Eating Well Made Simple: Clean Eating, Meal Prep & Real Food Healing

Can what you eat really lower blood pressure, calm inflammation, and change your health story?

For Jess, Into the Woods Wellness Culinary Specialist, the answer is yes. In this episode, Jess opens up to Jenny and Kaitlyn about her own healing journey—years of worsening symptoms, mounting prescriptions, vertigo, and passing-out episodes—and how the Into the Woods Personalized Wellness Program helped her get to the root cause, lower her blood pressure, and reduce her medication.

We explore Jess's passion for whole-food, nutrient-dense, minimally processed meals, and how she creates menus designed to reduce inflammation and fuel real wellbeing. We also tackle the real-world barriers that hold people back from eating well—time, cooking skills, convenience, and the perception that healthy food is expensive—plus simple, sustainable strategies to overcome them.

And we share what's next: how the Into the Woods meal prep service (Wellness That Moves) and our upcoming Woodie healthy food truck are bringing functional nutrition, clean eating, and root-cause wellness directly to the Fond du Lac community.

Whether you're navigating chronic symptoms, recovering from diet culture, or simply looking for an easier path to nourishing your family—this conversation is for you.

00:00 Meet Jess

00:28 This or That

04:26 Why Nutrition Matters

06:15 Culinary Wellness Role

07:49 Jess Health Turnaround

13:22 Meal Prep Barriers

22:27 Clean Eating Basics

24:35 Global Flavors and Sauces

25:28 Quick Cucumber Chicken Prep

26:31 Simple Cooking Mindset

27:22 Meal Prep Program Explained

29:48 Breakfast Beyond Breakfast Foods

31:17 Diet Needs and Allergies

32:51 Favorite Meals and Next Bowl

34:33 Menu Inspiration and Purpose

36:57 Recipes and Future Plans

37:32 Woodie Food Truck Vision

44:07 Habits Over Perfection

46:09 Mindful Eating and Slow Down

47:30 Closing Thanks and Wrap

For more wellness pathway support:

🌲 Visit www.intothewoodsjourney.com
 📞 Call 920-904-8128
 📍 1424 Lynn Ave, Fond du Lac, WI
 ✉️ info@intothewoodsjourney.com

Follow us on social media @intothewoodswellnessfdl for daily inspiration, wellness tips, and community stories.

Transcript

Jenny 0:00

We've talked about food as medicine. We've also talked about nutritionists and diet culture. Today we're getting practical, sitting down with Jess, the Into the Woods culinary wellness specialist. We discuss what clean eating actually looks like day to day and how to go from knowing what your body needs to actually doing it consistently without it becoming another source of stress.

Kaitlyn (KK) 0:24

Welcome to Rooted in Rising, a podcast by Into the Woods Wellness. I'm Caitlin Keneally, coming to you from our nature-inspired sanctuary in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Grab your tea, get comfortable, and let's dive into real talk that empowers your healing journey. I am super excited for today's episode. Yes, we get to do it with my sister.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

I'm not as excited, but happy to be here. Full disclosure. Welcome, Jess. Thank you so much. It's great to have you. Thank you. It's great to be here.

Jenny 1:00

Jess, you are the Into the Woods culinary, what's your title? Wellness specialist. Awesome. Well, I'm excited to learn more about what that means. But before we dive into that, we're gonna do this or that. Have you done a this or that? No. It's a rapid fire, quick questions, answer with your gut. It's just a fun little thing to warm up.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Okay. All right.

Jenny 1:23

Meal prep Sunday or cook as you go.

Kaitlyn (KK) 1:27

Meal prep Sunday. Yeah. If I remember, then yes, that would be mine.

Jenny 1:33

I don't do any meal prep.

Kaitlyn (KK) 1:35

We're gonna talk about that a little bit later.

Jenny 1:37

Good. All right. Follow the recipe exactly or improvise with what you got in the fridge.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Improvise with what you got in the fridge. Okay. Yeah, I would have to follow it to the tea. That would be me. That does not surprise me. My husband is a follow to the tea as well. Like it just bothers him when I'm like, no, we're not gonna use this. We're gonna use this. That's great.

Jenny 1:58

I don't measure. I mean, unless I'm baking. If I'm making a sourdough, then I will weigh everything out. But for the most part, otherwise, I don't measure and it drives my husband nuts.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Yes. Would that be type A? Yeah. Personalities. Yeah, that would drive them nuts. That's great.

Jenny 2:15

Farmer's market hall or grocery store? Farmer's market hall. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Yeah.

Jenny 2:20

I always want to get to the farmer's market more, but I also love my own garden too. But I don't grow everything. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Yeah, I would say the same for me. I we grow the staples, tomatoes, peppers. I have an herb garden. But there's something about going to the farmer's market and just being able to meet the local vendors that just helps you feel more connected than going to the grocery store.

Jenny 2:44

I agree.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Yeah.

Jenny 2:45

Okay. So this is perfect with what you just said. Herbs from the garden or dried from the jar?

Kaitlyn (KK) 2:53

Herbs from the garden. Well, if I could get anything to grow, I mean, I don't say that, but I've been trying for a couple of years now.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Okay, you know what? Your garden backyard garden. Yeah. We're gonna redo one.

