April 13, 2022 • 25 mins
In this episode, we'll learn more about Monique, a travel professional and owner of Soaring Without Limits Enterprises (SWOLE). She has been to more than 30 countries and shares her knowledge about food and travel.
This is the fourth installment of Foodies Take Flight, a series where Jess talks with world travelers, expats and citizens of countries outside of the United States about their food experiences. Whether you have wanderlust and want inspiration for your next trip, or you're a homebody who just wants a mental vacation, Foodies Take Flight will take you up and away.
FREE Travel Guide: https://eatingontheunbeatenpath.pages.ontraport.net/
Monique and SWOLE
Website: https://soarwolimits.pages.ontraport.net/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monique-pearson-b4118b208/
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The Flaky Foodie
Website: http://www.theflakyfoodie.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theflakyfoodie/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theflakyfoodie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theflakyfoodie
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Monique, SWOLE (00:14):
Hi, it's Jess and welcome to another episode
of The flaky foodie podcast. Theonly show where the discussion
is delicious and there's chatterto chew on. On today's episode,
we're going to continue ourfoodies take place series by
talking to a travelprofessional. The foodies take
flight series is where I talkwith people who've traveled or
(00:35):
lived in all parts of the worldabout their food experiences.
This will be the fourthinstallment of this series. If
you've missed any of the others,you've missed out. We've been to
Asia, we've been around theworld with local scales, and
we've also talked abouttraveling while vegan. So check
some of the past episodes outthose are episodes nine through
(00:57):
today's episode 12 But for nowlet's sit back and enjoy the
flight as we talk with Moniqueof soar without limits
enterprises after a briefmessage
Jess (01:14):
it's all this talk of good food making you hungry give
fresh meals delivered viaInstacart. They can have the
meal delivered from the store toyour door and as fast as 30
minutes with Priority deliveryand not only is it fast, but I
have a special offer that makesit affordable as well. Free
(01:35):
delivery on your first order ofmore than $10 Just click the
link in my show notes or showdescription or go to
www.theflakyfoodie.com/offers totake advantage of this very
special discountHey, are you enjoying the flaky
(02:03):
foodie podcast? If so help mekeep it going by becoming a
supporter, go to www dot theflaky foodie.com and click on
support in the top menu bar.
There you will find several waysto support the show. You can
either make a donation throughPaypal or buy me a coffee. You
(02:25):
can buy some of my merchandisein my merch shop or you can make
your brand a part of the show bybecoming a flaky foodie sponsor.
Either way you decide to do it.
I am eternally grateful not justto have you as a supporter, but
also to have you as a listener.
Thank you.
Monique, SWOLE (02:50):
Welcome back.
Today we have on the showMonique Pearson. She's the
founder and CEO of soaringwithout limits enterprises,
which is a travel company atagency and she's here to kind of
talk about the countries thatshe's visited and the food that
she's eaten there. So welcome somuch, Monique to the show.
Well, thanks for having me,Jess. I'm so happy to be here
(03:11):
and to be able to share withyour listeners.
Yes. So tell me a little bitmore about the places that
you've traveled so far.
Um, well, let's see, I wrotedown some of the heavy hitters
I've been to Egypt, Bucharest,London, Barcelona, Thailand,
Greece, Berlin, Japan, Korea,France, Bulgaria, Bosnia,
(03:35):
Serbia, Switzerland, primeDubai. So that's just to name a
few. It's been like 30 pluscountries. So I just pick some
of the ones that I've been tothus far.
Awesome. So how did you kind ofget started traveling? Or did
you how did you realize thattraveling is something that you
enjoyed?
Um, well, I pretty much knewthat. That was a passion of mine
(03:56):
at a young age, I will saystarting at 10. Growing up in
upstate New York, a small town,I just knew that there was more
to the world than what I saw. Soinitially, the gateway for me
was the military. So that iswhat started my international
travels. And then once I gotout, I just continued to travel
(04:17):
myself to continue to explorethe world, which has always been
a passion of mine. And luckily,I've been able to continue to
keep thatgoing. When you've traveled to
all of these differentcountries. What are some of like
the best baits that you rememberand kind of what countries are
they from?
