Finding the Balance for Innovative, Delicious and Healthy Meals With Health Chef Julia Chebotar
Doug Lotz 00:03
Hey everyone! This is Doug Lotz, active lifestyle enthusiastic armchair futurist and founder of CardioCast an audio guided fitness app where we help people get fit and stay fit by making studio quality fitness classes more accessible and affordable than ever, in delivering the best music and coaching possible. Anytime, anywhere. You’re listening to the CardioCast CoolDown Podcast, where we explore topics, the intersection of health, fitness and personal wellness, you’re ready? Let’s go. Welcome to the CardioCast CoolDown podcast where we explore topics of the intersection between health, fitness and personal wellness.Today we’ll be talking with Health Chef Julia Chebotar, Julia is a New York City based chef with a passion for creating recipes and food solutions founded on healthy, sustainable and supportive, fun and enjoyable lifestyle. Thanks for joining us, Julia. It’s great to have you here.
Julia Chebotar 00:55
Thanks so much for having me. I’m excited.
Doug Lotz 00:57
So I always like to start with why. And so I kind of wanted to dive right in and just why being a chef for you what what got you into this what keeps you going? And tell us a little bit about your background and, you know, cooking and being a chef.
Julia Chebotar 01:14
Yeah. So it’s actually a funny story. I grew up in Philly, I went to college in Philly, and I graduated. And I was like, I don’t know what I would do with my life. I think my degree was in a bullshit with a minor in some more bullshit it was. So at the time my mom and my stepdad were owned a restaurant in East Village. And my stepdad had owned it since, I guess 2000. And at this point, it was like 2012 2013. And he opened it in 2000 because his mom was diagnosed with lymphoma. In 1994. They first came to America from Ukraine, and he was already a practicing psychologist. And he quit his practice and moved her to the Berkshire’s to the Kushi Institute, which is like a macrobiotic vegan, like hippie den. And they lived there for three months, went fully macro fully vegan, all of the things and she went into remission after having like stage four cancer. And the whole, like my stepdads whole side of the family went vegan for a while, at least for a few years until she had passed. And when she passed, he opened the restaurant in her memory, the restaurant is still there, even through this pandemic, my parents were still running it. And in college, I took over and became a partner and decided to run it alongside them. And I did that for about six years until I couldn’t do it anymore. And I gave myself shingles from all the stress. Working with Russian parents is really hard. Like you really have to have a very, very thick skin. Because I feel like working with parents, they just tell you exactly how it is at all times. And
Doug Lotz 02:55
oh yeah. stream of consciousness sometimes, too. It’s like,
Julia Chebotar 03:00
Yeah, exactly. And everything is like the end of the world. You know, like the everyday something is, everyone is dying, the blowing up. It’s always like some sort of fiasco. Um, and I went on Instagram, and I found this like women’s networking group, and it was six to B society,
Doug Lotz 03:15
friends of ours who are familiar with them. Yeah.
Julia Chebotar 03:18
And I contacted Emily. And I was like, I don’t know what to do with my life. But can I come to an event? That’s
Doug Lotz 03:24
Emily Merrill for those listening, founder, Six Degrees society.
Julia Chebotar 03:28
And she was like, why don’t you try this? Why don’t you try this. She got me a job at like a shady app for a little bit. And then she was like, You know what, I’m having a retreat. And I need a chef, would you be interested? And at the time, like, I’d been running the restaurant, so Front of House, back of house, all of the menus, all of the cooking, like, everything was me. And I was like, yeah, of course, I’ll put the chef at this retreat, like, but I’m not going to pay you. And I’m like, Okay, cool. Said, but you can like participate in the workshop. So that kind of like figure out where you want to go in your life. Perfect. A week later, I finished my resume. And my first con client was Ryan Seacrest from like, a friend of a friend who had a travel agency was like, give me your resume. And I was like, okay, like, Emily, look this over real quick. Does this sound legit? And she’s like, Yes, great. So it’s only it’s like progress since then. And I’m very fortunate. And actually, I know, I only actually went to culinary school, though. So I live in the process of the shady app. And in between the shady app, and the chef retreat,
Doug Lotz 04:29
I really hope nobody describes my app is shady app, by the way.
