Topics
- News and updates from Diane [1:30]
- Introducing Diane and Liz by Melissa Yee [2:18]
- The decision to have a podcast [3:30]
- Advice for the early days [6:34]
- Polling your audience [12:18]
- The future for Balanced Bites [15:15]
- Listener questions [18:36]
- Schedule social media time [21:00]
- Favorite thing about each other [23:37]
- What I wanted to be when I grew up [26:28]
- Useless trivia knowledge [27:32]
- Liz's kid eats out [28:38]
- Rapid-fire questions [31:33]
- Most important life lesson [34:25]
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You’re listening to the Balanced Bites podcast episode 340.
Diane Sanfilippo: Hey guys! So this weeks’ episode is a big different. Liz and I were together recently in Vancouver, Washington, for the NTA conference. And we sat town with Melissa Yee of the NTA and first discussed a bit about podcasting. Lots of questions and information about our take on podcasting and some advice for any of you who may be interested in starting a podcast. So it’s a little bit of a behind the scenes, and hopefully you find this interesting and engaging and fun.
And then after that, we rolled into a little bit of just a fun Q&A, a little rapid fire between Liz and I that Melissa was asking us. So I hope you enjoy this weeks’ episode, and we’ll see you again next week.
Diane Sanfilippo: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Perfect Keto. Dr. Anthony Gustin and his teams have created lines of supplements that are super clean and effective, no matter what your dietary needs. I’ve been blending the MCT oil powder into my matcha latte lately. Not only are MCTs, medium-chain triglycerides, a premium source of your body’s preferred type of energy and help to fuel your brain and body, but there’s also no added flavors or sweeteners, and it makes your coffee, or matcha, wonderfully cream. Check them out at www.PerfectKeto.com and use the code Balanced for 20% off. And you can use that code over at their sister company, www.EquipFoods.com.
1. News and updates from Diane [1:30]
Diane Sanfilippo: One quick update for all of you this week. The 21-Day Sugar Detox coaches program is officially open, and it will be open through the end of March only. So if you’ve been on the fence, been thinking about it, curious about it. Come on over to Facebook. Check out the 21-Day Sugar Detox Coaches Program interest group. You can link to that anywhere on my social media. You can also just search it in Facebook. Come join us to get your questions answered. Or visit www.21DaySugarDetox.com and you’ll see all of the details about enrolling as a coach.
And hey; if this year is not the year for you, don’t worry. Join us on the Facebook group, and also on the email wait list, and you’ll be notified when the group opens up again for enrollment. We’ll see you inside.
2. Introducing Diane and Liz by Melissa Yee [2:18]
Melissa Yee: Hi everyone! Melissa Yee here from the Nutritional Therapy Association. I am honored to be here today with Liz Wolfe and Diane Sanfilippo, filming episode 340 of the Balanced Bites podcast. We are here live at Live Nourished, the NTA’s 11th annual conference in Vancouver, Washington. Thanks for you being here, you guys.
Liz Wolfe: Thank you.
Diane Sanfilippo: Thanks for having us.
Melissa Yee: So I know there aren’t many people in our audiences who don’t know you yet, but just in case, we thought it would be nice if you guys give yourself a little introduction. So Liz?
Liz Wolfe: I’m Liz Wolfe, nutritional therapy practitioner class of 2011. Author of the book Eat the Yolks, and my website is www.RealFoodLiz.com. I’ve been working in the real food space for a while now, and just working on lots of projects with Diane lately.
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, so I’m Diane Sanfilippo. I’m actually a certified nutrition consultant. And I went to Bauman college. But I hooked with Liz and the NTA kind of over the last several years. I’m the New York Times’ bestselling author of Practical Paleo and the 21-Day Sugar Detox. And we’ve been doing this podcast together for more than 6 years. It’s been an absolute blast.
3. The decision to have a podcast [3:30]
Melissa Yee: Wow. So I know you guys get asked about nutrition all the time, but I thought it would be fun to ask you guys about your podcast. A lot of our NTA grads are aspiring podcasters, or already have podcasts already. So I wanted to know; how did you guys meet in the first place, and how did you decide to have a podcast?
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} I think this is one for Diane to tell.
Diane Sanfilippo: So, I don’t know what made me decide to have a podcast. Probably just that I like to talk. {laughs} So I knew I wanted to make a podcast. I was listening to another podcast that Liz was on that no longer; it’s not a show that’s on anymore. But she was speaking and answering questions. And I thought I liked both the sound of her voice, and the way that she spoke about whatever the topic was. And it was mutual friends. And I said; hey, do you have Liz’s phone number? Maybe I can ask her to be my cohost.
At the time, Liz was just going to kind of read the questions. Because I don’t think she had any idea about; I want to do a podcast. So she was kind of just reading the questions in the beginning. And then very quickly it was something where it just became a lot more 50/50; a lot more balanced. And full on cohosting not long after that. And that’s actually how we met. We did not know each other before the podcast. {laughing}
Melissa Yee: So you just roped her in, pretty much?
Diane Sanfilippo: I literally called her on a drive.
Melissa Yee: You didn’t have much of a choice.
Diane Sanfilippo: We didn’t know one another at all. So this was really how we became good friends. It’s crazy.
Melissa Yee: Wow that’s cool.
Diane Sanfilippo: What made you say yes to that? That’s what I want to know! {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: I have no idea. You were persuasive.
Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, sounds good. Ok.
Melissa Yee: In that vein, I guess in 6-plus years, what are some of your favorite memories podcasting?
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Oh my gosh. I feel like one of my favorites was when we were doing a continuing education program in Arizona.
Diane Sanfilippo: Of course. This is of course the thing that’s on my mind.
Liz Wolfe: Exactly. I figured we’d have the same one. And we did this podcast together, sitting in the same spot.
Diane Sanfilippo: On the floor of a hotel room.
Liz Wolfe: Yes.
Diane Sanfilippo: In Arizona somewhere?
Liz Wolfe: I’m pretty sure it was Phoenix or something. There was really bad weather coming in. We were doing this podcast. And I think it was maybe something similar. So was it a Q&A type podcast?
Diane Sanfilippo: It might have been.
Liz Wolfe: It might have been. Anyway, I had been into different, interesting skincare stuff for a while. And we ended up just throwing this joke out there about how we were doing a charcuterie facial. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Because that was so real food, plus skin care. And we were just kind of wondering if anyone would catch it, or anyone would hear it. And lo and behold, we’ve had intermittent charcuterie facial references for probably 5 years. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: I think it’s probably a listener’s favorite moment, too. It was something where it was just on the edge of; could that be something real that she’s talking about? Are the fats in those meats good for our skin?
Liz Wolfe: A salami nose job. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: So the prosciutto would be here, along the jawline. We really went into it. And we were together, so it was extremely hard not to just fully crack up from the beginning. But it was awesome. Yep, that’s one of my favorite moments. Absolutely.
4. Advice for the early days [6:34]
Melissa Yee: Awesome. So when you think back to those early days, too. A lot of our people are just starting podcasts or even totally on the fence, don’t even know where to start. So what advice. If you could go back and see yourselves in those really early days, what advice would you give yourself when you're just thinking about starting out a podcast?
Diane Sanfilippo: So I think the thing that people tend to focus on, they tend to be worried about what platform do they choose, and what do they name it, what are they going to talk about. Which is fine, and all of that is fair. But I think the really important things to podcasting are; number one, if you're going to do it with a partner, it has to be somebody who you actually like sitting down with every week and who you can find a good balance of reliability. Because there are times when I can’t do the show because I’m traveling or something has come up. And vice versa. So to be able to fill in for each other and have that really good balance. So that’s really important.
I do think having two people is nice. It’s just a great dynamic. But I also think committing to it consistently is probably the only way to have success with a podcast. It doesn’t mean if you're Seth Godin that you can’t just put out a series that people listen to on and on. But I think most people try to do something in seasons. And that’s fine if you’re NPR. But if you're new and you lose your listeners for several months, you may not get them back. So people want to know that you're still here. And every week, even if they skip or miss one, they know that you're here. Because that’s just critical.
And I think, there are a lot of different things to go off of when committing to a podcast. But I totally just lost my train of thought.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} This happens.
Diane Sanfilippo: I had a really good point about podcasting. People worry about sound quality, and I do think it’s important to get a good mic and try and figure that out. I don’t think it’s the most important thing. Because 6 years later, we still don’t have every week it’s perfectly consistent in a studio or any of that.
Melissa Yee: So in the next stage, too. Because we also have some podcasters who have been going at it for a year now, and they’re just trying to get more traction. So for somebody who has kind of the process down. The routine down. They have the content, but they just feel like they’re not reaching their audience. Or they would like their audience to be bigger. They might want bigger sponsors. They want to refine their content, and get maybe even better interviews for their podcast. What advice would you give to that person, who is no longer really a beginner, but still trying to get to the next level.
Liz Wolfe: I think a year is amazing, number one. You’ve made it to a year. That’s huge. That’s a big milestone. So congratulations for that. It’s still kind of the infancy of a podcast, I feel like. I feel like at a year, it’s kind of like; this is real, we’re doing this. And at that point I think is where things will probably start to pick up if you keep going.
