The Fed+Fit Podcast | Nurturing a Healthy Mindset for a Healthy Lifestyle
We’re back with our 49th episode of the Fed+Fit Podcast! Remember to check back every Monday for a new episode and be sure to subscribe on iTunes!
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Episode 49 Topics:
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Ep. 49: Interview with Amy Densmore of Paleo Cupboard
Today, I’m talking with my friend and blog colleague, Amy Densmore, of The Paleo Cupboard, about her new book, how she manages to stay healthy with essentially 3 full time jobs, and how she transitioned her two young girls to a real food lifestyle.
TOPICS:
1. Introducing our guest, Amy Densmore[3:27]
2. About Amy’s book [9:55]
3. Everyday tricks to sticking with good habits [18:30]
4. Advice for moms transitioning to paleo [26:57]
Cassy Joy: Good morning everybody! Today we’re back with another very special interview. I’m thrilled to be talking with my friend and special guest. She’s a friend and colleague I like to think of you, Amy, as. {laughs} Just so you know.
Amy Densmore: {laughs} Yes.
Cassy Joy: Her name is Amy Densmore; oh, there’s puppies! I love it.
Amy Densmore: Yeah. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: Of The Paleo Cupboard. She’s got an incredible blog, an awesome resource, really the most hilarious social media account. She always has me giggling, and I’m constantly taking screen shots of her funny things that she posts online. So she’s awesome, and she came out with a beautiful new book today, and I wanted to introduce you guys to her. I think she’s got some really great perspectives on a lot of topics we’re going to talk about, so welcome to the show Amy!
Amy Densmore: Thank you for having me. I’m super excited. This is my first podcast.
Cassy Joy: Wo-hoo!
Amy Densmore: So they say you always remember your first, so, this is memorable.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: This is exciting, I’m pumped. Thanks for having me!
Cassy Joy: Oh my gosh, you’re so welcome. It’s an honor to have you today. This is going to make my day so much better, I got to talk with you.
Amy Densmore: Yes! {laughs}
Cassy Joy: I still remember; Amy, I don’t know if you remember this, but I think we met; I don’t know if it was 2 or 3 years ago, and it was PaleoFx. And a group of us went to lunch…
Amy Densmore: Yes! {laughs}
Cassy Joy: I can’t remember, Lamberts, I think that’s what it was, in Austin.
Amy Densmore: Yes, in Austin, yes.
Cassy Joy: Yeah! And Mary Shenouda was there, and oh gosh, a bunch of other people.
Amy Densmore: Yes, I think Simone from Zenbelly.
Cassy Joy: That’s right, Simone was there. Pamela Martha Focker. {laughs} She was there.
Amy Densmore: Yes, she was there, yes.
Cassy Joy: And we just had this great lunch, and I remember sitting across from you. We hadn’t met before, and I was like, who is this hilarious beautiful woman that is just {laughs} and we had the best time. I didn’t want lunch to end.
Amy Densmore: Yeah, that was so much fun. So much fun. I do remember that, yes. That was our first time for meeting! That was quite the lunch. I think everyone around us was not as impressed.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Because we were just; everybody at that table was just laughing the entire time, we were having so much fun.
Cassy Joy: We were, I remember. I remember what Mary ordered; we were all ordering food, and Mary ordered herself a scotch {laughs}
Amy Densmore: She did. She said she was going to fast, and I thought; oh, she’s not going to have anything. But she had a scotch, and I said, I like this chick. She’s cool.
Cassy Joy: Exactly! I was like… {laughs}
Amy Densmore: She was just working and having a scotch, and she’d pop in to socialize, she’d turn her head, and then she’d go back to work and enjoy her beverage.
Cassy Joy: Exactly.
Amy Densmore: That was pretty awesome.
Cassy Joy: It was pretty awesome. That was, I think, one of my first events with a bunch of other paleo people. And I was like, alright, I think I’m in the right place! {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Yes. This is the right spot for me. I’m amongst friends.
Cassy Joy: Exactly, yep. Honey I’m home! {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Yes.
1. Introducing our guest, Amy Densmore[3:27]
Cassy Joy: Oh man, that’s awesome. Well please, take a minute to tell everybody about you, what you’re up to. I know you have a really neat story, professionally very unique compared to a bunch of other folks and what we do. So feel free to tell us about yourself and your family and what you’re up to.
