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Healthy Food Doesn’t Have to Cost A Lot with Leslie Zinn - E34
35 Plays3 months ago
Why do we often assume that healthy eating has to drain our wallets? Why do nutritious meal plans always seem to include fancy ingredients that are hard to find?
Many of us get stuck thinking that eating well means spending a lot, but here’s the thing: healthy food doesn’t actually have to cost a lot. In this episode, we’re busting that myth wide open and showing you exactly how to eat nutritiously without breaking the bank. We’ll share the benefits of juicing, how to get enough nutrition as a vegan, and how to do it all on a budget. You’ll also learn about achieving balance across different aspects of life, including exercise, nutrition and social connection – and what discipline has to do with it.
Leslie Zinn, an entrepreneur and devoted health enthusiast, is the CEO of Arden's Garden, a company dedicated to providing accessible, nutritious cold-pressed juices and plant-based foods. With roots tracing back to her mother's passion for wellness since the 1970s, Leslie has championed fresh food availability across underserved areas, embodying her mantra of "good health for all". Her initiatives have seen Arden's Garden flourish, notably opening top-performing stores in 'food deserts' and aligning with community needs, demonstrating the impactful synergy between purpose-driven business and societal benefit. Advocating for a balanced life encompassing fitness, nutrition, and community, Leslie is a formidable figure in the health and wellness industry, inspiring through both her personal journey and business success.
“When you get away from your parent, then you go for maybe not so healthy choices, but it definitely became part of my DNA.” - Leslie Zinn
In this episode you will learn:
- Leslie's personal definition of living her best life, emphasising balance across various aspects such as exercise, nutrition, and social connections.
- The origins and mission of Arden’s Garden, highlighting affordable access to fresh, healthy juices and plant-based foods in underserved areas.
- Insights into Leslie’s vegan lifestyle and nutritional practices, including her daily intake of a cruciferous smoothie for optimal health.
- The importance of physical activity and community connections in Leslie’s daily routine, drawing from her background in gymnastics and recovery communities.
- Leslie’s strategies for maintaining a positive mindset through gratitude and intentionality, with practical tips on making others' days better.
- The nuances of sleep and recovery in Leslie’s health routine, including the challenges she faces and how she approaches improving her sleep quality.
Resources
- Connect with Leslie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ardensgardenatl/
- Shop all the products Leslie mentions in this episode: https://alively.com/products/leslie-zinn
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
https://www.zapods.com
Find the products, practices, and routines discussed on the Alively website:
https://alively.com/
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Transcript
Introduction and Personal Reflections
00:00:00
Speaker
This is what I should be focusing on. Whose day can I make better today? What do we value? We value how skinny we are, how much money we make, what college we go to, but maybe we should be valuing how much better we made someone's day today.
Podcast Overview: Home of Healthspan
00:00:17
Speaker
This is the Home of Health spam podcast, where we profile health and wellness role models, sharing their stories and the tools, practices, and routines they use to live a lively life.
Leslie's Background and Lifestyle
00:00:31
Speaker
Leslie, welcome. We were together last week and now we're virtually together again, and so excited to be here with you. Thanks, I'm thrilled to be here. So before we jump in, in your quote, juicy story, ah how would you define yourself? I would define myself as a lively mother, entrepreneur, and health nut who has become my mother.
00:00:59
Speaker
it's It's our nightmare and our dream. all it is It totally is. Like I never thought it would happen. And here it's happened.
Balancing Life's Pillars for Well-being
00:01:05
Speaker
So beware. So on that, I mean, as you as a health k nut, as you think about living your best life for your entire life, what does that mean for you? What does that look like?
00:01:19
Speaker
So my best life would mean all the different parts are balanced. I'm not really good at one thing, let's say exercise. I'm a big exerciser, um but I have my nutrition dialed in, I have my sleep dialed in, I have my work life, I have my mom life. I'm disciplined with my exercise and I'm still a good wife, all those good things. So I think that balance is something that is kind of hard to achieve for long periods of time.
00:01:47
Speaker
So and that's my ultimate goal. I love it. I think that's the first person to put it in that way. And I'm so happy you did because that is the entire premise of what we're doing.
00:01:59
Speaker
of to be healthy, you need to work across all these pillars. And yet people think they're being healthy, optimizing in just one or just two, not realizing the risks they're running and the deleterious effects by not addressing
The Story of Arden's Garden
00:02:13
Speaker
those others. So speaking of which, let's start with nutrition, given your business and maybe your story. Can you just say a little bit about how you decided to start Pardon the Garden? What was your journey? Well, I didn't really decide. So my mother is Arden, and she was a huge health nut my entire life. Way before people were being healthy, we were being healthy. So we're talking the 1970s. My mother is blending up the grossest combinations and feeding it to my brother and I, and it was called the concoction.
