Episode 245

Ask Jenn Anything

Published on: 10th April, 2024

We love a good round up of listener questions, and this episode has so many good ones! From the best salad to eat, to Ozempic, to supplements and probiotics, we are covering it all in this episode. Tune in to hear Jenn answer your burning questions. 

On this week’s episode, Jenn is answering questions that listeners have sent in regarding a wide variety of topics. The questions range from healthy sweet treats, to the 5 second rule, to navigating the dating world while taking Ozempic. Jenn deep dives into each topic with clarity and understanding. There is sure to be a takeaway for everyone! Tune in to hear these great questions, where you’ll learn you aren’t alone in all the confusing advice out there! 

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

● [3:20] What is a healthier salad base, romaine or arugula, and which has more nutrients?

● [4:49] Is quinoa healthier than rice?

● [6:23] What are healthy sweet snacks?

● [8:23] Are Smart Sweets and Small Wins really good options for a sweet treat? 

● [12:28] Is the 5-second rule really a thing?

● [14:25] What is a good option when you are out and about and need a quick meal?

● [16:13] Is Naya Tame Kava really a healthy fast food option? 

● [19:31] Are Sakara or Factor Meals good options for meal kits?

● [24:49] What is Intermittent Fasting and does it help with perimenopause?

● [27:00] What is Jenn’s opinion on Ozempic? Is it cheating?

● [31:48] How do you navigate dating while taking Ozempic? 

● [34:50] What does Jenn think of Liquid IV and LMNT?

● [37:46] What are methylated or activated B vitamins? 

● [39:00] How do melatonin and ashwagandha work? Why does melatonin create “funky” dreams?

● [42:15] What does Jenn think about juicing and AG1?

● [45:15] What are spore probiotics and how do they work? 

● [47:27] If you are not a vitamin person, what, if any, supplements should you take?

● [50:05] Is using the turmeric spice enough to get the benefits of turmeric?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

● [12:04] Sometimes it just isn’t worth having the “healthier option” of candy because the ingredients are just replaced with food-like substances. Instead, just have a few of the candy/treat you want and enjoy it!

● [25:21] In regards to intermittent fasting, the average human living in this world does not get the minimum requirements of what the body needs in order to not deteriorate…So how do we expect someone to get what they need with an eating window of only a few hours a day?

● [43:48] When you are taking supplements, make sure that they are in a form that the body can absorb. Sometimes certain things together don’t allow the body to absorb and use it, whereas other things need to be combined with something else in order for the body to use it. 

QUOTES: 

[16:52] “I live in a world where we can find something to eat anywhere. There are just sometimes trade offs. Like eating out at a restaurant, they’re going to probably add salt and fat and things that you wouldn’t necessarily eat at home, and yet you could go into Naya and get the chicken kebab, greens, a bunch of veggies, some tzatziki, hummus and have a great, super satisfying meal.” - Jenn Trepeck

"My issue with a lot of these [food delivery companies] is that they spend the calories in a way that I wouldn't if I was making food for myself." - Jenn Trepeck

"The idea that we are going to expect our body to perform without fuel, is not what sends the body signals of safety." - Jenn Trepeck

[31:01] “It’s that expectation that we’re all supposed to be the same body shape and size. We don’t expect the same shoe size, we don’t expect the same height, we don’t expect the same hair color, why do we think that we’re all supposed to be the same body shape and size?” - Jenn Trepeck 

"We have a really big problem socially...we are returning to the '90s, wafer-thin is the sign of health and beauty and that's not the case, at all." - Jenn Trepeck

[45:16] “Okay, probiotics are the gut bugs. We need different gut bugs in different parts of the digestive tract. So we need different ones in the small intestine versus the large intestine versus the colon and all throughout. They have to go through the stomach where stomach acids tend to kill the live gut bugs. Now that’s assuming that whatever probiotic you’re taking is even alive when you take it, because a lot of times if they're not made properly, if they’re not stored properly, the bugs will be dead by the time you take them. So a lot of people will take a probiotic and notice nothing.” - Jenn Trepeck

