What Should Kids Be Eating? A Real Conversation on School Lunch with Hilary Boynton

Hilary Boynton, certified holistic health counselor, received a BA in psychology from the University of Virginia and was trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. 

The devoted mother of five young kids, Hilary has seen the power of nutritional healing firsthand. Inspired by her own experience of “food as medicine,” she has dedicated her- self to helping others on their path to wellness as a cook, coach, and professional educator. 

Hilary supports her clients by integrating “Paleo” and “Primal” philosophies with the wisdom of the Ancestral Health Movement and the Weston A. Price Foundation. 

Hilary is a Weston A. Price chapter leader, runs several local food co-ops, teaches cooking classes out of her house, and helped to open a farm-to-table restaurant in Concord, Massachusetts. She lives in Marina Del Ray, California, with her family.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why nutrient-dense school lunches are essential for children’s brain development, behavior, and even academic performance
• The biggest systemic challenges within school food programs—and why change can feel so difficult
• How parents can take simple, practical steps to improve their kids’ nutrition at home and at school
• The powerful role of traditional cooking, healthy fats, and whole foods in supporting gut health and long-term wellness
• How families can become advocates for change and help transform school food culture from the ground up

Follow Hilary Boynton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/school_of_lunch_/

Learn more about School of Lunch: https://www.schooloflunch.com/

Purchase The Heal Your Gut Cookbook: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-heal-your-gut-cookbook/

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the High Vibration Living Podcast. I'm your host, Chef Whitney Aronoff, Health Supportive Chef, founder of Starsea Kitchen, and creator of nourishing food rooted in real ingredients, intuition, and intention. This podcast is a space where food, wellness, spirituality, and everyday living meet. We explore how what you eat, how you live, and what you believe all shape your energy, health, and overall sense of well-being. You have a physical body, a mental body, an emotional body, and a spiritual body. And all need to be recognized and nourished so you can feel balanced and truly thrive. Only you know what your body truly needs. Let this be your reminder that you already have the wisdom to tune in to your food, your self-care, and your spiritual practices and choose what supports you best. Through personal insights and conversations with experts across food, wellness, and spirituality, we'll explore how to nourish the physical, emotional, spiritual, and energetic layers of who you are so you can feel your best and live with clarity, vitality, and purpose. Let's get started. Hi Hillary, welcome to the High Vibration Living Podcast. Hello, thank you for having me. It's such a treat because I love what you do. And I feel like we're dancing sometimes in similar worlds. And like I mentioned to you, Hilda Labrada Gore has wanted to connect me to you for years. So I'm really grateful that you're taking the time to connect with us here and help us learn more about how we can better support and improve school lunches. Amazing.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

I love Hilda. She's been a good friend for a long time. And um, we met through the Weston A Price Foundation, and then she's been an instructor at our training academies, and she's just like we've done being Hilda, being human with Hilda and Hillary all through COVID. Like we're just, you know, trying to change the world by being joy, basically.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

And I, you know, I think you guys are doing it. And I like I mentioned to you before, I think the hardest part is behind us. I think the past 10 to 15 years, uh, a lot of people weren't ready to hear that their food needs to change or that their food wasn't actually serving them. And for some reason, something has shifted and people are so much more open-minded. They don't get defensive when you hear that they need to read ingredient labels or know where their food comes from. They're actually curious and they want to know more about what you're talking about. Are you seeing this shift?

SPEAKER_03 2:34

I am, yeah. I mean, you're absolutely right. And and in the beginning, like, you know, maybe even 20 years ago when my kids were really little, it was all new. And like what it's like once you see it, you can't unsee it, or once you learn it, you can't unlearn it. And so I was just like, oh my gosh, like had the awakening, and not everybody around me was having the same experience. And so then it's like you can be kind of that bull in the china shop, like running into the schools, or oh, please don't feed that to my kids, or every soccer practice or game, you know, when they're handing out blue popsicles and all these things, and and it can be so personal for people. I mean, I in reflection, I see um just how it's very delicate, and so I have a little bit more perspective on how intense I might have come across. But as that mama bear, you're kind of like, no, like these are my kids, and I don't want to put this into their bodies, and I just wanted everyone to see it, right? But um, people have their paths and their journeys, and you kind of can't see it until you're ready sometimes. So we have to be compassionate about that, and food is very emotional. There's a lot of history, there's a lot of uh culture, um, and people take it personally like, oh, you're are you saying like I didn't do a good job for my own kids or I'm not doing a good job? And so yeah, I have a lot of compassion. Explain to the listener what is School of Lunch. So, School of Lunch is a company where um we basically feed children at a school setting for 10 months out of the year.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Um, I stepped into the job of becoming a lunch lady because I saw um that if I didn't really step in and feed these kids the way I wanted them them to be fed, then they would probably revert back to a kind of lowest common denominator standard American diet. So we feed kids at a school in California 10 months out of the year. And then during the summer months, when we're off, we run training academies where we train really anyone and everyone who wants to learn how to cook and uh eat and live and thrive free of disease and prevent disease.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

So we, you know, I stepped into the work as a as a lunch lady, but you can really take this information and do whatever you want from it. So we have like 16-year-olds to 75-year-olds, people that are taking control of their own health, a lot of young 20-somethings looking to like for a new path forward. They've kind of seen that they've been struggling with their own health journey or whatnot, and they want, you know, mentorship and how to move in this direction. Um, we have people stepping into churches, hospitals, schools, uh, grandparents who are helping raise, you know, their grandkids and want to do the right thing, and um, young men. I mean, it's really, it's really amazing. So, yeah, we teach people about the principles of all these uh traditional ways of cooking, and then also the lifestyle factors where Hilda pops in and teaches all of her ancestral wisdom that she's learned uh across the globe with indigenous tribal people and movement. You know, movement is so important. We think about how we eat, but we don't think about like how we sit and how we stand and the shoes we wear and the screens that we're staring at and the phones that we're looking down at and all these things, breath work, um, cold adaptation. You know, your breath is like the tool that you have with you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, challenging yourself, showing that you can do hard things. Um, so yeah, so it's this very expansive five-night intensive where you kind of have a complete reset. And once you've graduated, you're part of the Soul Fam for life, the School of Lunch family, and you're just off to be the ripple. So um, but now we've stepped into also consulting with schools, private schools, public schools. We're working to um ch put our menus into a so it doesn't just live on this mountaintop in California that we can at a small private school, we can take it and put it into a public school and do a clinical trial or a pilot trial on the side and show that this way of feeding kids is preventing and reversing chronic disease. So that's like a bigger picture of trying to really, really affect change on a larger level. And then we are, you know, the micro is like where we're just the individual and how we can change each person to go be the ripple.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

So was there one school that you started working with to change how they were serving lunch?

