? And otherwise, they're nutrition blind. They don't tell you about fiber, they don't tell you about fat, sugar, salt, protein, nothing. Now, clearly, if you have a good diet but just have too much of it, hence you are overweight or have obesity,

then yes, then you can sort of use the calorie counting to reduce the size of that balanced good diet. And then you will do its weight. That's not how we function. We're thinking, oh, I need to cut my calories by a hundred. You know, are we talking about sugar calories? Are we talking about protein calories? Are we talking about, you know, fat calories? And so I think, more importantly, you should worry about the quality of your diet.

Are you having enough protein? Are you having enough fiber? Are you eating too much sugar, salt, fat? Things like that, rather than worry too much about the calories per se. Thank you so much. As ever, I think Charles explains everything. so eloquently and really easily so we cannot understand exactly the difficult scientific concepts. This episode of The Wellness Scoop is sponsored by Stripe and Stair. I have been wearing their

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Go connects to all the main concert venues like TD Coliseum in Hamilton and Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto. And Go makes it affordable with special e-ticket fairs. A one-day weekend pass offers unlimited travel across the network on any weekend day or holiday for just $10. And a weekday group pass offers the same weekday travel flexibility from $30 for two people and up to $60 for five. Buy yours at gotransit.com slash tickets. Now, Lindsay has a question here on something that was doing the rounds on social media actually a few months ago called glyphosphates.

And how concerning are glyphosphates in our oats? She said. I've heard that they are in hummus too. How do we ensure that the oats we are buying are glyphosphate-free? She did mention that she remembers us discussing once that can chick peans and beans are considered processed foods and that she eats quite a bit of canned chick peas and beans. She said, I struggle with the soaking process of the dried ones. Is it unhealthy for me to be eating these and then added extra that 30 plants per week she finds herself only cooking for herself. So a lot of the time she's reheating the same mail for a few days.

She said, I find it hard to get 30 plants since I'm not using leftover ingredients for. different meals. Do you have any advice for getting in 30 different plants a week? So we've got two different questions there, Ella. We've got three different questions. Three. We've got three. One on glyphosphates, one on processed foods, and one on plant points. Should we start glyphosphates? Yes, let's do that. Glyphosphate is the world's most widely used herbicide. And it is true that residues of it have been found in some oat-based products, essentially on some oats, as well as in chickpeas, which are obviously the foundation of hummus. But I would say generally speaking, it depends where you live as to whether or not this is something that you need to be

concerned about. In the UK and the EU, I wouldn't give it a second thought. In the US, it's a little bit different. So in the US, farmers often spray glyphosphate directly onto oak crops just before they're harvested because it helps them dry out more quickly. That obviously can lead a higher residue levels on the final grain. Whereas in the UK and the EU, regulations are so much stricter on this sort of thing and the use of it is far more limited especially on something like oats so residue limits are so much lower and as a result it's sort of not a thing really especially in the UK and interestingly like when we were looking we make the products that we sell in the US at delicious yellow in the UK and for example like some retailers over there look for

certification around this sort of thing because consumers want it because it is a concern sometimes there, whereas here it's not, you know, every oat we've ever used, been tested for it, you know, nothing there. So it's very, very different in the two countries. And I think that's the main thing to think about. It is technically regarded as safe by the FDA, etc. But there are some questions about it. Yes.

I think it was a really good thing to bring up because it was doing the rounds on social media as well. But as Ella said, there are no residues that have been found. And choosing organic oats in the UK, if you are concerned, can be a way to minimize, I guess, any anxiety around the subject in itself, because those are most definitely not going to be treated in the same way with glyphosphates before harvest. So giving grains and pulses are rins before cooking can slightly reduce residues. But as you said, you know, not a lot of people have time to do this unless you're in a sort of routine.

