Latest / Sweat Community / Ep. 6 The Truth About “Healthy” Food- Protein, Wellness & Organic Living in Colorado with Vibe Foods

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Ep. 6 The Truth About “Healthy” Food- Protein, Wellness & Organic Living in Colorado with Vibe Foods · Sweat Community

• speaker-0: Today's guest is Shannon Weston, founder of Vibe Foods, a organic food company ⁓ rooted right here in Colorado. In this episode, we're talking about what it to build a wellness business the truth about today's health industry. We also dive into protein, ingredient labels. Sheena: Thank you so much for listening. If this conversation inspired you to think differently about wellness and the food you're putting into your body, share it with a friend and leave a review. truly helps support the podcast and grow this community. And just for sweat community listeners, when you try vibe foods, get $3 off your online order using code SWEAT3 at checkout. Welcome back to Sweat Community Podcast, where we bring together conversations around health, wellness, community, and the people creating an impact here in the Denver metro area. As always, head to sweatcommunity.com and subscribe to stay in the know on upcoming episodes, events, and happenings in the Denver metro area. And before you go, ask yourself, what made you sweat this week? I'll see you in the next one. ⁓ ⁓ speaker-0: and why protecting the Lone Tree Bluffs is something she's so passionate about. Let's get it. Welcome, Shannon. speaker-1: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. speaker-0: I am so excited that you're here. I love everything that you are about. So for listeners who might not know you yet, can you introduce yourself and share what Vibe Foods is all about? speaker-1: Yes, for sure. we started Vibe Foods back in 2017, but the roots of that started way before that. I grew up eating Cheetos and a Coke for dinner and thinking somehow magically that good for me it was cheese, right? And ⁓ Coke settles your stomach. And I grew up in the era of have a Coke and a smile. So I thought, I was doing something good for myself ⁓ and had connection between what went ⁓ in my mouth, went on my body, what kind of air I breathed in, and how that translates your everyday health. That all changed for us back in 1999 when our third child was born. he thankfully was healthy, 10 fingers and toes, all the basics were there. so we're really grateful for that. But from the he was two days old, he started having these crazy health issues. His skin was a disaster. His immune system was either hyper active or non-existent. He was sick all the time. it was just thing after after thing. ⁓ And we could not figure what going on. we would take him to the pediatrician take him to the dermatologist and take him here and take him there and everywhere. And I'm naturally a very curious person. I love to learn. so I was asking the questions of why? Why is this child having this problem? And ⁓ I got when I say zero answers, that would be less than zero answers because was that that we were doing, diet, had zero impact on his health, that he just had an autoimmune condition and there was nothing we could do. So we were offered prescription after prescription, trying to manage his painful symptoms. this ran his first 5K without stopping when he was three because he was so he would just find peace and solace in exerting himself physically. he ran a 5K and he could not catch his breath. we ended taking him in and again, zero answers. ⁓ I had had and ⁓ I went completely the which this is a long time ago, before we had the internet and support groups and Instagram And I found this doctor who know I'm very much a science girl. not a woo-woo girl. And did all kinds tests that had not been done on him before. The conclusion was it was a hundred percent in his gut and it was this food. we were floored. I remember in Hawaii when we saw the news that for one, he would never be able to eat gluten again. And I looked over at him and he was shoving a whole buffet worth of donuts in his mouth. And I thought, ⁓ my God, ⁓ what are we going to do? This is not to be good. ⁓ I was working a corporate job. And, I jumped in head first with him because I knew he couldn't do it alone. He was eight. And I remember we found one gluten-free pizza. And I was like, Look, buddy, it's gonna be okay. there's pizza. And we ordered a pizza and I took a few bites I went into our pantry and I almost started to cry. I was like, it is never gonna be okay. This is horrible. The food is terrible. Like, how do you survive? so had to learn how to make everything from scratch. We to start reading every single label. And I say, within six all of his blood work was perfect, his symptoms were gone. and he just felt like a new kid. I became obsessed at that point with the power of food as medicine or food as poison and how much actual control we do have our health. the last prescription that I was offered for him has since been pulled off the market for giving kids cancer. And I would have been ⁓ using a lot of it based on how severe his problem was. So I think about where we could have And where we ended up going. the road was really, hard. But in the it was so worth it because it was that pain into purpose thing where I became obsessed about learning everything I could, reading everything I can every day. My reading nonfiction, science, ⁓ what's going on, new food trends, things like our mission is to help people, experience food as medicine, have it be delicious. So they're not like me crying in the pantry over the pizza. And, ⁓ realizing that nourishing body can not only taste amazing, but you're gonna feel the difference. and that you can trust what we're doing because that's foundation of who we are and what our mission is. we wanna spread that message far and wide because I'm gonna sound like a super braggy mom right now. on. No, I love it. ⁓ I love ⁓ if you would have seen him when he little, you wouldn't have guessed that he would have ended up graduating at the top of his class, in the Hall of Fame at his high school. played college level sports. So I say that to say he didn't just survive, he absolutely thrived. that's speaker-0: And brog away. speaker-1: the power of making changes for your health and taking your health into your own control being responsible for ourselves. speaker-0: That is amazing. I can relate because over 20 years ago I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. And I've noticed that the food eat makes such a difference. I was trying to cut gluten back or out, but the foods just weren't good. And so me back then, I struggled and I'd continued to eat foods that I shouldn't have and would continue to have flares. It has come a long way since then. I am so thrilled as to you have done with Vibe Foods and bringing that everybody here in the so speaking of Vibe Foods, what was the early days of building like? speaker-1: my gosh. Well, I mean, still feel like we're in the early days of building, ⁓ nine years later I didn't anything about a restaurant. I worked in insurance ⁓ so I insured restaurants. so I kind of knew the things to look out But it is a whole nother world. ⁓ when we were working with ingredients, back then that nobody had heard of. and every year just and evolved we still have not totally hit our stride yet because there's so many more things we want to do. But the one thing I would say for anybody who's thinking about starting a business that's outside of their normal purview is Really look to your community because I didn't know lot of things about a lot of things, but I knew somebody who did. I really like people in the end are so giving they want to help you. ⁓ I remember one of friends is a senior vice president at a bank and I was like Okay, please don't laugh at me. But when you run a credit card, how does the money magically get into the bank? it was just those basic things, now seems so dumb because everybody knows because we have Zell and Venmo. But back then it felt like this ⁓ mysterious magic that nobody knew I had friends that had really good creative ideas. helped us so much, speaker-0: Yeah, it is amazing how ⁓ your community up they are there to support you. They believe in what ⁓ you are going for ⁓ and they want to see thrive. I love that. speaker-1: Yes, for sure. you really have to believe in what you're doing because you get knocked down a ton as an entrepreneur. And here's my husband and I. We both had our careers. we've got our nest egg and we're putting it on the line, we believe in this so much And it's really scary. if we hadn't been so passionate it would have been easy to kind of give in to that as well. ⁓ speaker-0: It's so scary. you are so in that your foods are mainly organic. ⁓ where do you source your food? speaker-1: Yeah, we probably get half our stuff direct whoever's making it, which is really hard to do. think of most restaurants, the most efficient way would be to have a Shamrock Foods or a Cisco truck pull up and there you go. Here comes all your stuff for the week. It's on auto ship. It's easy. We're like chaotic. we somebody who makes our granola for us. if a business consultant came in, be like, Good lord, lady, this is not the way to do it. but I want my granola made by these people with just really clean ingredients and We want our produce to be a hundred percent organic for our juice and it's coming from this place. we have a wide variety of sources our mushroom powders that we use. We've been using mushrooms, not those kind of mushrooms. speaker-0: whole different story and story. speaker-1: ⁓ had those out nine years ago when we started and people are like, What is What is Rishi? What is Lions Made? and we're sitting here trying to explain this. there's so much fraudulentness in food and there's so much in the health space that we go and get the mushrooms from this company who grows them in Hawaii. because we know that the mushrooms are raised the right way, there's no cross contamination, they have the highest amount of powers because they're not diluted. that's what we do. ⁓ It's not an efficient business model. except for our food is the best. speaker-0: ⁓ is. And that just gives you so much comfort because you could buy an you could juice the things, but if they have pesticides on it, You're drinking all those chemicals and ⁓ knowing that you are sourcing it from quality that gives so much comfort and peace of mind ⁓ that we are actually putting things into our body that need versus hurt them, ⁓ us. speaker-1: Yes. One hundred percent. I mean, we really feel we have a responsibility ⁓ I love animals. So if I have an animal I want to make sure it comes from a source they were treated humanely, they were fed the right way, they were given air, space, water, ⁓ sun, the way that an animal should live. Now I ⁓ that's kind of controversial. We have a lot of vegans and that come in and obviously we cater to that, but Should we have an animal product, I want to know that they had the life they deserved drive out to this ranch in Strasbourg to get our beef bones for our organic beef broth. They're raised organically. it's not certified and we're clear with that. But 100% grass fed and finished. at the end of the cow's life, which I don't even like to think about, they thank them for their lives. They don't slaughter them where they can hear the other animals. They don't sense this panic and fear the way we treat animals in country is horrendous. So I'm a big carnivore kind of person. I love meat and animal products, but I'm so flip and picky about that. It would be so easy for us to pass off cheap protein powders but we just will not do it because I feel like I have a responsibility to vote with my dollar and help businesses that are doing it the right way. continue to ⁓ that 20 years from now, these terrible animal farms are out of business and they're replaced with nice regenerative things that are good for our environment and good for our bodies and good for the animals. speaker-0: ⁓ I hope so. It is devastating to hear how these animals are treated. So to know that ⁓ living a good life, they go out humanely, that is Mm-hmm. speaking of animal products, people not understand the benefits bone broth. And the bone broth that you have ⁓ is I I have to say magical. I'm feeling under the weather or My kids are or it's a little chilly. I love getting your bone broth. Can you go over the benefits of that and why it's so special? speaker-1: Yeah. So when we found out our son's gut needed healing. we had to add some stuff in, right? Bone broth was one of the things that was recommended. The funny thing is, we've been making it for years. ⁓ And it's like this new hip. All these, companies are packaging it and throwing it on the shelves. And it's actually So old school. I bet our caveman ancestors made it. that way that you can eat nose to tail and not waste any part of the animal. So basically we roast everything and we add everything in and then we cook for about forty-eight hours, sometimes a little longer, they're different if it's chicken or beef because their whole composition is different, but the minerals and everything is leached. out. The bones are almost dissolving if it's chicken. If it's beef, they're stripped clean of all the connective tissue. I mean this sounds so gross. It's not I'm not I'm you know what? Okay, you know what? No one wants to know how the sausage is made. Just trust It's really, really good. speaker-0: we just need to know that we're getting all the minerals, all the things that we normally wouldn't be getting if it wasn't processed the way it was. ⁓ speaker-1: That's right. That's right. It's it's healing. It provides micronutrients and minerals that get lost because we just eat muscle meats now. And we don't even know if what we're eating is really meat anyway, but it fills those gaps it's been shown to help heal up the junctures in your gut, help your joints, skin, help your sleeping. There's a lot of really good things about it. it is really good for you. And we saw that help our son. And actually I have to tell you this really funny story I used travel a lot for work. And I have four little kids at home and I'm getting calls, mom, mom, mom. And I'm like, what? They're like, Dad's doing something really weird. And I was thinking, what? before I left, the first time I made bone broth, I put it on the stove and I was testing different cooking times. And so it wasn't going to be done before I left. I said, Hey, when you're cook this another 12 hours and then, strain it then we'll try it. And my husband somehow heard, okay, I'm gonna put it all in a bowl and feed it to the kids. So They were calling me crying because their dad was trying to make them eat a bowl full of bones and he's like, it's really good food and your mom worked hard on it. And they're like and the bones are falling apart. So technically they could chew them. They're all scarred for life. But anyway, no, no, no. So anyway, we speaker-0: to strain it. speaker-1: He was trying to support me in the weirdest way. So our family still laughs about that. speaker-0: That's cute. That's funny. I That's funny. because of the properties you also add turmeric and whatnot. can add that to the bone broth as well, for a powerhouse of ingredients. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. Yes. And then one that we can do turmeric, lemon, and fresh pressed ginger. it has a little bit of clove and bossuella. So other things that are good. And then we make that into an immunity broth. We have one that we do lemon and edible lavender oil that's organic. And that one's really relaxing. we have an organic kimchi, which is really good for the gut. So we do some interesting blends with them as well. speaker-0: that's fantastic. Okay, know listeners looking for actionable stuff that they can apply. And protein is having such a moment right now. I feel like it's everywhere look, someone is talking about hitting their protein goals. why do you think protein has become such an important topic? speaker-1: I've seen so many things become an important topic and then immediately recede. I think fiber is actually the next wave that proteins having its moment now. Next year it'll be fiber. I follow all all of this very clearfully. But I do feel like in general people's muscle health has gotten lacking. It's probably our lifestyle, it's cell phones, the whole, way we live our and It's really important to have good muscle tone. Our heart is a muscle and we need to feed our muscles appropriately. So those muscles do require a lot of protein. that's one of the signs when you see people getting older. when you see somebody who's 80 and they still have muscle, it's like, wow, that's so badass. so cool. in order to have that, you do need a amount of protein that's digestible. Now that said, this is my pet peeve to the max, is the fake health food trend, So it's like hit your protein goals. And I'm not gonna say the name of brand, but for a while there everybody was posting online this one drink that you could buy and they're adding soda to it and drinking this heinous concoction. I can tell you right now that that protein drink is not good for you. but people hear, ⁓ there's 30 something grams of protein. Okay, we'll mix it up with a Mountain Dew drink it, I'm doing something good for myself. that type of stuff where people are getting their protein in at all costs, I vehemently disagree with. for example, at Vibe, we offer protein powders. We have three different kinds. We do a sprouted plant protein. A lot of people want protein. Plants can be a good source of protein. I'm all for that. but They can also be horrible on your digestion. we get one that's organic, number one, because most plants in our country are covered in pesticides. We get it where it's sprouted, meaning it's already moved through that first phase. So it makes it digestible because a lot of people have a hard time with the outer seed piece of it before it breaks down to grow into a plant. That can cause a of gI discomfort. it's blended with multiple different kinds of seeds and it also has pumpkin seed and chi and other things, not just pea isolate. Most places will give you protein powder if ask for a plant ⁓ that will be P isolate. So peas, probably sprayed in glyphosate. Certainly, actually. Very you're going to find that at any smoothie place that it's organic like ours. And it's very indigestible. so you've got to ask yourself if you're like, hey, I'm gonna hit my 120 grams of protein by drinking three of shakes of this, what is that doing to your body? How much pesticide are you getting? How much inflammation are you getting from these unsprouted peas? at what cost are getting in your protein, if that makes sense? we also have a grass fed whey protein. ⁓ I like dairy. I actually don't it's for everybody. But I'm very, very, picky about what type of dairy. And having it a grass-fed whey is really important to me. If you look at the back label for most whey proteins, you're gonna find a really cheap, bad quality whey. You're going to find artificial sweeteners, fillers, gums. So yes, here you are. Like I'm gonna drink two protein shakes, but what are you getting? what is going in there? yes, you are hitting your protein goal. Great. Is your body able to use it? Is your body pissed off because of all this other stuff? And then thirdly, we offer a ⁓ primal that's beef it's New Zealand ⁓ grass-fed cows. It's actually muscle meat plus the connective tissues. it has liver, spleen and heart. So an organ blend. ⁓ It has colostrum and it has So that's for the more adventurous. However, I was scared to taste it, honestly, because I think organs are gross, but I know how good they are for us. It is good. It is so good. And you would never know the difference. so you can do that. there's not even an option that's fake when you're trying to strive to get protein, I believe it should come mostly from whole food sources, not from some wonky drink at Circle K and a a cheap. I'm not gonna name these people, but who make smoothies with 120 grams of sugar and some really P isolate protein in there, So ⁓ do I think protein's super Yes. Do I think the source of it is super important? Yes and yes and yes. that's everything. we're the same price to add protein as any other smoothie place. but the proteins that we use at our store are probably seven times the cost. Because they're the best of the best. wouldn't have it any other way. ⁓ we won't serve something at vibe that I wouldn't feel good if my family ate every single day, all day long. And that is our North Star on this. speaker-0: It's so important. I am so worried about childhood cancer and what we feed our kids. So ⁓ it matters. Is there a protein powder that you personally trust or recommend that ⁓ we purchase for home use? speaker-1: Yes. the three that we have at our stores are what I feel like are the best on the market right now. And we use sprout living for the plant and it's ⁓ really good. They a vanilla, they have a chocolate. They have ones that are individual seeds. If pea bothers you, you can get just pumpkin. They have a wide variety. And we have the sample packs at Vibe where we have all different kinds for people to try to make sure it sits well. You need to make sure things sit well with you. I haven't seen anything as good as what they offer. as far as whey protein, there are a couple that we like. native ⁓ is good. They often have it at Costco. make sure you turn package over. Make sure you don't see, fillers and don't see