124: Grocery Shopping and Food Secrets for YOUR BEST BODY with Maria Marlowe

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Hey everyone. Welcome back to the earn your happy podcast. And you guys, if you don't know yet or if you have not joined, my free, totally free 14 day consistency challenge has begun. And I am so thrilled that we have thousands and thousands and thousands of you on. So if you have not joined yet, please go right now, stop what you're doing, pause this podcast and go to loriharder.com forward/challenge. It is totally free. It is 14 days in a row of only 20 minutes a day. Each workout includes a mini meditation at the end. These are real time videos. I am doing this workout with you and one amazing woman will win $1,000 for doing this totally free challenge and being consistent every single day. Single day. So you guys go there right now and join. And on today's podcast I have an amazing woman. Her name is Maria Marlowe and she has her new book out called the Real Food Grocery Guide. And you guys, today we go over so many amazing things. So whether you have been eating really healthy for the last few years or maybe you're an old pro, or maybe this is something pretty new to you and you just want to really learn how to navigate the grocery store and what food foods you should be eating to get the most benefits out of this conversation is for you. We're going to talk about exactly what to eat for balance, weight and longevity, why calorie counting is futile, how to decipher between buzz word foods, how to select the most nutritious foods, what products you should most definitely if you're going to do organic at all, what products are most important to buy organic.

So you guys, let's get started. Maria, thank you so much for coming on the show. I'm so excited to have you on.

Thank you Lori. I'm excited to be here you guys.

I met Maria in New York City, was actually at Natalie Jill's book launch which is so exciting. And we were at this amazing dinner with some incredible women I'm totally gonna name drop, which was so fun to have dinner with you and Gabby Bernstein and Natalie and a few other amazing, amazing people. Liana Werner Gray. Just incredible people. So that was, like, the most fun dinner. And I immediately connected with you, and from there, we just kind of stayed in touch and then had another coffee date in LA talking about your book, and now your book is in my hands. How exciting is that? Are you so thrilled to have this book out?

I am super excited. As I'm sure you know with writing a book yourself, it almost feels like birthing a baby. It is.

Well, I can't say I know, but I was about to be like, it's exactly like that.

A lot of time and effort to. Until you finally get it in your hands.

Yes. Amazing. Okay, so for those people who may not be familiar with you, could you share a little bit about yourself and about your journey and how you got to be doing what you're doing now?

Sure. So now I'm an integrative nutrition health coach, and I help people clean up their eating habits to improve their health, to improve their skin, or to lose weight. But I didn't grow up wanting to do this. I grew up in a very standard or typical American family eating a standard American diet. And by the time I was about 18, I just was. Had so many different ailments, and I couldn't figure out why. Sick all the time. And I went to doctors, I went to dermatologists. I didn't get much from them. And long story short, when I changed my diet, at the time, I was eating a lot of processed foods. When I changed my diet, my health drastically changed. My skin cleared up. I lost 20 pounds, my health improved. And I just said, why doesn't anyone teach us this? So I sort of went down this nutrition rabbit hole. I discovered that food affects everything from your skin to your mood to your iq, your athletic performance, your mood. Everything is affected by what you eat. And it sort of just became my passion. I ended up changing career paths and going down this path to teach other people how food affects our bodies.

That is amazing. And that's the most powerful thing right when we have our own experience. So I know that you mentioned some of them, but did you have any of those moments where you're like, wow, where it really, really hit you on seeing the results of eating better, or maybe how food was really affecting your life?

Definitely. I mean, for me, probably the thing that tormented me the most was That I had pretty bad acne to the point where sometimes I wouldn't even want to leave the house. And I had an older brother and a younger sister. Neither of them had acne the way really at all. They might have a few breakouts here and there. They had other health issues, but not acne. And that really tormented me. And when I first realized that there's a connection between acne and your diet, I made some changes. And I can literally see, see overnight in the mirror. Redness would go down, Bumps would go down. And then over a longer period of time, my face clearing up. And as soon as my face first cleared up, I was like, oh, my God, this is amazing. This is perfect. Now I can go back to eating all my favorite foods that I used to eat before. And then, of course, as soon as I do that again, instantaneously, I wake up with a new breakout. So really being able to literally see that in the mirror was pretty profound. And I think, you know, in a certain way, I mean, we all kind of experience that in different ways, but sometimes it's not so visible. So I think in a way, even though, again, it was, you know, it tormented me at the time, I think it was a great thing for me to visually be able to see how different food was affecting my body and my skin.