I will say the ones that Iremember definitely Italy that's
(04:38):
a bias because I love Italianfood. I actually lived in Italy
for three years. So of coursehaving the originators of what
we consider to be pasta. It wasdefinitely a BEST difference
because of them not having allthe preservatives and all the
chemicals that we had in ourfood, which just made everything
taste that much richer when itcame to the red sauce the pasta
(05:02):
tomatoes. Gnocchi which is likea pasta dish, which is similar I
will say to our mac and cheesebut way lighter floats in your
mouth. The ravioli type new, notas much cheese is just an
experience that you have totaste. For the Eastern Europe
(05:22):
countries I will say far as forBucharest, Bosnia and Serbia, I
noticed that you do not eatmeat. So for those who are also
non meat eaters, they offer aplethora of options. One that I
definitely enjoyed, which I willsay it's called the Shopska
salad. Again, it is pretty muchpure vegetables with no
(05:47):
preservatives, your cucumbers,tomatoes, zucchini, and they
have a special type of cheesethat they use. Similar to feta
cheese, I would say somewhat,but a little lighter, a natural
made made from scratch dressingthat complements it that I think
(06:08):
was something that was aconstant staple that I had when
I went over there and they alsohave like a spinach wrap I would
say was wrapped with a leaf,some you can even have a
vegetarian option, or you canhave a neat option that was also
another great dish. I have alittle list or a free gift that
I wanted to give to yourlisteners with some of these
(06:29):
type of authentic Middle Easterndishes because it's very hard to
pronounce if I were to try Iwrote it down so I definitely
want to share that at the end.
For those who are interested Iput down the top native dishes
and gave pictures of what theylook like so if anyone wants to
go visit these places, they candefinitely know what to choose
from in what to tryThank you. So what are some
(06:51):
ingredients from your travelsthat you know if you were to
visit that country you would puta bunch of it in your suitcase
to take back home something thatmaybe you kind of put into your
own cooking at homeI would definitely save for
Italy was the olive oil I didnot know how much of a draft
address difference there wasbetween our olive oil and having
(07:14):
it straight from the press fromthe field and our herbs from
over there. That was somethingthat was a constant staple for
me living in Italy that I musthave was the olive oil I think I
sent that home in bottles indroves for me another one that I
noticed I will say flowers forthat was good for spices of
(07:38):
course was Thailand those wholike Thai food and or a little
bit spicy I personally canhandle that on my digestive
system but I know that is acommon staple. And Egypt I will
say was also another good onefor spices but they have more so
like a grainy type texture. Sotheir food that I will say
(07:59):
wasn't my tastes but to each hisown farms depending on your
palate, which your preferencesare but those were the mainstays
they are then of course forItaly it was the wine handed
down given. If I will say youwill have to try. There's no
comparison, the best that I'veever had in my life. First,
we're going there to complementthose great dishes that you have
(08:24):
when you travel. Are you more ofa person who kind of eats at
kind of safe standard places?
Are you someone who goes off thebeaten path and tries to eat
like what the locals eat?
I'm actually I will say a blendof both. I definitely am
cautious to make sure that thecleanliness, I definitely don't
(08:45):
want to get any food poisoning.
So I think I'm very cautious tomake sure that I try some of the
local dishes but to make surethat it is probably still like
midway not too much off, I wouldsay far as the beaten path a
couple of countries that I havebeen to that were off the beaten
path and that's actually whatthe name of the free gift is
(09:06):
eating in Eastern Europe on theunbeaten path was from
recommendations I'm more likelyto listen to those who have been
to these places and can vouchfor the quality and the caliber
of the food. So I will say forme it's a blend of both. Okay,
so what's the most adventurousdish that you've eaten? Hmm from
(09:28):
another country?
I will say for me, it wouldprobably be Korea we had a
barbecue and they spit roasted apig like right there. started up
a fire and had an actual fullpig and she just roasted for
hours and hours and I just likeokay, tried it. They also have a
(09:51):
dish called que Dogi which is adelicacy there which is a prime
little dog that they breed for.
This is considered A milligram.
I personally couldn't partake.
But I know a couple that haven'tspoke of it. But yeah, I just
couldn't. I seen the little dogsthat they breed just for this. I
just personally couldn'tpartake. But for those who would
like to try and adventurousdish, there's one for you to
(10:12):
try. That's a dishthat maybe surprised you to
where, you know, sit in front ofyou. And you're like, I'm not
sure about this, but it wasactually delicious. Do anything
come to mind?
Let me think. I'll actually sayI think when I went to Germany,
and they had for know, prettymuch people aren't familiar with
(10:36):
Smith. So which is a breadedtype dish. I think that was my
first time ever tasting like aguy roll made of lamb. So I
think that was actually prettygood. And then I had a great
lamb type dish. When I went toBahrain, they had that I think
that was the best that I've had.
Foreigners when it comes to lambchops. Similar version of what
(10:56):
we call lamb chops is when Iwent to Bahrain. I think that
was far something that wasactually quite tasty that I
didn't think I didn't wordwasn't I didn't have a opinion,
either way, or whether or not Iwould enjoy it. But I actually
did. It was very, actually verygood.
Okay, let's do kind of like afun exercise. If you got to hop
(11:18):
on a plane tomorrow and getbreakfast from anywhere in the
world. Where would you gopractice? Hmm. I will say
probably the best breakfastspread that I had. Because
really, they I don't think mostof these countries were very
known for breakfast, but I willsay Santorini Greece. When I
went there that all homemadespreads jellies jams that they
(11:40):
had were spectacular. That'swhat I Oh, yeah. Oh, shaker
Santorini.
