Wine Down Wednesday: Michelle Fox

Wine Down Wednesday: Michelle Fox

Aired: October 13th, 2021

Audio and Photo Source: Michelle Fox and Instagram

Episode Summary

If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen! Cheesy, but we had to! This Wine Down Wednesday we had Culinary Nutritionist, Michelle Fox, as our special guest. This is a special episode as our Founder and CEO, Orion Brown gets to merge her two favorite things, travel and food! Tune in for the travel tips you didn't even know you needed, from how you can maintain good eating practices away from home to the foods you should avoid before a flight.

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Episode Transcript

Wine Down Wednesday: Michelle Fox

Orion Brown (00:01):

Let's see if we need to get this brighter. It's pretty bright. Hi, y'all! Y'all see this. My lip is so dry. It don't even want to move. Right? I've been on some dry mess lately. A Remy Takes Flight, Aye come through. Hey, Will, aye, I am so y'all, this is actually not a wine this time. This is a guava sour from 10 barrel brewing, which I actually really like. And I put it in a fancy glass, so boom. It counts. Oh, I'm so excited. BlackTravelBox be blessed. Y'all BlackTravelBox. I'm telling you. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. I'm so excited. And Michelle, Hey,

Michelle Fox (00:59):

Hey I'm here!

Orion Brown (00:59):

I love it. I love it!

Michelle Fox (01:01):

It's so good to see you!

Orion Brown (01:02):

It's so good to see you too. I posted up in the kitchen. So like I got a chair in here, but I was like, I want to be close to it and we'll tell everybody why in a minute. But for those of you who don't know me, my name is Orion Brown. I'm the founder and CEO of BlackTravelBox. We are a personal care products company for travelers of color. And last week we won 55,000 in cash and prizes pitching the business. We won the thing I will tell you!

Michelle Fox (01:28):

Yes, I was their witnessing it. Yes.

Orion Brown (01:32):

The amount of rest that a sistah needs right now, but I'm so, so happy and still riding high on it. So I just I'm, I'm I'm feeling like this is going to be an extra special Wine Down.

Orion Brown (01:46):

I couldn't do wind down last week because last minute they told me, Hey, you gotta come pitch again tomorrow night. And I was like, but I was supposed to drink wine and have girl time, but it was all good. Hey, [inaudible] but tonight is extra special because this is like a double hitter and God wanted us to work out. Like, I can just tell because Michelle was like, I want you to come and cook with me online and maybe we can do it like right after a Wine Down. So we do wine out together and then we'll cook. And I was like, yeah, but like the timing we're all booked up. And the guests for today was like, like last minute and Michelle right through, she was like, oh, but of course. And I'm like, yes, they come together. So we're going to have a girls on wind downtime. And then also back to it's on Facebook. Right. I got my computer ready over here on the counter, um, on your Facebook page. So make sure that you share your Facebook page, um, and pin it here. I'll pin it here in the comments, but um, we're going to cook some really fun stuff and uh, I'm super excited. So yeah. Yes. Cheers close. Got the line left on. Cheers. I love it. I love it kind

Michelle Fox (03:06):

We gotta sip so we don't jinx anything.

Orion Brown (03:09):

Right? That part. So, um, our tradition is to tell us your name, where you're, where you're from, where you live, if those are two different places, um, and how many stamps are on your passport. And then we'll talk a little bit about what you do. We'll talk a lot, a bit about what you do.

Michelle Fox (03:30):

I love that. And you might have to remind me of all the steps because you just talked about $55,000 so casually, uh, now we're going to take a step back and just give you all the props.

Orion Brown (03:45):

Oh my God.

Michelle Fox (03:46):

All the love, like you earn that. I was on the screen, just like cheering you on. I was in my car on my way to my daughter's choir concert or else I would have been there in person cheering you on. But I was just like, yes, like watching, like the, I have to tell you, watching the judge in faces, like when they're watching everybody else in life, you know, but then you got up on the stage and I could just see the judges face. It just kind of softened. And they're like, tell me more. Like we need this product in our life. I'm like, that's my girl.

Orion Brown (04:18):

Oh my gosh.

Michelle Fox (04:19):

I am just so clapping you up Orion.

