#43: Creating a Slow Life in a Busy World with Ange Peters of HOL:FIT

Ange Peters is the founder and CEO of HOL:FIT, a founder with doTERRA, and a holistic health and business coach. She is an avid teacher of bold self & health leadership and loves learning and teaching ways to simplify life and remove distractions.
We had a fabulous conversation with Ange about valuing our time, setting boundaries, and slowing down. She talks about the value of eating meals with her family and the hardships that lead her to start her own business. She gives us great tips for how to optimize, delegate, and eliminate things in our lives that aren't serving us anymore. We hope you enjoy this inspiring convo!

Find Ange online:
website: hol-fit.com
IG: @hol_fit
FB: @holfit
- Morning + Evening Routines: https://www.hol-fit.com/blog/kitchenroutines
- Essential oils in the kitchen: https://www.hol-fit.com/blog/kitchenoils
- Beautiful Life Lab: www.hol-fit.com/beautifullifelabdetails (promo code KITCH20 for 20% off)
- Healthy Kitchen Blueprint: www.hol-fit.com/thehealthykitchen (promo code KITCH20 for 20% off)

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Transcript

[00:00:00] 

I'm Riley and I'm Roni. And this is the plan to eat podcast, where we have conversations about meal planning, food, and wellness. To help you answer the question what's for dinner.

Roni: Thanks for joining us today on the Plan to eat podcast. Per usual, we're very excited. We have Ange Peters on the podcast today. She is the entrepreneur and founder behind Hol Fit, which is a wellness lifestyle brand, that she created over a decade.

RIley: This conversation with Ang uh, Was pretty spectacular. Um, we talk about meal planning, but we talk about so much more. She has such a presence, even just over this zoom call of, of, of peace and calming. She's such a gentle person. Our conversation was deep and. Just talking about kind of going back to a simpler way of life and kind of taking control, um, of the things that you want for your [00:01:00] family, for your kids, for yourself, all of that. I gleaned a lot from it and I'm really excited for you guys to listen to it.

Roni: Ange thanks for joining us on the podcast today. We appreciate you being.

Ange: I'm stoked. I love plan to eat and I can't wait to talk

RIley: So why don't we jump on in and you tell us your bio, what you do, all those little details.

Ange: Okay? Uh, so. I guess if I go back to 2009, that is actually when I started using plan to eat and I had just, uh, had a big life pivot occur. I had had my first little baby and I decided not to go back to corporate world. I had been working in the corporate world for. Uh, 12 years and decided I really wanted to make a go of my passion being in health and wellness.

And so I launched my company Hol Fit in 2009 while, while I was on a year long maternity leave from my corporate job. So it's kind of like I was, I was working that angle to see if it was something that I could actually bring into [00:02:00] fruition. And um, so that's when I started my company and it began in 2009.

as holistic nutrition and personal training and I, I had an in-person studio that I worked out of. And then, uh, I would say I was more of an early adopter of the online space and creating community online. That couple years after I started my company, I took everything online and, and had a health and wellness studio and, um, did a lot of different coaching programs for people.

And, uh, continued doing that for a couple years, and that morphed into various, uh, offerings, eBooks programs. I have a podcast. Um, and then I also, in 2014, I integrated, essential oils into the work that I do, and that ended up being the largest portion of my work, uh, and still is today. So I have a community of close to a hundred thousand people all over the world.

We teach them how to live, uh, cleaner lifestyle, reduce their toxic [00:03:00] load. So that, that's kind of taken me to present day. So I've been a business owner now for 13 years and, um, have learned a lot over the years. But, just to circle back to what I said about plan to Eat, it was the very first. Digital tool I had ever invested in when I started my company, because I was blogging a lot at the time.

Blogging was so big in 2009 era, um, , I feel like it might be making a resurgence though, you know, as we kind of go back to the old fashioned way of doing things Right. So, um, I, I loved it so much. I'll probably expand on that as we get going, but, um, it was, it was an exciting part of my entry into the digital.

Roni: Well, we, the Plan to Eat started in 2009, so you are an early adopt, early adopter of Plan to Eat, so that's pretty exciting. You've seen it like morph in all of the different stages. We've gone through

Ange: Yeah. Yeah. I certainly, I mean, the cool thing is [00:04:00] the, the meat of the platform and the app is still very similar to what it was when I first purchased it. Back then, it's just gotten a little prettier. Right. Had a lot of upgrades,

RIley: Absolutely. That's really true. You can kind of track the growth of your business based on your daughter, cuz they're the

Ange: Totally. Absolutely. Yeah.

RIley: Yeah. That's really fun. How did you name it? Why did you name it whole fit?

Ange: Oh, it's so funny. I, I wanted to have something that was unusual for a brand name. Um, And so what I was doing was, I remember this process sitting with a notepad for a whole week and just writing down words that were really important to me, that I wanted to reflect the ethos of what I was looking to begin, and I merged together.

