The Kitchen Is Where Love Happens With The Queen Of Broadcasters, Tracy Hazzard MCHEF® Burst Of Flavors With Chef Marie

Happy delicious Monday to you. This is Chef Marie from M Chef Burst of Flavors. And today, buckle up because we're gonna have a great guest who's gonna share with us tips, gifts and beautiful recipes. So let's go for a ride.

Hello everyone and welcome to M Chefverse. The flavors.

I'm so excited today because we start the year 2020 newly with this show talking only exclusively about gastronomy. And I have a very, very dear guest today and she is the one who present me to this new channel of the podcast world. This is Tracy Hazzard from Potties.

Woo hoo. Thank you, thank you. I'm so glad to be here. This is a lot of fun. I get to talk about food for a change.

Just gon talk about food. And you love food so much. You are raised in a family, Lebanese and Italian, is that right?

Yeah, Lebanese and Italian and then a little bit of Irish thrown in there. And I married into a family that's like very English bland, like he didn't know what was coming into it. Yeah.

But very interesting in the cooking part, you know, what's up on the table.

There's always something, right? And that's the thing that I love the idea of a lot of flavors. And we've done a lot of traveling, my family and I, even when I was young. So that's something that my parents really appreciated and would take us with us when we were little. We would go to restaurants and sometimes order off the adult menu and the staff would look at us like, are your children really going to eat that? And we'd eat like shrimp scampi or something like, you know, like that was what we would eat and they would be like, yeah, that's my kids. But we just had a broad experience with food at a young age.

Before starting about these all these great questions about your childhood, I can't wait. I mean my stomach is burning just wanting to know all these answers. I have to tell our fantastic audience who you are because oh my God, you do a lot of things. You're striving for excellence every day. So I have your bio and I will just tell it with beautiful passion here you are an authority magazine and inc. Alumnus co host of four top ranked podcast including the Binge Factor which is huge. And then you are the co founder of the largest pot production post production company in the US we call it Pod Ties as content, product influence strategist for networks, corporation, marketing agencies, entrepreneurs, publications, speakers, authors and experts. And you are helping me from the start and I thank you for that and Tracy, you influences and casts branded content with $2 billion worth of product innovation around the world. Hello. I have chills here. You're on fire. That girl is on fire.

Well, you're reading, you know, 28 years worth of experience here. It's not, it was just yesterday's work.

Thank you for saying that. Thank you for saying that. Because success is a long time achievement.

That's right. I love Cheryl Crow. She's one of my favorite music artists. And she once said I was an overnight success at 40. Like, you know, like, it was just like, it took me 25 years, but I was an overnight success. And I always think about that, that that's the way sometimes it goes.

See? And you have beautiful children. You have. How many children do you have?

I have three daughters.

They have three daughters. How old are they?

So a broad range of ages. I have 25 who runs my company and works with me every day. And then I have almost 11 year old, she'll be 11 next week and a 6 year old. Yes. They're picky eaters, Let me tell you, all three of them. You know, I never thought, like, when my oldest daughter said she wanted to study and become a chef, she actually took like 2 degrees. So she got a degree in culinary. And I was shocked at her wanting to do it because I was like, you don't even like vegetables.

I was shocked that there was this idea that she would be interested in that. But you know what, it's not like I didn't cook in front of them and we would just drop things. But they turned out to be really picky eaters, shockingly. And so I really don't know that I did anything. I think it might be a little too much influence for my husband, who was a very. Like, when I met him, he had never touched corn on the cob before. Like, that's how few vegetables he had ever eaten in his life. And the only reason he ate it was because he was sitting in front of my parents. Like, were you really gonna be. You're meeting your girlfriend's parents who you'd like to marry her, and you're really gonna, you know, balk at corn on the cob? So he ate it and discovered he loved it. Yeah. And so then I would just slip things into, like meals. I'd be like, oh yeah, we're having stuffed mushrooms tonight. And he'd be like, okay. Because he would be too embarrassed to tell me he didn't like them.

That's good. Curiosity. That's good.

You opened Up. And then all of a sudden, he was like, okay, I can trust her. She won't feed me food. Will hate. But still haven't managed to squeeze in enough green vegetables. That's the only thing I haven't managed to squeeze in in his life.

But in 28 years of marriage.

That's right. So a lot of times I'll make the vegetables. I'm the only one who eats them. But, you know, hey, it is what it is.

