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Child: Welcome to my Mommy’s podcast.
Katie: Hello and welcome to the Wellness Mama podcast. I’m Katie from wellnessmama.com and I am back today with Dana Cohen to talk about why diets don’t work and how to properly fuel yourself to improve your health using the cheat code of your blender. And I actually really enjoyed her new book on this because we all think of blenders and smoothies, that’s a pretty easy one, but in this episode, she really talks about foundationally, first of all, why diets don’t work. We talk about the problems with our ultra processed diet in the United States and many parts of the world and how the blender can help solve this problem, especially for moms. And it goes in a lot of directions that you might not anticipate.
And Dana has a wide-ranging expertise in a lot of different areas. She’s been deeply involved in integrative medicine for a long time, and she really practices with an emphasis on the individual, understanding, I think this is important that no two patients are alike. And I think her results really speak to that, that now she also really is doing a lot in educating and giving us foundational tools that we can use to improve our health at home. And I especially like the focus of this episode on nourishing versus depriving the body and how to really make sure that we’re giving the body the foundational things it needs, both in macronutrients and micronutrients, and how the blender can help us do this much more easily at times and especially can be great with kids. So let’s join Dr. Cohen now and keep learning. Dana, welcome back. It’s such a pleasure to have you here again.
Dana: Thank you so much again.
Katie: I’m really excited for this episode. I have a feeling I’m going to learn a lot. And we recently saw each other in person. And I got to hear a little bit about your new book called Fuel Up. And I love the concept of this because we’ve talked before about hydration. And I feel like this one is sort of like the food kind of corollary to understanding the importance of hydration in that a lot of people know that the American diet is very high in ultra-processed food and low in micronutrients compared to what a perhaps ideal human diet would be.
But we also hear about how busy we all are, how food is expensive, how it’s time consuming. And I feel like you’ve really actually tackled a lot of those problems in your new book in a way that’s easy and for the parents listening, also a way to help kind of solve this equation for our kids as well in that kids will often drink smoothies, even if they’re picky about foods.
So I know there’s a lot of directions that we will go in this, but foundationally, maybe can you give us some baseline of the problems you were attempting to tackle and solve in writing this book? And then we’ll get into the specifics of how we can use a blender actually to save ourselves a lot of time and stress.
Dana: Yes. Yeah. So the biggest problem is, is ultra-processed foods, right? And we do define them in the book, there is a there is a system that defines them, it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good. Exactly what are ultra-processed foods basically, if you look at a label, and there’s 1000 ingredients, and you don’t understand half those ingredients, that’s an ultra-processed food, right?
And what we are learning in every single day, there’s new information that’s coming out is that this is a real cause of chronic disease, chronic illness, things think about things like cancer and diabetes and Alzheimer’s and all those things that are costing our healthcare, you know, trillions of dollars. And, so this book is really, you know, the Mark Hyman’s and the David Perlmutter’s are talking about what, you know, this ultra-processed foods, what they are and what they’re doing to you, this book is, is the how to so what’s, you know, how do we actually, this is the guide. These are, you know, my dream is to get this in the book of people who have never picked up a health book before, or who just really need help in defining, you know, how do I do this? How do I do this? This is a, it’s an easy read. There’s, there is the science in there, but it’s easy. There’s storytelling, and there’s a ton of recipes.
And it’s not just a blender book. You know, we do give some, some, I do honestly, very strongly believe that people who cook for themselves are healthier. And more healthy because of that. And so we do give some guidance in very basic things. How do you roast a chicken, for example, you know, we’ve lost the art of cooking. But and trying to make it really simple, but the simplest way to get ultra-processed foods out of your diet is using a blender.
And then we talk about creating habits, meeting people where they are. So no diet, no deprivation in this, which is, really important to me, because in the 30 years of my practicing medicine, what I have learned is that diets don’t work. And I know this firsthand, and we all need to learn, relearn how to eat. And I do think that the damage that we have all done as you know, holistic doctors is that we’ve created a lot of eating disorders in people. I really do believe that. And while it works short term, for the most part, we need to then figure out how to transition back into a well-rounded healthy eating plan for everyone.
