Pod Insights The Sporkful Green Apple Bad Apple (Reheat) About this episode When Dan hit 40, he noticed his body wasn't feeling as good. So recently, he embarked on a journey to change his lifestyle. Today, you'll meet the three people who've inspired him. (This episode is a satire. Please enjoy it as such!)
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Dan Pashman? You put a lot of love into the things you send during the holidays. It's baked with love, carefully packed with love, or shipped with love right from home. Because what you're sending isn't just what's inside the box. It's the time, thought, and care you put into it. And this holiday season, the United States Postal Service is delivering your love to more addresses in America than anyone else. So send it with love. Send it with USPS. The United States Postal Service. Learn more at USPS.com/holiday. I grew up on Lando Lake's cheese. I still remember going to the supermarket deli counter with my mom and her ordering Lando Lake's American cheese. And now, Lando Lake's cheese and butter are a huge part of my home. There are so many easy weeknight recipes using Lando Lake's cheese and butter that bring delicious restaurant taste right to your table.
0:44 Dan Pashman? From chicken parm to weeknight shrimp pad thai, Lando Lake's has plenty of quick dishes that'll have the whole dinner table talking. Visit landolakes.com/reцепes/collection for easy weeknight dinners.
0:59 Dan Pashman? Hey, everyone. Dan here with another Sporkful reheat for your listening pleasure. It's almost April 1st, which means it's almost April Fool's Day, which means it's time to bring out a classic from the Sporkful Vault. We actually first ran this episode on an April 1st. It came out on April 1st. We didn't say a single word about it. We just dropped it in the feed. And many of you thought it was hilarious. Some of you were confused. Some were even upset. So I'm happy to reshare it with you now with the setup that this is a satire. It's a joke. It was originally designed as an April Fool's episode, which I think, in some ways, I think knowing that, you can appreciate it. You can listen to it like, oh, imagine if I heard this not knowing what it was. But also now you can laugh at the jokes even more because you know it's a satire.
1:43 Dan Pashman? It's also, by the way, one of my very favorite episodes of all time. So I hope you like it. Now, remember, if there's an episode of the Sporkful you want us to pull out of the deep freezer, let us know. Send us a voice memo or email to [email protected] . Don't forget to include your first name, location, which episode you want to hear, and why. Thanks so much, and enjoy this very cleansing reheat.
2:06 Dan Pashman? While we're here in your house, Jolenta, can you show me around a little?
2:08 Speaker 01 Yes, yes, of course.
2:10 Dan Pashman? This is my friend Jolenta Gold. She's a health and wellness blogger. Recently, we met up in her townhouse in Manhattan.
2:17 Speaker 01 Right here in my kitchen, you'll see my fabulous avocado cupboard.
2:23 Dan Pashman? Very nice.
2:24 Speaker 01 Just full of avocados for all my various...
2:27 Dan Pashman? Oh, wow. And you've got like a little divot. Along the shelf, there's a little row of divots so that the avocados all stand up.
2:32 Speaker 01 It's like, you know, that compartment in your refrigerator that's built for individual eggs. You know, you can take them out of the cart and stick them right in there. That's what this whole cupboard is, just for avocados.
2:43 Dan Pashman? Wow. And they're all at different levels of ripeness, too. That's genius.
2:47 Speaker 01 As you can see up at the top, we're not quite ripe yet. And then we rotate them down as they become ready to eat.
2:54 Dan Pashman? And by "we," you mean...
2:55 Speaker 01 I mean my staff, but, you know. I supervise it all. I just don't necessarily physically do it.
3:04 Dan Pashman? If you've been listening to this show for a while, you know that I've never been Mr. Health and Wellness Guy. That's just not what this show's ever been about. But I gotta be honest. When I hit 40, I just started not feeling as good. My body didn't bounce back as quickly. My joints were aching. So I decided to start a journey to change the way I eat. Really, to change my whole lifestyle. I figured it would be an experiment, so I didn't say anything here on the show because I wasn't sure it would stick. But now I'm a few months in, and I gotta say, it's going really well. And part of the reason why it's going so well is that I've been inspired by some incredible people. Namely, the three people I'm gonna introduce you to in this week's show, beginning with Jolenta.
3:47 Speaker 01 I had to change my whole relationship to food. It's not my friend. It's not gonna hang out with me when I'm lonely, Dan. It is my fuel.
3:56 Dan Pashman? This episode's gonna be a little different, but I can't wait to share it with you. Stick around.
