A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich - Is Healthy Soda A Scam?

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

Today, Josh and Nicole explore healthy sodas and discuss whether or not they are actually good for you! Leave us a voicemail at (833) DOG-POD1 Check out the video version of this podcast: http://youtube.com/@mythicalkitchen To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This, this, this, this is Mythical. Dr. Pepper is out. Dr. Poppy is in. Hey, yeah, Doc, I got this rash on my ankles. It's really starting to burn. Josh, Josh, it's just soda, not a real doctor. Yeah, no, I just need like a cream or something, maybe some pills to clear it up. The boils are weeping. This is a hot dog is a sandwich. Ketchup is a smoothie. Yeah, I put ice in my cereal, so what?

That makes no sense. A hot dog is a sandwich. A hot dog is a smoothie. Yeah, I put ice in my cereal, so what? That makes no sense. A hot dog is a sandwich. A hot dog is a sandwich. What? Welcome to our podcast, A Hot Dog is a Sandwich, the show we break down the world big as food debates. I'm your host, Josh Ayer. And I'm your host, Nicole Inaydi.

And today, Nicole, is a very exciting day. Why? Well, we have all these silly cans in front of us, and nothing to me is more exciting than grabbing a $4 silly can on your way out of a grocery store. Nicole. I have one thing to state. Please. Do you watch Married at First Sight?

Do you think I watch Married at First Sight? Do you? No, I don't watch Married at First Sight. Well, there's a doctor named Dr. Pepper, and I think she's a sex therapist on Married at First Sight. She's not a contestant. No, she is the doctor. They compete. They have people. It's like a game of. No, she is the doctor. They compete. They have people.

It's like a game of guess who? Yeah, yeah. Where they're married at first sight. They flip people over and then they hide them. No, the first time they see each other is at the aisle. I hate this. Modern American reality television is horrifying. But there's a real doctor and her name is Dr. Pepper.

Does that absolve the show of its general sins? No, they have a real doctor. It's a great show. It's good entertainment. Anyways, we are diving into the wonderful, wonderful world of functional beverages. That is what this category is called. This is so interesting to me

because I have never dived into this world, really. I've just, the only alternative beverage I would say I've, like, enjoyed is a kombucha. But these, like, cool But these cool nouveau riche, nootropic whatever sodas, I've never really tasted or dived into it other than Olipop.

That's the only one I've ever tasted. Nouveau riche is a great way to put it because I did buy all of these from the Erewhon, which is the fanciest grocery store. Every time I walk in there, and it is generally outside the gym that I go to. It's on my way to my car, so I'll pop in, and if I need spinach for home, I'll grab it. Give people more details about where you work out, Josh.

That's a great idea. Shut up. But I always pass this gigantic wall of fun beverages, and occasionally, if I want to treat myself, I'll grab one. And it started with kombuchas, and a lot of these sodas actually started out, they had their roots in kombucha as well. Really? Okay, that's cool. And also at this Erewhon, I saw Serge Tonkin, lead singer of System of a Down. Oh, you

did? Looking at two bottles of kombucha, looking at the ingredients label. Wait, wait. Nicole, he was the first person I ever heard utter the word kombucha, and I need to figure out what that song is. Maggie, can you look up System of a Down kombucha song? He goes, The kombucha and I need to figure out what that song is. Maggie, can you look up System of a Down Kombucha song? He goes, the kombucha mushroom people and I can't remember

what song it is. So did you meet Serge Tomlinson? No, I didn't talk to him. He was like, I think he was with his parents. It was really funny. You should have said hi. Oh, it's sugar.

Sugar. You would have, oh my gosh. You mean to tell me you could have met your favorite rock and roller of all time? No, and I,

yeah, he was in his kombucha. But anyways, all that is old is simply new again. You know what I mean? Because soda for its first 50 years of production, right? 1884 or something was John Pemberton and Coke or maybe that was Dr. Pepper. I don't know. We've talked about it in the podcast before. Yes.

But they all started off as, you know, Coca-Cola. They were tinctures. They were tonics. Coca-Cola. They were tinctures. They were tonics. Coca-Cola had cocaine in it. 7-Up had lithium. 7-Up had lithium. Pepsi had pepsin.

Moxie claimed to cure impotence in men. All this kind of stuff. Until like the 19-teens, early in the 1920s, the FDA, or maybe it wasn't the FDA, but they started regulating the kinds of claims that they can make. So we had like a 50-year run of sodas being weird miracle cures, and then like a 100-year run of them just being tasty, sugary beverages. You know, diet soda comes out in the midst of all that. But it wasn't until the 2010s that we saw like a massive, massive decline. And that opened up the world for other things. So there's actually data out there.

massive decline. And that opened up the world for other things. So there's actually data out there. This is in the last 15 years, soda consumption for teenagers has fallen 60%. So this is the next gen of consumers. Probably because parents just don't want them in the house because they just don't want sugar in the house. That's part of it. I think people are a lot more attuned to the fact that, you know, high sugar beverages, it's sort of empty calories. High caffeine. High caffeine, like that stuff maybe isn't good for you. Even diet soda has seen a bit of a fall because of these scares about sucralose and aspartame and all that. And so it sort of left this white space because people want a fizzy beverage.

That is a thing that we've found over history that people want. Humans like the fuzzies. I always get back to that phrase that I read about cats. Cats love novel textures. Cats love novel textures. Cats love novel textures. I love novel textures. It's cool. She says that sentence all the time.

I am a cat. That's why cats like marshmallows. I like marshmallows. It's why I like fizzy beverages. It is a novel texture on your mouth. It's fun. It is fun. I do love fizzy boobalers.

And so you get, you know, the rise of LaCroix. We also see that. But we also want flavors. And now we have this whole new space of potential health benefits that are not 100% backed up by hard science, but— So it's a circle. It's 100% a circle. Yeah, yeah. You know, except instead of cocaine, we have things like adaptogens or—

Reishi mushroom powder. What is it? Ashwagandha? Gamma-aminobutyric acid, aka GABA. Yum. And now they're putting them back into sodas. Okay. And people are drinking these, calling them functional beverages, because they think they will somewhat improve their life.

