Food Lovers Diary: How Emily Fedner Eats Out Without Sacrificing Her Health

Emily Fedner is a food writer, content creator, and the founder of Food Lovers Diary, a platform dedicated to celebrating culture, community, and storytelling through food. With more than a decade of experience spanning restaurants, culinary media, public relations, and professional kitchens, Emily has built a career around uncovering the stories behind what we eat and the people who make it possible.

As the daughter of immigrants, Emily is passionate about amplifying diverse and underrepresented voices in the food world. Through her writing, social media presence, and culinary explorations, she highlights the ways food connects us to our heritage, identities, and one another. Her thoughtful approach to storytelling has cultivated a loyal audience of food enthusiasts who look to her for restaurant discoveries, cultural insights, and meaningful conversations about the evolving food landscape.

Whether she's interviewing chefs, exploring local food scenes, or sharing her latest culinary finds, Emily approaches every experience with curiosity, authenticity, and a deep appreciation for the people and traditions that shape our food system.

In This Episode, Whitney Explores:

• Emily shares how her upbringing and cultural background shaped her relationship with food, highlighting the deep connection between identity, tradition, and what we eat.
• The conversation explores the importance of embracing authentic, scratch-made foods while still making space for modern health considerations.
• Emily breaks down her philosophy of balance—enjoying meals out and cultural dishes without guilt while still supporting overall wellness.
• The episode dives into gut health and how tuning into your body can guide more intuitive, sustainable eating habits.
• Emily challenges food trends and diet culture, encouraging listeners to find what truly works for them rather than following restrictive rules.

Follow Emily Fedner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodloversdiary/

 Follow Emily on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@foodloversdiary?lang=en

Subscribe to Emily’s Substack: https://emilyfedner.substack.com/

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TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@whitneyaronoff

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Shop Chef Whitney’s favorite source for organic regenerative meats at StarWalker Organic Farms

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 friends, welcome back to the podcast. Today I'm chatting with Emily Fedner, and you may know her as the creator behind Food Lover's Diary, where she shares her favorite under-the-radar ethnic restaurant finds from LA to New York. She also loves sharing nostalgic Russian Jewish family recipes and her deep love of food culture rooted in connection and tradition. She is known for her storytelling and she loves bringing people together through food, both online and in real life. And she hosts intimate pasta dinners at a beloved New York pasta shop four to six times a month. Her work really celebrates the joy and discovery of food, heritage, and a good meal. And what we talk about in this episode is something a little different from Emily. We're talking about what it does to be essentially an online food critic. What does it take gut-wise to show up at restaurants night after night after night? And how does it feel to wake up the next day when you're always eating out? What's really happening behind the scenes, how you can improve your gut health, what is it like when you go on that journey to figure out what works best in your body, and how other people in the food industry are experiencing that as well. So this is a really great inside edition of what it's like to be a food lover and a restaurant lover and exploring different new local places while still making sure that you're nourishing yourself. Without further ado, enjoy my episode with Emily. Cheers. Hi Emily. Welcome to the High Vibration Living Podcast. Hi, thank you for having me. Well, this is such a treat. I'm enjoying chatting with you so far. I wish I could just record all the moments before we even officially connect on the show because I feel like it's so good when we first just connect and start sharing what we want to talk about here on the podcast. And I feel like you have just a lot of information about life and your body and your health and eating out that's bubbling up right now. So the timing's perfect, I think.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

I know there'll be plenty more moments to come. I've got lots to say at all times. Never, never a shortage for things to say.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

So what I love about the life that you're living and what you're sharing online is you're sharing a very LA New York lifestyle, eating out, enjoying the city that you're living in, sharing great restaurants, uh, small businesses, and helping us and reminding us to get out and explore, get out of our comfort zone, try new things. Um when what made that first percolate in you that you wanted to share these unique restaurants that you were going to?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Well, I would really say that my obsession with food and eating kind of it started at a very young age. Um I was born into a Russian-Jewish immigrant family. My parents are refugees of the Soviet Union, and I am I'm actually like the very first child born in my family in America. So first generation American. As you can imagine, the food at my family's house, uh, our Russian Jewish household, um, was quite different from that of my friends in this suburb of Columbus, Ohio. And so I think whether I knew it or not, very early on, I started to make the connection between food and culture and identity. And, you know, I kind of just loved it. And also I just freaking loved eating. Um, and I loved watching my grandmother cook and I loved learning from her, watching her uh my grandfather uh and her make things. The second bedroom of their apartment was literally a pickling room. It was just jars and jars and jars of different pickled things, and they ground their own meat and made their own bread, made their own wine, like smoked their own meats. They did everything, like they were farm to table, and like my grandpa literally had a whole big vegetable garden. So, all of this is to say I grew up with a very rich and very unique food culture, and that for sure planted the seed. But then um, I would say this the more like restaurante career began when I was 15 years old, and I started working as a hostess at a local pub. And you know, listen, immigrant family. If I wanted that freaking Abercrombie shirt, I was gonna work for it. Like I was gonna have to raise the $6.90. Yes, I remember how much a sale Abercrombie and Fitz shirt cost at that time because I like wanted those things, so I had to work. And so I started working at this pub, and I just um, you know, I I just became obsessed with restaurant life, and you know, if you know, you know, it's just like miserable and amazing and like exhilarating all at the same time. And it just like attracts a certain type of person, and and I am that person to a T. So that's kind of how how things got started, and then I stumbled upon the book Kitchen Confidential. Um, you know, I've done a lot of stuff in my career. I I started my career as a publicist for chefs and restaurants, but I would say the more current iteration, the the obsession with going to restaurants and and um showcasing the hidden gems and mom and pop spots actually started when I lived in Los Angeles because I had a sublease in Thai town and I started reading Jonathan Gold's uh column and I was like, I want to eat like at Sap Coffee Shop and Jitlada and stuff like that, and I want like there's a whole town in LA that's like all Thai food, this is insane. And then there's a Korean one, and like I just like coming from Columbus, Ohio, we didn't really have the enclaves quite as much, lots of immigrant food and culture, but not quite as much. But um, once I kind of saw what was out there in Los Angeles, that's kind of where I got bit by the bug. Like, there's so much to explore.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

