Podcasts about Hamburger Helper

Imagine a weeknight dinner that comes together in one pot, feels like a warm hug from the past, and still feels doable after a long day...If you're craving real comfort but feel short on time (and energy), this episode is your shortcut to cozy, crowd-pleasing pasta dishes that don't require juggling pots and pans or stressing over complicated steps. By the end of this episode, you'll learn how to: Reimagine classics like Hamburger Helper and SpaghettiOs. made with rich, caramelized tomato flavor and pantry staplesWhip up a no-cook pasta sauce that's fresh, herbaceous, and surprisingly simpleMake golden, crispy pan-fried gnocchi tossed with greens and feta—think part salad, part indulgent crispinessHit play now to discover your next weeknight dinner winner—without dirtying a sink full of dishes!***Links Homemade hamburger helper from Salt and LavenderOne pot homemade O's by Ree Drummond from Food NetworkPasta e ceci by Breana Lai Killeen for Food & WineHetty Lui McKinnon's crispy gnocchi with spinach and feta for NYT Cooking (unlocked)One pan creamy dill tortellini by Kristina Razon for The KitchenChicken Alfredo by the Daily Gourmet for All RecipesPasta with no-cook tomato sauce by Chandra Ram for Food & WineLemony hummus pasta by Christian Reynoso for NYT Cooking***Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here. You can also now find us on YouTube. Order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

Nerd Rage Radio Episode 493: Hamburger Helper NERD WEEKS Thunderbolts https://youtu.be/hUUszE29jS0 Magic The Gathering https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/magic-the-gathering-film-tv-universe-1236129132/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3sJvl4DItXyx1k8qTxYqjueozSaGimwdSZAZqAbxhk_9LzUfiCTk0_faw_aem_z19SgLP7XfK1L8jdGzTgPA Haslab https://youtu.be/yoHhGjpFhXU Follow NERD RAGE RADIO https://linktr.ee/Nerdrageradio?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=381057fc-8547-43e4-a4a6-a77597494dcc SUPPORT US ON PATREON & GET TONS OF BONUS CONTENT!!! https://www.patreon.com/Nerdrageradio FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook.com/nerdrageradiopodcast Instagram @nerdrageradioig Twitter @nerdragecast WRITE IN TO THE SHOW Email: nerdrageradiomail@gmail.com

This week, Drewby and Yergy head to Dallas, Texas, to discuss the case of Jabraylon Bables, an adorable toddler who was killed by her mother's felon boyfriend, Carnelus Simmons. One evening while Carnelus was allegedly making Hamburger Helper, Jabraylon suffered 3rd degree scaling burns to 30% of his body. Carlneus claimed this was an accident, but when little Jabraylon succumbed to his injuries, the medical examiner determined that the toddler was intentionally submerged into a pot of boiling water. 

Marketing is a serious business. Even when it's silly.See, you still want your silly, funny content to be well planned, well-executed, and well distributed. In this episode, we're talking about how to take your sillies seriously.That's one of the marketing lessons we're taking from Hamburger Helper's Watch the Stove Mixtape. With the help of our special guest, HiBob CMO Sarah Reynolds, we also talk about how to run little content experiments, listening to your customers, and doubling down on your big wins.About our guest, Sarah ReynoldsSarah Reynolds (they/them) is Chief Marketing Officer at HiBob. An openly non-binary executive, Sarah writes widely about diversity and inclusion, pay equity, the future of work, and the intersection of bias, ethics, and technology. They love spicy food, and can frequently be found in their garden tending to their many varieties of hot chili pepper plants.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Hamburger Helper:Take your sillies seriously. If you're going to make funny or silly content, it should still be well planned and executed. Otherwise it can come off as cringey and become something you're not proud of. Ian says, “ [Hamburger Helper] did take the art part of [the mixtape] seriously. And that's when the music is actually good. If it was a stupid a** song that sounded bad, it would not have gone viral. It wouldn't have been popular.”Run little content experiments. Before you go through all the trouble of building out a campaign, tease the idea to your audience and see what catches. Ian says, “ I love the little cheap or free experiments that you can run by just throwing the tweet out there, putting it in an article, putting it in your newsletter, teasing something. So few people tease stuff because they're worried that if they don't do it, that somehow this is going to like disappoint some corporate overlords. But if you tease something and nobody ever asks you about it ever again, you probably shouldn't have made it in the first place. If you tease something and you don't do it and people ask you about it, then you have more reason to go make the thing.” Hamburger Helper's mascot, Lefty, tweeted about dropping a mixtape and it was the tweet that got the most engagement. So when their marketing team was tasked with doing something unique and different, they knew it was time to make the mixtape.Listen to your customers. If you tease your content ideas and you get lots of engagement, make the content. Give the people what they want. Sarah says, “ The original idea for [the mixtape] was a tweet from multiple years before the mixtape dropped where Lefty made a joke about releasing a mixtape and suddenly it was their most liked tweet of all time. And then subsequently over the intervening years, would make occasional jokes about the mixtapes almost ready and like the customers, the fans are like, ‘Yes, do it. I dare you.' And I mean at that point, you got years of data saying customers want this, right? Is it our core business? No, but let's see what happens if we give it to them.”If you have a big win, make a sequel. Or even a series. Like Hamburger Helper should have made a second or even third mixtape because this one did so well. Ian says, “ Once you have a hit, just keep winning.  It's so hard in the marketing world to ever give anybody something that they love. And once you do it, you just gotta keep going with it.  I think my biggest takeaway is once you find something good, build it into a series.”Quotes*"My first focus was inclusivity and accessibility. Let's make sure that the way that we represent ourselves is really holding true to our corporate values that focus on DEIB, that really speaks to every single person that we want to. Let's make sure that we look at things like color contrast. Let's make sure that we look at things like the typography that we're using and the brand styling that we're using, and we're making it so that it's accessible to all of the people that we want to reach, not just because my queer, disabled, non binary a** told you to do so, but because this is genuinely what we believe as a brand, and this is what we want to put out into the world, and this is what we want people to know about us, we want to lead in this space. So does that come with a very clear, direct ROI number? No, it doesn't. It comes with doing the right thing and being different and making sure that we're prioritizing the things that really matter to us and to our community and to our audience. We're being something for someone in a way that maybe not every brand in this space is thinking about.”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Sarah Reynolds, CMO at HiBob[1:16] The Origin of the 'Watch the Stove' Mixtape[4:03] HiBob: Revolutionizing HR Tech[5:44] Creating the ‘Watch the Stove' Mixtape: From Idea to Execution[11:12] The Impact and Legacy of 'Watch the Stove'[33:00] Risks and Rewards in Marketing[36:18] The Power of Listening to Customers[43:31] Embracing Authenticity in Marketing[45:28] Content That Provides Value[49:43] Balancing Data and Vibes[54:55] Final Thoughts and PlugsLinksConnect with Sarah on LinkedInLearn more about HiBobAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

This week Daniel and El Cucuy catch you up on this past week. Rich Davis has become known at school as the guy from Have Kids, They Said, a smutty and unapologetic podcast. This has led to side-eyes and long stares, but Rich seems to embrace the attention. Some believe he promotes the show more than necessary, despite its explicit content being unsuitable for a school environment. Sirius XM pushes Have Kids harder than Rich's other projects, likely because people crave unfiltered content. Rich is at his most raw and authentic on this show, blending personal stories with his edgy humor. His message? Growth comes from discomfort, and kids need to learn resilience—no more participation trophies! Covino and Rich (CNR) aren't as explicit as they used to be, especially compared to their earlier content or their Patreon shows. Rich seems more image-conscious now, possibly due to parallels with Fox Sports or a desire to maintain a polished brand. While older CNR episodes felt more raw and unfiltered, their current Patreon content feels toned down. However, Rich's other show, Have Kids, They Said, remains edgier despite being free. The shift may stem from repeated conversations or adapting to a broader audience, but fans note the change in energy and style compared to their early days. Elon Musk jokes, stadium etiquette, and social media quirks collide in this lively discussion. The hosts humorously debate Elon's hair plugs and achievements, before diving into stadium do's and don'ts: respect the home team, keep your jersey subtle, and act like a polite guest to avoid trouble. They shift to social media, questioning the trend of creating pages for pets and possessions. While one admits to making a page for their dog, they later felt it was unnecessary, pondering if others truly care about such posts. It's a mix of humor, reflection, and relatable musings about modern culture. People follow trends and share quirky things like car pages for fun. Lisa says if it makes you happy, go for it, and I agree. We also reminisced about growing up, frying everything from spam to tortillas because it was cheap and practical. Funny how food connects us—like George Lopez's jokes about frying. I even made my mom's green salsa for the first time; it was so easy and delicious. Growing up, my family made do with affordable staples like beans, potatoes, and bologna, adapting to make ends meet. Creativity was key, and those memories stick with me. Hawaii treasures Spam, using it in various dishes. Inspired, I got creative with it—fry it right, and it's nostalgic, cheap, and delicious. It's comfort food like baloney, Sloppy Joes, or Hamburger Helper. Speaking of comfort, I love Jiffy Corn Muffins with KFC honey packets for a Marie Callender's vibe. Add chili sauce, and life's complete. Groceries remind me: balance healthy snacks with indulgence. Random thought—famous people like Helen Keller (blind and deaf) inspire reflection. Pop culture? Bow Wow grew up, Fat Joe stayed “Joe.” Names evolve, just like tastes and trends. It's all about staying true to roots while adapting. Let us know if you're getting our Patreon notifications! Some people aren't, and we're trying to fix it. For example, Lewis wasn't getting ours, though he sees others like Yannis Pappas. That's why we sent messages on Instagram—not to stalk you, but to check in with regulars. If you're missing notifications, please tell us. We appreciate your support! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aftershowbl/support

Swanner and Judd talk about: British Baking Contest; It's Florida Man; Rudolph; Santa Claus is Coming to Town; Elf; Hamburger Helper; Colonoscopy; St Denis Medical; and nothing else! Left Click To Listen, Right Click Here To Download

Look... sometimes as a parent you gotta make choices

Don't crap on Hamburger Helper. Sports Equinox night did not treat New York well. Blazers understand the assignment and lost to Kings. Ravens acquire receiver for Super Bowl push.

Don't crap on Hamburger Helper. Sports equinox night did not treat New York well. Blazers lose and maybe understand the assignment. Ravens get a wide receiver. Dan Lanning's comments on Michigan. Anthony Richardson benched. Worst Day on the Web: faking pictures that look like something else. Joe Mazzulla is a little weird. NFL 3up 3down. Who is the Heisman favorite? Big Ten tiebreaker. Baby got Back x Hallelujah.