sucralose or aspartame, anything like that. the one we currently have at our store is called Levels. that a really good clean one there's some brands that have 10 different skews. I would maybe drink one of the skews, but not the other nine. you just really have to look at the label. At the end of the day, you want to see three on your whey protein. That's it. If you see more than that, get a little nervous. the one that we use that's the more primal is called Noble. And it is phenomenal and the people who created it are phenomenal. wish everyone could try it and just see how delicious it is. And your body's just like, yay, collagen, colostrum. Of course that does have dairy because colostrum is dairy. So if you have a dairy issue, that's not for you. But it is a really nice protein. And there's a brand called Equip that has a really clean B bisolate protein. it doesn't have the other pieces in it, but it's a good one too. speaker-0: Awesome. Thank you for sharing. I just wrote all those down. I'm like, love it. I love it. So you said there should be three ingredients that people should look for. You did mention ingredients to avoid, like gum fillers. ⁓ there any other ingredients that you would see and you'd be like, absolutely not. This is a red flag. speaker-1: you start seeing things that are scientific terms and not food terms. Like so I see monk fruit, I'm like, yeah, that's monk fruit. That works for me. Stevia, that's plant. That works for me. If I see sucralose, these made up names. my rule of thumb is if they had to make up the name in the lab, it's not something growing somewhere, just avoid it. those are preservatives, there's stabilizers, there's gums, to cut the protein so that it lasts a lot longer. I'll give you an example of something that's not protein but different: lemon juice. ⁓ we use only organic lemon juice, and we it in a of recipes. And about a year and a half ago, there was a shortage of organic lemons, we needed to buy the bottled juice so we could save the lemons something else. Our normal brand was out. we use one that's in a glass bottle. It has one ingredient, lemons, organic lemons. I sent husband on a 60 like door of the explorer adventure, where he would me and be like, Okay, I'm here at this store. Every lemon juice it's in a plastic bottle. Lemons are acidic, they of eat away at that. there's a chemical that is in there that is a stabilizer. Well, lemons in and of themselves are a stabilizer. They're already shelf stable they preserve themselves basically. So in every store, if you're using lemon juice and you're buying one that has anything but lemons, run for the hills. Go find a different brand. people have this like, ⁓ I'm gonna drink lemon water for breakfast. And I'm like, my gosh, because sodium benzoate, that's in there in every brand except for like two. If you Google what happens when you add that to asorbic acid, which is vitamin C, it turns into a benzene, which is a leukemia causer. So Like what the hell? why do we have this in our food? No meat. it I don't even know why they put it in there. Probably to keep it because it's in a plastic from there's probably some chemistry. I don't know. I'm not a chemistry girl. But you have people that drink lemon water every morning, and then you see that and Like why? That makes no sense that we have that in there. that particular chemical is in a lot of things at the major shops It's a preservative. most people don't know and don't worry. But like I know and I worry. I treat all my customers like they're my family. speaker-0: I guarantee I have that exact lemon ⁓ that thought was good. was just lemon and a one preservative, in my fridge right now that add it to soda water and holy cow. ⁓ speaker-1: See, yep. You can go to Costco and they have a two pack and it's wonderful. It's organic, so you don't have to worry about the pesticides and that's all it is is lemons. speaker-0: that's wild. ⁓ speaker-1: Why is that in our food? I love technology, but the purpose of those chemicals is to make food. cheaper, more profits to make it last longer, but what if we just got food and it was fresh and we ate it? what if we stuck to the single, ingredient things. Would we be better off for it? one thousand percent we would be. So speaker-0: I agree a hundred percent. What is the biggest scam or misleading trend that you see masquerading as a health food right now? speaker-1: okay, this is gonna be controversial because of what we sell at vibe. there's two juice and acos. and acaibles. I will tell you, juice, just really fast in a nutshell. if you're not drinking organic juice, you shouldn't drink juice. Eat the whole fruit, when we make juice. it takes about two and a half pounds of produce to make one juice. it would be really hard to eat all that produce. but it's really fast to drink it. especially if we're doing a juice cleanse, that would be five juices. You're having like 10 pounds of produce a day. It's fantastic. There used to be a cancer therapy called the Gersten therapy where they would have people drink juice. Getting all those phytonutrients is amazing for you. But imagine if it's not organic How much chemicals, waxes, coatings, things that are not designed for your body, made in a lab, put on there so that bugs won't eat it, but we're supposed to. And all of that gets condensed into a small drink. it would be hard to eat ten of produce. Very but at least then you'd be getting the fiber and to help your liver, your digestive system flush it all through. So ⁓ just feel like if juice is not organic, don't do it. The only time I will ever do it is a tiny splash in a mimosa because I don't have a choice. But so goes my there goes my health authority right there. But it's good. Now we are huge believers in the power of fruit in its whole form And We I think might have been close to the first people to have a Sae here in town. we vacation a bunch in a place where they have it ⁓ and for years loved it. And so we're like, okay, let's try that in Colorado. I feel like maybe we were the only ones. all the big chains have now added that to their repertoire. when we make an asay bowl, we're taking the pulp, the frozen actual fruit, the berry, into a bowl. And we make everything from scratch. you're getting the fiber, you're getting everything good. Most Asay places ⁓ are crap. I would never them because I might as well for the nutritional content and the sugar, ⁓ I'd be better off eating a Queen hotfish Sunday. it's marketed as healthy, There are a bunch of places in town that are popping up. ⁓ the way you can is if they can scoop it, it's got emulsifiers, it's got gums, because our brick, there's no way you could ever scoop it. it can shatter a metal blender blade if we put it in too cold. If you see a machine where it's coming out like sorbet or they're scooping it, it might be delicious. but it's not good for you. Because it's not made with the berry, it's made with the powder. It's highly processed, highly, highly processed. It's made that way so that people can cut back on employee costs, which of course, I mean, that's the name of the game, right? plus the granola they put on top. has three kinds of seed oils, not organic oats, it's gross. And a lot of them, if you go to look at the nutrition information, you're gonna have to dig really deep. I'll look just for fun sometimes and I'm like, my gosh, this person's potia bowl, which is dragon fruit, very low sugar naturally. has 120 grams of sugar. they're with juice, that's not organic. It's a sugar bomb. And people are thinking that they're doing good things for their body. And of course they're gorgeous because the colors of fruit are really great. that's me. I'm a snob like that. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying know what you're getting. ⁓ Yeah. people are spending a lot of money. It's not that those those places are cheaper than what we it's healthwashed. It's like, come get your asa e bowl and people are like, that's healthy for me. But it's not. speaker-0: ⁓ my gosh. you're right. That is such a big scam because people think they're being healthy, but they're getting basically just versus the fruit. One hundred and what they think they're getting. And when you think you're doing good for yourself, you think you're going away from highly processed, you are actually still getting it, which is so sad. speaker-1: Yeah, over time. And a lot of smoothies are the same way, for sure, with cheap proteins when I was pregnant with my daughter, I was like, ⁓ I'm gonna eat little bit better I'm obviously having a giant Coke and Cheetos tonight for dinner. So I would roll into a place that's been around a really long time and I would get my big smoothie. in a styrofoam cup it had, vitamin C, but it was probably a highly processed vitamin C powder, had sorbet or sherbet in it, tasted really good, tons of orange juice in it. So I had to be drinking like 150 grams of sugar no fiber, plus colorings, you know, there's colorings and all kinds of other things. And I was doing that thinking it was good for me. I have been on that side of it very much. So I totally get it. speaker-0: exhausting. you think you're doing something so good for you and for your growing baby not realizing it's so the opposite. Yep. ⁓ ⁓ on the flip side, what's underrated that people are ignoring? speaker-1: Yeah. I'm gonna say clean is the most basic underrated thing. only do we need our water filtered our water is stripped of all of its, minerals which can lead to cellular dehydration. We're often drinking it out of plastic containers. we're paying big money for bottled water, which got a bunch of junk in it. finding a good source of clean water. whether that's mineral water, in a bottle, we have hydrogen water at Vibe out of a kangan machine. we filter all the water in our home, I feel that is just one of the most basic things. ⁓ And we are not getting that right. I would say clean meat would be the other thing. if you are a meat eater and getting meats are ⁓ well. such a freak, but if somebody gives me eat will eat all it 'cause I like such dick Sorry, that's a bad word. wasting animal. But really, that was someone something's life, for me, I'm like I gotta eat all of that. speaker-0: I'm the exact same way. I can't let meat go to waste just because I feel so bad for the animal. anything else I feel like I could away, but meat, I feel like, I have to clean my plate on that. speaker-1: A hundred percent. I know, it's a thing, it was something's life, but the difference between eating a grass-fed, grass finished beef and a non-grass-fed grass finished not only are you supporting animal mistreatment over, how animals are supposed to live, but also the amount of omegas, the amount of health benefits in the meat are so much greater. from, other one. I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but sometimes meats are gamey that are not normally gamey. you'll have a bite of pork or beef that can have that flavor. And the rancher that we work with told me what you're tasting, that weird metallic gameiness is actually adrenaline because the animal's so upset. I know, isn't that terrible? And you can taste the difference in a of meat that's well raised. I would rather instead of eight ounces of meat that ⁓ is questionable. I would eat four ounces of meat that is, the way it was supposed to be raised, eating what it was supposed to be eaten, I know there is some science to back this up, but I feel like you get more benefit out of the smaller amount. speaker-0: Yes, agreed. speaker-1: I think as science continues to catch up with this, we will probably find that our bodies respond much better to the higher quality, healthier, happier animals. have to in your health or you'll pay for it later, unfortunately. But if it's a choice between eating, a little bit less. the good meats are not double the price. They're probably 40% ⁓ more. So just 40% ⁓ less and fill with things, vegetables, healthy pastas, whatever it might be. your body's going to assimilate protein better. And I think science will eventually bear that out, but it hasn't right now. body will be happier. speaker-0: Yes, absolutely. I truly believe in your food, but it's also so delicious. do you balance having delicious food while staying true to your ingredient standards? speaker-1: what's interesting, thank you for that by the way, that just ⁓ am a foodie, I'm picky, I can taste the quality of different things and we don't compromise, but I don't think you need to. Once you get on a healthy eating journey, speaker-0: No, it's so true. speaker-1: Your taste buds adjust. You can start tasting chemicals and preservatives. And when you get that out, you're like, wow, I can't believe I love that. the stuff that I used to just love, there's no way, I would ever touch that again. I would get no joy from it. ⁓ You realize how good real ingredients taste, how good fresh ingredients vegetables can be really delicious they're prepared correctly, how fruits are just naturally always delicious. that's one thing at Vibe We're trying to appeal to many people. when we first opened, we had bone broth, but we didn't have anything else savory. a lot of people don't like fruit or they don't like sweet they have more palate. So now we have an organic chicken salad that's so good on gluten-free toast and it has all organic vegetables and avocado mayo. we are way beyond the whole food standard as far as their pasteurized organic chickens. every detail ⁓ matters. I know you our egg We've you know as well with all the good ingredients. we now have a new soup we just launched So we've got a lot more on top coming, but everything we do, we make, we test, we have people, try it to make sure they love it. I'm a chocolate freak. I really do have a problem. Like it's the first thing I think about when I wake up. I'm like, I gotta get some chocolate. speaker-0: that's what you were saying. You have the brownie for breakfast every morning when when I saw you at the event. Which is so good. It was so ⁓ and amazing. And I can't believe it's a health food. ⁓ speaker-1: ⁓ my gosh. It is so good. cacao is so good for us, the raw cacao and the coconut, oil. walnuts. good omegas. every bit of it, there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's actually a health food, other than a couple chocolate chips, which that's the least of my damage. we really focus on, taste, the