Gianna Nicole on Food, Healing & Following God’s Calling

Ben BeeriHello, everyone. Welcome to the Authentic Journey. I'm excited to be here with today's guest, chef Gianna Nicole. Gianna is an Orange County based private chef whose work blends fine dining technique with heartfelt hospitality. Growing up homeschooled in a family that deeply valued faith, service, and togetherness, Gianna found early on that food had the power to connect people. Her love for the Lord shapes the way she approaches her career today, not just as a job, but as a calling to serve others through nourishment, creativity, and generosity.

Whether she's cooking intimate dinners, crafting weekly menus, or creating food content, Gianna's heart is always the same, to make people feel cared for, seen, and welcomed at the table.

Gianna NicoleWelcome, Gianna. Thank you. Thanks for having me, Ben. I'm excited to be here. Absolutely.

Ben BeeriSo what take me back to when you first learned about how food can connect people. What was that like for you? Yeah, I think

Gianna Nicolehonestly, it's almost hard to pinpoint an age because I feel like it was just always a part of me and something that I understood connected people. But I was homeschooled pretty much my whole life. All my siblings were. I'm one of four kids. And my mom worked, was a super hard worker and was also working on homeschool programs for us. And then my dad was full time working. And I just remembered there was a time where my mom maybe wasn't able to cook as much as she used to because she was working full time. You know, I have the hardest working parents ever.

And I just remember, like, the times where we were together eating dinner and everyone was fed and happy. And I kind of noticed this like, oh, like, I can come in and step in and start cooking and helping. And from a young age, I cooked with my grandma, I cooked with our nanny, I cooked with the housekeeper. And so I kind of got to a point where I could do it on my own. And I started just cooking dinners for my family and notice how much my mom appreciated that and my siblings appreciated that. And that's kind of when I think I first realized how much it meant to people and how much just nourishment and health is so important for you to do what you need to do and how my parents were working so hard that they needed the help in that way. And it was a fun thing because I got to go grocery shopping and do it on my own and cook and use my parents credit card, but then cook for everyone. So that's kind of when that started, when I realized that it just it touches people and connects people. That's amazing. And do you remember what you liked to cook when you were younger?

I honestly, I loved cooking everything. Like, I loved learning what food was part of somebody's culture. Like our housekeeper taught me how to make a lot of authentic Mexican cuisine. My grandmother was Italian, so she taught me how to make her Italian recipes. I learned from some different Italian chefs. I learned like a little bit of Asian cuisine as well. But I just loved cooking what that person knew kind of thing.

Ben BeeriI just loved learning different things like that. And at what point did you realize that you're like, hey, I love this a lot. I would like for this to be a part of my adult life. I want to do this not only for a living, but to serve other people and to connect other people.

Gianna NicoleI think I realized that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life when gosh, it's almost hard to remember because it just felt like it was always a part of me from watching the Food Network to cooking Thanksgivings. And I just was so eager to be a part of cooking and bringing the family together in that way. And I think definitely seeing people too on the Food Network growing up, you know, I would rush to the TV on Saturdays or Sundays to be the first one to grab the remote out of my siblings so that I could play what I wanted. And it was the Food Network. Like, that's what I loved to watch, you know, even as a young kid and just seeing all these people on TV and cooking. Was just like, that's what I want to do.

I just knew that's what I wanted to do somehow.

Ben BeeriSo probably, yeah, seeing the Food Network was like a big part of that. That's awesome. And then you talk about your family and the positive reinforcement that you received. Your family loved your cooking, and they appreciated that you did it for your family. Talk about how the positive reinforcement from your parents helped play a role in shaping who you are today. My parents gave me so much positive reinforcement,

Gianna Nicolehonestly, with everything that I did. And I think they always made me feel like you can do anything that you set your mind to and you don't need somebody else always to teach you or to hold your hand, but you can teach yourself, which is what I learned with homeschooling. And that's kind of why they homeschooled us, right? Because they wanted us to explore all of our passions, everything that we loved, and still learn all the fundamentals that you need to know as a kid. But they were just so supportive of me and always encouraged me and gave me positive critiques when needed. And so I think that's a huge thing that parents should always reinforce what their kids' natural talents are.

Ben BeeriThat's awesome. And not just natural talents, but it seems like you're very passionate about it. Yes. I was very, very passionate about cooking. And I think my parents noticed that

Gianna Nicoleat a young age. And so that's why they did things like gave me their credit card to go to the grocery store. So I was doing the family shopping and groceries and things like that. They encouraged me to go to culinary school. They encouraged me to post stuff on Instagram. They, um, always connected me with different people that they knew in the culinary industry, and my dad loves cooking too. So I think it was also something we got to bond over.

Ben BeeriThat's awesome. That's awesome. What are some of your earliest memories of being there and doing it with them?

Gianna NicoleCooking with my parents? Yeah. I remember when I was, like, maybe like four or five and my mom would kind of like lay out like, I don't know what they call it, like a play mat or something on the counter. And we did Christmas cookies together. So she like helped us make the Christmas cookie batter and then we would, like, roll it out and make fun shapes. And I did it with all my three siblings. And I loved that. Like, I my other siblings, I think, thought it was just, like, very fun and, like, whatever.

But I was so excited to do it, I was very bossy, too, with my other siblings.

Ben BeeriBut, yeah, that's, like, the earliest memory I have, just being super young and doing Christmas cookies together. Yeah. No. It's amazing. It's amazing to think about because you're out here. You're doing this at a very high level nowadays. I mean, you're one of the top, like, known chefs in the country. And for you to be on this stage, it's been twenty years in the making. Like, you've had this passion for over twenty years. And, like, to sit there and to dedicate yourself to it and to, like, continue to go through the different processes, whether it's like, hey. You've got your little Play Chef kit when you're a kid, right, to becoming a teenager and kind of making stuff for your family so they can feel connected to talk about what you have going on nowadays. It's really exciting for you.

