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Primal Foundations Podcast
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Primal Foundations Podcast
Episode 49: Carnivore in the Kitchen with Courtney Luna
Join us for a riveting conversation with Courtney Luna, a former yacht chef turned passionate carnivore advocate, as she shares her journey from battling food addiction and yo-yo dieting to finding freedom through a fully carnivorous lifestyle. Courtney discusses her transition from Weight Watchers and keto to a way of eating that has transformed her health and eliminated cravings. She also introduces her newly published cookbook, Carnivore in the Kitchen, offering simple yet creative recipes for every palate. We explore how to make the carnivore diet family-friendly, navigate food choices with kids, and understand the deep connection between diet and mental well-being. Whether you're curious about the carnivore diet or seeking inspiration for healthier eating habits, this episode is packed with valuable insights. Tune in to learn from Courtney’s experience and connect with her on social media for continued support and motivation!
Connect with Courtney:
https://youtube.com/@CourtneyLuna
https://instagram.com/itscourtneyluna
https://www.facebook.com/itscourtneyluna
https://www.tiktok.com/@itscourtneyluna
https://twitter.com › ItsCourtneyLuna
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Former yacht chef turned carnivore advocate, courtney is a content creator and author of the cookbook Carnivore in the Kitchen. Courtney, welcome to the Primal Foundations podcast.
Speaker 2:Hi, awesome Thanks for having me on. I'm excited to chat today.
Speaker 1:We're talking off air a little bit of how you know. I've been following your page. You do some amazing content. I love your book, which we're going to get into today, but for some of the listeners well, my listeners especially know I'm a very boring carnivore. I eat the same stuff over and over again, and your book gives a little bit more variety and actually has different things like desserts and appetizers and things that I don't even really even make when I bring food to other places, and some of these recipes are a big hit when I bring them to parties, which is really really nice.
Speaker 2:Awesome, I'm glad to hear that. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah and uh for some of the listeners that you know don't know your story. I've heard your story on some podcasts before and you know I resonate with it because you know you've mentioned things of like yo-yo dieting, weight watchers, slim fast. You know, when I hear those things, that's for me was what I thought of when I was younger of dieting. That's what those things look like and can you kind of tell listeners of you know where your health journey kind of started and what got you into carnivore?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, like you said long history of yo-yo dieting I went to my first weight watchers meeting at the age of 13. I guess it was my idea. I had said like, oh, my mom gently suggested it and like, a few months ago, apparently she's watching these. She's like I didn't have you go, like you wanted to go. So we'll just clear that up. But yeah, that was my, you know, first dive into the dieting world and you name it. I've tried it. So yeah, of course, like doing those Weight Watchers points where in hindsight, it's essentially just eat everything in moderation, like who cares how crappy it is, but if it fits your points, you're good, you know. So I feel like I got a little bit closer to health when, in 2010, my mom, who had been like a 25 year vegetarian, was talking about Mark Sisson's book, the Primal Blueprint, and so he's a paleo guy. So she stopped being vegetarian and dove into the paleo side of things and so I dabbled in that.
Speaker 2:But I was young, I was in my early 20s. I wasn't really caring about my health. Maybe I cared about my weight, but I was out partying. I wasn't really caring about my health. Maybe I cared about my weight, but I was out partying, I wasn't trying to be healthy, and then I found keto, probably around like 2013 or so, and wait, I think I had the math wrong. I don't think 2010 was marked. Oh, maybe it was Okay. So then, a few years after that, found keto and dabbled on and off for about seven years, again using it as a weight loss tool and, I think, always just assuming that a healthy weight meant a healthy body and I stopped keto. I had used it again to after my second baby, to lose 50 pounds for like the third time and I stopped doing what was working for me.
Speaker 2:I got caught up in the anti-diet culture BS where they're like all foods fit, everything on the table. There's no such thing as bad foods. I'm like yes, let's do this. Okay, I am a sugar addict. I cannot moderate things. So it started out okay. No-transcript. Dr Paul Saladino's TikToks and he sent them to me for about a month before I even asked him like why are you sending me these? Should we not be eating vegetables? I'm like this is so weird. And he's like I need to, you know, dig into it. So that was our introduction and I started off. So it's been almost three years now I started off animal based. I'm realizing now like my sugar addicted brain still wanted those fruits, still wanted that fructose. Figured out five weeks in that I need to just stop with the fruits. My belly could be full from a pound of ribeye, but my mouth still wanted blueberries. So I'm realizing that sugar, just you know, still had a hold of me. So I went, you know, carnivore after that. And yeah, the rest is history.