But I also think; ask your audience what they want to hear more of. Poll your people. See if you can get a vibe for what people are really enjoying. Pay attention to what people are listening to; your listenership. What shows do the best. And also; now I lost my train of thought.
Diane Sanfilippo: Why is this happening?
Liz Wolfe: I don’t know. I don’t know. It must be the bright lights.
Melissa Yee: It must be the air.
Diane Sanfilippo: I know usually we’re definitely podcasting in sweatpants and you know.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. It must be the tight waistbands.
Diane Sanfilippo: I know {laughs}. The real clothes are totally throwing me off. I can think; I know a couple of women. There’s actually one woman on my team who has a podcast that’s been going for at least that long. And probably is in that situation where they want to just grow it. I do think; I agree. Reaching out to your listeners.
And there’s a certain amount that people will tell you, and then to the point you made, Liz. Looking at the download numbers for your episodes is telling you the story. Because that will tell you. You may have a baseline. I’m just going to throw a random number out. Say you have a baseline, I don’t know, 100 downloads per episode. And you have a spike on an episode. Typically that will show you random new listeners who just thought the topic was interesting. But that’s a good thing because that’s how you maybe get them in to listen to other episodes.
So if you never have a topic that’s kind of hot, or controversial, then you may not ever get that spike. We do look at that. And at this stage, now that it’s been more than 6 years, we definitely pay attention to topics that people are interested in. But I think it’s also; we have to be interested in it, as well. And I think that’s important.
And another great point would be to make sure you're educated about the topic that you're going to interview somebody about. Because if you can have a conversation with the person. Sometimes you have to carry the conversation more. Not every time you interview an expert are they used to interviewing. Or somebody who is polished; now I remember my thought!
Somebody who is polished with giving answers on a podcast, for example. If you can carry the episode and just allow them to answer the questions easily, then it takes the pressure off of them.
So the thing I was going to say earlier about podcasting advice is to listen back to yourself. So many people are afraid to do it, or they don’t want to do it. And you never hear all of the ums, and the likes, and the stumbles that you make while you're speaking. So there’s never an opportunity to polish what you're doing. Unless you want to do all that in post-production. Which is fine in the beginning. But at some point.
Liz Wolfe: It’s a lot of work.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. At some point, you really want to sound better. Because if you go and are interviewed on someone else’s podcast, you won’t have that opportunity. So you really want to make sure that you listen back to how you sound in a lot of different ways. Whether you're frying your voice down low. Whether you’re saying um. Any of that. That was my tip I forgot earlier!
Melissa Yee: That’s a really good one. I’m glad you remembered it.
Diane Sanfilippo: I’m glad I remembered too!
5. Polling your audience [12:18]
Melissa Yee: And then back to your point about polling your audience. That’s really interesting. Do you guys have any techniques that you love the best for polling? I know for Balanced Bites, because I’m a listener and a follower. You guys do it on Instagram. But how do you get your finger on the pulse of what your audience wants?
Liz Wolfe: Great question.
Diane Sanfilippo: I think it’s that. We didn’t have an Instagram for the podcast very early on. I can’t remember when we started that exactly. But that’s been huge for us. It’s also been huge as an extra platform. I don’t know; not entice. But just an extra to kind of add on that sponsors will then be excited about.
You were saying to get better sponsors or sponsors in general. You do need to have some kind of a baseline of listenership. But now we have I think close to 23,000 followers on the podcast Instagram. It’s just such a loyal following there. Even if it’s not 200,000, it’s like; these people are really with us pretty much every week. So having those things to offer I think are great.
Melissa Yee: Yeah. And I notice you guys blog along with your podcast, too. Do you find that that helps you with sponsorships? What was your thinking around that?
Diane Sanfilippo: I really wanted to have transcripts available very early on. We had a lot of folks saying; I can’t listen, because I can’t hear the show. And so even though sometimes the transcript; it looks a little funny when you transcribe a conversation. It’s just not as clean and linear as it would be if you were writing a blog post. But I wanted to give that opportunity for people who couldn’t hear it. But also for our listeners to go back and find archived information. Because as you know, I love to send people to go find what they’re looking for.
Melissa Yee: In the episode, yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah! So often I say; if someone asks a question, whether it’s Instagram or wherever. They ask, what do you feed your pets? And I say, we’ve done at least one, if not a couple of episodes where we’ve answered that. So check out the podcast archives by topic. And it’s just a way to save a little bit of time and give people a lot more information.
And it does help with the sponsorships. Because there’s a link right to their site. It’s just a nice way to kind of boost them up.