So I'm actually Russian, Jewish, Polish on my grandpa's side. Um, he was the only child of all of his siblings born in the US, but they wanted to be Americans. So there was no authentic food that they consumed. Um, they didn't even live in the neighborhood where the other Russian Polish Jews lived in New York City. So I would love to know, because I was never exposed to that type of food. What are some of the traditional dishes that someone could expect if they went over to your family's home?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Well, first of all, what you're saying is very common. The need for assimilation was huge. I think that, especially at that time, I mean, you know, the c the country has not always been so welcoming to immigrants, but especially in earlier days. Um, and I think that the reason I got to experience so much was not because my parents were like, look, learn Russian, like, like learn your culture. We're so proud of it. It's it was more out of necessity because they were busy with their jobs and starting their lives over a new country, and we were raised by our grandparents who only spoke Russian and only cooked that food. You know, so like we got lucky, but I would say a lot of people have a similar story to you and your father and like that side of your family because assimilation was such a thing. Luckily, and I feel very grateful. That wasn't the case in our family. And if you were to come over to my house for dinner back then or now, you could expect a course of cold foods first. So it would be like smoked fish, like scumbria, which is smoked mackerel, you'd have herring, probably different types of kalbassa, which is like um salami, cold cuts, things like that. Sometimes ikra, which is caviar, with usually either black bread and butter, or sometimes French bread, depending on what they wanted. And then we'd move into probably a soup course, maybe bouillon, aka chicken soup. If it's a holiday, it might be served with pimi, which are uh small dumplings. Picture tortellini and broto, but like the Eastern Euro version. And um, and then hot foods, and that that really just depends. It depends on if it's a holiday, it depends on if it's a random dinner, sometimes it's borscht, which kind of coincides with the soup course. But I'm trying to describe a more well-rounded meal to you. So if uh, you know, back in the day my grandpa would grill a shishlik, which is kebabs, over like a cold grill. I mean, everything. I can't even, I just I got so lucky.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

That's first of all, that's a lot of food. It's I can imagine the spread. Hell yeah. Um, but it's a lot of real whole foods, there's nothing processed there. Um so how how has your concept of healthy whole foods and nourishment maybe is different from your friends that are trying to eat smoothies, that are trying to eat trail mix, that are trying to eat whatever they think is cool and trendy and healthy? Um, how do you have that conversation with them? And what does it look like when you choose a healthy meal versus your friends?

SPEAKER_01 9:34

You know, okay, so it's interesting you ask me this because I think that all of us who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s were victims of the like low fat, low sugar culture, like whatever. And I'm literally drinking a Coke's a Dr. Pepper Zero right now, so like I'm not perfect, but I just I think that first of all, not only did I grow up like as described with my grandparents, they were, I mean, I when as soon as I could drive, I was driving them to farmers markets on the weekends, like we were getting fresh vegetables, they were growing their own stuff, like they were obsessed with they would like buy the meat, they wouldn't even buy the ground meat, they had a meat grinder and they would grind their own meat so they knew what they were grinding, like that and and we had no money, mind you. So it's like this is just ingrained in them. That's like the old country, that's like the culture, and it wasn't like you know, they found ways to do it, even though they like literally were lit in like government subsidized housing and shit like that. So sorry, stuff. Um, a big cursor to curse like a sailor. Um, anyways, so I luckily grew up with that, and then my mom kind of followed suit. So in my household, like I was so jealous of like the PBJ's and the wonder bread and the like chips and the Coca-Cola's. We had absolutely none of that. Like, we did not. And my mom, like, we had a vat of soup in the fridge at all times. My mom always like she was she was a working mother and she worked really hard, but she always had something in the fridge for us, some homemade stuff. And if we had snacks, it was all like the organic this and whatever. I was like, Mom, can't you just buy freaking gif peanut butter? Why do you have to grind peanuts at Whole Foods? Like, why can't we just have the normal thing? So, sorry, I talk a lot. So, all that is to say that I feel very lucky because the the knowledge of what's healthy was ingrained in me from an early age, but I had to fight battles with my friends because I had a friend, I remember she had a surgery, and like I, you know, I'm like a mothering person, not a mom, but I mother everyone around me. And I made her these ground turkey meatballs, a zucchini and like a carrot thing. Like, I made these lean. She was very concerned, she wanted to be healthy, she didn't want to like, you know, she was have have forced into being sedentary because of the surgery, and she was like, Oh my god, no, I can't eat this. Like, I can't eat this. I'm like, this is the lean protein, and this is extremely healthy. And she at the time was like eating like goldfish and crackers because she like wouldn't allow herself to have a true nourishing meal because she felt like that was overeating. But like what she didn't realize was she was eating like thousands of calories and just processed shit that was way worse for her than if she would just sit down and nourish her body properly. She's since come around, um, luckily, but I had to fight those battles with people um because they're like, wait, that's crazy. You like you're eating so much red meat, you're eating all this steak, you're eating all this, you know, whatever. And I'm like, but I'm getting like this grass-fed steak and I'm cooking it, and I'm like, like you guys think that that's a huge issue. Like, oh my god, you have to watch your red meat, but like meanwhile, you're filling your bodies with chemicals, that's worse. And I'm not saying this from a high horse because I do all that stuff too. I just am aware of what's good and what's bad.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Well, you bring up such a good point. So, one of my favorite meals when I lived in LA was B bimbop, which is a Korean rice bowl with eggs and kimchi and vegetables, and you can call it by many, many names if you want to, but it's really just a bowl of right rice with eggs and vegetables and fermented vegetables. It's so health supportive and balanced. You have your like it's it's perfect. It's a perfect balanced meal. Um but there are so many people that think that isn't health food, that they only think the options are granola bars, trail mix, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, smoothies. Um almost it has to be from a package with a label that tells them calories, information, this is healthy. Um, they people are still struggling to understand that a bowl of hot food that's real made from scratch is health food. Um isn't that interesting? It's it's something that people can't process.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