4:13 Dan Pashman? This is The Sporkful. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. I'm Dan Pashman. Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people. When I started my health and wellness journey a few months ago, the first thing I did was just reach out to friends, find out what resources they use, who they get info from. And one name kept coming up over and over: Jolenta Gold. As I said, Jolenta is a health and wellness blogger. She's also a public speaker and an influencer. I decided to attend one of her seminars, and I just found her enthusiasm to be contagious. So I'm excited to share her passion with you today. But when we spoke recently, I was also excited to hear the story of her journey.
4:53 Speaker 01 Growing up, I always thought wellness sort of just came naturally to me. You know, I was always on the thinner side. I always played a sport or two in school. I just always had that under control and never really thought about what I was putting into my body.
5:06 Dan Pashman? Jolenta grew up on Manhattan's Upper East Side and went to Spence, a private all-girls' school there. It's the same school Gwyneth Paltrow went to. When Jolenta got married, her parents bought her the $23 million townhouse next door, which is where we met up to talk.
5:21 Speaker 01 After I had my twins, they are going out all day with their two nannies. My husband's at work. And all of a sudden, I'm at home with nothing to do, and I just start eating and eating and eating. And as I eat, Dan, I just get more and more depressed. I'm gaining weight. I wasn't even a good mother. You know, the nannies would be like, "The kids are going to the pool." And I'd be like, "I can't go to the pool. I look like garbage. I'm gonna sit in the dark with my bread and hate myself."
5:58 Dan Pashman? Jolenta says things got worse and worse. She went from eating a whole bag of mini carrots to eating a whole bag of full-size carrots. Finally, she hit rock bottom.
6:09 Speaker 01 One night, I was craving sugar. I found myself sneaking into one of my twins' backpacks, scrouching for those little natural fruit chews I give them. And I ate the entire pouch of one of my kids' fruit chews. And I was like, "Who am I?"
6:30 Dan Pashman? And so when did things start to turn around for you?
6:33 Speaker 01 Well, I went to my doctor and she got me hooked up with a wonderful team, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a life coach. And together, we all realized I was putting horrible poison into my body. Turns out, I learned my body is a machine, Dan. And I need to put premium, premium gas into that machine.
6:57 Dan Pashman? So tell me about some of the different diets you've got on.
6:59 Speaker 01 Well, Dan, I'm gonna stop you right there because I don't use the word diet. The D-word is a dirty word. It's not a diet, Dan, it's a lifestyle. I had to change my whole lifestyle. I did South Beach. I tried the gazpacho cleanse. I even tried the strawberry seed cleanse. And you know, that is surprisingly filling, but it is very time consuming to harvest all the actual seeds. My housekeeper was picking seeds out of strawberries for days.
7:29 Dan Pashman? I have been experimenting with some cleanses too. But as I told Jolenta, I don't think I could ever totally give up all my favorite foods forever. And that didn't seem to be okay with her.
7:40 Speaker 01 You are what you eat. So do you want to be fast, cheap, processed, fake?
7:48 Dan Pashman? What about Doritos?
7:50 Speaker 01 Those are heavily, heavily processed, Dan. I think you are teasing me with that question.
7:54 Dan Pashman? No, they, yeah, I mean, I know that they're not the healthiest.
7:57 Speaker 01 They are fast, they are easy, they are heavily processed. Do you want to be a Dorito?
8:02 Dan Pashman? I mean, they take.
8:02 Speaker 01 Do you want to be an orange dusty triangle that sits on a shelf? No. You want to be a life-giving avocado. Just the closer it is to nature, the better. And if there is a carbohydrate in it, get rid of it.
8:22 Dan Pashman? So, Jolenta, you said earlier that you don't like to use the D-word.
8:26 Speaker 01 Right.
8:26 Dan Pashman? Diet.
8:27 Speaker 01 No.
8:28 Dan Pashman? Why don't you like that word?
8:30 Speaker 01 Well, Dan, because there is no right body. And I think a diet implies that I'm gonna get you to this, you know, right shape and right weight. And I am just all about being healthy.
8:44 Dan Pashman? But it kind of seems like when you say healthy, you really mean skinny.
8:49 Speaker 01 All bodies are beautiful. I accept everyone. I'm a fat ally, you could say. I just want everyone to also be healthy. You know, I walk down the street. I see people eating sandwiches with large pieces of bread. I see people eating chips on the go. And that's where the obesity epidemic comes from.
9:12 Dan Pashman? Now, I mean, I do want to ask you. You made a couple of references to your staff, your, the staff in your home, and also the doctors and the nutritionists and all this.
9:20 Speaker 01 Right.
