Pre-Zero Sports Talk
Pre-Zero Sports Talk is built on real conversations beyond the game.
Hosted by Sid Bensalah, with over 30 years of global sports industry experience, the podcast explores sport as a platform for deeper conversations about leadership, faith, performance, purpose, identity, community, and impact.
This is not only a podcast about sport. It is about what sport reveals about people, how we lead, how we handle pressure, how we pursue meaning, and how we build lives, teams, and communities with purpose.
Through honest, long-form conversations with athletes, coaches, leaders, founders, innovators, and changemakers, Pre-Zero Sports Talk explores the deeper why behind performance, success, resilience, clean progress, human potential, and the future of sport.
Topics include sports leadership, coaching culture, athlete well-being, faith and purpose, human performance, community impact, clean progress, sustainability, innovation and technology, governance, and sports business.
No filter. No bias. Straight talk.
Subscribe and join real conversations on sport, leadership, faith, performance, purpose, and life beyond the game.
Pre-Zero Sports Talk
More Than a Meal: How the Kitchen Teaches Leadership, Legacy, and Love
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In this heartfelt episode, Janet Irizarry, founder of My Mindful Kitchen, joins host Sid Bensalah to discuss how the kitchen can influence more than just meals — it can shape minds, values, and legacies. From owning restaurants to launching a food advocacy movement, Janet shares her journey, sparked by a powerful line in her son's college essay: There was never food in the house.
Together, they explore how daily kitchen routines can teach leadership, gratitude, responsibility, and empathy—while also addressing real-world issues like food insecurity, climate change, and emotional connections within families. Janet explains the importance of intentional meals, reducing food waste, and using food as a tool to teach emotional intelligence and sustainability.
Topics Covered
The hidden power of family meals
• How the kitchen becomes a classroom for values
• Practical ways to reduce food waste
• Using food to lead with empathy and purpose
• Stories that blend food, memory, and identity
Chapters
00:00 Title and Theme
01:52 The Impact of Family Dinners
05:40 Reducing Food Waste
08:10 Teaching Leadership Through Food
15:12 Climate Change Connections
18:28 Cooking and Social Media Pressure
41:22 Eating Local and Seasonal
44:01 Enlightened Hospitality
47:23 Cooking with Love
53:43 The Mindful Kitchen Method
55:43 Food Waste Meets Poverty
57:23 Tips for Sustainable Family Meals
01:04:49 Lightning Round
01:11:45 Final Thoughts on Empathy and Food
☞ Stay Connected with Pre-Zero Sports Talk!
Join host Sid Bensalah and the Pre-Zero Sports Talk community for real conversations beyond the game, where sport meets leadership, faith, performance, purpose, identity, community, and impact.
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