Kaitlyn (KK) 3:05

I know, but it it needs a redo. Okay. Well, but my fairy garden does good. Yeah, so I got that. But yeah. So neither, I'm gonna say, because I am not producing it. So much to the point where a plant was given to me this past October, and Tanya here is trying to help it survive. Such a good mom and a plant mom, so she thinks she's reviving it. Do I know what kind of plant it is? No. But it'll be back in my office.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

But the plant thing is a no-joke thing because it's like certain things like I do really well with. Um and then like I have this jade plant. I've had to repurchase a jade plant at least five or six times because I keep killing it. I have a snake plant in my room that like you couldn't kill if you wanted to.

Jenny 3:52

There are some that are pretty hardy. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

And that is one of them. But yeah, bring them to me. Apparently.

Kaitlyn (KK) 3:58

I must be the anomaly. I can't get anything to grow.

Jenny 4:01

Oh, that's great. Okay. Last question that really ties in today's episode to a degree. New recipe every week or rotate your reliable tried and true.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Well, I for me, it's a new recipe every week. My job kind of depends on it. Sure. But I would think most people would be like the tried and true, just rotate. I definitely have to try something new every week.

Kaitlyn (KK) 4:25

Yeah, I have like safe foods and things that I will just repeat for a long time until I get sick of it and then I start over.

Jenny 4:32

So yeah, yeah. I'm the same. Tried and true, things that I know that I like and that, yeah, just fit into the mix. Um, and I feel like anytime I try something new, I'm always disappointed. So maybe I need to follow some of your recipes. You do.

Kaitlyn (KK) 4:49

Everybody that follows, they tell me and they're like, oh my gosh, I love it. I mean, her food is amazing, which we'll get into the food, our meal prep too, and we'll talk more about Woody. But the thing that I can say is not a single person has had a bad meal. So to me, that means we are headed into the right direction with uh with my sissy.

Jenny 5:09

Yeah. Today's episode picks up off the episode we chatted with Ginger on, which was all around nutrition being a huge piece of the wheel of wellness at Into the Woods, right? And so we talked a lot about the food as medicine in that episode and the importance of knowing what you're putting in your body, nourishing your body, just all of the all of the things that the personalized wellness program covers. So this episode is really the okay, now what? How do we actually eat well in the grand scheme of things?

Kaitlyn (KK) 5:42

And so Yeah, and again, we'll reiterate that the nutrition program has been the foundation of Into the Woods, and we have not steered away from that in any way, shape, or form. If anything, we have built around it, yeah, rooted into it and like amplified it. Yes, and so expanded off of it, which my sister has been a huge component for us to be able to do that, and she's an integral part of the next step too. So we'll always be doing that. And last Friday, I'll give it a plug. We got to get to the team together, close down the shop a little early, and go over our mission and our values. And I just feel that uh the nutrition piece is foundational and will continue to be. So I am really excited to have you here.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Oh, thank you. It's really quite an honor. And, you know, going through the program myself, being educated with your team members and just being a firsthand recipient of all the good that can come out of it. Sure. It really gets me excited and it really helps me create recipes, but also I feel like I'm working for something bigger than myself. Yeah. So, because I know how much and how important it is, and I know the effects that it had on me personally.

Jenny 6:55

So yeah, let's dive into that a little bit. As culinary wellness specialist, what does that mean at Into the Woods?

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Well, I am providing meals that are whole foods, that are high in nutrients, that are not processed, that help support your overall well-being. Okay. So we really focus on foods that I like to say God intended for us to eat. So I get to play around with those types of foods every day. We really want to make sure that we're reducing inflammation because we know how much that has havoc on your health. So I create meals that revolve around that.

Jenny 7:35

Okay. That's beautiful. And how much it's rooted in what you just said, Caitlin. And I can tell you have fun doing it.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Yeah, I definitely have a lot of fun doing it. It's something I look forward to.

Jenny 7:47

So that's great. Well, I have a feeling what the answer to this question is gonna be, but I'm just gonna ask it anyway, because I've asked every other team member what drew you to into the woods.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Okay. Well, I was I have to two reasons. The first one, I was just saying earlier, being Caitlin's big sister, although I'm starting to feel more like her little sister as I get older because I'm gonna reverse they have, and it's it's it's okay. But uh I definitely think that because of my passion for cooking and because of Caitlin's vision even prior to joining with Katie, I was kind of voluntole like this is what you're gonna do. And I didn't buck about you know about it too much because I I really do enjoy it, but also too, circling back a little bit, it was my own health issues. Sure. And so I really learned a lot, especially about inflammation and the havoc that it was really creating in my body. So I had really, really high blood pressure. Sure. I was having multiple episodes, sometimes a week, but definitely monthly vertigo type episodes. And it really scared me. And I was going to the doctor frequently, and I just kept getting more and more pills, and the symptoms were not getting any better. So Caitlin is like, this is what you're doing. You're going through the program, and I'm really happy she did because my blood pressure reduced significantly. Sure. I reduced the amount of medication I was taking, and also lo and behold, no episodes of clapping out. Oh my gosh, there was amazing. It got so scary for me. I was in the drive-thru once, and all of a sudden things just started spinning. And I was like, you know, what if I was driving? Yeah, I have my kids in the car.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

I do also work at LeClaire Creamery. And so I do a lot of running around. We have the greenhouse, and I just remember shout out to Leclerc. Yes, shout out to Leclerc. We love Leclerc's. Yes. Thank you, Eddie, too. And I was walking from the greenhouse to the shop, and I literally, it hit me that quick that I almost collapsed. And it was like, okay, I really need to make an adjustment. And so, you know, with the help of ginger and learning about inflammation and the types of foods that you know I was putting in my body was causing so much havoc. And I became a believer after that. Yeah, my blood pressure is still down. I have not had any episodes, and that really is the driving force for me. Yeah. And just knowing that what it had on me and then what I'm creating for our clients, I put my heart into it. I pray over it. You know, I really, really want them to walk away feeling good after the meal.