We had a lovely chat with Erin Clarke, from @Wellplated on Instagram and author of “Well Plated” and her new book, “Well Plated Every Day.” Scroll down for Erin's pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frosting recipe.Cookbook Signing Event DetailsJoin Erin at ModernWell in Minneapolis on 10/30, 7:00pm-8:30pm, for her book signing event!  The Well Plated Cookbook, Erin Clarke, and Lee Funke of Fit Foodie Finds!Erin discusses her journey, from the influential blog Well Plated by Erin, to the creation of her popular cookbooks. You will sample one of Erin's delicious recipes – and leave with a signed copy of Well Plated Everyday (Books provided by Valley Bookseller)Thanks for reading Stephanie's Dish Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share itErin shared her Pumpkin gingerbread squares recipe from her new book, “Well Plated Everyday,” to give you a taste of the deliciousness in its pages.Pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frostingIngredients for the Cake1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar2 large eggs, at room temperature3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)1/2 cup canola oil, or melted and cooled coconut oil1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)2 teaspoons ground cinnamon11/4 teaspoons ground ginger1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 small orange1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking sodaInstructions For the CakePlace a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that two strips overhang opposite sides like handles.In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree, oil, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Zest half of the orange directly into the bowl (about 1 teaspoon). Reserve the remaining orange to zest for the frosting. Whisk until smoothly combined.Sprinkle the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda over the top. Whisk until combined and smooth, stirring only as long as needed to incorporate all the ingredients.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 20 to 24 minutes, until it is puffed, the edges are starting to pull away from the pan, and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Use the parchment overhang to lift the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.While the cake cools, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted recipe and ingredients continueIngredients For the Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, or Neufchâtel cheese, at room temperature2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature1 1/2 cups powdered sugar plus a few additional tablespoons as needed1/2 teaspoon orange zest (use the same orange from the cake)1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pieInstructions for the frostingWith the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter at medium speed for 2 minutes or until very smooth and well combined. Add the powdered sugar, orange zest (zest from the reserved orange directly into the bowl), vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, until the powdered sugar is pretty incorporated. Increase the speed to high and pro tips beat until smooth, creamy, and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more. If you'd like a stiffer, sweeter frosting, add two tablespoons of powdered sugar until your desired consistency is reached. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. For easier cutting, transfer to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set up (or go for it). Slice into squares of desired size and enjoy. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTStephanie [00:00:16]:Welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's dish, the podcast where we talk to cookbook authors and people obsessed with food generally. I am here today with Erin Clark. Erin is well plated on Instagram. She's also a best selling author of the well plated cookbook and the soon to be well plated everyday cookbook. You are gonna be having an event in the Twin Cities in Stillwater. I'm so excited for you.Erin Clarke [00:00:42]:I am thrilled as well. Can't wait. I worked to live, Yeah. Yes. So I lived in the Twin Cities at the very beginning of my career. I worked for Target, their corporate headquarters, so I just have a really big soft spot for the area, and I'm really looking forward to being back there again.Stephanie [00:01:00]:And do you live in Milwaukee now?Erin Clarke [00:01:02]:I live in Milwaukee now. Yes.Stephanie [00:01:04]:Okay. Because my family is all from Milwaukee, and I was looking on your Instagram. You make Milwaukee look more fun than I recall because we've been all over, like, the third ward, and you found some hidden gems that I was like, oh, she knows her way around here.Erin Clarke [00:01:20]:Yeah. I moved there about 10 years ago kicking and screaming because I married a Wisconsin boy and he's from Milwaukee, so we ended up back there. And I, like, I loved the city so much. I was like, I don't understand why I'm moving to still be cold and still be in the Midwest to this, like, random city. Minneapolis is great. And then I just fell in love with it. Like, it just has there it there's so much to do. The city has grown so much even just since I have been there.Erin Clarke [00:01:46]:We've got a great food scene. People are friendly. You're right on, like, Michigan. Like, it really has a lot going for it.Stephanie's Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Stephanie [00:01:52]:Yeah. I really my family is in Delafield, but we go into Milwaukee and spend a couple days during the holidays and during the summer. I really like it. So, okay. Well, you're on the verge. Is has your new cookbook come out yet? I imagine it's already out.Erin Clarke [00:02:08]:No. It is t minus 11 days. Not that I'm counting. I am absolutely counting every single day. Okay. I just cannot I'm just so giddy. I, like, cannot wait for people to have it in their hands. You are gonna have a 100 recipes in the book, but will you,Stephanie [00:02:20]:like, get people that maybe aren't familiar with your profile kinda what your point of view is?Erin Clarke [00:02:29]:Absolutely. So I grew up cooking and baking with my grandmothers in Kansas, like pure Midwest comfort food. And then after I graduated college and started living on my own, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to live on grandma's cinnamon rolls and cakes that she taught me to make. So I needed to learn how to cook, and that was where I really started going to farmers markets, like, really just kinda discovering the beauty of eating seasonally, which I feel like we talk about very, you know, it's just so, like, a part of the conversation now. But for me back then, it really wasn't. Like, in my family, like, corn and potatoes are the primary vegetables. So, you know, so I was trying to explore markets, learn how to cook, but I found myself to do this, like, really missing my grandmother's cooking. So I would call my grammy and be like, hey.Erin Clarke [00:03:18]:Like, can you tell me about, like, your recipe for enchiladas? And she would, like, in detail, tell me on the phone while I was taking notes. And then I started to think like, okay. Well, you know, I'm learning to cook. I'm trying to feed myself well. Maybe I can make grammy's enchiladas, but let's just do a couple of little swaps, like, that could make it healthier. Let's try it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Let's try a whole wheat tortilla. And then around that time, a friend had encouraged me to start a food blog, and I was like, what is a food blog? Like, I this is very, like, OG days, and I ended up posting the recipe, and I had a few friends from high school make it and love it.Erin Clarke [00:03:57]:And they're like, hey. Do you have any other recipes? And I was like, yeah. Like, I do. And so that it that just, you know, kinda sharing the lightened up versions of my grandmother's dishes just sort of started me off, and I still, like, very much keep the midwestern sensibility and unfussiness with my recipes. So if I could describe them briefly, it would be their easy, healthy with, heavy emphasis on lightened up everyday comfort food.Stephanie [00:04:27]:Which is perfect. I mean, honestly, that's what I love. I'm kinda more on the comfort food side, but I feel equally as comfortable cooking with kale, you know, as I would, I don't know, corn and potatoes. Right? And justErin Clarke [00:04:42]:Yeah. And I think it's wonderful that people have gotten you know, those ingredients have gotten more main stream. And I really like the idea of finding ways to make healthy eating more accessible. So for example, in my cookbook, on my blog, I will not put an ingredient in there if it's gonna require you to go to a food store. I try to keep the spices, like, very streamlined. I get it. Like, we're all busy and sometimes you're not in the mood to cook. So how can we get to a result that's good for you faster, but it's still delicious? Because life is also just way too short for boring chicken breasts and rice, like, every single night of our lives.Erin Clarke [00:05:23]:So how can we have a little fun with it without, you know, making it a ton of work for ourselves either?Stephanie [00:05:30]:So how long have you had your blog then?Erin Clarke [00:05:34]:Going on 13 years.Stephanie [00:05:35]:I was gonna say it has to be about we've had a radio show about food for 15 years, and we kinda started right at the very beginning of, you know, food culture. And that was one of the lot of the bloggers were getting started. And do you still blog a lot, or are you kinda to the stage where you're repurposing recipes and relooking at some of your old content?Erin Clarke [00:05:57]:We are doing both. So I still publish about 3 new recipes a week to my blog, and then we're constantly going back especially to some of those older recipes and seeing, you know, if there are tweaks that we can do to make them better. At the beginning, I was the photographer with my, like, flip phone under the our, you know, awful, like, orange light in our kitchen. So some of those recipes, it's been fun to go back and spruce them up. And then as, you know, video has taken over social media and with me being the face of the brand, a lot of the we've been shooting videos with me in them, and that has actually been a ton of fun in the sense of just, like, rediscovering, you know, favorite recipes that I haven't made in years.Stephanie [00:06:37]:Yeah. And looking back on, what would you say are, like are there some that are you're known for or that are, like, your specialties?Erin Clarke [00:06:47]:I would say I definitely am known overall for 1 pot meals. Like, if I can one pot or one pan something, I will absolutely do it. Recent one that we did, and this is just top of mind because we did the video a couple of weeks ago, is a homemade version of Hamburger Helper. So I grew up, like, Hamburger Helper House all the way, and there's still something, like, very nostalgic and comforting about it. Except, I mean, this will sound hysterical to describe it this way, but it is a gourmet Hamburger Helper. There's just I always like to find, like, just a couple of little things that you can tweak. You know, first of all, it's from scratch. It's easy.Erin Clarke [00:07:24]:You don't need the box. And I add a little bit of hot sauce and a little bit of Dijon mustard. You cook everything together in the same pot so that as the pasta cooking liquid reduces and the pasta releases those starches, it makes this really, like, luscious silky sauce without the need for any cream, and everyone loves this recipe. My husband loves it. My nieces love it from Yeah. My nieces that are the age from, like, 4 to 6. They all love this hamburger helper. Like, it's something that the whole family can really sit down and enjoy.Stephanie [00:07:55]:I love it. And you really do have a very distinct point of view in how you're thinking about your individual recipes. So I'm guessing you don't have za'atar in any of your ingredients.Erin Clarke [00:08:07]:I don't. Even though I personally love za'atar I do too. You know, I love it. I cook with it at home, but I recognize that, like, every single person doesn't have the spice cabinet that I have. So while I'll do, you know, Middle Eastern inspired dishes, and I love to travel so a lot of my dishes are inspired by my travels, I try to do it in a way that brings it home to the Midwest and makes it just as attainable for people as possible.Stephanie [00:08:34]:Right. Where is the last place that you traveled to, just out of curiosity?Erin Clarke [00:08:39]:We spent a month in France this spring, which was just wonderful. I never I speak pretty good French, and I you know, you just have to go back to practice. Yeah. Really purely academic.Stephanie [00:08:53]:Where did you go? What region?Erin Clarke [00:08:55]:So each time we go, we try to visit a different region. This time we did Alsace, which is right on the German border, and it is just right out of a fairy tale. It's the some of the little villages around there are what inspired Walt Disney to design Belle's hometown in Beauty and the Beast. And it really was it was like stepping into a storybook. It was just so charming.Stephanie [00:09:19]:Are you able to as a content creator, are you able to take, like, a month off and fully unplug, or are you just working remotely? How does that work for you? Because I imagine you've got a team at this point.Erin Clarke [00:09:32]:I do. I have a wonderful team. They're just fantastic. Like, well plated would not be able to offer the content that we do without them. And I think that they would probably be more okay with me unplugging than I am okay with myself being totally off. You know, and this is just the reality of being a small business owner. Like, for us, even getting a full day off on the weekend is really, really challenging. And you kind of it kind of bites you the next day, you know, or Monday wouldn't get back.Erin Clarke [00:10:02]:I'm trying to be a little better about finding at least one day where we don't do any work. So even when we travel, we are always checking in. We put in a few hours here and there. We're often creating content while we're out there. But I also just view it as, like, wow. How cool is it that I get to yes. You could view it as, like, I'm in France and I'm working.Stephanie [00:10:22]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:10:22]:I view it as, like, how cool I can go to France while I work.Stephanie [00:10:26]:Yeah. And it is really like a change in lifestyle. Like, the creative culture has created so much flexibility for so many people. Do you get caught up and worried about, like, the algorithms and when things change and traffic goes down, and are you always kinda chasing that?Erin Clarke [00:10:43]:I mean, we are chasing it in the sense that, you know, it is our livelihood. Like, my site depends on traffic, and that traffic primarily for us comes from Google search. So I'm constantly, like, reading articles, trying to stay up to date. At the same time, ranking a friend of mine described it as, like, checking your rankings is, like, standing on the scale every single day. Don't do it. Just overall, you know, we're always looking for healthy growth, and the truth is, like, you are constantly you win some, you lose some. This is a particularly challenging time for online content creators just with AI. You know, no one is really certain of what what that's gonna lead to.Erin Clarke [00:11:29]:You're seeing AI appear in search results where independent content creators like myself and my peers used to have our recipes appear. Now it's AI. And just over really, especially the last 5 years, I feel like it's gotten supersaturated. And so Google is sorting through what's quality content and what's not. And so there's less there's just overall there's just less space to go around, and there's less content than ever. Or excuse me, less space to go around and more content than ever.Stephanie [00:12:01]:And this idea of low quality is sort of a you know, to get to these advertising tiers, people need to have high quality content. Google's just like, oh, we spotted some low quality content. And you're just like, what? Like, help me figure this out. I so many people have been caught in that kind of trap of trying to grow and not really getting direction very much from Google. And it is just changing the game, I think. And then I wonder, like, okay. As creatives, we're gonna find the next thing. Right? So is it like, I'm seeing a lot of people you mentioned video.Stephanie [00:12:39]:I'm seeing a lot of people on YouTube creating their own TV shows. I'm seeing substacks. Is that something that you're exploring? Any of those other alternative avenues?Erin Clarke [00:12:50]:It's one of those things where, like, if I could clone myself, I would try to do them all. Substack, I think, is really fun and intriguing to me because it gives people a way to directly support at a very affordable rate their favorite authors, creators. For us, I've but I feel like a key to making that work is to offer content that you can't get anywhere else without paying. Currently, Well Plated is free for readers to access, and we don't really have the capacity to create additional free content on top of that. So kind of the way that we have structured our strategy is to give away as much as possible. Not only are the recipes free, we do free meal plans. And my hope is that we'll make Well Plate as a resource for you and make it the place that you wanna go. And then, you know, for now, if by cultivating that loyal reader base, that can kind of be a foundation of our business that's not subject to algorithms.Stephanie [00:13:51]:Yeah. Like maybe creating modules or workbooks or, PDF content that can be about, you know, the top 30 things you need to have in your pantry and blah blah blah.Erin Clarke [00:14:03]:Mhmm. Yeah. We're always looking to offer resources right now. We're working on putting together updated super comprehensive Thanksgiving guide that gives you the realistic week of Thanksgiving prep list, not the like I mean, yes. It would be great. I know I can pre freeze pie crust 3 months in advance. I am not freezing my Thanksgiving pie crust 3 months in advance. I'm just not that person.Erin Clarke [00:14:26]:I admire that person. I'm not that person. So what say we start on Sunday. Like, how can we really get this done? Yeah. How are we gonna streamline our shopping list? Like, I'm always looking for ways to provide value. So we're really excited about that PDF that'll be coming out here at the end of the month.Stephanie [00:14:41]:How many people do you cook for at Thanksgiving?Erin Clarke [00:14:45]:I'm very spoiled on Thanksgiving day, and then I get to go to my mom's house. And she and my stepdad are fabulous cooks and take off, like, 2 days of work. And the turkey is like a masterpiece. But for about the last now going on almost oh my gosh. How many years has it been? Now going on almost 15 years, I've been hosting Friendsgiving. Oh, yeah. At its smallest, it was probably about 7 people. At 1 year, we got up to 35 people.Erin Clarke [00:15:12]:Now we're kind of somewhere in the sweet spot with around 20. So that every year is just really just it's like chaos, but in the most fun way. Now that, you know, when it started out, it was all adults. We set nice tables. Now my friends have families, so you have kids, like, running around all over the place.Stephanie [00:15:29]:Right. Do you do it at a certain time a year, or do you do it in the month of November? Some people I know do, like, it in February and call it febsgiving.Erin Clarke [00:15:38]:That's well, with how crazy busy holidays are, I completely understand. And, like, let's be honest, there's not that much to look forward to for most of February March holiday wise. We do we do November. So I guess I'm just lucky because I get I love Thanksgiving food. I'm like, this is great that I get to eat this more than once. I'm gonna eat it for Thanksgiving, and then I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna eat it on the actual holiday.Stephanie [00:16:01]:Yes. Super delicious. Okay. So let's talk a little bit more about your book. Like, do you have it organized in any certain way?Erin Clarke [00:16:09]:Yes. So I like to and I know cookbooks all take different approaches, and it's kind of fun to see how different cookbook authors differentiate things. For me, I think it's just like, I'm a very traditional cookbook girl in the sense of the organization. So, you know, we start out with breakfast, have appetizers and drinks, salads, and then the main dishes are really the meat and potatoes of the book, pun intended. Just because that is where I know that people need the most help. Like, everyone has to cook dinner. So having a robust assortment of recipes and then organizing those well is really important to me. So we actually ended up breaking the main dishes down into 3 different categories.Erin Clarke [00:16:55]:So there's an entire chapter that's just pure one pot meals. One pot, one pan. Boom. We have a chapter, that's mostly focused on lightened up comfort food. And then we have this 3rd chapter that I did not intentionally set out to make it a vegetarian chapter just because I never want vegetarian food to feel lesser than or like it needs to get singled out. But we just ended up with this really wonderful collection of vegetarian dishes. They're also pretty heavily globally inspired that ended up being their own chapter as well. So we call those the veggie mains with all the flavor.Erin Clarke [00:17:31]:And then you've got your, you know, your soups, your sides, and, of course, your sweets.Stephanie [00:17:36]:How do you find, like so you have a team of people. How do you find them? Do you just advertise for them and interview just like a normal company would?Erin Clarke [00:17:46]:It's really hard. It's really hard to find good people. Like, I feel incredibly lucky. I've worked with most of my team for 5 years or longer. Some of it has been word-of-mouth. You know, like, other bloggers will work with someone and say, hey. You know, my social media person you know, I might reach out to a friend and say, hey. I'm really looking for someone to help me with my Facebook.Erin Clarke [00:18:08]:And, you know, friends will generously say, like, hey. My social media manager is great. Why don't you reach out to her? You know, some of it has been we went through our when we hired our first full time employee, we did the whole post on Indeed, like, a really rigorous application interview process. And I actually ended up finding Brenna, our first employee, because I posted on my Instagram. And so she reached out, applied through Indeed, you know, and we'd really went through that formal process. But it is truly time consuming and exhausting. Yeah. It's hard.Erin Clarke [00:18:38]:And I think every business I don't exhausting. Yeah. It's hard. And I think every business, I don't find myself unique in that way. And I think the first hire or the first couple are also reallyStephanie [00:18:46]:hard because you're probably getting to the point where you can monetize some things, but it, like, takes money to make money, and it takes more hands to make money. SoErin Clarke [00:19:01]:Mhmm.Stephanie [00:19:02]:How did you feel like you knew when that time was right?Erin Clarke [00:19:07]:When I just could not it just got to a point where I either had to be we either needed to hire someone or we needed to be okay with doing a lot less.Stephanie [00:19:18]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:19:18]:And I just could not you know, at that point, I had managed to outsource, you know, the recipe photography, the social media, But I really was so burned out, and I was like, I can't you know, I love what I do, but I can't do it at the right capacity. And I'm not enjoying my life. So how do I find someone that I really want to invest in? And invest is the word to use because as you said, it is not cheap to hire someone. Not only to pay, you know, if you wanna hire someone good, they deserve a great wage.Stephanie [00:19:51]:Yep.Erin Clarke [00:19:51]:And then also even expenses like setting up a 401 k, kind of thinking through some of those pieces. Like, that is administratively very time consuming, and it is costly. But it's worth it. Like, I that was, you know, one of the best decisions I've ever made for my business.Stephanie [00:20:08]:And things like health care. I mean, if you are employing people full time, they want benefits.Erin Clarke [00:20:14]:Yeah. Exactly. And you can choose not to offer benefits, but then you're not gonna get the quality of candidates that you're looking for. And also just personally, for me, like, building a company where I can provide benefits for people, like, that's something that I'm proud of and that we wanna be able to offer.Stephanie [00:20:31]:Yeah. It's funny that you mentioned that because I had a business before getting I'm mostly a broadcaster who happens to write some cookbooks that are regionally based. But before being a broadcaster, I did have a small business, and I was really proud of the fact that we always offered health care. Like, it just felt like, businesses. I didn't it's not the business's job, but it is the way our society is set up. So if that's the way it's gonna be, then let's participate. Let's do it. Let's take care of our employees.Stephanie [00:21:00]:At some point, I wish that everyone could have a single payer health care system and just pay into it, but that's my utopian fantasy as a freelancer out here still, you know, paying for health care on the open market. It's not cheap.Erin Clarke [00:21:13]:No. It's not. It's really challenging.Stephanie [00:21:15]:I know. And that someday we're all gonna get together. Like, there's a 150,000 creatives just in the state of Minnesota all buying independent health care. It'd be cool if we could find some way to all band together and bring everyone else's cost down too. Right?Erin Clarke [00:21:29]:Yeah. I love it. Yeah.Stephanie [00:21:32]:Can you tell me some of your favorite cookbooks? Like, do you, like, even look at cookbooks anymore, or are you just so focused on your own?Erin Clarke [00:21:41]:No. I just love cookbooks. I read cookbooks like people read novels, which is why, you know, if you read my first cookbook and my second one when it comes out, like, the writing is incredibly personal to me. I pour, like, so much of myself into that because food you know, the recipes need to work. They need to be rock solid. That's the number one thing with a cookbook. And we work incredibly, incredibly diligently on that. My whole team does.Erin Clarke [00:22:06]:But from there, like, I just want a cookbook with some personality.Stephanie [00:22:10]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:22:10]:And so, like, I just find it so inspiring to hear both the food, hear the stories. And then I can say, like, anyone can post a recipe online, and I absolutely stand behind the quality of the well plated recipes that we do online. But there is something special and a higher standard about a cookbook that, there it's just, like, sacred to me. Like, I feel like you're, like, getting a a piece of someone. And I have a lot a lot of cookbooks. I joke, but it's not it's actually quite true that Ina Garten taught me how to cook when I started. When I started my blog, my husband was in law school. We were on a budget.Erin Clarke [00:22:49]:Like, we were not going out to eat, And he had a voracious appetite. So I was like, okay. I gotta figure out how to cook food that tastes good because we enjoy you know, that we'll enjoy eating that, you know, makes a decent enough quantity to feed him, like, start hosting friends. And so I just checked out Ina's cookbooks from the library and would read them and, you know, work my way through them. So from there so the foundation of my grandmother's and then, like, moving on to Ina Garten.Stephanie [00:23:19]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:23:19]:Some of the and then I also, you know, now that I am a professional recipe developer, I also have taken lessons from the way that some of the best of the best write their recipes. So one person that always comes in mind to me is Dori Greenspan. I just think she has this beautiful way of writing recipes, and she's kind of who I learned. Like, don't you can't just don't just tell me the time on the stove. I need you to tell me what it smells like. I need you to tell me, you know, if the color's golden. Like, how do we appeal to all of these different senses to make people feel really confident? And that confidence aspect is really important to me too. So I want you to feel good the entire time you're making my recipe, not just be, like, pleased at the end that it turned out.Erin Clarke [00:24:04]:So, you know, if you're making a cake batter and it looks curdled, I'm gonna tell you it will it looks curdled. It'll be fine. And I feel like I picked some of that up from Dory Greenspan as well.Stephanie [00:24:17]:Oh, wow. Those are some of my heroes too. So it's fun to hear you say that. Have you I just started reading the Ina Garten memoir.Erin Clarke [00:24:24]:Oh, I'm listening to it. I'm about a third of the way through. It's just delightful.Stephanie [00:24:28]:I know. She's so great. I does she read it? I probably should have listened because I just find her so she's so funny.Erin Clarke [00:24:36]:She really is. Yeah. She it's just it's delightful.Stephanie [00:24:39]:Yeah. Okay. So people can come to your you can do a reading. You're gonna be at Valley Booksellers in Stillwater on October 13th.Erin Clarke [00:24:48]:We are doing the event at Modern Well. So it's in partnership with Valley. So it's in Minneapolis, and I will have a partner in conversation, Leigh Funke, from Fit Foodie Finds, who is a friend and just, like, a rock star food blogger who is also based in the Twin Cities. So she graciously agreed to do a q and a with me. We'll be having some snacks passed out from the book. It's just gonna be a really funny thing of conversation. Of course, everyone will leave with a signed copy of the book, and I'm just so looking forward to having that in person connection.Stephanie [00:25:23]:Yes. I'll go ahead and put a link for tickets in the show notes. I'm gonna bump up when I, release this podcast so that people have time to get tickets. It was super nice to talk with you and to meet you. I'm excited about your book. I have followed you on Instagram, so it's fun to get a chance to talk with you. And I loved hearing how thoughtful you are about your point of view on the recipes. It really shows in the work that you do.Stephanie [00:25:49]:You're doing a really goodErin Clarke [00:25:51]:job. Thank you so so much. That really just means a lot. I can't overstate how much that means because sometimes you just feel I mean it's hard.Stephanie [00:25:59]:You're in the void.Erin Clarke [00:25:59]:It's hard. It's a lot of work. Yeah. Mhmm.Stephanie [00:26:01]:Absolutely. Alright, Erin. It's great. Good luck with the book and I maybe we'll see you at Modern Well. Who knows?Erin Clarke [00:26:08]:Yeah. I hope so. It was great meeting you.Stephanie [00:26:10]:Okay. Thanks, Sarah.Erin Clarke [00:26:11]:Thanks again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

