Recipe Hacking with Diana Keuilian

Hey, it's J.J. here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family sheets or skin.

And.

And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order. Hey, JJ here. Every year around this time, I get the urge to make my home feel a little extra special. A space that feels just like the holidays. And Wayfair is my go to for that. Think cozy textures, twinkly decor, warm lighting, and all those little touches that make you want to curl up with a good book and a blanket. You'll usually find my book stacked on a great little end table I got from Wayfair, proof that function and style can coexist. Now, whether you're adding last minute hosting essentials, picking out gifts for loved ones, or refreshing your decor for the season, Wayfair makes it easy with beautiful finds, great prices and fast delivery. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Plus, with free shipping for any order over $35, that's fast delivery and a total peace of mind. It's the perfect mix of joy and order, bringing the holiday spirit in, then storing it all with EAs ready to make your home feel as good as it looks. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair. Every style, every home that's W A Y F A I R.com the holidays.

Are all about family. But at the Chrysler Wrap up the Year sales event it's all about you. Enjoy every mile in the most awarded minivan in America, Chrysler Pacifica. With the most standard safety features in its class, available Stow n go seating and the available Stow and back built in vacuum. Make the most of the holidays with a great deal at the Chrysler Pacifica Wrap of the Year sales event based on Ward's small van segment. Based upon the latest available competitor information, Chrysler is a registered trademark of FCA US llc.

Hey, it's JJ Virgin and welcome to the JJ Virgin Lifestyle show where we'll connect with some of the coolest people in the world. Plus I give you tips that you can put into fast action to up level your health and your life. Now today's show is all about recipe hacking. Yep, you can even hack your recipes and you are going to want to dive right in when you hear some of the recipes and the ingredients and the deliciousness of what I'm going to share with you today. So I have a really fun guest. This is actually one of my favorite interviews of all time. So, so I'm super excited to share this with you. And she has figured out how to recreate things like chocolate chip cookies and pancakes and Snickers bars. And I'm serious here. Crazy stuff as well as like slow cooker meats and all sorts of yummy stuff using no gluten or dairy or soy or cane sugar. You can see how much why I was so enthralled. And so I'm excited to introduce Diana Coolian to you. I actually have known her, her hubby Bedros for years. He's part of my inspiring panel as part of Miracle Mindset Movie Premiere Bonuses. And she is the author of a couple best selling cookbooks, the Recipe Hacker and then the Recipe Hacker Confidential. Stay tuned. By the way, I'm going to share with you how you can get that one for free. My favorite word. She is just passionate as you will hear in this interview about creating wholesome versions of your favorite foods and again.

Getting out the gluten, the dairy, the.

Soy, the grains and cane sugar.

And it's really like this is like.

Comfort food that she's made healthy like tacos and waffles and enchiladas. I mean you're gonna just flip when you see this. She's got a ton of recipes over on her blog realhealthyrecipes.com and here's the thing like, she has two young kids. So this is the litmus test.

I mean, kids are not going to.

Just eat things because you tell them to. They're going to eat things, and they're going to be honest with you. So the fact that our kids love this stuff tells you everything about it.

So today's guest is Diana Coolian. All right, let's do it. Diana, welcome to the show. I'm so glad you're here with me today.

Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.

I love fierce mama bears since I'm one. You're definitely one. And that's where I'd love to start as we talk about how to hack recipes with your big, driving motivation to do this in the first place. How did you get into it?

Yeah, well, you nailed it. It's my kids. And in 2005, when my son was born, the statistic came out that our kids are going to live. Have shorter lifespan than us. And so I knew it had a lot to do with the way we eat these days and just with all the processed food. So kind of threw myself into, you know, how can I make healthy food fun and exciting so that they can grow up eating it and then that they can eventually, hopefully outlive me?

That's awesome, because I still remember when I was growing up, there was one girl that lived down the street. Her name was Evelyn Blier, and her mother always had her on a diet. And she always had, like, the worst thing. You know, it was just she would come over to my house and just eat. Eat everything there, you know, because she would get half a sandwich and, like, she literally got. I remember one time going, is that half a cookie in your lunchbox? Like, she would get half a cookie and then some carrots and celery sticks. And everybody felt so sorry for poor. I still remember her name. Poor Evelyn Blier. So no Poor Evelyn Bliers on your watch. And, you know, if we like them as kids, we'll like them as adults. So I love that because it's. Doesn't it drive you crazy to go into the. Into restaurants? And the kids menu is just, oh, my gosh. I'm like, really? Who does that?