00:02:48
Speaker
And it tasted horrible, honestly. I'm in awe of my mother, but she got us to drink it, and it was really, really full of nutrition. So, fast forward 30 years. My mother always wanted to buy this one juicer called a Norwalk. Very expensive for a home juicer. um When she first wanted it, it was $1,500. In 1994, it was $2,200. And she said, oh my gosh, I don't want to go my whole life without this incredible juicer. She still can't afford it. $2,200 is a lot of money for a home juicer.
00:03:18
Speaker
But she does the all-american thing, she gets out her credit card, and she buys the juicer and to make herself feel better, she calls all her friends and family and says, I have this amazing juicer and I want to use it, so if you want juice, I want to make it for you. And the thing to know about my mother is her currency in life was never money. It was always wellness.
00:03:40
Speaker
And so she was giving you juice and making you healthy. She was being fulfilled. And that's how she started. And there's a long story from that, but that's how we began. And and that Norwalk that she purchased was super labor intensive. And a whole food store heard about her making juice in her kitchen.
00:03:58
Speaker
And they said, hey, come to the back of our store, we'll give you the produce, you make the juice and we'll split the sales. And my mom thinks this is incredible because she's buying the produce and giving it away. So off she goes to this health food store, but she needs a lot of labor. So she recruits my brother and I to come help because we're free. And that's how Arden's Garden was
Nutritional Habits and Vegan Diet
00:04:20
Speaker
born. I mean, Margin's going to be very good with free labor. So I think she's having business women as well.
00:04:26
Speaker
That's super incredible that you got to you know be learning about this like holistic kind of wellness at such a young age. I feel like that's something that people really come into like later in life. Were there other like concoctions or like things that you kind of learned that are in your daily ah you know nutrition or what would be like your supplements in juice form?
00:04:52
Speaker
So my mom, I wouldn't say when I was a little kid that I loved it. I kind of accepted it. I was the younger child. My brother rebelled a little bit more, but we didn't have any choice. But you know, when you get away from your parent, then you go for maybe not so healthy choices. But it definitely became part of my DNA. And then as I got older and I joined Arden's Garden, so then I got you know i was My mother was into everything. like Everyone will say, oh my gosh, your mom had such great ideas. And she did, but there were some that were really crazy. And so she, um you know from you know like oil pulling to an ozone machine to a hyperbaric chamber, we had it all. But nowadays, when I say I've become my mother, like I eat things for functionality, not for taste.
00:05:41
Speaker
And so like one of my favorite things is a cruciferous smoothie. I drink at least 48 ounces a day of that because cruciferous vegetables are the most densely nutrient foods on the planet. And so you can put it in a smoothie with some fruit and some water and some flaxseed and you have just a powerhouse of nutrition and you get your day off to the right start. So In my youth, I would have never ever had that. It doesn't taste bad, but it doesn't taste good. You have to kind of get used to it. I think it tastes great now, and I give it to people, and they're like, so it's an acquired thing, but um the benefits outweigh the you know challenges, so I just go for it. And so given that, rightre you're so thoughtful and deliberate, the ingredients in the food you're consuming. Do you even supplement with anything or do you say, hey, i'm I have dialed it in so well on the phone? No, I do supplement. I do. So I'm vegan. I'm completely vegan. very and vegan has um like There's a wide range of what vegan is, right? So I became vegan in 2011 and I had my last child.
00:06:50
Speaker
that year. And once I had him, I became sleep deprived and Oreos are vegan. So you know, you can be vegan and then you can be like plant based highly, you know, dense nutrition. I do supplement um because I'm vegan, I take a multivitamin that has D3, B12. I also focus a lot on omega threes for brain health.
00:07:14
Speaker
So, yes, and I also supplement with a mushroom supplement for immunity. So there are things that I add, but I do think the bulk of my nutrition comes definitely from the foods that I choose to eat. How about on the protein side?
Fitness Philosophy and Routine
00:07:27
Speaker
As someone who really just eats plants, I mean, I have to get a lot of plant protein to to get it in a microwave. So there's a lot of protein. There's protein in almost every single food that we eat. And if you're really focused on protein, you're going to focus on like, um edamame or pumpkin seeds or beans or things that are very high, but even broccoli and cauliflower, every every plant has ah protein in it. And this is a question that everyone is asked when i say it why I'm asked whenever I say I'm vegan, but I have never met anyone that was protein deficient ever. So you know you look at all the big plant eaters, the elephants, the hippopotamus. you know
00:08:07
Speaker
they're They're pretty robust. So I don't feel I've actually um feel so much better once I changed my diet. um But I there was a lot of reasons for that. but i'm not saying Because I use a ah plant ah pea plant protein for so I do two protein shakes a day on top of my meals to take enough protein. Do you do anything like that or you're getting enough in the plants themselves? I don't typically supplement with protein powders. um Occasionally I'll throw some hemp in, but I do focus a lot. Like I make my dressings with beans and I make, or tofu. So I am intentional about the choices I make, but I don't supplement typically with a powder now. It is a good example, right? You look at gorillas, how muscular they are, the elephants, and you're like, well, they're they're getting muscle. The flip side is they are eating all day. That's true.