Holistic, so HOL with fitness. Um, and it, because at the time I was, I was very involved in holistic nutrition and personal training. I had received, uh, my education in health sciences [00:05:00] and uh, when I had my daughter on my mat leave also, that's when I started to kind of, Niche off into more of the holistic space, and it was getting my education in holistic nutrition and that led to my, my studio.

So yeah, it was, it was a merger of those two concepts of being fit for life and approaching everything in a holistic way, um, which is how I really do work in, in my life. I, there's a lot of different things I do today. Um, even outside of the realm of healthy eating, uh, for example, productivity and, and business, you know, I, I apply the same principles there that let we say a yes to one thing with our time.

We're saying a no to something else that might be important to us. And I, so I approach everything in my life from a very holistic angle and, uh, so it's still very much. Who I am. Uh, and it's, you know, it's, it's, it's different. I guess a lot of people think my name's Holly they'll see, they'll see Hol fit, right.

[00:06:00] So, um, but no, it, it has, it has lived nicely.

RIley: That's wonderful. 

Did you grow up in a space that was like this? Or how, I guess what kind of sparked your interest in this? Because, um, I'm just curious cuz I feel like everyone's journey is very different on this road to get to that place of like holistic living and all of those kinds of things.

So I'd love to hear your story with that. The backstory.

Ange: so didn't grow up in it. I was your typical eighties kid, growing up on all the fast food and all the junk food and microwave food and you know, all the things. Um, my. Deep interest in this began after loss. Truly. I, so my, my dad, uh, died of cancer when I, uh, had just turned 11. And he had had cancer my entire, my entire life.

So he, he was diagnosed with it, um, when I was a baby, and he was actually only given six months to live at the time. So this is, you know, back in 1980, [00:07:00] uh, 81. And, um, you know, at that time, There weren't a lot of alternative types of tools out there for, uh, for healing modalities. Right. It was kind of, uh, just beginning.

There were, there were, there were small movements that were happening, but you really had to go out of your way to find them. And he did. He, he was deeply interested in how he could. Compliment what the, the modern, medicinal route was, was giving him. And, um, he ended up extending his life by a solid, uh, 10 years through his efforts.

And so growing up I was able to see, What happened when he didn't just follow what he was being told to do, but, but really took an empowered approach to his healthcare. And I mean, he used to juice so many carrots, for example, that his, like the palms of his hand and his skin was like this beautiful, he looked like he had this beautiful tan from the beta carine and the carrots.

And so I was exposed [00:08:00] somewhat to this idea. Looking at alternative ways to support ourselves outside of the mainstream, um, as a kid growing up. But, uh, that, that loss with of him really planted a seed in my heart to over time start to really look into what exists outside of what we're told, uh, sometimes.

And um, and then a couple years later, my mom had remarried and they had a baby girl and she died of leukemia. And it was like, she was three years old. It was just close to her fourth birthday, and I was 16 by then. And so by the age of 16 it was like the two really big traumatic losses in, in my life that had me looking at everything very differently than how most of the people around me might have been looking at things.

And I, so I grew up with, that there's nobody at the [00:09:00] end of the day that's coming to save us. Like we, we really have to take control of our health. And and I guess to contrast that, It feels as though we're conditioned to think that someone's going to just fix everything for us. That we go to our doctor and they give us a prescription or a line of treatment, and that's it.

You know, and I, and so experiencing this other side of this and this loss really planted that seed in me to want to learn. Things beyond what we were being told. I mean, I took health sciences all through university and it was like, okay, uh, even when it came to nutrition, it's like the food guides really pounded into us.

Like that's the holy grail of how we eat. And yet we could even see this back in the nineties and two thousands we're getting sicker and sicker and sicker. And as a nation, you know, we have to at some point be looking at these things and. And, um, take this level of responsibility to try to figure it out.

So, so all of that to say, I [00:10:00] did not grow up. With in any way. I mean, the way that I'm raising my daughters now is completely different from how I was raised, but I firmly believe as we learn more, we do better. Right. So I, I don't, I don't hold any of that against how I was brought up. I think that, you know, my parents were doing the best with what they knew and, and that was a generation that just didn't really ask as many questions because there was more trust that could be had then.

Right. Like you could, you. Turn on your news and hear something and trust it. You could go to your doctor and pretty much trust that that was gonna be the best path for you to take. And there weren't. I don't know. I think it's an interesting time that we're living in now, especially as parents, where we have to really, uh, come back home to our, our instincts and our intuition about things and let that guide us and not so much outsource our, our decisions and our power to a lot of these.

Bodies, for example, that exist that, uh, maybe we were raised within [00:11:00] back 40, 50, 60 years ago.

RIley: Mm, that's a very powerful story. Nothing is more impactful than personal experience. Um, I'm so sorry that you had to walk through that, but I'm also really, uh, it's really beautiful the way that you've like, turned that into. Your, I don't know, your motivation, um, like, I'm trying to think. There's your powerful, like story has built this powerful business and you're helping other people.