texture, the health, but number one always ⁓ is the purity. And it's just not hard. And I don't mean to insult other restaurants, but we're just on pathless traveled. We're doing something different that doesn't make sense to anyone else because it would be so I get called those scoopable as I people all the time. And I'm like, No. we could be so much more operationally efficient. but that's not what we're after. We're after people change their life through food. So it has to be delicious, it has to be clean, speaker-0: I've just been so inspired ⁓ I've done this couple of times I work not too far And I love going in there for lunch knowing that am fueling my body with good things versus the cafeteria food that is, full of chemicals. And the convenience of it, get it downstairs all the time, but I am on a mission now. for lunch, I am stopping at you and I'm getting some vibe foods speaker-1: ⁓ I love that. and one the things that try to do too is find new ingredients that add, health benefits, but they're not chemicals. We're rolling out something that's gonna have sea bac corn in it soon. And that has a vitamin C taste, but we're putting it where you won't have that sour zip. it's amazing for your It's amazing for your gut lining. It has a lot of benefits. And, that's the kind of stuff we're always trying to do is innovate, find new ways to bring more food, to help people feel their best, and the best part, I love this so much, is that a lot of our customers are like family, and you watch their health get better with their choices. we're just a small sliver of their day or their week or whatever, but just to be able to open people's eyes and be like, Look, eating this way, gonna feel good, if you just do this a little more, not even with us, go home and do it. your life will change for the better, no doubt. Yeah. speaker-0: ⁓ yeah, it's a game changer. Absolutely. healthy is all over Instagram and the internet our customers, becoming more educated about wellness and health, or do you think they're more confused because of social media? speaker-1: gosh, definitely both. when first started, this is an important piece to mention. everything had to taste good because nobody cared what was in it. Like, ⁓ I just went try something that tastes different, like acceable I've never had. it just has to taste good. meanwhile my kids are choking down bones out of the bone broth and green that are horrific. ⁓ And ⁓ so ⁓ I was like, okay, we gotta make this good because nobody cares. And some people did. And now, the shift has been remarkable, I would say, in the last two years, people are asking a lot more of the right questions. They seem to be more intentional about what why this the other thing, and this is a weird bird's eye view I have of but where our stores are. it sounds bad, but people can afford to look healthy, they have their basic essentials met for them. They have a roof over their head, they have clothes, they have food. and they might be, great hairdos and some nice clothes and maybe, a little cosmetic stuff here and there. But when you start talking to people, nobody is healthy. And that, Sheena, is so terrifying me. people come in and they'll just start telling us what's going on with their health. And I hear it all day, every day from everybody. People that look super healthy, like you, like you're young and you're fit and you're beautiful. ⁓ I would no idea that you'd struggle with RA, you know? And that is so common. It shouldn't be normal, but it's so common. And we have God, in their 20s early 20s coming in that are fighting cancer, kids, the amount of disease and unhealth, people who have to have prescriptions. I've never seen anything like it ever. we've seen that increase over the last nine And at the same time we've seen people become far more aware, which I am beyond grateful for. And we just want to be a piece of that. we want to be a place where people can come in. And if they just got a diagnosis and they no longer can eat let's just say gluten, That's like baseline for us. But let's just say that. You can have anything. life is gonna be okay from a food perspective. We're gonna help you through this. that's what we wanna be in the community, is that and to inspire people to take that and take it into their homes as speaker-0: That's amazing. And I think a lot of people don't the impact of food until they get sick. Whereas if they realize, hey, this food is what is making you sick, or it could be a big part of what is making you sick. So start here you need to come because you are sick. it's huge. That's huge. speaker-1: Massive. And when you are sick, the amount of misinformation you get about food, if you're in the hospital, what you get fed, it's all part of the same problem. One of our great friends and customers just had her little girl in the hospital, in a very good hospital, and she just did a post about the food that came to their room. here you're sick and you're being offered food that is not food over and over with colourings it's really broken. speaker-0: It's absolutely broken. if someone before sick, let's just say they want to start feeling better today, what's the easiest change they can make? speaker-1: So to our Instagram account We have a resource that we offer people that is a really simple way to start noticing what's in your food. I had to get jolted into it. Like, okay, you can no longer have this and you need to every label overnight. I was like, ⁓ this is so stressful. I've been there. but I think the best way to make a change is the slow and steady changes. So don't waste food. Eat what you have. But then time it's time to buy it, use our tool as a little education and be like, you know what? This next time I'm gonna get chicken nuggets for my kids, I'm going to make sure they're organic and I'm just gonna give them some extra carrots, not as many nuggets or the next time I need to buy pasta, I'm gonna find one that doesn't have this in it. and just work your way into it step by step. And then you blink it's been several months. And now guess what? Your kitchen is clean. Your kids are acclimated to eating well. I'm working on a class right now, it's gonna launch in a week or two. It's with an online community it's a whole program and you just follow the And by the time six weeks comes, your kitchen's been turned over there's been no pain. And we have a support group where you can ask any questions and we have videos and recipes and simple things you can do. So if you throw anything at me, like, hey, this person has this and can't eat garlic how do I make spaghetti? I'm like, okay, try this, I've had to pivot one bazillion times and you start realizing that there are solutions for everything and family love them. speaker-0: Yes. I love that you're doing that. slowly transitioning, building those habits. I think that's wonderful. I will use your tool because I know we need to ⁓ transition our kitchen as well. So that's great. speaker-1: thing I have noticed, we all intuitively know right? But nervous systems are varied. with social media all the emails and DMs and this and that, like biologically, we were designed to know 150 people and one issue at a time. And