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If you’re a fan of this podcast, I talk about taco bell a lot and I finally got a chance to talk to the registered dietician from Taco Bell.

And I did not hold back. I talk about pretty much everything from the Naked Chicken Chalupa to the Power Bowl and praised every single item on Taco Bell’s menu. But of course, there’s some takeaways.

One huge thing I want you to notice is how Missy carves her path. After working in 6 months in Taco Bell, she said “I want to own Nutrition in Taco Bell”. Not only that, but she continues to learn how to become a better and better employee by finding mentors in different departments.

Other than that, we’ll talk about how being a dietitian in the fast food industry works, how to customize your taco bell order, and we share our experiences eating Guinea Pig in Peru

About Missy

Missy Schaaphok is the Senior Nutrition Strategist for Taco Bell Corp. spearheading the strategic global efforts for nutrition and product development. Within this role, she is responsible for sensible menu development, regulatory compliance, stakeholder engagement, animal welfare, and sustainability. She works closely with executive, legal, brand marketing, and public relations teams to communicate Taco Bell’s commitment to quality and affordable food experiences.

Missy plays a big role in how Taco Bell creates food that is fun, innovative and craveable, food you want to eat again, and food that fits customers’ evolving lifestyles. She has been the voice in telling Taco Bell’s “food for all” journey while also leading efforts behind the scenes. Most recently, Missy led the development of the Power Menu, a menu featuring high-protein bowls and burritos under 510 calories. She is also the driving force behind the brand’s commitment to simplify its ingredients, reducing sodium across the menu and removing artificial flavors and colors, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil and unsustainable palm oil; bringing customers a vegetarian menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association – the first of its kind in the Quick Service Restaurant industry, and leading the switch to cage-free eggs and serving chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine, in all U.S. restaurants.

Missy has been recognized for her leadership serving on expert panels and presenting at key industry events like World of Healthy Flavors, Healthy Menu Collaborative, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, National Restaurant Association and California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. While working at WIC, she wrote and published her first cookbook titled, WIC Tested, Dietitian Approved. Since then she has contributed to the book on Recipe Nutrient Analysis: Best Practices for Calculations for Chemical Analysis and co-authored, “Uniform National Menu Labeling: Review of the Regulation and the RDN’s Role in Effective Implementation" for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Culinary Practice Group.

Missy is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, currently serving as the Chair-Elect for the Dietitians in Business and Communications Dietetic Practice Group. She also holds volunteer positions within the National Restaurant Association's Nutrition Executive Study Group and The Culinary Institute of America’s Healthy Menu Collaborative Protein Working Group.

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Episode Highlights

How Missy developed the Power Menu
70% of our businesses is in our drive-thru
The challenges to super innovative things like chicken chulupa
Important skills you need to be an amazing product developer
Missy and Adam compare notes on how Peruvian Guinea Pig tastes like

Question Summary

When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I’m a Dietician….from Taco Bell Best thing about your job: Eating taco bell every day Soup’d Up Bean Burrito Custom Recipe: Bean Burrito+ Cheese + Pico De Gallo + Grill it + Diablo Sauce Feed Articles on the taco bell website: How to hack taco bell. Vegan, healthy, etc Dietetic Internship: super competitive and grueling How did you got to Taco Bell?: Once was a Food Science Product Development Rubio’s Intern. Past Coworker from Rubio’s told me to apply 6 months into the job: “I want to own Nutrition in Taco Bell” How do you deliver amazing taste but healthy?: We are still trying to figure it out What is the most important skill you need?: A science foundation and how to convince people without scientific knowledge that what you’re doing is the right thing to do Do you feel stigmatized from other dieticians from working in the fast food industry?: I understand, but I stand for my company. I’m doing great things at taco bell. For example, 46 million people a week, reducing sodium means I am reducing millions of pounds of salts My Food Job Rocks: I’m the dietitian in Taco Bell What type of food trends and technologies are you really excited about?: The plant forward trend Do our beans have lard?: No! They are actually certified vegan Mobile Ordering, online ordering, menu boards: You can showcase individual ingredients You can sub black beans and romaine lettuce Make it Fresco Taco Bell needs to be mainstream and Mexican and they use beans as their plant forward options The biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: There is a lot of problems. Reducing sodium but sodium is very functional (taste and preservation) Animal Welfare and sustainability In terms of corporate decisions, what makes a company decide to commit to health?: The consumers are the ones who have a say. We want to reduce sodium. Taco Bell will reduce sodium by 10% We eliminated the 40 oz soda (800 million grams of sugar from consumer’s diets) Hidden Skills: Quantifying your impact Press Release: Taco Bell New Years Resolutions What’s one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Finance and numbers. how commodities can change instantly and how big investments change finance I seek out mentors: I meet monthly with a finance mentor Who inspired you to get into food?: My mom inspired me. She had Missy and her brother to make dinner once a week. Favorite Quote: Eat well, Travel Often First Travel adventure in Europe – I found France to be the most unique. We dug for clams Weirdest food I’ve eaten: Guenia Pig in Peru Any advice in getting into the food industry?: Dietitians ask me this. It’s networking and who you know. If you’re just starting out, just start volunteering at anything food related What is one thing you’d like to dispel about the food industry?: There is a dietician in every food establishment so there is always someone fighting for nutrition. Where can we find you?: I’m the only Schaaphok in the world. Also in @workoutwithali

Other Links

The power menu bowl Quest RDN – Registered Dietician San Diego State University - Food and Nutritional Science Glanbia Foods Jessica Gavin Episode Article about Suddenly becoming the Healthiest Fast Food Chain Naked Chicken Chalupa Chick-Fil-Le – Free breakfast when they download the app Clean Meat – Lab Grown Meat Taco Bell Cantina

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59: This is Steven Rooney