Like, I'm so sorry that you had to walk through that, but it's really neat the way that you've kind of turned your ship, so,

Ange: Totally. Yeah. And it, it definitely is where my passion.

RIley: Mm-hmm.

Ange: Comes from. And, um, I think all of us that become business owners in any way, we're always looking to solve something that created, uh, loss for ourselves that we walked through. And that's what really ultimately ends up impacting the people that we're able to, to reach.

So, yeah, it's, it's been, it's been quite a journey to this point, but, um, [00:12:00] wouldn't trade any of it, to be honest.

Roni: Well, I'm gonna just pivot us a little bit, um, on your, you know, like on your website and on and on your, all your social media and everything. You, you do talk a lot about technology and the technology you do that you use to make your life feel easier and like there's a part of me that feels like maybe.

If somebody's thinking about like holistic, like holistic living that doesn't, like, there's like a little bit of like a does. How does that mesh with technology? Because I think a lot of times we think about holistic living and we think about like, that's like anti-technology. So I'm interested to hear like how you integrate those two aspects of your life.

Ange: Yeah, I, um, where do I wanna go with this? I think we had a great conversation with our daughter, uh, a few weeks ago. We were talking about just the future of where things are going with, with AI and just digital. And, and that even in the social media space these days, you don't even know sometimes if you're interacting with an actual human, like, here [00:13:00] we are.

Right? And so I grew up in the eighties, like I said, and I had my first cell phone. Boy, I think I was 19 or 20 when I got my first cell phone, right? So I'm young enough and yet old enough to I'm, I'm young enough to stay current with what's happening, but I'm old enough to remember a time where we connected outside of these, these spaces.

And I think because of that, I'm always very interested in, in figuring out how we can make these tools work for us without having them own us. Right. So, You know, I, I like to keep one foot in both worlds that way. You know, for example, I'm all about productivity and maximizing my time and efficiency. I love that.

And, and that's again, that's why I love plan to eat. I'm like, it just makes things so simple for me. But I also love the slowness of life too. Like I recently, um, became very interested in learning how to make sourdough bread like a lot of people did right. Over the last two years. [00:14:00] Totally jumped on that and oh my goodness, like I, I've never been so much of a, of a beginner for so long as I have been trying to make the perfect sourdough loaf.

And I, part of me just loves the. annoyed I am at times trying to do that because it would be so easy to just go to the store and buy a loaf of bread and whatever. And so I, I really like to enter myself into situations where I have to skill up. And, and, and I, I, I don't like to make things so easy that I lose that, that grip, that, um, just the growth that comes with, with putting ourselves in situations and I mean, It's as simple sometimes as saying, no, I'm, I'm committing to learn how to make sourdough bread even though I could go buy it.

And so I think that that is, uh, is how I would describe what we're living through right now, where it, it's easy to just numb out and to allow these, the way, the direction our world's going and to make us [00:15:00] feel like we don't have to, to learn anything or do anything anymore, that everything is easy. 

I just, I guess for me it's the, the, contrast of, yes, I own four different sizes of crock pots because I love how easy they make life, but they helped me come to the goal of being able to sit around my table with my family and put in a full work day, um, but have that most important thing, which is being together around a table.

Right. So I, I love finding opportunities to. not spend my time on, on things that aren't leading to the goal.

Roni: Mm-hmm.

Ange: Does that make sense?

Roni: Yeah, so you just basic like technology is kind of like your pathway to being able to like spend more time doing the things that you really wanna do and the things that you love, like spending more time with your people because you're not doing your meal planning on a spreadsheet or something.

Ange: Exactly. Um, and I mean, it's so easy to get lost in all this, and this is kind of off topic to [00:16:00] topic of food, but social media, like, so I have been growing an organic community online, uh, since 2009. And for the first 10 years it would just grow and grow and grow and you could create value and put it out there and people would engage and, and your count would grow.

My account has not grown at all in over three years cuz there's this cause because everything works on the algorithm. I refuse to do things like reels with voiceovers because that, cuz what's important to me is that I use my voice and that I'm doing things when it's actually organic for me, not because Instagram wants me to put a reel up every day at 3:45 PM So we're in this weird space where it's. I feel like everything's kind of stripping back to the what is organic and what is true, and I would far rather have an account that's actually dropping, um, than growing for those wrong reasons. And [00:17:00] I'm just, I'm just so here for this topic of how we keep one foot in both worlds and. I, I don't know where it's all going, but I also know that if we just remain true to who we are, that doesn't matter, right?

Like we can, we can affect where it all goes if we keep rooted in, in who we are and what matters to us, and not allow these shenanigans of the algorithm to dictate how we grow a community or grow a brand.

RIley: Absolutely. Uh, you said something before we started, uh, recording that I. Love that totally relates here, which is when you're saying yes to or when you're saying no to something, you're saying yes to something else. What was the phrase you used exactly? Uh,

Ange: Yeah, a yes, a yes to one thing is going to be a no to something else, and it might be something that you actually really care about. So be careful with your yeses,

RIley: Yeah. Well, I'm sitting here thinking that you're saying yes to who you are, who your brand is, um, what you want out of it, and no to what [00:18:00] everyone else and all the entities are trying to get you to do. And I feel like you're gonna be more proud of yourself for sticking true to your values than just giving in and doing the things to just grow a brand.