Like Ella soaks things the night before when you have time, I've tried it too. it can be a really good way to get ahead of the game. But I think it brings us on to how foods are preserved really nicely Ella as well because there's so much fearmongering. And I remember when writing the unprocessed plate, I was just so delighted that it gave me a chance with diagrams to explain the Nova classification of processing. 100% because I think coming on to exactly that question about like can bins,

can beans and pulses, which we were talking about Monday's episode as well with your 70s. FIP trick hack, but I think there is this really important differentiation, as Reeves point to the Nova score between process and ultra process. Process is essentially, you could do this at home, but someone's done it for you. That is the easiest way to think about it. So even a soup that you would buy on a shelf is a processed food because somebody has taken those ingredients. They have cooked them. They have blitzed them. They have poured them into the packet. They have sealed the packet. they have put it on shelf. That's actually a processed food, as is a tin of chickpeas. They have

been cooked. They have been put with their liquid in a tin. That's a processed food. An ultra processed food, the easiest way to think about it is you cannot make it at home because it's using completely artificial ingredients that you wouldn't have at home in it's using methods. And sometimes products involved in that method that is just so far removed from home cooking. So this is all your different, like emulsifiers and industrial processes. So it's so different. So when you're thinking about tins of chickpeas and beans, they are a processed food. They're not an ultra-processed food. And that is such an important difference.

They are so good for you. Really beautifully explained. That's exactly it. And if you're going to look for cans, you know, it's a good idea to just look for no added salt or just purely beans and pulses in water. It's one of the easiest ways, I think, to look at. The thing where our clients in the Retrition Clinic often go wrong is fruits and tins and, you know, syrups and all sorts of things that can be. be added. And if you don't, if you're in a rush in the supermarket, you can quickly pop it in your basket. But with beans and pulses, you're less likely to go wrong. I don't think there's

much other option there, really. It's just the salt. And from my standpoint, it's going to help you hit your 30 grams of fibre goal. I think one of the confusing things to say here, though, is that ultra-process is a really new term. And I think in the parts we did call this stuff processed food, as in we called what is actually now ultra-process food, process food. And so I think in terms of kind of common day-to-day lexicon, it is a little bit confusing because actually now when we talk about processed food, technically what we're talking about is generally like quite nutritious, like healthy food, like a pre-made soup or a tin of chickpeas and things like that. Whereas actually where the problem sits generally in terms of overconsumption and foods that we don't want

to over-consumer ultra-process foods. And they're not all bad either, are they? This is the other really confusing thing because they're not all recognized. Like when you just said there, you know, that we call it processed. It's like, basically. Beans is in category four, which is ultra-processed, but it doesn't make it a bad choice for your family necessarily compared to eight bags of Harrybo. Well, yeah, yeah. But they're not the same thing and they both sit in the same category and something might have exactly like a small amount of emulsifier, a small amount of preservative.

Sure, amazing if it's not there, but it can of baked beans is still a more nutritious meal with a jacket potato than lots of other food because you're still getting fiber, etc. in there. So it is a continuum. It is a hierarchy. It's not black and why. But I think we now need to retrain ourselves to think processed food actually not bad. The question marks are in ultra processed food. 100%. And then 30 plants a week. Some of these UPS like baked beans can help because those beans count as a point. So do you want to delve into your favourite game? I love to count 30 plants. It's true. It's a fun game. But Lindsay, I think it's a really nice question actually about living alone and therefore being really sensible and you know batch cooking

something and eating it a few times but then feeling like even if that stew for example that you're reheating actually had 10 plant points in it because had lots of herbs and spices potentially as well as your veg and beans etc actually you're eating the same thing on repeat so still great for your fibre goals obviously much better than not having something nourishing on repeat but equally you're not necessarily getting the same diversity and I think it's a really great question and I think in terms of tips, tricks and points what I would be thinking about is actually reheat it and use it

but is there something you can add on to it? So let's say we have made a simple five bean chili actually just starting with a five bean chili really helps because you've already got five different plant points in there but then are there different ways you can eat it across the week so maybe one day

you're having it with a jacket potato maybe another day you're actually going to turn it into a minstroni and you could put pearl barley for example on it You can do loads of fresh basil on the top. Well, that's two extra plants. You're then putting into that version of it. You've obviously got an extra plant

