What 17 Years at Rachael Ray Really Taught Her | Jeanette Donnarumma

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hello. You guys, stop. [00:00:04] Speaker B: Is it Mom o' clock yet? I'm going crazy. [00:00:08] Speaker C: Heck yeah. It's Mama Clock somewhere. Welcome back to Mama Clock. We're so happy to be here. And we have a very special guest. May I introduce you? [00:00:24] Speaker B: Drop it, please. [00:00:26] Speaker C: Oh, my God. Don't break my tape ball. [00:00:28] Speaker B: My table. [00:00:31] Speaker C: May I introduce you to Janette Donna. [00:00:36] Speaker B: Ruma Donna. Thanks. L made a name. Did not take her husband. [00:00:41] Speaker A: Did not take my husband's name. [00:00:42] Speaker C: We don't take Irish names. We say Italian and it's fun. [00:00:45] Speaker A: I am with my people. I really like. This is like the most natural. Like a trio. [00:00:50] Speaker C: I love it. I feel like this is going to be like a trio. [00:00:53] Speaker A: I know that we've like met 15 minutes ago, but like, this is. I feel kindred. I feel like we've known each other a whole lot. I've got my own Moana. [00:01:02] Speaker C: I love you, basically. Moana, you are. [00:01:04] Speaker A: Thanks so much for having me. [00:01:05] Speaker C: Of course. [00:01:06] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:01:06] Speaker A: Actually, can I thank you for getting me away from my children? [00:01:10] Speaker C: You're so. [00:01:11] Speaker A: This is horrible. I'm on a 10 day vacation down the shore. So, like, I'm a Bergen county girl. I live up north. So thank you for accepting me. I'm a little bit of a Benny. A little bit of a Benny. But I've got good beach etiquette. So, like, I'm not Bunny, but I'm on a 10 day vacation. On a two week vacation with my family. Just like my immediate family. [00:01:28] Speaker C: Day 10. [00:01:29] Speaker B: And this is the end of it. [00:01:30] Speaker A: This is day 10. I am unhinged. You're getting like, this is my only break. [00:01:35] Speaker B: So happy. [00:01:35] Speaker A: This is my only break. [00:01:36] Speaker C: What has been like the hardest, worst part of the 10 day vacation so far? [00:01:40] Speaker A: Just like no break. And we're in this teeny little rental. So it's like much smaller than our house. And like, there's no, you know, our parents. Yeah, it's rained a lot. Our parents are very like supportive and helpful with the kids. We've got childcare, we've got camps, like, and we've just got like none of that. And like two weeks at the shore, you're like, oh my gosh, it sounds dreamy. Maybe like if it was just like my husband and I. Oh my God, [00:02:01] Speaker C: Literally just the two of you. I mean, like the thought of a 10 day vacation on the beach, like. No, no, no. [00:02:08] Speaker B: The thought of it sounds nice. [00:02:10] Speaker A: The thought sounds nice. [00:02:11] Speaker B: Actually doing it is probably a little problem. [00:02:15] Speaker C: No torture. [00:02:16] Speaker A: So thank you. [00:02:17] Speaker C: You're welcome. [00:02:17] Speaker A: For getting me. [00:02:18] Speaker B: This is Your vacation. [00:02:19] Speaker A: This is my vacation. [00:02:20] Speaker C: Dropped her off and you were like, [00:02:21] Speaker A: you literally dropped me off. And I was like, see ya. Like I might just. Don't come get me until 6 o'. [00:02:26] Speaker C: Clock. [00:02:27] Speaker A: What time are you done? I was like 5pm I'll see you later. [00:02:29] Speaker B: Gotta go. [00:02:30] Speaker C: We're gonna drink shop right across the street. [00:02:32] Speaker A: I'm just gonna dream. [00:02:34] Speaker C: Take a nap here. It's fine. Well, anyway, obviously our viewers may know who you are. May not. So tell them just to strike star a little bit about yourself. [00:02:44] Speaker A: Yeah. What you do. Oh, gosh. What do I do? I said, what do you do? I call myself a full time working, stay at home mom. Oh, yeah, that is my like, because I am. [00:02:55] Speaker C: Louder for the people in the back, please. [00:02:56] Speaker A: I have many jobs, but I am home with my kids a ton, which is the goal. Right. This is like what I wanted. I worked. So if you may or may not know, I like worked for 17 years on the Rachel Ray show, which was just like the greatest job. It was literally my first job out of College. I'm only 25 and yeah, that was like my first job out of college and it ended in season 17 and I worked the whole run. That is so. That was incredible. [00:03:25] Speaker C: Rachel Ray loves you. [00:03:26] Speaker A: I love her. Yeah, she was at my wedding. We were just talking about people being at our wedding. [00:03:29] Speaker C: Freaky. [00:03:29] Speaker A: Rachel was at my wedding. [00:03:30] Speaker C: Exactly. [00:03:31] Speaker A: Can we put that in post? I'll put a little picture in. Post that in a real. I've got a little picture of. Yeah, no, she's like a very close family friend. I mean, I worked for her for [00:03:38] Speaker B: decades and is she as sweet and the best. [00:03:41] Speaker A: If she was here right now, we would be like tearing it up. Like, she's just like. She's like, [00:03:46] Speaker C: can we get Rachel right now? [00:03:47] Speaker A: She's just your, like best like. Yeah. She's like everything. [00:03:51] Speaker C: She is on tv. [00:03:52] Speaker A: Everything that and more like. And more like. [00:03:54] Speaker C: What did you do for her? [00:03:55] Speaker A: I was her culinary producer. So if you were. If you were a guest that cooked on our show. I worked with you. [00:04:01] Speaker B: I'm sorry. [00:04:03] Speaker A: You would come on and so say you were coming on and you were making. I brought you guys pasta salad. It's a longer story. [00:04:07] Speaker C: I cannot. [00:04:08] Speaker A: And to say you were coming onto the show and making pasta salad. [00:04:11] Speaker B: Salad. [00:04:11] Speaker A: You would send my team your recipe. You would. And I would like manage a team of like four or five food stylists. They would have everything prepped for you. You'd walk through. You'd walk through your recipe. Celery you know, you'd be like, oh, actually, my carrots are shredded, not chopped. We would fix that for you. You had to be totally comfortable with your recipe. Then we'd, like, roll it out onto set. We'd set it all up. You'd walk through it again, and then we'd prepare you for being with Rachel, ask you the questions that you were going to be asked, and et cetera. [00:04:37] Speaker C: For 17 years. [00:04:38] Speaker A: You did it. Yeah, well, I mean, I was an intern. I started out, like, you know, and then I ended up being on the culinary team and being a supervising producer. So. [00:04:44] Speaker B: That's unbelievable. [00:04:45] Speaker A: We had a great run. It was super fun. I got to, like, then work if essentially, if you were cooking on our show, I got to meet you and work very intimately. [00:04:51] Speaker C: Who was, like, the most famous person? [00:04:53] Speaker A: I mean, literally everyone. Emeril. Bobby Flay. [00:04:56] Speaker C: So cool. You know, like, nothing's cooler than, like, the food. [00:04:58] Speaker A: And, like. And that's. That's it, right? Like, that was just like. That's what I love to do. That's what I always love doing. I grew up watching these people. [00:05:04] Speaker B: That is the dream. [00:05:06] Speaker C: Was that what you went to school for? [00:05:07] Speaker A: Like, so I have my degree in biology, actually. Isn't it always that story? Biology? It's always that story. I thought I wanted to be, like, a doc. I don't know what I thought. [00:05:14] Speaker C: So then you just were like, biology, I'm gonna work for hoa. [00:05:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I ended up going. I went to school at first in Rhode island, and I was like, I'm a Jersey girl. I can't do this. So I left. No, I love Rhode Island. It's a beautiful place. It was not. It was not for me. I always wanted to go to school in the city. And it was a little post, like, 9 11, and my parents are both New Yorkers, and they were like, you're not going to school in the city. It's like, 2004. No, you're not going. So I was like, fine. And then I tried the state school. Wasn't a fan. Was like, let me get back to the state city. So into the small liberal arts college in the Upper east side, and I majored in biology and communications. And it was one of those, like, New York stories. Like, Rachel, Racha was looking for interns, and I just put my name in the hat and I got the job, and I literally never left. [00:05:51] Speaker C: What made you leave? After 17 years, the show ended. Oh, right. [00:05:55] Speaker A: I got, like, kicked out. You were like, I would have stayed there forever. My daughter. [00:05:59] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, Rachel Ray's not on anymore. [00:06:00] Speaker A: No, it was. It was the Rachel Ray show, so it was one on, like, on abc, so it was the one on daytime. And it just. It ended up. It was like, covet. I mean, there's a whole, like, more podcast to talk about, about, like, the world of television, where we've gone, and, like, why we're all doing what we're doing now. Because this is like, the new tv. [00:06:16] Speaker B: There isn't how podcasts, like, just influencers in general. [00:06:19] Speaker A: This is truly the new. The new TV production. Like, I hope we grow and we don't stop. Yeah, you guys are. You guys are definitely. This is the best. And this is it. Like, this is. This is why I changed career paths too. Like, I've worked. I mean, I'm still. I'm still happy to work in TV if the, if the opportunity presents itself and the jobs around, but TV is kind of a