The Esselstyn dynasty is plant-based royalty and Rip has been exemplifying the lifestyle and carrying its message since he transformed the food choices, and health outcomes, of fellow firefighters in Austin ten years ago and wrote The Engine 2 Diet. He's now involved with his Plantstrong food company, two huge in-person retreats annually, and a new passion: pickleball.Rip's website: https://plantstrong.com Food company website: https://plantstrongfoods.comIG: @RipEsselstynYouTube: @Engine2PlantstrongLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When her 2-year-old developed what the dentist called a "natural cavity", registered nurse Trina Felber, already a crusader for chemical-free skin care, set out to learn how teeth could remineralize, improving gum and oral health in many cases. In this fascinating interview with lots of new information and useful tips, Felber, founder of Primal Life Organics, shares how the health of our teeth and gums affects our overall health - sex life included. She also shares a cool recipe for homemade mouthwash.Website: https://www.primallifeorganics.com/Instagram: @PrimalLifeOrgFacebook: @PrimalLifeOrganics*Note: Trina's products are vegan with the exception of beeswax in some of her skincare products Also mentioned on this episode: Victoria's new streaming show, Main Street Vegan Salon, on UnchainedTV, the only animal rights streaming network. You can watch online at https://www.UnchainedTV.com, or download to your phone or TV from your device's app store.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Certified nutritionist Gigi Carter and health coach Sersie Blue, authors of Daniel Fast: Why You Should Only Do It Once, are the inspiring author duo Dr. Milton Mills has lauded for "the depth of their spirituality and their appreciation of the spiritual side of food..." They created their company, Healthy for My Purpose, during the pandemic to address the impact of comorbidities and the disproportionate number of Covid-19 deaths in the Black community. In this episode, we explore their moving histories, what the Daniel Fast is (hint: a really clean vegan diet), and why it needs to be a way of life. Website - https://www.healthyformypurpose.comInstagram - danielfasttohealthylivingFacebook - Daniel Fast: A Bridge to Healthy LivingYoutube - Daniel Fast: A Bridge to Healthy LivingLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The seminal documentary, Forks Over Knives, made Dr. Alona Pulde and her husband, Dr. Mark Lederman, plant-based celebrities and bestselling authors. They've now written Wellness to Wonderful, a book that is exquisitely holistic, staying true to Whole Food Plant-Based dietary principles but bringing in elements of life, love, and spirituality that bring wellness, which is always good, all the way to wonderful. Dr. Pulde does the interview solo and we talk about making a healthy lifestyle work in the real world, and about being kind to ourselves. Check out these links: Show NotesDr. Pulde's websiteFacebookWellness to Wonderful on AmazonLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're not thrilled about meal prep these days, Brigitte Gemme is your fairy godmother. When you know what she calls "the grammar of soup," you can make any soup -- 'same for stir-fries, bowls, salads, and roasted things. It's blessed freedom in the kitchen. Brigitte says "Cooking is for revolutionaries" and when you do it this way, there's time left to change the world (or take a nap). Brigitte's book: Flow in the Kitchen: Practices for Stress-Free Vegan Cooking. Website: https://veganfamilykitchen.com. IG: @vegan.family.kitchenLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back after a break with episode 476, the Main Street Vegan Podcast resumes with some vegan star-power: Colleen Patrick Goudreau, "the joyful vegan." Victoria and Colleen riff on compassion in action, how to live a joyful life in an uncertain world, and why words matter. Find Colleen at https://www.ColleenPatrickGoudreau.com; her Food for Thought podcast; IG: @JoyfulVegan; and her books and cookbooks. Reconnect with Victoria Moran and Main Street Vegan at https://www.VictoriaMoran.com and https://www.mainstreetvegan.com; on IG @VictoriaMoranAuthor and @mainstreetvegan; and join the Main Street Vegan Podcast Listeners' Group on Facebook.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Butcher spent 23 years in the New York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office, investigating more than 5500 deaths and working disasters including the 2004 tsunami and 9/11. In this fascinating interview, she shares What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator (her new book), how she landed the job newly sober, and how non-traditional but deeply held spiritual principles carried her through. Her website is https://BarbaraButcherAuthor.com, or follow her on Facebook and Instagram. Big announcement from Victoria: This is last "Meetings With Remarkable Women" podcast. By popular demand, she'll return to the Main Street Vegan Podcast on September when her guest will be Colleen Patrick Goudreau.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fans of Heartwood: The Art of Living With the End in Mind include Gloria Steinem and Katie Couric. The author of this memoir joins us today to discuss living fully with fully knowledge that this life will end –– for our loved ones, and for us. Barbara weaves fascinating tales into this interview. Among them: finding a photo in her father's wallet of his deceased first wife, an unseen family member whose presence helped shaped her childhood. Becker, an Interfaith minister, shares how her studies of Buddhism, indigenous traditions, and other wisdom teachings, as well as her work with hospice patients, has helped her develop a positive attitude towards death that makes life all the more precious.Amazon link to purchase HeartwoodLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noted scholar of the history of religions, Elaine Pagels describes her own spiritual life as one of music, nature, friendship, and love. The author of books including The Gnostic Gospels, The Gospel of Thomas, and the memoir Why Religion? shares about her life -- why she took up the study of religion as an academic discipline, how she navigated the death of her six-year-old and her beloved husband within a single year, and how she sees life and faith today. Some tidbits: "Bach and Aretha Franklin came out of the church ... What matters to me is not what you believe, but how you relate to reality ... That openness to something unexpected is what transforms people." Website: https://www.elaine-pagels.com. Amazon author page: https://tinyurl.com/pagelsamazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unity and Interfaith minister Carol Saunders, whose podcast-based ministry, The Spiritual Forum, serves a diverse audience of spiritual seekers, hosted the first Whole Planet Spirituality Forum & Retreat at Unity's heavenly headquarters outside Kansas City, Missouri, in 2021. This year's edition, Peace Begins With Me, will happen October 19-22, 2023, and feature spiritual practice, yoga, labyrinth and trail walking, and presentations including those from keynote speaker Renee King-Sonnen, the longtime yoga practitioner who turned her husband's Texas cattle ranch into Rowdy Girl, a sanctuary for rescued farm animals. In today's episode, Rev. Carol delves into peacemaking in our times, and the call to do this not only among nations, but within ourselves, with one another, other-than-human beings, and nature itself. See: https://www.thespiritualforum.org/retreat.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices