SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome to the Absolute Dogs Text in a Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers, and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. Health, food, you are what you eat and all that. Now we're supposed to be talking dog training, but actually on your path to dog training success, Michelle, you've also had a difficult eating sort of space to navigate through. And I know you've had some rock solid confidence as I'm scoffing like chocolate biscuits. And then other times you've certainly wobbled too. Now, I don't know if you want to tell us why did you start to look at what you eat?

SPEAKER_01: 0:52

So I uh had been having a few health issues and went to the doctors and ended up having an ultrasound. And what they found was I had a significantly sized fibroid.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03

I mean, I think you said like metres and metres and meters worth. It was like it was something like 35 meters. I mean, it's probably not that much, but it was big, right?

SPEAKER_01: 1:10

It was 20 centimeters. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00: 1:12

I was I was I was going a little bit big.

SPEAKER_01: 1:14

A little bit, a little bit, the size of a melon, basically. And it was it to be honest, it was really embarrassing because I was getting people asking when I was due.

SPEAKER_00: 1:22

But the cool thing was being asked when you're due in your 50 is quite a cool thing too. I mean, like that was that was the compliment I feel.

SPEAKER_01: 1:27

Yes, but so I I had I got went to the doctors, and the advice I received from the doctors was very standard surgery.

SPEAKER_00: 1:35

Now you suck sunk, you you sought after alternate sort of thought and therapy and and and processes. And one of the things that came um across your path was was one of our wonderful dog training clients, her name is Roseanne. You looked at lots of alternate ways to look after this sort of situation and and fibroid because you knew that you didn't want to go through a major operation, but you also knew that you couldn't continue living with it growing. Now, how did that journey of food go from here?

SPEAKER_01: 2:04

Oh, it's been it's been really eye-opening. And I'm a very active person. And one of my fears if having surgery, it would have been up to eight weeks of just not being that active.

SPEAKER_00: 2:15

And potentially more if there was any complication, because sometimes, of course, there are complications with surgeries. Absolutely. And sometimes we don't heal as as we're meant to. And sometimes even anesthetics themselves can be major issues for people. And some people don't even recover well from an anesthetic, potentially not even at all. No, like they are they they are a big deal. Like we don't want to go under anesthetic unless we really need to. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01: 2:36

And I must say, I'm not a nutritionalist, so I'll keep it really simple with what I've done. But basically, it was looking at the food I was eating and adjusting my diet to try to see if we could get rid of this naturally. I mean, it grew, so can we get rid of it through the foods that I eat and the choices I make?

SPEAKER_00: 2:52

Now I know with one of your scans there was a significant decrease in the size of the fibroid. Now that was a major, mega, massive high five moment. And I know the food journey isn't easy, but what sort of things do you feel feel led to that being successful? Because you have had a good journey. You definitely are, we're all learning, there's lots to grow still, but you are on a good, on a good path. Definitely. Tell me some of the things that you found that have worked and helped.

SPEAKER_01: 3:19

So the the big one is eating naturally. So absolutely no ultra-processed food. It doesn't mean I'm perfect, it doesn't mean I don't have a packet of crisps occasionally.

SPEAKER_00: 3:29

We'll give examples of some of the ultra-processed foods for for all of you to know exactly what we mean here and what we're talking about here. So one of those for me would be we've got a little night that we're gonna get together with a few friends this week, and we've bought the kiddies some pizzas. Yes. They're ultra-processed. Oh, definitely. They are definitely ultra-processed. Often the ultra-processed food is a lot cheaper and more convenient. And that's not why it's been bought in this situation, it's being bought because you've got three kids who are gonna go eating carrot sticks. However, that would be something that if possible we would avoid. Absolutely. And if there were other sort of scenarios, things things like um sausage rolls and things like um all the mini like Iceland-style foods that you can get for like one pound, two pound, three pound, four pound, five pound, six pound, seven pound, those would all be the sorts of things that the ultra-processed world really wants to avoid.

