Topics
Subscribe to DianeSanfilippo.com
The episodes are also available in iTunes, Spotify & Stitcher.
Show sponsors:
 |
 |
 |
You’re listening to the Balanced Bites podcast episode 271.
Diane Sanfilippo: Welcome to the Balanced Bites podcast. I’m Diane; a certified nutrition consultant, and the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Paleo and The 21-Day Sugar Detox. I live in San Francisco with my husband and fur kids. I love Thanksgiving.
Liz Wolfe: I’m Liz; a nutritional therapy practitioner, and author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller Eat the Yolks; The Purely Primal Skincare Guide; and the online program Baby Making and Beyond. I live on a farm in the mystical land of the Midwest, outside of Kansas City, and I used to do a wicked impression of Will Ferrell’s impression of Harry Caray. Way to go, Cubs!
We’re the co-creators of the Balanced Bites Master Class, and we’ve been bringing you this award winning podcast for 5 years and counting. We’re here to share our take on modern paleo living, answer your questions, and chat with leading health and wellness experts. Enjoy this week’s episode, and submit your questions at http://blog.balancedbites.com. Remember our disclaimer: The materials and content within this podcast are intended as general information only, and are not to be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Before we get started, let’s hear from one of our sponsors.
Diane Sanfilippo: Pete’s Paleo has opened a new location on the East Coast. Since they’re still operating out of San Diego, as well; this means local produce and meat coming from both coasts. And drastically reduced shipping prices. Check out their new and improved website, www.PetesPaleo.com to take advantage of low shipping rates; and be sure to use coupon code 1FREEBACON. That’s the number 1; free bacon, and receive a free half pound of bacon with the purchase of a meal plan. Go to www.PetesPaleo.com.
Liz Wolfe: Hey everyone, it’s me Liz, here with Diane.
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh hey.
Liz Wolfe: Oh hey. {sniffles}
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: I wonder how closely my hunger and/or tiredness and/or the amount of time we spend talking about other stuff before we start podcasting; how much that correlates with my ability to get through the introduction without having to try like 6 times.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} Should I keep data on that? Should I track that for you?
Liz Wolfe: Perhaps. But let’s just remember; correlation does not equal causation.
Diane Sanfilippo: Is there an app for that. That’s for sure.
Liz Wolfe: Your Fit Bit doesn’t track that?
Diane Sanfilippo: It doesn’t track how many times you stop and restart recording anything. No. It’s Thanksgiving today. Did you know?
Liz Wolfe: Happy Thanksgiving.
Diane Sanfilippo: I feel like I need more Thanksgiving-y movie quotes. {laughs} I mostly only have quotes from Elf or Christmas Vacation. So those shall begin after this episode.
Liz Wolfe: Why can’t I think of a Thanksgiving movie right now?
Diane Sanfilippo: I don’t think there are; are there Thanksgiving movies? I feel like there are holiday movies; like the Family Stone. That’s not quite a classic at this point. And then there’s a Christmas Story; there are more holiday Christmas movies, I think. Don’t you think?
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Ok, I’m cheating and I’m Googling Thanksgiving movies.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} Well, Scott and I are…
Liz Wolfe: A Family Thanksgiving?
Diane Sanfilippo: No.
Liz Wolfe: That’s like a Hallmark special.
Diane Sanfilippo: No.
Liz Wolfe: Oh; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. How stupid am I?
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh. See, I don’t really know that one. Well we were talking about how basically all of the Elf and all of the Christmas Vacation, and I am going to say also all of the Christmas Story quotes; it will be a floodgate as soon as Thanksgiving passes. I mean, frankly, most of them weave their way into our lives anyway. I mean, we literally say, “Is there sugar in syrup,” almost every single day. I don’t know why. “Is there sugar in syrup?” I don’t know, daily.
Liz Wolfe: It’s universally applicable. It’s like, “Do you want this?” “Is there whatever in that? Then yes.”
Diane Sanfilippo: Then yes! {laughs} Ay-yai-yai.
Liz Wolfe: I understand, I think in movie quotes. I get it.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, so do I. One day in the shower, I was trying to actually boil it down to the 5 or 10 that I quote the most; which the things I think about in the shower are pretty dumb {laughs}. But that was on the brain the other day. Anyway. No Thanksgiving movies.
1. News and updates from Diane & Liz [4:32]
Liz Wolfe: Alright well speaking of you showering, what are your updates?
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} I have not yet showered today. Ugh, Monday’s, long days. Oh, well now they know. Now they know the secret! {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Shoot.
Diane Sanfilippo: Anyway. Facebook live, I’m still doing those Thursday’s at 5 o'clock Pacific; but you know, heads up, if it seems too dark I might be pushing it earlier. I’ve said that for a couple of weeks now. I haven’t yet, because last week I think was the first time for a live video; I don’t know when this episode is airing. I’m getting so confused. We’re getting so well ahead of us that I’m totally confused about where we are in the space time continuum. But anyway; they may be pushed to 4 o’clock Pacific. So just keep your eyes and ears opened for that.