Katie: Oh, I think that really touches on something I think very vital in this, which is like the mindset side of this, because it seems like the execution and the choices we make are actually often very much a reflection of our mindset. And to your point, like the diet culture, the diet mindset is actually coming from a place of deprivation or restriction, which I feel like psychologically like triggers all those like rebellion reactions or feeling constrained, or I’ll speak from a personal level.
I know for years I tried to sort of like punish myself into being a healthy weight into eating healthy or shame myself into being thin and spoiler alert, that doesn’t actually work very well. And what I found long-term was much more effective was to come from a place of love and nourishment and wanting to give my body what it needed versus punishing it by not fueling it. I think that’s what really resonated with me even in the title of your book is if we can shift from thinking of food as just calories and macros but to actually fuel on a cellular level for our body and how can we through our choices through what we put in our body, be the most loving and nourishing and kind. And that comes from a such different mindset that I feel like it makes it a much easier path once we sort of make that mindset shift.
Dana: Yeah. So I totally agree. I actually have chills in what you just said. Yes, we have to stop beating ourselves up, first and foremost. Food is, it’s culture. There’s so many reasons. You know, food is love in many ways. And that’s okay. Because it is, it’s nourishment. So, so we should, it should be love. It should be, you know, as I, there’s nothing greater to me than hosting people and nourishing people in my home. I love it. It’s, it makes me so happy. And then when you’re really nourishing people.
One, so the, the just what came to mind, one of the other things I think about, one of the impetuses for me writing this book is, you know, every little step of the way that we take to up level our nutrition is a step in the right direction. So I think about there’s and I tell the story a lot, there’s this steak sauce that I love this branded steak sauce. And the only reason I love it is because it has horseradish in it. And anything with horseradish, I’m in. And so this steak sauce for years, I’ve been using it. One day, I decided to look at the label, I don’t I maybe I never wanted to look at the label. And I looked at it. And I was mortified because the first four ingredients were different types of sugars, and one being high fructose corn syrup. So not and then a ton of other things in there.
And I thought, you know, the only reason I like this is the horseradish, I can do better than this, I can do it in my blender. And that’s, you know, that’s a cheat, like that right there. So the blender is not just smoothies, it’s condiments, it’s desserts, it’s all kinds of things, all kinds of cheats. And you can’t blend your diet, your entire diet, right? You have to eat some food. But every little step of the way, you can make much better choices. And they’re easy, they’re fun, fun to get your kids involved. Kids love, like a blender is a really, first of all, I think 96 to 98% of households have a blender. And so it’s just a really fun tool to use to, to what we say cheat your way to good health.
Katie: I love what you said about food is love and the tie-ins with culture and cooking at home. And I know I’ve seen some really astounding statistics of even if we just choose to eat at home more, and especially in community with people that we love, that alone actually can have a drastic impact on our physical health. And I think also, obviously, there’s those intangibles of time together. As my kids get older, that’s something I think about a lot is those precious moments of family dinners that everyone that goes by is one less that I will have with them.
But I love the blender aspect because, A, this is something that often even young kids can learn how to do, is make a smoothie at least. But you mentioned sauces and soups and things like that. And I love this because I feel like this is less intuitive. Like, most people can think, okay, blender, smoothie. But I have found with my kids, at least, I can add so much extra sneaky nutrition when I make sauces and things at home. Even if it’s a homemade salad dressing or a homemade aioli or a homemade pesto sauce, I can put so many beneficial ingredients in there that it just kind of up-levels the nutrition without them even knowing that there’s anything different. Same thing with roasting vegetables and making a soup. And then I can add collagen and bone broth and all these things. But can you walk us through some more examples of that? Because I feel like this is a less common use of a blender that is so, so smart.
Dana: Yeah, it reminds me and I thought a lot about her when I was writing this book. I remember Jessica Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld’s wife a few years ago came out with a book on how to sneak ingredients into your blender. Like it’s exactly that, you know, you kids would never taste whatever the kale that you’re putting into their berry smoothie or something like that. So, yeah, it’s a perfect way to sneak in foods that they would never eat, especially vegetables and stuff like that. Simple, easy.
