Ep. 57: Special Guests Simone Miller and Jennifer Robins

The Fed+Fit Podcast | Nurturing a Healthy Mindset for a Healthy Lifestyle

We’re back with our 57th episode of the Fed+Fit Podcast! Remember to check back every Monday for a new episode and be sure to subscribe on iTunes!

Find us HERE on iTunes and be sure to “subscribe.”

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Episode 57 Topics:

• The New Yiddish Kitchen
• Simone’s blog: Zenbelly
• The Zenbelly Cookbook
• Jen’s blog: Predominantely Paleo
• Down South Paleo
• The Paleo Kids Cookbook

I would LOVE some feedback, so feel free to leave a review in iTunes, comment below, or even give us a shout on social media!

Ep. 57: Special Guests Simone Miller and Jennifer Robins

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Simone Miller of Zenbelly and Jennifer Robbins of Predominantly Paleo to talk about their brand new collaborative cookbook; the New Yiddish Kitchen.

Topics:
1. Introducing our guests, Simone Miller and Jennifer Robbins [1:10]
2. Book collaboration, The New Yiddish Kitchen [10:36]
3. Most difficult recipes to perfect [13:28]
4. A go-to dinner for Simone and Jennifer [18:01]
5. Advice for the newbies [22:18]
6. Favorite part of the job [27:39]

Cassy Joy: On today’s show, I am absolutely thrilled to be joined by a couple of truly admirable ladies. Powerhouses in their own right, Simone Miller of Zenbelly blog/catering business, and author of the Zenbelly cookbook; and then Jennifer Robbins of Predominantly Paleo and author of both Down South Paleo and the Paleo Kids Cookbook joined up in a recent collaboration to publish The New Yiddish Kitchen Cookbook. It is scheduled to release March 8th, which if you’re listening to this show when it comes out on Monday March 7th, that’s tomorrow! What a really big day. I can’t thank these two enough for joining me on the show, and I’m excited for you guys to hear all about their stories in this awesome new collaboration. Welcome to the show, ladies!

1. Introducing our guests, Simone Miller and Jennifer Robbins [1:10]

Simone Miller: Thanks for having us!

Jennifer Robbins: Thank you!

Cassy Joy: Oh my gosh, so much fun. I’ve been looking forward to it all morning. {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: Us too.

Cassy Joy: Oh good! And we finally sorted out our technical difficulties so I feel like we’re ready to take on the world.

Simone Miller: Absolutely.

Cassy Joy: Totally. So I know each of you have your own story and journey that’s lead you to paleo, because I stalked you thoroughly before the call {laughs}. I’ve read all the details, so if you leave anything out, don’t worry I can fill it in.

Everybody: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: But to start off, I would love if you would share a little bit about your story with today’s listeners.

Simone Miller: Sure. Well, this is Simone, and my story really began in food more than in the health side of things, and I’ve just been in the food business a really long time, cooking in kitchens since I was in college, and always sort of resisted cooking for a living, mostly because my family is in the food business and always told me how hard it was. {laughs} Mostly my uncle; “never go into the food business,” he said, and of course I’m such a good listener.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Simone Miller: So I resisted it but always loved it, and worked in restaurants. Long story short, once I wound up out in California after moving here from the East Coast, I wanted to get back into food, but I didn’t want to work in a restaurant anymore. So I started doing personal chefing, and that turned into catering, and basically as soon as I said; ok, this is it, I’m doing it, I’m starting a catering business, I got a food allergy test done to try to get to the bottom of my ongoing sort of chronic health issues, and found out that I was allergic to gluten, among a bunch of other sensitivities.

That sort of threw a wrench in things, because it’s really hard to cater a party without gluten; or, at least it was at the time. And it was sort of the pivoting point of, do I find a new career again, or do I just start a gluten free catering company and take that risk and see if it works, and hope I can still afford to live doing that.