Amy Densmore: Ok, well I do blog on the side, so I love blogging. It’s something I’m very passionate about. It’s sort of my creative outlet as far as cooking, and blogging, and sharing with everyone. But I do have a day job, so I am a director of operations. I work about a 50+ hour work week in the corporate environment, and then I have 2 kids, so 4 and 9, both girls that I love and they keep me super buys. And like I said, I have this really busy schedule. I do travel a lot for work, so I’m always going here, there, and everywhere. But I really love the blogging piece as well. It’s just something that, it’s so much fun. It’s so neat to be able to hear from people that have kind of found better health through a paleo diet.
When I first started out, I wasn’t feeling really well when I started out with paleo. It was sort of because I just felt horrible, and I started getting these headaches. I couldn’t lose the last 10 pounds that I wanted to lose, my skin was breaking out. I was on this low fat diet, I was counting my calories, and I was doing everything I thought I was supposed to do, so I was really confused. So I just tried paleo, and I was thinking; I even thought this is the stupidest thing, this caveman diet.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: I don’t want to eat like a caveman; all the clichés that are out in the world about paleo. But when I sat and I actually read about it, and I said, this is just eating real food. This is just food from nature, it’s less processed stuff, and the science behind it made sense to me. It was almost immediate, and I’m not one of those people that goes around saying, “oh the paleo diet is amazing! It works for everyone!“ But for me, it truly was. My headaches were gone, my skin cleared up, I lost the weight that I wanted to lose, I got my body to feel the way I wanted to feel.
So that’s why I started blogging, and that’s why I’m able to have, I think, as much energy as I do, and I can balance this work that I do; my “day job”, if you will, and still have the time to run around with my kids and have all that energy, and share with people about my journey, and like to hear about their journey, and share recipes and stuff. So definitely not one of those paleo evangelists, but it works for me.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: And I’m super excited when it works for other people too. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but it’s cool to see when it is and get to share that with other people.
Cassy Joy: Mm-hmm. That’s awesome. I think you and I probably line up there, as well. It’s fun presenting what works for some people, and I think a lot of us bloggers started off, we had our own health transformation that we kind of stumbled upon.
Amy Densmore: Right.
Cassy Joy: When I started off on paleo, I was pretty stubborn. I refused to admit I was actually doing paleo.
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
Cassy Joy: {laughs} Because I was also, I was turned off by the name. and way back when I started the blog, I was so slow to transition over to this totally real food idea that I have a whole bunch of recipes on there that are just egg whites; I was still very much against egg yolks.
Amy Densmore: Yes, yolks!
Cassy Joy: You know?
Amy Densmore: Yolks are the devil.
Cassy Joy: They were! Totally. Even in a paleo template, and I had all kinds of dairy, because I was like, no I’m not paleo, I do my own thing. {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Right. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: And you know, slowly dipped my toe into it, and did more research, and like you just said, the science just started to make sense. And it is interesting, and it’s fun to kind of put that stuff out there, these great recipes, and it’s really just an access point. If somebody finds health and wellness through these recipes, and through kind of some of this information and research and some of our own personal stories, then that’s awesome. But at the end of the day, you have to do what’s right by you.
Amy Densmore: Right, right. There’s a woman at my work that is so adamant that she wants to eat dairy, and I’m like, ok. Go ahead then. If you don’t have any issue with it, and it’s not causing you any problems; she wants to convince me that she’s allowed to have it.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: And I’m like, I am not judging you. I am not here to judge what you eat. Just for it sweetie. Is it making you feel good? Yeah. Cool.
Cassy Joy: Cool! {laughs}
Amy Densmore: That’s good for you, do it. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: That’s exactly it. That’s exactly it. Especially during the holiday season, you’re around friends and family, and they walk by you with a piece of pie on a plate, and they feel like they have to hide it from you {laughs}.
Amy Densmore: Right, right, they kind of hide it behind their back, or they turn to the side you know. They look at you, and they say “I’m just having one slice!”
Cassy Joy: {laughs} That’s exactly it.
Amy Densmore: Cool. I might have one too, I don’t know.
Cassy Joy: I know. Did you save me some? {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Yeah, save me a piece. Not here to judge.
Cassy Joy: Exactly. Pass me the wine.
