Jeff: You and José eat Divine Dish pretty regularly?
Michaila: Yes, we do, pretty regularly.
Jeff: About how many meals a week, on average?
Michaila: Pretty much all of our lunch and dinners, sometimes breakfasts. About 14 meals I’d say.
Jeff: Why not breakfast?
Michaila: For the last 6 months it’s because José is out for his classes and I eat something fast in the morning. But that will be changing soon because his last class is next week.
Jeff: Tell me about why you eat DD rather than go your own way?
Michaila: Divine Dish is so much more emotionally fulfilling, tastier, better quality and easier. It makes it a lot easier to shop and organize ourselves with groceries too. We would struggle trying to figure out new meals for ourselves that are interesting, healthy and balanced like DD on our own. And DD has the spiritual aspect of food which nothing else does. It provides us a lot of joy, stability and nurturing.
Jeff: Who does the cooking, cleanup, and shopping?
Michaila: José does the cooking and shopping and I do the cleaning most of the time.
Jeff: You guys are very busy. How do you find the time for DD in your busy schedule with everything you have going on?
Michaila: We have the hours blocked off in our calendar for meal times and have strong boundaries there. It also doesn’t take too long to cook. But there are times we go out or order food if we’re really tired and don’t feel like cooking.
Jeff: Do you think the discipline you have is what separates you guys from those who don’t incorporate DD in their life?
Is the discipline you have what you think separates you guys from those who don’t incorporate DD in their life?
Michaila: Yes I would say so. And also, we recognize that if we don’t eat DD we don’t feel as supported or efficient in working.
Jeff: What about on those days you guys do order out because you’re tired?
Michaila: We usually do that if it’s been a particularly busy day but now that I’m going to be moving to groups and José won’t have classes we don’t want to do that as much. We do notice the difference in how we feel after. We don’t feel fully satisfied or loved by the food. And it’s more expensive, vs. DD which is very budget-friendly.
Jeff: It sounds like if your stress levels are beyond your capacity then DD becomes not realistic.
Michaila: Yes exactly.
Jeff: Like you have to be within a set level of wellness in order to take advantage of the benefits DD offers in your life.
Michaila: Yes. We’ve realized our life needs to be balanced to give ourselves that support.
Jeff: What would you say to someone who wants to eat healthier but hasn’t decided to join DD yet? Or to someone who has joined DD but hasn’t found a way to truly incorporate it into their lives?
Michaila: I would tell them the benefits of DD, especially in the quality of food and how you feel after eating. And that you don’t starve yourself to eat healthy this way; you get all the foods you need physically and emotionally.
I would share our experience with how much easier it makes life, grocery shopping and cooking. I would explain the importance of having discipline and loving themselves through food, setting a routine; but that they need to be willing to put in the effort.
Jeff: It sounds like DD is emotionally very satisfying for you both and is very powerful support for your productivity for school and your careers.
But what about your physical health? How is that going?
Michaila: Our physical health is great too. No complaints or issues. José gained a lot of healthy weight with DD vs. being too thin due to malnourishment before. He’s also been working out regularly for the last few weeks and has lots of energy. My physical health is also good.
Jeff: Your weight has remained stable?
Michaila: When we first started DD I lost weight, then it’s been stable ever since.
Jeff: The same thing that happened to José happened to me. I gained significant healthy weight and the last few weeks, finally reached a place where I am able to work out. My body is feeling better than it did when I was 20. It has given me the support I needed to finally give my body the fitness it needs.
What about costs? Can you estimate monthly food costs in Spain for DD vs. before you had
DD? I think some people are concerned DD will be prohibitively expensive for them. What would you say to those people?
Michaila: Our monthly food budget for groceries is about $700 per month. Cost of food in Spain is very very low though, most families live on about $200 per month but they don’t eat very well. It’s a lot of carbs and empty calories. All of the ingredients used for DD you wouldn’t find here for most families.
Before we started DD we were with Jose’s family during quarantine so we don’t have much to compare it to. When José was living on his own he spent less than $300 per month. So in Spain doing DD might be expensive for the average household. But in the US, I think it would be different.
Jeff: Because a lot of the ingredients are imported, you’re saying?
It sounds like it’s only a more than $50 per person increase in grocery costs for DD?
Michaila: You can find things but it’s not common. Spanish food doesn’t have many spices, sauces, or variety so it was expensive for us to find certain things that are normal in the US. But yes, it’s only about $50 per person extra really.
I think overall DD is very budget-friendly. And it’s so organized that it’s easy to stay on budget too.
Jeff: Can you spend more on higher quality ingredients if you want to? Or shop in a budget-friendly way with DD? Or is it pretty set in stone how you have to shop?
Michaila: We could get lower quality ingredients definitely. Some things you have to go to the American food store which is always more expensive. But that’s a personal preference for us. The recipes for DD could be changed a little depending on what’s available here.
Jeff: It sounds like you’re saying even the recipes themselves can be flexible to meet your unique requirements?
Michaila: Yes, that’s correct.
Jeff: So we’ve talked a lot about what DD does for you, but what about DD itself? What would you say Divine Dish actually is? Is there anything else you can compare it to in the marketplace today?
Michaila: I don’t think you can really compare DD anywhere else. Even companies that do meal prepping aren’t anywhere near what DD is. Divine Dish is like the solution for all food issues that covers our spiritual and emotional needs, as much as physical nutrition.
I would say Divine Dish is the solution for Heaven on Earth through food. You get everything you need without sacrificing anything. It requires you to have a balanced, healthy and supportive lifestyle.
Jeff: What kind of support do you think would help others bridge that gap so they can enjoy the food lifestyle you have?
Michaila: I think others need a stable financial foundation and freedom in their lives to create a schedule and invest into their kitchens and food this way.
I feel the support of the financial course you offered is extremely helpful for this. It inspires a lot of people to get their finances in order. And Life Purpose Class of course, and Health and Wellness Coaching.
Jeff: Do you think a new kind of coaching for DD itself would be a better fit? Something specifically for DD?
Michaila: Yes, maybe so! I remember the discussion groups that Jason used to offer were really helpful and healing for a lot of people, us included.
Jeff: What made them so helpful?
Michaila: People could go to ask questions, do healing work and Jason had a lot of great spiritual insights and practical tips to solve all the issues that could arise. He helped us with answering a lot of questions we had at the beginning.
Jeff: Would you still attend those if they became available again?
What do you think would be a fair price for them if they were to reappear?
Michaila: Yes, we’d attend if it works with our schedule. Probably bi-weekly if we could. I felt after a while we felt proficient and confident enough we didn’t need to do it every week. But that might be different for everyone. As for the price, I think maybe a similar price to the average group coaching which is usually between $95-150 for the 90-minute session?
Jeff: Was 90 minutes a good format or would 60 minutes be a better fit?
Michaila: Maybe 60 minutes would be better.
Jeff: Thank you so much for your time.
