Cooking Your Way Through Life

Before I step back for a little while I wanted to leave something meaningful in your ears.

This is a solo episode and I recorded it in Athens, Greece because I am in the middle of a lot of personal change right now and this topic would not leave me alone. If you do not adjust you do not survive. I believe that with everything I have and I think it is true for every part of life and every career without exception.

The adjustments we have to make are not always comfortable, not always planned, and not always welcome. But they are always necessary. I am navigating a lot of new things right now and I wanted to open this conversation with you directly because I know I am not alone in having to shift who I am or how I move to get to where I am going.

On the culinary side I bring it into the kitchen and talk about adjusting a recipe when it is not going the way you planned and how to keep cooking when you do not have everything you need. The kitchen has always been one of my best teachers and this lesson is no different.

A short break is coming. Everything Cooking Your Way Through Life returns August 31st and the next podcast episode drops September 3rd. You are only missing one week so use this time to go back and catch up on every episode already out on all streaming platforms. There is a lot there and it is worth your time.

I will see you on the other side.

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Some conversations hit differently when you come back to them later and this is one of those.

TJ is someone I have to properly introduce to anyone who is new here because without him none of this exists. He is the reason I started this podcast. That led to my cookbook. That led to this YouTube channel. That led to everything I am building right now. So when me and TJ sit down together it is never just a conversation, it always becomes something more.

Today we are talking about teaching and learning. We both feel like we became good at teaching because we never stopped being students and we get into what that actually looks like in practice. There is a real difference between making someone feel small and making sure someone actually understands and we talk about where that line is and why it matters so much.

On the culinary side I walk through making Mousse as a teaching example because it is a dish that is only simple when you understand the language of cooking. If nobody ever explains to you what fold means in a kitchen you are already lost before you start. Understanding how to receive and follow directions is a skill and the kitchen is one of the best places to learn it.

I also want to be transparent. A lot has changed in my personal life since this episode was recorded but coming back to this conversation reminded me of exactly why I am where I am right now. Sometimes you need perspective before you can fully hear what was already being said to you.

TJ is a Show Director and Choreographer with Disney Live Entertainment and one of the most genuinely positive people I have ever had in my corner.

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I have not done a solo episode in a while but this topic came back around for me recently and I felt like it needed its own conversation.

Eating alone carries so much stigma that people will genuinely stay in relationships with people they do not even like just to avoid sitting at a table by themselves. I have seen it. I have lived parts of it. And today I want to talk about why we need to stop treating eating alone like it is something to be ashamed of.

Because here is the thing. Eating alone is not always about loneliness or a breakup. Sometimes you are solo traveling and a table for one is just the reality of the trip. Sometimes your kids have grown up and moved out and now it is just you in that kitchen and at that table and you have to figure out what that looks like. Sometimes you simply want to be alone and your own company is enough. All of that is valid.

Today I am getting into the real positives of eating alone and what it can teach you about yourself when you stop apologizing for it.

On the culinary side I talk about what it actually means to cook for yourself because that is different from cooking for others in ways most people do not realize. I also get into how to choose a restaurant when you are going solo because nobody ever really talks about that and it is worth the conversation.

Solo episode. Real talk. Come eat alone with me.

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Transitions are unavoidable but most of us never actually talk about what they do to us until we are already deep in one.

This week I am sitting down with Mr. Asher, someone I have known for years, and I have to be honest with you, he still surprised me in this episode. He shared things I did not know about him and it reminded me of exactly why I love doing this show. Real conversations with real people always find a way to go deeper than you expect.

We cover all kinds of transitions in this one. Relationships including situationships, and yes the long-distance kind because that is my personal experience lol. Transitions that come with changing jobs, moving your life somewhere new, and how all of it affects you in ways you might not even notice until you slow down and look at it.

We also dig into the question that kept coming up throughout our conversation: is a transition the start of something or the end of something and how do you even know the answer when you are in the middle of it.

On the culinary side I bring it into the kitchen and talk about transitioning your habits around what you cook and what you eat, because those habits are worth examining just like everything else we talk about today.

This one is honest, a little funny, and full of moments that are going to make you think about where you are right now and where you are headed.

This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox. I am an affiliate so I may earn from purchases using my link.

Follow Mr. Asher on Instagram: https://instagram.com/smashresroh

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Starting over sounds like a big physical move but if you have ever tried it you know the hardest part is what happens in your mind before anything else changes.