Gianna NicoleRight now, what I'm doing in the culinary field is anywhere from private chefing and getting to be in people's homes and cooking for them and their families and providing nourishment for them throughout the weeks to tasting menus and private dinners for special events to posting on social media my recipes and kind of what makes me super passionate about the industry. So it's really such a full circle moment and it's cool to see. I know we've talked about this before, but how God is such a storyteller.

Right. Because it was something that I loved and like watched people on TV thinking like, I wish that could be me one day to now, like, it's pretty much happened. And it's just it's like so surreal. But I can only give my credit to God because it's almost like, oh, my gosh, what now? Like, I've accomplished something that I never even thought. Like, I've become a private chef. Like, I did it with the help of God. And so it is crazy to see that, you know, these dreams you dream are possible. You just have to be determined and, like, keep taking steps forward.

Ben BeeriAnd not only possible, but your dreams at the end of the day are yours. Like, I mean, God had this path laid out for Gianna. Mhmm. And at a very young age, you were drawn to it. And it's really interesting to see how it's kind of played out over the years. Mhmm. Yeah. It's it's crazy to see. And there were things that set me back,

Gianna Nicolewhich I think is part of our story, right, overcoming tribulations. But it's crazy to see that even with the setbacks, it still happened. You know, it still came to fruition, which I think is also makes the story so much better. What are some of the setbacks that you experienced? So I I also did musical theater growing up. And, um, for a time, I thought that I wanted to go into musical theater and Broadway and the whole thing, which I still wanna do one day. That's another dream I'm wishing on. Gianna can do it all. Yes.

Cook on Broadway. Know, let's do it. I was doing musical theater and and I was like, uh, I guess maybe, like, cooking isn't the thing anymore. Like, maybe I'll do this, but it still didn't feel like quite right. I decided to study abroad after my senior year in high school in Italy, and I studied Italian and I just fell in love with the culture. I fell in love with the food, the people, everything in Italy. And so I decided I'm going to come back and I'm going to go to culinary school in Italy, which was always my dream.

But because I kind of put it on the back burner, I was a little afraid to make that jump. And I decided anyways because my parents were very supportive of it. And I was buying my flight and about to proceed with the checkout. And then I just had this, like, feeling that I just shouldn't go to Italy. It was going to be, I think, the fall of, like, 2019, if we all remember what happened, which was COVID. And it was right before COVID. I just got this feeling like I shouldn't I shouldn't do this. And turns out COVID happened, you know, two months later. Italy was one of the worst.

And I know a girl that was in the culinary school I wanted to go to, and she got stuck there for like a year, couldn't even come home. All that to say, I just thought, wow, God really protected me. But gosh, I guess it's just like not for me to do. Guess cooking is just not going to happen. So I decided to go to college. I got a four year degree. I did business marketing and I was going to go into real estate. And somebody at the real estate office was a family friend and his wife knew somebody that was looking for a chef.

And she thought, well, instead of like a real chef, I think you can just get away with somebody that just has like a great passion for the culinary field that loves health, that's a hard worker and willing to learn. They contacted me and I met with the couple that was interested in the chef and they hired me on and I learned actually this like cancer therapy diet. And so I cooked all day for this couple. And anyways, that's kind of what led me back into doing culinary. And I saved up a bunch of money. I was able to afford culinary school on my own. And I decided to go to a local culinary school, graduated from there, and then just continued private chefing and doing the whole thing. So it's really a crazy full circle moment that, you know, even though I kind of put that all on hold for four years, God really just brought it back and opened all the doors that needed to be opened. I love that.

Ben BeeriAnd you talk about saving up money for culinary school and funding it yourself. What does something like that do for your self confidence that you know that like it's yours? You didn't get help doing that from somebody else. You made it happen for yourself.

Gianna NicoleYeah, that was just really huge for me because originally when I was going to go to culinary school, my parents were going to help, but it was definitely a financial stretch for them. And so I did feel that was like part of the reason to that. I wasn't sure if it should happen because culinary school is very expensive. And so when I was able to save up on my own at a very young age and pay for culinary school without any debt or any loans, I was so proud of myself, like, and I was so grateful that really God kind of gave me a job that I was able to make enough to actually save money.

And my parents let me live at home to save. So that was a huge blessing. And everything just like I think I literally had like the exact amount I needed for school. It was one of those things, which to me, just knew, wow, God, this is so meant to be and you always provide. Even when like I thought I just wouldn't be able to do something like this because of the cost, But God provided, and it was just like more reassurance that it was what I was supposed to do. What was the experience like of going through culinary school? Culinary school was so fun. I love learning. I love being in school. I feel like I'm like low key a nerd at heart.

So it was just so cool to be able to connect with the chef, Chef TC. He was my chef instructor. He inspired me so much and he really believed in me. And I think that made a very big difference in why I'm doing what I am today. Connecting with the different students, like we're still connected today and knowing that I always have this circle of friends that are in the industry and ready to help. And we're just there for each other if need be, you know, and having just different friendships and people in that industry have been so life changing for me and especially my chef, Chef T. C. Like, I just think I was so blessed with like the best chef instructor anyone could ever ask for.

And he just really, really believed in me and inspired me, like in more ways than I can even describe.

Ben BeeriThat's awesome. And you're now at a spot where you get to inspire others.

Gianna NicoleI hope so. But yeah, I think I am able to do that. And it's really cool, too, when you hear back from people that, you know, they're supporting my journey or they love my recipes and things like that or encouraging me to write a cookbook. It's like, gosh, like, this is crazy. Like, I just I never imagined this happening one day. But with social media too, the people that are following and supporting me, even though I'm a very small influencer at this time, like they're the reason that I get to do a lot of what I get to do.