We had a lovely chat with Erin Clarke, from @Wellplated on Instagram and author of “Well Plated” and her new book, “Well Plated Every Day.” Scroll down for Erin's pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frosting recipe.Cookbook Signing Event DetailsJoin Erin at ModernWell in Minneapolis on 10/30, 7:00pm-8:30pm, for her book signing event!  The Well Plated Cookbook, Erin Clarke, and Lee Funke of Fit Foodie Finds!Erin discusses her journey, from the influential blog Well Plated by Erin, to the creation of her popular cookbooks. You will sample one of Erin's delicious recipes – and leave with a signed copy of Well Plated Everyday (Books provided by Valley Bookseller)Thanks for reading Stephanie's Dish Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share itErin shared her Pumpkin gingerbread squares recipe from her new book, “Well Plated Everyday,” to give you a taste of the deliciousness in its pages.Pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frostingIngredients for the Cake1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar2 large eggs, at room temperature3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)1/2 cup canola oil, or melted and cooled coconut oil1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)2 teaspoons ground cinnamon11/4 teaspoons ground ginger1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 small orange1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking sodaInstructions For the CakePlace a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that two strips overhang opposite sides like handles.In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree, oil, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Zest half of the orange directly into the bowl (about 1 teaspoon). Reserve the remaining orange to zest for the frosting. Whisk until smoothly combined.Sprinkle the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda over the top. Whisk until combined and smooth, stirring only as long as needed to incorporate all the ingredients.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 20 to 24 minutes, until it is puffed, the edges are starting to pull away from the pan, and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Use the parchment overhang to lift the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.While the cake cools, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted recipe and ingredients continueIngredients For the Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, or Neufchâtel cheese, at room temperature2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature1 1/2 cups powdered sugar plus a few additional tablespoons as needed1/2 teaspoon orange zest (use the same orange from the cake)1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pieInstructions for the frostingWith the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter at medium speed for 2 minutes or until very smooth and well combined. Add the powdered sugar, orange zest (zest from the reserved orange directly into the bowl), vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, until the powdered sugar is pretty incorporated. Increase the speed to high and pro tips beat until smooth, creamy, and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more. If you'd like a stiffer, sweeter frosting, add two tablespoons of powdered sugar until your desired consistency is reached. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. For easier cutting, transfer to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set up (or go for it). Slice into squares of desired size and enjoy. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTStephanie [00:00:16]:Welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's dish, the podcast where we talk to cookbook authors and people obsessed with food generally. I am here today with Erin Clark. Erin is well plated on Instagram. She's also a best selling author of the well plated cookbook and the soon to be well plated everyday cookbook. You are gonna be having an event in the Twin Cities in Stillwater. I'm so excited for you.Erin Clarke [00:00:42]:I am thrilled as well. Can't wait. I worked to live, Yeah. Yes. So I lived in the Twin Cities at the very beginning of my career. I worked for Target, their corporate headquarters, so I just have a really big soft spot for the area, and I'm really looking forward to being back there again.Stephanie [00:01:00]:And do you live in Milwaukee now?Erin Clarke [00:01:02]:I live in Milwaukee now. Yes.Stephanie [00:01:04]:Okay. Because my family is all from Milwaukee, and I was looking on your Instagram. You make Milwaukee look more fun than I recall because we've been all over, like, the third ward, and you found some hidden gems that I was like, oh, she knows her way around here.Erin Clarke [00:01:20]:Yeah. I moved there about 10 years ago kicking and screaming because I married a Wisconsin boy and he's from Milwaukee, so we ended up back there. And I, like, I loved the city so much. I was like, I don't understand why I'm moving to still be cold and still be in the Midwest to this, like, random city. Minneapolis is great. And then I just fell in love with it. Like, it just has there it there's so much to do. The city has grown so much even just since I have been there.Erin Clarke [00:01:46]:We've got a great food scene. People are friendly. You're right on, like, Michigan. Like, it really has a lot going for it.Stephanie's Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Stephanie [00:01:52]:Yeah. I really my family is in Delafield, but we go into Milwaukee and spend a couple days during the holidays and during the summer. I really like it. So, okay. Well, you're on the verge. Is has your new cookbook come out yet? I imagine it's already out.Erin Clarke [00:02:08]:No. It is t minus 11 days. Not that I'm counting. I am absolutely counting every single day. Okay. I just cannot I'm just so giddy. I, like, cannot wait for people to have it in their hands. You are gonna have a 100 recipes in the book, but will you,Stephanie [00:02:20]:like, get people that maybe aren't familiar with your profile kinda what your point of view is?Erin Clarke [00:02:29]:Absolutely. So I grew up cooking and baking with my grandmothers in Kansas, like pure Midwest comfort food. And then after I graduated college and started living on my own, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to live on grandma's cinnamon rolls and cakes that she taught me to make. So I needed to learn how to cook, and that was where I really started going to farmers markets, like, really just kinda discovering the beauty of eating seasonally, which I feel like we talk about very, you know, it's just so, like, a part of the conversation now. But for me back then, it really wasn't. Like, in my family, like, corn and potatoes are the primary vegetables. So, you know, so I was trying to explore markets, learn how to cook, but I found myself to do this, like, really missing my grandmother's cooking. So I would call my grammy and be like, hey.Erin Clarke [00:03:18]:Like, can you tell me about, like, your recipe for enchiladas? And she would, like, in detail, tell me on the phone while I was taking notes. And then I started to think like, okay. Well, you know, I'm learning to cook. I'm trying to feed myself well. Maybe I can make grammy's enchiladas, but let's just do a couple of little swaps, like, that could make it healthier. Let's try it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Let's try a whole wheat tortilla. And then around that time, a friend had encouraged me to start a food blog, and I was like, what is a food blog? Like, I this is very, like, OG days, and I ended up posting the recipe, and I had a few friends from high school make it and love it.Erin Clarke [00:03:57]:And they're like, hey. Do you have any other recipes? And I was like, yeah. Like, I do. And so that it that just, you know, kinda sharing the lightened up versions of my grandmother's dishes just sort of started me off, and I still, like, very much keep the midwestern sensibility and unfussiness with my recipes. So if I could describe them briefly, it would be their easy, healthy with, heavy emphasis on lightened up everyday comfort food.Stephanie [00:04:27]:Which is perfect. I mean, honestly, that's what I love. I'm kinda more on the comfort food side, but I feel equally as comfortable cooking with kale, you know, as I would, I don't know, corn and potatoes. Right? And justErin Clarke [00:04:42]:Yeah. And I think it's wonderful that people have gotten you know, those ingredients have gotten more main stream. And I really like the idea of finding ways to make healthy eating more accessible. So for example, in my cookbook, on my blog, I will not put an ingredient in there if it's gonna require you to go to a food store. I try to keep the spices, like, very streamlined. I get it. Like, we're all busy and sometimes you're not in the mood to cook. So how can we get to a result that's good for you faster, but it's still delicious? Because life is also just way too short for boring chicken breasts and rice, like, every single night of our lives.Erin Clarke [00:05:23]:So how can we have a little fun with it without, you know, making it a ton of work for ourselves either?Stephanie [00:05:30]:So how long have you had your blog then?Erin Clarke [00:05:34]:Going on 13 years.Stephanie [00:05:35]:I was gonna say it has to be about we've had a radio show about food for 15 years, and we kinda started right at the very beginning of, you know, food culture. And that was one of the lot of the bloggers were getting started. And do you still blog a lot, or are you kinda to the stage where you're repurposing recipes and relooking at some of your old content?Erin Clarke [00:05:57]:We are doing both. So I still publish about 3 new recipes a week to my blog, and then we're constantly going back especially to some of those older recipes and seeing, you know, if there are tweaks that we can do to make them better. At the beginning, I was the photographer with my, like, flip phone under the our, you know, awful, like, orange light in our kitchen. So some of those recipes, it's been fun to go back and spruce them up. And then as, you know, video has taken over social media and with me being the face of the brand, a lot of the we've been shooting videos with me in them, and that has actually been a ton of fun in the sense of just, like, rediscovering, you know, favorite recipes that I haven't made in years.Stephanie [00:06:37]:Yeah. And looking back on, what would you say are, like are there some that are you're known for or that are, like, your specialties?Erin Clarke [00:06:47]:I would say I definitely am known overall for 1 pot meals. Like, if I can one pot or one pan something, I will absolutely do it. Recent one that we did, and this is just top of mind because we did the video a couple of weeks ago, is a homemade version of Hamburger Helper. So I grew up, like, Hamburger Helper House all the way, and there's still something, like, very nostalgic and comforting about it. Except, I mean, this will sound hysterical to describe it this way, but it is a gourmet Hamburger Helper. There's just I always like to find, like, just a couple of little things that you can tweak. You know, first of all, it's from scratch. It's easy.Erin Clarke [00:07:24]:You don't need the box. And I add a little bit of hot sauce and a little bit of Dijon mustard. You cook everything together in the same pot so that as the pasta cooking liquid reduces and the pasta releases those starches, it makes this really, like, luscious silky sauce without the need for any cream, and everyone loves this recipe. My husband loves it. My nieces love it from Yeah. My nieces that are the age from, like, 4 to 6. They all love this hamburger helper. Like, it's something that the whole family can really sit down and enjoy.Stephanie [00:07:55]:I love it. And you really do have a very distinct point of view in how you're thinking about your individual recipes. So I'm guessing you don't have za'atar in any of your ingredients.Erin Clarke [00:08:07]:I don't. Even though I personally love za'atar I do too. You know, I love it. I cook with it at home, but I recognize that, like, every single person doesn't have the spice cabinet that I have. So while I'll do, you know, Middle Eastern inspired dishes, and I love to travel so a lot of my dishes are inspired by my travels, I try to do it in a way that brings it home to the Midwest and makes it just as attainable for people as possible.Stephanie [00:08:34]:Right. Where is the last place that you traveled to, just out of curiosity?Erin Clarke [00:08:39]:We spent a month in France this spring, which was just wonderful. I never I speak pretty good French, and I you know, you just have to go back to practice. Yeah. Really purely academic.Stephanie [00:08:53]:Where did you go? What region?Erin Clarke [00:08:55]:So each time we go, we try to visit a different region. This time we did Alsace, which is right on the German border, and it is just right out of a fairy tale. It's the some of the little villages around there are what inspired Walt Disney to design Belle's hometown in Beauty and the Beast. And it really was it was like stepping into a storybook. It was just so charming.Stephanie [00:09:19]:Are you able to as a content creator, are you able to take, like, a month off and fully unplug, or are you just working remotely? How does that work for you? Because I imagine you've got a team at this point.Erin Clarke [00:09:32]:I do. I have a wonderful team. They're just fantastic. Like, well plated would not be able to offer the content that we do without them. And I think that they would probably be more okay with me unplugging than I am okay with myself being totally off. You know, and this is just the reality of being a small business owner. Like, for us, even getting a full day off on the weekend is really, really challenging. And you kind of it kind of bites you the next day, you know, or Monday wouldn't get back.Erin Clarke [00:10:02]:I'm trying to be a little better about finding at least one day where we don't do any work. So even when we travel, we are always checking in. We put in a few hours here and there. We're often creating content while we're out there. But I also just view it as, like, wow. How cool is it that I get to yes. You could view it as, like, I'm in France and I'm working.Stephanie [00:10:22]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:10:22]:I view it as, like, how cool I can go to France while I work.Stephanie [00:10:26]:Yeah. And it is really like a change in lifestyle. Like, the creative culture has created so much flexibility for so many people. Do you get caught up and worried about, like, the algorithms and when things change and traffic goes down, and are you always kinda chasing that?Erin Clarke [00:10:43]:I mean, we are chasing it in the sense that, you know, it is our livelihood. Like, my site depends on traffic, and that traffic primarily for us comes from Google search. So I'm constantly, like, reading articles, trying to stay up to date. At the same time, ranking a friend of mine described it as, like, checking your rankings is, like, standing on the scale every single day. Don't do it. Just overall, you know, we're always looking for healthy growth, and the truth is, like, you are constantly you win some, you lose some. This is a particularly challenging time for online content creators just with AI. You know, no one is really certain of what what that's gonna lead to.Erin Clarke [00:11:29]:You're seeing AI appear in search results where independent content creators like myself and my peers used to have our recipes appear. Now it's AI. And just over really, especially the last 5 years, I feel like it's gotten supersaturated. And so Google is sorting through what's quality content and what's not. And so there's less there's just overall there's just less space to go around, and there's less content than ever. Or excuse me, less space to go around and more content than ever.Stephanie [00:12:01]:And this idea of low quality is sort of a you know, to get to these advertising tiers, people need to have high quality content. Google's just like, oh, we spotted some low quality content. And you're just like, what? Like, help me figure this out. I so many people have been caught in that kind of trap of trying to grow and not really getting direction very much from Google. And it is just changing the game, I think. And then I wonder, like, okay. As creatives, we're gonna find the next thing. Right? So is it like, I'm seeing a lot of people you mentioned video.Stephanie [00:12:39]:I'm seeing a lot of people on YouTube creating their own TV shows. I'm seeing substacks. Is that something that you're exploring? Any of those other alternative avenues?Erin Clarke [00:12:50]:It's one of those things where, like, if I could clone myself, I would try to do them all. Substack, I think, is really fun and intriguing to me because it gives people a way to directly support at a very affordable rate their favorite authors, creators. For us, I've but I feel like a key to making that work is to offer content that you can't get anywhere else without paying. Currently, Well Plated is free for readers to access, and we don't really have the capacity to create additional free content on top of that. So kind of the way that we have structured our strategy is to give away as much as possible. Not only are the recipes free, we do free meal plans. And my hope is that we'll make Well Plate as a resource for you and make it the place that you wanna go. And then, you know, for now, if by cultivating that loyal reader base, that can kind of be a foundation of our business that's not subject to algorithms.Stephanie [00:13:51]:Yeah. Like maybe creating modules or workbooks or, PDF content that can be about, you know, the top 30 things you need to have in your pantry and blah blah blah.Erin Clarke [00:14:03]:Mhmm. Yeah. We're always looking to offer resources right now. We're working on putting together updated super comprehensive Thanksgiving guide that gives you the realistic week of Thanksgiving prep list, not the like I mean, yes. It would be great. I know I can pre freeze pie crust 3 months in advance. I am not freezing my Thanksgiving pie crust 3 months in advance. I'm just not that person.Erin Clarke [00:14:26]:I admire that person. I'm not that person. So what say we start on Sunday. Like, how can we really get this done? Yeah. How are we gonna streamline our shopping list? Like, I'm always looking for ways to provide value. So we're really excited about that PDF that'll be coming out here at the end of the month.Stephanie [00:14:41]:How many people do you cook for at Thanksgiving?Erin Clarke [00:14:45]:I'm very spoiled on Thanksgiving day, and then I get to go to my mom's house. And she and my stepdad are fabulous cooks and take off, like, 2 days of work. And the turkey is like a masterpiece. But for about the last now going on almost oh my gosh. How many years has it been? Now going on almost 15 years, I've been hosting Friendsgiving. Oh, yeah. At its smallest, it was probably about 7 people. At 1 year, we got up to 35 people.Erin Clarke [00:15:12]:Now we're kind of somewhere in the sweet spot with around 20. So that every year is just really just it's like chaos, but in the most fun way. Now that, you know, when it started out, it was all adults. We set nice tables. Now my friends have families, so you have kids, like, running around all over the place.Stephanie [00:15:29]:Right. Do you do it at a certain time a year, or do you do it in the month of November? Some people I know do, like, it in February and call it febsgiving.Erin Clarke [00:15:38]:That's well, with how crazy busy holidays are, I completely understand. And, like, let's be honest, there's not that much to look forward to for most of February March holiday wise. We do we do November. So I guess I'm just lucky because I get I love Thanksgiving food. I'm like, this is great that I get to eat this more than once. I'm gonna eat it for Thanksgiving, and then I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna eat it on the actual holiday.Stephanie [00:16:01]:Yes. Super delicious. Okay. So let's talk a little bit more about your book. Like, do you have it organized in any certain way?Erin Clarke [00:16:09]:Yes. So I like to and I know cookbooks all take different approaches, and it's kind of fun to see how different cookbook authors differentiate things. For me, I think it's just like, I'm a very traditional cookbook girl in the sense of the organization. So, you know, we start out with breakfast, have appetizers and drinks, salads, and then the main dishes are really the meat and potatoes of the book, pun intended. Just because that is where I know that people need the most help. Like, everyone has to cook dinner. So having a robust assortment of recipes and then organizing those well is really important to me. So we actually ended up breaking the main dishes down into 3 different categories.Erin Clarke [00:16:55]:So there's an entire chapter that's just pure one pot meals. One pot, one pan. Boom. We have a chapter, that's mostly focused on lightened up comfort food. And then we have this 3rd chapter that I did not intentionally set out to make it a vegetarian chapter just because I never want vegetarian food to feel lesser than or like it needs to get singled out. But we just ended up with this really wonderful collection of vegetarian dishes. They're also pretty heavily globally inspired that ended up being their own chapter as well. So we call those the veggie mains with all the flavor.Erin Clarke [00:17:31]:And then you've got your, you know, your soups, your sides, and, of course, your sweets.Stephanie [00:17:36]:How do you find, like so you have a team of people. How do you find them? Do you just advertise for them and interview just like a normal company would?Erin Clarke [00:17:46]:It's really hard. It's really hard to find good people. Like, I feel incredibly lucky. I've worked with most of my team for 5 years or longer. Some of it has been word-of-mouth. You know, like, other bloggers will work with someone and say, hey. You know, my social media person you know, I might reach out to a friend and say, hey. I'm really looking for someone to help me with my Facebook.Erin Clarke [00:18:08]:And, you know, friends will generously say, like, hey. My social media manager is great. Why don't you reach out to her? You know, some of it has been we went through our when we hired our first full time employee, we did the whole post on Indeed, like, a really rigorous application interview process. And I actually ended up finding Brenna, our first employee, because I posted on my Instagram. And so she reached out, applied through Indeed, you know, and we'd really went through that formal process. But it is truly time consuming and exhausting. Yeah. It's hard.Erin Clarke [00:18:38]:And I think every business I don't exhausting. Yeah. It's hard. And I think every business, I don't find myself unique in that way. And I think the first hire or the first couple are also reallyStephanie [00:18:46]:hard because you're probably getting to the point where you can monetize some things, but it, like, takes money to make money, and it takes more hands to make money. SoErin Clarke [00:19:01]:Mhmm.Stephanie [00:19:02]:How did you feel like you knew when that time was right?Erin Clarke [00:19:07]:When I just could not it just got to a point where I either had to be we either needed to hire someone or we needed to be okay with doing a lot less.Stephanie [00:19:18]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:19:18]:And I just could not you know, at that point, I had managed to outsource, you know, the recipe photography, the social media, But I really was so burned out, and I was like, I can't you know, I love what I do, but I can't do it at the right capacity. And I'm not enjoying my life. So how do I find someone that I really want to invest in? And invest is the word to use because as you said, it is not cheap to hire someone. Not only to pay, you know, if you wanna hire someone good, they deserve a great wage.Stephanie [00:19:51]:Yep.Erin Clarke [00:19:51]:And then also even expenses like setting up a 401 k, kind of thinking through some of those pieces. Like, that is administratively very time consuming, and it is costly. But it's worth it. Like, I that was, you know, one of the best decisions I've ever made for my business.Stephanie [00:20:08]:And things like health care. I mean, if you are employing people full time, they want benefits.Erin Clarke [00:20:14]:Yeah. Exactly. And you can choose not to offer benefits, but then you're not gonna get the quality of candidates that you're looking for. And also just personally, for me, like, building a company where I can provide benefits for people, like, that's something that I'm proud of and that we wanna be able to offer.Stephanie [00:20:31]:Yeah. It's funny that you mentioned that because I had a business before getting I'm mostly a broadcaster who happens to write some cookbooks that are regionally based. But before being a broadcaster, I did have a small business, and I was really proud of the fact that we always offered health care. Like, it just felt like, businesses. I didn't it's not the business's job, but it is the way our society is set up. So if that's the way it's gonna be, then let's participate. Let's do it. Let's take care of our employees.Stephanie [00:21:00]:At some point, I wish that everyone could have a single payer health care system and just pay into it, but that's my utopian fantasy as a freelancer out here still, you know, paying for health care on the open market. It's not cheap.Erin Clarke [00:21:13]:No. It's not. It's really challenging.Stephanie [00:21:15]:I know. And that someday we're all gonna get together. Like, there's a 150,000 creatives just in the state of Minnesota all buying independent health care. It'd be cool if we could find some way to all band together and bring everyone else's cost down too. Right?Erin Clarke [00:21:29]:Yeah. I love it. Yeah.Stephanie [00:21:32]:Can you tell me some of your favorite cookbooks? Like, do you, like, even look at cookbooks anymore, or are you just so focused on your own?Erin Clarke [00:21:41]:No. I just love cookbooks. I read cookbooks like people read novels, which is why, you know, if you read my first cookbook and my second one when it comes out, like, the writing is incredibly personal to me. I pour, like, so much of myself into that because food you know, the recipes need to work. They need to be rock solid. That's the number one thing with a cookbook. And we work incredibly, incredibly diligently on that. My whole team does.Erin Clarke [00:22:06]:But from there, like, I just want a cookbook with some personality.Stephanie [00:22:10]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:22:10]:And so, like, I just find it so inspiring to hear both the food, hear the stories. And then I can say, like, anyone can post a recipe online, and I absolutely stand behind the quality of the well plated recipes that we do online. But there is something special and a higher standard about a cookbook that, there it's just, like, sacred to me. Like, I feel like you're, like, getting a a piece of someone. And I have a lot a lot of cookbooks. I joke, but it's not it's actually quite true that Ina Garten taught me how to cook when I started. When I started my blog, my husband was in law school. We were on a budget.Erin Clarke [00:22:49]:Like, we were not going out to eat, And he had a voracious appetite. So I was like, okay. I gotta figure out how to cook food that tastes good because we enjoy you know, that we'll enjoy eating that, you know, makes a decent enough quantity to feed him, like, start hosting friends. And so I just checked out Ina's cookbooks from the library and would read them and, you know, work my way through them. So from there so the foundation of my grandmother's and then, like, moving on to Ina Garten.Stephanie [00:23:19]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:23:19]:Some of the and then I also, you know, now that I am a professional recipe developer, I also have taken lessons from the way that some of the best of the best write their recipes. So one person that always comes in mind to me is Dori Greenspan. I just think she has this beautiful way of writing recipes, and she's kind of who I learned. Like, don't you can't just don't just tell me the time on the stove. I need you to tell me what it smells like. I need you to tell me, you know, if the color's golden. Like, how do we appeal to all of these different senses to make people feel really confident? And that confidence aspect is really important to me too. So I want you to feel good the entire time you're making my recipe, not just be, like, pleased at the end that it turned out.Erin Clarke [00:24:04]:So, you know, if you're making a cake batter and it looks curdled, I'm gonna tell you it will it looks curdled. It'll be fine. And I feel like I picked some of that up from Dory Greenspan as well.Stephanie [00:24:17]:Oh, wow. Those are some of my heroes too. So it's fun to hear you say that. Have you I just started reading the Ina Garten memoir.Erin Clarke [00:24:24]:Oh, I'm listening to it. I'm about a third of the way through. It's just delightful.Stephanie [00:24:28]:I know. She's so great. I does she read it? I probably should have listened because I just find her so she's so funny.Erin Clarke [00:24:36]:She really is. Yeah. She it's just it's delightful.Stephanie [00:24:39]:Yeah. Okay. So people can come to your you can do a reading. You're gonna be at Valley Booksellers in Stillwater on October 13th.Erin Clarke [00:24:48]:We are doing the event at Modern Well. So it's in partnership with Valley. So it's in Minneapolis, and I will have a partner in conversation, Leigh Funke, from Fit Foodie Finds, who is a friend and just, like, a rock star food blogger who is also based in the Twin Cities. So she graciously agreed to do a q and a with me. We'll be having some snacks passed out from the book. It's just gonna be a really funny thing of conversation. Of course, everyone will leave with a signed copy of the book, and I'm just so looking forward to having that in person connection.Stephanie [00:25:23]:Yes. I'll go ahead and put a link for tickets in the show notes. I'm gonna bump up when I, release this podcast so that people have time to get tickets. It was super nice to talk with you and to meet you. I'm excited about your book. I have followed you on Instagram, so it's fun to get a chance to talk with you. And I loved hearing how thoughtful you are about your point of view on the recipes. It really shows in the work that you do.Stephanie [00:25:49]:You're doing a really goodErin Clarke [00:25:51]:job. Thank you so so much. That really just means a lot. I can't overstate how much that means because sometimes you just feel I mean it's hard.Stephanie [00:25:59]:You're in the void.Erin Clarke [00:25:59]:It's hard. It's a lot of work. Yeah. Mhmm.Stephanie [00:26:01]:Absolutely. Alright, Erin. It's great. Good luck with the book and I maybe we'll see you at Modern Well. Who knows?Erin Clarke [00:26:08]:Yeah. I hope so. It was great meeting you.Stephanie [00:26:10]:Okay. Thanks, Sarah.Erin Clarke [00:26:11]:Thanks again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we talked about fried chicken, Family Feud, Hamburger Helper, The Franchise, Big Mac Hats, Nintendo Alarmo, G.I. Joe/Transformers Sgt. Slaughter Tank collab, the QoftheW, and more!   Salty Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/saltylanguagepods Our Patreon: Patreon.com/saltylanguage   Subscribe / rate / review us on Apple Podcasts!   Links: 1. Big Mac hat https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageads/comments/11f2u65/the_big_mac_hat_mcdonalds_translite_sign_1984/ 2. Nintendo Alarmo https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/make-waking-up-fun-with-nintendo-sound-clock-alarmo-available-now/ 3. G.I. Joe/Transformers Sgt. Slaughter Tank collab https://www.hasbropulse.com/product/transformers-collaborative-gi-joe-x-transformers-autobot-kup-triple-t/F99415L00?srsltid=AfmBOopxGyHVoNBlPfIMTl2e4MqMa1hpphdA35NIYMBibjUJfw1yO6wx QoftheW: What's something special you only bring out when guests are over?   Visit us at: saltylanguage.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/salty-language/id454587072?mt=2 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3GnINOQglJq1jedh36ZjGC iHeart Radio: http://www.iheart.com/show/263-Salty-Language/ Google Play Music: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ixozhhniffkdkgfp33brnqolvte Tony's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@allthebeers Bryan's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@IFinallyPlayed https://www.tiktok.com/@saltylanguage facebook.com/saltylanguage @salty_language / saltylanguage@gmail.com http://salty.libsyn.com/webpage  / http://www.youtube.com/user/SaltyLanguagePod Instagram/Threads: SaltyLanguage Reddit: r/saltylanguage Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/salty-language tangentboundnetwork.com Share with your friends!