Julia Chebotar 04:33
Never, never, this is legit, a shady app. But in between I went to nutrition school. And then once I already started getting clients, my parents were like, you know, why don’t you’ll feel more confident. Why don’t you go back to like a culinary program. One that’s kind of like health supportive. Your clients will be super happy. You’ll learn so many new things and you’ll feel more confident in what you’re doing and be able to ask for more money. Is it okay not a bad idea. So Only like last note two years ago is actually when when I went to culinary school, like after I was getting all these clients and doing all these things. And then after that, let’s see circle back. So I’ve been doing my own private chef thing now for about three and a half, four years. And then last May I was on chopped, which is freaking
Doug Lotz 05:18
amazing. Congratulations.
Julia Chebotar 05:20
Thank you. And then in, in the pandemic, I was actually on another game show on kwibi. And it was called like eye candy. And the concept was you have to decide what in the room is cake, or real. So like, let’s say there’s a drill and you have to see if the drill is cake or, or drill. So like they bring you like this, like it was like a plant with a planter like a cactus. And it’s like, is this a plant? Or is this a cake? No. Is it? It’s a cake. Like are you sure it’s a cake and I’m like get cake. But okay when I have to bite it. Like get into this plant. Luckily, it was a chocolate cake.
Doug Lotz 05:57
frighteningly good look that real where they could like even pretend to dupe you.
Julia Chebotar 06:01
I know. So it’s a game. It’s a really popular show in Japan called security light, and they’re trying to bring it to the US. It gets better. So then the second thing down, it’s like conveyor belt with my partner is a bomb. And I’m like, it’s candy. It’s definitely candy. It’s not a real bomb. And my partner’s like, dude, that’s a phone. And I’m like, Yeah, I know. I partake in extra curricular activities like that. But that’s, that’s candy. And he’s like, Okay, fine. So like this time is my partner’s turn to bite into it. So he bites into it. And it just like shatters everywhere. And it’s candy.
Doug Lotz 06:34
That’s candy. All right, cool. I thought you’re gonna say, and it was class, and it was terrible. The show was canceled.
Julia Chebotar 06:42
So I won. And then it was on quippy.
Doug Lotz 06:45
So you’re just a game show winner. That should be like part of your like, subtitle and you’re like, you know, health chef and game show boss.
Julia Chebotar 06:53
But like, I was so bummed that the show was canceled because kwibi went out of business.
Doug Lotz 06:59
Yeah, so I was gonna put a pin in the whole chop thing. But since we’re there, I’ve heard like so whenever I talk to people who do TV stuff, it always seems like what they expected going in and what they got when they were there always seems to be like kind of different because I don’t know why. I mean, my theory is it’s like oh, that’s good TV because like, you know, you you throw people into a situation you get their natural reaction like you know, it’s gonna be like so how is that for you? You know, obviously you figured it out because you you kicked butt on but like, what was that? What was that experience? Like? Was it jarring was like what you expected? Was it like are your cooking shows different in some way? Maybe then like, you know, zany game shows?
Julia Chebotar 07:38
Definitely. I mean, you’re definitely on edge. You’re definitely times I was so close to the judges, I could hear them talking shit on me. But I think the most interesting was the dynamic between the other contestants like you know, one girl was just she was just a lot. The other guy was so nice and like just wanted to be hugged. And then the guy runner up for me every time we pass another round, he would start crying so definitely give him a hug. And I’m just sitting here like looking back and I’m like oh my god what do people think of me if I’m thinking this about that I just remember them being like you know be more peppy be more this and I remember like, in the in when my episode aired, especially, I looked at my friends and Mike Tyson. I always this mean looking like, Am I just constantly resting bitchface and like, Damn, I need like work on my presence. Because I seem miserable. The process of it all I knew I didn’t ever expected it to take all day. Like we showed up at 7am at some McDonald’s in Harlem.
Doug Lotz 08:41
Wherever you cooking show, you know, naturally starts,
Julia Chebotar 08:44
right? It’s like this secret meetup location was McDonald’s in Harlem. And then I was there until like, 9pm.
