Let's Get Real
124 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 8 years ago - ★★★★ - 44 ratingsOn Let’s Get Real Chef Erica Wides walks you down the aisles of the surreal world of food, serving up a heaping dose of reality by separating the food from the foodiness so you can forage, hunt, gather, trap and fish for real food anywhere, even in a foodiness-filled mega market. Incisive, pragmatic, sarcastic, and an unrepentant know-it-all when it comes to anything food, on Let’s Get Real Chef Erica Wides does the job for you of sifting out everything that’s fake in the world of food – from “foodiness” marketing and cooking show shams to “health-halo green-washing” and annoying whole-food righteousness – so you never unknowingly chow down on carpeting again.
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Episodes
Episode 27: If You Want to Be Thin & Not Get Cancer, Eat Real Food
April 10, 2012 22:52 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica Wides takes on artificial sweetener addiction. Erica goes back in time and talks about the diet sodas of her youth- Tab and Diet Sprite, and how they made her feel outright unhealthy. She also talks about aspartame’s ugly history amongst the likes of Monsanto and Donald Rumsfeld, and why you should NOT believe it’s safe. Do you want to see what it’s like in artificial sweetener-infused foodiness hell? Erica urges you to quit your sweetness habit! This progr...
Episode 126: There’s No Glory in Your Whole Grain
April 03, 2012 23:03 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBYou think you know bread, but think again. Tune in to this week’s episode of Let’s Eat In and hear how foodiness has hi-jacked the symbol and fabric of life. How did Wonder Bread ruin everything? What was bread like in the days of Moses? How did Julia Child’s matzah recipe help shape our fearless hostess’s life? Listen in and find out! This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. “How has the ultimate symbol of life been hijacked by foodiness?” “Wonder Bread is the least wonderful bread i...
Episode 25: You’re Being Infantilized by Fiber Bars
March 27, 2012 23:13 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBIn this episode of Let’s Get Real, our hostess Erica Wides discusses how ‘foodiness’ is infantilizing our society. Tune in to hear about how processed food is removing decision-making from adults and creating a cycle of dependency. Erica touches on a range of subjects such as factory farming, technology and social media, and contemporary politics. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch. “There’s so much that infantilizes us, from devices that tell us where we are, to social media that t...
Episode 24: Performance Doesn’t Come in a Bottle
March 20, 2012 22:59 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica Wides gets pumped up about “sports nutrition” foodiness. Hear a horrifying story about protein powder shakes turned kidney stones and learn more about why Superman wasn’t all cut up. Real food will make you “real” strong! What is industrial surplus milk whey? How does it factor into fitness food? Find out more about the muscle craved foodiness industry rabbithole on a scary episode of Let’s Get Real. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery.
Episode 23: They Don’t Sell Food at 7
March 13, 2012 22:57 - 42 minutes - 39 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica Wides reminds listeners that 7-11 does NOT sell food. What do they sell? Foodiness of course! Learn more about how bad our food options are on the road or at convenience stores like 7-11 and gas stations. How can you avoid the packaged trash at these stores and find real food wherever you are? Tune in and find out! This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “We lose basically one third of our taste buds at [30,000 feet] in the air.” “Eating in ...
Episode 22: Big Foodiness Gets Occupied
March 06, 2012 23:58 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica “Occupies” Big Food with special guest, food journalist and nutritionist Kristin Wartman. Tune in as they discuss everything from the problems with corporations that control our food supply to Rush Limbaugh’s recent attack on food justice fighter and author Tracie McMillan. Learn more about the problems we face as a nation when it comes to what we’re eating and find out what Erica and Kristin think we can do to reverse the tide. This program was sponsored b...
Episode 21: Food is Already Smart
February 29, 2012 00:09 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBLet’s Get Real is back after a short 2-week hiatus and Erica Wides is here to tell you why real food is already “smart” and only foodiness advertises itself as smart. Find out about the origins of engineered foods and why we always assume that food can be improved upon. From science fiction dreams to realistic let downs, learn about the differences between what’s real, what’s fake and what’s just plain stupid. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “Corn was completely engine...
