On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Natalie Kalmar, the creator behind FitnessFoodieSTL, a resource that empowers women and families to live well without the pressure of perfection.

“ There are so many ways that you can move your body, whether it's dance fitness, playing a sport, [or] walking your dog,” she explains. “All of that counts; all of that is movement.”

Through her blog, social media, and local collaborations, Natalie shares approachable ways to stay active, enjoy great food, and make the most of life. While she is based in St. Louis, there are plenty of practical tips and delicious recipes that everyone can learn from and enjoy.

“Food is something that you should enjoy,” she says. "Always remember that you do deserve it.”

Natalie Kalmar shares how she became Fitness Foodie STL, why group exercise is so valuable, and her personal food connections, including some Jewish food memories. She also shares her recipe for Gooey Butter Cake, which you can find below.

Learn more about Natalie at fitnessfoodiestl.com. And follow @fitnessfoodiestl on Instagram and Facebook.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media. Go to JewishJournal.com/podcasts to read the articles and get recipes.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Peter Shankman, entrepreneur, speaker, best-selling author, and founder of Source of Sources. A Jewish single dad, Shankman became an amateur chef, because he loves cooking with his 12-year-old daughter.

“I used to think [cooking] was just about creating food that I enjoyed, and then I had a kid and I realized the bar is actually not so much food you enjoy, but food they'll enjoy,” explains Shankman, who was born, raised, and lives in New York. “To create a meal that she actually likes and that we sit and eat together after having cooked together is a lot of fun.”

Shankman said his interest in cooking happened both after becoming a parent and also after really understanding his ADHD.

“When you're ADHD it's much easier to order takeout and to have food delivered,” he says. “You want to set good habits for your kids … so you learn that maybe ordering in every night is not the best way to do things.”

Shankman says that having ADHD gives him a more experimental mindset, when it comes to cooking. He’ll be at the store, spot an ingredient and start thinking about different things he can make with it.

“You get to create these ideas [for meals], and if they work great, if they don't, life goes on,” he explains. “But either way, it's a lot of fun.”

Peter Shankman talks about some of his favorite single Dad cooking recommendations (“one day a week should be a cheat or comfort food”) and recipes, including his easy crockpot chicken, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts. He also shares anecdotes, including ones with his daughter, his grandmother, and how competing as an ironman triathlete led to joining an Orthodox Jewish swimming club, complete with tailgate breakfast.

Learn more about Peter Shankman at Shankman.com, follow @PeterShankman and his adventures on Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn. And reach out peter@shankman.com.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Georgia Freedman, author of “Snacking Dinners: 50+ Recipes for Low-Lift, High-Reward Dinners That Delight.”

“We put a lot of pressure on dinner,” Freedman explains.

You need a protein, a starch, and at least one kind of vegetable - five if you are in California. Plus, it’s an important part of family life. It’s a time to connect with your partner and talk to your kids.

“And all of this [cooking and bonding] happens when everybody is completely exhausted,” she explains.

When you reframe the idea - that dinner has to be everything - you can trade it in for a fun, family dining experience that’s full of whimsy.

“A lot of the recipes that I created for [“Snacking Dinners”] are either snacks that are from my childhood - or other people's childhoods - that have been bulked up a little bit to make it more meal-like,” she said. “Or foods that I really love that I made into finger foods [or] snackable foods.”

Freedman talks about her early food memories, career journey, and how “Snacking Dinners” is different from her previous projects. She also shares her love of produce/salads, lots of snackable food prep tips, and her recipe for hummus topped with spiced nuts, olives, and raisins, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

“All the recipes in this book, except for the prep ahead chapter, take 5 to 20 minutes,” Freedman explains. “Having that in your back pocket is a really nice way to let the pressure off on the nights when things don't go well, and turn dinner into something that's more relaxing and fun.”

Subscribe to Georgia Freedman’s Substack at SnackingDinners.com.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jewish romance author Jean Meltzer, founder of Jewish Joy Inc, which includes the Jewish Joy Book Club and the Jewish Joy Box.