I mean, I don't know, depends on what's the most important to you, so.

Ange: Oh yeah, a hundred percent. Because you will lose yourself in that process. I've seen a lot over the 12, 13 years that I've been, um, a business owner and also online, how many people just come and go, 

Roni: Mm-hmm. 

Ange: Because they're focused on satisfying something outside of themselves and not just staying true.

And I mean that, um, I think that's really important for all of us in these times we're in to just be true to who we are. And sometimes that. Using your voice and lending your voice to things that are unpopular. But that's how we're going to navigate this right now because there's a, there's a whole world of pressure trying to change everybody to think the same way and be the same way.

And that's a big topic, but it's just, [00:19:00] that's exact, that's what's playing out right now.

RIley: Mm-hmm.

Roni: Well, and the life and the world is so cyclical in nature, you know, that it's like we're being pushed in this way right now, but you know, in the future things might come back around to being a different way. And it's, uh, you know, like if you're staying true to the message that you feel like best represents you and is authentic to you, it's like hopefully, you know, the cycle will come back around to like lift you up in that way as well.

Ange: Yeah, and I mean, you can't go wrong. You cannot fail doing that. You might lose people along the way. But there's just certain things that hold true, um, in life. And I mean, to bring it back to food, why does it feel so good to be in our kitchens? Like. Why our grandmothers knew something, right? And that is that that is not lost on us, even though we live in a world where it's just so easy and convenient to just have food delivered and go and purchase fast food and, and to never really get in our kitchens.

But when we do, we [00:20:00] remember something. And you know, the same thing happens when you put your hand in some soil. When you're gardening, there's something that starts to really light up in your, in your body, right? It's like a remembering. I'm just, I think that we need to pay attention to that because it's like we're being invited right now to really get into our roots and to come back to that.

And I, I mean, the antidote to a crazy schedule a crazy week is actually just sitting around our table and eating a slow meal and everything, everything changes, right?

RIley: I love that you keep bringing it back to that and back to the table and even in your own life, like you'll buy the four crock pots and you'll have a busy day, but you're gonna sit with your family at dinner and all of those other things made it happen, you know? Um, Plan to Eat as a technology company or a software company, um, you know, like, it's funny because we are in this technological space, but we are so, we feel so connected to our [00:21:00] goal of getting people.

Eat at home, eat together, spend time with people they love. Like we are. Everything we do, we do have that as a val, as a deep value. Um, it's important to every member of our team, specifically to the guy who created it. And so

Ange: was a guy. A guy created it.

RIley: Yeah,

Roni: it for his wife. His wife was the meal planner and he was a a web developer and she was like, please make this easier for me.

RIley: Yeah.

Ange: I love that. That's awesome. That's how it all gets done. That's great.

RIley: Yeah. So I just, I love that you keep tying it there because that feels, uh, it's so connected to who we are as a company too. 

Roni: Yeah, I think we can actually really relate with, uh, a lot of the things that you're saying just as a company overall because, yeah, like the idea of, you know, like slowing down and like enjoying a meal with your family, that's not really like a sexy idea. You know, like you post about that on social media and people are like, uh, so, so it, we totally.

We're on the same page.

Ange: You're so right. [00:22:00] And you know, it's funny cuz that's actually how I tend to operate. I love doing the opposite of what's trending. Like, so I, so, so lately for the last, I would say three or four months, I refuse to use filters on Instagram or whatever. Cause it kind of hit me one day. I'm like, what are we doing?

We're actually, we're actually commuting our. actual being, you know, or, or slapping something over or just be and, and become and look at how quickly something like that just becomes the norm. And so when somebody comes across your account and you know, you're, you're not doing all the things everyone's doing, it does po cause people to pause.

So to that point, I think the more that we show just the slowness in this world that is just accelerating it, it draws people, um, I don't know. I just wanna believe that we all are after the same things in life. Like, you know, that genuine connection and just that joy in our homes and I mean, that's really what we're [00:23:00] striving for, right?

RIley: Mm-hmm. 

Roni: So can you, so we talked a little bit about food and technology and stuff, but what are some of the ways that you prioritize, like creating like a slow home life in a busy world?

Ange: I think one thing that's key is having routine. So I'm a, I'm a big, big believer in just deciding what really works for you as a family and sticking to it and honoring like the book ends of your day. So, having a simple morning routine and a simple evening routine. Um, I've shared mine many times. I have a blog post on that if you wanna, uh, we can link that up in the show notes.

Roni: Mm-hmm.

Ange: I think that if you can sandwich your day to honor what's most important at the beginning and the end, then whatever happens in the middle is okay. Like life happens, things happen. But if, you know, you can always come back to those core tenants that are your values and, and what you most appreciate. Like, I'll give you an example, as a business owner, and especially when I was in, um, the, the middle of my, my brand, [00:24:00] uh, scaling up, I was doing a lot of coaching, lot of mentoring of people.