So I so have experiences like that. And I really want to, you know, because I feel feel youl passion in this book. Your book's called the real food grocery guide. And it's such a beautiful book Talking all about how food truly affects every single part of our life. How we think, how we feel, how we look, how we move, you know, literally everything. And I know that I can think back to times where one of the main reasons I started to eat better was first I was motivated by body right when I was younger. Cause I was made fun of all the time because I was overweight. And then I was motivated by mood. I just noticed when I ate well, I didn't feel as much anxiety. I wasn't as depressed. So did you notice any of that for yourself?

Oh, for sure. And, you know, it's quite interesting. You know, there's even research about how food affects our mood. And so, for example, one thing I always recommend to people is matcha tea, because matcha tea has been shown to help lower the stress hormones in our body. And for, you know, most of us living this sort of crazy lifestyle in 2017, most of us are pretty stress, Especially if we're in an urban environment. And so definitely I could See, in myself when I was eating bad foods, you know, my brain was foggier. I was definitely moodier and just, you know, not as, you know, when you don't feel great, you're not going to be the nicest person or happiest person you can be. And I think sometimes what happens is that we get so used to not feeling great. Whether it's digestive issues or just not having a lot of energy or whatever it may be, it happens at every day. So we think it's normal. But when we change our diet and all that sort of lifted away from us all of a sudden, it's so amazing how your mood improves with it.

I love that you suggested something for not having or for really helping with stress. Are there foods that actually cause stress?

Well, I think I like to focus more on the foods that will take away. I would say I'm not aware of any foods that particularly cause stress hormones, but I would say things that you'd probably want to stay away from are anything refined, especially refined sugar, anything like white flour, anything like that. It's not good for our body on multiple different levels. So I would say that's probably the things that you want to stay away from. Mm.

So I think so many people, you know, I come from, I come from the Midwest where it is like, honestly, I still have people who say to say things to me like, well, why would all of this food be advertised? Or why would the, you know, why would certain people be pushing all of this food on us if it was so bad for us, if it was causing, you know, disease or really harming people? What is your answer to that?

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And so food businesses and I'm talking more about, you know, the packaged food industry and sort of the snack foods and those sort, their job is to make money for their shareholders and so they want to eat more in order to buy more. And there is, I mean you can google this, there's News articles, there's 60 Minutes episodes and things about how food manufacturers actually engineer the food in certain cases. Not all of them obviously will actually engineer the food though, so that you eat more. They, you know, combine the flavors, the texture, the crunch, everything, the feel, the mouth feel, all of these things to literally make you want to eat more. And if you think about it, and I know I've been there, and maybe you've had a similar experience, there's definitely been periods where I've literally eaten an entire bag of chips or a sleeve of cookies or whatever junk food of the moment that I was into. And, you know, just not even realizing, right, Inhaling, you know, 10 servings or 15 servings, whatever is in there. But the same thing doesn't happen, right, with real food. So, for example, an apple, right? You're never going to sit down and eat 15 apples the way that you would 15 cookies. And so real foods have the fiber intact. They have the nutrients we need, and our body basically can understand them, right? If we think of our body as a machine, the real food, plant and animal based foods that sort of mother nature intended us to eat, our body knows how to register those and it knows to tell us when we're full and move on. Whereas these packaged foods, our bodies sometimes get tricked into wanting to eat more because they don't have fiber, they don't have the nutrients our body needs. And so they just become very, very easy to overeat.

Okay, so for someone who's in the cycle, right, Their hand right now, as we're talking is in the bag of chips. Been there, by the way, many times. And it's like, how do you break the cycle to get that real food started, you know, started into your body? Do we start all at once? Is there a great food to start grabbing? Is there a meal that's best to start with a time? What does that look like?