And I find it absolutely fascinating. Functional beverages. Okay. Kombucha is kind of the first one, right? Because kombucha is a tea. It's a fermented tea product that kind of turns into vinegar. Sure, but what is the actual thing that's happening to kombucha that makes people want to buy it or that leaves the health claims?

I couldn't even tell you. It's simply like lactobacillus fermentation, right? Or maybe not lactobacillus, but it is fermentation of live microorganisms that are known as probiotics. Like Yakult. Like Yakult, exactly. Yogurt. Yakult isn't fizzy. Yakult isn't fizzy. It doesn't have to be fizzy. Carbonic acid can be a

byproduct of fermentation. If you've ever had, um, God, I remember I had a salsa at the Sizzler buffet once that was fizzy. I had a, did I tell you about my fizzy deviled eggs? No, but you told me about your fizzy hummus. The fizzy hummus, but that was because they were treating it with baking soda to break down the skins. No, dude, I went to just like a bar and grill to grab like a beer before a movie recently. Nice. You go to movies? Who are you? It was for the first time in a while.

It was Love, Lies, Bleeding, and my God, what a movie. Katie O'Brien, you are fantastic in that freaking film. But anyways, I got the deviled eggs and they had like a house made hot sauce on it popped a deviled egg in my mouth and it fizzed

like a LaCroix that's why I don't get deviled eggs everywhere and I did not send them back well you never send anything back I ate I just ate the fizzy eggs you never

nobody really gets sick from lactobacillus you know like it's fine they even call it lacto-fermented hot sauce exactly yeah but like it was fizzy as hell

anyways point is kombucha is fizzy because there are live microorganisms creating gases that turns to carbonic acid. But the reason people drink them, one, I do it because I like sour things and I like fizzy things. I love sour things too. And I don't need a ton of sugar. But the vague promise of gut health. Is this all just – also, like do these things make you poop your pants? Some of these make you poop, and we'll get into that, because there's probiotics, which are live microorganisms, right, bacteria that is fermenting and multiplying, and then the

theory is they go into your gut, and they effectively prevent the bad bacteria from attaching to your cells. So that's a probiotic. What's a prebiotic? Prebiotic is the newest buzzword that I've seen, and Olipop to me is the one functional soda that I started drinking, and I started reaching for that instead of kombucha. Okay.

Because to me, the idea of a probiotic, it's a little bit nebulous. People will make wild claims about gut health, right? Yeah, sure. They'll be like, you know there's a second brain in your stomach and like the man i got a third brain on my right um but anyways they're sort of these buzzwords what are you talking about you never it's like a like a big brain and small brain no never mind you can like explain it in detail if you want for people that i don't wanna i wanna. Okay, nice. I don't wanna. But people make these wide-sweeping claims about gut health and what microorganisms and probiotics can do. And I've never...

It's probably good. I eat a lot of yogurt. I eat a lot of fermented foods. I'm fine. I eat a lot of fermented foods as well. I'm totally fine with where my gut health is at, right? Prebiotic, on the other hand, speaks to like a very real health problem in America. Which is?

Lack of fiber and rise of colorectal cancer. Is this so prebiotics are fibers? Yes. Yes, ma'am, they are. I had no idea. Oh, we're closing our laptops because we have an array of these functional sodas. Crack open this Olipop. Okay.

Olipop was founded in 2018 officially by Ben Goodwin and David Lester. Ben Goodwin drops out of college in 2013 to help a friend start a kombucha company. So a lot of these big brands right now, Olipop, they are, God, did $200 million in sales last year. Smells just like soda. Absolutely exploded. They only have 35 calories in it. But a lot of these nouveau sodas have like roots in kombucha, right? Because that was the OG functional beverage.

He eventually starts his own probiotic soda company called Obi, which failed. He reformulated that into prebiotic Olipop with a ton of dietary fiber. So this right here has as much fiber in it, and that's coming from a proprietary blend of marshmallow root and cassava inulin, Jerusalem artichoke. Yeah, chicory root inulin, Jerusalem artichoke inulin, cassava root fiber, nopal cactus, marshmallow root, candelula flower, kudzu root. Crazy, right? And 3% juice.

And 3% juice. Read how many grams of fiber on that. Fiber, 9 grams, 32%? Nuts. 30% of your daily recommended fiber is now coming from a freaking cola. Well, we're, okay, well, how much fiber do I need? 30 grams of fiber is, like, recommended. Men are typically recommended a little bit more because they have higher rates of colon cancer.

Yeah. But, like, that, to me, that's really good. This is as much fiber as two whole apples with skin or a half cup of black beans. And it tastes really good. And it tastes really good, right? It's like cola. It tastes like cola. There's only 35 calories in it.

You smell it. It's got those aromatics of cola in it. It's never going to be as good as a full sugar Coke. to be as good as a full sugar Coke. Full sugar Coke used science to physically manufacture the perfect blend of like salt, acid, aromatic, and sugar. But they use science to put all these good, cool things in there like fiber. I know. And I don't exactly know.

There are a lot of instances in dietary health where when you divorce the nutrient from its whole food, you find diminishing returns. Well, that makes sense. Right? Taking a vitamin is not going to be as good as eating the whole plant, especially because the idea of provitamins, things that react with that, right? Yeah. So I don't exactly know the data on how, say, this fiber affects you materially versus eating

a cup of beans. Yeah, like the bioavailability of it. Exactly, exactly. But that said, pretty crazy. So, Poppy. Open up, Poppy. Crack open the Poppy because this is its closest competitor. These two are the juggernauts in the functional beverage space.

SodaSom. You're a SodaSom today. Ollipop did $200 million in sales in 2023. Shut up. Yes. Poppy did $11 million in sales in 2023. Shut up. Yes. Poppy did $116 million, but it is having a faster rise. Poppy was founded in 2015 as, this is so funny, as mother beverage apple cider vinegar tonic.