Congrats to you. 28 years is a beautiful number. And you keep it up. You make this happen. Because he is working with you, Tom, on this adventure.

Yeah, he's my partner. We work together every single day, so we spend a lot of time together. And you know, one thing Ale Sandra said when she was little, mom, I think that if you cook for people, then it shows them that you love them. And that's why you and dad are still together, because she is seeing divorce around us. And she said, I think it's because you cook for him. And I was like, if that's what it is, then go ahead, believe that.

Keep it in our hearts.

That's right. It means that you care enough to cook. Right. And that's great. And sometimes he cares enough to cook for me when I'm too busy. Yeah, I've taught him some of my. Really? No, not the veggies. Like, that usually won't happen. But he'll make a salad for me. But, yeah. So, you know, I mean, I've taught him some of my basic chicken recipes, things like that, like, over the years, and he's perfectly fine to do that. So over the years, there'd be a few dishes, like, I just don't have to make anymore. So the simple stuff, I'm more of a, like, complex cook. Like, if I'm gonna sit down and cook, I want to try something new. I get bored really easily making the same thing again and again.

Oh, really? Oh, that's very good. That's the quality, actually, in the kitchen. I would like to go back into the first part, your childhood. I would like to know, what was it like with your mother, father and grandparents? You know, how did you got this approach of food when you were a baby or a little girl?

My mom was always a really good cook, and she learned from her mom and her grandmother. And my grandmother's actually my aunt. She's no longer alive, but she was the Italian, but she married into this Lebanese family who would just, like, cook around her. Like, they wouldn't let her touch the Lebanese food. But they would come over to her kitchen because it was bigger and they would mass make things like fatais or which are like meat pies, spinach pies, they would make the kibi, things like that. And so all of these things they would make and they would make in her kitchen. And so my mother was there and she learned from her aunts and her grandmother. And so. And of course my nan picked it up too. But you know, they didn't let her cook because I was like, she wasn't real Lebanese, so. But she would then make her famous meatballs, which was absolutely everybody's favorite. She was famous for them in the neighborhood. If you did something nice for her, like a neighborhood kid would come and mow her lawn or something, she'd make him thing of meatballs and he'd drop it off at his house. Like that's how she was, that's how she gave food as love. Right. So her kitchen was the center of everything. And so even though I didn't grow up there, for my entire childhood, this always that kitchen left me this impression of this is where love happens, this is where you are nurtured and taken care of. And you couldn't walk in the house where she wouldn't offer you food.

Do you still have these recipes?

I do, I have. Her meatballs are famous and I have her all kinds of recipes that she had. I mean, I would say she wasn't an amazing like fancy cook, she was a bit pretty practical cook. But her lasagna and her meatballs, like, you know, there were so many certain Italian things that were just classically hers. And they were really simple recipes. That was the thing. You could just put them together and you'd have dinner on the table in no time. And so, you know, they do. Her balance of garlic to everything was important, like, you know, so like keep making it. And you're like, the recipe says this, but she must have put more garlic in because it doesn't taste the same, you know. But she was always so generous. Now my aunt Mabel, my great aunt, who was the Lebanese one, she would like purposefully not tell you what was in the recipe because she wanted you to come back to her as being the best cook in the family. So there was like always something slight missing in it and it was like, it doesn't taste like aunt Mabel's. That was so you would come back and eat at her place.

Did they made you discover all their best fine herbs, oregano, the parsley, the basil, everything? Yes. So you remember all these beautiful, authentic Taste of your childhood right here, you know, it's right here.

Well, and the biggest one that was always so surprising to me was always how much cinnamon from the Lebanese side, how much cinnamon was actually in, like, meat foods. Like, who put cinnamon with me? Like, it never occurred to me that that would be the thing that would make it taste so wonderful. And so it wasn't until I was older and investigating the recipes and learning from them that I really realized how big and important flavor that can be on that side.

It's a secret.

It's a real secret there. Yeah.

Guys, put some cinnamon into your meatloaf tonight. It's got even chicken or salmon or shrimps.

Yeah, I sometimes sprinkle it on top of my roast chicken. I sometimes sprinkle it on top with the other herbs that I use. Yeah, I do that too. See, that's it. It's like the little known secrets of great family heritage chefs, right. That don't get a lot of recognition, unfortunately. Yeah, that's kind of it. And then my mom was really great at letting me experiment at a young age. So I think that was probably the other thing in my childhood.