Yes, that's a great question. So I think the, the best thing to do first is to add in the, the foods that you want and that are going to nourish versus focusing on literally throwing out everything in your pantry and just getting rid of everything that you like. So first focus on adding in foods. So if there are, for example, some key foods that you know that you really go to all the time, like maybe it is cookies or chips or whatever, I would first find a healthier version of that. So, you know, for cookies or for sweet, because I know sugar is often something that we kind of really get addicted to and don't Want to give up? I recommend switching to date rolls, which are simply date paste rolled in coconut, or sometimes chopped almonds or nuts. And they have this amazing sweetness and they're really satisfying. It doesn't feel like you're eating a piece of fruit, like it actually feels like you're eating dessert. So you still kind of have that reward factor there. They're sweet, but they have the fiber and they have the nutrients that are going to satiate you. If it's more crunchy or salty things that you're after, I would recommend trying some of the. There are a bunch of vegetable based baked chips now, whether it's kale chips, they have Brussels sprout chips, beet chips, all sorts of different crazy things that need broccoli chips. And if it's just that crunch or the salt that you're after, you could try that seaweed snacks. So you want to look for, okay, whatever are your key foods that you're eating now. What's a healthier version or a healthier real food version of it that you can swap in? And then just in general, one tip that I really give everyone that seems super simple but has very profound effects, is to simply add in more vegetables. Because most of us are not eating enough vegetables in our daily diet and we're not getting the fiber we need. So we're kind of always feeling hungry. And so if we simply commit to making half of our plate vegetables that could be cooked, it could be raw, like in a salad, however you want it, but 50% vegetables at lunch and dinner, you're going to significantly increase the amount of fiber and nutrients you're consuming. But what you're also doing is you're crowding out other less healthy foods. Because if you think about hours, right? And sometimes you could eat a meal and you'll be hungry an hour or two later, right? And so when you're filling up on the good stuff, on the vegetables that are fiber rich and nutrient rich, they're gonna crowd out the other less healthy foods, kind of fill up your stomach space, so to speak, so that you want less, less of the other not so healthy foods, or you're gonna snack less because you're gonna be a little bit more satisfied.

Oh, man, that is like the best tip. I seriously used this on my husband without even realizing it. And it works so well. We started doing, and he's not a salad person. We started doing, you know, salad nights. And I was like, okay, here's the deal. You can put whatever you want on this massive bowl of Kale, but you just have to eat it with kale. So, you know, he filled it with, you know, vegetables and kale, but then he did all of his like eggs and he still did cheese and he did his croutons. But what happens is like he only eats a half of it and then he's also just totally full and he stopped snacking at night and now he craves more vegetables. That is the best tip. So even just switching like that, you don't have to go all out. That is the best tip. I love that.

Exactly. Because even your taste buds start to change. Like you just said with your husband, he starts craving more vegetables and less of the other stuff. And it just really happens organically and natur over time and it really did.

I just really want to point out like he now craves salads because he feels so much better. Like his whole system is working better. Like he feels so much better in the morning. He feels, you know, less water retention. Just there's so many different things that happened for him just by keeping all of the things that he was attached to, but putting in a ton more vegetables. So that's brilliance. Okay, so for people who are making the switch and you know, it can get really overwhelming and it can get really expensive, what are some of the first things that you tell people who feel that way?

