He Didn’t Know How To Cook… Now He’s A Viral Chef: Justin Schuble | Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel #366

Summary

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Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel

Episode #366: "He Didn’t Know How To Cook… Now He’s A Viral Chef: Justin Schuble"

Featuring: Host Rachel Uchitel & Guest Justin Schuble (@dcfoodporn, @justinmschuble)
Date: April 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode features a candid conversation between Rachel Uchitel and Justin Schuble, the viral food content creator behind “DC Foodporn” and “justinmschuble” on Instagram. The discussion dives into Justin’s unexpected journey from a non-cook with a background in business and marketing to a popular food influencer known for accessible, healthy, and visually appealing recipes. The episode is packed with stories of rebranding, insights into content creation, the realities of the influencer food world, and practical tips for anyone intimidated by the kitchen.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Justin’s Food Journey: “I didn’t know how to cook either”

• Justin’s Background (04:09)

  • Justin admits he couldn’t cook five years ago:
    “If it makes you feel better, five years ago, I didn’t know how to cook either. So it’s very much like I’m on this journey with everybody else.” (04:09)
  • Began his food content career in 2014 at Georgetown, driven partly by a desire to get off campus and explore DC’s restaurant scene.

• The Birth of DC Foodporn (04:24)

  • Started posting purely for fun:
    “I was posting on my personal page...then in between, it was like, food pictures...I realized pretty quickly that the food content was doing very well and...let me make a new account. It’ll just be food. No one’s gonna follow it, but, like, I’ll do it for fun.” (05:44)
  • Early viral moments came from posting extravagant, “over the top” restaurant dishes like 10 stacked donuts or massive ice cream servings.

2. Transition from Restaurants to Cooking at Home

• Early DC Restaurant Scene & Monetization (08:08)

  • Built a following through constant restaurant visits; initially received free meals, later supporting income with sponsored posts.
    “At first, I was not getting paid...Then when I went to try to get paid, it was a harder ask. I realized I had to get paid by brands...in between my restaurant content.” (08:21)

• Pandemic Rebrand (08:54)

  • Transitioned to making and posting his own recipes after moving to Florida in 2021; joined TikTok and quickly gained followers.
  • The content shifted:
    “Now I cook myself lunch. I eat it. And that’s my content.” (07:59)
    “TikTok really just like, was pushing out food content pretty...big back then.” (09:14)

3. Creator or Chef?

• How Justin Sees Himself (10:23)
  • Not a formally trained chef; considers himself a creative and content creator in the food space:
    “I’m definitely a content creator in the food space, but I do love interior design. I love real estate, I love fashion. Like, I like to sprinkle in little bits of everything.” (10:23)
  • Focus is on making cooking approachable for everyone, especially those who don’t usually cook:
    “I have no, like, training, no professional background…how can I pull all that and make things easy and break it down for people...so people like you that don’t cook can figure it out?” (11:16)

4. Cooking Style, Trends, and Philosophy

• From Viral Stunts to Relatable, Healthy Meals (12:13, 13:53)
  • Early days: chasing food trends and viral challenges.
  • Now: focuses on quick, healthy meals—simple, colorful, “protein bowls” that are easy to replicate at home:
    “I want a well balanced meal, so I want a veggie, I want a protein, I want a carb. But like a healthy carb...Just like a complete meal in a bowl, easy to eat, easy to clean up.” (14:26)
  • Trends like ‘Make America Healthy Again’ are part of his content lens: “I think relatability and just like something that looks like you could make it at home is what people want to see.” (14:12) “Health and wellness are becoming a focus. I think I’ve been on that trend for longer than like everybody has.” (12:59)

5. Honest Realities of Food Content Creation

• Behind-the-Scenes Truths (13:13, 13:53)
  • Not all food photographed ends up eaten; efforts made to minimize waste by passing excess food to restaurant staff or family.
  • Responding to audience questions about ‘how do you stay thin’:
    “There’s no way one person—and then every comment was like, ‘how are you so skinny?’...you can’t expect that I’m really [eating it all].” (13:36)