00:08:57
Speaker
You're right, you're right, but they're not getting any beans and they're not getting any pumpkin seeds. So, you know, there's a trade off. Maybe they probably are getting some seeds of some sort. So you also mentioned fitness, right? Like that it's a big part of your life. I know popping up in the handstand is a big part of your life. So what does your fitness routine look like now?
00:09:17
Speaker
So I grew up as a gymnast, so I was super into working out. And both my parents, like before Arden's Garden, my mother had exercise studios and my father was like a world-class soccer player. So fitness is a big part of who I am. And now for me, fitness is mental health. So I get up every morning and I move. That's the first thing I do.
00:09:42
Speaker
And it's not even hard for me. It's actually the thing that gets my day started. So I now am, I have my own little calisthenics routine that I do first thing in the morning. And then I either go to yoga or I go for a run, um but i I really love it. i'm I'm also someone that likes to multitask. So, you know, if I'm going for a run, I'm listening to a podcast and I'm taking my dog. So, you know, you get the triple crown.
00:10:09
Speaker
a winner for that. So um I do like to um make my my workouts work for me and for others. so But I am very disciplined about that. I think
Running Techniques and Experiences
00:10:20
Speaker
it's key. um And I do at least an hour a day, at least. And of that hour, that that early morning, right when you started calisthenics routine, how many minutes is that?
00:10:31
Speaker
that routine is super short. It's about four or five minutes, I literally get out of bed, brush my teeth and I hit the floor. I just did it right before with a guy that I work with. Because we were talking about having like a lull and I'm like, let's do this because it's like a shot of espresso, you know, so we just like drop, we do like 15 push ups, hold a plank for a minute, do 20 plank jacks and then do you know,
00:10:56
Speaker
up down, planks 20 times, and it takes about three to four minutes, and it's pretty hard, um but it like gives you a real shot of energy. I mean, getting that blood flowing to start the day, I do something far less intense, it takes more time, but like more soft tissue mobility, just like opening all the joints for wrists and cervical spine, like all this stuff. Do you have any favorite running shoes?
00:11:19
Speaker
um run the socony for I have a wide foot and I also run on my toes. So, um, Saucony are by far my favorites. I, I've run in them for years and for a brief minute, somebody turned me on to like Hoka's when they got really hot, but really I am a Saucony girl through and through. What about you? um Running on your toes is good. I do more barefoot. You're the barefoot runner. You and my brother. What are those, um, vibrams? No, like, like even more.
00:11:48
Speaker
You're running in those? this will I'll go jog. For trail running, I have slightly thicker, but I still, I'm a zero lift, like get as barefoot as I can. Wow, I'm impressed. own the The only tennis shoes I have are Vivo Barefoot shoes, so there's still nothing to it. How long have you been running in those? I mean, granted, since I have my second knee surgery, I don't do a lot of running these days, but would have been like 2010. But that's I mean, that's the the premise is you shouldn't be more on your toe, right? So yes, and you run on your toe. I have always been a toe liner like my father.
00:12:22
Speaker
I ran a lot with my dad in my twenties. He's always been a runner and he would be like, you need to hit your heel first. And I would try, but it would, it would wear me out when you don't run your natural cadence. But you see people that, I mean, I look like sort of like, um, what are they a gazelle? You know, it's like weird. It's a weird run, but yeah, I run my tits.
00:12:42
Speaker
I see Taylor's funny because the funny thing is like we're sitting here talking like we're experts. Taylor was a division one track athlete, so I'm curious your take on everything they were saying was such certain type of thing. Yeah. No, I wear sock knees and I actually am like looking to switch because I feel like it's making me pronate. I pronate in on one foot, so I feel like, to your point, I'm a toe runner as well, but learning to do the heel strike has probably been the death of me, but it makes you run slower. a It helps with like any off balances you have. If you do learn how to do the heel strike, you will correct some of the issues.
00:13:21
Speaker
But I've tried the barefoot as well. But I feel like my feet are too weak to handle that right now. It's a lot. Yeah, it's gotta be tough as like a real good runner that for 20 years has run one way to then go into barefoot because you would have to back off so much because like you said, your your foot doesn't have the muscles. Like when I started it, I wasn't running at all. So it's like, hey, if I go start with half a mile and it takes me a few weeks, I get to a mile and then like, slowly build up to get to 10k, my foot muscles were coming along with the rest of my body. Whereas you, like I've worked out with you, getting you to back off without injuring yourself would be a tough thing.