You guys will be hearing pretty soon; like, pretty, pretty soon about the Balanced Bites Master Class January class opening for enrollment really soon. The wait list email, etc., you guys can access at http://blog.balancedbites.com/masterclass and you’ll hear about it here, of course, as soon as enrollment actually opens, which will be late December. So enrollment will be open for a few weeks, and then it will close, and then the course will start about mid January. So you guys can mentally prepare for that.
And as a little heads up, also if it’s something you’ve been thinking about and you’ve been hoping to participate in, but obviously a little bit of a gift-y season, we will have an option for you to be able to ask for it as a gift from your friends and family members. So if it’s something you want to put on your Christmas list, would be good to stay tuned for info on that.
What else? Probably don’t want to do that one because we’ll talk about it later. What else? We’re going to have a gift guide up on http://blog.balancedbites.com. So, dang it; whatever website. Diane Sanfilippo; http://blog.balancedbites.com, it’s all the same website. But some of the stuff we’re talking about on today’s episode, as well as some other favorites of mine and my teams. We’ll be putting a bunch of stuff together, because I feel like I haven’t done it in a couple of years and I think those are always really fun, because there are things that I use all the time and I forget to tell you guys about these awesome, fun things. So there you go. And what’s up with you?
Liz Wolfe: We saw each other in Napa.
Diane Sanfilippo: I would have mentioned it, but I saw that it was on your list to be mentioned, so I didn’t. I know!
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} My bullet points; “Napa. Saw Diane. Winery. Sick.” {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} Yeah, that was fun. I wonder if you guys listening, if you saw our live video. If you didn’t, it’s over on my Facebook page, and we’re going to have an edited version up on the blog; it should be up there now, actually. Yeah, that was fun. It was super mellow.
Liz Wolfe: It was fun. We probably should not have eaten lunch before we went live, because I’m pretty sure; I think, so I put the baby down for a nap, then we ate lunch, then we went live.
Diane Sanfilippo: I needed to eat though.
Liz Wolfe: I’m pretty sure she slept for her standard hour.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. But I don’t think I would have made it if I hadn’t eaten.
Liz Wolfe: I know, I was getting close to hangry. And then, French fry gate where I admitted to having French fries that very same day; someone asked how paleo I was, or we were all the time and I said, “I had French fries, I don’t care.” And I don’t; I had French fries, they were good. I haven’t had any since, but they were good. I didn’t eat all of them, but the ones I had were good. So what’s the big deal, right? I mean, right?
Diane Sanfilippo: I mean, I think French fries are paleo, but maybe the oils aren’t. but you know, French fries could easily be paleo.
Liz Wolfe: They were darned good. And they were waffle fries.
Diane Sanfilippo: Those waffle fries I tasted one. Yes, excellent. From, I feel like we should say where we got food from in Napa.
Liz Wolfe: I forgot what it’s called so you’re going to have to tell me.
Diane Sanfilippo: It’s called Heritage Eats. And I hope they open all over the place, because it’s amazing. Anyway, these are your updates and now I’m hijacking them. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: What are you hijacking? You’re not hijacking anything.
Diane Sanfilippo: Your updates. Ok, what else? What else is going on? What’s the winery? I saw a picture on Instagram.
Liz Wolfe: So it’s kind of fun, because my husband’s name is Spencer, and there’s a winery in Napa called Elizabeth and Spencer winery. I discovered it long ago the last time I was in Napa, and I cannot remember why I was there. I know I was with my friend Dion, I was staying with her for a night or two. Was it for; did we do an event in San Francisco? Did we do something where I needed to have been there? Was a Weston A. Price conference thing? I haven’t been to one of those in years.
Diane Sanfilippo: We; yeah, that picture I sent you just the other day was from the Weston A. Price conference about 4 years ago, but it was in Santa Clara, I think, it was a little bit south of the city.
Liz Wolfe: But I thought I didn’t; no, it was PaleoFx that I missed my flight, and I was like; ok, never mind, I’m not coming. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh, yeah, that was PaleoFx.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Or no, that was AHS.
Diane Sanfilippo: I don’t know. Oh. That. Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: Anyway who cares. So I’ve been there in Napa before and drove past Elizabeth and Spencer and went there, but my husband and I had yet to be there together, and it was a lot of fun except for all three of us; me, husband, and baby have been sick for about a week and the traveling did not help. Worst pain of my life on the descent with clogged up sinuses; that was awful. I thought my skull was peeling off. So, other than the company, the amazing friends that we stayed with who made it such an incredible visit despite the fact that we weren’t feeling well, you know, I probably could have enjoyed a little more wine. But I just; my sinuses couldn’t take it.
Diane Sanfilippo: I hear you man. That was my old, like, pre paleo I was getting sinus infections all the time, and actually even in New Jersey I would get them like once a year. And for those of you who are beta testers of the Balanced Bites Master Class, and people who are going to enroll; I was literally on the tail end of one of those super gnarly sinus infections while we recorded those videos. It was so brutal. So I totally know the, “Can you just cut my face off” feeling from the pain. I can’t imagine flying with it. I’m glad that you made it.