Last week, Meltzer announced the inaugural Jewish Joy Con. The three-day cultural convention, set for March 13 to 15, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale, will celebrate Jewish pop culture, storytelling and creativity through the lens of joy.

“This is a time right now where we need joy, especially Jewish joy,” she explains. “I just thought, ‘Let's get together and throw ComicCon meets Jewish summer camp.”

A romance author by trade, Meltzer has long been an advocate of joy. She says romance authors only have one rule in their books: “Your story must have a happy ending.”

While a lot of Jewish stories are focused on trauma - and rightly so - Meltzer tries to center her stories on happier moments. She has been chronically ill since age 18, so holding onto joy has helped her get through the most challenging moments.

To bring more joy into your life, Meltzer suggests taking a few seconds every day to be present, doing something you love; recognize the beautiful moments. It could be playing with your children, walking your dog or seeing someone you love laughing.

“And if it can be Jewish, even better, but it doesn't have to be,” Meltzer explains. “Joy is what will connect you to your universe.”

Jean Meltzer talks about Jewish Joy Con, more ways to bring joy into your life, and the importance of remembering to “stop and smell the rosemary.” She also shares some early food memories and tips for cooking “easy gourmet,” as she does, as well as her recipe for lamb kofta, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Follow @JeanMeltzer on Instagram and Threads and JeanMeltzerAuthor on Facebook. Check out JeanMeltzer.com, Jewish-Joy.com and TheJewishJoyCon.com

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with performance chef Aaron Clayton. Performance chefs are those who prepare nutritionally focused meals for athletes.

“We're there to make sure that they're able to perform on the field, the court, wherever it may be,” Clayton says.

When asked what regular people can do to eat healthier, Clayton says the easiest thing is to drink more water and cut out as much sugar from your diet as possible. Other ideas include looking for in-season produce, eating at consistent times, and not eating dinner right before bedtime.

Also, try to block off time to cook, so you remain connected to your cooking. The food will even taste better.

“If you're smelling the food throughout the process, if you're hearing the noises that it makes when you put it in the pan; these things are important,” he says. “Pay attention to these details; do not be distracted by your phone or [anything else]; try to make that time and space in the kitchen protected and sacred.”

Experimenting in the kitchen is also great for your mind, body, and soul.

“Anytime someone asks me what my favorite thing to cook is, I say, ‘Something new,’” Chef Clayton explains. “The process of learning helps you grow and develop so much, especially in the kitchen.”

Chef Aaron Clayton talks about his cooking origin story - and how he ended up on this career path, some of his favorite Jewish foods, and how he shares his heritage with some of his athletes. He also shares tips for “performance cooking,” details about the Athlete Meal Plan philanthropy, and his recipe for Mexican Fire-Roasted Shakshuka, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Check out PerformanceChefs.org and AthleteMealPlan.org. Follow @chefaaronius @PerformanceChefs and @AthleteMealPlan on Instagram.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Warren Rockmacher, known as the godfather of kosher barbecue. Rockmacher discovered competitive barbecue in 2013. He competes with his kosher barbecue team around the country and has started competitions of his own, including the Great American Kosher Barbecue Championship and Jewish Festival in Lake Worth, Florida.

“People love coming out for the food [but we also have] crafters, vendors,” he says. “We're celebrating being Jewish and that's really what [the event] is all about.” Their third annual event will be February 15, 2026.

Rockmacher believes there’s an art and craft to making barbecue.

“[The art] is taking something uniquely American … and being able to make it your own,” he explains. “[This applies to] something as simple as just grilling hamburgers and hot dogs or elevating that chicken [or] brisket.

“Try different things - you never know what you might like.”

The craft of barbecue is the fire management. You use different wood pellets, rather than charcoal or propane, to get a nice wood flavor. And you cook it low and slow.