So all these things, apple cider vinegar, roughly the same concept as kombucha. Apparently the mother in apple cider vinegar has probiotic in it, but also the acetic acid may influence weight loss. But there's really inconclusive data. So they found that. Allison and Steve Ellsworth, they start selling at farmer's markets. They're approached by a Whole Foods buyer. They got on some shelves, eventually land on Shark Tank and close a deal. With who? With, oh, God, I can't remember.

Was it Barbara? It was like Roz, somebody. Oh, it was a special guest? It was a special guest, yeah. But they closed a deal, and now Coca-Cola is seeking acquisition of Poppy. Polypop is still independent. Oh, my gosh. Poppy, both of these companies are racing to gather sexy young people because, like I said, 60% drop over the last 15 years in teenagers drinking soda pop.

So they are like actively gunning for this new generation. This is their Doc Pop. This is the one that's providing me the rash cream. Very cherry forward. Very Amaretto cherry forward. It tastes kind of like a cocktail without alcohol in it. Let me try it. The vinegar makes it taste like it's a mixed.

It smells like liquor. It smells like Amaretto. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's so funny. It's crazy. Well, there is Amaretto extract in Dr. Pepper. There sure is. Amaretto and cherry are like the two strongest flavors you taste.

What is inulin? Inulin is a type of fiber. I'm not exactly sure what differentiates it, but I know Jerusalem artichoke inulin. Jerusalem artichokes are also called fartichokes. Literally, these are sodas that are making you fart, and farting is good. This is a problem. Universally. The interesting thing, though, about Poppy, only two grams of fiber.

Because Poppy was originally started just as an apple cider vinegar tonic, right? Yeah. And it was rebranded. And so this has significantly fewer sources of fiber in all the prebiotic stuff as Olipop, but they are seen, because they're such close competitors, as sort of equivalent. Sure. Right? Which to me is absolutely fascinating. Poppy, this year,

I saw them come under a little bit of smoke. Oh, yeah? Because they started a... Well, they were the party house of Coachella, don't you know, Nicole? Were they? Sorry, I didn't go this year because I'm 30 years old. Yeah, me neither. I had a couple 30-year-old friends there. God bless you, soldiers. I hope you hydrated. What are they doing there?

I've been seeing Lana, you know? The headliners were all good this year. I like Lana Del Rey because she sings like she's got molasses in her mouth. What are four Lana Del Rey songs? Video games. The one where she talks about what her nethers taste like. She says they taste like cola. Young and beautiful. Summertime Sadness. Okay. Four songs.

Guess you're not a poser. You're not a poser. Anyways, they had this whole party house and they had a bunch of TikTok influencers. They had Alex Earle there, the new hit girl.

Oh, the hottest. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's so hot. Almost as hot as Poppy's 2023 sales. But you now have this protracted war between these two companies.

They're potentially both seeking acquisition. Poppy is apparently very close with Coca-Cola right now. Very good. So this is it. This is, like, the new generation, and I'm absolutely fascinated by it. Do I miss the taste of soda? Not really, though. Well, again, I'm not the biggest soda drinker.

I'm more of a Pellegrino girl. So these are pretty—they're dead ringers for soda. They are sodas, and they taste pretty good, and they have added benefits. I kind of love it. Also, this is not sponsored. They have a fifth. No, this isn't sponsored at all. It's totally not.

I'm fascinated by this freaking market. About the fifth of, one-fifth the calories as other sodas do. 25, 35 calories per bottle. Are they using artificial sweetener in this, Poppy? Hold up, hold up, hold up. I want to open up another one of these. Stevia. You don't even taste the stevia.

It's so sour and delicious. So this is a new gen, but this has also spawned so many imitators in the same way that this is kind of an imitator of kombucha, right? Well, I don't actually taste any of that fermenty, vinegared flavor in either of them. Not even the apple cider vinegar tonic. No, but I mean, Ben Goodwin literally left to start a kombucha company, right? They're kissing cousins in the sense that it's a fizzy, delicious beverage that claims to do something good for you. And now that has launched so many other fizzy beverages that want to do good things for you.

And we get into weird territories. What are you drinking? I'm drinking Dram Mushroom Cola Adaptogenic Sparkling Cola. Adapt, Nicole. What is an adaptogen? Literally, what is it? Sparkling water delicately infused with real plants crafted in the rocky mountains of Colorado. Created by plant lovers who crave an alternative to sugary soda.

Smooth classic cola flavor with none of the weird synthetic flavoring. We promise it doesn't taste like mushrooms. I love none of the weird synthetic flavoring. We just foraged a bunch of mushrooms from the Rocky Mountains. Okay, herbal magic, adaptogenic immune support, brain health. This is going to make my brain get big, but not in a bad way. Not like swelling, but smart. We're back.

We're back to 100 years ago. Brain health. What the hell does that mean? Also, it's clear. They didn't put any caramel coloring to 100 years ago. Brain health. What the hell does that mean? Also, it's clear. They didn't put any caramel coloring to trick your mind. What is the mushroom color?

There was somebody tabling outside of Erewhon selling some adaptogenic drink and I walk up to them and I just go, oh, what is an adaptogen? Oh, no. And I wasn't trying

to gotcha them. I was curious. Oh, you weren't? No, I wanted to know about their freaking product and I'd heard that term a lot. And they just go, um, you know like kombucha? I go, yeah, I've drank in it.

And they go, well, you know like probiotics? I go, yeah. And they go, it's like that. And I go, well, how? They need to brief the table people. They're getting paid minimum wage to do it. I've tabled before. I understand. Have you? Yeah, like in college. I've always wanted to do it. That was like everybody's job.