So you were cooking with her?

Yeah, I probably. We could always help and cook. There was no problem there. Like, that was always a thing. If we were rolling dough or making pizzas or whatever it would be, she would include us. But I think I was probably about 11, 12 years old and I was allowed to make a meal for everybody. And so actually some of my meals became the most famous in the household. I know. So I made this thing. I saw it in like, I don't know, it must have been like a teen magazine. But it was like a recipe of where you basically are making almost like calzone, but in bread. So, like, you would take a French loaf of bread or Italian loaf of bread, and you cut it open and you put ham and cheese and oregano and a little bit of cut up tomatoes, and you turn it into a calzone, but it's in slices. So then you just slice off your piece and you could eat it like a sandwich. And it was famous in my house.

You gave a recipe.

Now, I know it was super simple. That's in fancy. And you put a little butter on the top of the bread so it got nice and golden and everybody. Or oil. I think it probably was oil. It's been so long since I made that. But it was kind of famous for this. Like, instead of having just a cheese and ham sandwich for dinner, there was this thing, everybody's sandwich Was made at once.

It was really convenient, original, warm, and, you know, a family dish that you share.

And then I think the next big thing was I was maybe 13, something like that, 13, 14, something like that. Just about going into high school and my dad had a birthday and it was a party that was going to be with a bunch of people. And I convinced my mom to let me make his favorite dessert, which is cheesecake, which is incredibly hard to make.

Yes.

Yeah, it's incredibly hard. And my mom was like, okay. And I think she may have had a backup dessert plan like strawberries and cream or something just in case it didn't work out. And I made and it turned out to be the most beautiful cheesecake. It was perfect. And every one of my mom's and dad's friends were like, raved about my cheesecake. And I was like, I just followed the recipe perfectly.

And it's a memory that you guys will always keep it at heart, even with pictures or even the taste.

That's right. Yeah. And I was never even like, some of those foods I'm not a fan of. Like, I didn't love cheesecake, but my dad did. So I wanted to do something nice for him, you know, and that's where it really turns out.

So that's very powerful. See, in the end, little things are the best memories ever.

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We are all bio individuals. You know, we all eat different ways. What's your lifestyle? What do you like the most? How do you eat?

I eat pretty simply. I mean, I like crunchy vegetables and I don't like things overcooked. So I do like a lot of raw. So I almost always have a salad with every meal. I'm not a big breakfast person. Tom's a huge breakfast person. If the kids are around, there's always waffles and you know, like. And you know, they're not big on scrambled eggs. I'm actually allergic to eggs, so. Yeah, so I can't eat a lot of eggs themselves. I can eat them cooked in something.

They're in a lot of things.

They're in a lot of things. So I started to come up, you know, lots of faux and thank God, vegan eggs taste really good.

Yes.

You know, so I've had a lot of plant based eggs lately.

So it's your substitute for everything?

No, I can cook with it in something, but I can't just eat it like scrambled eggs and, you know, in the morning or something. My kids are big on bacon, you know, like, stuff like that. So breakfast is for them is like a, you know, brunch ordeal for me. That's like, I just want a cup of tea. I'm like, not good in the morning. But go to lunch and dinner, and I will have salads. Like, I think this weekend I made. I love Asian food because I spent a lot of time in China developing products. So I love Chinese food, I love Japanese, I love sushi. Like, it's just one of my favorites. So I made seared ahi this weekend, and instead of sesame noodles underneath it, which is what I made for Tom, I had zucchini noodles. So it's nice being able to, like, squeeze that vegetable in without having to do a lot more work. The sauce was the same for both. I just threw my zucchini noodles quickly into the skillet. It's a great couple seconds later. Yeah, it was really easy for me, and it didn't take a lot of extra work for me to make something separate, but more green and healthy. And so that's kind of my thing. I think we're probably big protein eaters, like, you know, in general.

Yeah.

I think our family, we don't have a ton of red meat all the time, but, you know, when you're Lebanese, you grow up with a lot of lamb in your family, so.

Oh, I thought you were vegetarian.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

My big fat Greek wedding was doing that jumpsuit.