Doug Lotz 08:52
So is that like, I mean, obviously, uh, you can’t cook like, it takes so long to do something. But they got to like, says like, segmented them so that
Julia Chebotar 09:01
most of it is like the interview process and like stopping us and taking photos of each dish, like, that’s the thing that takes the longest. Well,
Doug Lotz 09:08
you don’t want to like leave raw food out on the counter. All day, right? Like, or do they? Just like,
Julia Chebotar 09:14
No, no, they kind of don’t. It’s kind of all in portions. And then they gave us like an hour break in between. But the longest part was just like the interview process. So tell us how you feel. What did you think about this? And it was already like nine hours later? And they’re like, what did you think when john came in and move the carrot? And I’m like, when did he move the carrot? Like I don’t remember
Doug Lotz 09:35
what’s out there for this. So it’s your burning question, though. What the heck happens to all the food that you cook on these shows?
Julia Chebotar 09:42
So you make three? No, you make four. I have no idea actually. But I know the you make four dishes of each thing, right? So like each each. Like I made for appetizers, there’s three judges and then one they use for photos. No idea where the food goes but all the judges have to basically eat cold food. So like, I’m shocked that they’re judging cold foods.
Doug Lotz 10:06
Yeah, I mean, you already one otherwise I would say like you can like try to hack it like somehow and like you know make food that tastes really good.
Julia Chebotar 10:16
Absolutely. I’m actually that gross human that likes takeout the next day more than that the first day.
Doug Lotz 10:23
Yeah, I was a cold pizza guy. I used to, you know, eat like cold like literally cold whatever. Chinese food Indian food like, whatever the heck is in the fridge? You know, it all kind of marinated overnight and like the flavors kind of set? Yeah. Yeah, it’s just I mean, it’s the same way we like soups or stews, or like any anything really, that has like a heavy kind of or like a sauce component that needs to like, soak into the medium that is there. But yeah, 100% but my, my dad is like, I don’t know if he’s just doesn’t, you know, he’s a germaphobe or whatever. But he was always like, you gotta you gotta heat that up. So it was something I definitely did on like, a Saturday. Like when nobody was like looking and I’d be like, I’m gonna eat this cold pizza. Dip the crust, the cold crust and ranch. It’s gonna be great. Nobody’s gonna judge me.
Julia Chebotar 11:12
I think it’s because they think that like you’re gonna have botulism on cold food or something. But there’s,
Doug Lotz 11:17
I don’t know, the weirdest thing I think ever a call is like, I have had a babysitter way back when he would take like, Wheat Thins and dip them in cold marinara sauce. Like, like, you know, like pasta sauce. And like, that was her thing. She was from like, the Midwest. She was out there like preparing or something. But like, I only knew her for like a hot second. But like, I was like, This is pretty good. I used to get so much shade from like, what are you doing? You’re gonna like is like, gonna get some sort of disease.
Julia Chebotar 11:44
And so I have Russian parents Russian family all around, right? My grandparents would be their grandparents that allow me to elios frozen pizza on Saturday mornings when I would sleep over there. But they would add something on top of eleos pizza, which is even nastier. What tastes so good. So on the frozen pizza itself, they put mayo and then and then they put it in the oven. I’m telling it sounds so gross. It was the best thing ever. And I have like every Saturday morning.
Doug Lotz 12:18
Yeah, I’m a bit of a Mayo like I’m definitely like my favorite condiment i think is now madness. Which is weird. The No It has nothing to do with Doug and Doug funny and Petey man is that is? That’s a common misconception.
Julia Chebotar 12:31
I think a lot of people think that Mayo is gross and kind of like lardy. Yeah, I don’t know, when they actually don’t know the ingredients. It’s like a vinegar mustard.
Doug Lotz 12:39
My girlfriend’s allergic to dairy. And she’s like, yeah, Mayo doesn’t have dairy in it. Like, there’s no dairy like, I don’t even think about that. Yeah, exactly. Like, you’re like, How the hell is this? Like, you know, white goopy liquid that looks to be completely made of milk sitting out here for so long. I so, you know, by all this, it sounds like, you know, maybe I am not one with a great history of cooking. And by that and you know, you’d be right.
Julia Chebotar 13:02
Hey, I’m not judging the width in a mariners situation. I’m kind of into it.