Okay, for lunch. If you couldfly anywhere in the world
tomorrow for a great lunch whereI'll go back to
Thailand. I'll go back toThailand for lunch. Okay.
(12:01):
And so for dinner, where wouldyou go?
I think for dinner, I might haveto go back to Italy. Yeah. I'll
go back to Italy for dinner.
Okay, and now for dessert? Wherewould you go for great dessert.
Hmm. To be honest with you. Noneof these places stood out as far
(12:22):
as having great dessert. person,like if I haven't deserved I
want it to be sweet. And theyreally do do sugar to the extent
that we do here, which isprobably healthy. But for me, I
really stepped away from thedesserts because they just
weren't sweet enough to me. Soyeah, skip dessert this time
(12:43):
around. So I can learn it. Okay.
If I had to pick one, then Iwill go back to Italy again and
get a gelato. Yeah, those werefor those of us who are lactose
intolerant, like myself, I wasthe gelato did not mess up my
digestive tract. Really, that'sreally nice. I can eat that as
much as I want to on like icecream. And it didn't cause me
(13:05):
any problems.
Okay. So tell me a little bitmore about your business. I
understand that your kind of keymission is to make people feel
like more empowered when theytravel. So can you tell me a
little bit more about that andkind of how it came to be? Okay.
Yes, so soaring without limitsenterprises affectionately known
(13:27):
as well. That's what makes iteasier, was actually brought
about during the pandemic Farziidea for me to take all of this
experience that I have inregards to travel and be able to
make it a business. And the mainpremise of this business is to
empower women to get out andlive their travel dreams and
(13:50):
goals. I know as women, we'remoms were caretakers, were
bosses. And a lot of timeseveryone comes first before us.
So this is a form me travel is aform of self care. And that is
encouraging her to put herselffirst and take that trip that
she has been stalling on whetherit be because of family
(14:12):
obligations, work obligations,not having a companion, just to
encourage her and empower her toget out there and live her best
life. And that means going outthere and seeing the world
getting out of your comfort zoneand exposing yourself to other
cultures. So we offer onlinetraining for those who would
like to learn more about travelas to how to travel safely, more
(14:35):
efficiently. I have an onlinecourse called I believe I can
fly that ladies can sign up for.
I also offer retreat servicesforest coordinating for those
who like to do spiritualretreats. Those who would like
to do just do a getaway forbusinesses as well as
professional personal entitiesas well as arranging those
upscale trips and also Providingtravel for those who may be
(15:00):
interested in solo travel,predominantly, the 30 countries
that I traveled to, within thepast four or five years, I did
so solo. And I just saw how thatempowered me to get out of my
comfort zone to get out of mybox. I will say I'm more so on
the introvert side, it justencouraged me to meet people.
(15:21):
And every time on all of thesetravels, I met another American,
another woman who I can joinforces with once there if I
wanted to and to explore. So Iknow a lot of us women are
apprehensive about travelingsolo, but I just am an advocate
supporter of it. Because one,you don't have to make any
(15:42):
compromises. If you want tosleep in you can if you want to
go here you can you don't haveto. I just personally am a fan.
I know it's not for everyone.
But that's a part of theempowerment, to see to step
outside of your comfort zone.
And I believe you don't knowwhat you would like or don't
like until you at least give ita try. We also offer like buddy
companion travel groupscomparing services as well. So
(16:04):
pretty much anything in therealm of travel. My target
market is working with women,sharing my experience, sharing
my knowledge and giving themthose tools that they need to
empower them to be able to stepoutside of the box and get out
there and get those steps.
Awesome.
So what are some tips that youmay have for someone who is a
(16:25):
foodie and travels to kind ofget the best, most authentic
food I was visiting a country,I will recommend this which I
found to be very helpful.
Instead of going to like the bigtouristy sites, a lot of these
countries offer local tourguides from the locals
themselves. And they're totallyfree and you work off tips. And
(16:47):
a lot of them give great, greatgreat food restaurant
recommendations and tell youwhere to go. And a lot of them
is included, actually they'll dostops, whether they be little
bar trails or little appetizers.
So I have found that a lot ofthe recommendations that I got
for food came from that and it'scoming from a local okay,
what are some kind of surprisesthat you had when it comes to
(17:09):
like traveling and tryinganother country's cuisine? Are
there any just like, Ha, well,the American version of this is
this way, but the actualcountry's version is another is
another way?
Hmm. Um, I will say since BobDudley, most of these countries
were totally different foodsthan American. So the closest
(17:30):
one I guess, because everyonepretty much knows Italian food.
Their lasagna does not havericotta cheese in it. That was
what I found surprising. Ialways made the assumption and
I'm sure there's more than meetothers who think the same that
the ingredients that we use werewhat Italians use. So that was
one surprising fact that I foundout they do not use ricotta
(17:51):
cheese in their in theirlasagna, which I found to be
quite interesting. And it has adefinitely different taste to it
as well. I personally can makeit I just particular some of my
Italian friends who made it forme and I was like, Oh, this
tastes a little different. Butit was still delicious. But they
do not use ricotta cheese.
