30. How Elvis Gardin Helped His Mom Ditch All of Her Medication

I first saw Elvis in a vegan Facebook group and was so glad when Gail Roddy made the introduction for me. This episode is truly a treat!

We discussed:

  • How he was about to get mom to ditch 8 medications by changing her diet

  • His journey of coming back to vegan life after being gone for several years

  • Why balance is key is a long-term vegan life

  • How veganism will make you elevate other areas of your life

  • Why you are what you eat

Listen here.....

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Join Elvis in his Facebook group, Vegan Talk! by checking here 

29. How to Plan Vegan Dinners in 30 Mins A Week | 5 Tips

Dinner can be the hardest (and most fun) meal of the day when you're getting started on a vegan journey with the family. This is the time of day when the most food complaints come up and also when you have a little more time to experiment with new ingredients and recipes.

In this podcast episode, I give you 5 tips to make vegan dinner meal planning easier for you & the fam.

Listen here....

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5 Tips to Plan Vegan Dinners:

Think about what you're already eating for dinner and find a way to veganize some of these meals. I used the spaghetti example because it's a classic meal that is simple, filling and inexpensive. You can easily make a vegan version of spaghetti (using this recipe) and your family will likely not even notice. It's so important to make vegan life as familiar as possible to make the transition easier. 

Ask for your family's input - See what they want to eat and make a vegan version of that dish. Get them involved in the process. I also mentioned lasagna during this portion of the show...here's the recipe

Commit to just a few minutes a day to gather vegan recipes - Use Pinterest (I really like this page for vegan recipes), vegan cookbooks from the library, findingvegan.com, or use Google to find recipes for whatever you have a taste for.

Keep a food journal - use Evernote (free software) or a spiral notebook to track recipes that your family enjoyed. Refer back to these recipes to make again when you get busy or when you don't feel inspired to try new recipes. Just make sure you write down where you got the recipe from and the title of the blog post.

Make enough for leftovers - I hated leftovers while growing up, but now that I'm older and wiser, I realize how helpful they are for saving time and money. Make meals that allow for plenty of leftovers like soup and red beans & rice. This will help you to only plan about 4-5 dinners a week instead of the standard 7.

28. How to Turn Your Passion for Vegan Life Into A Business

In this episode, I chat with vegan chef and business owner Chef A Ifayomi Victory about how she overcame health issues and used healing herself to help others start a vegan journey.

She also has a Kickstarter going on for a 365 Day Plant-Based calendar. Find out the details and donate here 

Listen to the full conversation here....

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We chat about:

  • The importance of being patient and research

  • Starting your business before it feels like you're ready 

  • Building credibility

  • How she secured cooking demos at Whole Foods and received catering opportunities from word of mouth.

Reach Chef Ifayomi:

Website

Facebook

Kickstarter

Resources Mentioned:

Vegan Mainstream

Beyond Meat vegan chicken strips

Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know

Vegetarian Resource Group

Interview I did with Ifayomi back in 2013

27. Going from Vegetarian to Vegan, Natural Hair & Juicing | A Conversation with Naturalee Happee

In this episode, I chat with Naturalee Happee about: 

  • Her gradual transition from vegetarian to vegan 

  • How natural hair (we both have locs) empowered her to care more about the way she ate

  • Why she's doing a juice cleanse to help curb her love of vegan junk food

  • Oh, and I found out sweet chili Doritos are vegan Yasss!

Listen here.....

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How to reach Naturalee Happee:

Instagram

YouTube

Website

Her Store    

Resources mentioned:

Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia Simpson

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliott

The Goat - vegan-friendly restaurant in Nashville

Dreads by Alice Walker

Back Then song by Mike Jones

PETA'a Accidental Vegan list

26. Vegan Kids, Cookies & Helping Your Spouse Go Vegan | A Conversation with Kawani Brown

In this podcast episode, I chat with Kawani Brown about how her children inspired her to start a healthy vegan life.

Listen here....

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We also chatted about:

  • How she was able to encourage her husband to start his own vegan journey

  • How the support of her family makes all the difference in the world

  • Why you don't have to go vegan overnight

  • Why organic food is so important to their family and everyone else

  • Why coconut oil is magic (it sure is!)

Contact Kawani:

Instagram

Her website

Long Beach Vegan Life

Kawani was featured on my blog back in 2012, check out that interview here