Liz Wolfe: Me too.
Liz Wolfe: The Balanced Bites podcast is sponsored in part by the Nutritional Therapy Association. The NTA trains and certifies nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants, including me, I’m an NTP, emphasizing bio-individuality and the range of dietary strategies that support wellness. The NTA emphasizes local, whole, properly prepared nutrient dense foods as the key to restoring balance and enhancing the body’s ability to heal. Nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants learn a wide range of tools and techniques to assess and correct nutritional imbalances. To learn lots more about the nutritional therapy program, go to http://www.NutritionalTherapy.com. There are workshop venues in the US, Canada, and Australia, so chances are you’ll be able to find a venue that works for you.
2. What Liz and Diane are thankful for this year [12:02]
Liz Wolfe: OK, so instead of a shout out, we’re going to do something a little bit special, and both of us are going to name one thing that we’re thankful for this year.
Diane Sanfilippo: OK that means you first?
Liz Wolfe: Well, I’m kind of on the spot. I feel like I have to filter a bunch of things I’m thankful for and then… so is this supposed to be random, or sweet, or profound? Give me a category to put this in.
Diane Sanfilippo: Well, I’ll go first because I really don’t care if it’s supposed to be one thing or another.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} It’s pretty standard. I’m just thinking of what comes to mind first, and it’s probably pretty obvious for people who follow me on Instagram. But I’m really thankful that we were able to move back to San Francisco. I’m really thankful that my husband was open-minded to it, and that his career; although it is location based, that it was possible for him to move and start a new practice, and that we’re able to live where we live. It’s made me so much happier; not just changing the physical space we’re in, but having this amazing park right across the street, and being able to walk places and experience nature as well as the kind of comforts of an urban area of the city. I really love being able to walk to a coffee shop or walk to dinner and all that good stuff. But we’ve been taking walks down by the Golden Gate Bridge a lot and all kinds of things; and I’m just so appreciative of that. I don’t know, I’m just really grateful for it. That’s it; that’s the thing I’m most thankful for this year.
Liz Wolfe: I’m so thankful for my daughter. She’s amazing. I mean, is she not super cool?
Diane Sanfilippo: She is really cool. I mean, {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Don’t know where she came from, but as far as kids go, she’s pretty cool.
Diane Sanfilippo: She was really chill. Yeah, she was chill.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah, that’s my number one thing.
Diane Sanfilippo: I mean, she was sticky, but. {laughing}
Liz Wolfe: She was very sticky. She happened to be sticky that day and I can’t remember why.
Diane Sanfilippo: But I have to appreciate that she was drinking a carrot-turmeric whatever wellness juice I brought you.
Liz Wolfe: Oh yes.
Diane Sanfilippo: She was really into it. She’s like, I’m having this. This is the thing that they’re drinking, and I’m going to have it. She’s cool.
Liz Wolfe: Well thank you.
3. Holiday gift guide: Support local [14:34]
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, so today we’re going to talk a little bit about some of the things we’ve been digging this year that would make great gift ideas. Obviously this episode is airing on Thanksgiving so we want to keep it fun and light and give you guys a bunch of ideas and talk about things that we’ve been loving. So Liz, maybe you can jump in and get us started?
Liz Wolfe: Sure thing. So I think my favorite idea for this season is to support your friend’s businesses. I am totally over retail shopping. I’m really excited about a ton of brands and a lot of them happen to be direct sales. I know sometimes direct sales companies; network marketing companies get a bad name, because I think people are just unfamiliar and because there are some that are a little unscrupulous or not super legit in many ways. But there are also some, just like any business, that are doing an amazing job, that are empowering people to make money while changing the world. So I’m going to name a couple that I love; maybe we can put some links in the show notes with these and support your friends’ businesses.
Check out Sseko. I don’t know a ton about it, but I do have a few of their bags. They basically empower women, artisans, I believe, to create goods and somehow this business empowers them to go to school. I don’t know the whole story but Sseko is a really cool brand. S-S-E-K-O.
Usborne books; I really like. U-S-B-O-R-N-E, Usborne books. Books for the little ones.
Beautycounter, of course, which is a direct sales company that sells through consultants. These are all businesses that produce really lovely things, and they also give mostly women but also men the opportunity to earn money while doing life.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: For a lot of people, that’s mom’s that have a little side gig, and it’s important. So good opportunity to support your buddies.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, I’ve had friends who were running a business with like Stella and Dot, for example, and one of the things I loved about supporting her business is that she is a school teacher. And to me; I mean, I grew up, my mom; my parents were both school teachers, but my dad later moved into sales and my mom was a school teacher my whole life. I definitely see how much they give of themselves to the students and to their jobs, and I think; they’re definitely not compensated well enough for it. And I really appreciate, as somebody who has always been personally entrepreneurial, I really appreciate when my friends show an entrepreneurial spirit, so I’m always really quick to jump on and be like; yeah, I’ll host a party, or attend somebody else’s and learn about what the products are. I personally just love seeing them take the initiative to make something happen. And why not? Why not buy a necklace from her instead of going to the mall or something like that.