Melissa Yee: And then one more question to follow on that. How do you guys get your episodes transcribed? You can’t be listening and typing, are you? Do you have a service? Or someone?
Diane Sanfilippo: Yes, there’s a woman. Her name is Amanda. There are actually two Amanda’s on my team. But Amanda, she found us years and years ago. It’s a real live person. She’s here in the United States. She lives in Texas. And she transcribes the episode every single week within probably 24-48 hours of us recording it. So, yeah. It’s actual real live person.
Liz Wolfe: It’s pretty amazing.
Melissa Yee: How did you find her? Yeah. Just thinking for our audience and people who are podcasting.
Diane Sanfilippo: I put out the call the community.
Melissa Yee: OK.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. And just said, we’re looking for a transcriber. And that was it.
Melissa Yee: Awesome.
Diane Sanfilippo: There are a lot of people who transcribe things.
Melissa Yee: Cool.
Diane Sanfilippo: And I’d imagine something like Fiver or O-desk or somewhere like Virtual Assistants. Maybe you can find that online.
Diane Sanfilippo: You could. I would recommend reaching out to your community. It may be a little bit more expensive on an hourly basis, just a little bit. But I really like to hire people from the community. And also keep it as domestic as possible. Just because I think it’s a great way to; I don’t know. Inject our own economy with what we’re bringing in.
6. The future for Balanced Bites [15:15]
Melissa Yee: Right. And then I know we want to get to listener questions, so just one more question about the podcast. I’ve been following you guys for a couple of years, and I really love the direction you guys have taken. Just from nutrition, to getting to a place where life is more balanced. What do you guys see as coming next for Balanced Bites?
Liz Wolfe: Wow.
Diane Sanfilippo: You answer this one.
Liz Wolfe: Maybe Balanced Bites in space?
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}
Liz Wolfe: I think it’s a great idea! We’ll talk to Elon Musk. We’ll see what’s going on. Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: That wasn’t an answer. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: I thought it was a great answer.
Melissa Yee: Balanced Bites from Mars could be a thing. But just things that are swimming around your head, thoughts. Kind of big picture things you want to teach people and tell people.
Diane Sanfilippo: I think what’s happened in our episodes over the last several months is we’re talking a lot about topics that I think are weighing on women’s minds that are not about the minutia. Or, I have this very specific health challenge in the moment. Because we have covered so many of those. Of course, not everything. But over 6-plus years.
I don’t know that in the early years we really touched on a lot of this. Because maybe we were in a different place in our own journeys with it. But talking about body image and all of the depth of that, and really getting in different ways to think. And I think that is; I don’t know. Just a little meatier for us. We enjoy those conversations with each other a lot. Just; what do you think about this? Or what could we say about that?
Liz Wolfe: I do think it was a cool turning point in the podcast when we started talking about knowing yourself better. Because I think when we talk about food and lifestyle, oftentimes we kind of accidentally try to fit everybody into one box. Like, this should be easy because this. Or here’s the way you go about getting yourself from point A to point B.
But we started talking more about; a little bit about personality types. Just knowing yourself well enough to know what works for you. I’m an Obliger, Diane is a Rebel. That’s kind of one framework that we’ve used. And I used to resist that a lot. But it’s been so incredibly helpful for us, I think, and for the people that are listening to the podcast. That’s been huge. And also I think the overall lifestyle stuff.
Because we’ve both realized that food is huge. It’s something that you can control because you are physically buying it, cooking it, and putting it in your mouth. But then there’s stress. And sleep. And all of these other factors that people can play with to move the train in the right direction.
Melissa Yee: Absolutely. And I think sometimes that deeper stuff is more healing than just the food.
Liz Wolfe: I agree.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. For sure.
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.
7. Listener questions [18:36]
Melissa Yee: Alright. So now we’re going to go into listener questions. The questions that your audience has asked on Instagram. Our first one is; if Diane were coming over for dinner, what would Liz cook?
Liz Wolfe: This is a trick question, I want everyone to know. My helper, Colleen. What would Colleen cook? I think that’s the question.
Diane Sanfilippo: I really want to know what you would cook.
Liz Wolfe: I would cook bacon wrapped dates and spaghetti squash. {laughs} That’s what I’ve got for you.
Melissa Yee: Alright.
Diane Sanfilippo: OK. Alright. I’m eating it. Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: Alright good.
Melissa Yee: The next one is for Diane; what outdoor activity do you enjoy the most?
Diane Sanfilippo: Besides? Well, ok I love lying by a pool. {laughs}
Melissa Yee: That’s outdoors.