Speaker 1:People don't really realize, or they're just uh, haven't had this their own personal experience with uh being addicted to food. You know, uh, it's it's. You mentioned it, you, you acknowledge it. You're like, why am I at McDonald's right now? I know this is not the thing for me right now, but it gets ahold of people and that's one of the big things and it's tough and I thank you for sharing that too, because some people, you know that's something they want to keep tight to the chest. But you, you've lost weight on a carnivore. But was Paul Saldino like animal based at that time, or was he doing more of the all meat Cause? I know he had a little bit of a transition. You know, carnivore MD 2.0 kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I never saw his content when he was carnivore. So he even in the keto space on and off when I was in it. I never heard about carnivore. Like I don't know why I was so late to the party, why I didn't see things like in my social media feeds. So, yeah, he was my first introduction to this whole meat-based world. I hadn't even really heard of carnivore. You know he was doing animal-based, so having all his fruit, and then once I started there, then I slowly started to see you know more of like the carnivores show up.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, yeah, and, and I, I'm not a big uh, uh, I don't demonize fruit by any means. I, I, you know, I, I have my carnivore card and things like that. But, uh, to your point of you know, I don't buy fruit for my own home. If it's out, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll have some. But I just know, if I buy bananas right, and I have one, I rip one off that the whole bushel of bananas is supposed to last me the entire week. It does not. It maybe makes it to the end of the day, and so I have to abstain from having stuff in the house, but I can moderate it if it's out, and which is the one thing that I've had to tackle. But going into, let's say, just going into the ketogenic space, like how was that transition? And then from also keto to carnivore.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I always had success, but for the weight loss. But then it never stuck. And in hindsight, you know, now, knowing that I need to abstain for from these like sweet, know now, knowing that I need to abstain for from these like sweet flavors, so making keto treats, I'm realizing now, oh, that's why I couldn't, you know, have that way of eating being sustainable, because I was still having those sweet things and I feel like it's very accepted in the keto community to do like cheat meals on the weekend. So you know, in hindsight, that wasn't working for me.
Speaker 2:I think if maybe I stuck to a whole foods approach, that would have worked better. But those keto you know, just the keto sugars like they just had a hold on me. So I feel like when I just realized, like a couple years ago, and I saw someone talking about it, the whole abstainers versus moderators, and that's when things clicked it's like, oh my gosh, like I can't moderate myself with these foods that aren't I mean some of them I wouldn't even consider food we're not arguing over a banana but like donuts and cupcakes and all that and I can't just have one, or maybe I would, but I would obsessively think about the rest of them during the day, or I would try and fit them in my macros, or maybe I would binge and eat them all and then I would restrict the next day, so realizing that I just need to stay completely away from those types of foods. Even fruit, honestly, like once in a while Now, I was very strict for two years, Never had a bite of anything.
Speaker 2:Now, like little bites here and there of my kids' fruit slip in, and even that it's like okay, then I want more. So it's actually crazy what it does to your brain chemistry and how it keeps you wanting more. And it doesn't do it for everyone. My husband's carnivore, but he goes off plan every so often because he can moderate that stuff. But I'm like an alcoholic when it comes to food. Well, there's a reason why I don't drink too because I can't stop at one, but yeah, I just get a little out of control. And too, because I can't stop at one, but yeah, I just get a little out of control. And you asked me something else, and now I'm forgetting the other part to that question.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I went off on a tangent you know just the, uh, that transition piece you know into a ketogenic, and then now you transition to carnivore. You know any big difference besides just the cravings like, like physically you know, um, you know other things that are going on that you didn't even realize were happening, even though you came to this for weight loss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I definitely think I do better on strict carnivore weather as opposed to, you know, doing just regular keto and having those vegetables or low carb fruits, like I just feel better, even just mentally, eating this way. So, yeah, besides the weight loss, I was able to go off of my medication for Zoloft, which is for anxiety and depression. I've always had horrible acne. That is completely cleared. I feel like I have food freedom.
Speaker 2:I know a lot of people are like how do you have food freedom? You're not eating anything and you know that goes back to the whole abstainer versus moderators and why I eat this way. I feel like I have food freedom now because I'm not obsessively thinking about these other foods. So it's just like I just feel a lot freer and I feel like for some people, with restriction comes freedom. I was talking to Bronson about this and he's like, yeah, it's not a restrictive diet. What's restrictive is like his bathroom issues he was having and being out in public and always need to know like where the bathroom is. So being restrictive and eating this way brings a lot of lifestyle freedoms even.
Speaker 1:Yeah, coach Bronson, he's the man I love that guy.
Speaker 1:You know the addiction of the food and again, alcohol, right, somebody that really needs to be abstaining from alcohol. It's a trigger for them. Nobody's putting the beer in front of them. Be like, come on, man, just have one. Like nobody's doing that. But with food people think it's different. It really isn't, because we have to have food to survive and thrive and it's around us 24, seven and people are very, very easy Just like, have one, come on, have a cupcake. But it is that snowball effect where once you start rolling, it could be very difficult to stop.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that comment actually pisses me off because I get it a lot. They're like how sad that you just can't have a slice of cake. I'm like, would you say that to an alcoholic? How sad that you can't just have one glass of wine. And like go on and on and on about it, like you would never say that. So why are we not treated with the same respect? You know, I think a lot of people they don't get it, they don't understand, they don't think you can be addicted to sugar. So it's like very dismissive, it's just, I mean, it's an accepted drug, essentially, you know, and everyone, just everyone's addicted to it. So everyone makes excuses on why we should have it and why you need to have it to make your relationship with food Okay. It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then has your approach changed over the years to? You know you're saying you were, you were strict. You know, for two years no fruit, maybe some fruit, the parent tax, I like to call it, you know, or the mom or dad tax for cheese or fruit when you're giving it to the kids. But have you kind of opened up in certain things. I'm thinking like, like Linda Salant, you know the carnitarian. She does like different seasonings now and sells those. And a little bit more open with some different things that might not be considered carnivore. Yeah, in the beginning I rarely even use seasonings. Bit more open with some different things that might not be considered carnivore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, in the beginning I rarely even use seasonings and I even still, like, don't necessarily feel the need to have a lot of that. I mean, I do sometimes and it's like, oh, this is nice. But I feel like my taste buds have changed and I just appreciate meat with salt. But yeah, as far as like other things I mean once in a while I'll have an olive getting wild but stuff like that like isn't triggering to me and I feel like there's worse things we could be eating.