Doug Lotz 13:05
Yeah, you know, so. But But I have to say that the pandemic has changed my entire food approach, as I’m sure it has, for many people, you know, it started out Well, I was in a weird sort of pandemic lockdown thing I was already in Vermont living there because I’m kind of a digital nomad. And it had friends there as well, we kind of CO quarantine and just so happened that like, everybody was like, trying to compete is like the most epic chef ever, and like making bread and all this stuff. And I’m just like, I’m just gonna eat all this and it’s great. Like, then then everybody went their separate ways when they realized this was like a long haul thing. And, you know, I’m here like, now in Rhode Island, you know, my parents place because it’s just empty. And like, you know, why not, I got a kitchen to myself. And I have started, you know, just looking up recipes and giving it a shot. I’ve never done like, you know, I used to make a steak, a baked potato in the microwave. And like, you know, maybe take some frozen spinach because it was like gonna last longer and cook that. But now I’m sort of expanding. So, so all this to say, I am sure, you know, listeners out there and you know, other people, you know, sort of going through the same thing right now. And as a professional as somebody who, you know, can potentially be trusted to give us some tips. What What would you say? What are your top you know, tips for immediate skills to focus on first or like, whatever? What’s your general advice for somebody who is now cooking for the first time ever?
Julia Chebotar 14:31
So a few things. One is to get a knife that actually cuts like SAP. Yes, people need to stop buying those like weird ceramic knives at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s or like, you know, like your mom goes and gets a bunch of crap. And like it’s always in your drawers. Number one towards a sharp knife. And like it doesn’t have to be super expensive. Anywhere from like 25 to $75 will get you an amazing knife. You just need one and never put in the dishwasher and I think another important thing in the kitchen is spices like oh and good salt. People are always worried about over spicing or overseas and they’re not enough for all the things and I think you have the basics like salt, good salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cumin time, rosemary, and let’s say like curry, you can make anything from any region with those spices. And always having fresh onions fresh garlic in the house is important because they last forever, and they’re not going to go bad. And then when you reach level two chef status, I think that everybody needs to
Doug Lotz 15:37
level two chefs that are gone, but I’m gonna like go back there for a second
Julia Chebotar 15:42
level two step status is like when you’re like comfortable doing the basics. And you want to get like more pro
Doug Lotz 15:48
like like you’re going from what it basics or basics like like bachelor done, like, you know, pasta and like steak or is like basics, like, Hey, I can make a sauce, or like a soup or something.
Julia Chebotar 16:00
No, no, it’s like, level one is like I can make a steak and boil pasta and reheat some sauce level. It can make everything you can make fresh pasta dough, you can make bread dough, you can make sauces, soups, you could do anything like you actually, with a food processor, two cups of flour and some eggs, your fresh pasta dough. And then you can have your fresh pasta that you’ve now learned how to boil. It’s Yeah, level two is like, I’m fancy, but I’m not quite that fancy yet. But it seems like you’re fancy because you have one kitchen appliance that does everything.
Doug Lotz 16:34
Yeah, I was gonna ask like, Okay, so, you know, assuming some people are kind of like, you know, more by themselves than usual or just like a little, like, what meals would you make them be most impressive to your friends on Instagram. Because, you know, let’s face it, like, you know, there’s a whole lot of crappy Instagram food pictures out there. And like, you know, so that’s, that’s on the visual element. And then there’s the other flip side, which is like, if you actually like, say your home for the holidays, or like, you know, have that, you know, that that zoom date that’s finally progressed to like, you know, seeing them in person, like what would you make to impress them taste wise, or just in general ensemble, right. So you got got Instagram, and you got like your special someone or like impress your parents and show them what you learned?
Julia Chebotar 17:15
Well, there’s a trick, if you have a pot like a Dutch oven, or some sort of pot with a lid, making like a stew that you don’t have to do anything to is kind of easy and very, very impressive. She basically will throw in a nice like, brisket or like chunk or some sort of crazy beef situation. You brown and a little bit you add all your aromatics, which are like your spices, veggies, potatoes, wine, whatever kind of, it’s called spore. And all you have to do is put in the oven for three hours. And then you take it out and you played it and it just looks so beautiful. And you don’t have to like make it beautiful literally just like falls apart. You put it in like this bowl. Everyone will be impressed your zoom date your parents, everyone. Yeah. And also I think salad Mastering the Art of a good salad is hard.
Doug Lotz 18:06
That is so funny. I was literally gonna ask because like, you know, I’ve heard there’s like a secret way to like, make salads. And I’m just like, what, it’s not just lettuce and like some, you know, stuff that you put in a bowl and like, you know, what’s the deal?
