Who's Dat Phat Girl with Brooke Hoover

What do Danny from the hit boy band New Kids on the Block and Banana Pudding have in common?

Well, they were initially rejects at the pot luck party in my brain.

Banana pudding for its texture and banana flavor and just not being a super Louisiana type of dessert.

Danny from New Kids on the Block for not being, well, not being the cutest one. And, for my allegiance to Donny - no wait Jordan - no wait Joey. (It varied on the day. ...

Because I have a summer birthday, I've never been a HEY LOOK AT ME IT'S MY BIRTHDAY type of person which is SO not Leo of me but I guess it's because I never wanted to set myself up for disappointment.

I usually use my birthday as a reflection time and I thought it was fitting to share with y'all a note I wrote to my younger self when prompted to do so for a writing submission.

The only rule was, you had ...

If you've been listening to this here podcast for the past nine months or so, you know I've been going through the process of getting a dental implant. First off, I know I'm one of the lucky ones in that regard to be able to have the insurance (and the credit card) to be able to even get such an implant.

But why is dental health equally luxury AND agony? Why are we so terrified of dentists and, oftentimes, even mor...

The ups and downs of life have often been compared to a roller coaster. Amusement parks are bipolar mofos. The day after, it's always super depressing. Or is it just me?

I used to LOVE amusement parks : the lights, the colours, the almost dying. That was FUN. Or is it just me?

Amusement parks were also scary, death traps where you could get kidnapped? Or is it just me?

From Disney World to Dollywood and every rinky dink amuseme...

Today's special guest HUYEN VU (a Functional Health Pracitioner AND Certified Physician's Assistant) was SICK AND TIRED of feeling SICK AND TIRED. After dealing with many health issues including IBS, Huyen knew there was more to feeling better than simply feeling like she was being bounced back and forth like a ping pong ball in a broken health system.

So, she took CHARGE of her health using functional medicine.

She n...

I have an episode for King Cake, an episode for Beignets and an episode for Biscuits. But, I didn't have an episode for something that I eat every day...until now.

My beloved Overnight Oats needed a special episode for many reasons:

They're easy to make - LEARN how to make more oat-based recipes and how to add in more protein with a few more "hacks" I have for ya.

They're resistant starch - HEAR WHY resis...

I've you've ever experienced chronic pain (which is most likely, considering over 51 million Americans experienced chronic pain just last year) then you know is a real pain in the YOU KNOW WHAT.

Today, I'm speaking with Mandy Ryle, a Chronic Pain Specialist and a Certified Nutritionist.

Mandy has been a movement instructor for nearly two decades and it is her mission is to empower individuals challenged by persiste...

"You Gotta Get a Gimmick" can hold true for burlesque, cabaret and Broadway musicals but WHY oh WHY is it the case for health and wellness?

I used to be a sucker for a good marketing campaign. I used to be a sucker for anything that told me it would provide me instant relief, weight loss and enlightenment. I used to be a sucker for fat sucking (stay tuned to hear more).

And, after so much drama and too much mone...

Today I talk with long-time friend, fellow actor/writer/comedian Ken Perlstein about his road to recovery. Ken and I met two decades ago when we were part of an improv troupe called 8 Is Never Enough during the Bush Kerry era, doing political and non-political comedy sketch, improv and standup. I admire Ken for his fearlessness in being vulnerable about his recovery journey and his ability to help others. We are talking about Ken&#...

While Café du Monde in New Orleans is known as the OG of making and selling beignets (fried leavened dough that becomes a golden angel's pillow topped with powdered sugar) and café au lait (coffee with hot milk), there's another beignet place that I hold near and dear.

I grew up having beignets (a fried dough treat, native to Louisiana) every Sunday with my dad after early morning church at Coffee Call in Baton Rouge, Loui...

New Year, New You Yadda Yadda Yadda

If your New Year's Resolution has gone by the way side already then, yay! Welcome to the club - wait I haven't done a resolution in YEARS. (Side bar, did you listen to the Season 2 Episode 28 about New Year's Words Vs. New Year's Resolutions???)

Here are FIVE EASY and TANGIBLE organizational tips that are OH so January - and that are easy enough to do in "chunks" that...

I set out to do this podcast in order to share, entertain and inspire. I didn't realize it'd also help me bring up some of my own sh*t including trauma and patterns. Losing the literal weight, the 100 pounds, has only been a minuscule part of the healing journey. The journey (for all of us) gets easier when we start realizing that the physical and the mental health aspects go hand in hand. I think we are always on a healing...

Ah, the new year, 2024 is upon us. For SO long, my new year's resolution was "I will lose weight this year" or "I will not eat cake this year". Too vague, too much punishment and, at the end of the day (at the end of the year?) would those resolutions really make me a better person?

So, I started choosing a "word of the year" instead of a New Year's Resolution. Last year, my word of the ye...

Growing up in South Louisiana, all I wanted was a White Christmas and WASPy cut out sugar cookies with a perfect presentation. But, we were usually wearing shorts and t-shirts on Christmas Day and because my Momma is 110% Rajun Cajun, we never did those cute little holiday cookies. We made Cajun candy (pralines and gold brick fudge) which tasted great but looked like alligator poop.

After years of fighting my heritage and wan...

Coach Rita Savoia and I talk about the importance of breath to help with stress and this season is arguably one of THE most stressful times of year so we could all use a little BREATH. Something so simple and yet many of us are doing it incorrectly - including yours truly! Learn some techniques to breathe optimally and to help find peace - even in the line at the airport or mall. We also tell tales about random things from Mariah C...