We put Scott's "Too Many Things" theory to the test, the Soda Taste Test more specifically. How will he react to the horrible soda flavors we found?

We discuss the "too many things" theory with Hamburer Helper guest-host Scottie. We review m&m flavors, kit-kat flavors and other delicious treats from our past...and Pheobe Cates!

On this episode of "When We Were Kids: A Time Capsule Toys Podcast," Rick chats with Ronn Gehring of Your Toy Connection in Ravenna, Ohio about how he came to be a toy store owner, old Halloween costumes, monster-based toy lines, why GoBots sucked, a Hamburger Helper toy and much more! Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/A5XQzIxbYTM

So you hear that processed food is bad for you. But do you know actually why?  There are 7 critical reasons I'm going to share with you today  so the next time you decide to eat Hamburger Helper for dinner or that microwavable Burrito you know exactly what is going to happen in your body 

In the 8th episode of Hey, Real Quick Day gives an update and clarity to his White Lie series a month later.

As a continuation of an, unplanned yet ongoing, conversation between the hosts, Gen and Maria debate and create the "The Perfect Universe;" where many popular mascots finally have their places in society solidified. Hop on down to Lucky's bar to have a beer with Captain Crunch and The General, eat some of Lefty's famous Hamburger Helper, and discuss which of the four Fantanas are Wendy's real mom. Don't forget to tip your waiter, Geoffrey the Giraffe.

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If you could only say ONE word for the rest of your life to communicate, what would it be? This episode Ato talks a bit about the trip to Seattle while we discuss why some of us ain't going back to boxed dinners. Tap In

“Grocery stores, am I right?” Welcome back Mother Funny Tribe! Are you grateful for Hamburger Helper? Angie sure is, but Andie is still working on it. Andie does have some great news to share about Vienna Sausages though! Haha! Regardless of how you feel about Hamburger Helper or Vienna Sausages, every mom can agree that they think about food throughout the day because they are the ones preparing the meals, and then cleaning up the mess after meal time. A lot of moms stress or have anxiety when it comes to grocery shopping and/or paying for groceries since the price of food continues to rise. Andie has some excellent money saving tips and tricks to share throughout the episode. Just know Mama, you're not alone. Andie and Angie understand what you are going through, and want to encourage you as you brave the grocery store. Angie actually accidentally shut down all of the registers at a Tom Thumb once. Literally, every single register. You definitely want to tune in to hear the hilarious story! So start your day with a good cup of coffee and get ready for a grocery store adventure because you just never know who you are going to run into at the grocery store, or what's actually in your shopping cart until you check out. You've got this Mama!#MotherFunny #MotherFunnyTribe #Laughter #Relatable #BusyMoms #MomWorld #Funny #GroceryShoppingMama #GroceryStore #SummerMama #Snacks #HamburgerHelper #Spam #ViennaSausagesWatch us on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/9GOPj75-cfM

This week on The Broski Report, Fearless Leader Brittany Broski breaks down The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Crime & Punishment before diving into the world of Bridgerton and what she would serve Stanley Tucci for dinner.

Chris Carlin and Jonathan Zaslow react to the Celtics being the first team to punch their ticket to the Conference Finals...is this the easiest path to the finals ever? Plus drama brewing in Cleveland and the NFL Schedule release. Lastly, Zas has a dilemma surrounding Hamburger Helper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Carlin and Jonathan Zaslow get into the NFL Schedule release from yesterday and which teams itineraries stand out positively or negatively. A surplus of teams in the NBA and NHL playoffs are down 3-2 in their respective series, which one has the best chance to come back and win? Plus more Hamburger Helper takes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's edition of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0, Zaslow recaps last night's NBA Playoff action, including no reason to believe the Boston Celtics will win the NBA Finals, and whether or not Donovan Mitchell has played his last game for Cleveland. Also, Bruins captain Brad Marchand spoke about Sam Bennett's hit, confirming that he is in fact the dirty player. And, another edition of MAILBAG. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine "ZASLOW SHOW 2.0" is presented by Anidjar & Levine, Accident Attorneys. Call 800-747-FREE (3733) and get the money you deserve. CanesWear CanesWear has the largest selection of Miami Hurricanes items. And, an amazing selection of all your favorite South Florida Pro teams. Dolphins, Panthers, Heat, Inter Miami and Marlins items, are all available. No matter which South Florida Team you root for, CanesWear is the spot, Miami fans shop, CanesWear.com Signature Real Estate Whether you're buying your dream home, selling your property, or looking to join the best in the business, contact Matthew H. Maschler at 561-208-3334 or Matt@RealEstateFinder.com Johnny Cuba Official beer of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0 - European Roots with a Caribbean Soul #StayTranquilo Sheets & Giggles Ultracool and Sustainable Eucalyptus Bedding. Use promo code, ZASLOW, and join over 100,000 people sleeping soundly on S&G's famous eco-friendly Eucalyptus Lyocell bedding. North Fort Lauderdale Subaru The official car dealership of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0, you always get more at North Fort Lauderdale Subaru. Guaranteed most money for your trade, and lifetime warranty included on all North Fort Lauderdale Subaru vehicles. Shop nflsubaru.com. Brunt Insurance Official insurance agency of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0. Wherever you're located in Florida, from Pensacola to The Keys and beyond, Brunt Insurance delivers you comprehensive insurance tailored exactly to your needs. Home, auto, boat, life insurance, call 954-589-2204. If your business targets 25-54 year old Men, let's advertise on ZASLOW SHOW 2.0!! Email jonathanzaslow@gmail.com and join the growing list of partners!!

