Into the Fridge 🫖
Dr. Natazia Stolberg on homemade banana bread and submerging in water
Natazia Stolberg 🫖
is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. She’s the owner of Space 314, her Los Angeles studio where she and her wife (and business partner), Dr. Jenna Lagana, practice a wide range of healing modalities, including acupuncture, sports medicine, and cupping. It’s a doubly exciting day for Natazia, because in addition to showing us her fridge, she’s also launching her medicinal tea brand, DOCTOR STOLBERG. 
What is your fridge philosophy?Â
Tactically, enough food to get us through 3-4 days. Big grocery shops intimidate me — I never know what I am going to be in the mood to eat, and throwing out food makes me shame-spiral.
Conceptually, organized and minimal. I am constantly moving things my wife ‘put in the wrong place’ according to nobody but me. I like things the way I like them. If you know me, you’re nodding your head.
Your fridge is always always always stocked with ____.
An overwhelming amount of (chicken) bone broth. It’s the first thing I put into my stomach every morning, hot of course, and I hoard it as if it will somehow cease to exist. Eggs and a container of cooked rice is also a staple. My favorite breakfast of late is two eggs scrambled with rice that I warm in a puddle of Beurre de Baratte.
Little gem lettuces, broccolini, pomegranates, some type of red meat (usually a filet or ground beef from our local butcher), dates, ½ a can of dog food, fresh radishes and squash from our garden, Organic Oren sides that we rely on during busy weeks — which seems to be every week lately. If I make it to the farmers market, there will be a papaya for snacking and a tub of pico de gallo — which means taco bowls are on the menu!
Even though as an acupuncturist I am anti-cold liquids, I will admit to enjoying a Mountain Valley sparkling water from the fridge (but only with fresh lime). I gave up alcohol 3+ years ago, so I figure I can swap in one cold thing as my vice.
There is also the inevitable container of leftovers that I felt too guilty to throw out but I knew I would never eat as I placed it in the fridge. Oh, and a partially used lime for the aforementioned sparkling water that I tell myself not to forget but always do.
Top 5 condiment picks, go.
Sol Food Pique Sauce — if you aren’t from nor cal you have definitely never heard of this but all I will say is order it, put it on everything and you’re welcome.
Brightland Champagne Vinegar — my go-to salad dressing is a combo of this vinegar, Sol Food Pique sauce, olive oil, Maldon salt and fresh ground pepper.
Olive oil - either Sabrina’s Choice or Brightland, I mean how can this not make the list.
Ghianduja and peanut butter - both crunchy (duh). I eat a little of each with 2 dates most nights.
Sour cream - I absolutely refuse to eat ground beef taco bowls without it. Like I’ve actually made my wife drive to the store after putting my bowl together and realizing we were out. Thanks J.
Fine, I’ll open it up to pantry too. Let’s hear your favorite snacks / pantry staples:Â
My tea drawer is lit. Can’t pass up the opportunity to mention my pride and joy, DOCTOR STOLBERG Rest + Digest Tea — a simple, soothing formula to support digestion and eliminate bloat. Even if you’re ‘not a tea person,’ you need this tea. I also always have chrysanthemum for headaches, spearmint for skin, dandelion for water retention, decaf earl grey and Sleepytime mint.
Made Of Protein — vanilla always. Gut-friendly and so easy to drink, I just mix with 8oz of water and drink it down.
Pine nuts — pre toasted to quickly add to grilled lettuces!
Skinny Pop microwavable bags — this shocks people, but I truly feel popcorn can fix any problem. It’s my comfort food.
Rice of many varieties — basmati, jasmine, sushi! Always cooked in a donabe.
Oats (and everything needed for banana bread).
Dried pasta for emergency dinners — we always have homemade bolognese in the freezer!
A meal that’s on heavy rotation these days:
My banana bread — Not a meal, but the one thing I will prep every Sunday without fail to get us through the week. Low sugar, high fiber. Perfect for a hangry moment. Currently obsessed with making the tiny loaf version.
Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
2 cups gluten-free oats (blend in food processor)
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp flaxseed
A bunch of cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Blend oats in food processor until semi-smooth. Add all other ingredients into food processor and blend.
