Wellness Isn't Complicated - We Just Forgot the Recipe | Lynn De Witte

Wellness didn’t used to feel like homework. It used to look like a garden out back, a pot simmering on the stove, and neighbors who actually knew each other. I’m joined by Lynn De Witte, creator of Le Petit Jardin, to talk about what we’ve lost in modern life and how to get it back without turning “slow living” into another performance.

Lynn shares stories rooted in her family and in her husband Chris’s upbringing in a small Belgian village, including the unforgettable cherry tree ritual where their grandfather made the boys whistle while harvesting so they wouldn’t eat the fruit on the way home. We use that simple moment to unpack big themes: seasonal eating, farm-to-table as a way of life, and why patience and care create the kind of wellness you can feel. We also explore the contrast between city speed and village presence, and why connection, not convenience, is often the missing ingredient.

We go practical too. If you want to simplify your health routine, we offer a few grounded starting points: cook one meal from scratch with local ingredients, plant something small like a pot of herbs, and have one real conversation without multitasking or an agenda. These aren’t hacks. They’re rituals that build a calmer rhythm, stronger community, and a more sustainable relationship with food.

If this conversation brings up your own food memories or makes you want to rebuild a slower lifestyle, subscribe to Behind the Bluff, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one small ritual you’re bringing back this week?

Transcript

Welcome And A Simpler Wellness

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Are you ready to live an active lifestyle? Welcome to Behind the Bluff, where we believe every moment of your life is an opportunity to pursue wellness on your terms. I'm your host, Jeff Ford, and I've been thinking a lot about what we call wellness today. It's not new. Eating seasonally, slowing down, cooking simple meals, growing your own food. Not that long ago, this wasn't a trend. It was just the way life was lived. Today, we're welcoming back Lynn DeWitt, the creator of Le Petite Jardin. And our conversation is going to be a different one today. Last time, we talked about how she built a beautiful, thriving garden right in her own backyard here at Palmetto Bluff. But today, we're going deeper into the wisdom behind it. From her husband Chris's upbringing in a small Belgian village to the stories of grandparents, cherry trees, and kitchens filled with intention. This conversation is really about something we've lost and how we can get it back. Not in a complicated way, but in a simple human way. If you've ever felt like life is moving too fast or that wellness feels more overwhelming than helpful, this episode is for you. Lynn, welcome back to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Thank you, Jeff, for welcoming me back. It's such a pleasure.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Always a pleasure. I I reflect back on our initial conversation, episode 63. And I'm just so grateful that we're able to do this again.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

And before we dive in, thank you so much for the 18-hour uh prep bread that you were able to create for me today. You always you always bring me a nice gift prior to the episode.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

I'm a guest. You always have to bring a gift, right? Um, I do hope you enjoy it. It's uh fresh rosemary from the garden, and um, we created today an artisan bowl for you. A bowl is actually French for ball. Um, so it's the shape of the bread, essentially. And it has some maldon sea salt on top. So I think you and Lindsay are gonna enjoy that this evening. I hope.

The Old Rhythm Of Community

SPEAKER_02 2:31

I know Lindsay is a big bread fan, and I can see the sea salt shining at me. So I'm very excited about it. Uh, but now on to our main conversation, Lynn. I want to allow you to paint a picture of your past. When you think about the way your grandparents or Chris's grandparents, your husband Chris, lived. What feels most different from how we live today?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yes. Uh what feels most different is the rhythm of life. There was a natural slowness, not forced, not intentional in the way that we speak about slow living today, but simply how life unfolded. Uh time wasn't something to chase or optimize, it was something to move with. Uh, meals were shaped by the seasons, not by convenience. Food came from the garden, from nearby farms, or from a neighbor down the road. And perhaps most importantly, life was deeply rooted in community. Um, people relied on one another in a very real way. There was a quiet interdependence. If you had a garden and your neighbor had chickens, let's say uh you you shared, you traded jam for eggs and you supported one another. Uh today we have more access, more convenience, but in many ways, less connection. And I think that's what feels most different, not just how we live, but how we belong.

SPEAKER_02 4:11

Yeah. Back then we would travel next door to get some of the needs to feed ourselves and live with one another a little bit more than hopping in our cars, headed down to publics.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Yeah. Yeah. You depended on one another. It was actually essential in a sense.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Yeah. Food, food really brings community together. And then by making your own food, it's a it's a whole different uh paradigm.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

That's right. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

Now, can you share the cherry tree story and what that memory represents to you?