And rather than just allow my schedule to be open for people to book times in wherever they want, I was, I sat with myself one day and thought, you know, what is most important to me? Even though early mornings might work well for clients, that is most important to me with my, my daughters and my husband.

I want a slow morning. And then I'll, I'll give my time in the afternoons and that's when I would block off to do any kind of coaching calls or anything. Um, but it's funny, you know, just those, those subtle declarations over our day. Over our time make a huge difference in the long run. Um, another one being a parent of two, you know, my daughters are 11 and 13, so it's a, it's a busy season of life, right?

Or it could be a very busy season of life, I'd like to say. And we're very mindful coming back to that. Um, a yes is a no to something else. Obviously [00:25:00] there's all these opportunities they could get involved in different sports and drama productions and music and art and blah, blah, blah. Right? Lots of things out there that they could do, but we have conversations with them around this topic.

Like, okay, if we say yes to this, what are you okay with coming off the calendar rather than just living this busy, hectic life all the time? Like I, I like a full day. I don't want a busy day. You know what I mean? Like there's such a difference, right? Between that feeling of like going from one thing to the next and not being present.

Versus having a full day of things you are being present with because they're the right things for you.

Roni: Mm-hmm.

Ange: So, um, you know, we. We have a lot of conversations about that as a family and as my girls are getting older, I want to instill this in them. Like I'm a big fan. Again, coming back to digital, I love using a digital calendar because it allows me to automate the things that are most important to me and block off what's most important to me.

And [00:26:00] both of my daughters have a digital calendar, so I'm teaching them how to, have you guys heard of the, um, I can't remember what the analogy's called, but basically where you have, uh, two mason jars and you put the big rocks in first and then, and then, right. So. If you have rocks and sand that you're dealing with and you put the sand in the mason jar first, you have no room for the big rocks.

Whereas if you put the big rocks in first, all the sand fits all around it. And so I, I think of our days the same way. That's what ends up happening. Uh, the things that aren't most important. They'll find their way into your schedule, but at least you, you know, your head hits the pillow at the end of the day.

You know, like that was a good day cuz I honored the big things.

RIley: Everything you're saying, the way you're speaking about it, I, it's so calm. It's so, it feels so peaceful. Um, cuz I think it's very easy for me to get, just like every, I just hit the ground running because I've got so many things to accomplish. So I'm, I just, I love the way you're describing it and even the way you're speaking about it.

It just, it feels [00:27:00] so calming and I'm like, I need to be better about these things. I need morning and evening routines and I need big rocks first. So I, I love that. I hope that's resonating with other people because, uh, it, it feels like it's cravable, like people, I think people really do deeply want that.

Ange: they do. And you know, if I can go just one level deeper, I think the real issue that comes up is we don't want to, um, For lack of a better word, offend somebody else by not saying yes to everything. Right? And so the, the real challenge that we're all faced with is how do we respect our time most above all the demands in life and really be. Committed to that, and ultimately you become an example to other people of how to have boundaries within their own life. I've, I've rarely encountered somebody who felt so put off by the fact that I honor what's most important to me because I'm reminding them to do the same. Right? Like, it, it's like this world that we're in, that's, and again, I [00:28:00] wanna come back to social media and the idea of even algorithms.

Like actually how gross is. We're, we're being told to post at a certain time and do a certain thing like we're puppets just to, just to gain likes or gain followers. Like, how gross is that? What are we doing? Like, how about we just show up when it feels true to us and share and take the filter off and allow people to choose, you know, it's like this, it's such a funny time we're living in and all of this.

It's a web, it's all, it's all connected, right? So if we, if we come back in our own homes and in our life, and have those routines and those clear boundaries, that actually affects how we do all of it out there.

RIley: mm-hmm.

Roni: I love that. Setting your daughters up for so much success, like later in their lives. I wish that, uh, it would've been like a be a bigger conversation in my house of like, what are the things that are important to you? What are the things that you're gonna [00:29:00] prioritize today? I don't think that I learned those things until I, you know, moved outta the house and went to college and maybe even afterwards, you know, like started reading.

Personal development books. So I, I feel like your daughters are gonna be like, you know, fortune 500 company owners and the president of the United States or something, because you're just setting them up for so much like worldly success. Like to show them like what's important to prioritize.

RIley: Mm-hmm.

Ange: I mean, we learn so much as we go, especially as parents. Oh my goodness. I mean, even. We started homeschooling a couple of years ago and man, that was just like, woo, we are rookies with all this, but it's really grown into something so beautiful, where we get to talk about things going on in the world and just practice more of a Socratic method of, of.

Of dialogue, not just here's what to think, end of story. Right? But like, why do, why do we believe what we believe? What, what led us to those beliefs? And it's such a, I mean, and again, I, I didn't necessarily grow up with that, but I [00:30:00] think as, I think parenting is, honestly, it's, it's so wild. It, it just invites us to go deeper and to, and sometimes we parent in the way that we weren't.