Jenny 10:38

Yeah, that's amazing.

Kaitlyn (KK) 10:40

Her words are true. Yes, she might have been pushed into it a little bit by her younger sister. But the reality, look at your outcomes. Yeah. You know what I mean? And I will continue to say this on the podcast and to everybody that I talk about it. I have no doubt about our outcomes. And that is why I really believe in what we do. And this is the driving force behind the nutrition piece. Again, that's our foundation. So to be able to help people with their meal prepping and then expanding into other opportunities. I mean, it fits our mission so well. Yeah. Um, and the health outcomes that my family specifically and clients that I have seen just from almost a year this April, which is wild, um, it it really is phenomenal. I mean, this is what healthcare is it's preventative, and we want you to feel good.

Jenny 11:29

Yeah, preventative, getting to the root cause and everything you just shared encapsulates what Ginger was sharing in her episode. The power that food has, if you can feel the difference between nourishing your body versus perhaps what might be convenient, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:48

And I think that's the rut people get stuck in is that convenience. And especially, I think when you have a family and you have kids and activities, it can be really difficult. And I also think, too, you creep up to that 40 spot, and now I'm creeping up to the 50 spot, but so many of the symptoms people will say, Oh, it's perimenopausal, it's menopausal, you're just getting older. And that was not an answer that I was willing to deal with. We have to find what's happening, what's going on in my body. Yeah, and I am so amazed. I work in an office with four women, and they all have this very similar symptoms, feeling like they're gonna pass out, the fatigue, struggling with weight, and we're all dealing with this, yeah, and we're all getting the same answers. And coming to Into the Woods, it was the first time where I saw results. So that drives me every time I get to make a meal.

Jenny 12:47

Yeah, you know, it's funny as you're talking, I'm reflecting on I was probably about five years ago or so. I would have these bouts where if I was go, go, go, go, go, right, trying to be everywhere, do everything, and I would turn my head fast or spin around quick to grab something. And oh my god, yeah. I wouldn't pass out, but I would have this moment where my brain felt rattled and my vision was weird for a second. And I hadn't thought about it in a really long time, but that hasn't happened for me either.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

But yeah, so that's exactly what I was experiencing, but a little bit worse than that. And it was honestly terrifying, yeah. Feeling like there's no control and trying to self-diagnose, yeah, which was horrible. You know, I'm surprised I have four boys, and it's like I'm not a nurse, and I'm really I'm proud that they're still alive and kicking, but I would be the last person that should be self-diagnosing anything. So this has been a real honest blessing for me.

Jenny 13:51

Yeah, yeah. Well, I am thrilled that you got talked into it. And I can just hear it when you're saying what you put into the the food that you're creating, the menus, everything. So that's great. So we started to touch on it, but let's talk about that barrier that people experience to eating well. It's a feeling like you don't have time, yeah, maybe not knowing what.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Well, it's it definitely is the time factor. Um for me, one of the things that I've had to learn, and backtracking a little bit when Caitlin was in her private practice, she created the wellness blend. And Caitlin understood early on that hey, it's not just the emotional piece, it's the physical piece and it's the nutritional piece.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

And we need to somehow blend that together.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

I learned during that time that it was very easy for me to come up with recipes because I would come up with recipes for her clients. But one of the things that I learned, and I think it was some of the feedback that we did get, was the recipes were not necessarily for a novice cooker. And so learning through that to simplify it. And I took that for granted because it's something that I enjoy when it comes to meal prep and making sure that you're eating healthy, is you do have to make it a habit. Yeah. And it's okay to say, you know what, I don't like to cook. It's okay to say that, or I don't like to meal prep, but I understand that it's important. I mean, we don't like to do the dishes, we don't like to do laundry, but we have to do it. Right. So carving out some time, and that may look different for everyone. Some people are like, you know what, I'm gonna dedicate my Sundays and I'm just gonna bang it out for the week. For me, that can be a little bit overwhelming. Yeah. Because I feel like I'm in the kitchen all day. So I take a little bit of a different approach, and I think it's just finding what works best for you and what what works best for your schedule. But I find just doing a little bit every day.

SPEAKER_03 15:55

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

So if my husband is grilling something out on the grill, I will add more meat. Sometimes he's like, Jess, who the heck are we cooking for? It's a platter of meat, of different meats, and I use it for meal prep during the week. Sure. And then I also make sandwiches for my boys every day. I really try to stay away from processed meats.

SPEAKER_03 16:14

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

So they're getting chicken breast, sometimes steak, pork chops, and so I'm creating meals for them all week long as well. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, I'm gonna be honest with you, I do buy the pre-cut fruit at the grocery store. But hey, this is my go-to every week. It is the cantaloupe and the pineapple, and it's like $10. It's a pretty big container, and I always get two, and then I just pre-portion it out for the week. Actually, before I got here, I had my baggie in the car and I was eating my cantaloupe and pineapple on my way here. And even my kids will grab it.