Amy Densmore: Right, exactly.
Cassy Joy: Oh that’s funny. That’s awesome. Well that’s great, and that’s really something that we try to foster, kind of that attitude, here is do what’s right by you, and at the end of the day that matters way more than how closely you follow whatever rules you think there are.
Amy Densmore: Right.
Cassy Joy: That’s great.
Amy Densmore: People really want to put rules; they really want all these rules, and it just doesn’t have to be hard. It really doesn’t. Just eat what makes you feel good.
Cassy Joy: Totally. And what tastes good. You know; Amy, if you guys aren’t familiar yet, you should be because you’re going to Google it after this, I just know it.
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
Cassy Joy: She came out with this beautiful book this year called The Paleo Cupboard cookbook. And you really knocked it out of the park, Amy. Before we got on the call, I told her, I really want you to know how much you killed it on this. And I’m going to say it again when we’re recording, but I was really blown away. I sat down and flipped through it when I first got it. And we were in the middle of this big wedding swirl, and it captivated me for a good while. I’m just so impressed by it.
Amy Densmore: Oh, thank you.
2. About Amy’s book [9:55]
Cassy Joy: One of the things that I noticed the most about your book is that you really put a lot of attention into highlighting how you can add more flavor to your foods by the way of spices and herbs and dried herbs and all these different things. And I think that’s so important that something is kind of the secret to success. When it comes to real food or paleo, its’ easy to think about; “well, I guess I’ll just eat chicken breast and steamed broccoli the rest of my life.”
Amy Densmore: Yes, yes. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: And you have just this awesome resource in here that really talks about the different flavors. So, I’d love to hear a little bit about the book. What are some of your favorite pieces about it, and what did you really want to come through in your writing?
Amy Densmore: Oh, ok. I’ll try not to make this too long.
Cassy Joy: Oh, go for it! {laughs}
Amy Densmore: {laughs} So I really wanted to focus on flavor because I just think it’s such an important part, like you said, of just cooking and eating and understanding, how can I take this piece of protein or this produce and just make it taste really good and the way I want it to taste. So the way that you might like something to taste isn’t the way that I might like it to taste. So I really wanted to teach people how to get in the kitchen, how to have these spices. And you don’t have to have 300 spices, I just wanted to let them know; these are what you should probably keep around, and how you can layer those into your meals to make them taste the way you want. Because I saw so many people who were literally eating a chicken breast, a sweet potato, and like you said, broccoli for dinner every night.
Cassy Joy: Mm-hmm.
Amy Densmore: And then they get burned out, and they think, “paleo sucks”, or “real food sucks”, and “this doesn’t taste good, I’m not excited, I don’t want to eat this”, and they’re missing the whole point. There are so many great ways you can make this food taste so good and adjust it to the way you want it to taste. So if you don’t like spicy, but you like tacos, or something like that, you don’t have to have that spice element to it, but you can still get the flavors you do like. So I wanted to just teach people how to get that and make it, “have it your way.”
Cassy Joy: {laughs} Too bad that slogan is taken.
Amy Densmore: Yeah, and not in a good way, is it.
Cassy Joy: No.
Amy Densmore: I should have trademarked that one up front.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: And then I wanted to not just, I guess not have the same recipes that you see kind of normal cookbooks, I wanted to really display a variety of stuff. So stuff that is kind of your stuff you’re used to every day stuff, and then something that maybe you’re not used to eating. So there’s a waffle recipe in there. I don’t eat a lot of waffles, but I know that’s something that a lot of people like, and they actually taste really good, if you want something like that. And then some stuff that’s a little bit more out there that you; like a pork vindaloo, which is actually, the name might sound intimidating if you’re not used to eating Indian food or things like that, but it’s actually really just spices and meat. It’s really, really good. So I wanted to put a variety of things in there.
I didn’t grow up eating basic foods like meatloaf and stuff like that. My family lived all over the world, and I’ve traveled all over the world for work and I’ve had the opportunity to do that, which is great. So for me, the foods that I’m used to eating really aren’t the basic stuff, so I tried to sneak some of that stuff in there too to help people try out new things, because I think that’s important.
Cassy Joy: Yeah!