So, I did the latter and it worked out great. It was actually the best decision I could have made, because it’s needed, and it’s a specialty, and people find me for that. There might be other people who do gluten free catering, but as far as I know I’m the only 100% gluten free caterer in the area, which is San Francisco. And it’s been sort of like a journey from there. Once I switched to gluten free, I felt a lot better but not completely better, and I found paleo through the nutrition school I was going to, Bowman, which is in Berkeley, and that was basically sort of an education about all different types of ways of eating. They have their own, which is sort of similar to paleo, which is sort of just eating real food, getting away from the processed stuff, but they really show you pretty much every way of eating and the pros and cons. Paleo really stood out to me, and I read more about it, and I read the Paleo Solution.

Once I started eating that way, my blood sugar stabilized. I used to really be sort of crashy. Like, if I didn’t eat in 2 hours people would fear for their lives around me.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Simone Miller: I would just get completely manic, and feel horrible. I would get to the point where I was so hungry because I couldn’t figure out how to eat {laughs} because my blood sugar was so low, and that really leveled me out. Now, I’m not just about eating paleo. It’s the way I mostly eat, but I incorporate some grains if there are ones that I can tolerate. And I’ll eat some really good gluten free bread if it’s available. You know, some ice cream once in a while {laughs} because I tolerate dairy. So it’s sort of my own take on it. I think after doing it for so many years, I know what works for me and what doesn’t, and it’s definitely a sort of paleo template with like a Simone spin. And that’s where I’m at now.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. You know, I feel like that’s where a lot of people; they spend a couple of years, maybe shorter, maybe longer. My learning curve, I like to think, is very long. But I spent a few years in it, and same thing; finally settled on my own version, which the listeners are used to me talking about that, too, so that’s really great to hear it, as well. And I also didn’t know that we went to the same nutrition school. I got my nutrition certification from Bowman.

Simone Miller: Oh, I didn’t know that!

Cassy Joy: Yeah.

Simone Miller: Cool.

Cassy Joy: So, good ol’ Ed.

Simone Miller: Yeah!

Cassy Joy: {laughs} But that’s awesome. That’s a really great overview, and recap. And I worked in; I knew I wanted to do something with food, and something with health, I just hadn’t put the two together. Again, very long learning curve, for a while and I worked in a kitchen and it was a 5-star restaurant in San Antonio, and I was staging there. I learned a lot about it, and one of the things I learned was I have an unbelievable amount of respect for people who work in the food industry.

Simone Miller: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: It’s no joke. So, that’s awesome. Thank you. Jennifer; I would love to hear your story!

Jennifer Robbins: Yes ma’am. Oh, my story. It’s so long and tedious. But I, unlike Simone, was totally not in the kitchen and am still kind of a disaster in the kitchen, but I got super sick and kind of over the years, it was gradual and then I had a final crash after my third baby was born. So it kind of started out slow with some anxiety, panic type stuff, and then transitioned into autoimmune, Hashimoto’s thyroid problems, and then just kind of kept going from there. So after baby number 3, I was already gluten free, and I felt like I was doing an ok job, but I just got really, really sick. I became mostly bed bound and house bound, and I couldn’t drive regularly because I had so many neurological symptoms, like brain swelling and migraines and fog, you name it, if it was above the neck I probably experienced it.

So I kept researching different ways to heal the body. I was treated for Lyme disease and all sorts of different things. I think I had over 20 diagnoses at one time with different specialists trying to label me with all kinds of stuff going on. So, basically I was tired of pumping a bunch of toxins into my body, and they weren’t helping me first and foremost. If they had been, I’d probably be a little more patient with them. But I kept getting sicker, and I decided that I needed to clean up everything about the way I was living. I kept coming across paleo, paleo, paleo. And I thought, ok I can do the no grains, because I’m already gluten free. I felt like that was doable. And then I saw no dairy and I thought I was going to die.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: But I had to do it. I finally just said, I’ve got to do this if there’s a chance for me to heal, I’ll give up anything. I was desperate. So, that’s kind of how I found it, and I started the blog, Predominantly Paleo, in secret because I just wanted a place to kind of put recipes that I would try, or make, or experiment, because I really wasn’t given any kind of gift in the kitchen. So I would only put the things I really liked on there, and sometimes they were other people’s recipes, but eventually over time I got a little more creative, I guess, and started having fun in the kitchen and tapped into that creative part of my brain that wanted to, I guess create something new, and different, and delicious.