9:21 Dan Pashman? Let's be honest, not everybody is able to afford this kind of support for their, for their eating.
9:27 Speaker 01 Dan, this is something I am very, very passionate about. You know, it is wellness for everyone. And there are so many problems we come up against. You know, there's bad diet advice, food deserts, you know, gerrymandering, me too, teapot dome, Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatle mania, JFK blown away. I mean, what else do I have to say?
9:51 Dan Pashman? So before you go,
9:53 Speaker 01 Uh huh.
9:53 Dan Pashman? Let's bring it back to food.
9:54 Speaker 01 Okay.
9:55 Dan Pashman? I, I want to do a lightning round, where I say a cleanse and you tell me what you think about it.
9:59 Speaker 01 Great.
10:00 Dan Pashman? First up, the master cleanse. That's when you have nothing but water, lemon juice, cayenne, and maple syrup.
10:06 Speaker 01 Energizing. It is such an energizing cleanse. You get so many electrolytes. It feels like you're on a runner's high all day long. It's amazing.
10:16 Dan Pashman? The goat milk cleanse.
10:18 Speaker 01 Well, that one really helped with my situation.
10:22 Dan Pashman? I, I tried one called, called the green apple, bad apple cleanse. Have you heard about that?
10:26 Speaker 01 No.
10:27 Dan Pashman? You begin every day with 10 green apples.
10:29 Speaker 01 I like it.
10:30 Dan Pashman? You pick up the first green apple and you need to stare at it and you think about everything, everything, every toxin inside you. Not just food-related toxins, but I'm talking about anything that's making you-
10:38 Speaker 01 The air around you. This city is so dirty.
10:41 Dan Pashman? Yes, and anything that's making you angry or anxious or depressed.
10:44 Speaker 01 Emotional toxins, so important, Dan.
10:46 Dan Pashman? And so you, you just stare at that green apple and you need to focus on all that negativity. And then you scream at the apple.
10:53 Speaker 01 I love it.
10:54 Dan Pashman? You release all that negativity into the apple.
10:56 Speaker 01 Get it out.
10:57 Dan Pashman? Right, and then you put that apple into the compost bin.
10:59 Speaker 01 Interesting. And earth friendly. I like it.
11:02 Dan Pashman? Get rid of it. Then second apple, you eat.
11:05 Speaker 01 Wow.
11:06 Dan Pashman? And you go back and forth.
11:07 Speaker 01 Sort of a clean slate thing.
11:08 Dan Pashman? Right. And then over the course of the day, you start with your 10 apples, you go back and forth. You scream at an apple, you eat an apple. You scream at an apple, you eat an apple. And when you're out of apples, you're done eating for the day.
11:19 Speaker 01 That's beautiful. It's so cleansing inside and out, mentally, physically. Oh, you know what cleanse I've been really into is the shiitake mushroom noodle cleanse. You know those shiitake mushroom noodles you can get?
11:32 Dan Pashman? Okay, yeah.
11:32 Speaker 01 They sort of come in like this mushroomy water. You don't eat the noodles, you only drink the water they come in, that you're supposed to discard before you cook the noodles. It really kickstarts your metabolism again.
11:45 Dan Pashman? Right.
11:46 Speaker 01 Yeah.
11:46 Dan Pashman? That sounds, that's very similar to the cleanse I'm on right now. The one I'm doing now, it's from the book, "French Women Don't Get Fat." But like, French men also pretty skinny, so I figured I'd give it a shot. And, um, but it begins with, you have to drink nothing but leek water for two days. That's like, you boil leeks in water and then just drink the water.
12:04 Speaker 01 Broth, like broth.
12:04 Dan Pashman? Right, right, right.
12:04 Speaker 01 Yeah.
12:05 Dan Pashman? Um, and like, so far, so good. Um, but, well, actually, hang on though, I realized, I haven't had, had lunch yet. Hang, hang on one sec.
12:18 Speaker 01 Bon appétit.
12:20 Dan Pashman? This is not enough food for me.
12:28 Dan Pashman? That's Jolenta Gold. Her health and wellness blog, which focuses on the ketogenic lifestyle, is called "Ketoldyso." Coming up, our journey continues. I'll talk with an ultra marathoner who's gonna totally revolutionize the way we all think about smoothies. Then later, we'll meet a yoga instructor in LA who's doing incredible things with turmeric. Stick around.
13:02 Speaker 02 Ooh, advertisements, yummy.