Diane Sanfilippo: Is that an activity?
Melissa Yee: Technically it’s not inside.
Liz Wolfe: The metabolism is still running.
Diane Sanfilippo: Just walking. Just walking outside is my favorite.
Melissa Yee: Ok. And this question is for both of you. What is your favorite place to shop for clothes, both in person and online?
Liz Wolfe: Ok. I finally found someone who could help me buy clothes and not waste money. Because I’m someone that will have tons and tons of clothes in my closet with tags still on them. Because I’ll buy stuff, and I won’t be able to figure out how to wear it.
So I found this amazing local place in Kansas City called Lady Bird Styling. And they gave me this whole education about why I choose what I choose. And how what matters is how you move in clothes. So they would set me up with these different looks. And I kind of came to understand more what works for me and what I should buy. They have totally, slowly, piece by piece, helped me completely change the way I build my wardrobe. And they’re amazing. So if you’re anywhere near Kansas City, reach out to Lady Bird Styling.
Diane Sanfilippo: So you shop there? That’s a thing?
Liz Wolfe: I do. Yeah. I can go shop there. They have a corner, so I’m a fourth corner. So I can go shop the fourth corner anytime I like. You're a third corner.
Diane Sanfilippo: OK, alright. I shop locally in San Francisco at a place called Ambiance a lot. And there’s actually a place in Portland here that’s very similar. It’s called Sloan. I don’t know if people watching will be in these two places.
And then online; GAP. I buy stuff. New York and Company; this shirt. And Stitch Fix is definitely one for me. Yeah.
8. Schedule social media time [21:00]
Melissa Yee: Cool. And then this is a specific listener question. How do you schedule your days regarding social media use? It overtakes my life, and I have such a small following in comparison. Any tips or ideas for keeping it under control.
Liz Wolfe: You first.
Diane Sanfilippo: Keeping it under control? I don't know that I have advice on that one.
Liz Wolfe: I think our content calendar that we talked about in our NTA session was a really good way to help people keep from getting too overwhelmed with social media.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. So we covered this a lot in the business session that we did here yesterday. So that will be something people can access through the Balanced Bites Master Class. So if people are like; this is an issue for me!
I don’t know that I could say my advice for it. Because at this stage of what I do, social media is actually a huge percentage of my real work. You know what I mean? So 8-10 years in my nutrition career, connecting with people however that’s going to happen is a big part of what I actually do. So I don’t know. The way that other people really can do it is to be focused on creating content intentionally, and then following up about it. And not spinning out in the whole comparison thing. That, I think, really pulls people into negative places. And they just end up wasting time. But yeah. That’s just not a quick answer.
Melissa Yee: No, that’s great.
Liz Wolfe: I mean, it’s tough. You kind of set your personal boundaries. Because you can start to feel like; “Ugh, all I’m doing all day is just checking to see if somebody has left a new comment.” And it is important to set boundaries. Especially at that stage. Because you're spending too much time monitoring your social media, you're not creating content. So that’s when you come back to the content calendar.
Maybe sitting down once a month and saying; “These are the things I want to put out there for people to know. I’m going to post this on this day.” Get it all planned out. Spend a couple; and this can be done in a couple of hours at the beginning of the month. And then you kind of know what you’re going to be talking about. Your primed for it. You put that content out there. And then you answer questions, maybe that night or into the next day. And then you have to move on.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. I think sometimes people could use social media work as a work reward for the actual other work of creating content. And that would be a productive way to do things. Where you get something on your checklist done for the day before you're kind of giving yourself permission to jump on social media. And there’s way more to say about it. But we won’t get into all of it now. {laughs}
Melissa Yee: Right. It sounds like what you guys are saying is just be more proactive and know when to let go. Those people who still are asking questions on that same post from last month.
Diane Sanfilippo: Tell them to Google it. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Google it or book a consult. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, totally.
9. Favorite thing about each other [23:37]
Melissa Yee: Ok. And then this one was kind of fun. Diane, this is for you first. What’s your favorite thing about Liz? And then Liz, what’s your favorite thing about Diane?
Diane Sanfilippo: I was supposed to think about this ahead of time.
Liz Wolfe: You were.
Melissa Yee: {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: I didn’t know I was going to get it first. I feel like we’ve done this on a few ask us anything shows, so I’m curious to go back and see what we’ve said in the past.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: My favorite thing about Liz. I feel like I’ve probably said this before, so whatever. I think it’s just her thoughtfulness. And one might consider it overthinking at times.
Liz Wolfe: Oh, absolutely.