And I finally, 2 years ago, put it on social media and realized there’s a lot of people out there who are either sick and desperate for change and don’t know, or people who are healthy but really want to clean up their lifestyle and they’re looking for alternative ways to do that. So, that’s where we are. And I kind of have my life back. I mean, I say I’m a work in progress, because I don’t want to say everything perfect all the time. But I am able to write books and be a full time mom and drive a car again, so that’s good.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, that’s amazing.

Jennifer Robbins: Yeah. So, long road, but way better than I once was.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, and it’s so inspiring. I mean, it’s a story in hindsight looking back it seems the path can seem so clear, but when you’re going through it, and people listening here might be going through something very similar. It can be scary, and it’s nice to know you’re kind of a lighthouse of possibility.

Jennifer Robbins: Thank you.

Cassy Joy: So that’s awesome. Thank you for sharing your story.

Jennifer Robbins: Thanks.

2. Book collaboration, The New Yiddish Kitchen [10:36]

Cassy Joy: Yeah, of course. So, I’d love if you guys; I didn’t include this {laughs} in what I told you I was going to talk about today.

Simone Miller: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: Surprise!

Everybody: {laughing}

Cassy Joy: But could you, hopefully this is an easy question, but could you tell readers, either one of you, a little bit about the Yiddish Kitchen before I start asking you other questions about it.

Simone Miller: Um, well, Jen?

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: So Simone and I met via the paleo community online, and both of us come from Jewish backgrounds and we were just chatting; literally, every day chatting about whatever, and it came up that there was really no hub of Jewish-Paleo recipes. And we wanted them, and we were trying to figure out how to make that happen. And so, the more we talked about it, we were like, you know what? We should be the ones. We need to be the ones to bring this to the community. Because who doesn’t love a good bagel? I would say, like our hastag says, not just for Jews. You do not need to be Jewish to love a good bagel, and we had yet to really find one in the community.

So as time went on, we were like; let’s do an eBook. Let’s just start there. And the eBook had such success that we pitched it to the publisher, and it got picked up, and Yiddish Kitchen was born. So it started as Yiddish Kitchen, and morphed into the New Yiddish Kitchen, which is what it is as the print book. But yeah, we just felt like there was this huge void, and really wanted to share some of the recipes that we grew up eating with our grandmothers who taught us to make homemade matzo ball soup, or gefilte fish, or whatever it was. We loved that heritage part of the story as well as the delicious foods that were kind of missing from the community.

Cassy Joy: Totally. I can’t wait to dig in. I have been; I feel like I’m going to make bagels upon bagels. {laughs} as soon as I get this recipe in front of me. I really am excited for you girls. It just seems like such an awesome publication; and I don’t share the heritage, but I will gladly share in the food. {laughs}

Everybody: {laughs}

Simone Miller: Anyone can be an honorary Jew for the food, I think.

Cassy Joy: Oh!

Jennifer Robbins: Yes. We will induct an honorary Jew a day, so we can add you at the top of the list if you feel like you need to be on there.

Cassy Joy: I would love that! I would be honored.

Everybody: {laughs}

3. Most difficult recipes to perfect [13:28]

Cassy Joy: That sounds awesome. Ok, so I know that there’s probably; I am not shy about saying that perfecting paleo friendly baked goods I think requires like 90% magic and 10% science. And I work really, really hard on the couple that I will put my name. 80% of them don’t ever actually make it online, because they’re just not that great. But you guys have a lot of incredible looking recipes in this book that are just beautiful, and I know that they don’t come easily. It was definitely; those things are a labor of love, so I’d love to know what recipe in the New Yiddish Kitchen cookbook was one of the most challenging to perfect?