Julia Chebotar 18:20
There is but there has to be like a ratio of like, sweet and savory, crunchy and soft.
Doug Lotz 18:25
I mean, just throw good cheese in it. And then it’s Yeah, it’ll be great.
Julia Chebotar 18:28
Yeah, or like, or like burrata. And then like, you need something crunchy. So some sort of like nut or seed. And like, it’s like a balanced game. Exactly. Or something like pickled, pickled red onions, or shallots or olives. Kind of give it that
Doug Lotz 18:41
been exploring shallots lately?
Julia Chebotar 18:45
Have you ever done the Alison Roman shallot pasta recipe?
Doug Lotz 18:49
I’m not I want to check that out.
Julia Chebotar 18:51
Yes. So it’s basically like 10 or 15 shallots, a slice thin and then slow roasted, and pasta. It’s so good. All right.
Doug Lotz 19:00
So as a you know, where do the, you know, where do you go for? Well, I guess this is like, you know, I was gonna say, Where do you go for inspiration, but, like, for your recipes that you’re putting together but then like, you know, I kind of want that relatable to the to the every person who is like, also okay, like, Yeah, I just like go online and all in Google nothing. You know, how do I mean green peppercorn sauce, boom, and then just like, you know, Okay, this one has 492, four and a half star reviews, whatever.
Julia Chebotar 19:26
Exactly. So I’m exactly the same way. Yeah, I literally cook for three families a week. So like, I got to like, switch things up and get creative. So Pinterest is a big one. Instagram is huge. And then I have like, my favorite. Do you have ever been to little Frankie’s or sauce? Or what’s the other restaurant called? Oh my god, it’s gonna bother me to figure it out. But it’s Frank, Christiana Rosano. I’m probably messing it up, but I’ll be on supper. So he has this Instagram account where I think he’s a DJ, but he’s also a chef and owns three restaurants and on his stories, He walks you through all of these recipes that’s like this ultimate New York hotel. It’s so ultimate, but it gets better. As he’s telling you these recipes. I know it gets better. As he’s telling you these recipes and walking you through step by step, he DJs it each so each, like Instagram story post has its own song to go with it. It’s so
Doug Lotz 20:21
good. That’s really cool. I’m, uh, yeah, obviously, you carry Casper big in the music here. So that seems like a cool,
Julia Chebotar 20:27
I get really into his stories and I’m like, Damn, if I had this much time on my hands, I would totally want to curate something like this. But I like that he’s cornered that market. And I really appreciate it.
Doug Lotz 20:37
You know, one thing I’ve found is, well, in my sort of early days here is that if something isn’t quite right, I just seem to want to add salt, sugar, or like, you know, or like fat in some way do it. But, you know, let’s, let’s bring it back on, on topic a little bit in that, you know, nutrition and health is like sort of a big part of, you know, obviously what you do and huge part of what we do. Do you have any thoughts on keeping things healthy in the kitchen? Like, you know, what are you looking for, you know, in a particular recipe or in like a meal plan or like when you’re cooking for somebody else? And they like, you know, they want something that’s going to be not going to be bad for you. Maybe it’s going to be tasty, but like, you know, how do you how do you go from like, hey, this food tastes good to you like, hey, this food tastes good. And it’s also good for me.
Julia Chebotar 21:23
Yeah. So that’s, that’s basically our struggle constantly. The struggle
Doug Lotz 21:29
is real.
Julia Chebotar 21:31
The struggle is real, but like I I’ve noticed how I start changing up for my clients is by adding so many greens and vegetables, like I really love having like a CSA or the farm box comes to me. My clients see these crazy vegetables. They’re like, what is this and I give it to them, like, Oh my god, this is amazing. I would have never thought to eat this or cook this or come up with this. And I think the way to like still have those tacos or those like the indulgent heavy foods is by subbing some of the fat for let’s say, I never cook with butter or ghee. I know it’s very healthy according to certain diets. I know that it’s very good for certain people, certain body types. It’s good for them. It works for them. For me, personally, I don’t like to taste. I think it’s too rich. I prefer cooking with like olive oil or sunflower oil or canola oil, depending
Doug Lotz 22:24
on I recently discovered avocado oil.
Julia Chebotar 22:26
Avocado oil is great. Really great for high heat. I love that too.