It's you're bringing up another really good point, two good points. First of all, I think cultural food has long been excluded from the con conversation of health food because we think it's either like steamed broccoli and plain chicken or like all the packaged stuff that you're mentioning. Meanwhile, there are like Korean food, great example, incredible like fermentation, gut healthy stuff, like so many cultures. A taco in a lot of ways is a perfect food. If like you're it's like uh the masa, you have the carb, you have the meat, you have vegetables, you have salsas, you have fermented, you have pickles, you have like a pickled thing on the side. Like, you know, I think that's like once you I think that's a very important discussion because once you understand what makes up a healthy food and like a healthy and balanced meal, you start to see it a lot of places where you wouldn't expect it. Like, yes, there's oils, yes, there's fats, yes, there's other things. Not every meal is perfect, but it also doesn't have to be like a a protein bar and like a Haley Bieber smoothie to be healthy. Like there are, you know, and it's unfair because people deem like cheaper foods and cultural foods as like these like cheap meals, and I'm like, but that's better for you than whatever packaged thing, you know. You know, so like I I I always I feel that there's ways to eat healthy and and to eat whole foods and um have them be flavorful and amazing and and get a balanced meal out of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

So one thing I do think about when I watch your social media is you eat out at a lot of different places. And that's something that my body can't handle. And that's why I went to culinary school because I wanted to figure out how actually, like, how can I be a better orderer? How can I live my life, eat out, eat with friends, and also prepare, you know, more balanced meals at home and feel good in my body every day? Because I was hitting that wall where it just wasn't working anymore with my life. Um, and I couldn't figure out why. And so I'd love to know when you are looking up restaurants that you want to try, how what are you looking for? How do you know that they're really cooking from scratch, making real authentic food? Because in this day and age, having worked in restaurants, you know that they don't have to make things from scratch. They can order all of their sauces pre-made. They can, you know, of course, we're at a time where there are a lot of restaurants, especially bars, all they're doing is opening a bag, throwing it in the oven, and serving it to you or the deep fryer. And so is that something you're thinking about when you're researching restaurants to try? Are you trying to figure out is this place really a from scratch authentic place? Or are you just more looking at uh what the food looks like or the experiences people are having, and you're like, I'll give it a try. A quick pause to share something I truly use and love. I'm Chef Whitney Arena. And as a personal chef, I began sharing my Starseed Kitchen organic spice blends with private clients when I couldn't find high-quality seasonings 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 Herbs and Spices, a go-to everyday seasoning that works on just about everything, and Starseed Kitchen Adobo, a light, bright, anti-inflammatory blend designed for modern, health supportive cooking. Every jar is prepared with intention, charged with kundalini mantras, quartzgiza 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_01 17:23

The thing is, this kind of goes back to my earlier mention of like at least I'm aware and I know what is healthy. Like a lot of the, so first of all, a lot of those restaurants that I I feel like you're referring to are not really restaurants I seek out in general. Um, I seek out authentic experiences, like the mom and pop shops. I seek out um interesting restaurants and cultural foods. I don't have any guarantee how what they're making or how they're making it, but when I'm going to like a Momo spot and I'm watching this woman fold dumplings in front of me, that to me is from scratch, soulful home cooking. I don't know where she's getting her pork from. And I don't know, but like, you know, I make exceptions to experience culture and and I like that's the joy in food for me. Like, if I'm going to a bar and I'm gonna order this frozen Cisco fries that are thrown in the deep fryer, like I just am aware that that's what I'm doing. Like, you know, it's like it's just a it's a certain level of awareness. But in terms of what I'm covering on Instagram, like it is scratch made, but no, like the healthiness of the food is not the primary driver for me. The authenticity and the scratch made aspect is in terms of like representing this culture accurately, that is more of the driver. That being said, like if you go to fancy, like I don't go to many like fun, like you know, I I kind of my focus is on like more of this the the hole in the wall type spots. But when I do go out to eat, I also think it's a question of value. Like I if I'm gonna go to a restaurant and spend money on like a nicer restaurant, like for you know, me and my girlfriends are going out or something like that. Yes, you would like to know that the food is made from scratch. And it's not just because it's like the from the health aspect, it's also just from like a you know what what we're spending our money on, yes, what we're putting in our bodies, it's it's all sorts of stuff. But to answer the original question in terms of like what I'm covering on my Instagram, um, is it always healthy in terms of calorie count and fats? No, but is it scratch made and authentic and representative of the culture? Yes, I would say.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

I think scratch made is more important than anything else. You know, I have followed that. I'm not interested personally in calories and the modern science of it because I think that will, in our lifetimes, be thrown to the side as people start to better understand food, nourishment, um, and feeling good.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

And what your body can and can't process, like it doesn't matter if it's not scratched, like you could eat the healthiest, low-calorie thing, but it's made of junk that we're not meant to eat, and that's you're not gonna process that well. And you can eat a dumpling that's made with handmade dough and like a fatty, yummy pork and all this stuff, and like that's fine. Obviously, there's overeating. Obviously, a ton of overdoing in any singular category um might not like yield the results you want, but like I I'm on the same page as you with that.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

So, how do you prepare your body for going out to eat? Is there something that you're doing before you go out at this point? Digestive bitters, making sure that you have digestive enzymes, a probiotic, making sure that you have your fermented vegetables for breakfast, or do you just have an iron gut? Is it just easy for you to go out and about and try new places?