And there’s over 100 recipes in this book that I’m going to I’m not going to remember now even one. But, yeah, and how to just up-level, cheat. The pestos I love. We even talk about how to make little flatbreads, you know, unexpected ways to use your blender. Ice creams, like cottage cheese ice cream. It’s so easy, you know, and really good. Popsicles, like those kind of things that are ways to get rid of those things.
And not difficult, really easy. All it takes is an idea, you know, and then to implement that idea. Like, I think it’s kind of simple. The thing I love about the blender, too, is the cleanup is easy, right? If you clean it up right away, you’re all set. So the blender is, I think, just the perfect tool, especially if you have kids. Morning smoothies. I’m just trying to think of, you know, I love that you can get, protein.
And we do try to, wherever we can, in a smoothie especially, give you real ideas of protein without using a protein powder. However, I’m a protein powder fan. So if you want to use a protein powder, you can. But there are ways, like we just said, cottage cheese. There’s nut mixes. We have a nice, you know, nut and seed mixture where you can get some high protein in them. Good fat in your morning smoothie.
And then we talk about, well, what if you’re not satiated from that? What are tips and tricks you can do to make it more satiating? Or what if it’s too filling or too gassy and bloaty? And we address all of those possibilities in the book of what to do if it’s too much for you or too little for you.
Katie: Yeah, I find even for myself, like even understanding the importance of like real food diet, it’s sometimes hard actually just to get enough nutrients and calories. And especially now that I’m lifting a lot and I’m trying to focus on protein, I actually have trouble chewing enough. Like I get bored with eating enough to actually get all the nutrients in.
And I realize this is on me from years of chronic dieting, but I feel like the blender has helped because I can, like you talked about, I can make a morning smoothie that’s so nutrient dense. And then I add all these sort of like hyper nutritious ingredients to, and I add collagen and creatine and protein powder and micronutrients of all forms and even egg yolks and healthy fats. And there’s so much nutrition in that, that my body’s getting nourished right away. It’s easier to consume because I’m not chewing it. And I feel like it’s just like this better than an energy drink as far as my energy, but it’s coming from the natural source with those nutrients. So I just love that.
I would love to know like, what are your go-tos? Like what are, what goes in your normal smoothie that you make? If there isn’t a normal one or what are kind of your top, maybe three things that you make most often in your blender?
Dana: So for ease, I actually, especially in the winter, because I don’t have access, I’m in New York, so I don’t have great access to great, I have access to protein, produce, but that’s not true. But I buy from Costco, there is, and I think we mentioned it in the resources. They make this Clover Farms berry blend that’s a single serving smoothie pack that’s organic, that has a bunch of different things, including kale. So that’s just like a really easy cheat. That with either water, I usually do water, I don’t, you can do a nut milk. I’ll do a protein powder. I have a line of protein powders that I love. So I’ll do a protein powder.
I’ll do, I usually do my collagen in my coffee. So that’s like the easiest thing. And I use that fairly often in the winter because it’s all about ease and time, right? So, that’s easy. Any kind of frozen berries, those kinds of things. I’m a real frozen person. I do freeze a lot of like rotting fruit or fruit that’s about to rot. So I have tons of fruit in my freezer at all times.
And then in the summer, it’s always a green, typically spinach, kale, or chard with, I like lemon and ginger, water, protein. I’ll do hemp seeds. Oh, the other thing I do in my blender is hemp milk. The easiest, easiest thing to do. You’ll never buy another nut milk again. So super high protein, a quarter a cup of hemp seeds, two cups of water, blend it up. And you have really, really good nut milk. And you can, I don’t even strain it. You can strain it if you don’t like the grit from it.
So those are my real basic things. There are times where, you know, if I get a CSA, like a box of like, you know, I’ll do a CSA during the summer months, right? Where I get some fruits and vegetables that I don’t know how to cook or something. And I’ll experiment. And there’s times where I have to sort of hold my nose and suck it down because it’s just bad. But it’s fun for me. At least I had a really, you know, and I do I suck it down.