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Well, the school in California where my kids went. Um we had a, you know, I had my whole own health journey and um family's health journey that ultimately brought us from uh Massachusetts to California, and we stumbled upon this little nature-based school that I loved and fell in love with the food that they were serving. Um the woman told me like she really wanted to roast a whole goat, the chef, and I was just like, ha ha, like I found my lady. And um, and then as the school grew, they outsourced the food and it kind of um wasn't aligned with how I was. I we went through a healing journey and onto the gaps diet um as a family, so I was very like, you know, in this healing mode and these nutrient-dense foods. And so I became the snack coordinator and a consultant to the lunch lady, and then I just like went to town on the snack and basically outshined the lunch program and then was given the keys to the kitchen halfway through the year, you know, basically shaking in my boots because I'm just like I've only fed my family of seven, never been to culinary school, never worked in a commercial kitchen ever. But I was just like, you know, on a mission and I knew I was just I just said yes, like let's just do it. And we kind of bootstrapped it with a couple interns and a private chef. And now we're 10 years down the road, and I feel like we have the most nutrient-intense school lunch program in the country. So, um, so yeah, just learned so many lessons along the way and just been kind of this just keep showing up and keep showing what's possible. I knew, like, I tried in Massachusetts to change the public school system, which was super challenging. And when I got my foot in the door at this little private school, I'm like, I'm just gonna show what's possible and the joy that comes from nourishing children um properly and like watching them happy every day and thriving and affecting their parents and the farmers and bringing everybody together. It's just we say we're joyfully disrupting the trend of chronic illness in this next generation of kids. And I added joyfully a couple of years ago because I'm like, if it's not joyful, no one wants to do it, right? So you have to kind of sing and dance and make it fun and get people like feeling the vibe of like, you know, this is possible and this is actually like the coolest job to have, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:46

If we don't have healthy children, what do we have? Because we won't have a healthy future, and that's what I think is the challenge that people are facing with school programs or even their local government, is they're seeing that they aren't thinking a generation ahead. They aren't thinking what things are gonna look like 20, 30, 40 years from now. And that's how we need to be looking at how we're feeding all the kids in the communities that we live in. Like these are the, these are gonna be the change maker. These are gonna be the minds that are leading us in the future. Are they even gonna be healthy and being able to serve?

SPEAKER_03 9:23

Right. I mean, it's it's so it's and school lunch is really the way forward. It's like 30 million meals a day are being served at schools. And so, I mean, some of these kids do our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So the the opportunity to change the trajectory of a child's health is huge. I mean, we say we have their stomachs for six hours a day, 30% of their meals across the year. Like that's a huge opportunity. And it's not just feeding them, it's the culture change, right? So when the whole school participates and the teachers are participating and the families start to understand, and you shift that culture, then it becomes like a way of life, and um there's a united front at home and at school. I think that's where sometimes the biggest challenge lies. I mean, there's obviously like getting the foods into the school, which is a huge challenge right now. And then there's the culture change within the school and within the community. My my son's lacrosse coach said a couple of years, culture precedes success. And I was like, oh my God, that's that's it. Like that's why we're successful, because we have a kitchen culture, which is check your ego at the door, mission is the boss, like these kids, we want to get as much nutrition into them every day. And then um, and then we have a a school culture, you know, where everyone's participating. And so, and actually recently I was just talking to my partner about it, like it's it's kind of like gotten a little rogue where like kids are bringing in stuff, and it's like you can just see the like unraveling so quickly of like where your message gets lost when they're just like diverted to oh, this person has Doritos or whatever, and it's not cool, or what there's so much nuance to the whole their kids, right? So we're already up against so much. So to keep it tight and to have everybody understand the mission is so crucial, and it seems so bizarre that we can't get everybody on that same page, right? Like the importance of this is so crucial. Like we're worried about having the best math program or passing these tests, and it's like, but we're not worried about the food.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

I know, and the food foundation. As you know, with Westanay Price Foundation, the food can help determine the test scores. And the studies, all the studies are there that if we get the kids healthy fats at lunch, they're gonna be happier sitting in their seats for classes in the afternoon. They're gonna pay more attention, their test scores are gonna go up. All the studies are there. Yet uh in the state of California, there's a law that says that you can't cook with food with fat. So most of the vegetables and protein are just being, you know, steamed and roasted without they can't cook with any fat? They can't cook with any fat. Not even vegetable oils. As of right now, when I was in the cafeteria a few weeks ago, um, I was told that they can't use any fat. Oh my God, I'm like screaming inside. It's so crazy.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

I mean, obviously we want the seed oils out, but I'm like, they're not even using those. Like I thought that was like staple to smother everything in the city. I know.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

So I I went to see what they served at lunch at Lugana Beach High School prior to teaching a cooking class to all the cafeteria staff for all four schools in the district. And they had whole steamed Brussels sprouts. And as a chef that's worked in a restaurant, I'm looking at the Brussels sprouts thinking, why weren't the ends trimmed off and why weren't they sliced in half? And why were they steamed? Nobody likes steamed Brussels sprouts. Why weren't they roasted? Because everyone loves a roasted Brussels sprout these days. And I started asking these questions, which, you know, can get you into trouble. And that's when I learned that uh that they can't prepare anything with with fats.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