SPEAKER_01 20:22

You know, it's so funny. My old my sisters would say that I have like gut amnesia because I have had, like, I do not have an iron gut, but I would like fight you to the death that I do. I don't. I feel like I just I like have bad experiences and I just keep going for the love of the game, as they say. Um, but I I I it's interesting that you're you're catching me at a point where I'm actually dealing with a lot of gut issues and repercussions, which like I think there's some people that can maybe, maybe there are some people that can continue on and eat whatever they want and they never have problems. But about a year ago, like kind of to the day, a year and a week ago, I went to Mexico City and I got E. coli. And that changed everything for me. After that, like I then ended up dealing with SIBO, and I've been dealing with that and like harper and acid reflux. Like, my system was never amazing. Like, I always, I always had, oh, yeah, always dealt with certain repercussions. Like, to quote Anthony Bourdain, he's always said, like, you have to risk a bad oyster in order to like have the amazing meal. So, like, that's like my that's kind of my mentality. I'm like, I risk, like, I'm gonna eat the street food food in Mexico City, and I know what my risks are. After having dealt with some of those risks, I now feel a little bit more cautious because I'm still dealing with them. So, to answer your question, do I prepare for my meals out? Not in like uh, there's like this and that, but like when I'm not eating out, I'm and I'm eating at home, I'm careful. And I am home cooking, and I am buying the groceries, and I am like eating the grass fed steak and whatever, and you know, why would I have my fridge right now? I made this like kind of fr fermenti ishrot Korean carrot salad with daikon and And cabbage and this rice wine vin like vinegar dressing, I believe. And there's like some vermicelli noodles in there. And then I top it with like lemongrass marinated steak, things like that. When I'm eating at home, my breakfast just now was like two eggs, grass-fed butter, a piece of sourdough. Like when I eat at home, I do the best that I can to take care of myself so that when I do have those, when I do want to just enjoy myself and have those experiences and like really do it to experience a culture and experience other people's cooking. It's not to say that it's hard on everyone's stomach. I just my my stomach is especially compromised right now. It's like the way I eat the rest of the time is what prepares me for it, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yeah. But you make sure that you follow kind of the 80-20 rule. Like you're making sure you're eating simple, whole, real seasonal food at home, the best quality that you have access to, and that works with your price point. And then the rest of the time you're enjoying life. You're having new experiences, you're connecting with friends over food. Um, I think that's, you know, the balance uh that we're all looking for. And that's why we turn to different practitioners or supplements or health products at certain times, so we can have that lifestyle because that's living.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

That's living. And I do think that that's something everyone's kind of coming around to. That like we do all these sorts of things and it's in the spirit of having a good life. But you're like, you're not having a good life if you're constantly restricting yourself, if you're not allowing yourself certain experiences, if you're not allowing yourself to try certain foods, like then what's it all for? Like you're not, I I would argue that's an unhealthy life. Like you're not gonna be happy. I'm glad that you have a six-pack or whatever it may be. But like, I, you know, I think it's the B word, balance, balance, balance, balance. I think that's what we're all like chasing this elusive uh balance, and everyone has their own version of it that they achieve. And I'm 33 years old, and it's taken me a really long time to find a version of it that works for me where I get to enjoy my life and I live to eat and I fucking love food, but like I also want to be healthy and I also, you know, care about the other stuff too. So, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yeah. 30 30 was the same age that I was when my digestive problems were were were becoming out of my control. When I thought everything that I had learned from health classes at school and personal studies that I could manage it on my own. And that's when it got to a part where I needed to go out and find professionals to help figure out what was right for my body and find routines and supplements and things that I could, you know, add in to create, you know, internal balance, to create external balance.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

What so what happened when you turned 30? Like what what ex symptoms were you experiencing?

SPEAKER_00 24:37

So one was just like gut pain. So like never knowing if the meal I was gonna eat was gonna cause me to have a stomach ache. And then I was finding that for some reason, I know sometimes I was having an issue. I where like every Friday, whatever I was packing for lunch, by the time I got home, I'd have such stomach pain that I'd have to cancel my plans for Friday night. And I couldn't understand what I was eating that was causing these issues. Um, basically, I started to understand that there were certain foods that don't just don't work for my body, whether they taste delicious to me or not, I just can't have them. Like what?

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Like what would be a good example?