Yeah, I know. We always laugh about that. I was like, that's my family. Like, oh, you need lamb. Yeah. You know, and that's our. Usually our big go to holiday. Like, if we're gonna. Instead of having a ham at Christmas, we'll have a roast lamb. So these are things that I grew up cooking. And, you know, they still have that Mediterranean flavor to them on top of everything. And. And so, yeah, they're probably our go tos, but again, they're usually not our daily. Our daily is a lot of fish and chicken, a lot of shrimp, a lot of chicken. I think that's probably, like the bigger area of things that the kids will eat too. So, like, that's why that one's a little simpler. I can't get them to eat fish yet.

And your kids, you say that they are picky when they're eating, but do they have any food intolerances or allergies?

No, you know, and this is the thing, like, there's no scientific proof to this in any way, shape or form, but I believed and I did a lot of research about it when I was pregnant with the two younger ones, not so much with the older one because I was just like so young and, you know, overwhelmed with being pregnant the first time, that it didn't matter. But the younger ones, I had more time on my hands. So I did a lot of research on the foods and why they banned certain foods and they would tell you not to eat deli meat and stuff like this. And you know, and I read all the research behind it and said, you know what? I think what I'm going to do is just eat everything in moderation. But I'm going to try eat everything. I'm going to eat nuts, I'm going to eat shellfish, I'm going to even have a little sushi now and again. And I'm going to do this in moderation to make sure that the baby gets sense of that nutrients and that flavors. I'm going to still put all the spices and all the stuff that I used to. And then after they were born and I was breastfeeding, I would still eat those foods. So I ate nuts and I ate shellfish and I ate those things. Spicy things, not super spicy. I don't like a lot of. I don't like a ton of like overwhelming heat. But so do you? Yeah, I mean, I just. Yeah, I don't want to like burn my taste buds. I like to still taste right. So, yeah, I don't go that far. But, you know, like to eat all those things and I had hoped that it would translate into them not being picky eaters. It didn't work like that. But it certainly turned out that they didn't have any allergies or food sensitivity. So I have a belief that that's kind of. I think it's always good to give them some sense of these things without overwhelming them. You know, if I ate peanut butter every day and it maybe they would turn out to be allergic, who knows?

Are you a peanut butter fan?

You know, I didn't grow up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It wasn't a thing in my house. But I once went away to like sleep away camp and that's what we had. And I thought, this is pretty good stuff. Like, why haven't I eaten this before? So, yeah, I mean, it is one of those things. I eat different types of nut butters. I pretty much like them all, but it's like a go to celery with nut butter. That's kind of one of my favorite snacks.

So you're not gluten free. You just enjoy a lot of veggies. Crunchy veggies.

Yeah. I mean, I think because I have a hormone sensitivity, so my weight can really fluctuate if I have too much carbs, so I just kind of lighten up on that. But I don't have a sensitivity to gluten or anything. And I love great bread. Who doesn't? I grew up on great Italian bread, so why wouldn't I love that? But I just don't eat a lot of it in my normal daily life.

It's great that you talk about this because it's a subject that really matters to a lot of women. We have issues with our hormones, you know, and I'm building a program where it's super easy. I'm gonna give you simply, on a weekly basis menus to reset hormonal sensitivities, like kind of a diet. So everything's gonna be there, Grocery list, the menu, and there you go. Because when we do that, we have to reset seven allergens and we incorporate them one by one eventually. But during three weeks, it's kind of hard. But listen, it's three weeks of our lives, you know, and that's why we feel better.

Yeah, that's fine. And you know, this is the thing is like, we tried gluten free for a while. Alexandra actually was a gluten free chef in college. She would. A baker. She would bake all these amazing, wonderful goods. But as I discovered that there was so much sugar added, like, that would be worse for my body. And I know that. So gluten free didn't really seem like a good alternative to just reducing carbs. Seemed like a better way to do it for me. And so that's kind of, you know, it's so easy when you eat vegetables. They fill you up.

Absolutely. Yeah. I love them too. You know, celery and cucumber. They are my friend all the time.

So I mean, I like, go to, like, simple dinner. Like, if I can't think of anything else to do, it's tomatoes and cucumber and red onion and red wine vinegar. Like dressing, like, super simple. Like, I'll eat that. Yep, exactly. Because it's so. Yeah, I mean, I make it a little bit more Lebanese on one side and a little bit more. More Italian sometimes, depending on how I feel. And then I might throw like deli chicken on top of it and that would be like a go to simple dinner. If I didn't feel like cooking or no one else was around, like, that would be it. And I would eat like the whole because the tomatoes and cucumbers are so awesome together.