And fat is the flavor. I'm like, smother those babies in baking grease, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Like Yeah, and that's the that's the brain food.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Well, the brain food, and that's what's very hard right now about the dietary guidelines changed, but they didn't lift the fat cap. So it's still a 10% fat cap. So um our menus, like I I was able to be free of the dietary guidelines and step in and do what intuitively I knew, you know, would feed these kids brains and their bodies and fuel them. We had a kid the first year who's like, I used to feel like this up and down all day long, and now I just feel like this. Yeah. Sixth grade. And he just like, you know, verbalized that that he feels steady and stable. And we, you know, we're using lots of good, healthy fats. And that's, you know, it's been debunked that fats are the devil or whatever are bad for us. And so it's just trying to get people to catch up with that um is really challenging. But um yeah, I can't, I that that is our biggest challenge right now because we want to take our menus and put them into a public school in Florida where we've been working for 18 months or so with them. And then when the dietary guidelines came out, and we want to do a clinical trial, but we can't take our menus currently and put them into that school without raising the fat cap. And to go off the national school lunch program is super expensive because you have to have enough money in escrow basically to feed the kids for two years. It's millions and millions of dollars. So it's just there's there's all these different roadblocks that keep coming in, but we're trying to find a school um or maybe even a cohort that we can take off the NSLP, the school lunch program, and be able to show that this way of feeding kids is actually by doing a fasting insulin um with the kids in the morning and to show that we're actually reversing and preventing chronic disease. That's what I think it's gonna take for people to see that, you know, but these lunch ladies and the um nutrition service directors are handcuffed. I mean, like to put butter on something, to put butter on broccoli is like not allowed, basically. Yeah, and so and that's where the flavors, so then the kids don't eat it, and you're bringing all this. If you're trying to bring in fresh fruits, I mean fresh vegetables and cook them, you have to make them flavorful, right? So it's kind of a catch-22 right now, but we're pushing. We're pushing.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Yeah. To think you can't have just a jar of olive oil on the side that they can drizzle on top and a little like a little real sea salt, like and just let them flavor their food like if they were at the Whole Foods, you know, salad bar, but they're not allowed to do that. They aren't allowed to use their intuition and have an option to finish off their meal in the way that feels and tastes good to them. And you brought up that point. It's like they're not allowed to even develop that part of themselves into choosing how they're supposed to eat for them. You know, we have all these students that are exerting different amounts of physical and mental energy. They're not all the same, but yet they're forced to eat the same. A quick pause to share something I truly used and love. I'm chef Whitney Arena. And as a personal chef, I began sharing my Starseep Kitchen organic spice blends with private clients when I couldn't find high-quality seasoning that met my standards for their meal prep. My clients are people who care deeply about what goes into their food and how it makes them feel, just like you. Every Starseed Kitchen blend is made with the highest quality organic spices with no added sugar, no MSG, no anti-caking agents, and no fillers. Just clean, real ingredients that support your body and elevate your cooking. Two of my most loved blends are 11 Magic Girls Spices, a go-to everyday seasoning that works on just about everything and starts with an adobo, a light, bright, anti-inflammatory blend designed for modern, health-supportive cookie. Every jar is prepared with a tension, charged with quinilini mantra, portskies of crystals, and blessed by a shaman. Because spices and the food you prepare with them are not just nourishment, they're a transfer of energy. You can find Starseed Kitchen Spices at all Erawan locations or online at starseedkitchen.com. Use code Starseed for 10% off your online order. Now let's get back to the conversation.

SPEAKER_03 17:33

Yeah, like everything's just by numbers, right? So you're gonna feed a kindergartner the same amount of protein as a high schooler, or maybe they're allowed to just increase the carbohydrates. Like everything is just so calculated when really you don't know if that child has gone and run five miles of gym class or whatever, and they're just starving, and they're a 14-year-old boy, you know, that's just like ready to devour, you know, and needs that refueling. And instead, it's just a lot of times, just I mean, I had a little my neighborhood um friend who is in, I think, fifth grade, fourth or fifth grade, brought home her school lunch for like a a week, and it was horrifying. I mean, it's like you see it on, you know, the computer or whatever, but to see it in person is just really disheartening. And everything is opened up, opening up a package of broccoli in a little baggie that you know is thrown into some sort of microwave or something. Um, and also it lasts like like it doesn't go bad for a while. Like it sat on my kitchen table for a week and just all out. I mean, it was so disheartening. So, I mean, I don't want to be Debbie Downer, but I it's like we do need to all start to come together. And I think it's a moment right now where that's why we're pushing. So even though the dietary guidelines still need improvement with the Florida school, we're pushing as far as we can with the current dietary guidelines to increase, because they did say to increase, pretty much double the protein. So, can we show that doubling the protein, all the the changes, maybe it's not a clinical trial, but it's showing that the changes are documented with attention or attendance and grades and all these things. Um, but we're pushing the level because what happens is they enter, it gets really complicated, but they enter what they're serving into this system, and you get a red flag if you go over the fat or the salt or the protein. And so the this the dietary guidelines change, but the system takes years probably to figure out how to update the system to incorporate the changes. So we want to show we're pushing to the we're on the out the edge here of like what's possible, and even if we get a red flag, we're adhering to the dietary guidelines, the new guidelines. And so we need permission basically to say, let it go through with a red flag because we're adhering to what. Whereas a lot of people, unfortunately, I think might who are not scratch cooking, might just ask the Cisco's and the whatnot to reformulate the packages to have more protein or whatever's, you know. And now we see at the Expo West or whatever that, you know, so it's all protein and everything's added. There's like protein water and this and that. And when really I I mean, I had a French um when I first came out here to California, I had written a book about gut health, and um it's very, you know, West in Price gaps. And I felt like all of a sudden I was in this melting pot with people from all over the world, like a little mini West in Price, and I would see, you know, a lot of elders from different countries, and I would always ask them like how they grew up eating and show them my cookbook, and they'd say, This is how we ate growing up, and we were never sick. And I were seeing our kids and our grandkids, you know, struggling with various issues. And my one French elder, I met her at the butcher shop, she's like, was like, you know, not even five feet tall, and she's buying bones to make her broth and stuff. And she said to me, Um, Hillary, she said, just never forget simplicity is gourmet. And that's been like our tagline basically, because we're overthinking it. So just it's so simple, right? It's like protein, starch, a veg, a healthy dressing, whatever, and that's it. But we're overthinking and calculating, and everything's gotta be formulated when really it's just real food prepared simply, made with love. You know, intuitively the kids can choose. Like, you know, every day is different for everybody. So um I'd love to be able to get back to that and so that we can feed the masses in a way that makes much more sense. And I think we're going in that direction with school gardens. I mean, this school in Florida is uh Odyssey charter schools, they're already way ahead of the game, and they have uh school gardens and they have um, you know, like green cleaning products, and they have air filters and Baroque playing in the hallways. Like they're really trying to have the the next level, like best model for healthy. schools. So anyway, it's it's very challenging, but I just think people like us just have to keep showing up and keep pushing and saying, you know, this is possible and this what's needed. Because if there isn't an example, then you know, we kind of just revert back to what's easiest. And people don't want to do don't want to do extra work. That's why we have to make it joyful.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

So for those that are listening and they're thinking, maybe I don't even know how to make my school kids lunch correctly. You know, like maybe I am listening, like they're listening to this and they're thinking, ooh, I probably should relook at what I'm serving for breakfast before they walk out the door and what I'm packing in their lunch. Because I think many people are at a point where just they're throwing a bunch of bags into a bag and the kids walking out the door. How can they what should they change for breakfast and what should they change in their lunch bag? What are simple things that they can do for let's say elementary and middle school kids?