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Number two, um, I was trying to be vegan in LA in the early 2000s, and I'm Eastern European and European, you know, ancestry. I'm a B positive blood type. Anyone with B blood, you can't be vegan or vegetarian. You need a balanced diet. You need a little bit of everything. You need meat, you need grains, you need dairy, you need fermented vegetables, you need a little bit of it all. And so trying to force my body to live a way that wasn't right for literally how I am made was making me sick, caused my body to stop making bile. I wasn't digesting food, my skin was turning yellow, I had no energy. I literally the like the life force was coming out of me. It was also during a time where a lot of people were talking about completely staying out of the sun. And I have olive skin. And so I can't stay out of the sun. I also start to look sick if I don't get enough, well, everyone starts to look sick if you don't get enough sunlight. Sunlight is medicine and it's energy and it's information. And so I was also avoiding in sun. I was basically doing still doing a lot of the healthy rhetoric that's being sold to a lot of people, and it was making me sick.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

I mean, you you have to question the fact that if like what's healthy changes every few years, then like you know, what's actually healthy doesn't change. Like what's actually good for our bodies and it doesn't. So when there's a new fat and everyone's like, now I'm vegan, now I'm a carnivore, now I'm this. It's like you just have to question, you can't. Like, I mean, I honestly feel you could I I apply that to all facets of my life, whether you know, I'm just not a trend-based person, whether it's the content I create or the clothes I wear. Like, I do what works for me, and I think that that has like also been really the key. It's interesting you mentioned blood type. I can't remember what blood type I am, but I am a twin and I have an older sister, and they're no both they both don't eat meat. My twin sister is a pescatarian, my older sister is vegan, and she has been for a very long time. And I'm like, there must be something different about my blood type because I need meat and I crave it. I can't, and if I don't eat meat, I end up supplementing my diet with things that like don't make me feel good. And it's, you know, again, I'm really happy we're having this conversation right now because I'm in a moment where I have to rebuild after like go-I mean, I was on rounds and rounds of antibiotics for the SIBO, and I can't even tell if it's better. I still feel blooded, I still get heartburned. I have to like I have to start from I have to literally um, you know, start from scratch kind of and rebuild my gut biome. And it's something I have to embark on now, and and I've I've been really thinking about how to go about that, but I think to tie to go back to what you were saying about blood types and what our bodies need, I don't think that there's any amount of following someone else's like version of what's healthy that works for you. Like I think if if it's in line with what's healthy for you, sure. But at the end of the day, we have we kind of have to we have to do what's right for us, and uh, that's not a trend. Like that's not a fad, that's that's gonna be an evergreen thing that you do.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

And you have to start with the food. You really have to get right what's available in your area and what works for your physical body and preparation methods. You need to try new preparation methods and you need to sprinkle a lot in. Um, there was uh a woman named Um Rebecca Wood. She wrote the new Whole Foods Encyclopedia, multiple James Beard award-winning author. She also was a face reader and she studied with Machio Cucci, who owned a macrobiotic institute in Massachusetts, who went on to open Erawan with his wife. And uh Rebecca Wood was a master face reader. I had her on my podcast many times. She's like the wise old aunt that everyone should have. And she told me that um, you know, she has clients come to her and they they say, you know, I eat healthy, I eat a balanced meal, I steam all my vegetables, I have, you know, properly prepared rice and like a simple chicken breast. And, you know, I still don't feel good and I don't enjoy my meals. And she talked a lot about you you can make the healthiest meal, but if you actually don't enjoy it, then it's not gonna do anything for you. So it's this balance of you need to learn to make food that you love, you need to make food from scratch, seasonal, whole, you know, real. And then once you get that right, then you can work on the other aspects of yourself. And I found with me a lot of the stomach issues, once I dealt with the food and getting the food right, actually were emotional. Were a lot of just things I was holding on to, pushing down so I could show up in the world the way I thought I was supposed to, instead of what was authentically me. And you know, it's you know, in business and life and school and relationships and friends, we can often hold on to our reactions in order to try to, you know, make peace or, you know, continue to move up in our careers or to evolve in the ways that we think we need to. And holding on to different emotions um can really affect our gut health. So the next phase for me in improving my gut health had to be energy work, had to be talking out my feelings, so going to, you know, practitioners and and just talking it out, but then also getting the physical work done, calming the nervous system, healing the gut, removing trapped emotions, discovering past lives, just letting the layers, the invisible layers, go and come back to a peaceful place. And so if you see behind me, this is a frequency machine. And I use this frequency machine again for different parts of my body when there are frequencies that are out of alignment that are causing gut issues or health issues. You use all these tools again to create balance within, to create balance, you know, outside of ourselves. So dealing with gut isn't one-dimensional, it's not just the food. Um, but once you get the food right, then you get to play with all the other aspects of yourself and the game just keeps evolving and you just pick up more tools along the way.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

And everyone ha finds the tool set that works best for them. And like going, you know, what you said was so true and really resonates with me. I forget the woman's name who said, like, if you don't like the meal, then it's not a healthy meal, right? Or it's not good for you. It might be healthy by all intent, you know, by all definitions of the word, but it's not good for you. I think about this in a lot of aspects of my life. You can do the hardest, best workout ever, but if it's not one you like and that you can repeat consistently, you're not gonna stick to it. And it's worse than than just like, you know, you know, so like I find you have to find life, like life life is about enjoyment and life is about um living living well. That's you know, pretty reductive, but that's the truth. And so it's like finding the thing that you can do consistently and that you enjoy is the best thing, even if it's not on paper the best thing. You know, I think about that a lot. I I I also think that in the times of my life where I like don't drink alcohol and I'm more conscious about I feel like my skin, like right now, I'm not drinking, and my skin's like it's just completely different. Everything follows suit based on what you're ingesting, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Absolutely. Now, you have an incredible circle of friends and colleagues and contacts in New York and LA. Um, I'd love to know other people that are in the food industry with you, how are they approaching eating out at social gatherings? Like, are you guys chatting about like how you prepare before you go to social events, how you prepare your gut or your body, or what you have to do afterwards to recover? Does anybody else you know in the food scene going through this?

