Shred Happens: Arash Hashemi on Low-Carb, High-Protein Cooking

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This week on Chefs Without Restaurants, I’m joined by Arash Hashemi, the creator of Shred Happens, a social media movement and brand that’s helping millions eat better through low-carb, high-protein cooking. Arash is also the founder of Kaizen Foods, a company making low-carb, protein-packed pasta and rice alternatives. His new cookbook So Easy, So Good is out now.

We dive into Arash’s personal journey from struggling with weight, to building a wellness-focused food empire. You’ll hear how he went from being a finance executive to a full-time content creator and entrepreneur with over 4 million followers. We talk about meal prep, cravings, cost barriers to healthy eating, and what he actually eats for breakfast every day. You'll also hear how he created his lupini bean pasta, and the challenges he faced bringing his product to market.

Arash’s story is incredibly relatable and inspiring, especially if you’re trying to build healthier habits without giving up flavor.

ARASH HASHEMI
Arash's Instagram and TikTok
Check out Kaizen Foods: Website & Instagram
But the book So Easy, So Good

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Transcript

Chris Spear: [00:00:00] It'll probably come as no surprise to my listeners, but I've been a food lover my whole life. Like many, I grew up finding comfort in food. Obviously I became a chef, but as I've gotten older, I realized that the way I was eating wasn't serving me anymore. And that's hard because I'm saying it in the past tense, and it's something I still have challenges with.

I am overweight and now a little bit pre-diabetic. I wanna feel better, move better, but also still enjoy the food that I love. It's always tough when you talk food, health and nutrition, especially on a podcast because it's so personal and everyone has different, uh, opinions and experiences. But when I saw what Arash Hashmi was doing, uh, he's someone who has been sharing his recipes on Instagram for a number of years now, uh, and other social media platforms.

I thought he's someone I'd like to have on my podcast. [00:01:00] He has a new cookbook out, and we're also going to talk about his packaged line of, uh, low carb, high protein pastas and rices. Oh, and if you're new around here, this is Chris Spear and you're listening to Chefs Without Restaurants. The show where I speak with culinary entrepreneurs and people working in the food and beverage industry outside of a traditional restaurant setting.

I have 32 years of working in kitchens, but not restaurants. Currently operate a personal chef service throwing dinner parties in the Washington DC area. Alright, so this week I am joined by AR Hash Hemi. He's the creator of the wildly popular Instagram account. Shred Happens, and when I say wildly popular, I mean he has more than 4 million followers at this time.

Arh, someone who like me, has struggled with his weight. I think he was over 300 pounds at one point, and he just. Realized that it was time for a change. He started documenting his journey online, which eventually evolved into recipe [00:02:00] creation and sharing those stories and recipes with the world. And as I mentioned before, he's also the founder of Kaizen Foods, which is a low carb, high protein pasta and rice made with lupini beans.

I found that part of a story to be really interesting as well, especially about the r and d process. What it is about the Lupini beans in particular, and just some of the challenges he's had bringing a product to market. So we talk about what it means to reframe your relationship with food, the psychology of snacking, and something that I find challenging, which is why preparing for breakfast might be the most important thing you do all day.

Of course, we also dig into his debut cookbook, "So Easy, So Good", which is filled with high protein, low carb recipes with a Mediterranean twist. So, if you're someone who's trying to make healthier food choices without giving up flavor, I think you're going to want to hear this one. By the way, I have purchased, some of Kaizens [00:03:00] pasta and I find it to be phenomenal.

Sure. It's not exactly like a traditional wheat, gluten filled pasta, but I think it's a really good option. All right, let's get into it. As always, thanks so much for listening and have a great week. Hey, welcome to the show. Thanks so much for coming on. Thanks for having me on. Looking forward to talking to you today.

We were just catching up a little bit. Um, sure. Many of my listeners know a little bit about my backstory, but, you know, um. I'm a food guy. I'm a chef. I've been professionally working for 32 years in the food industry, and I've always self-described myself as a little fat kid. I mean, you know, in the eighties you were husky.

That's my, you know, my mom had to buy the Husky clothes. Um, and I was probably about like 280 pounds when I graduated high school and kind of hovered around that area for the past 30 plus years. So, um. I guess we're jumping right ahead, but for our listeners say, we're gonna be talking about healthy [00:04:00] eating, changing your, the way you eat, the way you cook, the way you look at food, and your incredible story, because you also were a big guy for a lot of your life.

Is that right? 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah. You know, there's a lot of parallels in the story that you just mentioned and your background and certainly for me, I grew up on going on any diet imaginable, you name it. I've tried them all, usually. Stuck around for a week or two, sometimes, maybe a little bit longer, but they all ended up crashing and burning.

I gained even more weight. I developed a more challenging relationship with food, and eventually I tipped the scale at. Probably closer to three 50 pounds. I really stopped stepping on it at some point in my early college days, and uh, luckily I was able to turn that around a little bit later. 

Chris Spear: What was it for you?

Is it snacking? Is it the time of day? Is it calories? Like, do you have an idea of where your biggest. Challenges were that you needed to work on first? 'cause obviously so much of this is not just about food, but there's a psychology to it and a lot that goes into it. But [00:05:00] looking back on it, where do you think your challenges were with how you ate?

Arash Hashemi: Yeah, I think it, it certainly evolved over time and was probably different things at different moments, but I think, you know, at, at its core, you know, growing up, um. I grew up in an immigrant family. I was born in the US but my family, you know, my, my parents came here for my dad to get his doctorate degree here in Massachusetts, and so we eventually moved back to Iran when I was three years old.

And, uh, by that age, I remember I vividly recall not having access to the foods that are commercially available. Here in, I'd say the western world really, whether that's the Dairy Queen or the the Burger King whoppers, or the snacks ranging from the Mars Bar to m and ms and so on and so forth. And so when we were 10 years old, we moved to Canada together and it was the very first time I finally had access to all these incredible things.

And I'd been just held back so much from the days that I was watching Cartoon Network or whatever it may have been. And so it was a, it was really a free for all and [00:06:00] combined with the fact that. You know, my parents were working really, really hard to just make ends meet. You know, we moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Canada with really nothing.