SPEAKER_03 22:56

Well first start with real food if you can, right? Like all the pro I see it all the time like kids just opening package after package after package. And I was that mom like in the beginning when I woke up I was like oh if it says organic then it must be good. You know what is like organic pyra booty and organic cereal and all these things and I didn't know anything about blood glucose levels and keeping that stable energy. So if you can get back to real food and prepare you know eggs, bacon, sausage like proteins and fats are going to be key. Of course there's some carbohydrates like when my kids were little sometimes we would do a soaked oatmeal with lots of fat and cream and little nuts on top or coconut or something or have sausage on the side so it's balanced. You know you don't want to just feed your kids cereal with skim milk and send them on their way. I mean I did a little survey the other day of like what'd you have for breakfast? And it was a lot of like pancakes, waffles, cereal, toast, bagel, you know, which is like a lot of a lot of carbs in the morning so they get this quick burst of energy and then kind of crash. But kids are kids are different from adults to mean they burn, burn, burn and they're running around. But I think protein is really really important and um focusing on that if if you can get that into them in the morning would be good. So eggs are so easy, right? So if you can get some eggs and sausage into them that would be great. And then for for lunch again proteins and fats um thinking about things like um rolled up meats or tuna fish egg salad olives cheese salami like sliced up salami nuts um cheese is great right whole milk things with good um good you know stable energy so that they're like they're good for several hours um not the the things that are going to quickly break down to sugar and then they're crashing. And that's what happens a lot. And so and that's where like the retraining of the taste buds and it's so important to normalize eating whole foods and eating a healthy balanced meal because you know if they are seeing their friends eating packaged foods and they're eating packaged foods this just becomes normalized and this is what is considered food right so like a pirate booty is maybe satisfying them for a second because it's hitting the taste buds and whatnot, but it's not think of the fuel if you think of ourselves and how we're responding to nutrition right and then you think of like our ancestors and the way we evolved eating right I mean it's really in the last hundred plus years that we've kind of gone rogue and industrialization has kind of come up with all these quick easy convenience things and we're all busier than ever. So I I get it. I mean I totally get it I have five kids I had five kids under the age of four. So I'm just like and making school lunches I'm like I'd rather cook for like 150 kids than make like five school lunches because it can be hard. Like every kid is different. I mean my husband used to say like just pack them the same thing and send them off their on their way and I'm like it doesn't work like that. Like this kid likes this and this kid likes that and doesn't like this and then it comes home and you can throw it away or they're starving because they didn't so you know it's it's not an easy fix. But again it starts at home with the values and you know cooking a proper breakfast and sitting down to family dinners and making food a priority. So and the more the systems you can get set up in your home the easier it becomes and if you just kind of have that list of what you're sending them off with. But I see it I get it I totally get that it's it's busy and challenging. So you do the best you can and um communicate with your kid hey how did you feel today?

SPEAKER_00 26:41

Could I pack you something different I my mom put chips in my lunch for years and I would give them away or throw them away and finally I didn't want to hurt her feelings. So finally at one point in middle school I shared with her I don't eat the chips I I actually hate fried food. I don't like chips I came out of the womb that way. And if you really think about it as you know someone that studied gut health these chips this pirate's booty all this dried food that's in a bag that is not being easily digested into the gut. There's no moisture it's just going in there and sitting there and I'm someone that's always been aware of the vibration of food. You know when I touch something I know if I'm supposed to eat it or not and I just could never eat tips. And so when I finally told my mom after years of her giving these tips in my lunches that I never ate it and I always gave it away or threw it away, she was pissed. Her response was why did you why didn't you tell me earlier I just I just wasted so much money for so many years. And I just I always reflect on that because it's such a reminder that you know kids are people pleasers to their parents sometimes in different ways. And so um always pause and just double check with your kids to see if they actually like what what you're packing for their lunch, if there's something else that they want, if there's something else that they're craving and then find the healthiest version of that craving. But I think like everybody gets into auto mode and you know they're just trying to check off their to-do list. And so we often forget to have conversations with um with our kids or any family members about what we're feeding them if and if it's really connecting.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

Yeah. Yeah we've had to go through that with the kids at school because some different days of the week a cohort of kids will pack their lunch and go on the land for the whole day. It's a nature based school. So it's super cool we put out this like elaborate sandwich bar and then it's like oh but the sandwich gets soggy and I'm like oh my God like it's going into the backpack. They're running around for a couple hours it's hot and then they have to like open up a tuna fish sandwich or whatever, you know and it's like but tea so we've kind of come back like is it the bread? Should we change the bread do we do this we do that like all these things and we have like every option that a sandwich shop would have like beautiful you know roast beef and tuna salad, egg salad, hummus, pesto, goat cheese, you know, bacon, tomato everything. And so um but it's really comes back to again the communication with the kids. Like I see some of them wrap their sandwiches in third grade and they just like throw the thing in there and then they put the paper around it and smush it all up and throw it in their thing and they're just not thinking about like how this is going to look in two hours. So I'm always like up over over flip up over you know trying to teach them but I'm like okay I think we need to like slow down and have a a lesson in like backpacking and how you know like one of my chefs is big into backpacking and she's like someone taught me like you know it's gonna go on the top of your bag and anyway it gets back to just communicating and um and setting them up for success right like we don't have to throw away their sandwiches because they're soggy. It's like put the cheese down first or whatever it is. But um yeah and and the vibration thing is absolutely like I mean when I look back to all those foods that I fed my kids like it's basically dead food. Right. And I I remember feeding my sourdough starter once like you know freshly milled flour and then I had another one that was just like grocery store flour and the the freshly milled flour was like so much happier because like the life force in it was just like so fresh, right? And so high vibe. So it just was an example to me. Um and obviously just you know if you think about intention and vibration and the farmers that are intentionally growing the food with the highest integrity and raising these animals with the highest integrity and that's what and then like the chefs are you know so appreciative of of these beautiful foods and they come to the kitchen. I mean I see it with what you do it's like the beauty is just yeah you know it's we're so lucky and so to have that that traceability back to the farmer and then that gratitude of like what actually went you know went on for this food to be on your plate and the beauty that it's presented to you is so amazing. And often the kids don't really they feel the gratitude and the love that goes into it but it's often when they leave school and I saw it with my own kids or like my son goes off to college he's like mom the food is terrible and like I don't feel well. Yes. And I get like texts from kids like we miss your food and you know so it's like we just I feel like if I can give them that gift of knowing what it feels like to feel good then they always have that to return back to. But I think most kids and most adults don't really know what that feeling is. They don't know what it feels like to feel good. Most people I asked a girl the other day in her 20s I was like how many of your friends are struggling with like mental health or gut issues and she said all of them.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

And it does the foundation is the food that they're putting into their machine.