6. Pantry Talks & Easy Cooking Tips

• Pantry Staples & Go-To Ingredients (19:32–22:45)

  • Justin’s practical advice for easy meal building:
    • Always keep basics like rice, good oils (extra virgin olive oil—ideally from a single origin—coconut oil for baking), spices (especially curry and sea salt), chickpeas and beans in a can, sweet potatoes, lemon, and avocados.
    • Try to shop for fresh protein and veg the same day for simplicity and nutrition. “You gotta keep the staples. So anything that can sit on a shelf, have those ready so you don’t have to do those every time you’re shopping…Then I'll usually go in, I’ll buy a protein and a veggie and you can make a dinner.” (20:28, 20:35)
  • Regarding oils and salts:
    “You want it to be extra virgin olive oil, ideally from one place...I like the flaky sea salt, the Maldon salt.” (20:51, 24:14)

• Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Preferences (22:45)

  • Not strictly necessary unless there are allergies, but he often develops gluten-free and dairy-free dishes for inclusivity, especially for family reasons.

7. Real-World Recipe Inspiration

• Favorite Quick Recipe (17:56)

  • Justin shares his go-to:
    “Our obsession lately...sweet potatoes with cinnamon, ground beef with taco seasoning, and then like avocado on top...we whip it up in like 20 minutes...easy, protein, it’s delicious.” (17:56)
  • Encourages playing with flavor, keeping things cohesive but experimenting with spices (like cinnamon in taco meat).

• Approachable Advice for Kitchen Beginners (25:44)

  • Rachel confesses her intimidation with cooking for family; Justin encourages her and others to start with simple recipes from his page:
    “It is intimidating...But I'm gonna make a pact. I'm gonna find a recipe on your site...And I want to do it.” (25:44–25:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On starting his journey:
  • “I didn’t know how to cook either. So it’s very much like I’m on this journey with everybody else.” — Justin (04:09)
• On relatability vs. viral stunts:
  • “Back then…the way to go viral was to have all these big accounts repost your content…the more outrageous you could do…the better. Now it’s all about just getting eyeballs. And…I think relatability…is what people want to see.” — Justin (13:53–14:12)
• On healthy basics:
  • “You gotta keep the staples. So anything that can sit on a shelf, have those ready…Then I'll usually go in, I'll buy a protein and a veggie and you can make a dinner.” — Justin (20:28)
• Rachel’s real-life kitchen moment:
  • “I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do it. So I'm just like, forget it, you know. But I’m gonna make a pact. I’m gonna find a recipe on your site and I want to do it.” — Rachel (25:43–25:56)

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Useful Timestamps

• Justin’s background & foodie beginnings: 04:09–05:44
• The evolution from restaurant reviews to home cooking & rebranding: 06:14–09:14
• On content creation between TikTok & Instagram: 09:27–10:01
• Justin’s perspective on being a chef, creative, and influencer: 10:09–11:36
• Discussion on making healthy cooking approachable: 12:13–14:26
• Pantry essentials & cooking staples advice: 19:32–22:45
• Tips on gluten-free/dairy-free, favorite alternative pastas: 22:45–23:53
• On salt, hydration, and trendy food advice: 24:01–24:41
• Rachel’s intimidation and Justin encouraging beginners: 25:12–25:56

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Conclusion

Justin Schuble’s story is an inspiring reminder that you don’t need a culinary pedigree to start cooking or to create compelling food content. His approach to cooking—simple, beautiful, healthy, and above all, doable—invites even the most uncertain beginners to give it a try. With down-to-earth tips and a refreshingly honest conversation with Rachel, this episode is both motivating and practical: perfect for anyone hoping to go from “can’t cook” to kitchen confidence.

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Note: This summary skips over sponsor messages, advertisements, and unrelated introductions in line with requested guidelines.