Um, my parents were working hard. My dad was actually traveling back and forth to the Middle East. My brother and sister, who were about 10 years older than me, roughly, you know, they were working and they were going to college. And so food just naturally became my, you know, comfort, if you will. And I think that's probably the biggest thing, to answer your question in a very long way, was really a sense of stability amongst, uh.

Just a lot happening and a lot of challenges and money issues and, and like that. And so it became a sense of comfort. I was eating the wrong things and the wrong quantities, and then I was being exposed to all these foods that I just didn't have access to. And so I think over time that reliance became even more pronounced as the stresses, stresses of college came on, and the stresses of the corporate world came on.

And even to this day, I mean like, you know, it's, it's really tough. Food is in many ways. [00:07:00] Designed mainstream food to be, you know, uh, exciting and get your taste buds really happy. 

Chris Spear: So addictive. I love a crunch. There's something about like a Dorito, it's like this hard snap crunch. It's the salt, it's whatever those spices they put on there.

And eating a carrot is not the same. Is like eating a cool ranch, Dorito, just whatever they've done to engineer that. It's like one of those things that like I just wanna reach for. 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah. You know. Big companies spend hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars a year. They have dedicated RD teams that.

Come into the, come in in the morning and leave at night. Focus on exactly what you just said. How do we make this, that, that crunch as satisfying as possible? They've probably spent tens of millions of dollars just on that crunch, right? Or on the spices and whether or not it sticks to your finger or not.

And the aftertaste. And you know, some of these companies also have a number of different. Products under their portfolio. And so how do these kind of symbiotically work [00:08:00] together to get you even more addicted? So the 

Chris Spear: system 

Arash Hashemi: is rigged against us. It is. So, you know, and then 

Chris Spear: there's, and, and there's a cost thing.

I mean, going back to like a bag of Doritos, it's a couple dollars. You know, yesterday I saw on, I saw on Instagram someone's sharing a. Piece of swordfish and it was $46 a pound, and you're like $46 a pound for a piece of fish that's healthy, or like $3 for a bag of Doritos. I mean, not that you should be eating a bag of Doritos instead of a protein for dinner, but there are a number of factors and cost is one too.

Eating healthier foods can be a lot more expensive than processed, refined packaged goods. 

Arash Hashemi: Absolutely. I mean, even looking at the, the, the breakfast aisle, right? You know, it's cereal, it's processed sugars and, and grains and dyes, right? And so, you know, a box of cereal on the shelf is, you know, four or five bucks, potentially even less if you go for a store brand.

And then, you know, especially with a price of eggs these days, you know, it's really challenging to sometimes make that right call. And that's unfortunately something that we've really gotta solve [00:09:00] both within the US and really around the world. You didn't 

Chris Spear: get into this in your book, but, uh, what do you do for breakfasts?

Yeah, because that's my challenge, like fast and gonna hold me over for a while and something delicious. Do you have like, go-to 

Arash Hashemi: breakfast? Yeah, no, a great point. And, uh, I love breakfast and, you know, while I love adventure for the kind of the middle and latter part of my day. For me breakfast, what I've really nailed it down is something that keeps me satiated full and excited.

It's really the foundation of my day and one of the things that I really, I. Found out later on was that if I am not eating a good amount of healthy fats and protein in the morning, I'm gonna be famished as the day goes on. So what I typically do, I love jammy eggs or scrambled eggs, really, but I love jammy eggs.

You know, I just take them out of the fridge, pop 'em into boiling water for about six and a half to seven minutes. That's my sweet spot. You know, have 1, 2, 3, whatever. You know, the right number is for you. [00:10:00] I then just cut 'em in half. I put some salt, everything bagel seasoning. My favorite is actually chili lime seasoning, and then I have that along with maybe about half an avocado or some cottage cheese.

I mean, if you have just that egg with half an avocado and some cottage cheese with that seasoning, I promise you, you are going to have an incredible day. It's gonna keep you full, keep you satiated. It's not gonna raise your blood sugar and then have it come crashing, so around 11 or 12 o'clock. You're not gonna feel that you know you, you wanna take a nap.

It really pays dividends throughout the day. So for the 

Chris Spear: more eggs, you're gonna have to, you're gonna have to take out a second mortgage on your house for three eggs. 

Arash Hashemi: I 

Chris Spear: just 

Arash Hashemi: may. I just may. 

Chris Spear: So you're talking like a tahe spice when you say like chili lime or something like that? Yeah, I think TA is great.

Arash Hashemi: Trader Joe's has a chili lime season. Oh yeah. Maybe Whole Foods has one. But yeah, they're relatively, you know, widely available now and you know, I, I'd love that. And you know, if you want a little bit of sweetness, a little touch of honey with that chili lime seasoning and the jammy egg goes well. But that's kind of like the foundation of what I do and that really.

That's what I do. I'd [00:11:00] say five or six times a week. 

Chris Spear: Mm. Yeah. I, we, you know, our day gets going. I have kids, I have 12-year-old twins. My wife leaves the house before they even go to school. So like, you know, we're, it's the scramble. I gotta get them going. I gotta get them out the door. I have to drive them to school.

I come home. Yeah. And my dog needs to walk. And it's like, if I don't eat before then, then it's like nine 30 and I haven't even had anything yet. And then I've gotta get rolling with my day. And sometimes it's 10 o'clock and I haven't eaten. Even eaten yet. And I know that's not a good plan and need to really be focusing on what that first meal of the day looks like for me.

Arash Hashemi: Chris, what I'd love for you to do is maybe, you know, and, and the nice thing is this should start to finish, take less than a minute and a half. You can pr prepare, you know, soft boiled, medium boiled, or hard-boiled eggs, right? They take anywhere from six minutes to nine minutes in boil and water, put them in a bowl on the left hand side of your fridge, shelf in the middle.

Just wash two or three avocados, put them right next to it, and have a tub or two of cottage cheese. And in the morning, I would just take out. The number of eggs [00:12:00] you'd like. I take out an avocado, slice it in half, put it on, take a couple of scoops of the cottage cheese, add your seasonings, one and a half minutes tops.