So what are some flavor, someflavor combinations? Maybe when
(18:15):
you're traveling to where you'relike, I've never expected this
to work together, but it does.
Do you have any stories likethat to
share? flavor combination? Well,a lot of these places to be
honest with you, I do not knowall the ingredients, especially
like feature in Bucharest andyeah, these places I was just
(18:36):
like, Okay, what is this? Okay,I'll try it. I really didn't
know all of the ingredients. Iwas really stepping out on the
ledge there by just going offthe recommendations of others.
So a lot of the ingredients Ididn't even know what I was
eating to be honest with you arethere any dishes that you kind
of learn how to make at home orare interested in learning how
to make it home since traveling?
Um, I will say for sincepredominantly when I was over
(19:00):
there and majority of my job wastraveling. So I was on travel
like 50% of the time. So Ireally did not get to practice I
will say to make any of them andas I said a lot of them I was
taken to by locals, so I didn'thave like a recipe or anything
for reference. So unfortunatelyyes, I did not get to make most
(19:22):
of these dishes while I was homebecause while I was home I was
pretty much packing up to go onanother trip. So yeah, I was on
travel nonstop for the past fouryears.
How has the pandemic affectedyour travel? Oh,
gravely, like pretty much aperson like me who travels. Even
(19:45):
during that time when I wasliving in Italy, I was on travel
every month, coming back to thestates and the end of 2019 right
before the pandemic kicked off.
I will say for 2020 If I onlywent out of the country twice,
so For me, that is like ascreeching, drastic halt quality
of life adjustment. I've neverspent so much time in my home
(20:06):
before that I have within thepast two years. So it definitely
created an ache and a yearning.
Because that is a lifestyle forme. traveling internationally
that isso so where's home base for you?
Currently, I live in Lansdale,PA, which is like right outside
of Philly,where there are ways that you
kind of found found ways to kindof bring traveling to you, or to
(20:28):
kind of get that experience oftraveling without going anywhere
to maybe try new regionalinternational cuisine that maybe
in your home home city. Well, asyou all know, pretty much the
predominant thing that Philly isknown for is cheese steaks. So
yeah, I was. So it's like, Ifound some good ones of those.
(20:49):
But I mean, it's still prettymuch not the same. The only two
locations I did get to go tolast year was Cancun. And then I
went back to Dubai in Septemberand took a group over there. And
I was quite surprised the lasttime I was there in 2009. So
going in 2021 as to how muchthey have grown, and they're
(21:10):
pretty much very internationalwhen it comes to their food
taste. I saw some of everythingflowers, Italian, Indian, pretty
much there was like a miniUnited States, I was quite
shocked. As far as theinternational cuisine that they
had available. Do youeat? I know you eat cheese
steaks, being from near Phillyand all. But do you eat
(21:33):
international cuisine at home?
Do you kind of seek it out?
Like, hey, I need somethingdifferent? Or do you mostly kind
of stick with what's popular?
I like to try these dishesauthentically in the respective
country? So no, I would say I donot eat it at home. To me, I
don't think it will be authenticas to coming from the origin of
(21:55):
where it comes from.
Did you do any domestic theheight of COVID or as COVID kind
of died down and you stillnecessarily couldn't travel
internationally. But you couldtravel out domestically across
the US?
I would say no, I really wasvery cautious. Initially on the
onset, when it came to travel, Ireally didn't travel much.
(22:16):
Besides like a couple hoursaway. I have family in Maryland.
So that was pretty much as faras I went. I will say like the
first year and a half when itcomes to domestic travel. But my
preference is and always hasbeen international because I
figure I'm always going toreturn back to the United
States. And then being in themilitary. I got to see quite a
(22:38):
bit of the states there. But forme, it's always a preference for
international.
So thank you so much for comingon the show today. Really
appreciate having you here ishow can people find more
information about your business?
So Well,thank you for having me. I'm
just getting I'm definitelylooking forward to as I said to
share with your listeners, thosewho weren't eating on the
(23:00):
unbeaten path. I have morespecifics and examples and
breakdown of some of thesedishes or the places that I went
to. In Bucharest or gainBulgaria Bosnia I chose places
that people wouldn't obviouslyotherwise think of one I would
like to share with them iseating in a castle that only has
six exclusive rooms based off ofour actors and actresses. It has
(23:24):
one chef pretty much custom madefood so it is spectacular that
is on there. I'm making get thatwww that eating the unbeaten
path that pages ontraport.net Toreach Swan without limits
enterprises. You can reach us atinfo soaring without limits.com
(23:45):
or soaring without limits. Thatnet and we're also on social
media IG and Facebook undersoaring without limits as well
if those wants to get in contactwith me and LinkedIn under
Monique PearsonOkay, awesome. Yes, you guys
make sure to check her out.