now we know thousands of people through social media that we care about, we know about what's happening, all the injustices and bad things that are happening all over the world, which I'm not saying we shouldn't know these things, but we're not really biologically wired for that, And then you have all the stress of trying to be the perfect mom. I mean, when I grew up, nobody even parented us. And for you guys who have kids now, the stuff you have to go through and it's expected of you. it's just really a lot. And then you think about trying to clean up your kitchen and you're like, ⁓ I can't even handle that. I'm just gonna drive through, And ⁓ yeah. I know I ⁓ totally get that. And just making a commitment to be like, I will sleep better, my nervous system will be calmer, my kids will be happier, they'll be more focused, all these things guaranteed if you just clean your kitchen. ⁓ that. positive power trickles into every other area of your life and gives you more capacity to handle more. So that's what I think. ⁓ speaker-0: I think those are the basics. And ⁓ you have that healthier foundation, it makes everything else speaker-1: Yes. my gosh. Yes. imagine your kids aren't whacked out and they're sleeping all night. and you're not out 'cause you're you're nourished and things that stand between us and feeling our best are oftentimes the simple things speaker-0: Absolutely. I just want to zoom quickly back into a little bit of the business side because I think running a brick and mortar wellness store today's economy is so hard You've got shifting consumer economic pressure. ⁓ So what's the biggest lesson that you've learned about running a brick and business in today's economy? speaker-1: my, that's a hard one. So, I'm not Harvard business school material because we could probably improve our margin by 20 points by changing our ingredients. but that's not what we're doing. that said, the biggest lesson that I say is find something that you are passionate about because you're going to need that passion to carry you through ⁓ the months where you're getting your ass kicked. And it's just something you're doing to make money, that's But the rubber meets the road, you're going to run and you're going to leave because you have to have that fuel. to see through the hard times. regardless of ⁓ what you do the retail space, you're gonna have some really freaking hard times. I think when people lose their North Star that they're following, that's where things can go off the rails with your customers. also having thick skin is really important. I think for a of us, we can get a thousand compliments, but it's somebody who degrades you that takes up your mental space. especially for people who are perfectionists, entrepreneurs, trying to make everybody happy. speaker-0: exactly. ⁓ how do you manage stress and burnout as a founder? speaker-1: that's a good one. the last two years in had to focus on that because we were just on this grind. that we need to bring, better food to the market it's like that old saying, if gave you one car, how would you treat that car? You would be so careful you would treat it beautifully. that's really a perfect metaphor for what goes on with us. that is our bodies. And I just realized I was neglecting all of that. and ⁓ not doing all things that I tell other people about. So ⁓ I have really been focusing on. trying to sauna and walking every day. and listen to really positive music. that's affirming I try to practice gratitude every day, even for the hard things, to really realize how lucky I am to be alive. I'm lucky my kids are all healthy and alive. My husband, my friends grateful for so many things in my life. ⁓ more I spend time thinking about what I'm grateful for, that to me has been the biggest shift. And I feel so much more chill. Like so, so, so much more chill. Yeah. speaker-0: there is something to getting out. I try to get out and go for a walk every day, just being in the sun, being outside, being in nature. listening to things that make you happy. can absolutely shift your mental state. speaker-1: Yes, yes. It's cheap. It's easy. It's powerful. we get so far away from how we're biologically to be. We're supposed to some time on our hands and move our bodies and we're supposed to be outside in nature speaker-0: And speaking of nature, something I really admire about you is your passion extends into the community and into protecting the natural spaces us. saving the lone tree bluffs is something you deeply care about. Why that issue so important to you? speaker-1: having place the bluffs that's close where it's wild nature and it's accessible and you get up there and you realize you're just a peace in this world and nature's so beautiful and powerful for healing, for mental health. seeing the different animals and the birds there's something so remarkable about that. And it's something that we are detached from pretty much everywhere. Everyone thinks in Colorado, ⁓ you must be so outdoorsy and not really. if you think about it, almost everybody know, yeah, there are some people that ski or whatever, but we're actually, even in this wonderland that we live, really detached from nature. And that is a fundamental piece of our healing. of our health. We need to touch the earth. touch the grass. see the sun. have the fresh air. We need to realize that we're just part of an ecosystem. And that place to be so close to the city, accessible to us is so worth protecting. my husband and I have lived in Lone Tree since ninety five. I can't even tell you all the development and growth we've seen. And I've been fine with all that. I'm not anti-business. I'm not anti-development. But when there's something so precious as that, we need to protect it. The animals that we see up there sometimes I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, I didn't even know that we had porcupines. speaker-0: Yeah. What concerns do you have about the future of the bluffs? speaker-1: it's slated to get four hundred and some homes there, which will create drainage issues. We'll dislocate herds of elk. other day I was up there and this herd of elk ran by us and you could feel thundering in their hooves. It was just insane. it'll cut off wildlife patterns. It'll definitely disrupt their habitat. there's a fire hazard. ⁓ you know how dry we are right now in Colorado. They have to have proper egress in and out for safety. And actually it could turn Lone Tree into a type of issue where there's so much kindling up there with homes, it could just come ripping down the sides. there's also cost to the city of Lone Tree. and we are not funded by property tax. We're funded by sales tax. people say, ⁓ you should really want this because you have vibe there and though you'll get more people. And I'm like, I don't want that. ⁓ I want our I want our outdoors to be I think there will be some development up there. I think that's realistic to say, but think how it's done needs to be done the right way. It needs to be done how it was originally designed to be done, not cutting right up, a beautiful watershed canyon. Everybody loves it there. that has saved their mental health and their physical health So it's it's