[47:52] “It’s very possible that you don’t notice a difference (taking vitamins), because there are a lot of vitamins that pass through the body whole, where the body can’t even break it down in order to absorb the nutrients, or it can’t even break down the pill.” - Jenn Trepeck 

RESOURCES:

Link for Supplements Jenn Discussed

Become A Member of Salad with a Side of Fries

Jenn’s Free Menu Plan

A Salad With a Side of Fries

A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch

A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

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About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
Nutrition tips that actually work. Real-life healthy eating, balanced diet tools, and weight loss tips you can use today with coach Jenn Trepeck.*

If you have searched for nutrition tips, tried to keep a healthy lifestyle, or felt stuck following popular weight loss tips, this podcast is for you. Get straightforward wellness advice that works in real life, plus strategies for a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, and a smarter approach to fitness and nutrition. Is your diet making you hungrier, crankier, or less healthy? Tune in and find out.*

Free gift: Schedule a 15-minute curiosity call with Jenn to explore what is possible for you. https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/contact/

Welcome to Salad with a Side of Fries, where wellness meets real life. Award-winning host Jenn Trepeck, health and lifestyle coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness, cuts through the noise with clear answers you can trust. Ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, the show won Ear Worthy’s Best Health Podcast in 2024 and 2025 and was nominated for Best Independent Podcast both years. Jenn also won Women Who Podcast’s Stellar Interview award in 2025 after being named one of Podcast Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2022.

Jenn’s motto is “wellness without the weirdness.” With more than 17 years coaching after solving her own food struggles, she knows how confusing the industry can be. Each week you get the foundations of a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, metabolism basics, and long-term holistic health, plus straight talk on fad diets and supplements.

What you will get by listening:
✅How to eat and how to cheat, guilt-free
✅Nutrition tips that work in the real world
✅Weight loss tips that are effective, never restrictive
✅How to build a balanced plate at home, on the road, and eating out
✅Smart strategies for sustainable habits that include your favorite foods
✅Evidence-based insights on fitness and nutrition
✅Conversations about holistic health that go beyond food
✅Wellness advice you can use right away


About Jenn Trepeck:
Jenn is a health coach, speaker, and consultant who blends humor with practical science. She has helped thousands improve energy, metabolism, and confidence in their choices through one-on-one coaching, group programs, her book, and this podcast.

Connect with Jenn and the show:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenntrepeck/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saladwithasideoffriespod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenntrepeck
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferTrepeck/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/425796548337541/
Website: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/

If you are ready to trade guilt for freedom, confusion for clarity, and boring salads for fries on the side, press play. Health gets doable here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast and its guests are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About your host

Profile picture for Jennifer Trepeck

Jennifer Trepeck

“My passion for nutrition and helping others stems from “kicking my food issues” with my own weight management saga.” ~ Jenn

I believe that the greatest accountability is paying it forward! That’s why I teach the nutrition education we are all supposed to know but no one ever taught us, along with the science behind food, fitness, and health.

After I graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, I founded Better Life Now LLC while working full-time in hedge funds. In 2019, I took my practice from side-hustle to full-time self-employment and launched my podcast, Salad With a Side of Fries. On the show, we offer science-based tips and tricks for how to achieve wellness and weight loss for real life – because who wants a life without fries or dessert?!

Topics we tackle on the podcast include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. I encourage guests whose expertise is different from my own focus on weight management to bring their unique, fact-based perspectives to talk about subjects they are educated in and passionate about.

Due to my decade-long experience of working with clients, I have gained insight into the health and food industry and the how-tos of building a business.

Some specific health and wellness topics I can speak to include debunking fad diets, exposing the BS we are fed by the food and diet industry, how the people around us can positively and negatively impact our health journey, and shifting mindsets in order to overcome inappropriate barometers of success to instead achieve happy, healthy, and meaningful change.

On the subject of business, I can help you by teaching my critical pieces every entrepreneur should know, how to make your side-hustle into your full-time job, ways to sustainably achieve success without burning out, contemporary networking, and how to prioritize wellness while pursuing your projects.

When I find some free time, I’m typically working out at Physique57, discovering hidden gem restaurants in NYC, or traveling to spend time with friends and family.

I’d love to have an in-depth conversation with you, whether it’s leveling up in business or debunking food myths!