Simone Miller: I would definitely say the bagels. Jen would you agree with that?

Jennifer Robbins: Yeah. That’s up there.

Simone Miller: Yeah. There were a few that took a lot of trials, like the rugelach. But I think the bagels, when Jen first said let’s do a paleo bagel, I was like, no.

Everybody: {laughing}

Simone Miller: I was like, no. because I’m basically in New York. My parents were raised in New York so I have that sort of New York snob attitude about them, where if it’s not perfect it’s not a bagel. I find it really hard to find bagels that are good even that aren’t gluten free, and then the gluten free ones I’ve never had one that wasn’t just a fluffy roll with a hole in it. Which, might be the shape of a bagel but it isn’t actually a true bagel to me. So I was so sort of snobby about it. I was like, it’s not possible. And of course, Jen’s the nicer more optimistic one of us.

Jennifer Robbins: {laughs}

Simone Miller: {laughs} And I’m the cynical jaded one.

Jennifer Robbins: Not always. But anyways.

Simone Miller: Sometimes. But you know, I was like, I really do want this to happen. I mean, we both really wanted it to happen. So we basically both locked ourselves in our kitchens, which are 3000 miles away from each other, so it wasn’t even like we could do this together. {laughs} it was just all through messaging each other. We basically started with just a traditional bagel recipe and tried to switch up the flours until we got it right and did the real, the regular method of boiling them first and baking them. Which might sound intimidating, but it’s really easy. I mean, it doesn’t take any actual skill, it’s just one more step. But it really is what gives them the dense but sort of chewy, crispy, all the textures that you want in a bagel, you’ve got to boil them.

So, yeah that one was; I don’t even know how many trials that was. And then figured out how to do them completely allergy friendly, because the original version has almond flour. So she did them nightshade free, and nut free, and I don’t know, those were definitely 99% magic. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: That’s amazing. That is amazing. Wow.

Simone Miller: Yeah.

Jennifer Robbins: Well you know, I mean you know, everybody should have a bagel, but the allergen sensitive people were already asking if it was going to be in there; and I was like, I don’t know how but we’ve got to at least give it a go. So they’re not bad. They’re pretty decent bagels considering how many things are missing out of them.

Everybody: {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: They do the job, so.

Simone Miller: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: That’s incredible. Man. That is a feat for sure, dear diary.

Everybody: {laughing}

Jennifer Robbins: Yeah, that was a long few; I don’t know, maybe a couple of weeks. And you know what, we probably would have gotten divorced, Simone, if we had been in the same kitchen.

Simone Miller: {laughs} That’s true.

Jennifer Robbins: So it’s best that we spend it apart. And also, you know the babka was hard, too.

Simone Miller: Oh, yeah.

Jennifer Robbins: That was a tricky one. That’s the chocolate filled bread, and it’s. Yeah, that was a little..

Simone Miller: That was all you.

Jennifer Robbins: I would say baked goods in general are always a little more challenging. But between her rugelach, our bagels, and my babka, we grew a few extra grays.

Everybody: {laughing}

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. Well those are going to be the first ones I try, and I will sing your praises again. That’s so fun. {laughs}

4. A go-to dinner for Simone and Jennifer [18:01]

Cassy Joy: Ok, so now I’m curious. You girls have put a lot of work into publishing awesome recipes on your blog and across your several cookbooks, but I like to ask people that come on this show; what do you make for dinner? What is a dinner that you turn to most often, whether it’s a recipe or a non recipe kind of meal, which I tend to lean on a lot.

Simone Miller: Yeah, I do a lot of non-recipes personally. I sort of only follow them if it’s something that’s a baked goods and needs the exact measurements. But I would say I do a lot of stir frys; I just marinate meat and then stir fry some veggies and add the meat and sauce and do that, and then also I think my most go-to is just roasted or pan roasted chicken thighs. It’s so boring, but they’re so simple and good, and I can get them at the store near my house. {laughs} I don’t have to go far. And I just sort of; usually I do either a whole chicken cut up or chicken thighs, depending on what I’ve got. And I just sort of start it in the pan and add things. One of my favorites is bacon and apples and white wine, and just throw that in the oven. It’s super simple.