Speaker 2:I wish I didn't let the fruit stuff slip back in, because I don't know it, just it. I feel like I slipped back into old behaviors where just a bite of fruit, I'm like I want more. So I really have to almost get that out of my system again once I have a bite. So, yeah, for me I don't recommend. I don't think it's a good thing that I'm having bites of fruit here and there. Mentally it doesn't make me feel my best. So yeah, I guess that's kind of where I'm at and I do try and just keep it to the basics of carnivore and I'm not really interested in adding things back in, at least not now. I try not to be like dogmatic about it, but I don't know, at least for now, like I'm good with where I'm at.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you mentioned your husband's carnivore and you know the kiddos too, like what is. You know, is the family like kind of all together on this? And I think you know, for you know, animal based for kids versus more carnivore for your husband.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I would say my kids are more animal based, if you had to give them a label. So they eat everything we eat which is animals dairy eggs. We do have fruit for them in the house and then occasionally I do buy a good quality sourdough bread, whether our friend makes it or we get it at the farmer's market. So they do have treats. I don't like to have them in the house because if it's more than one serving then they're constantly asking for it and it's annoying. I'd rather get them on Friday.
Speaker 2:Our friend owns a gelato shop and it's like okay, I know she's using, yes, it's sugar, but at least it's like the best quality she can find and everything's like organic. I don't know, I feel like that's a marketing term, but you know what I mean. If you're going to have it, it's the best quality. So once in a while I get them that because I want them to also have a feeling of control. I don't want to always be like no, no, no, no, no, and then when they're older they're going to go to a friend's house and like binge on all the things that mom wouldn't let them have. So I do like them to have that feeling of power to make their own decisions sometimes.
Speaker 2:But we do teach about, like proper nutrition with them. So if we are, you know, getting a scoop of gelato, it's like, okay, you don't need to eat all this, listen to your body, you know. So, just telling them, teaching them to pay attention to how they're feeling, kids' birthday parties they're so frustrating, honestly, we'll feed them before so hopefully they're not, like you know, ravenous. I will draw the hard line at red dye, like no, you're not going to have the red cupcake, get the white one. But we just teach them. Then later, like when they're running around being like insane, it's like, okay, see how you're feeling, see how you're acting, this is because of your diet. So we just try and teach them like the food we're eating affects our body and I'm just hoping for the best that I'm not screwing them up.
Speaker 1:No, I think that's a great way to approach it.
Speaker 1:I think tackling food at home is a big miss for a lot of families because they'll just again, they're going to go out into the world, you know, at young ages, birthday parties, other kids' homes, whatever it may be.
Speaker 1:But having them have that, their own power and their own knowledge of you know saying, yeah, I'm going to have that or not, or if they do have it, you know, understanding, like, how is it making you feel? Is you know, I just stuffing your face with pizza? Yeah, pizza tastes great, I'm not going to deny that, but it's like, oh, I feel terrible after I do that. So having them have the power and just the knowledge is that's a great step. You know I don't have kids, but you know that's one thing that I look at, as you know, as I get older and other people and my friends, they're all really paying attention to what's in even baby formula, if they're doing that route baby food, what they're getting their kids, and really being also diligent on nutrition labels as well, because, as we know, there's just a mix of just things that I can't even pronounce on there.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and that's interesting. You say that the labels cause my six-year-old he can read pretty well now. So now we get like soccer snacks, and I don't ever want to be rude, so we accept the snack and we just handle it in the car. And so he'll be reading the backs of these things and be like oh, mom, I probably shouldn't have this. Or even like Gatorade, like when my three-year-old was playing soccer. I'm like my three-year-old does not need a Gatorade. Like she snuggled with me half the game. Like there's no electrolytes that need to be replenished. But so he's old enough. My six-year-old, where he'll like get the drink. He'll be like mom, look, there's an orange Gatorade, I'm not going to drink this because of the dye. So of course it tastes good and he would, I'm sure, love it. But he's also, you know, making his own decisions based on what we've told him. And, yes, he he'll might, you know, pick one of the, you know whatever the chewy chocolate chip crap bar that's in there. Sometimes.
Speaker 1:we'll let him, you know, pick one of them, but then I think for the most part he's like, yeah, this stuff isn't good, so I'll choose this one and then the rest of it can go. So, oh, yeah, that's, that's awesome. And you started out as your. Your career was very unique because you were a yacht chef, right, is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:What was that like?