Transcript

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[Justin Shubel]

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[Justin Shubel]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Justin Shubel]

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[Podcast Host]

This weekend is Easter weekend if you celebrate. I hope you're having a great weekend. I have a lot to tell you about when I get back. I have headed to my mother's 80th birthday family reunion where 20 people in my family are going in Scottsdale, Arizona. I set up the house. It's like a compound where everybody can stay. Because of my relationship with my family, my husband and I, Dan are actually staying in a different hotel and we're flying there to drive. I am pretty much estranged from my mother, so it makes for a very interesting Easter weekend where I'm trying to, you know, do the right thing and be there for my mother. Anyways, so for today's episode, I am putting out an interview with Justin Shubel. His Instagram is DC Foodporn, and he's known as Justin Mschuble on Instagram, he puts together easy, healthy recipes that are unbelievable. So if you go to his Instagram, he has almost 700,000 followers, and on a consistent basis, he's putting out the most gorgeous, beautiful, colorful food recipes and walking you through how to do them. I sat down with him, and he talked about what it was like to start this account, the fact that he was a content creator first and then became a chef as he went through this process. And now you, too, can be a chef by following his instructions. Please enjoy my conversation with him. I think he's pretty amazing, and I think you'll be heading to the grocery store soon to pick out some ingredients and make, you know, a DC Porn gourmet meal.

[Justin Shubel]

Sa.

[Podcast Host]

Justin, thank you so much for being here today on Misunderstood.

[Justin Shubel]

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[Podcast Host]

Of course. So I find you fascinating. I found your page because I cannot cook. I don't know the first thing about making a meal. And I found it fascinating to sit there and watch food content and kind of get drawn into it. That's not, like, a thing that I normally would do.

[Justin Shubel]

Well, you come to the perfect place, obviously, and if it makes you feel better, five years ago, I didn't know how to cook either. So it's very much like I'm on this journey with everybody else.

[Podcast Host]

That's so fascinating. So I heard a story that you started doing this to, like, get out of class at Georgetown. Is that true?

[Justin Shubel]

I mean, interesting way of wording it, but yeah. I started this in 2014. I was at Georgetown. I was eager to get off campus, and I was very much in, like, the restaurant space, doing it for fun, and it just kind of blew up very quickly. Became the biggest food influencer in the city, and it was just like, a whole thing.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

And the shift into cooking and, like, recipes is kind of in the last five, six years since COVID So I've definitely had a big rebrand.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, for sure. So, wait, so going back before, did you grow up wanting to be a cook, a content creator?

[Justin Shubel]

I grew up around food. I've always loved food. My family, we didn't cook a lot. We went out to eat all the time my grandfather cooked, so I was kind of around both sides of it, and food was very much like, what brought people together for me.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Justin Shubel]

So creating a community around that was really exciting.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Justin Shubel]

But I would not say I was, like, cooking from an early age, so that definitely came later, but.

[Podcast Host]

And you were studying marketing in school?

[Justin Shubel]

I was in the business school doing finance and marketing.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, nice.

[Justin Shubel]

Thought I was going to either go into marketing or real estate. Did not expect social media was so new. I mean, this was like early days of Instagram, Facebook. So being an influencer was not, like, a career path that I foresaw being a thing I could do. Yeah, it just kind of happened organically, and it's been 11 years now.

[Podcast Host]

So what made you decide to do post about food or restaurants instead of posting about, like, yourself or, you know, people were, like, doing dances or.

[Justin Shubel]

Yeah, well, funny enough, I wasn't doing it for content. I was posting on my personal page. I was posting pictures of me friends, and then in between, it was like, food pictures.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Justin Shubel]

I realized pretty quickly that the food content was doing very well and it was reaching people that I wouldn't normally reach. And so I was like, all right, let me make a new account. It'll just be food. No one's gonna follow it, but, like, I'll do it for fun.

[Podcast Host]

And food, like, in restaurants that you like meals.

[Justin Shubel]

Yeah. So it was called DC Food Porn. It was very much, like, the most over the top food I could find in dc. It was donuts and ice cream and dripping and, like, very gooey over the top.

[Podcast Host]

So the look of it was which,

[Justin Shubel]

if you've seen my page today, is the complete opposite of what I'm doing now. It's very, like, health focused, but it's

[Podcast Host]

still beautiful and colors.

[Justin Shubel]

For me, I've always been a creative and an artist, and so, like, that aspect of it has been as exciting to me as the food itself.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

So, like, keeping it very visually entertaining is important.

[Podcast Host]

If this didn't happen in your life, like, what would you be doing?

[Justin Shubel]

Good question. I think I'd be. I come from a real estate family, so I think I would be doing real estate or, like, the marketing side of real estate. Definitely something a little more business oriented.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Okay, so what was your first post that kind of blew up that you were like, ooh, this is interesting.

[Justin Shubel]

Good question. My very first post, funny enough, was just like, a sweet green salad. I went to Georgetown, and sweet green, like, started there, so it was the very first sweet green. Before it was like, all over the country. And people were like, just very excited to see that. So that was my first post. And then I wouldn't say it went viral. Probably got 20 likes at the time. First thing that went viral was it

[Podcast Host]

just a salad that you made that you saw?

[Justin Shubel]

Yeah, there's not. I'm not even sure I kept it. I probably deleted it. It was so bad. But at the time it was like there wasn't a lot of food content, so any sort of food people were excited to see. And sweet cream was such a new concept, so people outside of the city thought it was cool. And definitely not a great post, looking back, but it worked. And then I think in terms of virality, it was as over the top as I could go. The better. So, like, I would stack 10 donuts on top of each other. I would like. There was this one ice cream shop called Ice cream Jubilee in D.C. and the owner, she knew what I did, and she would make the craziest, like 20 scoops of ice cream. And all this stuff going on just really, just for the photo. And it was completely outrageous and a waste of food. And looking back, I'm like, it's not what I do today. I cook myself lunch. I eat it. And that's my content.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Justin Shubel]

But that's grab attention.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, but that's interesting. Cause then did restaurants say, oh, that's that food guy. I want to work with him and do something.

[Justin Shubel]

So I was like the food guy in D.C. for many years. And I would go from restaurant to restaurant while I was in college. So I was jumping from class to restaurant to event.

[Podcast Host]

And were people paying you or were they giving you free meals at this point?

[Justin Shubel]

At first, I was not getting paid. It was in the very beginning. I was paying for all the food and I was like, I feel like I'm offering something. Like, let me see if they'll give me food in exchange for what I'm doing. That was great. And then when I went to try to get paid, it was a harder ask. I think restaurants don't have that kind of marketing budget. Maybe now, but back then there was no, like, influencer marketing budget.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

So I realized that I had to get paid by brands and do like, sponsored posts in between my restaurant content.

[Podcast Host]

Got it.

[Justin Shubel]

And that's how I was making money. But restaurants really were not paying.

[Podcast Host]

Got it. And then there was a shift. And that was during the pandemic. Right?

[Justin Shubel]

Shift was during the pandemic. I obviously am in Florida now, so I moved here in 2021 and DC food porn obviously was very DC focused, and so I kind of had to make a shift. TikTok had just started, so I started posting on there. I ended up surpassing my followers from Instagram that I built over five years within like six months.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, wow. With the same kind of content.

[Justin Shubel]

Same kind of content. I think TikTok really just like, was pushing out food content pretty, like, big back then.

[Podcast Host]

And I'm sorry, I'm so curious about this. Like, would you post the same post on Instagram that you would post on TikTok?

[Justin Shubel]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Or would you shorten it?

[Justin Shubel]

So a lot of people did not do that. And I was like, let me make my life easy. The only way I'm going to post on both every day is if I'm posting the same content. If I figure out how to do separate content, it's going to be too hard. And all my content's 15 to 45 seconds. So it kind of works on both platforms.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

It's kind of the reason I never got onto, like, YouTube, because I didn't have that long form content figured out. But, like, in terms of short form, TikTok, Instagram, I posted pretty much the same. I would tweak the caption or the music or things like that, but yeah, same content.