You have an amazing breakfast. 

Chris Spear: Mis en plus. That's what we talk about in the food. There you go. There you go. Right. Having it already. And I do think that, you know, like there's a lot to be said for people who meal prep and things like that, because I get it. Because I get in the same thing at lunch and you know, now it's like 12 o'clock, I got some stuff going on, I haven't planned anything.

And then you're just like, ah, what am I doing? And I think it comes down to, you know, good planning. Um. Was there a a point in your life where you're just like, this, this has gotta change. And like, how did you do that? Yeah. Because it sounds like you tried a whole bunch of different things. So like what you're doing now, how did you figure out that that was something you wanted to try and, and how did you 

Arash Hashemi: make that work for you?

Yeah, and I've done different things at different times, but really the, the, the turning point was, uh, about my second or third year in college and I just, I was like, look, if I, you know, I, you know, I just. My self-confidence was low and things were just not going in the right [00:13:00] direction. Previously, I'd kind of gone cold Turkey with everything that I've done.

I've tried to do everything at the same time, and so I remember just, you know, after, uh, looking at a very particularly bad photo of me, myself, one day I was like, look, I, I've gotta get this right. You know, this is gonna be a life sentence of sorts. So I started by just cleaning up what I was eating. You know, at that time I was eating a lot of processed foods, a lot of sugars, a lot of fast food.

Um, and so I started just buying the ingredients that I was using and I did what a lot of people do, which is, you know, I started, you know, eating chicken and broccoli and rice and you know, hot sauce and salsa and all that stuff. And, you know, I cleaned up really my diet. That was the first thing that. I really needed to do, I didn't step into a gym, I didn't do anything other than just, Hey, I gotta clean up my diet.

And I did that for about three months and I started to just feel really good, just, just a couple weeks in and really paid significant dividends. And so [00:14:00] then I started just gradually going to the gym. Before this, I was actually, you know, the gym was never my problem. I was always doing some sort of activity and I enjoyed it.

It was never really a chore. Um, but I, I. Kind of incorporated that, that physical piece in, once I had kind of dialed my diet back in, and, uh, I just focused on like how I would feel, and I still do this to this day because listen, listen, similar to you, I, I love food. I mean, they, it tastes amazing. It's, it's a great way to celebrate with friends, with family.

It's, and it's a good way to unwind. Um, so I'm wired that way naturally. And so, but I always think about, all right, how am I gonna feel the next day? It's not even after just how am I gonna feel tomorrow. And so, you know, if I'm craving something particularly, you know, I'll have a little bit of it. But you know, it doesn't mean that I need to completely go overboard, which is what I was doing previously, but.

Back to your question. You know, I think the first step really for me was dialing the food, uh, piece in then, um, getting the physical piece [00:15:00] in and that, that was just me going, walking on the treadmill, doing some bike, very light lightweights and, you know, I lost a significant amount of weight, but then came the corporate world and you know, as you know, I was doing really well.

In my role, I was, you know, getting promoted every couple of years. And with that additional responsibility came quite a bit of additional, you know, uh, stress. And, you know, as I was kind of climbing the ladder, these kind of behaviors start to come back. The reliance on food, the shortcuts, the, you know, the Uber eats at night and the, you know, the, the drive-throughs, uh, came back and, um.

That's when I decided, all right, like, I've really gotta focus on this, otherwise I'm never gonna get it right. And so that's when I decided to just really go all in in terms of, um, you know, becoming healthier. And, uh, I think the big realization that I had this time around was, all right, like, you know, I love pasta.

I love pizza, I love burgers, I love fries. I like all those things that we all love as we all love Americans. Yeah, [00:16:00] they're amazing. They taste great. So for me was, all right, how do I make healthier versions of this stuff so that I'm not feeling like, um, that I need to cheat in a way. Uh, because previously, anytime that I kind of set out for something, I always had this like pre-designated cheat day, and I was always like looking forward to that day.

And so one of the things that I really wanted to change was that, just that mindset. And so I really focused on creating healthier versions of my favorite foods and, you know, uh. That's ultimately where shred happens, came into fruition. Um, it was my quest to make foods an adventure, exciting taste good, so that I don't have to, you know, uh.

Look for, uh, a crappy version of a food to, to make, to feel better. 

Chris Spear: Now, what was your experience with cooking up to that point? Like, were you someone who was already kind of like a confident cook in the kitchen at home? Or like, how much self-education did you need? Yeah. To be able to be creating these dishes, because it's one thing to just like open a cookbook and follow a recipe, but then once you get into [00:17:00] the.

Recipe development, that's very different and not a skillset. I mean, a lot of people can't even follow a written recipe, let alone start modifying them to their own tastes. 

Arash Hashemi: I, I'd say my cooking experience was limited to eating the food. Uh, and so, you know, my wife likes to joke that, you know, when she first met me, and this is a true story, so the joke is well deserved.

Uh, back in 2012 when I met her, I wanted to impress her and so I invited her for dinner and I was gonna make her steak, and I didn't even have salt in my kitchen. And so, you know, she was very gracious and, you know, ate it without really making too much fun of me. But I didn't really have a food.

Background besides just really, uh, enjoying it. Now, I do recall I was naturally gravitating towards, you know, when I was growing up. I remember like the summer of eighth, ninth grade, uh, the Food Network. And so there was, you know, I. Sarah Molton and uh, a number of different shows Rachel Ray was on. And so I would just sit there and, you know, watch these shows all day.[00:18:00] 

And I was really just fascinated about, you know, the cooking process and how they were doing it. I never really emulated any of those recipes. I just like enjoyed watching them as entertainment. And so I think that eventually later on in life. Became a good kind of starting point, but, you know, I was just a regular guy.

I, I didn't, you know, have a great knowledge of spices or different produce or how things go together or even how to cook chicken. And so, you know, a lot of my recipes when I started my account and even before that didn't look the way they do today. It's just, uh, trial and error and learning along the way.