Orion Brown (04:23):

I am it's humbling because I would say my pitch isn't that much different than the pitch that I've been doing over the years and gotten like crickets. And so it's humbling to walk into the time where that tide turns and I'm just like goose pimples

Michelle Fox (04:42):

I'm getting the goose pimples too. I was in the bathtub. That's like, when all the thoughts was split, all the good thoughts. And I'm like, oh Ryan, isn't a season of winning right now. Like,

Orion Brown (04:53):

All I do is Win. Say that.

Michelle Fox (04:56):

Yes. Thank you for letting me into this winning orbit. I am so grateful to be here.

Orion Brown (05:02):

I love it. I love it. And for those of you who have no idea what we're talking about Denver startup week, um, here in Denver, it's a whole week that they do every year, they had a number of pitch competitions. And I think this is the first year that they did so many, they did satellite competitions. And then out of those was sort of like a term tournament of champions in my mind, they had a finals against everyone. So I made it through both levels, which was intense, um, to say the least, and it was onstage and it was live in front of an audience and broadcast online. So it was, it was a lot y'all I earned this sip.

Michelle Fox (05:40):

Yes, you did. Cheers. And more. Cheers. It's only in bigger. It's a little bit bigger.

Orion Brown (05:47):

All right, cool. So, all

Michelle Fox (05:49):

Right. So now that we got that out of the way, even though I'm just going to be cheering you on this whole time. I mean, if you didn't know, it has WCW mom crush Wednesday. So you're getting all the props tonight. Oh my God. Yes. So your questions, let's see if I can remember this. So I'm Michelle Fox culinary nutritionist. And I am based here in Denver, Colorado. And, um, I have, well, I'm gonna, I guess, cheat because I am 48 years old, a very proud 48 years old. So I've had, I think four passports because you know, they expire after some years on there, you can put them all together.

Orion Brown (06:32):

Y'all saw that humble brag. Right? You saw that humblebrag gal. She was like black don't crack. Cause I have so many passports. You can tell black don't crack. I love it.

Michelle Fox (06:41):

Just say I'm going to push all those four together. And then I would say probably 18 stamps. Yeah. Your girl likes to travel that's my thing.

Orion Brown (06:52):

I love it. And so you're a culinary nutritionist, which means food that actually takes good. That is good for you. Not just hear some poached chicken to eat

Michelle Fox (07:05):

Although we could go to town on some poached chicken. Yes. We just add a little bit more seasonings and it could be delicious. But yes, I am all about the flavor, but nutrition first. Absolutely.

Orion Brown (07:18):

I love that. And so with your travels, like how do you, how do you think about your interactions with food? Like is it sort of a I'm on a trip so let's do decadent or is it let's find the healthiest things here? Like how do you just kind of navigate different types of foods and different places

Michelle Fox (07:39):

I am. So I love that you asked that question because it has changed over the years. I will say back in the day, you know, single, no kids, it's like we're going to Cancun, and it's, you know, the drinks on the beach and the buffets and anything you can grab, it was being grown. Um, but now that I've had the nutrition, uh, experience and education, and also I have three kiddos, I've got those little eyes looking at me. Um, I want to make a good impression and be a good example. Um, I am very mindful of what I eat when we're traveling. Um, including one of my main goals is to find either a hotel as a suite that has a kitchen or we're really into [inaudible] likely just because one, the five of us can spread out. But then two, there's always a full-size kitchen where, you know, at least two or three of those nights, I'm going to be cooking usually to save the money. But also because sometimes there's just not a lot of food that I want to eat when we're traveling. So I'm always looking for the kitchen while we're traveling.

Orion Brown (08:47):

That's really interesting. And I love, I love the thought, the first thought was how do I model the behavior that I want my kids to see? Right. Like, which, you know, they, they pay attention,

Michelle Fox (09:00):

Oh my gosh. Every step of the way. Yeah. Including, I've got, uh, two teenage girls, a 14 year old daughter, that's my baby. And then my husband has a 14 year old daughter. She's also my baby. She's my bonus baby.

Orion Brown (09:16):

Those two are best

Michelle Fox (09:17):

They really are. And I just, I bring up their ages because at that age, I don't know if you remember being 14, but they're very concerned about, you know, the body image and what other people think about them. And if I could just wave the magic wand, I would to make that part of growing up, just go away. Cause I remember being horribly insecure about my body and about nutrition choices. And so what I find interesting is that they have the like walking encyclopedia about nutrition, but they don't necessarily want to eat the way I want to eat. In fact, they don't want to eat the way that I wan to eat, their diet looks quite a bit different than mine. Um, but I will say dinners dinners are non-negotiables dinner. Uh, there's always the vegetables and the good, healthy protein. So at least I know that there's vegetables, at least one meal during the day and the family.