Well, I think healthy eating gets a bad rap as being very expensive. And yes, you know, kale chips and you know these organic vegan gluten free cookies and things, they can get a little pricey, but those are not things that you necessarily need to be eating. I think those are more convenience type foods. But if you're just really like looking at the vegetables, the plant based proteins and the bulk of your real food, first of all a, you want to think of it as an investment in your health because when you look better and you feel better, you're going to be happier. And there's this saying, you can pay the farmer now or the doctor later. We have so much research that you are what you eat. So that's just one way of looking at it. But in terms of saving money. So with vegetables, I think that there's something called the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen list. And so it tells you what are the fruits and vegetables that have the most number of pesticides on them and which have the least. And so if you're looking at vegetables and trying to decide which ones to buy organic or not organic, using that Environmental Working Group Dirty Dozen list and clean 15 list is a Great way to choose where you want to spend a little bit more money and where it's totally fine to get conventional versions. Shopping the bulk section is also a really great way to get nuts and seeds and beans like dried beans, super cheap. So that's a great section to shop. That's also where you can get the aforementioned date rolls. And when it comes to meat and animal products, that's where I think it is a good idea to spend a little bit more money because I think that quality matters. And so you do want to look for things that are organic or sustainably raised, like grass fed beef, or free range or pasture raised chicken and egg. And I think by supplementing some of your protein. So not every single meal has to have meat. By supplementing some of that with plant based protein like quinoa and lentils and beans. All of these plant based proteins are super duper cheap, especially the beans and the lentils. So that sort of gives you a little leeway to spend a little bit more on the meat. And one last thing, I'll say in terms of vegetables, you can actually use frozen vegetables and fruit, which are just as nutritious, if not more so than the fresh produce. And that's because they're picked when they're ripe and they're flash frozen, so they maintain the maximum amount of nutrients. Whereas the fresh produce, especially like for me living in New York, it's usually trucked in from California and it's like two weeks old. So the frozen fruit may actually be a bit more nutritious for us here in New York.

So interesting. So what are. Can you give us a couple more foods that would absolutely like, you want to buy organic? Maybe as far as top fruits you'd want to buy and top vegetable, definitely.

So kale, which is I think super popular right now, that I would always want to have organic because that's one of the most heavily pesticide sprayed crops in terms of fruits way that you can kind of remember. Okay, which things do you want organic versus not typically. If it has like a very thin skin or something that you're going to eat directly. So for example an apple, you're typically going to eat the skin or strawberries, those are the things you probably want to veer organic to. Whereas things that have some sort of outer shell or covering or skin, such as melons or an avocado, those things are generally, you know, okay to buy. Conventional.

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Okay, so interesting. So as far as. As buzzwords, I love that you talk about this because for real, when I first really started getting into really learning about my food and where it came from, it was like, I was like, if it says gluten free on it, it must be, you know.

So I'm.

Gonna eat all of this. This, I mean, this brownie and these muffins look incredible. So how do we navigate all of that? What is, you know, what does a typical day look like as far as, like, just even in choosing foods, what should we do?

Right? So that's exactly the reason I wrote this book is because I think it is very overwhelming and there are just so many buzzwords and it's so easy. I remember a few years ago, my cousin called me all excited because she bought organic Oreos. And I was just thinking, well, apples would have been better. Organic apples would have been better. But I guess it's a start. So. So I think that first of all, understanding, okay, what are real foods? So I'm kind of talking about real foods, but what exactly are they? So real foods are foods that are not processed or minimally processed and basically come from mother Nature. So fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds and basically unprocessed animal products such as eggs or meat and wild fish. And I think if we can stick to those real foods as much as possible, obviously, you know, again, we have busy, hectic lives. It's not always going to be convenient to have 100% real food. Right? But I think as long as the majority of the time, 80, 90% of the time we're eating real foods. We're off to an amazing, amazing start and amazing health. So, you know, in terms of, what does this look like in the terms of a day? So, you know, a breakfast might be an omelette with, you know, a couple cups of spinach or broccoli or some other vegetables, whatever vegetables that you have on hand, it could be overnight oats with fruit on top. It could be a big smoothie with some hemp protein and different fruits inside. And then for lunch or dinner, it's always, you know, again, if you're always thinking of your plate as you know that circle, 50% of it is going to be filled up with some sort of vegetables. Again, whatever your choice is. And then about, about a quarter of your plate would be some sort of healthy protein. So that could be organic meats, wild fish, it could be plant based, such as quinoa beans or lentils. When you're eating plant based foods or plant based protein, you definitely want to make sure you're eating enough because sometimes complain like, oh, when I eat plant based protein, I don't feel full or it's not satisfying enough, I'm hungry. Soon after, you have to eat at least a cup of beans in order for it to classify as a serving. If you're using that for your protein. So make sure you're eating adequate amount of it. For animal based protein, a serving is about 3 to 4 ounces. So when you go out to a restaurant, they're typically serving you double that. So just keep that in mind. And then the rest of your plate could be a healthy whole grain, could be more vegetables if you wanted, or it could be a little bit more of a plant based protein. So if you kind of stick to that ratio, you'll be in good shape. So, you know, I do a lot of like curries and stir fries, quinoa bowls. Like I love what you said about like the kale bowl and just kind of like mixing and matching things. So there's a lot of different variations. As long as you kind of like stick to that sort of ratio.