I’ll tell you what; I’ve worn that stuff for years. Anyway, love it. I think that’s a great idea, and I think it’s also, I think it’s just a really kind and generous way to be, observing that our friends are really trying to make an effort, and supporting them in that way.
4. Gifts for sister, mother, best friend [18:01]
Liz Wolfe: Alrighty. So, let’s talk about some gifts for the category of, let’s say, sister. Best friend. Somebody that you love {laughs}.
Diane Sanfilippo: Maybe your mom. It could be for your mom too, I think.
Liz Wolfe: I just have to put in a plug for Beautycounter, because they have the most elegant, beautifully packaged. Really, I love gifts, but I love packaging, which is so; probably silly, but I love elegant packaging that I can reuse for other things.
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh totally; those red boxes. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Oh my gosh; the red boxes. I love them. So the Beautycounter holiday collections are awesome; you should go check them out. We’ll put links in the show notes. If you don’t already have a Beautycounter consultant, put me down, put Diane down, pick one of us and check out their holiday stuff.
I also love, speaking of packaging and just beautiful things, I think Primally Pure has the most gorgeous labeling. I mean, beautiful. I don’t know if you’ve seen their stuff lately.
Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Super clean, simple. Really pretty.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Beautiful, would make a gorgeous gift. And they package things up really nicely, too. And of course, I would also say; folks know that I’m really into the safer beauty stuff, but Primal Life Organics, who I collaborate with on the C-ex natural vitamin C serum. They have; well we have, I guess, something called the Revival Package, which is the vitamin C serum and the coffee bean serum. I love using the coffee bean serum in the morning and the vitamin C serum in the evening. So it’s the revival package that you can get for a little bit of a discount. I know those things are a little pricy, but it’s a good gift. Holidays are a good time to splurge.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, I love those. And I think all of these are great to introduce the people that we love to some products that are safer or more natural, depending on which you’re going with. Sometimes our friends and family aren’t quite as interested in trying them on their own, but if they’re given something that’s a really beautiful product or something very useful or maybe it’s like lip gloss or something from Beautycounter or something like that. Of course you’re going to use it; and you just really open the door for that stuff, which I think is kind of nice, because it gives people a way to make those lateral shifts to better choices, while seeing that the products do perform, and I think that’s a really nice way to do that. But that’s not like {laughs} pushy or argumentative. It’s like; here’s a beautiful gift, and maybe you’ll fall in love with it like I did. Yeah, cool.
5. For the athletic friend [20:46]
Diane Sanfilippo: So, for your athlete or friend who kind of can’t stop moving or maybe you don’t want them to stop moving, you guys have maybe seen me post on Instagram recently, I’m loving my Fit Bit. Also, FYI, outside of our podcast sponsors, and as you guys know we are both Beautycounter consultants, but outside of that, none of these recommendations are sponsored recommendations so we’re just talking about the stuff that we love, and we would talk about it either way. But the Fit Bit, I’m loving having it. I’m loving tracking my sleep, I’m loving seeing how active I am, or not, with the step counter. So whether or not it’s specifically accurate down to the step, it is accurate in terms of overall movement. And I actually don’t have one of the heart rate ones. The one I have is the Alta, which is I think one of the newer ones, and it’s really slim, and yeah I’m really loving it.
Also loving my new Nike free RN Flyknit. I don’t know what the RN stands for, and the Flyknit is the part that feels like sweaters on your feet; not heavy sweaters, just really comfy. I was totally addicted to Innovate sneakers before; super flat, good for crossfitting and that kind of thing. And I tried these on at an event that I spoke at down at Nike recently, and I’ve not wanted to take them off my feet ever since, so I’m kind of obsessed with them. So that’s the sneakers that I’m obsessed with; Nike Free RN Flyknit. And I think those are the kind of gift; I mean, these are both kind of gifts that you might ask for, too, so obviously with sneakers you need a size. And if someone is looking for a Fit Bit, I think the Alta is really great; unless they want a heart rate monitor. I think you have to make sure that you know if the person wants a heart rate monitor or not. But yeah, those are two of my favorites right now.
6. Bookish friends [22:43]
Liz Wolfe: Alright, so my favorites then for the bookworm or cookbook obsessed; so this first recommendation is not nutrition related, but I really am enjoying the Neapolitan series by Elena Ferrante, I believe it is. It’s a series of books about these two women who grew up together, and it’s really incredible. I guess it’s been called; I’m going to say this wrong, but a bildungsroman; which is a literary term that I used to know. I think it’s really just about the building of characters and the building of a story, and it’s really, really good, so I’m enjoying that.
Food related, I just think that Cassy Joy Garcia, of Fed and Fit, did a spectacular job with her cookbook and she is working on the app; I don’t know if the app has come out yet but I think it’s going to be amazing.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, the app is out.
Liz Wolfe: Is it out?
Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm. Not the program; she’s got a program, but the app that goes with the book is out.
Liz Wolfe: Ok. So you’ve got this kind of three-pronged approach to wellness that Cassy has put together for everybody. I think it’s an awesome compliment, of course, to your book and mine; obviously.
Diane Sanfilippo: Obviously. So, other great books that came out this fall; I mean, I’d be remiss if I didn’t obviously mention second edition of Practical Paleo. I think that’s a great one to ask for on your own gift list, and perhaps; I wouldn’t say regift, but hand yours down to someone else. Not for a Christmas present or Hanukah present or seasonal present. I definitely think you guys will love and enjoy the second edition, and I know a lot of you have been on the fence; but trust me when I tell you will love it.
Also, Paleo Soups and Stews is a fantastic new one that came out; Lexi’s Clean Kitchen. Lexi’s Clean Kitchen is not a strict paleo book, but that’s kind of a good thing because we’re talking more about clean eating, and she includes white rice and things like that. Well Fed Weeknights; of course, another great one from Mel Joulwan. A couple more here, the Autoimmune Wellness Handbook; you guys heard us talking with the authors of that, just a couple of weeks ago. And the Paleo Kid’s Cookbook by Jen Robbins; so that’s a great one. I know people have been asking for recipes for kids, and that’s definitely a great resource for everyone for that.
7. For the paleo foodie [25:18]
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, so for the paleo foodie, I’ve got a couple of ideas here. First of all; again, we have some things that we offer that we need to tell you guys about. The spices I’ve been talking about a for a while; I mean, hopefully they’re going to be available for purchase the first week of December. That’s the goal. They’re going to be called Balanced Bites spices. They’re not going to be called Practical Paleo, because I’ve got a lot of things cooking that I think that makes more sense. So keep your eyes open for that. There are some amazing spice blends; a lot of them are in the book in Practical Paleo, you’ve been using them and loving them, but you will not have to mix them yourself anymore, and nice big bottles so you won’t have to get refills too often.
Here’s another one; you can either make or buy porcini mushroom powder. Now this maybe seems random or obscure, but if your friend is a foodie and is looking for ways to make their dishes just taste better with a little extra umami, then porcini mushroom powder; I actually think I posted on, I don’t know if it was on Snapchat or Instastory or Instasnap or wherever it was, but I recently bought dried porcini mushrooms and just ground them up in a food processor until they were a really fine powder, because I had received some porcini mushroom powder as a gift from someone.
And let me tell you, when people give you a food gift, sometimes it takes you a while to open it. But as soon as you do and you realize it’s making your life better, everything kind of changes. So a little hat tip to Michelle of Nom Nom Paleo; she’s got a magical mushroom powder recipe that she’s been sharing with people for years, and I’d never looked at it. I still haven’t looked at it, to be honest with you, but it’s based on the same concept of ground mushrooms, dried mushrooms. Mushrooms are also extremely nutritionally supportive; great support for immune system health, and I just think it’s a great way to get that stuff into your diet. So there’s that. It’s a fun foodie gift.
Also I’m really loving Heavenly Organics honey. I just think it tastes really good, it’s good quality honey, the jars are really cute, and if you want to give someone a gift I feel like honey is a good one because, as we know; honey does not ever go bad. And people always get around to using their honey, sometimes in waves, as it happens in my house, sometimes more frequently and sometimes less frequently. But I always love having a beautiful jar of honey.
Kasandrinos; you guys know I love Kasandrinos extra virgin olive oil, but they’ve also got vinegars and a gift pack of a bottle of oil and maybe one each of the vinegars would be so amazing to give. I think, you know, a lot of folks bring wine as a host or a hostess gift, and I personally, I think that that’s great because I don’t know how to pick wine {laughs} so if you want to bring some wine over and then people are going to drink it, and whatever. But I would probably bring someone a bottle of olive oil because I don’t know anything about wine. And this way you can enjoy it for a while. I love their vinegars too; I love the fig vinegar, super yummy.
And then one more that I think is going to be available for order, again our friend Jen Robbins, who wrote The Paleo Kids Cookbook, she has written like a hundred million books in the last four years. I don’t know how she’s written so many books, but she’s got a new product out called Legit Bread, and I think that would be a really fun gift. Or just something to check out to use to make your holiday meals, make your stuffing, make your French toast the morning after, the morning of Christmas. I think that would be super fun, so you guys can check that out too. We’ll see if we can get a link to that in the show notes.
8. For the “do everything” friend [29:04]
Liz Wolfe: Ok. This next one is difficult; what do you get for the friend who always puts other people first, that maybe needs to chill, to relax a little bit. I’m actually thinking in particular of Jen Robbins, because she’s produced like 4 books in a year, is constantly taking care of other people, working her butt off. So I’m trying to think; what would you get for the friend that you really just want to force them into the bathtub with like 10 pounds of Epsom salts?
Diane Sanfilippo: Was that an actual question for me {laughs}?
Liz Wolfe: Like a meal plan subscription. What’s that?