Really? We did a... It's for students to do it. No, no. We did focus groups. We were focus group kids. Oh, fun, fun, fun. That's a good time. I would do some psych studies, which is cool. Oh, yeah? Yeah, yeah. So anyways, adaptogens, brain health, nootropics, very similar to me to

this idea of gut health and probiotics. They're two things that we don't necessarily understand, and the science is very new. Did you taste it? No, no, no. I've had it before, though. Taste it, taste it. Very vanilla on the nose.

Very bland. It's not giving. It tastes like nothing. It's not giving. There are zero calories in it. This is only scented carbonated water. It's pretty upsetting. It's LaCroix, right?

This is LaCroix. This is mushroom scented LaCroix that promises benefits. But I was doing some research on adaptogenics because I've heard of that, right? Ashwagandha, reishi, cordyceps. So much, so much.

Mushrooms, all this stuff. And I never kind of believed in it because I have like a high... I'm allergic to BS. You're a little cynical. I'm a little cynical. But I looked up a study from the National Library of Medicine

and according to them, studies on animals and isolated neuronal cells have revealed that adaptogens exhibit neuroprotective, anti-fatigue, anti-depressive, anxiolytic,

nootropic, and CNS, that is central nervous system stimulating activity. In addition, a number of clinical trials demonstrate that adaptogens exert an anti-fatigue effect

that increases mental work capacity against the background of stress and fatigue, particularly intolerance to mental exhaustion and enhanced attention. These things work. On animals? On animals, but also on an individual. Studies on rats. But like on an individual cellular level, they're not miracle cures, of course, and they probably. Well, they're not saying they're miracle cures.

Certainly not. Like cocaine and the Coca-Cola original formula, probably going to be stronger. But there does seem to be actual evidence that these things work on a neural molecular level. See, I'm not looking at it from that angle. I'm glad that it's all written there in like bold letters or whatever. But I'm just trying to get the closest thing to Coke without drinking Coke. Well, that's a great point. What do you think that is here?

Is it that Olipop? So far, it's the Olipop. Do you, like, does that sway you, it having fiber? Because it genuinely sways me. I'm rocking, well, you probably eat a high fiber-ish diet, right? You cook a lot of fresh vegetables and eat a lot of greens. I eat a lot of leafy greens. So I don't know if there's fiber in that.

I actually have no idea what I'm eating half of the time. And like you, after, after World War II. Oh no. No, but the fact that we have,

Let me buckle in another one. The fact that we have like ample vegetables and whole grains available. Like Nicole, you cook a lot. You're not eating mac and cheese and ruffles

for every meal. I really am not. You're probably getting, I haven't touched a ruffle in months. I like the new Thickums. They got the Thickum ridges. Oh, one time we ate those Thickums and they had a basketball player on them. It was Jason Tatum, I think. Such good chips. Jason Tatum. I think he could be. Him, Anthony Edwards. Jason Tatum. We partied in Miami together.

Shy, Shy Gilgis. Did you really? I forgot about that. Yeah, you were like, who's the basketball player that looks like Drake? I'm like, Jason Tatum? Oh my god, I'm such a dork. I didn't sign an NDA, so I'm fine. But I'm saying you probably are getting all the nutrients and fiber that you need if you eat just like a healthy, balanced diet of vegetables. Yeah, and I poop well. I poop good.

I tend to poop pretty good, but it's not without work. Really? I'm eating 200 grams of protein, 10 grams of creatine per day, and I can't eat beans because Julie's allergic. Oh, well, I'm sorry about that. And so I'm sort of fighting for fiber sometimes, you know? Oh, I'm sorry. That's why I just buy this miniature marijuana, because I'm like, well, let's just speed run some fives.

What do we got here? What's this one called? I've seen recess a lot. More adaptogens? Well, let me pour it. Is that enough? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

I'm worried this is going to make me poop my pants. Yeah, we're going to all poop our pants after this. Oh, my gosh. But, Josh, I can't poop my pants. We'll do it on the podcast. I have stuff to do. This is magnesium and adaptogen-infused sparkling water. I take magnesium pills.

Magnesium, sorry. That was pretty eloquent. Why do you take magnesium pills. I'm so sorry. That was pretty eloquent. Why do you take magnesium pills? Because my doctor told me it's supposed to relax me and help me digest my food. What are... Dr. Poppy making those claims make sense. I don't know if you know this.

I think Dr. Poppy is on the payroll just like Alex Earl for Poppy Soda. But real medical doctors... Because I've had my medical doctor be like, take ashwagandha. I'm like, what does it do? And they're like, I don't reallyoda. But like real medical doctors, because I've had like my medical doctor be like, take ashwagandha. I'm like, what does it do? And they're like, I don't really know. It makes you relax.

It's a little bit weird to me. On TikTok, they've been saying like, oh, rub magnesium on your feet to fall asleep better. Have you seen those? I just stick my feet in honey to fall asleep. That relaxes me. But there's different kinds of magnesium. They use magnesium asorbate in this one. I'm so bad at the light.

This is good. I haven't tasted it. It's sour as hell, man. What is the flavor? Raspberry lemon. It's lovely. That is absolutely lovely. One of my favorite ones in the category.

Grab me the tapache. Oh, you know what I like about this? It tastes like tea. Yeah, it does. This is just tea. It's fizzy tea. Which one is tapache? This one?

Tapache. Isn't tapache alcoholic? So tapache is typically alcoholic. You can ferment it a lot heavier. But what it is is a legit Mexican beverage that I believe goes back like well before Spaniard colonial days. That's right. So tapache is a fermented pineapple drink. Yes, yes, I've had it before.

And it turns naturally fizzy. The pineapple has a ton of like what is it bromzy. Pineapple has a ton of, like, what is it, bromelase in it and a ton of naturally occurring bacteria. It's a high-heat fruit. I put pineapple in the fridge that I cut up, and three days later it's fizzy. Sure. Right?

Pineapple ferments super quickly. And so tapache, I've had this at, like, Mexican restaurants where they're just like, you know, it's a 4%, like a light beer. But now they've pivoted it because a 4%, like a light beer. But now, they've pivoted it because this fetishization of probiotics. And so like,

you want anything fermented? Well, how about this like pre-colonial Mexican village drink made from fermented pineapple? We'll put it in a cute can. De la calle.