Doug Lotz 22:30
Yeah, exactly. Because I’m like trying to fry things and like, you know, hey, what does this whole smoke point thing? And like, you know,
Julia Chebotar 22:36
yeah, I actually saw I went to a very health supportive coder program. And they said, as long as you get good quality canola oil, the type of frying that you’re going to get with canola, you’ll just never get with another oil. I’ve made it work with sunflower and avocado,
Doug Lotz 22:52
I just keep getting this like totally hit up by the you know, the polyunsaturated fatty fatty acid like whatever like you know, don’t have canola oil. It’s bad for you thing like you know that that I’m just uh, you know, this is me and health stuff in general. It’s like you’re bombarded with all this information all the time.
Julia Chebotar 23:08
So many things and there’s so many like contradictory things that you don’t really know what to follow. So I think my my way of being healthy in my way of cooking for clients is everything in moderation. So last week, I put my clients on a three day cleanse, it was two juices a day and two large meals. each meal was a huge portion. It had really high, I guess, high fat carbs, like buckwheat and lots of lentils and lots of chickpeas and there was protein. There’s chicken, there was fish. There were state but they are used to me coming in preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I did this cleanse for them where they didn’t have breakfast and they had to have a juice. They were allowed to have lunch, but then they had to have a juice Two hours later, and then they had to have dinner before 6pm
Doug Lotz 23:54
Yeah, big intermittent fasting guy here. So that
Julia Chebotar 23:57
Okay, so like they were like, not excited about this at all.
Doug Lotz 24:01
I know people who would be you know, like, my, my girlfriend’s definitely trying to get me to eat more breakfast and I’m just like, but yeah, alright, so Same here. I I did not eat breakfast today. I had coffee.
Julia Chebotar 24:13
I think it’s true. Exactly. And I think everybody is different. Yeah, that’s true. But I showed up on Monday, and they’re like, Oh my god, Julia. We feel amazing. Like we cheated the last day on Sunday. But like, Oh my god, like he slept like babies. We all lost five pounds. But like, I was like,
Doug Lotz 24:31
I need this sounds great. I think the vege for me is like the veggies like the issue. I just like you know, I try but it tries I might like I still I just love me. Like,
Julia Chebotar 24:43
people say that but so what I’ve learned is that it takes 28 days to change your habit like flavor wise, like in your flavor sensation and palate. They said so in corners. We did this what I thought was really interesting. We took all this like cruciferous green batch so subtractive chaos broccoli, some cauliflower. And I think it was like snap peas or green beans, something like that. And we cook them two ways. So take garlic and olive oil and then blanch with salted water blanches like you submerge it into boiling water. And you take it out like a minute later and you put it into an ice bath, and the ice bath shocks the cooking process. And that’s how you get the like, super green beautiful broccoli or snap peas. So it still has
Doug Lotz 25:28
its to heat it up after that, like again. Yeah, okay. All right. So you’re not leaving in this ice thing for like, you know, ever?
Julia Chebotar 25:35
No, no, it’s just really quickly, you dunk it in dunk it out. But the whole point is that you’ve shocked the cooking. Exactly. So it still has all of its like important nutrients. And when we did that, and you tasted each one, you actually tasted like the sweetness and the flavor of each vegetable. And I think by doing a comparison once in a while, um, changes your palate and your taste structure and how you like or taste foods. And you can maybe by doing that, you’ll incorporate more veggie.
Doug Lotz 26:08
Yeah, work on it. I mean, it’s not that I don’t I always am, like, you know, very much like get to have a balanced meal go like, hey, if we’re not having sat and we’re not, you know, cooking a veggie throw a side salad on there something you know, and I’m big into kale, like, I love kale and spinach, like, regular roll iceberg was like, only good for me when it has bacon and blue cheese with it. You know, and it’s a good vehicle for that. But it’s pretty much like water. So but you know, I do also really like a strong romaine like some sort of like, or, I don’t know, there’s like, a few different greens that it’s, it’s, it’s a journey. I Well, as you know, this typical pandemic, I thought it was Tuesday. It was actually Wednesday. So, you know, I was like Taco Tuesday. I like crap taco Wednesday, but I mean, like, Moly tacos with the mole a was definitely out of a job. But it was good stuff. Like there’s this where I am this, it’s
Julia Chebotar 27:05
okay. I think it’s as long as you read the ingredient ingredients, and they’re decent.