Diane Sanfilippo: I was like; is this a question, or is this rhetorical? {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: I don’t know. Sometimes I want to throw you in the bathtub with 10 pounds of Epsom salts, and be like slow the F down, you’re going to leave all the rest of us behind. But, fully clothed, of course. This is just getting weird. I don’t know.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: So maybe a meal plan subscription, like a Butcher Box type of delivery? Pete’s Paleo; maybe Pete’s Paleo bacon or Vital Choice seafood?
Diane Sanfilippo: I will say…
Liz Wolfe: Or maybe chocolate.
Diane Sanfilippo: Maybe chocolate. I will say I have sent food, sometimes Pete’s and sometimes Vital Choice, I have sent to friends who have just had kids. And again, even if not the first day, if they first day they’re not using it; a week later, two weeks later, they’re like; “Oh my gosh, thank you so much for that!” You know, it just comes in handy, because you just get stuck. I think those are great. I think having food; I love {laughs} I love when people give me food. I just think it’s a great one.
Liz Wolfe: Ditto.
9. For the traveler [30:55]
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, so what about for the traveler? Well now that you were just traveling, I’m curious if you got something that you’re like; “Oh, I wish we had this while we were traveling.” Maybe not? I actually forget what they’re called; I should probably look it up. I probably should have done that before. I think some people call the E-bags or Space Savers. I think the ones I got were from like Rick Steve’s who is the travel guru guy. Basically they’re travel packing cubes, and I think if you have a friend who travels a lot who doesn’t have those yet, they’re pretty life changing. Honestly, especially if you have hard sided luggage, which for the entire three weeks on the road for the book tour, I had one large suitcase and then one small carry on and my purse; and I put everything in the larger suitcase and I had everything separated into these cubes, and it made my life so much easier. I had all my workout clothes in one, I had all my media appearance clothes in one, all my book signing clothes in one. So I could just kind of open things really easily. I love those; I think they’re essential for travelers, and I don’t think travelers always have them, so I think that’s a great gift.
A water bottle is a really good gift. I know that seems kind of obvious, but there are a couple of brands that are out there lately that I think are making exceptional bottles. Healthy Human is one of them; they had sent me a bunch of bottles to try a while ago and I’ve been using them ever since. I love that they’re one of those double layer stainless steel, so whether you put something really cold or really hot in it, you won’t feel that from the outside. And there are a bunch of brands doing that.
I actually think the other brand I’m going to talk about; Yeti, which is funny because our microphones are called a Yeti {laughs} but this is a stainless steel, they make tumblers and they make, I think they make coolers, and I believe it was originally a fishing bait and tackle kind of brand, but they’ve branched into some more regular consumer goods, and their stuff is awesome. Same kind of super durable, you’re not going to feel the drink being too hot or cold, and it will keep; the Healthy Human, as well; it will keep something hot or cold for so long. So those are really great. And we always bring water bottles when we travel, because obviously you can’t bring water through, but it’s great to always fill up. Sometimes there’s a filtered water dispenser as you get through. So I think those are great; I don’t know if you have some more tips for travelers or not.
Liz Wolfe: Oh jeeze Louise. My best tip is to bring a big plastic bag for all the trash that your kid generates along the way. Ok, this would be for kind of more the adventure traveler; the outdoorsman. There is a monthly box subscription that you can get, and I believe it’s called Cairn, where you get all kinds of cool little hacks and gadgets for outdoorsy types. Whether it’s a collapsible pour over coffee thingamajig or a cool carcarabiner with a little tool thing attached, that type of thing, which I always enjoy getting.
Diane Sanfilippo: Very cool. I like that.
10. Paleo babies [34:22]
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Alright, next up. For the paleo babies. Here’s my encouragement; just give them nothing. Because if they’re under 2, they probably don’t know what this whole season is about. If they’re over two, I have no idea. Somebody tell me, because I need to prepare for the future.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} I kind of like that idea. I like it.
Liz Wolfe: Some of my favorite stuff; what?
Diane Sanfilippo: I was going to say, we’re giving all of these tips, and we don’t exchange gifts in my family at all.
Liz Wolfe: Sometimes I wish that we didn’t. But I guess for; shoot what was I going to say? Paleo kids. Oh, one of my favorite places to not buy from directly because they’re so expensive, but to ask for gifts from is Nova Naturals. They are a nice crafty, Waldorf inspired toys for kids. So we have this beautiful wooden kitchen from there, these gorgeous wooden eggs that you can hand dye; that type of thing. I really like that kind of stuff.
Diane Sanfilippo: Well that sounds good. What about for the moms; is there a specific mom kind of product? I know you already talked about the 10 pounds of Epsom salt. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Yeah; 50 million pounds of Epsom salts.
Diane Sanfilippo: 50 million pounds. But no, what could someone give you that you would be like; wow, that’s really thoughtful and appreciated.