Orion Brown (10:13):

I love that. I love that. And that's, I mean, you know, I grew up in a house that that was definitely like dinners nonnegotiable. We don't do different dinners for different people. It is very interesting to step into a space where people do, um, what is also kind of nice, especially if they have the flexibility to do that time and the time or to help all of those things. So tell me, so I love this idea of cooking on vacation to save money and to also get what you like, but like mostly to save money. I love that. Like I'm the first person to be like, oh, I'll just figure out breakfast myself and, you know, save the cash for like the nice dinner on the beach, that kind of thing. What are some of the things that you do you actually integrate local foods or are you looking for foods that are really familiar to, to create your meals when you travel?

Michelle Fox (11:12):

That's an excellent question. Um, I would say a little bit of both. Um, I have just a, I'm a Sagittarius. So I feel like I'm just giving it all to you. 48 Sagittarius mom, wife, [inaudibel].You're getting the whole picture tonight.

Orion Brown (11:31):

Loves nutrition and long walks on the beach.

Michelle Fox (11:37):

So all of that to say, I have an Explorer spirit, just find my birthright. And so yes, it is always my goal to be with the people and learn what the local culture is, learn what the local food is. Um, and with that said, I do have a gluten intolerance and a dairy intolerance, and sometimes there might be a language barrier and thank goodness. Um, like we found out about my celiac disease about 20 years ago, when, you know, most Americans didn't even know what gluten was much less going to Mexico or going to Peru or wherever we were. So that was always a hard translation, but now it's a little bit easier. Um, like we were just in Playa last month and the staff knew exactly where to point me for the gluten free items and the dairy free items. And I'm just like, have I stepped into heaven? So, you know, but to be fair, that was on a resort. I did not step out of the resort that weekend. It was a long weekend, but if it were to have been a longer trip, I would have loved to explore and had some more of that authentic cuisine. Uh,

Orion Brown (12:47):

And you bring up a really interesting point, like with the gluten thing. Now I always scoff at the gluten thing, not for people with celiac disease because I know that it's very serious and I've seen a person with celiac be exposed to gluten and it is not, it ain't pretty. And I wasn't even in it, like, you know what I mean? It's a serious illness, but like this whole like, oh, I don't eat gluten. And it's like, do you have an intolerance? Do you have an allergy? Do you have celiac? Um, I mean, I just, you know, I'm just trying to eat healthy and it's like, and you can always correct me if I'm wrong, but it's sort of like, is gluten really that bad? Or is it bad for certain people?

Michelle Fox (13:32):

Yeah. Awesome question. So it truly is bad for everyone who is not a white male person, human it's. Um, and it's not necessarily the wheat itself it's because in 20,21, the way the wheat is grown, it doesn't have the nutrients that it did back in like 1910 where most bodies public could, uh, digest it. But now, because it's been so overprocessed so over harvested, um, it's, uh, very inflammatory to our guts. And um, in Chinese medicine, they really believed that the gut is actually our brain. That's the truest form of our brain. So there's that gut brain connection that we just really want to protect and keep healthy. And so when people pose that question to me, I say, you know, give it an experiment. Like, just try in fact if you're up for it, maybe I'll, well, you're going through a lot of transition right now

Orion Brown (14:34):

Lokk I don't even know where the gluten is at my house. I couldn't tell you if I had gluten in my house to save my I'm really, I'm just barely, I'm barely unpacked. So what I definitely, I definitely, um, like doing like the elimination diets when I do feel like something is kind of off and kind of like working my way back up. Um, and so it's definitely one of those things that I probably need to do again. Um, but I've, I've used, uh, Everly. Well, it really well. Yeah. And got a, um, IgG test. I think it is. So it's the entire, or it's the protein test not be other one, not the full allergy. Um, and it was interesting to see what they had, like mild intolerances to eggs and things like that. And I'm like, man, see, I thought it was all the cheese I put on the egg because I know I'm lactose intolerant to,

Michelle Fox (15:28):

But I, most of us are lactose-intolerant those of us, uh, with any pigmentation you're typically going to get that dairy and tell them

Orion Brown (15:36):

We're not here for that lactose. Yeah. But Mac and cheese.