Cherries Jam And Playful Discipline

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Oh, the cherry tree story. It's one of my favorite stories from Chris's childhood. Um, he grew up in a very small village in Belgium. And when he was young, his mother would send him and his three brothers to their grandparents' home to pick cherries. Um, she would she would make jam with it. She would actually pickle it so that they could enjoy that lovely, fresh, vibrant cherry taste in the winter. And Belgium has very long winters. So um, but it reminded them that summer would return uh once again. And of course, as little boys, they couldn't resist eating them as they picked. They just couldn't. So their grandpa, and they would call him Boom Papa, um, would make them whistle while they were harvesting because uh you can't whistle and eat at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

It would help them avoid uh taking the taking the cherries to their mouths and getting a tummy ache on the way back home.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Um, but it was such a simple, charming story, but it carries so much meaning because it speaks to a time when food was valued, when harvesting required effort and care, and when even discipline was delivered with a sense of playfulness and love. Um, but more than that, it represents how memories were created uh in gardens, under trees, in an orchard, guided by grandparents. Yeah. Um, those moments weren't rushed and they weren't curated. They were simply lived. And that's when the deepest lessons were passed down.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

It was a part of life to pick things and prepare for winter.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

And to do that with your brothers and guided by your grandparents. I can I can feel how much that means in in Chris's heart, just the way you describe it.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Yes, it was it's so beautiful. And and there was just such a um simplicity. Um, but at the same time, when you when you remember your childhood memories, um there's such warmth to that.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Yeah, and you know remembering you you just triggered a memory for me because in preparation for today, you know, I was like, Lynn, I I don't have a rich history of spending time on a farm or you know, picking my own food necessarily. But I do remember in our home, our second home up in New Hampshire, um, very far up, close to North Conway, there are wild blueberries. And my brother and I would go out and pick the wild blueberries. There's none anymore today. It's been very developed in the lake community where my my parents still reside. But we would go pick those wild blueberries, we'd bring them in and we'd make pancakes.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

And they were the most delicious categories.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Yeah, and a lot smaller than you traditionally see. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

But the flavor must have been out of this world. Uh just indescribable.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Yeah. Well, thank you so much for triggering that memory for me. I love that story. Channeling Chris's story with the cherry tree. Now, let's contrast this a bit more between then and now. I think both you and I, we we share this nostalgia for keeping life simple and keeping life connected and rooted. And that's that's not really where we're where we are today. And you've lived on both sides, uh a city upbringing and being immersed in Chris's village roots. What did you learn from that contrast?

SPEAKER_01 8:35

I grew up very much a city girl. So I'm I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. And I think when you live in the city, everything is about what's next, even though Miami wasn't nearly as populated as it is today. But in contrast for Chris, a village life was about presence, about what's there in the moment. Uh, and an interesting fact, and just to put things in perspective, um, my father-in-law gave our eldest son a uh family tree dating back to the 15th century, which is mind-blowing, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Um, same village, generation after generation of families living in the same exact spot. Chris's meals were embedded in tradition and legacy. And to give you an idea regarding size and population, you could fit Chris's village probably about 50 times within Palmetto Buff. Um, but what's interesting about my story is that although I was raised in a much different setting, there was always a sense of community in my life through my Cuban roots. Um, it lived within our family, my parents, my grandparents, my cousins, and there was always this closeness. And I believe that shaped me just as much as anything else. However, when I experienced Chris's village life, it felt familiar in a different way. As if that sense of connection simply extended beyond the home and into the entire community, and that contrast really stayed with me. So it taught me that simplicity uh isn't about having less, it's about needing less.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Lynn, uh what did you notice about the way food, time, and daily life, like the approach in the village setting?

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Right. I think everything felt more intentional. Food wasn't overcomplicated, it was simple, seasonal, and deeply nourishing. Time wasn't something to manage, it was something to respect. And daily life had a rhythm that felt almost uh sacred in its repetition. There was no urgency to improve or optimize every single moment.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

That kind of that need for efficiency that you might have experienced in Miami, like get things done. Yeah. Kind of the word I avoid using that so many people use is is busy.

SPEAKER_03 11:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

And I I try to regroup and say occupied. Yes. Because when we're occupied doing things that are meaningful and impactful, it's a it's a different experience. But yeah, I I can understand the village life not being so stringent to time and let's get things done like like we live today.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yeah, yeah. There was it was just that there was this calm within that rhythm. People worked hard. I mean, don't get me wrong. I mean, we people worked hard. His grandparents went through World War I, World War II. Um, so they were very hard workers, but at the same time, I think that that just made them um more aware of what they had and making sure that they used every last bit of everything, that nothing was wasted.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

Deeper sense of appreciation for the food that we have.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Correct. Yeah. Um so yeah, and that slowness didn't mean if inefficiency, as I said, it just meant presence.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Presence in every moment versus urgency, which is can be a common thing in this world today. That's right. Now, today we talk a lot about wellness, slow living. We've stumbled into it and and this whole concept of farm to table. But back then it was just a way of life the way you've described it so far. What do you think has made us overcomplicate it so much?