You know, I'm flipping through your book right now again and it's so educational. Like it takes normal food that you look at every single day, whether it's kale or grapefruit or grapes or corn or cucumber. And you really break it down as to why this food is good for you, what it is, how to choose it, how to store it, how to prepare it. Like it's just you can grab it and go. You can read the whole book. I love, love, love that you do this. And also, you know, I know you're super passionate about using, like, really how to use food in your life as medicine and to feel good. So can you share a little bit about this?

Yeah, well, I think, you know, as a health coach, whenever, you know, someone comes to me, I generally try to look at what, you know, what their symptoms are, what's going on in their life and figuring out or with their body, rather. And, you know, could there be any foods that may be contributing to it, or maybe you're not eating certain things that could be helping it? So whether that is digestive issues, that's another really common issue. So, you know, things like bloating and toilet things that we don't want to talk about. I think when people have digestive issues on a regular basis, again, they think it's normal. But if you're bloated all the time, gassy or having non normal, number two, you're probably eating something that's not good for you because the foods that you're eating are going directly through your digestive tract. It's amazing how, again, even I used to have this disconnect between what I was eating and how much my stomach was feeling. But it only makes sense that everything that we're eating is directly affecting our stomach. So, you know, if that's the case, I would look at removing some of the common sort of allergens or trigger foods that can kind of hurt your digestive health, and then making sure that we're adding in foods that support our digestive health, making sure that you're getting enough fiber and water and, you know, fermented foods and healthy probiotics that, you know, so that your gut is working well. And basically, so that's kind of what, you know, what I do. And the way that I like to kind of work with people is like, figure out, okay, what symptoms do you currently have? What are you currently eating or doing that could maybe be causing this? And then sort of step by step adding in or taking things out and figuring out if that's the case.

So important. Even when I travel back home, we go back to Wisconsin, and honestly, it is really tough to find healthy or organic food. And I feel like by day two, I feel like a different person if I can't get my hands on healthy food or I haven't been to the grocery store or maybe we're going out to dinner a bunch with people catching up, it's like, if I don't really seek it out or bring food or things like that, which isn't always fun, right? It's. I notice such a difference. I'm groggy in the morning. My mood immediately, I don't feel well. So for me, it's such a contrast. I'm always, always reminded about it. And then I don't know if you have ever been to Europe, but they don't. I mean, I'm sure you have, but they don't use processed food for the most part. In most places. It's kind of like you can eat food that you don't normally eat. Like, you're eating pasta and pizza and, you know, but not tons of it, but you still feel good. Have you noticed that?

Definitely. I was in Italy and France this summer and eating bread and pasta and pizza and all these things that I don't typ eat at home. And I was there with a girlfriend, and we ended up losing weight, not gaining it. So I definitely know what you're talking about.

And so much of that, they just don't. They don't use pesticides. They don't, you know, use preservatives and different things like that in their food.

And everything's. Everything's very fresh. One thing that I love about Europe and, you know, France in particular, there are farmers markets, like, every single day, and people go literally almost every day to pick up whatever they're going to eat for the night. So everything's just very, very fresh and very natural. They definitely cook a lot. They do like their vegetables. I know. I always remark to people, it's so funny, when you go to a beach in France, you can literally order a crudite platter, which is essentially raw vegetables, and dips like olive tapenade or hummus. And for dessert, you can order a fruit plate. Whereas if you go to an American beach, you really can only get hot dogs and ice cream, you know, so it's just a stark contrast in the foods that we eat.