SPEAKER_03 31:46

They don't have answers except for more tests and drugs and this and that and so it's like so and then they're trying to live like I always say I want these kids to graduate from high school and be pursuing their dreams not trying to figure out their gut health right and I was just talking to my um my Chuck is my business partner and partner life I was talking to him about and he's like yeah but the 20 somethings aren't gonna like you know I was like maybe I should do a group I just became a gaps certified coach and he's just like they're they're like you know they don't want to dedicate the time you know it's like you're in your 20s and it's hard to say like don't eat out or don't do this have meat stock all this but I was like well then you know maybe I'll do 30 somethings because you know the problems don't just go away. No right building yeah so that's why getting to kids at age three four five is so important because you actually have a chance to really set them up uh for success yeah and if we don't then we're literally just driving our kids into the medical system um and we've been doing that like we see the results like we've just been hammered over the head with how many what percentage of kids are gonna have diabetes and are struggling with chronic illness. It's like over half of our kids. Yeah and like you know don't qualify for the military and so um and moms you know screaming from the rooftops. And so I mean being in the the world of the government and trying to change things at that level is I mean like some days I'm just like why am I doing this? You know like I have my own family like sometimes I'm like I'm gonna just step back and like shift to fo the focus because it's like you know you're kind of like slapped all around like okay yeah like go this way and then like okay go this way and then it's like oh no go this way oh no we're not gonna do any of that and then then there's like a you know an opening over here and I keep chasing but I I feel like we just keep earning our street cred with like what it takes to really change this system. And I I do feel like there's more and more people I mean there's like Eat Real Certified is out there um brigade there's just there are people there's you there's like the individual that's making the change and and I I can get discouraged but then I can also see that it really is one meal one plate at a time like you said or one bite at a time and that's how that that's how change happens and like to keep showing up on Instagram sometimes I can get so bogged down I'm like oh I'm so done with Instagram but then you get this message of like oh I've been following you and you totally changed my life and so I'm like oh like you know you just never know who you're inspiring and who's gonna make that shift or who's gonna be the next you know change maker out there. So you just keep showing up and keep doing the work and um and it is like you know I think some part of me is like stay with what's right right in front of you, what's closest to home. Like first take care of yourself, your family your school your community your kids' school whatever and then you can keep branching out but we don't want to exhaust ourselves um always say like I'm no good to anybody if I'm like six feet under right so like you have to kind of keep the balance of absolutely you know what we can do and keep the joy. Because I like I love my work but if it becomes you know even my French elder you know the one who said simplicity is gourmet towards the end of her life she's like I've just lost my she was like 93 she's like I've lost my enthusiasm. You know and so when I feel that in my system I've really listened to that I've learned to listen for like the last 10 years I feel like I've just been push push push and now I'm like oh my God I'm like almost 52 I'm like okay you start to think about life and how much time you have you know we're here for such a short amount of time so um just really listening to to what's possible and where the joy comes because I think if it's joyful to do it then that's the right way to go right.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

If people listening are hearing you say over and over again nutrient dense meals for kids what are some cookbooks you recommend they pick up so they can start trying that at home?

SPEAKER_03 35:50

Ooh well Nourishing Traditions changed my life by Sally Fallon. I mean it's pretty dense and um it's a lot of recipes but the first 80 pages if you just read that you kind of get like a little intro into what nutrient dense means and how um you know we evolved eating as as humans and uh gut health and all the you know fat-soluble vitamins why fats are so important how we've been kind of led down the wrong path so that's that's a great one and actually on top of that nutrition and physical degeneration the work of Western Price is really um affirming in the sense of like you know how people were thriving not too long ago right uh free of disease so and then one generation removed when came the industrialization of processed foods the deterioration of our health so um those are really great um I think uh Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice I was just looking at that last night because she kind of like was out there she changed my life her book changed my life um just eating like with the seasons and the moon and just super nutrient dense and it's like such a good beautiful read. I loved that book um and she started a community supported kitchen uh up in Berkeley a long time ago I mean she's shifted now but um and then I think the work of Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride who wrote The Gaps Diet uh which stands for the gut and psychology syndrome and the gut and physiology syndrome that's the gut brain gut body connection so the health of your gut affects the health of your brain the health of your body and that's what you know my work was based on which changed the trajectory of our health we did this special protocol uh for two years as a family and I wrote the heal your gut cookbook which was designed to show moms and dads really that you can eat beautiful simple delicious foods and still heal. And like I said like I'm not a trained chef I just was a mom of five little kids and we had all these um issues that I wanted to heal and so I just kind of stepped in to try to make because Natasha's books are brilliant but they're dense and they're not cookbooks and I wanted to show I'm a visual learner so I wanted to show the beauty of real food. So every recipe is pretty pretty simple. I have so many books I literally was just thinking about it last night. It's funny that you asked that because I'm like you know I have this whole thing filled with books and we have like two other huge things filled with books and um I'm so inspired by by so many cookbooks. So I think just get and like even if it's a cookbook that has seed oils or whatever just get whatever inspires you to look through and like if it has seed oils you can always switch those out like you can adapt recipes right or if it's like a lot of sugar or whatever you can start to just get inspired and then make it your own you know and then it's really about developing the confidence in the kitchen. And once you make something once like um another guy that I worked with was like it's about earning your street cred. Like you you know you roast a chicken once you're like oh yeah I've done that you know and then you can do it again and um it's just get building that confidence. I think a lot of us grew up um without being taught how to cook. You know I know I didn't and unless you were blessed with like a mom who was super passionate about cooking or a grandmother that lived in the home and passed down you know recipes to you we all kind of I mean I'm again I'm 52 almost so it's like that 70s 80s like we just kind of got got what we got right it was not like I watched my mom cooking over the stove all the time.