And it's delicious. I love pineapple. It's my favorite fruit in the world. Okay, this has erythriol, which is a sugar substitute. Artificial sweetener, yeah. That makes you poop your pants. It's my favorite fruit in the world. Okay, this has erythriol, which is a sugar substitute.

Artificial sweetener, yeah. That makes you poop your pants. That'll make you poop your pants. But how good is that? A little ginger tapache? That's pretty good. I shouldn't have gotten the ginger. It's a little strong. I don't like the ginger in it.

No, it tastes like ginger beer. I like it. Yeah, but no, I don't know. I like the taste of the tapache. I like the taste of the tapache. That's quite pleasant. Other things we got. This one's great.

I regret. This is a brand called Charmly. Okay. taste of the pot that's quite pleasant other things we got this one's great um i regret this is a brand called charmly this is probably the one that makes the strongest claims and i regret that i did not get the one labeled libido you were gonna buy horny soda i was yeah but then i was like is this inappropriate but now i really wish we could not like inappropriate i was like do we want the podcast to go there but now i'm talking talking about it. But this is their brand of calm. So this has my other favorite. This is the cryptocurrency of the beverage world. What is it? CBD, baby.

Oh, my gosh. Cures everything. Can I ask you a question about CBD? According to the guy that wore the poncho on my freshman year dorm floor, it's just a plant, man. People knew they could cure everything for thousands of years. Does this get me? I-H-I-E

Yeah, let's get a I, let's get a I No, it doesn't do anything It's CBD, it doesn't do anything CBD doesn't I don't know, it probably does I'm sure CBD does something Smell it, smell it I'm sure CBD does something

Smells like that Devil's lettuce That got that dank in it Smells like devil's lettuce But to be clear, this is not psychoactive. It is not THC. Also, it's all legal in California. Are you supposed to shake it?

It says shake me and serve chill. Do you read? No. You were just reading all the ashwagandha and CBD. What about the direction? Ashwagandha promotes homeostasis. Oh my gosh. I love talking about homeostasis.

Why do you love? What does homeostasis mean to you? Homeostasis means regulating your body. But like to what? What do you mean? Like when you're hot, you sweat. That's homeostasis. Yeah, I guess soasis means regulating your body. But like to what? What do you mean? Like when you're hot, you sweat. That's homeostasis. Yeah, I guess so.

And when you're cold, you shiver. It's homeostasis. Or like when I'm yelling on a podcast, I get calm. I think that's a little bit. We got to unpack that a little bit deeper. This smells like marijuana. It smells like pot, man. It's like drinking bong water.

Oh my God. Holy smokes. That is so horrifying tasting, Charlie. I'm so sorry. Oh my god, this is for people that are taking a tolerance break. I watched somebody once drink bong water because they tried to take a bong rip upside down on an inversion table. Wow. You hang out

with really cool people. This is not in the last. No, I don't. Other ones to try. Kiefer. There's a brand called Kiefer. Kiefer is... Kiefer is a character from Futurama. And he's a... Alien?

In love with Amy? He's homeostasis. No, that's his... The captain. No, that's... That's Calculon. So speaking of, you know, traditional beverages

found around the world that we have now shoved into cute looking cans because they might do something for you. This is kefir. Kefir also has its. Kefir is how I say it. What? You say kefir like kefir Sutherland. Kefir.

Like kefir Sutherland. How are you actually, it's what, Icelandic? Kefir. I don't know, but I have a bottle of kefir in my. Can you look up kefir pronunciation? K-E-F-I-R. I have it in my fridge at all times. I don't think it's right.

And I just, you know what I do if I'm ever feeling a little bit squirrely? I just have like an espresso cup of kefir. Passion fruit lemongrass? This just tastes good, buddy. Oh, it smells good. Wait, play it? Kefir. Kefir.

Wait, hold on. Look up the native language that kefir is in hold on hold on hold on okay this kif drink smells phenomenal it's Turkish

it's Turkish? why did I think kefir was skando? I don't know maybe because you're thinking of skir maybe I'm thinking of skir but anyways

yeah kefir fermented dairy this is probably my favorite tasting one it smells good it tastes good does this have lactose in it? because that's really Yeah, kefir fermented dairy. This is probably my favorite tasting one. It smells good. It tastes good. Does this have lactose in it?

Because that's really going to make me poop. We got more. We got Revel. We got hops. Josh, I don't have it. Wait. I have so much in my cup. Nicole, I got to chug it. This one, sparkling probiotic grapefruit citra hops.

Oh, my God. Hops are a natural antioxidant? No, antimicrobial. That's why hops are added to beer. I hate hops. I love the flavor of hops. It reminds me of drinking, and I like that. I hate drinking hops.

I hate hoppy beers. I like Pilsners. I think this is tight. This is great. Revel. Revel beverages from Ojai, California. I am a huge Ojai guy. Oj Oh! I am a huge Ojai guy. Ojai guy?

I'm an Ojai guy. Ojai guy? That's great. It has 12 grams of sugar. It's very sugary. Is it? 12 grams ain't that much. How many calories?

50. It's not bad at all. No, it tastes like sweet beer. Yeah, I like sweet beer. Crack this one open. This is sort of the last. Care Lab Divas? Go around.

We got another sparkling probiotic. Vegan collagen has CoQ10 in it and 74C minerals great for hibiscus flavor. I take CoQ10 as well. CoQ10 is an antioxidant. It's a coenzyme. A what? It's a coenzyme. What's a coenzyme? That's what it says

on the freaking packaging. Isn't a coenzyme a form of antioxidant? Antioxidants are substances that combat what are called free radicals. Free radicals are something that is created

when carbon molecules taste like armpits in a good way. Break down, right? Yeah, collagen. The thing about any collagen thing, collagen, Nicole,

you know more about collagen than I do a bit. Oh, I take collagen peptides every morning. I take 18 grams of collagen and my skin has never looked better. I just rub olive oil on myself and then I I shine, and I bake in the sun.