And because of their support, I've gotten so many more opportunities. So it's really cool. I'd love to find a way to give back to the people that have supported me because I seriously wouldn't be as far as I am in the industry without them.

Ben BeeriAwesome. And you talk about your journey of sharing your journey on social media. What's that been like and what kind of got you started with that?

Gianna NicoleSo I started sharing on social media probably when I was about 15 no, 16. I started sharing on social media when I was about 16. And it was about the time where maybe Instagram was only around three years or so. And blogging was super huge in the food world. And I started posting on Instagram just my recipes because I had friends that kept saying, Oh, you should post like your recipes. Like, we love like your food. But like, you know, if you post it, then we can all see it. So I really just started Instagram for my friends to get the recipes I was making because I made a lot of like gluten free, dairy free, healthy treats because long story short, I had a lot of health issues. But my friends want to see the recipe. So I started Instagram for that. I started blogging and it started doing really well. And I started getting like collabs with some brands. I got to create some recipes with their products, and then they posted it on their blogs and their sites.

And that's kind of what started the whole thing. And then I kind of slowly got busy with college and things and I just stopped doing it for years. And then I picked it up back again right after I graduated college when I was working for this couple in Laguna Beach doing the cancer therapy diet. And so that's kind of when my real social media journey maybe started. And then I kind of had been posting mostly consistently since, yeah, since like two years ago.

Ben BeeriOkay. And then you start posting on social media. And what have you found you get to give to others from that?

Gianna NicoleI think I get to give, you know, my passion to others in a way that hopefully inspires them to pursue their passions and also sharing, you know, with this is a whole nother subject, but there's so many women that struggle with eating disorders and things like that. And I feel like although I don't talk about it on social media, I really love posting like healthy recipes and healthy things. And everything that I cook for my clients is mostly healthy, seed oil free, etcetera. So just sharing like, you know, that I use health a lot in my cooking and I want to inspire others to be healthy and prioritize that. And, you know, it's not so hard if you just commit a little time to meal prepping for yourself and really nourish yourself and your body because that just matters so much. So I think I inspire them with my own passion and my love for God and also just my passion for health and prioritizing yourself in that way.

Ben BeeriAnd you're talking about people who have you talked about your own health issues, you talk about there's women out there with eating disorders. What can we do to bring more awareness to, like, healthy eating and having people go through that process of being more disciplined with what food goes into their body?

Gianna NicoleIt's really hard to, I think, plan out what the best action is to help people start eating healthier. And we talk about just the amount of women with eating disorders and social media and the pressure. I do think there's a big movement for more health. You know, people are very knowledgeable about seed oils and, you know, seriously high fat foods and, you know, things like shredded cheese have metals in them these days. And just knowing, like, you have to go for the quality because people are getting sick left and right.

I think a big part of that is our government and not facilitating things that are like allowed in grocery stores. So I think that's also a huge problem. But I think just sharing with people too that healthy eating doesn't always have to be expensive. Like, I think if you just stick to higher quality meats and like fruits and vegetables, like, that's really all you need. You don't need all this other stuff. So I think that's a huge thing that we probably have to be more vocal about. And then I think as far as like the epidemic of eating disorders, just bringing more awareness to women and more women kind of stepping out that are like, I'm comfortable in my own body as it is and kind of breaking that stigma that women have to look and be a certain way. But it's a really challenging thing. I wish I knew the answer.

Ben BeeriSomething that's gonna it seems like we keep learning more about it as time goes on. We keep getting more awareness as to what we can do to be healthier. But then how do you integrate that into your life? That becomes a process. Mhmm.

Gianna NicoleI think, I mean, I feel like you're you have a big story with that, you know, and just taking the time to figure out, like, what is going on here? Like, why am I feeling like crap all the time? I'm not able to do the things I'm wanting to do, you know, because your health affects your entire life. Absolutely. I think if you're not eating well and not nourishing yourself, I think there's there's no chance everything else is going to go Okay because you won't have the energy. Your mind isn't clear. You've got brain fog.

You're lazy, you know? So I think it's those little steps and behaviors that start to shift your mind, you know? So those little steps of I'm going to wake up thirty minutes before I usually do and just do 10 push ups. Like, it could be that simple one day. I'm going to eat one vegetable today. Okay, maybe the rest of day you ate junk, but like, just make a small step. And eventually those little steps turn into habits and things that you can't live without. Like, know I don't feel good if I don't work out and a workout could be a forty five minute walk for me. It doesn't have to be intense.

But gosh, the difference that makes in my day. I am not productive. I don't want to eat that healthy. I might not do all the things I'm supposed to get done that day because I just started my day off wrong, you know, with like laziness and procrastination other than taking a stride and a step towards health.

Ben BeeriIt's interesting what our food choices do to the rest of our day. Oh, yeah.

Gianna NicoleI think that is like a crazy game changer because, I mean, there's a lot more information out there now as far as, how different foods affect our brain. But I think if you start your day off with loads of carbs and sugar and the sugary coffee, which I'm very guilty of, but when you start your day off that way, you're kind of doomed for the rest of the day. You don't feel right. You don't have energy. It can literally cause depression, anxiety, moodiness. I know I actually get really bad heart palpitations and anxiety when I eat a lot of gluten. It's a really weird one for me, but I started to notice it.

And that's a hard one to cut out, but I don't feel good, and I don't feel right, and I get literally almost depressed with too much gluten and sugar in my diet. So I think people just need to be a little bit more aware, keeping a food journal, taking notes, and kind of being your own doctor.

Ben BeeriI'm a firm believer in that. It's interesting. Like, I've had obviously, you're aware of this. My friends know about this, but I've got this nightshade allergy.