[Podcast Host]

And TikTok just happened to do better.

[Justin Shubel]

It was interesting. I mean, back then. Yes. Now I would say Instagram does better. It keeps flip flopping. The algorithm just kind of changes and, you know.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So it's funny because to me, I look at your stuff now and I don't know, is he a chef? Is he a content creator? Is he like a photographer or an artist? Because of how, you know, you can see something with a specific eye. What would you consider? You are.

[Justin Shubel]

Well, I'm glad to see you, I think. Cause my goal really is to brand myself. And like, I mean, 5, 10, 20 years from now, I don't know if I'll be cooking protein bowls in my kitchen, but I still want people to kind of be excited to follow along. So kind of always playing with, like, what I consider myself. I'm definitely a content creator in the food space, but I do love interior design. I love real estate, I love fashion. Like, I like to sprinkle in little bits of everything.

[Podcast Host]

Right. And that's fascinating because I think if somebody saw your page, they would think you're a chef.

[Justin Shubel]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

And I, in looking at it before I even started talking with you on DMs or whatever, I was like, oh, I should hire this guy to like, make Me, lunch every day. Or like, I wonder if he has a home food plan that he does, you know?

[Justin Shubel]

And actually, I've considered that. I think for me, I don't know if it's an insecurity, but, like, I'm still new to cooking. Yeah, new. I mean, it's been probably six years where I really like doing it almost every day.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

But I would never, like, consider myself a chef. I have no, like, training, no professional background, Just kind of like, how can I. I've been around food my whole life. I've been into restaurants. I've been at other people's houses who are cooking. Like, how can I pull all that and make things easy and break it down for people so people like you that don't cook can figure it out? Five ingredients, 10 ingredients.

[Podcast Host]

And that's gotta be different, though, than cooking for a group of people.

[Justin Shubel]

Yeah. And I do it like, if I. My family has 10, 15 people coming over, I'm the one that's cooking. But it's not what I love to do.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Justin Shubel]

It stresses me out. It's fun. But it's also like, doing that for one person versus 15 is very different.

[Podcast Host]

Does it taste as good as it looks?

[Justin Shubel]

I would like to think so. I think some recipes are better than others, but overall, yeah, I would say the food is good.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, so let's go back to when the pandemic started, and then you started getting into making the food as opposed to, you know, taking. Doing content of restaurants. So how did you decide what food you wanted to make?

[Justin Shubel]

So back then, I was very a. I was very inexperienced in the kitchen, so I kept it really simple. And I was also very trend driven. So, like, if. I don't know if you remember the pancake cereal, where people were making the mini pancakes into, like, cereal, things like that, I was very much doing, like, the trends or, like, taking a trend and trying to, like, do something different with it. Like, I did, like, instead of pancake cereal, I made, like, little cookies, like cookie cereal. Like, ways to, like, push the trends but still do what people were already doing. And it's very much not what I do anymore. Now I'm like, I wake up, I'm like, what do I want to eat today? I cook it, and I hope that that's what everybody else is craving as well. And that seems to be working.

[Podcast Host]

So. Yeah. Do you follow the Maha make America healthy again trends? Do you pay attention?

[Justin Shubel]

I do pay attention, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. What are your thoughts on that?

[Justin Shubel]

I like that health and wellness are becoming a Focus. I think I've been on that trend for longer than like everybody has. So I think it's nice to see that that's become like a big priority. The seed oils, the protein over carbs, all that stuff. Like, I'm into it.

[Podcast Host]

You are. Okay. And so it's interesting. Cause I think a lot of people don't realize sometimes you don't eat a lot of the food that you at least used to post. Right.