Chris Spear: Well, you have an Instagram account that has. 4.1 million followers. Mm-hmm. I mean, just like how, I mean like, that's, that's stunning. Is that crazy to you that so many people are interested in what you're doing? 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah. And beyond. Beyond. Because I think so one, it's just an incredible. Privilege that I really don't take for granted.

I'd say the bigger thing is [00:19:00] the number of emails and messages that I get about the impact that I have and, uh, it's just mind blowing. It really is. You know, people I. Who have someone who's diabetic in their family, uh, you know, son or daughter who made one of my recipes. And, uh, you know, they were able to have, you know, a, a certain family favorite meal without spiking their blood sugar.

Like, those generally just hit me at my core. They are so meaningful and they gave me so emotional every time. Or there was a couple particular instances where parents of kids who, who are going through cancer and are, you know, on a low carb diet. Uh, as a result have written me just very, very long and heartfelt messages.

And that, that just, to me, that's more important than, uh, than any number of followers. And, but the community has certainly grown to be very sizable, and that's, that's a privilege. And it, no, it, it's still, it's still surreal. 

Chris Spear: It's great because it's something so many people are dealing with and there's, you know.[00:20:00] 

There's no one size fits all right? There's no, some people, keto works well for them. Some people low carb, high protein works well. Some people, this works well and you know, you just kind of have to try a bunch of different things and see what works for you. I'm not someone who really buys into a lot of the fad diets, so I'm always looking for something like this that seems to fit with what I need.

And you know, to be honest, I'm pre-diabetic and I'm like right at that number where, you know. Started a low dose of metformin. Mm-hmm. The doctor's like we're gonna see and if we don't get where we need to be, like yeah, there's always the injectables and I really listen. I, I'm sure they're great for people.

I'm not at the point where I wanna start on a ozempic type thing or something, not knocking it. I would rather get to where I need to be through diet, exercise, you know, lifestyle changes. I'm really hoping that this book is gonna be awesome for me because that's kind of where I need to be. So like when I got this book, um, it was great looking through it and I've tried a couple recipes [00:21:00] already.

Amazing. So I'm, I'm really looking forward to like. Putting this into more full force. My big challenge is we have a family of six. My in-laws live with me. They're mm-hmm. In the next rooms, I'll be a little quiet. Now they can't hear me. They're in their eighties and they do not like healthy food. Like I see when we do a tofu night.

Not in ground Turkey chili. No, no. We don't like the ground Turkey. And then, yeah, two 12 year olds in my house who, you know, I'm a chef and I, I think they have a pretty good palate, but. Particular, and you know, if it was just my wife and I cooking the way that we would want to, we'd go all in and cook all this all the time.

And like finding that balance of like the things that a family of six are gonna want to eat with very diverse palettes and preferences is tough. Agreed. Because I would just go in the pantry and throw all that shit out, you know? Yeah. There's stuff in there that needs to go, in my opinion. So for me, I really need to work on some self-control because there are gonna be some things in my pantry that I do.

Are not good for me. So like finding that balance, and I'm sure a lot of our listeners can relate to that as well. 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah, [00:22:00] I mean, I think just on this point, because I think that you, you hit on what I hope to have, you know, my readers in my community, I. Walk away with, which is, you know, we need to leverage some of the, and take some of the, the marketing tactics from some of these incredible food companies, right?

So, for example, you mentioned Tofu, right? What if we, you know, give it a fun name? You, you mentioned you had kids, you know, give it a fun name. Give it an exciting name that resonates with, with your kids. You know, plate it, you know, cut it in certain fun shapes or, you know. Uh, you know, put it in certain type of bowl, like make it exciting, make the presentation exciting, or, you know, perhaps the delivery or the experience.

So instead of, Hey, here's the final, like making it interactive, Hey, you know, here's your base, here's your protein. Add whatever toppings you want. You know, you know, different types of seasonings and sauces. Really, I think the more we celebrate and make things adventure and fun. 'cause I think the reason why, and, and I speak for myself here.

That I wanted [00:23:00] to, you know, get into those other types of foods that I know are terrible for me yet they taste amazing and they're exciting, right? Is because they're made and marketed that way. You wouldn't know about them if they weren't marketed that way, you know, with Splish Splash on TV or on Instagram or whatever it may be.

And so I'd say, you know, that's exactly what I hope to do with, with, with this, which is at its core. Healthy food can be incredible with the right spices, with the right sauces, with the right presentation. I'm not a chef and you know, I'm just a finance and accounting guy. And so, you know, I try to demonstrate and, uh, present these foods in a way that makes it exciting.

And I think that's the number one thing. And I think beyond that, it's about, you know, how you plate it up, the type of utensils, uh, the type of, you know, uh, presentation or the naming of it puts a marketing flare behind it. And I think you might have a different experience. 

Chris Spear: Now, where do you stand on fat?

Because I know a, a lot of cookbooks and recipes and things of this nature, you see a lot of like no fat Greek [00:24:00] yogurt and you know, all this, but I noticed you use like whole fat, cheese and yogurts, and one of your recipes has heavy cream and, and things of that nature. So finding that balance. What is, what is your take on fat and in your cooking?

Arash Hashemi: Well, I think I, I use it all. I use, you know, uh. Cream, I use half and half. I use milk, I use almonds, milk, I use uh, 2%. I use full fat. I use 0%. I think it's, it's, it, it's what you're comfortable with. Ultimately, it's what, what are your goals? What do you like, you know, if 2% yogurt is gonna help you have, in totality a healthier meal versus a 0%.

Go ahead with the 2%. If you know you've got in-laws or kids or a spouse that, you know, they're just turned off by the idea of an almond milk or regular milk and they want to use cream, and if that allows you to have a healthier meal, in totality, I'd go for what makes them excited. You know, if tofus not the right thing, [00:25:00] have that healthy meal and use, I don't know, chicken or something else.

So for me, I, I'm not afraid of fat. I think, uh, you know, um. It, it, it works for me. I don't think it would work if I was doing, you know, moderate to high carbs and moderate to high fat. Um, so something's gotta go. And for me, that's usually lower starch, lower carb foods. I. 