SPEAKER_01: 4:16

Yeah, so basically, if it needs an ingredient list, then it's probably got some form of being processed in it.

SPEAKER_00: 4:22

So if you go and get the ingredient list of melon, you've pretty much got melon.

SPEAKER_01: 4:25

Yeah, right. It doesn't have one. It's just a melon, an avocado. And looking at looking at the foods that I eat, so I have it doesn't mean I never ever eat meat, but I really have cut meat out significantly from my diet, and that's made a massive difference. So very much into the vegetables and the fruits and trying to eat them whole. So whole foods essentially. And it my my fibroid reduced by 25%. And the doctors gave themselves a big pat on the back.

SPEAKER_00: 4:50

Wow, that's I mean, seriously, like 25% is huge. I think we should do a bit of tips, tennis, because I know there are certain things also that have been helpful, or or even little meals or suggestions or ideas. Now, one of my favorite meals that you make is the lime one. Tell everyone what it is because it's delicious. It really is delicious.

SPEAKER_01: 5:07

Yes. Oh, lentil curry. So it's just basically some onions, some garlic, fry it up, add some chopped tomatoes in, and then there's vegetable stock, so low sodium, trying to use as natural as possibly can. Vegetable stock, and then you let that simmer, and then you add your lentils in, and then at the very end, and I usually put spinach or some sort of greens in. Very end, you can add some coconut milk, and then you squeeze some lime over the top, and there's lots of seasoning in it, and it just tastes absolutely amazing. It takes about 15-20 minutes to put together.

SPEAKER_00: 5:40

So delicious, like so delicious. Okay, one of my other favorites that you do, you make this like chia pudding, and I absolutely like the idea of it, all the blueberries, the coconut, like it's super nice. What is that? And tell everyone about it.

SPEAKER_01: 5:55

So it's a tin of coconut milk, about equal quantity of blueberries, and a tablespoon of chia seeds, and you blend it up in the blender with loads of lime juice because I absolutely love lime. And you leave it in the fridge overnight, and then you can have it for breakfast. And I like to add dried mulberries to it. So that texture is a big thing for me. So just having that as a pudding I can do, but I really like adding the dried mulberries in, and it's a great breakfast and sometimes a dessert as well.

SPEAKER_00: 6:20

Really, really nice, really lovely dessert, isn't it? Okay, and then snacks. Give me some examples of some of the snacks that we might have because I think we're pretty good at the energy balls now.

SPEAKER_01: 6:28

Oh, yes, absolutely. Let's do the pistachio ones. Oh, the pistachio. So the almond butter is a bit naughty, but on the grand scheme of things, it's it's very, very healthy compared to other things that you could be having. So there's some almond butter in there, there's some oats, some cranberries, some pistachios. You can do maple syrup or honey. So some of them. And we discovered I loved maple syrup better than honey. Yep. And then you just combine it all, roll it into bowls, let it sit for probably an hour or two so it firms up, and you just eat those like a snack, and it's really satisfying.

SPEAKER_00: 7:00

And like Eliza, who is 13 and doesn't necessarily like anybody else's food other than what's on a very unhealthy menu, she loves them as well. Like she'll often eat them. And when you've got a teenager or someone who's a little bit conscious or is starting to be a little bit like funny about what they eat, they actually are really quite delicious. Now, you also make a lemon one or even a lime one to tell everyone about that because that is something else.

SPEAKER_01: 7:21

Yeah, so that one's got desiccated coconut in it. So, what I love with the way that I'm eating is there's there's a lot of coconut that's in it, natural fats, a lot of avocado and things like that. So everything's really natural. There's lime in there, there's hazelnuts or sorry, cashew nuts, sorry, not hazelnuts, cashew nuts. And you just blend it all together and it the consistency, you want it so that you can roll it together in a bowl, and then you roll it up in a little bit of desiccated coconut to coat it, and off you go.