Cassy Joy: Yum!

Simone Miller: But the flavors are really great without really putting in much effort.

Cassy Joy: That sounds awesome.

Simone Miller: Yeah, it’s a good one.

Cassy Joy: Jennifer, what’s your go-to.

Jennifer Robbins: I’m kind of lazy, especially when I’m writing recipes for books, which seems to be for the past 2 years straight.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: So when it comes time for dinner, if it’s a dessert writing day, then I choose not to feed that to my family for dinner, so I will try to get them something that actually has some sort of nutrient in it. So I kind of go to one-pot meals. I love making soup, and everything soup on the blog is kind of; it is a recipe, but it doesn’t have to be a recipe, because you can put whatever veggies you have. But it’s just a combination of beef broth, and ground beef, and sweet potatoes, and onions, and zucchini, and carrots, and kind of anything that you might have already stocked in your fridge. And the kids like it, and it fills them up, and I can make, from one pound of beef, I can serve each person twice with it because I bulk it up with veggies. So, it’s easy, and it’s a great weeknight type of thing. And the fact that the kids will actually eat it is huge, so. That’s one of my go-to’s, just because I can always find some combination of meat and veggies and put it in a pot and call it a meal.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. You know, now that I’ve announced it, I can talk about it, but I’m writing a cookbook that’s coming out this summer.

Simone Miller: Yay! I’m so excited for that.

Jennifer Robbins: Yeah! Me too.

Cassy Joy: Oh, thank you! I’m pumped. I’m as much excited as I am absolutely terrified.

Jennifer Robbins: That’s normal.

Cassy Joy: Is that normal?

Simone Miller: That’s normal right? Yeah.

Cassy Joy: Phew! {laughs} And I know a lot of people, when they work on a cookbook it’s just an incredible amount of food that you’re making. And a lot of people like to give their food away. I have this polar bear that I live with, and he’s actually a dog, but his hair floats around and I’m always afraid there’s going to be some hair in something so I’m afraid to give this food away. So, we can’t possibly eat it so I froze as much as I could. We have a giant deep freeze, and I’ve just been living off of these frozen meals that I made from the book for the last couple of months, literally months off of this stuff. But my favorite meals have been just the soup; like my soup chapter. Talking about your soup, Jennifer. I have a beef soup that’s coming out in there, and as soon as I’m done with all the frozen stuff, I’m going to have to go make a fresh batch, because it’s so satisfying, and healthy. And it really does go a long way.

Jennifer Robbins: Yes, definitely.

5. Advice for the newbies [22:18]

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. Ok, another question! So a lot of bloggers, and also people who are aspiring authors, I get that a lot. People really do want to write a book one day, and share their own story and experiences and work; listen to the show. And you two are wonder women in your own right, so I would love for you to share if one thing comes to mind, a piece of advice that you would give to someone who is looking to start and really pursue their own business.

Simone Miller: Hmm. Well, I feel like I want to say do what you love, but that’s just so cliché. {laughs} It’s not that ground breaking. But I think whatever your passion is, to sort of find the you in there and figure out what it is about you mixed with that passion is what you want to bring to the world. Or not bring to the world, I guess it depends on the business.

Jennifer Robbins: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Simone Miller: But, really figure out, not compare yourself to other people. Which has always been the hardest part for me, so I think it’s what stands out for me. I look at what everyone else is doing, and I’m like, I don’t know if I can do that; or I don’t know if that’s me. I think what’s really worked is when I’ve just done me, which has always been a challenge, and yeah. I mean, just sort of do it. Like Jen said, she started her blog as a secret, and it’s only been 2 years since it’s been in the world, and it’s huge. I mean, a lot of people know about it. For me, I started it just sort of as an off-shoot to my catering site, just to get content on there, really, and I wasn’t ever planning on being a blogger, but that sort of just organically happened. I mean, I think it’s really good to be flexible with what you’re doing, and sort of see where it takes you.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome advice.