I love that. And you see it in the people, so you literally see it in the culture. I remember looking around and I'm like, it's not like they're working out, and it's not like you see any, like, gyms or diet places or diet food. What is the deal? And really, it's taking the principles that you apply in this book and just eating real food and, you know, living a normal, active life. I also love that you talk about coffee, because who doesn't consume coffee? And you give tips on how to select the best coffee for yourself. Because really, if we're eating it every day, that's another thing I look at, right? What are you eating every day? Consuming every day? So you've covered pretty much everything in here. What are some things in this book.

That are most important to you?

Well, I think what makes it most interesting is that it does talk about the health benefits and concerns of everything, which I think is really important because again, we're never really educated on what to eat. And I don't think there's a disconnect between what we're eating and how we're feeling. So I think that it kind of talks about the benefits and how different foods will affect us either positively or negatively. I think that's really important. And I think that, I mean, the packaged food section is very important. It's pretty eye opening. You kind of touched on this earlier. You know, it's sort of, if you go into the grocery store, most grocery stores, the fresh section, the real food section is really just the perimeter of it and the bulk of the store is just aisles and aisles of packaged and processed foods and there are chemicals and things in there that are not so great for our health and that are very questionable. And so you probably don't want to be eating them, but you just don't know, right? And if you don't know, you can't change. So I think the packaged food section is pretty eye opening. And I mean, I think also the animal products section, again kind of talking about the importance of why quality is so important with animal products. And just overall, I think it helps you look at food in a new light and in a very sort of light hearted way. I think sometimes changing the way that you eat can seem a little bit daunting. But I think the way that this book is laid out, it really helps you. You can pick and choose how you want to improve or upgrade your diet one step at a time.

No, I really love it because for me, I'm very motivated to do things that I know will be good for me. So I really even love that you have the color chart. As I'm flipping through here, just like, okay, if I really want to focus on my skin and eyesight and heart health, it's like, okay, pick more things that are red, orange and yellow. Okay, I'm going to go with that in my salad. So it's really basic, easy things that actually can excite you. Not just like, oh, I'm eating a freaking salad because I want to be skinny. And this is what everybody says to do. It's like, oh, no, it's because I want to protect my heart. I want really great hair. Like, that is way more motivating to connect how you're going to feel and exactly what you're doing for your body. Like, I know when I eat kale, I'm like, this is so, so good for me. And it's so protective against different diseases. And I literally say those things and. And imagine what that mind, body connection does for you when you connect those things. Right?

Definitely. You know, I think our mind kind of controls everything. And, like, you know, you can, you know, if you're excited about eating something, you're going to eat it and you're going to feel good about it. But if you're dreading something and you think you're doing it because you have to, then, you know, you're not. You're not going to be happy doing it. You're not going to want to do it. You're probably going to throw in the towel. So that's why I really wanted to make sure that I really, really thoroughly discuss that. Discuss the benefits of things so you could feel like, oh, actually, I do want to eat this because, you know, I want this benefit.

Oh, my God, that's so true. I just went to a. It was literally like a brain. Like a brain convention all about how your brain works. And one of the only reasons we do certain things, whatever it is, is you have to be motivated to do it. So a lot of times there's zero motivation behind eating healthy. But besides, like, you have to have a ton of motivation, right? So if it's just I want to be thin, that's really not gonna do it for. You need, like, to pile on the reasons. And honestly, this book is so full of so many reasons, and it's super. It's like food motivation. You're, like, motivating me even more to, like, get more diverse in my food. So I'm super excited about it. So what are some foods that you don't go without and why?

Sure. So I love my dark, leafy greens. I try to have those every day if I can. And so those include things like kale and collard greens, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula. Essentially anything dark leafy and, like, dark green. And so those tend to be super duper high in antioxidants, super high in different vitamins and minerals. And like you mentioned, I just feel good when I eat them. They also are fibrous, so I tend to. It's cold here in New York. So I tend to cook them. I just saute them quickly and try and get in. You know, I usually sneak them in. Like if I'm having eggs in the morning, I'll sneak them into, like an omelette or just scramble the eggs with them, or, you know, for lunch or dinner, just kind of saute them. I also love chickpeas. Chickpeas are one of my favorite foods. Super high in fiber and protein. And fiber is really important for keeping your stomach flat and your digestion moving. So I definitely recommend those. And another food that I like to eat on the regular, not necessarily every single day, But I love mushrooms. Mushrooms are really great for supporting the immune system. They're low calorie, they're filling, they give you this great earthy flavor and texture. And they're also really great because they are so filling and so calorie poor. They're great for maintaining a healthy weight as well.