SPEAKER_01 32:41

I mean, we do all chat. I think, I mean, you know, my friends, my girlfriends and I are now in our 30s, some in our 40s, and I think that we're just a lot more conscious. Like, you know, you don't like the like I think that youth is freedom, but once you get older and you kind of realize that there are implications to every choice you make, you sort of start to look at it differently. So I wouldn't say we like technically prepare, we're not like let's take supplements, but actually, funny enough, on Valentine's Day this year, as I was like going through all my stuff with SIBO, I had a girlfriend of mine send me all these probiotic pills, like L Ruteri and something else. Um, and and just like we're all more conscious of that. Like, we're I wouldn't say we necessarily prepare before we go out deep, but we do, you know, something we do, and we have talked about a lot is like the drinking thing. It's like I'm not drinking tonight, are you? Or I'm only having two drinks. It's like mentally preparing for the night that we want to have, and it doesn't always work, and you know, that's a separate topic. But I will say one other thing I want to bring up in terms of going out to eat with friends and just current life, and I'm sure you see a lot of this being in the Los Angeles area, although you're in Laguna, whatever. What I've noticed a lot that makes me sad is a lot of people aren't eating. And I think a lot of people on Ozempic, and I think way more people than we realize are on Ozempic. And I've noticed it, my friends noticed it. Like, I had a friend who went out to dinner with a couple people the other day, and she was like, I felt like this like crazy person because I kept reaching for the food and it was just sitting on the table and no one's eating. And it's like this is kind of like that conversation is kind of in line with everything we're talking about because the enjoyment of food and the like lust for food and vibrancy, it is. It's like it's a life, it's a life force. It's lust, it's love, it's passion, it's all that stuff, and not caring for it is also, in my opinion, kind of sucks. Like for some people, listen, everyone's gonna get mad at me. And I've got had people have gotten mad at me on TikTok and Instagram about all those, about all those things. Like, if I didn't have Ozempic, like I would be, you know, so overweight, and I understand it has its time and its place, but I think for the average, healthy, young, physically able person who is wanting to lose 10 more pounds, what it robs you of is like maybe not worth it. And uh, I don't know, it's just it's sad to see people not loving food.

SPEAKER_00 34:49

And I think that's unhealthy. That's really interesting. It makes me think actually, uh, a few weeks ago, I went out to Brentwood Country Mart with some friends for brunch, and we actually had to order two rounds of the gluten-free ricotta pancakes because they were so good and it was such a great treat. But what was interesting is most of my friends are very in tune with their physical body. They know the foods that work for them and they're very mindful of how they order at a restaurant because they want to feel good afterwards and have energy and they they know how sensitive their gut has become. Um, but we also are very aware of the planetary shifts and how we're super hungry when it's a new moon and we feel super full when it's a full moon. And when an equinox or a super like a certain solar alignment's coming up, anytime there's an eclipse or a major equinox, you get really, really hungry. So I did not know that any of this. Yes, if you want to go out and eat with a bunch of friends and share a bunch of food, make sure you do it at a new moon. Make sure you do it right before an equinox, right before any like major planetary shift. Um, because everyone's gonna be hungry.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

All right, well, that's good to know.

SPEAKER_00 35:58

We were all laughing because we kept ordering extra food and we were all, you know, starving. And it was, it was so much fun because it is fun when you're able to order a bunch of food for the table and enjoy together and see it all and taste test and get to have that experience. I want to take a moment to share how Team Starseed Kitchen can support you beyond the podcast. I'm Chef Whitney Aronoff, founder of Team Starseed Kitchen, my personal chef and custom meal prep service. This is for people who want to eat well, feel better, and be supportive of nourishing food without the stress of planning, 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 clean eating, hormone 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 whole 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 personal. 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 starseedkitchen.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_01 37:33

Yeah, that's the joy of cooking and gathering and all of that. And I didn't I don't know much about the planetary alignment. I feel like, you know, what's really cool about life is you continue to get to evolve and learn more things and choose what you what matters to you. And the older I get, the more anything to do with gut health is important to me. And I am, and you know, whereas in the past, maybe I would have been closed off to certain ideas that don't make sense to me or don't don't align with my own view. The older I get, the more I'm like open to hearing anything. Because also, like, you know, what you said earlier too about, you know, the mental world, like just before this, I was in therapy. You know, I I had you know, I think that's so important. I think I think living well and feeling healthy and feeling healthy in your gut has like a lot of there's a lot of different facets to it, and there's a lot to learn. And um, it's interesting hearing you speak about ideas and concepts that maybe aren't ones that I I mean definitely aren't ones that I employ employ. Some of them are things I've not even necessarily heard of, but it's still useful and it's interest it's interesting to hear.

SPEAKER_00 38:31

They're all just little seeds that are being planted for you and other people. And you know, you pick up the seeds or you choose to like plant them when the time is right, when when they start to resonate, um, and and they'll sprout and evolve and work their way into your life when they're supposed to. So, you know, they always say you have to hear something seven times until you actually take action on it. So just little seeds for you and everyone that's listening. We're we're always evolving. Um and the answers to our gut issues are never black and white. And everyone will learn that after they've go to their seventh doctor trying to figure out, you know, what the hell's going on.

SPEAKER_01 39:11

I know, and uh me and my twin, me and my older sister are kind of in that mode right now where we're like, we will turn to anything. Right now, we're we're doing this whole thing where we eat raw honey right before bed because it helps us get this really deep sleep. It's been amazing. And just like her and I are on this kind of like journey together because she had SIBO too, and you know, I don't want to keep taking antibiotics for the rest of my life. So I think I'm a lot earlier in my gut journey than you are, obviously, and you know so much and you're an expert. But like it's just interesting because it comes for it come, it came for me. Like I'm someone who loves eating and whatever, but it did come for me, and it it and the sh the how awful I felt, you know, compelled me to act and be really open to new information and new medicines that aren't necessarily antibiotics because I can't keep ravaging my gut biome with those. So, you know, it's it it's the the reckoning does happen.