[Justin Shubel]

And that's changed a lot. I think back in the day there was plenty of food that I was not eating and I would try not to waste it. So if I was in a restaurant, I would give it to the staff, or I'd give it to a homeless person or bring it home for family.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

But it was just too much food. Like, there's no way one person and then everyone, every comment was like, how are you so skinny?

[Podcast Host]

Right, Right.

[Justin Shubel]

I'm like, you can't expect that. I'm really.

[Podcast Host]

But at the time, that was as a content creator. Right. It was for the likes. And now I feel like you obviously do it for the likes, but at the same time, these are, These are things you're really eating.

[Justin Shubel]

Exactly. Yeah. I think back then the big way to go viral because the algorithm was different. You didn't have like the for you page or things like that. The way to go viral was to have all these big accounts repost your content so the more outrageous you could do, the Food Network would pick it up, people would pick it up. Like, if you could do something crazy and have a beautiful photo, like, that was the way to go viral.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

Now it's all about just getting eyeballs. And there's so many more ways to do that. And I, I think relatability and just like something that looks like you could make it at home is what people want to see.

[Podcast Host]

Is there a style or recipe that you get most excited about, meaning a group like, do you love salads, beefs?

[Justin Shubel]

I love a protein bowl. So like, I'm very much like, I want a well balanced meal, so I want a veggie, I want a protein, I want a carb. But like a healthy carb, like brown rice, sweet potato, something, and just like a complete meal in a bowl, easy to eat, easy to clean up is kind of my go to.

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[Podcast Host]

Have you ever done those food services that you know, like back to fresh but yeah, hell of a yeah, that come to your door and it's like supposed to be 30 minutes and I love the concept.

[Justin Shubel]

For me, I've never done it because unless it's like a partnership that I'm doing with them, like I'm not going to post. Yeah, that kind of content.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Justin Shubel]

But I think I love the like for other people. I love the concept of like an easy quick meal.

[Podcast Host]

I feel like that's a really good thing for you. Do you know what I mean? For you to do. However the problem is is you're not getting the healthy ingredients. So maybe for you it's like you can post the content of how to do it once the people buy the ingredients or something. Do you know what I mean? Because I would do that. I think a lot of people would because it's the enjoyment of making it, which is what does well in those box. But the stuff that comes in the boxes is all processed, so it wouldn't work for people that are trying to be healthy or weight conscious or whatever. Is there something that you've made? Like you're looking at recipes or whatever, that it was like a religious experience on the first bite, that you were like, holy shit, this is amazing.

[Justin Shubel]

That's a good question. Trying to think what I've made. And then it's become part of my rotation. I definitely have a couple things.

[Podcast Host]

Like if you were on a deserted island and you could bring one meal.

[Justin Shubel]

You know, weirdly enough, my boyfriend and I are like, obsession lately. It's so simple and sounds weird, but we do these, like, sweet potatoes with cinnamon, ground beef with taco seasoning, and then like avocado on top. And it sounds like an odd combination, but we whip it up in like 20 minutes, like on a Tuesday night after the gym. It's easy, protein, it's delicious, and it's. It's been like a once a week thing for us.

[Podcast Host]

So how do you even come up with that stuff?

[Justin Shubel]

It's a good question. Yeah. Playing around with like, I love to, like, push the boundaries a little, but also make sure, like, you want to be able to take a bite of everything on a plate and it makes sense together.

[Podcast Host]

Totally.

[Justin Shubel]

So keeping the flavors cohesive, but also, like, weirdly, like, the cinnamon pulls out interesting flavors in the taco meat and this and that.