Michelle Fox (15:41):

So there's lots of vegan versions. I will, I will tell you. Um, but yeah, but I was going to say, when people ask me that original question, I just say, give it a try. Like just three days, I just go three days without women. And just notice if you notice a difference with your sleep, with your belly bloat, with your skin, with your energy and just see, and maybe I could be wrong. I have a few members of my family who are like, no, that's not true. I don't have that. I'm like, okay, but at least you tried, other friends were like, oh my gosh, I had no idea. Thanks for showing me. So I, I mean, food is just so personal and I, I always try to meet people where they are and I always encourage my students and my clients to really just listen to their bodies because your body has a lot of wisdom. He bought a carry so much wisdom.

Orion Brown (16:30):

So it has a lot of checks and balances that we ignore. Right.

Michelle Fox (16:36):

That too, this is, I will tell you a sparkling water. I, uh, because we are talking and then I'm going to be chopping it up in a minute. I'll probably be maybe drinking a little bit later. But with that said, I will say thank goodness for some substances to just relax that sometimes because lately I will admit the stress has been a little too much for mama.

Orion Brown (17:01):

The woosah is so real, so real and it's interesting. So, and I'll drink to that too. So one of my travel is my first form of self care. It's my very, very first form of self-care in the sense that, um, I leaned into it heavily. I, I was, you know, obviously doing a lot of travel before COVID, but cooking that's that's my second self-care it really, really is. And this is probably the first time I've been cooking, like, uh, well, and this isn't even we're, we're doing some, some appetizers. So if y'all want to stick around, hit the Facebook link that I pinned here, we're going to be cooking after this. But, um, yeah, I it's been so long since I've been in the kitchen and I'm really excited. My new place has a lovely kitchen. So I'm like I can't wait to grocery shop and get all the fresh things and start playing around and hit a farmer's market before they closed for the year.

Orion Brown (18:00):

Um, and get some fun stuff going. I, I just, I absolutely love that, which I can't, that takes me back to the traveling and the cooking, um, which it's funny because I've been able to learn how to cook meals in probably about three different countries. But I want so many more. I mean, I love doing that. You know, you go out, especially if you're staying somewhere, it's like a casita or something in like Mexico or whatever. And they're like, oh, so we'll, you know, we're making dinner and this is what we're making. I'm like, can I come in the kitchen? I will, I will chop, I will chop for you just to like, be around it, just to be around it.

Michelle Fox (18:44):

That's a beautiful way to take in the culture.

Orion Brown (18:46):

Every country that I've been to that food is not the cooking part. Isn't like a, still a social process and it's sort of steeped in relational stuff and, and all of these wonderful things. How do you kind of get, do you get that kind of, uh, socialized feel when you're cooking abroad or are you kind of feeling like, you know, it's, it's just something quick and functional to do, um, to carry you through the trip.

Michelle Fox (19:15):

Yeah. So I will say as an adult, almost probably a hundred percent of my travel has been to escape life. So I love the way you posed that question, because now I'm like, Hmm. Maybe, maybe I need to make more space for exploration travel and, um, travel where I can be curious. Um, cause no, honestly, um, no.

Orion Brown (19:47):

So there is, I took a trip with my friend in January of 2020. This was my first cruise. I had never been on a cruise. I was like sick. I can't take it. The boat's not going to rock girl. It's so choppy, so choppy, but it was fine. Um, I had my little, let me get that other way. I have my little, uh, my little C band on my wrist. Totally worked by the way. So for folks who get a little seasick, I do really like that. I also wear it when I'm in Uber's cause they drive like they're on the open seas, but, uh, but we stopped in The Bahamas and in Nassau there is a black owned. Um, I think it's called GU is it Goomba bay? I think it is, um, company and they basically teach you recipes. So we literally did it on just like a short leave kind of thing, where we made some like guava turnovers and we made sort of like a shrimp Creole that was sort of local. And, and then actually on the cruise ship, they had a sushi making class. So we get a sushi class one night. Um, so they find, I think it's interesting. There's ways that you can bring it in without like losing your escape.