dying sport and very. [00:06:38] Speaker C: I'm happy you said that. [00:06:39] Speaker A: So it's a bummer, but it's like, you know, but. But those skills are very transferable, right, to what I do now. Like, what? [00:06:46] Speaker B: You guys are building a writer, right? [00:06:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I do. I do food writing. So what else? [00:06:51] Speaker C: Like, you just know. [00:06:52] Speaker A: You asked me what I do, and I'm just like, I don't know. [00:06:54] Speaker C: So you did that and now where you at now? [00:06:56] Speaker A: So I'm a. I'm a content creator. I'm a full time content creator. I probably, like, really, like, slammed on the gas with that about 15, 16 months ago, where it was like I was building. Helping people build brands, and I was like, I can do this for myself, you know? Like, I, I, you know, Rachel was, I was. I'm very lucky that. Excuse me. I'm very grateful that Rachel gave me a platform. So anytime any of us, like, on the culinary team had, like, a great idea, she was like, I'm not doing that. You guys are doing that. So anytime I would pitch something, like, infamously, I used to carve watermelons into, like, for the Fourth of July, we'd always have, like, a watermelon episode. [00:07:29] Speaker B: I literally saw. She carved a fucking watermelon into shark. Like, I know the teeth, the things. And I was like, this girl is not giving her kids dino nuggets. [00:07:36] Speaker A: Oh, I'm fully giving my kids dino. [00:07:38] Speaker C: We'll get there. [00:07:39] Speaker A: We will absolutely get there. They eat so much box macaroni. [00:07:43] Speaker C: We're gonna get there. [00:07:44] Speaker B: No, no, no, no. [00:07:44] Speaker A: We're gonna get there. No, so that. We will get there. [00:07:47] Speaker C: I'm so invested. I'm like this. [00:07:49] Speaker B: Tell me more. Yes. [00:07:51] Speaker A: So this might be a two parter. So, yeah. So I have a platform of being on the show quite often. And so when the show ended, I was like, let's just kind of like, move it along. I had, like, a decent following when the show ended. [00:08:04] Speaker C: What was your following when it ended? [00:08:05] Speaker A: Probably around 7,000. Okay, cool. And then in the last 15 months, I've grown it by almost 10,000. [00:08:11] Speaker C: That's crazy. [00:08:12] Speaker A: Organic. And when I say organic, organic followers, like, I DM with you guys. Like, I'm literally. [00:08:18] Speaker B: What is it called? [00:08:19] Speaker C: You shoot your shot. [00:08:20] Speaker B: You shoot my shot with you. And I got it, baby. [00:08:23] Speaker A: I literally, if you DM me, I will answer you. [00:08:26] Speaker C: This is crazy. Can we talk about the fact how we got you here? I know she DMed you, which is insane of her to do. It's like me that does the DMing and I'm like, who did you just DM? No, you didn't. [00:08:36] Speaker A: We have a mutual friend, though. So I was vetted. You guys had Jolie on the show. Jolie and I grew up together. [00:08:42] Speaker C: Jolie was like, she's an angel sent from heaven. [00:08:44] Speaker B: So many great things. [00:08:45] Speaker C: She talked so highly about you, and she told us. She's like, you have to reach out. We're like, but she has 16,000 followers. [00:08:53] Speaker A: She is. I. I've helped her with content. Like, I. I do a little bit of everything. Like, I love. My favorite days are going out with her and, like, just helping her film and, like, helping her real well. [00:09:02] Speaker C: I shot my shot. Shoot. I. [00:09:04] Speaker A: You shot your shot? [00:09:05] Speaker C: I did my shooting with Mitchell Lee at my. My son's birthday party. I was like, hey, thank you so much for coming. Yeah, she did my son's birthday party in February. And I was like, hey, thanks so much for coming, but will you be my podcast? [00:09:15] Speaker A: And she was like, absolutely. [00:09:16] Speaker B: And then she was the cutest, subtle, [00:09:18] Speaker A: like, little, but, like, strongest, most powerful, like, nothing. [00:09:22] Speaker B: She's amazing. [00:09:23] Speaker A: Love you, Jolie. [00:09:24] Speaker C: And she says the same thing about. [00:09:25] Speaker A: And then I listened to her on. I listened to her on the podcast, and I was like, these girls are fun. And she was like, oh, my gosh, you have to do this. And I was like, this was perfect. So thank you for DMing me. Thank you for having me on. But no, like, really, like, when I say, like, the. The following is organic. Like, we are all, like, chat and all the time. Like, I. There's not one bot follower here. Like, we are like, we are organic. We are people Up. We are scooping people up as we go along. I mean, it's not like, I mean, I think maybe at the stage of this I thought I'd have a few more followers. But, like, I'm like, the reach is real, the niche is real. [00:09:56] Speaker C: You're focusing on the people in the [00:09:58] Speaker A: community and people love that. And like, if we're going to boil down, like, what I. I'm a storyteller and I have always been a storyteller. Like, I. Probably from when I was like a little kid babbling and never shutting up to like. And that's what I think sets me apart on social, is that I'll come and try. I'll. I'll come and try your chicken cutlet sandwiches, which I'm actually going to Hogito's after this. [00:10:19] Speaker B: If you guys. [00:10:20] Speaker C: You are? [00:10:20] Speaker A: Yeah, they, I, they invited me to come. I'm like, very excited. [00:10:23] Speaker C: I love that. But like, eat their sandwich. And then you're like, okay, this is. [00:10:26] Speaker A: Yeah, like, I kind of like, I'll say, say, hey, I'm gonna be in the area. I've seen your stuff. It looks really great. And we'll kind of decide like, either trade or price or whatever, but. [00:10:33] Speaker C: So they will pay you for the price? It depends. [00:10:34] Speaker A: Poquito's is not. We're just doing a trade. But I'm really excited to try the sandwich. Somehow we need to figure out how because it's, it's, it's not easy. It's getting, we need to talk about that. We're getting there. But they'll like, you know, I'll, I'll be, I'll try the sandwich. And it's, I just, I like to do it differently from everybody else. I feel like it, like, what's the story? Are you a woman owned business? Are you a mom owned business? [00:10:55] Speaker C: Yeah. Telling their story. [00:10:56] Speaker A: Did you have like a major failure in life and this is your comeback? Like, that's of like, I want to [00:11:00] Speaker C: hear that and I want to go there. [00:11:01] Speaker A: And it's not just like, this is the sandwich that, you know. Like, I, I like to say that, like when I'm pitching myself, which I hate doing. I, you know, I'm like, I'm, I'm telling the story from a producer's perspective. I'm not just some girl that's like, hey, I love to eat sandwiches. And I'm like filming, you know, like, I do. [00:11:18] Speaker C: I'm filming content for you. [00:11:19] Speaker A: I have this culinary background. I know food. Food's my life. So I try have you try My food. Oh, I'm excited. I bet you're a great cook. [00:11:26] Speaker C: I am, I am. But the problem is my husband's family. They're even better cooked, so I get a little insecure. No, no, not because. Not for my husband. Just like. [00:11:38] Speaker A: Like, when everybody's around. [00:11:39] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, I just am like, can I [00:11:40] Speaker A: come to your house on a Sunday? I, like, would love to eat this gravy. And, like. [00:11:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I make my grandpa's gravy bag. I'm a good Italian, but I married into, like, an even more Italian family, so I'm like. [00:11:52] Speaker B: And I'm. I'm Jewish, and I marry Italian. So here we are. [00:11:57] Speaker C: He's like, I know how to cook. I just, like. [00:12:00] Speaker A: It's intimidating. [00:12:00] Speaker C: It's intimidating for me. Never used to be, but now it is. [00:12:03] Speaker A: Here's the thing. People think I'm, like, an intimidating person to cook for. If you invited me over for fucking peanut butter and jelly, like, you would eat it. I would be thrilled. [00:12:11] Speaker C: Yes. [00:12:12] Speaker A: I would be afraid to cook for you. [00:12:13] Speaker B: But, you know, it's funny because. So I got my favorite bagel, and Dom got her favorite bagel, and we're gonna have Jeanette try it. And I was nervous because it's like, I cooked this bagel. [00:12:22] Speaker C: You didn't. [00:12:23] Speaker B: I didn't cook the bagel, but it's like, if you don't pick my bagel, [00:12:26] Speaker C: you have to pick my bagel. Yeah. Like, I know. I know how to. So it is intimidating. I have good dishes. You know what I mean? But I feel like I haven't expanded my horizon because I just am intimidated to. [00:12:41] Speaker A: You shouldn't be. [00:12:41] Speaker C: I know. [00:12:42] Speaker A: You shouldn't be. [00:12:43] Speaker C: I need you to come over. [00:12:43] Speaker A: Do if. [00:12:44] Speaker C: I'd love to, you know? [00:12:45] Speaker A: What are you doing later today? It's raining outside my beach vacation, and [00:12:48] Speaker C: I don't want to go back to my kids. Can I come over? [00:12:50] Speaker A: Can I please come over? [00:12:51] Speaker C: No. [00:12:51] Speaker A: I think, like, people are always like, oh, my God, I could never cook for you. I was like, if you literally made me, like, cheese and crackers, I'd be so happy. Yeah, I'd be so happy. [00:12:57] Speaker C: So did you always love food? [00:12:58] Speaker A: I did. I mean, I grew up in an Italian American family. Food's