Simone Miller: Which is probably not helpful at all.

Cassy Joy: No, that’s great advice. I feel like I needed to hear that today.

Simone Miller: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs} No, I think that’s really great advice because it is so easy. I struggle with that too, trying to compare, and it doesn’t come out of jealousy but out of, you know, “Ooh, is that what I’m supposed to be doing?”

Simone Miller: Right.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, I totally hear that. And I think that’s good to hear, but that sometimes can scare people off. If they can’t visualize what it’s supposed to look like, then they’re afraid to take the first step. So just go be yourself. I think that’s great advice.

Jennifer; what’s your advice? I know you’ve got a good one up your sleeve. {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: Oh, do I? I would say that if there’s something you really love or you really have a vision for to network as much as you can with people who have come before you; not necessarily to borrow ideas from, but to help with experience. So if you have zero experience, it’s nice to learn from people who do have experience. So even if you’re just starting a blog, I remember when I first started meeting a few local bloggers, like Paleo Parents. And she’s like, “well you have to do this to do this.” And I’m like; oh, I do have to do that! It was something I hadn’t even considered or thought of. So Stacy really kind of took me under her wing, and I realized that it’s really great when somebody who has done the work can kind of point you in the right direction how to do it. Because nobody has to be an island, you know?

And I find that even as Simone and I are launching our book; or when I launched my first one, it really, it takes a village to support each other. And there’s enough of the pie to go around, which is another thing Stacy had said, which was really nice. Everybody can benefit, and everybody can be a huge raging success .So it’s great to seek support in others who have something helpful to share and pass along, and also to be one of the ones sharing and supporting when it’s your turn to do that, as well. So I think it works both ways. Once you have finally planted your feet on the ground and you’re figuring out what to do, you can pass those tips along to somebody who is newer and just starting out, as well.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome advice. That really; I think that’s pivotal. It’s a pivotal realization for people to really hit the ground running. I am constantly asking for advice, and a lot of times I don’t hear back from people {laughs} and that’s ok. You have to grow a thick skin.

Jennifer Robbins: Yep.

Cassy Joy: But for the most part, Stacy is a really good example. She is tremendously giving in that area. But I think that’s great, and I want to reiterate that. Reach out to people. Email me, you know. I’m always available for listeners here. I might not get back to you right away, but I’m here to help.

Jennifer Robbins: Yeah, for sure.

6. Favorite part of the job [27:39]

Cassy Joy: Awesome advice ladies. Ok, I think we have time for one last question, and it’s a little one. {laughs} Maybe it’s not a little one. What is your favorite part of your job? Across all the jobs that you do {laughing} what is your favorite part?

Simone Miller: I know, I’m like, “which one?”

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Simone Miller: Honestly I’ve always sort of thought that my actual job was catering, and now I’m not so sure about that anymore. I do love feeding people, but I’m starting to get more into the; I’m starting to move a little bit away from that, actually, and into personal chefing. I’ve been concentrating more on the blog, and honestly I think my favorite thing is recreating recipes, honestly. I think that’s where I get the most satisfaction, and I’m not sure if that’s mostly or partially because I get to work from home {laughs} because I do love that.

But I really love, as the bagel example, that was a collaboration and I love taking, sort of seeing the end goal and saying, ok we want it to be just like this, and then sort of figuring it out and the satisfaction that comes from getting paleo pizza crust that I can actually feel good about serving to my catering clients that they won’t, you know, they’re not paleo necessarily at the party, really getting the recipes exactly how I want them is super fun.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. That’s a great answer. There is like a secret; there’s a very special joy that comes out of giving somebody something that’s paleo friendly and them having no idea. {laughs}

Simone Miller: Mm-hmm. I think that’s why I do still love catering. Because the host might be paleo or gluten free, and they’re always worried; like, oh but most of my guests won’t be, are they going to know? I’m like, no they’re not going to know. Trust me. They’ll have no idea. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Simone Miller: And they don’t. Most of the time I see people jumping up and down because there’s a gluten free guest at the party who doesn’t know, and then they find out they can actually eat everything and they’re so excited.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} That’s awesome.