I know you talk a lot about, you know, maintaining a balanced weight. Why is that? Why does eating whole foods keep your weight a lot more balanced?

Well, I think that when you're eating real foods, you, like I mentioned before, that you sort of know when to stop eating. You know, you're not going to really overeat kale or broccoli or cauliflower or any of these things, because you will literally just be like, okay, I don't want any more. And when we're just sort of in tune with nature and eating what nature provided for us, our hunger signals will go off when they're supposed to go off. And so we'll maintain that healthy weight. Whereas when we're eating the foods that are more processed and higher in calories and just devoid of nutrients, we're not getting what our body needs. And so we're just constantly hungry, and it becomes very easy to overeat and then very easy to put on weight. Another really important thing is also just maintaining a diet that is low glycemic, meaning it won't spike your blood sugar. There's a lot of research that refined foods such as white sugar, white flour, any of those highly processed foods because they're high glycemic, that's what triggers weight gain. And so real foods are naturally tend to be, for the most part, low glycemic. And so when we're just eating mostly real foods, we have a generally low glycemic diet. And so, again, that just sort of aids in keeping us at a healthy weight.

Are there any other amazing tips that you have felt like have completely rocked your world and changed your life.

Well, one super interesting tip that nobody really knows about is when you're cooking with garlic, you always want to chop garlic 10 minutes before you throw it into a hot pan. Because we all know the health benefits. You know, garlic has so many antibacterial, anti inflammatory, all these great benefits, but it really comes from this compound that's created after you chop or crush your garlic, which is why if you just have a garlic clove, it doesn't smell. But the second that you crush it all of a sudden gives us that garlic aroma. And so research shows that if you throw the garlic straight into the hot pan, you basically degrade this compound. And so you're going to miss out on the health benefits. You'll still get the flavor, but you're going to miss out on some of these great health benefits. But if you let the garlic sit for 10 minutes before you put it into the pan, the maximum amount of that compound is created and it also becomes protected from the heat. So even if you cook it, you're still going to get the health benefits.

Wow. Okay, so we Crush it first 10 minutes prior and then put it in. Like crush it with my knife?

Yeah, crush it or chop it.

Chop it. It helps too. Okay.

Yeah. Either crushing or chopping it works.

Okay. Amazing. All right, so before we wrap up, I want to make sure that everybody knows where they can find you, where they can follow you and get this beautiful book.

Sure. So on my website, mariamarlo.com, which is M A R L O W E, you can find, you know, more recipes. You can find out about the book there. And also on Instagram, it's Aria Marlowe.

Amazing. Anything else that you want to share with our listeners before we go?

Well, for the book I'm offering, It's coming out June 1, but it is available for pre order now and there are some great bonuses. There's this whole guide to spices and superfoods and also my real food brand picks. Both are available for free on the website. So if you just head to mariamarlo.comreal-food guide, you can find out more about that and get the those.

Oh my gosh, I am super excited about that and I just want to thank you for all of the hard work that you do in the world to help people. I know you're so passionate about helping people feel good and really bust through any of the health issues that they're having. And truly, you, you just love people and I think that's so Beautiful. So thank you so much for all that you do.

Thank you.

Lori and I always wrap up with one last question. Are you ready?

Ready.

I'm ready.

Okay, so you have an elevator ride with someone, it's only like 30 seconds long, and they look over at you and they say, how can I make myself happy?

What do you say?

Listen to your heart. Don't listen to your head and just follow your heart.

So beautiful. Thank you so much. And you guys, if you love this episode as much as I did, make sure you share it with your friends. And until next time, earn you are happy.

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