Gianna NicoleMhmm.

Ben BeeriNightshades are, like, a lot of different foods. So that ends up with me having to go to restaurants and being the guy that is, like, the difficult customer and asking, hey. What ingredients are in this food? Because for people that aren't familiar, nightshade foods are tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers, except for black pepper. Black pepper is good, but all other pepper related seasonings are nightshade foods. Yep. So you go to a place, they season your meat with, like, paprika or chili or anything that spices it up. Yep. And all of a sudden, that now becomes a nightshade food. That becomes a food that I personally can't have. Right. And for me, I know that it's worth doing my due diligence to ensure that I cannot like, that I can avoid eating those foods, but not every place is equipped or educated or has the knowledge to deal with that and execute on that. Like, so many people don't are not aware of what the foods are. So many restaurants do not have the processes in place to ensure that food comes out to people who have allergies in a certain way. Now there's the business side of things, which you'd wanna cater to the many, not to the few. So that's the understandable

part of, hey, don't go and season one steak specially for one customer type of thing. So certain people have their processes more scalable at restaurants. So that's understandable. But I guess what I'm getting at is there's people out there who have these different food sensitivities and allergies, and everybody's body is different. Everybody reacts different to different foods. And I think it's important to learn what foods you agree with and don't agree with and eat for like functionality and nourishment.

Taste is great, but functionality and nourishment really is going to what's going to help move you forward in life.

Gianna NicoleYeah, I think that's a huge topic too, is the whole world around foodies and changing. We're really eating for the experience and not for the nourishment, which, I mean, I'm a chef, so I'm very guilty of that. A lot of what I do is for the experience, but I do think it's important, like you're saying in your everyday life to notice that. And for you, it's interesting because you might get looks or some small amount of judgment for your allergies, but I fully believe it. Like, I understand that and I understand what it feels like to feel awful all the time. And so when you're on the other side of that, it's like, there is no way in heck I am letting anything get in the way of me feeling my best. And for you, it's nightshades.

And you know that. And it's also very scientific that nightshades affect a lot of people. I went on a diet for my autoimmune thing, and a huge thing was nightshades that I couldn't have because they cause inflammation for a lot of people. And it's part of because how certain foods are chemically processed today. But yeah, you have to be strong in kind of sticking to your gut and knowing like, I might get looks, I might be the difficult one, but I have to do this in order to stay healthy for myself. And I think that ideology transfers to everything in life. Like, I'm going to get up early. No one's pushing me. I'm going to spend time with God. No one's pushing that.

I am gonna stay strong in my beliefs. I might get judgment, but it's all of those little things tie in together. And so I think you prioritizing your health is like a huge step in all of those other directions too with your life.

Ben BeeriIt's true. It's very true. And you talk about, like, eating for experience, which is something a lot of people do. How do you merge that world with eating for experience, but also eating healthy? Is that something that can be put together? Like, you as a chef, can you create an experience for people, but also allow for them to eat healthy?

Gianna NicoleI 100% believe we can merge eating for experience and eating healthy. I think one example is, you know, some of my clients, I go to their house and I meal prep for the week, but then I oftentimes make a fresh dinner for that night. So in my opinion, both the meal prep can be an experience in the way that I plate it and making it look elegant and appetizing and not like boring health food, um, which can literally be like the perfectly crisp sweet potatoes with an elegant little, you know, fresh herbs on top. And it's crazy what that does to the eye visually.

But you're having two very healthy items there. So I do try to make my meal prep very visually appetizing. And so I think that's an experience in itself, kind of knowing and looking forward to a really healthy meal that looks beautiful. And then on the other end, these fresh dinners are experiences that I do for people. I don't use seed oils. A lot of times I don't do dairy. If someone's gluten free, that's not a problem for me. So most of what I do is definitely on the healthier side of things, sourcing my ingredients from local butcheries that I go to, farmers markets, things like that. So I think where the foodie stuff kind of gets crazy is when you're seeing videos of somebody trying this like, you know, dollars 50 hamburger with double Wagyu and, you know, three slabs of American cheese. And not that you can't do that. It's definitely fun to do things like that. But I think when that just becomes over consumed, then it just becomes a big problem, and it becomes for the experience rather than,

you know, that food really is to nourish ourselves, and we're also kind of taking advantage of such a blessing that we have when other countries are starving, and we are just overconsuming here. So it is kind of crazy when you think about it that way.

Ben BeeriAnd you talk about other countries struggling with food and were overconsuming. Can you talk more about that?

Gianna NicoleYeah. So there's so many countries that still to this day, and it's sad, it's like you don't even hear about this stuff in the news. Countries that don't have sustainable products and don't have the means to getting fresh produce, communities that are on food stamps with like the most awful sourced, you know, quality of food that you could ever think of. And then so many of us, not just in America, but other countries as well, are, you know, going out to dinner and getting five appetizers and three entrees and four desserts and, you know, over consuming in our homes, over buying things in our homes, letting so many things go to waste when there's people, like, starving down the street. It's kind of a crazy thing to think about.

So I'm not involved in that world. I would love to be definitely with what I do to really get more high quality food to people that don't have access to that. But I think one thing we can just do in our own lives is just be more mindful of what we're buying and consuming and not over consuming things and taking advantage of the blessings God's given us with food and nourishment and things like that, with all the great restaurants we have. And I go out to eat, of course. It's not like you can't enjoy your life, but just being more mindful, I think, of how God's blessed us and not taking advantage of that.

Ben BeeriNo. And it's interesting because you talk about that. You talk about restaurants having certain ingredients. And I think it's restaurant the restaurant business is a very difficult business to begin with from a profit margin standpoint. So now restaurants are sacrificing on the quality of their ingredients because they need to create profit margin for themselves so they can stay in business. So it kind of and then there's a service aspect of it. They've gotta pay their hosts, their servers, their cooks, their dishwashers, And basically going out to eat nowadays is no longer a meal. It really is an experience.