definitely worth fighting for. the other thing, in our neighborhood, we worked really to get all the toxic stuff out and have them replace it with organic alternatives. man, it's hard that stuff. People are so married to, their Roundup or whatever. And not on people's personal property, but on these gorgeous green belts and things we have that's another area where just as a city could improve so much. you see all these ballparks and soccer fields and there's pellets of herbicides and pesticides everywhere that these kids are being exposed to. And there's alternatives that are as cost effective our neighborhood has never looked more beautiful. The bees are back in my garden. ⁓ there's a way to work with nature Instead of working against it that improves all of our well being. speaker-0: couldn't agree we have to preserve it. And connection we all have with nature is such an important part of our health and longevity. speaker-1: Mm. One thousand percent. Yeah. I don't think people realize, I was ⁓ listening to study the other day about antioxidant levels and when the soil is wet and you go stand out there, how there's such transference of antioxidants. It makes your immune system stronger. there's so many positives that we don't even realize, but why would we think it would be otherwise? Our species has been around living on the earth, sleeping on the earth forever, And It's like all of sudden it's this novel concept that nature's good for us. speaker-0: wild. It's wild. my gosh. ⁓ Okay. I want to end on something a little lighter. We're going to do rapid fire, quick answers, first instinct, no overthinking. All right. coffee or matcha? Matcha. Do you have matcha at vibe? speaker-1: Okay. ⁓ Matcha. We do, we do. speaker-0: I haven't tried that yet. That is something I need to do. Okay, favorite healthy snack lately. speaker-1: Our brownies. speaker-0: yeah. The thing I thought of when I had that is I wish I had this with my coffee. that'd be ⁓ such a good combo. something that interesting since you are a health foodie. ⁓ What is your guilty pleasure? speaker-1: would say ⁓ ⁓ wine. I really speaker-0: my gosh. I could go on about organic. I could talk to you all day. I really could about all of the things. Okay. A wellness trend that you think to go away. speaker-1: there's a lot of them. I would say ⁓ diet speaker-0: was so big in the ⁓ 80s and Yeah, needs to go away 100%. One supplement you can't without. speaker-1: methylfolate. a derivative of B vitamins really helps with energy. speaker-0: ooh, I want that. Favorite place in Colorado to recharge. speaker-1: probably the bluffs on walk. speaker-0: Yes. What is the strangest food or supplement combo you've seen somebody swear by? speaker-1: my gosh, so many you see the add-ins on smoothies we get. But I'm just gonna coffee animas. ⁓ I know a lot of people who do and slur them, they love them. I'm like, ⁓ don't drink coffee. I can't imagine drinking it that way. speaker-0: Huh, interesting. Yeah. I've never tried it, speaker-1: I I think they probably are really good for you, but ⁓ I don't know, ⁓ speaker-0: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only eat three items from Vibe Foods, what would they be? speaker-1: bone broth to stay healthy and hydrated. Definitely the chocolate brownie because I would need that to be happy. And probably gluten-free chicken salad toast. speaker-0: Hmm, good ones. Okay. What's the most feedback you've ever received from a customer? speaker-1: my gosh. I had somebody call me. She was going through major health issues. she'd come in and get like 16 things for the week freeze them thaw them out and them. vibe two-thirds of her diet at least, maybe a little more. it was a controlled experiment. And she called me out of the blue. She goes, You need to know this. I just went to the doctor and he said, What are you doing? Every one of your numbers is so much better. You're absorbing your nutrition for the first time ever. everything's looking so good. And she's like, I know that it's your food we were the only food that would stay down that felt good. I almost started crying 'cause this is exactly why we do this. You know. speaker-0: that gave me chills. Food truly can make or break you. All right. And now last few closing questions. And these are some big ones. But what does success mean to you today compared to your corporate career days? speaker-1: Yes. I loved my corporate career. I was pretty much a regional president and had tons of employees. I worked really hard for that company and I was entrepreneurial within the framework. it was much more about money, ⁓ Now success to me is changing lives. So the money is nowhere near as good. it's definitely a passion project. But, it's like that story I told you. we see this every day. I feel like we're leaving things so much better than we're finding them. And it feels ⁓ so good to be part of people's journey. speaker-0: And you can go to bed feeling so good about the impact that you're making, about what you're doing. it's If listeners take one thing away from conversation, what do you hope it is? speaker-1: That food can be medicine or food can be poison. So choose wisely. Yeah. speaker-0: Ooh, that that was good. can people find Vibe Foods and connect with you online or in person? speaker-1: So our website is Love Vibe Foods. So spelled correctly, L-O-V-E Vibefoods.com. we ship all over the country our bone broth we have wellness boxes and our baked goods and a few things. but here in Colorado, we have a store in Parker, we have a store in Lone Tree, we're on DoorDash and Uber Eats too, if you live a little further away. And then we're on Instagram at Vibe Food Superfood Bar people can message us there we're really good about answering questions, whatever it might be. speaker-0: Yes, and you have really fun stories. I love your Instagram stories on the account. speaker-1: Yo. That that means a lot. Thank you. speaker-0: ⁓ yes, it's true. very last question, what made you, Shannon, sweat today or this week? speaker-1: ⁓ gosh. well, we were for joy that was raining here in Colorado because God we need it, but that really slows our business down. And we had a couple days that were just like oof over at our parker store with very few people coming in. So we decided to make it a fun day and have people get free bone broth by dancing through the door just to brighten our spirits and we had the best day ever. speaker-0: Yes, that would make me sweat too. But I did love seeing people dancing ⁓ that just makes happy. ⁓ brighten anybody's day. speaker-1: definitely did. We had a fun day. speaker-0: that was amazing. Well, you, Shannon, so, so much for being on here and for sharing your story and all the things that have learned. just appreciate you that with us today. speaker-1: ⁓ my gosh. Thank you for the opportunity to be on here and I love what you're doing. You are bringing such a good voice to a space that needs to hear more. So thank you for doing your podcast. it's gonna be awesome for everybody. speaker-0: I appreciate that so much. it's just so fun. these stories need to be shared. speaker-1: ⁓ it's been fun. Thank you so very much. speaker-0: Thank you. Thank you Shannon.