Diane Sanfilippo: Liz might consider it; I’m a bit of an overthinker, as well. But just very considerate, and thoughtful, and everything. I pretty much know she’s thought about all the things. I don’t know, I admire that quality. I like that quality in my friends. So yeah. That’s something I like about Liz.
Liz Wolfe: Thank you. My favorite thing about Diane.
Diane Sanfilippo: I’m scared. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: No. I guess this is a little bit about our friendship. So it’s a little bit about me, too, at the same time. But you and I have developed a very; we have a lot of professional regard for one another. We respect each other’s differences. Because you and I are very different.
Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm.
Liz Wolfe: We do things very differently. But instead of feeling like we’re butting heads, I feel like we learn from each other, instead. The other thing I really love about our friendship is that we can; I’m going to say fight.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, we do fight.
Liz Wolfe: We can fight. And it’s respectful. Because I hear you out, and then you hear me out. And we both expect that from one another. So I think that’s a really great quality to our friendship, and I appreciate that. And I love that you can dish it out, but you expect to get it back. You're firm, and you are; what’s another word for firm? {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Stubborn?
Melissa Yee: Strong?
Liz Wolfe: Strong, yes.
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh.
Liz Wolfe: Firm and strong and you are very;
Diane Sanfilippo: I’m self-aware. So I know if I said something or did something that was hurtful, then I can own it.
Liz Wolfe: Well I can be hurtful too. But you are very firm and strong. And you expect people to be equally honest and open and direct with you.
Diane Sanfilippo: But I only will accept it from people who really know me well. So that’s where the thoughtfulness and taking the time to pay attention to my intent and always assuming the best and knowing that the intent is always positive and nurturing, even if it doesn’t come across that way. So, I thing, in my life, we have a friendship that’s probably more developed than I have with almost anyone else, I think. Because we can fight and move on and actually have conversations.
We say fight, but we’ve probably argued about things maybe four or five times over the course of six years. But it’s always been productive. Everything comes out better. We’re both like; that was great. Hugs! At the end.
Liz Wolfe: I feel understood. Thank you. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Totally, totally. It’s good.
10. What I wanted to be when I grew up [26:28]
Melissa Yee: What did you guys both want to be when you were younger when you grew up?
Liz Wolfe: Oh gosh. I can’t even remember. I think in college I thought I would be in media or marketing or something like that. Because there was kind of a gloss to that concept. It sounded really cool to me. I always wanted to write a book, but never had any idea what I would write it about. Certainly not nutrition.
Diane Sanfilippo: I wanted to be a teacher. When I was little my mom was a teacher and I used to make dittos for my friends. I don’t know what was on them.
Melissa Yee: What’s a ditto?
Diane Sanfilippo: I know. I’m so old! {laughing} Like a handout. Like a worksheet.
Melissa Yee: Oh, ok.
Diane Sanfilippo: I’m still doing that. It was called a ditto back in the day. Do you know this word?
Liz Wolfe: No, I don’t.
Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. Almost 40.
Liz Wolfe: I thought we were talking about candy for a second.
Diane Sanfilippo: No. I would play school, and have two friends over, and set them up at a little desk and give them a little handout. It was called a ditto. I’m calling it a ditto. So I think for sure I wanted to be a teacher. And I feel like I am, so it’s interesting. But yeah.
11. Useless trivia knowledge [27:32]
Melissa Yee: I agree with that. What’s the most random bit of useless knowledge that’s just spinning around in your head? This reader says, “I always remember the weirdest things.”
Liz Wolfe: Quotes from obscure and soon to be forgotten TV shows. I have quotes from the Andy Griffith show running through my head constantly. Mary Tyler Moore. Anything that was on Nick at Night when I was growing up. I’ve got a quote for that.
Diane Sanfilippo: I watched a lot of Nick at Night also.
Liz Wolfe: So good! Cable, people! {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Although I don’t remember as many quotes. But Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore. I watched a lot of that. This is why we’re friends.
Random information; I think marketing jingles. Advertising jingles. I mean, I can pull them from the archives of my brain.
Melissa Yee: Can you sing one? {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Oh my gosh. No. But we were watching Jeopardy the other day, and I get all of them unless I just wasn’t alive and there’s no chance I would have heard it. But I’m not going to sing a jingle. But jingles and songs. I’m pretty good with name that tune type stuff. Musical stuff.
11. Liz’s kid eats out [28:38]
Melissa Yee: Ok. And this one is from the mom’s out there. Kind of speaking to what you guys said about bringing balance to life. We had somebody asking; what are the worst foods, Liz, that you let your daughter eat?