Speaker 2:Well, if anyone's seen the show below deck on Bravo, it's very similar to that. Yeah, I started out, um, as a stewardess and as the years went on, you know, working closely with the chef, I'm like, well, I want to do this, Like I don't want to scrub toilets anymore, I want to cook dinner for everybody. Cook the meals. Um, joke was on me because my first cooking job actually still included being a stewardess. I was like a stew cook, so I had to cook dinner and scrub the toilets. But, yeah, it was amazing. It was so much fun. I miss it. You know it was a lot of awesome travel and then cooking usually not in a healthy way, Like everyone, of course, you're on board and you just want to have like the most delicious, amazing foods and desserts and you know croissants and all that. So, yeah, it was. It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:You know I, like I mentioned earlier, like I love your Instagram and the YouTube. You know what, what made you want to get into you know, sharing your journey with people and putting this all out there for pretty much the world to see.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it was kind of at least this carnivore stuff was accidental, so I had showed up, shown up a little bit online, Like when I was still on boats. I remember there was this one trip we took where I shared like a few pictures. This was when Instagram was like just pictures, like this was in probably 2014,. Like reels didn't exist, you know. It's like a really crappy picture. So I started kind of sharing like that. And then I I wasn't ever consistent.
Speaker 2:And then, after I had kids, I was doing more of like low carb keto stuff and I was sharing those recipes online and never once like got any bad comments or anything. Mind you, no one really cared, didn't have much of a following. And then so I was just like naturally like sharing my journey. Here's my low carb keto recipes, here's what I'm doing, here's what I'm doing to try and lose weight, cause this was, you know, after both of my pregnancies, you know, gaining so much weight. And then it was like okay, I'm starting carnivore tomorrow. I don't even know what it means. Like I remember talking to my stories and just saying like I don't even have resources for you guys, like essentially, I'm blindly trusting my husband that this is what I should try. And then I just started sharing, like, what I was eating in a day.
Speaker 2:And I remember the one video on TikTok where, all of a sudden, I'm like, oh, people are commenting and I'm like, oh, they're not happy either, like they're really mad that I'm eating this way. You know nowadays, if someone were to be like I'm going to start sharing my carnivore journey, I'm going to put it out there. I know people are going to be nasty Like. I know it's like people I feel like know what to expect. I was completely blindsided by all these negative comments. I just had no idea and, yeah, so I just I've continued to share every ever since and it's just become my passion to at least let people know that this is an option to eat this way. If I'm not saying everybody should, I'm just saying if you are not feeling good and you're struggling to lose weight, your mental health sucks, your skin sucks. You know you have all these issues like, just give it a chance. Clearly, what you're doing isn't working for you. So, yeah, I just continue to share my journey and deal with the haters.
Speaker 1:Haters are going to hate. Yeah, that's that's for sure.
Speaker 1:Uh, yeah, I, I would, I would agree with you and it's it's a kind of a leap of faith to like start putting stuff online. And it feels kind of weird at first. I don't know about you. I felt very weird about, like you know, putting stuff online. I was like my tag used to be carnivore athlete and I've changed it like four times. Like, oh, is this one picture really good? Or this video you know you mentioned I completely just forgot that Instagram used to just be pictures too.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I'm just like doing videos and I'm like, oh, I gotta keep editing. And you spent like 15, 20 minutes on a video. Post it, take it off, post it. And then you know, just nowadays I'm just like let it go and it's whatever. But did you have a struggle starting out? Or you were just like, whatever, I'm going to just keep posting and see what happens.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, definitely, cause I mean in the beginning, when it was just pictures it was just pictures of my food and it it took me a while to want to be in the videos, Like it it just felt weird and, of course, like when I first started, like I was severely overweight and so I didn't feel good about myself but I just showed up, showed up anyway, and now I have zero Fs, like I don't care, there's no shame. I will show up and talk about poop, like I. There's nothing that will embarrass me now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then you know, speaking about that, because that's also in the book here, there is a little comment about bowel movements in there. So the book, you know, carnivore in the Kitchen is awesome. Like I said, it's for me, especially variety wise, it's gold, it's awesome. For me, especially variety wise, it's, it's, it's, it's gold, it's awesome. But what made you, you know, want to write this book and get this out to the people?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I I always kind of thought maybe I'd do a book someday never thought it would be carnivore at all, um, but yeah, so I I had on my list of things that like I wanted and my dream would be to write a cookbook and have it be with the publisher, because I knew me, if I were to self-publish it, it would take me forever. Like I wanted those like deadlines. I wanted someone to be like this is what we need to do to like get it done. And so one day, like I got an email from my publishing company and I had already like kind of found them online because I'm like, okay, if I write my book, what am I going to do with it? Where do I shop it around? So I got the email. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is so weird. This is who I was eyeing, like if I made a book, and yeah. So they reached out to me and I'm like this is perfect.
Speaker 2:Like, yes, I think the beauty about eating this way is it can be so simple and all you need are, you know, steaks and burger patties. But there's a lot of people that get bored, and so I just wanted to offer something to somebody that might need things to be a little bit more creative to keep this way of eating sustainable, and so there are like a lot of fun and creative recipes, but there is a chapter on just simply meats, because I know a lot of people don't do all the fuss, like they just want to cook some meat, so there's different ways to cook, different cuts, and there's the whole chapter on animal-based kids meal plans, grocery lists and, yeah, carnivore 101 section, where I think I even acknowledge like sorry to talk about poop in a cookbook, but you know, it's like one of the main questions that is asked when we're talking about troubleshooting on a carnivore diet.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it does come up a ton and you know you go over those kind of things. The macros give a little section of like you know, hey, this is where plants can be harmful. Here's some reasoning why, which is really good. And then I also appreciate going through different versions of meat-based diets because you, you'll, you, like you said, you'll have the people that no thrills, that that you know they might have an autoimmune issue or whatever. They gotta get real strict. So you got that line diet version, keto for animal based. You know, you do the babies, the uh, that's the Dr Kiltz, right.