Amy Densmore: And there’s little tips in there. I tried to put as many tips as I could, because I love to cook. I’ve been cooking for a really long time, and there’s just little tips I’ve learned along the way of; one lady wrote me an email and she said, “I had no idea that,” and this is a basic thing if you’ve cooked for a long time, but “I had no idea that if you’re cooking chicken thighs, and the chicken skin will stick to the pan but eventually it releases when the fat renders. I had no idea! I’ve been trying to pull this chicken off the pan, and it always gets stuck!” It’s little things like that, and just little tips and tricks. I tried to sprinkle as many as I could throughout the book just to help people out.
If you’ve been cooking for a long time, some of them are probably; “oh, yeah, I already knew that. What’s this lady telling me that for?”
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: But if you’re not, you know, things like getting an email from that. She was like, “I can finally cook a chicken thigh, and get it crispy!” and I’m like, “yes! Score!”
Cassy Joy: That’s so great.
Amy Densmore: So I tried to sprinkle those in, and just some meal plans and shopping lists, because when you’re new to paleo, if you’re busy, it can be totally overwhelming, and you’re just like, tell me what to eat and give me a list of what I need to buy. Just help me out, especially when you’re first starting out. So there’s a full month, every day is covered. I’m telling you every day what you can eat. Shopping lists for you there, you can even add in more stuff if there’s anything missing. And then you just go off, buy the stuff, cook it and eat it. It makes it pretty simple for you. I think that’s important. I don’t want people to feel overwhelmed by having to figure out, “what am I going to eat? What am I going to do? How do I have lunches?” and stuff like that, so I try to throw that in there, as well.
Cassy Joy: That’s so great. Your voice is really woven throughout the whole book, as well.
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
Cassy Joy: You’re such a personable, funny, really lovely person, and you wrote it like you’re talking to your friend. I mean, it’s great. That’s why it was so captivating; I wanted to sit down and read it like a novel. {laughs}
Amy Densmore: I wanted to just share stories and make cooking not seem intimidating. For me, cooking is so much fun, and I had so many little stories around cooking and food, and it’s been such an important part of my life that I really wanted to share those stories with people, so weaving those in with every recipe I have a little introduction. And like you said, I tried to put something about why that recipe is important to me, or how it came to be part of my cooking routine, or a little tip I learned about cooking that. So it was really important to me, because it is sort of like a family, and the paleo community and the people you get to meet, and the people that send you all these emails or reach out to you, you do feel really close to them. And you do want to share part of you back with them, because they share their story with you. So that was really important for me to be able to build that into the book. Because you don’t write it really for yourself, you write it for other people to enjoy, because it’s really, like you said before we started, it is a labor of love.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: And it’s more work than anyone could ever imagine, and you and I said that it’s a lot of work, and like we were talking about it; you just can’t even imagine how much goes into it. So it really is for other people in a way, and you want it to be special to them and relevant to them. So that was something I was really interested in sharing little pieces of me with whoever decided to read the book.
Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. Well, I hope you are, but you should definitely feel incredibly proud of it. It’s beautiful, and for what I’m working on right now it’s served as a lot of inspiration and motivation, so.
Amy Densmore: Yay! Thank you so much!
Cassy Joy: Oh my gosh, I mean it. Yeah, keep up the great work. And you know, I think it’s interesting. The people who I want to call wonder woman,
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
Cassy Joy: And say that they have super powers, are often the ones who roll their eyes and say, “no I don’t, that’s silly.” But I really do, when I think about you, Amy, I think; gosh, that girl has super powers. I mean, you have these two girls, you have this full time plus job that you’re working, and I’m sure you kick butt there because you kick butt in everything you do. You keep up this just awesome presence on social media. You’re very real, you’re very funny, you kind of navigate those tricky waters. Because paleo sometimes can be perceived as dogmatic.
Amy Densmore: Oh yes.
Cassy Joy: And you just, you know, you’re like, whatever I’m going to do my own thing.
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
3. Everyday tricks to sticking with good habits [18:30]
Cassy Joy: And I think that serves as such a direct inspiration to a lot of people who are looking for that kind of leadership, really, to just kind of relax and have fun with it. And then you wrote this stellar book. So, now that I’ve told you all the reasons why I have super powers, I’d just love to know. I know you walk the walk, and then real life is complicated on its own and not everybody sees that, but what are kind of some of your tips and tricks, or things you keep in mind every day to just keep up with your healthy eating and your exercising while you do all these amazing jobs? You have 3 huge jobs, essentially.