Right? There's nothing that has nutritional value on those kids menus. And I have to say, from the time when my kids were toddlers, I was just ordering off a regular menu for them.

Yeah, that's that.

That whole Mac and cheese, chicken nugget, hot dog situation. Terrible. All right, so let's dive into, you know, we've Been doing a lot of hacking in our community, but you're the first recipe hacke that I've come across. So what's that mean, to hack a recipe?

Well, so to me, what that means is I will take a recipe, let's say, from, like, Rachael Ray. And like, in my book, one of the recipes I have is a hamburger casserole. So, you know, what I'm doing is I'm taking the concept of something that's already made. It's filled with grains and gluten and dairy, and I'm making it essentially with vegetables and meat and spices, but it still has the same kind of flavors and the same look and feel. Feel of that traditional hamburger casserole.

Yeah. This is why I love this so much, because that's what I teach is to do these simple swaps.

So that.

And don't you find that, like, when you do this with adults, they actually like this stuff better?

They do. And, you know, I think it's just the flavors of real food are so much better than anything that's been processed.

Yeah. So you kind of sung to my heart there because you were talking about the evil dairy, gluten, and sugar. So, like, let's talk about what you decided to. To pull out and replace and why.

Right. So it is. It's grains, gluten, dairy, soy, and cane sugar. And so I kind of call these, like, the deadly five. And this is, you know, these are ingredients that are just being pumped into all the food that's out there these days. And they're actually things that are really easy to avoid when you put a little bit of effort into doing those swaps.

Yeah. I looked at your recipe book because it's first of all beautiful, but also I was like, floating some of the names by people on one of my Facebook lives, which was a total tease. Not fair. And they're like, where do we get that recipe? I'm like, soon enough. Soon enough, we'll be sharing Diana with all of you. But what I love is that they're simple and that you are a non chef chef.

Right, Right.

No intimidating chef y stuff going on over there.

I know. I have zero training, and it's all just, like, hands on in the kitchen. What can I get the kids to enjoy and, like, and, you know, throw together that they'll. They'll, you know, eat.

So what are some of your things? Like, what are some of your favorite ingredients that you've discovered that you use? Because I find with so many people, that's really all they need is to know the swaps. And then it becomes much easier.

Right. Well, when it comes to doing, like, dinner recipes, I use so so many vegetables. Cauliflower is one that is so versatile. You can do so much with it. Butternut squash keeps coming up in a lot of my stuff.

Yay.

I'm a big butternut squash fan. Like, most underrated vegetable.

Yeah, there's so much. You could turn it into noodles. You can shred it, you can saute it. Like, there's so many things. I mean, you can. I bake with it sometimes I'll, you know, puree it and bake with it. So there's so many things you can do with the vegetables. And then when it comes to baking, because I am a big baker and I, you know, I came from background of making the Nestle Toll House cookies and the butter and the refined sugar and the refined flour. So baking and making these treats that the kids really want. Some of the ingredients that I use are there's almond flour, coconut flour, and then I do the coconut palm sugar. Coconut. There's so many different products and things that come from coconut that we can use. It's more healthy than, you know, like, the dairy and the refined sugar. So there's so many ingredients, like, I could probably talk for two hours about.

And I know you have ingredient lists in your book. I'm actually trying to pull up. This will just be a torture for people. So I'm just gonna do this because it's. I just am in that mood today. Like, listen to some of these desserts. You're just gonna flip out. First of all, gingersnaps are, like, my favorite thing ever. And I can't think of the last time I've had them because I won't have them. And I just. Ah, yes. When I was pregnant with my younger son, Bryce, I was living in Durham, North Carolina, which was really difficult coming from Berkeley. And they had this health food store. I think it was like Mrs. Gooch's that made these. I still remember them. Like, I can, like, describe them. My mouth is watering. But you've got monster cookies, cookie dough, bon bons, chocolate truffles, homemade peanut butter cups, real healthy Snickers bars. I mean, come on, Diana. Not really.