when you've done it with the jacket potato. Maybe another day you're going to do it actually as a pasta, but you could use a lentil pasta. So that's another plant point in there. You could also drizzle a little pesto on the top of it. Another day you might get some extra points because you maybe have a cashew pesto. So I think you can reheat the leftovers,

but maybe try and focus on adding in an extra one to three plant points with what you serve it with, or like I love at the moment crispy cabbage so you finely sized a cabbage a tea bit of maple olive oil salt check it in the oven for like 30 minutes until it goes really crispy that's a lovely side

a boost for your gut health super easy to do with it or you could do like a herb of yoghurt for example sorry I divulge I'm going on to all the different ways to serve things but it's really helpful Ella because when you're by yourself you're probably thinking but I won't eat a whole cabbage and it will go off by the time I

get to it and I think it is really helpful to give these examples Yeah, so do half the cabbage in a slaw, which you can have with your lunches, and then roast half of it, for example, and have it with your suppers. So I think it's just about what you serve things with and seeing if you can get an extra point here or there as toppings. Even like if you love porridge for breakfast, maybe keep a few different jars of nut butter in the house. So you can use peanut butter. You could use almond butter. You could use a cashew butter.

Well, that's three different plant points. So we keep loads of bags of frozen berries and fruit in the house. So frozen mango, frozen banana. cherries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, well, that's seven different things I'll cycle through just from my freezer in like smoothies, porridge, etc. And it is helpful.

I think we all just lose our creativity, but also I don't want you to feel like it's a bad thing what you're doing because actually by reheating food, you create more resistant starch as well. So when food with lots of fibre and cools down, this is the same for pasta actually and rice as well. Then when you reheat it, you can get something called resistant starch,

which is a really beneficial type of food for our gut bugs. And essentially that in turn creates a lot of extra beneficial short chain fatty acids, a component we discussed. So it's really good for your gut health to reheat, which I don't think people realize some foods as well. And in terms of saving money, it's so fantastic to do that. And you can reach your 30 plants if you eat well in probably two or three days across the course of a week. 100%. So all it actually takes is for you to have those same.

meals maybe two days in a row, maybe sometimes three, and then have a different one again the other day. And if you eat well, I think I did a real, a while ago that shows how to hit, you know, 30 grams of fibre in one day. And then my plant points already in that day were already at 20 or something. So you definitely will be, if you write it all down like Ella, you're doing better than you think. I think you are. And especially in the winter, actually, at one point for winter, which is when you're making lots of like curries and stews and these hearty meals. Because you can really pack that base like, you know, use some leeks, use some celery, use some carrots, use duffin, use garlic, use spices, herbs. You know, you then might have coriander, you might have

cumin, you might have turmeric, you might have paprika, then you've got tin tomatoes. You might chop up some greens in there. You might have lentils, etc. And suddenly we're at like 10 points. As you said, you could have three of those like mega meals in the week and you would have got 30, which is cool. I 100% agree. That's so uplifting that question. I really hope that everyone and realises you are probably all doing so much better than you think you are. And the next question from Amanda leads on really nicely from the past question we just had, which is do pickled vegetables qualify as a fermented food? Now, Ella, I do not like pickled vegetables and I take them out.

You know, if you're getting a takeaway or something, I take the gurkin out. I love pickles. I knew you did. That's why I can need on this. So tangy. And I think all of us are struggling with getting enough fermented food. And so I think that's something that we'll try and I'm kind of personally working on for my own health. You were going to make kimchi as well after and I saw Tim do it. I just, I really struggle.