Episode 20: Feed Your Kids Cheese, Not String
February 01, 2012 00:05 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real it’s time to break out our children that have been born in the matrix of foodiness and that’s just what Erica Wides is here to do. From chicken nuggets and Pediasure, kids foodiness is now present from birth and it put us into a perpetual cycle of bad eating which leads to bad health– from food dye causing ADHD to ‘organic’ foodiness making bad food seem real. Learn how you can break out of this food blockade and free your mind and body. This episode is sponsored ...
Episode 19: The Replacements
January 24, 2012 23:34 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real it’s time to take the replacement out of meal replacements. From purees to shakes to powders we are assaulted every day by the promise of easy and convenient ‘food’ from Special K bars to Pediasure for kids. Tune in to find out what you’re really ingesting with those body building mixes (answer: it’s a lot of lead) and single serving Trader Joe’s meals and learn the simple things you can do to pull yourself out of this rabbit-whole of whole-meal replacement. This ...
Episode 18: Garden Burgers Don’t Come From Gardens
January 17, 2012 23:57 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real host Erica Wides dissects the mythology behind vegetarian/veganism and the people, like Oprah, who say that it is a “greener” and healthier living style. It’s time to break down the barriers behind the vegan-foodiness paradox: we like meat but we don’t want to eat it so we eat food that is so heavily processed to taste like meat it ends up being just as bad. So tune in and wake up as to how you can still be healthy and avoid this foodiness rabbithole that our deca...
Episode 17: Bacon Doesn’t Come From Turkeys
January 11, 2012 00:10 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBIf there’s one thing Erica Wides wants you to know this week it’s that bacon doesn’t come from birds. It can’t. This week Let’s Get Real breaks down the food simulacra of ‘turkey bacon’. Not only is the “Franken-Foodiness” of turkey bacon and other products (see: Egg Whackers) not making you healthier, it’s probably going to make you more sick or kill you in the end. Tune in and find out why eating real is just better, if not tastier! This episode is sponsored by Hearst Ranch. “People forg...
Episode 16: Vodka Doesn’t Taste Like Cupcakes
January 04, 2012 00:16 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBWhy do so many people insist on mixing their alcohol with sugar? Erica Wides addresses the growing epidemic of dessert flavored booze and asks why grown ups are drinking like toddlers. Is this a marketing ploy to get young people addicted to alcohol, or are we just that addicted to sweets? Find out on a boozy edition of Let’s Get Real. This episode was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “We’re turning into overgrown overweight drunken toddlers.” “Nobody needs to drink chocolate vodka....
Episode 15: If It’s As Sweet As Candy, It Is
December 20, 2011 23:11 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBWe are programmed to enjoy sweets from birth, but how far do we have to go before crossing the line of sugar sanity? In today’s world of foodiness, white lines of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners surround us and the only way to escape is by getting clean. Eat grapes not grape fruit snacks! Drink seltzer and juice, not soda! Kick the habit and reclaim your health – most people lose weight after cutting sugar from their diets! This program was brought to you by Jones Family Farms. “Per...
Episode 14: Marion Nestle
December 14, 2011 00:17 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica is joined by legendary real food fighter, educator, writer and activist Marion Nestle. Listen in and hear Marion’s thoughts on foodiness, corporate marketing and the dopplegangers we see on shelves imitating REAL food. Hear why she thinks Americans need to learn how to cook and what the future of the real food movement holds. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “All you can do if you want to help America eat better is get the word out and...
Episode 13: Soup Doesn’t Come From Cans
December 07, 2011 00:01 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real get ready to take the pre- out of pre-prepared and pre-packaged because it’s time to get real. This week Erica Wides goes behind the scenes on the can-ification of America, from soup to nuts. From recent studies finding BPA in can liners to the real ingredients in condensed soup, find out why it’s worth it to go DIY with your soup. This episode is sponsored by Jones Family Farms.
Episode 12: Food Is Supposed to Go Bad
November 30, 2011 00:11 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBHave we become spoiled by the idea that food that isn’t supposed to go bad and that leftovers are to be immediately thrown out? This week Erica Wides tells us it’s time to get real about expiration dates. And here’s the thing, if it’s something that doesn’t go bad, it’s probably bad for you. Tune in and find our why. This episode is sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery.