[Podcast Host]

Interesting. Never thought of that. So it's funny, growing up, my mother didn't cook going to my grandmother. So I lived in New York City. You always order or go out, right? It's like Chinese food is what you grow up on. As a kid coming down to Palm beach and visiting my grandmother, she only cooked easy meals. So it was like rotisserie chicken, steamed broccoli, like, you know, she would put like a sweet potato in the microwave and then salad, you know, that was kind of like the thing, the classic. Yeah. So I want to get into things that people that are listening can, like, pull out of their pantry and like work on and make that are easy, under 30 minute recipes. So let's start with the pantry concept. Like, if you were given like a game show and you had to say like, okay, people have to look in their pantry right now. What do they have? And what can we make out of something? First of all, what would you say is in most people's pantries that is usable? Because I feel like that shit sits in there and no one uses It,

[Justin Shubel]

I mean, I always have, I always have rice in the pantry. I think you can like create an easy meal out of that. Obviously having the right spices and like even having like a good, like, like I said the taco seasoning or like pre prepared seasonings that are like, are. You're not mixing 10 things together, you're pouring a packet, putting it on your protein, throwing it in the oven, making some rice.

[Podcast Host]

Yep.

[Justin Shubel]

Maybe I'm a big like healthy fat guy. So, like, avocado is a good addition. But yeah, I don't love, like, I don't love packaged foods. So, like things that are sitting in the pantry, I'm not big on that. Unless it's like chickpeas in a can or beans in a can. Like, those are great protein sources.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Justin Shubel]

But I'm very big on like going to the store like that day and buying what I want. But like a few things, nothing crazy. Like you don't need to do a whole grocery.

[Podcast Host]

So I love that. That's actually an important piece of advice. So people can have things in the pantry, but that doesn't mean they actually have anything in their house. So it is important to shop.

[Justin Shubel]

Yeah. You gotta keep the staples. So anything that can sit on a shelf, have those ready so you don't have to do those every time you're shopping.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Justin Shubel]

And then I'll usually go in, I'll buy a protein and a veggie and you can make a dinner.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Are there basics that we should keep though, in the freezer, in the refrigerator and in the pantry just to have, like, what would those basics be to you?

[Justin Shubel]

Okay. I would say definitely some good oils.

[Podcast Host]

So like, okay, tell me.

[Justin Shubel]

Oil.

[Podcast Host]

Because I never know which olive oil

[Justin Shubel]

or oil you want it to be. Extra virgin olive oil, ideally from one place.

[Podcast Host]

So like, does it have to be from Italy?

[Justin Shubel]

Like, it doesn't have to be. It can be like 100% Italian, 100% from Spain. Wherever it is, you don't want to blend of like different countries because they sneak weird stuff in there.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Do you have a favorite?

[Justin Shubel]

Lately I've been loving Graza just for the convenience of the squeeze bottle is fun to use, but there's a ton. Even the Costco has great extra virgin olive oil. I would always keep like a coconut oil. Again, that's great for baking, obviously. Rice, brown rice, white rice.

[Podcast Host]

Trying to think, what else do you always have, like teriyaki sauce and stuff?

[Justin Shubel]

Yeah, I guess I take for granted I have a very full pantry of stuff. I have teriyaki I have gluten free soy, regular soy. I have probably 30 spices. I love having like curry on hand is like an easy spice. You can throw on something, it gives it a ton of flavor, but it's one spice.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Justin Shubel]

Obviously lots of good sea salt.

[Podcast Host]

What else do you always have? Lemons? Do you always have cucumber, tomato? Like what would five ingredients that you

[Justin Shubel]

always have in my like weekly shop? Yeah, big on. Yeah, I love lemon. I think that acid adds like a real punch even to like, if you like roast broccoli, like hit it with a little lemon. Makes it so much better. So I'd say lemon's a good one. Avocado olive oil is great. Sweet potato I think is a great carb. If you like, don't want rice or pasta. I think sweet potatoes are good, like super filling, really good for you, tons of nutrients. So that's a great one as well. And then in the fridge, I would say obviously, like milk is a staple.

[Podcast Host]

Do you use regular milk, almond milk?

[Justin Shubel]

It depends on what I'm making. I don't cook with a lot of milk. I try to keep my recipes allergy friendly as dairy free, gluten free, whatever I can do the better.

[Podcast Host]

Do you believe in the gluten free thing? Sometimes I feel like it's worse.

[Justin Shubel]

It depends. I think if you.