I'm going to bring you guys more inspo here because it's really difficult. And so I think we're all like, let this count. It doesn't count. I'm sorry to be a downer here. Unfortunately. So the difference is essentially between a pickled vegetable and a fermented vegetable is how they're made. So pickled vegetables are normally preserved in a vinegar and they give it that like sharp flavor very quickly. can, you know, pickle cucumbers, for example, in 30 minutes, or, you know, I love pickled red onions. Oh, my God, they're so good, like, such a, like, punchy flavor on dolls and things like that, especially all my, like, cozy winter foods. To do that, you just slice up your red onions really finely, and then you just want to douse them in loads and loads of lime, some cider vinegar, salt, and you let them sit for, like, 30 minutes to an hour, but you can let

them go for days, and they'll go bright, bright pink. They look amazing on food. They look really fancy, but you can do some creamy black beans, pop those on the top with those coriander, a bit of yogurt, black pepper, sliced avocado and it'll look like a super fancy meal, but it's actually a doddle to make. But essentially, that's not giving you that fermented vegetable benefit, even if they sit in the fridge for ages. Whereas your sourcrout, your kimchi, they develop their tang over time as the beneficial bacteria break down the sugar in the vegetables and create those live cultures. So it is really different. see pickled veg is still great because you're still getting more veg in your life, which is

excellent, but it's not giving you the fermented benefit. No, and it's really important to mention that any of the veg you get in, like, yes, I think it's great if you are somebody that enjoys those. But just remember that those key strains, if you actually go back and have a listen to the episode that we did the extra scoop a week ago or two weeks now, I'll lose track of the time, everybody. It's going very fast with Tim Specter. would be really, really helpful as well. And it's often strains like lactobacillus

species that can support gut health that we get with fermentation, the fizziness, that taste that you get, that I am not partial to, that I need to train myself to get partial to. That's when you do know as well. That's when you know there's some lovely live strains in there that are known to support gut health. But like Tim said, like withella making sourdough, for instance, just moving aside from the veg for a second's pickled, dead bacteria and may also be beneficial for us, potentially in research. So we can do so much for our gut bugs by even just eating your slice of bread with your pickled veg.

There's so many options. For sure. And if you're buying things like kimchi or sauerkraut, just worth looking out on the labels for things like raw or unpasteurized, naturally fermented, because you do need them to not be pasteurized to be able to get the like full benefit. Unfortunately, they are then quite pricey,

but equally I think you only consume them in quite small amounts for the most part. so it stays. I also recommend an avocado and kimchi toasty as a quick winter lunch. Hang on. So, okay, you heat. I was about to be like as a place. Sorry.

Yeah, I know you're heating it. I know you're heating it. No, the avocado. So I have a real issue and I find it really hard. Do you know when you have Mexican food or I have a guac dip or something? I don't want my avocado to get warm. Is that funny?

Is that strange? I can see that this is not a food for most people. But if you do like kimchi, which I do give it a go guys yeah well do you know what I do love the texture of avocado maybe I'll just stick to saudo and avocado and everyone else do you try though because kimchi is so good for you and perhaps I need to work on that yeah I like it when it's super spiksy well maybe I'll become some like fermenting guru I'll be bringing you weekly batches little red riding hood style checked baskets sampton kimchi I think you're going to

yeah get a qualification in something have a bakery called it ellis bakery. You'll be giving away little baskets and I'm going to be the ambassador with the red hood with the basket of bread. I've been telling Rhee how I have a bit more time in my life and I'm like thinking about what I want to do next. It's like, great, book up little red riding. Yes, let's do it. On that note, everybody, send your helpful questions in. We do really enjoy them and it may sound silly to you, but it's not. It really isn't. And it can take a lot of courage to to even write on the Spotify comments. I know that it takes courage,

but we are a friendly community and we love discussing everything. We are, and as you said, you can leave comments, reviews, queries, things you wanted to talk about topics on Apple comments, Apple podcast comments, Spotify comments,

or you can email me directly, Ella at Deliciously, Ella.com. We love hearing from you. And I think as Rees said, like nothing is too small a question. We all spent so much time thinking, am I an idiot,

we're not knowing this, am I doing this wrong? you know what's normal ask us and it can be anonymous if you like but give us your name where you come from if you like I sound like silver black there okay I think it's time to wrap this up thank you guys give us your name where are you from guys thank you for listening we will be back in your ears on Monday as always we're going to do some things on Christmas season hangovers how to keep your health up we cannot wait to see you guys then again as always just thanks for being here we love the wellness scoop

Thank you.