Liz Wolfe: Oh. That is so hard. A day away. I mean, if there’s any way you can orchestrate some kind of safe childcare arrangement that is not going to completely freak out your mom friend, just a day where you don’t even have to worry about things or think about things. And not a Saturday. Like a day during the week; like a day when you normally don’t have help, or a spouse around, and you can just take that time not to go grocery shopping, not to do anything like that, but to sleep in, maybe go have coffee, no hurry. Eat some macaroons; that type of thing. Macaroons, I’m sorry.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} Well should your friend offer to babysit, and let you go do things?
Liz Wolfe: See that’s the hard part. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: It just depends on the friend? Obviously I wouldn’t be doing that.
Liz Wolfe: It just depends.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Like I feel like; yeah, see that’s a tough one. But; ugh that is a tough one. I just don’t know. Don’t offer to take the kids to like Trampoline Land, because that’s just a broken arm waiting to happen.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: That’s kind of hilarious.
Liz Wolfe: I guess so.
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, well perhaps we’ll put a call out to our listeners for more ideas for moms. I think that’s a good one.
Liz Wolfe: Yes please.
11. Kitchen gadgets [37:49]
Diane Sanfilippo: It seems like we have a lot of mom listeners. Alright, so I’ve got some kitchen gadget ideas for your chef-y type friends. Or, not even your chef-y type friends. You don’t have to be in the kitchen all the time to really appreciate these. But we’ve talked about spiral slicers and all that fun stuff for years now, and if you guys haven’t seen the Inspiralizer, I really love it. It’s kind of an upgrade on the previous, I think the brand was Paderno, that a lot of us have or had, and that one had these four blades that you would kind of interchange. Well, the Inspiralizer basically just has a little dial, and you don’t have to change out these blades any more. It also has little anchors to help it stay connected to the counter top better. If you have a tiled counter, or on that’s not a totally smooth surface, then it’s not going to really connect. But if you have a smooth surface like granite or quartz or I think Formica; any of those, I think it will work ok. So I love that tool, we use it all the time. Definitely at least once a week, if not a couple of times a week.
And then my other favorite that I’m loving lately is a spatula that is all silicon, versus a wooden handle with a silicon top on it. Because we had one previously that was a standard just a wooden handle with a silicon top, and it got kind of gnarly and probably moldy underneath where it attaches, which is pretty gross. Pretty gross. I think the one I have now is from William Sonoma. I believe; yeah, I believe that’s where I got it. You could probably get them at William Sonoma or Sur la Table. You can check online; Amazon probably has some.
I got a regular bigger sized one, and then I also got a little one, which I’m loving for just kind of scraping things out of bowls or small containers and things like that, like the bottom of a peanut butter jar. This little silicon spatula is really useful. And I use them all the time just as a cooking utensil for eggs; scrambling eggs or stirring veggies in a pan. Because the silicon is extremely heat resistant to pretty high temperature, so you’re not going to melt it or anything. So those are two that I’m loving.
Liz Wolfe: OK I have a gadget that would be really fun if you’re spending like serious money on somebody. This isn’t spatula money; this is like serious money.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: But, the Ninja Coffee Bar. Love it. It makes brewing coffee so easy, you can brew over ice, you can brew a specialty brew; you can brew a half carafe or a whole carafe or a cup or a travel mug. It’s super easy and doesn’t involve a lot of measuring, which I dislike.
Diane Sanfilippo: I love that.
12. Stocking stuffers [40:32]
Liz Wolfe: Yeah, it’s a good one. Alright, how about stocking stuffers? Of course, most of these, actually all of these are food related. Rx bars; money on honey? What is that? What is money on honey? You wrote that.
Diane Sanfilippo: That’s definitely one of mine. Money on honey; let me just take a second, everyone. Reminder; not a sponsor. Also a reminder; would love for them to be a sponsor {laughs}.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: I should have gotten you some of these when you were here. They are basically like a caramel, but most caramels for people who like candy are made with corn syrup; or some of the healthier ones might be made with tapioca syrup or rice syrup, and a lot of them have sort of weird; I don’t know. Not super natural ingredients; and these are made with honey, and they are delicious and kind of dangerous. So really good gift. I actually think Costco sells a big bag, so these would be a super fun stocking stuffer or a little thing to tie to every gift. I’m totally obsessed with them. I mean, so obsessed that there are none in the house because they’re too delicious. #Notamoderator. So, amazing, delicious candy. Get them for the holidays. Ok, carry on.
Liz Wolfe: Sounds good to me. So what about Justin’s little mini peanut butter cups. I heard that those are the top selling non-health food health food in the country or something like that.
Diane Sanfilippo: I believe it.
Liz Wolfe: Which I would not doubt. Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: Because if you don’t love peanut butter cups, I’m not sure I trust you at all.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} I am just wary of you.
Diane Sanfilippo: I am wary.
Liz Wolfe: Ok. How about the Taza wicked dark chocolate; so good.
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh, so I was checking out this next item, and I thought that that was one item?
Liz Wolfe: No but that would be amazing. Diane thought that Taza wicked dark pork rinds were a thing.
Diane Sanfilippo: Was a thing.