Chris Spear: Now for you personally, were you tracking things like calories?

I know you know a lot of your recipes we're talking about carbs, net carbs, protein. 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah. 

Chris Spear: Were you tracking calories? Any sort of macros, any of that? 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah, initially I was at the beginning because I think for me, um, when I kickstarted, I was really mindlessly just like reaching for things throughout the day.

And so the biggest thing that I needed to do initially, I. When I mentioned, you know, I didn't really focus on the physical aspect of it. I was focused more on, you know, what am I putting into my, what are the calories coming in? And for me, [00:26:00] journaling or writing things that I was using an app to just write down what I was eating and the calories.

I had a certain number that I wanted to hit. And for me that was really more in terms of taking inventory of what I was eating and also. Retraining my brain to understand because I knew if I was gonna eat something, I had to write it down. And so that was my way of trying to understand just how often throughout the day I am actually reaching for something.

Whether I was feeling anxious, nervous, bored, you know, whatever the reason may be. So that was my primary tool to just kind of reset and anytime that I want to kind of reset again or just kind of kickstart something, I always revert back to that. And then things kind of go smooth sailing from from there.

But I always need like a initial period where I'm really focused in on it. But again, that's what works for me. For some people, tracking is, you know, tough or challenging or it backfires. And so I think it's just a matter of figuring out what works for you. 

Chris Spear: I think sometimes at the beginning, like portion control, like just like what is an ounce, I [00:27:00] don't think a lot of people even know, right?

When it's like, oh, you know, an ounce of cheddar cheese has whatever, and you're just like throwing handfuls on. It's like, oh, well that was three ounces. Like maybe you thought it was like one ounce, and just kind of having some ideas to like what, how much that stuff is. I think a lot of chefs can, um, relate to the.

Multiple tastes of things to kinda like, like I say, just like whipped cream, right? Like I'm making a cake and I need whipped cream, so it's heavy cream and sugar, and you whip it in a bowl and you taste it, and you maybe have like a tablespoon. You're like, oh, that needs more vanilla. And you add more and you whip it and you taste it again.

It's like, oh, that's good, but it needs a little sugar. And then you do, again, you just had like three tablespoons of heavy cream and sugar. It doesn't make you satiated. You're not like gonna then not eat a meal. That's because you had it. And just like that compounds over the day, you work 8, 10, 12 hours a day and you're doing that with multiple things.

That's an easy recipe to throw on calories, fat, not good stuff. Throughout your day, that's, you bet not even helping you get more [00:28:00] energy or feel full or anything. It's just like throw 'em in the, in the, the pile of extra calories. 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah, that is, uh, a big, uh, a big, uh, struggle. I'd say, you know, the, the licks, the, the spoons, the taste, the nibbles, uh, those add up.

Especially for somebody like me that's in the kitchen quite a bit. I mean, even for the average person, as you kind of go through a recipe as you do everything that you just mentioned, I mean, that could be 2, 3, 400 calories right there. And so, um, and if you're making multiple recipes, it really does add up.

Chris Spear: So 

Arash Hashemi: you 

Chris Spear: literally quit your job to focus on this, is that right? Like you, you stopped working to kind of focus on your health and the cooking and all this? 

Arash Hashemi: I quit. Yeah. I, I mean, I quit my career and so I was in, I was in finance and accounting and so, uh, I just looked to my wife in 2017, late 2017, and I said, Hey, I've gotta just, just, you know.

Do this. Um, we lived a very comfortable [00:29:00] life and, uh, you know, had kind of achieved the American dream and success, if you will, and, you know, as, as people like to look at it. But, and, and I was, you know, I, I say this in the book. I was, you know, a leader for others, but I really realized that I was in being a leader for myself.

And so I, uh, you know, went to the CFO of the company at the time that I worked at, and I was like, Hey, you know, I'm, I'm kind of, uh. You know, deciding to leave and like, oh, what are you doing? And, you know, I was like, well, you know, I got this business idea. And they're like, now they're like really intrigued.

They're like, oh, what is it? And I was like, oh, I can't really talk about it. And the truth is, I didn't envision this, right? Like, and at no time did I envision writing a cookbook, having a, you know, high protein, low car pasta and rice company having, uh, you know, uh, follow, you know, 4 million followers on Instagram.

You know, it, I, it never really, I. I never imagined this when I quit. I quit because I wanted to change my relationship with food first and foremost, become healthier. And I just [00:30:00] trusted that it was all gonna work out and I had to make very significant changes on our end to, uh, to, um, kinda make up for it.

You know, we, we put our house on the market. I, uh, started renting out my car. Um, you know, I started flipping things on like eBay and, you know, uh, selling anything extra in the house. And then after that was done, you know, going and kind of finding things and flipping them, going to yard sales. I mean, I was doing the Gary V thing, so you got the Gary V?

Yeah. 

Chris Spear: Yeah. 

Arash Hashemi: So I was, uh, you know, really doing anything to make it work and you know, it. A lot of the people, you know, and by the way, at the beginning, you know, the people that I used to work with, I didn't start an account right away, but, um, when I did a lot of the people that, or I didn't really tell anybody about it, and then slowly people started to find out about it.

And, you know, they kept asking me, for example, what's the plan? Like, are you monetizing? Are you, you know, making money? Like, why did you like when you come back and, you know, and so like I just trusted that it was gonna work a [00:31:00] lot. Work, um, work out over time. And it was very tough. It was very tough. 

Chris Spear: And I mean things, uh, it's gotten easier over time, like with the technology and iPhones or whatever to kind of create recipes, but I'm sure back then it was a little more challenging.

What, what's that evolution been like? Like were you sharing full recipes? Were they, you know, now you've do this point video recipe recipes in the comments, you know, there's a lot more. What did, what did that look like when you were starting? Or was it just like kind of a personal, like, here's my journey of cooking?

Arash Hashemi: So it, it's certainly evolved. I mean, my ride or die since the beginning has been my, my iPhone and that's what I use until, till this day. Um, but yeah, it's evolved. And so at the beginning, you know, there was a lot of static posts, right? Instagram has evolved into more of a video platform. Sure. And when I started it was really more static photo based.

