Eating While Broke

In this episode of Eating While Broke, host Coline Witt sits down with entrepreneur Zakiya Elick, Founder & CEO of The Cookie Dip Company, to talk food, money, mindset, and building a premium brand from a simple idea.

We taste-test Zakiya’s refrigerated, all-organic cookie dip flavors—think banana cream, piña colada, and milk chocolate horchata plus we talk about the growing demand for cannabis-infused options and what it takes to scale a product line responsibly.

Then Zakiya makes her ultimate comfort meal: “cush-cush” (corn porridge) a humble cornmeal dish made with water, milk, butter, and sugar. While the pot simmers, she shares the real story behind her rise:

- How a childhood craving for the “cream part” of ambrosia inspired cookie dip  
- The moment people at the Playboy Jazz Festival asked to *buy* her dip (and sparked the business)  
- How a financial coach helped her identify an affluent target customer and price with confidence  
- What she learned from pop-ups, selling out, and building consistent online sales  
- Her Sip and Dip wine + cookie dip pairing event (November 8 in Gardena)  
- Why she launched Dipping Into Change, a nonprofit supporting neurodivergent learners with financial literacy and entrepreneurship

If you’re into small business, food entrepreneurship, product-based brands, pricing strategy, and how to turn a comfort-meal story into a scalable company, this episode is for you.

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Host Coline Witt sits down with psychotherapist, author, and podcaster Elliot Connie (@elliottspeaks) one of the leading voices in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) for a real conversation about  healing, boundaries, anxiety, depression, and purpose.

Over a broke meal of spaghetti and meat sauce, Elliot shares how a cheap, filling dish he learned to cook as a teen became more than food—it became a form of survival, routine, and control during a turbulent childhood. He opens up about growing up with depression and anxiety, navigating an abusive and inconsistent father, and being supported by a mother who gave him responsibility and space to cook.

Elliot also breaks down:
- How he learned to set firm boundaries (including “forgiveness without access”)  
- The professor who helped him find direction and pursue graduate school  
- How he built a successful private practice and pushed brief therapy despite resistance  
- Why he wrote six books to teach practical therapy skills (including Change Your Questions, Change Your Future)  
- His media journey, including projects connected to Tiffany Haddish and Black Effect, after connecting with Charlamagne Tha God

If you’re trying to heal, protect your peace, or build a life with intention—this episode will meet you where you are.

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Coline Witt welcomes entrepreneur Malik Muhammad, owner of Malik Books, for a powerful conversation about building a Black-owned bookstore rooted in culture, community, and “knowledge of self.”

Malik shares his broke meal: poor man’s potato salad (potatoes, mayonnaise, celery seed, salt, and pepper) with turkey hot dogs, then takes us through his journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, running track at USC, competing in the 1984 Olympics, and ultimately launching a Black-curated bookstore in 1990.

He breaks down the real lessons behind entrepreneurship—learning business through mistakes, investing equity and losing a home, growing sales through festivals and community events, and expanding Malik Books to key locations including Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall and Westfield Culver City during the pandemic. Malik also highlights the community support behind malikbooks.com, the National Association of Black Book Stores, and his vision for a bookmobile for schools.

Plus: Malik’s recommended reads include Powernomics, Who Moved My Cheese?, and Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice.

If you care about Black entrepreneurship, independent bookstores, Black literature, LA small business, and building a legacy this episode is for you.

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Coline Witt welcomes entrepreneur and celebrity stylist 'Fiskani', who reflects on being “broke and elegant,” moving to Atlanta for school, 'dropping out', and getting 'cut off by her parents'.

After discovering styling on a music video set, she pushed through low-paying jobs and learned how to hustle—traveling to the 'MAGIC' trade show in Las Vegas with just '$50', modeling furs, and eventually being trusted with '$250,000' worth of inventory to sell in Atlanta.

A major breakthrough came when 'Keith Sweat' bought furs and connected her to key contacts, which helped open the door to 'Akon' hiring her as his stylist and rapidly expanding her client list. 

She also shares hard-earned advice for entrepreneurs: protect your vision, keep tunnel focus, and don’t let distractions pull you off your path.

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Host Coline Witt  welcomes comedian and actor Lou Young, a former NFL cornerback turned content creator with 3M+ followers. Lou’s work includes Netflix’s They Cloned Tyrone, brand collaborations with the NFL, ESPN, and Nike, and a Sundance-featured pilot, Freelance.