But do you add a little bit of oil? Do you like a little bit?

I like yes. A to. I mean, we love olive oil, we love avocado oil, like latest thing. In the last couple of years, we've really done a lot with avocado oil. So yeah, absolutely. Sesame oil, when we cook Asian, it just doesn't taste right if you don't do that. So oils are always like a staple in our house. We don't normally have vegetable oil, but sometimes I find that there are certain old recipes that I just can't cook without vegetable oil. So I do have a little bit in my house at any time. There's just those old style recipes. The cake doesn't come out the same and, you know.

So is there any food that are forbidden in your house?

I would say there isn't anything forbidden in our house. Like, we try not to do that. I think that's the easiest way for someone really crave it and want it and like overdose on it. So, like, we're not that kind of thing. But I would say, like, I am not a broccoli fan. Like, I do not like broccoli. And when I was a teenager, it's a tasting. It's a tasting. But when I was a teenager, so my family, you couldn't just like, refused to eat something in my house. You had to at least taste it. Right. I went on strike, I don't know, as a teenager and refused to eat broccoli with the argument that it was a genetically engineered food and it was a slippery slope to full genetic modification because broccoli was made in a laboratory. And my dad looked at me and went, well, that was a good argument. Okay, you don't have to eat it.

You come up with it.

You're very creative.

I had heard that it was named after Albert Broccoli, like of the, you know, James Bond fame somewhere. And I just decided, well, then it's a genetically engineered food.

Right?

And I had thought that I wanted to study biogenetics in college, which I didn't end up doing. I went to art school. But my dad looked at that and said, well, that was a good argument. Okay, you're out of it. But. And so I kind of used it my whole life that I just didn't eat broccoli on principle like, you know, there are people who just don't eat red meat on principle, but they don't really just don't like it, you know.

So this is kind of forbidden for you.

But, you know, over the years I realized that like, quiche tastes really good when broccoli's in it. And so, you know, it doesn't bother me as much anymore. But it's not one of the things that ever makes it in our cart, like on a regular basis because Tom would never eat it. So it's not my favorite vegetable.

Oh, true Tom. No, no.

So if he would never eat it, then it's not good. Why would it make it in. And it's really hard to get your daughters to eat something that your husband doesn't eat.

Oh.

No matter how hard you try, if he won't try it or he won't eat it, the sooner you get them to cook with you, the sooner they get over the pickiness and they start eating a broader range of food. So like, Linnea would only eat certain. That's my 11 year old. She would only eat certain types of chicken. Like they had to be breaded initially, which drove me crazy. And then they only could be like certain type of chicken. And then I got her to help me make a roast chicken, like to season it and cover it and like the whole thing and make that with me. And now it's her favorite. And in fact, that's what she requested as her birthday dinner next week.

See, and she did that with you. You taught her right?

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What would be your favorite menu for your birthday?

For my birthday. I love that.

So for me, it's definitely sushi. Like, and especially being, you know, in the pandemic, sequestered with no fresh sushi, like that is just. Oh, drove me crazy. So for me, that's usually what it is. It's like salmon sashimi or an ahi salad. Like those are like my favorite go to foods. So for me, that would be it. And the girls don't like it. So it means that I would have time alone with Tom and so you.

Would have a ton of food too.

That's. Yeah, that's right. I don't have to share it with anyone. Right, exactly.

So.

And like some of my favorite things to just drink and everything are like hot green tea and, or ginger tea, things like that. So it goes perfectly with that and so, yeah, that would be my go to dinner. No, but for dessert, it's got to have chocolate in it. It could be anything as long as it has chocolate in it. Like what?

Like what? Like what? Tell me.

Well, like I would say like the French petit pan au chocolat. Like that. I'm saying that not as nicely as you do, but you know what I'm talking about. They're like the little, like tiny little things with chocolate in them. Yeah, I love those.

You got it.

I grew up with a grandfather who loved eclairs. And so like those have. Yeah. A little chocolate on the top. So, you know, just anything with a little bit of chocolate in it, that would be like my go to sweet thing is just a little bit of.

Chocolate and no food and wine pairing. I guess you don't drink, right?

You know what? I don't drink a lot. It's not because I don't like it or anything. I will drink on occasion, definitely for celebration, but like champagne a few times a year with your success. Exactly. We'll do that. Tom and I do like margarita now and again with our Mexican food. Right. You know, those are always a good thing, but the reality is that I'd rather eat my calories than I would drink them. That's a good health exercise choice. It's just I would rather eat my calories.