SPEAKER_00 39:56

Well, you were sharing with me that you know different um food writers and people in New York that have had to leave their jobs in order to fix their health, that the lifestyle that they were having, living because of the work they were doing wasn't wasn't working anymore. Could you share more about that?

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Yeah, I mean, this is not private information, this is like public columns and books and pieces of writing that these um ex-food critics are sharing. Um, a notable one would be Pete Wellis from the New York Times. My sister just sent me, I think, a podcast he was on. I mean, he had to learn how to eat differently because he, you know, w being a food critic is a tough job. And it it means eating out basically every meal of every day. And um, I didn't, I haven't read it yet. It's bookmarked, it's it's happening. Or sorry, I haven't listened to it. But my sister was telling me a little bit of a summation, and like, you know, uh his health got to a point where I think he had to take a step back. And there's multiple food critics, writers, I think um Jeff Gordon here from the from Esquire, I think he had to take a step back. I I think that's why. I don't want to be quoted necessarily on who and why, but I just it's a common thing that's happening, and maybe we can like fact-check it after the podcast. But um there are multiple food writers and food critics that have had to either step down from their positions or completely change how they go about things and change because because their health was at risk. And maybe they're I don't know what specific aspects of their health, but like at a point, those things are not a sustainable lifestyle, and I think that we taught we I think like they they're exciting and they're fun and it's so cool. And the concept of it being a food critic is so awesome, but like a lot of people I know who are in the food world also suffer from like maybe health stuff, but also maybe just like gut stuff and uncomfortability and bloating and things like there are there's definitely I'm definitely noticing as the world kind of shifts a little bit more and is a little bit more conscious about gut health, how you know people whose profession it has been to eat anything and everything are kind of like dealing with stuff now.

SPEAKER_00 41:56

Well, when you come to Laguna Beach for the dinner series that you're putting on, I would love to meet up with you at either Fermentation Farm or the Ecology Center. Oh, what's that? I can give a few different other options, but I'd love to take it. Wait, I love fermentation. Let's do that. Yeah, Fermentation Farm is my favorite. You'll love the tacos, you'll love the chili, you'll love the brisket, um, you'll love all the fermented vegetables, all the raw milk and cream, all their eggs, their handmade tortillas. Um, we should go for a bite so you can experience what some of these more health supportive restaurants are doing and how they're creating a menu that like makes you want to go back over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

I would love that. And yes, um, you touched on the dinners. I am, well, knock on wood. If all things go well and everything goes well logistically, I'm hoping to do a series of like Eastern European-ish dinners in Laguna Beach out of my friend's house. And if not there, somewhere in LA. But like I'm working on a series of dinners there, maybe in New York, and um if it's in Laguna Beach fermentation farm, it is. I would love to.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Yeah, I and I would love to experience those dinners being, you know, your Eastern European friend who hasn't grown up eating Eastern European food. Yeah, you need a lesson, you need a cultural emotionally. Um, can I ask you a few rapid fire questions as we wrap up here? Yeah. Okay. Uh, do you have a favorite superfood?

SPEAKER_01 43:20

Okay, can you uh sorry, can you what are like the top five superfoods?

SPEAKER_00 43:24

What's you can say fermented vegetables. Yeah, or like I mean, what well tinned fish, sardines. I love sardines is a perfect one too, because these are real superfoods. Um most underrated food people should be eating for their health.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

I mean, I'm gonna go again with tinned fish, oily fish. That's it. I think it's I don't know if it's underrated, but I think it does wonders for people.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

Well, even Eastern European bread with real butter is that's fantastic brain food.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Right. Like uh we do bread border Bordinski bread and it's like I I think it's like a malted dark rye sourdough kind of thing, and it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

So I used to order this rye bread, I still do sometimes, that's from Pennsylvania. Um, that is from it's a Latvia style bread, and he ha the owner has a very special um special Amish farm that grows the rye. They grind it fresh. Cool. They make the bread, like it is, it is like I eat it like I'm eating like my people's food. I absolutely love it. It's called Black Rooster.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Okay, so I I mean I can picture it. Does it have that coriander crust on top?

SPEAKER_00 44:32

No, it doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

So that's Bordinsky, but I've had Lapian and Lithuanian breads too. Those are popular. Oh, speaking of the tinfish thing, shprotiki are one of my favorites that no one talks about. They're in, they're not sardines, but they're similar and they're smoked, and they're when they're packed in like a good olive oil, they're like tiny and they're one of my favorite little superfoods.

SPEAKER_00 44:50

Where do you find them?

SPEAKER_01 44:51

You know, they're becoming more and more popular here in New York. Tashkent supermarket does stock them. A lot of like grocery stores do have them. We have like an Eastern European population in New York, obviously. But if you um go to any Eastern European grocery store, any European one kind of, and and especially in Brighton Beach, where areas that are heavily populated by Eastern European people, the grocery stores will carry lots of tin fish, lots of jar fish, and Baltic sprats are my favorites. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

Sorry, this is not so much a rapid fire question.

SPEAKER_01 45:20

It's just no here. I can you also, if you need to ask me anything over again to like have a quick answer. It's all good.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

It's all good. Um, one supplement everyone should consider adding into their life raw honey. I love this.

SPEAKER_01 45:32

Is that a supplement?

