Freckled Foodie & Friends

On this episode I sit down with blue light glasses company founder, Andy Mant. We discuss what blue light is, the differences between natural and artificial light, and how light impacts us in various parts of our lives. Andy shares the impact too much blue light exposure has on us, ways to balance it out, and how it affects our skin, circadian rhythm, and hormones. We talk about the importance of sleep, how light disrupts it, and ways to combat its effects.

On this episode, I talk to cannabis expert Emma Chasen (@emmachasen). We discuss stigmas in the cannabis world, and the privilege that comes with consuming and talking about weed. We talk about the incredible healing powers of cannabis, and being able to normalize its use through education and access to information. Emma highlights the importance of describing the experience you want to achieve to determine which compounds to look for in your plant, and dives into the basic dose response curve.

On this episode, I sit down with Jamia Fields, forward on the Houston Dash. We discuss her journey playing soccer from childhood to the professional level, her process of goal setting, the mental toughness required to be an athlete, and the anxiety behind living up to expectations. Jamia tells us about her involvement in the BLM movement, and how she uses her platform to be an educational voice on the topic.

In this episode, Emily (@emilydidonato) and I discuss body confidence, creating impactful content, and relationships with food and exercise. Emily opens up about times she struggled with her relationship with her body, negative cycles she has experienced, and the mental harm of looking backward. We dive into how the modeling industry has evolved and the constant push for diversity. We discuss the importance of taking responsibility for your digital world, and how we create our positive online environments.

On this episode, Emmalee, Jennifer and I discuss normalizing mental health struggles. We talk about finding the right type of therapist for your needs, the stigma behind medication, and learning how to manage our anxieties, not get rid of them. We get into recommendations for those looking to get into therapy ways to form a relationship with your therapist. Emmalee and Jennifer tell us how COVID has changed the landscape of therapy, and how they remain authentic when working with clients.

Alexis and I discuss her history with diet culture and why she believes “you're too smart to be on a diet”. We get into how we value our self-worth and helping others realize we bring more to the table than what we look like. We discuss how she got involved with the F-Factor diet and its overall history, structure, disordered eating behaviors, and the restriction it encourages. Of course, we also hear Alexis’s side of the story regarding her experiences with founder Tanya Zuckerbrot and her recent IG

On this episode, I sit down with Alisa Vitti (@alisa.vitti), women’s hormones and healthcare advocate. Alisa discusses the institutional gender biases in medicine, and the lack of studies performed on women in reproductive years. She tells us how to live in sync with your cycle, explains the infradian rhythm, and dives into the four phases your body and cycle go through each month. Alisa talks about her cycle-synching method and how to optimize your workouts based on the time of the month.

On this episode, Kelly and I compare our experiences beginning our side hustles and the work it took to grow them into full time careers. Kelly talks about “the fab four” things to add to your plate and the science behind them. We discuss having food flexibility and positivity, and the importance of finding foods that work with your body. We talk about the misinformation regarding food on social media, assessing how you feel after meals, and what to look for in a protein powder.

In this episode, Jocelynne and I discuss the stigma behind being formerly incarcerated and the need to bring a voice to men of color in the criminal justice system. We talk about the lack of focus on the mental health of those incarcerated, and the long-term ripple effects incarceration has. We dive into the privilege many people have of being so far removed from these situations that they don’t have to think about them, and the best way for people to assist in repairing the broken system.

On this episode, Victoria and I discuss our experiences as college athletes and the pressures that came with it. Victoria opens up about her performance anxiety, struggles with depression, and her disordered eating behaviors. Victoria elaborates on her relationship with intuitive eating, and how she learned to identify her ego and insecurities. We talk about our journeys with therapy, and ways we have coped with our anxieties.

On this solo special bonus episode I sit down by myself, while also recording via Instagram Live, to chat all things body image. After receiving a ton of feedback on the first solo episode focused on this topic, I dive a bit deeper and discuss some recent growth. I answer questions submitted by you all through Instagram and share my journey.

On this episode I talk to entrepreneur Kate Kennedy. Kate dives into how she went from a career in corporate advertising to running her own business, along with her interest in pop culture. We talk about the differences between Gen Z and Millennials, our love for TikTok, the ability to be emotionally affected by social media, and its detriments (especially for those in college).

On this episode, Katrina (@knicolewriting) and I discuss the detriment of setting unrealistic expectations for consumers via the highlight reel that is social media. We also talk about how self care doesn’t need to be a luxury experience, and ways we can practice self care on our own for free. We dive into setting boundaries with friends, family, and followers and the importance of feeling fulfilled in our relationships with others.

On this episode, Lindsey talks about founding her podcast, We Met at Acme. She provides advice for singles, and discusses the importance of having good energy when trying to meet people. We talk about dating during quarantine, and how to get the most out of dating apps. We compare struggles behind sharing personal and relationship details on social media, and having respect for our partners’ privacy. We dive into the most common questions and struggles with dating, and alternatives to ghosting.

As a recent fan of the Food Heaven Podcast and the message their account (@foodheaven) stands for, I found this specific podcast episode of theirs incredibly informative and helpful. I felt they perfectly verbalized the thoughts I had been having regarding the performative social media measures taken during the BLM, asks of their new community members to properly engage, asks for creators during this time, and context on how to properly amplify Black voices. Here are a few segments of this specific episode