That's a good choice. I like that. Yes, it's wise, Tracy.

Yeah, so, and I once read this thing where, you know, like if you drink then your fat burning and your exercise and all that stuff that you might do doesn't work for 24 hours. So, like, why would you want something that's going to like linger? It seems too momentary and, you know, not enough long term pleasure for me.

You are definitely a real foodie, my dear. Oh yeah. Tell me, do you have a funny anecdote in the kitchen when you were young or maybe yesterday, you know, that happened to you. Something fun. Because there's a lot of great stories that we find in a kitchen and the best conversations are found in kitchens too.

So the thing is, is that when I was really young because I was allergic to eggs and they knew that from early on, although, I mean, how we found it was that I was making a chocolate chip cookies with my aunt and I broke open the eggs and that caused the reaction. So I had hives, basically. They had to take me to the emergency room and give you a shot and the whole thing. So then after that, my parents always kept Benadryl in the house. So once you grow out of how sensitive to the eggs you are, and so over time, you can grow out of it. That's what they say. But I found that if I eat eggs, like, I will start itching, and, like, it still has a sensitivity into adulthood, but I can break eggs. So I think, for me, the most fun was when I could first start baking and, like, I could break everything and I could do it all myself. Like, that made me feel so empowered in the kitchen. And I think that's, for me, was when I clearly remember when that happened that we discovered. And the doctors kept saying, oh, test her with just a little bit now and again and make sure, because she will grow out of it. And I think was probably like, 12 or something. And that was when I could first cook on my own because I didn't need anyone else's help. Yeah. So that was probably the most fun I remember having. We have fun all the time. Like, I don't think. I don't look at cooking as mean. I'm busy. I'm really busy. You read my resume. I'm busy. But I look at cooking as just an excitement. So that's why I don't like to make the same thing twice. So I don't mean. Don't get me wrong, we have recipes we go to, but I was like, let's add this in. Let's try something different. Right. It's. So that experiment keeps me out of this.

Ugh.

I just got to make something to eat for dinner.

Once again, curiosity in kitchen is everything. Yeah. It changed the world, you know, and open up the world of cuisine. It's wonderful.

I love your spices because.

Thank you.

Sometimes when I taste them, I'm thinking that's the combination I've been trying to figure out, like, to make it taste like, you know, something I had in a restaurant or something I had in my childhood, and I haven't been able to get the combo right.

You know your little secret at the beginning of the show about the cinnamon, it's found in the islands. If you can check it out. Island spices.

It's like, that's why I like that one. Yeah. We use that one when we barbecue a lot because we make, like, chicken kebabs and stuff like that.

Oh, thank you. And you have a recipe to share today?

I do, I do.

Yeah.

So my youngest daughter is a banana bread fiend. Like, seriously, she would eat an entire mini loaf every morning for breakfast if we let her. Which sometimes I come down and I find out, yeah, she ate another loaf.

Every two weeks or so we're making another batch. Like that's how often we make this. But it's my mom's recipe, you know, and it's super simple. And so it's. It is, yeah. And you know, and this, we don't put nuts in it and everything like that just because that's not a family preference. But I know a lot of people do like nuts and they can absolutely add that to it. But ours is super simple. It has a lot of sugar, which drives me crazy. I was wondering, I need to cut it down. Yeah.

What do you do with that? Could you use swerve?

You know, I've tried. You tried it? You tried it? I tried substituting things and somehow the consistency is wrong because she's six when she revolts and she won't eat it. Like there's something wrong with this banana bread, Mom. Like grainy. So when Alexandra was a teen, we had gone on the gluten free thing for her for a little while and we had substituted gluten free flours and everything. And it took me a while to get its consistency right. So I have to just keep trying. And I haven't, to be honest with you, like, spent that much effort on it right now. But the worst thing she does is have that much sugar first thing in the morning, but doesn't have it later in the day. I'd be a happier mom.

So, yes, in the morning it's better.

Than send them off to school with a little sugar in them.

Yes, it's fine. But try, try erythritol or swerve. I think that it's gonna bring you the result that you want. And you know, with the industries now, gluten free flour is so easy to find and they really make those perfect baked goods.

They are. They're so much better. Yeah. We used to have a great pancake mix we loved and other things like that. And honestly I kind of liked them better because they have a like crispier ness to them. Yeah.