SPEAKER_04 39:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:30

And so um I like to say we're like the ancestors in training like we our generation needs to step into the work and relearn what was once common knowledge and pass down from generation to generation. And then you know because if we don't if we don't then these skills are just going to be lost. So um so yeah I think it's really like and like or if people inspire you on Instagram like I just went down when I was going down your rabbit hole that Eden Eden eats or whatever that I've never even heard of her. And I was like oh my gosh she's hilarious like a little soul sister I'm like she was singing dance in the kitchen with me like you know and so it's like there's there's endless good content for finding inspiration that actually can be part of the problem I think is that you can get tripped up on like having to make a beautiful you know meal. But what I say is really when you get your system set up in the kitchen um it can be really easy. Like we do a lot of like slow roasting meats where we'll make like a chuck roll or a pork shoulder overnight slow and low and then we'll make a lot of like tacos or whatever that you know just have like a really beautiful like we were lucky we have really beautiful tortillas from a Tahati grain project out here that are you know made with lard and so we can do like a quick taco with like beautiful meats and avocado and creme fraîche and salsa and there's a meal, right? A little sauerkraut on top and so it's like we don't reinvent the wheel every night I don't feel like it has to be like food network worthy. You know it's just like really setting yourself up so that you always have good proteins available and then all you need on top of that is you know your fresh local seasonal fruits and veg.

SPEAKER_00 41:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:12

So and good eggs and stuff. So it's like um yeah again simplicity is gourmet. So it's about and that's what we teach at our training academies how to get your systems in place at home or at school so that it's like on Sunday you're doing this and then Monday you can do this and you know it becomes and how often you need to do things is this a weekly thing is this a bi weekly or you know can you make your salad dressings for the week like I've started just making a blenderful salad dressing which we do at school and I'm like why am I not doing this at home like all the time because my daughter's like I love the salad dressing. So I just make like two big jars and it's just done for the week. So much easier.

SPEAKER_00 41:50

Yeah you just have your prep day and it makes life so much easier.

SPEAKER_03 41:54

And I'm not a big prep person. Like I'm not a big meal planner. I wish I was like I don't write out the things you probably do because you're like super organized. But I find when I stock my kitchen with the good stuff I always can figure out a creative meal or something fun to make with what I have. So I'm kind of like a fly by the seat of my pants like what are we gonna have? Oh okay we have this this this and just throw it together.

SPEAKER_00 42:21

But that also allows you to go to the farmer's market and listen to your intuition buy what you want or be at the grocery store stop in and intuitively choose maybe what's been missing from your diet over the past few weeks. And that's really helpful. As a chef because I'm choosing lots of ingredients all the time that I'm not eating it's harder for me to pick up what I haven't eaten in a while. It's weird. When you work with food your body doesn't know if you've eaten it or not because you've touched it. It's a very weird thing. So I can prepare chard for all my clients all week long. And then when I go to shop for myself I'll look at the chard and be like oh no I I had that this week but I didn't I never invested it but I just worked with it all week long. So that's been a really interesting that's been a really interesting physical and psychological game as a chef is actually trying to tune in and figure out what my body needs versus everything it was just exposed to. I want to take a moment to share how Team Star Seed Kitchen can support you beyond the podcast. I'm chef Whitney Arenoff founder of Team Star Seed Kitchen, a personal chef and custom meal prep service. This is for people who want to eat well, feel better and be supportive nourishing food without distress of cleaning shopping or cooking through Team Starseed Kitchen I work with a trusted team of health supportive chefs who prepare fully customized meals based on your needs, preferences and lifestyle whether you're focused on food, on the balance, digestion, energy, or simply having high quality food ready for your week we meet you where you are all meals are made with real full ingredients. No seed oils, no refined sugar, and no shortcuts. Just thoughtfully prepared food designed to support your body and make your life easier. This service is deeply cooked. It's about having food in your fridge that you can trust. Food that supports your health, saves you time, and helps you feel grounded and cared for. If you're ready for consistent nourishing meals made just for you, you can learn more about our service and apply to work with us on starseatkitchen.com or follow the link in the show notes. We have chefs ready and available across the country, and we so look forward to nourishing you. Now let's return to the episode.

SPEAKER_03 44:36

Yeah, and that happens to us sometimes at school because we'll cook, cook, cook, cook, cook, and then it's like, I don't want to feel like eating. Or I'll come home and I'm like, I'm I'm just gonna have a glass of kefir, you know, because it's like you've been around food all day. Yeah, it's but I love shopping at the markets, and I that's where I get inspired, or even the grocery store, like that's where recipes that maybe I had like sat in bed with a cookbook and been like, oh yeah, like, or sometimes I'll be with cookbooks and just jot down a few ideas, and then at the farmer's market, I'm like, oh yeah, I'm gonna get eggplant. I'm gonna make that dish or whatever. And I just, you know, I'm able to kind of follow my intuition that way or my inspiration. But yeah, when you are cooking all day, it's a little bit different, and um, you have to kind of balance that. But maybe you have a day that you just shopped for for you, and or maybe you eat the foods that you're cooking for your clients and see how that I don't know, that's a hard one. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 45:35

Well, for those that are listening and they're thinking, wow, I really need to get more involved with my kids' school. I need to see what they're actually eating at school, what's being served, like I want to be a part of a positive change. Do you have any advice on where parents can get involved with the food that's being served at public schools or private?