Gianna NicoleMhmm. Yeah. I think going out to eat. Well, depends. You know, some people go out to eat daily and that's just how they are able to eat and get what they need. And then other people, it is solely inexperience and they completely eat from home and things like that. And I think a lot of, not to defend restaurants, but I do think some people, especially if you look at these older chefs, they're kind of in the era where it's like canola oil, like canola oil has been around for X amount of years. Like, what do you mean it's bad for you? So I do think there are a lot of cooks and chefs that it's just this is how we've always done it. Like, what's wrong with it?

So they're not like intentionally trying to harm customers and things like that. But then the plus side is it's also cheaper, you know? So there are a lot of restaurants opening up that claim they're seed oil free and organic grass fed and whatnot, and you're paying, you know, a little bit more for that, but it's totally your choice. You can just not eat out at all, or you can pay a little bit more for something that, you know, is a much healthier choice as far as ingredients are concerned.

Ben BeeriSo for you, you view essentially cooking at home, buying your own ingredients, knowing where they come from as the healthiest route?

Gianna NicoleOh, 100%. Buying your own ingredients, knowing exactly what you're buying, where it's coming cooking from home, it just doesn't compare to going out to eat at all. Also, even in healthy restaurants, you know, they're making things on such a large scale and sometimes quality is a little bit compromised with that scale. So it's really the best bet. I think the best thing is eat home during the week, cook for yourself, learn to cook, even if you hate it. It's fun. And eat out on the weekends or once a week if you really need to.

But I just don't trust a lot of things anymore, even if they say they're seed oil free and stuff like that. I'm a little control freak, so I'd like to know what's really going into it.

Ben BeeriWell, it's true. It's interesting. I mean, like, we were at the store the other day, and we were looking for some cheese. Right? And all of a sudden, we see, hey. This cheese has potato starch. Yep. And it's like, man, that's like a really, like, sneaky ingredient to have in, like, cheese. And I'm like, I can't have potato starch because it's a nightshade. And it's cheese, dairy. There shouldn't be that many ingredients in there. And then I was thinking about I went to Europe this summer, and it's like, there's a lot less ingredients in food over the industries make the more prescriptions are sold.

Gianna NicoleAnd there's a lot of incredible doctors and surgeons out there that I do believe want to help us. But people have to remember that health first starts with your diet. So you've really got to be careful and read every ingredient. And I think that there are a lot of healthy options with going to the farmer's market and buying organic, and farmer's markets are often cheaper than organic in grocery stores. So you just have to take those steps to be healthier, you know, where you might not need to do that in Italy.

It is a thing we have to do here, and you just have to know that and kind of take the time for that.

Ben BeeriSo a little bit more diligence is required here in The US?

Gianna NicoleI think a lot more diligence is required here. I mean, every time I've been to Europe, feel like I eat pasta, I eat bread, I eat dairy, and I feel great. And I lose weight because I'm walking every day. It's funny, I'm watching Love is Blind and on Netflix, and they just came out with Love is Blind Italy. And I was just thinking to myself, wow, every single woman and man looks like very healthy here. Like every single one of them is like fit, healthy, lean. And that's just not the case here. And that's also not always people's fault.

I mean, if I'm eating out for a couple of days, I can feel the inflammation in my body. I probably will gain a couple of pounds. So it's unfortunate here that the food really just it's just full of chemicals and inflammation.

Ben BeeriSo there's a lot of people out there who are struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle. What do you say to them or what can you share with them? It's kind of like, maybe like just a little starter's guide of, hey, I'm going to go to the grocery store. Like, what should they avoid? What should they purchase? What can they kind of what should they look for? Where do they start? Because so many people just lack the knowledge and the education, the experience of going down the aisle at a grocery store and ensuring that they walk out with something that's nourishing to them and can help sustain them long term.

Gianna NicoleIf you're wanting to start a healthy lifestyle and you're just looking for like quick pointers, like, let's be very practical here and dumb it down. And, you know, where do I start? I'll talk about a few things. One, ingredients and then two, just practically meals that you can make and eat. Ingredients, to keep it very simple. If you're reading an ingredient list and it's more than, let's just say, four or five, it's probably not good. Like, if you're getting a can of beans and there's like 10 ingredients, I'm just going to say that's just it does not make sense.

So I think first looking at ingredients, you know, a can of beans should hopefully be beans, water, maybe salt. You know, if you want to be really healthy, I would get beans with no salt. So that's something to look at. You know, things like rice. You know, you can get rice where you look at the ingredient and it's rice or organic rice. And you can get other packages of rice that are like rice a Roni or things like that. And it's got, again, like ten, twenty ingredients. So just keep that in mind. You know, if you are going to buy anything packaged and it's got a whole lot of ingredients and you don't recognize the titles, it's not a food that you know about. It's processed and it's got some sort of fake additives in it. And you should stay away from that. So ingredients keep it under hopefully like three ingredients.

And you want to stick to as many whole foods as possible. Whole foods means an apple, a sweet potato, a head of broccoli, chicken, steak, like, right. These are foods that are complete. They're by themselves. There's no additives. There's no packaging. If I wanted to start a healthy diet, what I would do and what I would buy is go into the grocery store, hopefully buy everything organic, and I would maybe pick up two avocados, maybe pick up some wild salmon, maybe pick up brown rice, maybe a can of beans, maybe some apples.