Simone Miller: So that’s pretty fun.

Cassy Joy: That sounds fun. Jennifer, what’s your favorite part of your job…s. {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: So my background, or education, or whatever is in psychology. And I kind of thought that was the direction I was going, and then I didn’t ever. But I feel like connecting with people and really helping them navigate, especially if there’s an illness or if they had a child with chronic illness or something like that. When I get messages from people who are like; “oh my gosh, I made such and such and my kid was so happy, or my husband was so happy, or we feel like we’re having bread for the first time in 6 years.” Whatever it is. That really makes me feel so good. Because, you know, I don’t think anybody should have to be without, and I really hate when kids have to go without because it’s so much harder for them to understand why they can’t be like their friends or whatever the case may be. So when I get feedback, positive feedback; not so much the negative feedback. That’s not as rewarding.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Simone Miller: {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: But when I get positive feedback from readers who are like, “you’ve made a difference in my life,” in some capacity, that really feels big to me. And it reminds me why I want to keep doing it, and it reminds me why I’m willing to tolerate the other ones who are not so nice. {laughs} So yeah, I think it’s the people aspect. I like the cooking part, but I like the making a difference part when I’m able to do that.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. It’s the interaction. You know, my sister told me recently; one of my sisters is a Texas country music singer.

Jennifer Robbins: Awesome.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} She’s great. She’s killing it. Kimberly Dunn is her stage name. She’s very incognito {laughs}. She told me once recently; I was working on the book. I mean, you really do feel like you’re in a hole all by yourself working on this thing and you don’t get any feedback, and I was telling her how excited I was about doing the tour. I mean, that’s my lighthouse right now, what I’m trying to work towards so I can get out and talk to people. But she was like; you know, I can’t imagine what kind of determination it takes to keep working on things when you don’t get regular feedback. She goes to a show, and she plays in front of these people several times a week. They’re applauding, they’re telling her how great it was. But online, it’s usually, most of the feedback we get is the squeaky wheel.

Jennifer Robbins: Right.

Simone Miller: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: You know, sometimes the negative stuff. And every once in a while we get that just gold star of a very sweet, nice note, a review, and it really helps fuel our fire. So just to your point, I like to encourage people to give good feedback when you’ve got good feedback to give.

Simone Miller: Yeah.

Jennifer Robbins: Yeah. We like it.

Simone Miller: Yeah, we do. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs} It means a lot.

Jennifer Robbins: Like a lot.

Cassy Joy: Oh man. Ok ladies, well I can’t thank you enough for joining me on the show. I had a lot of fun. And just to recap, you guys remember you can find Simone at Zenbelly.com; I think it’s Zenbelly.com.

Simone Miller: Yep.

Cassy Joy: I pulled it up. Ok, Zenbelly.com; her catering business is in the Bay area. So that’s where she’s located at, and then Jennifer at Predominantly Paleo, and I’m going to link up to all of their books so you’ll be able to just click them right away from the show notes, make it super easy for you guys.

Ladies, thank you again so much for joining me. Congratulations on another amazing accomplishment. I can’t wait to dig into the New Yiddish Kitchen, and applaud you along the way.

Simone Miller: Aww, thanks so much for having us!

Jennifer Robbins: That you!

Simone Miller: It was fun talking to you.

Jennifer Robbins: Absolutely.

Cassy Joy: Oh, likewise. Likewise. Have fun with this book release rollercoaster, and I’m here for you two, too. {laughs}

Simone Miller: Thank you! {laughs}

Jennifer Robbins: Thank you!

Cassy Joy: Bye girls.

Simone Miller: Bye.

Jennifer Robbins: Bye.