Episode 11: If It Comes In Bottle Don’t Drink It
November 23, 2011 00:08 - 32 minutes - 30 MBHow can Erica Wides afford two places to live? She doesn’t drink bottled water, or any other bottled beverages for that matter. Let’s Get Real is here to pull you out of that rabbit hole of foodiness, or in this case, drinkiness, that has been perpetuated by beverages that claim to make you smarter, faster, or are ‘enhanced’ with electrolytes and exotic flavors like ‘dragonfruit’. All of this, says Wides, is BS. Tune in for a debunking of drinks such as Gatorade, Neuro, Arizona Green Tea and...
Episode 10: We’re Meant To Eat Meat
November 15, 2011 23:57 - 31 minutes - 29 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica sinks her teeth into some meaty discussion. Tune in and find out why humans are SUPPOSED to eat meat, not avoid it! Learn why vegetarians are guilty of the ultimate foodiness and why all healthy people should have at least some protein consumption in their diets! From the dark side of boca burgers and tofu to coming to terms with the fact that human’s are truly omnivores this episode will have you thinking about your eating habits, vegetarian and carnivore ...
Episode 6: Non Organic Milk = Gonads Gone Wild
October 18, 2011 23:16 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBMilk… it does a body good! Or does it? Tune in to an especially informative episode of Let’s Get Real with Chef Erica Wides. Why is Mongolian milk healthier than American milk? How do hormones get into our milk? Find out why hormone laced milk is so problematic and how you can avoid “foodiness” when it comes to milk. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market.
Episode 5: Cage Free, Schmage Free
October 11, 2011 22:16 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Erica Wides focuses on one of the most elemental food items of all time: eggs. Tune in and find out how to tell the difference between real and fake eggs. They may be advertised as cage free, but does that make them any better? Learn how to make the right decision when it comes to eggs and find out why NO chickens are allowed to be given hormones. This episode was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.
Episode 4: Meet Your Meat
October 04, 2011 23:08 - 33 minutes - 31 MBThis week on Let’s Get Real, Chef Erica Wides helps listeners virtually meet their meat. Hear about how she worked on a grass-fed lamb farm and learned the in and outs of natural animal processing and how much different the pasture raised animals are treated than the typical grain and corn fed industrial stuff. Find out why corn fed meat products don’t have the right balance of Omega3 and Omega6 and how things like paste soy and ammoniated beef product find their way into the commodity produ...
Episode 3: Strawberries In Winter: The Taste of Disappointment
September 27, 2011 23:08 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBThis week Let’s Get Real goes ripe for seasonality as Chef Erica Wides expounds on the disillusionment that foodiness has created: that seasonal items like strawberries are good and available all year round. Fighting this notion of faux-seasonality Erica will guide you to making smarter choices that that you don’t need to be an elite Brooklyn foodie to follow that allows you to fight foodiness at the same price for fast food. As the seasons change maybe it’s a good time to think about doing ...
Episode 2: An Inconvenient Food
September 20, 2011 22:58 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBThis week Let’s Get Real takes on the convenience of food, such as the redesign of the new ketchup packets for drive-thrus, and how that has resulted in the rise of ‘foodiness’. No longer having to forage, hunt, process, cook, smoke, etc. our own food has lead to our increased reliance on unhealthy “convenience food” argues Erica, but there are simple and easy ways to make the move to healthier options and there’s no need to do it cold turkey. So tune in to Let’s Get Real to find out how you...
Episode 1: Let’s Get Real Premiere
September 13, 2011 22:46 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThis week brings the exciting inaugural episode of Erica Wides’s new show Let’s Get Real so turn on your AC because the kitchen is about to get real hot. Back in the day you knew the difference between junk food (candy) and food (vegetables); between food that we knew what it was (apples) and food that we didn’t want to know (Twinkies). This is where Erica comes in each week to walks you down the aisles of the surreal world of food, serving up a heaping dose of reality by separating the foo...