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Lindsay Pryor is adding spice to her life as she enters middle age.
Pryor, 48, a longtime U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, recently launched her company, Mid Life Crysis Spices, which offers 27 spice blends. The woman- and veteran-owned company has an astrology-inspired line of a dozen mixes with products generally selling for $15-$18.
The Mansfield-area resident sold her spice blends at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo this year, the first time she was selected as a vendor at the annual event.
Her products, sold through her website and at local markets, gently poke fun at getting older. “I do like to make people laugh,” she admits.
Her “Loaded and Bloated Fry Dust,” a french fry seasoning, is a top seller with its blend of cheddar cheese powder, sea salt, chili powder, paprika, cumin, onion powder, cayenne and black pepper.
A former nurse recruiter, Pryor said she started the company in November 2024 after many people complimented her cooking.
“I started researching spice blends because a lot of people told me that my cooking is very good, and they wondered how I seasoned it,” Pryor said. “We blend all these different types of spices ourselves. The point of my company is not only to make people laugh but to give them very good flavor in the kitchen.”
Contract information
Website: midlifecrysisspices.com
Phone: 520-390-1512
Email: lindsay@midlifecrysisspices.com
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569892765333
Instagram: mid_life_crysis_spices
Pryor spoke with senior business reporter Eric Garcia.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Eric Garcia: How did you decide on the name of your business?
Lindsay Pryor: Basically, because people my age tend to wake up in the middle of the night a lot.
Garcia: Yes, I know!
Pryor: (Laughing) I just thought it would be a cute name, something to make fun of middle age. Midlife crisis is the normal term for that. I just wanted to change it from “cri” to “cry” just to show that we do have a sense of time when we’re going through middle age because of the emotional ups and downs of aging. I wanted to make fun of it. I want people to laugh and raise their energy around cooking and being with their family, having fun, that type of thing.
Garcia: What are your most popular spice blends?
Pryor: I’ve been selling out of the hamburger dust and my loaded fry dust, along with our Adam’s Rib Rub. Tickle My Pickle, my dill blend, is doing well — people like the name, obviously it’s very funny. It’s a very good blend, very natural. Ninety-eight percent of my products are MSG- and gluten-free. I have a lemon-pepper blend that’s been going very well.
Garcia: Which of the star sign blends is most popular?
Pryor: It just depends on who is into astrology. I would say Aries and Leo.
Garcia: How is the reception to your products?
Pryor: People tend to laugh a lot at the names. They’re pretty good overall because they’re able to take off the lid and smell it. They realize it’s not just funny. It’s good blends.
Garcia: How did you come up with the 27 different varieties?
Pryor: Very carefully. I did some research, especially on the star signs, into what type of flavors line with characteristics. … It took a little bit of time. I did a lot of cooking before this. Now we have a YouTube channel as well. We just experimented over time.
Garcia: What kind of content do you put on YouTube?
Pryor: My husband actually developed his YouTube channel before I came up with my whole company. It’s called Big Jim’s Kitchen, and he talks a lot about the spice blends. He’s got a variety of different types of cooking videos. For my channel, which is under Mid Life Crysis Spices, I have shorts that people do for me. I send samples out to people in other states for them to make videos. They’ll do very short cooking videos or reviews.
Garcia: Tell me about your nursing background.
Pryor: I still hold my nurse license. I just renewed it. I used to work at the VA for 11 years. I left last year to pursue this full time. I landed two contracts with Veterans Affairs to set up as a vendor for 24 weeks this year. I still want to practice nursing. I just need to figure out the time frame.
Garcia: Does the VA have a lot of vendors?
Pryor: The VA has vendors all the time, particularly the Dallas VA Medical Center, which has a cantina and a bunch of stores set up. Same thing with the Fort Worth VA Clinic. That’s the other one I’ll be a vendor at. Vendors go a week at a time unless you get an exclusive (contract), and then you have a storefront set up.
Garcia: Tell me about your background as a veteran.
Pryor: I’m an Army veteran. I did part-time Guard and Reserves in the Army as a nurse. My husband was in the Air Force for 20 years. He’s been retired since 2019.
Garcia: Do you have a favorite spice blend?
Pryor: I’m going to point out that some of my blends are not just for baking or cooking. Tickle My Pickle actually is used as a dip as well. You can put it in sour cream and just mix it to your taste. You can put that with cream cheese, and that can go on your bagel. We have what’s called Go Cluck Yourself. There’s actually a bullion component in that spice blend that can be used in your soup.
Garcia: How did you come up with your clever product names?
Pryor: Making fun of myself. So Freshly Wrinkled (potato blend) had 40 aches, maybe not too fresh. One of my barbecue rubs is called Quit Ya Bitchin! because people just like to bitch about middle age. … I have a no-salt blend, a blackened salmon rub I’ve been selling a lot of today called The Crazed and Confused. The artwork is a fat cat drinking a margarita on the beach. When you get to be middle-aged, you don’t remember stuff.
Garcia: What is your hope for the business?
Pryor: I love animals, and I love veterans. So I hope we can generate enough income from this so I can continue to support the charities I support, such as Pets for Vets.
Garcia: What else would you like to tell me about your business?
Pryor: I’m just here to make people happy. I want people to know my brand is: I’m here to make them laugh and give them good spice blends so they can have a good time in the kitchen with their families. I want to help support the community and give back. That’s the goal.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
The Report’s news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Great Job Eric E. Garcia & the Team @ Fort Worth Report for sharing this story.