Can you see what motivates me?

I don't have a sweet tooth, and I'm over here going, when are you coming over?

Hurry.

Right, well, I'll have to make a note to make you some ginger snaps.

Yes, yes, yes. That wasn't even a hint. That was as close to a demand as I could come to. But I know what people are thinking listening to this and are like, okay, this sounds great, but really, like, this sounds like it's gonna take a ton of time.

A lot of my recipes are really quick. Some of them, I mean, you mentioned the real healthy Snickers, and there are three layers to that. So, you know, there are some where I get a little crazy, and I'll, you know, I'll focus in on making it really, like, the real thing. And there are a few that take time, but. But generally, for the most part, these are on the fly. These are for families. And the fact is, I don't have a lot of time, and so I. I can't sit there and come up with really complicated stuff.

Yeah. I mean, here's the thing. Everybody listening. Mother of two, wife and running a business. So there you go, like, you know, busy, busy. You're not just hanging out, getting your nails done. Right.

And both my kids are in soccer. And let me tell you, I had no idea. Club soccer every day.

I know, isn't. I actually was, like, cheering when my younger son was like, I don't think I want to do soccer anymore. And I'm like, yay. You know, I admit. I admit. Is that bad, Mom?

No.

Well, I've got one that plays for the city, and she's like, I want to play club now. And it's like, I don't know. But, yeah, recipes have got to be fast because, you know, the kids got to be fed. I need to be fed. But it. But it all has to happen, you know, in a short amount of time.

So what are some of the things that you can, like, give us a couple tips for how you could save time in the kitchen?

Well, the first thing, which is a must, is figuring out what you're going to make every day of the week on the weekend, just that alone, to where you're organized and you're not trying to figure out what you're going to make the day of.

Oh, my God. I've never done that in my life. Like, already I'm on my knees bowing down to you.

How.

Oh, boy. Busted.

You know, practically. It's those days when you don't know what you're going to make that things can go downhill. And it's like, oh, they need food now. What are we going to get them? And so for me, when I just decided and put my foot down, like, you know, it's usually Sunday, like, okay, I'm gonna. I'm just gonna get my Calendar out. And I actually have a program online where, you know, it, it's a software and you have your, your calendar and you can just add to your menu and then it, you know, it, it generates your grocery list. So that's. I, I made it for myself because it's like I sit down and do it manually for years. Like, okay, let's make this quicker. But yeah, just, just making plans. Awesome. Yeah, making the plan on the weekend and then doing that grocery shopping is like more than half the battle. And I usually will start the week like Mondays are almost always a slow cooker day where I'll do, you know, I'll do, I'll do meat and I'll make it enough to where Tuesday we can have that same meat with a new veggie side. So just, you know, planning is like I said, more than half the battle.

So like, I mean, you must hear it all the time that people think it's hard. They fail. Like, why, you know what, why do you think people think this is so challenging and fail? Where's the disconnect?

The way we live now, there are so many restaurants and I think the idea of, you know, making food at home, it's definitely going away. And just this idea that, you know, you need to have some kind of training or the food you're going to make isn't going to taste the way that the restaurant food tastes, you know, and with anything, there's, there's a learning curve. You know, the first time that I started cooking meat because I was a vegetarian for 18 years until before I started, you know, cooking meat for my husband. And then I was like, all right, I'm going to get back.

That smells good.

Yeah. So I, he could tell you stories of me serving like partially raw chicken to his family because I just, I didn't know what I was doing, you know, but you, you, you put in the time and, and again, it goes back to your. Why, why are you making the home cooked food? Why are you trying to be healthy? You know, you need to have that motivator that makes it worth it to put in the time to get to a place where, hey, you know, you can whip out something healthy and quick that everyone's going to enjoy once you kind of have that skill set. But it's not difficult. Anybody can cook, but you need to want to and you need to put in the time and be okay with having a few flops.