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
Cassy Joy: What keeps you going, and what are your secrets to success?
Amy Densmore: Ok, well eating right; that’s just important, and I definitely notice if I don’t eat right. I don’t have that energy, so even though it sounds like; ugh, I have to plan, I have to prep, and I have to cook; the energy I get from it is actually what keeps me going. So it’s important to me that I do eat healthy and keep that up, so I have to build it into my routine. So, usually do, on Sunday’s I’ll do a lot of my planning and my shopping, and then I’ll plan another day during the week, because we all know that some produce just isn’t going to last you a whole week. So I kind of plan out my week, and then I’ll usually pick a day that on the way home from work I’ll just stop in at the store and grab a few more things. You know, the stuff that’s not going to last the whole week through. But Sunday’s are my planning days where I’ll go out and shop and get the stuff I need for the week, and that’s kind of what I’ll do.
We do like to have a day, or a meal, a couple of times a week where we can go out and eat, but that’s more of an occasional thing, I guess, or a spontaneous thing in case something comes up.
Cassy Joy: Yeah.
Amy Densmore: And exercise for me is another thing. It’s important to build it in, so I get up early in the morning, and I will go for a 4 mile walk. If I don’t make the 4 miles, it depends on how much time I have, but it’s a pretty fast walk. I walk around my neighborhood. I live in San Diego, so I have the luxury of getting to do that outside. But again, when I first started out I did not want to get up early, I did not want to do it. I actually broke my toe a few weeks ago, so I haven’t been able to do that.
Cassy Joy: Oh no!
Amy Densmore: And I noticed, I just don’t have as much energy, my mood isn’t as good. So even though those first few weeks of waking up early and doing it, you just, it’s miserable. I’m not going to lie, it’s not fun. But I did become one of those people that was leaping out of bed going, “yes! I’m excited, I want to do this, let’s get pumped for the day!” So it took a little bit of time to ease into that. And it’s not a ton, and I don’t have a lot of time, but that’s really important. And it just makes me feel better, gets my brain going, gets my body going, gets my mood in the right place.
I also just do stupid things; like if there are stairs anywhere, I’ll take the stairs. If I’m at the grocery store or anywhere I need to park, I park in the back. I mostly have screaming kids with me, and then maybe that day I’m just not going to do that. Maybe I’m just going to park near the front because I’ve just got to get in and get an avocado and I’m not going to battle.
Cassy Joy: Yeah.
Amy Densmore: A screaming 4-year-old for that long. I have a standing desk at work, so I stand during the day, and then I have some little leg weights that I put on my ankles, and I’ll do these little leg exercise that you can Google and look up. They are small things, but they really add up over time as I get a little bit more exercise in. When I’m home, I’ve got the music going. If I’m cleaning, I’ve got that music going, I’m dancing while I’m cleaning. Hopefully my neighbors aren’t watching, because I’m a horrible dancer.
Cassy Joy: {laughing}
Amy Densmore: If I’m cooking, I’ve usually got a little music going, I’m kind of dancing around the kitchen. So it’s just really little small ways of getting that exercise or that movement in. Every little bit helps, and it adds up. So it’s really just a matter of, for me, squeezing everything in, just planning ahead. I have my routines, and they work. You know, getting up early, exercise in there; the Sunday’s, the meal planning and prepping. I know that on Thursday on the way home I’m going to stop and grab some stuff at the grocery store, and that’s just my routine, and it works for me.
It takes a little while. You’ve got to tweak it, you’ve got to figure out what’s right. You’ve got to anticipate; there’s going to be some curve balls, and you just go with the flow. There are some nights, you know, we eat as close to paleo as we can because something came up and we just can’t eat a full blown paleo meal. We have to go out somewhere and grab something.
Cassy Joy: Yeah.
Amy Densmore: We’re going to get close, it’s not going to be 100%, we’re all still going to feel good after we eat it, and that’s just that. Especially when I’m traveling; if I’m in a business meeting. I’m not going to sit there, “Oh, pardon me, do you cook your vegetables in this type of oil,”
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: “Can you make sure that you do…” I don’t do that. I get as close as I can where I know I’m not going to feel bad. But you’ve got to roll with what life throws you and not worry about it too much.