SPEAKER_01 12:58

We've turned wellness into something external, something we chase, uh, something we purchase, something we try to perfect. But in truth, wellness was never meant to be complicated, actually. It was always found in the simplest things: fresh food, time spent outdoors, movement through daily life, connection with others. We've layered so much onto it, right? Rules and trends, so many products that we've lost a little bit of sight of how intuitive it was it once was.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Yeah. Our bodies used to know a little bit easier without the noise. And I think one thing that's held true through your comparison between city life and village life is human connection. Even though it was busy uh or Miami, it was a little more go, go, go, there was still that element of family tradition and human connection. And that's at the heart of wellness, which we don't talk about enough.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Interesting, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Because we're so focused on like our bodies, right? And the physicality of it all. But when you talk about that, it's so important because there's a spiritual part to it.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

For sure. For sure. Now, why do you think so many people are trying to get back to a slower way of life, this this way of living that you've been describing today? Because I do feel like people are are trying to slow down now. We're recognizing this. So, what's your take on that?

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Well, I think deep down we remember even if we didn't live it ourselves, there's something in us that recognizes it, that longs for it. In a world that feels increasingly fast and overwhelming, as you mentioned, people are craving something real and something grounding. And that way of life rooted in nature, simplicity, and connection, I believe offers exactly that.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yeah. Yeah, right on.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

It feels like coming home.

Garden Patience Meets Kitchen Care

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Yeah, we're that we're deciding to get back to home and what it used to look like. That's right. Now, the garden and kitchen have a deep connection. I mean, we explored this in a very detailed level in our initial time together. How has building Le Petite Jardin changed your relationship with food, gotten you closer to this level of patience and making sure that time slows down?

SPEAKER_01 15:40

So Le Petite Jardin has definitely taught me patience in the most beautiful way. Uh, and is an expression truly of everything that we've been sharing in our conversation thus far. It's not it's just not about growing food, it's about creating a space where we can reconnect with nature, with each other, and with friends, neighbors, and family. Everything begins in the garden and that patient carries into the kitchen. I just explained how I made that bread and how long it took me to make the bread, right? Um you begin to appreciate the process, not just the outcome.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Now, were you always this patient with the process? How did that evolve for you?

SPEAKER_01 16:30

I think I think I've always been a patient person. I think living in Palmetto Bluff has really helped because, in a city setting, it's just more fast-paced. And I just don't even know how to describe it. When I'm driving back to Miami, as soon as I hit like, well, for those of you who know Florida, 45 minutes out of the center of the city, let's just say, my grip on my steering wheel feels different. My heart starts beating a little bit quicker because I'm I'm immersed back into that rhythm. And that's not to say that it's a bad rhythm, it's just it's just the way it is. But living in Palmetopla has changed that in a positive way, where I've been able to just really um learn how to be just more patient and and recognize it.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Yeah. I bet many people listening today can relate to that, just the tension on the grip in a different environment, the feeling that you get in, you know, this environment versus that one, and creating spaces in our world in our lives that can kind of hit that button for us is a huge opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Um and boy, does it make you appreciate where we live.

Why Kitchens Held Our Stories

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. I appreciate every day where the opportunity to work in this incredible environment. What do you think kitchens used to represent that we may have lost in modern life?

SPEAKER_01 18:11

It they used to be the heart of the home. Um not just a place to cook, but a place to gather, to share stories, to pass down knowledge. There was no Google, no endless search for answers. Our parents, our grandparents, our teachers, they were our source of knowledge. And in essence, the dinner table became the classroom. You learn by watching, by listening, by participating. And I remember standing beside my grandma, who I called Mima, as she cooked her rice pudding. There were no recipes, no measurements, just instinct. So she would say, hand me a pinch of salt, you know, a handful of sugar. Um, but it came the result was always perfect. It tasted brilliantly. And she would tell stories as she cooked about her childhood, about where the dishes she created came from. So I that's what we've lost a little bit. I think not just the meals themselves, but the meaning behind them. When we gather consistently and with intention, we're just not nourish nourishing the body, we're shaping memory, identity, and connection.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

Yeah, what an important angle that being in a in a kitchen can be very intentional beyond what you're making for dinner that night, with the example of your grandmother sharing where the recipe came from. And for me, uh I would say that my family parents cooked quite a bit, but my uncle has always been kind of the tradition guy. He would have us over for major holidays and everything was from scratch. And uh he was actually my mom's family is French descent, and he would always, I I still don't like these, but he would cook meat pies on Christmas as sort of like a Canadian French type tradition. And I was um always a little resistant as a younger boy to try new things and eat different things, but you could every holiday you can feel and see the passion that he has for cooking for people and then cooking for us in the kitchen. It was kind of like an experience, right? Like we would see him operating, and and he was always interested in telling us about the meal and where it came from. So there was more to it than the food.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

And don't you appreciate that more now as you get older?