Speaker 2:No, dr. Barry the BBBE.
Speaker 1:Oh, bbbe, okay, but yeah, it's cool. I like that you give the autonomy to like kind of pick and choose your own path and then also going into the animal-based kids you know you talked about with your kiddos some of the you know education at the home, but what are some of the staples that you cook for your kiddos that they love?
Speaker 2:We do a lot of pizza, chicken nuggets, trying to think what else they love pork rind cereal. So I don't necessarily have that as a recipe in my book but I mention it. I know it sounds absolutely horrendous. So you take pork rinds and you just crunch them up a little bit. You can do a little sprinkle of cinnamon. If someone's doing a sweetener, like a little sprinkle of monk fruit would be good and then milk and honestly it tastes like if you're not using the sweetener. It tastes like Rice Krispies do before you like add the packet of sugar. Sounds horrendous, but it's literally so good and the cinnamon like makes it almost like cinnamon toast crunch.
Speaker 2:Oh, interesting it is interesting, yeah, and I didn't create it. My friend B I saw her share about it. I don't even know where she got it from, so I don't take credit for it. But it's life changing because sometimes we just like need that crunch, we want the cereal. So we do a lot of that A lot of meat sticks, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, trying to think what else we mainly do for them. Lots of burger patties, steaks. We keep it fairly simple, but then do a lot of creative recipes for, maybe for dinner or something. Bacon cheeseburger soup in my book is a huge hit. That and the pizzas, I feel like, is what we go back to the most.
Speaker 1:It's familiarity amongst other dishes, but you're making it with the carnivore twist or keto-vore twist to it. So, yeah, I feel like if you were. I think, when people think parents want their kids to be more of that carnivore or keto-vore or whatever, that they're just like putting tomahawks on their you know on their plates to eat.
Speaker 1:You know, as little kids, but that's not necessarily the case. So the creativity is awesome. And for people that are like grocery shopping right, you know if they're doing carnivore, keto or whatever may be like what's some tips to find some quality meat, save money and maybe avoid some like common pitfalls at the store.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm part of the group that says eat what you love, eat what you can afford. I don't think it all has to be organic grass fed. What does Barry say? Like panda, massaged cows or whatever. If that's what you like, go for it.
Speaker 2:But eating Walmart beef is still going to be nutritious, and way more nutritious than a standard American diet. So I wouldn't feel pressured into buying those other things because they can be expensive. So I think shopping the sales, check the weekly flyer, see what your grocery stores are doing and you can shop according to what's on sale, buy in bulk, put in the freezer or, if you do want to buy from a farm. I mean, sometimes they can still be really expensive. Even if you're buying like a quarter cow, it still can be a little pricey per pound depending on who you're getting it from. But that would be another way to look into things. You don't have to buy the. You know the eggs that are pasture raised and you know all that stuff. Of course that's going to be ideal, but if that is not in your budget, there's nothing wrong with getting you know the cheapest eggs you can find. So I wouldn't let budget get in the way of you from trying this, because it's still going to be so more nutritious than you know eating a different way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, don't, don't let perfection be the enemy of good. It doesn't have to be perfect every single day. Yeah, I've also looked into getting half of a cow at a time, or quarter cow. I mean, I'm in Chicago, so shipping fees just for the food. I was like you know what? I'm going to go to Costco, let's just call it that. And I like Costco. I'm one of those. You know I love Costco. They make ground beef in six-pound like packages. I can get some. You know it doesn't have to be the prime cuts or whatever, it's just like the choice or the select or whatever, which is amazing, like it's still great, it tastes amazing. So I'm a Costco advocate for sure.
Speaker 2:I am too. They have amazing ribeyes and I would even say I've been more impressed with, like I'm trying to think, was it choice? Like select Is select the middle one.
Speaker 1:I think selected. Yeah, it's like choice, like select is select the middle one.