Maybe I do if you eat dairy, you know, try to get organic Greek yogurt is the best or coconut yogurt and maybe some organic eggs. And if you really, really, really love bread, sourdough is great. And just look for a sourdough that has very minimal ingredients. Okay, so from all these things, we can make half of an avocado with your cooked salmon. Maybe you just throw it in the oven with some olive oil and lemon and you've got your salmon, avocado, and maybe you just make a bunch of rice that's going to last you a whole week. So you just have a complete meal right there that tastes great.

Not a lot of additives in it. Maybe use a little olive oil and very healthy. Now, moving to our Greek yogurt, you have your Greek yogurt, you can chop up some apples and then maybe you have two eggs on the side. Again, very healthy, sustainable, very easy breakfast. You had to put yogurt in a bowl and add some apples and make two eggs. If you really want to get fancy, you can make a ton of hard boiled eggs for the week. You have your can of beans, maybe you picked up some lettuce. You also have your avocado, maybe you have some extra salmon. Throw it all together.

And he did like, I'm very practical in that sense of, you know, I do think when you're buying good quality, everything tastes really great and your taste buds may have to adjust initially, but eventually eating whole foods is going to taste great to you. So I think if you're feeling overwhelmed and you don't know where to start, start with just as simple as possible. Make a little list. Buy two different types of meat. Buy a grain. Buy two or three fruits. Buy some avocados.

Ben BeeriAnd you can make that last a whole week. How do people get more educated on which ingredients they should be ingesting into their body?

Gianna NicoleI think the main thing to think about with knowing what ingredients to inject with which the main thing with knowing which ingredients to ingest is no seed oils. I mean, most people know that at this point. Most dairy is just not good for you unless you're gonna do raw dairy. Gluten affects a lot of people. High sodium affects a lot of people. Your best bet is buying fruits, vegetables, potatoes, if you can have it. Grass fed meats. You can have sweet potatoes. You can have you know, sweet potatoes are so much better than regular potatoes. So but that's what I I would say. If you don't know what ingredients to buy, just don't buy anything packaged.

Ben BeeriYou know? It's that simple. So doesn't that leave you essentially basically just with farmers markets and buying directly from the people who are actually growing the food?

Gianna NicoleNo. Like, you can go into a lot of grocery stores and buy fruits, vegetables, potatoes, maybe some grains, I mean, you're pretty safe with most grains, and meat if you eat it, and fish. So you don't have to go to a farmer's market, but you will get better quality at farmer's markets. And depending which farmer's market you go to, oftentimes they're actually cheaper than grocery stores. So that's definitely a really great option.

Ben BeeriAnd when you go and you meal prep for clients, what do you try to keep in mind when you plan that stuff out and what they're going to eat for the week? As far as ingredients or just planning the meals? Both.

Gianna NicoleWith ingredients, luckily, I think most of my clients love eating organic and grass fed, wild caught. And so I just go to my grocery stores and butcheries that I know will provide those items for me. So I love Mother's. And then I do the Irvine Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. And I go to Sections, which is my favorite butchery, and I sometimes go to The Butchery, which is in Costa Mesa as well. And then meal planning, it usually is a protein that I choose, and then depending, you know, kind of what they like to eat, whether they're high carb, low carb, it could be like a salad with some healthy fats, it could be, you know, a grain with a vegetable. It really just depends what the client wants. So I always tailor all my menus around what macros they're trying to reach, what their goals are, what type of diet they like, and everyone's very different.

Ben BeeriSo again, so the goal of more so keeping your clients healthy long term? Yes, 100%.

Gianna NicoleI think I'm really grateful that all my clients enjoy eating healthy as well because I think there's just a lot more awareness around that. But my goal is to play a part in that. I just don't think I could, in my right mind, make things with seed oils and, you know, something that's completely toxic and full of parasites and and whatnot and feel good about that. Like, even for myself, I have to only make things with the best quality that I can find.

Ben BeeriThat's good. That's good. I guess it's a recipe for long term success and health. Mhmm. And shifting gears a little bit to success. Talk a little bit about what would you say to somebody who is younger and kind of looking to take on a journey of like entrepreneurship, and trying to live out their dreams, whether it be in the culinary field or in other fields or social media, kind of marketing and influencing?

Gianna NicoleI think what I would say to a young person that has ambitions and dreams and is kind of wanting that to come to fruition is, for me, I guess, what has worked is a relationship with God. I just don't believe I would be where I am today without God. And what I mean by that is, you know, when you put God first in your life, he causes the doors to open. He shows you what path to go down. He speaks to you. He tells you who to trust, who to not. And it's really like almost like this, like, magical resource. Like, you mean if I trust God and hand over my life and my will to him that everything is gonna work out? Yeah.

100%. And it doesn't mean you're not going to have setbacks and difficult things that may come up along the way. But again, God will hold your hand and walk you through those things. One of my favorite verses is, Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. Well, what are all these things? For me, was, Well, what school do I go to? You know, I want to do cooking, but I don't feel like I can afford it. Well, I had to seek first God, and that meant for a time going to a normal university.

And then God gave me the money to be able to afford culinary school. You know, Seek first God means like, well, I have this health condition and I don't feel good all the time. You mean if I just like spend more time with God instead of scrolling through social media, overworking myself, you know, doing all these self help books that aren't getting me anywhere. You mean that if I just seek God, my health issues will fade? Yeah. So I really don't think I can give other advice other than putting God first in your life, because I think I can tell someone what to do all I want, but ultimately God knows better than I do what they need to do with their life. God knows better than I do how to guide them, how to be with them, how to speak to them.

And so it's really just wonderful that we have a Lord that loves us so much, and He knows what's best for us. He knows what's best for somebody way more than they do. He knew what was best for me more than I did. And, um, I just think when you give him your life, he gives you so much more than you could even imagine for yourself.

Ben BeeriI love that.

Gianna NicoleYeah. It makes me emotional to think about, like, you know, how much God loves us, but he does. And you know that too. You know, I think God's been a big part of your story and why you're here today, and you've been able to come overcome so much.