But your mom recipe is still the one that you always gonna.

And you know what I think the real thing is? It's something about the sour cream mixed with butter mixed with banana.

So let's talk about the ingredients. I got them here too.

Yeah. So it's got one and a half cups of sugar, which is a lot, then a half a cup of butter and you blend them together. Then I add in the sour cream. So I do all my liquids together, all my wet stuff together. A cup of sour cream?

Yeah. One cup. Yeah.

Yep. And then two eggs, and then once all that's done, then I add in flour. So I kind of jump around that recipe a little bit. I add in 2 cups of flour, a half a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of baking soda, and then I start mixing because it sometimes start to get thick. That's when I start to add in the mashed. And we let the bananas go not quite black, but, like, black spotty. Like, they're perfect at that. I've done them where they're really black, and they just are a little too liquidy. So if it's, like, in between there, it's perfect. And then two teaspoons of vanilla, and the vanilla really makes the difference. I think it has this really great cakey taste because of the vanilla. Not that it doesn't already cake because it has so much sugar. And then you simply bake it at 375 for 25 minutes. And it depends. If you're doing, like, muffins or you're doing the big loafs, you have to go up in time, and I would say go up to, like, 50 minutes or something. If you're doing the big loaf, you'll know because it won't be liquidy in the top anymore. If you move it, you'll see that liquidy. If it cracks in the top and it's dried out, not super dry, but just starting to dry out in that between the crack, you know, it's perfect. I have a sense, like, I don't even put the timer on anymore. I can smell it. And I'm like, oh, it's done. Because we made it so often, so.

The recipe is gonna be anyway showing. Well, I just would like to remind that the cup of banana mashed bananas is one and a half.

That you put one and a half cups. Yep. Okay. Yeah. And so for us, that's like three to four bananas. You'll find it depends on how big your bananas are, but it's somewhere around there, so it's not quite. If you bought a, you know, a whole thing of bananas and you ate, like, one or two, whatever's left will be perfect.

So. And center grill of the oven. Yep. And then do you add a little glaze on top of it or just.

We don't go that. No, we just keep it nice and natural. And, you know, other people I know do that too, but we don't.

No extra sugar.

Yeah, it's got enough in it. Yeah, exactly. That's how I look at it. But we also use those mini Loafs. So, like, I have like one of the giant pans with all the mini loaves in it. And so that one cooks about the 25 minutes that one's where. That one's about perfect. And the mini loaves are great because they're so cute looking.

Yeah. And then your little girl, she eats one all, huh?

She will eat one, but she eats it in such a funny way. She eats and digs out all the center and then eats the outside.

Oh.

Because the outside's crispy and crunchy. Like, she saves it for last. It's the funniest thing. She eats banana bread with a fork. Like, I don't know. Like, I'm gonna have to take a picture for you one day and show you what it looks like.

See, such a personal relationship with food. Isn't it amazing?

But it is her, like, morning comfort thing. She's better when she has it. She feels like she's in control and she'll go off to school no problem. It's like, enough food, you know, that kind of things.

Chef Marie's Food guidelines on Exquisite 100 French Recipes Cookbook, Low Carbs Gluten Free with Vegan Alternatives is launching this fall. Stay tuned. Reserve your book on our website.

I have to ask you something about this because in the morning, it's so important. You know, everything is there. Creativity, a lot of things in the mind as a unbelievable entrepreneur. And, you know, you achieve and overachieve and you're really there. Do you have a morning ritual?

Yeah, you know, great question. So I'm not a really early morning person. Tom is like, he'll be up sometimes 5, 6am that is not me. So I'm slow in the morning and I like that pace. It kind of sets me being able to, like, think and meditate and do those things. Like, I don't always have a formal meditation in the morning, but it's sort of a meditative process for me to get up slowly, take my time, drink my tea. I always drink a cup of spearmint tea every morning, take my supplements. If I'm taking anything like that, I'll sit down. And then while I'm doing my makeup and my hair and I do my makeup and my hair every morning, even if I'm walking outside my bedroom to my home office, which is what you're seeing right now. I put my makeup on because it's professional and it puts me in professional mode. And it's certainly something I learned from my mom because my mom would put her makeup on and she was A stay at home mom. No one was coming to the house. She wasn't going anywhere. She didn't really drive. We only had one car, so if my dad took it, she wasn't going anywhere. But she would have her makeup on every morning. And I thought, okay, this is how you get going in the morning. So while I'm doing that, that's when I do a little bit of research, listen to podcasts, read things that I'm interested in. So I multitask a little bit.