Speaker 2:I think select yeah, it's like choice, select then prime. Okay, like I don't get the prime, I've splurged a few times. I'm like this isn't even worth it. I don't feel like it was much of a difference, but they have amazing ribeyes and I'm trying to think what else I usually get there. Honestly, if I'm buying steaks, it's usually the ribeyes there, and I buy from farms too. I have, you know, farm food in my freezer, but I Costco has good meat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, it's great. I had a friend who has uh parents owned, uh an operated restaurants and he has a restaurant Depot card. So that was like the best hookup. Uh, if you're listening to this, we have to go back. So he would take me, we would go because he had the access to Restaurant Depot and we would buy the primal cuts, like the huge cuts at a time. It's like literally restaurant quality and it was like restaurant quality for like $11.99 a pound, which is not out of this world at all. You go to the conventional Mariano's or Whole Foods you're looking at sometimes $19 a pound for certain steak cuts. But then he showed me how to like cut it up myself and actually, you know, trim it a little bit and that was the most cost effective. But yeah, it does take a little bit of time. But if you know a little know-how or you got a hookup, you know you can, you can probably save, save some, some shekels.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a good idea too. And now that you mentioned that, if you shop at grocery stores, like around the holidays, you can get, like Christmas, they'll do a lot of like rib roast. So you buy the whole big roast and you slice up your own ribeye steaks, or even, like I'm thinking, at Easter time I feel like they'll do some roast. So, yeah, if you buy them big and slice them up and even right now St Patrick's Day is happening, what is it? Corned beef is usually super cheap, like $2.99 a pound. I will stock up. I don't know what it is about the seasoning and corned beef. I love it. I should probably make my own. I'm sure it would be better quality. But yeah, just you know, shop the sales, shop bulk, cut it down yourself and and render that tallow too, and then save the tallow to cook things with.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Nose to tail.
Speaker 1:Nose to tail. And speaking of, like the cooking, you know essential cookware. You know what. What are the must have tools or cookware items that you know make this way of eating and preparing more enjoyable, and what are the must-have tools or cookware items that make this way of eating and preparing more enjoyable, and what are the ones that are your go-to? I swear by these. You should have these in your kitchen.
Speaker 2:So I've been using cast iron for probably like 12 years now, so I will never go back from that. I would definitely get a cast iron pan. You could also use stainless I don't typically gravitate towards that, but definitely cast iron. Get yourself a grill if you have the space, or smoker, or like a combo grill smoker would be amazing. Air fryer I use our air fryer a lot, especially for those that have small spaces and can't have a grill.
Speaker 2:Instant pot I use all the time because you can cook things like roast from frozen in there quickly. I wouldn't put a frozen roast into a crock pot. It takes too long and then your food is in the danger zone. But if you're doing your instant pot, since it's pressure cooking, it's fairly quick, so it's safe. So I love that, especially because I'm horrible about shopping my freezer and pulling things out to defrost. For some reason it even just feels overwhelming. I'd rather almost go to the grocery store and buy fresh meat than take things out of my freezer and plan ahead that way. So being able to throw things in last minute from frozen is amazing too. So yeah, cast iron pan, instant pot, air fryer and a grill if you want to, and you'd be all set.
Speaker 1:I've had some friends who they do a lot of their steaks in the air fryer and I bought an air fryer. I tried it. I did a steak ribeye steak and I think I did like a wing flats or something in there and I didn't like it. It could be me, it could be me I might've messed it up, but yeah, I tried it and I was just like I just there's something about the fire hitting the, you know the, the ribeye or the burger patties or whatever. I just feel like that texture is a little bit better or I just messed it up.
Speaker 1:But everybody keeps telling me like you got to get an air fryer. I was like all right. So I was like all right, so I might attempt. I've gotten some recommendations that get up to like higher to. They're like get the one that has the higher temperature or something like that. So I'm going to try it. But yeah, small spaces in particular, if you don't have, you know, a grill or area for that, or it's really cold outside, like Chicago is like two degrees out right now, I don't want to. I don't want to go outside a grill.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, I don't want to go outside a grill. Yeah, exactly. No, I'm with you on like the steaks and the air fryer I have before I think if it's a little bit thicker and you can cook it from frozen that way, like the outside's getting a little bit better of a crust because it's in there longer. But I'd rather get a crust on a cast iron pan. What I use my air fryer for, like if we're doing meatballs or nuggets or I'll do my pizza crust in there, and usually like if you get one that has like an oven setting, then it's not just doing like the high heat on top air fryer, you can use it as like a mini oven. I do like chicken wings in there, but then I also will usually fry them at the end in tallow. So yeah, I'm with you on the steak, you can, but I'd rather grill it or throw it in a pan, for sure.
Speaker 1:And you make carnivore bread. And actually even just I saw I was just going through my feed very recently and Carnivore Ray gave you a shout out on some carnivore bread. What the heck is in carnivore bread?
Speaker 2:So it's essentially like an egg meatloaf carnivore bread. So it's essentially like an egg meatloaf. Oh, there's a lot of eggs, some cottage cheese, panko and butter. I think that's it. When you, if you, I don't recommend eating it as it, I mean you can, you can slice it and eat it. It's good. What I suggest is you slice it as thin as you can and then you air fry it or toast it. Like it's very dense how it is, and I could add more pork panko to like make it less dense, but then it tastes more like pork. So I feel like this is the best ratio to get like a neutral flavor, but it just needs a little help to like dry it out a little bit. So if you slice it and air fry it for about like 10 minutes, it almost like dries it out and gets it to kind of like a toast, like a normal toast, and that's how I would eat it. It's really good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's. It sounds like a great option for people that you know they're they're ready to dive into carnivore, but they, they love you know the buns on the burger or what have you. Um, and just keeping that somewhat normalcy for people that that want that. But uh, you also have salads in there and I think people are going to get very weary. Like what do you mean? They have salads in this cookbook.