Over tequila and a nostalgic “lunch meat nacho supreme” (Doritos, deli turkey, bologna, cheese, Old Bay, peppers, and ketchup), Lou opens up about growing up in a single-dad household, babysitting siblings at eight years old, and learning to cook through improvisation and budget-friendly meals.

Lou also breaks down the business side of the NFL getting cut often, how little money is guaranteed as an undrafted rookie, and why he started social media while injured. He shares the rise (and limits) of his “Shleve Harvey” character, shifting into more personal storytelling, and building a podcast largely out of pocket. by reinvesting in production while balancing fatherhood, family routines, and his daughter’s gymnastics success.

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Host Coline Witt welcomes model, actor, and entrepreneur Don Benjamin to Eating While Broke. Don makes a childhood “hood classic” gluten-free Hamburger Helper using gluten-free noodles, ground turkey, and the sauce packet, while breaking down how a gluten allergy that began at 26 changed his life (and how expensive it can be to eat gluten-free on a budget).

Don shares what it was like growing up in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota with his mom, his dad’s struggles with addiction and incarceration, and navigating identity as a biracial kid.

He talks about his early dream of playing pro basketball, moving to Los Angeles at 19 on a $3,000 student loan, surviving on ramen and background acting, and the turning point after America’s Next Top Model (2013) leading to signing with Wilhelmina and landing major campaigns.

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Gospel artist Isaac Caree joins host Coline Witt on Eating While Broke to make a Southern classic with a twist: North Carolina chili slaw dogs (Nathan’s short hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, homemade chili, onions, and coleslaw). While the chili simmers and the slaw hits the bun, Isaac reflects on a 30+ year music career shaped by faith, sacrifice, and the broke seasons that built his business mindset.

Isaac opens up about growing up in church with a hardworking single mother, dropping out of high school to pursue music, and traveling with John P. Kee while earning no money—living eight people in a two-bedroom apartment and relying on cheap Circle K hot dogs just to eat.

He shares how those years strengthened his faith, taught him how to handle business, and influenced how he treats collaborators today.

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Actress Armani Greer joins host Coline Witt on Eating While Broke to cook up crispy catfish sandwiches and talk about the road less traveled—from humble beginnings to major bookings. Armani shares her Houston upbringing with a hardworking single mom, the grandparents who helped hold it down, and how she started acting at seven years old.  

In the conversation, Armani opens up about being pushed toward a “practical” college path, finding her way back to theater after graduating, quitting her job to pursue acting and modeling, and moving to Los Angeles with little money—leaning on hustle, faith, and occasional help from her mom.

She also talks pandemic survival mode, auditions, setbacks, and the wins that kept her going: booking a McDonald’s Super Bowl commercial, signing with her manager, filming Water Boys in Atlanta, nearly landing P-Valley, her latest project, and later booking a role that took her to Italy.  

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Host Coline Witt welcomes actress, author, podcaster, designer, and mom Jennie Garth, to discuss her new book, I Choose Me, which deals with self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and self-love. 

Jennie shares a budget-friendly comfort meal from her Midwest farm upbringing: pan-fried “rice cakes” made from cooked rice and eggs (with a vegan alternative), cooked hot for crispy edges and topped with butter and syrup, plus optional savory variations.

They discuss her blended-family childhood in rural Illinois, her father’s long struggle with heart disease, moving to Arizona, and how a pageant judge became her longtime manager—leading to acting in California and rapid fame on Beverly Hills, 90210.

Jennie also opens up about depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, early coping tools, later reliance on wine and anxiety meds, and building her very own brand. 

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On Eating While Broke, host Coline Witt welcomes recording artist and writer Bale, who cooks a simple turkey bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich while talking confidence, discipline, and refusing to second-guess himself.

Bale shares growing up in South Central Los Angeles as the oldest of five, being raised by a schoolteacher mom and supported by his grandma, with his father incarcerated for most of his life. He explains how music found him, helped keep him out of trouble, and how early shows and outside validation confirmed he was on the right path.

He also breaks down why his album is titled  Stay Faithful, the patience required to pursue his craft, and the value of a supportive team and family, especially as a new dad to his daughter Onyx. 

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