Chris Carlin and Jonathan Zaslow get into the NFL Schedule release from yesterday and which teams itineraries stand out positively or negatively. A surplus of teams in the NBA and NHL playoffs are down 3-2 in their respective series, which one has the best chance to come back and win? Plus more Hamburger Helper takes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Carlin and Jonathan Zaslow react to the Celtics being the first team to punch their ticket to the Conference Finals...is this the easiest path to the finals ever? Plus drama brewing in Cleveland and the NFL Schedule release. Lastly, Zas has a dilemma surrounding Hamburger Helper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lords: * Jenni * Xalavier Topics: * How do centaur internal organs work * What is the most unlikely horror franchise to adapt to games? * Do boomerangs work? * Serious KAAAND! * https://www.reddit.com/r/TopicLords/comments/1b3j3nu/serious_kaaand/ * Most game mascots are the sexual avatars of their creators * The Ted Dabney Experience Microtopics: * Rusty Lake. * An intriguing, terrifying morsel. * Whether it's okay to lie on this show. * Life Eater. * The horror fantasy kidnapping sim space. * Shippers shipping games. * How do we ship this game without destroying people? * All of the horse except for the head and neck. * Cosmetic centaur organs. * Introducing yourself to the inside of a centaur and it's extremely squishy in there. * A single multifunctional cube that births a centaur and that's the original Xbox startup video. * Speaking a language that doesn't exist and every time you finish a sentence you hear church bells. * Would a defective centaur wear a hat like this or like this? * Centaurs always standing at their standing desks. * A centaur wearing a horse mask. * Playing Wii Golf with someone who remains sitting the entire time. * Getting off the Power Pad to long jump. * Sitting golf. * My Dinner with Andre the Giant. * The monster mash vs. monster bash. * Adapting the Ghostbusters theme song to other media. * Playing as the car and running people over. * Jail for cars. * Jelly beans that taste bad on purpose. * 80s films for children that are meant to turn them into weird bisexuals when they grow up. * Jeff Minter's Dune. * Barbarella the video game. * More things you can do with your Rock Band instruments. * Sticking even more games inside of Fortnite. * The lemur with the really big eyes. * Microorganisms that live in water and have the end of a comedy roast bone for a head. * Venomousness of hybrid mammals. * Grabbing your stress ball after learning that the duck billed platypus uses electroreception to track their prey, Xalavier Nelson, Jr. * Platypus patch notes. * Adding expansions to Classic World of Warcraft. * Gauging the temperature of the room when it comes to boomerangs. * Throwing a washing machine in a circle. * How you feel when the boomerang doesn't come back. * Objects that you see on TV. * Boomerangs that instant of being carved to return when you throw them, are carved to say "help, I'm trapped in a boomerang factory" in an Australian accent when the wind whistles through it. * A boomerang with a heart on it that you throw to find true love. * Boomerangs vs. Gen-Xerangs. * Getting lazy by the time you sharpen the 7th blade on your boomerang. * Disrupting marshmallows by making them kinda good. * Hiring a game studio to make a satisfying sequel to Katamari Damacy and then immediately suing them for fraud because making a satisfying sequel to Katamari Damacy is impossible. * Getting Australian concussions all weekend. * Naming your facial hair "are you ready for the next topics" * Hi guys call anyone knows how to buy guns and armor India? * Crossposting between r/TopicLords to r/IndianTeenagers. * Weeding out the cowards with Gregorian Chant. * Looking at Glover and immediately understanding his salient sexual verbs. * The distinction between mascot and main character. * Your Sonics, your Gexes and your Crashes Bandicoot. * Switching places with your therapist. * Non-saucy mascots. * Having to pick between being horny and being a sociopath because you can't be both. * Glover vs. Hamburger Helper vs. Thing. * Opening yourself to a deeper Freudian zeitgeist. * The mascot platformer you keep seeing roms of but have never downloaded. * Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space. * Blinx dressing up as the lead singer of Power Man 5000. * Exactly the sort of podcast segment you want to commit to sight unseen. * Being willing to give up 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand to make a friend happy. * How much do you want that Golden Microphone? * The crucible of the soul you go through to record a podcast. * People in the future deciding what you would have made a podcast about if you were still alive and making that podcast. * The Xalavier Nelson, Jr. Experience. * The dream list of developers you ask to help finish your game in your will. * Locking Albert Einsten and Genghis Khan in a haunted house and they vote each other off the show back and forth forever. * A deeply safe field for job hunting. * The Ted Dabney Experience of finding out that Ted Dabney died twelve years ago. * Mrs. Columbo. * A movie named "This Movie Has Marky Mark In It." * A game called Beyonce Battle Royale that doesn't have Beyonce in it and it's not a battle royale. (It's a clicker.) * Beyonce: Oops All Mudkips.

From the days of scraping by with Hamburger Helper, without the hamburger — to becoming the CEO and founder of one of America's fastest-growing companies, Anthony Trimino's journey is a testament to the power of resilience, hard work, and unwavering belief in the power of possibility. As the visionary leader behind Traffik, a global advertising agency reshaping the industry, Anthony brings a unique approach to business — one rooted in faith, tenacity, and the belief that anything is possible. But his story doesn't end with business success; it's about giving back and lifting others as he climbs. It's about the impact one person can have on the world around them. Today, we invite you to join us as we delve into the depths of Anthony's soul. From the moments of doubt and fear to the triumphs that have shaped his path, you'll witness firsthand the power of faith, family, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. So, buckle up and prepare to be inspired, moved, and empowered. Get ready for a rollercoaster ride of emotions, insights, and revelations that will leave an indelible mark on your heart and soul. Let's dive in! In this episode, you will learn: Three questions that every company must ace in their pitch Leveraging future opportunities over past experiences Embracing your uniqueness as your ultimate pitching superpower Dreaming big and taking bold actions on your God-given vision Conquering Resistance - turning doubts into fuel for success Anthony's faith, healing, and relationship with God What God desires from us Success beyond financial wealth Building true wealth through prioritizing inner growth over external achievements Becoming vessels for God's blessings The Kingdom Mindset Discovering Polaris - your true North Star Links and Resources: Get your ticket to Discovering Polaris | https://discoveringpolaris.com/ Traffik | https://wearetraffik.com/  Join Fortitude Mentorship | https://www.fortitudementorship.com/  Connect with Anthony On Website | https://anthonytrimino.com/ On Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/atrimino/  Connect with Emily On Website | https://meetemilyford.com/ On Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/itsemily On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/itsemilymethod On YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/c/ITSEMILYFORD Connect with Jake On Website |  http://www.jakehavron.com On Podcast | https://www.jakehavron.com/podcast/ On Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/jakehavron/ On YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxG3bKqLK_M_HZpOgiVrtng

Red-headed robins, challenged by the weather, and Oklahoma mythology, including serial killers, mass murders, and werewolves. Imaginative subversion of the terrain. Students are not co-teaching. Two-headed chickens. A homeless freestyle rapper named Big Weiner. And from the notes of Kris Saknussemm: -Rapper 50 Cent, age 48 and trying desperately to look like a cartoon version of someone my students' age, says to his 12 million X followers, “It's almost over,” as in Humanity. This while he's embroiled in collateral flak from the federal investigations of Puff Diddy for sex trafficking, rape, domestic abuse, drugs, guns—the usual. And where did all the playground-sounding names come from? Puff Diddy. Charlemagne Tha God. Megan Thee Stallion. Strange mix of adolescence (if not childishness) and sexual perversion. -Sawfish. Improbable creatures that look like they were designed for sheer novelty. They're somehow going crazy and committing communal suicide in the shallow waters of Florida's beaches. Perhaps a strangely apt metaphor. -Weirdly echoed by parents (particularly white parents) in epidemic numbers seeking professionally certified diagnoses of their kids as being autistic, ADHD, clinically depressed, or neurodivergent. Why? In order to secure more time on tests like the SATs and ACTs. -Meanwhile, Harvard, the jewel brand in the Ivy League (and the pressurized Holy Grail of the test taking frenzy) sees the first drop in applications ever. Antisemitism and plagiarism scandals are credited as causes in the decline. The Harvard Corporation (note that term) has also come under legal fire for DEI discrimination against Asians, artificially promoting underqualified African American applicants—while it's been revealed that a disturbing percentage of white admissions are solely legacy based—children of alumni, faculty, and staff, who are in the main unable to compete outside the nepotism advantage. -On a broader, global scale, scientific experts from many fields debate the concept of the Anthropocene as umbrella label for the current era / epoch. But what no one ignores is that the Human Impact in question is viewed as entirely destructive. And on perhaps the principle of compounding interest, a great deal of the “damage” has occurred since the mid-20thcentury, which mirrors the rise of Environmentalism and green ideologies. Say one thing, do another. This inventory of Dysfunction could go on and on. We know. But like many curious and concerned thinking people today, you and I have talked about the Dysfunction often in terms of mass psychosis. A spiritual, psychological vortex-disease on the Cultural scale. I now wonder if the truth isn't conceptually much simpler. Let's take our sawfish death spiral despair as the emblematic end result of the ambient, atmospheric Dysfunction. If 50 Cent says world doom is at hand, what hope do sawfish have? Talk about a marginalized community. But what links these other crises (and so many more)? I'm coming around to viewing the “problem” as a fundamental collapse / erosion of Morality. Morale. Moral. How often do we connect those two notions? Are our problems today really all that complicated? Don't they in fact amount to people knowing what the right thing to do is and not doing it? Each of the above examples from recent news is about a failure of moral conscience and basic decency. Perversion arises from selfishness. We can break down or address each of these issues (selected from far too many others) in almost child-level moral terms. Many people (particularly NPR followers) now embody a genuine hatred of Humanity for our environmental destruction. Does this mean they're trying to live and consume more sensibly and sensitively? Nope. For the most part, they just complain about what governments and corporations are doing or not, while they go on consuming like it's 1999 or 1979. Ivy League schools, and now so many downstream schools, companies, and government departments know that DEI policies are inherently unfair, divisive, and illogical. Racism in the name of combatting racism? Victimology in the supposed service of reducing victimization? Doesn't work. Can't work. At the same time, admitting mediocre white candidates because of legacy loyalty is actually an advertisement of total failure in the institution's nurture of academic and intellectual excellence. How is it that legacy applicants are mediocre if Harvard is such an incubator of brilliance and achievement?  All of this is just disingenuous maneuvering for personal, political, and identity politics gain. It's in the realm of lying and cheating—basic morality. Nothing complex or clever about it. Same with parents (especially parents of underachieving white children) pleading to psychologists to designate their kids as Special Needs. Work the System, milk the System. Everybody else is. Could it be that our core problem at this point in history isn't nearly as interesting as technological mass delusion or a giant masquerade festival of psychosis? What if it's just moral sloth, devious self-interest, and everyday spinelessness? What if, as a Cultural community, we said, “Man up and try to be the best, humble, heroic leader in your house and in your neighborhood that you can be. There's honor in that. And you'll live longer.” Black millionaire and billionaire celebrities aren't doing black people at large any good. More black teachers, social workers, professionals, skilled tradespeople, and small business operators would. What if we eliminated all legacy advantage across the board? Radical individual meritocracy, as in sports? What if our activism regarding complaints and protest against corporations and governments turned to activism in our own habits and purchasing behaviors? What if we could tell the truth to each other? A good example might be: yes, there are key levels of society where females need to be encouraged and “empowered,” but there are also many levels where they wield far too much power. We need to bring back Morality and Ethics as essential…completely transcendent of any Right / Conservative frame, or Leftist rebellion. Hypnosis and Hysteria are more exciting than Hypocrisy—but mundane Hamburger Helper level hypocrisy is creating an Hypocracy. No, it's not nearly as cool a calamity as mass hallucination and simulated Matrix realities. It's really just Laziness Hard at Work. And as to the Left's exhaustingly shrill and repeated claim that Morality and Ethics can only enter in when the “playing field is level,” that's not a social belief system or program of coherent public policy—it's a secular religious mania that's so clearly not working as social program, only more mania will do. To me, the mania isn't as intriguing as I'd hope. More and more, it seems purely pathetic.

Whenever I see a TV commercial for Hamburger Helper, it takes me back to a particular time in my life. It transports me back to the 1980s when I was a baby radio DJ. I didn't make much money, so I often looked for a meal that could serve as dinner and then had some leftovers that would be lunch the next day. Hamburger Helper was something that fit the bill. It's not something I've had in years, but every time I think about it, it makes me smile. And it reminds me of simpler times... Click Here To Subscribe Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicGoogle PodcastsTuneIniHeartRadioPandoraDeezerBlubrryBullhornCastBoxCastrofyyd.deGaanaiVooxListen NotesmyTuner RadioOvercastOwlTailPlayer.fmPocketCastsPodbayPodbeanPodcast AddictPodcast IndexPodcast RepublicPodchaserPodfanPodtailRadio PublicRadio.comReason.fmRSSRadioVurblWe.foYandex jQuery(document).ready(function($) { 'use strict'; $('#podcast-subscribe-button-13292 .podcast-subscribe-button.modal-66277c9012015').on("click", function() { $("#secondline-psb-subs-modal.modal-66277c9012015.modal.secondline-modal-66277c9012015").modal({ fadeDuration: 250, closeText: '', }); return false; }); });

This week on The Broski Report, Fearless Leader Brittany Broski updates the nation on her Irish suitor, reveals her love for Hamburger Helper, and divulges her flirting techniques.

Some foods being recalled?! Some food being tasty? Some peeps.... being.... sour... It's ok we read some rated worst to best tacos. also Hamburger Helper is updating recipes... They gone Daft Punk Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.... Probably just Better and Faster..

The guys are back and catching up on life. From CEO changes to the Super Bowl, there's plenty to talk about!

Dear Pennies and Pallers, Letter one comes from The Tempted Father, who has never used Hamburger Helper but yearns for the ease of meal prep. In letter two, Claire wants to know how we feel about body hair. We also set our New Year's resolutions, talk LCD Soundsystem, and more! We wish you well, sincerely, Your Pen Pals Daniel Van Kirk and Rory ScovelSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, decoy carver and ice spearing zealot Ryan Ebert almost experiences death by sturgeon, we catch giant pike with golf balls and horror movie memorabilia, piss mom off by leaving walleyes in the sink, and forget our anchor while pursuing deep beasts.

Goooood morning listeners and look at us we're not dead! In this episode, we spill the tea all over you as we talk about where we've been for the past three months. We break down what's been goin on month by month, including things such as 2 weddings, one of us got COVID, and an infamous "mac n' cheese" incident. Also in this episode we talk about what we've been watching, still searching for the action. Thank you to our sponsors Shakey Beef (bò lúc lắc), Hamburger Helper, Stracci Pizza, C4 Smart Energy, Recorded November 10th, 2023.