Cassy Joy: Totally. You kind of have to meet the world where the world is at.
Amy Densmore: Yes.
Cassy Joy: Because it’s pretty stressful if you’re trying to conform everything around you to fit into what you think you need to be doing. I think that’s brilliant. Especially your exercise; weaving it in throughout the day. That’s something that; so right now, I’m on my feet, cooking 8 recipes a day.
Amy Densmore: Oh yeah {laughs}.
Cassy Joy: And running around, I’m sure you might remember some of those days.
Amy Densmore: I recall.
Cassy Joy: Yeah {laughs}.
Amy Densmore: They were fun. So much fun. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: Super fun. {laughs} Like I said before the call; I just keep telling myself, it’s so much fun, until I believe it. And it is, but it’s hard work. But you know, that is really my exercise sometimes for the day, is being on my feet and walking around all day long, stopping, maybe doing some air squats, turning on some music and dancing with Gus, who is my fur child.
Amy Densmore: Yes, Gus!
Cassy Joy: Gus.
Amy Densmore: Your fur baby.
Cassy Joy: My fur baby. He has no idea he’s not human.
Amy Densmore: {laughs}
Cassy Joy: But you know, that is. That’s so true. I mean, that really is the secret to success, is just figuring out a way to make it work in every moment. You keep it at the forefront of your mind that you live a happy, healthy, active life, and then you just kind of start to accidentally make those really positive decisions that support it.
Amy Densmore: Absolutely.
Cassy Joy: Like taking the stairs, like you said. And when you’re out at a work meeting; I do the same thing. I travel a lot. I get as close as possible, but at the end of the day, I’m going to be just fine if rice or who knows what oils, like you said, the vegetables are cooked in. or we’ll do, sometimes we’ll even do Chinese takeout, and Austin, my husband, will always get some sort of a breaded chicken. And truth be told, I will look over at that chicken, and be like, “I’m just going to eat one of them.” {Laughs}
Amy Densmore: Yeah, just a couple of bites, because it tastes so good.
Cassy Joy: It does. Recipe research.
Amy Densmore: Yes! {laughs} There you go, exactly.
Cassy Joy: But you know, it’s true. You don’t stress about it. You just live, and you make really great decisions the majority of the time.
Amy Densmore: Right, exactly.
Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. That’s brilliant. Your girls are so lucky to have you. I can just imagine you dancing around the house, that just sounds like so much fun.
Amy Densmore: Oh, we literally have dance parties all the time. And now, well they have moves. I mean, I don’t know how to whip or nae, nae. I don’t even know what that is.
Cassy Joy: {laughs}
Amy Densmore: There’s some dance stuff that’s going on. There’s some crazy things happening, I need to go Google them to see if it’s even appropriate. So yeah, they teach me now. So they’re the first ones to throw the music on. It’s great.
4. Advice for moms transitioning to paleo [26:57]
Cassy Joy: Oh, that’s so fun. Well, talking about your girls, I know we’re coming towards the end of it, but I’d love to know just for the listeners who do have kids out there, and they’re thinking about maybe transitioning to more of a grain free, real food, lifestyle, what are some pieces of advice you might have for those moms?
Amy Densmore: Ok, so I have the two girls. One did not go gently into that transition, and one is just born paleo. She likes chicken, bacon, broccoli, carrots. That’s what she asks for as a snack.
Cassy Joy: Wow.
Amy Densmore: So that one was fine. The other one was not excited about it. So the first thing was I really did it slowly for her, so it was sort of taking away bread but keeping rice. I did make a lot of paleo substitutions, so things like paleo pasta, paleo tortillas, which don’t have the gluten and things like that, using things more like almond flour and tapioca. Those aren’t things that we eat a lot now, but in the beginning; and I have those recipes on my website still. It’s not something we eat very often in my house anymore, but as the transition was going, it really helped to have things that looked and tasted like what she was used to, and then kind of wean her off of them slowly.
I didn’t force her to eat it, but there were things I made, and I tried to make a variety of 4 different things; so a protein, a couple of vegetables, and something like a paleo pasta or a tortilla or something, and have them all available for her to eat. And that was what dinner was, or lunch, or breakfast, and you got to kind of pick. And over time, she got into it. She’ll still eat things at school; if there are cupcakes and somebody brings in cupcakes, she’s allowed to have cupcakes.