You're always learning.

I am. That is my learning. Time is probably early mornings and late nights. That's kind of my routine. And once I'm through all of that, I spend 15 minutes before I walk into my office. I'll spend 15 minutes on social media just taking care of posts and tagging people. And the business side of it, not the personal side of it, but I allocate 15 minutes to it. And then once that's done, then I walk into my office and I start my day. But I don't read my email in the morning. That is the number one thing I do not do ever in the morning. I do not let somebody else. Yeah, I don't let somebody else rule my day. I got that from a good friend, Penny Zenker, who has a podcast called Take Back Time. And I was like, this is a brilliant morning routine. I was like, why should you let somebody control your morning? And by opening that up, you let them.

Is it the same for you at night? Do you have kind of a ritual before you go to sleep or.

Yeah, so it's kind of a little adjusted and new. So we usually, you know, finish watching something on the tv. Tom's not a night person, so he likes downtime. So I'm usually like knitting or doing something else or if I were not watching, I'm reading. So I'll be reading a book, as will be my alternative. But now, because we have our cocker spaniel, Lucy, who's a little bit over a year old, it's like we just. Yeah, we take a little like 11 o', clock, walk around the neighborhood with her, get her to go one last time, and then we come back in and, you know, I just have a same thing. I'll be a little slow with taking my makeup off and doing all those things. I don't do anything else, but it's like the removal and ending of the day and kind of things like that. And then I will climb into bed and read a little bit more. But usually it's something fun, like Whatever I read, that's my last thing. It'll be something personal for me and I'll read for maybe 15, 20 minutes and then go to bed. But I do take melatonin every night, so that is my. Yeah. And so it's kind of my way of like I take my melatonin as walk in to get ready for bed. And then by the time I'm done with reading, 20 minutes, I'm tired. Like, it's kicked in and good night of sleep.

You so need energy. My God.

Yeah, I was having trouble sleeping and it was somewhat of the hormonal shifts that are going on. You know, I'm going to be 50 later this year.

Oh, my goodness, you're beautiful. Thank you.

Yeah, I appreciate that. Italian and Lebanese. Genetics has really served me well. Yes, thank you. Parents and grandparents. Yes, that's right. Everybody's like, what do you do? I was like, really? Except for religious about taking my makeup off. Beyond that, nothing. Like, there's nothing fancy in my routine. It's got its genetic. But as that hormonal shift is happening, I discovered I was having more and more trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. And the melatonin has been a godsend since. And I've been doing that for almost a year and a half now. Amazing. I get the best night's sleep now.

Okay, good. And do you remember your dreams?

I do. I do. I have really vivid dreams. Yeah. So I do remember them. And I have a notebook by my bed, so I also get ideas. Used to be more. When we were designing products, like product designs would resolve themselves in my sleep. And so I would wake up and I would be able to write that right down and get that idea across and make sure or sketch it out.

Isn't it amazing that you have this open channel to creativity like this?

Yeah. I mean, I think some of my best ideas have come from sleep and showers. Like those two things. Right.

Very well. I'm sure it's gonna give a lot of good advices and ideas to the people that always listening to us today. Thank you so much for your time. I will invite you again.

I look forward to it. Yeah, we can talk more recipes and more fun stuff.

I would love. Thank you so much. You're so generous and thank you for helping me, you know, through this journey. I still don't know nothing in this field and you break the ice every time with me. You're patient. Open arm and let's go.

Let's do it, girl.

So thank you for that. It's because of you if we have this podcast.

Oh, well, thank you so much. I'm so glad. I mean, your voice into the world is really important.

Oh, thanks. Well, continue to do what you do. We are followers, true fans, and I would like to finish with a quote of our dear Chef Thomas Keller. I found that it was appropriate for our conversation today, so it's a little long, so bear with me. Okay. The French accent here. When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear. To make people happy. This is what cooking is all about. And it gives me chills, you know? Yes. Happy. Joy. Cooking, I mean.

And experimentation. I love that, too. Like, all in there.

Oh, yeah. Experiences. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like you when you were 12 years old. We picture you, you know, cracking your eggs. You're very nice. Thank you very much, Tracy.

Thank you, Marie. Love you guys.

And see you soon.