13:06 Dan Pashman? When you're cooking, ingredients matter, right? You use higher quality ingredients, you usually get better results. And if you're listening to this show, you're probably the kind of person who puts some thought and effort into your ingredients. But ingredients don't just matter with food, they also matter with laundry detergent. Of course, the cleaning job needs to get done, the odors and stains have to be tackled, and I want to feel good about the detergent and the ingredients in it. Because remember, whatever's in your laundry detergent is essentially in your clothes, and then you're putting those clothes on, you want good stuff in there. And All Free Clear uses only essential ingredients. It's 100% free from dyes, perfumes, parabens, and irritating residues. Check out the label and see for yourself, it lists all the ingredients and what they do. We've been using it in my house, we're very happy with it, and let me tell you, family
13:47 Dan Pashman? of four, two teenagers, we do a lot of laundry, so we have put All Free Clear to the test. It's a powerful clean that you can feel good about. All Free Clear is the number one detergent brand recommended by dermatologists for sensitive skin. When it comes to laundry detergent, the choice is clear, All Free Clear. Pick up a bottle for your next laundry day. Make holiday hosting effortless with Boars Head Sweet Slice Uncured Ham. It's the perfect centerpiece for gathering family and friends around the holiday table. Hand-packed into netting, Sweet Slice Uncured Ham has the look of a traditional holiday ham with rich flavor worth of savoring. Slow-roasted and delicately smoked, boneless Sweet Slice Uncured Ham delivers classic bone-in flavor made for the moments that bring everyone together.
14:30 Dan Pashman? Find Sweet Slice Uncured Ham at your nearest Boars Head deli. And for holiday entertaining inspiration, recipes, and more, visit boarshead.com. There's nothing quite like Aruba. The white sand beaches are truly unlike anything you've seen. But what really stands out is the food. Because Aruba's not like other Caribbean islands. French pastries, Spanish paella, Peruvian barbecue, papardelle that has no business being that good that far from Florence. Not to mention the local fair. Aruba's food scene pulls you in with its astonishing variety of cuisines and beyond satisfies you with its unexpected flavors. So plan your escape to culinary delight at aruba.com. Your taste buds will thank you. For a long time, I did not understand the point of vests.
15:15 Dan Pashman? Like, why not just have a jacket? That covers your arms, too. But something clicked for me. I think I got gifted a vest and now I am obsessed with vests. And it just adds that little bit of toastiness. And I got this new Quince Packable Puffer Vest. I love that you can just squish it up and shove it in the bottom of your bag. That way you have it with you all day. If it gets a little chilly, break out the vest. I also got a Quince Down Quilted Vest. It is so soft and cozy. They make them for men and women. And as with everything you get at Quince, they focus on high-quality staples made with premium materials like 100% Mongolian cashmere, 14-karat gold, and Italian leather. These are all timeless, versatile pieces that feel special to unwrap and become everyday favorites long after the holidays. Give the gift of quality this holiday season.
15:59 Dan Pashman? Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns, now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was The Sporkful. It's the best way to support the show.
16:24 Dan Pashman? Welcome back to another Sporkful Reheat. I'm Dan Pashman. Want to watch me walking my dog while ranting about some food-related issue that's on my mind? Want to see what I'm cooking? Want to see what I'm eating? The best way to do that is to follow me on Instagram. My kids make occasional appearances. There's a lot of fun to be had, so please follow me on Instagram @thesporful. Again, that's @thesporful. Thanks. Now, back to this week's reheat.
16:48 Dan Pashman? When I set out to change the way I eat, I knew that if I was really going to start to feel the difference, to feel better, I'd also have to exercise more. One day, I was scrolling through Instagram and I came across a guy named Ian Bryan. Ian's an angel investor and ultra-marathoner. He's also into Tough Mudders. Those are like part-run, part-obstacle course. Ian posts these viral Instagram stories where he gives investment tips while crawling through mud and under barbed wire. So I started following him, and his videos always get me so pumped up. I knew I had to include him in this episode. When we spoke recently, the first thing I wanted to know is, what's Ian training for right now?
17:27 Speaker 03 I have an 18-miler coming up. I'm doing that, actually, as the first part of a 30-miler. I have kind of a little finish line at 18 and then do the remaining, remaining 12.
17:40 Dan Pashman? But so isn't that just a 30 miler then?
17:42 Speaker 03 Yeah, but if you, wherever you put the finish line, that's an accomplishment. And that's something for you to remember.
17:49 Dan Pashman? Right.
17:50 Speaker 03 On, so what kind of runs are you, how long are you running?
17:54 Dan Pashman? Um, more like, um, one or two minutes.
18:00 Speaker 03 Okay. And how far does that get you?