Mini loafs - coat in olive oil, divide batter into 8 sections, bake 20 minutes; traditional loaf pan - pour batter into a parchment-lined 8x5 loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes
Let cool for 10-15 minutes before enjoying!
Let’s go a little deeper…Â
What’s the mantra you keep coming back to?
Less is more and simple habits done consistently create the biggest change. No need for all the hoopla.
What products / practices are part of your regular mental wellness habits?Â
My morning routine. I love the idea that at least one part of my day will be predictable.
Buying and arranging flowers at my clinic every Monday morning.
Walking outside for an hour with binaural beats or the Activations app at the exact moment I am about to go completely insane.
Getting 8 hours of sleep (in my own bed).
And your physical?
Eating breakfast. I am its #1 fan.
Drinking Rest + Digest Tea. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. It’s a habit I will never stop. Life is too short to feel bloated.
Prada Beauty hydrating lip balm — it reacts to your pH and turns the perfect shade of pink. Sparks joy.
Acupuncture. I practice what I preach. I have gone to acupuncture biweekly for over 15 years. It has helped me with debilitating pain from endometriosis, migraines, digestive issues and currently keeps me sane while running multiple businesses.
What do you think is the most underrated part of wellness?Â
Walking. You will never regret a walk. Forward movement solves pretty much everything.
Continuing with the things that worked for you. We are so silly sometimes, we do the things, get the results, then stop doing that thing that made us feel good in the first place! It’s not just about arriving at the destination, it’s about staying there. Keep those things in your routine. Forever.
And overrated?
Believing there are quick fixes to long standing problems. A big part of my new patient intake process is educating on the importance of consistency. One acupuncture appointment is not going to change your life, but twelve done weekly, just might!
Picture this: you wake up one morning and feel like shit. What’s your next move:Â
Crack open a huge bottle of Mountain Valley (room temp of course), pour it into a Weck jar and drink with a straw. Hydration fixes almost anything.
Second would be a ginger shot or hot ginger tea.
Then walk outside and go to my garden and touch the tomato plants — tomato fingers instantly makes me feel better.
I would then decide if I need to lay or need to walk. Laying is for when I know I am getting sick, walking is for days I feel a migraine coming on or feel like shit due to overwork.
Give us your ride or die wellness products:
Rest + Digest Tea after dinner to strengthen digestion and eliminate bloat.
PEMF mat for 20 minutes to reduce the strain of hours on email.
Megasporebiotic is the only pill I take consistently.
Rhodiola tincture for times of overwhelm.
When I have an extra minute or two in the shower I reach for Oak Essentials Perfecting Body Scrub — it actually ends up being a net-zero time wise because I don’t have to lotion after.
Once a week I use the Environ Tri Bio-Botanical Revival Mask, which is true magic, and put on 111Skin Illuminating Eye Masks to erase a busy week from my face.
Rose CBD gummies when my mind is too active for sleep.
And I can’t forget my heating pad, I literally sleep on it every single night.
One thing you do everyday that makes you the most YOU version of yourself:Â
Submerging my body in water. Ocean is most ideal (my wife says it’s the only time my mind isn’t running a mile a minute), but a bath or shower will also do the trick.
Whose taste inspires you?!Â
Trace Lehnhoff, the most talented designer (he did Space 314) and dear friend with the most immaculate taste.
- , both in her creative vision of Ghia and her personal/interior style. I love that she is so consistently her.
Kate Bellm, we got married at Hotel Corazon and I just want to be every cool girl in her photographs.
A big thank you to Natazia for sharing this glimpse into her life with us. I wish I lived in LA so I could see her for acupuncture at Space 314, but I’ll settle for following her on Instagram and drinking her new teas for now. Dr. Stolberg’s fridge favorites and more are here.
Feel free to leave a comment or respond to this email with questions you want asked, people you want featured, or anything else that’s on your mind. Don’t be shy, I love hearing from you.
So excited to try this new breakfast discovery and for the DOCTOR STOLBERG launch which is perfectly aligned with the start of my tea drinking era...
Maybe one of my favourites (though hard to choose) so far. Took so many notes!