Doug Lotz 27:09
Yeah, well, I’m always like, if I’m traveling, or if I’m trying to go somewhere, like, I’ll literally look at the distance of the whole foods. I’ve said this before. And like, you know that because I just don’t want to have to guess and I don’t have to read all the labels and everything. And like, you know, I’ve sort of been in the sort of fitness and health and wellness stuff for long enough now where I’ve just been absolutely like, you know, blasted with all of these, like, you know, don’t eat this don’t eat that when it comes to preservatives. And like, you know, I you know, I’m personally with the whole GMO thing. For instance, I’m just like, I like it’s at the molecular level, like I don’t see where like I get organics like pesticides and other things running like, you know, and like hormones that are going to be in your body and everything. So like, you know, but anyway, so I like to keep it simple that way. And I’m 100% like think it’s worth just spending a tiny bit extra to go to that, you know, better market.
Julia Chebotar 28:04
I agree. But I also think the same goes in a lot of things. Like I think everything in excess is bad. Everything in moderation is good. So I’m not saying like, yeah, you should avoid anything as GMOs, but like, once in a while, like, it’s, it’s okay.
Doug Lotz 28:19
Well, I mean, it sounds like your pro cheat day, or at least like,
Julia Chebotar 28:23
Oh, I’m major pro cheat day. I think everybody should be enjoying what they’re eating. I think that you should, food makes you happy. Food is a memory. So like, if there’s something that you really want, why don’t you just have it but don’t eat the whole thing?
Doug Lotz 28:37
Yeah, yeah, don’t eat, or don’t eat it all the time or don’t like, you know, let your you know. I mean, I guess that’s all thing. It’s like, it’s not gonna be special. If you’re like, picking out on all the time or like, it’s
Julia Chebotar 28:48
exactly. And then like, I think that like, have you seen the new posts that lizzo made recently? So Liz, Oh, God, you know, she’s always supporting like, Big Girls, like yourself, do a thing. And, um, she posted that she was on a juice cleanse, and social media went after her like you’re not body positive, you’re not supporting what you’re saying, like, how dare you go on a juice cleanse. And she posted this thing to say I wanted a juice cleanse. I’m still fat. I work out. I’m still fat. I eat a cheeseburger, I’m still fat. I am a like promoter of this, this and this. I’m still fat. So she was like everyone is different. And all I wanted to do was feed my body nutrients, and sunshine and happiness. And I did it and that doesn’t mean that I’m not who I am. Just because I wanted to nourish my body in a juice cleanse. And I just love that. Like even everybody sometimes does so many things in excess and there’s ones to reset. So I think it’s all okay. And I think that diet culture, and our media kind of triggers us in all sorts of ways that are unhealthy.
Doug Lotz 29:57
Yeah, no, totally. It’s It’s tricky, like, you know, I mentioned the intermittent fasting thing, like, I don’t know, there’s, it’s, it’s easy to get into these while with anything today, it’s like, it’s super easy to get into these like bubbles where people are either super pro something or super against something based on like, what they’re seeing because, you know, it’s that’s what they’re like the algorithm will feed you the things that you look at, and it’s just gonna be like you get into these these factions, these cliques, you know, and it seems to be pervasive throughout everything that we, you know, do and talk about and see, especially when we’re now like, so digital in the last year. So, yeah, it can be tricky. Oh, you know, yeah, I would, I would definitely, it’s for anybody listening who’s like trying to figure out, you know, the right plan for them, or whatever, I think, you know, I would just say you have to try something for a bit, listen to your body, you know, see how you feel, try to be a little mindful about it. I know, that’s like, you know, there’s a lot of competing thoughts out there, just like taking a second and be like, how am I today? Like, what do I actually feel like, when I do these things, or eat this way, and then go from there.
Julia Chebotar 31:08
Absolutely. And like, that’s the only thing you can do is listen to your body and know what like, nourishes it, what makes it feel better, What gives you the right amount of energy. So I had a client once that did a blood type diet, and he only ate according to his blood type. So I wanted to find out what my blood type was. And guess what you can’t unless you donate blood. So I, I donated some blood, I found that I was being negative. And I did like a 30 day thing, according to my blood type. And I noticed that the things that were on the list of my blood type can be where things are making me bloated stomach issues, bad skin, irritability, poor sleeping habits due to those things. So like, I now notice that if something that I’m eating has something on that list, and I’m like, do I want to take the risk? Like how badly do I want it?