(24:09):
Thank you again so much forbeing on the show. Monique and
make sure you take advantage ofthat offer on her website. And
that link will be in the shownotes and also on my website www
dot the flaky foodie.com Thankyou all so much for listening.
Make sure you treat this episodelike gospel the gospel and tell
(24:30):
someone about it and eatsomething delicious. And if it's
really delicious. Tell me allabout it on social media. My
handles are the flaky foodie onall platforms Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter. Have agreat week everybody
Hi, it's Jess and welcome to another episode
of The flaky foodie podcast. Theonly show where the discussion
is delicious and there's chatterto chew on. On today's episode,
we're going to continue ourfoodies take place series by
talking to a travelprofessional. The foodies take
flight series is where I talkwith people who've traveled or
(00:35):
lived in all parts of the worldabout their food experiences.
This will be the fourthinstallment of this series. If
you've missed any of the others,you've missed out. We've been to
Asia, we've been around theworld with local scales, and
we've also talked abouttraveling while vegan. So check
some of the past episodes outthose are episodes nine through
(00:57):
today's episode 12 But for nowlet's sit back and enjoy the
flight as we talk with Moniqueof soar without limits
enterprises after a briefmessage
Jess (01:14):
it's all this talk of good food making you hungry give
fresh meals delivered viaInstacart. They can have the
meal delivered from the store toyour door and as fast as 30
minutes with Priority deliveryand not only is it fast, but I
have a special offer that makesit affordable as well. Free
(01:35):
delivery on your first order ofmore than $10 Just click the
link in my show notes or showdescription or go to
www.theflakyfoodie.com/offers totake advantage of this very
special discountHey, are you enjoying the flaky
(02:03):
foodie podcast? If so help mekeep it going by becoming a
supporter, go to www dot theflaky foodie.com and click on
support in the top menu bar.
There you will find several waysto support the show. You can
either make a donation throughPaypal or buy me a coffee. You
(02:25):
can buy some of my merchandisein my merch shop or you can make
your brand a part of the show bybecoming a flaky foodie sponsor.
Either way you decide to do it.
I am eternally grateful not justto have you as a supporter, but
also to have you as a listener.
Thank you.
Monique, SWOLE (02:50):
Welcome back.
Today we have on the showMonique Pearson. She's the
founder and CEO of soaringwithout limits enterprises,
which is a travel company atagency and she's here to kind of
talk about the countries thatshe's visited and the food that
she's eaten there. So welcome somuch, Monique to the show.
Well, thanks for having me,Jess. I'm so happy to be here
(03:11):
and to be able to share withyour listeners.
Yes. So tell me a little bitmore about the places that
you've traveled so far.
Um, well, let's see, I wrotedown some of the heavy hitters
I've been to Egypt, Bucharest,London, Barcelona, Thailand,
Greece, Berlin, Japan, Korea,France, Bulgaria, Bosnia,
(03:35):
Serbia, Switzerland, primeDubai. So that's just to name a
few. It's been like 30 pluscountries. So I just pick some
of the ones that I've been tothus far.
Awesome. So how did you kind ofget started traveling? Or did
you how did you realize thattraveling is something that you
enjoyed?
Um, well, I pretty much knewthat. That was a passion of mine
(03:56):
at a young age, I will saystarting at 10. Growing up in
upstate New York, a small town,I just knew that there was more
to the world than what I saw. Soinitially, the gateway for me
was the military. So that iswhat started my international
travels. And then once I gotout, I just continued to travel
(04:17):
myself to continue to explorethe world, which has always been
a passion of mine. And luckily,I've been able to continue to
keep thatgoing. When you've traveled to
all of these differentcountries. What are some of like
the best baits that you rememberand kind of what countries are
they from?
I will say the ones that Iremember definitely Italy that's
(04:38):
a bias because I love Italianfood. I actually lived in Italy
for three years. So of coursehaving the originators of what
we consider to be pasta. It wasdefinitely a BEST difference
because of them not having allthe preservatives and all the
chemicals that we had in ourfood, which just made everything
taste that much richer when itcame to the red sauce the pasta
(05:02):
tomatoes. Gnocchi which is likea pasta dish, which is similar I
will say to our mac and cheesebut way lighter floats in your
mouth. The ravioli type new, notas much cheese is just an
experience that you have totaste. For the Eastern Europe
(05:22):
countries I will say far as forBucharest, Bosnia and Serbia, I
noticed that you do not eatmeat. So for those who are also
non meat eaters, they offer aplethora of options. One that I
definitely enjoyed, which I willsay it's called the Shopska
salad. Again, it is pretty muchpure vegetables with no
(05:47):
preservatives, your cucumbers,tomatoes, zucchini, and they
have a special type of cheesethat they use. Similar to feta
cheese, I would say somewhat,but a little lighter, a natural
made made from scratch dressingthat complements it that I think
(06:08):
was something that was aconstant staple that I had when
I went over there and they alsohave like a spinach wrap I would
say was wrapped with a leaf,some you can even have a
vegetarian option, or you canhave a neat option that was also
another great dish. I have alittle list or a free gift that
I wanted to give to yourlisteners with some of these
(06:29):
type of authentic Middle Easterndishes because it's very hard to
pronounce if I were to try Iwrote it down so I definitely
want to share that at the end.