Speaker 2:All the good stuff in a salad, you know, is the meat, the cheese and the dressing. Like, okay, yeah, it may be nice to like have that crunch of the lettuce, but like, when you think about like I would get like a cob or a chef salad, like all the good stuff is the bacon, the egg, the meats, the blue cheese and then the dressing, so we can have all that on carnivore. Just, you know, leave the lettuce off or have the lettuce, I don't care. I'm not judging you, but yeah, I just thought it would be kind of fun to tap into some things like we, we used to be eating.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the I've, I've made the chicken Cobb salad in there and you're right, it's like I that's all, even if when I before, when I used to do keto and other things like and I would have the big ass salad, basically this whole like salad bowl, but I would just literally pick around the lettuce and just have all of the other stuff and then it'd be and I'm like, oh, I guess I got to finish my lettuce now, or whatever because.
Speaker 1:I thought that's what I needed, but no, it's really really good. Go into like different dips and dressings and all that stuff, which is awesome. But the big thing is like I'm not a baker by any stretch of the word. I'm terrible at baking anything, but you make these look really really simple and easy desserts. You know what are some of the ingredients you can use for desserts, rather than you know the typical sugar and flour.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean, the thing about eating this way is we don't have many ingredients to work with. So I mean, the majority of these like dessert-like recipes are going to be eggs, cream, cream cheese, and that's it pretty much, you know, and then it's just mixing them up different ways, add a little vanilla and cinnamon. I feel like those flavors give off dessert vibes, so it kind of like tricks your mind into thinking you're having something. So, yeah, I have vanilla cupcakes in there, which, if anybody's been low carb, keto, you have probably heard of cloud bread, so it's just taking the cloud bread recipe turning them into cupcakes. I have like a whipped mousse that I think is just cream cheese and something I don't know. You know what. Like some of these recipes, I'm like I haven't seen or done anything with them in over a year. But yeah, I think cream and cream cheese and I'm trying to think what other ice cream sandwiches are in there. So ice cream and that's all that's coming to mind right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, those are great alternatives that, rather than putting in artificial sweeteners or just straight up sugar, you know, these are just great little things that, like you said, it's kind of like this it's like you have this little pool of ingredients and you're just kind of just picking and choosing and just creating a bunch of different things that you're throwing together that look pretty similar. I mean, I'm going through the back of the book. I'm just looking at all the desserts. I'm like these look awesome, especially the those ice cream sandwiches, cause I think there's like panko in the crust too as well as like I would not even think that would even be a thing, but it's, it looks great.
Speaker 1:Um, but yeah, I'm not a baker. I haven't attempted any of the desserts. But the appetizer stuff, like I've used those, like the deviled eggs. I've made those and brought those to parties. That's a huge hit. Everybody loves that. Especially, you put the little topper or garnish of bacon on there and get a little bacon, uh, grease in the filling too, with the mayonnaise and the yolk, like everybody, everybody's like oh, these are great. So I always bring extra more than I should, because they usually go. But yeah, going into this book as well. What are the challenges that you had? Was there big challenges of just? Was it just timeline challenges or it's like just to actually get this many recipes nailed down in one book?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a lot of work. Honestly, I'm still traumatized from it. They let me do my own timeline. But I was like we need to get this out sooner than later. Like I can't dilly dally and take two years to create these recipes. Like we need to get a move on it. So I figured out like what I could realistically do in a week and I settled on like three recipes I think I could do each week. So I had a six month deadline. So I had six months to create all the recipes, write them all out, take all the photos and then send them over and then from there we went back and forth on editing probably for like eight months. So, honestly, the hardest part wasn't like developing in the kitchen, it was the going back and forth with the editing. Like I definitely cried a few times.
Speaker 2:It was a lot going on and I mean I'm so glad I did it, but I think I might be one and done. Like they offered book two, I said yes, we were in talks for about a week. We decided like what the theme would be and then I just realized I'm like I don't know if I could like take this on right now Because, besides it being a lot of work, especially when I have two little kids at home. I just also don't deal with stress well, so my stress like affects my family because I just go insane. So yeah, I actually turned down book two for now because I'm like I just don't think I could take it on. And I'm super proud with this one, like I feel like I like put everything in it, like I feel like I could wrap this one up with the bow and be good and not do another one, even though I still have more ideas in my head. But yeah, I'm super stoked to have this one out in the world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's for sure, a home run like you did. Very well coming coming out the gate. Is there any? Any recipe that is your absolute favorite that's in here, or either a recipe that is your absolute favorite but it didn't make the book.
Speaker 2:Um, I mean, I do have some ideas that didn't make the book, but I none that I even like attempted like they were. They just stayed on the list. So, yeah, everything that I attempted to make worked out and went in there. I'd say the Carniza recipe that's. I have two pizza crust recipes and the Carniza is one of my favorites. Bacon, cheeseburger soup, lasagna breakfast meatballs are really good. Oh, biscuits and gravy, I feel like, is another like big staple. And eggs benedict, I'd say those rotate pretty often. Honestly, I should probably open my book and flip through it, because I keep going back to like the same ones and I like don't even remember half of what's in there. I really should flip through for some to shake it up here and get more inspiration for our meals instead of like repeating the same things.