18:04 Dan Pashman? I mean, there's like, um, a stop sign.
18:07 Speaker 03 Mm-hmm.
18:07 Dan Pashman? Down at the end of my street.
18:09 Speaker 03 You, as a runner, you don't need to pay attention to that sign. Even though it says stop, you can keep going.
18:16 Dan Pashman? Right, right, but usually, usually by the time I get to that sign, I'm tired.
18:20 Speaker 03 Right, right. Um, well, it's a, you know, it's a process. Yes, I run 10 to 15 to 20 miles a day. But five miles a day is fine. I run five miles a day, several times a day.
18:37 Dan Pashman? That, yeah, I mean, look, hey, I love that you are so passionate about it. It's just, I'm just being honest, like, for me, when I hear that, it just sort of makes me feel like a running failure.
18:48 Speaker 03 Well, when I first started, I couldn't run five miles. I had to run six because five wasn't enough.
18:57 Dan Pashman? Let's talk about food, because this is a food podcast.
19:00 Speaker 03 Mm-hmm.
19:01 Dan Pashman? What do you eat when you're going on one of these big runs? How do you manage your caloric intake? Because you must burn a lot of calories on one of these things.
19:09 Speaker 03 So I have a number of gus that, you can get them in any flavor.
19:15 Dan Pashman? These are like tubes of goo?
19:17 Speaker 03 It's repackaged cake frosting that somewhere on the packaging says the word sport.
19:23 Dan Pashman? Okay.
19:24 Speaker 03 Uh, so you can bring five or six of those, depending on, you know, you want to take one every four miles, maybe every five miles. In your case,
19:34 Speaker 03 Maybe just sort of a constant feed into you.
19:37 Dan Pashman? Okay, got it. Maybe like I could get one of those helmets that they make like with the two beer can holders and the straws that come down?
19:45 Speaker 03 It's an excellent idea. I mean, so they have, you know, they have vests and belts to which you can attach nutrition. But then, you know, there is a lot of the body that hasn't been exploited yet.
20:00 Dan Pashman? You mean like for carrying snacks?
20:02 Speaker 03 Think about, take a, take a fruit leather, make it a bracelet.
20:07 Dan Pashman? Right.
20:08 Speaker 03 Take two more fruit leathers, anklets, wrap a wrap, a tortilla around your neck.
20:14 Dan Pashman? I love tortillas. How do I know, like, let's say, let's say I work my way up to like a lot of miles running. How do I know if I have enough food with me?
20:26 Speaker 03 Well, you want to eat before you're hungry and drink before you're thirsty.
20:31 Dan Pashman? So you're saying like eat preemptively?
20:33 Speaker 03 Eat preemptively, yes.
20:34 Dan Pashman? That's actually great for me because that, that is something I already do.
20:37 Speaker 03 You've been doing it your whole life.
20:39 Dan Pashman? That's right. It's, I, I've been training, it turns out, I guess, to be a runner, but I've been training by doing the eating part of being a runner. Instead of the running part of being a runner.
20:50 Speaker 03 Yeah.
20:50 Dan Pashman? So one of the things I'm so excited to talk with you about, Ian, is, is that you have, you've taken all your experience, running and doing all kinds of extreme exercise, and your experience with, with food and eating while running, and you, you've come up with something.
21:06 Speaker 03 Yes. Smoo.
21:09 Dan Pashman? What, what?
21:10 Speaker 03 It's a smoothie brand. It's called Smoo.
21:14 Dan Pashman? Smoo?
21:16 Speaker 03 Smoo. The, it's a S M U N, but the N is tiny.
21:24 Dan Pashman? So you, how do you say it?
21:26 Speaker 03 Smoo.
21:27 Dan Pashman? Smoo.
21:29 Speaker 03 Smoo. So you want, uh, just, it's just spelled S M U with a tiny N.
21:36 Dan Pashman? And so, and, and so because it's smaller, you also like say it smaller?
21:40 Speaker 03 Yeah, yeah, you kind of pull back the throttle when you get to that part of the word.
21:44 Dan Pashman? Got it. And so what is Smoo?
21:48 Speaker 03 Smen.
21:51 Dan Pashman? Right, okay, so what is it?
21:53 Speaker 03 Well, I can't talk about everything. There's some non-disclosures. But we brought in a team from NASA, from other space agencies, using technology that could very well have been used to solve any number of the world's problems. Those kinds of minds, pointing at this blender. They're using AI. They're using machine learning. They're using TIA, A-learning, Jumbotron's. This blender is the tender of Uber.