Um, in other ways we parent exactly how we were raised. I mean, I think it's, we're always kind of bouncing between those two guard rails, but yeah, it's, it, it's, kids are so untouched. Like they're so, um, they're, they're pure. They're, they're, they're so full of wonder, they hold so many creative solutions to like, Ask most kids today how to handle XYZ world issue.

And their answer will just, they'll be profound because we're, we as adults, we've, especially if you are, like I noticed this a lot within my generation. Like we grew up in a, in a world that was changing so fast, it was almost like we were conditioned to just, here's what you think. Don't ask questions.

And end of story. And now we're in this place of like, well, [00:31:00] hold on a second. I actually do have something I'd like to say

RIley: Yeah.

Ange: And, you know, that's not allowed in a lot of spaces. So anyway, um, I we're, we're excited to have the opportunity to raise our girls to, um, just have confidence in their ideas and to see them through, you know, and it's gonna be necess.

RIley: Yeah, kids are fun in that way, I think. Um, my, my daughter is two and a half and she just recently discovered the stars, and so she asks all the time, she's like, can we go see the stars? And, but you know, ask it noon, you know, like, well, we don't, they don't come out until dark. I think she just discovered them because she goes to bed kinda early , and so

Ange: Oh,

RIley: You know, time change just happened. There's all these situations where she's seeing them because she's up a little later than she used to be. Um, but she, whenever she sees 'em, she's like, They're just so wonderful and she puts her little hands on her chin and she just looks at 'em. And I think there's a lot to learn from that of just, [00:32:00] I used to probably feel that way about stars and now they're just there, you know,

Um, and that, I feel like that applies to a lot of situations in life. Like, you look at your kid and they are experiencing something for the first time that you have just grown, you know, it's normal to us now. Just like that stop and that slow down of her. She just wants to go stand outside and look at the stars.

She'd be out there for hours if I let her. Um, but just the way she experiences life is just different than adults because it's so much faster and we have so many things to do and she doesn't. Um, yeah, I guess so that segues into my question, which is for someone listening to this podcast who wants to slow down or who wants to simplify, um, I guess what are your, what's your advice for them?

Uh, have you ever had an experience in your life where you got too busy and you didn't kind of hold to your values and you had to scale it back? How did you do that?

Ange: Yeah, I think we have indicators as we [00:33:00] go. You know, it's, it's in that moment when you react to your child in a way that you're not proud of. Um, rather than respond from a place of calmness. Like I, I think there's these indicators in our life, and I just use that as an example. Cause that's a common one for anyone who's a parent.

We all do it. Um, there's these examples that happen that indicate, okay, something's gotta change cause this isn't working. you know, if, if you have children, I, I'm sure one of your values is to just feel, uh, more peace in your home and to feel that connection with your children and not feel stressed as a parent.

That's a, that's a great endeavor. So there's a couple of things and I, I run a program called The Beautiful Life Lab, and this is, This is a process I do with, uh, the students in the lab every quarter where we, we literally dump everything out onto paper, call it a brain dump, um, or a calendar dump. Get everything out on paper so you can look at it.

What are the commitments that you've signed up for at this point? [00:34:00] What's in your schedule and really look at everything, look at all the things you think you're supposed to be doing or the should list and, and you look at it and you categorize it in a couple of ways. So the first thing is, how can I automate this process?

So are there things that I'm doing with my time that, um, I don't need to be redundantly doing all of the time? So, You know, and this is where tools come in for sure, to optimize things like plan to eat. Are you, are you spending four hours every week trying to compile a grocery list? Or what if you just meal plan and had it created for you?

Boom. Like, you know, so simple things like that where you get back time are important. So you wanna look at optimizing first. What's the easier way to do some of these things I'm doing every week or every day? The second thing is, can I delegate? A little bit more. So my, uh, I mentioned our girls are 11 and 13, they do chores around the house.

You know, obviously we give them things that I want [00:35:00] them to do every weekend. They earn some money for it. But rather than me trying to do it all, you know, we start and I even integrate them into my business. I have them do little sample vials of essential oils and put packages together and, you know, cuz that's my way of taking a little bit off my plate and also teach them some things too.

So it's a win-win. The last piece, which is the hardest is eliminate it all together. Like are there things you've committed to that just are not serving you anymore? It's your life, right? Like, and, and sometimes that's things that we've committed our kids to hockey, three to four mornings every single week.

Is it stressing your family out to have to be at the arena every morning at 6:00 AM. Is that taking away from you being able to sit around the family or the table as a family at night? You know, you have to really assess like, what's the return on investment with a lot of these things and why are we doing them?

I think there's, again, there's some boldness that's required. Um, especially when you [00:36:00] have children to just protect what's most important to you. And, and that's, that's what I regularly do as a process. I look at everything and I think, is this still making sense for us as a family? And, uh, also recognizing it's up to us to change it.