Speaker 1:There's nothing also wrong with being creatures of habit either you know, just you know to buy each week I'm definitely in that camp too and then a part of your book. I thought this was interesting and I kind of appreciated that you included, like for further reading reading section, and you like highlight other carnivore and animal based advocates in the book. You know a lot of people that do something like this. They want the spotlight just to be on them and what their information. You know. Why did you share all this other information with other doctors and or carnivore advocates?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just I want to be, I want to give the information, to help people thrive and eat this way. And I'm not giving everyone all that information, like, I am not trying to be a doctor, I cannot even regurgitate some of the science. I say like, I read it, I believe it and I do it. But to like say it to someone else doesn't happen. And I also just want to raise up other people in this community. I'm not trying to climb to the top and be up there by myself. Let's all raise each other up.
Speaker 2:The better we all do, the more everyone's accounts are seen and their voice is heard, the more people we're going to reach. I think we just all need to have the common thread that we want people to know that carnivore is an option. So the more people we're going to reach, I think we just all need to have the common you know thread that we want people to know that carnivore is an option. So the more of us that can get out there and spread the word, the better. So, yeah, I was more than happy to make this list. And, you know, give my friends some shout outs and, yeah, just help other people in this community be seen too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it thought I had it down of the followers of like I'm following this person, I'm following that person, but there was a few people I didn't even know about that from this book. So it was great just to get on Instagram just to see some different points of views, different people that are in the space sharing information. And, like you said, this book is like really it's simple but super effective. You give somebody Sean Baker's book, right Carnivore Code and they could read that, which is really kind of dense in some areas, and you're just kind of like the science could go over your head, but especially your one-on-one section. It's really great, really well done. So I think that sharing this book and connecting with some of those peoples in that back text of reading further is great. So I appreciate you putting this together. I know it was a lot of hard work. You know maybe book two whenever you're ready, but what would be the theme if you want to share it, if you were going to do it?
Speaker 2:Um, I mean, I guess it's not anything like not that anyone would take it, but it's nothing new. So I will say we were talking about kind of like holidays but also like lifestyle, whatever that meant. So we didn't even really get to unpack it. It was just like, yes, there's going to be a lot of holiday functions and just making this a lifestyle, and you know, so we were kind of, yeah, going off of that. So we'll see, maybe when my kids are older, but I don't know.
Speaker 1:That sounds, sounds cool, sounds like a cool project. And, speaking of projects, you're coming to Meatstock. I think you're going to Meatstock this year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's like another thing. Like, yes, I have another book in me and I have recipes to share, but I think I'm I don't know, I just had this calling that there's other ways that I'm supposed to like show up and share my message, and maybe that's not in another book, maybe it's just sprinkling some free recipes onto the internet here and there and things like meat stock, you know, going to something like that or collaborating with other people. Going to something like that or collaborating with other people, like I think there's, I don't know. I'm just being called to other ways to get out there and help, as opposed to writing another book. So, yeah, meat stock is really the only thing I have on my calendar this year. I'm not going to be doing hack your health again. It's amazing. If anyone's going to that, highly recommend it, but I won't be doing that one. I know that's like a big one to be missing, but Meatstock, are you going to that one?
Speaker 1:I am not. I have a certification we're doing like a fitness training certification. It lands literally on that weekend and it's in Chicago, so I've already committed to that. Plus, it's my dad's birthday that weekend. So I'm going to be in town.
Speaker 2:for that I was like, ah, I'm like, couldn't be like a week later or anything like that. But this is a big one next year, next year, cause I'm I'm in talks with Scott who organizes it. We I say we like, but I feel like I'm in on it with him um have already lined up quite a few amazing um speakers for next year as well. Like we're branching out, we're getting a little bit bigger, a little bit more than just carnivore, more of like making America healthy again.
Speaker 1:So it's going to be cool.
Speaker 2:So stay tuned for next year. Then if you can't make this year, yeah, is it good?
Speaker 1:Are you guys thinking about being in the same place again?
Speaker 2:or moving it Same city like Gatlinburg area. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, awesome, that's going to be next year. It will be on my 2026 calendar right away, for sure.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Yeah, he's going to share about it, I think, while we're at this year's I think his win, so after that he'll start promoting. I'm trying to think what the dates were and I don't remember. I think it's similar, though give or take a month.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I saw the lineup for this year. I mean, I remember when they first kind of put it out and it was like it was a great lineup just. But then I'm like whoa, I'm looking at it, there's like a movie poster of people go and I was like well, this is insane. This is good.
Speaker 2:And every week I'm like okay, scott, like come on, like but, it's a good thing, but it's just like it keeps like growing. I'm like, oh my gosh, yeah, Every, everyone and their mom's going to be there. It's going to be pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, I wish you the best. And then you know, and I'm sure you're going to crush it, if you're doing any speaking or anything, you're going to, you're going to you once they hear this podcast if they want to learn more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, come say hi. Slide into my DMs. I am on every platform YouTube, instagram, twitter, x, whatever they call it. Did I say TikTok? Pinterest is a good spot to like organize recipes. And yeah, come say hi. Facebook. I have a private Facebook group as well. It's free, but a little community on there as well. If anyone needs some, you know community, a group. You need to bounce questions off each other, so that's a good spot too.
Speaker 1:Cool, awesome. I'll put those in the show notes and appreciate you coming on and sharing this information. This is awesome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thanks for having me, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:You got it and thanks for everybody listening to another.