Episode 130

The Mystery of Mothers' Milk (feat. Marie Van Blaricum)

Published on: 26th January, 2022

This episode has been a long time coming...and not just because human infants feeding on mothers' milk has been a thing since the dawn of time (ish)! This week, Jenn sits down with Marie Van Blaricum, founder and CEO of Milk & Fire, to debunk the myths of this very human experience. From her own challenges of an infant with food allergies to the Covid-19 pandemic and more, Jenn and Marie answer your burning questions—the ones moms google at 2am. Whether you had your kids already, may have kids in the future or simply know people with the potential to birth babies, listen in. It's another area of women's health discussed too little. Until now...    

Outline:

  • Welcome back & intro today's topic
  • Meet Marie Van Blaricum, founder & CEO of Milk & Fire
  • Marie's story
  • The lack of research & information for postpartum moms
  • Why we don't have research to answer our questions
  • Profit
  • Challenges of controlled environments
  • Lack of support for postpartum women in the US
  • Gender disparity in science
  • Major myths around breastfeeding & mothers' milk
  • Diet & diet's ability to increase supply
  • Supply changes throughout the day & baby waking at night
  • "It should be easy"
  • Our best source of information
  • A pressure to breastfeed
  • Formula as a really important invention
  • The movement toward formula in the 1980s 
  • Working moms
  • Intergenerational support
  • Answers for the 2am Google search
  • Nutrient transfer to baby
  • Antibodies transfer to baby generally and with Covid-19
  • Burning calories from breastfeeding
  • What to expect for supply & what questions to ask the pediatrician
  • Storage & shelf-life
  • Fear of suffocating baby
  • How long a nursing session can take
  • For how long to keep breastmilk as part of a child's nutrition?
  • Managing expectations
  • Breastmilk banks, donating & more
  • The mission of Milk & Fire
  • What to track in this new year
  • How we're taught to cope with emotions...by eating
  • The emotional pantry
  • What it is
  • Past beliefs
  • Current triggers
  • The way you view food
  • Shifting the power
  • Triggers, learned habits, current circumstances
  • Dismantling "what I eat is who I am"
  • Tools to clean your emotional pantry
  • Starting point
  • The path - trial & error, journaling, photos
  • Replacing negative thoughts
  • The bird perspective
  • How to believe you know your body best

Links:

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Connect with us! FB Page & Private FB Group & Jenn's Instagram

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Milk & Fire on IG, FB, & Website

Quotes:

"It's endemic in the US, being ill-informed about postpartum, postpartum health and especially about breastfeeding ." – Marie Van Blaricum

"52% of maternal deaths happen up to a year postpartum and 2/3 of those deaths are considered preventable causes."  – Marie Van Blaricum

"Every baby and mother's relationship is different and it's not necessarily easy."  – Marie Van Blaricum

"This is a personal choice between you and your child. Every situation is different." – Marie Van Blaricum

"Breastmilk composition changes when the baby is ill or fighting something off."  – Marie Van Blaricum

"Nursing moms are athletes!"  – Marie Van Blaricum 

"Let your body lead the way."  – Marie Van Blaricum

"There's a national shortage of mothers' milk...it's not just food, it's medicine."  – Marie Van Blaricum

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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

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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!