SPEAKER_02 20:56

Yeah, it it through this conversation today, it inspires me to ask more questions to my family while they're here and to get these memories and to get these roots so that you know we can have the same level of intention with my daughter and and our families moving forward. That's are are your boys interested in how you go about things in the kitchen and the garden?

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Well, that was you know, that's what they grew up with, you know, was always the kitchen and always preparing meals. I mean, I can't think, you know, I think that they would agree because it, you know, there was so much love put into everything and still do. I mean, they're they're they're men now, but when they come home, there is just like I see almost like this childhood innocence when I make like their favorite dish or dessert, you know, that they just get so excited to have it because they're smelling it and they know what's coming. Um, and that's it's it's a beautiful connection.

Two Small Habits To Start

SPEAKER_02 21:55

Yeah. Yeah. The heart of the home is the kitchen, and when our families are Are back in it, you see those eyes light up in a in a different way than you would in in other experiences. That's right. Man, well, a great theme here. Garden is patience, kitchen is intention, and both create presence and connection. We're at that time where I love getting tactical. Let's let's help everyone out there create progress in their lives through the through just a simple way of shifting their world a little bit to get more connected to how we used to live. So if someone's listening and wants to begin reconnecting with this way of living this week, what are one or two simple things they can do right away?

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Let's try to bring that beautiful presence back by starting small. Cook one meal from scratch using simple seasonal local ingredients and share it. Um, taking the time to sit, to listen, to be present, because that's where it all begins. And of course, you know I'm going to encourage planting something. I gotta throw that in there, right? So even if it's just a small pot of herbs, and as you do it, truly, and we've mentioned this already, but enjoy the process. Um the patience and the fact that you're an integral part of something quite magical, actually. Because that's where the shift begins.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

How can someone keep this from becoming just another short-term phase and and actually turn this into a lasting lifestyle?

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Ah, that's that's that's the ultimate goal, isn't it? For all of us, right? Um, I think just by letting go of perfection. This way of living isn't about doing everything. It's about doing something consistently. So it's in that repetition, tending a plant, preparing a meal, returning to those small rituals again and again. And over time, they start, they stop feeling like tasks and they start becoming part of who you are.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

The identity shift there.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Yeah, we can be so task focused that that's not what this is about.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

No.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

This is about being consistent with something small that gets you into that place of connection and presence with how you're preparing food and and how you're growing food.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

It's quite simple, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Yeah. I I feel like that's a theme with with our segue on wellness and how it doesn't have to be as complicated as we're making it to get this same level of of feeling that we've described.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

And let's remember that the most important part of this is that it brings you joy. Because if something brings you joy, then it's easy to do over and over again. Um so I think that's something important to mention as well.

Keeping It Real Without Perfection

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Yeah, that's right, Lynn. You're speaking to my heart. And I know uh helping everyone take a step back and and acknowledge uh that fact. So when you have a lot going on with La Pete Petit Jardin and there's some upcoming events, uh, I'd love for you to share uh right now what what's what's on the horizon. I know you've got some PB EDU stuff. Um, go ahead and let everybody in on what you have going on.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

I'm so excited. I'm so excited uh what's coming. I mean, it's spring, and so I've just been waiting for this moment all winter, right? When spring comes along and we can really start focusing on what we're growing and most importantly, you know, sharing it um with this beautiful community. Uh on Thursday, May 14th, we'll be hosting PBEDU, as you mentioned. Once again, we're going to explore a wonderful theme, healing foods from the garden. It's going to be interesting, interactive, and so much fun. So much fun. So I hope I hope we have a lot of um folks joining us for that. Um, and then the same spirit continues into our spring event taking place on Saturday, May 16th, as well as Sunday, May 17th. It's going to be a little different this year, more personal, more intimate. We'll be opening pre-orders online at www.lepetitanepb.com starting May 1st. So everything prepared in small batches with guests picking up their orders in the garden. So less of an event, maybe more of an experience, a moment to slow down, step into the garden, connect with nature, and most importantly with each other.