SPEAKER_03 45:57

Yeah, I mean, when I first started with the public schools, way, way back, I went into the school nurse and said, I need a list of ingredients for the foods. And that was like kind of a sly way to get in and be like, oh my God, there's 500 ingredients and everything. So, and now with the, you know, all that's come out about the food dyes and seed oil, all these things, you have a little bit more leverage to say this is not okay. Um, but it has to be, yeah, you kind of have to, the school has to be on board with and open to change. Um, because I've just seen a lot of parents, even at private schools, spinning their wheels. But I think also getting involved, like also what I did back in the day was I started teaching a little cooking class for like the little kindergarten. My kids were in kindergarten. I've triplets, so I had three of them then. So I was like, you know, I got a local chef that was a friend of mine, and we went in, and another friend of mine, and we just taught little cooking classes, and we worked with the chef there because she had to open her kitchen to us. And so that was one way to make change, but on a deep level, a systemic level, I think if a parent group can put put pressure onto the school and also be part of the solution, right? I've had people start nonprofits out outside of the school system, but be a support to the school system. So, how can we connect the school to more local farmers and um switching out your sourcing? I mean, that's that's something that is possible, you know, and a food service director should be open to that. A lot of it just depends on who you meet on the other side of, you know, the phone or the door of like if they're open. And I think my biggest advice is don't go in like a bull in a china shop, which is what I did. Like, this is not okay, we gotta change it all. And then they're just like, shut down, shut down, like crazy lady. And then they'll just like kind of placate you until your kids graduate out of the school, and then they're like, Whoa, she's out of here. So um it's again, I think having compassion for where we all are in this spectrum right now of like how far we've kind of just gone off the rails, and how are we going to bring it all back? It's like the Titanic, it's like, I gotta turn the ship around, like you know, iceberg right ahead. And so it's like, how do we work together to come at it and approach it with curiosity and like where are the biggest hurdles and how can we, you know, there's this great local farmer. I've spoken to him or her, and they're ready to supply. And um, I mean, we we did a conference at a Hyatt in um in New Orleans, huge Hyatt, and it was like they wanted to use all school of lunch values in the meals for the conference. So I spoke to the chef and worked with them about sourcing locally, and because of that weekend long conference, he went out with his team and they they met local farmers that they didn't know about, and they found a rice farmer, and then they found a vegetable farmer who actually set aside a huge plot of plot of land just for the Hyatt. They're gonna start growing for the Hyatt. And that's what will happen with schools is as soon as you start those relationships and the farmer can depend on that client, the school, it's a huge income stream for them, and it's this beautiful relationship. So I think parents coming in is like, how can I be part of the solution? Um, someone at our school said, like, you know, you're gonna be a problem bringer or a problem solver. And so I always try to keep that in my head. Like it's easy to complain. It's so easy to complain and be like, this is not right, but if you don't come with a solution, then you're kind of just the pro part of the problem, right? So um, yeah, I think just the more parents that get on board, the more change can happen because it's not, it's just at school, it's at after school sports, it's the snack shack, it's like the values have to change. So, um, but I think it's again sticking with your school and seeing what difference you can make in that community because I've tried to go wide and sometimes I'm like, oh my god, this is this is too much. Um, but yeah, that would be my advice. And you know, I mean, Sally Fallon, I remember so long ago, like literally almost 20 years ago, I was driving her to like a hockey practice, she was speaking in our town, and I was like, so like I'm thinking of trying to change school lunches, and she was just like, just feed your kids well, like pack their lunch and feed feed them all because she's like, it's such a beast, yeah. Um, but uh there's more noise than ever right now. So I feel like it's a moment to like energize all the parents and say, Go for it, like don't just stay silent, like go in with joy, be a problem solver, and say, like, how can I help? I have 50 parents that are ready, ready to help. We will slice fruit. You know, can we go in and slice the fruit? They can't, I know, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:52

You can't because of everyone's favorite word called the union. They can't. There's no way that's a conversation for another time, but that union will not let other people in to participate in food preparation. That's what we're dealing with in America right now. But again, like that's a conversation for another time. I'm sure there are positives of to that, but like that's the issue is, you know, at a at a private school, kids can get involved with the food preparation. They can do like a quote unquote internship, they can do a certain amount of hours a week or a month and start to learn the other side, which is so much fun for kids. Parents can come in and slice fruit and be a part of the prep, but not at public schools because there's unions.

SPEAKER_03 51:38

Yeah. Well, I look at what you're doing, and like you went into your school, I went into my school.

SPEAKER_04 51:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:44

We've trained chefs, we trained like 10 people from the Florida school at our training academy. And it literally is just like, I think people don't know until they know. And so even if you are going in as a parent or you know, somebody to teach something, or I mean, you got in and were able to help out, but it's like opening a crack in the door. So there's a light, and they're like, Oh, there's another way. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. And wow, like when these 10 people came from Florida to our training academy, all 10 of them had like health epiphanies in five nights of just like wow, I feel so much better. Oh, my like, like my scalp doesn't itch, or what my skin, whatever. All these things that was like, wow, the food is totally correlated to how I feel. So if the people in charge can have that experience of seeing some a different way or that crack opened for them, then that can be how the system starts starts to change. And then if they have support. Um, because as chefs and parents um and adults, we have a collective responsibility to you know nourish our children in a way that is setting them up for success. I mean, we we wore blood glucose monitors back in 2019 as a citizen science project, just to show parents and chefs and teachers and kids how the way the food they eat affects their blood glucose levels. And as a chef, if you know or a parent that the what you're feeding a child is driving them into the medical system, you know, that's a hard, hard to put your head on the pillow at the end of the day. And so we have to kind of get to that point where you're like, This is really real, and what I'm feeding these kids is affecting them. And how do I want to, you know, what's my legacy? I'm leaving, right? Like, it's really real. So the disconnect, it's important that we reconnect, and I think that's through human, human connection and kindness and compassion for where we are and how we're going to kind of turn the ship around together and um and bringing the joy back and bringing the knowledge back, but it's not like it's an overnight fix. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 54:09

You have to move slow. Yes. I wish. I keep telling myself that. Like before I walk into the school cafeteria, I like just breathe and I calm myself down and I remind myself that this it's slow moving, you know. It is, it's it's it's a sailboat, it's not a motorized yacht. Like we're gonna go slow and that's okay. Um, but like I keep the positive that it is all gonna change in the right direction because it has to, you know.

SPEAKER_03 54:40

Yeah, it's already changing, right? Like it's already, it's already, it's already in motion. So we're just like, you know, we're just keeping that momentum going. Yeah. So it's like just know that it's in motion, know that it's happening. And the more of us that jump on, and like, you know, what maybe it will like spin faster if the more of us, more of us that get on the same same boat and like decide to make the change.

SPEAKER_00 55:05

Yeah. So it's like I always reference this saying that like one of my first spiritual teachers and astrologers said to me um, like over 10 years ago, she's it's it's basically like get on the bus now or get on the bus later, but the bus has already left the station. Like this is the direction it's going. You can either join now or suffer and join later, but like this is where it's heading. And so either be a positive part of the the change, or you know, you can drag your feet and jump on at the last minute, but this is the direction it's all going. This is the direction of food and consciousness.