For those who are interested Iput down the top native dishes
and gave pictures of what theylook like so if anyone wants to
go visit these places, they candefinitely know what to choose
from in what to tryThank you. So what are some
(06:51):
ingredients from your travelsthat you know if you were to
visit that country you would puta bunch of it in your suitcase
to take back home something thatmaybe you kind of put into your
own cooking at homeI would definitely save for
Italy was the olive oil I didnot know how much of a draft
address difference there wasbetween our olive oil and having
(07:14):
it straight from the press fromthe field and our herbs from
over there. That was somethingthat was a constant staple for
me living in Italy that I musthave was the olive oil I think I
sent that home in bottles indroves for me another one that I
noticed I will say flowers forthat was good for spices of
(07:38):
course was Thailand those wholike Thai food and or a little
bit spicy I personally canhandle that on my digestive
system but I know that is acommon staple. And Egypt I will
say was also another good onefor spices but they have more so
like a grainy type texture. Sotheir food that I will say
(07:59):
wasn't my tastes but to each hisown farms depending on your
palate, which your preferencesare but those were the mainstays
they are then of course forItaly it was the wine handed
down given. If I will say youwill have to try. There's no
comparison, the best that I'veever had in my life. First,
we're going there to complementthose great dishes that you have
(08:24):
when you travel. Are you more ofa person who kind of eats at
kind of safe standard places?
Are you someone who goes off thebeaten path and tries to eat
like what the locals eat?
I'm actually I will say a blendof both. I definitely am
cautious to make sure that thecleanliness, I definitely don't
(08:45):
want to get any food poisoning.
So I think I'm very cautious tomake sure that I try some of the
local dishes but to make surethat it is probably still like
midway not too much off, I wouldsay far as the beaten path a
couple of countries that I havebeen to that were off the beaten
path and that's actually whatthe name of the free gift is
(09:06):
eating in Eastern Europe on theunbeaten path was from
recommendations I'm more likelyto listen to those who have been
to these places and can vouchfor the quality and the caliber
of the food. So I will say forme it's a blend of both. Okay,
so what's the most adventurousdish that you've eaten? Hmm from
(09:28):
another country?
I will say for me, it wouldprobably be Korea we had a
barbecue and they spit roasted apig like right there. started up
a fire and had an actual fullpig and she just roasted for
hours and hours and I just likeokay, tried it. They also have a
(09:51):
dish called que Dogi which is adelicacy there which is a prime
little dog that they breed for.
This is considered A milligram.
I personally couldn't partake.
But I know a couple that haven'tspoke of it. But yeah, I just
couldn't. I seen the little dogsthat they breed just for this. I
just personally couldn'tpartake. But for those who would
like to try and adventurousdish, there's one for you to
(10:12):
try. That's a dishthat maybe surprised you to
where, you know, sit in front ofyou. And you're like, I'm not
sure about this, but it wasactually delicious. Do anything
come to mind?
Let me think. I'll actually sayI think when I went to Germany,
and they had for know, prettymuch people aren't familiar with
(10:36):
Smith. So which is a breadedtype dish. I think that was my
first time ever tasting like aguy roll made of lamb. So I
think that was actually prettygood. And then I had a great
lamb type dish. When I went toBahrain, they had that I think
that was the best that I've had.
Foreigners when it comes to lambchops. Similar version of what
(10:56):
we call lamb chops is when Iwent to Bahrain. I think that
was far something that wasactually quite tasty that I
didn't think I didn't wordwasn't I didn't have a opinion,
either way, or whether or not Iwould enjoy it. But I actually
did. It was very, actually verygood.
Okay, let's do kind of like afun exercise. If you got to hop
(11:18):
on a plane tomorrow and getbreakfast from anywhere in the
world. Where would you gopractice? Hmm. I will say
probably the best breakfastspread that I had. Because
really, they I don't think mostof these countries were very
known for breakfast, but I willsay Santorini Greece. When I
went there that all homemadespreads jellies jams that they
(11:40):
had were spectacular. That'swhat I Oh, yeah. Oh, shaker
Santorini.
Okay, for lunch. If you couldfly anywhere in the world
tomorrow for a great lunch whereI'll go back to
Thailand. I'll go back toThailand for lunch. Okay.
(12:01):
And so for dinner, where wouldyou go?
I think for dinner, I might haveto go back to Italy. Yeah. I'll
go back to Italy for dinner.
Okay, and now for dessert? Wherewould you go for great dessert.