Liz Wolfe: Worst foods that I let her eat. I think maybe I should say, it’s not so much what I let her eat or don’t let her eat. It’s kind of like; certain things we have in our house. Certain times I have to relinquish control and just trust that we are built to survive acute exposure to toxins, but maybe not chronic exposure to toxins. So she recently had a gas station donut. It was a play date, and one of her favorite little friends had one. And I just was not going to be that mom that was swatting it out of her hand.
She’s had some frosting when we did a group frosting Valentine’s Day cookies. And you know; it’s ok. She doesn’t have any particular food allergies or intolerances that I know of yet. So far we’ve been fine. If she did, I would very honestly tell folks. Please keep that away from my kid. But at this point, I’m just trying to let go and let her have her fun. And at this point she’s about 3. I think she has an understanding that certain things are at our house, and certain things are not. So, so far so good.
Melissa Yee: That’s awesome. After she eats things like that, does anything happen? Does she seem to just bounce back?
Liz Wolfe: Actually, we usually will have the rest of the day will be a little bit more fraught with toddler insanity.
Melissa Yee: {laughs} Sugar high!
Liz Wolfe: Yes, the sugar high and sometimes the sleep is not so good the following night. But it doesn’t happen very often so I’m trying to stay balanced about it. But it’s hard.
Melissa Yee: Yeah. And it sounds like it’s just so rare.
Liz Wolfe: It is. And you know, what I worry about at home is; is she getting nutritious foods. It’s not; something I really do focus on is are we getting some liver in. Are we having really great sources of omega-3s. That type of thing. So we try to stack the good stuff at home. So I feel a little bit more comfortable with the stuff that happens outside the home.
Melissa Yee: Awesome. Thanks.
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12. Rapid-fire questions [31:33]
Melissa Yee: And then we actually had a request for some rapid-fire questions. So you guys, these are going to be or’s, and you pick which one.
Liz Wolfe: Ok.
Melissa Yee: So, butter or olive oil?
Diane Sanfilippo: Olive oil.
Liz Wolfe: Butter.
Diane Sanfilippo: That’s hard!
Liz Wolfe: It is hard!
Melissa Yee: Yeah, I’m glad I’m not being asked this. Dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner?
Diane Sanfilippo: Dinner for breakfast.
Liz Wolfe: Really?
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: Really?
Diane Sanfilippo: Give me a steak. Always. Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: Wow. Breakfast for dinner. Breakfast for dinner, always.
Melissa Yee: Pancakes?
Liz Wolfe: Waffles, pancakes, sweet and savory. That type of thing. I love that.
Melissa Yee: Alright. Scrambled or poached eggs?
Diane Sanfilippo: Poached.
Liz Wolfe: Poached.
Melissa Yee: Yeah. Fancy. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Fancy. {laughs}
Melissa Yee: Brene Brown or Oprah?
Liz Wolfe: So hard.
Diane Sanfilippo: Oprah. I mean, no, not hard. Also, I think I learned about Brene from Oprah.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: I learned about everything in my life.
Liz Wolfe: I’m going to have to say Oprah, too. Because I had a long stretch of decades where I never got sick of her. We’ll see about 20 years down the road if I’m…
Diane Sanfilippo: 64.
Liz Wolfe: Amazing. Amazing.
Melissa Yee: Last meal on earth?
Liz Wolfe: Oh my gosh.
Diane Sanfilippo: Those are hard; how can I answer that? {laughs}
Melissa Yee: What do you want right now? If you could have anything.
Liz Wolfe: Chicken and waffles. That would be great.
Diane Sanfilippo: Some shrimp tacos from Porque No Taqueria.
Liz Wolfe: Oh yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: But last meal? I don’t know. I’m bad with these.
Liz Wolfe: I can tell you what my husband would say.
Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Stauffer’s lasagna from the freezer section.
Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}
Melissa Yee: Oh no! In that little cardboard tray?
Liz Wolfe: Yes.
Diane Sanfilippo: I used to eat those.
Melissa Yee: Oh man.
Liz Wolfe: Terrible.
Diane Sanfilippo: Probably a really good pastured pork chop, actually. I love porkchops. With a good fat cap. It’s got to have that; and then get grilled. Yep. I could go for that right now. That would be great.
Liz Wolfe: I like that.
Melissa Yee: Food trend you wish would die?
Diane Sanfilippo: Go ahead.
Liz Wolfe: Avocado toast!
Diane Sanfilippo: No, stop! That was not what you were supposed to say! {laughing}
Liz Wolfe: No, I had a couple I was weighing, but avocado toast. I don’t get it.
Diane Sanfilippo: I think that’s an unfair ruling, and I hope this is overturned at some point in time.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Melissa Yee: You like avocado toast?