just always around. My mom's not a big cook. I don't know if it, like, skips a generation. Like, my mom. My mom was very much like, a cook to, like, get dinner on the table and, like, get us fed. [00:13:10] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:13:11] Speaker A: You know, my grandma's. My grandmas were both big Cooks. I actually like. I feel like I was. I did a lot of my cooking with, like, my friends growing up. Yeah, I think I'm a little bit older than you gals, but, like, it was very much like the early days of Food Network work. And, like, for fun, we would literally, like, make Rachel Ray's chili and we would like, like, that was like, what we did. [00:13:29] Speaker C: I would like to do that. [00:13:30] Speaker B: I don't do that. [00:13:31] Speaker C: Like, do you follow? I'm gonna botch her name. Why? Can I think of her name? She's my favorite little old lady on YouTube. What the hell's her name? We watch her. I watch her all the time. [00:13:40] Speaker A: Is it known up here? [00:13:41] Speaker C: No, hold on. Let me text my husband. The little old lady, she reminds me of Ganya. Hold on. [00:13:48] Speaker A: Who is. [00:13:49] Speaker B: Yeah, like, all this could be. [00:13:50] Speaker A: We can phone a friend. I love this. [00:13:52] Speaker B: Yeah, we can phone a friend. Wait, I just wanted to check. [00:13:54] Speaker C: Okay. I just phoned a friend, so. No, you'll know exactly who I'm talking, right? What the hell is her name? You're gonna think I'm crazy. I can't remember. Mom brain. Anyway, I watch her a lot and I make a lot of her stuff, but that's like the kind of cook I am now. I like, follow things. [00:14:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:09] Speaker C: I don't just like. Like, my mother in law can just whip something. [00:14:12] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Right? [00:14:13] Speaker C: And it's delicious. And you're like, I can't. I have to. I have to follow this. [00:14:17] Speaker A: I think that there's two kinds of cooks. I think that there's people who can just kind of like, you know, I feel like my life is playing chopped. I'm like, what's rotting in the vegetable drawer? We're on this vacation. We've got three more days. What can I scramble into these eggs? [00:14:30] Speaker B: That's like. [00:14:30] Speaker C: But if you ask Chad, I'll be like, hey, I have this, this, this in my fridge. [00:14:33] Speaker A: Chatty is changing the game. [00:14:34] Speaker C: Changing the game. [00:14:35] Speaker B: Just say two, three ingredients you have in your fridge, and they can whip up a gourmet. I love it. [00:14:41] Speaker C: Like, I've been doing that a lot lately because now that I have a kid, I. There's a lot of leftover changes. [00:14:45] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I want to talk to you about, because I'm just trying to survive, feeding my family because nobody eats anything. [00:14:51] Speaker C: Like, what is your niche, though? Do you do. Do you do toddler? Like, do you do. [00:14:55] Speaker A: I think my niche. My nieces. I don't. I'd say entertaining. I do a lot of cocktails. I do a lot of. I test a lot of your own [00:15:03] Speaker C: recipes or are you. [00:15:04] Speaker A: Depends on the day. Yeah, it depends. Like, you know, lately, it kind of depends on how much time I have. [00:15:09] Speaker B: I like when you test the trends. [00:15:10] Speaker A: I love testing the trends. I think that's a really big example. [00:15:13] Speaker C: Before we came on here, you said that someone who cuts like a watermelon a certain way, you're like, oh, that looks so interesting that it'll be easy for me. [00:15:20] Speaker A: Let me try it. [00:15:21] Speaker C: She'll be the one to try. And you're like, okay, Jeanette can't do it. [00:15:23] Speaker B: She did do that. [00:15:24] Speaker A: I just did it. And I've been. You know, I've been on vacation, so I haven't been, like, trying to be too much on my phone. [00:15:28] Speaker C: Sorry. I have this from Bubble Bar. [00:15:31] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:31] Speaker A: It's so cute. [00:15:32] Speaker C: I have it and my son's name, too. What's Bubble Bar? [00:15:34] Speaker A: Bubble Bar. [00:15:35] Speaker C: Look at all my stuff. [00:15:36] Speaker A: They have all the cute little. [00:15:37] Speaker C: Cute trunks. [00:15:37] Speaker A: The Nordstrom sale, the influencer. [00:15:39] Speaker C: I literally put on my dress. My Dom. It's like, bracelets. The bubble necklace I have with all the. I think. I think I had you wear it one time. You don't even know anyway, so your niche isn't just, like, trying other people's food. [00:15:53] Speaker A: It's a little bit of. It's. I think, like, I feel like you're everything it says. I think my. Sorry, I'm trying to get comfortable. My Moana chair. I think that the. In my Instagram thing says, like, delicious food for busy days. [00:16:03] Speaker B: Okay. [00:16:03] Speaker A: And that's just kind of like how I think my. My niche in motherhood is now. I think it's. I mean, I'm definitely cooking differently than the way I cooked five years ago. [00:16:12] Speaker C: Can I come to you and find a recipe? [00:16:14] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. Like, I've got. I've got my own content on there. I think I'm just kind of like, how are we getting life and food and this whole part of, like, eating done quickly, easily, and, you know, like, I think, like, if you would have asked me this question 10 years ago, it would have been like, every Friday, I have my friends over, and I cook this elaborate meal, and we make these fun cocktails. And now I'm literally like, how are we surviving? How are we. [00:16:37] Speaker B: You just can't do that with kids. [00:16:39] Speaker C: You can't. [00:16:39] Speaker B: And I think, obviously our audience is a lot of mothers, and I think it's good to hear from you of how to cook. And you want to cook good Meals for your family. Right. But it's different. [00:16:50] Speaker A: I was recently on. I don't know if you guys ever watched the Chew. It was a cooking show that was on around the time that Rachel was on. It was Clinton Kelly, Michael Simon, Carla Hall. So they've recently restructured, and they doing a video podcast, too. So I'm frequently a guest on there, which is so much fun. And, like, Iron Chef Michael Simon, who's, like, one of, like, the biggest chefs in the game, literally said to me, we're talking about picky eaters. And he was. He's got grandchildren now. And he was like, my grandchildren. He's like, you really can't. He made me feel so much better about this because he was like, you really can't, like, make your kid. And, like, it is who they are. [00:17:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:24] Speaker A: And I mean, like, you think my. Everyone's always like, oh, my gosh, Jeanette, your kids must eat so good. And I'm like, yeah. [00:17:29] Speaker C: Like, it's crazy. [00:17:30] Speaker A: I'm so literally eating box macaroni and cheese and dino nuggets. Because I'm not gonna fight with them. I'm not gonna fight with them because, like, it's just what they like, you know that they're gonna eat. You know that they're gonna, like. [00:17:42] Speaker C: So what you. When you do your content, you make all these things. If you're making, like, I don't know, watermelon tower, like, are your kids eating that? [00:17:47] Speaker A: They love watermelon, so I feel like that works out for me. They like, they. I mean, they like fruit. They like the vegetables that they like. [00:17:54] Speaker C: But you're really doing it for yourself. You're not really doing it for your [00:17:56] Speaker A: kids, you know, though. But, like, I feel like because it's my job, I end up, like, flipping any of that into, like, what we're eating. Like, okay, I'm not, like, me. I wish I was more of, like, a meal prepp. [00:18:05] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:18:06] Speaker A: It's more like, how am I getting through the week with work? And, like, how are we flipping that until, like, dinner? Like, they'll eat, like, grilled chicken. They'll eat, like. And I'll just kind of, like, always have a bag of frozen fries in the freezer and, like, add that to it. Or, like, my husband and I lead it on a salad, they'll eat it with some French fries on the side and a cucumber. Like, I feel like I wish. Like, I see these people on online, and I wish I was more like that. There's no way I was like, no way. [00:18:23] Speaker C: That's real. [00:18:25] Speaker B: I also feel like that's fake. [00:18:26] Speaker A: How are we doing this? Because, like, yeah, I can meal prep a bunch of stuff on a Sunday and, like, turn it. I just. I wish my family. I think I. I'm like, am I? Am I? Is it bad that we're at this point where, like, we are kind of all eating different meals? Like, I feel a little like, I thought different times. I thought we were going to be these people that, like, oh, I was gonna cook. I was gonna cook one thing, and we're all eating it together. But realistically, my husband and I are kind of eating something and my kids are eating it. [00:18:47] Speaker C: And I always said to myself, you're eating what mommy and daddy are eating. [00:18:51] Speaker A: I know. [00:18:51] Speaker C: No, it's like, not bagel for dinner, but, like, my. [00:18:54] Speaker B: Like, we. [00:18:54] Speaker A: I know that sounds delicious, but, like, I don't know. We ate, like, what our parents fed us, so I don't know what's happening. I wish that there was. [00:19:02] Speaker C: And it's like, four. [00:19:04] Speaker A: I know, I know. [00:19:05] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:19:05] Speaker