00:14:04
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's it's interesting.
Leadership and Community Impact
00:14:06
Speaker
I feel like there's a lot of like mobility and stuff that you can do to like kind of rewire your feet. But I'm going to have to really, really change the things. It's like almost having like foot binding. um But yeah, I mean, doing your natural cadence is probably best. It's way too late for me to change now. I'm all behind you, Taylor. Tell me how it works out.
00:14:31
Speaker
So when when you travel, is there any difference or are you trying to stick to that same fitness routine? Well, I don't do yoga when I travel. I do hot yoga, so I'm very loyal to going to my classes. I will occasionally actually hunt one down, but usually when I travel, we've my husband and I have climbed a few mountains lately, and so I've been rucking because I had to carry 40 pounds with me. So when I'm traveling, I do my rucking. and um That's easy to do, but I do my little calisthenics, go for a run, whatever, but I do move for sure. And everyone's like, you know, hungover and I'm out running. It just feels better. I don't know. I don't like it last weekend, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like last weekend. Speaking of last weekend, so last weekend, we've referred to kind of seeing each other. It's this thing, Leadership Atlanta, that kind of brings the city together and leaders. I did it.
00:15:26
Speaker
back in, we were the longest class ever because we were the class of 2020 got impacted by COVID. One little longer, Leslie's in this year's class. But we were saying one of the the greatest benefits of it is combining that social connection with purpose, right? It's really bringing different parts of the city together and business leaders, but also ah people in in the education sphere, people in politics, people in nonprofits, ah all over from the CDC to some universities, everything together.
00:15:55
Speaker
And going into this class, what what is it that that drew you to joining leadership in the first place? Well, I've known a lot of people like yourself that have done it. And they're all people that I respect. And I'm a longtime Atlantan. So I just felt like it was a time in my life where I have a purpose-driven company. And the longer that we stay in business, the more that we are putting the purpose front and center. So for us, it's that we we're opening stores in underserved areas because everyone needs access to fresh food.
00:16:29
Speaker
And so as I've done more of this work, I've been put in the sphere of being around people that also do this work. And I find it very fulfilling. And so I was like, now's the time. I'm in this. I feel very strongly that I am highly influenced by who I'm around. So if I'm around people that are purpose driven or exercising or eating healthy, I'm doing all those things. And the opposite is true as well.
00:16:53
Speaker
So I wanted to be intentional about, you know, I get a lot of fulfillment out of doing this work. And I want to get out of just doing it for my company, but also do it for Atlanta as a whole. So just just checked off all the boxes for me. You referenced the company and kind of the purpose behind it. But could you clearly it's bringing healthy nutrition to anyone and everyone. What what is it that's driving you?
00:17:18
Speaker
So when we started, we were just cold pressed juices and smoothies. And and our differentiator of two things is one is if you read the side of the bottle, you'll know every ingredient. You know, if it says pineapple, apple, ginger, it has pineapples, apples and ginger in it. And the other thing was affordability. So our tagline is good health for all.
00:17:38
Speaker
And so it's not easy for a lot of um people that are not wealthy to make good healthy choices because perishable foods are not available in food deserts. Because if they go bad, then they throw them away.
00:17:53
Speaker
Well, it wasn't like I had an epiphany. Oh, I want to open up. We could only afford a plant in an area of Atlanta that was underserved. And in 2002, when we bought that plant, we had no intention of opening a store where the plant was.
00:18:09
Speaker
And what happened was the community just kept knocking on our door. And we eventually put a store in that plant location in East Point, which is near the airport. And that store became our number one store. And today, it still is our number one store out of 17 stores. And so because of that, we saw that there's a real need. And so the next The last two stores that we opened were also in underserved areas. One is an area of Atlanta called Sandtown, very close to the East Point plant. And then the one we just opened in June is on Old National. So I know that, you know, Andrew, you know where Old National is, but it is a you cannot get fresh food on Old National. So um it's just been really amazing because we get to
00:19:01
Speaker
offer our products and support a community at the same time. And the synergy between the community and us is just incredible. What's so powerful to me about this is you're saying, hey, there's a real need. Now, you could go back without building by anything and say, yeah, we know there's need, right? This is a food desert. There needs to be fresh food. But I think the more interesting and compelling part of the story is there's a real want.
00:19:25
Speaker
too, right? Like, there's so many people not in those environments that write out, oh, they don't need healthy, they choose this. And when you have the option, they choose the other. Not only that, but they're saying, no, please, we also care about our bodies and our lives. Correct. We would love to be able to access healthy ingredients and healthy foods. And you're helping make that possible for them. Right. And they're voting with their feet.