Diane Sanfilippo: I really like avocado toast.
Liz Wolfe: I just don’t see it. I don’t. I like toast, and I like avocado, but I don’t. I can’t. {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Unfair. I was supposed to have a prepared answer for this. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t want to say it.
Liz Wolfe: OK.
Diane Sanfilippo: I don’t want to say it. Nuh-huh.
Liz Wolfe: You don’t want to start anything.
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.
Melissa Yee: How about one that’s easier to decide. Clueless or Mean Girls?
Diane Sanfilippo: Mean Girls. Hands down.
Melissa Yee: {laughs}
Diane Sanfilippo: Even though I did just quote Clueless.
Liz Wolfe: You just quoted Clueless.
Diane Sanfilippo: Like 30 seconds ago.
Liz Wolfe: I have to say Clueless. Anything with Wallace Shaun. That’s the way I’ve got to go.
Diane Sanfilippo: I mean, Tina Fey is my spirit animal, so I have to give her props for the whole Mean Girls thing.
13. Most important life lesson [34:25]
Melissa Yee: Tina Fey is amazing. And, for a last question, we’re going to wrap things up. This person says; “I want to know your favorite life lesson. Not necessarily how you learned the lesson, but the lesson itself. The one that’s important.”
Diane Sanfilippo: You first.
Liz Wolfe: Moi?
Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: This kind of has come through my parenthood journey. It’s all; it’s not just about food. We need to recognize not just that we need a holistic view of health. We need to look at our sleep. We need to look at our stress. But we also need to look at whether or not we’re letting; this is getting a little serious. Whether or not we’re letting the very real spectrum of emotions present in the human experience flow through us, or if we’re trying to dam some of them up. Strong, intense, sad, depression, anger, those emotions are so commonly just repressed in so many people. And that can be very, very toxic. And I’ve found that in repairing my relationship with my own emotions as well as letting my daughter feel some emotions that I was uncomfortable with at first. Not trying to fix everything. But still being there in compassion and being present has actually helped me heal some physical things that I never realized were connected.
Melissa Yee: Right.
Diane Sanfilippo: Most important life lesson? I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to put self-care at the top of the list. You can be aware of and tender about other people’s emotions and feelings. And I think about this just in my family and my friendships. And I think there’s also a way to preserve yourself while you are considerate of other people. And I think a lot of people lose sight of that, and try to be a martyr, and always take care of other people. And in hindsight, I naturally was always self-protective. I’ve been through things in my life; we’ve all been through things. And looking back, I’m glad that that’s a lesson that I learned, sort of the hard way. To just take care of myself first and be considerate of what’s going on with other people. But if I’m not taking care of myself first, then it becomes more of a burden to everyone around me. And I don’t think that people realize the burden that that becomes, while they’re trying to lighten everyone else’s burden.
Melissa Yee: Right. And this is something that’s really common in our industry.
Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm.
Diane Sanfilippo: And one thing that I’ve also learned in my natural personality of being very honest and direct with people. There was a period of time where I thought that was harsh or difficult for a lot of people to be around. And over time, and my mom has told me this, and lots of close friends. And I realize I have women on my team who have been with me for 5-plus years. That it’s actually easier to be around somebody who, you know where you stand with them. You know what’s going on. And a lot of times I think there’s just a lot of protection around emotions that then doesn’t serve anyone. I know that sounds; it’s a little bit similar in a way.
Melissa Yee: Yeah. They start out opposite.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Diane Sanfilippo: We just have really different perspectives and different situations. But yeah. I think those are important lessons.
Melissa Yee: Great, thanks.
Liz Wolfe: Thank you.
Diane Sanfilippo: Thank you.
Melissa Yee: That sums it up. Did you guys have any last updates you wanted to share?
Diane Sanfilippo: We were talking about all about business and nutrition practices here at the NTA conference. The Balanced Bites Master Class is actually opening up again. We’ve had a lot of questions about it because last year it opened in January. It’s opening up again in June to run through July and August. It is a live-timed course. And we’re adding some business modules to that. So to your point about the podcast stuff and all of that. So we’re just really excited to have people come join us again for the class.
Melissa Yee: Great. And if people want to find you, where can they go online, if they are one of the 5% of our audience that doesn’t know you guys?
Diane Sanfilippo: www.blog.balancedbites.com or just DianeSanfilippo.com will take you to my website. And the Balanced Bites podcast of course for both of us.
Liz Wolfe: And I’m at www.RealFoodLiz.com.
Melissa Yee: Great. Thank you guys so much for being here.
Liz Wolfe: Thanks.
Diane Sanfilippo: Thank you.