Curious about how pro chefs eat? How they stay well? What they’re cooking off the clock? This episode is for YOU. Virginia Willis is a Georgia-born, French-trained chef who’s years of experience working in food media has had her baking chocolate chip cookies with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; fishing salmon in Alaska with yours truly (…not quite as cool, but close…?!); harvesting volcanic capers in Sicily, and truffle hunting in France. Today, she runs her own company, Virginia Willis Culinary Enterprises; has authored multiple cookbooks (linked below), and serves as chef-instructor for the digital streaming platform Food Network Kitchen. We discuss:

• Why meditation is kinda bullshit (and what works better for us both)
• Why preparation is key to any self-care practice
• The ritual of preparing, cooking, & serving a multi-course meal (no matter how many/few she’s serving)
• VA’s personal health journey & the quarantine routine she’s keeping for good.

I’m answering this listener question at the top of the episode: What’s up with apple cider vinegar being in everything / used by everyone on TikTok?! Does it actually do anything for weight loss/health/your immune system?

🔥Subscribe to the On the Side YouTube channel
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🥙 More food & nutrition tips for your REAL LIFE: www.dressingonthesidebook.com
🍲 All things Chef Virginia Willis!!
https://virginiawillis.com/

It's not my first rodeo, well...today, it's mine. I chatted with Doug Champion, a former professional rodeo cowboy turned OPEX Certified founder and head coach at Champion Living Fitness. Doug founded his company to develop and implement customized, individualized training programs for clients around the country using his education and experience as a competitor in the world of professional rodeo. We discuss:

• What's happening behind the scenes before, during, and after an event
• What it means to "pre-hab" as a form of injury prevention for athletes
• The one fitness tip anyone can do that's critical for getting the results you want
• Doug's go-to pre-game meal recommendation for athletes...and for audience members

I'm answering this question halfway through the episode: "How can I stop feeling like sh*t after a big night out?"

Big news...the On the Side YouTube channel is now (officially) LIVE! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwfCcFBpKrvgsoJfCcVluKg

DM me your questions, and subscribe to this podcast to hear my answer on an upcoming episode: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynlondonrd/?hl=en

Train virtually with Doug and the Champion Living Fitness team: https://championlivingfitness.com/

Follow Doug: https://www.instagram.com/champion.living/?hl=en

The Millennial Therapist (@millennialtherapist on instagram) joins me today for an unofficial therapy appointment and all-around fantastic chat about all things burnout, boundaries, and book-writing. Sara Kuburic is a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) who received her master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and is currently pursuing her PhD in Psychotherapy Sciences. As a trauma-informed clinician & existential psychotherapist, Sara is a consultant, writer and columnist for USA Today. If you’re feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, confused about the future (basically, if you live here in 2021), then this episode will be an absolute DELIGHT for you! We discuss: 

• What it means to “return to normal” post-pandemic 
• Millennial burnout and where it comes from/how to prevent more of it
• Finding personal and professional mentorship 
• The thin line between normalizing experiences vs. pathologizing them (!!!) 

I’m answering this question at the top of the episode: What are your thoughts on the ProLon diet? 

Sara’s articles: https://www.sara-kuburic.com 

My book: www.dressingonthesidebook.com 

Follow Sara on Instagram: @millennial.therapist 

Follow Sara on Twitter: @sarakuburic

Listeners: THE DOCTOR IS IN. Today I’m chatting with Dr. Paul Goodman, a board-certified ophthalmologist and co-founder of NutritionMD, a nutrition-and-health tech platform founded by two ophthalmologists on a mission to help create useful, realistic solutions that help to complement conventional treatment through simple shifts in food & lifestyle. 

Did you know?! mild vision loss can actually impair cognitive function and memory, and much of the research to-date really shows this strong relationship between food, cognitive function & brain health. We discuss:

• No. 1 q Paul gets asked by patients 
• What it means to say something actually “works” & the importance of making incorrect assumptions 
• What to eat to prevent & treat macular degeneration & dry eye (and how to know if you have it!!) 
• Fad diets, health halos & why food is way more than just “fuel.” 
• Frank’s Red Hot as a secret ingredient (!!!)

I'm answering this listener q at the top of the episode: “What are your thoughts on the keto diet? Benefits vs. Risks?”

• DM me to submit your nutrition questions & subscribe to hear your answer on a future episode !! https://www.instagram.com/jaclynlondonrd/
• Check out EyeNutritionMD: https://eyenutritionmd.com/
• More info on the AREDS/AREDS2 studies:  https://www.nei.nih.gov/research/clinical-trials/age-related-eye-disease-studies-aredsareds2
• Follow NutritionMD on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eye.nutrition.md/

Welcome back, friends! Today’s guest is Shakera Jones, founder of Black Girls Dine Too-- a lifestyle brand, blog, and social media space that promotes and supports diversity and inclusion efforts for women and other underrepresented groups in the culinary and fine wine industries. Shakera’s a tech professional by day and wine student, media personality, writer, TV producer, and restaurant reviewer by night (and in her spare time). As a woman with multiple projects ON THE SIDE (see what I did there?), you may have already seen Shakera’s byline in Food & Wine; SevenFifty Daily, Wine & Spirits magazines, but if not, you’ll catch her on the forthcoming SOMMTV Season 4 (!!!) and follow her exceptionally practical strategies and advice for attending a booze-y event, dining out, or dipping a toe in the world of wine tasting on her site. We covered so many topics, from how to modernize our language wine & food to be more inclusive and less intimidating; the low-key power of a pub / restaurant crawl; how to tell if your date is a snooze by their drink order; why lunch should be your next reservation (especially at a Michelin-starred restaurant!), and the game-changer that was Sushi Samba in the early 2000’s (IYKYK). I promise: This episode is EVERYTHING (and then some). Plus, a little fun fact about Shakera & me: We just started chatting outside of Le Pavillion after dinner this past June, and she SO graciously agreed to come on here and chat with me! (https://lepavillonnyc.com/)

I’m answering this question today at the top of the episode: “Is it actually possible to eat healthy at a restaurant?” DM me with your questions on Instagram @jaclynlondonRD & subscribe/stay tuned to hear the answer on an upcoming episode!