00:19:52
Speaker
and wallets. Yeah, no, they're showing up. They are showing up. And see so the number two store right now in 17 is Sandtown, you know, and we we're we're open all over Atlanta. And so it just shows you that there really is an opportunity to make fresh food available in underserved areas and the underserved areas will show up.
00:20:11
Speaker
I
Dietary Shifts and Mindset
00:20:12
Speaker
mean, just societally, it would just make sense. Like if you look at the cost of type 2 diabetes, what Medicaid and Medicare is going to do is give everybody big grocery bags of fresh plants. Fresh food. We know there's there's hard data on it. It just makes sense. The national government just go get people big bags of fresh plants. Correct. Everything will be better.
00:20:32
Speaker
It's going to displace other calories, like everybody's going to get a healthier cost. Yes, yes, no, it's true. And so I started to say that we started off with juices and smoothies, but over the years, and especially from 2011 coming forward, we started offering plant-based foods because you can't live on juice and smoothies alone. And so as I ventured on my plant-based journey, I saw how hard it was.
00:20:55
Speaker
You know, it's not convenient. you know what White processed foods are convenient that stay good on the shelf for a year. That's not food. If the food's not going bad, there's no life force in the food. So as I saw how much i it was hard for me, I was like, it's got to be hard for everyone. And in 2020, actually, I have a daughter that struggled has struggled her whole life with um weight, and I'm not talking 20 pounds, I'm talking morbid obesity, did a lot of things, tried a lot, camps, therapists, schools. And in 2020, she came home from college because of COVID, and she was struggling. And she ended up um going out to a place in California um called Eat to Live, which is run by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
00:21:40
Speaker
and I went out with her to drop her off and I was already vegan for years but what I learned at that place that it wasn't just what it wasn't important what I did not eat which was like meat and dairy but it was important what I did eat and so then we really put the focus on nutritional density and that just catapulted you know my health my family's health into a new dimension my daughter lost 150 pounds because Yeah. And so, um you know, the foods that we eat matter, you know, and the the things that are available to us are addictive, and they're meant to be addictive because they'll keep people behind them. So we're trying to make other options available, and especially in those underserved areas. So if you go to Old National, we have food made to order that's all plant based, no oil, that sort of thing.
00:22:29
Speaker
flipping from that scarcity mindset to one of abundance, right? Like, hey, if all I focus on are all these things I'm not allowed, it's a totally different psychological stance to be in than, wow, this opens up all these things I can have, let me go pursue these things. And then
Social Connections and Gratitude
00:22:45
Speaker
even if I'm not 100% compliant, compliant or whatever on those,
00:22:48
Speaker
Each bite I take is displacing something that isn't going to be nutrient dense. And my body is going to be confused. Whereas if I'm i'm eating the things, if my body knows how to process. I'm like, OK, yeah, I can kind of sense like, I'm getting enough fiber from this. I'm getting enough iron from this. Like, I don't need a chance.
00:23:04
Speaker
Well, it's like crowding the bad stuff out. Okay, just add in one good thing today, and maybe next week you'll add in two, and then slowly but surely, you'll start replacing the bad choices with better choices. You mentioned your daughter, you' you've mentioned your husband, and and this this point of not over-optimizing, just work, just fitness, just nutrition, but this social connection, right? Like with your family, with the community, how,
00:23:32
Speaker
Do you structure that or bake that in? Is it just natural to say, hey, I know I can slip into maybe doing a little too much fitness and a little too much work. Do you have a way that you make sure you're filling that social connection? buck I happen to be a very social person. um That's just one of my natural things. I like people. So I naturally gravitate towards um being with other people and also Going back many, many years, um you know, i I got sober back in 1986. So there's a whole community around being sober and being involved in recovery. So I do that um on a weekly basis. So I have a community that I see. I've known these people for 38 years, you know.
00:24:16
Speaker
So that's part of my lifestyle um that I do and and also being part of a workout community. you know If you go to the same yoga studio, you develop community there. So I think community is key and it's something that i i intentional I'm very intentional about that um for sure. So I think that's a key part to health and and all those good things.
00:24:39
Speaker
You mentioned um sobriety and kind of that mindset around it. um Are there you know other things that you do to maintain that positive mindset and any benefits you see obviously being sober for so long? Well, for sure.
00:24:55
Speaker
um There's intentionality, there's gratitude. So, you know, there's a saying, if you cease to be grateful, you cease to be sober. So I'm very intentional on a daily basis to, I wouldn't say that I meditate, but I take three to five minutes to think about my day. I do this with my kids, actually, when I used to drive them to school. Now a couple of them can drive on their own, but we would say our three things that we were grateful for and then three things that we were going to be intentional about today.