And so that's where my strength was initially. And uh, you know, then TikTok came along in early 2019, I believe. And, [00:32:00] uh, you know, my wife Madelina was really pushing me to, uh, you know, get outta my comfort zone and really start getting on TikTok and creating videos. And, you know, believe it or not, I. I was very apprehensive and like very just shy.

And so I created TikTok account. Uh, I was one of, you know, very early to the platform and I think. I didn't really show my face until I was like, you know, I may have had like half a million followers by the time I started showing my face. And so, but had I not, uh, adopted that new platform, had I not evolved as a, you know, a brand so to speak, I would've been left out on the dust.

And so, you know, I think, you know, Instagram was great that it started with static. It gave me a, you know, decent starting point. But that experience that I learned from TikTok. Kind of like the editing videos is really what helped me grow my account on Instagram when reels got introduced and, uh, you know, so that's, that's, that's really what it [00:33:00] is today.

And so my primary forms of content are, are Instagram videos and, uh, reels and, and TikTok videos. Do you work by yourself or do you have a team? Uh, very small team. So, uh, I have me and then I have a creative director and, uh, we have a, uh, part-time, uh, college intern as well. 

Chris Spear: Because I talk to a lot of people on the show who do this kind of thing, and it's always interesting to hear the stories of like, when do you jump?

Like when does it make sense to invest? Like this is a real thing, like this is my business. And when you bring on someone and what that looks like, your first investment in a person, and like when did you know that it was more than you could do by yourself and then it just made sense to bring someone on.

Arash Hashemi: Yeah. My first, uh, you know, uh, my first. Higher was really in, um, fall of 2023. So it was later than I, later than I had wanted. And you know, to this day, you know, I think, you know, again, so in addition to Shred Happens, I have a [00:34:00] high protein, low carb pasta and rice brand kaizen. That's a struggle that we have.

Um, you know, that's where I really spend, um, all my time between these two. And so, um, it's, it's. It's always challenging to invest, to bring on new talent, but is always the right thing to do because as the brand owner or the face of the brand, you wanna be connecting with your audience. You wanna be giving them value, you want to be bringing back learnings as much as possible.

So any minute that I'm spending doing things, not in service of them, is what's holding me back. My audience wants to see more of me. They wanna see more recipes, they want to see me, you know, give them new ideas. And so if I'm not. Spending the time to do that. I'm, I'm not serving them the best possible way.

And it's a struggle. It's a big struggle. 

Chris Spear: Well, we have two big things we need to talk about. You have an upcoming cookbook, um, and you have a food company, which does it make sense to get into first? 

Arash Hashemi: Uh, well, let's go [00:35:00] chronologically. You know, I think, uh, yeah, the food brand would make sense. 

Chris Spear: Alright, so, I mean, that's a totally normal thing.

You just decide we're just gonna launch a, you know, CPG brand. You know, this is not my background, but Sure. Yeah. How, so how did, how did you get into doing that and, you know, two-parter, like why there are plenty of products on the shelf, you know, what was the need you thought you were filling? 

Arash Hashemi: Great question and uh, very naive of us, that's for sure.

But, you know, in 2019, I was a couple years into creating content and that gives me, you know, just an incredible privilege to try so many different products. I mean, every day, you know, sometimes I don't even know how brands are getting my address really, but I get products all the time. And so, you know, at the time.

Keto was really big. Like, you know, ultra low carb was big and you know, I kind of noticed a pattern with a lot of products being made with almond flour. And, you know, the one thing that I really loved, um, I. And [00:36:00] I talked about Chee days earlier, like the one thing that I was having was the pasta on the weekends.

And my wife Madelina makes incredible pasta. And uh, I was always looking forward to that. And then I realized, I was like, oh, like there really isn't a good low carb pasta that's available. And hey, everything's being made out of almonds. Like we should make an almond flour pasta. And so I won't bore you through those details, but you know, we started in our home kitchen in Cincinnati, Ohio.

We developed something that I thought was incredible. We then took it to, you know, a, uh, a college to kind of help us kind of redefine and like, Hey, how do we actually like, you know, do this at scale? We had some limited, you know, progress there. And then, so we decided to call on manufacturers and we ended up finding the one manufacturer that would, you know, take a bet on us early on.

And I. Long story short, we, you know, ordered all this, this, these supplies. We went to the manufacturer excited. It's not coming outta the machine. And so that's a problem. That was a big problem. Uh, and so we spent about eight or nine months just flying back and [00:37:00] forth. Just throwing money down the drain, trying to get this pasta to come out this machine.

And you know, eventually we did, but by that point we had modified our recipe so much that it was just something that was completely different. And I think at that point we thought it was the best possible product to move forward with. And so we launched with it. And while, you know, we had a lot of happy customers, but.

Overall, it just wasn't there. The experience wasn't there. The taste, texture, that pasta experience. And so very early on I kind of learned about a very important lesson. And uh, so we went back to the drawing board. And believe it or not, at this point I actually, this is in 2020. Um, it's right at the beginning of the pandemic.

We were down to, you know. $500 I think in our bank account at this point. We had gone through any sort of savings that we had had, and I ended up going back to work to kind of keep this dream alive. And, uh, so I went back to work full time. I somehow managed to do the Instagram on the side nights and weekends [00:38:00] and, uh, we were continuing on with this pasta reformulation.

And so, uh, we spent another, about 18 months, really just like trying every ingredient imaginable to make a great pasta that was low carb. And so we ended up. Discovering the Lupini bean, it's an ancient super food, super high in protein, super low carb, high in fiber. And that's ultimately where Kaizen was born.

And so in May of 22, we ended up launching the first version of Kaizen. And then we, you know, we launched a rice, uh, we've launched a mac and cheese since, and we've got some amazing products in the pipeline. But it started as a naive, Hey, yeah, we can do this thing, this, this should exist to, all right. We, I'm not really sure what we got ourselves into.

Uh, and then kind of figuring it out along, along the way. 