It's not anyone else's fault if my life is feeling hectic right now, I need to sort out what needs to come. And why, and so I think it's just a really helpful process. What can I optimize? What can I delegate and what can I eliminate altogether?

RIley: Yeah, that's great.

Roni: Nobody's gonna come and save your schedule. you. You have to do it yourself.

Ange: This is it. Like, at the end of the day, we, we can get so frustrated with ourselves and wanna blame something or somebody else, but we're always left at the end of the day looking at ourselves in the mirror. It's like, okay, I've gotta figure this out. Right. So it's being bold enough to say no to things.

I think that's the, the real challenge a lot of us face.

Roni: Mm.

RIley: Yeah, I think so too. I think that's a really hard one.

Roni: I know I personally have a hard time saying, [00:37:00] It feels bad to say no sometimes, right? Like if you feel guilty, like you said earlier, like you feel like you're letting somebody else down. But then there's also, there's the reverse end of things where sometimes when you say no, it's a really big relief.

And you know, like in that situation it's like, well, that was obvious even though it was hard. That was obviously the right choice to make because, uh, I feel better about it now.

Ange: Yeah, and I think, you know, people who really love you, um, will always understand the know. It definitely is a way to clarify who's in your life for the right reasons. If somebody doesn't honor and respect your no, um, like I love when people, I love when I text somebody and they don't get back to me right away.

I love it because we live in a world where we're all thinking we're supposed to, and what that shows me is this person's actually present in their life. I don't want them to get back to me right away. Um, and I actually, on the reverse end, I will intentionally. Not get back to people right away, because I don't wanna set this thing in motion where that [00:38:00] expectation's there, and that's, that has been a practice that has allowed me to really scale as a business owner, is to set proper expectations in the way I interact with people.

RIley: Hmm.

Ange: and, and, you know, having a time and place. So I only check my phone two times a. When it works for me, and that's when I get back to people. So little things like that are, they're all under this umbrella of really owning your time and that, that, that not being up to anybody else.

Roni: That's a great productivity hack just in general, right? Because if you're constantly checking your phone, checking your email, your attention is being drawn in all these different directions, you're never able actually to focus on the thing that you're doing and to, you know, whether it's work or spending time with your family, whatever.

Uh, . Yeah. You're never able to like really give yourself to that thing. I know that the days when, you know, it feels like all of my notifications are blowing up, you know, all morning. I'm like, I didn't get anything done today. You [00:39:00] know, because I was trying to write a whole blog post and I got two sentences done.

Ange: Yeah, it's a horrible feeling, that feeling of just like, like whack-a-mole all day long. Right. Um, and it feels so good to have deep focus with something and just get it done and do it well. You like, I feel like the multitasking thing hit and it was such a myth. It was actually such a lie. Like, we can't do all these things at the same time.

We, we used, yeah. We've really, we've really gone through these cycles. You know, I'll share just in my personal experience growing up in the kind of girl boss culture and women can do it all and be the CEO and be the president, and be the mother of your home, blah, blah, blah. And I really grew, grew, grew through that, where I was experiencing that firsthand as a, as a new mother with a growing business.

And, and there were many times where I had to just hit that button and think, okay, what is most important to. If I do this again, what is it? What am I going, what is it costing me? What's the cost of that? Yes. [00:40:00] And being, I guess, courageous enough at times to just follow my heart and, and protect what's most important to me.

Even if it meant I, I lost business, even if it meant my follower count wasn't gonna grow right like the other day. None of that matters at all. People will find you and, uh, it's gotta stay true.

RIley: Yeah, the thing I keep thinking about is like boundaries, like a fence. And like if you, the, when you tear down your own boundaries, there's really hard to rebuild because people just think that that's what they can get out. You know, like , uh, even like Roni saying, the notifications and all the things happening at one time, she can't get anything done.

It's like we set these expectations where like, Um, this is acceptable. Like, or I work every day of the week, or I'll take your call at 9:00 PM or whatever. Those things like when we do that, we're kind of tearing down our personal boundaries and then people think that that's totally fine and that's really hard to build back.

Um, because then you're kind of [00:41:00] battling all the people that you let in that way

Ange: Yeah, that's a great

RIley: and, and it could have been a lot, it could have been a lot of things because we all have a lot coming at us at any given time. Um, so just kind of. Holding true to yourself in that way. Um, and saying like, no, I, one of the greatest features that Apple released is the Do Not Disturb

Roni: Yeah, and that it

RIley: I love

Roni: your devices.

RIley: of 'em.

Ange: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

RIley: That's one that I used frequently. Um, and it just, it lets people know on my, on the screen in a text that like, this person has do not disturb on. And I'll see it when I see it

Ange: Yeah, that's a great

RIley: yeah. Mm-hmm.

Roni: Well, is there anything you wanted to talk about today that we've.

Ange: Hmm. No, I mean, I think most of the listeners of this podcast are using Plan to Eat, and I think, um, it just perfectly illustrates what we've been talking about. I love how we went into some deeper concepts together. here, because Plan to Eat is a, is a digital tool [00:42:00] that that is honoring something that. We stand to lose.