00:25:25
Speaker
And um it's interesting because my daughter works with me now and um she got a review she's she got a review in Google or Yelp or something. And the woman wrote, she had the best experience with Delaney and she named her and she said, you know, I came into the store and I was really having a bad day. And after interacting with Delaney, I just felt so much better.
00:25:47
Speaker
And I read that review and I thought, you know, this is what I should be focusing on. Whose day can I make better today? You know, what do we value? We value how skinny we are, how much money we make, what college we go to, but maybe we should be valuing how much better we made someone's day today.
00:26:06
Speaker
Just one person, if each one of us just tried to make one person's day better today, how much would the world be better after that? So, you know, yeah, I think intentionality and I really thought about that. I actually saved the there review to read and I do read something daily.
00:26:24
Speaker
That has been one of my readings um to remind myself of what my goal is just for today. And if you come into one of our stores, we have a ah sign that says, what is your goal for today? And you can write down. So having that intentionality, I think, is super important. And you have three each day. You have three things that you're going in.
00:26:42
Speaker
I have three gratitude things and three intention eyes. Now my intentionality might be, okay, I'm going to fold Rafa's blanket and put it away because you know that's gonna be my nice thing. I'm gonna clean the dishes in the break room because people left me. It doesn't have to be a big thing.
00:27:00
Speaker
One of the things I'm very intentional about is writing thank you notes to people like by hand. I think that when somebody receives that, first of all, it's really great for me to put it out there. It takes five minutes. That's a really curious thing on the the gratitude practice because i'm I'm really big on gratitude.
00:27:17
Speaker
I didn't talk about that and it's definitely positively affected my life. But the bigger effects from the gratitude practice are less the expression of it than the reception. So that writing of the thank you cards, you're giving someone something physical will go back to and I know they do because I send them if you're like, you know, I just when I'm having a bad day, I pull this out. Totally. And I just find this so helpful and reframe like you do with Delaney's review, like I just pulled out having something written. It just makes such a difference. I carry two letters in my bag with me every day that somebody wrote to me. They're years old.
00:27:58
Speaker
You know, but if I'm ever not having a good day or I need that little extra boost, and that person probably didn't think about it when they wrote it, but it really has meaning to me. It's that gift we are able to give freely, right? that That positivity, because you could be a downer and impact people's day the other way. I'm going to be a jerk, I'm going to bump into somebody, I'm going to be angry. Or, you know, you bump into somebody, they're expecting you to be angry, and you just want to say, hey,
00:28:26
Speaker
I hope all is good. Then all of a sudden it refrains their day, right? they And then they multiply, they do it to the next person. and It's just, it's crazy how contagious it is. And you know, the gratitude practice, so the more that I'm intentional about doing it, it's like whatever I focus on gets bigger. So if I focus on what's wrong, that gets bigger. And if
Sleep Challenges and Technology Use
00:28:48
Speaker
I focus on what's right,
00:28:50
Speaker
that gets bigger. And so that intentionality grows, you know, organically. It's similar on the nutrition side, right? Like, if I'm focused on the things I'm not allowed, those are the things that I'm thinking about all the time. If I'm thinking about, oh, these are the things I can have, this is what I'm looking for, this is And that's what gets big. And I guess what you you focus on is race car drivers like never look at the wall, right? You're go where your eyes go. Like, don't look at them all where you the path you want to go on. Focus where you want to go. Not what you're trying to avoid. Listen, when I'm in yoga and they say, OK, we're going to go from warrior, I mean, from eagle and into warrior three, they did it this morning. If I think to myself, oh, crap, I'm going to fall.
00:29:37
Speaker
If I think to myself, I got this, I'm going to be fine. And i just I just repeat the mantra, I got this, I got this, I got this. And according to my daughter all the time, you know whether you think you can or can't, you're right. Totally. My mother used to say that when she would teach a cleanse class, it would be on the head of the like pamphlet we gave people, that exact quote. So talk to a lot about like how you go about your days and structuring those. What about the nights? Because the the sleep and recovery are a big thing. yourre Your whole point of, hey, I'm going to be up.
00:30:11
Speaker
conquering mountains while you're hungover in bed. you know How do you think about your sleep and recovery of your body and life? So sleep is my weakest pillar. um I'm a very early riser. If I do not put any caffeine in my diet and I really turn off technology early, I do much better. But I have to go to sleep early because it doesn't matter what time I go to sleep. I'm going to wake up between 4.30 and 5, automatically. So if I'm able, like two nights ago, I was really tired. At 9 o'clock, I was out. And I woke up. at
00:30:48
Speaker
4.30 and I felt great. Last night wasn't as good, you know, and I woke up at 4.30. So that's something that I really have to work on. There's a lot of opportunity for me there. um And I think the biggest part of it is getting the technology out of the room. Speaking of the technology out of the room, do you use any technology to track the sleep? So I used to wear an iWatch and an Aura Ring.