Chris Spear: Now is lupini bean flour something that was out there? Like, I don't think I've ever seen that. Is that something you had found and encountered in your travels and investigations? 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah, so Lupini beans themselves are, you know, a very popular snack in a number of [00:39:00] countries, especially in some parts of the Middle East and Europe.

Uh, they're just eaten like as a snack with beer or drink of choice or, you know, marinated with like olives and maybe fed up. And actually I have a marinated lupini beans and, and uh, feta recipe in the book. It's super easy. Takes five minutes. Super satisfying. And, uh, but yeah, that, that's how both me and Madelina knew about it.

And, uh, but to get the flower itself, that was a different challenge. And so we had to move mountains and what feels like mountains in order to be able to, to find the right supplier and, uh, you know, uh, import it into the US and build the right supply chain network for it. 

Chris Spear: Now, when you say rice, I mean, is it, is it technically like a pasta?

Is it like orzo because it's clearly not rice. Like is it just like a very, very small, 

Arash Hashemi: yeah. Thin. Thin, it's a thinner orzo, uh, somewhat thicker than, than regular rice. But the, the, the texture is, uh, mimics regular rice. [00:40:00] Nice. Yeah. Better than cauliflower, perhaps. Uh, without a doubt. And that's where, where this res uh, where this originated from.

Listen, I can get down, 

Chris Spear: I'll do cauliflower rice. Like it's, it's a thing, but it's, yeah. Let's, it's not rice. It's not, you know. 

Arash Hashemi: Exactly. And, and look, you know, our rice give, you know, delivers 20 grams of protein, just six net carbs per serving. And I always say like, if you can have regular rice. Have regular rice, like enjoy it.

I, you know, uh, I, I have it. Sometimes my mom, you know, I'm Persian and so the Persian, that's, that's a big deal. It's a big deal. Exactly. Tig, I don't know if you've had TIG before. Yep. Mm-hmm. It's the bottom crispy bottom, you know, I love that. And, you know, there's no, no rice alternative will get you that authentic, you know, Persian rice experience.

But, uh, you know, for if, for something every day for something that's higher protein, lower carb and low glycemic, you know, kaizens a, you know, that delivers something that. Helps you enjoy that. 

Chris Spear: Now, where can people find this? I mean, obviously I've seen you can get it through your [00:41:00] website. Um, you're in some shops.

What's your, are you, are you looking to do a bigger rollout? Um, yeah, in retail space, 

Arash Hashemi: yes. Yeah. So we've been really, really intentional about finding the right retail, um, launch partner. Um, we've had opportunities, but you know, we're right now in a very limited number of retailers, you know, a lot of. CPG brands come in and it's very challenging.

Retail can become very costly. The price of entry into retail is very high. Um, you know, the average consumer doesn't know to, to just get into, let's say, a Whole Foods or a A Sprouts or whatever it may be. There's this concept of a free fill where you have to essentially. Provide the retailer with free product for a number of different, you know, for everything that you wanna get on the shelf, multiple cases, multiple stores.

That right there is a huge investment. A lot of, uh, other more traditional retailers on top of that require what's called a slotting fee, which is, Hey, yeah, we will put you on the shelf and it's gonna be a hundred thousand dollars. And so that right there is a huge investment before you [00:42:00] even kind of know whether it's gonna be a right fit for us.

We've been intentional. We wanna go where we feel like there's a strong partnership. With the retailer to, to really grow kaizen and to make it available at the lowest possible price for consumers. But right now, we're predominantly online on our website, as you mentioned, we're also a top seller on Thrive Market or Amazon, uh, iHerb.

So we're in pretty much any retail, uh, online e-commerce channel right now with a goal of, um, getting into retail second half of this year. And we have some pretty exciting things in the works that are not yet fully, fully, uh, baked in yet. But I think, uh, we're gonna, we're gonna get there. We'll check back with you on that.

Yeah, 

Chris Spear: it's really interesting. You know, the ordering food online is just, you know, something 10 years ago, even five years ago, you wouldn't dream of. But now it's like literally anything you want, you can have delivered to your doorstep. It's incredible. Um, well, you also have a cookbook. Yeah. Which, um, is, you know about the time that this airs will be release time.

So 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah. I'm coming out [00:43:00] March eight, March 18th. Debut cookbook. So easy. So good. Uh, you know, it's, it's a hundred, about a hundred, a little bit over a hundred high protein, low carb, uh, recipes with a Mediterranean twist. About 85% to 90% of them have a Mediterranean twist. But, you know, they're, they're kind of a collection of a lot of my favorite things that have, uh, really helped me stay satiated, stay, stay focused on my, uh, in maintaining my weight loss, and, uh, have really helped me.

Build a community that I have today, so I'm super pumped about it. You know when, when Penguin Random House reached out. I, I, of course, had this imposter feeling, right? Like me cookbook author, you know, what are you talking about? But it turned out to be one of the most rewarding things I've done. And, um, you know, I really put my heart and soul into it.

And, uh, it was an opportunity for me to also spend time to work closely with my wife Madelina as well. Um, we made and tested every single recipe several [00:44:00] times. I'm just excited for it. You know, there's a couple family favorites in there, Kube de uh, kebabs, which, uh, you know, my mom is an exceptional cook and so I had a chance to work with her on that, and so I'm just really, really excited about it.

How long has this 

Chris Spear: process been in the works? Like when did you actually start working on the book? 

Arash Hashemi: It's a two year process. Two years. And, uh, so, you know, when the publisher reached out, it was February of 23 and they mentioned the, kind of the timeframe. And I, I didn't really believe it at first. And I was like, ah, well, we'll, you know, we'll publish it in the year.

And my editor Donna, who's incredible, she says, no, no, no, you're gonna need the time. Trust me. You know, uh, I was like, what? I have a year. You know? So they gave me a year to kind of. Pull the recipes together and I, it went down to the wire because there were so many things that we made that we didn't end up including in the book.