I will tell you too, because you get down to your repertoire too, of things that become super easy. So here's the funniest story. My younger son now is 19 and he's got an apartment in college. And a couple years ago, one of my friends was over at my house and she goes, you should check your son's computer. I bet he's watching porn. He's not watching porn. Like, he's not, you know, maybe your kid is right. And so I go into his computer history, and he's not watching porn. He's watching cooking videos.

Nice.

I know. Like, he like in his teens was like, I'm cooking. And he goes off to college and I get him the meal plan. And he's living in this sweet dorm suite the first year where they have a kitchen. And he like bails on the meal plan. He starts ordering food. And now, and this is the coolest mom mom hack ever. So he lives in a place where Amazon Fresh delivers. So he does it on my account. And I can watch everything he's eating. And he eats super healthy. Like, he once ordered the. He ordered bacon that was had nitrates and was cured. And I'm like, what are you doing? You need the pastured pork. He's like, oh, gosh, sorry. But you know, it is so cool to see that, like, if you look at the life skills that will be there forever and change, change people's lives, it's like learning how to cook. And it's not hard. As you said, you're self taught. And like, this cookbook's crazy amazing. And the recipes are easy in there.

Yeah. And you know what? Just, I think when people have a big flop, I think it just kind of deters them from going back and trying again. But you know what? All of us, I'm sure the best chefs in the world, I certainly have plenty of flops. You know, it's just part of, part of the learning process. But that's awesome that your son cooks. Man, I can't wait till I hope one day. My son, he's 11 now and he's a great eater, but doesn't want to be near the kitchen or helping me in any way. Yeah.

It just happened later in his teens. I was absolutely shocked. In fact, one of the things I got him for Christmas and he was like, overjoyed. This will just tell you, I got him a Bluetooth instapot and he's like, wow, I can cook from my bedroom.

I'm like, that's great.

Yes.

So many cool tools. I'm sure.

List out a couple cool tools that you love and use.

Okay, Definitely.

Since you brought it up.

Yeah. Food processor. Like, hands down, I use that thing every single day. I had a cuisinart1 for 14 years, and it died on Thanksgiving this year.

Oh, how dare it.

I know. I. I literally would use this thing almost every day for 14 years. So I got a new one. So, food processor, a spiral slicer, which is, you know, the little tool to turn vegetables into noodles.

Nutribullet has one now called the veggie bullet. That does it. I got to hook you up with them. I will do that.

Yeah. I don't know how anyone could live without it. It is, like, essential in my kitchen. A great blender is a definite. And then, you know, the basics. You need good knives. I mean, just something simple like a good cutting board and a good knife. If you don't have that, well, that's a huge obstacle to, you know, making just a very simple meal. And then, you know, high quality. I spend a lot of getting the highest quality of skillets, baking pans, casserole pans, because, you know, it will last you decades. And it makes a huge difference in how the food turns out and how the food tastes. So I would say definitely, you know, for people who are just starting to cook, it's gonna look expensive. You know, a high end skillet. It's gonna be worth every single penny. Cause you're gonna use it all the time.

Yeah, they last forever. I mean, that's the big thing, is that you look at, like, how long your food processor just lasted. 14 years. And pans don't have a piece in them there. So it's not like it's a food processor. So you've got to really look at these as investments. I mean, I've been pulling my pans with me. Everywhere I've gone. Now I'm gonna throw a curve ball. Okay, so what's the one thing, Diana, you do every day that you think makes the biggest difference in your life?

This has to be food related.

No, no, no. Anything, Anything at all. Open door.

Open door.

I am going to say just the time that I spend every day in gratitude. I think in my book, I do share that I did have a pretty bad cancer diagnosis a couple of years ago with melanoma. And I was very lucky that it hadn't spread enough to be that big of an issue. And we were able to get it out surgically. But, you know, since then, it was about two years ago. I'm just grateful every day I wake up and every day that I get to be in the kitchen cooking. And I get to, you know, be raising my kids. And it's just gratitude. I think gratitude every day is a huge part of my life. And that is, I think, makes the biggest difference. Because, you know, when you're in a place of gratitude, you know, little stresses that come up, they don't matter the way they do when you're coming from a place, you know, a different, a different heart set. So I don't know if that's what you were looking.