Michelle Fox (21:03):

I really like that a lot that you're bringing back some memories. I went on a, actually my second cruise with my girlfriend, Mary and we actually got a cooking class. It was, um, I don't know what they titled. It was probably 10, 15 years ago now, but I remember that being the highlight of my trip. Uh, and that was way before I even started working on nutrition. So maybe that was one of those breadcrumbs to show me like, this is what you're meant to be doing. Keep focusing on the food

Orion Brown (21:33):

[Inaudible]

Michelle Fox (21:38):

Right.

Orion Brown (21:39):

So have you brought any, and I know you said like most of, most of your trips have been just around a skate, but have you brought any tips or tricks or interesting foods from your travels into the work that you do now? Like, you know, mangoes, I never ate mangoes until I started traveling. Now I'm like, let me get some mango and hopping here or make a salsa right quick.

Michelle Fox (22:04):

That sounds real good. I do that with papaya Like it seems like when I travel, as I have, that's the first thing on my plate and you wouldn't have, well, I would never think of putting, you know, scrambled eggs with the papya, but that's like the jam right there. Like I, I could eat that for every meal, if you let me, but papya is an amazing digestive. So can eat that before the rest of your food. Things should flow really nice because as a nutrition, as I can talk about things, these things, which is when we travel, we often do get constipated because of the stress from the flight or the cruise or whatever, you know, meaning not

Orion Brown (22:45):

Drinking enough water,

Michelle Fox (22:50):

[inaudible]

Orion Brown (22:50):

Dehydrated on the flight,

Michelle Fox (22:51):

Exactly the stress of not sleeping in your own bed that can, you know, affect some people's rhythms. And so anytime you can try to get foods in there to keep the digestion flowing, do that. So that would be the papaya. That would be the supplements of calcium. And we'll actually can't, you don't probably want to do calcium while you're traveling, although calcium helps with blood tie-ups. So if you're on long flights, calcium would be a great supplement. And then magnesium is awesome to keep things low and real nice. So you can enjoy your vacation and not be constipated.

Orion Brown (23:26):

Magnesium is like one of those minerals that does like all the things that you needed to do, right? Because you can apply it topically, you can soak in a bath, you can ingest it. And it's like, good for digestion, good for sleep. Good for relaxation, muscle cramps, all of these things. I'm like, I shouldn't, I need to have more of that around the house. I have a really nice magnesium oil that I got a few years ago and I've been like hoarding it. But every now and again, when the whole, when all the things are stressed, it's like, yes, put the lavender oil in the bathtub. Then also throw a little of the magnesium oil in there and just simmer simmer.

Michelle Fox (24:07):

I am writing down notes right now, I've never heard of magnesium oil. And I like the way that sounds, I will try that because I am a bath girl

Orion Brown (24:14):

And somebody just asked the comments. What about the swelling ankles? That is such a good question. My ankle swells so bad on flights now, like in my feet, like where they're jiggling, I don't know if anybody has ever seen that, but mine got so puffy. I could only wear the flip flops that I brought on the trip and you could tap them and they would just be like, we'll do that. We won't stop.

Michelle Fox (24:40):

So one thing I would, um, suggest recommend just mentioned that when we are doing air travel, we definitely want to avoid drinking caffeine that morning. Or at least before the flight, we definitely want to avoid the alcohol and we really want to limit our sodium intake. And so a lot of times we can get that swelling because once we go up, you know, however many thousands of feet in the air, our adrenals are literally floating in our body and they don't, they don't really know what to do. And so they're kind of in panic mode, which is what makes the ankles well, it's what makes our writs swell. Well, my hands get a little puppy. If I noticed that I had coffee that morning. So yeah, if you can try to avoid those three things while traveling, hopefully you'll feel coffees out now on the flight. Yeah.

Orion Brown (25:33):

Yeah. So I didn't know about like the adrenals. I didn't think about like glands and how they get affected by air pressure and altitude and stuff. Right. Cause as a person you're like, my butt is still attached to the seat.

Michelle Fox (25:46):

Like you feel grounded.

Orion Brown (25:47):

You feel grounded, but the funny thing is, well, one it's all in your head, right? Cause your, your head, your inner ear, all that stuff tells you where you are and all of that, which is why I get motion sick all the time. All the time. My eyes are like, that's not, what's supposed to be happening right now. We sit still. Um, but I, that just made me think of, you know, those moments, if you've ever went on a flight and it kind of dropped a little and it felt like everything on the inside, I thought like was just me being a punk. It really is everything just kind of not floating around at the same pace of my heavy, chunky. But, uh, so,

Michelle Fox (26:21):

And it's our adrenals that are controlling all of our hormones as well. So that's going to affect our sleep wake cycle. And I know often on international flights, you know, the flight attendants feel like they're giving you a treat by saying, Hey, we're offering you this alcohol to help you rest. Yeah. It's actually doing the opposite, especially when you're up high, it's more of a stimulant. It's not going to help you rest.