SPEAKER_03 55:42

My um intuitive coach and spiritual coach, she said the same thing, like Hillary, the train has left this station. Yeah, like we're not going back to, you know, everybody cooking around the fire in community or wherever. Like we're on this, you know, fast moving train. And so you kind of have to like decide to jump on and and um and kind of be with what is, and then do your best to stay in the joy of it all. Yes. Um, but but understand that um, I mean, another friend of mine said, always forward, never straight. You know, like just know that it's not just like you're always moving forward, but it's gonna be ups and downs. It's like life, you know, for everybody. It's like we just have to keep moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 56:27

I needed that one. Always forward, but never straight. Because sometimes you get frustrated that it doesn't feel like it's always moving forward, but it is. It's just sometimes angled.

SPEAKER_01 56:37

Yeah. So you're like, oh, I'm just taking a little detour today. Oh God. Still moving forward. Yeah. Slowly.

SPEAKER_00 56:43

Exactly. Well, where can people keep learning from you? Sign up for the School of Lunch five-day experience. Please share what they can connect with you and um learn more about that.

SPEAKER_03 56:55

Okay, so schooloflunch.com. They'll find out about what School of Lunch is all about and what we do at the school and what we do at the training academy. Uh, School of Lunch on Instagram. Um, the Heal Your Gut Cookbook is on Amazon or Chelsea Green Publishing. Uh, and then just briefly, the the Training Academy again is a five-night intensive June 14th through the 19th this year. It's in beautiful mountains of Topanga at a retreat center, and we go through all the things from soaking and sprouting your nuts and seeds and grains to whole grain sourdough, bread, milling fresh grains to fermenting vegetables, raw dairy, fermented raw dairy, meat stocks, bone broths, gut health, organ meats, getting organ meats in is so, so crucial and amazing. Um, then how to shop your farmers markets, taking people down to the Santa Monica farmers market, how do you interact with your farmers, ask the right questions, uh, feel empowered that way. And then, of course, all the lifestyle things from breath work, cold plunging, sunrise walks, sleep movement, all the good stuff. So it's pretty amazing. It's like the best camp ever. Like if you're a foodie or you're just like into this and you want to bring the joy back into your life or your home kitchen or you want to heal yourself. It's just like you're part of a like-minded community, and we again we you're connected for life. So you go off into your communities and be the ripple, but you always have a place to come home to where you can um, you know, ask questions, reconnect, get inspired, and and just again know what it feels like to feel good and be in nature, which is so important.

SPEAKER_00 58:29

I mean, I want to sign up for this. Like I feel like it's the refresh that I need as a chef, even though I went to a culinary school that touched on all that. Sometimes you need a refresh and in the bright environment. And that is I would love for you to come.

SPEAKER_03 58:44

Yeah, because it is it's so joyful. I think that's part of the magic of what we bring, is that it's just not so it's not about like culinary school or the you know rigidity of any of it. It's just about the joy and and humanity, like being human together and sitting down and literally breaking bread together and having these conversations with really cool people from around the globe that have come to just learn and we learn from each other. Like I'm constantly learning, and a 16-year-old has a lot to teach a 50-year-old. And we had a 16-year-old come to the academy, she came back the next year as an intern in our kitchen, then we invited her back as a chef because she's like that badass. That like, and then another chef of ours, like at the closing circle, gifted her a knife that some chef had given her at age like you know, 17 or 18. And she's like, I want you to have my knife. And so it's just like it makes me want to cry. It's like all these magical things, and that's what really um I just want to keep that spirit of being human together because we can be these change makers out there, and it can get very um heavy and uh and a lot, right? When really I don't think we're meant to be, you know, like with social media, with everything, it's got its blessing and its curse, but it's like there's just so much information all the time, all at once, and you're you can connect to everybody 24 hours a day, and it's like, you know, to come back to have that special experience and remind us like what's important and then have these young kids that are actually there, um, and everybody's learning from each other. And anyway, I know we have to wrap it up, but it's like it's the best. So please come, it would be amazing.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:29

I will. I'd really like to. Um, just as we wrap things up, could you leave the listener with maybe one last health or wellness tip that they can consider adding into their life?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:40

If you can connect with, I mean, and even if you're a single person living alone, try to just connect with people around the table and around food and take time to slow down and have a meal with somebody. And if you do have a family that there's so much power that comes from um just being with your kids and modeling proper behavior and laughing around the kitchen table. I mean, I always say like it is not always pretty. And now I have like, you know, my youngest just turned 18 last week, and and I'm just like, wait, wait, don't leave, don't leave, don't leave. You know, like they'll sit down. I'm like, wait, I'm still like bringing food to the table and they're like shoveling stuff, and it's like crazy as they get older, but you know, they're off in different directions and sometimes they're you know, we're not eating together, but it's so special. Like Chuck just said the other day, like that was such an awesome meal that we had together because everyone was there, and so I think those like I always say I don't remember really any conversations we had around the family dinner table growing up too much, but I remember that we always had family dinner and it's like a place to regroup, check in with one another, and it's like a constant, right? And sometimes I think these kids and all of us need that constant to just rely on that coming back to nourish on so many levels.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:58

Well, Hilary, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This was like such a joy for me to bring it back to one of the themes of what you do. Um, I'm so happy that I've connected with you. I really want to come cook with you guys in Topanga. So hopefully I'll see you guys in June.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:13

Yes, thank you for having me. And Andrew will be there, who is the other our our sole chef at the Annalise School. I mean, in um Laguna Beach, and he is next level joy. So um, yeah, come sing and dance and cook with us. And thank you for having me. It's it's just um it's really great to spread the message.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:33

Anytime, anytime School of Lunch is doing anything where you feel like more people need to learn about it or it's gonna help parents and school districts and this whole evolution that we want to support, reach out anytime this is a place for you to share. So thank you. Okay, thank you so much. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the High Vibration Living Podcast. If you enjoyed today's conversation, I'd love for you to leave a five-star rating and a written review wherever you're listening. It truly helps this podcast reach more people who are looking for this kind of support. And if something resonated with you, please pay it forward and share this episode with a friend or loved one who could benefit from it. To learn more about Starseed Kitchen in my organic spice blends, you can visit starseedkitchen.com. You can also follow along with me on social media at Whitney Aronoff, where I share recipes, behind the scenes, chef life, and everyday inspiration. You can also follow Starseed Kitchen and Team Starseed Kitchen on Instagram as well. Thanks again for being here, wishing you nourishment, balance, and a vibrant life experience. I'll see you in the next episode. Cheers.