22:27 Dan Pashman? So, I mean, Ian, I know some of it is proprietary, but you gotta tell me a little bit more about this product.
22:32 Speaker 03 Here's where we're coming from. When I'm out on an ultra marathon, or you're on your way to the stop sign, you need fuel, right? I am getting as much fuel into my body as I can, but my body has to do a lot of work digesting that. And I want all of my body's effort to be going to my legs. So, predigested food. What's the most predigested food? The smoothest food?
23:03 Dan Pashman? Smoothies?
23:05 Speaker 03 Smoothies.
23:07 Speaker 03 Every smoothie you've ever had, what's wrong with it?
23:12 Dan Pashman? It doesn't...
23:13 Speaker 03 It's not smooth enough. Could we make a smoothie smoother? We can make a smoothie smoother.
23:22 Dan Pashman? How did you get this business off the ground?
23:25 Speaker 03 Well, first was the idea. And once I had the idea, I opened up Microsoft Excel, made a spreadsheet, took that spreadsheet to Silicon Valley.
23:36 Dan Pashman? And you've raised a lot of money on this thing now?
23:39 Speaker 03 So much.
23:41 Dan Pashman? One of the things that I also love about your work, Ian, is that you're giving back is obviously so important to you. You are, you've built like a charitable component into Samoon.
23:53 Speaker 03 So what we say is everybody deserves a smoothie, whether you want a smoothie or not. So when you buy a smoothie, we will give you another one that you can give to someone, whether or not they want it.
24:08 Dan Pashman? So when I buy, if I just want one smoothie and I don't want the extra charity smoothie that I would give to someone else, how much is that one smoothie?
24:18 Speaker 03 $12, standard price for a small.
24:21 Dan Pashman? And if I want to be able to give one to charity, how much does that cost?
24:24 Speaker 03 $24.
24:26 Dan Pashman? Got it.
24:28 Speaker 03 But that 24 is only going to the first smoothie. The second smoothie is free.
24:34 Dan Pashman? Wow. So Ian, where are you hoping to take Samoon?
24:40 Speaker 03 Well, I look around at the ultra marathons I'm at, and even when I'm just walking down the street, and I see people eating and drinking all sorts of healthy foods, and I think, why are they not drinking a smoothie right now? So it's a dream, but it's my dream that within five years, everything every human being is eating is a smoothie.
25:11 Dan Pashman? Like all caloric intake?
25:14 Speaker 03 All caloric intake.
25:16 Dan Pashman? On the whole planet?
25:17 Speaker 03 Yes.
25:20 Dan Pashman? Then you'll be able to like, determine who lives and dies?
25:24 Speaker 03 I mean, that's, I think, the real value proposition. There's not a lot of companies out there on the market that can control the future of all life on Earth. So I would love to see Samoon be acquired, and I don't need it to be trillions of dollars. I just need it to be way, way more than it's worth. Like I said, it's a dream, but it's my dream.
26:03 Dan Pashman? That's Ian Bryan. He's the founder, CEO, and Chief Smoothie Disruption Officer of Smoo.
26:10 Dan Pashman? So Ian is using the latest technology to create an all-new kind of food. But what about the ingredients and traditions that people have been relying on for centuries? For that, we turn to Jenny Miller. She's a yoga teacher and certified master herbalist in LA. You've heard of echinacea, ginseng, ginkgo biloba. No one was using any of those before Jenny discovered them. We'll get to how she and I met. But when I talked with her recently, the first thing I wanted to know was, what herb is going to be the next hot, new, thousand-year-old trend?
26:42 Speaker 02 There is an amazing Indian ginseng called ashwagandha. Have you heard of it, Dan?
26:47 Dan Pashman? I mean, I've heard people talking about it, but I don't, I have no idea what it is.
26:51 Speaker 02 I mean, it's basically like a Nabi root. To be honest, it's really what cured my restless legs. I mean, I just could never Netflix and chill. I was always Netflix-ing and Twitching.
27:03 Dan Pashman? And so you're referring to ashwagandha as Indian ginseng?
27:06 Speaker 02 Yeah, it's sort of like, I kind of call it like Korean garlic.
27:10 Dan Pashman? Oh, I thought that was Cambodian ginger.
27:12 Speaker 02 No, it's Korean garlic.
27:14 Dan Pashman? Jenny says ashwagandha is about to be everywhere. She's going to make sure of it.
27:20 Speaker 02 You know, I don't even like the word influencer with a capital I. But I do know that when I post an Instagram story, things fly off the shelves. I really see that as my role, really amplifying and supporting ancient traditions that people have forgotten, but really have been the foundation to the health and wellness of Okinawan villagers who live to be 100, you know?