Orion Brown (26:44):

Really, really. I-

Michelle Fox (26:47):

I just like to give that to my students as well.

Orion Brown (26:50):

I've seen some things. I definitely, I went on an international trip with a large group and one of the people actually, I think there were multiple people who had never been abroad and this was his first time going abroad. And they were like free alcohol. He was like the Henny's free. Yeah, this was so this poor guy, I'm not going to call them out. We were in Dubai. And they take you out in the, basically in the sand dunes and these four wheelers, um, you know, like basically a Toyota, you know, kind of four wheel four wheel drive kind of deal. They take the tire pressure down and then they just ride it like their own rails. They just take you through. It's like, it's fun.

Michelle Fox (27:34):

That sounds Amazing. I, I've never been to Dubai. That Sounds incredible.

Orion Brown (27:39):

It's awesome. It's absolutely awesome. And you're far enough out that you can't see the city and you feel like you're in like the Sahara in the middle of nowhere, but you're actually like 30 minutes away. But um, this poor guy lost all that free Henny that he got the night before. Cause we got off the flight and it was daytime there and he had just been going and he had no excuses like, oh, okay. Okay, wait. So the alcohol, not only is it not is acting as a stimulant while you're on the flight, but you don't know what kind of adventures you're going to get into after the flight might want to protect your tummy.

Michelle Fox (28:18):

I think that is beautiful advice right now. Protect your tummy,

Orion Brown (28:21):

Protect your tummy. I love that. I love that you gave us the tip on papaya as, um, you know, something that I have before meals to help with digestion. Are there other things that we should look for? Um, I feel like tropical islands, it's a little bit easier. Cause like it's all these fruits and vegetables are out everywhere, but you know, say you're in like a European city or you know, something that's just bigger and more, um, metropolitan. What types of things did you try to get into or avoid to make sure that you have a good tummy trip?

Michelle Fox (28:54):

That's an awesome question. Yeah. So with the tropical, like you said, um, I would, I try not to go too heavy on too many of that first, just because of the sugar content, but the papaya and the pineapple have the enzymes to help break up our foods. So that's a giveme. Um, when you are in more of a metropolitan area, I think that's where supplements come in. Like I travel with my little bottles of, like I said, the magnesium and calcium. Um, I actually do take food enzymes currently. Like even when I'm not traveling, just because I'm still repairing all the damage that all the gluten did to my gut, we'll just say, uh, over most of my life. So that helps to break down food. So even if you aren't necessarily in repair mode, you might want to consider bringing up food enzyme with you when you're traveling. Um, trying to think, oh, and then water is you alluded to earlier. I think you just have to really be conscientious of up in your water, especially if you're doing any kind of air travel. Cause that air just sucks. The sucks th-I was going to say life, but it's not the life because we're traveling. So we're loving that. But the moisture

Orion Brown (30:08):

Yeah. The higher up you are the drier. It is. Yeah. I mean, Denver is the mile high city is so dry here. I mean, it's great for curls, but um, not so much for dry skin and yeah.

Michelle Fox (30:25):

Yeah. Wait till you hit menopause, it gets even drier.

Orion Brown (30:32):

[inaudible]

Michelle Fox (30:32):

I'm not going to claim that for you. Because you are going to be on top of your nutrition. So by the time you are my age, you're going to be like what? This is fine!

Orion Brown (30:44):

Starting today, right?

Michelle Fox (30:48):

Yes, starting today we'er uping that water or we're avoiding the dairy, we're avoiding the gluten and you'll be fine.

Orion Brown (30:54):

I actually have oat milk at home right now. So

Michelle Fox (30:58):

That's my fav!