Liz Wolfe: That exists {laughs}. It’s supposed to be comma, pork rinds. I’m sorry Diane.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, their wicked dark; Taza makes some amazing chocolate for sure.
Liz Wolfe: And if you’re not into the sweets, I think pork rinds are so good! Steve’s paleo goods has some great ones; US Wellness meats has pork rinds that I enjoy on the regular. And then finally…
Diane Sanfilippo: Wait, there’s more pork rinds. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: What.
Diane Sanfilippo: There’s more pork rinds. There’s also Epic bar pork rinds.
Liz Wolfe: Huh?
Diane Sanfilippo: That are amazing, and 4505 Meats chicharrones, which is sort of the same but better. Love. Ok, now you can do a nonfood one.
Liz Wolfe: Ok. Nonfood one; the Beautycounter charcoal bar. That is a fun one.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: That’s all I got. That’s literally their best product.
Diane Sanfilippo: I would say also; I mean, it’s my number one favorite thing from there; what is it, like $24 or something.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: It’s just a really good, I don’t know, stocking stuffer little price. I love their lip glosses too; are they called lip sheers?
Liz Wolfe: Yes.
Diane Sanfilippo: Or lip something {laughs} I’m the worst. But I really love them.
Liz Wolfe: There’s lip sheers, which are like lip stick.
Diane Sanfilippo: That’s different. Ok, that’s different. No it’s a gloss.
Liz Wolfe: But you’re talking about the lip gloss.
Diane Sanfilippo: Lip gloss. Love those, and I think that’s super fun. Because you can kind of never have too many lip glosses, and I love them, and I pretty much think of, I don’t know whose song it is; is it Nicki Minaj or someone; the lip gloss song. It’s probably not Nicki Minaj.
Liz Wolfe: No clue.
Diane Sanfilippo: It’s probably like, so much older, so it’s definitely not Nicki Minaj. I don’t know {laughs}.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: I have to sing at the lip gloss; “My lip gloss is cool, my lip gloss is popping,” every time I put lip gloss on. So there’s that.
Liz Wolfe: Isn’t that like Willow Smith or something?
Diane Sanfilippo: I’m going to have to Google it.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: I really don’t know.
Liz Wolfe: Is it Nicki Minaj, or is it an androgynous 9-year-old? {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Lil’ Mama.
Liz Wolfe: Love it.
Diane Sanfilippo: “What you know 'bout me? / What you / What you know 'bout me?” Isn’t that that song too? It is. It totally is. Lil Mama. I have no idea who that is.
Liz Wolfe: I don’t care; I love all of them.
Diane Sanfilippo: Not to be confused with Lil Wayne or any of those people. Ok.
Liz Wolfe: We’re so old; really?
Diane Sanfilippo: Lil Wayne.
Liz Wolfe: Lil Wayne? {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Lil Wayne. Is he Little Wayne? No I think he’s Lil Wayne. OK, forget it.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
13. For a big gift [45:03]
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, obviously this is a big gif that I would say for your nutrition obsessed friend, which; hint, hint, might be for yourself as well to put on your list. Obviously, the Balanced Bites Master Class is an awesome gift. It is the gift of health, and it’s a good one to ask for for this year, because you’ll be able to dive in in January, and you won’t have to start it at Christmas, we promise. Or Hanukah or any late December holiday time {laughs}. You won’t have to start it right away. Yeah. I don’t know, any other big ones Liz, that you can think of?
Liz Wolfe: Golly gee, I don’t think so.
Diane Sanfilippo: I think that’s it. Those are all the gifts that we can think of right now. I’m sure there will be some more over on the website at http://blog.balancedbites.com, DianeSanfilippo.com, whatever you want to type in, you’ll get to the same place. We’ll have a whole little gift guide so that will be fun. We’d love to hear what you guys are loving this year; what you plan on getting people if you can tell us without it leaking to your loved ones. What you’re asking for this year; we’d love to know. And if you don’t do traditional gifts; if you’re not a gift exchanger, is there something else that you do instead. We’d love to know. Tell us about it over on our Instagram account, or on a comment on this blog post at http://blog.balancedbites.com.
Liz Wolfe: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Vital Choice Seafood and Organics, where a healthy diet is a vital choice. Purveyors of wild fish, shellfish, grass-fed beef and bison; Vital Choice offers premium quality, sustainably sourced foods that are wildly delicious and delivered to your door. With minimal prep from freezer to table, it’s easy to get delicious protein like wild Alaskan salmon (my favorite) and Wagyu beef into your paleo menu rotation. Vital Choice also has a wide array of ready to eat canned seafood along with satisfying snacks like organic dark chocolates, super antioxidant trail mix, and bison jerky. Celebrate the holidays, and your health, with premium seafood and organics from www.vitalchoice.com.
Liz Wolfe: Okie doke, that’s it for this week. You can find me, Liz, at http://realfoodliz.com/ and you can find Diane at http://dianesanfilippo.com. Join our email lists for free goodies and updates that you don’t find anywhere else on our websites or on this podcast. While you’re on the internet, please leave us an iTunes review. See you next week.