SPEAKER_03 16:53

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Another thing that I do is sometimes for some reason it's the vegetables, mainly because my kids are kind of picky. Sure. Obviously, they love corn, green beans, and I can get them to eat asparagus, but my one son will only eat the tips. So, you know, sometimes the veggie thing can be a little bit difficult. So I will buy pre-cut washed greens. Okay. Or I'll even buy the salad kits. Sure. And like, let's, for instance, say they have like a colessa salad kit. I will take that kit and then I'll saute it because cabbage sautees up so easily. Yeah. And now I have like a really nice vegetable. When I'm plating dinners, a lot of times I have the meat, and then I will serve a side salad, and that's their veggie. And then I usually have some sort of carb as well. So I try and uh make it simple for me. I also have this two-tiered stand that I load with fruit and vegetables, and I make a little pact with myself. It's like, okay, my goal is to make sure that next week this is all gone. Sure. And so sometimes it's like getting creative, making a little salsa when the kids were little and they still are now grown. But if they're hungry, it's like grab a piece of fruit. That has always been our thing. There's always a fruit bowl in the middle of my kitchen. And also, I will say this too: an obscene, and I mean obscene amount of baker's string cheese. If they're out at the grocery store, I do start panicking because there's no other string cheese that, like, you know, is anything comparable.

Jenny 18:34

I would agree with that. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

So the kids learned early on that, you know, if they're hungry, they needed to grab a piece of fruit and a piece of string cheese. Yeah. So those are some things that that I do. And I know everybody is different, but I would just say that if you don't like it, it's okay. You can recognize you don't like it, but try to figure out how you can make it a habit.

Jenny 18:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

And what does that look like to you?

Kaitlyn (KK) 19:00

Well, and I think a big piece is that food and kind of like we talked about in Ginger's episode, it's changed so much. Yeah. That what might have been perceived as healthy a decade ago, 20 years, is not now. I mean, from the seed on up, which is why we're seeing so much more with chronic issues and symptoms. And so, yeah, I think finding what works for you, and we still hear, well, it's expensive to eat healthy, but also, we also talked about this, and I feel like it's kind of the theme of every episode. We have one body. Yeah. And so if you can learn how to fuel it properly and take care of it, you're right. It might be an upfront, a little bit of an investment, but what are the outcomes from that? Yeah. And I mean, I just think if we take Jess's story, so how much money then does she continue to spend on medication that doesn't help anything and you just keep doing that? We've said this before. We're not a diet culture, we are a lifestyle change. But now the shift in that, so that upfront cost, and now that you're doing, isn't that more comparable? Doesn't that feel better? Right. I think it just gives you again autonomy over your health. And it starts with food. Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Well, and I was thinking about this this morning, getting ready. And I think about what I used to do. So self-diagnose, terrible thing to do. But also, and I don't know if you guys ever get caught up on this, but Instagram or TikTok, where they have this new pill that's going to take away everything, or this new vitamin you should take. Yep. And the amount of money I've spent on vitamins and pills that I got off of Instagram or TikTok. Sure. I think about okay, if you're willing to invest that, why not? Do not invest in that. Invest in the couple dollars more to buy organic, to buy grass-fed beef. And I will say this with the organic, I try to stay away from the dirty dozen.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

So those are fruits and vegetables that have the highest concentration of pesticides. And if they're not on the dirty dozen, I don't always buy organic. Sometimes I can't afford it. Yeah. But if they're on the dirty dozen, I do really try to stay clear. So are all my fruits and vegetables organic? No. But the ones that need to be organic, definitely. And as far as like the meat is concerned, I was really surprised. So it is more expensive to do organic.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

It really is. But it's not as expensive as you think it is. Sure. It's a few dollars more. And for me, what I thought about is like, okay, it's a few dollars more, but I don't need to spend $100 on this monthly miracle pill that I think is going to heal me when it truly hasn't. Right. From an influencer that probably has like no idea what they're talking about. Right. So I think sometimes if you look at it like that, it makes the spend a little bit easier. Yeah.

Jenny 21:51

Break it down. Yeah. Look at all of the other variables. And honestly, when you compare, I mean, yes, you're putting Time into it, but when you compare buying maybe that head of cabbage to cut up versus that bag of chips, like that head of cabbage is nothing in comparison to the processed foods that are out there.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Well, and another thing too is especially with kids that are busy, and I know it's hard, it's easier just to go through the drive-thru. I don't know about you, but after eating that kind of food, I'm hungry like an hour later. Yeah. When you eat food that are that's you know good fats for you, that's whole foods, that's nutrient dense, you feel very fulfilled.

Jenny 22:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

And you don't feel that way when you're running through a drive-thru.

Jenny 22:40

Yeah. There's so much that you've mentioned, like the dirty dozen, that I would love to dive into. But we've kind of talked about that on the episode with ginger, and that's a huge piece of the personalized wellness program as well. Getting the education and the root foundation of really breaking through some of the habits that we just picked up from being kids and what we saw or what the traditional food pyramid, which has changed since the 80s and early 90s. There's so much we could dive into around the what. But what I really want to dive into today is the how, right? Because whether we're researching it ourselves or going through programs like what Into the Woods offers, then that knowledge is a core piece of it. So taking this idea of all right, we know we need to make time to seek out the resources to have those clean ingredients or create that culinary experience in our own home. So it doesn't have to be difficult to demystify these words. What does it mean? And you've kind of talked about it already. What is clean eating, nutrient dense? What is that all?