Orion Brown (30:59):

And I can't do almond milk because like you mentioned earlier, I have a tree nut allergy. And when I travel, like I remember going to Spain and being like, no, I'm, I'm allergic, which there are words for this in Spanish, but they still looked at me like I was crazy. And I was like that. I'm like, I can't, they're like, it's funny and it's just an almond. And I'm like, it came from a tree. Right. And they're like, I don't, I don't understand. So they were like no desserts in Spain that didn't have. Cause like that's the thing. They have like all of these and they're beautiful and they smell. And I remember nuts from when I was a kid, I ate them. Actually this was adult onset. I did not have my first allergic reaction until I was like 28 or 30.

Michelle Fox (31:43):

Did you have to do like the whole epi pen? Like, was it a whole thing?

Orion Brown (31:47):

You know, it was, I was sitting and this is not a healthy habit, but I was working through lunch and I was working at Kraft foods at the time. So I ran down to the company store and got a bag of peanuts. That's not a bad, I mean a bag of mixed nuts. I'm like, that's a pretty good choice. It's got some protein, you know, we doing something and I'm eating and all of a sudden my tongue went numb and it was like started from the front and then it worked its way. And for those of you who don't really think about it, your tongue goes really far back. Cause it's just one long muscle. Well, anyway, it's basically a big muscle and all the way down, I could feel it; inflamed all the way down and it didn't swell up or my throat or so I didn't end up with like anaphylaxis, but it was very like, I don't think it's supposed to do that.

Orion Brown (32:31):

And then the woman sitting next to me was like, you need to go to the hospital. I was like, I thought, I thought oh this is going to wear off, I was like. I went and I have never, it was so funny when I went, they gave me prednisone and they gave me shots. They like sent me home and I had to like lay down for three days and take all this, the steroids and stuff to make sure that I didn't like have an anaphylatic, you know, fit in the middle of the night right now. I don't know if it would be a fit, but it nevertheless, um, but I went to the allergist and we did the skin test and he's got all these different nuts that he's done. And it's, you know, you're looking for a little eraser head size reaction. They just prick you. And you're looking for a little, like I had the thing about the size of a quarter with a mattress. It was like huge.

Michelle Fox (33:18):

Your body's like alert, alert.

Michelle Fox (33:20):

Oh my gosh. This was like, you cannot have Hazel nut. And I was like, no Hazelnut. I mean, I know it's all sugar, but still no good. Um, and he was laughing. He was like, I think you're allergic to nuts.

Michelle Fox (33:36):

Oh

Orion Brown (33:37):

Yeah. It was bad to be like, it's just like when I was, when I was little, my mom would get the bags of the mixed nuts at Christmas and we would crack them and watch like, oh Christmas movies. And now I'm like, I can't even look at a nut wrong now. I'm like, I'm already itching. Just thinking about it.

Michelle Fox (33:55):

Well, what about seeds? It's like, could you do-

Orion Brown (33:58):

Seeds I can do.

Michelle Fox (33:59):

There. Okay. You can sit down and peel those and pretend like it's a pistachio.

Orion Brown (34:03):

Well, no. I mean, I don't like the old man. I do like the old man, you know, I love it so good. But it's an interesting challenge to communicate when you have dietary issues, not preferences. Cause that's a very American kind of concept of preferences. This has onions in it, an actual quote from a friend of mine on a trip because she didn't want to eat at the restaurant. I can't eat it. Cause everything has onions. The rice doesn't have onions in it. The rice, I can't eat anything.

Michelle Fox (34:46):

That's a, that's a tough travel companion. Cause it's like we'll just eat separate from here on out.

Orion Brown (34:52):

Well, it's very interesting. So when you go abroad, people are sorta like, you know, that whole there, they don't know if it's American attitude or if there's actually, they may not understand this, something wrong. Like what are the ways that you communicate your nutritional needs as well as your nutritional wants when you're traveling. If you, you know, with people that interact with grocery stores and restaurants and things like that.

Michelle Fox (35:14):

Yeah. Um, I would say my favorite tool is the Google. I, uh, and yes, I just call it the Google because you have the Google translate. Uh, my husband, Steve actually introduced it to me. And so we say what we're saying, and then it'll either say it back or we'll just be like, can you read this please?

Orion Brown (35:35):

So you just tell them though, you just tell them there aren't any like tricks to like getting people to understand. I mean, cause I'm going to English, speaking places and people were like, what do you mean you're allergic? And I'm like, will kill me. I don't know. Um, I've found showing them the epi pen and there've been like, Ooh, something bad happens like that. It's like a needle.

Michelle Fox (35:55):

That's what I was going to say, the needles will get their attention real quick.