27:47 Dan Pashman? So I had never done yoga in my life, and I was in LA a few weeks ago. And, you know, I'm trying to get healthier. I figured I would give it a shot. And I walked into your yoga studio.
28:04 Speaker 02 Yes, I loved it.
28:06 Dan Pashman? Does that happen often to you? Do people just like walk into your studio?
28:09 Speaker 02 Yeah, I think, you know, sometimes when you know you need some healing, people get called to my studio. It's very inviting.
28:16 Dan Pashman? Right.
28:16 Speaker 02 So I'm glad you liked it.
28:17 Dan Pashman? Yeah, that's certainly how I felt. And, you know, so- So I didn't realize that I was walking into the advanced sweat shop yoga. What do you call that yoga?
28:29 Speaker 02 Yeah, definitely. It's the advanced sweat shop yoga. What we do is we actually go a little higher than your regular hot yoga. Because, I mean, let's just be honest, like, there is so much negativity in the world. And so I decided we just want to take it to the next level. And so, yeah, it's pretty hot in there.
28:46 Dan Pashman? And so, so let's, let's back up here a little bit, Jenny. Because I, we, I want people to hear your origin story. Okay.
28:52 Speaker 02 Yes.
28:52 Dan Pashman? I, I know you're not originally from LA. Like, how, how did you, how did you come to be who you are today?
28:59 Speaker 02 Oh, my goodness. I love talking about my origin story. Well, I grew up in a little town outside of Indianapolis called Muncie. Shout out to Muncie.
29:08 Dan Pashman? As a kid, Jenny had a bunch of health problems.
29:11 Speaker 02 Migraine headaches.
29:12 Dan Pashman? Social distortion.
29:14 Speaker 02 Rosacea.
29:15 Dan Pashman? Anthrax.
29:16 Speaker 02 Irritable bowel.
29:17 Dan Pashman? And mega death, which despite its name, turns out to be less serious than actual death. Jenny's parents took her to all different doctors who put her on all kinds of diets and medications. Nothing worked. Then Jenny had an epiphany that would change her life forever. She was in college at a keg party.
29:37 Speaker 02 I know it's gonna sound silly, but I was like smoking a blunt and like, it like slipped out of my hand. And it totally, I actually fell and I like hit my head on the corner of a keg. And I like totally got knocked out. I had this vision of myself floating in space above the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat, a Shinto temple. I just thought to myself, oh, my God, like, we're not even of our bodies. Is our body our body anyway?
30:16 Dan Pashman? When Jenny came to, she was a yoga teacher.
30:21 Dan Pashman? She got on the next plane to Los Angeles, which is where she discovered a dish called kichuri.
30:26 Speaker 02 Kichuri is amazing. It is literally the thing that changed my life.
30:32 Dan Pashman? It's like lentils and rice? This is like, it's a South Asian dish?
30:35 Speaker 02 Yes, from the Indian subcontinent. And, I mean, I even used to sneeze when I would get out into the sun. You know about this, right? Like how some people sneeze when they're in the sun?
30:44 Dan Pashman? My wife has that, yeah.
30:45 Speaker 02 Oh, my God, yeah. Who knew that kichuri with so much turmeric would work?
30:50 Dan Pashman? So, but, but so, kichuri is lentils and rice and turmeric. Can we please just take a minute and talk about turmeric?
30:57 Speaker 02 I literally have an altar for turmeric in my house. It is in the northeastern corner of my house. The Feng Shui is perfect. And this, this altar literally has piles of different types of food and pharmaceutical-grade turmeric. It's how I make sure I stay focused and grounded about what really matters. And turmeric really drives my life.
31:22 Dan Pashman? And, and, I mean, kichuri is like the hot dish in the wellness world right now, Jenny, and you, you like discovered it.
31:30 Speaker 02 I mean, I, Dan, I'm not really into the sort of competitive titles around being first or number one, but I did, I did discover it first about five years ago.
31:43 Dan Pashman? That experience discovering kichuri, that's what led you to open your yoga studio?
31:48 Speaker 02 It is, you know? I actually specialize in a form of yoga that I developed. It's both the extreme sweatshop yoga that you experience combined with kichuri. So what you basically do is while we go through our flow, we actually rotate each person in the group through a hot soaking tub of my special kichuri.
32:12 Dan Pashman? And then, at the end of a session, who eats the kichuri?
32:17 Speaker 02 Oh, we all take a taste of it.
