Announcing A Decade of Deadlifts: 10 Year Anniversary and Book Launch! Join us for our free, online extravaganza of three days of events (March 19 to 21), behind the scenes access, giveaways, and our main event featuring 5 incredible industry panelists. All folks are welcome to join the festivities as we celebrate 10 years of plant-fueled athleticism, badassery, an abundance of dark chocolate, and the publication of The Vegan Athlete (my fourth book!) Get your free ticket at karinainkster.com/booklaunch.

Bill left a cushy job teaching English in Japan after 9/11 to join the Army as a Combat Medic. Vegan since 1992, Bill adhered to his plant-fueled diet throughout his rigorous Army training and deployment to Afghanistan. Bill now serves veterans as a registered nurse at the West Los Angeles Medical Center. In non-COVID times, Bill gives talks about being vegan, and appears at Veg Fests and Fitness Expos with the Vegan Strong team. We discuss how he survived as a vegan in the army, his two books, and more!

K.I. team members Karina Inkster, Izzy Pope-Moore, and Zoe Peled unite for a tri-force podcast episode to discuss some “trends” of the fitness/athleticism industries and problematic tendencies of “weight loss first fitness”. Throughout the discussion, the team debunks a few myths about veganism and BMI, shares their diverse- and impressive- training goals, and much (much) more.

In Part 1 (of 2) of our K.I. team member series, Izzy Pope-Moore shares what it’s like to work in a hospital during a pandemic as a vegan. We chat about whatever comes to mind, including her efforts to make the hospital cafeteria more vegan-friendly, strength training, her work fostering cats, and her new Main Street Vegan Academy certifications.

Tobias returns to the show to bust myths about the “new year, new you” concept. We both love nerding out on tracking progress, optimizing our habits, and setting goals, so we had a freestyle discussion about all of this. When are goals useful? When *shouldn’t* we set goals? How do we best track progress? Tobias leads Athlegan, a team of passionate vegan athletes who are trying to change the world by helping more people become strong and fit vegans.

Stephanie Dreyer of Batch Cooking Club joins me to discuss three myths about vegan meal prep: Preparing homemade vegan meals is time consuming and difficult, following a meal plan takes too much work and effort, and being vegan in a non-vegan family is impossible. Stephanie shares her method for making weekly plant-based meal prep simple and stress-free.

Raydel's new book passes down traditional Cuban family recipes -- in vegan form. He shares his story of coming to veganism from the typical meat-heavy Cuban diet, and the resulting transformation in his health. We also discuss how he's passing down his grandmother's family recipes to the next generation, and keeping the traditions and memories of "old Cuba" alive via its food -- but veganized. Raydel Hernandez is a first generation Cuban American, home cook, and culinary author.

How is "processed food" defined? Why does the term have such a bad reputation? Where do vegan processed foods fit in? Why is the black-and-white view of “all processed foods are bad” problematic, and what message might this send? How do we assess the healthiness of a food? We take a look at a few food package examples from Chana's fridge. We also discuss bioengineering; it’s much more common than you might think. And, at the end of the episode, I have a very special holiday surprise for you!

Valerie Martin, a.k.a. Val the Vegan Therapist, offers valuable insights for anyone who's vegan (or veg-curious). We discuss the importance of navigating the emotional and social challenges of veganism, whether having a vegan therapist is important if you’re vegan yourself, and her favourite techniques for coping with anxiety (given the world situation at the moment, who the heck *isn't* anxious right now?!) Valerie is a psychotherapist, coach, and yoga teacher based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nutritional counsellor and disordered eating coach Devon Hoholuk discusses why vegan diets are often discouraged in recovery, and how she approaches things differently. She shares her story of recovery from anorexia and bulimia, and how flexible veganism relates to recovery. You don't need to have a diagnosed eating disorder to get something out of this episode. Our relationships with food can be quite complex, and it’s important to address what may be problematic aspects of that relationship.