Orion Brown (36:00):

I don't want that in my life. But yeah, that Google translate.

Michelle Fox (36:04):

I remember, um, that was about 10 years ago. My grandma was in town and she was baking his biscuits and of course she had to have her regular full flower. And I was like, grandma, just so you know, please keep that away from me. It makes me sick. And she's like, what? This, she blows it in my face. I'm like she had no respect for my allergy way old school. Like, this is what you grew up on. You were fine. Then you'll be fine now. And I'm like, grandma, that's not going to work. So yeah.

Orion Brown (36:41):

So disrespectful, but it's like, I can't do nothing. So disrespectful.

Michelle Fox (36:49):

Yeah. That part,

Orion Brown (36:50):

My, my great aunt was like that, um, where she would be like, I'd be like, uh, you know, I'm, I'm doing a keto diet, which means I'm just, I'm eating meats and vegetables. And so I can't really do anything starchy and she's like, okay, here's a dozen biscuits.

Michelle Fox (37:11):

Right, and right in your nose too, right?

Orion Brown (37:12):

Right. Yeah. It's going to make them and they'll be here if you want them. And then she would actually, the interesting thing was that she was comparing it back to weight Watchers. So she was very much in the moderation place. She was like, you can have one biscuit, it's fine. And I'm like, the way ketosis is set up, you don't really work like that. Um, but it's really interesting how we have different perspectives on what nutrition is based off of generation exposure, all of these different things. But Ooh, don't blow no flour in my face. I don't even have celiac. I be,

Michelle Fox (37:44):

You're like get out into the kitchen.

Orion Brown (37:50):

Yeah. That's my grandma

Orion Brown (37:53):

Love it. I love it. Um, I know we're coming up on time. I want you to have time to set up for your show and everything. So I want to let you go for those of you who enjoyed this chat with Michelle, um, meet us over on Facebook. You've got her link right there. facebook.com/ Michelle Fox love. And we're going to be cooking and chatting some more. So we'll just keep going. And we're going to flip it around. She's going to ask me questions so I can like just sit and sip

Michelle Fox (38:20):

And, and you'll be cooking with me too. Right? That whole Instacart going, oh, you got the cucumber and mama's ready.

Orion Brown (38:27):

I'm ready. I can do this. Um, so tell everybody where they can find you if they can't join us now, where can they find you and what do you do and what, what would be most interesting to them?

Michelle Fox (38:38):

Yeah. Thanks for asking. So you all can come to Michelle fox.com. You'll actually, if you scroll to the bottom, you can sign up for my weekly meal planner, which will help you save the time and money just gets you organized around your food. Um, if you wait long enough, a really fun pop-up will come on the screen. It'll show you three of my favorite sugar substitutes. If you're trying to kick the habits, you can grab that for free. And then all of my socials are Michelle Fox love and I would love for you all to join my community.

Orion Brown (39:09):

Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much, Michelle. I will see you in a couple minutes. I'm going to see if I think we need a food processor, right? I'm I'm good at guessing for the seeds. So I got to see where my friend has one. I don't actually own one. I've never used one. So this will be fun and interesting.

Michelle Fox (39:26):

What about a blender? Do you have a blender?

Orion Brown (39:28):

I don't have a blender anymore. I need to buy another one, but that's what happens when you move, right? Like you go, oh, I have the base, but where's the cup for it. Like that kind of thing. Um, but yes, but this is why I'm also in another kitchen. Cause I know she's fully stopped. So I will see you over on Facebook. I hope all of you will join us on Facebook. This was so lovely. I hope for all of you that listened in, you got a moment to chill, laugh. Feel like you came in on a conversation. Um, we didn't talk a lot of inspiration on travel, but we got some crazy good tips. I will definitely be looking for the papaya on every trip. Um, that's actually not even a go-to fruit for me. So I'm like, I'm gonna start doing that. That's definitely a great tip. Along with the other things don't be drinking on the flight geologist. Just have them in your purse. Just get on the bottom in your purse. Um,

Michelle Fox (40:19):

Sparkling water and just put it in a fancy glass and you can pretend like you're drinking something fancy.

Orion Brown (40:24):

Exactly. Exactly. I love it. Thank you so much, Michelle, for kicking it with us. I will see you in a few minutes on Facebook. Bad.

Michelle Fox (40:33):

Bye. Thank you.

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