32:21 Dan Pashman? Okay, so your studio has the sweatshop yoga, you're doing kitschery yoga, and now I understand you've also added baby yoga?
32:28 Speaker 02 Yes, I mean, you know, you've seen the baby yoga, and I think it's lovely for mothers and fathers to bond with their baby. But, you know, at my studio, we actually do an intermediate level of baby yoga. Prior to starting your baby yoga session, we have all the babies swaddled in a injera-based wrap that Wakandan villagers have been using for centuries. It's really beautiful. It's soft and pillowy, and you can eat it.
32:58 Dan Pashman? Jenny, I gotta say, it seems like you're just sort of glomming on to a bunch of other cultures. Can you tell me a little more about how you've researched all this?
33:07 Speaker 02 Oh, gosh, I actually did tour a lot in Asia. I spent about two weeks in Tokyo. And on my way to Chiang Mai in Thailand, I did have a layover in Shanghai, which was lovely. It was the best 12 hours of my life. And I also then made it down to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a tiny island just south of India. And it really was beautiful. Beaches and drinks and massages, a lot of massage therapy. I received a lot of massage therapy there. And I like to interact with the locals, especially when they're serving me my food.
33:49 Dan Pashman? I mean, clearly, traveling places to experience other cultures is better than not doing that. But is sitting on a beach in a resort really the best way to experience those cultures?
34:04 Speaker 02 You know, we live in a really tough world nowadays, and everyone is stressed out. Everyone is depressed. I barely can check into the news without wanting to just fall apart. And so, why can't we, you know, find a little liberation through eating a beautiful mix of quinoa and lentil with turmeric? Why can't we use that as our portal into wellness? When you go to a different ethnic hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Los Angeles, the dirtier, the better. It gives you more of that authentic taste. Sometimes I even actually take my food and rub it on the floor just to make sure that
34:49 Speaker 02 I'm getting all of the microbes. Because that's the closest thing that I can get to transporting myself to India or Vietnam, you know? You want all of the microbes. And if you have those microbes in your neighborhood, why not eat all of it?
35:11 Dan Pashman? That's Jenny Miller of Kachuri Yoga in Los Angeles. So I guess my journey continues. And the thing I'm learning is that-
35:18 Speaker 02 Everyone, please, plant your feet lightly on the floor.
35:21 Dan Pashman? Oh.
35:24 Speaker 02 Take a deep breath in.
35:29 Speaker 02 Stop. Now the rest.
35:36 Speaker 02 Dan the Sporkful, I wish you peace and silence in your mind, body, and bowel.
35:55 Dan Pashman? We done?
36:07 Dan Pashman? What a journey. What a destination. I feel so much better. Next week on the show, we kick off a six-part series on Millet, Get Psyched. This show is produced by me along with senior producer-
36:20 Speaker 02 And Sani.
36:21 Dan Pashman? And associate producer-
36:22 Speaker 04 N'Gofen Putubwele.
36:24 Dan Pashman? Our editor is-
36:25 Speaker 02 Chiana Palmer.
36:26 Dan Pashman? And our engineer is-
36:27 Speaker 05 Jared O'Connell.
36:28 Dan Pashman? Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkfuls are a production of Stitcher. Our executive producers are Chris Bannon and Jenny Radalit. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.
36:37 Speaker 06 And I'm Richard Helyer from Guelph, Ontario, reminding you to eat more, eat butter, and eat more butter.
36:57 Dan Pashman? This reheat was produced by
36:58 Speaker 07 Gianna Palmer.
37:00 Dan Pashman? The team that produces The Sporkful today includes me along with managing producer
37:03 Speaker 07 Emma Morgenstern.
37:04 Dan Pashman? And senior producer Andres O'Hara. Our engineer is
37:07 Speaker 05 Jared O'Connell.
37:08 Dan Pashman? The Sporkful is a production of Stitcher Studios. Our executive producer is Camille Stanley. And hey, did you know you can listen to The Sporkful on the Sirius XM app? Yes, the Sirius XM app, it has all your favorite podcasts, plus over 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era. Plus, live sports coverage. Does your podcasting app have that? And there's interviews with A-list stars and so much more. It's everything you want in a podcast app and music app, all rolled into one. And right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the Sirius XM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.
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38:14 Dan Pashman? Hey, it's Dan here. Thank you so much, first of all, for tuning into The Sporkful every week. We really appreciate it. And I want to let you know, if you want to hear new episodes ad-free, subscribe to Sirius XM Podcasts Plus on Apple Podcasts, or visit siriusxm.com/podcastsplus to listen with Spotify or another app of your choice. Thanks.
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