That was exactly what I was looking for. And what you don't, what you don't know because we haven't gotten to know each other in well enough yet. I say, yet I can't wait to have you over is that when my son was the victim of a hit and run left for dead in the street. One of the things I teach people now is the way I got through that is every day, and I've done it for decades. I start the day with my journal and write three things I'm grateful for every day. I think that is one of the most significant things we can do. So I love that you just validated it and we never talked about it.

So cool.

Yes. Now I know you have all sorts of cool stuff and one of them is you have this, I mean, I love this cookbook. You have your recipe hacker confidential cookbook that you are giving to my community for free. All they need to do is help out a little bit with shipping and handling so you can. Some of those recipes I just teased you with, that wasn't very nice. And those were the desserts. There's breakfast. There's like a three ingredient pancake recipe in there. There's amazing slow cooker recipes and great veggie side dishes. I mean, just incredible stuff in there. And you can get that free by going to JJvirgin.com Diana and it's Diana D I A N A and grab that. And I just love having you on. I can't wait to be in the kitchen with you.

Yes, me too. That'll be great.

Yay.

I can't wait. So thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining me. Now after the break, I'm going to be answering a listener's question. So stay with me.

If you want to lose weight even faster. Here's the two word. Extra fiber. JJ Virgin's Extra fiber fights hunger, it's detoxifying, and it's the secret to a healthy gut. JJ's extra fiber is grain free, paleo safe and doesn't contain any harmful irritants or allergenic proteins. So you can happily and more safely move towards your weight loss goals. Visit jjvirgin.comproducts to give your body the well rounded consumption of fiber it needs to help balance blood sugar, support healthy digestion and stay fuller longer. Visit jjvirgin.com products and get your fiber.

Welcome back.

This is the time where I answer a listener's question. Today's question is from Marie and Oxnard and she says, JJ, I'm really trying to eat healthy, but I need to stay on a budget and I don't want to spend more money. What do I do? I got to tell you, this question comes up a lot. In fact, I've got some blogs if you head on over to JJvirgin.com where I talk about how to eat healthy and save money. But the reality actually is that it is cheaper to eat healthy because it's the prepared and processed foods that reckon your budget. So the first rule of thumb is to buy as close to nature as possible. So lentils and legumes, if you eat grains, wild rice and quinoa and buy these things in bulk and then package them into smaller containers, airtight containers. But that's the first thing as I've found that I actually save money eating healthy. It's the bottled salad dressings, it's the prepared vegetable salads, you know, all that stuff that costs money. So you want to buy these things in bulk and you do the work and then the next thing to look at is pretty much everywhere. Now they have the farmers markets and that's a great place to go. First of all, it's fun, but if you can make that just a point to go to your farmer's market, get to know the different farmers, cut out the middleman. That's another great thing to do. Of course, whenever I see a sale on anything like grass fed beef or wild salmon or pastured pork and chicken, I go and stock up. And I also have a couple great resources over on my website for things that I use on a regular basis from places like Butcherbox and Thrive Market and Vital Choice. So this is another place where I save money and get really high quality things.

And then one of the biggest places.

I see that people waste money is on wasted food. And so that's where you want to be really careful about purchasing things correctly. I love Diana's tip, which I've never done, full disclosure, but I was listening to that going, that's so great. So I've just made it a point to stock my freezer, my pantry, and then to just get fresh vegetables each week. But gosh, just think if I actually thought about this.

So I'm going to start preparing too. And one other thing that's great to.

Do is to look for the generic organic brand at the store and I'm going to do a shout out to Whole Foods on this because their 365 Organic brand was built to compete against the other stores and it is a great savings. So that's another easy tip that you.

Can put into place.

All right, if you'd like to submit a question, head on over to my Facebook page @jjvirginofficial. Look for that little blue check mark that's me and I have a favor to ask. It helps so much to get great reviews.

So hint hint.

I would really appreciate if you could jump over to Stitcher or itunes and leave a review. And while you're there, subscribe and share the show with your friends. Thank you. This is JJ Virgin signing off and reminding you to live courageously. Show up, Step up. You are stronger than you think.

The holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US based restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed your money back back. Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com podcast terms apply hello listeners.

This is Anne Boeckle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next reading. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website. What should I read next podcast.com to find out more?