Ben BeeriI mean, God's presence in your life is second to none. I mean, it's the most prevalent thing that we have in our lives. Mhmm. And whether it's any type of any religion, spirituality, Your path is yours second. It's God's first.

Gianna Nicole100%. Yeah. I love that. Yeah, because I think we forget that God ultimately knows what is best for us, right? And sometimes when you try to do things in your own power, in your own will, you get half as much done as you would have been able to with God's help. Yeah.

Ben BeeriTalk to me a little bit about your health issues and how God has played a role in helping you, guide you through that in your life.

Gianna NicoleSo this is like something I won't get into too much, but I struggled a lot with an eating disorder growing up almost my whole life, which also is kind of like ironic to me that I'm in this industry. But anyways, that was a huge struggle of mine. And when I was about maybe like 22, I started getting really awful joint pain in my body. And I thought I had arthritis because as I described the symptoms to my doctor, she said, This sounds like arthritis, but you're so young and also nobody in your family has this. So with doing some more blood panels and deeper searching, I got diagnosed with Hashimoto, which one in three women in America have. So it's a very common autoimmune disease amongst women.

And I think where God has played a big role in that is originally I was very scared and catastrophized and thought the worst is going to happen. I'm going have fertility problems and, you know, I'm going to be more at risk for cancer and all these things. So I think God really started working in me about just trusting him and listening to his voice and his guidance, because there's a lot of voices out there as far as what diet I should eat and, you know, what workouts I should do and not do and, like, how many hours a week I should work and resting and all these treatments that cost, like, crazy amounts of money.

And I was pursuing all of that for a time and wasn't getting better until I kind of realized that this health issue is more of an internal thing for me and a spiritual thing than an outward thing. And it could be anything for me from stress and taking too much of my life into my own hands, perfectionism, you know, holding myself to a standard that is unreachable, caring too much about my image, what other people think about me, people pleasing, not taking care of myself first, not committing enough time to God.

All of these things I really believe played a role in me getting this autoimmune thing. And even now, I have to work on this a lot. But I believe from the word that life and death are in the power of your tongue. So when I speak out, you know, I have Hashimoto's, I'm autoimmune, I struggle, like, I just feel like crap all the time. I'm tired all the time. My joints are always aching. The more I spoke all of that out, the more it was happening to me. And as I started just speaking what the word tells me, by his stripes, I am healed. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Those words are edifying and they're true. And it started healing me slowly. And I'm still in that process. You know, I still get setbacks. And some days I'm in terrible pain and can't get out of bed. But I have kind of come to a conclusion that more than even meeting with doctors and that sort of thing, although that's still a part of my healing journey, I think a big part of it has been just coming back to the Lord and spending my time with him, giving him my first fruits and listening to his voice with what I need to do to get better. And I think God also provides, you know, as he opens doors, the doctors we need to talk to and the treatments we need to do. And gosh, like, maybe you should stay away from these types of foods. So I don't think I believe that you just only go to God and you don't need to like be healthy and go to doctors and get blood work done. You know, he he wants us to do both.

So but God's definitely been the biggest part of the healing journey for me.

Ben BeeriWhat do you think you were being led to?

Gianna NicoleI think I was being led to or I think what God was trying to speak to me was, you know, I was pursuing so many things, pursuing success and pursuing entrepreneurship, and I was forgetting about God. Honestly, that's what was happening. And I think I just kind of realized, you know, what does it profit a man to gain the world but lose your own soul? And that's kind of, I think, what was happening to me. I was starting to lose myself in what I was doing and things that I was accomplishing, and I think that led to me getting really quite sick.

Not taking care of myself, my eating disorder in the past, right, not grabbing ahold of that has also led to a lot of the issues that I had in the past with my health, And that all kind of just comes back to my relationship with God and what I put first in my life. So that's always been like a thing for me to determine where I'm going, where my health is. When it gets bad, I know it's because I'm not spending enough time with God.

Ben BeeriWhat did you view as success?

Gianna NicoleI think success to me in the past was money and probably recognition. Those two things. Yeah. And now I realize, gosh, what a misconception that is. I mean, success can mean just you spending time with God your whole life. And if that's the greatest thing you ever did, like you succeeded pretty far, you know? But I still struggle with that idea. And just, you know, with the society that we live in, it's really easy to get caught up in what the world says is success, um, which really is money and recognition.

Ben BeeriWell, it is to a lot of people, but it's almost the greatest illusion to keep us distracted from the life that we can live on a soul level. Like you sit there and you think of all the physical world distractions. Mhmm.

Gianna NicoleThat's a great observation. Yeah. Everything can be such a a distraction, um, against what really matters, which is your spiritual well-being.

Ben BeeriLike, you talked earlier about the burger with, like, two patties and three blocks of cheese Mhmm. Or money or cars or Yep. Watches and houses, and boats, and planes, and like, at the end of the day, all of those things are great if they're a part of your path. But getting those things alone isn't what is going to move your soul forward. Getting those things for the sake of growing yourself and your soul can be very purposeful. Mhmm. But singularly chasing some of those things, I mean, like, going and eating a burger with three blocks of cheese, like, we've all done it.

We're all guilty of it. I've done it many times. Right? Makes you feel, oh my god. This tastes delicious in the moment. Right? And it's a good reminder very shortly afterwards where it's like, I probably would have felt better if I just ate a lean steak. And I think that's kind of God's way of telling you that are you going to choose instant gratification for, like, the physical world offerings and physical world distractions, or are you going to choose, like, not only delayed gratification, but permanent gratification and doing the things that actually makes your soul move forward?