Josh, do you think grapefruit kind of tastes like male armpits sometimes in a good way? You don't like it? That's the collagen that's tasting like male armpits. That ain't grapefruit. I love it. You love this drink? I like it. It's very Like

I can't explain it Makes you feel alive I guess One more I got this one Because this is called Kin Euphorics A functional beverage

For modern rituals And finally We're getting into The witchcraft And Wicca portion Of today There's one person On TikTok

That does think That I am a practicing Wicca Because I talk about it so much. And that is not the case. I just kind of find it fascinating. I like how pink it is. Stop.

What's in this? This has rhodiola rosea, which is an adaptogen. This has 5-HTP. This has GABA. And it has 50 mils of caffeine. We have another one that you haven't opened. Yeah, it's just a probiotic. Oh, this is the same one.

I shouldn't have gotten this. This is a repeat of the one with hops. This is bitter. This has a bitterness that I haven't opened. Yeah, it's just a probiotic. Oh, this is the same one. I shouldn't have gotten this. This is a repeat of the one with hops. This is bitter. This has a bitterness that I don't enjoy. This one tastes like Richard. That is horrifyingly bad. What's in it? Well, no, it almost just tastes like, oh my god, is it?

Wait. Is it taurine and guarine? No, this is gentian. Is it gentian leaf? Dude, I swear to god, I know gentian when I taste it. It's a leaf, right? Am I imagining it? Oh my god, it is gentian. It it Gentian leaf? Dude, I swear to God, I know Gentian when I taste it. It's a leaf, right? Am I imagining it? Oh my God, it is Gentian. It's Gentian root extract. Dude, you can taste that because it tastes like quinine.

It tastes like an Amaro. Or not an Amaro. No, some of the sodas. Oh my God. Yeah, it's so bitter. Is this a scam? Is this overrated? Is it a scam?

Many of these, I believe, are potentially overselling the health benefits of the things that they do. The one that really, really impresses me, and I am biased in my own view of science and my own daily dietary needs, of course, is Olipop. Olipop, 9 grams of dietary fiber, is pretty freaking nuts. It also tastes very good. I enjoy poppy as well. I don't think I get anything from the health benefits of it. But again, the best thing you can do is eat whole foods and eat a whole diet and act with reasonability and rationality.

And at the end of the day, these are all expensive as hell. A 12-pack of Coke costs about $8. A 12-pack of poppy costs $30. How much do this all cost? It's like $70. On the company card. Baby, that's what's up. And also, governments are trying to tax full sugar sodas in major cities.

Shut up. And we have actually seen with initial data coming out of Oakland, passed their soda tax in 2017, that there's a purely elastic relationship, meaning a 30% tax is a 30% decrease in soda consumption, which many people view as a win, but it might just be us punishing poor people again because this stuff costs four times as much. Very expensive. It's all very complicated.

I don't think all of these are a scam. I think the industry— Concept as a whole. Yeah, it has a kind of history, a 150-year history of scamdom. But ultimately, I enjoy many of them, and I'm still going to be reaching for that lollipop on my way out the grocery store, spending $4 on me and Julia's shared account for groceries, despite the fact that I'm the only one drinking that.

All right, Nicole. My stomach hurts. I'm all messed up for them sodas, man. We've heard what you and I have to say. Now it's time to find out what other whack it is rattling out there in the universe. It's time for a little segment we call Opinions on the Casseroles. My tummy hurts. I don't like it.

But before we get to your thoughts and opinions, we are going to go to everybody's favorite segment. Nicole, I know it's your favorite segment. It's Review and Review. It's Review and Review. That is the segment where we review a review that you have left us on Apple Podcasts to try and stimulate you to write more reviews because we are thirsty for positive feedback. That's right. Not so much. We got to show our bosses that people care.

Yeah. Five stars, the ice within. My favorite duo during LASIK recovery. As I lay here recovering from LASIK, I go through dozens of Hot Dog is the Sandwich episodes to cheer me up while pretending the tears are from laughing too hard. It's the only podcast that makes me feel calm and happy while learning something and not feeling like I'm wasting my time. That feels really good. Five stars? That's definitely five stars, yeah. I think I want to get LASIK.

I've been thinking about it, but oh my God, have you seen the movie The Voyeurs? What's the one? She's the new Amanda Seyfried. Euphoria, reality. Sidney Sweeney? Sidney Sweeney is in it with a guy that should have been Billy Magnuson but wasn't. I'm so good at describing movies. I have no idea who you're talking about.

Sexy thriller. She's a LASIK technician, though. Billy Magnuson but wasn't I'm so good at describing movies I have no idea what you're talking about sexy thriller she's a LASIK technician though and there's like she uses it to harm instead of to help at some point like spoilies

but that's freaked me out since I want to get the ocular lens that Joe Jonas has I don't know what Joe Jonas has it's an implant

it's a contact implant in your eye oh god I have really bad eyesight I'm a contact implant in your eye. Oh, God. I have really bad eyesight. I'm a negative 7 in both. Negative 6.75 in both eyes. I think I could be like significantly more attractive without glasses too. I actually really like your face with glasses.

I don't like my face with glasses, but I love you with glasses. I think you look very handsome with glasses. Thank you very much. I hope your eye surgery went okay. Thank you for watching, listening, and all that good stuff. I got the bubble guts. Bubble gut shrimp company. Hey, Josh and Nicole.

Hi. This is Gerald. I'm from Arkansas. Hey, Gerald. One of my unpopular opinions is that chocolate pudding is best served hot with heavy whipping cream for a topping. Not whipped. Liquid. Thank you.

Enjoy your podcast so much. Listen all the time. I like this opinion. Have a good day. Bye. Okay. Go, go. Me?