A: I think I will say so. I think our sons are the same age, and I feel like I saw a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe when he turned about five. [00:19:12] Speaker C: He eats like a gavon. [00:19:14] Speaker A: Literally a gavon. Because, like, biologically, I think their bodies can't keep up with, like, how much energy they're expending, and now they need to. And now they have to eat. So, like, literally, he, like, this year, he's tried hamburgers, tacos. It's expanded because, like, literally. And the other day he. Oh, my God, that Ithaca beet hummus that I'm, like, obsessed with. So good. Were on the beach the other day, and he just scooped a cucumber in his mouth. And I was like, he's like, this pink dip looks cool. I was like, yep, eat the pink dip. Eat the pink dip. [00:19:41] Speaker B: I will. [00:19:41] Speaker A: I will literally buy you buckets of the pink dip. There's beads in this. Don't tell anyone. I literally looked at my husband. I was like, act normal. [00:19:49] Speaker C: Don't. [00:19:49] Speaker A: Don't. [00:19:50] Speaker B: Don't say so. [00:19:51] Speaker A: He was a cool color. I was like, yeah, keep eating. He ate, like, half the tub. [00:19:55] Speaker B: That's amazing. [00:19:56] Speaker A: And then also, like, we're also trying to raise our kids, like, I don't know, like, a little bit, like, out of the diet culture vibe of just, like, you know, like, I'm trying not to be like, like, oh, this is bad. This is good. I'm really trying my hardest to, like, become picky eaters. [00:20:07] Speaker B: So that. [00:20:07] Speaker A: But, like, they're not, like, thinking about foods differently, you know? I want them to be like, yeah, everything in moderation. [00:20:11] Speaker B: Like. [00:20:12] Speaker A: Yeah, let's just try. Let's try a lot of things. Let's, like, not just eat candy all day. I don't know. [00:20:16] Speaker C: I know. I don't know. [00:20:17] Speaker A: I hope I'm doing this right. [00:20:18] Speaker C: No, you're doing great. Lollipops all day, 9am he's like, Can I have a lollipop? No, you're not getting a lollipop. All right, fine, take the lollipop. [00:20:27] Speaker A: It depends on, like, what day you catch me on, because if it's, like, I'm, like, toast. [00:20:31] Speaker B: I am a huge advocate of ice pops. Don't count. Definitely doesn't matter. The time, day. [00:20:37] Speaker C: Lollipops a little freak me out. But ice pops. [00:20:39] Speaker B: No. [00:20:40] Speaker A: Ice pops are totally. It's hot out there. [00:20:42] Speaker C: Lydia. [00:20:43] Speaker A: Lydia. Oh, Lydia. Wait. Lydia Bastianich? [00:20:47] Speaker C: Yes. [00:20:48] Speaker A: Like, infamous Lydia. I've worked with her. She's amazing. Yeah, she's like an icon. [00:20:53] Speaker C: She's an icon and I forgot her name. Can you. [00:20:57] Speaker B: I need a picture because Lydia, she's adorable. [00:20:59] Speaker A: She's like an old, like, Italian. Not old. [00:21:00] Speaker B: She's. [00:21:01] Speaker A: She's lovely and beautiful, but, like, she's like a granny. Like, I. Granny vibes Lydia. Yeah. She's insane. She used to be on the show all the time. [00:21:09] Speaker B: I know her face. [00:21:11] Speaker A: She's, like, legit, though. Like, she's, like, from Italy. Like, legit, legit. [00:21:15] Speaker C: She makes kicking, kicking, cooking, look seamless. [00:21:17] Speaker A: I know Lydia. [00:21:18] Speaker C: It's live. [00:21:18] Speaker A: I love Lydia. [00:21:20] Speaker C: Look at Lydia. [00:21:20] Speaker A: I've seen her in so long, but she's, like, the most wonderful. Next time, next time. Next time. I'll make sure you guys. [00:21:26] Speaker C: I love her. I'm obsessed with her, actually, I should [00:21:29] Speaker A: should say she's wonderful. I actually. I don't think I follow her on Instagram. Like, her. [00:21:33] Speaker C: She has an Instagram. [00:21:34] Speaker A: I'm sure she does, but do you watch her YouTube? [00:21:36] Speaker B: What are you. [00:21:36] Speaker C: I watch her YouTube. I didn't know. I'm looking up as real time. She has an Instagram. Holy moly. Oh, yeah. [00:21:45] Speaker A: In my contacts. I mean, Rachel's pretty. [00:21:48] Speaker C: Hello. I just followed Lydia. [00:21:50] Speaker A: Sorry, I know we need to follow Lydia. [00:21:52] Speaker C: Okay, go ahead. [00:21:53] Speaker B: I mean, Rachel. [00:21:54] Speaker C: Rachel Ray is, like, pretty big. [00:21:55] Speaker B: Rachel's like your friend. Like. [00:21:57] Speaker A: Yeah, she's the best. She's a babe. She's totally. [00:21:59] Speaker C: I mean, to me, she's like an icon. I know. [00:22:01] Speaker A: She is an icon. [00:22:01] Speaker B: Well, she is. [00:22:02] Speaker A: There would be no this if there was not Rachel. [00:22:04] Speaker B: Right? [00:22:04] Speaker A: And I say that all the time. Like, Rachel walked so we could all run. And you know, there's so many people truly, like 30 minute meals. I didn't understand her brand until I had kids. And it was like, I know we were chatting before this and you were like, it's five o'. Clock, what are you making for dinner? I mean, like, that's her brand. Like, how do I get this on the table in 30 minutes without, like, you know, like blowing up my world? And I worked for her all those years and I didn't have kids, and then I had kids and I was like, oh, no, her recipes are so good. No. So she's like the best auntie ever. But like, but like, it was Rachel Ray. I know all the nice things that my kids have are from her. Like, I would never spend that much money on that. [00:22:39] Speaker C: Rachel Ray would. [00:22:40] Speaker A: She bought my daughter this, like, beautiful pasta coat. I have to. It's like a collar jacket. And I'm like, she wears it to preschool and I'm like, careful with this. Like Rachel Antonoff. [00:22:50] Speaker C: It's so real. I love it. [00:22:51] Speaker A: I was like, no, please don't mess this up. [00:22:53] Speaker C: Were you afraid to leave TV and like, start social media? Was that like a huge weird jump for you? Because TV to social, like, social media is like it right now, but TV was it. [00:23:02] Speaker A: It was it. I will say I miss, I miss the teamwork, if that makes sense. Like, I am like, social media is a solo and. [00:23:10] Speaker B: And when you're talking to the camera [00:23:11] Speaker A: by yourself, I am working by myself. You know, I got a couple friends that like, help me along with a couple different things. But we're filming, you know, my husband gratefully washes the dishes because he works from home a lot and he's like, always like happy to eat. I'm making for lunch. But like, other than that, like, it's. I miss, I miss the squad. I miss. [00:23:29] Speaker C: This is why we did this. Cuz I need a squat. [00:23:31] Speaker A: I know. And I'm just like by myself in my kitchen a lot. So will you guys, like come over one day? [00:23:34] Speaker C: No. Literally come over. [00:23:36] Speaker A: Because I'm like, I really need. [00:23:37] Speaker C: I need more when I have somebody in. Like, you're in. So now you're in. You're coming to the shore house. You're coming on the boat. [00:23:45] Speaker A: I needed a friend with a boat. I've been on the shore for two weeks and no one has a boat. [00:23:48] Speaker C: I have a boat. [00:23:49] Speaker A: It's Amazing. [00:23:49] Speaker C: Great. [00:23:49] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you. I need a boat. I need a boat. [00:23:52] Speaker C: Don't have boats. [00:23:53] Speaker B: The best boat. [00:23:55] Speaker C: It's my dad's. Nothing. [00:23:56] Speaker B: All right. [00:23:56] Speaker A: No, I will gladly go on your dad's boat. [00:23:59] Speaker C: Will your kids go on the boat, too? [00:24:00] Speaker A: They'll love it. [00:24:00] Speaker C: You'll bring meatballs? [00:24:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:01] Speaker C: We have to compare meatballs. [00:24:02] Speaker A: I mean, I'm nervous now that you just told your family. It's, like, such great cooks. I'm, like, really nervous. [00:24:07] Speaker B: Wait, wait. Her. Her? Our family owns the Italia in Rome. [00:24:12] Speaker C: In Avenal. [00:24:13] Speaker B: You have to go. And now you have to. [00:24:14] Speaker C: You have to go. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Where is the most amazing Italian restaurant in Avenel? [00:24:18] Speaker C: Like, raw way area. [00:24:19] Speaker B: Oh, okay. [00:24:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:24:20] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:24:20] Speaker A: Should I come make a real. [00:24:21] Speaker B: Yes. [00:24:22] Speaker C: They've been there for 30 years. [00:24:23] Speaker A: I'll give you the friends and family price. Feed me a chicken parm. Feed me in sausage. [00:24:29] Speaker C: Food is so good. I kind of crave it. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. [00:24:32] Speaker B: What's your favorite? What is your favorite, like, Italian meal? Just, like, standard. [00:24:37] Speaker A: Like, a red sauce. Oh. To cook. I like. I'm like, I just went to Spanos the other night in Point Pleasant. I mean, just iconic, like. [00:24:43] Speaker C: Oh. [00:24:43] Speaker B: Have you been to Patricia's? [00:24:44] Speaker A: I haven't been to Patricia. [00:24:45] Speaker C: They just opened in Tom's River. It's really good. You should go there. We just did content for them. Really good food. He, like, makes his own food, like, right there and then. He, like, cooked for us when we were there. [00:24:55] Speaker A: I mean, I'm like a chicken cutlet girl. Like, who's not like, all that? I love when they're like, a chicken cutlet has more protein than a protein bar. And I'm like, yes, it does. [00:25:01] Speaker C: I literally. You put it in the plastic bag. [00:25:03] Speaker A: You take it literally, take it everywhere. I mean, and that's something where, like, I can make that, and my husband and I enjoy it, and the kids [00:25:08] Speaker B: will eat it, and the kids will eat it. [00:25:09] Speaker A: So I'm like, that's. I feel like that's something that's a staple. Spaghetti and meatballs, a lot of that. I mean, penne vodka, like, the creamy pink sauce. [00:25:15] Speaker C: Will you make chicken collards on, like, on Sunday and, like, have them all week? [00:25:19] Speaker A: I. I wish I had more time to do that. [00:25:21] Speaker B: I know. [00:25:21] Speaker C: I know. [00:25:21] Speaker A: Saying I'd say something about the fall. I, like, love, like, I love making that kind of food in the fall, but it's coming. It's coming. [00:25:27] Speaker B: Don't dare talk about the fall yet. [00:25:29] Speaker A: No. Oh, no. You just watch my last piece of content. It's August. I don't know when it's airing. Is it airing soon? [00:25:33] Speaker C: It's air. [00:25:33] Speaker B: It'll air next week. [00:25:35] Speaker C: No, two weeks. [00:25:36] Speaker A: Oh, two weeks. Okay. [00:25:36] Speaker B: So. [00:25:37] Speaker C: So I love the fall, though. [00:25:39] Speaker A: So I love the fall. I love the change in season. I love. I get very inspired. I feel like summer is. [00:25:44] Speaker C: There's like so many, like, different inspirations in the fall. [00:25:46] Speaker A: I'm like, barbecuing and honestly, actually, that's like watermelon and barbecue. If we're talking to the. If we're talking to the gals out there. Yeah, get on the grill. Tell your man to move. [00:25:56] Speaker B: You should tell me this, because I don't think. I've never manned a girl. [00:25:59] Speaker C: I never made a girl. [00:26:00] Speaker A: But you know what? You're not watching the kids. I might really come off as, like a really horrible mom. I love my children. I spend like, oh, my God, 60,000 hours a week with them. [00:26:08] Speaker C: Yeah, you crack yourself. [00:26:10] Speaker A: You crack yourself. I don't know if you. I'm not a big beer girl. Like, have like a little. A little. I'm like, if I'm. If I'm at the girl, like a surfside. A little surfside. You pour. I'm. I mean, I love a cocktail, but like, if I'm like, you feel like you need something that's like in a. Can you crack or a bottle of Corona, nice and limey. You, like, marinate your chicken or like your steak or your burgers or hot dogs, whatever, and you take that all in a tray and you go out to your grill. I mean, I can. You listen to mama clock and you are just like. I mean, like, like, let's take this away from the men. [00:26:38] Speaker C: No, I'm taking it away from the men. [00:26:40] Speaker A: Like, take it. [00:26:40] Speaker C: I just, like, don't know how to start the grill. [00:26:42] Speaker A: Oh, wait, they can do that for you. [00:26:44] Speaker C: They can do that. [00:26:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:45] Speaker A: And then as long as it's hot, it's literally just like cooking in a pan. So. [00:26:48] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah, right? [00:26:49] Speaker A: It's so simple, so true. So that is how I survive in the summer. Because, like, I mean, like, you're on, but like, it's hot in the house, right? I'm not very inspired. I'm like, otherwise we're just eating, like cereal. I feel like. Because, like, I'm not. [00:26:59] Speaker C: I don't have him play with the kids. [00:27:02] Speaker A: Yeah, he does. [00:27:03] Speaker C: You know, like, he has. [00:27:04] Speaker A: He has more patience for, like, that kind of stuff than I do. [00:27:06] Speaker B: So that's good. [00:27:07] Speaker A: Like, I'll play like magnetiles with them. I Like, I. [00:27:09] Speaker B: Like, I saw your vitamin tiles and martini. [00:27:11] Speaker A: That's what I was drinking last night [00:27:12] Speaker C: at Crab Cross Club. The best. [00:27:15] Speaker A: Oh, so good. So good. I gotta go there. I know. I'm like. But literally, I was like, I'll have [00:27:18] Speaker C: you never get in, though. [00:27:19] Speaker A: We went at like 5:30. That's what you gotta do. You gotta go at 5:30. Oh, the TV's changing behind us. No, that's my go. That's a big tip. Get on the grill. [00:27:28] Speaker C: Tell your I'm ready that mom hacked out. [00:27:30] Speaker A: Put it. Put a movie on for the kids, like, or whatever. And like, get outside. Get on the. Get on the grill. [00:27:36] Speaker C: And that's that. [00:27:37] Speaker A: And like, have a minute. Like, have a minute for yourself while you're cooking dinner. So anyway, my point of that. Of that, point of manning. Of me cursing about the grill is, like, in the fall, I have more patience to, like, turn the stove on, turn the oven on, make a chili, [00:27:50] Speaker B: and it's like football season. You want. [00:27:52] Speaker A: You're just like, inside. It's like, warmer. You want. I don't know. I'm not. I'm not a big. Like, when I have to turn the oven on in the summer, I'm like, ugh, it's so annoying. It's turning the oven on. Nobody wants to do that. You've been dealing with the kids all day. Everyone's angry. [00:28:03] Speaker B: How do you feel about air fryers? [00:28:05] Speaker C: You have mine still, by the way. [00:28:07] Speaker A: Oh, I do. [00:28:08] Speaker C: Can I have it back? Because I've been wanting to do the [00:28:10] Speaker A: next time I have a little bit of a controversial opinion on air fryer. [00:28:13] Speaker C: Why? Tell us. [00:28:13] Speaker A: Are we allowed to be controversial? [00:28:14] Speaker C: Am I gonna get canceled? We need to be controversial. [00:28:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I hate them. [00:28:17] Speaker A: I like air fryers. [00:28:19] Speaker C: Tell me why. [00:28:20] Speaker A: Oh, listen. Okay, let me preface it with this. Anything that gets you to cook and gets you to, like, feel good about what you're feeding your family, I am for. So if that is you popping some dino nuggets in the air fryer and you're getting out of this quickly, good. God bless. Like, truly, I don't ever want to discourage anybody if they're like, oh, my God, I love the air fryer. It helps me do this. [00:28:38] Speaker C: Keep. [00:28:38] Speaker A: Keep going with it. Like, I don't want to slow you down. [00:28:40] Speaker B: Yes. [00:28:41] Speaker A: However, if you're asking me how I personally feel about an air fryer, I have a convection oven. And I bet you you do too. [00:28:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I do too. [00:28:47] Speaker A: And that is a big air fryer. I'm so. I'm gonna Be like, that's what I use. Put a wrap on your baking sheet. [00:28:53] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:54] Speaker A: And that is now an air fryer if you turn the convection on. So an air fryer just means it's rotating the hot air molecules around really quickly. And that's why your food is getting crispy all around, because it's easy. I broil. [00:29:05] Speaker C: I do broil. [00:29:05] Speaker A: I like broiling as well. [00:29:06] Speaker C: That's what gets a crispy flavor. [00:29:07] Speaker A: That gets things very crispy. You turn your oven into an air fryer when you turn it on. Convection. [00:29:12] Speaker C: So, like, if I hit convection from convection, it'll. [00:29:15] Speaker A: Convection just means you're gonna hear the fan go on, and that's blowing the hot air around, and that's gonna make your food crispy and, like, it cooks in. [00:29:21] Speaker C: You're blowing my mind. [00:29:23] Speaker A: So if you have one, you do not need that thing that's on your countertop that, like, they don't make them attractive. [00:29:28] Speaker C: No. [00:29:28] Speaker A: You guys were gonna ask me about kitchen gadgets, and I'm, like, not a kitchen gadget because I'm. I literally, like, in my kitchen renovation, I tucked my microwave up in a cabinet. You can't see it. I just, like, don't like stuff on my counter. [00:29:38] Speaker C: I know. [00:29:38] Speaker A: I've got my blender because I make my protein shake every morning. Other than that, I don't want on my countertops. [00:29:42] Speaker C: I hate it. My husband just bought a. [00:29:44] Speaker B: Your husband buys everything. [00:29:45] Speaker C: Juicer. I'm like, where the are we putting Juicer? [00:29:47] Speaker B: The espresso machine, everything. [00:29:48] Speaker C: Too many things. [00:29:49] Speaker A: Too many things. So that's where. I'm not a big air fryer, girly. [00:29:53] Speaker C: But, like, it's annoying to clean too. [00:29:54] Speaker A: Listen, in the summer, you're not having to heat up your whole house with everything. You get your nuggets done quickly. I get that. I'm just not an air fryer. [00:30:00] Speaker C: I just like wings in the air fryer. [00:30:01] Speaker B: Me too. [00:30:02] Speaker A: Yeah, that's nice. But you could do. You could do a lot more of them in your oven. [00:30:04] Speaker C: I know. A lot more in the oven. [00:30:06] Speaker A: I mean, how many can you fit in your air fryer? 