What's Your Story with Jaime & Stan

What’s Your Story, Heidi Schild? From Midwest roots to plant-based living and purposeful health

Episode Summary

In this candid, curious, and laugh-filled episode, we sit down with Heidi Schild — longtime caregiver, accidental entrepreneur, and passionate plant-based home cook. Heidi shares her journey from growing up in Ohio, navigating early careers in fashion retail and banking, supporting her husband’s medical practice, and eventually reinventing her relationship with food and health. What begins as a conversation about tofu quickly becomes a powerful story about intentional living, family, curiosity, and choosing progress over perfection. From Veganuary experiments to teaching cooking classes in her home, Heidi reminds us that transformation doesn’t require extremes — just awareness, consistency, and a sense of humor.

Episode Notes

In this candid, curious, and laugh-filled episode, we sit down with Heidi Schild — longtime caregiver, accidental entrepreneur, and passionate plant-based home cook. Heidi shares her journey from growing up in Ohio, navigating early careers in fashion retail and banking, supporting her husband’s medical practice, and eventually reinventing her relationship with food and health.

What begins as a conversation about tofu quickly becomes a powerful story about intentional living, family, curiosity, and choosing progress over perfection. From Veganuary experiments to teaching cooking classes in her home, Heidi reminds us that transformation doesn’t require extremes — just awareness, consistency, and a sense of humor.

KEY TOPICS COVERED

• Growing up in Ohio and forging an independent path
• Early careers in retail, banking, and nonprofit work
• Marriage, motherhood, and supporting a medical career
• Discovering plant-based living through Veganuary
• The difference between vegan and whole-food plant-based eating
• Health, family history, and lifestyle-driven prevention
• Building confidence in the kitchen (hello, tofu!)
• Teaching others through Heidi Cooks and home cooking classes
• Food allergies, flexibility, and feeding a family with care
• Progress over perfection — in food and in life

MEMORABLE QUOTES

• “Genetics loads the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger.”
• “Instead of saying you can’t give something up, try adding better things in.”
• “Progress, not perfection.”
• “What you eat becomes you.”
   

Where to listen & watch:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/4TIhW2ejo0U
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-your-story/id1768048076
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0aFWnedfyylxVs5vJrD8tY
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/3c4c493e-e2f2-4b4b-bfd3-52174caeaf7c/whats-your-story-with-jaime-stan

Connect with Heidi Schild:
Instagram: heidicooksplants

If this episode helped you rethink what success looks like, subscribe, rate, and review our podcast! Your support helps us share more powerful stories like Heidi’s.

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Got feedback or a guest recommendation? Email us at connect@jaimemarco.com