Hmm. To be honest with you. Noneof these places stood out as far
(12:22):
as having great dessert. person,like if I haven't deserved I
want it to be sweet. And theyreally do do sugar to the extent
that we do here, which isprobably healthy. But for me, I
really stepped away from thedesserts because they just
weren't sweet enough to me. Soyeah, skip dessert this time
(12:43):
around. So I can learn it. Okay.
If I had to pick one, then Iwill go back to Italy again and
get a gelato. Yeah, those werefor those of us who are lactose
intolerant, like myself, I wasthe gelato did not mess up my
digestive tract. Really, that'sreally nice. I can eat that as
much as I want to on like icecream. And it didn't cause me
(13:05):
any problems.
Okay. So tell me a little bitmore about your business. I
understand that your kind of keymission is to make people feel
like more empowered when theytravel. So can you tell me a
little bit more about that andkind of how it came to be? Okay.
Yes, so soaring without limitsenterprises affectionately known
(13:27):
as well. That's what makes iteasier, was actually brought
about during the pandemic Farziidea for me to take all of this
experience that I have inregards to travel and be able to
make it a business. And the mainpremise of this business is to
empower women to get out andlive their travel dreams and
(13:50):
goals. I know as women, we'remoms were caretakers, were
bosses. And a lot of timeseveryone comes first before us.
So this is a form me travel is aform of self care. And that is
encouraging her to put herselffirst and take that trip that
she has been stalling on whetherit be because of family
(14:12):
obligations, work obligations,not having a companion, just to
encourage her and empower her toget out there and live her best
life. And that means going outthere and seeing the world
getting out of your comfort zoneand exposing yourself to other
cultures. So we offer onlinetraining for those who would
like to learn more about travelas to how to travel safely, more
(14:35):
efficiently. I have an onlinecourse called I believe I can
fly that ladies can sign up for.
I also offer retreat servicesforest coordinating for those
who like to do spiritualretreats. Those who would like
to do just do a getaway forbusinesses as well as
professional personal entitiesas well as arranging those
upscale trips and also Providingtravel for those who may be
(15:00):
interested in solo travel,predominantly, the 30 countries
that I traveled to, within thepast four or five years, I did
so solo. And I just saw how thatempowered me to get out of my
comfort zone to get out of mybox. I will say I'm more so on
the introvert side, it justencouraged me to meet people.
(15:21):
And every time on all of thesetravels, I met another American,
another woman who I can joinforces with once there if I
wanted to and to explore. So Iknow a lot of us women are
apprehensive about travelingsolo, but I just am an advocate
supporter of it. Because one,you don't have to make any
(15:42):
compromises. If you want tosleep in you can if you want to
go here you can you don't haveto. I just personally am a fan.
I know it's not for everyone.
But that's a part of theempowerment, to see to step
outside of your comfort zone.
And I believe you don't knowwhat you would like or don't
like until you at least give ita try. We also offer like buddy
companion travel groupscomparing services as well. So
(16:04):
pretty much anything in therealm of travel. My target
market is working with women,sharing my experience, sharing
my knowledge and giving themthose tools that they need to
empower them to be able to stepoutside of the box and get out
there and get those steps.
Awesome.
So what are some tips that youmay have for someone who is a
(16:25):
foodie and travels to kind ofget the best, most authentic
food I was visiting a country,I will recommend this which I
found to be very helpful.
Instead of going to like the bigtouristy sites, a lot of these
countries offer local tourguides from the locals
themselves. And they're totallyfree and you work off tips. And
(16:47):
a lot of them give great, greatgreat food restaurant
recommendations and tell youwhere to go. And a lot of them
is included, actually they'll dostops, whether they be little
bar trails or little appetizers.
So I have found that a lot ofthe recommendations that I got
for food came from that and it'scoming from a local okay,
what are some kind of surprisesthat you had when it comes to
(17:09):
like traveling and tryinganother country's cuisine? Are
there any just like, Ha, well,the American version of this is
this way, but the actualcountry's version is another is
another way?
Hmm. Um, I will say since BobDudley, most of these countries
were totally different foodsthan American. So the closest
(17:30):
one I guess, because everyonepretty much knows Italian food.
Their lasagna does not havericotta cheese in it. That was
what I found surprising. Ialways made the assumption and
I'm sure there's more than meetothers who think the same that
the ingredients that we use werewhat Italians use. So that was
one surprising fact that I foundout they do not use ricotta
(17:51):
cheese in their in theirlasagna, which I found to be
quite interesting. And it has adefinitely different taste to it
as well. I personally can makeit I just particular some of my
Italian friends who made it forme and I was like, Oh, this
tastes a little different. Butit was still delicious. But they
do not use ricotta cheese.
So what are some flavor, someflavor combinations? Maybe when
(18:15):
you're traveling to where you'relike, I've never expected this
to work together, but it does.