[00:00:00] John Sommerville: I was in the elevator at General Mills one day with the president of our division. There were about eight of us in the elevator and the elevator stopped between two floors. And I was the one closest to the buttons. And I had no idea what to do. The elevator stuck. The president of the division reached around me, opened up the little box with the telephone in it, and called on the telephone to get the building supervisor to come and get us out. And what I learned from that is when you have a problem, do something, just get started.  And I was standing there frozen what in the world do we do? And he took action. ++++++++++++++++++++ [00:00:38] Tommy Thomas: Our guest today is John Somerville. I first met John when JobfitMatters conducted the search that brought Alec Hill to the presidency of InterVarsity. John was a board member of InterVarsity at the time. He's had an amazing career. After getting his MBA from Indiana University, John took a marketing position for General Mills and worked there for 11 years. If you've ever noticed the heart on a box of Cheerios, you've seen some of John's marketing skills at work. He conceived and implemented the major heart-healthy campaign for Cheerios, which landed them the American Heart Association Certification. Following his time at General Mills, he was in senior leadership at Wooddale Church. Then he planted the City Church in Minneapolis. In 2021, he assumed the role of Vice President of Finance and Operations at The University of Northwestern - St. Paul. Let's pick up on my conversation with John Somerville. [00:01:44] Tommy Thomas:  Before we dive too deep into your professional career, I'd like to go back to your childhood, and what are some, maybe two or three, remembrances that you have that have been fairly formative in your life? [00:02:01] John Sommerville:  Even as an elementary school kid, I was always organizing things. And I remember that I was fascinated with the Olympics in 1968, at 10 years old. I was completely blown away by the whole experience of watching it on television. So, I decided that our block needed an Olympics. And so I made up events. We had a 40-yard dash. It was the first three houses on the block. Our house was the second house. So, I organized that. We had a high jump pit that we put leaves in. And we did this Olympics, and there were probably about a dozen kids from a couple of blocks that came over, and we made medals and all that sort of thing. And so I had this desire to organize things, to get things moving. And then one of the things I later looked back on when I became a pastor and started a church was an experience I had in high school. The church I went to was a really good church but they didn't have a youth group that was vital and really engaging. And as a sophomore in high school, I wrote a proposal to the church board. I went to their board meeting, and I presented this proposal, and I told them that we should hire someone, should buy a pop machine. I put it in the fellowship hall of the church. We should get a pool table. That's by the way, where the whole thing went off the rails. But I wrote this proposal on how to make the group a better group and the board didn't go for it. I have always had a tendency to look at a problem or an opportunity and try to make something happen. That was part of who I was, even as a kid. I ended up becoming involved in Youth for Christ had a thing called Campus Life, and that was for my junior and senior year in high school, I got involved in. I had a tendency to look at a problem or an opportunity and try to make something happen. That was part of who I was, even as a kid. So, I look back as I think about what was I like. I was reflective, I read, but I also wanted things to happen. [00:03:54] Tommy Thomas: What was the greatest gift that you think your parents gave you? [00:03:55] John Sommerville: Curiosity. My parents are still living there in their mid-90s. My father was the earliest intellectual influence in my life. He's a reader and a thinker and read lots of books to us, and encouraged us to do the same. My mother was a nurse and very interested in nature. She used to have a bird book that sat in the kitchen. She'd look at birds out of the backyard and identify them. And so, I think that kind of curiosity openness to the world, and learning was one of the greatest gifts that my parents gave me. And their faith. Maybe that goes without saying, but watching them have quiet times, time with God, the way that their faith was really integrated into all of their lives. Those were big influences on me as a young one growing up. [00:04:41] Tommy Thomas: So, did you have a job in high school? In high school, I worked at a grocery store and on a farm.  As I look back, I think that's when I realized that I needed a work ethic. [00:04:43] John Sommerville: I worked for a year at a grocery store which was interesting. As I look back, I think that's when I realized that you needed a work ethic. I worked with a lot of folks who were around my age who were mostly lazy. I worked on a farm for a summer. Years later, the farmer that I worked for went to the church that I grew up in. And I'd gone to college, and I think I was probably a sophomore or junior in college, and he called me over and he introduced me to all of his friends. And he said I'm the reason this kid went to college. In other words, working on the farm gave me a hunger for learning and maybe doing something different. I don't know if that's a direct, but it's somewhat true. So those were a couple of experiences that I had working during high school. [00:05:28] Tommy Thomas:  When you went to college, how did you decide on your major? [00:05:33] John Sommerville:  My father was a practical person. And he said, I want you to get something that you can get a job with. But I was also interested in history and philosophy and other sorts of things like that. So, I found a major, it was Personnel Administration, what you now call HR or People Management. And it allowed me to take classes in the business school, so I could take accounting and finance and other things like that. And also take liberal arts classes. I took classical Greek, for example, as a language. At the time, I was wrestling with the direction that my life might take, and I had two ideas. One was to work in business. The other was to work in the church, and I had to try to discern that, and it wasn't just what I took in the classroom, but some of the experiences I had outside that helped guide me in that direction, to figure that out, and ironically, I ended up doing both as part of my career. [00:06:27] Tommy Thomas:  You graduated from college, you went on to get your MBA at Indiana. What do you remember about the first time you managed people? [00:06:34] John Sommerville: I think I'd been at General Mills about two years when I was promoted to a manager position. And what I remember is being an individual contributor. You're only responsible for yourself, just getting your own work done. But all of a sudden, you've got to direct the energies and work of others. And I remember pretty quickly understanding that there were some things I needed to do and one was to give everybody clear direction. I always appreciated people who supervised me, giving me a clear idea of what they were expecting. As a manager, I realized that if I gave vague directions, I got vague output.  I realized that I needed to give clear direction. And I realized pretty quickly that if I gave vague directions, I got vague output. And so, I learned that I needed to be able to give clear direction. And then I think the idea of both affirmation and correction is woven together. So, see people when they're doing something that they're doing right. My parents used to say that they tried to catch us as children doing the right thing and then reinforce that. I think that principle applies as well as quickly correcting. And so those are some principles that I think early on that I learned and it's hard to be consistent in those. Sometimes you just assume people are going to do the right thing and know what to do.  But those are things that I kept coming back to in those early years. [00:07:44] Tommy Thomas: What was the highlight at General Mills when you think back on that chapter of your life? [00:07:48] John Sommerville:  I had a really great experience in the organization. I'll give you a couple. The very first thing I was assigned to, I was brand new, I was put on a a project team to develop a boxed salad.  We ended up calling it Suddenly Salad. It was a boxed pasta salad mix. At the time what they were looking at was trends in food where pasta salads were starting to appear in restaurants and other places, and they wanted to take advantage of that, and I worked in the division that made Hamburger Helper and some of the Betty Crocker potatoes, and so they had the technologies available, so in six months this project team developed that product and I was brand new on it, so I had a lower level role. But it was so much fun to work and see this project on a fast track become a reality. I spent quite a bit of time in new products and in new markets when I worked in Europe. That new product development thing was really significant. The other was the opportunity I had when I was the Marketing Manager of Cheerios. My wife and I lived in Switzerland for three years where I worked for a joint venture for General Mills and Nestle. When I came back, I was assigned to be the Marketing Manager of Cheerios, and the brand was declining in volume. And what we found serendipitously is that oats have the effect of reducing cholesterol. And we did a clinical study that led to the ability to make a claim around the heart healthiness and the cholesterol-reducing properties of oats. And introduced that, the heart-shaped bowl on the box came out at that time. Very satisfying experience. I left right as that was being implemented, but it had led to a real resurgence of that brand. So had great satisfaction about being involved with others in that process. [00:09:37] Tommy Thomas: What do you think of all the things you learned in the private sector, what did you take to the nonprofit sector that you think has helped you the most? There is an underappreciation in some ministry organizations and churches and others for the disciplines of financial management, and operational leadership of getting systems and structures to work for you. [00:09:49] John Sommerville: I think there is an underappreciation in some ministry organizations and churches and others for the disciplines of financial management, operational leadership, of getting systems and structures to work for you. For example, in starting a church, one of the things that I was committed to, even when we were relatively small, was the idea of building systems and structures that made our work more efficient, more effective, and allowed us to do more of what we really needed to do.  Working with people doing services and that sort of thing. ++++++++++++++++++++++ [00:10:23] Tommy Thomas: Let's stay in your private sector world for another minute or two, were there mentors there that kind of took you under the belt and what did that look like? [00:10:31] John Sommerville: I've had a number of mentors in my life and one of the most important was a guy named Leith Anderson who was the Senior Pastor at Wooddale at the time, who later became the President of the National Association of Evangelicals. And Leith, early on when I was brand new in the church, showed an interest in me and gave me some opportunities for leadership, being on boards and task forces, and things like that. And at one point, he asked me if we could get together. We went to a local restaurant one evening after a meeting for pie, and he asked me, what are you going to do with the rest of your life? And at the time, my vision was I'd work until I was 55. Then I'll quit and go work for a ministry organization. And his question for me was, why not now? Now, it would be five years before I left General Mills. But his point was, you don't have to wait all that time maybe it would be a sooner deal. And it did turn out to be that. But I think with mentors, I think we need multiple mentors in our lives. I've heard one say that if you have just one mentor, you become a clone. If you have two, you're confused. If you have 10, you become wise, and your mentors don't all have to be living. I think one of my mentors is George Marshall, the general who became the architect of the Marshall Plan and the great diplomat. I've read a number of books about him and those are examples of people that I admire, and their lives, in one sense or another, have shaped me. [00:11:58] Tommy Thomas: What's the most ambitious project you've ever taken, and how did it come out? [00:12:03] John Sommerville: I think starting a church. There's something about entrepreneurs, church planters, and others. They are naive and they often don't understand what they're taking on. And I think that is good. Because sometimes it's more daunting maybe than you realize. And I think deciding that we could start a church in an established neighborhood that was not particularly hospitable to an Orthodox expression of Christian faith was probably the most daunting thing. And looking back on it, I wonder how in the world we got the courage to do it. But that was probably the most, and I believe today, even today, and probably will be for the rest of my life, the most significant, important thing that I have given my life to. And I believe brought great satisfaction.  But it was not easy. [00:13:00] Tommy Thomas: I'd like for you to respond to this quote “A group is a bunch of people in an elevator. A team is a bunch of people in the elevator, but the elevator is broken”. [00:13:11] John Sommerville: I'll tell you a story and it's an elevator story. I was in the elevator at General Mills one day with the president of our division. There were about eight of us in the elevator and the elevator stopped between two floors. And I was the one closest to the buttons. And I had no idea what to do. The elevator stuck. And the president of the division reached around me and opened up the little box with the telephone in it and called on the telephone to get the building supervisor to come and get us out. And what I learned from that is when you have a problem, do something, just get started. And I was standing there frozen. What in the world do we do? And he took action. And I think what he did is he led us, now obviously he was the one doing something. But it could have been somebody else, but he just did something. And I think teams need to just start moving. I don't know if that's exactly what you're looking for, but that was certainly very memorable. [00:14:10] Tommy Thomas: I want to ask you some generational difference questions and there's no right or wrong answer. I talked to somebody the other day and he said, I don't think there's very much difference in the generations and he had a good rationale. And then I've talked to others. I talked to Tom Lynn at InterVarsity and Tom had some thoughts on leading different generations. You've obviously, in your four environments, led different generations and now you're working with different generations at the University of Northwestern St. Paul. Maybe when you think about at least broad categories of Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z, any observations on the differences of them working as a team together? [00:14:51] John Sommerville: I would fall in between your two guests. I think that we sometimes confuse generational differences for life stages. In other words, 20s have a certain set of concerns, and we sometimes forget the cycle we went through as we grow up. There are some things that I sometimes hear when people are reading an article about generational differences, and I think you're just thinking about life stages. There are some things that I sometimes hear when people are reading an article about generational differences, and I think you're just thinking about life stages, but I also think there are things that are different from one generation to another. My parents were raised in the Great Depression, and the way that they function and still function in their mid-90s now is around the idea of scarcity. They're very concerned, very frugal, and they have really a scarcity mindset. Boomers tend to have more of an abundance mindset because that's what they grew up with. And then as you move forward, different generations with things playing out different ways. And I'm watching this now with college students and those that are in their early 20s, just the influence of the cell phone and technology. There are distinct differences and I think we need to adapt what we do to be able to communicate well with each new generation. And sometimes that's being sensitive and learning ways that can contextualize what it is we're trying to communicate or work through with them. I think those are really important. [00:16:09] Tommy Thomas: What about creativity and innovation between the generations? [00:16:12] John Sommerville: I've thought so much about that. I will say that I think that creativity and innovation is a mindset that has to, in an organization, has to be nurtured and fostered. Some people tend to be more creative than others. They think in more novel ways and other people just need to be given the freedom to actually do that. And that's one of the things that leaders are not always effective at because they tend to believe they know the right answers and they tend to not let people think long enough and hard enough about a new idea to be able to see where it might go. And I think the older leaders, the more impatient they get, and at the same time, the more nurturing they need to get of ideas that maybe they might initially disagree with but might have fruit. [00:17:00] Tommy Thomas: I want to go to resilience. Most of us hope we learn something about resilience during the pandemic. I want to give you a couple of definitions. It's too strong of a word but maybe not. So the University of Massachusetts Global says resilience is not a one-time action. It's a sustained effort to adapt, survive, and thrive in times of stress and uncertainty. Forbes -  Resilience provides the ability to recover quickly from change, hardship, or misfortune. It's the product of a broad perspective. Your thoughts? [00:17:36] John Sommerville: There's a Greek word, hupomene sometimes it's translated steadfast endurance or endurance in the New Testament, I mentioned earlier, that I took Classical Greek as an undergrad. That word really stuck with me, and the reason why is that it's translated sometimes in a very flat way in English, and yet the Greek word has this idea of persistence, of resilience, of tenacity, of sustained effort toward something that is, it's an undaunted kind of approach to life. And I think that this is undervalued by many because I think the assumption is that if it's something that I'm gifted to do or it's something that needs to be done, it will be easy. And I found that most things worth doing are like pushing water or pushing a rock uphill. It's just most things that are worth doing are hard. Woody Allen once said that 85% of success is just showing up. And I think that part of what we have to do as leaders and as people of character is just keep showing up. And so t resilience is a very important character quality. ++++++++++++++++ Most of us are afraid to fail because we don't like to be embarrassed. [00:18:50] Tommy Thomas:  It's been said that we learn most from our failures. And if that's the truth, or if that's the case, why are most of us so afraid to fail? [00:18:57] John Sommerville: I think because we don't like to be embarrassed. We don't like to invest in something that we feel, the equivalent of the oil industry person drilling a dry hole. We don't like effort that seems to not go anywhere. And so, I think sometimes we need to remember that risking things is the only way we're actually going to achieve things. And sometimes you have to fail several times before things actually go right, and I think sometimes we're just way too afraid of finding ourselves in a place where we might feel embarrassed, or we wasted time. I think the other thing is that we sometimes think that the consequences of failure are permanent, and they aren't. We're often in a place in life where we at least know one thing that doesn't work. So, then we can try something else and figure out what does work. [00:19:53] Tommy Thomas: Let's go to authenticity. There's a great power in authenticity.  Arthur Wilde said, be yourself, everyone else is already taken. Saint Catherine of Siena said, be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire. What lessons have you learned about authenticity over these four chapters of your life? We need to be transparent with people enough that they can see what actually is going on rather than trying to put on some persona. [00:20:12] John Sommerville:  I would say a couple of things. First of all, we need to be transparent with people enough that they can see what actually is going on rather than trying to put on some persona. And so, authenticity means in part that we're in a place where we're letting people see who we are and not trying to fake something, the transparency is very important. Now, the one thing I'll say about authenticity is authenticity can also be an excuse. In other words, authenticity can be an excuse for immaturity. We need to understand that being authentic can mean also that we might be in sin. One of the things that we need to do as Christians is to be made into the likeness of Christ, which means there may be character qualities or things that might be authentically us. But also, maybe sin, so part of it is to let people see enough inside of us, but at the same time recognize that authenticity whether it's anger or greed or impatience may be things that God needs to work on and process of sanctification needs to be the exercised in those areas. [00:21:24] Tommy Thomas: You've observed a lot of leaders. Over the years, what do you think is the most dangerous behavior that tends to derail a leader's career? [00:21:33] John Sommerville: I believe character. I think we're in a generation where we are so impressed with competence, so impressed with people who have outsized skills in one way or another that we have forgotten that those skills, if not tempered by character, if not shaped by character, not channeled through character, can end up being toxic or worse.And I really think that character is really the foundation. It's not all of it, because we need competence, but competence alone is not enough. [00:22:07] Tommy Thomas: Maybe a little lighter question.   We've been diving deep into some serious thoughts here. If you were a judge on a nonprofit version of the shark tank and people were coming to you for early-stage investments in their nonprofits, what questions do you need answers to before you open your purse? [00:22:25] John Sommerville:  I think the first question is, what need do you believe exists that your ministry or organization will serve? And how is what you're doing, how will that serve that need? Because if there's a true need I think many things follow from that. And if you have something unique that will really help meet that need, then the organization needs to exist. So, I think those are big questions. And by the way, the other thing that I often ask is, who else is doing this? What I find is that there are people who are pioneers who do something for the very first time, and we write books about those people, but often what we need is that the people who are innovators are just being novel without actually being effective and so it's important to understand the need, be able to meet the need, and then also give examples of how that works. You may have a unique spin on it, but the core of it needs to be channeled into an area that others have been successful in the past. [00:23:31] Tommy Thomas: If you were creating a dashboard to get at the non-profit's organizational health, what is your dashboard going to measure? [00:23:38] John Sommerville: I think that the effectiveness of whatever you're doing, whatever effort you're doing, is it effective? If you're taking care of orphans, or if you're feeding the hungry, or if you're ministering to ex-offenders who are trying to reintegrate into society, is what you're doing effective? Can you show that? Can you measure that? The other is economic viability. Many people are very motivated. They're compassionate people, but there does need to be some economic foundations and economic viability for what you're doing. And that can be achieved in a lot of different ways, but that needs to be there because otherwise an under-resourced organization will not be effective long term. [00:24:20] Tommy Thomas:  Give me some of those illustrations of economic viability. [00:24:24] John Sommerville: One thing that organizations operate in a lot of different ways, sometimes there's a revenue stream that helps to fund the ministry. And that could be, I'm familiar with an organization here that works with high school students through the schools and they have figured out how to work with school districts to provide programming and content that is useful and effective. It's a Christian organization, but it works with public schools and does a very effective job. They figured out a way to balance philanthropic revenue and revenue from many of their programs. And they've done it very effectively for 30 years. Other organizations are purely philanthropic. And they need to develop a core base of people that are interested in the ministry and constantly replenish that. But showing effectiveness, and developing a sense of passion, not only for the people who work for the organization but those who are connected as donors. And then there are ministries that really do function as businesses, per se, a publishing organization or something like that may generate almost all its revenue from some kind of sales or revenue, but still, it needs to be mission-driven.  There are a lot of different ways to think about that. +++++++++++++++++++++ Tommy Thomas Thank you for joining us today. If you are a first-time listener, I hope you will subscribe and become a regular. You can find links to all the episodes on our website. www.JobfitMatters.com/podcast. If there are topics you'd like for me to explore my email address is tthomas@jobfitmatters.com.   Word of mouth has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing. Surveys tell us that consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising. If you've heard something today that's worth passing on, please share it with others. You're already helping me make something special for the next generation of nonprofit leaders. I'll be back next week with a new episode. Until then, stay the course on our journey to help make the nonprofit sector more effective and sustainable.   Links & Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas   Connect tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn

Welcome Robin Rhine McDonald of MadeWell.com today as we discuss what may be your favorite topic (or not!)—our physical health. Robin is a faith-based holistic health coach who loves Jesus and has a passion for helping people live their best life physically, all for heaven's sake. I ask Robin some tough questions today—maybe I was feeling a little defensive as I do love my sugar—but she answered everything beautifully. You will learn and be encouraged, no matter where you are on the health spectrum.  Robin learned her good habits because she needed to, and she learned how food and fitness work together to help us live the way God designed. We talk weight loss, bad and good habits, and why God cares about us stewarding our bodies well.  Some gems from Robin: 1. "I think the turning point for me was watching my grandparents' health deteriorate. They dealt with all the common chronic diseases, and I began to see that if we don't make intentional choices, we are going to end up the same way."   2. "It's about going back to the garden and the way that God intended for us to live, before there were processed foods and convenience was the norm."   3. "We don't have to be perfect, but we do need to be intentional and aware of the choices we're making. It's never too late to start making healthier choices."   4. "Grace is not just about covering our mistakes, it's fuel for transformation. It's about acknowledging that we're not perfect, but that God is at work in us.   "5. "Our culture promotes convenience and a sedentary lifestyle, but it's important to remember that small changes can make a big impact on our health."     How to connect with Robin and access her great resources: Podcast: visiondrivenhealth.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robin_rhinemcd/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RobinRhineMcD 5 Day Sugar Fast Devotional: https://www.madewellhealth.com/sugarfast Greens & Grace Experience: https://visiondrivenhealth.com/greensexperience How to prioritize your health masterclass: madewellhealth.com/prioritize Robin McDonald is a health advocate who believes that small changes in lifestyle can have a big impact on health. She knows that many chronic diseases are preventable through healthy choices and that our cultural norms make it difficult for people to know where to begin. Robin encourages people to take hold of God's grace and start making positive changes in their lives. She emphasizes that there is no shame in past choices and that hope for healing is available to everyone.   TRANSCRIPTION OF OUR CONVERSATION - ENJOY! Good morning. Today we are talking to my first health coach. I don't know. I'm not sure I can do this today, Robin, because I went to Taco Bell for lunch. But this is Robin Ryan McDonald, and she describes herself as a faith based, holistic health coach, and we're going to dig into that a little bit. Robin, I know you'll be excited to talk about what that actually means. We'll break it down. Robin, first, tell us a little bit about where you live, your family, and then what does that exactly mean? Robin McDonald [00:01:13]: Yes. So I live in Oceanside, California. I'm a mama of two boys. I've got a three and a half year old and a ten month old. Sue Donaldson [00:01:21]: Whoa. Robin McDonald [00:01:22]: I know. And I'm married to the man of my dreams. So a holistic, faith based health coach. So at the end of the day, it really means that we are coming into alignment with what God has called us to already. We've been given this life. We have a vision, we have a purpose, we have a calling like you talk about all the time. We have this legacy. And so my big thing is, what does it look like to steward our bodies and to partner with God in creating the vitality that we need to carry that out? Sue Donaldson [00:01:56]: Say it again. What does it look like to steward our bodies? For those who don't know, the Christiane steward. What do you mean by that? Robin McDonald [00:02:03]: Thank you for asking. So stewarding means that you are taking care of you're tending to something. So if someone lends something to you that actually belongs to them, you want to make sure you take really good care of it. Right. And so our bodies, at the end of the day, belong to God, and so we want to make sure we take really good care of them again in order to do what he's called us to do. Sue Donaldson [00:02:28]: Yeah, it's always for a higher purpose. It's not so that we look good, though. I like to look good in order to fill out or fulfill our purpose that God has given us. I'm wondering for the person who has an ongoing disease that makes them maybe they can't even get out of bed. What's that called where you just don't have any strength? Robin McDonald [00:02:55]: There's a couple of different diseases. Sue Donaldson [00:02:58]: If they're listening to this today, they go, wait, is this my design to stay in bed all day? What would you say to someone like that? Robin McDonald [00:03:04]: It's a good question. Bringing the heavy questions out. I like it. So first thing I'll say is I don't believe that that was God's intention or design. The problem is we live in a fallen, broken world, and unfortunately, there is disease, there is pain. And even Jesus himself said we would not face this world without trouble. There would be challenges. And unfortunately for some of us, that is physical. Sue Donaldson [00:03:27]: Right. Robin McDonald [00:03:28]: With that said, there is almost always something we can do to either minimize the either propensity we have towards disease or even our current state. Right now, the United States, we are struggling. Most adults are either obese or experiencing not just one, but two to three chronic diseases. And a lot of that is actually lifestyle induced. So there are the people who unfortunately have these oftentimes diseases that they got maybe since birth, but most people only have a propensity to disease. And it was the choices that we've made that led to the outcome we have. And for some people, maybe they hear that and they're like, oh, man, I did this to myself. And maybe they would be inclined to feel guilty or shame. And I would say there doesn't need to be any shame in it because unfortunately, our culture has informed us that fast food and convenience and sedentary lifestyle, all those things are the norm. And so most of us wouldn't even know where to begin to make different changes. And when we become aware of where we're at and the hope that's available to us for the healing that can come from starting now, no matter where you're at, to make those simple changes, that's when we can take hold of God's grace and actually create a different outcome and trajectory for us moving forward. Sue Donaldson [00:04:52]: Okay, now that is a mouthful and a paragraph full. And I love all those different sentences. Taking care of yourself for God's kingdom. Also taking hold of his grace and also starting where you are. I think for people who are chronic dieters, especially, feel like I've tried them all, none work. So I'm just going to go buy another donut. A friend of mine, she does like to walk a lot more than I do, but she calls it taking care of her temple because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And I thought, okay, spiritualize, everything grace. Her name is even grace. But it's true. We take care of our temples when we are stewarding our bodies. Well, how did you get started in health coaching and what do you love about it? Robin McDonald [00:05:36]: Great question. So for me, I actually grew up eating terribly. Sue Donaldson [00:05:40]: Paul talks about why is that your mother? You're going to blame your mother? Watch it. I have adult children. Robin McDonald [00:05:47]: I always say bless my precious mama. She didn't know. I didn't know. None of us knew. We were just living. The American Standard Diet, also known or the Standard American Diet, also known as Sad. Right? Sad. Sue Donaldson [00:05:59]: What's it stand for? Standard American diet. Robin McDonald [00:06:03]: It's just sad. Sue Donaldson [00:06:05]: White sugar, white bread, all the things. Robin McDonald [00:06:07]: I like shaken bake this, fried this, pasta that. Hamburger Helper. If it wasn't in a box or something we could throw in the microwave or something we could get in a drive through. I personally wasn't eating it. I was the pickiest eater. Paul writes about how he was the foremost in his sin, and I'm like, I was the foremost with my eating. Like, I did not like vegetables. A lot of my childhood friends who know what I do now think it's hilarious because they knew how piggy they remember. Sue Donaldson [00:06:35]: Yeah, my mother always served two vegetables at every meal, so that was good. And she was from the Midwest, but we lived in California, so we had good vegetables. You know, the Midwest, you think they would have better vegetables, but no, it's the frozen vegetables, I think, that are healthier than the canned, of course. Robin McDonald [00:06:50]: Oh, yeah. Sue Donaldson [00:06:51]: And then she always had a salad. But I'm not saying we grew up, and also we couldn't afford to go out, and I think going out, especially the fast food in McDonald's, was like to eat. Well, they were pretty cheap when they started, but it was kind of a treat to do fast food. So I think I grew up fairly healthy. But you didn't. So what switched it? Robin McDonald [00:07:14]: That's awesome that you had that. And I think that's one of the things I tell people, too, is if you could just cook your own food, even if maybe it's not the standard, healthy, whatever, that's a game changer in and of itself. But for me, it didn't catch my attention until college. I ended up getting a full face of acne and gaining the freshman 15, which turned into the college 20. And then, like we talked about earlier, we want to look good. I wasn't feeling so good in how I look, and so I started to do some more research and exploration. And it was funny because I was trying to find the right topical regimen for my face. And a friend of mine said, you know, what shows up on your face is actually part from what you eat. And I thought that was the dumbest thing. I was like, why would what I eat have anything to do with my face? That goes in my stomach. Sue Donaldson [00:08:02]: But I remember people saying, well, I can't have chocolate because of my acne. Robin McDonald [00:08:08]: It is absolutely related. I didn't know at the time, obviously, and it wasn't until I did change my diet, and at the time, I was I was eating out a lot. I was getting a lot of and I was on a college budget as well. Sure. And so I ended up realizing by changing my diet, I cleared my acne, I lost the weight. But what really shifted in having a passion for this was when I started to see the health of my grandparents deteriorate. So I have all the chronic diseases represented in my grandparents heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's, cancer, dementia. And I have one grandparent left. Unfortunately, two grandpas passed away from dementia, alzheimer's. One grandma passed away from heart failure. She also had diabetes and arthritis. My last standing grandma has she's a cancer survivor. She has diabetes and arthritis and all of these. Sue Donaldson [00:09:07]: Yeah, diabetes is such a bad thing. My husband's an internist, and so he's very conscious of getting his patients to lose weight. Because diabetes is so hurtful to your body, you don't stay alive longer. I'm pretty sure. Robin McDonald [00:09:21]: Absolutely. And unfortunately, diabetes is often the precursor to heart disease. So when you see someone who ends up with heart disease, stroke, heart attack, it often started with diabetes, which even before that was a result of excessive blood sugar spikes, which comes from eating a lot of processed, high carb, refined foods. Sue Donaldson [00:09:44]: I'm going to ask you another hard question. Robin McDonald [00:09:46]: I'm ready. Sue Donaldson [00:09:47]: My husband is naturally slender. Thankfully, all three of my daughters got those genes, but we feel like it's unfair to those who are naturally DNA disposed to having. One of my roommates, her father died very young and he was a jogger. And when I mentioned that to my husband later, when I met him, he said, oh, well, it's DNA. And so how much of it is DNA? Where people go, well, it's not fair. He can have three beers a night and he doesn't get a beer belly and he doesn't work out, and he just climbed Mount Everest. So I know that's whining, but I bet you hear it. Robin McDonald [00:10:31]: Absolutely. And even to some extent with me, I'm 6ft tall, and so even when I was at my heaviest and I show my before and after photos, they're like, you don't look like you were that heavy. And I'm like, well, it just kind of distributes really well. Sue Donaldson [00:10:48]: Yeah, I wear big sweaters myself. Robin McDonald [00:10:51]: There you go. And your question, there's two different aspects to it. So one, just based on what we know through research, is 80% of what actually comes about with disease is lifestyle. Only 20% is genetics. Sue Donaldson [00:11:11]: How do you know that for sure? That's a big statement. Robin McDonald [00:11:15]: Yeah, absolutely. So if you want to delve further into it, you look into the study of epigenetics. So this is the study that looks or the study of your genes and gene expression. So what we've come to find is that you're given a certain set of genes from your parents, obviously, but based on what you do, your environment, even your mental health, what you eat, your water, all these different factors cause those genes to either express to turn on or to turn off. Sue Donaldson [00:11:43]: Oh, wow. And can you kill them off early on so that they never get turned back on? Robin McDonald [00:11:48]: I'm not entirely sure about that. What I do know is that the more we implement those healthy habits, the better chance we have to keep the negative ones off right. Sue Donaldson [00:11:58]: And did you study health in college then? Robin McDonald [00:12:00]: I actually didn't. So undergrad was business, grad school was seminary, and I ended up doing a specific nutrition certification through integrative health after I graduated, once I started to see the health deteriorate with my grandparents. And after coming from seminary, where we're being equipped to execute the Bible and to understand theology and to equip the saints and doing what God's called them to do. And I'm seeing these precious saints getting taken out of the game early and being hindered by disease, and I'm like even professors and peers, there were two pastors in my denomination who passed away. Sue Donaldson [00:12:39]: In their fifty s and sixty s oh, my goodness. Robin McDonald [00:12:41]: From these degenerative diseases. And so God really put on my heart of like, okay, this is a problem. If the bodies that comprise the body of Christ are unable to do what they're called to do, to actually be the hands and feet of Jesus, we're in trouble. Sue Donaldson [00:12:58]: How much as believers, do we need to focus on the physical? You've sort of answered the question, but I think that might come to mind for those who are more like too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. But God calls us to set our minds on things above. He doesn't say to set our bodies on things above. So how would you answer that? Robin McDonald [00:13:19]: I think the best answer to almost any question we have regarding our walk with God is what can we see from Jesus in his life? So Jesus had three years of public ministry. He was alive for 33, but he only had three years of public ministry. When you read the Gospels, I believe the number is I'm not going to give the percentage, but I would say at least a third of the Gospel is referring to physical healing. So if physical health didn't matter, then the Son of God was wasting his time. And I don't think he was, but. Sue Donaldson [00:13:55]: I think people would argue, sure, yeah, late, I'm ready. I taught high school, so I love it. Robin McDonald [00:14:04]: I love it. Sue Donaldson [00:14:05]: Has nothing to do with anything. I think they might argue that the reason there were physical healings is because people were looking for an outward sign fair of a Messiah. But you take it to a different aspect. I'm not arguing with you, but I think that's a very interesting thing. That's how you come about, I think you've already answered it. Is that God wants us to live for Him in the best way possible and to live longer. May or may not be in the cards. I mean, Tim Keller just passed away very young because of pancreatic cancer, who knows whose fault that was or is there a fault? Who knows? I don't think people are talking about that right now. They're just feeling the loss. Robin McDonald [00:14:47]: Right. Sue Donaldson [00:14:47]: And my brother is almost 80 and I'm not ready for him to weigh he's got a lot more going on, but he's sick right now, so it makes me worried in a spiritual way, of course, but I've given him to the Lord, but I just don't want him to. But 80 is long for some and I told you, I'm 71 and I'm not ready to conquer over, but I'm ready to see Jesus. But if he wants me to be healthier, maybe I need to hire you. Robin McDonald [00:15:17]: Hey, I'm here. I'm ready. Would you have an application process? Sue Donaldson [00:15:21]: I just don't want to give up sugar. That's my problem. I'm a good baker. Robin McDonald [00:15:26]: Hey, me too. Sue Donaldson [00:15:28]: You are? Yes, but I'm not going to argue with you. I'm sure you are. You include in your description the phrase weight loss. There's a lot to be said about this because of body image, and my daughter's a therapist and she has to deal with especially girls or women who we go into deep depression because of body image issues. Maybe it's not even a bad body image, but it's how they view themselves. Depression, even suicide. What are your thoughts on that? I think it's a weight loss. Robin McDonald [00:16:02]: Yes. So it's obviously a word that can be fleshed out a lot. When you think of weight loss, when you ask someone, what's your main health goal? And they say, I want to lose 20 pounds. If you cut off someone's leg, that's going to drop for some people, close to 20 pounds. But that's not really what we're looking for, right? Sue Donaldson [00:16:20]: No. Robin McDonald [00:16:21]: And so what people really want is they want fat loss and what they even want more than that is to look a certain way. And oftentimes, at least for myself, I care a lot about building muscle. There's a lot of research that shows that one of the number one things you can do to reduce all risk of disease and mortality is to build muscle and oftentimes to create maybe the aesthetic that people are looking for. They don't realize that sometimes that could mean gaining weight. Sue Donaldson [00:16:51]: Yeah, muscle muscles make you cause gain weight. Yeah, I've heard that before too. Robin McDonald [00:16:56]: And so something we talk a couple of different things we talk about with my clients. One, a big foundation of the program is grounding ourselves in our identity, in Christ and knowing that the pursuit of health, even the pursuit of weight loss, isn't about trying to attain an acceptance for our body or trying to reach a certain aesthetic goal. Again, we all want to look and we want to feel confident, but I think what we often don't realize is that's a decision that we make for ourselves that comes from receiving God's perspective of us, that comes from believing what's true and identifying the lies that are there. And oftentimes the lie is, I'm not attractive or beautiful unless I weigh X amount. Sue Donaldson [00:17:36]: Okay. Robin McDonald [00:17:36]: And things like that. But then, of course, from the actual health standpoint, we want to say, okay, and some people, they're actually health at a heavier weight. We want to look at their blood work, you want to look at their physical capacity. You want to look at those other factors. Or even two, if someone's more muscular, and then they have maybe some fat on top of that, and it looks like they're heavier, but their body composition isn't health. So there's a lot that goes into what it means to lose weight and what it means to be healthy. And in terms of body size, what that looks like. Sue Donaldson [00:18:05]: Okay, what is your favorite? Maybe you don't have one. Do you have a favorite popular weight loss or fitness program? I'm thinking of noom calibrate weight Watchers. Do you have one or you don't even want to mention it? Robin McDonald [00:18:23]: I don't. I'm a big proponent of creating a lifestyle, and I think that's one of the biggest hurdles for people in creating something that lasts. 90% of people who lose a significant portion of weight gain it back within five years. Sue Donaldson [00:18:46]: Oh, totally. Robin McDonald [00:18:47]: And a big part of that is because we try the next thing. We try the next diet, we try the next app or whatnot? And we miss that. It's not a question of hitting your next goal. It's a question of, am I creating habits that serve a lifestyle like we talked about, enabling me to do what God's called me to do? And so we do a lot of reframing and perspective shifting with my clients to where, yes, we support them in losing the weight. Yes, we support them in improving their blood work and increasing their energy. But we want to come down to, are we creating a lifestyle that's in alignment with who you are in Jesus? Sue Donaldson [00:19:26]: I'm writing this down, no problem, because I've joined a couple of these things and I've lost, like, five pounds, but I don't like the food. Sometimes I don't like the food. So I think, well, this is not going to last. So I quit. That wasn't those two. But there was something else. I can't remember the name of it. I thought, oh, my gosh, I don't even like it. And I'm a foodie, and I know you can eat well and deliciously healthy, and sometimes I do. So am I creating habits that are in alignment with say that again with. Robin McDonald [00:19:57]: Who Jesus has called me to be and what he's called me to do. Sue Donaldson [00:20:02]: Do you think that there's a prejudice against fat people, even in Christian circles? Robin McDonald [00:20:08]: It's a good question. I think it's one of those things where it's something to discern with each individual heart. I'm not entirely sure. I guess I don't have a strong opinion on that question. I think there's a misconception about people who are heavy, the assumption that they're that way because they're lazy or because they end up that way. And I don't think that's the case because like I said, our culture one, we've got a culture that has severely misinformed us on what health actually is. The governmental guidelines are junk and actually perpetuate obesity and the onset of disease. And then on top of that, oftentimes what parents consumed and their lack of health when they have their kids, they increase the propensity of obesity and whatnot. And one last thing I'll say about that. Most people who come to work with me are undereating, even though they're overweight. Sue Donaldson [00:21:06]: Isn't that interesting? Robin McDonald [00:21:07]: They're trying so hard to lose weight and they care so much about trying to be healthy and they're actually not able to lose the weight because their body is starving and holding onto the weight to survive. And I have to do a lot of mental reworking for them to be comfortable with increasing their intake so that we can get their body nourished and help improve their metabolism to get to a place where they can actually lose the weight. Sue Donaldson [00:21:34]: It sounds like it's a big educational process, education plus building good habits. Can you summarize what you mean by the phrase grace based sustainable process that's on your website? Robin McDonald [00:21:47]: Yes. Sue Donaldson [00:21:47]: Let me say it again. Grace based sustainable, which we all want to be sustained in any process if we're going to work that hard, if we're going to spend money to be coaching or to change a habit, whether or not we go with you or anything. And also fresh food costs more. Sometimes the poorest section of the population is difficult. And so of course I know we were each given $100 by our church during COVID to go pass it around to people. Robin McDonald [00:22:19]: That's cool. Sue Donaldson [00:22:20]: Yeah, I think my husband used it to help someone who needed dental work. And my daughter and I went around and we bought some sleeping bags on sale and passed them out to homeless people. But we actually went to McDonald's to get $10 gift certificates because they could get more food. It would fill their belly longer, but of course it wasn't healthy. So I'm a bad girl. But they got fed. They were happy to get them. Of course I'm sure. So what do you say for someone I can't afford to eat? Robin McDonald [00:22:49]: Well, what I will say is it does take some intentionality to craft a meal plan and a grocery list that actually can fit within a certain budget. And I will say I'm very excited. I'm going to be having a gal on my podcast who is like the budget master and that's like her whole thing is you can eat healthy and budget for this much. So I'm excited to have her as a resource. But with that said, what is not able to occur in finances for purchasing food will have to be made up in time to plan accordingly. Sue Donaldson [00:23:27]: Yeah, it's so true because well, I grew up with mom parents, who we didn't go out to eat much, and where I live here, we didn't go out to eat much just because I have that. I'm a granddaughter of the Depression. But I also find that the food tastes better if you make it at home, but it does take more time. And because I didn't have to work full time after my children were born, I have the time and energy to do it. But when I started working part time, I thought, well, no wonder people want to order pizza. You're so tired after work. So you have to plan in advance. And I usually plan my menus two weeks in advance, and then if I change my mind, at least I usually put a little, like, if I don't feel like eating this a little list. Because intentionality helps, actually, in so many good things. What is the main key to good health? Robin McDonald [00:24:15]: The big, broad question. Sue Donaldson [00:24:17]: I know, but you wrote on this, you say being healthy doesn't have to be hard. Really? How so? Robin McDonald [00:24:23]: Okay, so being healthy doesn't have to be hard. What is the main key to being healthy? The main key, so I think, is being vision driven. And that vision comes from, again, our identity in Christ and knowing who we are in Him. Because whether it's from me or something you Google, there are always going to be recipes, meal plans, diets programs, et cetera. But the question is if it's going to last, it comes down to are you being driven by the One who made you and the One who's called you to living that life of purpose? Sue Donaldson [00:25:06]: Doesn't everything always come down to that. Robin McDonald [00:25:08]: At the end of the day? Yeah, they joke about that being the answer in Sunday school. Jesus, it's like but yeah, that is. Sue Donaldson [00:25:14]: Ultimately that's the answer. And, you know, my podcast is about legacy, and I can tell what your legacy is, and I appreciate your you're so articulate. How old are you? Can I ask how old you are? Robin McDonald [00:25:27]: Yeah, I don't mind. I'm 32. Sue Donaldson [00:25:30]: Here we go. And mother of two, active and a great and 6ft tall and has this great business, but it's not just a business for you. I can see that. It's a passion. So how would you answer this question? What do you want your legacy to be for those who know and love you? Robin McDonald [00:25:46]: So the biggest legacy that I want to pass down is that we would be led by Jesus in all areas of life and prioritizing what matters most, and that's being vision driven in relationships, in career, in health, everything. And obviously one of my primary areas of focus is health. And I really believe that it's to the enemy's delight that we consider health as something separate from our pursuit of Jesus and our ultimate legacy. Sue Donaldson [00:26:22]: Totally. I was told in college that spirituality isn't a slice of the pie, it's the whole pie. And our health is one of those slices. And of course I like to eat and make pie, but I always remember that because I think people, like, in your neighborhood, they see you drive out to go to church on a Sunday morning and they think, wow, they're the religious people and they consider it a slice of your life. And unless they actually know you and get to know you, they think, well, that's just not for me. But if they get to know you, hopefully they will know that it's not just a slice of our week. Robin McDonald [00:27:03]: Amen. Sue Donaldson [00:27:03]: During the other six days that Jesus rules our life. And I can say that it's not always the case for me, but that is my long term goal as well. How are you busy doing it right now, passing on this lexi? Robin McDonald [00:27:17]: It's been a huge game changer since I've become a mom. I think it's added a lot more depth to that question and what it looks like, and it's also, in some ways, made it more challenging. And so for me, I'm very intentional do my very best to spend time in prayer and in the Word. And even prayer has taken a different avenue. Every time I breastfeed, I'm like, I'm just sitting here, I'm going to pray. Every time I put down my babies, I pray over them and just finding those mundane areas where I can invite God, acknowledge Him with me. Even just this morning I put on my Instagram story how when I was at the gym, I was thanking Jesus that I was feeling stronger. I'm ten months postpartum and I was like, how cool, God, that you created our bodies this way to heal and get stronger and recover, especially for us as women to have that opportunity and privilege. So for me, that's a huge part is how do I integrate Jesus into the mundane? And at the end of the day, a habit that I've recently started implementing is I call it the God count up. And so I write down at least three things that God did through my day that I would count as a win, that I get to give Him glory for, and then I write down three things as intentions for the next day. And that practice has helped me just in reflecting on my day, helped me acknowledge God, help me acknowledge what there is to celebrate, and then also set my focus for the next day and just helps me be so much more intentional with, again, what matters most to me and grounding myself in Jesus. Sue Donaldson [00:28:46]: So every day you remember what your three things are for your focus? Robin McDonald [00:28:51]: Not always, actually, I tried to. Sue Donaldson [00:28:53]: How can you do that with two small children? Good for you. I read recently that we should just tell God every day how much we adore Him and. Has really revolutionized I can't really say that revolutionized my prayer life because it's been since Friday, but since Friday I have felt closer to God in adoring Him. Robin McDonald [00:29:14]: Amen. Sue Donaldson [00:29:14]: Even when things were not going to the way I wanted it to go. You know how things happen and you're disappointed in people or in yourself, and then you go, Well, I just adore you. It makes such a difference. And that really brings God and his grace into the mundane, because life is mundane. As Charles Windall said, the trouble with life is that it's so daily and yet God says, I love. I think it's Psalm 92. It's my parentheses, it's my parentheses verse. It says, I proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness by night. So in the morning you have the love, in a night you have the faithfulness. And because I was an English teacher, it's a parentheses and then we're in the middle adoring him. What obstacles did you have to overcome or challenges to meet to leave this legacy or you're in the process. Robin McDonald [00:30:05]: I know, yes, of course, always in the process. The two biggest things, one is I would consider myself kind of more of like a type, a achiever kind of person. And I've fallen into the trying to do for God versus with God. And that's a big thing I am trying to be so mindful of and to continue to bring before him and to bring to his feet. Because while doing things for God, it's not a bad thing. But I I want the fullness of what I'm created for. And I know that that's that intimate relationship with him and I know that the way that I'm going to have the greatest impact and to ultimately do what he's laid on my heart to do is going to come from being in him. I'm doing it with him, from him versus if it's just for him, then it's out of my own perspective and my own strength. So that's the first thing. The second thing is being mindful of when again, being an achiever type is being aware of when shame tries to creep in. And that's why I actually emphasize so much about grace in the program, because I have so much experience of working through that shame and taking hold of God's grace. And acknowledging grace is something that not just that which covers our sins or our mistakes, but also the substance by which we are fueled into transformation. We use the phrase like, oh, it's by God's grace and it is that we can be transformed and experience a different trajectory. Sue Donaldson [00:31:35]: Give me an example, good example from. Robin McDonald [00:31:40]: I think it was a week and a half or so ago, I was trying to handle this very stressful situation with my husband. He was out of town on the phone, I have a baby screaming, I have my three year old whining and my whole self is just like and I ended up yelling. I went into the garage, I did a yelled outside, came back in, and I just was, like, so worked up. And it was ironic because I had just prayed a prayer a couple of days before of, like, God, reveal the areas of me that I need to work, maybe even slightly from a place of pride, of, like, I don't know what I need to work on. Reveal to me. And then it's like, two days later, boom. Like, okay, Jesus, I see that. And that would be one of those moments where I'm like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I reacted that way. What's wrong with me? That's not the example I want to set for my kids. And that's where the shame would try to creep in. But I guess fortunately, unfortunately, I've walked this path so many times, and I'm like, okay, hold on. We're going down the road of shame. What's true is I made a mistake. I'm not perfect. I get to work on taking hold of God's grace in those moments where I'm super stressed, recognizing, like, this isn't life or death. How can I be the thermometer instead of or the barometer instead of the thermometer with my kids? Right? I set the tone, and so I was able, after, of course, being upset with myself and experiencing a bit of the shame, to take hold of what's actually true and take hold of God's grace. And since then, it's been better. Am I never going to have a moment like that? No, but I can say that God's doing that little bit of work continually in me in that way. Sue Donaldson [00:33:23]: Great. How do you embody God's welcoming heart? Robin McDonald [00:33:28]: I love that question. And I actually just went to a conference this past weekend, and it was not a Christian conference. It was a business conference. And it was a group of people who have a huge desire to make a big impact. And the language that they used was, like, the universe or living a life of surrender the cosmos and the energy. Sue Donaldson [00:33:50]: That you bring to the table, the. Robin McDonald [00:33:52]: Energy, all those things. And they even had stories of, like, I don't know, something in me told me to do this, and my heart was just, like, bursting because I'm like, It's Jesus. It is Jesus. All of that is found in Jesus. And obviously, I can't just interrupt them or scream like, Jesus. Usually it's not super effective, but what I did do, they create a lot of space for sharing in that environment. And this is what I try to do in my life in general, is to be really authentic and to not feel like I have to hide or change language when I'm talking about what's authentic for me. So when they asked what my goals were for the year, I said, I want to be in 100% partnership with God in my business and my family. And when they asked me, what are the big wins you have from the last year? I said, my husband and I did a pastoral internship together at our church, and we led a small group together and we have weekly date nights and we're going to go on a vision retreat together. Like, I'm prioritizing my marriage and God and we're serving together. So it's like I wasn't preaching to them, I was sharing authentically. Right. And even too, they asked the question of, what are you going to bring to this event? And I said, if anybody is questioning at all about their worth and value and feeling like this business is the way that they're proving themselves, I would love to speak life into you. And I got to have a couple of those conversations. Sue Donaldson [00:35:08]: Did they come to you? Robin McDonald [00:35:12]: Yeah. Sue Donaldson [00:35:12]: Was your point that they would find it, that it wasn't enough? Robin McDonald [00:35:17]: Can you rephrase that? Sue Donaldson [00:35:19]: You said, if there's anyone here who's finding their worth in their business, I thought that's what you said and you were going to say, well, you're going to eventually come to the end of that because God is the one who gives you worth. Okay. Robin McDonald [00:35:34]: Yes, a lot of them are, and they share it's a pretty vulnerable group, which is really cool. And I think what sets the stage for me to also share vulnerably and even for them to be more receptive, but they'll say things like, oh, yeah, my mom didn't believe in me. And so I'm proving to her now I'm making this much, or things like that. And I just want to be like, oh, precious person, you're enough as you are. And what you're creating here is an overflow from your worth and your value. And then at the end of the day, again, back to Jesus. But being able to just speak life and encouragement is certainly something that really lights me up wonderful. Sue Donaldson [00:36:12]: So how could people find you? Robin McDonald [00:36:15]: I am on all the social media platform. Actually, I'm not, I'm not on TikTok, believe it or not, as as a millennial, I'm not on TikTok, but you can find me on Instagram or Facebook. I also do have my own podcast I just launched. It's called the Vision Driven Health Podcast. And so those are the three best places you can find me or hear more from me. Sue Donaldson [00:36:33]: Okay. And we'll put the links in show notes and you have a couple of resources. Would you explain them? And then we're going to offer them free to my listeners. Robin McDonald [00:36:41]: Perfect. So the first one is called the Five Day Sugar fast devotional. This one was a labor of love with me and my team. We get into what fasting is from a physical standpoint, what it is from a spiritual standpoint. And then we each wrote one of those or we took turns writing those different devotionals in there. And it guides you through a really cool process of fasting sugar and ultimately receiving more of God in your life and learning to partner with Him in your health, too. Something physical. So that's a great option. Second one. In the same vein, the Greens and Grace challenge. It is a five day experience where you will have access to five different recordings from myself on what it means to be vision driven, grace fueled, and then some very practical trainings on how to deal with sugar and blood sugar, how to form habits that last and break ones that aren't serving you, and those different topics. So that and it also has recipes. Both of these actually have recipes in there based on the topic of them. And lastly, for those of you who maybe are hearing all of this and say, I don't have time for any of this, I have the how to Prioritize Your Health Amidst the Chaos without Any Added Stress Master class. Sue Donaldson [00:38:01]: How long is that? Robin McDonald [00:38:02]: It's 2 hours. So, ironically, so it's something that you can break up over a few days or a week and kind of get little chunks of it as you go, but it also has a few different resources built into it, how to make a schedule. It's also got recipes. Quick, easy recipes. All of them. All my recipes that I give people, I try to make quick, easy, and tasty. Sue Donaldson [00:38:23]: I love that. Quick, easy, and tasty. Me too. I always give a gift to my podcast guests. My listeners don't know this, but I send you simple favorite recipes from sue, and you can just throw them all out when I send them to you. Robin McDonald [00:38:40]: So funny. Sue Donaldson [00:38:41]: You're going to say, oh, dear, she needs me. Robin McDonald [00:38:44]: I'm going to look at them. Sue Donaldson [00:38:46]: Thank you so much for being with us today, and you have been a delight, and God bless you. Until next time, think about your legacy, the one God has called you to live all for heaven's sake. I would love to speak at your next Christian Women's event, see my keynotes and retreat series as well as the show notes from today's broadcast@welcomeheart.com. Thanks for coming. You're always welcome here. You don't think so?