Check out Black Girls Dine Too immediately!: https://www.blackgirlsdinetoo.com/

Follow Shakera on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlsdinetoo/?hl=en

Watch Shakera on SommTV: https://www.sommtv.com/

HONORABLE RESTAURANT MENTIONS WITHIN THIS EPISODE: 

• Batard: https://www.batardtribeca.com/
• BLVD: https://www.boulevardbistrony.com/
• Cote: https://www.cotenyc.com/
• Clay: https://www.claynyc.com/
• Daniel: https://www.danielnyc.com/
• Francie: https://www.franciebrooklyn.com/
• Tiki Chick: https://www.tikichick.com/
• Nougatine: https://www.jean-georges.com/restaurants/united-states/new-york/nougatine-at-jean-georges
• Milkbar: https://milkbarstore.com/
• Willy Wall: https://willywall.com/

Today’s guest is Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef at Shuka and Shukette restaurants in New York City and talking to me LIVE from a traffic jam on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway!! Ayesha’s an incredibly talented chef, entrepreneur, and innovator and we talked about everything-- from which condiments are always in her fridge, to the teeny, tiny copyedit she made on the Shukette menu that skyrocketed sales of one particular appetizer. We also commiserate about the joys (and occasional humiliation) that accompanies a public tantrum; discuss why a delicious tomato makes you cry sometimes, and how to avoid leaving a restaurant with food FOMO.  Ayesha’s core philosophy about enjoying food around the table with friends and family, especially right now: Every bite should taste like the Fourth of July. This episode might as well be an audio version of a Pinterest board- I learned so much from Ayesha about marketing/branding, the restaurant business; how to bring a creative concept into a world that (in particular) tells you, “The customer is always right,” and why the visual of barracudas hanging over charcoal (eek!) might just get you reviewed by Pete Wells at The New York Times. 

I’m answering this question today, at ~30:00:  “How can I stop being addicted to sugar?” 

DM me with your questions on Instagram @jaclynlondonRD & subscribe/stay tuned for the answer on an upcoming episode!

Follow Ayesha on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayesha_rare/?hl=en

Check out Shuka & Shukette while you’re there: https://www.instagram.com/shukanyc/?hl=en & https://www.instagram.com/shukettenyc/?hl=en

Read this RAVE review of Shukette in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/dining/shukette-restaurant-review.html

See if you can get a reservation at Shukette for 2023: https://resy.com/cities/ny/shukette

Chef Kristen Kish is the pinnacle of Top Chefs (IMO), but in fact, she is also the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 10; author of Kristen Kish Cooking, host of Fast Foodies on TruTV & HBOMax, and Executive Chef & Partner of Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish at The Line Hotel in Austin, TX. We talk about everything from the unsung joys of sherbet to the lameness of supplement powders; what Kristen’s snacking on while filming food shows, and exactly what she and her wife ate for dinner after their home micro-wedding (P.S. MAZEL TOV, Kristen & Bianca!).  Kristen shares her process for menu design; ranks her top three favorite fries (and where to find ‘em); what she thinks is the most underrated cooking ingredient, and the common spice-rack staple she’s using to maintain a cordial, working relationship with her four-legged neighbors. Real talk: I’ve known Kristen for a few years now and she has the most refreshing and warm POV on food, cooking, and the experience of enjoying meals with friends and family. I can’t wait to hear what you think of today’s episode, and if you haven’t seen Fast Foodies yet, it’s time, my friends: Binge the first season on TruTV or HBOMax & stay tuned for more Kristen Krish, more often (because she’s crushing 2021). 

I’m answering this question today, at ~27:00:  “What’s the most common myth about healthier eating that you hear or are asked about the most?”  

DM me with your questions on Instagram @jaclynlondonRD & subscribe/stay tuned for the answer on an upcoming episode!

Learn to cook with Kristen: https://www.amazon.com/Kristen-Kish-Cooking-Recipes-Techniques/dp/0553459767

Follow Kristen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenlkish/?hl=en

Catch up on Fast Foodies ASAP: https://www.trutv.com/shows/fast-foodies

Visit Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish in Austin: https://www.thelinehotel.com/austin/bars-restaurants/

Building healthier habits starts within the places we spend our time and the people with whom we share meals and experiences. Join registered dietitian (RD), author, journalist, and former clinician-turned-content creator Jaclyn London, MS, RD, CDN as she interviews leaders in food & beverage, healthcare, hospitality, & experts across the wellness landscape to debunk diet myths, deep-dive on the latest wellness trends,  and answer all of your pressing listener questions--with plenty of laughs and pro-tips in between. Listen as Jackie serves up tangible, actionable strategies to help you apply the science behind what works, to find what works best for you.