Do you have any stories likethat to
share? flavor combination? Well,a lot of these places to be
honest with you, I do not knowall the ingredients, especially
like feature in Bucharest andyeah, these places I was just
(18:36):
like, Okay, what is this? Okay,I'll try it. I really didn't
know all of the ingredients. Iwas really stepping out on the
ledge there by just going offthe recommendations of others.
So a lot of the ingredients Ididn't even know what I was
eating to be honest with you arethere any dishes that you kind
of learn how to make at home orare interested in learning how
to make it home since traveling?
Um, I will say for sincepredominantly when I was over
(19:00):
there and majority of my job wastraveling. So I was on travel
like 50% of the time. So Ireally did not get to practice I
will say to make any of them andas I said a lot of them I was
taken to by locals, so I didn'thave like a recipe or anything
for reference. So unfortunatelyyes, I did not get to make most
(19:22):
of these dishes while I was homebecause while I was home I was
pretty much packing up to go onanother trip. So yeah, I was on
travel nonstop for the past fouryears.
How has the pandemic affectedyour travel? Oh,
gravely, like pretty much aperson like me who travels. Even
(19:45):
during that time when I wasliving in Italy, I was on travel
every month, coming back to thestates and the end of 2019 right
before the pandemic kicked off.
I will say for 2020 If I onlywent out of the country twice,
so For me, that is like ascreeching, drastic halt quality
of life adjustment. I've neverspent so much time in my home
(20:06):
before that I have within thepast two years. So it definitely
created an ache and a yearning.
Because that is a lifestyle forme. traveling internationally
that isso so where's home base for you?
Currently, I live in Lansdale,PA, which is like right outside
of Philly,where there are ways that you
kind of found found ways to kindof bring traveling to you, or to
(20:28):
kind of get that experience oftraveling without going anywhere
to maybe try new regionalinternational cuisine that maybe
in your home home city. Well, asyou all know, pretty much the
predominant thing that Philly isknown for is cheese steaks. So
yeah, I was. So it's like, Ifound some good ones of those.
(20:49):
But I mean, it's still prettymuch not the same. The only two
locations I did get to go tolast year was Cancun. And then I
went back to Dubai in Septemberand took a group over there. And
I was quite surprised the lasttime I was there in 2009. So
going in 2021 as to how muchthey have grown, and they're
(21:10):
pretty much very internationalwhen it comes to their food
taste. I saw some of everythingflowers, Italian, Indian, pretty
much there was like a miniUnited States, I was quite
shocked. As far as theinternational cuisine that they
had available. Do youeat? I know you eat cheese
steaks, being from near Phillyand all. But do you eat
(21:33):
international cuisine at home?
Do you kind of seek it out?
Like, hey, I need somethingdifferent? Or do you mostly kind
of stick with what's popular?
I like to try these dishesauthentically in the respective
country? So no, I would say I donot eat it at home. To me, I
don't think it will be authenticas to coming from the origin of
(21:55):
where it comes from.
Did you do any domestic theheight of COVID or as COVID kind
of died down and you stillnecessarily couldn't travel
internationally. But you couldtravel out domestically across
the US?
I would say no, I really wasvery cautious. Initially on the
onset, when it came to travel, Ireally didn't travel much.
(22:16):
Besides like a couple hoursaway. I have family in Maryland.
So that was pretty much as faras I went. I will say like the
first year and a half when itcomes to domestic travel. But my
preference is and always hasbeen international because I
figure I'm always going toreturn back to the United
States. And then being in themilitary. I got to see quite a
(22:38):
bit of the states there. But forme, it's always a preference for
international.
So thank you so much for comingon the show today. Really
appreciate having you here ishow can people find more
information about your business?
So Well,thank you for having me. I'm
just getting I'm definitelylooking forward to as I said to
share with your listeners, thosewho weren't eating on the
(23:00):
unbeaten path. I have morespecifics and examples and
breakdown of some of thesedishes or the places that I went
to. In Bucharest or gainBulgaria Bosnia I chose places
that people wouldn't obviouslyotherwise think of one I would
like to share with them iseating in a castle that only has
six exclusive rooms based off ofour actors and actresses. It has
(23:24):
one chef pretty much custom madefood so it is spectacular that
is on there. I'm making get thatwww that eating the unbeaten
path that pages ontraport.net Toreach Swan without limits
enterprises. You can reach us atinfo soaring without limits.com
(23:45):
or soaring without limits. Thatnet and we're also on social
media IG and Facebook undersoaring without limits as well
if those wants to get in contactwith me and LinkedIn under
Monique PearsonOkay, awesome. Yes, you guys
make sure to check her out.
(24:09):
Thank you again so much forbeing on the show. Monique and
make sure you take advantage ofthat offer on her website. And
that link will be in the shownotes and also on my website www
dot the flaky foodie.com Thankyou all so much for listening.
Make sure you treat this episodelike gospel the gospel and tell
(24:30):
someone about it and eatsomething delicious. And if it's
really delicious. Tell me allabout it on social media. My
handles are the flaky foodie onall platforms Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter. Have agreat week everybody
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