Cassy Joy: Mm-hmm.
Amy Densmore: She’s allowed to have that. I don’t tell her she can’t. I want her to be able to enjoy those. She’s fortunate enough, and we all are, that we don’t have some severe allergies that prevent us from eating those. It’s really just that we all don’t feel good. So I do allow her to have that stuff. And the little one, really, she doesn’t even really want those cupcakes that much. She could do without, so that’s fine. But I do allow my older daughter, both of them, if there’s something and we’re at a party or an event, I do allow them to have it. If I know there’s going to be nothing there that’s even close to paleo, I’ll bring a plate of something and show up, and it’s going to be something that tastes good anyways so people will like it, and we can share, and then we’ll have something we can eat too.
But it’s really just, again, finding a balance with kids depending on your kid’s personality type. Some may be very stubborn about it, and it will take time. Some are just going to jump in. but if you’re cooking food that’s going to taste good, and it’s stuff that kids like anywhere then you’re going to be ok. I have a whole icon and index in my book, too, that’s just about kid favorites, because I think; and you know what, they’re adult favorites, too, or husband favorites for you ladies that need to convince your husband that happens to usually be the same things. So it is important to just cook foods that they like and try and be cognizant that they’re not going to want to eat, maybe necessarily the same things as you, and just be patient, and they’ll come around. It takes a little time, but they will come around eventually, and you all get to eat some delicious food, too. So it’s good.
Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. That’s really great advice. I hope moms are just kind of taking a deep breath.
Amy Densmore: Yes!
Cassy Joy: If it doesn’t happen right away, that’s ok.
Amy Densmore: Nope. It takes a little time, it does. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: That’s great. I think that’s really good to hear.
Amy Densmore: Yeah.
Cassy Joy: My not paleo puppy would have a tough transition. {laughing}
Amy Densmore: {laughing}
Cassy Joy: That’s great advice. Amy, I can’t thank you enough for coming onto the show today to share your story with us a little bit more and give your awesome words of wisdom and pieces of advice. It really means a lot. And I know people are going to get a lot out of it.
Amy Densmore: Oh I’m so glad you had me, now I can say I’ve done my first podcast. This was awesome!
Cassy Joy: Yeah girl!
Amy Densmore: I’m pumped.
Cassy Joy: You can just tell you’re a podcaster. {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Whoo! I tell, can I get like a sticker or something.
Cassy Joy: Sure!
Amy Densmore: I need a badge for the back of my car. {laughs}
Cassy Joy: {laughs} Maybe I’ll do that. Maybe I’ll start some “I’ve been on the Fed and Fit podcast.” People are going to be like, what is that?
Amy Densmore: I survived the podcast!
Cassy Joy: {laughs} I love it!
Amy Densmore: I did it! {laughs}
Cassy Joy: Right next to the 13.1 sticker.
Amy Densmore: Yes, exactly!
Cassy Joy: Half marathon. Oh, that’s funny. Awesome. Well thank you again for joining. You guys, if you want to find Amy, you can find her online at paleocupboard.com. I think that’s right; is that right Amy?
Amy Densmore: That is correct.
Cassy Joy: {laughs} Ok, just sanity check. I don’t have the website right in front of me. Her book is the Paleo Cupboard cookbook; you can find it on Amazon. Be sure to order a copy. You guys are not going to regret it. It’s an awesome edition to your cookbook collection, not only as a resource and for recipe inspiration, but kind of some of that humor and relaxed attitude that Amy has. It really is kind of like a nice, deep breath; everything’s going to be fine. And then you can also find her online on Instagram, and I’m sure on Facebook as well at the Paleo Cupboard. She’s hilarious, she’s always posting things that are going to make you laugh.
It’s been awesome to have you Amy, and I can’t thank you enough, and wish you all the best of luck with this next coming year.
Amy Densmore: Thank you!
Cassy Joy: And I hope, I’m sure you will continue to be, but I hope you are showered by more emails from people who learned how to cook the perfect chicken thigh! {laughs}
Amy Densmore: Thank you! {laughs}
Cassy Joy: Ok awesome. Well thank you again for coming on the show, and we’ll be back again next week.