Okay. So I used to work at a chocolate store, and one of the things that Yvonne Sipos, one of my favorite people I've ever worked with, she used to take chocolate cake, microwave it, and then just pour cream over it. Uno leche cake. That's that uno leche. That's budget, baby.

And it was really delicious, but I never understood it. I'm like, I don't need this. I would just, like, warm up the cake, I don't need this. I would just like warm up the cake. I don't need the cream over the top. So this reminds me of that. But hot chocolate pudding, I don't love. I don't love. If there was salt on it, I might like it more.

I never know like what temperature to serve certain things. Like pie, right? Like people, fresh, warm apple pie out of the oven, whatever. I prefer pie like ice cold out of the fridge. Cake, I hate out of the fridge. Oh, right? Like people, fresh, warm apple pie out of the oven, whatever. I prefer pie like ice cold out of the fridge. Cake, I hate out of the fridge. Oh, really? People have these like, you know, icebox cakes or whatever. I want cake to be like room temp.

And so these things are, to me, variable. Okay. Pudding, I initially would say I love ice cold out of the fridge, but I'm thinking of, especially when you describe pouring that cream over the top, the slate of Vietnamese pudding-like desserts called jai. You love those, right? I absolutely love them, and I prefer them hot. My favorite is taro, and they'll pour like a salted, I think it's salted coconut milk over the top.

And God, it is so good. Like that cold, like slightly salty cream on top of this hot, sweet, starchy thing. Mexican arroz con leche, right? That's served hot. Dude, rice pudding. Hot rice pudding is so good. It's so good. Why not hot chocolate pudding? I don't know.

I think this is a great opinion. God, I'm hankering for a hot chocolate pudding right now. I mean, I've had like a pudding cup that I left in my car. No, it can't be It can't be lukewarm Oh it needs to be piping hot But the skin forms Did you know that the phrase lukewarm

Utilizes a linguistic thing called The cranberry morpheme Yes you've told me about it actually on this podcast And I don't need you to reiterate it We have nothing left to say to each other No we have so much to say This relationship has grown stale. We resent each other now. I do not resent you.

I appreciate you. We walk in the park having our own conversations in our own heads. I will always hold you accountable and try to make you better because that's my job. Hi, this is Grayson from Connecticut. Hi, Grayson. My opinion casserole is that

chocolate milk made with like chocolate syrup is not very good. And making chocolate milk with a drink powder like Ovaltine is far superior and tastes significantly better. You know what you're talking about. That's it. Thanks. No lies detected. This is brilliant. I appreciate it. I think sometimes chocolate syrups can taste a little bit metallic and a little bit gross, but the powder, oh my God. I think whenever they use like Ovaltine and like Nesquik powder, there's like milk in it too. There's like milk powder. And I think it's so brilliant. I used to,

my mom used to make me something called sheerness, which was literally just starch and milk. And she would put it on a plate and then she would put Nesquik powder over the top. And that was like my food when I was like feeling sick. And I love the flavor of powdered chocolate malty beverage a lot. It is so funny that I've never thought about this, but I've never had a chocolate syrup-based chocolate milk that was anywhere near as good as any chocolate powder-based chocolate milk. Chocolate powder-based milks are so good.

But surely they could utilize the same ingredients. I guess the syrup you're adding, you're taking the dairy out of the equation because you're diluting it with corn syrup, right? It's not good. As opposed to having powder that sort of just, you know, absorbs. You're not adding more liquid to the equation. Ovaltine, though, is far and away the best chocolate milk mix,

and it's for a very specific reason. Is Milo the same thing? I think so, yeah. It's just malt. Yeah, malt. Right? It's the malt powder in there that makes Ovaltine. I grew up on Ovaltine, and oh my God.

I want to make like some Ovaltine cocktails. Do it. Love me some milk-a-hall. Do it. That's a fascinating thing that I never thought about. Me too. Thanks, Grayson. Hello there.

It's Connor. I've got a life hack that might actually change the way you prepare your meals for the day. Love that for me, Connor. I'm a con head. So what you do is the next time you're making scrambled eggs in the morning, you just make about an extra portion or so. And then once you're done eating, you throw some mayonnaise in, mix it up. Bacon scrambled eggs in the morning. You just make about an extra portion or so. And then once you're done eating, you throw some mayonnaise in, mix it up.

Bam, bam, bam. Egg salad. Boiling your eggs is a waste of time. I'm also a con head. This is wild. Hold on. Are you just going to glaze over the fact that we did a succession? We talked about succession right now?

Yeah, well, I thought it would be like a fun little Easter egg reference. I didn't think we're going to get into Connor's politics. So hard dealing with you sometimes. Our man Connor is talking about scrambled egg egg salad. Sounds pretty gross. Have you ever done that? No. I don't make egg salad. I do make egg salad. I make tuna salad. I'm a tuna salad. We are a tuna

salad household. We are not an egg salad household I love egg salad it's one of my favorite things in the entire world and to me like you can do it with fully hard boiled eggs definitely don't do it

with fully soft boiled but you get that like the yolk's a little bit fudgy but still mostly cooked ugh okay I'm not having a good time sorry that was my phone I think

part of the reason egg salad is successful is because the yolk blends with the mayonnaise. So I'm not sure how the scrambled egg salad would be, but the fact that he enjoys it, that's great. I don't know if I'd call that a life hack per se. It's just mix mayonnaise with your

leftover scrambled eggs. I don't love it. But I do love that you found something that brings meaning and joy to your life, Connor. I don't love it, Connor. Sorry. I'm going to try it. I will tell you that. I respect you, Connor, but I just don't like that. It's like using chicken thighs for chicken salad. It doesn't taste right. No, it does not taste right.

It's because the meat doesn't shred and absorb all of the fun liquids that you've put in. Right. I also don't make chicken salad at home. Oh, my God. We just make tuna salads at home. Why are you so disappointed in me? Shrimp salad? I don't eat kosher house kosher house josh keep up

hey guys michael from queens new york and i just wanted to call in and ask you your thoughts on using ai artificial intelligence to make recipes oh funny, funny, funny, funny. You know, you don't have a cookbook, you don't know what to cook, you put it in a little AI machine and it creates a recipe. So, yeah, let me know what you guys think about AI.