There were so many modifications that we made after we made things that we liked, and then the process to print it and to, you know, kind of work on the layout and the [00:45:00] design. Um, Texas to March 18th of this year, I, it's gotten me, uh, a whole new level of appreciation. For the process. I mean, it's, uh, even the photography itself, I had no idea what, what went behind the scenes in terms of bringing the recipes to life and just how important it is and just how, you know, we were very meticulous, thoughtful, intentional about just, I, I, I wanna say every piece of I.

Parsley. That's on. That's on a, on a, 

Chris Spear: well, it's so different. I mean, look at cookbooks 20 years ago maybe, you know, something like a joy of cooking or, you know, even like a Mark Bittman's, how to cook everything. There were no pictures. It was just like, you know, and there weren't a lot of stories or head notes either.

Now it's like, you know, you've got this. Story about, you know, soups and how you feel about soups and whatever, and then you're gonna get into it and everything is gonna be photographed. I mean, that's so much more, and then that changes the paper. You have to have like a different type of paper than if you're just having like, that's right.

Here's my book of 200 recipes with zero [00:46:00] photos. 

Arash Hashemi: Yeah, exactly. The, the, the, the visual aspect of the book is really important to the audience as well. I mean, that's probably the number one question that I've gotten. You know, does the book. Have photos for every recipe. And so, uh, I think most cookbooks have it for about 50, 60% mine, you know, I think we, I think about eight or nine out of 10 have it.

It's a lot, a lot of photos. I. The photos took, took a month on their own. So it, it, it was a long process. 

Chris Spear: And of course you're making the dishes again Exactly. To do that. So you've already made the dishes, you've worked out the recipe, you got where you want several times, but now we've gotta do it and make it look pretty.

Arash Hashemi: That's right. Yeah. And still make some adjustments as you go through it. You go, oh, this part. And so, yeah. 

Chris Spear: Okay. So someone's listening to this and they're just starting this journey. Beside, I mean, I guess watch your videos, get your book. Yeah. Pick up your products, but any like, really small things, because it can be a lot to change everything about Agree your [00:47:00] life, uh, yeah.

As it pertains to food. So what are s What's some low hanging fruit? I. 

Arash Hashemi: I love that you asked that. I go back to the beginning of our conversation. Start small. I mean, literally, I, I've, I have expertise in, you know, trying every diet imaginable and failing more times than you can count. If you think you have me beat, let's have a conversation.

I have you beat. Um, I'd say the number one thing that I, I'd say is, look, we. All want overnight results. We want it as quick as possible. The reality is you didn't get to where you are today, whatever that may be overnight. Um, and so I'd say have some patients through the process and really be in it for the long haul versus, you know, something that you're gonna do for a couple of days, a week or two.

And, uh, you know, what that could look like is, you know, just getting your breakfast in line, right? So for a week, just have an amazing breakfast in the morning that you feel great about, that's gonna pay dividends throughout the day. You're gonna feel more satiated, alert, um, excited about what you're [00:48:00] doing, and that confidence will manifest itself throughout other things throughout the day.

So my number one really hack tip. Piece of advice would be get your breakfast online. It, it really will make a difference. That's for, that's for me, for sure. Yeah. Great. I, I think that just, and, and do it for a week. Right. Try it for a week. Anybody can do anything for a week and if it doesn't work, then maybe try something else.

Maybe it's a lunch. Right. I think today you're so much about. Fasting, not fasting. Is it 12 hours? Is 16 hour fast? Should I skip breakfast? Should I not skip B? Like should I eat bread or should I not eat bread? Should I, you know, how much protein is fat? Bad? Is fat good? There's so much noise. Yeah. And at the end of the day, I think it's like the, the, the number one thing that matters is consistency.

Because you can be a vegan, a carnivore, you know, you could be high protein, low carb, Mediterranean, you, you've gotta above everything else, the number one thing is just staying consistent. And the number one thing is trying to find what [00:49:00] helps you be consistent. Because no matter what you do, as long as you're consistent, you're gonna get the results that you want.

But for me, the best advice I'd give, the number one hack I'd say is start small, like you said, and I'd focus on breakfast. Once you nail that down, you feel good about it, make whatever modifications, then go to the next part of the day. Maybe that's lunch or maybe that's dinner. You know, I think for me, another big hack is in between lunch and dinner.

Most days I have some sort of protein, like 25 to 30 grams of protein. It could be like a protein smoothie. I do those a lot. It could be mixing some protein with Greek yogurt. It could be just Greek yogurt and berries. That protein will go a long way, especially if you. Overeat like I used to do at dinner time and then feel terrible at the end of the day.

And then you start the day over the next day. Um, having some protein in between lunch and dinner. 

Chris Spear: I've gone to buying bags of like high quality beef jerky and just keeping that on hand and just like when I want, and also because I chew so well, like I eat it slower. You're not eating like super fast. Yes, because like it's like I gotta gna it a little bit and just like throwing [00:50:00] three chunks of beef jerky on, you know, on the table while I'm working on my computer and chewing on that for a few minutes.

Arash Hashemi: Absolutely. It's ex and, and you know yourself well. You know yourself best, right? That text texture is big for somebody. The amount of time is important. For some, for some people it's volume. You know, I need to eat a lot, you know, so for some people it's uh, Hey, I just need something sweet for, so people, it's, Hey, I need something salty, crunchy, so you know yourself best.

That that jerky example is a great one. 

Chris Spear: Awesome. Well, I put everything in the show notes. People will be able to find your social media, they'll find the book. We'll link up to your products and, uh, amazing. Amazing. Thank you. Yeah. I look forward to seeing you as you release this book, and I'm sure you're gonna have a great reception.

Arash Hashemi: I appreciate it, and I can't wait to try your tofu tacos one day. 

Chris Spear: Yes, I'll have to send over the link. There you go. Well, to all of our listeners, this has been Chris with Chefs Without Restaurants. Thanks so much for listening and have a great week. You're still here. The podcast's over if you are indeed still [00:51:00] here.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to the show. I'd love to direct you to one place and that's Chefs without restaurants.org. From there, you'll be able to join our email newsletter, get connected in our free Facebook group, and join our personal Chef catering and food truck database so I can help get you more job leads.

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