7, 8. So you could do, like, 24. On a big cookie. On a big cookie. [00:30:11] Speaker C: So I don't need my air fryer. You can keep it. [00:30:13] Speaker B: No, I've honestly never used it. Besides, only for wings. [00:30:16] Speaker A: It's funny because I do food writing. Every once in a while, they'll ask me to, like, test something in an air fryer, and I literally have to borrow it from my neighbor because I [00:30:22] Speaker C: was like, Wait, that's hilarious. [00:30:24] Speaker A: I was like, I probably have to return my new. [00:30:27] Speaker B: Go get it. [00:30:28] Speaker C: No, I don't want so just to get into like, the nitty gritty of just like, content creator life. What is like, so obviously, do companies send you anything? [00:30:37] Speaker A: Do companies send me anything? [00:30:39] Speaker C: A lot of. [00:30:39] Speaker A: I've got a lot. I've got pictures for you guys. My. My poor husband. Bless his heart. [00:30:43] Speaker C: What are some of the things they send? [00:30:44] Speaker A: I get like. So I'm on vacation for two weeks and I literally. I literally had to say to everybody, please stop sending stuff. Like, after eight. [00:30:51] Speaker B: Eight. [00:30:51] Speaker A: After eight. [00:30:51] Speaker B: Eight. [00:30:52] Speaker A: You can't like. But I bless my neighbor who's air fryer is all. She's. She's literally like. I, like, I gave her my front door key and I'm like, just kick the boxes. If it says perishable, it's yours. Just kick the boxes in. And like, since I. A lot of food or I get more mail than like. And like, I think in the beginning it's, like, kind of fun. And now I'm literally, like, going to the recycling. It's PR boxes. I. So I will say, like, I get a lot of samples. I get a lot of samples because of, like, the work that I do. Samples or like, like a little bit of every. A little bit of everything. Literally. [00:31:20] Speaker C: I need something. [00:31:23] Speaker A: I literally wish that, like, you guys live closer because I. I mean, I joke with my girlfriends, like, gift it. I get. I know I've done giveaways. I have. I get so much stuff. And it's so fun. I. I feel like it's fun to try the new things. It's fun to try the new. [00:31:38] Speaker B: But it's also a lot. It's a lot. Yeah. [00:31:40] Speaker A: I go to the recycling center, like, three times a week. Like, I can't wait for the. The weekly recycling. I have to go to the recycling center. I am buried in boxes. [00:31:46] Speaker C: What's the coolest thing you've ever gotten? [00:31:48] Speaker B: Ooh. [00:31:48] Speaker A: What's the coolest thing I've ever gotten? [00:31:50] Speaker C: So curious. [00:31:51] Speaker A: Well, wait, actually, it's in. It's in that room. [00:31:53] Speaker C: Can. [00:31:54] Speaker A: Can somebody go grab it for me? [00:31:55] Speaker C: What is it? [00:31:55] Speaker A: Yeah, it's my little purse. [00:31:57] Speaker B: This has been. [00:31:57] Speaker A: This is gonna be the new. [00:31:58] Speaker C: They send you cool things. [00:31:59] Speaker A: Wait a second. Wait a second. But this is such a Jeanette collab. It's the little Wawa bag. It's the little bag with the. [00:32:05] Speaker C: Wawa sent you something. [00:32:06] Speaker A: I got PR from Wawa and I literally called my husband. I'm like, we can Retire. We can retire. [00:32:10] Speaker C: We can retire. I. [00:32:12] Speaker A: You guys are even gonna blow your mind. Look at this. It is a Wawa. Which camera should I show it to? [00:32:19] Speaker C: That one. [00:32:19] Speaker A: It is a Wawa. Lands End collab. [00:32:22] Speaker C: I have never. [00:32:22] Speaker B: Are you kidding me? [00:32:23] Speaker A: Are you. [00:32:24] Speaker C: Wait, I'm upset. [00:32:25] Speaker A: There's a hoagie charm. Oh, it says East Coast. There's never been something made for me more. [00:32:33] Speaker B: Wait, that is honestly the cutest thing I've ever seen. And the coolest thing. [00:32:36] Speaker C: I'm obsessed. [00:32:37] Speaker A: I got this sent to me and I was literally like, I can dine. [00:32:40] Speaker C: The hoagie. The little hoagie. No, I'm obsessed with the drink. The Wawa drink. [00:32:44] Speaker A: They were first. They. I think they sold it out. So it's like, you know, Lands End does their. Like. [00:32:47] Speaker C: But you didn't pay a single dime they just sent. [00:32:50] Speaker A: Well, now I'm showing it to all of you guys. [00:32:51] Speaker C: I'm obsessed. No, I actually love it. [00:32:55] Speaker B: We need to get another one for a mom o' clock giveaway for that. [00:32:57] Speaker A: How do we do that? We do. So this is why people send me things. I have a great follow. I have a great following. I also am a food writer. So the chances are. So, like, I see that you're stepping out of an AALA cup right now. I once was assigned a story about comparing a Walla Cups versus Yeti cups. [00:33:13] Speaker C: So what do you think? [00:33:13] Speaker A: So I reach out to the companies, I say, can you send me samples? And now literally in my house, I have eight of every Oalla cup and eight of every Yeti cup. [00:33:21] Speaker C: For free, baby. [00:33:22] Speaker A: Well, they. I mean. I mean, for free, yes, but, like, they're writing. I'm. I'm writing a story on a national, you know, platform that they're gonna get all this pr. So, like, the chances that they send me this and it's going to be on something that's like, that's going to get them more pressed about it. It's smart to send me things, right? It's very smart to send me shit. [00:33:38] Speaker B: So that's how things work. [00:33:39] Speaker C: But it's hard to send me shit too. I'm showing everybody everything. [00:33:44] Speaker B: But this is why we need you, because we really need help. We're trying to go Mama Clock, but we don't know how to. We're trying to be a brand. Mom is a brand, right? Like, we're working on merch. We're working on stuff, but yeah, merch. [00:33:55] Speaker C: I mean, the brand is us. You know what I mean? Like, Mama Clock is us. Like, we're trying to sell ourselves, and we want to be relatable, and we want to be that. [00:34:04] Speaker A: You're doing a great job. Thank you. So you're doing a great job. [00:34:06] Speaker C: And we want to be the people that, like, moms, non moms, dads, grand dads, like, they want. [00:34:11] Speaker A: They want to listen, they want to be a part of it. [00:34:13] Speaker C: And if someone wants to send me a wallet in the meantime, like, I [00:34:17] Speaker A: would love that, you know, sponsor. So I think, like, the jump from TV to content was natural for me because, like I said, it's the same skill set, right? This part of it is, like, I do have a friend. I have a friend that helps me, like, manage some of this stuff. Like, he has a lot of contacts. I have a lot of contacts. It's a lot of, like, cold reaching out. [00:34:37] Speaker C: Have you reached out a lot of people? [00:34:39] Speaker A: A lot of people, like, parade.com is, like, the main outlet that I write for food, writing wise. And so a lot of the times, like, people want to be on that platform. So if I reach out to a brand like a Walla, and I'm like, hey, I'm a food writer for Parade.com. here's my bio. [00:34:54] Speaker C: Why wouldn't they send you something, right? [00:34:56] Speaker A: So I think that's probably. That's probably the. The main way that I get a lot of stuff and it works because then, like, I'll end up, like, you know, while I'm on a walla's mailing list. Now they've got a new product. I'll pitch it to Parade. And now they've got a free story on Parade, like, for the new product. [00:35:08] Speaker C: I'm obsessed. [00:35:09] Speaker A: So that. That's, like. That's, like, a good way. But I also try to really tie in my content, like, with, like, hey, if you want to send me this, like, we could do. You know, I've been reaching out a lot since. I'm gonna say this like a normal person now. I came down the shore for two weeks. I pitched a bunch of different restaurants. I said, hey, I'm coming from North Jersey. I'm gonna be in the area. I'd love to work with you. What a good idea. I sent out, like, a big blanket email, and I heard back from, like, three or four places. [00:35:32] Speaker C: Where'd you hear that from? [00:35:33] Speaker A: Can I tell you? Can I tell you my biggest partnership to date and as Jersey girls. You guys are gonna lose your mind. Jenkinson's. [00:35:38] Speaker C: No, wait. So they. They wanted you to come to each other. [00:35:42] Speaker A: They paid me to come and do, like, A. [00:35:45] Speaker C: Did you do it this week? [00:35:46] Speaker A: I did it. [00:35:47] Speaker B: Hi. [00:35:49] Speaker C: Wait. [00:35:50] Speaker B: That is so. [00:35:51] Speaker A: I, Like, I just have to say, [00:35:52] Speaker C: like, started with that. [00:35:53] Speaker A: I know. I know. I literally cried when I got. So I cold emailed. Her name was Lisa Lightfeather, which I [00:35:58] Speaker C: thought was an email. [00:35:59] Speaker A: I. [00:36:00] Speaker C: So this is. [00:36:00] Speaker A: This is, like. It's a lot of digging. It's a lot of legwork. It's not as glamorous as everybody thinks that it is. [00:36:05] Speaker C: My next question. [00:36:06] Speaker A: It's literally, like, a lot of pounding the pavement, like. Like, cold. Dming. Cold emailing. So I was. I. I had the beach trip on my brain for the last couple months, and I was like, okay, how. When I'm down there, I really kind of want to expand my Jersey audience. I wanted to expand my Jersey audience. Right now, I kind of felt like there was nobody in the North Jersey food space, and the Bergen county is, like, Pasea County. There's, like, so much great food up there. [00:36:29] Speaker B: Right? [00:36:30] Speaker A: So that's kind of. I do a lot of profiling of things up there. And I was like, I'd love to. I want to be the. I want to be the princess of New Jersey. That is my goal. I'd love to be Miss New Jersey. [00:36:37] Speaker B: Please do. [00:36:37] Speaker A: And I'd love to be her. And I was like, all right, let me reach out to, like, places that I organically know that we're gonna go to. Obviously, you're here. You're gonna take your kids to