Thanks. Love the Queen's accent. Me too. Loved it. Um, gosh. Do I... Like, let me tell you what you can use AI for. I think there's also a website that does this where you can put like, hey, I got a bag of dandelion greens and some feta cheese and a bottle of ketchup and some eggs. What can I make with that? And there's a website where you can type that in and it'll tell you some recipes you can make with those ingredients.

And I'm sure AI can do the same thing. Do I love it? Not really. I'm not the arbiter for using AI and technology for good or for evil. I don't have a good moral compass when it comes to using technology one way or another. Unfortunately for me, I'm just not. My fingers aren't on the pulse on that stuff. Like, I just don't care about it that much. I don't think about it too much. It just doesn't, it's not a part of my everyday life.

AI. Love the movie, though. AI, great movie. During the dawn of the nuclear age People must have had This incredible amount Of future shock Looking forward Being like

We are in Unprecedented territory That could just Destroy the world And this is very frightening And then you know Roughly 70 years have passed And we're still doing okay

And now I think with AI We're sort of hurtling Towards that again The only thing That gives me solace Is that Knowing that like Workers will always need sandwiches,

and I'm very good at making sandwiches. Yeah, but a machine can also make sandwiches. No matter how, but never as good as me. I firmly believe that a machine cannot make a sandwich nearly as good as me. I toast the bread right, I spread the mayonnaise on right, I make a little aioli, some pickles, whatever. What if you made me a sandwich once, and then I made a robot that could make that sandwich 50 times faster than you and 2% better than you?

They couldn't. The robot could never do it. I don't think we have the technology. But the thing with AI, I'm saying, like, I don't, like Nicole, I don't know. People are freaking out about any sort of AI-generated art, et cetera. And they probably have good reason to do that. But I imagine a Buckminster Fullerian future where automation leads to us just not having to have jobs. Don't think it's actually going to happen. What I will say about AI and food. We did an episode of Aprons Off on

Mythical Kitchen where we tested to see if we could see if a menu was made by AI or not. So we'd ask AI to make like, hey, make upscale pizza restaurant in Los Angeles menu. And we printed that out next to an actual upscale pizzeria in LA. Every single time I thought I could spot a tell, I was like, oh, that ingredient doesn't actually go with that ingredient, but they're both buzzwords. AI definitely put that together. I was wrong. It was the actual restaurant and every single time the AI menu sounded delicious. It'd be like pizza with like merguez sausage, preserved lemon, things that I wouldn't have thought of. And I'm like, damn, I want to eat this AI pizza. So I will say that.

That's a little frightening. Also, AI is already being used to write cookbooks. There's a very – in books in general, there's this really weird thing on Amazon where they're creating effectively fake authors that don't exist. That's so scary. And it'll just be like the new Crock-Pot slow cooker cookbook. And then it'll be AI-generated recipes, AI-generated text. It makes no sense. And the recipes are kind of haphazard and don't actually work.

So that's already happening right now. I do think that especially in regards to cookbooks and things, like people didn't buy our cookbook, number one New York Times bestseller, shout out, because the recipes are also great. I think they are. I think they're fun, but they bought it because it's – They like us. They like us. It's a cult of personality. You know what I mean?

Recipes divorced from context are never actually going to have the same amount of steam, but surely AI is a very valuable tool and potentially an inevitability that we all just have to like giggity get down with. So who knows, man? I don't know. I'm pretty good at making sandwiches. If the robot overlords take us out, I'm just going to set up shop with some bread and some meats. You know, sell them for car parts

when we all barter. But I do agree that I think we are going to lose all of our jobs and I think there are going to lose all of our jobs and I think there's going to be an art renaissance. Oh my God. Oh, just give me a paintbrush. I really do think once the robots take all of our jobs, we will have no choice but to be creative again.

Yeah, or we're just going to like rot in a salt mine because the robot can't squeeze in between the cracks to get the salt. Of course they can build a robot that can squeeze between the cracks. Do you think a human? Dude, they can't squeeze in between the cracks to get the salt. Of course they can build a robot that can squeeze between the cracks. Do you think a human?

Dude, they couldn't do it to save those kids in the cave in Thailand. They had to get a guy. They had to squeeze through the cracks. You've seen Snowpiercer too many times.

Well, that was a hell of a note to end the podcast on. Yeah, I know, right? I need to read your paper because I can't access this live. Oh, yeah.

What does the script say? No, we can ad lib it. We have a podcast. It's this one that you're listening to. The episode is Wednesday's audio, Sunday video, which you may or may not be watching. And then the next thing you say is. Oh, and if you want to be featured on Opinions or Cast Rules, hit us up at 833-DOGPOD1. The number again is 833-DOGPOD1.

And now I'm going to come in with a classic upsell, right? You go say, hey, you're already listening to this. We do other things as well. We have lovely cooking shows and interview shows on Mythical Kitchen over on YouTube. We won like a ton of Webby's now. No, but for last meals you won a Webby's. So we've won four People's Choice Webby's all day. Have we?

One Judges' Choice Webby for last meals. Excuse me. You know what I mean? So we do those things. Webby for last meals. Excuse me? You know what I mean? So we do those things. That's damn impressive. Those are cool, Nicole. Where can people find you? You got anything else to plug?

Yeah, you can find me on Instagram, Nicole Hendizadeh. What about you, Josh? Oh, that's it. No, I'm cool. I'm probably going to delete my Twitter soon.

My cat has an Instagram now and I'm pretty glad about it. Oh my God, I love Pippin's Insta. Prince Pippin, right? Also, she was totally like, I'll have the dishes done by the time we get home. Stop airing your dirty laundry on the podcast. I love her.

I just, you know. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.