[Podcast Host]

Worse in terms of taste. Sorry.

[Justin Shubel]

Oh, yeah. I think gluten free is great if you have a reason to be gluten free. If it's an intolerance, celiac, whatever it is, I don't think it's always healthier or better if you can tolerate it.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Like, do you eat pasta?

[Justin Shubel]

I do sometimes, but I do a lot of gluten free. My, my brother's celiac was a lot of gluten free in the family. So it's easy to like just cook gluten free.

[Podcast Host]

Got it.

[Justin Shubel]

Makes it easier for everybody. And same with like, I don't do a lot of dairy in the family. We have a lot of lactose intolerance. So a lot of allergy friendly. There's like nuts and stuff.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about. Well, let's talk about pasta for a second. If you're going to do pasta, would you do like a zucchini pasta?

[Justin Shubel]

I'm a big fan of jovial. It's 100% brown rice. Tastes pretty close to the real thing. Texture is great. Zucchini pasta is great, but it doesn't taste like pasta.

[Podcast Host]

No.

[Justin Shubel]

It tastes like you're eating vegetables with sauce on it, which is great. But it's different kind of. Or even, like, I'll roast, like, a big spaghetti squash and use that and make, like, a Bolognese and stuff. So there are ways around it, but, yeah, it's different.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Talk about salts, too, because when you look at the counter, a lot of people have all these different kind of salts. And then you hear overwhelming to put salt in your water now.

[Justin Shubel]

Like, talk about the electrolytes.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Justin Shubel]

I'm a big fan of salt. I think people are scared of sodium. I don't think it's always a bad thing. Like you said, putting it in water, like, if you're dehydrated, if I'm hungover, a little bit of salt on the tongue, I chug a glass of water and I feel better in 20 minutes.

[Podcast Host]

Really? Or I'll even think it's great for you.

[Justin Shubel]

I mean, obviously not in huge.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Justin Shubel]

Doses, but, like, a heavy pinch on the tongue and a glass of water is very good for hydration. I like the flaky sea salt, the Maldon salt.

[Podcast Host]

Like, but is there a real difference between, like, Himalayan pink salt and sea salt?

[Justin Shubel]

And here, so many conflicting things. I mean, there are a lot more nutrients in, like, the sea salt and the Himalayan salt than, like, table salt.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Justin Shubel]

But some pink salts can have lead in them and this. And that's right. You know, you can't. I feel like they're always out to get us. Try to be healthy. And then I have some pink Himalayan sea salt, but lately I've just been using the, you know, like, the big, flaky sea salt. Use that on mostly everything you do. Or, like, the grinder.

[Podcast Host]

Got it. Okay. So if people are listening and they're like, all right, what is one thing that could be a go to that I can make two to three times a week, whether it's a salad, chicken salad, you make your salads look amazing. Thank you. I mean, they're.

[Justin Shubel]

I love a good salad.

[Podcast Host]

Unbelievable. I haven't tried to make any thing yet, but I will tell you my New Year's resolution. I got married on New Year's Eve, so thank you. So my New Year's resolution was that every Wednesday night, we were going to have family dinner. My husband cooks every night, so I was going to cook every Wednesday. And it's my daughter. She's 13, and then he has two kids, like, in their 20s. Everyone was forced to come to dinner on Wednesday nights. And I was making it. Now here we are, what, in, you know, two. Two months after this thing that I say, I'M going to do never happened. Not once has it happened.

[Justin Shubel]

It's intimidating.

[Podcast Host]

It is intimidating. I don't know what to bo. I don't know how to do it. And so I'm just like, forget it. You know. But I'm gonna make a pact. I'm gonna find a recipe on your site.

[Justin Shubel]

Okay. Yeah. I'll lead you in the right direction. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And I want to do it. But for people that are listening and they're like, that's fun. Tonight let me go to the supermarket and let me make a quick meal that kids will like, husband will like. But it will feel hearty and it'll feel like rich and like you spent some time. Give us a go to on how to do it.

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