SPEAKER_00: 7:47

Now we're having a bit of a get together tomorrow, and those are the sorts of things like those lemon and balls would actually make a really nice dessert. So when we were thinking earlier about desserts, yes, they would be a really nice dessert because they're quite creamy, they're quite sweet, they almost taste to me a little bit like white chocolate. And I don't know what that is, but it's like a little, it's a real nice creaminess in it. Deeper nuts. Definitely like really, really nice. So those are something you could almost add to the dessert list because you can easily have one of those with a nice cup of tea or a nice cup of coffee at the end of the um sort of dinner, and it's something that's quite tasty, a little bit naughty, but quite nice.

SPEAKER_01: 8:21

And it satisfies your sweet tooth as well, because that's one of my struggles. When I get tired, I'm looking for something sweet and they freeze really well. So they don't they I've I find I can create a barrier to myself thinking about how long it would take to make something like that. But actually, by the time I've done it, it's no different than driving to the shop, finding something, walking down the aisle, deciding out of the many things that you could pick, what I actually want to eat, standing in line, paying for it, driving home and then eating it. In that time, I could probably make two or three batches of energy balls.

SPEAKER_00: 8:51

And they can sit in the freezer, and I think that's probably one of the biggies. Now, another thing I love that you do, and we should say actually, all of you guys, if you want to come here for a health week, we run a health week a couple of times a year, do in choir because you can do it in person or you can do it online. We have people here come here with their dogs. We have people come here and do their dog training and their health week. We have people that come here without their dogs, we have people that come here from abroad, we've got people this year from America, Australia, yes, New Zealand, Canada. So we've got people from all over the world coming for this because ultimately you matter. You matter. And if you don't look after yourself, then you're not gonna be here for your dog. And so that for us is massive. Now, Michelle, if someone was sat on the fence and thinking, should I come to that health week, what are you gonna tell them?

SPEAKER_01: 9:27

Absolutely, you're gonna learn loads. I know I train better as a dog trainer when I feel healthier. I'm much more patient. Um my reaction time is much better.

SPEAKER_00: 9:36

You're changing Michelle, aren't you? Yep, you like to be able to do that. Tell me to game change, Michelle. So definitely any of the edge drops off when you're you're feeling better about yourself. Now, one of the other things I love that you do, it's so great having that to lean on, is when you've got someone like one of our guest trainers coming here for the week or one of the big trainers sort of arriving and landing and training, you do a great like veggie hot pot chili scenario. How does that work? Because I love that you make it look so so easy.

SPEAKER_01: 9:58

So, as a dog trainer, I'm teaching here at the center, I don't have a huge amount of time. So I've got to find things that work for me. You're not saying we're busy, right? Oh, we're it's amazing. I love it. We're insanely busy. We're insanely busy, and it's good. So I use my slower, yeah. I use my slow cooker a lot. I also have a soup maker that I use, but the chili is my favorite because it's inexpensive to make. I can put pretty much anything in it. It's got cumin, it's got coriander. I quite like spicy, so I'm a bit heavy with the chili powder. Your chili smells so good. We put in vegetable stock, it's got a tomato base, and then I just throw in mushrooms, broccoli, I forgot it, cauliflower. There's always greens, peppers, onions, garlic, and you just stick the lid on and let it cook for the day.

SPEAKER_00: 10:41

And it literally sits there all day. The only naughty thing might be if you add it a little bit of sour cream or a little bit of cheese, a little bit of sort of extra pepper, just delicious. It's absolutely delicious. And you can most people will end up going back to two bowls, then you're not.

SPEAKER_01: 10:53

The pot's usually empty. I always think I'm making big bat but we've got leftovers, and there's never leftovers. And I I try to stay away from cheese, so I put nutritional yeast on top instead. So there's I've learned so much about healthy eating, and there's always something else. So Caesar salad, do you like Caesar salad?