00:31:14
Speaker
But what i found for myself is i would wake up and i would feel great and then i would check my aura score and i would go like i would literally go on a run and if i forgot my watch i would run home to go get it and that's just like silly so for me i got rid of all of that for me it's better my body knows what i'm doing so um no i'm not tracking any of that anymore.
00:31:38
Speaker
I see Taylor smiling. So you're an aura girl, right? Yeah, I love my wearing, but I've done the same thing. I'm like, I retired the Apple watch. I feel like there's a certain point when it comes to tracking. Like if it's not helping you hey and be focusing on it, but i separately, I love the sleep insights because I feel like I was not a good sleeper and it made me better at going to sleep, but it was turning my phone on red mode, and like no I don't think I've watched TV anymore, because now I can go to sleep super early. So I feel like it can go both ways. It made a big difference for you. Yeah, yeah. Have you ever woken up and felt dep depressed? Like you felt good, and then you felt awful when you saw your score? Not really. I think because I really am very strict with my sleep, like for like at least Monday through Thursday or Sunday, I'll be asleep by like nine o'clock
00:32:32
Speaker
Yeah, be in bed by it, but it's easy to do. Do you have kids?
00:32:38
Speaker
Also, when the kids are at a certain age, it's also I find a little easier, you know, and my daughter's eight. So yeah super early, she goes to bed super early, like I don't watch TV anyway. So yeah, so but it's because I'm ah a whoop guy.
00:32:56
Speaker
The flip side is it it will help inform, I used to not be as good at listening to it, but inform how hard I go that day working out. Because normally I'm just 100% every day. And I just grind myself into the ground. Whereas if I had a really poor night's sleep, I'm like, you know what? Probably the better answer for my health is not to go super hard on the fitness side, but to think a little bit more on the recovery. And so maybe do yoga today instead of every day. Yeah, I see that for sure.
00:33:26
Speaker
In Bermuda, I have an eight-sleep, and then in Atlanta, I have a chili pad from Sleepy. It's a mattress cover that cools through the night to help you optimize your REM, indeed. And it also tracks your snoring, at least the eight-sleep does.
Leadership Retreat Experience
00:33:39
Speaker
And so I had been mouth-taping and didn't last night, and it 10xed the amount I snored. I went from snoring basically not at all,
00:33:50
Speaker
I mean, you're taking your mouth shut. Oh, yeah, that's a that's a big thing. I do all the things. I have a mask. I'm sure you do. I can't wait to get with you off this and see all the things. I do lots of things. Lots lots of a good one. Yeah. ah Do you do? Do you have an eye mask? No, I don't snore. My husband snores. And I'm just going to say that white noise has changed our relationship. um But I've never, I'm like, I would love to see him. Did you snore before what you do the mouth taping? Yeah. And I mean, literally that one night I took it off in the days they told me that 20% last night I was snoring. So it went basically from zero. So it keeps me from snoring. Is it uncomfortable?
00:34:34
Speaker
No, no, it's for some reason, I don't know. Like I start breaking out at times. Like sometimes I'll i'll not do it, but then other times they'll tape and start freaking out. So that's why I stopped. Cause I think I like I'm slobbery or something. and i say I thought I'd give my mouth a break, but then it it hit you on the other side.
00:34:53
Speaker
Do you do earplugs because of the story? No, no, I don't. I just put on white noise. And the minute that white noise comes on, I'm like, it's like the notifier that it's time to go to bed. So it saved me. Actually, when we were on that retreat, we were all sharing a cabin. There were several people that were noisy. And I was just like, here you go, white noise. So it's an app on your phone or you bring a machine? I have an actual thing at home. But when I travel, I just put the app.
00:35:19
Speaker
Yeah, I know that's a at the retreat for for those who don't know. It is taking these serious leaders, right like the CEO of Chick-fil-A was in my class, Dr. Martin Luther King's daughter was in my class, these people, and then it takes them to a children's camp in rural Georgia where
Personal Health Must-Haves and Tips
00:35:36
Speaker
you're all sharing cabins. You have to bring your own sheets and pillows and make your little twin bed that you're sleeping in. like its It's really funny.
00:35:42
Speaker
And one of the first things they ask when they get up there is like, okay, everybody be honest, who snores? And so the different people stand up and they're like, okay, because it's sponsored by Delta, who wants some Delta earplugs now? having me snorering not But Leslie came prepared with her her white noise with the white noise. Yeah, this has been fantastic. Leslie, i before we sign off,
00:36:09
Speaker
Could you share what your top five must-haves for your own personal health routine would be? So number one by far would be a cruciferous smoothie, um which I told you all about.