Jenkinson's for the day. And I just cold reached out. I was like, you know, this is, like, a part of my fabric. My family brought me here, you know, like, and now I'm making memories with my kids. I'd love to, like, partner on something. And she literally wrote me, and she's like, what are your. Like, we went back and forth. What are your rates? I gave my rates. Literally, like, didn't. Like was literally, like, that sounds great. And I was like, did you put [00:37:04] Speaker C: it on social media? I did. [00:37:05] Speaker A: I posted it the other day. And it's got. It's. It's got great traction, and I. [00:37:09] Speaker C: That's the best part when it gets great traction. [00:37:11] Speaker A: But the story was like, the. The story was. And I, like, had my mom dig for pictures of us at Jenkinson's, and it was like, I told the story. I see that. I told the story from the perspective of, like, we made memories there with my brother, and I made memories there with our parents, and now, like, I literally was, like, crying, like, doing it, and it's just like storyteller. And that was seeing my kids enjoy. Enjoy the rides that we used to go on and just like walk the same board. [00:37:32] Speaker C: So it was really just like the boardwalk. Not like. [00:37:35] Speaker A: It was. It was, it was. We went to the aquarium. It was like spend the day with me at Jenkinson. So we went to the food. We went to the food pavilion. [00:37:40] Speaker C: Did you try? [00:37:41] Speaker A: We went to the aquarium. It was just like the. We went. We went for the day. We did mini golf. We did the rides. We did. We like, we. We were there for like eight hours. I was like, this is like being in Vegas. I'm so tired. I am so tired. [00:37:54] Speaker C: That's the coolest thing ever. [00:37:55] Speaker A: That, like. [00:37:56] Speaker C: But like, how do you find someone who like runs Jenkinson? [00:37:58] Speaker A: You gotta dig. You gotta dig. [00:38:00] Speaker B: Well, now we know. So we're gonna reach out. Yeah. [00:38:02] Speaker C: We're gonna reject. [00:38:02] Speaker A: You go to Jenkins. You go to Jenkins. You go to the website and you just email their meeting. And I can't tell you, the Jenkinson's family was like. So I got to like meet them. I was like. I was literally like, this is like meeting New Jersey royalty. I was like, this is wild. Everyone. [00:38:16] Speaker C: Like, you went to Jinx. You had a beer and you had some food, and now this is even cooler. [00:38:20] Speaker B: It was. [00:38:21] Speaker A: It was probably my coolest, like my coolest partnership. [00:38:25] Speaker B: That is a good. [00:38:25] Speaker C: I didn't know. It was like a whole day. Like, you did the whole boardwalk. We did. [00:38:28] Speaker A: We did the whole. We did the. Well, technically, Jenkinson's doesn't own the whole boardwalk. I learned this because there's Martelli's tiki bar. So it was just. We focused on the Jenkinson stuff, which is the rides and like the majority of the stuff. [00:38:40] Speaker C: The aquarium. [00:38:41] Speaker A: Aquarium. [00:38:41] Speaker C: The food. [00:38:42] Speaker A: The food pavilion. Max, the little one on the end. It was just like. It was the sweetest day. It was like. And it was like. It was work [00:38:52] Speaker B: when you're with your family. [00:38:53] Speaker C: Your sister in law. You did the word of go. [00:38:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I love her. That, like, we've got. So if she's got. My brother has three girls. I've got the two kids. You know, the cousin energy is just like wild. So they came down for the day and we just. We were playing boardwalk games. It's just like good Jersey, you know, like what you spend on a trip down here for two weeks. You could probably go to Italy for [00:39:09] Speaker C: literally, like so worth it. [00:39:12] Speaker A: But like, it's so good. [00:39:13] Speaker B: I agree. [00:39:14] Speaker A: It's so fucking good here. The air, the memories, nostalgia. Like you. [00:39:18] Speaker C: I Grew up down there. [00:39:19] Speaker A: You cannot beat. You cannot beat this. [00:39:21] Speaker B: So. [00:39:22] Speaker A: So that was so. That's been my biggest partnership, like, the one that I'm probably the most proud of because it was truly organic, truly like you. I emailed them. This was something that I enjoy doing so much. They invested in me. I invested in them. The reel is doing great. Like, it got such great feedback. So, like, that was probably my very, like, very sweet. I literally said to Mike, I was like, crying. I was like, this is. [00:39:41] Speaker B: I mean, you made it. [00:39:42] Speaker C: You made it, but now you really made it. Wait, but I have to ask you, like, just to make a little turn. What is, like, the weirdest DM you've ever received? [00:39:50] Speaker B: Receive? [00:39:50] Speaker C: Yeah, like, anything weird in terms of, like. [00:39:53] Speaker A: Yes, a lot of, like, what's the [00:39:55] Speaker C: weird where you're like, okay, now things [00:39:56] Speaker A: you can't stand when people are like, really? Like. [00:39:58] Speaker C: I mean, one. [00:39:59] Speaker A: Yeah. People cannot be so nice. You kind of have. [00:40:02] Speaker C: I got you. I told you when you're in your end. [00:40:05] Speaker A: Wait, can we do a reel after this? I saw that was like. [00:40:08] Speaker C: Yes. [00:40:08] Speaker A: Oh, yes. [00:40:09] Speaker C: Yes. [00:40:10] Speaker A: It was the one that was literally, like, funny that you were mean to my friend and I burned your house down. [00:40:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:40:14] Speaker A: Like, I feel like that's like the energy. [00:40:16] Speaker B: We're all giving. [00:40:16] Speaker A: Giving, like, we're all giving. [00:40:18] Speaker C: Yes. We have to do. [00:40:18] Speaker B: We need content. [00:40:19] Speaker A: Like, if you. If, like, it's funny how we were friends and I burned your house. Yeah, you were mean to my friend [00:40:23] Speaker C: and I burned your house down. [00:40:24] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:40:25] Speaker A: I mean, listen, I think just working in tv. Working. Yes. I'm very like. You have to have. So I will. [00:40:31] Speaker C: Social media, if this is something that [00:40:32] Speaker A: you guys would like to really dig into more. You have to have thick skin. You can't. You can't be super sensitive to, like, what people are. They're going to talk about your appearance, they're going to talk about your clothes, they're going to talk about the way you look. They're going to talk like, it's just. But those people don't. Don't matter, right? [00:40:44] Speaker C: Let me ask you something, because our last episode was about, like, family and friends supporting your journey. Have you run into issues with, like, family and friends not supporting your journey? [00:40:53] Speaker A: Absolutely not. My family and friends was like, Die Hard. Jeanette made it. If I had. I need merch. Do I need merch? [00:40:58] Speaker B: Yes. [00:40:59] Speaker A: I don't have merch. [00:41:00] Speaker C: You 100. [00:41:01] Speaker A: They would literally my. My, like, my. [00:41:03] Speaker C: I would buy local. [00:41:04] Speaker A: My local crew, like my friends who live in Ridgewood, like, Literally are always like, Jeanette. Like, they're like the ones that are like, you need to profile this or, like, like, you need to get in on this. And like. And I mean, like, and, like, return. Like, you know, one of my. One of my friends owns a. Like the. The pub in town, and anytime she's got something going on, I put it on my feed. And like, anytime I've got something going, it's just like, I don't. I don't. Yeah, I don't with people that don't support, like, you know, I don't with anyone. And like, and. But, like, also, like, that's just the energy that you keep and that's the people that you're gonna. [00:41:31] Speaker C: Anything you switch, like, any. [00:41:33] Speaker B: I love you. [00:41:33] Speaker C: No, I'm obsessed with her. I can't stop. I think this episode will be nine hours. We're gonna stop stuck here. I need to move on. [00:41:39] Speaker A: My husband's coming at like, 11:30. I'm gonna be like, no, take him to another playground. [00:41:43] Speaker C: Let's move on. Because I could ask you a million questions on that. [00:41:45] Speaker B: Well, yeah. Yeah, let me. [00:41:47] Speaker C: I know what your holy crap moment was. You just told us, so that's awesome. So I know creating content isn't, like, all that glamorous. You just said that. So what about, like, food influencer myth? So, like, obviously, like, how much food gets wasted? Like, a lot. Or do you feel like. [00:42:05] Speaker A: I think because I'm a cook, I'm a big nut. Not. Not wasting person. I mean, I literally brought you guys leftovers, so sorry about that. I literally, like, packed it out. [00:42:12] Speaker C: Do you ever get sick of cooking? [00:42:14] Speaker A: No. [00:42:14] Speaker B: No. [00:42:14] Speaker A: I mean, like, yes. I think you get sick of, like, the. I think. I think in the kids space. Yeah, I get sick of that. But I. That's my happy place. Like, if I could have, like, a minute of quiet and, like, you know, food, like a steak hitting the pan or just like, boiling pasta, rolling meatballs that, like, meditative. Like, that is like, my happy. [00:42:32] Speaker C: We should get our kids together. [00:42:34] Speaker B: I envy you feeling we should do that. [00:42:37] Speaker C: No, like, I. I want to. I get inspired easily, so. [00:42:40] Speaker B: But you are inspiring me. [00:42:41] Speaker C: So you're going to go home and cook tonight. [00:42:43] Speaker B: But, like, you should. [00:42:43] Speaker A: Oh, my God, please do. But, like, something simple. And this is. [00:42:46] Speaker C: This is. [00:42:47] Speaker B: No, no, I do cook. I do. [00:42:48] Speaker A: My brand is like, it does not have to be complicated. Go get a rotisserie chicken, pull the meat off, get a. A good bottle of Caesar salad dressing, and make yourself a grilled chicken Caesar wrap tonight. Like, it does not have to be. [00:43:02] Speaker C: It doesn't have to be. I know it doesn't have to be. [00:43:04] Speaker A: And feeding your family and like, cooking for your family is. Is so fulfilling. It can be so fulfilling when it's good. [00:43:11] Speaker C: I made kick ass buffalo chicken bowl for my husband. [00:43:15] Speaker A: Actually, I was gonna say your kids, your son didn't eat. That's too spicy. Too spicy. [00:43:19] Speaker C: I have actually have a picture of it. And I watched my. I love watching my husband eat it and say, how satisfying. And it's so satisfying. I was exhausted after I was done with it, but it was so good. [00:43:30] Speaker A: I know. I feel like we're all like caretakers, right? Like, I feel like we're just like, I love to, like, I love feeding people. I love that feeling of, like, people enjoying what I made. I mean, my brand is literally called Jeanette Made It. Like, I literally, like, I love the name. Well, it came from that moment of [00:43:43] Speaker C: like, you're so like social media, tv. Jeanette, Jeanette, Donna Jeanette. [00:43:49] Speaker A: And lights from your mouth. But no, like, I love that feeling when you're at a party and like, you bring. Say I brought like a. I brought a pasta salad. And everyone's eating and putting on. They're like, oh, my God. Gosh, this is so good. Who made it? Jeanette made it. And I just love that feeling of like, Jeanette made it. And it was like, yes, Jeanette made it. [00:44:05] Speaker C: And that's where that came from. I love that. That's so cool. [00:44:09] Speaker A: That, like, feeling you get when somebody's really enjoying it. [00:44:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:44:11] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, totally. What about when they don't enjoy it? [00:44:14] Speaker A: I don't know. [00:44:15] Speaker C: They always never happen to you. [00:44:16] Speaker A: Nobody ever tells me that they don't enjoy my things. Am I scary? [00:44:18] Speaker C: Never happened to you. [00:44:20] Speaker A: We don't know her. [00:44:20] Speaker C: We don't know her. I love that. Wait, I. So we're going to do like a grocery store tea. We're going to do like a little rapid fire. Do you want to do it? [00:44:26] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. [00:44:26] Speaker C: But I don't know where to go, by the way. [00:44:28] Speaker A: Where do I grocery shop? I'm gonna say if there's like a pie chart, can we put up a little graphic? Pie chart? I'm say 50 Costco. [00:44:35] Speaker C: Wow. [00:44:36] Speaker B: Okay. [00:44:36] Speaker C: Okay. [00:44:37] Speaker A: My husband has. We have a little weekend ritual. I'd say like every other Saturday he gets the kids out. I. I like, because I have like, an unconventional work schedule. He's home on the weekends and I work Saturday morning. So, like, that's a little bit of my life. Hack is that I get work done on a Saturday morning. He'll take them out to Costco. I send them with like a list or whatever. We go to the boozy Costco and Wayne shout out to the boozy Costco. [00:44:57] Speaker C: Yeah. They have a. They have alcohol and a gas station. [00:45:00] Speaker B: Your kids are used to going to the food stores with you. Like, they like going to the food store. I would rather die than bring. [00:45:06] Speaker A: It's like an Olympic sport. You have three kids. That's like a whole nother problem. I mean, I know two is different. Three is different than two. [00:45:13] Speaker B: I just would rather do anything else than take three of my kids to the food store. [00:45:16] Speaker A: I agree with you. I agree with you again. My husband has more people patience than I do. And he kind of makes it an event. Like, they get the pizza, they get the thing. Like, they make it an event and could dare say. And like you guys tell me if this happens too. My kids are better behaved for my husband. [00:45:28] Speaker C: Oh, please. [00:45:29] Speaker B: Oh, we had a whole episode. [00:45:31] Speaker C: He's laughing because he's probably the same way. [00:45:33] Speaker A: Do you have kids? [00:45:34] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:45:35] Speaker A: You get the best side of your kids. [00:45:37] Speaker C: It's up. So rude. Do you know my son kicked me in the jugular the other day? [00:45:43] Speaker B: We are with them almost 24 7. [00:45:45] Speaker C: So rude. [00:45:46] Speaker B: And. And our husbands get the best. [00:45:47] Speaker A: My husband comes home from Costco, he's like, I got you flowers. He's like, whistling. [00:45:52] Speaker C: I was like, I come home from [00:45:53] Speaker A: Trader Joe's with those two kids. I'm sweating. [00:45:55] Speaker C: No sweat. I'm so mad. I never want to see them again. [00:46:00] Speaker A: It's not good. I don't get. There has to be a science behind this bad cop. [00:46:05] Speaker C: It's good cop, bad cop. It's funny because my husband's the bad cop. [00:46:09] Speaker A: I don't get it. [00:46:09] Speaker C: Without a doubt. [00:46:11] Speaker B: You know what it is that children are their most authentic self. [00:46:15] Speaker C: Their emotions are. [00:46:18] Speaker B: They feel right, and they love us more. [00:46:20] Speaker A: Let's just keep repeating. Let's keep repeating that over and over. [00:46:23] Speaker C: Yeah, over and over because. [00:46:24] Speaker A: Yeah. No, so that's like. So, okay, so we go back. Get back to the question. So Costco. And so, like, I get all my, like, organic, like, you know, chicken breasts, chicken thighs. I love their wings. [00:46:33] Speaker B: Are you a freezer person? [00:46:35] Speaker A: I am a big freezer person. Yeah. I'm a big freezer person. [00:46:37] Speaker C: Me too. [00:46:38] Speaker B: I just got the butcher box. [00:46:41] Speaker C: What is it? [00:46:41] Speaker A: Oh, butcher box. Yeah. [00:46:42] Speaker B: Butcher box. Yeah. So we're freezing and I'm trying. I'm trying to do better. [00:46:45] Speaker A: You just have to remember to take it out. [00:46:46] Speaker C: That's the problem. [00:46:47] Speaker B: So when you don't remember or when [00:46:49] Speaker C: you do take it out and you [00:46:50] Speaker A: don't use it and then you don't want to, like, I literally brought chicken down with me. It's been marinating for like four days. It's totally going in the garage. I'm like, we just keep going out for dinner. I'm on vacation. [00:46:56] Speaker C: I don't really like it. [00:46:58] Speaker A: So Costco. I'd say Trader Joe's is probably 25% of it. I get a lot of myself stuff from Trader Joe's. I'm a big trader. Part of my brand. I. I do Trader Nose or Trader Goes. [00:47:07] Speaker B: Oh, I love. [00:47:08] Speaker A: Which are like, we go and we try the new thing. It's very. I actually haven't filmed a couple of those in a while. Those are really fun to do. [00:47:12] Speaker B: Oh, I would like to watch that. [00:47:14] Speaker A: Where you like the fun. I. I'm a big Trader Joe's girly. And then there's a Whole Foods in my town, so I feel like I kind of just supplement and Whole Foods. I will say I'll do grocery pickup a lot. [00:47:22] Speaker B: Do the grocery stores in your local town know you like Jeanette's coming in? [00:47:26] Speaker A: Yes. I feel like I. I always joke with people where, like, if they follow me and. And you live in Ridgewood, Bergen County. I'm like, I will. I will see you at Whole Foods. I will see you at Whole Foods. [00:47:34] Speaker C: I love that. Has everyone ever come up to you, like, oh, my God, I follow your stuff. [00:47:37] Speaker A: I love it so much. [00:47:38] Speaker C: I love that. [00:47:39] Speaker A: I love it people. It's funny because, like, I'd say, like, I mean, I. Ridgewood. Have you guys been to. Up to Ridgewood? It's such a. It's such a love. [00:47:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I had like a appointment there. It was like a laser hair removal appointment. [00:47:49] Speaker A: Next time you're there, please stop by. It's a. It's such a wonderful community. It's like 20 minutes from way. Yeah, it's in Bergen County. County. It's just like, the community is unmatched and like, because I am constantly posting things of, like, local stuff. [00:48:02] Speaker B: Right? [00:48:03] Speaker A: People follow me. So like, literally, like, I walk my kid up to school and like, I'm like, you could like, someone, like, look at me and I'm like, they follow me. [00:48:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:48:09] Speaker A: Like, you could just like, tell them. [00:48:10] Speaker C: I love that, like, they follow me. [00:48:11] Speaker A: Like, they totally follow me. Or like, I'll, like, they follow me. And like, I. I appreciate when people say, hi, because, like, so many people, like, I talk to so many people and I'm a little face blind. So, like, this is like, something. Something funny about me. I'm a little face blind. I can, like, meet you or, like, see you or see a picture of you and then meet you again. And it takes me a minute to be, like, that person. So please don't ever be offended if I'm like. I literally, like, yeah, it takes me a minute, but I love when people say hi. It makes me so happy. [00:48:36] Speaker C: I love that. Thanks for watching. Watch out for part two.