SPEAKER_00: 11:10

I love a Caesar salad.

SPEAKER_01: 11:11

So we've got a I've got a really great recipe that is a take on a Caesar salad dressing, and it uses cashew nuts, and you actually wouldn't notice the difference.

SPEAKER_00: 11:18

Delicious. I think we've got Caesar salad for the instant actually matter that won't have been that healthy. So I really definitely would be a great idea. Now let's just do a fast fire, a few tips, tennis, uh, as to what you could do to make your life a little bit healthier, because ultimately you matter, ultimately, you're gonna be here longer for your dog, you're gonna be here longer for yourself, and you're gonna be longer here to actually spread the the world of, or the word rather, of good dog training around the world. So for us, that is where the mission is. If you look after yourself, then then you get the opportunity to share that a bit more. So my first tip is going to be if you pick it up and there's no moisture in it, question what the nutritional level is. So if I pick something up and I think, I don't know, a loaf of bread, there is no nutritional level in that in that bread for you. There is nothing that is nutritionally good for you, really, in that in that bread. And typically, I mean, even in when you make it yourself, it's still there's a lot you shouldn't be really eating in there. And so for me, if there's no moisture in it, if it's not moist, what is the goodness that's coming out? So I'll give you an example. I would pick up maybe a melon, grapes, um, strawberries, banana, um, raspberries, blueberries, but like all of the fresh veggies, the peppers, the broccoli, like any of that, there's there's goodness straight away. Tomatoes. For me, I like to see some moisture in my food. Definitely. Yeah. How to you?

SPEAKER_01: 12:33

You were saying about fruits. So I always have a banana, apple, orange, something like that. Kiwi is my absolute favorite.

SPEAKER_00: 12:40

Oh, kiwi's such a good fruit. Yes. It's like a power fruit, isn't it? It's like a super power fruit.

SPEAKER_01: 12:44

I also listen to my body. So I go through periods where I crave certain fruits, and I do think your body knows what it wants. I love kiwi. So if I'm craving kiwi, there's something in kiwi that my body really needs. I love kiwi.

SPEAKER_00: 12:56

Second one for me is going to be, and then I'm going to head back to Michelle, is going to be if you're really hungry sometimes, just grab a glass of water and down the whole glass of water and then decide if you're hungry again five minutes later. Yeah. Give yourself five minutes. Often I'm not hungry, I'm thirsty. And often I'm dehydrated. Agreed. Dehydration massive affects my skin, affects my mood, it affects my um general day-to-day demeanor, it affects your like all of it. Like, yeah, everything. Everything.

SPEAKER_01: 13:18

Definitely. So soup maker.

SPEAKER_00: 13:20

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01: 13:21

Oh, that saves me time and time again. Always. So it takes me about a half hour for a big batch of soup to make. It's enough for me for lunch for two days. And sometimes I'm pressed for time. I do little freezer bags of all the ingredients I need to put in the soup maker. Get up in the morning, running late. Something's happened. I haven't got anything prepped. Dump it all in the soup maker, half hour later, it's ready. Pour it in my thermos, and I've got lunch ready to go.

SPEAKER_00: 13:47

Nice. And it's and it's home, homegrown, homemade. And my next one is going to be if you can homegrow, home grow. So we've got a lovely little allotment. I know that Michelle's got plans to grow some veggies. My mum's got plans to grow some veggies. I definitely am ready to eat the veggies. So, what I'd say to everyone is if you've got a homegrown option, some people don't eat eggs, they don't think it's right. I love eggs, and I love the fact we have homegrown eggs, we have our own chickens. If you've got an option of anything homegrown, then do we're going to do two more. So Michelle's got one more, I've got one more. Let's listen out. What's your next one, Michelle? Top tip.