The gals are on their own as Producer Tyler is absent due to his Lake Minnetonka captain duties. Racquet Report: We finally won a match! Maya has a softball team reunion, which takes the ladies down softball memory lane. Amy's mom Marsh gets a coach fired, which in a strange turn, leads to a winning season. Everyone should have a great coach once in their life. Shout out to Coach Jackie! Amy shares a hilarious story from that season about a new haircut and a vandalized bike. Amy remembers her friend Lisa's very interesting softball glove. Hamburger Helper anyone? Amy reviews the Barbie movie. Hot tip fellas…Barbie is for men too. Approved/Denied: Do we really need more Willie Wonka movies? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-spirit-of-77/message

You can read Edwin Reinhold's article HERE.You can connect with David at www.davidoaks.net Instagram LinkedIn Thanks to Helen Miller Music for permission to use I Won't Let You Fall.

Turns out you can know a lot about wine and still be really nice! Marie Cheslik proves as much this week; she talks to Jesse about some surprising food and drink pairings, how her Midwestern roots influence her work as a sommelier, and her one recipe for Hamburger Helper (As Inspired by Priya Krishna). Marie Cheslik is a wine educator, sommelier, and Founder of Slik Wines. You can learn more about her and her wine education courses at slikwines.com If you like our show, don't forget to hit like and subscribe and leave us a review! Help support The One Recipe, and shows from APM Studios that bring people together, with a donation of any amount today.  

In Episode 6 of the Back Nine Six Pack, Justin and Mitch get you ready for a major week and discuss:A tale of two weekendsJustin's US Open qualifier round at Coldstream Country Club… the under did NOT hitThe top things they're looking forward to watching at the PGA Championship and some of their rooting interestsThey close out the show with their Patio Beers segment, where they ask each other a random question without a heads up.Follow the Back Nine Six Pack on social:Twitter | @back9sixpackInstagram | @back9sixpackAll inquiries: back9sixpack@gmail.com

The cast is back and talking about being able to hold out on intercouse, strange stories by Velvet and updates on the podcast. The time has come let's get jiggy.

*listen to part 1 first* That diet plan gave you very specific foods and said, "go. eat." buuuuut it totally ignored the fact that you have other people to feed!   The separate mom meal can be exhausting, plus your kids just have some family favorites like, dun dun dunnnnnn: Hamburger Helper!   If you don't eat Hamburger Helper, insert any prepackaged meal helper.   We're going to look at what's actually wrong with this type of meal plus give you 3 real-life tips for changing it up without the headache!   //////////////////   Looking for a breakthrough on your weight loss journey? Schedule your FREE Baby Weight Breakthrough Session right here: https://bit.ly/babyweightbreakthrough   Let's connect over on Instagram @‌babyweight.nutritionist

That diet plan gave you very specific foods and said, "go. eat." buuuuut it totally ignored the fact that you have other people to feed!   The separate mom meal can be exhausting, plus your kids just have some family favorites like, dun dun dunnnnnn: Hamburger Helper!   If you don't eat Hamburger Helper, insert any prepackaged meal helper.   We're going to look at what's actually wrong with this type of meal plus give you 3 real-life tips for changing it up without the headache!   //////////////////   Looking for a breakthrough on your weight loss journey? Schedule your FREE Baby Weight Breakthrough Session right here: https://bit.ly/babyweightbreakthrough   Let's connect over on Instagram @‌babyweight.nutritionist

We discuss the weirdest places someone's taken you for a date, cartoon brand mascots that are hot, and all the politicians wanting to quote Taylor Swift lyrics at the Ticketmaster hearing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do ramen, video games, and fan-fiction have in common? They're all things you couldn't survive without! Plus - How do you eat Hamburger Helper out of a Thermos? And Are Rhett and Link too old for video games? On this episode, Rhett and Link react to your voicemail responses to "I could not have survived my teenage years without ______.” and talk about how their needs have changed over the years. Want to hear your voice on Ear Biscuits? Call 1-888-EAR-POD1 and we might just play your call on an upcoming episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices