Did You Eat Yet?
A podcast for Asians and Asian Americans in America. Did you eat yet is synonymous with love and care. Growing up, my parents have always shown love and care to me by asking me that question and no matter if we were mad/sad/irritated at each other, it always comes back with making sure that I was not hungry. Food brings us all together universally and specifically in Asian culture. Quite literally we all come together but at a table and we share something that is crafted with time and effort with love and care. Even in our food we have a sense of together-ness when spices/flavors are incorporated in the food itself. That together-ness is important in a family because much like how amazing food can taste when you add in flavor, having a good bond with family/loved ones can help with having a healthier relationship with your parents and also yourself. There are lots of struggles as Asians living in America: the identity crisis of if you’re really an American in the eyes of an American to if you’re an Asian according to other Asians; balancing between your roots vs western culture; the challenges of embracing your culture(when we were younger), etc. While maneuvering through all of these hurdles, there’s also a challenge with our immigrant parents: the language barriers, the confliction of living life, etc. For some of us it might even feel like we’ve been doing this on our own as our immigrant parent(s) might not have spoken English so you had to do everything by yourself. Or you might be the one that is just coming over to America and are also figuring shit out yourself alone. It seems like sometimes no matter how many friends/people are around you that say they have your back, it can still feel isolating because the struggles that you faced might not resonate with anyone around you. In this podcast for season 1 we have food related title episodes that fit the theme of an issue that we all might’ve faced growing up. Throughout the series we will talk about the trauma, emotions that we felt, and the reflection of where we are with that situation today. We will start off with very heavy and deep topics but gradually get to lighter topics to mimic and reflect what could feel like real time emotions as you relive our childhood. As each episode becomes lighter, we will juxtapose the harsh things we might’ve felt and twist that to be more in understanding of why we think things happen the way they did. Nobody is perfect but when you’re family, we want to make sure that at the end of the day, you’re not going to bed hungry. So… did you eat yet?
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Episodes
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Literally am still learning how to cook more Vietnamese food, but figuratively I am trapped in my own thoughts. I want to express that even living on my own that the very thing that I was trying to break away from I'm still doing it to myself. The idea of second guessing where I'm at in life is now a question I ask myself instead of my parents. Sometimes it's hard to not think about these things but join be on a one-on-one session of me going through my thoughts.
We face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow me on Instagram!
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Saturday Mar 15, 2025
Saturday Mar 15, 2025
No this isn't a show of the MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay. This is a new episode talking about the struggles of always being compared and having to fight to be the "better" child in the family. Who's the best chef is an analogy of our parent always finding some way to brag about us to other kids or even vic versa, where the parents are comparing their friend's son that's only 12 years old and is already in college... y'know that stuff. I'm accompanied by Choney talking through the struggles of facing these comparisons and how it shaped us today and how we go about coping.
We face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow us on Instagram!
The lovely Choney: https://www.instagram.com/choneyedw/
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Saturday Mar 01, 2025
Saturday Mar 01, 2025
Have you ever tried to reach for that jar of candies/cookies in your pantry even though your parents told you not to? I haven't but I've always seen that in movies but figuratively I have. To me I've always found it hard to listen to my parents and I wonder why I feel so obligated to have such independence from them. When they tell me that I can't do something but even though I feel like what I'm doing is the right thing for me. Now that I'm away from them I can do all the things that I want but somehow it feels weird to have all this freedom and do what I please. In this episode, it's just me, myself, and I just speaking out loud on how I still feel like I want to be dependent despite me being my own adult. We face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow me on Instagram!
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Saturday Feb 15, 2025
Saturday Feb 15, 2025
The chef knows what's best... or do they? Not in this case because the sous chefs (us) might know a little more than what our parents do, especially when we're a little older and are progressing into our adulthood. Kitchen's Best Practice is an analogy that our parents always know what's best and for us at their kids to follow what they say but times have changed and we as the younger generation knows what is really happening in this world. We are grateful that our parents have led us to the place we are today but it's time they have more confidence in us. In this episode I am once again accompanied by my amazing sister, and we talk about what happens in our life and we hope that we aren't the only ones that share this sentiment!
We face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow me on Instagram!
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Saturday Feb 01, 2025
Saturday Feb 01, 2025
Welcome to the dining room! A place where I invite you to come eat and feel safe. To me the dining room was never a place to show vulnerability but more so about business of what I needed to do and/or to discuss what I've done well. Accompanied by my friend and my sister they do their best to help me come to realization that I am not over things (no news there). Find out more about the conversations that I have with these two as I unpack more about why I am how I am. I still feel burdened and it's difficult to navigate through these feelings.
We face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow us on Instagram!
The lovely Choney: https://www.instagram.com/choneyedw/
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Wednesday Jan 15, 2025
Wednesday Jan 15, 2025
"Undercooked" is a metaphor of the feeling that you will never be ready when they want you to be. Even if it's not them I find out that it's me that also ends up putting myself down through the same things that I grew up with. That thought of making you think that you aren't ready for the next steps feels like you aren't even worthy of what you want/deserve. I am accompanied by my sister once again in this episode as she sits and listens to my experience as she herself hasn't felt the same way. It's crazy to think that although we live under the same roof we face different issues and challenges. We face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow me on Instagram!
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
"Getting Grilled" is a metaphor saying that you have been humbled by someone's feedback. Parents roasts you for the things that you've done and how it's not up to their standard. With this feedback, parents will feel like this is disciplining you as their child but do they really know the repercussions of how the child will feel? It's one thing to discipline your child but it's also another thing to be using derogatory words that could hold weight and bring down morales which could cause insecurities and negative feelings. I am accompanied by my sister once again in this episode to talk about the challenges of our parents unable to show us proper feedback that would be reciprocated in a healthy way. Although we face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow me on Instagram!
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Sunday Dec 01, 2024
Sunday Dec 01, 2024
"Don't waste your food" is a metaphor in regards that work is not finished or there are still crumbs left over. The idea is the doubt that is put in your mind that you haven't done enough or reflecting retroactively and finding more ways to have finish the job better. In this episode, I am accompanied by someone who knows me better than I know myself... my sister. Together in this episode we discuss the different relationships we have towards our parents and how they have given us different types of struggles even though we live under same roof at one point. My sister provides the additional backstory to certain events while also providing her insight on how she feels for these situations. Although we face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow me on Instagram!
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected and follow me on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Finishing your bowl is a metaphor on "is your work done yet?" The often self inflicted question that you ask causing you to be aware about your efforts towards something. In this episode I am accompanied by a great friend who helps guide me to being more confident in my actions. All while listening to her story and how she is where she's at today. Our thoughts and insecurities are driven within ourselves but that also means that we can give ourselves the validation we need to move forward/ to seek within. In this episode my friend Choney explains that we must forgive as that is the first step for your healing journey. Although we face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?
Follow us on Instagram!
The lovely Choney: https://www.instagram.com/choneyedw/
Your host: https://www.instagram.com/pure_le/
Let's get connected and follow me on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/le-q-nguyen/
Friday Nov 01, 2024
Friday Nov 01, 2024
Digestion is all about taking the time to take in what you are given and in this episode I talk about the challenges that I was faced at a young age. Being told to basically know anything and everything is unrealistic but how do I cope with that today? This episode is a good seg-way to the next one which is about second guessing. Although we face trails and tribulations in our lives, we at the end of the day want you to not sleep on an empty stomach so... did you eat yet?