SPEAKER_00 23:50

Okay, so really what it means is you're gonna be eating foods in its natural state. So, like I said earlier, like foods that God intended you to eat. Okay, so they're not processed whole foods. Sure. So when you think of, let's just take an apple, for instance. Are you gonna buy the apple or are you gonna buy applesauce? You know what I mean? Like applesauce is good, but they put a lot of other stuff in it that's not so good. But you think when you're feeding it to your family that it's good, just eat the apple. Yeah, you know, just eat the apple. So it's really focusing on foods in their natural state that are not processed, right?

Jenny 24:28

And I think one of the things too that fits in well with that is I listened to Ginger's episode just to refresh, because you know, there's been a handful of episodes between then and now. We've been on a journey, we've been on a journey, yeah. But in that episode, she talks a lot about if we can somewhat revert back to the hunters and gatherers, right? Like eating that good protein base, that that cleaned meat, and then adding in those simple vegetables and and fruits versus you know what's been manufactured to make us addicted to you know those Oreos that maybe shouldn't mention brand names, but one of the things that I try to do, especially with our meal prep, is yes, we're focusing on organic and whole foods, but I try to give you that restaurant experience.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Yeah. So you're not just getting, you know, a piece of chicken and steamed broccoli. A lot of times I'm using different seasonings from around the world to kind of give you more of a cultural, like the slatha Asian, the smashed cucumber salad was uh, I think a really good example of that. And I usually I'm a sauce girl, and I usually always like have an amazing sauce to go with it. That was really good. Yeah. Did you have the smash cucumber? I did have the smash sauce. What did you think of the sauce? I liked the sauce.

Jenny 25:48

Yeah, I feel like that's kind of what made it. The the ingredients are so fresh. Side note. I got home because I did a yoga thing after I picked it up, and I was so hungry, I just started eating it. I didn't even heat it up, but it just looked so good, and everything was so crisp and tasty, and then obviously the sauce on top of it. It was just delicious. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Yeah. And that dish is something that you could easily make. Yeah, they called it a smashed cucumber, but you wouldn't have to do that. You could just slice it up. And it was tossed in a little bit of rice wine vinegar, yeah, a little salt and pepper, and some fresh herbs. That's it. Yeah. The chicken was tossed with some Chinese five spice, a little bit of cumin, um, a little bit of garlic. I try not to do too much garlic because my sister is allergic to garlic. And that pains me because, like, I I think I may overuse garlic just a little bit. I do too. Yeah.

Kaitlyn (KK) 26:41

It's not my fault. I like it too. Yeah. Yeah. But my body does not. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

But that literally, if you were gonna make that at home, that literally would take you no more than a half hour from start to finish. Yep. Including prep and cooking.

unknown 26:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

And while the chicken was cooking, I made the dressing. It was just a few simple ingredients. So you can have a meal that you feel satiated with, that's like you really feel like you got something, and you don't have to spend a lot of time. Yeah. Because I've gone through cookbooks. I love French cooking, but you're gonna be in that kitchen all day long.

Jenny 27:20

Yeah. For me, I love cooking as long as it's simple. Otherwise, I get really overwhelmed. I don't know if it's my ADHD, a little bit of neurodiversion stepping in. Unless I've done this before, I just want something simple. And like I'll do a little bit of complex stuff here and there, probably not your kind of complex.

Kaitlyn (KK) 27:38

I like doing fun stuff, yeah, like charcuterie boards or fun, exciting things that like I think are gonna turn out the cool tie-dye cake or like a charcuterie board for hocus, yes, uh, hocus pocus. We made a litter box cake. Jess help me with like type of stuff, that's when you'll find me in the kitchen. Sure. Otherwise, I'll I'll just be the passenger supervisor. Uh stick with what you're good at, right?

Jenny 28:05

Well, let's dive into this whole meal prep initiative. Like so when we say meal prep, I don't know if people know exactly what that means. So, what is it that Into the Woods offers?

SPEAKER_00 28:18

So, what we're offering is for you to enjoy a healthy meal that focuses on everything we talked about today and not have to shop for it or cook it. We try to simplify it for you, just as I was talking about before. Sometimes I buy my fruit already cooked up, or I'll buy the rotisserie chicken and pull the chicken off for a dish later on. We're really taking that step out for you and just creating this meal that you can have for lunch and or dinner and feel really good about and not have to worry about all the other steps that go into making that dish.

Jenny 28:57

Yeah. So make making healthy, eating well, convenient, yes, and obtainable.