“A good brisket is going to take you anywhere from 9 to 13, 14 hours, depending on how you do it,” he explains. “We start at night and they're done the next morning, and then you let them rest for a period of time and then go ahead and eat them.”

Warren Rockmacher shares his barbecue origin story, name drops some of his favorite kosher pitmasters - including Dani Goldblatt of Holy Smokes in LA - and goes through the different types of grills and smokers, along with what you can make in them. He also shares barbecue tips, the 411 on competitions, and recipes for two of his favorites: honey bourbon crack hot dogs and brisket, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

To learn more about the Great American Kosher Barbecue Competition, visit gakbbq.org. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling chats with Jessica Fishenfeld, actor, singer, and host of “Bagels and Banter.” “I wanted my own show where I can talk to people and talk about bagels,” says Fishenfeld. “And this [is the] organic creation that came about.”

After moving from New York to Los Angeles, Fishenfeld's quest for a good local bagel led her to create this fun, foodie series, available on YouTube. She reviews bagels, and brings friends along to enjoy the experience with her.

It all started when Fishenfeld and her husband decided to check out The Bagel Factory in Redondo Beach for Valentine’s Day 2024. Fishenfeld filmed the experience

“He thinks it was his idea, I think it was my idea,” she says. Fishenfeld created a video review. It’s what got the ball … er bagel … rolling. .

As a fan of Seinfeld's “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” - and a people-person who loves hosting - Fishenfeld found a great topic, “Bagels and Banter,” on the perfect stage!

“Life is like an everything bagel,” she says. “Roll that dough into everything … you pick up little things from here and there … some things will fall off and the things that are meant to be will stick to that dough, just like the things that are meant to be will stick with your life.”

She adds, “There's little flavors from all different places, and the mixing together of them creates not only a great bagel, but a great life.”

Jessica Fishenfeld talks about her journey from bagel lover to show host, her bagel rating system, the ultimate bagel reheating hack, and bagel facts. She also shares food memories and her mom’s award-winning banana bread recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Learn more at JessicaFishenfeld.com, subscribe to @bagelsandbanter on YouTube and follow @jecafish and @bagelqueenjess on Instagram.

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Deb recently won best Anchor/Host, Audio, at the LA Press Club's SoCal Journalism Awards for Taste Buds: https://jewishjournal.com/community/382367/jewish-journal-wins-nine-la-press-club-socal-journalism-awards-from-18-total-nominations/ For more, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Byron Lazaroff Puck, president of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. This legacy chef, the second son of chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck and designer Barbara Lazaroff, grew up in a flurry of cooking, art and hospitality.

“There’s a Picasso quote that I love, which is, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist,’ and that always spoke to me,” Puck says. “To me that means honoring and respecting tradition, the rules, the things that people have worked so hard on to create in the past, and … then also being bold and creative and trying to innovate on top of that.”

Puck loved art as a kid and wanted to be a painter, but quickly realized that was not meant to be. When his father put him to work at age 12, washing dishes at Spago Beverly Hills, he was amazed, seeing the plates come together and go out on the line.

“I quickly realized, ‘If I'm clearly terrible at painting on canvas, maybe I can paint on plates;’” he shares.

Once that love of food and hospitality was ignited, Puck never looked back.

“It's not just about serving great food [and] beverages with detail oriented service, it's about crafting a memory for a person that they can always look back on, whether it’s a 25th or 30th or 50th birthday, an anniversary, a college graduation or a promotion at a job [or] just a regular Tuesday night,” he says. “Every single person that is gracious enough to adorn one of our dining rooms, we want to treat with the utmost respect and integrity.”

Byron Lazaroff Puck shares his cooking journey and food memories, creative cooking and plating tips, the value of hospitality, and thoughts on the future of food. He also talks about his grandmother’s latkes and his recipe for Passover short ribs, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Follow @ByronPuck’s food adventures on Instagram and check out WolfgangPuck.com.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.