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Yes. Best health habit you've added into your life this year.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

I'm gonna go with raw honey again. Starting to a tablespoon of raw honey before bed gives me the deeper sleep than any medicine ever had.

SPEAKER_00 45:44

That's great. Um, a food trend you think is wrong or that we should avoid. Veganism. Perfect. I I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 45:50

My older sister's a vegan too. I just I I think you have to try so much extra harder to get like the right nutrients. Um, necessarily, no one come for me, okay? You do whatever you want with your body, eat whatever the heck you want. I just think it you're up against a lot and you can do it, but you have to be very careful, whereas like you're not getting like the the stuff, you know.

SPEAKER_00 46:10

Yes, yes. We can have a d a whole nother episode about B12.

SPEAKER_01 46:13

Right. It's just it's just coffee or tea. Ooh, uh I do love coffee, but lately tea. And I always drink tea. I have a tea drawer, it's very Eastern European, and I love tea before bed. I do too. Yeah. And then what kind do you do?

SPEAKER_00 46:30

So I'm a I'm a huge jasmine green tea drinker. I love jasmine.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

Like dragon, have you ever had Dragon Pearl Jasmine or whatever?

SPEAKER_00 46:38

It's I buy it exclusively from a shop in LA that I've been shopping from since the early 2000s on Robertson, um, called Dragon Herbs. Um from Ronnie.

SPEAKER_01 46:49

Oh, cool. I'm not telling my sister.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

I'm obsessed with this this tea. Um, I'm obsessed with loose leaf teas. I also have like wherever I go in the world, I buy tea, I buy salt, and I buy crystals. Like, you know, other That's so cool. Other people look for tchotchkis. I buy the the local tea, um, and it's usually herbal, which is great. I buy their local salt. Um, and then I like to always get a crystal, like something from their land um that emits an energy. Because if I'm going there, there's usually something there that like my physical body or that my soul needs.

SPEAKER_01 47:25

I love that. That's a that's very poetic.

SPEAKER_00 47:27

Yeah, so that's those are my my buys when I travel. And then it's great because you know, you add to your kitchen. And then the last thing is if I'm going to a place that does olive oil, I'll always buy the olive oil.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

Right. I love that. That's a big one. That's one of my favorite things to to cook with and and to have.

SPEAKER_00 47:41

All right, last question for you. If someone listening wants to improve their health through food, what is one change that you would suggest that they make?

SPEAKER_01 47:49

I would say they disconnect themselves from calories and um traditional. I think they would I I think they should disconnect themselves from like calories, low fat, low sugar, like that mindset. I think that I don't know if that qualifies as one thing, but I think that that is life-changing. I think once you I think that is the first thing you have to do in order to set yourself on a pathway to understanding food and nourishment, and you have to kind of get rid of the like less calories, less sugar, less this is better because it's not.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

Yeah, absolutely. You have to step away from that for a while and just start to listen to what your body needs, which I know Don't be scared of carbs. That's my other one.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

Don't be scared of carbs. Big carb girl, big, you know, and I love gluten. I mean, it doesn't, I had to I had to remove it when I had SIBO, but like carbs are important, they're important for our body, so maybe that is it too. It's like if lose the fear of carbs.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

Well, when you find out what your blood type is, let me know. Because I'd love to know just so like I can tune you in to some things that might be supportive for balancing your body. But find out what your mom and dad's blood type is, and that'll that'll be your key. Perfect.

SPEAKER_01 48:55

I love that. I will totally seek some information from you once I have some stuff to tell you.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

Yeah, it just supports the 80-20 rule. It just helps you better understand what you should be balancing on your plate at home, and then you feel a little bit better, so then you can just go out and live your life and you know, you know, everything will balance.

SPEAKER_01 49:13

I want to maximize my 80s so I can maximize my chance.

SPEAKER_00 49:16

Absolutely. Well, where can people continue to learn from you, explore with you, and connect with you in person in some of the upcoming months?

SPEAKER_01 49:24

Yeah, of course. So the best place to keep up with everything I'm doing is on my Instagram at Food Lovers Diary. That's I think my TikTok is the same, or it might be at Emily Fedder. I should probably know that, right? Um, and if you're based in New York and you want to come to one of the um to my pasta pop-up, I co-own a pasta pop-up and events company based out of Rafeto's Fresh Pasta in Greenwich Village. Head to at Petite Pasta Joint, uh, uh just at Petite Pasta Joint on Instagram and sign up for our mailing list so you can maybe come to a dinner and I'll cook for you. I love that. How often do you guys do your pop-ups at that um that spot? So my best friend is my business partner. She was business partner first, then became a best friend, and her name is Sarah Rafetto, and it this spot is Sarah's is Rafeto's Fresh Pasta. That's where we host our pop-ups. So it's her family's historic pasta shop. It's been in New York since 1906. And so by night we transform it into a pasta shop. And we do about four to six a month, a couple private events, and we do try to do one public dinner per month where we sell tickets on Eventbrite so that everyone can get the chance to experience the food and not just like um when they have a private event or a birthday party or a corporate dinner or something, which we do all of that.

SPEAKER_00 50:32

That is really impressive that you're doing four to six a month. Like, well done. Cheers to you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

It's a lot, it's a lot sometimes, but I feel lucky and I love me and my best friend have so much fun doing them together. And you know, we have very speaking of which, very similar views on like health and working out and nourishing ourselves and like enjoying and loving food and experiencing everything, but also caring about our health. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:55

Well, Emily, I'm so glad I got to connect with you here. It was such a treat. I hope I get to see you when you're out here in Southern California. And I look forward to following your adventures.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

Right, thank you. It was so, so nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having me. And I learned a lot. My pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 51:10

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.