Kaitlyn (KK) 29:03

Yes. So part of what was, I think, a struggle for some people was the food piece in our nutrition program. Um, so another one of the things that I took on when I came on was we're gonna do this, right? Let's take something that the clients have said is difficult for them and let's make it easy for them. You can buy one meal, three meals, five meals. You can customize it however you want. You put that order in, we call you to confirm that that's what it is, we email you, and then you can come and pick it up. We've typically done it on Wednesdays, or we can drop it off to you too. So, this is the whole piece is that this is our wellness that moves initiative. And as we're expanding and growing with it, and we'll talk about Woody in a little bit. My hope is that it turns into a membership where we either can ship it to you, drop it off, or again come and pick that up. So as it's evolving, that's kind of what we're going towards. And the feedback has been great. Like I said, people are loving it, and so that's really exciting to see. So that we take away all of these things that can kind of be an issue for you. I mean, people are asking, can Jess come into our house and just meal prep for us or be our chat? You know, like really they want the whole thing. So maybe someday we'll get to that. But yeah, so that was when I've developed the strategic plan. This has been a big proponent of it, and this is just kind of part of that evolution.

Jenny 30:29

Sure, sure. Well, the meals are great, they are obviously very convenient because I just swing on coffee and I have meals here for the evening or next day. I would add you could probably also eat it for breakfast if you wanted to.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

I know that I will say that that's one thing I learned from ginger during the program was to uh specifically breakfast. Don't think of breakfast as like your normal breakfast food. Yeah, think of breakfast as an opportunity to get your vegetables in, to get your protein in. And for some reason, that really changed my mindset. And I don't know why I felt like I needed permission to do that because it was nothing I did before. Right. It's like, no, I have to have breakfast foods for breakfast. It's like, no, you can have your leftover asparagus and a hard-boiled egg. You know, you can eat last night's leftovers for breakfast. Yeah. And so that was really a big shift for me.

Jenny 31:26

Yeah. It has been for me too. And sometimes I forget, oh, I don't know what to eat for breakfast. Eat leftovers from last night. Yeah, it's perfect. Absolutely. Awesome. So right now you're not quite at the membership point yet, but I think that would be a fantastic addition.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

Yeah.

Jenny 31:42

When the time comes. So right now you have about two meals a month that people can pick from, right? And you can, like you said, pick however many. Um, and some of them sometimes you even customize if you want cauliflower rice or jasmine rice.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Yeah, so we try to give options, and then also we have had some folks that reached out with specific dietary needs that we're able to accommodate. Yeah. So it has not been an issue at all.

Jenny 32:09

Yeah. And so for the most part, everything is gluten-free, although it's not, it's in a commercial kitchen, so you can't say it's a dedicated gluten-free and dairy-free. What other things have you been able to support other diet needs?

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Allergy situations, yeah. Got it. Yeah. So again, the garlic, like I I told Caitlin the last one, I'm like, how'd you do? She's like, I did okay. So I did not use fresh garlic. Oh. And I think that when I use fresh garlic, you have more of a reaction than when I use just the seasoning garlic.

Kaitlyn (KK) 32:42

Just so you know, Jess is almost taken me out a few times. Yes. One time I was very nervous. She used like welts all over my body. Because I'm aware of it now more, but like I hadn't had garlic in forever. And normally when Jess is cooking, I'm there when she's cooking. Well, I came late. She had soaked these steaks in garlic. That is not true. Yes, it was. And I ate it like within four minutes, like before anybody was done. My body was like, oh, this is so good. And then I just started itching all over. She had to go home. I had to go home. I like that allergic.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

Yeah, like welts all over my body. So it was one time. Listeners, please. It was only one time. I may or may not have, you know, ended her lips.

Jenny 33:27

She's here today. Allergy needs you're able to accommodate for. Yes, that's perfect. Let's dive into what are some of the meals that you have done so far? Because I've had I haven't had all of them, but the ones that I have had have been pretty dang tasty. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

Well, we did a chicken fajita skillet. We've done a sweet potato, one of the first ones, with some ground turkey. I had that one, that was. And then it had like that it was a tahini pineapple sauce. And then it had the cashews that were on it as well. That one I oh, I love that one. We've done a lot of Mediterranean, because that just seems to kind of fit with the lifestyle and nutrition here. Yep. So I do a lot of, I would say a lot of Mediterranean bowls. I'm gonna be doing a Bon Mi bowl. So have you ever had a Bon Mi sandwich? It's like a Vietnamese sandwich. Okay. It's got like an Asian flavor to it, pickled vegetables. Okay. And it's very robust. So I'm going to take that idea and make it into a bowl. So I'm I've made it before and absolutely loved it. Nice. That actually is gonna be our next meal.

Kaitlyn (KK) 34:54

We've done some different soups too. Oh, yeah, the soups. Yeah, yeah. So I we've tried to switch it up to see what people have kind of liked. Um yeah, but we're open to ideas. So if you're listening to this and you want us to make something, let us know.

Jenny 35:07

Yeah. Well, I I mean, I love hearing like reminiscing, right, of the different meals, and I'm sure there's some you'll bring back due to popular demand. But where do you get your your menu inspiration?