00:36:21
Speaker
That's a daily thing for me. Is that something Arden's garden sells or is it like you custom make your own? Both. Well, we sell it, but apparently nobody's buying it but me. So um it's not it's not one of our biggest sellers. It's called the Kalinator.
00:36:39
Speaker
um I do make it myself also because I make it in large batches, something else. So every day I take um a women's multivitamin um from Dr. Furman's multivitamin. i also take and He makes an immune one with mushrooms that I take on a daily basis.
00:36:58
Speaker
i also um do a It's not it's um omega-3 that is plant-based, hot yoga. I think it is, you know, as a lifelong athlete, and especially as a gymnast earlier, I had a lot of flexibility, and then I lost it. And so now, um and I feel it the older you get, that's where I really feel um the injuries coming in is through flexibility. So the hot yoga has made a huge difference, not only in my the way I feel in my body, but just that
00:37:31
Speaker
quiet time at the end. um The Shavasana to slow down before the day gets started. I really appreciate that. Now, realizing not everyone is the product of a world class soccer player and a fitness studio slash nutrition.
00:37:47
Speaker
food, maven, where, if someone was just getting started, somebody's listening, it's like, yeah, well that's all well and good for her, she's been doing it her whole life. If, is the one thing that you would recommend someone kickstart their own health journey with?
00:38:02
Speaker
100% cruciferous smoothie, without a doubt. it had I did not drink cruciferous smoothies until about a few years ago because I started learning more and more about the benefits of cruciferous vegetables. and um you know Our bodies are incredible machines. If we give it ultimate fuel, they heal themselves.
00:38:24
Speaker
And so, you know, in this um format, you're able to put a ton, it's very hard to eat a lot, a pound or half a pound of cruciferous vegetables is hard. So especially we raw, you know, and raw, you're getting even more nutrients. So that's why I like to throw them in the smoothie. It's just very easy to to drink them and and and I'm good to go. So that would be my number one recommendation.
00:38:48
Speaker
All right, so I have to ask, because it's come up a few times, what are the ingredients? OK. Well, it's any cruciferous vegetable. So my two favorites are kale and cabbage. And I do red cabbage, white cabbage, Napa cabbage. It doesn't matter. And then I put in berries, so because they're the best antioxidant mix. So blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. But honestly, I put whatever fruit is going bad that I throw in the freezer.
00:39:14
Speaker
um It doesn't really matter. It's just there to make it taste better. It's a water-based smoothie. I don't want any extra sugar. um And I put in ground flat seeds for the Omega-3s. So um I do at least 48 ounces of it. like you can These are reused um bottles that I pack it in. I already drank it and just filled it with water.
00:39:35
Speaker
But I'm um very, I brought them to the retreat. And the frozen berries, because living in a Bermuda, rate by the time we get the berries in the first place, like they've been gone for a while. And so it's by the time you get them home, there's always some mold in my raspberries, my blackberry.
00:39:49
Speaker
Is that a thing you say, hey, just as soon as you buy it, just pop it in the freezer? Yeah, yeah, totally. And I would just if if there's already mold in it, just move the mold away. It's really not going to hurt you. But it doesn't have to be berries. I mean, every fruit has different antioxidants, phytonutrients, phytochemicals that are going to help you. with Just berries happen to have the most and the lowest sugar. So, you know, but I mean, don't let perfection be the enemy of good. You know, there's so much benefit there. are I mean i was just asking for economic reasons where the big oh yeah the period is i'm just losing a lot of money i would totally throw them in the freezer absolutely. I know you're talking about low sugar and
Sweet Tooth Confessions and Episode Closing
00:40:30
Speaker
we've talked about a lot of healthy things but do you have any ah guilty pleasures or something that would be like your indulgent snack that you can choose.
00:40:40
Speaker
Well, I have a huge sugar problem. like I am a sugar addict, so I have to be very, very um careful about that. like For me, if I eat regular sugar, then that sugar wants some more sugar. So um I make these um healthy balls. They're so easy to make.
00:40:58
Speaker
three ingredients, oats, almond butter, and raisins. You just, if you want to make them like, if you want to like go some extra mile, you grind up the oats. You don't even have to just mix them up, make roll them into balls, throw them in the fridge. They are delicious and they are and' not going I'm not gonna eat 28,000 of them. You like sugar, so if you weren't doing the healthy balls and you're like, hey, I like sugar, I'm gonna just let it go. like What would be the one thing that you're saying, hey? Chocolate nuts, hands down. There's nothing better, our chocolate and almonds. Well, thank you so much, Leslie. this This has been a lot of fun. It was great seeing you last week. It's great to see you today. I appreciate being here. Thanks for the time.
00:41:42
Speaker
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home with Health Span podcast. And remember, you can always find the products, practices, and routines mentioned by today's guests, as well as many other healthspan role models on thelively.com. Enjoy a day.