Like it, you know, it, it, it's really, it's, it's reminding us to be around the table. So I, I love it for that reason. I mean, I, I, I also just as a business owner, I'm sure there are people listening who own businesses and write eBooks and things like that so they can relate to this. But I loved how easy it makes it just to.

Share, uh, recipes with people. Like I would create a health and wellness ebook, and I don't want 50 pages of it being consumed by writing out every ingredient to a recipe. If I'm gonna share, like if I, I have, I have a detox program, for example, and I don't wanna have to itemize everything and every recipe, so I just link out and it just satisfies that, that maximizer in me to simplify things, but also provide great value.

Yeah, I mean, I, in, in closing, like I, I have a variety of different things that I've. [00:43:00] Uh, integrated plan to eat into. I have an ebook called the Healthy Kitchen Blueprint, where I, um, my whole focus of that ebook is to make health simple in the home. So talking about routines and meal planning and using tools like the crop bot, like plan to eat, um, and just having everything really zipped up because I think food.

Is actually one of the biggest stressors in our life. Like we, we make more decisions around food than I think we do anything else in a day. Right? So having a good plan in place for that, uh, goes a long way. And, um, yeah, I, I've loved this conversation today though, just that, that merger of the two worlds, right?

RIley: Me too.

Roni: Yeah, it's been awesome. Why don't you tell our listeners, where they can find you all your social media and then if you have anything going on or coming up that you wanna share with our listeners.

Ange: Okay, so you can find me on Instagram and Facebook primarily. Again, my, my brand is hol fit, uh, on Instagram. It's [00:44:00] HOL_FIT and uh, I'd love to connect with you and you know, if we, like I said, my. Nothing gross on that platform anymore. So it's great to meet some, some new connections on there.

And um, and I have a website, hot-fit.com and there there's actually lots of great resources on there cuz I've been. Blogging and creating programs at eBooks for, like I said, like well over a decade. So there's lots on there. You can search by keywords, but I also have all of my favorite recipes on there.

Um, if you click the recipe section and they all link out to plan to eat. So for people who use Plan to eat, you can, you know that you can easily just add it to or clip the recipe to your own database. I don't think I have anything coming up related to this conversation, but I do run a lot of different programs throughout the year, uh, just around productivity, so you, you can check that out on the services tab of my website is probably best.

RIley: Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, [00:45:00] so we end every. Um, by asking people what was something, a recipe they made recently, uh, that they really loved. Maybe their family loved it too. Do you have anything

Ange: Well, like I said, I'm really on this sourdough kick. I So are you wanting an actual recipe or just

RIley: If you wanna share one or it could just be sourdough. It's fine.

Ange: It's, it's really all about sourdough for me right now. I'm not kidding. I wake up every morning and I, I do a couple of things every day. I go fire up the diffuser with some oils and tidy the kitchen, and then I sit at my computer and I look up what I want to make with sourdough today.

And, um, this, this, this again, is what I love about Plan to Eat, is I'm starting to build a sourdough database in there. And so some, some days I'll just go into my plan to eat and search sourdough, and it brings up all the recipes. Saved. I love it. I love having that, that starter grow overnight while I sleep, and then it's just, it's been, it's been so fun learning about that.

So I am certainly not an expert, but I'm [00:46:00] getting there.

RIley: Well, when people start the sourdough journey, which I know Roni's been on it too, I've been on it, um, you start to, like, you don't wanna just make bread, you wanna make ooh, sourdough cookies or sourdough crackers or sourdough film pancakes or whatever. And so I, I totally, I can relate to just the, I'm gonna look up what can I make with sourdough today,

Ange: Oh yeah. Yeah. Cause you have to discard it. That's a whole thing too. Right. So, um, I met somebody just to end this topic. I, I met somebody the other day who they've had a, a starter going in their. For two generations 

Roni: Whoa. 

Ange: they, they use it in all their recipes. And I thought, oh my gosh, I wish I had that so much.

I mean, I bought my starter off Amazon when I first started, and I like, how beautiful to be able to use your mother or your grandmother's starter, you know, like, that's so cool. So

RIley: Yeah. That's neat. 

Yeah. Really neat.

Roni: Well, hopefully you can start that for your daughters

Ange: I plan 

Roni: can pass it on. Yeah.

Ange: Absolutely. 

RIley: Yeah, . Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your [00:47:00] time. We, uh, we both love this conversation and can't wait for our listeners to hear it.

Ange: Thank you guys. It's been such a joy.

Roni: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Plan to Eat podcast. We love hearing different approaches to food, and we hope that you enjoy hearing it too.

RIley: We would love to invite you to find all the recipes mentioned on the Plan to Eat podcast, um, in our podcast account on Plan to Eat you can go to plantoeat.com/PTEPOD that's PT, E P O D and the variety of recipes that you've heard about and the variety of eating types that we talk about, those can all be found in that account.

Roni: Thanks again for listening.