SPEAKER_00 35:19

This was funny because I was preparing for this, and that was one of the questions, and I'm was thinking to myself, just be honest, Jess. Yeah, that's what we want here. Okay, yeah. So there is no rhyme or reason to what I do. I'm just gonna tell you. Um I wish, you know, Kelly actually had a great idea, like that we'll just be rotating, we'll we'll feature the heavy hitters and then just kind of have a nice rotation. So that's what I'm working on. Sure. But I have ADD too, so I'm constantly thinking of something new. And a lot of times I'll dream about it. So I'll wake up and I'm like, oh, you know what? I think I'm gonna try this. And Caitlin hasn't said no to me yet for any of my meal ideas. That's for so you know it's been pretty much green light. But I work in the food world, I do a lot of content for LeClaire. Okay, and then I have my own personal blog, Basil Butter. Yeah. So I pray about new ideas a lot. Sure. And I just whatever I think is going to be a hit. I guess what I really want is when you have one of the meals, it's just not like, oh, it's good, or it's just so so, you know, it it fulfilled a need. I want it to be an experience because I literally have put my heart into it. I've prayed over it. I really want it to be an experience. And especially my heart goes out to the folks that are at work or are cooking for kids and not really paying attention to their needs, that it's just like, you know what? You have an awesome, delicious meal with an amazing sauce that's good for you. You're gonna feel good after eating it. Yeah, and I really want to create that experience, much like when you go to a restaurant, yeah. It's like, oh my gosh, this was the best meal. So I try my intent is to create that for you every single time. I love that.

Jenny 37:12

Absolutely love that. And that's been my experience so far. So yeah, absolutely. Just knowing though, all of the love that you pour into it too is great.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

Yeah, they rent a commercial kitchen for me so I can prepare all all the food. And I often wonder if there's cameras because you'll see me with my hands up praying on the food. And it's like, like, what weirdo is in here.

Jenny 37:36

Bring on the weird. Absolutely. That's funny. Okay, so we've got these amazing meals that people can sign up for, and I love it too, because I think there's some inspiration if somebody wanted some of that additional like motivation of okay, what could I do on my own? You don't share the recipes as part of it yet, maybe part of the membership eventually, but you have the ingredients and everything.

SPEAKER_00 37:59

So we have had people reach out and ask for the recipe, and we do send it to them. Okay, so it is something that we've done. Okay. Um, so if they want it, they just ask for the recipe, they just ask for it. Okay.

Jenny 38:10

So what what's next? I mean, beyond Well, Woody is next.

Kaitlyn (KK) 38:14

Yes, let's hear about it. So I think we've talked about it on different episodes. Okay, but yeah, so that can you believe it was October, November? I don't know where time it goes. Yeah. So we were in the Ignite Rural Program, basically a pitch program, and we took second place, and we have $20,000 that we are now going to invest into what?

SPEAKER_00 38:38

Oh, I was trying to interrupt me. Yes, Jenny, you won't believe what she made me do for this. So I had to create a meal for the judges. No pressure. Oh my gosh. I have never been so nervous, like more nervous than I have ever been. And I was like, I couldn't even listen to Kate Lambs. I was like critiquing, like while they were eating it. Was it vigorous? Did they go for a second or they just have one bite? And I'm just sweating the whole time. I'm sitting there, I'm like, oh my gosh, if she loses, it's gonna be on me. It's gonna be on me. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to. It just it was a flashback. I just had to share a little PTSD. Yeah.

Kaitlyn (KK) 39:18

Oh my gosh, no big deal that your sister's up there stage. Like she nailed it.

Jenny 39:24

She was there in the episode with gender. You do talk about it. Yes.

Kaitlyn (KK) 39:28

So with that, the business plan is now almost finalized, and we have people that would like to invest. But if there are people that are out there that are listening that want to be a part of this, the objective is to get the healthy food truck. So our strategic plan is wellness that moves and really creating an ecosystem of wellness. So I see mobile IVs, mobile mental health, woody, right? Like, so that's the ecosystem that we will be building, but we need to start with Woody. Yep. So every single day I'm on food truck sites, I'm looking at things, writing this business plan, talking to people about it. And people are excited because they want a healthy option, right? And so right now there isn't really one. And so we will be giving them that. Yep. And so if we have listeners that are interested and they love this, reach out to me. Um, I'm here for it. But yeah, so Woody will be the next evolution and the next arm of this whole venture.

Jenny 40:31

I love it. Yeah, I think there's so much potential. I mean, there's a lot of food trucks out there that I think do the best that they can with what is available and they're healthy-ish, but this is really going to be something different where we're again going back to those natural, clean ingredients, organic, keeping it as fresh and wholesome as we can.

Kaitlyn (KK) 40:54

And local, because we're going to be partnering. So we're already in discussions with certain farms and that fit the mission and vision. And really one of our pillars is community and pulling that together and not just saying that we're about it, but being about it so that we can create uh again an ecosystem right here of really living our mission through nutrition, right? That is prevention, that is health care. So yeah, that it makes me very excited to do that. Although I know nothing about food trucks, but I am learning, but I can learn a whole bunch. Like everything I set out to do is like, well, I have no idea how I'm gonna do this. Like, that's literally the kickoff. Bring it up now. I must bring it to life. So, you know, it's it's bigger than me just as one person, it's all of us that will go into this, but Jess is central to that and making it happen too. Yeah, and so that makes me excited.

Jenny 41:46

Yeah, I would imagine you you'll be one of the individuals core into developing the menu available.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

And I think there's a lot of food trucks out there that do an amazing job. And the thing that's gonna separate us is that you're not gonna have to really look at the menu and try and find something that's healthy. Right. Everything that we offer is gonna be designed for optimal nutrition, but it's not gonna be boring. And quite frankly, is the biggest differentiator. It's not boring, it's full of flavor. You feel good after eating, energized, yeah, full, yes, yes. So um, I think that's gonna be the biggest difference between us and competition.