This week I am joined by Ayla, a CT and Nuclear Medicine Technologist, mom of two, and one of the most real people I know. Anytime we get together the laughs are non-stop but we also stay dropping gems and this episode is no different. We get into starting over in every area of life, jobs, relationships, chapters that needed to end, and how much of it comes down to mindset rather than the actual decision to move.

We share our own experiences, all the times we have started over and where those moments led us, and we will be the first to tell you we are not done starting over either.

On the culinary side I am talking about what it looks like to start over in the kitchen and build it from scratch the right way. A lot of what we think we know about kitchens actually needs to be unlearned before we can build something that truly works for us.

Two people who have been through it, a lot of laughs, and a lot of real talk. Come hang with us.

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Are you the person who plans everything or the one who just goes along with whatever everyone else decides?

In this episode I sit down with Warren, a tattoo artist based in London, and we get real about planning ahead. What does it actually feel like to be the planner in your life? What about the person who just follows along? And are any of us actually making real plans or just reacting as life comes at us?

On the food side I skip the obvious meal prep conversation and get into something more useful. Food costs a lot right now so instead of just prepping the same thing all week, buy a neutral protein like salmon, chicken, or mackerel in bulk and then build different sauces and base flavorings around it. Same protein, completely different meals every day. The sauce is where the real planning happens.

Connect with Warren: @ininkwetrust on Instagram and TikTok

Brought to you by ButcherBox, premium humanely raised meat delivered right to your door.

New episodes every week at https://youtube.com/@cookingyourwaythroughlife?si=EwhxsR5EywyGuwf9

Be honest: do you actually have a budget or are you just hoping it works out?

In this episode I sit down with Alyssa Garrett and we go all the way in on budgeting and finances, covering everything from the discipline it takes to the habits that actually help and what it really looks like when you are just winging it with your money.

On the culinary side I talk about using the same protein multiple ways to stretch your grocery budget without feeling like you are eating the same thing every day. I also get into how ButcherBox helps me shop smarter and stop making impulse decisions that blow the budget at the store.

And I take on Alyssa, who hates leftovers, and try to change her mind. The conversation got interesting lol.

Connect with Alyssa Garrett:

Alyssa is a Real Estate Agent working with D.R. Horton in the Atlanta Metro Area. If you are ready to buy your home text "Home" to 770-342-9931 and tell her Chef Hollywood sent you!

This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox.

New episodes every week at chculinarycreations.com

Routines keep us grounded. But do they also keep us from growing?

In this episode I sit down with Jamal and Lexi, an Atlanta based married couple who bring a soccer coach's discipline and a graphic designer's creative eye to one of the most honest conversations we have had on this show. We dig into how routines support your mental health and structure your life, but also ask the harder question: are they quietly limiting who you could become?

On the culinary side I get into how a cooking routine can protect your budget and build real confidence in the kitchen, and why breaking that routine every now and then might lead you to discover things you never knew you loved. Because sometimes we do not know what we like simply because we have never tried it.

This one is practical, personal, and worth sitting with.

Follow Jamal and Lexi: @jbyeldell | @lexiwandesigns | @lexisrisuwanyeldell | @blackcrownath

New episodes every week at chculinarycreations.com

No guest today. Just me and a conversation I think a lot of us need to have.

Stress is something we all carry but the Black community in particular has a long history of pushing through without ever really addressing it. In this solo episode I get honest about what causes me stress, what I actually do to manage it, and why I think understanding your stress is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself.

And then there is the food side of things. I have always been able to cook under pressure but baking is different. The patience it requires, the measuring, the process of slowing down and trusting it, that is what actually resets my mind. Cooking does not do that for me the same way. Baking does.

This one is personal and I hope it finds whoever needs it.

New episodes every week!

Control is something we all wrestle with, and in this episode I sit back down with my longtime friend Spencer Jason to really dig into it.

Spencer is a Bosun for Uncruise Adventures out of Alaska and this is his first time joining me since the podcast went visual on YouTube. We talk about the difference between giving up control and recognizing when you actually have it, and why understanding that difference changes everything.

On the culinary side I share four foods that were invented because someone completely lost control in the kitchen. Pure accidents and happy mishaps that ended up changing the way the world eats. You will not guess all four.

This one goes deep, and it is a good time doing it.

Follow Spencer on Instagram: @theschmerz

This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox. I'm an affiliate, so I may earn from purchases using my link.