SPEAKER_02 27:09

Nice. Yeah. Anytime you can step into Lynn's garden. Oh, it's always open. It's a great experience. It's always open.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

It's always open.

Events At Le Petit Jardin

SPEAKER_02 27:17

Well, Lynn, I've enjoyed our time together once again. Different final question this time. Sure. What's one lesson from the garden or the kitchen that you hope never gets lost?

SPEAKER_01 27:33

I don't think we need to recreate our grandparents' lives exactly, just going back to the beginning of our episode here. Because that would be impossible. But what we can absolutely reintroduce is the essence of how they lived. And to me, that begins with those small intentional acts within a community. So in a place like Palmetto Bluff, we already have something so special. We have nature, we have beauty, and a sense of closeness. It's the perfect setting to gently bring those rhythms back. And it can start very simply, as we discussed. It's sharing what you grow, even if it's just a handful of herbs or lemons from your garden. It's exchanging something homemade, a loaf of bread like we have today here, a jar of preserved with a neighbor, or if a friend isn't feeling well, a bowl of homemade soup. It's taking the time to walk, to stop, and to have a real conversation rather than, you know, sometimes we just have like a quick passing hello, and that's fine, but really to stop and have a conversation with a neighbor or a friend. Our grandparents lived in a world where community wasn't optional. It was essential. And while we don't rely on one another in the same way for survival today as they did, I think we still deeply need that connection for something else, for belonging. And we can also bring it back through gathering. Um, simple gatherings, not elaborate events, but moments. Um, and that's something I try to create through Le Petit Jardin, and not just products, but experiences where people can slow down, reconnect, and feel a sense of warmth and presence within that setting. So I think the most important piece is this. We don't need to do more. I believe we just need to do things more meaningfully, to cook with intention, uh, to grow something, even if it's small, to really know our neighbors and to share what we have. Because that's what our grandparents understood so well. That a beautiful life isn't built on abundance or perfection, it's built on care, connection, simplicity, and most of all, love.

SPEAKER_02 30:13

Thank you, Lynn.

SPEAKER_01 30:14

You're welcome.

unknown 30:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:16

Powerful message. And uh, I'm looking forward to us thinking about our next topic.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I'm excited already.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Yeah, you guys do such a nice job. And I know this is gonna be an impactful message today for everyone that triggers their their memories with their grandparents and allows uh those who took the time to tune in to take action on that next step to move forward in a way where we have that patience around food again and we create that community, not just in our kitchen, but as you describe with our neighbors.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

That's what's most important. Yeah. I know.

A Weekly Challenge For Connection

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Well, that brings us to the end of this week's episode, everyone. Feel free to hang out with me for a few more minutes and get some healthy momentum for the rest of your week. We're remembering something old. There's a rhythm to life that our grandparents understood, not because they read about it or optimized it, but because they lived it. Meals weren't rushed, conversations weren't squeezed in between notifications, time wasn't something to conquer. It was something to move with. And I think that's the first piece of momentum for all of us this week. What if we intentionally reintroduced just one lesson from the past? Not everything, not a complete lifestyle overhaul, like some of you are thinking, but just one thing. Maybe it's cooking a simple meal and actually sitting down to enjoy it. Maybe it's stepping outside, putting your hands in the dirt even for a few minutes. Or maybe it's even simpler than that. Maybe it's stopping. Because the second thing that really came through for me today is connection, real connection, the kind that isn't scheduled or surface level. Our grandparents lived in a world where community wasn't optional, as Lynn said. It was essential. You knew your neighbors, you relied on people, you had conversations that didn't have an agenda. And I'm guilty of this because I have a big agenda, especially right now in preparation for our transition to the Pomitable Bluff Club Fitness Center. But checking that agenda and making sure that you're not leading with an agenda with every single conversation is important. So here's a challenge this week. Have one real conversation. Not in passing, not while multitasking. Stop. Look someone in the eye, ask a question, and actually stay long enough to hear the answer. Because that's where meaning lives. And that brings me to the last piece, maybe the most important one for today. We've overcomplicated life. We've turned wellness into something you have to earn, track, measure, and perfect. When in reality, so much of it already exists in a way of living we recognize. And honestly, a way of living that we long for. Slower, simpler, more present, more real. How good does that sound? So instead of adding more this week, what if you remove something? A layer of noise, a bit of urgency, a need to optimize every little thing, and in that space, just live a little more meaningfully. Because momentum doesn't always come from doing more. Sometimes it comes from returning to what matters. That's a wrap on this week's episode. I appreciate you taking the time to join the conversation this week, and remember to actively participate in life on your terms.