Jenny 42:26

Yeah, I just love the idea, and it'll be really exciting to see how it unfolds. Not only could it be great for community events, whether it's somebody out there wanting a nourishing meal or a couple or a daughter, kids, yeah, employees.

Kaitlyn (KK) 42:39

I mean, I think this is great for corporations that give a healthier option instead of the same of what they've been able to offer from an employee perspective, too. Eating healthy, then you don't get tired, right? The rest of your day and are dragging. We want things that are energizing for you.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

That's a great route too. In businesses, you're seeing so much of it with these wellness uh initiatives and offering different services. What an opportunity for a business to have us come to their place of employment and be able to serve their employees nutritious meals that are not boring, right? That are not the same. Like I've heard some people say, you know, we just the taco truck is fun. We love tacos, but it's the same thing every time. Yeah, you know, you're not gonna get that with Woody.

Jenny 43:23

Yes, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

I love it.

Jenny 43:25

And Jenny will have to help us with the design. Fun challenge, absolutely. Well, awesome. I love how your wellness that moves initiatives, whether it's the meal prep and or the Woody food truck to come, really makes that healthy eating accessible to people on the go who want to nourish their body. And and maybe, I mean, I think this is the beauty of what Woody will become, even if they don't have the knowledge, right? If they eat that meal and know going into it, like, okay, this is really good for me. It's just such a great way to spread. Education of how we can support our bodies with food. That's fantastic. Well, I might be putting you on the spot, but what are you thinking for timing on Woody? I mean, are you thinking maybe next summer? I think this summer might be a bit aggressive, but I don't know. You tell me.

Kaitlyn (KK) 44:16

But I am an aggressive. I would have it right now. I bet you would. Yeah. Um, but it's other people that I gotta wait for and do all that fun stuff. I would like to have Woody this year. Okay, so yeah, this year. At least have him this year. So I'm pushing for it. Yes. No idea what I'm doing, which is how I start most things. And it served me pretty well up until this point. So yes, if anybody wants to help me make that timeline happen tomorrow, I'd freaking appreciate that. Okay, well give KK a call. Yes, call my cell phone. Yes.

Jenny 44:50

Okay. Well, uh Jess, is there anything else that you would highlight that we didn't cover when it comes to what you're creating within these meals or what you'd uh maybe recommend to people? We covered a lot.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

Yeah. But I guess one of the things that um I would just point out is when it comes to meal prep, when it comes to cooking, try not to get so down on yourself. It's okay if it's not your strong suit. You can still do a lot of easy recipes and prep that is not going to be too overboard. I would just say you do have to carve out some time.

Jenny 45:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:28

And you do have to make it a habit. And once you make it a habit, you're not even thinking about it anymore because it's like, oh no, this is what I do. So I would suggest that if you want to make changes with your family, is just trying to create a habit and a space that you can dedicate to.

Jenny 45:46

Yeah, I love that. That that is the core to everything into the woods, we'll say it's not about perfection, it's really about consistency. So and starting small. I know that's a huge thing. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:59

Yeah. I mean, even with my own family, one of the questions you asked earlier was what does culinary wellness mean to you? And I think early on, it what it meant for me was sitting down with my family and having a balanced meal.

unknown 46:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

As I got older, it got very challenging. And so for us, and this isn't for everyone, but we would eat dinner at like seven or eight o'clock at night. And I know again, that's not for everyone, but that's what we did to make sure that we were sitting together as a family and not running through the drive-thru. And not to say that we haven't run through the drive-thru because there were times after basketball where it was like, yeah, we gotta do. Yep. But also it was important to me. So, you know, you may not fit your ideas, may not fit in the norm. And I would say that's okay. Do what's best for you, do what's best for your family.

Jenny 46:50

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm excited for what's to come. I can already see how the meal prep is going to start weaving in. How cool would it be if you pulled in some mental health? Like, okay, let's sit down with intention, maybe some fun little, you know, mindful eating. Mindful eating, like some fun conversation cards while the family or couple are. I mean, even if you're eating by yourself, which I have a habit of doing because my husband's on the road a bit, but just something to get you reflective and mindfully eating versus shoving it down and moving on to the next thing, right?

SPEAKER_00 47:23

Well, I think too, that's another thing. I think even with our culture, and I definitely fall into this, and I even see it at work. And if anything, we need to normalize not eating while working. There's one lady that I work with, and I always compliment her. When it's lunchtime, she shuts off her computer, she's in a cubicle, she turns her chair around, and she just enjoys her lunch. Yeah. When you talk about mindful eating, that's another piece of it. Not rushing through everything, trying to get to the next thing. You're skipping over an experience. Yeah. You know, you're skipping over the flavor. You're skipping over that time that you're making for yourself and your family by rushing through. And I'm definitely, that's something that is top of mind for me this year that I've been working on is just slowing down a little bit. Yep.

Jenny 48:11

I love it.

unknown 48:12

Good.

Jenny 48:12

Well, fantastic. Yeah. Thanks for coming on, Jess. Oh it's been lovely having you on. So thank you for sharing your passion for food and creating such a great experience. So thank you. All right. Until next time. Be well, be still, be calm. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us. We'd also love to connect with you. Reach out at info at into the woodsjourney.com or visit our website at www.inthewoodsjourney dot com to explore your path to wellness from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you so much for listening.