SPEAKER_01: 14:15

Find an alternative. So one of my absolute favorite things in the whole wide world to eat is nachos. And I really struggled because I crave that. Like it's a texture thing for me in that salty. That it's a treat, it's a movie night, it's a treat thing that we do. Absolutely. So our last health retreat, I made cauliflower nachos. And everyone was like, I don't know, it's not going to be the same. They all absolutely loved it. So homemade guacamole put everything on it, did a vegan cheese, which is slightly naughty, but it's okay. It can't be 100% perfect. But on the scale of things, very minor, it was absolutely delicious. And we're going to have that tomorrow night. Yeah, we're going to have a bit of a get together.

SPEAKER_00: 14:55

Regular nachos, and I'm going to be making cauliflower. So we have a bit of a get together and we get the choice of where we are with it. And I think that's the important thing is give yourself choice, don't make it a no-no at the same time. If you can, then do. My last one is going to be the devil's in the detail and the prep. And I know that for Miguel and for myself, that makes a big difference. So in the freezer, there are always some energy balls. Like Michelle, I've got the soup and the soup maker. And I've just bought some of those silicone bags so that I can pop out the soup. We saw them yesterday at a big trade stand that we were at. Those are really, really nice. Things that are easy to go. And if worst case scenario, if you can't do that, then what's your best alternative that the supermarket can offer? And still be kind to yourself. So, for example, have a look at what they have and go as close as you can to the source. So, even whether it might be, I don't know, um, some hummus and some carrot sticks, it might be some broccoli, it might be some a packet of grapes, a punnet of strawberries, it could be a pack of blueberries. I feed my dogs a lot of blueberries when I travel. And again, a top tip for your dogs where you can go fresh. And if you haven't already, pick up Michelle's um recipe book, email the Ask team, they're going to give you a link. I can't remember offhand, but they will definitely know it. But but we definitely, the prep is important, right?

SPEAKER_01: 16:01

Yeah, absolutely. And it surprises me when you look for it, what you can actually find that's healthy to eat. So I did a road trip day before yesterday. I know you were on the road as well. Every time I stopped at the services, there was something healthier I could pick up.

SPEAKER_00: 16:14

Absolutely. And I think actually, interestingly, we both obviously live in the UK. You're from um Bermuda, and I've travelled a lot. And I would say the UK is one of the easier places to be healthy, usually in Spain and France and Europe, whereas in America, uh very, very hard. Bermuda, very, very hard. Yes. Not because it's it's just expensive in Bermuda and in America it's hard to find, and everything is pre-prepped and pre-packed. And actually, you don't want pre-packed and pre-prepped. You wanted to prep it yourself so it's fresh from source, yes, close to source. Like if I'm buying lettuce, I'd prefer to buy the lettuce and not the chopped bagged, being in there for days in plastic. Like it doesn't sit with me. So I think think about things from source. And when you go to like the European markets, like you're gonna grab it out of a like a big sort of sack of mud when you get your potato, whatever you're gonna grab. Sweet potatoes, that's our other topic, right? I love sweet potatoes.

SPEAKER_01: 17:02

There's so much you can do with them.

SPEAKER_00: 17:03

We should do sweet potato fries tomorrow. Oh, it's already on the menu. Yeah, sweet potato fries and now energy balls being added. Yeah, and lots of lime, loads of lime. So we're ready. We're ready, we're prepared. Guys, if you're not already coming to the health retreat, get on the health retreat. You know you want to be there. We know we can make a difference. And most of all, I know that this team, we know how to support it, right, Michelle.

SPEAKER_01: 17:23

Yeah, definitely, definitely.

SPEAKER_00: 17:24

All very practical, real life, easy, healthy. If you can do it in person, get here in person. If you can't do it in person, do it online. Touch base with us, we want to help you. And again, with this podcast, share it to someone who might need it. Friend, father, mother, sister, brother. Your health is something that has no price on it. It is literally priceless. Absolutely invest in yourself. We'll see you there. We've got more for you, and absolutely make it a great rest of your day.