There’s sometimes we talk about Colin, who’s my co-author, which we haven’t mentioned in this book, he was the inventor of the Nutribullet. He has this thing called green slime that he drinks every morning. And he just throws everything, all kinds of really heavy-duty greens in there. And this is somebody who hates vegetables, who has really trained himself to do this. And he’s in his mid 60s and runs marathons super healthy. And he goes out and has steak dinners, you know, at times, you know, so this is his way of life.
Katie: I love that. And as you’re thinking about another one that I feel like I’ve been craving lately, and it’s less intuitive to make it a blender, but we talked briefly about pestos. And I feel like my garden’s had several waves of basil and also cilantro. And I have craved cilantro pesto so much this year, which is interesting because it naturally is detoxifying as well. So we talked about in our hydration episode, supporting the body’s natural ability to detox through all of our natural pathways. And I feel like sometimes when we listen, our body will also like kind of request certain foods that maybe it finds helpful, or maybe I just find tastes good. But that’s another recipe that I feel like is less intuitive when it comes to blender recipes, but I’ve so much enjoyed lately.
Dana: The other thing about that too is like the tops of, you know, the carrot greens and the beet greens, you can use those in pestos as well. And you can use those in blenders without even tasting them. So a lot of the food waste is not really waste. You know, there’s a whole section on, I love this one, even strawberry tops. Like why do we cut off that strawberry top? I don’t know, if you’ve washed your strawberry, put the whole thing in your mouth with the greens on top, you don’t even taste it. And, you know, that’s where so much, or the piths and the peels of even carrots, you know, as long as they’re washed well, that stuff is nutrient dense.
The whites of your watermelon, there’s a lot of nutrients in there. So like, feel free to really cut into that white of the watermelon, you’re getting more nutrients. So using your blenders is another way of getting those, those and less food waste too. The other thing is ginger, like there’s no need to peel your ginger. What a pain that is to peel that ginger. And there’s no reason to, as long as you have a good strong blender, that’s going to blend that ginger up. You don’t need to. And wash it well.
Katie: Yeah, that’s a great tip as well. And I know you have like, so I’ve only gotten to like briefly start going through the book, but there’s so much in it. So I want to speak to that a little bit because there are so many like foundational things it gives as well as recipes and actual practical tips as well. And I was surprised how much I’ve already been enjoying. And like so many times I’ve gone, oh, wow, I never thought of that. So even though it’s a book about blended recipes, I’m like, I learned so much from this book already.
I’m guessing people can find it anywhere books are sold, but can you speak a little bit directly to the book? You mentioned it briefly, but make sure we actually talk about the book itself and where people can find it. I’ll put links to it in the show notes, of course, as well. And or where people can find you online.
Dana: Yes. So, you know, the one thing we didn’t talk about that I just want to say as far as the science behind the book, and I think this was really important, not that long ago, a big study came out that people who eat more than 30 different plants a week have healthier microbiomes than and less chronic disease than those who don’t. So the idea of that sounds like a lot, but what you just said, imagine one smoothie, like sometimes you can accomplish 13 different things in your smoothie.
So when they say 30 different plants a week, that includes, you know, fruits and vegetables, but it also includes nuts and seeds and herbs and spices, you know, all of those things that are included. So it’s really not that hard. And we give tips on how to do that.
But the book is sold anywhere books are sold, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. I would ask that if you have a local bookstore, please ask them to get it for you. We want to keep them in business. And then my website is Dana at drdanacohen.com for more information there.
Katie: Amazing. Well, I will put all of those links in the show notes for you guys listening on the go that always lives at wellnessmama.com. And Dana, I’m so glad we got to have more conversations together and record them to share. Like I said, I’m a big fan of your new book for sure and all the tips that you have in it, but also just your message to the world and how many people you’ve helped. And I’m intensely grateful for your time today and for all that you’ve shared. Thank you so much for being here.
Dana: Katie right back at you. Thank you.
Katie: And thank you, as always, for listening and sharing your most valuable assets, your time, your energy, and your attention with us today. We’re both so grateful that you did. And I hope that you will join me again on the next episode of the Wellness Mama Podcast.
If you’re enjoying these interviews, would you please take two minutes to leave a rating or review on iTunes for me? Doing this helps more people to find the podcast, which means even more moms and families could benefit from the information. I really appreciate your time, and thanks as always for listening.
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