Gianna NicoleA 100%. You know, like you're saying, Ben, it's not wrong to have money. God blesses many of us with that, you know, and you can use money for a lot of wonderful things, and you can use it to help a lot of people. It's not bad to want to go have the burger, right, to a degree, treat yourself to a little something, right? But when it comes this obsession over those things, the obsession for money, the obsession over things you don't need, the obsession over the status, that's when you start to lose your soul, like you're saying.

And it's not wrong to have some of those things along your path, but when that's the end goal, you completely lose sight of yourself and what God has for you. And what God has for you is way greater than all of those things. Um, and I think something that helps me because I'll be the first to say, I struggle with all of that. It's a daily battle for me remembering it's not about the money, I have more than enough. It's not about the status. It's not about the clothes I wear. It's not about, you know, my version of success.

It's not about what I look like and being the best looking person in the room. You know, it's not about any of that. I struggle every day still. And that's why I have to pick up my cross and follow Jesus, because he's the one that reminds me that there is life beyond this life. And this life really is a test, and it's meant to draw us closer to God before we get to meet the Lord, you know, face to face. And so I think when you can kind of remember that this life isn't all that is here, like this is really just a flash before us, it's a little bit easier for me at least to kind of let go of my expectations of these physical things that I want that really are not gonna be coming with me in my next life in heaven. You know?

Ben BeeriNo. And it's interesting all of different people's, like, beliefs. Right? Like, you go, like, a couple thousand years ago, like, the Egyptians would bury themselves with their treasure because they believed that they could take that with them to their next life. Right? And on, like and there's certain beliefs of, hey. Like, how do I impact as much as I can impact in this life? Like, touch as many souls as I can touch. Like, you look at somebody like Jesus Christ, for example, born over two thousand years ago. Right?

Think of how many people his one life has touched. How many souls have come together and basically said, hey, I see this man, Jesus Christ. He is a model of the type of person that I could or should be. He's had an impact on me. I would like to follow him. And then you sit there and you look at your life today, two thousand years later, and to a certain scale, right? It's like, how many souls can you touch in your life where people are like, hey. Like, this person has an impact on me. I see what they're doing. They're living life in a way that moves not only their soul forward, but touches other souls and moves them forward.

Gianna NicoleYeah. It's a really interesting thing to think about. And I think it's kind of back to that topic of what really matters, right, like we're saying. You know, does the success in your version of that matter, or is it the people you impact and the people that you're able to uplift and bring to a relationship with God along the way? I think, you know, if we were all to be at our deathbed right now and look back, I don't think we're gonna be thinking about whatever amount of money we've been able to accumulate through the years, the success, the people we've met, you know, I think we're gonna think about what impact did I make on the people around me.

And I think as a Christian for myself, for me, it's really learning, you know, not always to preach at people and make people feel judged for where they're at, but just showing people my character, which ultimately is the Holy Spirit in me, and sharing that with others and hoping that that kind of makes them think like, gosh, why is she different? Or why is she handling such a hard thing with so much grace and joy? And the only answer for that is it's not me, it's the Lord. Um, so that's the impact I hope to make.

But it is a really cool thing to think about that we are able to do that on this earth.

Ben BeeriIt really is. It really is. And you look back at who you were born and who you are today and who you're going to be. Who is Gianna?

Gianna NicoleThat's a tough question, Finn. Gianna is now chef Gianna Nicole, right? I think that's what you can say. Gosh, the only thing I can think of is I am just I'm a daughter of the Lord. Like, there's a lot of things I can say, you know, different ways that the Lord's made me to be, but I think ultimately is I am a daughter of the king. I am a daughter of the Lord, and that's who I am first and foremost, right? God's given me, blessed me with different gifts and talents to share with people that they recognize me as.

But ultimately, I am just a follower of the Lord. And I forget what the meaning is of my name is realistically, but whatever that Oh, loved by God, I think is what Gianna means. Okay. And I just I love that because I don't know how else to describe myself. I'm messed up and crazy in a lot of ways, in more ways than people know. But ultimately, I'm loved by God and I feel like through cooking and different channels, I'm meant to share that love with people.

Ben BeeriI love that. I love that. Gianna, this has been such a great conversation. Where can our audience connect with you and find out more of what you have going on?

Gianna NicoleThis audience can connect with me on social media. My Instagram right now is chef Gianna Nicole, and it will not change for the next fourteen days. But I think Ben's convinced me to keep it that way. So you can find me at chef Gian and Nicole on Instagram and Gianna Holiday on TikTok, but it could change.

Ben BeeriCould change. Well, just look up Gianna and some of the Yeah. Chef if you see a girl cooking a bunch of stuff, then that's probably her. Hopefully, it's me. Hopefully, you don't find anything else. No. I I I know. Right? But, um, no. That's great. And it's really inspiring what you're doing, and you're following not only following your dreams, but inspiring others to follow their dreams and Yeah. Really just sharing love, not only your love, but sharing God's love through cooking and inspiring and sharing your journey on social media. So definitely check Gianna out.

I'm really it's been a real pleasure for me to kind of follow along on your journey, and I'm excited to see where it's going next because I know you've got some big things in store. And I know that yeah, like, we don't actually know where we're going to be in a year or in two years or in five years, but it's gonna be pretty cool to see how that journey unfolds. So I'm excited for you. Thank you, Ben. Thanks for having me and just being such a big support

Gianna Nicolefor me and encouraging me to just keep going and shoot for the stars because that means so much to me too.

Ben BeeriI'm proud of you. This is so cool. Thank you. Thank you. Well, definitely great having you on. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, if you guys enjoyed hearing from Gianna, we would love for you to share this episode with your friends. Leave us a like, leave us a comment, follow us on Instagram at the authentic journey pod. I'm your host, Ben Beeri. You follow me on Instagram at Ben Beeri, B E N B E E R I. And we'll see you on the next episode of The Authentic Journey.