Doug Lotz 31:58
So that’s interesting. So anecdotally, that that worked for you, or it’s at least, you know, positively correlated in some way.
Julia Chebotar 32:06
Exactly. It just made me more conscious of like things that make my body upset versus not,
Doug Lotz 32:11
I definitely suffer from probably some food sensitivities that I’m still haven’t really figured out. And it’s like a matter of time commitment, and like how much this is hurting you.
Julia Chebotar 32:23
Exactly. It’s like what’s the level of pain that you’re willing to take on. But I think that everybody has food intolerances and food issues. And I think that once you kind of figure out those, I feel like it might be a little easier to, you know, be more active, be more physical have more power behind the workout kind of thing is when you realize what you can and can’t eat and how it affects you.
Doug Lotz 32:49
Yeah, I’m thinking about that now. And like the amount of times I’ve like, had, like a Chinese takeout night that I was just, I felt super good. And then the next day, it’s like, it’s so obvious to me when I’m thinking about it, but it’s just like, in the moment, I’m just like, like, what would I you know, there probably isn’t. And this is a whole nother podcast conversation about like, you know, there’s probably more, you know, ways to get, you know, healthy meals that are quick and all that sort of thing, like, you know, there’s actually even cooking I found takes a lot less time than I thought I did. I mean, if you kind of know what you’re doing.
Julia Chebotar 33:21
It’s just like having the stuff. It’s the confidence is having the stuff and having the confidence really eliminates a long cooking process.
Doug Lotz 33:29
Yeah, I just wanted to sort of ask, you know, where can people find more information about you? And, you know, learn more and, you know, sort of connect with you read more about what you you know, what we were just talking about here?
Julia Chebotar 33:43
Well, thank you for having me on. But you can everyone can find me at health chef Julia on Instagram. My website is Health Chef Julia, my web, my email is Hello Chef Julia.
Doug Lotz 33:54
Google Health Check. Julie, I think you’ll find her. Cool. Yeah. No, that makes sense. That’s great. Yeah, and, and as you know, thank you so much for joining us. You know, I think nutrition is one of the so we’re all about, you know, the very sort of forefront of what we do a cardiac cast is all about the fitness experience. And, you know, like you were just saying a little earlier, like, what you eat does affect how you feel and and what you’re able to do from like, sort of a physical performance standpoint. Even like, what you think you can do from a physical standpoint, which, you know, that sort of mind, brain, you know, sort of body connection, everything is all Yeah, very much connected. So it’s great to talk to you about some of this stuff, and I’m definitely going to go back and think about my knife choices.
Julia Chebotar 34:45
Send me links I’ll approve. Also, do you work out in the mornings
Doug Lotz 34:50
So I’ve like I
Julia Chebotar 34:52
Was like, I worked out in the morning and I don’t have breakfast like I cannot Oh, yeah, no,
Doug Lotz 34:56
yeah, absolutely fasted cardio By the way, For those wondering It’s like a great thing for your body so and you know, you don’t have to be like it doesn’t even have to be you know first thing in the morning like but just having you know less going on in your digestive system when you’re working out is really good for you. Yet within reason don’t like I don’t want anybody like passing out on the side of the road now you think this? But yeah, now I feel much better when I work out in the morning, having, you know, just had some coffee and like water and everything so but that’s me. I mean, some people like cannot work out unless they’ve had Louise, you know? Yeah, me too. I’m still Yeah, I mean, I had some like soup for lunch. But like other than that, I’m like, still kind of like, you know, hello, locale for the day until the evening. So anyway, um, yeah. So for everybody out there listening. You can find us at the cardio cast dot app. Follow us on Instagram at CardioCast App. And, you know, follow the podcast. Give us a review. love to read them. Yeah, good, bad, indifferent. They’re all fun and they’re good to connect with you guys. So yeah, please leave us a note. And and thanks, everybody for listening. Have a healthy day. Hey, everyone. If you liked the CardioCast CoolDown, please don’t forget to leave us a review wherever you’re listening. You can also connect with us on Instagram at CardioCast App. And check out our website, CardioCast.app and check out our App on the App Store or Play Store. See you next week.
